When Callderwallder reached the high window set in the wall, he looked out upon the fiery field and raised his hand to his mouth in shock and disgust.
“Demons,” said the guard. “What can we do?”
Callderwallder’s large eyes stared, glassy and wide, and the mechanisms of his mind whirred and hummed like the metal soldiers that supported him. What can stop those things? he thought. Where did they come from?
King Bishop Craven’s horse walked upon the battlefield, and the Farsiders stopped their massacre. The survivors ran from the battlefield in masses, never caring what side of the fight they were on. All that mattered was continuing to live. Craven moved among the Farsiders as the men ran for their lives, malice and glee alighting his face. Look at the cowards run from the power of the Holy, thought Craven. Look at them run from my power.
The King Bishop came to a halt in front of the gate and looked up.
“Do you see what the Holy can do?” he called out. “Do you see what shall become of men who go against his will?”
The Holy? wondered Callderwallder. What does this man know of the Holy?
Craven continued. “The Holy chooses to work through me and he has given me these creatures to help cleanse your kingdom. You have until the sun sets tomorrow to surrender yourselves and join the Holy Kingdom of Chreos. If you do not bow to the will of the Holy, I will send these creatures over your walls. You have until sundown tomorrow.”
Callderwallder turned from the window and stared at the guard.
“Mr. Speaker,” said the guard. “You should return to the palace and inform the others.”
“No,” said Callderwallder and then looked to the men of metal. “Bring me to my forge.”
Chapter 20: The Wife of the Warrior Gen D’hisi
The days passed so slowly for Ben Floyd. His only way to mark time was by the meals he was brought. Though even using the meal times proved unreliable, as he wasn’t sure that he was being fed regularly. The cold and dark cell was unbearable. Ben found his senses playing tricks on him regularly. It seemed he was trapped in a nightmare, whether he slept or not. In fact, it was not long before Ben Floyd was incapable of distinguishing reality from fantasy.
On one occasion, he had dreamed that he was released and Riverpaw was there to carry him home to Ephanlarea. It had seemed so real, but Ben had found himself alone in the cell when the vision passed. He wasn’t even sure if the vision had been a dream or a waking illusion. On another occasion, rats had attacked Ben. He had screamed and screamed, trying to claw the vermin off of his body, but there were so many he could not keep them at bay. He never saw them, of course, and after succumbing to the nightmare, he had again found himself alone and unharmed in the cell. He was to be tortured by his imagination in this way. There was little he could do to avoid it. Deprived of stimulus, his senses had knitted him into a hell of uncertainty and illusion.
Whether it was reality or not, every meal was brought to Ben by Tiber Allahnder and slid underneath the iron door. Every time he arrived, Ben continued to plead with him for release. His pleas were always met with silence, but Ben continued anyway. He was no longer sure if he was speaking to anyone; he was no longer sure of anything. His senses were betraying him and his hope was dwindling, but he could not give up the hope that Tiber would help him.
“What if you’re wrong?” he asked as Tiber slid another meal under the iron door. No answer came and the man’s footsteps echoed into the recesses of Ben’s mind as he left.
“What if you’re wrong?” Ben asked again when the next meal arrived.
“Stop trying to ply me,” said Tiber and again left Ben alone in darkness.
He answered, thought Ben. He answered.
“What if you’re wrong?” Ben said, yet again, when Tiber came with his next meal.
“Why don’t you just shut up?” spat Tiber in frustration.
Ben saw his opportunity and lunged for it. “Just answer the question honestly,” he said, jumping for the iron door and clutching the bars he was locked behind. “What is the harm? I am behind this door, without hope of escape. Answer the question honestly, Tiber. I have taken no action against you. So, what if you are wrong, and you have locked up a man who is your ally? What then? What happens if you come to find out you have left me here and forsaken me? Tell me, Tiber, are you prepared for that possibility? Are you?”
Ben could barely make out the silhouette of Tiber Allahnder in the very dim torchlight that came from the other end of the hall. But it seemed as if the man stood with his head hung low.
“You ask me to believe you and have faith in you. You ask for my allegiance. But you are a man with no allegiance of your own. How can I trust a man with no institution? The powers of your land are at war with each other and you would have me believe that you take no side in the fight?”
“How can you say I have no allegiance, when I have told you of my quest? I have told you my story, you know what I stand for.”
“It only seems as though you stand against all, Ben Floyd.”
“You don’t believe that, Tiber. I know that you don’t believe that. It is true that there is no kingdom for which I fight, as hard as it is for you to believe that. You live in a world yourself, where things are not as you would have them. Not ideally.”
“I am Felaquan,” argued Tiber. “I believe in this land to which I was born, this land has nurtured me. I fight to protect it.”
“I am Ephanlarean,” said Ben. “I fight for Ephanlarea. But all the powers that reside in my land are misguided. So I give allegiance to none of them. How can you stand there and tell me that you do not understand that? How can you tell me that you can’t understand a man that disagrees with establishment and tradition? How can you condemn me when you have been condemned by your own institutions and traditions?”
“I have not turned against my people because of it.”
“Neither have I, Tiber. I fight to bring change to my land, for the people of my land. We are the same, you and I. When you condemn me for my differences, you condemn yourself.”
There was long silence after Ben’s words, but Tiber did not leave him. He had won, if only a small debate, it was still a victory. Ben only hoped that this was not another product of illusion. He wanted to continue, but feared he might push Tiber too far, so he waited in silence for a response.
“The way I am,” began Tiber, “the way you claim to be… it is not completely understood in Felaqua. My people do not condemn me, but they are…”
“Misguided,” offered Ben.
“I suppose that is a way of saying it.”
“And you think that it is wrong to attempt to guide people correctly when they are oppressing you?”
“I cannot change them. Should I martyr myself?”
“You assume you cannot change them. You assume the choice is either martyrdom or secrecy.” Ben knew his next words could destroy his chances, but he couldn’t back away from them. They could also be the very words that set him free. “You are a coward.”
Silence washed over everything. Tiber made no sound at all. Then, suddenly, the man kicked the iron door with his boot and his next words came wet with sorrow.
“You think I don’t want to be free to be myself? You think I don’t struggle every day? You think I am satisfied that I will be cast aside in favor of my brother because of who I am?”
“No,” said Ben. “But I think that you are a part of the problem, as long as you are willing to condemn a man because he is different. You condemned me for no other reason than fear, Tiber. Yet you stand there saddened by those that do the very same thing to you.”
More silence. It stuck in Ben’s throat like a gag. He wished he had said the words that would make Tiber understand; he wished he had broken through the man’s walls and found his heart.
“I am sorry, Ben,” said Tiber quietly. Ben could hear that the man was choked and remorseful. “I am so sorry for my part in this. If it were solely my decision, you would be free… but
my father… he will not change.”
With those words, Tiber walked away from Ben Floyd, again leaving him with nothing to comfort him other than his hope. The man backed away from the door that confined him until his back came flush with a wall, and then he let himself slide down to the floor. He blinked slowly, exhausted mentally, and then let himself fade away into a world of sleep.
• • •
Ben reached his hands up and gently rubbed his eyes. A yawn and a stretch followed and then the light began to filter through his eyelashes. He tried to open his eyes and found the light far too bright. It had been so long that he had been left in the darkness. The light was burning his eyes.
“Where am I?” Ben asked, but even as the question escaped his lips, he could feel the hard, stone floor beneath him and he could feel the cool, dank air on his body.
He was still in the cell, below the Palace of Gen D’hisi. He rubbed at his eyes again, hoping to relieve the pain of the light. Then he tried again to open them. The light flooded him and the pain was still intense, but he did his best to struggle against it. If the light brought some impending danger, Ben was not about to sit back and allow it to harm him. He had come too far to just give in.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, Ben felt the wall and brought himself to his feet. Soon, the pain faded and the light was not so bright. After time, he realized that the light in his cell was, in fact, quite dull. Tendrils of green energy snaked their way in circles, forming an ethereal orb that floated just feet off of the floor. Ben watched the orb nervously as it moved and pulsed and soon began to stretch itself into other shapes. The shapes grew and continued to move and soon the light seemed to form the body and visage of a young girl.
“Selva?” asked Ben with some hesitation. “Is that you?”
“Hello, Ben Floyd,” returned the ghost image of the jungle spirit. “It would seem that your mission does not proceed very well.”
“No,” returned Ben quietly.
“Sometimes it is difficult to reconcile. There are some who do not have the appropriate motivation. Reconciliation can only occur when two parties are committed to the process. It would seem that there is a lack of commitment present.”
“I have tried, Selva. I have tried to be committed.”
“I was not speaking of you, Ben Floyd. I am aware of the obstacles with which you have been presented. I am here to help a situation that is in need.”
“Are you going to free me?”
“No, but I will persuade others to do so. What I will need from you, Ben, is cooperation. I will need you to go along with my plan.”
“Of course, Selva. You have my word. Thank you. What can I–”
But before Ben could finish his sentence, the ghost image disappeared from Ben’s cell, leaving him again in complete darkness. Ben shook his head in frustration.
No, no, no. Not again. I fell for it again.
Ben silently chided himself for believing the dreams and illusions that his mind was subjecting him to. He brought his hands to his head and rubbed his temples. He dropped back down to the floor and wrung his hands together.
This is hopeless, he thought. What can I do?
Ben sat upon the cold stone and let time wash over him. This couldn’t be the end of his story. He had fought so hard, travelled so far, given so much. Riverpaw would return. At some point, Riverpaw would return. Ben set that fact firmly in his mind. He knew now that the Felaquans wouldn’t kill him, he was merely condemned to solitary confinement. But Riverpaw would return, maybe even Evercloud. He would just have to wait.
What felt like an hour passed and Ben wondered when his next meal would come. He wondered if it would be Tiber who brought it, or if he had scared him off forever. He was sorry for Tiber. He identified with the man, possibly more than anyone he had ever identified with. They shared a burden, but in the end, Ben was not willing to be a prisoner to that, and somehow, Tiber was. Ben wished deeply to forget the entire situation, but yet, deep inside, he knew that this was exactly why he wanted to change the world. This was exactly why he fought.
I will wait, Ben thought to himself with renewed resolve. I will. For what has happened here in Felaqua is exactly why I fight. It’s exactly why my family lived within the margins of our society. It’s exactly why my brother and I joined Evercloud and Riverpaw. I know right from wrong in my heart, others do too. I will wait and be ready for their arrival.
Ben heard footsteps and realized that it must be mealtime. But as the footsteps came close, he realized that whomever brought his food was not alone. In fact, the steps sounded as if they were armored, they sounded like guards. Four arrived with a torch and Ben looked at them in confusion. They carried no food and when they unlocked his cell, his confusion only grew.
“You are to come with us. The Count wishes to see you.”
Without hesitation, the guards moved into Ben’s cell and picked him up from the floor. Roughly and quickly, they escorted him out of the cell and down the hallway. Eventually, they began to ascend a staircase and light slowly returned to Ben Floyd’s world. Before he knew what was happening, he had been escorted out in the vestibule where he and Riverpaw had first landed when they came to the Palace of Gen D’hisi. Count Allahnder sat upon a dais and was flanked by Tiber and others Ben did not recognize. He looked around and then saw, floating in the air in front of Count Allahnder, Selva, daughter of the Earth and Sun.
As Ben was brought before the Count, the bald man leapt from his seat and bowed before Selva. He apologized to the spirit over and over, groveling beneath the young woman.
“Forgive us, please. Forgive us. If we had only known, we would have never acted in the way that we did. Please, you must forgive us. If we knew this was a test given by you, we would never have mistreated our guest.” Count Allahnder looked up and seeing that Ben had been retrieved, beckoned to his guards to bring the man forward. “You see, Amana’au, he is unharmed. We took no actions to harm him. You must give another chance.”
Amana’au? Ben wondered. Is that what the Felaquans call her?
Count Allahnder continued his groveling and then turned to Ben.
“Please, Ben Floyd, tell Amana’au that you were not harmed. Tell her how we revere her and this great palace that her husband built in her honor.”
“Her husband?” asked Ben.
“Yes, man. Do you not know we stand before the wife of the great Gen D’hisi?”
Ben looked up at Selva from where he stood and then recalled the painting hanging on the palace wall of the wife of Gen D’hisi. Ben looked at Selva’s features and realized how closely she resembled the woman in the painting. Brilliant, thought Ben, remembering that Selva had asked for his cooperation. She’s made them believe she’s the wife of Gen D’hisi. Brilliant.
“Of course,” replied Ben, understanding his place in this act. “My eyes are just adjusting to the light, that’s all.”
“Ahaha,” laughed the Count nervously. “Adjusting to the light. Do you see how we fool with each other, Amana’au? Just like old friends.”
“Enough of this,” snapped Selva. “You continue to insult me with your lies, Allahnder. You kept this man in a dark dungeon. I saw him there for days with my own eyes. I have sent him here to create a peace between Felaqua and Ephanlarea. You have spit upon my purpose and been a hindrance at every turn.”
Again, the Count flung himself to the ground. “Please, forgive me. If I could only have another chance, I will do anything.”
“Silence,” commanded Selva. “If you wish to save yourself from my wrath, you have but one choice. This man has come to you seeking peace and reconciliation. There is a war that rages in Ephanlarea. Help him bring peace to his land. Ally Felaqua with the peaceful leaders of Ephanlarea.”
“Yes, Amana’au. I will do this. You have my word.”
“Good. Now leave me with this man who is called Ben Floyd. Go and prepare your ships for departure.”
“Yes, Amana’au.”
Count
Allahnder motioned to all of his people and they all scurried away like frightened animals. Ben found himself standing upon the dais, beneath a floating Selva, unable to believe his luck.
“That was incredible, Selva. How did you ever think of that?”
“It was not as hard as you might think. Now, Ben Floyd, it is time for you to return to Ephanlarea. Bring the Felaquans to your land and use them to bring reconciliation to all. You and I wish for things that are very similar. If the world could remember to choose love in that which they do, things would be much better off. Now go, Ben Floyd.”
Ben thanked Selva and turned to reenter the palace, no longer a prisoner, when something struck him. He turned around and stared at the floating spirit in amazement.
“Selva?”
“Yes, Ben.”
“Are you the wife of the warrior Gen D’hisi?”
“I have been many things during my existence, Ben Floyd. But I have always had a fondness for rainbows.”
ANNIE THE BUFFALO
Chapter 21: Upon the Snowy Plateau
As Andor soared above the vast, Western Ocean, Annie produced the feather she found upon Nivalia’s snowy plateau. She traced her finger over the feather’s vane and down to the quill, taking note of the light speckling of white dots across the vane that let her know the feather belonged to Nivalia. The feather looked like a snowstorm; an appropriate memory of the lady spirit.
All of the feathers were indicative of the spirits they represented. Aella’s feather was comprised of warm yellows and oranges, like harvest grasses blowing in the wind. Amber’s plume was a cool and airy blue that was supplemented with fields of gray and white. When you turned the feather in your hand just so, it seemed as if you were looking at clouds, floating across the sky. Dendrata’s feather was speckled green and black, both vibrant and shadowy. The feather mirrored her forest home. Harena’s feather seemed as if it was drawn directly from the desert sand, with a waving vane like the windswept dunes. Lithlillian’s feather was dark and patterned with black and grey. As soft as it was, it seemed hard and sharp. The feather Annie had been given by Riverpaw was shadowy and mysterious, yet when turned in the light, it seemed as if it glowed with green. Annie wondered what Selva must have been like. Tallulah’s feather was very similar to Selva’s in its dark mystery, but the feather of the water spirit was a deep blue that bespoke of uncharted depths.
Everflame: The Complete Series Page 88
