Kelven's Riddle Book Two

by Daniel Hylton

  He watched her for a moment, his frown fading. He walked slowly toward her. “Ka’en – this can’t be too big for you. This is all about you.”

  She gazed back at him without comprehension. “How can any of this be about me?”

  “I do it all for you.”

  “No. You are the agent of a larger purpose – of the gods.”

  “Not so. It matters not what others think or say of me, Ka’en – I know who I am, and where I came from – and I know what I am going to do. And I am most certainly not an agent of the gods.” As he approached, he patted the hilt of the sword that rose above his right shoulder. “As a matter of fact, Ka’en, Kelven did not want me to have this sword. He said as much. Others did, however, and so I took it. I told him that I would keep it until the world and our people were free, whatever he thought about it. I took it so that when I face Manon, I can destroy him and keep you safe from him. Everything that I do and feel and think – ultimately – is about you, Ka’en. Since I met you, nothing else matters to me as much.”

  “Please don’t do this to me, Aram.”

  He stopped when he was a couple of steps away from her and his frown returned. He watched her in silence, waiting for her to explain.

  She glanced away, but her eyes came immediately back to his face. “I heard you when you said it this morning – that you did everything for me – and I thought it was a beautiful sentiment. But now I know that it’s bigger than just the two of us. What you do is not for me; it is for the people of the world. Did you know that birds call you the ‘sent one’? You are the agent of a larger purpose. Don’t say that it is about me.”

  “Anyone can call me anything they like, Ka’en. It doesn’t matter – I am what I am.” His anger returned, hot and sharp. “Will you make me protest the veracity of everything I say?” He closed the distance between them. “You’re wrong Ka’en. It is about you. Will the world be free if I succeed in defeating Manon? Yes, and that’s a good thing. Will some of those that follow me die in this fight? Yes, and that’s a terrible thing. Will women weep and cry in bitter despair when their husbands and sons don’t return from this war – even if the war’s ends are accomplished? Yes, and it can’t be helped.”

  He leaned closer. “And why will they do it – those men that die? I’ll tell you, Ka’en. For those women that they leave behind. They will do it so that those women, and their children, may live in safety and freedom. Will strangers – even ungrateful strangers – benefit from the actions and the deaths of men and horses and wolves and birds like those in there? Yes. But those fine people, ultimately, will do what they do not for those strangers, but for their families.” He reached out and grasped her shoulders. “And I will do it for you.”

  Her eyes were liquid pools of dark amber. “Don’t die for me, Aram. If you love me, don’t die.”

  He released her and leaned back. “Do you know what we’re up against Ka’en? Do you know what Manon is really like?”

  “Only what you’ve told me.”

  “I haven’t told you the half of it – or the tenth.” He answered bitterly. His eyes grew hard. “Have you ever seen slaves, so steeped in servitude, that they don’t even understand the concept of liberty? Have you seen fathers, so afraid for the welfare of their daughters that the overseers have taken away, that they will submit to any torture, any humiliation, any degradation?” His voice hardened to match his gaze. “Ka’en, do you know what happens to those young women, like my sister, that the overseers take to Manon?”

  Her eyes were round and her answer barely more than a whisper. “No.”

  “I do, Ka’en. I do. But I love you, and mean to protect you from horror, so I won’t tell you the grisly details. But you must understand this. Manon is a god, more powerful than any man – more powerful than any ten thousand men – and he has turned to evil. He means to rule the whole world, and not for the benefit of its people, either. He has much larger plans than just enslaving us. He means to rule the stars also. I was told once that he considers the people of the earth but kindling for the fire he intends to start in the universe.”

  His eyes softened, and he sighed. “We cannot let him succeed. If I can stop him, I must, even if it does cost me my life. You said that I was the agent of a larger purpose. Well, that is true with every worthy endeavor. But, Ka’en, you are my purpose. Ultimately, I do it for you.”

  “Please, Aram, don’t lay such a burden on me.”

  “A pointless request.” He said harshly. “Where should I lay it? You asked me not to lie. Well, if you love me Ka’en, then you might as well know the hard truth of everything. I may very well fail and we may all die. The truth is – I know what will happen to you if I fail. Manon will regard you as nothing more than mere flotsam in the sea of refuse that he thinks our people to be. Whether you consider it a burden to bear or not, Ka’en – here is the truth. If by my death, I can protect you from Manon and his vile servants, I will consider it to be the best possible use of my life.”

  “Aram –”

  “Hush.” He stepped back to her and took her hands in his. Leaning close, until his forehead touched hers, he gazed deep into her eyes. “I mean it, my love. If my death will save you, so be it. But hear this also – I don’t mean to die. I am not an easy man to kill, anyway. Many have learned that the hard way. You are the reason that I will come back. I will always come back. If anyone, anytime, tells you that I have died – that will be the lie. I will always come back. It is the one thing that I will do for myself. I will always return so that I may look into your beautiful eyes and hear you say my name.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Say my name’ Ka’en; and tell me that you love me.”

  She closed her eyes and leaned against him. “You will come back?”

  “Always.”

  “I love you, Aram.”

  Seventeen

  The idea of exploring the city had lost its luster, so they went down and out onto the avenue before the city. Aram led her off the stonework to the right through the orchard and into his field beyond. The rich dark earth showed signs of recent – and thoughtful – activity. The many rows were laid out carefully; Findaen and the others had done their work well. It was a greater amount than Aram had ever planted.

  They didn’t talk much. Aram was afraid that his outburst of anger might have damaged their relationship just as it was blossoming, but Ka’en, though she was mostly silent for the rest of the morning, stayed close to him and gripped tightly to his arm with her slim fingers. He felt strangely anxious about things, and unsettled. In just three days, he and Ka’en had finally declared their love for one another, grown emotionally intimate; and then had their first sharp words of disagreement. Aram found himself hoping desperately they would be the last of such words ever to pass between them.

  After wandering the ruined courtyards and gardens below the walls for the rest of the morning, they went in and had lunch with the men of Derosa. Findaen and Timmon returned as they were eating and joined them. Huram had returned as requested and was grazing in the orchard with Thaniel, waiting to take Aram and Ka’en north after lunch.

  Findaen announced that he and Timmon had found mounts from among the horse people; Findaen would ride a large bay named Andaran, whose attributes the young man extolled at length, excitedly. Timmon would ride a black horse named Duwan. Six more horses had been assigned to go with them to retrieve the rope from Derosa. Jared and Nikolus would also go, if Aram had no objections. He didn’t.

  After lunch; and after making certain that Findaen and the others had started for Derosa, Aram led Ka’en down and found Thaniel and Huram. The horses came up and Huram looked at Ka’en expectantly.

  Aram looked at her as well. “You told me once that you wanted to ride a horse.”

  Her eyes were wide with uncertainty as she gazed at the huge animal, but she nodded. Aram smiled.

  “This is Huram.” He said. “He is strong and wise and will carry you most gently, if you are willing.”

  �
�I will, my lady.” Huram affirmed.

  “Thank you, Huram,” Ka’en answered, still gazing wide-eyed, as if she had not realized the immense size of the horse until she stood near him like this. “I – I would very much like you to carry me.”

  Aram stepped along the horse’s side and cupped his hands for her. “I’ll lift you up.”

  After she was safely aboard, Aram looked up at her. “Just take a double handful of his mane to maintain your balance. Eventually, we’ll have a saddle made for you – but for today, we’ll both go bareback.”

  “Where are we going, Lord Aram?” Thaniel asked.

  “Northward.” Aram answered, as he climbed up on the black horse. “To the second stream that comes out of the hills to the northwest, and then along it to the west. I want to find Borlus.”

  They turned and went out the avenue toward the junction with the north-south road, Huram and Thaniel walking side by side. Aram reached over and took Ka’en’s hand as they rode. He was still unsettled from the morning and wanted to make sure that there was peace between them. But she seemed content, as if the disquieting episode had not happened, or was forgotten, and she smiled over at him as she entwined her fingers in his.

  “What do you think?” He asked.

  “It’s more than I imagined.” She answered. “I may ask Huram to carry me everywhere.”

  “I would be honored, my lady.” The horse answered solemnly.

  “I don’t want to impose, Huram.”

  The great gray horse swung his head around slightly. “Whenever you wish it, my lady, I will bear you.”

  At the junction, they turned north and went on for about a mile, until they reached a bridge where the road spanned a sizeable stream coming down out of the hills from the west. They turned along the near bank of this stream. The hills were gentle and the valley through which the stream flowed was fairly wide, but Aram and Thaniel went ahead of Huram and Ka’en.

  After a while, the valley narrowed and the hills grew steeper and sometimes they crossed back and forth across the stream to avoid having to traverse deep pools that lay at the bases of bluffs. Finally, Aram found what he was looking for and they dismounted, releasing the horses to graze in the thick grass that grew beside the water.

  On the southern side of the stream a large slab of the rocky cliff side had dislodged and collapsed sometime in the ancient past, perhaps due to a particularly severe fLood, and had then fallen back against the bluff, forming a grotto beneath it with a slanted opening about four feet wide by eight feet high that narrowed toward the top. As Aram and Ka’en walked through the meadow toward it, there was sudden movement from back in the shadowed darkness and Borlus burst forth into the sunshine and rumbled up to Aram.

  “Master Aram! You have come!”

  Aram knelt and threw his arms around the bear’s shaggy head and neck. “Hello, my old friend. It’s good to see you doing so well.”

  Borlus’ small eyes were filled with joy. Aram ruffled his thick fur, and then stood up and indicated Ka’en. “There is someone I want you to meet, Borlus.”

  “Master – you found a mate?”

  Aram glanced at her and hesitated. Ka’en immediately knelt down and faced the bear. “Aram has found a mate, Borlus. I am going to be his mate. My name is Ka’en.”

  Borlus studied her for a long moment and was satisfied by what he saw. “I am glad for Master Aram, Mistress Ka’en. He has been alone.”

  “Not any more, Borlus.”

  “You will live in the city, Mistress Ka’en?”

  “Someday. We must marry first, but – someday.”

  Aram stepped forward. “I heard you had a family, my friend. Would it be possible to meet them?”

  Borlus stared up at him. “Master – you wish to come into my house?”

  “Only if it is not an intrusion.”

  The bear hesitated, blinking his small eyes in the bright sunlight. “An intrusion?”

  “A bother.” Aram clarified. “We would not want to bother Hilla and the young ones.”

  “Oh, no, master. Borlus would be honored to have you into his house. But it is dark and – not fine, like your city.”

  “The honor would be ours.” Aram stated solemnly.

  “Then come, master – the children are inside.”

  Aram and Ka’en followed Borlus to the top of the meadow and up a slight incline of packed dirt that led toward the mouth of the grotto. Inside the cave, they stopped for a moment to let their eyes adjust to the gloom. It was a bright day outside and the opening was large, letting in a fair amount of light. After a minute or so, they could make out most of the grotto’s interior.

  The interior was long and generally narrow, but there were two larger chambers where the earth had sloughed away in the ancient collapse of the bluff. The first of these larger chambers lay just inside the opening but the other was at the back. It was in the rear chamber that Borlus and his family had taken up residence, and where Hilla had given birth during the winter. Borlus waddled toward his family, and after their eyes adjusted Aram and Ka’en followed the bear along the length of the cave.

  Just as they came to the end of the first wide chamber, the air to their left crackled with an odd small sound, and the figure of a man appeared from the darkness, wreathed in a reddish-orange glow.

  Ka’en – who was behind Aram and closer to the ghostly apparition drew in a quick, frightened breath and stumbled against him. Aram was wearing both swords this day; the hilt of the sword of heaven rose above his left shoulder and that of his regular steel sword above his right. He reached for the steel sword, screening Ka’en and Borlus with his body as the blade came free and he turned to face the intruder. As his boots sought the soft floor of the grotto for firmer purchase, he leveled the sword at the intruder’s chest.

  The figure bowed to him slightly, inclining its head, ignoring the sword.

  “Lord Aram – greetings.”

  Aram stiffened, gazed at the figure a moment, and lowered his blade as recognition came. It was Bendan, the servant of Ferros.

  Aram returned Bendan’s nod and then stared at the servant of the lord of the underearth in amazement. “Bendan, it’s good to see you again. What may I do for you and your great lord?”

  Bendan smiled slightly. “Forgive me, Lord Aram, but I believe that the right question has been asked of the wrong person. I am sent to honor the promise that Lord Ferros granted you when you were his guest.” He waved a hand, indicating the grotto’s interior. The air about him crackled softly as he moved. “You have come under the earth. As promised, Lord Ferros wishes to know your need and how he may use his power to address that need.”

  Aram gazed back at him in stunned silence. He had forgotten the grant that Ferros had made him, and because of the god’s attitude, had written him off as an ally in the war to come. Now, here was solid, astonishing proof that Ferros meant to keep his word. Aram sheathed the sword and bowed again to Bendan.

  “Please extend my apologies to Lord Ferros, but I am not in need of his mighty assistance today. I have only entered this place to visit the family of my friend. I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.”

  Bendan returned the bow. “There is no need for apologies. My lord will be happy to know that you are in health and not in jeopardy. I am to warn you, however, that the realm of the Underearth has been put at risk, at least along the perimeters of my master’s domain. Manon the Grim has extended his hand into the deep places, meaning, no doubt, to grasp power that is not rightfully his. My master’s promise to you remains intact nonetheless. Is there nothing I can do for you, Lord Aram?”

  Aram shook his head. “Nothing. We are well. Thank you, Bendan, and thank your great lord.”

  “Very good. Farewell then, for now.” Bendan turned away and vanished into the gloom, leaving a faint red glow behind him that dissipated slowly.

  Aram turned to Ka’en. “Are you alright?”

  She gazed back at him with wide eyes and then turned her hea
d and watched, fascinated, as the reddish glow in the air disappeared. “Who was that?”

  “Bendan, Ferros’ lieutenant. Didn’t you hear?”

  She shook her head. “No. I heard nothing. I saw you talking with him but you were both covered in a red cloud, like the glow of a faint fire. I could not hear what you said.”

  Aram shrugged. “He just came to keep a promise.”

  “A promise?”

  Aram nodded. “Lord Ferros told me that if I was ever in trouble, I could get under the earth – even in a cave like this one – and he would help, if he could. Bendan was sent to see what I needed. But of course, I didn’t need anything.”

  Turning away from the frank astonishment on her features, he looked toward Borlus and his family, clustered tightly together in the smaller rear chamber. “I apologize for that, Borlus. It was a servant of Ferros. I didn’t know that he would come. I hope he didn’t frighten your family greatly.”

  Borlus stirred himself and came toward him, followed closely by a small cub, similar in color to Borlus, but not much more than a walking clump of fur with a short snout and two tiny, shining eyes. Borlus sat on his haunches and gazed up at Aram. “A servant of Lord Ferros?”

  “Yes. Is your family alright?”

  The bear watched him a moment longer, ignoring the question. “I always knew that you would become a person of power, master. From our first meeting, I knew that you would be a great king, and now you are a great king – one who consults with the gods.”

  Aram knelt down. “I am not a king, nor am I powerful, Borlus. My friends may be, but I am not.”

  “But power comes from having such friends, Master Aram. Look at me. My life is better – my family safer, like all others in this valley, because of your strength and goodness. You are strong, and you are my master and friend, therefore I am stronger.”

  Aram gazed at the bear in amazement, surprised by the lucidity and wisdom of Borlus’ thoughts. He realized suddenly that because of Borlus’ struggles with speech he had always thought the bear to be somewhat simple. But such was not the case. Whatever his weaknesses in the art of speech, Borlus was a wise and intelligent beast.