“We are all who have chosen to remain.”
“What happened to the rest?”
The woman glanced to the others at the table before turning back to Jakob. “They have left.”
“By choice, or were they taken?” Had he waited too long to search for them?
“They… left,” the woman said again.
The door opened with a violent slam, and a man dressed in brightly colored robes strode into the room, immediately focusing on Jakob. A dozen soldiers followed him.
The king. It had to be.
The king considered Jakob for a moment. “You will not harm them,” he said.
“I have no intention of harming them,” Jakob said.
“They have suffered enough.”
The way that he said it made it seem as if the king had some experience with the madness, and the effect that it had on others. “I agree that they have suffered enough. How long have they been recovered?”
The king shook his head. “Not for long. Not nearly as long as they were sick. And now that they have finally started to recover, you would come and abduct them? Are you with the Deshmahne?”
Jakob frowned. “Do you believe the Deshmahne have been claiming these people?”
“I have some experience with the Deshmahne. I am fully aware of what they are willing to do, and the sacrifice they force upon those they choose to torment.”
It was Jakob’s turn to study the king. There was a hard edge to him, but it seemed to conceal compassion. Why else would the king keep those who had suffered under the madness in a room where he could keep an eye on them and protect them?
“Who did you know that suffered?”
The king hesitated. “What does it matter?”
With the question, Jakob knew that he had the right of it. The king had lost someone he cared about. It wasn’t his father. Jakob had heard the story of how King Richard had perished during an attack—the same attack that had led the groeliin south. Could it be a brother like Jakob?
“I lost my brother to the madness,” Jakob said. “Though he has recovered, he still isn’t the same person he once was.”
The king glanced at the others in the room before turning his attention back to Jakob. “My mother.”
If the king had lost his mother to the madness, that meant that she had suffered years ago. It would have been long enough ago that there would have been no way Jakob’s impact on the fibers would have been able to save her.
“How long ago did she die?”
“Long enough.” The king crossed his arms over his chest. He took a deep breath and stood as tall as he could, which still was not nearly as tall as Jakob. “Why are you here if not to try and abduct these people?”
“I’m here to ensure that someone who might try to influence them does not have the opportunity.”
“What type of influence?”
“The High Priest.” If the king had experience with the Deshmahne, perhaps mentioning how Jakob wanted to keep Raime away from these people would help convince the king to align with him. He seemed to have some experience with the Deshmahne, and if he had been one of the delegates for the Magi, it was possible that his experience with the Deshmahne had come while in Vasha.
“The High Priest has not been seen in quite some time.”
“Because I defeated him. That doesn’t mean that he will not continue to attempt to attack. He has others he works with, and those others are the ones that I’m concerned about now.” Jakob hated that it was his brother who was one of the others that he referred to. He hated the fact that he would soon be forced to chase his brother and discover what Scottan might be planning on behalf of Raime.
“How would you have defeated him? From what I’ve seen of the Deshmahne, even the Magi would have a difficult time defeating them. The Deshmahne have power much like the Magi, and are much less afraid to use violence.”
Jakob nodded. “The Deshmahne use violence, and you might be surprised that there are some Magi who are willing to fight the Deshmahne in a similar fashion. There are others with the ability to confront them.”
The king considered Jakob for a moment. “I have met one such other who made a similar claim.”
“Who?”
“He called himself the Hunter.”
Jakob smiled. “Brohmin came through here?” He shouldn’t have been surprised. This would have been a natural port for Brohmin to come to on his way to the south, but Jakob hadn’t the chance to ask him about it before.
The king tipped his head to the side. “You know him.”
“I know him. I traveled with him for quite some time.”
“Why did he head toward Polle Pal?”
“Access.”
“What kind of access?”
“The kind that allowed him to find a way to reach the Deshmahne priests.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I asked him to see if he could counter the effect of the priests.”
“And you command him? He is your man?”
Jakob suppressed a laugh. The idea of him commanding Brohmin was laughable, especially considering how fiercely independent he knew Brohmin to be. “I don’t know that I command him, but I do work with him.”
“I’ve heard rumors about Brohmin.”
“What kind of rumors?”
“The kind the Magi would likely prefer to keep suppressed.”
Those were secrets that Brohmin would keep to himself, and not ones that Jakob would share. How could he explain that Brohmin had been gifted power from one of the damahne to someone who likely viewed the damahne as gods?
“Brohmin is… Brohmin.”
The king laughed, and it cut off as a dark-haired woman entered the room. She was dressed in a deep navy-colored dress that hung to her ankles, and her long raven hair hung in waves past her shoulders. She was lovely, and she looked at the king with obvious affection.
“Allay? What is this?”
Her gaze drifted to Jakob, and her eyes widened.
She bowed her head and dropped to one knee. “Great One,” she said.
The king frowned. “Mendi?”
She didn’t look up.
How was it that this woman recognized Jakob as damahne? Was she part of the Conclave? Nahrsin had recognized him as damahne, though he had done so at a time before Jakob realized what he was, and what that meant. How many others would recognize him? It had been so long since the gods had been seen in the world, that Jakob didn’t think anyone should be able to recognize him.
“Please stand,” he said.
The woman rose carefully and looked up before casting her gaze back down to her feet. “Great One. Why have you come here?”
He glanced to Malaya. Perhaps the best answer was simply the truth. “I’ve come to ensure those I’ve healed continue to recover.”
With this, Mendi did look up and glanced at the others in the room. “This was you?”
“Their recovery.”
“Why not before now?” she asked.
It was a fair question and one that troubled Jakob. Why had Alyta not known about what had happened to the fibers? Even if she couldn’t have restored them, she should have known enough about the fibers to know what influence Raime had upon them. Yet she had blamed herself, rather than thinking it Raime who had been responsible for what had taken place.
“Before now, I didn’t have access to any power,” Jakob said.
The woman considered him for a moment. “What do you intend to do with them?”
Jakob glanced to the king before looking at the people sitting at the table. They were thin and barely recuperating, but he could detect the faint beginning of a connection to the ahmaean within them, and could tell that they would have access to power, though it would take some time. For now, they needed help and guidance. If they would allow it, he could provide that guidance.
“I can offer them a chance to understand.”
“Understand what?” Allay demanded.
Jakob
turned to him. “I would allow them to understand what they can be.”
Mendi looked over at those seated at the table. “What could they be?”
Jakob pressed out with his connection to his ahmaean, letting it sweep over Mendi as well as the others in the room. “There is a reason these people suffered. It is unfortunate what happened to them, but I would help them understand why, and what they can now do.”
As Mendi nodded, the king looked at her and shook his head. “We’ve already lost so many of them,” he said.
“This is different, Allay.”
“How is it different? If he intends to take them from us, how do we know that he won’t harm them?”
“Can’t you see it?”
“See what?”
“Look at him, Allay. We are standing before a Great One. He is one of the gods. What choice do we have but to help?”
Jakob glanced over to Malaya. They needed allies, but that didn’t mean all their allies had to have power. Could he use Allay and Mendi?
What choice did he have? Without knowing quite what Raime intended, what else could he do but prepare for all possibilities?
“Here is what I would ask of you,” he started.
Chapter Seventeen
The inside of the Tower had more activity now that more people were here, and Jakob enjoyed the noise and the chaos around him. The six people from Gomald had joined with the others from Chrysia. Jakob would need to attempt to walk the fibers, and see if he could reach any of them and activate their connection to ahmaean, but first, he would let them get acclimated.
The glowing orbs within the main hall provided plenty of light for him to see, and he looked at the faces around the room. Most had suffered much, but there was a look of hope and optimism on their faces that had finally begun to replace the confusion and uncertainty they had shown when he first had brought them to the Tower.
“There are more out there,” Malaya said. She watched the newcomers as they sat at a table with Paden and Adam, two of the other damahne who were most interested in leading. Bethanne sat with them, though she was quiet. She had some potential, more than many of the damahne Jakob had awoken, but she had been reserved since his return from saving Malaya and the others that had been captured by the massive groeliin in Chrysia.
“Yes, there are. That’s why I need to ask of you a favor.” He had asked that Allay coordinate with the other rulers, preparing for the possibility of another attack. It might not even be necessary, but if it was, he preferred to be prepared. Anything he could do to prevent the darkness needed to be done. He would find a way to bring balance.
Malaya pulled her gaze away from the newcomers and considered Jakob. “Why do I get the sense that this favor is not something I will particularly care for?”
“We need to continue looking for more victims of the madness. Finding these people in Gomald has proven that Chrysia wasn’t the only city afflicted by the madness. We need to travel to other cities and see how many more we can rescue. That is our responsibility now.”
Malaya watched him, a smile coming across her face. “By our, I presume that you mean my.”
Jakob nodded. “While you do this, I need to find Scottan.”
“And when you find him? What is it that you plan to do? Do you think you will be strong enough to stop your brother?”
Jakob squeezed his eyes shut. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“You can hope, but I think you need to be prepared for the possibility that it will come to that. If it does, what do you intend to do?”
The idea of harming his brother, even if his brother attempted to attack him, made him uncomfortable. He had always looked up to Scottan. His brother had always been the one to do the right thing, at least Jakob had always believed that.
Could it be that Scottan didn’t?
He had to know.
“I intend to do all that is necessary. This has to end. Raime has to be stopped. The more of us he manages to influence, the more dangerous he becomes.”
“I will do what you ask. I will go to other cities and see if I can’t find those who were afflicted by the madness, but you need to be prepared for what else we might face. We’ve already faced the groeliin once, what if the High Priest sends more against us?”
Jakob shook his head. “We’ve faced the groeliin more than once. I don’t doubt that he will send them against us again. I can only hope that when he does, we find a way to stop them more easily.”
“What do you intend to do?”
Jakob thought about what he needed to do and realized that whatever it was, it would involve going after his brother. And in order to find him, Jakob might need to risk more than what he had been willing to risk before.
How could he not?
With what he’d seen, how could he do anything but attempt to try to find where his brother had gone and discover what he and Raime might be up to?
“Do what you can with them,” he said to Malaya. “And see what other places you can find with damahne.”
She studied him a moment and then nodded.
“What about you?”
“I intend to take a risk.”
He shifted, appearing in his room on one of the upper levels of the Tower. It was a room that had once been Shoren’s. Jakob chose to use it, mostly because he felt a sense of obligation to honor what Shoren had done, and the way Shoren had attempted to maintain peace over the years.
Within the room was the teralin chair that Jakob had brought here. He took a seat in it, and as he did, the nemerahl appeared.
What you intend to do is dangerous, she said.
What choice do I have? I need to find where they might be, and what they might do, before they attack again.
I didn’t say it wasn’t necessary. Only that I think it’s dangerous.
Is it anything you can help me with? She hadn’t helped when he went back to look for Raime, so didn’t expect much now.
I can attempt to protect you, but even in that, with your ability to touch the fibers as thoroughly as you do, I might not be able to offer as much protection as you will need.
It was something at least. If nothing else, the nemerahl could ensure that Scottan didn’t discover too much about him, and maybe he could find his brother before Raime was aware that Jakob was even looking.
He took a seat in the chair and closed his eyes, drawing his ahmaean inward. He didn’t hesitate as he used the chair, and the Tower itself, to augment his ahmaean, drawing enough power for him to step outside of the fibers.
Jakob didn’t want to take too long with this task. He wanted to quickly discover where his brother had gone so that he could find Raime.
Reaching Scottan’s strand was easier than reaching someone he wasn’t related to. Jakob traveled back along his own strand, reaching his parents, and from there he was able to find the branching strand that indicated Scottan. There were several bright lights representing various niduses along his strand. He needed keep following the strand to find where his brother had gone, but curiosity overcame him, and he plunged into one of his brother’s niduses.
Jakob opened his eyes, pulling himself to the back of his brother’s mind.
When would this be? What event had been important enough for his brother to have a nidus? It would be early in his life, not very far along his strand, not at a time when Jakob would have expected his brother to have a nidus, though he wasn’t all that well versed in what prompted a nidus to form.
A familiar stone building rose around him. It was the Urmahne temple—years before the temple had collapsed, and subsequently been rebuilt. His father stood in front of him, a younger man than when Jakob had lost him in the attack on the temple, and he wore the brown robes of the Urmahne. Wrinkles of time had not come to his father’s young eyes, and hadn’t brought the crease to his brow, but there was sadness on his face.
“You have to be strong for him,” his father was saying.
Scottan was sobbing, and Jakob asserted him
self slightly, the barest amount so that he could understand what his father was attempting to tell his brother, and to understand why his father was attempting to tell it to him.
“Why did it happen?” Scottan asked.
“The gods—”
“Don’t tell me about the gods!” Jakob had never heard his brother yell at his father, not the way that he did now. There was real anger in his voice.
With that, Jakob realized the time to which he had stepped back.
This was when their mother had died. It had to be. Scottan had changed then, though Jakob remembered it being a change that had made him seem more determined, with an increased focus when he worked with the sword. He had wanted to become an even more skilled soldier, and Jakob had always assumed it was because he wanted to ensure nothing else could harm him.
Could there have been another reason?
“The gods care about you, even if you don’t believe that they do,” his father said.
“The gods care nothing about me. They… They have abandoned our family, father. Why can’t you see it?”
His father smiled sadly. “The gods have not abandoned our family. They have chosen a different path for us, and it’s one that we cannot know for ourselves, but you need to trust that they have something in mind for each of us.”
“If this is what the gods had in mind, then I don’t want to know these gods. They aren’t my gods.”
The hurt on his father’s face was as clear as daylight.
How old would Scottan have been when their mother had died? Maybe twelve, Jakob decided. He didn’t remember his brother having this level of anger, and remembered only how he had disappeared to the barracks, going there to train, encouraged to do so by their father.
Now he thought he understood.
Was this the beginning for Scottan?
If this was when Scottan first broke free of the Urmahne influence and began to run the risk of Raime reaching him, it was possible this was the time.
“Your mother would want you to know that she loves you.”
“Mother would want me to have her alive,” Scottan said.
“The gods cannot protect us from accidents,” his father said. “As much as we might want them to, we cannot prevent life from occurring. We cannot prevent a simple misstep.” His father clasped his hands behind his back and took a deep breath. A look of peace washed over his face. “I choose to believe that your mother has Ascended and has joined the gods.”
The Great Betrayal (The Lost Prophecy Book 8) Page 16
