The Truth about Heroes: Complete Trilogy (Heroes Trilogy)

by Krista Gossett

  This time, Rienna smiled. It had not escaped her notice that a bit of light and air emitted from the far wall of the cave.

  “We can. We might need your friend’s help if he’s here. We have to get them not to flee right away once we open the cages. Tell them to stand against that back wall until I’m done,” Rienna said with conviction as she dug through the brown bag she had lifted earlier to see what she was working with. Krose was immediately in action.

  “Listen, Folk, we come here as friends!” Krose explained to the nearest bunch, the details spreading through the crowd like wildfire. “If you listen to me, we can all leave here alive. My friend has a plan but you must follow it or we’ll all be in danger! When I open your cages, you must stand against the back wall of this chamber. Please trust in us and we will not fail you! Will you believe in us to save you?”

  But the Folk were reluctant to trust and they were mostly met with grunts of distrust and sobs of fragile hope. A new voice spoke up now.

  “It’s okay, everyone, we can trust them! This man is my friend Krose and he brings a warrior who has killed these giants before our very eyes! We always wanted to find the humans among us with good in their hearts and they have come to deliver us now! No problems for them, all right?” the Bryfolk man, who was undoubtedly Dinsch, added in effort to help.

  Krose smiled at his friend and they exchanged a welcoming nod.

  Amazingly enough, no one objected to this. With more nods of affirmation and a lot of checking the main tunnel to be sure the giants were not about to set upon them again, Krose grabbed the master key from the wall and set about unlocking the cages. Rienna felt a great welling of joy in her heart but it was dampened by the realization that they were not out of this yet. Dinsch ran over to stand beside Rienna, excitable and unable to stand still it seemed.

  “Thank you, miss, we are truly in your debt. When we get out of here, you’ll have to tell me all about the adventures you’ve had,” the handsome, hyperactive Dinsch rambled.

  Rienna fought to hold back a smile … and lost. She hated being called ‘miss’ but this was hardly the time to focus on her pet peeves.

  “Stand back, please,” Rienna finally said, taking the bag towards the opposite wall as the last of the Folk moved safely to the other side.

  Rienna suddenly realized that, fast as she was, she might not be able to escape death here. The explosives in the bag she pilfered earlier had very short fuses.

  Oh, how she wanted revenge but if she must die here, so be it. She would not risk more lives to leave the way they came and she intended to make it harder for slavers to use this place again. Vengeance paled beside the right thing to do; she wouldn’t be able to face her father if she became selfish now.

  Rienna piled the bag of explosives against the wall and lit the one with the longest fuse she could find. She wouldn’t make it, but at the first sign of sparks she ran for her life anyway. Within mere seconds, she felt herself being lifted and rushed like the wind towards the Folk huddled against the wall. But not by any explosion— she looked up to see the happy-go-lucky Dinsch grinning down at her. The explosion knocked them back unharmed but the side of the cave was blown away completely. Without hesitation, Dinsch gathered Krose up as well and sped them both out towards the dangerous opening ahead of the others.

  “It’s true that there are warriors among us, but we can’t expect them to stick around to fight, you know? So you two should go out first so you can stop those giants from killing so many of us!” Dinsch squeaked nervously as he set them down outside of the cave, where the startled men were already rallying to stop the Folk from escaping.

  So while the Folk sped off, Rienna, Krose, and Dinsch fought, but they were not alone. It appeared that several of the warrior Folk intended to help. The dark-skinned tyrants carried guns but the casualties were low nonetheless. Once the men were dead and the aftermath of the battle faded into peace again, all that was left was to free the remaining folk in those wagons and hurry out before more traders could discover the escape.

  It was then that Rienna finally fell to her knees and began to sob hard and without reservation. She realized that she had not even been there to bury her own loved ones. She didn’t stay to honor their deaths and nearly met her own without honoring them at all. Krose and Dinsch watched her silently as the Folk that stayed to help with burials left to return to wherever they called home.

  “Her tears aren’t just for the Folk, are they?” Dinsch sadly asked his human friend Krose.

  Krose smiled sadly and shook his head.

  “Of course not, Dinsch. She is only here to help me so I will help her. But I only asked her to rescue you. She risked her own purpose to free them all,” Krose whispered, realizing that Rienna was now more than a warrior. Rienna was a true friend. Krose smiled at Dinsch suddenly. “I’ve decided that I have to go all the way too, you see. I’m not just going to help her find the man she seeks but I’ll take her anywhere in the universe if she says the word.”

  “Who is this guy she’s after? One of the Mycean Royal Army?” Dinsch asked excitedly. Dinsch and Krose had explored the whole of Vieres and it hadn’t escaped their noticed that Myceum, a faraway kingdom on the continent of Stoneweld was mounting seemingly random attacks on Vieres. No one could say why at this point.

  Krose laid a hand over his friend’s shoulder, suddenly feeling foolish. “Ah, you see, I … don’t really know yet, but I’ll tell you what I do know…”

  Later that night, camp was set near a slow-moving river and it was unspoken that Dinsch was not parting with them any time soon. Rienna still hadn’t spoken to either of them and seemed lost in her own world. So far they had let her be, but Krose was itching to find out who this man was and start tracking him. And Dinsch … well, Dinsch had rabbit blood in his veins so patience was truly not a virtue for him. Before the two men could speak up, Rienna stood silently and began to braid her hair. Dinsch and Krose exchanged a look but said nothing.

  After her hair was braided, she drew Belias’s dagger from her belt. Krose started to speak but it was Dinsch, surprisingly, that stopped him, an uncharacteristic grim look on his face. With the dagger, Rienna reached back and sliced off the braid of hair cleanly, in such a way that the hair in back now hung halfway down her neck and the hair in front reached her shoulders. It suited her rebirth. Dinsch grinned now and patted Krose’s shoulder reassuringly. Krose stood up now and took his own dagger in hand. His eyes met Rienna’s and he started to even out her hair while she clutched the hank of hair in her hand.

  Rienna discarded the braid into the sluggish tributary of the Lesthene River. So the old Rienna was truly dead, in the river that she would have died in years ago had Belias not saved her. She watched the hair get swallowed into the river. She looked at the ring on her finger for a moment. It was not yet time to discard it. She resolved that ring and blade would yet taste Melchior’s blood before their burial.

  Rienna remembered vividly the time she sat on a similar spot further north on the banks of the Lesthene River. It was a full week after Belias had saved her, and that week, she had done everything possible to avoid him. She didn’t love him, she told herself over and over and the conflict raged inside of her. She had trained harder than ever that week but her thoughts of him flooded her relentlessly. This was a losing battle. Finally tired and sore, she donned one of the few dresses she owned, a simple dress in a beautiful shade of cerulean and went to sit THERE; “there” being that place she first challenged him, hidden away from all who might try to find her.

  But, again, Belias had found her there and she tried to be furious, fighting her tender feelings for him with every bit of strength she possessed; to her dismay, her heart was not so meticulously trained as her body. Rienna had clenched her teeth then and looked at her hands in fists across her lap.

  “What do you want?” she had hissed out, feigning annoyance. She could barely hear over the rapid beating of her heart. Did she say that too loudly?

  But
Belias had smiled and shrugged unperturbed. “I guess I’ve been a little worried. Given we’ve never been very close, I thought maybe you would have considered trusting me by now,” Belias softly answered.

  Rienna spun around and shot her best icy glare his way.

  “Why? Because you happened to be there when I nearly died a most humiliating death? Well, you were wrong, Belias. I have given my thanks already, but if that hasn’t sufficed for your ego, then I thank you again and ask you to leave me now,” is what she had said but she frowned at the pain in her heart with its little voice screaming ‘stop! Please stay!’ She wouldn’t say it—her own ego was the obstacle, not his.

  Apparently Belias heard her heart a little better than even she did because, keeping a safe distance from her, he sat beside on her on the river bank and smiled up into the sky. “That’s the first time you’ve ever called me by my name, did you know that?”

  Belias asked rhetorically, this time smiling at her.

  She tried to look away as he had turned his smile on her but it was too late.

  Her heart was now entirely his.

  “I… I’ve never had any reason to use it,” she countered weakly. She frowned deeply and turned her attention again to the fists she held in her lap. “I don’t get it. What do you want?” She could never get a read on him and she hated that she was so flustered when he was looking so serene and handsome.

  Belias said nothing for a long moment. Birds chirped, breezes made leaves rustle and scatter, but Rienna only heard the fervent rush of blood thrumming through her.

  “—With me tonight?” was all she caught when Belias spoke again.

  Genuinely confused, her guard began to fall. She looked at him and tilted her head curiously.

  “Ah, what was that?” she asked timidly. Her heart was at the helm now and it was only the dying voice of an unreasonable dislike that tried to scream ‘no’… but her heart made it sound more like ‘now.’

  Belias laughed softly and cleared his throat. Was he really blushing?

  “If I asked, would you dance with me tonight?” he asked, more slowly and a bit shier.

  Rienna bit at her lower lip and tossed a stone into the river. She couldn’t seem to get what he was asking of her now. Dance? What dance? Had she forgotten something? Belias laughed a little embarrassedly now and started to stand up, taking her silence as rejection. To both his and her amazement, her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist as a signal to stay. He saw the confusion on her face clearly now and the deep frown and faraway look in her eyes that avoided his as she tried to figure out what he was after.

  “Ah, you didn’t forget that tonight is the first night of the Summer Festival, did you?” Belias tried a guess.

  Suddenly, her face seemed awash with relief and he saw her laugh, genuinely, for the first time ever.

  “It seems I did forget!” Rienna admitted, and then pulled her hand away, getting quickly to her feet. She shrugged, unable to meet his gaze. “I … guess I would dance with you… if you asked.”

  With that, Rienna turned and ran back towards Merschenez Castle. Belias stayed there, still dazed by that beautiful laugh he caught on the wind.

  Belias never got to tell her: that was the day he realized he loved her.

  Rienna snapped out of her daze, her hair freshly cut, her companions unable to look away from her now. Dinsch bounced in place a little then bounded over to her.

  “It’s okay, Miss Rienna, we understand. I want to help too!” Dinsch offered, smiling brightly. “You haven’t yet told Krose who we’re looking for, right? So, will you tell us now? We shouldn’t waste tomorrow’s light, right?”

  Rienna nodded and sat by the fire on the opposite side that Krose sat on. Dinsch unconsciously went to sit beside his friend. He noticed Rienna’s eyes studied him now.

  Dinsch was quite tall for a human (monstrous for a rabbit). Though his rabbit genes were albino, as evident by his red eyes and white hair/fur, his skin was quite dark from the sun. His hair was short, plastered to his head save for the hair at the front, which dangled just below his eyebrows. He had no giant rabbit ears; they were quite human in fact but for an obvious point and sparse white hairs. The rabbit fur seemed to be placed expertly: down his neck and spine, arrowed across his pectoral muscles trailing down his stomach (and beyond to where Rienna wouldn’t allow herself to imagine), along the backs of his arms, and sparsely at mid-thigh, from the knees down, the most rabbit-like part was completely covered. His legs were built much like a giant rabbit’s, his human body appearing to end at the knees. He even had a fluffy little white tail jutting out. His thighs were most impressively muscled, but she expected that even the weakest Bryfolk shared that trait. As far as clothes went, at the moment, he wore only a loincloth, but Rienna guessed that he never wore much more than that. She had heard that Folk weren’t too fond of clothing and wore only enough to not be entirely indecent in the human world. This usually meant that they found running around in human undergarments to be wholly acceptable.

  Yes, Rienna nodded silently and thought to herself, Folk really are uncommonly beautiful.

  Rienna’s observations of Dinsch appeared to be quick yet favorable to the two men. She observed Dinsch for no longer than a few seconds before continuing.

  “I appreciate your help, both of you. But this is my journey to make and I cannot let anyone die for my selfishness,” Rienna finally said, her voice hoarse still from her earlier expression of grief.

  Krose spoke now sternly.

  “We appreciate your concern for the both of us, but by my thinking, he and I both would be dead or better off that way if not for you, so it’s best if you not try to fight us on this. We’ve made up our minds already and we’ll see you through this to the bitter end.”

  This left Rienna no room to argue. Their eyes now dared her to protest. She closed her eyes, shaking her head in defeat.

  “Then I guess I have no choice but to humbly accept,” Rienna softly agreed, hiding just how touched she was by that. She had known men to be loyal, mostly out of loyalty to her father, but it was a new thing altogether to earn that respect on her own merit. Rienna’s face became an impassable mask and her words were all business. “The man’s name is Melchior. He was once a soldier of my father’s and best friend to my late husband. Both he and Belias were adopted from the Hargreaves Orphanage of Eastern Ersenais to train with my father. He was supposedly killed pursuing… someone from his childhood… but there was no body found. I know it was him. His face was but a few feet away from my own and he looked … satisfied.”

  Rienna spat out the last word with hatred and disgust. Not just satisfied, but cold and teasing. If Melchior weren’t such a uniquelooking man, she might have told herself it wasn’t him, but there was no mistaking it. The tattoos, the burning hair and bright eyes. Dinsch and Krose nodded gravely. Krose rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  “If this Melchior is the same one I’m thinking of, he must be that lunatic that was testing out an army of piloted machinations to the southeast. They’ve hit a couple other cities too, I’m told,” Krose offered hopefully.

  Rienna’s face lit up with grim recognition.

  “Yes! He was in one of those horrible things when he … when he killed everyone,” Rienna sputtered out, pumped up that she was so close to getting her revenge. Rienna shot to her feet and rushed up to Krose, kneeling before him eagerly. “Where? Where do we find this place?”

  Krose tried to shrug it off easily but he couldn’t hide his pride at being able to help. He knew he shouldn’t just tell her, that she might plan to take the information and go alone, but he was also a light sleeper and she’d have a hard time doing so. Of course, he wasn’t ready to give up that secret.

  “It’s hidden near Peneschal Falls,” Krose said with ease, leaning closer to Rienna and grinning. “And don’t you dare try to sneak off on your own tonight. Not only is Dinsch a light sleeper with keen ears, but you’ll never be able to find your way in without me.”
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br />   At this, Rienna smiled lopsidedly. Okay, so it had crossed her mind to try to sneak off on her own.

  Looked like she was stuck with those two.

  So when morning came, the three of them headed for the great waterfall of Lesthene, Peneschal Falls. Rienna thought it might be best to acquire horses for speed but decided against it. Folk were always disgusted with using animals for transportation, partially because of their origins but also because they were all equipped with some form of speedy transportation: the Bryfolk had powerful sprinter’s legs, the Reishefolk had powerful wings, and so on. Rienna did not think Dinsch would be nasty with her but she did have a feeling he might try to pick Krose and her up and bound off for the falls gleefully. Now was not a time for sore muscles and bruises.

  So they walked.

  It was well in to the day, the sun at its highest point in the sky, before they approached Peneschal Falls warily. It seemed eerily quiet there and Rienna now looked silently at Krose. Krose was frowning deeply in thought, rubbing his chin, and even tapping his index finger there lightly.

  “Are you sure of this, Krose? It looks like a regular waterfall to me,” Rienna finally said.

  If ’regular’ was even a word you could use for such an enormous falling curtain of water… But Krose nodded sharply and started to approach warily. This time, Dinsch and Rienna exchanged a look of doubt behind Krose’s back. They seemed to be heading into the waterfall. There was no way past the water on the side they stood. Krose frowned darkly and turned to Dinsch.

  “It’s your turn now, Dinsch. Hop over to the other side and look for an entrance behind the waterfall,” Krose commanded, a little crossly.

  Dinsch took no offense and bounded effortlessly across the random stones spanning the river. They could no longer see him as Dinsch wrapped around the other side of the falls. After a short while, Dinsch came bouncing back with a big grin on his face.

  “You were right, my friend! There IS an entrance!” Dinsch exclaimed merrily.