Crystal Throne (Book 1)

by D. W. Jackson

  “She visits my dreams when she can,” Thad replied.

  “I haven’t felt her touch, but I have talked to my sister in such a way the other night. She tried to reach you as well, but since she does not know you she cannot touch your dreams,” Bren said with a hesitant smile. “Unlike me, she doesn’t even have the smallest memory of you. I have tried to show you some while in the dream world, but she says it is not the same.”

  “My daughter,” Thad said almost dreamily. “She was just a babe when…When I left.”

  “I am sure that you will see her…Hopefully soon,” Bren said.

  “I came here to comfort you not the other way around,” Thad said with a weak laugh. “It is hard to tell who the father is, even people looking at us would think we more akin to brothers.”

  “Don’t blame me that time hasn’t changed you,” Bren said joining in the laughter. “Honestly, you look the same as I remember not a hair of gray. I think mother would look like a cradle robber should you stand next to her on the throne now.”

  “That she might,” Thad said as they both broke down laughing. “It has been too long since I enjoyed myself. I know you have spent years without me, but for me it feels as if only a span of days have passed. I don’t think I can simply pick up where I left off so how about we start anew…As friends.”

  “I think that would work,” Bren said holding out his hand to his father, which Thad gladly took.

  CHAPTER X

  The next morning came earlier than Thad wanted, but when didn’t it? The sun never heeded a man’s need for sleep and neither did one’s enemies. It didn’t take long for Thad and the others to pack up their belongings, and like every day before, they ate on the go. As they walked, Thad took stock of what was left of the food within his pack. They had not seen any food since coming to this land and what was left in his pack would only last a few weeks, unless they began to ration it.

  As they walked, Thad moved up beside Humanius. “I think we need to talk,” Thad said in a hushed whisper.

  “What is wrong?” Humanius asked, without a care to how his voice carried.

  “I don’t think we will have enough food to last the trip,” Thad said as his hand moved to absentmindedly touch the straps of his pack.

  “That might be a problem,” Humanius said as he touched his chin, as the god often did when he was thinking. “If we were back in your world I could simply force something to grow, but in this land that is dangerous.”

  “I might have an idea,” Bren said overhearing their conversation.

  “I am more than willing to listen to anything that might be of use,” Humanius said in the bland tone the god often used. At first, Thad thought that tone meant that the God was simply humoring someone, but over time he had learned that was simply how the god talked when he was actively trying to be more human. Once again, Thad wondered if his son would lose his humanity as the years passed by him and those that he loved and knew passed away.

  “When we were in the Deadlands no one could use magic without grave consequences. It was not as bad as here, but it was still too strong to risk. The people that lived there learned to use gems to cast their spells so that they didn’t have to do it through their own power.”

  “Of course,” Humanius said in a berating voice. “It is simple, yet it still slipped past my notice.”

  “That is why my enchanted items still work since they work by formula instead of direct control.” Thad said laughing to himself.

  “Tonight after we read our destination we can each try. Tapping a gem’s power directly is not the same as using your own magic and it takes a deft touch,” Humanius said as he picked up his pace, leaving Bren and Thad behind to catch up.

  As they walked, for the first time Thad and Bren talked. They didn’t talk about things of importance, but of simple things, the kind of thing that one might talk over during a simple dinner. Thad listened to Bren talk and asked few questions afraid to break the fragile bond between the two. Bren told of his life and the friends he had made and the woman who had taken his heart. Bren also spoke of Isophena, his other daughter. Thad was still shocked that he had a daughter born of his time in the Underearth. That part of his life seemed so far away that it almost seemed as if it had been lived by another person.

  Having no clue where the council building was, Thad had no idea how long they would be on the road, but as long as he and Bren were talking he hoped that it took as long as possible. It was odd to talk to his son who had lived a completely different life than his own. Thad had been born in Farlan just as his son, but during his time, male children of families were often sold or traded and Thad was one such child. His mother paid for him to be trained as a top tier slave and then when he was of age, he went to the auction block for sale. That time in his life had left a mark on him’ one that would not disappear and it had nothing to do with the brand that Maria’s mother had placed on his forehead of the double crescent moons.

  Looking at his son complain about how Maria had treated him when he was younger put a faint smile on his face. He would have given anything when he was a child to get any more than a passing glance from his mother, but Thad kept that to himself and simply listened to his son as he talked. In the end, Bren did admit that he believed his mother had done it out of some misguided attempt to protect him, even though he scarcely needed it.

  “That is the way of women,” Thad said laughing. “They always try to protect the ones that they love, even when they don’t want or need the protection. That is something that you will have to learn, otherwise I doubt you will ever have a happy life. Take it from a man who has spent years with your mother, it is best to know when to give in, when to give up, and when to run.”

  “I don’t know if I will ever figure that out,” Bren said with a shake of his head.

  “Then if you ever get married I will pray for you because I think you will spend more time fighting than anything else,” Thad said laughing.

  “I think I will stay clear of fighting,” Bren said solemnly. “The first time I had a run in with Isophena, she sent a shock through my body that left me twitching on the floor. Then she left me on and walked off to let everyone see my humiliation.”

  Thad started laughing uncontrollably. “I don’t think I have ever had a woman do that to me, but if she is anything like her mother she was being kind that day. The Vathari are not the most warmhearted people, at least not in the open, yet behind closed doors they are completely different.

  “Did you love Phena’s mother?” Bren asked his eyes somewhat distant and Thad knew that this was something he could not hedge on. The boy may have grown up without him, but he did grow up with the stories of him, and if they were anything like he remembered, they painted him as more than any man could be, both in stature and in deed.

  “No I didn’t,” Thad said his voice barely above a whisper. “I was young and searching for my own path and at that time following the customs of the Vathari seemed the only way to gain those. I will admit this, though I did love another besides your mother,” Thad could see the questions in his son’s eyes, but Thad held up a hand for him to hold his silence. “I was a long time ago, before I was pledged to your mother; at least in my eyes though she would tell a different story. In the end it mattered little, she died because of me and my own carelessness. I will not speak her name now for fear of what memories that name would bring me in the night.”

  “Why tell me this?” Bren asked looking more than a little uncomfortable.

  “I don’t know myself,” Thad replied as he looked at his son. “It is not something I have talked about in a long time, and even now it still hurts to think about that time in my life. Maybe I thought that in sharing something with you that I have with few others it might bring us closer together. I am just a man son, and far from perfect.”

  “I know that father,” Bren said with a thin smile on his lips. “Though I admit it is hard to reconcile the stories I have heard about you with the person stand
ing in front of me.”

  “I know son,” Thad said laughing. “I have the same feeling when I look in the mirror. You might as well get used to it though. With everything that you have done so far in your life, people will be telling the same kind of stories about your life.”

  “I don’t think so,” Bren said his face losing its smile. “I have done nothing great. Most of my choices have led to nothing but bloodshed.”

  “I felt the same way when I was younger,” Thad said comforting his son. “Honestly, I never thought of myself as the hero they speak about around campfires. All I ever did was follow along the path life seemed to throw at me, but you made your own path, and moved against the wishes of those in power around you. That is something I could have never done. I have never truly believed in providence, but maybe there is more to the world than we know. If we had been born in different times, to different people, then what we have accomplished would have never come to pass.”

  “Maybe that wouldn’t have been so bad,” Bren said shaking his head.

  Thad didn’t know what to tell his son. Everything had been going so well at first, but talking had never been his strongest point. “Why do you say that?” Thad asked though he knew the answer.

  “Look at where it has led,” Bren said waving his hand at the crystal house. “My choices have risked our entire world to the same fate as this one. You cannot think that is a good thing.”

  “It was bound to happen at some time,” Thad said, shrugging his shoulders. “Humanius said as much, though I must admit that he was in no rush for it to happen, then again he didn’t know that this had happened to his homeland. Because it has happened the way it has, maybe that means we were meant to come here at this time so that we could keep it from passing at a time when no one would have been able to stop it from destroying our world.”

  “Maybe,” Bren said with a heavy sigh. “Father, it has been fun talking to you, but I think I wish to sleep for now. I am sure that we will find plenty of time to talk later.”

  Thad cursed his own awkward nature as he watched his son lay down to sleep. It was not the first time his tongue had got him into trouble and he was sure it would be far from the last.

  It would have been better if you had not mentioned his own choices. He frets about those and his own humanity. It has been a hard road for him and I fear it will not get better. He thinks that his powers have taken away his humanity when it is his own fear that holds him back.

  “I watched him during most of his journey,” Thad told the staff. “I watched as he grew, but after his fight with the brotherhood I lost my window into the world. What happened there?”

  Nothing good. Bren fought and killed those that have plagued the land, but at the same time something happened to him. He brought too much magical energy into himself too fast. I knew what was happening to him, but it was happening slowly until that day. It was too much for him and he had trouble separating who he was from the magic that infused his body. Luckily, now he has nearly completely shut magic out from his body. The small amount of energy that are slipping though his shield might help him overcome this problem, but I doubt it.

  “You have changed,” Thad told Thurman with a slight laugh in his mind. “You would have never cared enough about another being to watch them so closely before.”

  Everything changes over time…Even me, though it was not on purpose. Your son forced me to hold more magic then should ever be possible. When that happened, something happened to me that I cannot explain. I saw the world and the people in it though the vast flows of magic. I nearly lost myself at that time to the call, but I was able to hold on, but it still left its mark on me.

  “When we get back I would like to take a closer look at you,” Thad said as he rolled over and covered his eyes.

  Early the next morning, Thad and Bren were woken by Belaroan telling them that scions were once again closing in on them.

  The small group quickly packed and tried to make as much distance between them and their pursuers as possible, but the scions were moving fast and a group of five caught them by midday. There were three animal and two human scions. The creatures were a mix, two of them looking like large dogs and the third was much smaller and had a sleek look. Thad wasn’t sure what kind of creature it was, but it moved so fast that it just looked like a multicolored streak as it darted around them.

  While Humanius and Bren fought off the four larger scions, Belaroan and Thad were left to deal with the smaller creature. With his sword held out in a defensive stance, Thad took a brief peek at his son to see that he was having little trouble with the larger scions.

  The second his eyes darted away, Thad felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder and looking, he found the scion lodged on him, its razor sharp teeth digging deep into his muscle. Just as Thad maneuvered his blade to strike the scion it jumped from its perch and was once again on the move.

  Thad tried to follow the sleek creature as it darted around, but his eyes were not fast enough to follow the creature’s movements. The scion struck three more times and each attack left Thad with another wound.

  As Thad spun around trying to follow the creature’s movements, Belaroan seemed to just stand there and watch him. Just as Thad made a quick turn to catch the scion, a crystal blur rushed at his face. The quick movement caused Thad to blink and as his eyes closed he expected to feel another flash of pain as his face was torn to shreds, but nothing came.

  Opening his eyes Thad saw Belaroan standing in front of him, her hand only inches from his face, holding the squirming creature in her hand. “I haven’t seen one of these in years,” Belaroan said before she gave a little squeeze and the neck of the creature burst and the body feel to the ground to be crushed by her heel.

  “What was that thing?” Thad asked as he took an uneasy breath.

  “It was once a bobcat,” Belaroan said as she looked down at the broken heap of crystals that now lay scattered on the ground. “They used to roam this hills to the north of here. When I was a young girl my father used to take us out to look for them. I always found them lovely creatures.”

  Thad could see the sad look in her eyes. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but what could you say to a god that had lived through the entire history of your world. Suddenly Thad remember that there were more scions and turned to find Humanius finishing off the last creature.

  “Looks like you took the worst of it,” Humanius said as he looked over Thad’s wounds.

  “Hurts a bit but nothing to slow me down,” Thad said as he lightly touched the teeth marks on his shoulder that were still seeping blood. Thuraman will have it healed in no time as if nothing happened.

  “If he is not going to die, I would suggest that we keep moving,” Belaroan said as she turned and continued down the road.

  “Would you believe that she used to be a loving and caring sister?” Humanius said with a large smile. “No… Well it was worth a try.”

  Belaroan turned around and gave her brother a dark look. “I was caring when you were silent, now can we get moving.”

  “It wouldn’t kill you to be civil and get to know them, will it?” Humanius asked his voice darkening slightly.

  “Yes, it just might,” Belaroan said pointing at Thad. “This man shouldn’t even be here.” Humanius looked at Thad, then turned his head. “You know I am telling the truth. You can feel it as well as I do. The world already has a hold on him. How long will it be before we must leave him behind to die or turn into one of those things? Getting to know him will only make that much harder, and yet every second we waste could get us killed, and that includes time taken to talk to them.”

  “You may think so, but I do not,” Humanius said with a sad shake of his head. “I think bringing Thaddeus was the right idea. If he can create something to hide us then he might be the best of us.”

  “You could make the same thing if you wished to,” Belaroan accused him.

  “You know that is not true,” Humanius said. “Neith
er you nor I have any talent with enchanting.”

  “You don’t?” Thad asked curiously.

  “It is the downside of our power,” Humanius said. As far as I know, there has never been a god who could enchant. I have many theories as to why that is, but why it is for sure I couldn’t say, but it is still the truth.”

  “What about the white swords?” Thad asked, remembering the devastating weapons used by the Brotherhood that sucked n magic and worked to deadly effect against any creature that used magic.

  “Those were not enchanted, but an active spell, much the way the protective spell around the valley of the gods was done. It works in much the same way as an enchantment, but the spell must still work through me, the metal is just a medium for the spell.

  “Are you done talking yet? We need to keep moving,” Belaroan said, though her voice had lost a little of its ire, though not much.

  Humanius looked at his sister and Thad could see the words forming on the god’s lips but instead of speaking he simply shrugged his shoulders and followed after her.

  As the sun began to dip below the horizon, Humanius pointed to a large building. They were close, but Thad had little time to be overjoyed. He had plenty of ideas of how to make his enchantment work. So many things had happened over the past few days and his brain was working overtime. There were so many questions that needed answers, but there was no time to figure out the answers and that bothered him more than anything.

  As soon as they reached the building, they secured the doors and Humanius led Thad to the inner most room where he could work without being disturbed.

  Thad wanted to get straight to work, but he was tired and though it irked him, he laid out his blanket and laid down for a short rest.

  CHAPTER XI

  Thad sat in a crystal chair trying to think. The idea was simple; mask their presence with a bubble that soaked in the magical energy around them and directed it at the ground. The real problem was thinking of the best way to make his idea work.