Inside thick dark wood beams crisscrossed below the ceiling. There was a head of what I assumed was a red deer, mounted on the wall opposite the entrance. We sat down at a table by a window overlooking the street. The roast chicken dinner was cooked to perfection. I used my bread to mop up the last of the gravy in my plate. Brant and Seran had a second portion. It was full dark out, but every building that I could see through my window had lanterns hanging out front, bathing the street in a dim glow. The streets were busier now than when we came in.
I called the serving girl back over and asked her if there was something going on this evening.
She smiled broadly. “This is what Brailen is famed for. We have an evening street market. It is quite wonderful. You should go out and enjoy it.”
We decided to do just that when Brant and Seran had finished their food, but Trissa insisted that she needed to have a bath first and Seran in turn insisted we wait for her to finish. In the end we all sent for bath water to our rooms and washed, albeit some quicker than others.
When we finally got out, I expected to see that we had missed it all, but quite the opposite was true. The streets were packed with people. There were fiddlers, jugglers and singers every few feet. I noticed some of the lamps had a strange flickering quality, unlike a candle. I walked up to one and was amazed to see there was something alive inside. Small flying insects were producing the light. I thought it one of the most delightful things I had ever seen. There were tables and chairs out in the middle of the street and serving girls were bringing food and drink out from the surrounding taverns and inns. Each table had a lamp with the strange glow insects, throwing a soft light across it. Music drifted across the air from some unseen source.
The stalls sold everything from the mundane to the strange. Some of them sold what I would expect at any market; food, pots, brooms, but then we came across a stall selling weapons. It had the usual swords and daggers, but it also sold star shaped metallic discs and other curiosities.
The stall keeper saw that I was looking at them. “They are throwing stars they are. Saw a fellow bring down a buck with one o’ them, I did. Might not think it lookin at dem, but I tell ye, sharp as razors an’ deadly to boot. I do ye a deal. I give ye three for a gold mark.”
Before I could respond, Brant snorted. “You must be kidding. Three can’t be worth more than a silver piece at most.”
The keeper’s back stiffened and the glitter in his eyes dulled a bit. Clearly, he was offended.
I quickly interjected. “Thank you sir, but I do not think we will be purchasing them.” He clasped his hands behind his back and gave a small nod, his mouth turned down at the corners. I continued browsing the items. Among the display was a dagger with three blades. A straight one in line with the hilt and two curling away from the main shaft near the hilt. It had a sturdy hand guard, but I still shivered thinking how easily you can injure yourself as opposed to your enemy.
More in an effort to break the tension that had formed, I asked the keeper, “It seems odd to have a stall such as this in the market. Do you have trouble in the area?”
His face brightened a bit as he said, “Not yet, but from wha’ we hear it may not be long before we do.”
I frowned. “What have you heard then?”
His eyes stretched a fraction. “You not heard? Trouble stirring all round from wha’ we hear. Everything from border troubles to people rioting in the best of towns is wha’ we hear. More and more rumours flyin’ about each day now. ‘S why I say not long now and we’ll be havin’ trouble here as well.” This was disturbing news. I wondered whether it could be linked with the stirring of Rakadamon.
Seran was looking at some of the whips on display and disdainfully sniffed at them. The keeper’s eyes snapped to him. Hurriedly I pulled at his arm and led him away saying a quick thank you over my shoulder.
Brant looked at me condescendingly. “You do realise, don’t you, you do not have to be friends with everyone?”
Indignant, I shook my head. “I was not trying to be friends with him, but you tend to catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” He looked at me blankly. “He had some information. I wanted to know what that information was.”
He shook his head. “Right.” His voice was heavy with sarcasm. “You don’t actually believe what he said? For blood’s sake, he is a weapons dealer; he probably stirs up rumours himself to increase his trade.” He shook his head disparagingly. I supposed that he may have a point, but still resolved to keep my ears sharp for more of the same.
We started back to the Red Deer. A crowd thronged the streets and we had to weave our way through. I looked over my shoulder to see if the others were still following. My heart skipped a beat and my stomach felt as though I had swallowed a stone. The Watchers were in the crowd, looking directly at me.
Brant shoved me. “You can’t stop dead in your tracks right in front of me, not in a crowd like this!” I had taken my eyes away from them for but a second, but when I looked back, they were gone.
I hurried on to the inn. Once we were clear of the crowd, I told them that we had not succeeded in evading our pursuers after all.
Seran shook his head. “That is not possible. We were sure that they had not followed us out of Medirea. How would they have found us? Despite the lanterns, it was still pretty dim, perhaps you were mistaken?”
I shook my head firmly. “It was them. They were looking directly at me. I am sure.”
We slept doubled up that night despite having paid for individual rooms. Trissa had looked scandalised when we said she should sleep in Seran’s room, but was convinced easily enough.
Brant and I went to our usual drawing of lots to decide who gets the bed. Neither one of us were willing to share the very narrow bed with the other. We barred the window and door as best we could, although the window was too small for someone to climb through. It was a restless night with both my worry about the Watchers and Brant’s near constant grumbling about having to sleep on the floor waking me up.
We were up and at the table for breakfast barely after dawn. Soon after, Seran and Trissa arrived. I waited for everyone to sit down before speaking. “We need to deal with the Watchers. We cannot keep running from them.”
Brant murmured agreement and Seran said, “Agreed, so what do we do?”
I raised my eyebrows. “We know they follow us, so we go about as normal. Once we are certain they are there, we lead them to some place secluded, most likely outside the city and away from any spectators. Then we confront them. Markai can herd them along if they do not follow into the open.” The serving girl arrived with our breakfast; a large plate of fruit followed by sausages and fried eggs.
I turned to Trissa. “What are your plans? You do not need to be a part of this. You can go off on your own to someplace safe.”
She hesitated for a moment before answering in a soft voice. “I will leave your party if you ask me to.”
That was not at all what I had asked, but before I could answer, Seran did. “Of course Kadin is not asking you to leave.”
He shot me a glare telling me that he was telling me as much as her. “I would not feel comfortable leaving you here. Besides, the Watchers may think her a member of our group. They may come after her. I think she is safest with us.”
I kept my face smooth and nodded. What he said made sense, but I could not help but wonder if he would ever feel happy to leave her behind.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
After the joviality of the night before, the streets seemed eerily quiet and devoid of people. We ambled along pretending interest in the few shops that were open. By lunchtime, I was starting to question whether I had actually seen them. We found a large green park with benches and trees offering welcome shade. Taking out the flask of wine, cooked ham and fresh bread that we had brought, we sat down on one of the benches. We made light conversation and for a while, I could forget the reasons that had brought us there.
I lay down on the grass looking up at the sun glittering do
wn through the leaves of the big Nightshade tree. Trissa and Seran were sitting close together on the bench talking softly with a giggle coming from her every so often. Brant gave a disgusted grunt and lay down next to me.
I found my thoughts drifting to Aliana. I wondered when I would see her again and if she thought about me, and then reprimanded myself for it. She had after all not shown interest in me beyond being my friend, had she?
It was becoming clear that the Watchers had no intention of revealing themselves easily. I called Markai and she seemed to appear out of the thin air, as though she had been there all along. I told her of our plan and that it didn’t seem to be working. I asked her to have a look around to see if she could find their scent. She loped off into the surrounding trees.
I did not have a long wait before she found them. What shall I do? Do you want to confront them?
I thought for a moment. Yes. Tell me where they are exactly and we will come to them. If they see us approaching and try to get away, stop them, but just keep them there. I answered.
I explained to the others what had happened and we set off in the direction Markai had given. I quickly spotted the thick patch of trees that she had shown me. As we drew nearer, I saw movement amongst the trunks.
Suddenly the two Watchers came striding out towards us. It seemed Markai was frog marching them out. By the sullen expression on their faces, they did not get much say in the matter. When they were some ten paces away, I held up a hand. “That is close enough.”
One of them was very tall and broad shouldered. He had long blond hair hanging well down his back. His face was slim with large grey eyes sparkling with anger. The second man could be the twin of the first, except for being of shorter stature and his long hair was black.
“You have been following us from Pharae. Who are you and what do you want of us?” Brant asked angrily.
He snorted. “We have not been following you, we have been following you.” He stabbed a finger at me and sniffed. “You are supposedly the one who will lead the Resistance, but we have our doubts.”
When he stood there silently looking at me in defiance, I said, “So, you are seeing if I will fail?”
They are of the Fae, Markai suddenly told me.
“I know you are of the Fae, but who are you exactly?” They looked at each other uncertainly for a moment and then looked over their shoulder at Markai.
The shorter one spoke up stiffly in a high voice. “We are of the Guardians. I am Luan and this is Pharis. We were entrusted with finding the Preserver and Protector. We do not believe he has been found.” Looking me up and down he said coldly, “You are not him.”
I frowned. “Do you mean to say the guardians are divided on this matter?”
They looked at each other with exasperation. “No we stand strong together.” Loudly he continued. “Of course that is what I am saying. Once it was announced that they believed they had found the one we seek, we discussed the merits of the claim. We voted on it, it was a narrow margin, but they won. We were forced to acquiesce and accept.”
Brant looked from them to me with eyebrows climbing towards his hairline. “How would you know that you have found the right person? Is there some sort of test you could do?”
Pharis clicked his tongue and sighed. “You humans need to learn to think about things before asking. What do you think, little human? Do you think that if there was some sort of magical test we could do, that we may have done it by now?” His voice had risen as he spoke to a near shout. They certainly were in bad humour. He looked at me with an unreadable expression, almost as if he would be willing to cut me open and have a look inside if that meant he could see if I were the one.
I shivered under that gaze, but kept my voice level. “So what are you doing?”
He flicked his long hair back over his shoulder almost regally. “We are watching. We see you have gathered two followers already. Perhaps if you manage to gather them all and then muster the army that will be required, you are the one. Either way, we have other people searching for a replacement should that become necessary.” He looked at Brant with ice in his eyes. “We do not understand why you would allow him to follow as well.” He looked back at me his head cocked to one side and one eyebrow lifted.
I was taken aback. I thought the way he had said I had two followers meant that it was a good thing.
I must have looked lost for words, because Brant gave me an irritated look. “I follow, because I mean to fight in the Resistance. Why should he not let me follow anyway?”
They both narrowed their eyes. In his high voice, Luan said, “You must be aware of who you are of what you will do. It is a noble pursuit to try to better yourself, if in most cases futile.” He turned his grey eyes on me. “You must know you have a wolf among sheep. He may be wearing a woolly coat, but he is still a wolf.”
I had had enough of this pious talk coming from these two who had been sneaking about in shadows. “People can choose which destiny they follow. Nothing is written in stone. I believe he will choose the right path.” I was relieved my voice did not betray the doubt I felt.
Luan held up his hands. “Every man’s folly is his own.”
Seran who had been quiet all this time spoke. “Where do we go from here? You sneak after us like thieves in the night, or you join our party?”
Their laughter was like bells ringing and as annoying as a stone in your shoe. Luan managed to contain his laughter long enough to say, “We will not be joining your little party and yes we will be watching, but we will come to you to take reports of progress. After all, as Guardians, we are obliged to help the chosen one.” His mouth turned down at the corners as if the words themselves tasted foul. Still chortling, they turned and strode off. They walked back toward the trees where Markai had found them. I wondered where they were going, but while I was still watching them they disappeared into thin air.
I had not even noticed the light failing. We started back to our inn talking of what they had told us. I wondered at the apparent division between the Guardians. Quiniewa had never said anything about any of them having doubts. In fact, she had reprimanded me when I found this all hard to believe and I truthfully thought that I had been rather open, considering the enormity of what she had told me. However, it was becoming clear that things were not so straightforward.
For blood’s sake, what if I was not the one? I was risking my life, being hunted by nightmarish creatures, surely they could not have been wrong about me, could they? Thinking about it in this way, I realised how much I had believed and accepted it. I guess everyone believes that their life was meant to be more than what was right in front of them, more than the normal. Some find that meaning in travel, some in romance or their children, some in war. I believed that my destiny was beyond the petty, beyond the self-gratifying. Had I been so desperate for my life to mean something more that I had deluded myself in this?
That evening we went back out to see the night market. We took a seat at one of the lantern lit tables and a serving girl quickly appeared. I did not even know from which establishment she came. Her long brown curls swayed as she walked. She smiled brightly at us.
She let her eyes linger for a moment on Brant before sweeping them over the table. “What can I get you?” She nodded to each order and gave Brant another smile showing a flash of white teeth before hurrying to get our drinks.
I grinned at him. “I think you have caught her interest Master Almeer.” He squirmed in his chair and shook his head, but did not say anything. When she returned with our drinks, I could have sworn he looked shy. I would attribute a great many descriptions to him, but shy would never have been one of them.
Our conversation quickly turned to where we were going next. Seran was shaking his head. “Surely there must be an easier way to find these people. You do not know who they are, you do not have a description of them, you do not even know how many there are to find!”
I sighed. We have had this conversation before and it was startin
g to taste stale in my mouth. While we were talking, a young woman caught my eye. I would know those eyes in any crowd.
I stood up as she approached. She was wearing a red woollen dress, finely embroidered along the collar and hem with sparkling flowers. It may only have been a woollen dress, but on her, it seemed to be the finest silk.
She walked around the table and gave me a tight hug. When she let me go, I saw the others were gaping at me. Brant’s mouth was actually hanging open. I drew out a chair for her and she gracefully sat down.
Before I sat down, I made the introductions. “I would like you all to meet Quiniewa,” she inclined her head slightly, as elegant as a queen. “Quiniewa, this is Seran, Trissa, and Brant.” I indicated to each of them in turn. She smiled and it transformed her from merely beautiful to stunning. I saw Brant’s mouth starting to drop open again before he caught himself and snapped it shut. Trissa was pouting and looking from Seran to Quiniewa, clearly jealous of his appreciation of her beauty.
She sat quietly looking at each of us in turn. She waited until we were all paying rapt attention to her before speaking in her melodious voice. “As Kadin has told you I am one of the Guardians. I have come for two reasons today.” She looked at me, her golden eyes sparkling. “First, it has come to my attention that you have met Luan and Pharis. They are of a mind that if they observe you for long enough, you will make some error that will prove them right.”
I kept my voice level as I asked, “That I am not the one meant to lead the Resistance?” She nodded. “I did not tell you of this faction, because there was no reason to. They are wrong. They had always assumed it would be one of the Fae that would rise up to lead the Resistance and they cannot accept that it is in a fact a human. Their pride has blinded them. When you assume something for so many years, to you that assumption becomes a fact. They are egotistical and that will be their downfall. Having said that, they are still Guardians and therefore, I do not believe they will hinder you. You will have to tolerate them.”
Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One Page 17
