by Scott Toney
Patience
Months later
Lilya sat on a cool stone bench in a dark room in The Canyon of Eyes. A fountain bubbled beside her. She looked around the room at luminescent worms crawling about the ceiling and glowing jellyfish swimming in the fountain’s water. These creatures put off the only light in the room and gave the place a certain serenity.
It’s so beautiful, she thought as she watched a jellyfish swim near her. It seems like I’ve been here for a long time now, but the glowing creatures in these caves still amaze me.
She had been called to have an audience with Felicia here. She hadn’t seen much of the elders since her arrival to this place and wondered what the woman’s purpose was in wanting to speak with her. Lilya slowly breathed in a breath of the cool cave air and then let it out, sighing and relaxing her body.
“Hello,” a soft yet beautiful voice came to her as Lilya turned to find Felicia standing in the doorway of the chamber. A flowing blue robe fell about her form. “Welcome to one of my favorite chambers in these halls.”
“It’s amazing,” Lilya said as she stood to greet the elder. She was still astounded by how young the woman looked.
“Please sit. There is no need to rise for me,” Felicia said as she sat down beside Lilya. “You must be wondering why I summoned you here.”
Lilya felt the cool stone bench beneath her hands. “I was thinking it might have something to do with the plans our people have been making to attack Havilah, with Assyria’s people, and dethrone Thomas.”
“You make it sound simple, yet there is so much more.” Felicia’s eyes betrayed her true age. They were deep with thought and seemed to scan beyond the room. “Did you know Havilah’s mercenary army approached our border over a month ago and then retreated into Havilah’s lands?”
“I did not,” Lilya admitted.
“This is strange. Surely they meant to attack us. What has changed in King Thomas’s land?” There was silence for a moment. “But even that is not what I wished to speak with you about. What the armies of Cush and Assyria are doing will accomplish nothing. I know you know little of me, but I come from a time ages past. I have seen things like this before. When wars are fought, all people lose. There will be death in all lands.”
Lilya stood and paced the room. “Then what are we to do? Surely there is no way to halt our plans now.”
“You are all too right, Lilya. The people of Cush are so blinded by thoughts of revenge they will go to war with Thomas and Havilah at all costs. There will be blood on both sides.” Felicia held something out in her palm. “The people of Cush will not change their minds. It is you, I suggest, that should change your course.”
Lilya walked to Felicia and looked down into her hand. There, reflecting the light of the glowing worms above them was a round ruby trinket.
“Take it,” Felicia told her.
Lilya took it and held it up to see, watching the light of the creatures reflecting through the stone. “What is it?”
“Look closely,” Felicia said as Lilya continued to inspect it.
“An apple?”
“It was created long ago. Maybe it was like that when the earth began. I honestly don’t know. But this trinket is a reminder to me of something, of what humanity could have had if they had not taken the creator’s generosity for granted.” Felicia closed her eyes and a tear streamed down her cheek.
Lilya put the ruby apple in her pocket and sat down on the bench once more. She wrapped her arm around the elder’s shoulder to comfort her. “What are you saying?”
“My name was not always Felicia. That is a name I chose years ago to conceal who I was. Although the irony is so many ages have passed no-one would remember my birth name if I had kept it. My name was Na’amah at birth and I am related by several generations to the first man and woman of this earth. Do you know their story?”
Lilya took her arm back from around Felicia’s shoulder. Chills ran over her body. Is this woman mad? she thought as she took the elder’s words in. “I have heard rumors of the beginning of time from people who practice the Hebrew faith in Cush. I’ve heard something of a garden and a curse.”
Felicia smirked. Then the grin quickly left her features. “A curse? I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. The story goes, the first man and woman were created by God and given the gift of infinite life and health as long as they took care of the animals in their garden and didn’t eat of one tree. One tree…” she said in disbelief. “Was it truly that hard? They ate of that fruit, though, when they were tempted by the lord of all evil. And for that disrespect they gave the creator they were banished from their land and stripped of their eternal life.”
Felicia extended her hand into the fountain and a jellyfish curled about it, its long tentacles wrapping and moving about her fingers as it swam away. “I am their descendant. And when I was old enough I fled their company and went to live on my own. I found that trinket soon after leaving them and have survived all these years as generations were born and died around me.”
That couldn’t be possible, Lilya told herself. There’s no way she could have survived this long. “What does the trinket have to do with any of this?”
“They say there was another tree in the garden, one that bore a fruit that granted eternal life. Some say it bore figs. Others say plums.” Felicia looked knowingly into the darkness. “I choose to believe apples were the fruit it bore and the trinket in your pocket was given to me by the creator to keep me alive. Maybe he had hope that I was worthy of what he tried to give my family before me.”
Lilya took the ruby apple back out of her pocket and examined it in her hand. “Why do you tell me these things? Why should it matter what actions I choose to make?”
Felicia’s beautiful eyes took hold of Lilya’s eyes. “It is not because of you, child. It is because of the dragon and the significance he holds that I tell you these things. There are things about him you could not fathom, things I would not tell you unless he wished to speak of them. Let’s just say, I know him from another time.”
“Why should I believe you? What would you have me do instead of joining Cush’s army in their campaign?” A rush of cold air came through the room’s doorway and whirled about Lilya’s body. She didn’t know why but she suddenly felt like there was someone out there in the dark hallway listening to them. She wondered if Felicia had felt the same thing. Surely I’m imagining things, she thought.
“The silence of Havilah’s army makes me think something is changing there,” she continued. “I wonder if it’s possible Thomas has changed, that whatever seemed to have taken hold of him has let him go. What I propose is you go with Alexander to Castle Ah and attempt to talk reason with Thomas. It is possible if you convince him to get his army to surrender when we attack then there will be much less bloodshed.”
“I’ve tried,” Lilya attempted to explain. “Thomas is possessed. And there is a woman who tends to him that seems to keep him under a spell.” She continued to watch the darkness. “And yet a part of me does want to find another way to fix things in Havilah.”
She felt Felicia’s warm hand close over her own. “Just think about my words. I have seen much, far too many deaths. And there is something unnatural in Havilah. Possibly just by having Alexander there some disaster will be averted.”
“Thank you,” Lilya said as she looked around once more and took in the tranquil beauty of the room. “Thank you for sharing this peaceful place with me. I will consider what you’ve said.”
“And keep the apple,” Felicia told her. “I have carried its burden of life for far too long. It is time to rest. Hopefully it will serve you well.”
Lilya stood and gave a small bow to Felicia before leaving the illuminated room and walking into the darkness. Her footfalls echoed gently as she made her way toward the common passageways. Is she telling the truth about where she is from or has she lost her sanity? Lilya wondered. Surely she couldn’t be as old as she claims. And yet Alexander claims t
o be of such an age and I don’t question him.
But the strangeness of her conversation with Felicia went beyond that. She claimed there was a tree with fruit giving eternal life. The elder believed the creator had given her this trinket to bless her with that life. No. There is no way that that can be true. She took a moment to take it all in. But the story of the trees would make sense. Thomas was injured before he ate the figs. Then he seemed healed after eating them.
Lilya’s breath caught in her throat and she stumbled, catching her balance in the darkness, bracing herself with a hand against the tunnel wall. He thought he was eating fruit from the tree of life and ate fruit from the tree of knowledge instead. Can it be?
The feeling of being watched suddenly came back to her. She turned to look back quickly and saw a light flickering in the darkness. Was something following her in these halls?
“Lilya…” A low voice whispered to her. “Come…”
Do I scream? she thought, but instead walked toward the flickering light. It was as if it was drawing her closer even though she knew she should flee the other way. “Who are you?” she asked. Lilya was almost to the light now. It came from a passageway that led out of the tunnel where she was. Water dripped from the cavern above.
“Ye can trust me,” the deep voice whispered.
Lilya put one foot in front of the other as she turned into the faintly lit passageway. The flickering fire light seemed to be coming from just a few feet away where the passageway turned a corner. Breathe, she thought to herself. And be careful.
“I am close,” she said. “Show yourself.”
Heavy footfalls echoed in the passageway as the firelight came in the form of a torch from behind where the wall turned. A large man carried it, a ring glowing in his forehead as he looked to her.
“Carn?” she asked and stepped backwards. Her face went pale.
“Do not fear me,” he spoke as he took a step toward her.
“Stop,” she said sharply. “If you come at me I’ll scream. Felicia is still close by.”
Carn stopped where he was, firelight flickering across his face. “I mean ye no harm. I only mean to offer ye something. No matter what ye think of me, I am no longer aligned with the people of Vane. For my own reasons I am one of ye now.”
“For your own reasons,” Lilya spoke with hesitation. “That is exactly why I don’t trust you. Why are you here?” The darkness appeared to close in on Carn. It’s only a trick of the torch’s light, she assured herself.
“I came to see what the elder had summoned ye for. She… interests me. And when I heard her speak, I began to think of something.”
“Come to the point.” Lilya was losing her patience and wasn’t sure how much longer she wanted to be in his presence. This man was capable of too much.
The illuminated ring in the center of Carn’s forehead changed from an eerie red to cool blue. “If ye do what the elder suggested and fly to Havilah to convince King Thomas’s army to surrender, then I offer my services. I will go with ye and protect ye from whatever stands in ye way. That is, of course, if ye will have me.”
“You have done nothing to earn my trust,” Lilya said. “I will consider your offer, because you know our enemy better than anyone. But I will have to give much thought to even listening to Felicia. What do you gain from this?”
A grin slipped across his lips. “I only wish to serve Cush, princess.”
“If I am to consider you and take you seriously then I need your honesty. Be sure, I know better than to believe you have the good of others in your heart.”
Carn gave a low laugh. “Ye doubt me so much.” A long moment of silence lingered between them. “My other reason is my own, but because I wish for ye to trust me I’ll share it wit ye. I am curious about… these fruit that King Thomas discovered. I’ve heard myths of such a thing and wish to see for myself if they really exist.”
Lilya tried to examine the man’s facial features, to look past his hardened eyes and see what was truly behind them. For the life of her, all she found there was a hollow soul. “You give me chills,” she told him. “It has been a long day and an even longer night. I need time to think about all I’ve heard. I’m leaving now. Do not follow me.”
“All I ask is that ye consider my offer, princess,” Carn said. “I will not follow ye. I will remain here until I am sure ye have made it to the next hall.”
“Goodnight,” Lilya told him, quickly turning and walking away into the complete darkness of the passageway she had come from.
“A goodnight to ye, Lilya,” Carn said as he extinguished the torch against the passageway’s wall and smoke wafted through the air. Only ember’s glowed in the torch’s center.
Lilya walked a fast pace through the passageway, shivers crawling over her body as she thought of Carn and the fact that he was in the darkness behind her. I wish he had never come to our land and that we had never accepted him into The Canyon of Eyes. She almost stumbled in the darkness on a groove in the passageway’s floor. She caught herself against the moist stone wall and quickened her pace once more. How could he think I’d accept him by my side in anything?
And yet she had to admit, if she were to go to Thomas with Alexander she would need someone by her side, someone capable of protecting her from the mercenaries Thomas had hired. And who better to fight them than one of their own? But can I trust him?
She found herself feeling guilty about her thoughts. What has he truly done to earn my disrespect? From what I’ve heard he played a large role in saving the knights from Havilah on their way here. The only reasons I distrust him are my gut and the leeriness that Jonah has for him.
There it was. She judged the man for his appearance and where he was from. Was there something deeper? How sure can I be about this man? Can I trust him to defend me if I choose him to be by my side? She would talk to Alexander in the morning about everything she had learned tonight. Maybe he would see something differently than she did and help her see her way through.
The passageway seemed to go on forever as her footsteps echoed through its darkness. When Lilya eventually made her way into another hall and lifted a crackling torch from its wall she breathed a sigh. She hoped that Carn was far behind her.
Her worries wouldn’t leave her on the rest of her walk back, however. They stayed with her. Her fear of Carn haunted her in her dreams.
34
