“Ah, sure,” he said cautiously. “What can I do?”
“Fly me back to Hamenday. My brothers must be remembered.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
I sought out a quiet place where I could plan, and there I was consumed by a rage which eventually turned into resentment, depression, and then regret. When the only person you have for company is yourself, you eventually ask yourself some hard questions. It took time, but slowly, I saw my mistakes; and then, even more slowly, I confessed them to myself. This took a few years, but it wasn’t until the tenth that I truly comprehended the full magnitude of my crimes.
The agony of soul that came upon me in that fall is more than I could describe, and from that time on I have had no greater desire than for my wretched existence to end, to finally free the world of Daylen Namaran forever.
But that would have been the easy way out.
* * *
It was strange how much Daylen appreciated Ahrek’s company as they made their way to the Fallton.
They walked in silence through the mostly empty streets, but Daylen could see that people were already returning. The Night Siren had been silenced, and skyships were making their way back to the port.
Not too far away, Daylen could see the top part of the island he had cut in half. Light, he was still amazed that he had actually done that—cut a whole island in half! It had cleared the city entirely and had flown steadily away from the continent, where it had stopped its forward flight abruptly.
Daylen guessed that the city’s border patrol had finally flown to the thing and had found a way to disable the drivers pushing it.
It would now perpetually fly upward, a rising island to contrast with the Plummet in the distance.
When Daylen and Ahrek did eventually speak, their conversation drifted to their pasts where they talked openly and freely for the first time. They shared all they had done, their joys and sorrows, their triumphs and failures.
When they reached their penthouse their talk continued, laughs shared and tears shed long into Low Fall when most people would find sleep.
It was at the mid of Low Fall, with the sun shining in a cloudless sky, when a squad of high-ranking constables accompanied by a full troop of national soldiers entered their hotel room.
Daylen made no protest when his gauntlet and steel backsword were removed and he was put in chains. They marched him out of the hotel and locked him in the back of a conner sky van. Ahrek insisted that he be allowed to accompany him, and surprisingly he was.
They were flown to the Prime Constabulary where Daylen was given a black and white striped prisoner’s uniform and once he had changed, locked in their most secure cell. Thick windowless brick walls on three sides and solid steel prison bars ten centimeters apart and five centimeters thick walled off the side that faced the outer room to the cell.
Daylen wasn’t sure if the officials knew that the cell and his chains would do nothing to hold him if he wanted to escape, especially now that he had figured out Lyrah’s trick—how she produced such enormous levels of strength.
That was more than enough to rip this steel cell apart if he wanted to—not to mention that he still had Imperious safely stored within himself.
But Daylen had come willingly, so there he remained without protest.
It took a fall before two very stern-looking Archknights entered the adjoining room, a male with deep red hair and pale skin, clearly Frey, and a female Hamahran with hair of streaked blue and green.
The female knight looked at him through the bars. “Give me your hand.”
Daylen approached, having a good idea what was going on, and extended his arm.
The knight pulled an odd-looking manacle from a pouch that had some type of fixture on one side. Light shone from the fixture’s underside around a black marble that would press onto a person’s skin when the manacle was applied.
She locked the manacle to Daylen’s wrist, where the darkstone instantly prevented him from using his powers.
“I could have broken out at any time until now,” Daylen said. “This isn’t necessary.”
The knights said nothing and took positions on either side of his cell.
They mustn’t have known that Daylen still had Imperious stored within himself, for with it he could break out whenever he wanted.
Daylen didn’t recognize the knights, which made sense, seeing as all the knights who had been in the city had been killed in the Dawnist attack, including Cueseg, Lyrah’s companion. Daylen hadn’t really gotten to know the knight, but Ahrek certainly seemed to like him and had already expressed deep regret for the Tuerasian knight’s death.
It was a tragedy. Daylen could only imagine what the Order was going through having lost so many knights, especially considering the fact that one of their secrets, their weakness to darkstone, had gotten out.
Daylen asked them about Lyrah, where she was now and how she was doing, but the knights didn’t so much as look at him.
Daylen’s first real visitor was a senator who had been assigned to handle Daylen’s questioning. He was rotund and old, Daylen’s junior by only twenty years, yet still strong of voice. He wore a tight suit, and his blue hair, now fading to gray, lay mostly hidden under his top hat.
“Rayaten?” the senator exclaimed when he entered the outer room that Daylen’s cell faced. “Is that really you?”
Another man entered behind the senator, holding a large notebook.
“Darenlight,” Ahrek said with familiarity. “Still a senator, I see.”
“It’s been nearly twenty years! I had heard you had gone off on some pilgrimage—but to become a Lightbringer? I never would have guessed.”
“It’s a good life for me. I go by Ahrek these days.”
“Rayaten, some of us have been seeking you out for years,” Darenlight continued excitedly, ignoring him. “I had nearly decided you were dead. We could use you in the Senate—do you have any idea how influential you would be?”
“Don’t do it, Ahrek,” Daylen said casually as he leaned on the front bars of his cell. “Bad things happen when the leader of a revolution takes a role in government.”
“Rayaten is nothing like you, scum!” the senator hissed.
“That’s enough, Darenlight,” Ahrek said.
The man turned back to the Ahrek. “Rayaten, what in the Light’s grace are you doing here with this monster?”
“Please, Darenlight, my name is Ahrek now,” the Bringer reminded him quietly. “And Daylen is not the tyrant he once was.”
“What are you talking about? We fought together to overthrow him. He murdered your family!”
“No one knows of his crimes more keenly than me. Daylen is truly penitent; that is why he has turned himself in, and I have forgiven him.”
“Impossible,” Darenlight replied, clearly shocked.
“It’s true,” Ahrek said. “I know it’s hard, but if I had taken my revenge when I’d had the chance, Daylen would not have been alive to save the city. Hate creates nothing but more hate, and in some cases it leads to tremendous heartache and sorrow. Peace and forgiveness is the only thing that will heal the pains of the past.”
Darenlight appeared truly awed. “You have changed, Rayaten…I mean, Lightbringer Ahrek.”
“For the better.”
Darenlight was silent for a moment before nodding and turning to Daylen. “Dayless. I’ve been sent to question you.”
Daylen waved a hand. “Question away.”
The senator nodded to the suited man behind him, who opened his book and pulled out one of those new-style pens with internal ink.
“First of all,” Darenlight said, “how did you survive the destruction of your flagship in the Battle of Highdawn?”
“Easily. I wasn’t even on the ship.”
The man with the book had begun writing the moment Darenlight spoke—a scribe to record his answers.
“But several eyewitnesses placed you at the helm of your flagship.”
“A body double. I was overseeing the battle from the palace. When I saw that defeat was inevitable, I ordered the execution of all the attendants and low-ranking officers who had seen me. Only my most trusted servants knew I escaped, and they were all killed off by…” Daylen looked to Ahrek.
Ahrek nodded in resignation. “I killed several of your officials as we stormed the palace, and then oversaw the execution of your head officers once the battle was won.”
“I see,” Darenlight said. “It’s quite poetic that Bringer Ahrek was the one to turn you in.”
“Daylen turned himself in,” Ahrek said firmly. “You will make that very clear to the Senate, Darenlight.”
“Ah, yes, of course,” Darenlight said, before turning back to Daylen. “How did you escape the palace when every exit was being assaulted?”
“Through the sewers,” Daylen said, not mentioning the many secret passageways he had built in the palace and around the city. “Once in hiding I planned to retake my empire, but being alone and having ample time to reflect, I slowly saw it was a vain endeavor. The people were visibly happier after my defeat. Then, as the years passed, I realized my rule was more criminal than just, which led me to understand the true magnitude of my crimes.”
“It’s hard to believe that you’re truly penitent,” Darenlight said dubiously.
“Really? You’d think the more serious sins would be easier to recognize.”
“Or harder to confront in themselves, as that would mean acknowledging one’s own evil.”
Daylen raised an eyebrow. “I have more of a knack for causing confrontations than running from them.”
“Indeed,” Darenlight said. He then proceeded to ask question after question about the time Daylen spent in hiding, wanting information on every single detail, even though there wasn’t much to say. Daylen had lived as a tinker and he had been miserable, and that had been just about it.
“How did this change come upon you, and how did you receive the lightbinding powers?” Darenlight finally asked.
“I went to cast myself from the continent like my letter says,” Daylen said, preparing his lie. “But before I reached the edge, my body gave in and I collapsed, ready to die. There at the very verge of death, I desired more than anything to have lived my life differently. I told myself that if I could do it all over again I would spend each day fighting against those people who were like I had been. The desire was so strong that it was effectively a vow to fight evil. Later, I awoke young, and found myself to have these powers. The Light saw that my desires were true.”
That had made his two knight guards twitch, but they said nothing.
Darenlight stared at Daylen and said, “Out of anything you’ve said, it’s the witness of the Light itself that convinces me you might have changed. You have the powers, so your vow must be true.”
Daylen glanced to Ahrek, who was looking troubled. He clearly didn’t like that Daylen’s change of heart was being supported through a lie. But it was a lie that even Ahrek knew was necessary, as otherwise the whole Archknight Order would be at risk.
“I’m satisfied with what you’ve told me regarding the time you spent in hiding. Now there are some other questions I need to ask.”
Daylen cocked his head. “And they are?”
“Since your defeat, we have found a few stockpiles that you presumably built.”
“Preparations for the next Night.”
“List them.”
“There’s four vaults under the palace, or Senate, now. There’s also a vault in each city district. You’ll find them under the district square, market or council office. I saw that similar stockpiles were built in all the major cities and smaller ones in the larger prefecture towns.”
Darenlight’s mouth was hanging open. “We…We had only found the ones under the Senate. I didn’t realize there were so many.”
“Do you think I ate all the surplus after the people got their share? You’ll find food, supplies, tools, seed, building materials, and weapons, enough for a whole nation. I suggest you leave them for their original purpose.”
“I will pass that to the Senate. Now, what of the Imperial Reserve?”
“Oh, so you found out about that?”
“We’re very thorough.”
“Well, I’ve just told you where it is,” Daylen lied. “The Imperial Reserve refers to the whole system of storage vaults I built throughout the empire.”
“Oh,” Darenlight said, somewhat disappointed, but looking convinced.
Thank goodness—Daylen’s Imperial Reserve wasn’t something he wanted anyone to get their hands on. Apart from the fleet of battle-ready skyships and enough weapons to arm a nation, as well as all of Imperious’ breakings—however many remained—there was also the device he had dug up from his expedition into the Floating Isles: the thing that had enough power to destroy continents. Oh, what the Senate, or any nation for that matter, would give to get their hands on all that.
“What have you done with Imperious? There’s many a Guild member demanding to see it.”
“Imperious shattered when I cut the island in two,” Daylen lied again. “Seems like even that sword had its limits. I only survived the broken link thanks to the Bringer.”
“A great loss, but used to save the city, so a fair trade in my mind. That’s all I have for now,” Darenlight said. “It has been an…interesting experience.”
The senator then bid his fond farewells to Ahrek, with a few more attempts to bribe him into the Senate.
After that, five other senators visited Daylen’s cell within that first week with their own questions and agendas. Darenlight visited another two times as well—his final visit to share what the Senate had decided to do with him.
“There’s going to be a public trial.”
“Very well,” Daylen said.
“Calling it public doesn’t really communicate just how public.”
“All right, then. How public?”
“The heads of state of every nation have been invited to take part in the proceedings. They will all have a say in your sentencing. In addition to this, every person over the age of twenty seems to have grievances against you, as well as many even younger when you take into account lost parents and siblings. Considering the magnitude of your crimes, we the Hamahran Senate have deemed it appropriate that every man, woman, and child be given the opportunity to face you and lay their charges at your feet, where their testimony will be heard and recorded. The trial will be held out in the open, in the center of the city’s Fair Grounds.”
Daylen sighed. “This isn’t necessary. It’s an overelaborate exercise that will lead to the same conclusion. We all know this ends with my execution.”
“We do,” Darenlight said, “but every person alive deserves to know that your execution is for whatever individual wrong you caused them. None should be forgotten.”
“Fine. So you’re not going to hold anything back. I get it, it’s what I deserve…” He sighed again. “This is going to take a while.”
“It’s going to take weeks to organize, let alone carry out. A proclamation is being sent to all nations to come and take their turn in the proceedings. We have scheduled the trial to begin next month, to give those in distant lands time to travel.”
“Very well, then. Is that all?”
“No. You’re entitled to representation.”
“I’ll have no one make excuses for what I’ve done. I plead guilty to all charges.”
“You can pronounce your plea after each charge is issued.”
“Fine. Are we done?”
“Yes. I don’t expect we’ll see each other until the trial.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” Daylen said with masked sarcasm.
“I’m sure,” Darenlight said with a nod and left the cell.
“You don’t look too happy,” Daylen said, sitting on his cot and speaking to Ahrek.
“This isn’t what the Light intends for you.”
Daylen looked to the knight
s on either side of his cell. “Hey, Archons, I don’t suppose you could give us a minute.”
The knights didn’t move.
“It’s perfectly safe,” Ahrek said. “You’ve suppressed his powers and standing guard in the next room will be sufficient for the time we talk.”
The male knight looked to the woman, who nodded, and they left the room.
“We can sense you using your powers,” Daylen called out to them as the darkstone restraint only stopped his channeling, not his light sense. “So we know you’re listening in. Stop it!”
The inner light of the knight stopped shimmering.
All right,” Daylen said to Ahrek, “what do you think the Light intends for me?”
“To live! If it had wanted you dead, it would have let you die earlier.”
“I’ve done what the Light wanted me to and saved the city, preventing another bloody revolution. Now it’s over, and I’m going to answer for my crimes. The Light’s will has been fulfilled.”
“But how do you really know that it’s over?”
“Well, if I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done, I need to face my crimes—and doing so will mean my execution. There’s no other way I live.”
“There’s another way. I was sent to you for a reason.”
“You were sent to me for your own sake as much as mine.”
“That’s a part of it, but…”
“No buts,” Daylen told him. “I know what you’re thinking. You have the miracle of creation and you’re just stupid enough to consider using your last miracle to sacrifice yourself to bring me back.”
“Daylen…I can’t help but feel you have more to offer the world. Letting you die would be a waste.”
“And giving up your own life wouldn’t?”
“I would perform it at the end of my life, as all Bringers do.”
“And then I’d just let them execute me again.”
“No you won’t, not after you’ve answered for your crimes already, knowing there’s more good you can do.”
“If you bring me back, you deny everyone I’ve wronged the very punishment they deemed I deserved. You’ll thwart justice, Bringer, and that can’t be the Light’s will, can it?”
Shadow of the Conqueror Page 51
