Seran was watching me. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s. It felt like he was searching my soul. It made me shiver. He saw that and a small smile played on his lips. “Now, I suppose, it is my turn to share.” His eloquent nose wrinkled in disgust. He was still reluctant and sighed heavily.
“As you have probably already worked out, I am not from here. I come from a city far away to the north. Gheldea is the northernmost city within the civilised world. Of course there are bands of rogue villages dotted around further north, but they are only barely more civilised than the apes.”
I wondered at what apes were, but I did not want to interrupt him, so stored my question away for later.
“My family is one of the most prestigious. We own more sheep than any other family there and we have three houses on our estates. My uncle is one of the most successful horse traders in the whole region. Growing up in a family like this means two things.” He held up one finger stiffly. “First, you have a great many prospects open to you.” He held up a second finger. “Second, you have a great many expectations put upon you.” He shook his head sadly. “These two together, tie you down into a neat little package and if you do not fit into that package, well, the result is something like this.” He cleared his throat.
“I grew up knowing that someday I would take over my father’s estate. It is what I had been trained for since birth. Early on though, I knew this was not truly what I wanted, but as I said…heavy expectations. It became clear to me that I had considerably more talent with the whips than any of my peers. By my tenth turning, I had the blue crescent awarded.”
Our faces must have gone blank, because he looked at us a moment before starting to explain. “A blue crescent necklace is awarded to those who reach supreme level. The crescent is actually a tusk from the blue spotted boar. It is larger than its cousin the wild boar, and ten times as ferocious. You must kill this boar as a final initiation and they use its tusk for your necklace.”
He reached inside his shirt and pulled out the tusk. “It marks you out as battle ready. This was the first to be awarded to anyone under the eighteenth turning. My master teacher had to argue long with the city elders before they agreed to it.”
He went quiet. Brant opened his mouth to say something, but I silenced him with a severe look. Seran gave his head a small shake. “Not long after my fourteenth turning, the war finally came. Gheldea had been at odds with Dresnin for some years at this point. They were a trading partner, but the Dresnians are a dishonest people. They of course name this astute business sense, bhah, barely short of criminals. Well, this time they had been too ‘astute’ for their own good. Our good King Jadea ordered the attack. As a blue crescent wearer, I was called upon. Age does not matter. Of course, I was eager to go, to test myself among men.”
His eyes drifted off to a faraway place. He took a long drink and ordered another glass of wine before continuing. His face was set in grim lines. “They say your first kill in battle is the hardest. This is not true. At least, for me, it was the second. The first you respond almost with a reflex. It is to save yourself. But then… You watch as the man in front of you cries out in pain. You watch as the life light grows dim and then disappears from his eyes. With the second, you understand exactly what you are doing. You know it is another whose life light will be taken and returned to the sky.”
He shook his head and deep crease between his eyes. “No, the second, that is the hardest. After that, the battle consumes me. Me more than most. This is where my story digresses from what it should have been. When I am in the battle, a frenzy consumes me. My skill multiplies. I am stronger, faster, and accurate to a hair. I do not even tire. That in fact, is one of my weaknesses. Even though I do not tire, my body can only take so much. It burns what energy I have before moving on to consuming my body’s reserves. It continues at full force until suddenly, I have nothing left to give. I can easily allow exhaustion to kill me, going from fighting to debilitated, in the space of a heartbeat. I have come close to this.”
He took another long drink before clearing his throat and continuing. “You may be thinking that I am exaggerating or that this all seems that merely the fight for my life that fuels my skill, but there is more. I said already that I have nearly died in battle from exhaustion. It was not luck that saved me. Once my body started to shut down, something, uh, unexpected happened. Instinctively I had reached for more energy. I took this energy from my enemies. I drank their life light. At first, I did this almost unknowingly, but when I realised what I had done, I knew I had to know if I could control it. With the next battle, I tested it. I could use this at will. I could draw on the life light of several people at once. I take their energy and so, if I continue, I could take it all. I realised I could kill with this.”
I realised my mouth was hanging open and I shut it quickly. I looked at Brant and his face looked the way I felt. “This must be an extremely powerful skill in battle! You could kill several people at once then.”
He nodded, but said, “Yes, but it works very slowly. So in truth, the man you are trying to kill in this way will have you sliced in half before a significant fraction of his life light has disappeared. Also, it seems that if I am not in battle frenzy and battle tired, I cannot use this. It seems only to replenish what I have lost.” I nodded. “So it works as a self-preservation system as opposed to an active attack?” He smiled. “Exactly.”
He went quiet for some time. Brant was chewing on the corner of his lip. “So, I do not understand how this…power, got you to where you are today. From what I have seen and heard that seems to be working as a farmer.”
His eyes went sharp and glittered with something close to anger. “From what Kadin said, it does not seem that your people, including you,” he stabbed an accusatory finger at Brant, “accept someone who is different to them very well either.” Brant was clearly taken aback by this display of temper. He held up his hands and kept quiet.
I asked him softly. “So, they exiled you when you told them of what you could do?” He gave a mirthless smile.
“Not at first. The war was raging. My whips master was commander of our battalion and I went to him with it. I explained what happens to me during battle. I think initially he did not believe me, or at least he thought I was mistaken. He posted me close to him during the next battle and he saw for himself. After the battle, he questioned me for a long time about it and afterwards, I was always posted on the front line. In name, at least I was promoted to captain. Everyone wanted to speak to me, to be close to me during battle. I would even say I was popular.”
He shook his head. “The day came that the war ended and we returned home as heroes. At least at first. My father was supremely proud of me. Until he learnt of how I had attained such status. The elders convened and declared that I must be working with dark powers. That it was unnatural. They declared me disowned and exiled.”
I gaped. A man who had obviously come from such an important family was thrown out that easily. They had known him his whole life, known his family. It even sounded as though his own father had turned against him. I wondered if I would have suffered the same fate had they found out about Markai.
The night was getting old and we all decided to go. When we walked out though, I said to Seran, “Do you mind if I walk with you for a time?” He shrugged.
I turned to Brant. “I will see you tomorrow. We can discuss then what we do next.” His face went a bit sour, but he simply nodded and strode away. I waited until Brant was well out of earshot. We were walking along towards Seran’s house. He looked at me with sharp green eyes. “So tell me what you did not want to say in front of Brant.”
I grimaced. I hoped that Brant had not concluded the same. “There is a part of my story that I left out. Brant does not know and I am not sure that I want him to know yet.” He nodded and waited for me to continue. “I think it is easiest if I show you.” I called to Markai. She appeared and showed herself to Seran as well. He hastily took a few steps back, rea
ching for his whips. I held up a hand. “Do not worry. She will not harm you.”
He gaped with his mouth half open. He looked from me to Markai. “You control this animal?” I could feel her indignation at being called an animal. I hastily explained the bond between us, and that she was Qupari, of the Fae.
He still looked awed. “You are blessed with this bond, I think. Better than having even a brother next to you in battle. Why have you not told Brant?” I squirmed a bit at the question. I have been asking myself that over and over. “I am not certain yet if I can trust him. We have not yet told you his story.”
He shook his head a bemused smile appearing on his lips. “You grew up with this man and you do not trust him…yet. You have known me for a few hours and you trust me?”
I realised the truth behind his words, but rather than admit this lapse of care I shrugged as casually as I could. “You seem to have faced a similar situation as I. I hope you do not prove my trust misplaced.” The corners of his mouth twitched into a small enigmatic smile, but he said nothing.
I walked a short while with him talking of small things. We arranged to meet for lunch at the Blue Moon tavern the next day.
After we parted, I walked back towards Rose inn. After what Seran had told us of this inn, I would be looking for new accommodation for the remainder of my stay in Medirea. Markai was walking with me and I told her of what we had learned of Seran. She was pleased that we had found him so quickly. I asked if she knew where we were to go next, she said that she did not, but would try to find out more from the other Fae. She thought they might have some information that would be useful. I would be grateful for any direction at this point, as I had no idea where to go or what to do next.
Brant was sitting outside our inn when I arrived. I kept my face carefully blank. He got to his feet as I approached. He looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable. “You know, I wish I could say you can trust me. I know right now, you can, but what the Cha told me deeply disturbed me. I cannot imagine betraying everything I love at home, but he assured me that there was equal chance for me being good and being evil.” He shuffled his feet and shook his head. “I know about that creature of yours.”
Before I could moderate my response, I burst out. “What? You followed me?”
His face went a bit harder. “No. I knew all along. I just wanted to say that I understand why you did not trust me with this, but I hope that you will accept that I am trying to clear the air.”
Immediately I thought back on the half-heard conversation between Jamber and Brant. “It was Jamber wasn’t it? He betrayed me. I did not believe it at first. Convinced myself it could not be.” My fists were clenched into tight balls. He opened his mouth to say something, but I pushed past him roughly. As I walked away, I said over my shoulder, “We are meeting Seran at the Blue Moon for lunch.”
The next morning I spent leisurely exploring the town. I knew I was avoiding Brant, but I was still angry with him. Just outside the centre of the city was a low green hill with a lone tree at the top. I climbed up and sat with my back against the trunk. From here, I had a reasonable view over the city and the breeze was cool and fresh on my face. My thoughts drifted to what I needed to do now. Obviously, I needed to find the next person, but where to look? I called to Markai and she appeared as always out of thin air. She sat on her haunches next to me. “Have you any new information?”
Barely. All I know is that you must continue north. That and it is a woman you seek.
I chewed my lip. Not much, but at least I had a direction. “Thank you, we will set out today. What do you think of Seran?”
I could sense her approval. He seems a good man, if perhaps a bit bitter. I think we can trust him. At least as much as we can trust anyone at this point. Her approval was better than having known him a year. We sat in companionable silence watching the city’s people go about their daily lives completely unaware of the danger that was awakening. As I was not long ago.
I was the first to arrive at the Blue Moon. Most likely because I had not eaten any breakfast so my stomach had chased me there. I chose a table near the entrance where they could easily see me when they arrive.
I became aware of two men watching me. I do not think I would have picked up on it except for the fact that I was watching out for Brant and Seran. They had untouched ale in front of them. They barely spoke to one another. I wondered if they were the same two who had been asking about us back in Pharae. They were not wearing cowls to cover their faces, but that did not mean much.
I reached for Navitas and my hearing sharpened, as did all my other senses. I listened carefully, trying to pick out their murmured words from the dull hum in the room. Even then, I could barely make out anything.
A hoarse voice was speaking. “…we supposed to do.”
Another answered. “We watch, we wait and we report back.”
The first one snorted and spoke again. “I don’t understand why we do not simply stop him. We have the ability between us. He will only grow stronger.”
The clipped response came as if spoken through gritted teeth. “I have told you, that is not our orders. We follow orders.” He punctuated the last words as if he had repeated them several times already.
I jumped with surprise when Seran sat down across from me. I had been concentrating so much on listening to their conversation that I had not even noticed him enter.
The corners of his mouth quirked up with amusement. “You look a little jumpy.”
I frowned at him. “As soon as Brant arrives we need to leave.”
His smile disappeared at the tone of my voice. “Why, I thought you did not even know where we are going? Where did all this urgency come from?”
I dropped my voice to a whisper and he leaned in to hear. “I am being watched. The two men four tables over. No, don’t look! They are talking of watching me and reporting back to someone. I think one of them wants to kill me.”
His eyes narrowed. “How could you know what they were speaking of from over here? I doubt they were announcing their plans.” I cocked my head to one side and gave him a look that I hoped said, think that over.
Brant was still not there so in order to keep up appearances we ordered some drinks. I grimaced when I realised that was exactly what the two Watchers had done. To my relief, a few minutes after our drinks arrived, Brant appeared. I realised that I had been wondering if he would turn up at all.
He sat down with a face like stone. I quickly told him of the Watchers and filled Seran in on the two men who had been asking about Brant and me in Pharae.
He glanced over to them. “Why would we run? They are hardly going to come over here and kill us in broad daylight. If they are indeed the same men as from before then they are not only determined, but also patient. Besides if we leave now, they will know that we know about them.”
I had to admit that it made sense. Brant ordered a drink and our conversation turned to our plans. Brant looked over at Seran with a frown on his face. “You do not seem to mind leaving everything behind at the word of men you do not know.”
He shrugged. “It is not like I am leaving behind much. That I already had to do. I am a good judge of character, so I trust Kadin.”
Brant glared at him, but I could see Seran’s effort at hiding his smile. “Seran, how long before you are ready to leave?”
He gave a small shrug. “Tonight.” I nodded. “Taking those two into consideration I do not think we want to leave when they expect, otherwise chances are that we will be followed. We will go our separate ways and slip out a couple of hours before dawn. We will meet you on the north road.”
Excitement lit his eyes and he nodded eagerly. “So you know now where we must go?”
I realised that I had not told them of Markai’s information. “Markai has managed to find out we must head north, but where to I do not know. She has also said it is a woman we search for.”
Brant smiled. “That should make this a bit more interesting.” I rolled my eye
s and shook my head.
I called Markai before we started towards the Rose inn. It was unlikely they would attack out in the open, but I thought it best to be cautious. Seran needed a lot of convincing before he would agree to set foot near the inn.
Brant looked around. “It does not seem they are following.”
I shook my head. “They are.” If Markai had not been following some distance behind us, I would not have thought they were either.
We sat down to dinner in the common room. Rose gave Seran such a contemptuous look when we arrived that I was certain they must have had words in the past. The food consisted of thick pork sausages with vegetables all covered in rich gravy.
Markai kept an eye on the Watchers. They had gone into a tavern across the road from the Rose and were sitting at the window facing the street. They were obviously watching to see if we leave. I could only hope that they would leave later, assuming that we have gone to sleep.
When the solemn serving girl came to clear our dishes, I saw Seran pressing a handful of gold coins into her palm. Her eyes went as wide as saucers before she hurriedly looked around to check if anyone had seen. The broad smile that blossomed across her lips transformed her face. She was quite beautiful. She dropped a quick curtsy and rushed away with our plates. Brant was looking at Seran contemplatively.
Late into the night, Seran set off towards his home. “Shall I not ask Markai to walk with you?”
He snorted with derision. “I know how to take care of myself. It is more useful to know where the Watchers are and whether they still watch.” He turned and walked off.
Brant slept on the floor of my room that night. We took turns to sleep not trusting to wake in time if we both nodded off. Markai let me know just after midnight that the Watchers had left and gone into another inn further up the road. Presumably, they were staying there. She told me this while still outside their inn and I found myself idly wondering to what distance this communication between us would work. As I did not get an answer to my musing from Markai, I thought she must not know either.
Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One Page 15
