by C. K. Rieke
“How do we accomplish that? Do we just wait?” Zaan asked.
Palanzal shifted his seat back, and his chair legs screeched on the wood floor. He slid open a creaky drawer on the left side of his desk and pulled out a tattered book. Zaan could already see that half of its pages had been torn out, and its front cover was so worn that nothing was legible.
“That’s it, isn’t it? The Revelation of Secrecy and Light. The one book that speaks of religion. We could all be killed for even being around that,” Zaan said.
“Indeed this is the one book,” Palanzal said as he turned it around and slid it carefully to Zaan.
“May I?” Zaan asked, with his hands hovering over its light, worn leather cover. Palanzal nodded.
Zaan softly touched the top corner of the book and opened it to reveal that in fact it was missing over half of its pages. He began to thumb through them one by one, and a confused look came over his face. He looked up at Palanzal.
“Yes, it is a very old language. I doubt you will be able to read a word,” Palanzal said. “There are few who can read it. We believe it’s in a language from the northern continent of Sarcasus, when it was a warmer and more hospitable place.
“What does it say?”
“It is actually fairly convoluted— a collection of short stories mixed with historical facts of old family lineages and currencies. But here,” Elindrill said as she turned to a page halfway through the book, “is the one page that speaks of us.”
Zaan crept closer to the book and peered at an intricately decorated page with thin ink lines dancing around the letters on its margins. Behind the text was a faint blue ring of fire. Scanning through the text he saw, only once, “Azulūz” in the middle of a sentence. “I see it. What does the sentence say?”
“It says, translated, Those who possess the power of the gods, the Azulūz, must use it to awaken the great gods from their slumber. And it goes on to speak of the Great God Ojiin and the Devil King Armoz,” Elindrill said.
“So we have to awaken the gods,” Zaan enthused.
“That’s not all it says, though, and this is why we brought you up here,” Palanzal said. “A couple of lines before that, there is a prophecy: an ominous prophecy.”
Zaan raised an eyebrow.
“It says here,” Elindrill said, following the sentence with her forefinger as she read. “When comes the thirteenth heir of the first Crusader, cometh a war of vast reach, grand and destructive. When the war is waged, all that is hidden will be revealed.”
Zaan sat back in his chair as Elindrill and Palanzal watched him and waited for his reaction.
“I’m the thirteenth heir, aren’t I?”
Elindrill nodded, and Palanzal spoke. “We don’t know how much you have to do with any of this prophecy, but you are the indicator that war is coming.”
“It seems far from coincidental that you have found this extremely rare red stone as well,” Elindrill said.
“Have you found anything about it, Headmaster?” Zaan asked.
“Zaan, I have done extensive digging, and I haven’t found a single mention of anything like it. But just that fact alone makes me even more curious about it. Perhaps . . . Perhaps you should leave it here for safekeeping,” Palanzal said, holding out an open palm.
Zaan looked at the old man’s gnarled fingers, and at Elindrill’s eyes as she waited for a response from him. “I trust both of you deeply, but I think I’d like to continue holding onto it. At least for a while.”
“You have every right to keep it,” Palanzal said, “but do us a favor and don’t lose it.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
HE had been home less than an hour when another knock came at his door. This knock was much stronger and louder. Zaan went over and turned the iron knob, and there at the entrance stood Gildur, Gogenanth, Astor, and Gar.
“Can you come with us?” Gogenanth asked.
Zaan nodded yes, with a big gulp in his throat. Gogenanth put his hand on Zaan’s back as he motioned him out the door.
“We are going to go to the next building over. It’s a quiet place,” Gogenanth told Zaan. Zaan did not feel comfortable in the silence as they walked down the stairs, out the door, through the snow, and into the building next to his own. They opened the door with a key and revealed a broad open room with two tables, a dozen chairs, and no windows. Astor went around and lit the torches with his flint and steel.
“Is everything okay?” Zaan asked, feeling as though he was about to be further scolded, possibly disciplined.
“There is something we need to tell you and Gar about, Zaan,” Gildur said. They all went and sat at a cleared table together.
“What?” Zaan asked.
“Somebody is in trouble, and you need to know about it,” Gildur said. “Do you both remember when we last spoke in Auracity, all together?
“Yes,” Gar said.
“Yes?” Zaan said.
“Do you remember when we told you that there were people out there looking for you, Zaan, who wanted to capture you, and kill or torture you?” Gildur asked, conjuring bad memories of the chase and imprisonment that followed. Zaan nodded yes.
“Well, they have captured another,” Gildur said. Zaan turned pale at this.
“No . . .” Zaan paused. “No, not again.”
Gar was speechless.
“Yes, Zaan,” Astor said. “And now it is time for us to go rescue this girl.”
“It’s a girl?” Zaan asked.
“Yes. Her name is Lily, and she is a few years younger than you,” Astor added.
“No!” Zaan yelled as he stood and smashed his fists on the table. “No, dammit! No, they can’t do this again!”
The door opened, and the light from the reflecting snow outside briefly distracted Zaan. In walked Major Gylem, whom Zaan had not seen since he first came to Barrier Cliff.
“You remember Major Gylem Hearthstone, Zaan?” Gogenanth asked.
“Yes, hello, Major,” Zaan replied, then sat back down, his fists still in balls.
“Hello, Zaan,” the major replied.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I bring news.” The major paused. “We found her.”
The group perked up at once upon hearing this. “Where is she?” Gildur asked, with great strength in his voice.
“It is not good. She is not being held in Auracity as we’d previously thought. She is in transit to Garmos Castle,” the major said. Despair rang in his voice.
“No,” Gildur said. “Once she is there, she is surely lost!”
“We have little time, but it is possible we can catch her on the road,” the major responded.
“Then we must leave now!” Gogenanth sprang to his feet.
“There is something else. The girl Lily is being personally escorted by Angela Dragus the Righteous,” the major said. Gogenanth raised his eyebrows in disbelief, and Gildur hung and shook his head.
“This is bad,” Astor said as he put both of his open palms on his brow.
“Who is she?” Gar asked.
The major crossed his short arms on his chest. “She is a very powerful sorceress for Armoz. She is vicious and has many weapons at her disposal.”
“Then surely we have little chance of intervening in their pathway to Garmos Castle,” Astor said.
“Well, there is the interesting thing,” the major said.
“Go on,” Gildur said.
“They are moving quite slowly on foot. Lily is mounted on a horse, blindfolded and bound, but Angela Dragus the Righteous is on foot, accompanied by only six armed men,” the major said. “We could catch them before they get to Garmos if we leave now and the weather holds.”
“Hmm . . .” Gildur scratched his beard and sat back. “Why would they be on foot? That makes no sense. There must be a reason. But we have no choice—we must leave at once.”
“I want to go,” Zaan said softly.
“Me too,” Gar said.
Gogenanth crossed his arms, showing the healing scars left from the mountain wolves. “Out of the question. We are just here to keep you informed. Neither of you should leave the safety of the castle—especially you, Zaan, since you are still being hunted.”
“Why? I can handle myself in a fight. I can’t let anything happen to that girl. I just can’t!” Zaan yelled.
“Trust us, Zaan,” Astor said. “We are going, and we are taking good warriors with us.”
“You can’t stop me from going. I’m not going to let what happened to me happen to that girl. I want to fight!” Zaan said as he looked at Gildur.
“As do I. We’re not letting you go into danger without us,” Gar said.
Gildur looked over at Gogenanth, who still had his arms crossed at his chest. Astor gave a smirk and shrugged his shoulders. “Zaan did kill an armed soldier, and he escaped that cave before we even got there.”
The major gave a short burst of laughter at that. “I would’ve given one hundred solids to see that one, ay.”
Gildur looked over at Gogenanth, who looked at Gar and Zaan. “I can’t promise you’ll make it back. Are you willing to risk everything for someone you’ve never met?”
“Yes,” said Gar.
“Absolutely,” Zaan said.
“Good,” Gildur said.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
GOGENANTH sent Zaan and Gar off to collect their things. He told them to gather warm clothes, weapons, and little else, except food. They would be leaving soon, and would meet at the entrance to Barrier Cliff within the hour.
As Zaan was packing, a light knock came at the door. Zaan went over, expecting to see Gar’s face, but was stunned to see Tilda standing there. A strand of her hair blew into the room as the door opened inward.
“Hi, Zaan,” she said as she took a step inside. Zaan had to take a quick step back to make room.
“Hey,” Zaan responded, hurt still.
“Listen, we are leaving soon, and I need to make right with you before I go.”
“I am going as well,” Zaan said.
“What? You can’t go! What are you talking about?” she said as she pushed him.
“I said I was going, and they said it was okay.” She looked past him at the small piles of clothes and food on the bed behind him.
“It’s too dangerous. You might get hurt!” she said loudly in frustration.
“You might get hurt,” he responded, “which I won’t let happen, and I can’t let that girl be hurt either. I couldn’t live with myself if I just sat here.”
“You are so”—she tried to find the right word to describe her frustration—“childish.”
“Childish? I may be younger than you, but I have been through a lot.”
“I know you have, Zaan, and I am sorry for that. You have been through more pain recently than a lot of people go through in their whole lives, but you are young. You have a lot to grow into. Palanzal has plans for you, but you have to become stronger and wiser first.”
“Dammit, I’m not a kid. I have been through my fair share lately, but the thing that hurt the most was you. You made me feel important, and made me feel like there was something more to life.” He took a step toward her. “Then you just turned around and stepped on my heart. Is that what you came here for, to make yourself feel better about leaving?”
“ . . . Yes.”
“Well, is it working?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Now I have to worry about you leaving and getting hurt.”
“You act like you care about me. You just care about yourself,” he said, as he was angry. But after he said this, he instantly regretted it. “I didn’t mean that.”
She held herself with her arms and let out a sigh. “You’re wrong. I do care about you. But we can’t be together. Don’t you get it? I’m twice your age. Have you ever snuck out with a girl, been in love, or done the things kids do back in Fur-lol?” she said, and waited for his reaction.
He stood speechless, taken aback, then after a few moments replied, “Yes, I’ve done some of those things, but no, I’ve never been in love.” An awkward silence followed. “What does that matter anyways? I want to be with you.”
“You are young, and you deserve young love. You deserve to get married and have children and grow old with someone you love,” she said, holding herself. A tear ran down her face and fell off her chin.
“I don’t want that. I just wanted to be with you. How many different ways do I need to tell you?”
“You’re too young to know what you want. I can’t give you any of those things, Zaan. It’s better if we just stay friends. I would like it if you could be happy with that,” she said, looking into his eyes.
“I don’t know if I can,” he said.
“I hope you can, because if you are going with us, it’s important that you are focused. This’ll be a very bad place we’re going. It worries me you are traveling there,” Tilda said.
“I’m going, and I’m going to be fine.” He wiped the moisture from his cheek. A loud horn blew in the distance.
“It’s time to go,” Tilda said as she walked out the door and shut it behind her.
Zaan started stuffing his clothes into his bag. He finished with it and then closed it tight. He ran out the door, locking it behind him. He ran down the stairs, opened the door into the snow-filled streets of Barrier Cliff, and walked halfway down the street. He then paused and reached down to his left thigh, where his sword should have been. “Shit.” He turned back around. Five minutes later he was on his way to the gate of Barrier Cliff with his sword at his side.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
THEY set out that night, walking across the plains to the west of Barrier Cliff, back toward the Cascades. Zaan felt uneasy heading back toward those mountains. He remembered all too well how big the wolves in the mountains were. He looked back at Gogenanth, who trailed behind him. Gogenanth did not meet his gaze, but stared deep into the mountains himself. Fire glowed in his eyes.
The party was walking in single file: Gildur, Zelestiana, Tilda, Astor, Zaan, Gar, Gogenanth, and two more who trailed behind. Zaan knew that he recognized the last two, but he didn’t remember exactly who they were until they stopped to take a rest.
They stopped at the foothills of the Cascades, where Gildur told the group to relax, and then he and Zelestiana went off together. They moved swiftly out of sight, and the party remaining took turns drinking water and eating dried meat and fruits.
“Remember us?” the strange man asked of Zaan. He was seated next to a woman, and they both smiled at Zaan. “We remember you.” Zaan thought, then recognized the man’s broad size and the woman’s smile, which appeared to have too many teeth.
“Wol . . . Wollen?” Zaan asked.
“That’s right, and you are Zaan Talabard,” Wollen replied. “You remember Xersha, I’m sure? We met in your hometown, I believe.”
“Yes, wow, that seems like a lifetime ago,” Zaan said, recollecting his thoughts. “Last we met, you said you were going far west.”
“We did, but then word came to us of your fate,” Wollen replied. “We came to help however we could, but you, Zaan Talabard, made it to Barrier Cliff, a remarkable journey indeed.”
“I thank you for that, but what are you doing here, then? I thought you were treasure hunters?” Zaan asked.
Xersha laughed. “We are. Treasure can mean so many things; and come in many different forms.” She looked over at Wollen, who nodded. “We are here to help rescue the girl, same as you.”
“Except you, Zaan, are not being paid to do so,” Gogenanth said, sneering at Wollen. “These two are mercenaries, hired guns.”
“There’s a reason people pay us; there’s a reason Palanzal pays us,” Xersha said. “We are the best.”
“We didn’t ask for you to accompany us,” Gogenanth said with disgust.
“Regardless, Zaan, we have heard much about your travels since we last spoke wi
th you,” Wollen said, diverting Gogenanth’s disdain for them back to attention at Zaan. “Many, in fact, have heard about your deeds at the Black Cave. There are some who believe you are Divine.” That made Zaan laugh.
“I’m just like everyone else. Right place, right time, I suppose.” Xersha seemed to eye Zaan closely as he said this. “Do you two have the Azulūz?” Wollen and Xersha looked at each other, confused.
“No,” Gogenanth replied for them.
“All right, everybody up,” Gildur’s voice came in before they realized he was back. They all stood up quickly and repacked. “We found the entrance.”
“What’s the plan?” Tilda asked as they walked as a group then.
Gildur stopped in front of a large sheer cliff, one hundred yards high, with no visible imperfections on it. It was a long, blank, smooth canvas of stone. “The plan is to cut off Angela Dragus the Righteous before she reaches Garmos, the giant castle that lies where the Great Sea and the Cariaan River meet. They are traveling fairly slowly up from Auracity through the Yelden Forest. We think they are passing Tarluus tonight or early tomorrow.”
“How can we catch up with them in that short a time?” Wollen asked Gildur. “They would surely be at Garmos in two days or less if they acquire more horses.” He threw his hands in the air. “And we only have to traverse through some of the sharpest mountains in all of Essill!”
“There are advantages we carry to hasten Lily’s rescue,” Zelestiana said as she extended her long arm toward the stone wall and inserted her index finger into it. Wollen’s eyes grew wide.
“The White Passage,” Xersha said in astonishment. Zaan’s mouth hung open as he watched Zelestiana walk into the solid stone, Gildur following. They continued one by one into the mountain’s surface until only Zaan and Gar remained. They stood there in disbelief. Zaan looked over at Gar, as they both felt timid to touch the stone. But then they both heard the loud howl of wolves in the distance and jumped with all their energy into the White Passage.
