Everflame: The Complete Series

by Dylan Lee Peters

  Evercloud was comforted somewhat by Tenturo’s words, but at the very same time, they scared him.

  Has everything I’ve ever been told merely a matter of opinion? How can I be expected to choose right over wrong when I am following a being that admits to the greatest crime against the earth in history? Then a staggering thought struck Evercloud. What if we’re wrong? What if we’re on the wrong side?

  Suddenly, three arrows struck Tenturo in his side.

  “We’re under attack!” yelled Ben.

  He jumped to his feet and drew his swords as eight men came screaming out of the black night.

  “Die, you unholy things!” yelled one of the men.

  Before the men could cause any damage, a blue light emanated from Tenturo’s eyes, freezing the men in their ambush. The Ancient shook his massive body and the arrows fell from their lodging. They had left no mark upon the mighty Tenturo.

  “Let us leave. We will find a safer place to rest.”

  Captain Nesbitt and the Floyds climbed upon Tenturo’s back. Riverpaw turned to Evercloud.

  “Come on, Evercloud. Let’s get out of here.”

  Evercloud had his back to the group. He stared at the faces of the eight men who had ambushed them. Their faces were contorted with hatred and rage.

  “They would have killed us,” said Evercloud. “They’ll try again if they have a chance.”

  “It’s time to fly, Evercloud,” coaxed Tenturo.

  “No,” said Evercloud with a low and menacing tone. “You said that we are all defined by the decisions that we make now, not in the past, not in the future, now. These men decided to kill us.”

  “Evercloud,” said Tenturo, seeing the change in Evercloud’s mood and knowing what would come of it. “You can choose to end this without violence or you can choose-”

  “To end them.” Evercloud was looking directly into the men’s eyes as he circled them like a predator. “Can they see me, Tenturo?”

  “Yes, Evercloud. They are conscious and can see you.”

  “Can they hear me?”

  “I don’t know what–”

  “CAN THEY HEAR ME!” roared Evercloud.

  “Yes. They can hear you.”

  “Then listen to me, men of Ephanlarea.” Evercloud didn’t yell, but spoke loudly so all the men could hear him well. “You are all guilty of having malice in your hearts. You acted in ignorance and tried to take the lives of the innocent. You shall now pay for your choice.” One by one, Evercloud walked to each man and cut his throat with his golden claw. Finally, he stood before the last man and spoke. “Tell every single person you meet of what you have seen here tonight. Tell them that the man who did this was called Evercloud and tell them that I am watching them.” Evercloud walked away from the man and climbed onto Riverpaw’s back. “Fly.”

  With that the travelers took off into the air, without another word spoken. Moments into their flight, Tenturo’s voice entered Evercloud’s mind.

  I do not agree with what you did.

  I did what was right, Tenturo. I will not apologize for it. And if you felt so strongly against what I did, why didn’t you stop me?

  I was never able to stop you before. Why should I believe that I can stop you now…Densa.

  Chapter 29: The Plan for Peace

  “You never told me that you had a human son.”

  Eveneye had slowed to a walk, after running for a long while, as he made his way back to Gray Mountain.

  “It was not something that I was keeping from you purposefully. It just didn’t come up. Besides, when I was in the cage, you didn’t even believe that I was a bear. Having a human son would have just confused things further.”

  “Yeah,” admitted Catch. “So what’s your son like?”

  “Well, that’s hard to say. I’ve not known many humans, so I don’t have a large basis for comparison. He’s roughly your age, maybe a little older. He’s larger than you are. He’s had to develop a good deal of muscle, living among bears. Our way of life can be physically demanding for a human, I suppose. He is kind, intelligent, and brave. He possesses many qualities that bears deem to be virtuous.”

  “Those are good qualities for humans also,” said Catch. “So, he is on a quest to find the Ancient Evils, er, I mean the Ancients?”

  “Yes. One has already been freed from his shackles. Tenturo, the great griffin.”

  “A griffin? You have to be joking.”

  “Are you going to continue disbelieving everything that I tell you?”

  “I’m sorry, Eveneye. This is just so strange to me, especially the stuff about the Holy and the Ancients. A few of Lazarus’ men were very religious, and talked about the Holy a lot. They taught me about him, but I always thought it was just fantasy. I mean, if this Holy is real, why do so many bad things happen?”

  “That is why we call him the Great Tyrant, Catch. Believe me, I used to be just like you. I thought the Ancients were a story told by our elders to attempt to explain the unexplainable. But I have seen much, and the Ancients and the Tyrant are very real. The Great Tyrant killed my best friend.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “He died in the process of freeing Tenturo. He died with great honor.”

  “I want to help.”

  Eveneye was confused. “You want to help?”

  “I want to help stop the Tyrant. The way I see it, he’s never been on my side. I see more bad things that he has done in this world than good. I want to help, any way that I can.”

  “Catch, I’m not really sure what you can do?”

  “I can recruit others. I’m not the only one that the Tyrant has got on the wrong side of. I know there are others like me, who feel the way I do, you know, other humans. I could recruit humans. We could all work together.”

  Eveneye laughed. “You sound like me.”

  “Recruiting humans?” asked Catch.

  “When I first took Evercloud into my home, it was for his benefit as well as mine and my wife’s. However, I knew it would be crucial for the Kingdom to accept the boy if he were to stay with us. The idea that I had come up with, I called ‘The Plan for Peace.’ The idea was, when Evercloud was old enough, he would be able to speak with the world of man on behalf of all bears so that our two species might find common ground and become allies in this world. Humans have always feared bears and likewise, we have feared humans, but I didn’t think that it needed to be that way. I felt that if someone could bridge the gap and facilitate an understanding between our two worlds, it would be beneficial for both bears and men. I eventually convinced the Kingdom to agree with me.”

  “Well, what happened?”

  “As soon as it came time for Evercloud to fill his role in the plan, the Tyrant returned and our focus had to change.”

  “I can fill that role, Eveneye,” said Catch brightly. “I want to. You were right. We can work together. There’s no reason we can’t.”

  “Catch, I’m not sure if you’ve really considered how it could go wrong. Part of the reason that I was willing to thrust Evercloud into that role is because it was his only chance to become a part of the human world. I thought it was the only way he might ever take a wife, or have a child of his own. I was trying to give him back what I had taken from him. If the plan failed, he would have lost something he never had anyway. That is not the case for you. If you return to your people, you will blend in, you can have a normal life. If you enter into this ‘Plan for Peace,’ it could alienate you from other humans forever. I need you to understand what you would be risking.”

  “I can’t go back to a normal life, Eveneye. Not now, not after what I’ve seen. How could I? Knowing that animals won’t speak to me for fear. Knowing the Tyrant makes this world worse off while everyone praises him. Knowing I might have made a difference if I had only tried. Eveneye, the moment you freed me, you opened a door into a new world for me. There’s no going back.”

  “I’m sorry for that, Catch.”

  “Don’t be sorry. You gave me a
gift, but please…don’t take it back.”

  “So, we’re in this together now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I suggest you start thinking of a new name. A kingdom of bears and a world of men aren’t going to listen to a slave boy named Catch.”

  Chapter 30: What We Want to Believe

  Iolana walked the roads of Bainbridge, hand in hand with Roman, who held an always-chipper Eddie in his left arm. It had been decided that, for obvious reasons, Edgar would wait outside of the village. There was no getting around the fact that, despite how any one individual might feel about Edgar’s deeds, he was largely seen as a notorious vigilante. So it was up to Iolana to find the authorities in Bainbridge and hopefully leave Roman with his cousins. The roads were practically devoid of activity. That suited Iolana. She didn’t expect trouble, however she knew, at some point, someone would ask her why a woman such as herself would travel the countryside alone. She only hoped she could come up with suitable excuses.

  It wasn’t long before Iolana found police headquarters, and led Roman and Eddie up the stairs and into the front office. A surly gentleman without the services of a neck greeted her from behind a desk as she walked through the door.

  “Who did what and where can we find ’em?” said the man.

  Iolana was confused.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  The neckless man sighed and ran his hand over his bulbous head.

  “How can I help you?” he said with a false sincerity.

  “I found this boy abandoned in a village, east of here. He says that he has cousins in this village. I’d like to return him to his family.”

  “It was burned to the ground, wasn’t it?”

  “Umm. Yes,” said Iolana.

  “It’s been happening all over. People are starting to flee the villages for the larger kingdoms. I bet you noticed that the village seemed sort of empty.”

  “Yeah…what do you mean this is happening all over?”

  “All over Ephanlarea. Someone’s burning villages to the ground.”

  “You don’t know who?”

  “There’s usually no survivors.” The man looked down at Roman from over his desk. “You see who burned the village, kid?”

  Roman looked up at Iolana.

  “It’s okay, Roman. Tell the man what you saw.”

  Roman looked back to the man behind the desk. “I saw the burning man.”

  The neckless man blinked slowly and took a deep breath, trying to exhibit patience with the child. “What did the burning man look like?”

  “He looked like the sky when it’s angry,” said Roman, “and he made lightning all over the village.”

  The man looked back to Iolana. “That’s not gonna help us. What’s this kid’s full name.”

  Again Iolana looked down at Roman. “Can you tell me what your last name is, sweetie?”

  “Cooke,” replied Roman.

  “Hey, Terry!” yelled the neckless man from behind his desk.

  Moments later, a gangly man with a large nose and a diminished chin stumbled through the door at the back of the office and stood next to the neckless man’s desk, trying desperately to stand up straight and look authoritative.

  “Yes, sir,” said Terry.

  “Terry, I need you to head over to the Cooke’s place and see if they are related to a young boy named Roman. If they are, tell them he’s here.”

  “Yes, sir,” repeated Terry and promptly stumbled out of headquarters.

  “Please, have a seat,” said the man to Iolana with a fake smile. “It might be a while.”

  •••

  Edgar sat up against a tree, outside of Bainbridge, and tried to take a nap. This is what I was doing when he first came to me, he thought. Things have changed so much since then. He wondered who had been in the woods that night or if it had just been his imagination. He hoped it had just been his imagination, even though there was no reason to think it hadn’t been real. Edgar hadn’t told Iolana. She already thought that he was too paranoid.

  I know it wasn’t my imagination, thought Edgar. He had felt as though he and Iolana were being followed for a long time, but after last night, the feeling had disappeared. Maybe it was that creature from the tower? Edgar took out the sword and looked it over. He ran his fingers over the five characters on its hilt and a chill ran up his spine. The creature had stopped advancing on them when it had seen the sword. The creature had feared the sword. It was as though it had recognized the sword. Edgar again looked over the five cryptic characters on the sword, and immediately, knew who had been the master of the weapon.

  “Densa,” he whispered.

  Iolana’s dream hadn’t just been a dream. He had known that from the beginning, he just hadn’t wanted to admit it. Edgar stood from the tree and waved the sword around, staring at it in awe. In his hands he held the Sword of Densa.

  I shouldn’t tell Iolana. Not until we reach Hammlin. She has enough to worry about. Edgar thought about Iolana and how she would feel once she realized that she was Chera. How would she feel when she remembered everything of her history? Would she stay with Edgar? A part of him wished that she would never find out. He wondered if, even now, she had any feelings for him.

  I’m being foolish, he thought. Who could love me? The world sees a monster. Why should I think that she would be any different?

  Edgar sheathed the sword and sat back down upon the forest floor. He closed his scarred eyes and hoped for sleep without dream.

  •••

  Edgar woke to Iolana walking toward him in the forest. She was without Roman and Eddie, so Edgar assumed that all had gone well.

  “You found his cousins?” Edgar asked when Iolana was close enough to hear him.

  “Yes, they were very thankful to see him and very sad to hear of the village.”

  “Did they ask…questions?”

  “I didn’t really give them the opportunity. Once they arrived and it was obvious that Roman knew them, I left. They didn’t pay a lot of attention to me. They started asking Roman questions about the village and the other members of his family, and I slipped away while everyone’s attention was on the boy.”

  Edgar looked at Iolana and realized that something was bothering her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I thought returning Roman to his family would feel good…but it didn’t. I brought that family horrible news and I wasn’t even able to give Roman a proper goodbye.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Edgar.

  “It’s okay,” said Iolana. “Just sad.”

  Edgar wasn’t sure what he should do. He didn’t really know how to deal with emotion, especially emotions that were not his own. Something inside of him longed to hold Iolana close to him. He was sure that it would be a mistake to try, so he fought the urge away.

  “We should continue on,” he said.

  “Okay,” replied Iolana. They began to walk west, when Iolana remembered that she had learned some important information during her short time in Bainbridge. “Oh, Edgar, I almost forgot to tell you. That burned village that we came upon isn’t the only one.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The police in Bainbridge said that villages have been burning to the ground all over Ephanlarea. People are flocking to the kingdoms in hope of refuge. Someone or something is terrorizing the entire land.”

  “Did Roman say anything else about his burning man?”

  “He tried to describe it to the police. He said that the man looked like the sky when it’s angry and that the burning man made lightning all over the village. But…I don’t know. Roman is a small boy, he probably just has an active imagination.”

  Edgar shook his head. “That might be true, Iolana, but I’ve seen things to fuel the most active imagination and so have you. We can’t just dismiss his description.”

  “That’s true,” admitted Iolana. “So, if Roman’s description is even close, that means there is a man burning the villages of Ephanlarea with lightning. It’s v
ery hard to believe, Edgar. And the man looks like the sky when it’s angry…what does that even mean?”

  “I don’t know,” said Edgar. “Maybe the man was dark, like rain clouds.”

  Iolana’s mind immediately remembered her dream of Densa and how his skin had turned black.

  “Do you think it is Densa?” Iolana uttered slowly.

  Edgar wanted to say no so badly, but he could not betray the way that he really felt. “I don’t know who else it could be, Iolana. All I know is that we need to get to Hammlin as soon as possible.”

  Iolana’s face was etched in concern, but she nodded her head and tried to be brave. Her mind would not let go of the image of the man on the mountain. Why won’t you go away? she thought. But her secrets could only be kept from others, she knew very well why the man’s visage never left her, she just couldn’t understand why she felt the way that she did. The image of the man from the mountain never left her mind because she didn’t want it to.

  Chapter 31: The Tale of Strongback

  Goldenheart rolled upon her mattress. How did the morning come so soon? Goldenheart hadn’t been sleeping well. So much work was being done around the mountain and so many bears were demanding of her time, she was being exhausted every day. However, what was normally a recipe for a good night’s sleep was not working for Goldenheart. The absence of her husband and son was keeping her up at night.

  “Rise and shine,” came a voice from beside her bed.

  “Let me sleep a little while longer, Autumn. I know we have a lot to do; I’m just so tired.”

  “How’s that for a welcome home? Telling me that I sound like a female.”

  Goldenheart rolled over, startled to see the confused face of her husband, Eveneye.

  “Even!” she cried out and threw her arms around him. “You’re home.”

  “Or maybe it’s Autumnbreeze that sounds like a male.”