Chronicles of Logos Quest For the Kingdom Parts IV, V, VI, and VII Revised With Index (Quest For the Kingdom Set)

by L. M. Roth

  “Good day,” Yuna bid Melisande as she peered at her from her birdlike eyes.

  Melisande pursed her lips as she caught the expression in the old woman’s face. It was evident to Nolwenn that she was not pleased by this visit from the wise woman. What would they have said to each other, she wondered, if she had not been present?

  “And how is your father, Nolwenn? For it grieved me to hear that he had been ill, as I was just informed yesterday by one of the maidens who came to buy herbs for her spots. I hear he has had a miraculous recovery, he has; it’s the talk of the village!”

  Yuna smiled fondly at Nolwenn and cast a look of pure malice at Melisande, who clamped her lips tightly together as sparks flew from her green eyes. She hastily cast them down and looked demurely at the floor.

  Melisande then offered the old woman something to drink to refresh herself. Yuna cackled and risked a joviality that Nolwenn noticed made her sister-in-law uncomfortable.

  “I would be happy to have a drink, but would be careful when offered by you,” she said in a voice that was harsh in its raspy snarl.

  Melisande’s eyes hardened until they looked like shards of green glass.

  “And what is that supposed to mean,” she asked sharply in a voice as hard as her eyes.

  The old woman did not blink her own as she examined Melisande’s face.

  “You know what I mean,” she muttered.

  “I think you had better explain yourself,” Melisande ordered with a voice so cold that Nolwenn suddenly shivered.

  She had never heard Melisande speak like that, nor seen that expression of icy disdain on her face. It looked like a stranger standing before her, and not her beloved sister-in-law…

  Yuna suddenly stood up, so swiftly that her chair fell backwards behind her. She loomed over Melisande, staring at her with a malevolent gaze that made Melisande’s eyes widen and her face pale.

  “Dag Adalbart is a good man,” she spat at Melisande. “The best man this village has ever seen.”

  She paused and continued to stare at Melisande, who now shrank back in her chair and looked up at the old woman with fear in her eyes.

  “Curse you!” Yuna spat the words out. “Curse the day you ever came to this village. T’was an evil day when you arrived in Leith. Cursed be you, and the child of your womb!”

  Nolwenn gasped and ran to Melisande. What had come over Yuna to spew out such venom at her sister-in-law, she who had just lost her husband, and was carrying his child!

  Melisande saw the terror of the girl and attempted to calm her fear. She put an arm around Nolwenn and spoke to her in words that addressed Yuna as well.

  “Oh look, Nolwenn! I just noticed something very amusing.”

  She pointed to Nolwenn and said, “Maiden.”

  She pointed to her swollen belly and said, “Mother.”

  She pointed to the furious old woman facing her and said, “and Crone.”

  Then Melisande laughed in the face of her accuser.

  When Dag was fully recovered, he announced to Judoc that he wished to visit Valerium. It would be only a brief visit; he wanted to see how matters stood with the Alexandrians there, and to obtain any news of Marcus. He knew that his old friend kept in touch with Justus Lucius, and surely he would have news of the Maximus family.

  Judoc decided that it would probably be advisable for Dag to remove himself from Melisande’s reach for a while, and as the girl showed no intention of leaving Eirinia, perhaps a visit to old friends would be beneficial. She would remain in Eirinia where Dirk and Brand would take care of the fields.

  Dirk felt that the ground under his feet had become unstable, threatening at every turn to pitch him forward on his face. Something was wrong in the village. He was extended sympathy when his father had been ill and congratulations when he recovered, but there was also something afoot that mystified him.

  When the Summer Festival came in early August there was no attempt to hide Niamh’s desire to honor the old gods. Nor was there any attempt made to stop her and praise Dominio only. And now her sister Enora joined her openly, and the two of them appeared to cow the village councilmen, who gave way to their wishes. What was going on with the villagers, he wondered.

  His father was no longer there to raise a hand of protest. Nor was Cort, Cort who had stood so firmly by their father’s side during Spring Festival. Dirk did not feel himself adequate to take the stand that he knew his father and brother would have taken. He did not have the same stalwart faith, or their bold courage. The realization brought shame to his heart, yet he could not help himself.

  He and Judoc and Maelys were outnumbered by those who wished to turn back to their old ways. His mother and sister were distressed, but felt helpless in the rising tide of dissatisfaction that seemed to have overtaken their friends and threatened to set their feet back on the path of destruction. Dirk knew that he should have protested, should have shamed them as his father would have done had he been there. But he did not, and the moment passed…

  What would happen to Erinia now that his father and Cort were gone, he wondered. Would the villagers repent of this temporary madness and return to complete devotion to Dominio, or would they return fully to their old gods and their old ways, and forsake Dominio altogether?

  Chapter XXXIII

  Reunion In Lucerna

  Marcus was now certain that some evil was afoot. Why had Decimus left for Valerium, but told his wife he was bound for Lucerna to visit a sick uncle who, in fact, did not exist? What wicked mischief was he wreaking now?

  He glanced at his son-in-law and saw the bemused look on Antonius’ face. He realized that before this journey was over there would be much revealed about his father that until now had been mercifully hidden from this innocent young man…

  Marcus recovered from the unpleasant jolt he had just received: Tullia had set out for Lucerna so he must search for her in this land whether Decimus was there or not. He turned to Antonius abruptly.

  “Come,” he said, “we must find Tullia and Lucius at once.”

  Antonius nodded and they began their descent into the village below.

  The scent of some sweet and heavy flower was overpowering. It was not wholly unpleasant, yet to Marcus who preferred more delicate fragrances, it soon cloyed on him. The air at this altitude was thin and he found himself pausing to take short, quick breaths to fill his lungs after their hard ride.

  Antonius, however, seemed impervious to both the heady perfume of the flowers and the thin air. He kept his eyes straight ahead, glancing away from the path only when presented with some strange sight that he would not have encountered in Lycenium. And strange sights there were to be sure!

  The stalls in the bazaar offered wares that neither of the aristocrats had ever seen before, not even in Lycenium, the greatest marketplace in the Valeriun Empire. One booth sold pendants crafted out of hardened resins; when worn next to the skin an exotic fragrance was released. Another displayed stones carved out of gems that were rolled between the hands to calm one when anxious, revive one when tired, or prevent nightmares from visiting one while in the land of slumber. A third booth offered glass globes that would reveal the future to those who gazed into their depths.

  Marcus paused beside the booth of a woman who importuned by passers to stop and sample her healing potions: there was a cunning look in her glance that did not bode well for the integrity of her transactions. Or so he thought.

  “Buy my potions?” she queried. “I have cures for heartache, fear, and loss of memory.”

  Marcus fought the temptation to laugh. What a strange array of cures indeed!

  The woman spied the twinkle in his eyes and pursed her lips together.

  “Do not laugh,” she wagged a warning finger in his face.

  He sobered instantly, and assembled a more respectful expression on his face.

  “Yes?” he asked with an innocent air. “Forgive me; I never heard of cures for these ailments before. You truly must be a magician of
sorts to be able to heal these afflictions.”

  She looked deeply into his eyes now, so deeply that he grew uncomfortable. Was she a sorceress of some kind?

  “You may have need of one of these before the day is out,” she said, nodding her head with the air of one who has great wisdom.

  She stared at him and narrowed her eyes until they were nearly invisible in her face. Marcus was just about to move on when she searched for a bottle and handed it to him.

  “There,” she intoned as she pressed it into his palm. “That is for loss of memory.”

  Marcus felt annoyed, convinced now that the woman was a charlatan.

  “I have no loss of memory,” he huffed.

  He attempted to give the bottle back to her, but she closed her fist against his outstretched hand. She shook her head slowly from side to side, and locked her eyes on his. Under her scrutiny Marcus felt a strange qualm of uneasiness grow within him.

  “It is not for you,” she said in a voice so low he had to strain his ears to hear it.

  She looked through him to a vision that only she could see, muttering through clenched lips before she continued.

  “No,” she murmured. “It is not for you: it is for your true love, who has forgotten something of great importance to you.”

  Marcus felt a chill of fear at these words. Who could they refer to but Tullia! But why would she have forgotten him?

  Antonius tugged on his arm and drew him away from the booth. Marcus threw the bottle on the ground, afraid to even touch it. The woman must be a witch, and no good would come of her potions.

  They continued to amble down the streets of the little village. As they did so Marcus kept an eye open for his wife and son. How long had they been here, he wondered. And were they in Lucerna still?

  When they stumbled across an inn, Marcus decided to stop and ask inquiries regarding any strangers who had lately entered the village. He strode rapidly inside and accosted the proprietor.

  Had he seen any strangers of late, he asked; a young man dressed in a similar manner to himself and his companion, and an older woman who traveled with him?

  Yes, the proprietor stated. They had arrived about ten days ago and were very pleasant guests. He wished that all of his guests were so pleasant! Why he could tell them about some of his former guests that he would not welcome back; there was one young man from Golida who…

  But here Marcus interrupted with barely concealed irritation.

  “Yes, but these guests; are they here still? Or have they moved on?”

  “Oh, they left yesterday,” the proprietor answered. “I would have liked them to stay longer, but the young man said they had business to complete and would not stay. The woman, now, I could tell she wished to stay longer, so pleasant she was, so kind and polite…”

  “Well, that is very nice. Thank you so much,” Marcus interjected. “Can you tell me where they are bound? Did they mention that?”

  The proprietor frowned in concentration and puffed his lips together. He spent so much time on this activity that Marcus had to fight to resist the impulse to rap on his head to speed the process further along.

  At last the man spoke.

  “No,” he drawled, “I really could not say that they did. Now, they may have said something to me, but I forgot it in the confusion of attending to my guests. For it does get frightfully busy here at times; I will admit that…”

  “Thank you; thank you again!”

  And Marcus pulled Antonius away with him and bound out of the inn and leaped on his horse to search for his wife and son.

  Just as the sun was starting to set in a sky of lavender and pale orange, Antonius spotted them just half a mile ahead, as they descended a hill leading into a valley filled with heather and fern, but devoid of any other sign of human life. Their carriage raised a cloud of dust that would have obstructed them from view were it not for the dust that betrayed their presence. Marcus spurred his horse to a greater speed, and Antonius hastened to keep up with him.

  Though the carriage was traveling at a fast pace, it did not take Marcus long to catch up with it and overtake it, so intensely did he lay on the spurs to his horse. Antonius groaned, but sped on after him. Marcus turned in his saddle and motioned for Antonius to ride to the other side of the carriage. Antonius divined his purpose and obeyed.

  Cyriacus spied the two riders that suddenly crossed his path and instinctively pulled on the reins. Had he not done so the carriage would have crashed into them and run them over. When the dust cleared he was able to make out the identity of the interlopers.

  “Master!” he cried out. “Who would have thought to meet you in this land!”

  “Cyriacus!” Marcus exclaimed. “Good day to you; but I must speak to my wife at once.”

  Marcus leaped down from his horse and bounded to the carriage. He pulled open the door and jumped inside. Tullia screamed, thinking they had been accosted by robbers. When she saw Marcus she collapsed in relief against him.

  “Marcus! What are you doing here?” she asked.

  Lucius inexplicably grew pale and Marcus was seized with curiosity by his son’s strange reaction at the sight of the father he had not seen in a couple of months. Surely he should be happy to see him!

  “Why, I am searching for you, my love,” he answered Tullia as he continued to watch his son. “Why have you dragged me away on this wild hunt? For I came back from Eirinia only to discover that you had left Lycenium with no word for me.”

  He kissed her hair tenderly and she nestled against him. Lucius dropped his eyes from his father’s relentless stare and gazed at the floor which had taken on a sudden fascination, Marcus noted.

  Tullia appeared puzzled, and gave Marcus a searching glance.

  “Hmmm?” she murmured. “I did not drag you away from anything.”

  “It is only a manner of speaking, my love,” Marcus chuckled. “But tell me, Tullia, what was so urgent that you fled to Lucerna and left no message for me? It is not like you; not like you at all.”

  She gave him no answer except a blank stare. Her eyes looked vacant, and he noticed with a start that she appeared much younger than she did when he last saw her. Her skin had taken on the bloom of her youth, and the fine lines around her eyes had disappeared from sight. When he clasped her hand it was as smooth as it had been when she was a young girl…

  “Tullia,” he asked tentatively as he drew back to examine her, “what has happened to you? The years appear to have fallen away from you, and you are once more as lovely as in the days when we courted.”

  He puzzled over this, but was unprepared for the shock of her answer.

  “Why should I not come to Lucerna? It is my home after all, is it not?”

  The air left his lungs so suddenly that Marcus felt everything swirl around him. He gasped and took Tullia by the shoulders, turning her around to face him fully.

  “No, Tullia; our home is in Lycenium. You know this. What nonsense is this, to say that Lucerna is your home?”

  Lucius jerked his eyes up from his contemplation of the floor and gave his father an imploring glance. Marcus felt that some mystery was in play, and when Lucius put a finger to his lips, he obeyed the unspoken command of his son.

  “Father, I need some air: do you not feel that you need some air as well?”

  “Yes,” Marcus agreed with a quick glance out of his eyes at Tullia. “I do feel that a nice brisk walk would do you some good as well, having been confined in the carriage.”

  They alit from the carriage and walked quickly out of earshot. When they had put a good distance between themselves and the carriage Lucius at last broke his silence.

  “Mother is not well,” he said with an urgency in his voice that frightened Marcus. “I am not sure what it is, although I have a suspicion.”

  Marcus swung an arm as though swatting at an invisible fly.

  “Speak plainly, Lucius: I’ve no time for riddles!”

  Lucius slowly took a deep breath to brace himse
lf. Inwardly, he debated about how much to tell his father at this point. He decided that there was no point in mentioning Logos before first recounting what had befallen his mother.

  One plight at a time, he assured himself. After all, there will be time to tell him about Logos soon enough.

  Marcus waited with growing impatience, his foot pawing at the ground in the manner of a horse that is eager to enter the fray of battle. He all but snorted as he fretted over his son’s delays.

  “Well,” he barked at Lucius. “I am waiting. Get on with it and be quick about it. What has happened to Tullia?”

  “Mother and I arrived in Lucerna about ten days ago. From the first she was enamored of the place, and quickly developed a fondness for a certain fruit. It is called faran and one bite of it is enough to make one forget all of your troubles. She ate the fruit every day and I soon saw a strange thing. My mother looked much younger than she did before entering this land. Surely you must have noticed, Father.

  “But another thing happened that alarmed me. She seems to have forgotten why we came to Lucerna, and now wants to stay here. She says it is her home, but I know that is not so, for I remember well where we came from.”

  Lucius paused: he hoped that would be enough to satisfy his father. Marcus was not to be put off so easily, however, and he soon found himself squirming under his interrogation.

  “Well, I am happy to hear that,” Marcus replied. “And now, tell me: why did you come to Lucerna in the first place? What errand sent you fleeing here so quickly that you did not leave a message for me?”

  Lucius knew that his father would be furious once he knew of the theft of Logos, and that his own carelessness was responsible for it. He weighed his choices, and the plight of his mother presented a way out for him.

  “I, I,” he paused, and wrinkled his forehead as if to puzzle over the dilemma.