by Brian Beam
“Yes?” she replied softly.
I continued to stare into those pools of blue. She would probably have thought I was crazy if I told her that I loved her after such a short time. I couldn’t bring myself to say the three words that rested on the tip of my tongue. “Thank you,” I responded instead, mentally shaking my head at my timidness.
“You said that already,” she said through a yawn.
“Well, I meant it,” I replied, smiling.
I helped lay out a blanket onto the ground for her to sleep on and then covered her with another. She was fast asleep before I finished covering her. I looked down at the face of the woman I now knew I loved and gave her a kiss on her cheek. “I love you,” I whispered even though she couldn’t hear.
I covered her head with the hood of her cloak and stood. I promised myself that I would tell her my feelings in the morning. I had learned pretty quickly in the past weeks that life was fragile and could end at any moment. I wanted to tell her in case I didn’t get the chance to again.
I walked by Til’s sleeping form on the way to the horses which were tethered to a young tree. Til’ must have tethered and fed the horses before he went to sleep.
I silently made my way to Telis, trying not to wake anyone. I pulled out my journal, quill, and an apple. I took watch, sitting on the ground next to the fire as I recounted the previous days’ events and nibbled at the fruit. Even if the spell Prexwin had planted in me was gone and there would be no eldrhims summoned so soon, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving the camp unguarded.
After I finished with my journal entry, I dug out my Contract. One side still bore Lyrak’s horned dragon emblem. The other was completely empty. I tucked it away, planning on asking Max and Sal’ to help destroy it in the morning. I would never use it again.
I could barely keep myself awake. I started walking circles around the camp to rouse myself, but to little success. Even the cold was doing nothing to keep me awake.
Just as I was thinking of waking Til’ to take over the watch, letting Max and Sal’ fully recover after all their magic usage, I heard a slight rustling coming through the grass behind me. I turned, to see Max approaching, the grass parting as he neared. He stopped beside me.
“I see Sal’ seems okay. Was she successful?” he asked.
“She says so,” I replied, hugging my cloak around myself to ward off the cold wind. “How are you feeling Jonasir?”
“I could do with some grilled salmon or some spicy vegetable stew and a little more sleep but—” he stopped, snapping his gaze to me in shock. “I mean, who?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I could read Prexwin’s lips. That was pretty smart to block his voice from my ears, though.”
“Korin...I...” He couldn’t seem to find the words to say.
“It’s okay, Max. You don’t have to tell me anything,” I assured him. “I know you have your reasons for holding back. I trust that you will do everything in your power to help me. Whether you tell me what you’ve held back or not won’t change that. I just wanted to let you know that I figured that part out.”
I couldn’t be angry that Max had known my parents and could have told me about them. He wouldn’t have kept the information from me unless he had had a good reason. He had told me before that he didn’t know how to find my parents, but wanted to do everything he could to do so. I believed that.
Max, or Jonasir, looked out into the night with a dry laugh of his own. “You can call me Jonasir if you wish. Jonasir Spensolin. I have missed that name. I guess you are not as much of a lunkhead as I thought. Between figuring this out and how you came up with that idea on how to kill the eldrhims as they were summoned—” Jonasir paused as he looked at me with glistening beady eyes. “You remind me of your father.”
“Mathual?”
“No, Galvin Lemweir, your real father.”
My breath caught in my throat. I had dreamed of that name, but hearing it out loud set off a million emotions in me at once. I heard Jonasir sigh next to me as we both stared out into the distance. “Korin, there are certain things that you deserve to know. I have been so selfish to hold them back from you. I just need some time to organize my thoughts. First thing tomorrow, I will start telling you the truth.”
My eyes widened in shock. I couldn’t believe that Max—Jonasir—was planning on being open with me about his secrets. He admitted knowing my father, Galvin. If he knew my father, why didn’t he know how to find him?
There were also the memories revealed in my dreams. My mother had indicated that Jonasir did not necessarily agree with me being sent away. Was Raijom the one who thought I should be? Also, Raijom and Jonasir were both supposed to come see me when I was a baby to see if they saw good fortune for my future. Was that when the prophecy had been made? Did Raijom have the prophecy and think I should be sent away because of it while Jonasir disagreed with him? What was the prophecy? It was no wonder that Jonasir needed time to think on how to tell me. My head was already jumbled with questions that branched off into dozens more.
“Take all the time you need, Jonasir,” I told him, even though I found myself impatient for answers now that they were being offered. “I trust you. We better just stick to calling you Max, though. We don’t want to confuse the others.”
Jonasir, or Max for now, gave me a smile. “Get some sleep. I will stand watch for a bit and wake Til’ for his turn.”
“Thanks, Max.” I started towards the horses.
“Oh, and Korin,” Max called from behind me. I turned towards Max. “Menar wanted me to tell you that you have Kailyth’s eyes. She was your mother, and you truly do.”
I smiled back at him as tears welled in my eyes. Again, I had heard her name before and seen those eyes in my dreams, but hearing Max’s words made it more real. “Goodnight, Max,” I called to him.
I dug out two blankets from Telis’ saddlebags and settled in for the night. Sleep was a long time coming. I couldn’t help but dwell on my conversation with Max. The next morning, I would be finally get some answers about my past.
****
The red-robed man was bent over the bassinet. His black goatee was oiled and trimmed to a sharp point beneath his chin. His dark eyes were narrowed with suspicion.
“You cannot be serious,” a brown-robed man with short gray hair and a chest-length gray beard streaked with black accused incredulously. “Surely you are mistaken in what you have prophsized.” The brown-robed man’s voice was raspy and had a lilting quality to it
“Jonasir, this child will kill him with his own hands. I see it clearly. He must be stopped,” the red-robed man hissed, also with a lilt to his voice.
Jonasir seemed taken aback. “Raijom, you cannot mean to kill Ingran. Maybe the prophecy can be averted.”
Raijom stood up and roughly grabbed the front of Jonasir’s robe. “Galvin and Kailyth would never allow their child to be harmed. However, I have a plan to get rid of the child that they will agree to once I have had the chance to coerce them. Once the child has been taken away, then we’ll see about ending the threat for good.”
****
My mind snapped away from the dream, but my eyes did not open. I heard shuffling. Two masculine voices were speaking indistinctly. I thought I could make out one say, “They won’t awaken for at least a day. They’re lucky we don’t have the authority to do any more.”
I thought I heard what sounded like a shutting door and horse hooves galloping into the night with the creaking of wooden wheels from a wagon or carriage along with them. Then, I drifted back into dreams.
Epilogue
Life Just Never Seems To Get Easier
My body was shaking violently. “Korin, wake up. Please!” Til’ was screaming at me. My eyes shot open to see the silver-eyed Kolarin hovering above me with hands on my shoulders as he shook me. His long black hair brushed my face. “Korin, they took them!”
My head felt like it was full of wool. The sky was dark, a slivered moon providing little illumina
tion. My entire body ached. Hunger tore at my stomach. My mouth felt as dry as a fireplace log. My vision was blurry. Til’s face was only recognizable because of the voice coming out of it.
“Whoa there, Til’. What’s going on?” I asked raspily through the aching dryness in my throat.
“Two men from the Wizard Council came by when I was on watch. They made me take them to Sal’. They took her, Korin.” His voice trembled as it rushed out so quickly that I could barely process what he said. My heart skipped a beat.
“Where’s Max? We have to go get her.” I tried to sit up, but my head was spinning and I dropped back to the ground.
“Max tried to stop them. He gave himself away. They took him! They took him, Sal’, and Xalis!” Til’ was absolutely frantic as his words rushed out. “I promised Bhaliel that I would take care of him, Korin. I promised!”
My heart was now slamming into my ribs. My mind tried to organize the information through its fuzziness. As my vision started to clear, so did my mind, and then everything made sense. My ravenous hunger, dry throat, and the darkness indicated a new night. “Til’, how long was I out?”
“It’s the next night, Korin. They spelled us both to make us sleep. I only just woke up. Korin, what are we going to do?”
I had to stay calm. I had to think clearly. Sal’ had mentioned that she wouldn’t go to a wizard guild because her father would send for her. Somehow, Nehril Fellway—Sal’s father, the Grand Wizard—had known where she was. With Sal’ failing the wizard Trials and then setting out to slay a dragon by herself, he must have wanted her brought back before she could embarrass him any further. That meant they were going to the Wizard Academy in Tahron.
“Did they take the horses?” I asked.
“They took everything: Sal’, Max, Xalis, the horses! Everything! What are we going to do? Korin, I promised! Are they going to hurt them?” Til’s voice was shrill with panic.
They wouldn’t hurt Sal’, but I didn’t know about Max and Xalis. I was sure that those two were only taken to be studied in the laboratory of the Wizard Academy. I mean, a magic talking wizard squirrel and a baby dragon enshrouded in the tear of its mother are not exactly common. Surely the horses would be safe from harm.
I tried again to sit up, this time without the dizzying results. I could make out Til’s panicked face clearly now. His silver eyes were wide and welling with unshed tears. His body literally trembled.
“We’re going to get them, Til’. We’ve got to get going. They’re going to Tahron.” I tried to sound as sure as I could, hoping to calm Til’.
Til’ nodded acceptance, but his expression was still filled with dread. I could understand. I was nowhere near calm myself, no matter what my outward appearance suggested. My stomach spun in circles, my heartbeat was irregular, and my breathing was ragged. I was scared to death for the woman I loved and my best friend. I had to find them. I no longer cared if Max ever told me a thing about my past or if Sal’ didn’t share my feelings of love. They were taken against their will and I only cared about getting them back. Raijom would have to wait.
I rose to my feet and realized that I did not feel the comforting weight at my waist. My hands shot to my scabbard and my coin purse. Both were completely empty. They had taken my money, Contract, and sword.
“Those Othanor-blooded—” I couldn’t even finish my sentence in my anger. I could understand if wizards wanted my Contract because of its magical nature and rarity, but why had they taken our horses, supplies, money, and weapons? Getting everyone and everything back was not going to be an easy task without those.
“What’s that?” Til’ asked, spinning away from me and looking out into the darkness. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear the faint sound of hoofbeats in the distance. There were more than one set of hooves pounding across the landscape towards us. I wondered if our horses had broken away from their capture.
“I’m not sure, but maybe our horses got away,” I replied, not quite believing my own words. “Fiella is such a bitch,” I swore under my breath.
Fiella is the goddess of fate. Okay, so maybe I don’t believe in fate, but if it does exist, it was working pretty damn hard against me. For example, the hoofbeats ended up being three mounted horses galloping towards us that were definitely faster than a human and Kolarin on foot. Within the next hour, we found ourselves captured, gagged, and bound over the rump of two of those horses on our way to Byweather. My life just didn’t seem to be getting any easier.
Gods/Goddesses of Amirand
Alysna – goddess of love
Averinax – god of fools
Bryland – goddess of sleep
Caysin – goddess of treachery
Chralex – god of dragons
Delvrish – Kolarin god of mud
Fiella – goddess of fate
Friel – god of rodents
Galandror –god of betrayal/Galyndrid’s twin
Galyndrid – goddess of trust/Galandror’s twin
Helsita – goddess of pottery
Herzil – god of art
Hindren – god of cowardice
Idrolin – goddess of magic
Ilgish – god of slugs
Khamlea – goddess of stubbornness
Lesteal – god of pride
Loranis – god of creation
Malki – god of trouble/mischief
Nansunic – god of livestock
Orylan – god of famine
Othanor – god of thieves
Rhalina – goddess of karma
Rizear – god of death
Utrien – god of dung
Venos – goddess of self-perception
Vesteir – warrior god
Whelion – god of religion
About the Author
Brian Beam was born and raised in Kentucky and is a proud husband and father. He holds degrees in marketing and nursing, following his passion for writing in his free time. He has way too many cats and likes video games a little too much.
Having the pleasure of being a stay at home father for the latter part of 2011, he took the opportunity to write his first book, The Dragon Gem, between diaper changes, feedings, and playtime with his pride and joy.
His writing has been influenced and inspired by some of his favorite authors including Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Jim Butcher, Patrick Rothfuss, and Terry Goodkind.
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