The Crooked Knight (The Path of Zaan Book 2)

by C. K. Rieke

  “What is it?” Gogenanth asked.

  “In all his ramblings, he did say one thing that just now comes back to me. While he was mumbling on, he went on about a reckoning coming.” He scratched his head. “He said there was a winged reckoning coming from the north.”

  “What are you saying?” Gogenanth asked.

  “I didn’t think much of it until now, standing in front of you looking at your skin and hair color. In his stammering and rambling, the wretched man said terrible beasts were coming for the man of long black hair and white skin, and a man born from darkness,” Wollen said with grave concern. They both looked back toward the Cascades and Barrier Cliff.

  “Zaan.”

  PART III

  The Coming

  Storm

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  HE concentrated, and focused hard. The chanting became louder the longer he struggled. Sweat welled and ran down his neck and arms. “Halanal,” he chanted aloud. Through his concentration he strained and searched with his closed eyes, trying to find what he couldn’t see.

  With an aggravated sigh, he opened his eyes. “This is impossible. There is no way I could know what you have behind your back without just guessing,” Zaan said.

  “I’ve told you before, Gildur could do it. You can do it . . . Again,” Zelestiana said. She stood six feet away, with her back to the rushing sea, and both arms holding an object Zaan had been trying to see for over a week.

  “. . . Okay, I’ll try again, but I don’t see . . .” Zaan said, and saw Elindrill walking up the winding, black-stone path to the side of them. She wore an ivory silk hood that made her dark skin glow.

  “Let’s try something different,” Zelestiana said as Elindrill knelt and lay a dozen strands of hay at Zaan’s feet.

  Elindrill looked at the strands. With a whisper, a flicker of light caught the dry hay. Light wisps of smoke began to rise.

  “Try again,” Zelestiana said.

  He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

  “Breathe in the smoke, feel it in you. Remember your time in the Black Cave. Think of the old man who perished down there. Think of Emilisa, and Reizenthrōgz,” Zelestiana said.

  His eyes were closed, but gradually something came into view in the darkness. He felt as if he could see as clearly as an eagle. The world he saw was not made of the full spectrum of colors as with open eyes. Depths were created by the different shades of blue that danced in the blackness of closed eyes.

  Then he saw it. He struggled to concentrate, but continued to focus in on it. Then the blue images faded from his view quickly and his body relaxed, and his shoulders loosened.

  “A length of rope?” Zaan asked, opening his eyes and looking back up at Zelestiana.

  She nodded in affirmation.

  “Finally,” he sighed, knelt, and wiped his brow, giving a quick laugh. Zelestiana stood over him, her hands behind her back. She didn’t say anything, only watched Zaan, eagerly, as if she was waiting to speak.

  As he caught his breath, he huffed, “Well, I did it. I didn’t know it would . . .” He breathed in and out heavily, “Be so tough.”

  “What did you see, exactly?”

  “Well, it was like . . . a different world. Everything was dark but there were shades of blue fire, or steam. It’s hard to explain.”

  She reached a hand out to him. He put his hand up, and she easily lifted him back up to his feet. “Well done.” She laid the piece of rope on the edge of the cliffs of the city. “Do you want to keep it?”

  He laughed. “No. I don’t really like that rope. How long did it take?”

  “We have tried one-hundred-seventy-eight times,” she said.

  “Damn, a piece of rope is all it was,” he said. Well, with all that work put in, it feels great to have finally accomplished the task.

  Elindrill walked down the curving stairway back out of sight. Zelestiana took a look out over the high walls of Barrier Cliff to look out towards the forest and towards Garmos Castle. “Yes, but it really could have been anything. Would it be easier if it was a dagger, or gold?”

  “Well, yes, I think it would, actually,” Zaan said. She gave a brief laugh. “What’s next?”

  Zelestiana squint her thin eyes past the forest and Cascades in the distance. “We will continue developing this skill, and we will work on the mass of the objects you will move.”

  Zaan wasn’t able to contain his smile. That was secretly what he had been waiting for the whole time. Even since the incident with Gar, and the botched roofing accident, Zaan had not been allowed to try to lift heavier things. He was at the will of Mäezer Palanzal and Zelestiana, and their curriculum of training. Now, he got to do what he wanted most.

  “We are also going to introduce blood into your training soon. We are done for today, and you can take tomorrow off,” Zelestiana said, in a nonchalant tone.

  This was surprising to Zaan, who had never been given a day off from her before. He was going to enjoy that, he was sure. She turned and walked down the steps leading back to the center of the city. He followed behind, and instinctively grabbed the length of rope, and stuffed it into his pocket on the way down.

  ***

  After stuffing golden melon, sourdough, and whipped butter into his mouth, he was at the entrance to Elindrill’s study. He knocked lightly and heard her voice, “Come in.”

  He wiped the crumbs from him mouth and stepped into her study. A warm fire burned in the corner of the room. Her study was covered on every wall by extravagantly woven tapestries. Zaan didn’t recognize the style from anything he had seen in Barrier Cliff. Many books of various colors and shapes were on a half dozen shelves.

  Elindrill sat at her reading table, her favorite place in the whole city. Zaan knew better than to disturb her when she read. If she lost her spot, she made quite a fuss about having to go find where she left off. Zaan fingered through the shelves of books, pulling out one: the Adventures of the Absent Minded, which he put back. Then he shuffled through a couple more. He took one more down: the Habits of Women from the South, a Brief History of Women from the Worforgon. He opened it and read the intro and began to turn the pages.

  “That is a good read, if you are inclined to hear sad stories,” Elindrill said as she marked her page and put her book on her table.

  Zaan closed the book, put it back on the shelves, and went and sat at the table on a cherry wood stool with a satin cushion, next to her. The Worforgon . . . from what I’ve heard the other continents are harsh places. I’m not sure if I’d want to travel to one, even if I had the chance.

  “How are you?” she asked.

  “Pretty good. It’s exciting to accomplish what I thought would never come.”

  “That’s good. Were you underwhelmed?” Elindrill asked.

  He laughed. “You could say that. Thank you for your help.”

  “It was Zelestiana’s idea, to use all of your triggers at once to hone in your Azulūz.” She smiled, and thin wrinkles framed her kind face. “It seemed to work just fine.”

  “Can I ask you a question? About the Azulūz?” he asked.

  She nodded, “Go ahead.”

  “So are you able to create fire?”

  She nodded again. “I can also manipulate it.”

  “That seems like a powerful ability,” he said.

  “Depends on how one would use it,” she said.

  “I wish I could do that too, I actually wish I had Gogenanth’s invisibility as well,” he said.

  “Each of us are blessed with one ability, and one only. You are indeed blessed to have yours, a gift from the gods,” she said.

  “Yes, of course . . . I didn’t mean anything by it . . .”

  Elindrill laughed and crossed her legs under her long, flowing dress. “Today, I would like to do something special for you,” she said. He pushed his hair behind his ears with both hands, and leaned in eagerly.

  “I am here to hopefully help
you to become a wise man,” she said. He nodded. “To teach this, is not an easy task. More often than not, the mind only absorbs what it wants to absorb. Wisdom is not an easy road to walk, not only does it take time, but one must see things that are,” she cleared her throat, “not pleasant.”

  “Hence the lesson in the woods?” He looked away briefly, to hide the pain in his eyes.

  She nodded. “In time, I trust you will understand the significance of that experience and knowledge. Until that time, just know, that few wise men and women come from lives of wealth and abundance. It’s the hardest lessons in life, that we carry the longest,” she said, then brushed her white hair back, and reached over and stoked the fire. “I believe you understand what it is I am saying.”

  Zaan sat still in his seat, and gave silent approval. Elindrill reached over, grabbed a bottle of light red wine, and placed two glasses on the table. “Today, you get to ask me your questions. Whenever you are done, the lesson is over.”

  “Do you mind?” She handed the bottle over to him with a corkscrew, its handle was made of ivory. He removed the cork and poured two glasses.

  “I can ask you anything?” he asked. She nodded in approval as she twirled the wine in her glass, smelled it, and after a small smile, took a tiny sip.

  He had been seeing her daily for weeks now, and they mainly sat and read together, discussing the readings with each other. Wanting to come up with an interesting first question, he sat and thought of his friends, “Do you know what Lily will be able to do with her Azulūz?”

  She didn’t think long. “No.” She took another small sip of wine. “I don’t know for certain, but I have my suspicions.”

  “What do you think it is?” he asked.

  “I suspect she will be able to communicate with the world around us,” she said.

  “You mean . . . What do you mean?” he asked.

  “She may be able to talk and listen to the land and certain things that live around us. But I am not certain of this, only time will tell. Tilda will certainly help her discover her abilities. I trust you won’t tell her. It’s always better to learn these things on your own. What is your next question?”

  He thought another moment. “Astor, your kin, does he have a family from your hometown? He rarely speaks of his home.”

  “He had a wife.”

  “Oh, did she . . .?” he didn’t complete the question.

  “She is no longer with us,” she said, and took a larger sip of wine. Finishing it, she glanced down at the empty glass, Zaan poured her another.

  “That’s sad. I’m sorry to hear that. Tilda lost her husband as well. There seems to be a lot of loss in this world.”

  “Indeed there is. What else?” she asked.

  “Hmm,” he said, as he put a finger and thumb on his chin and sat back. “How many others have the Azulūz out there?”

  “That, Zaan, is a difficult answer to give. It is unknown how many live out in the world with the Azulūz, carrying it, knowing it, or not,” she said, and looked at Zaan’s face, reading its slight movements. “It’s unfortunate that often we find our own, by finding out Angela Dragus is after one.” She gave Zaan a knowing look. “Go ahead, you know you want to ask it.”

  “Why do we have the Azulūz? Why does it exist? Why did I almost get knocked out when I got it, and Lily doesn’t even know she has it?”

  “Ah, those are good questions.” She sat up in her seat, uncrossed her legs and turned sideways, looking out the window to the outside. “The most beautiful thing about the Azulūz, is also the most frustrating. Remember Zaan, the Azulūz is of the gods. Man cannot hope to know the ways of the gods, even the forgotten ones. That is why we may never know the answers to those questions. There are things we do know though: there are a set number of abilities, one can only possess one ability, and do not let yourself be taken, as your light will be extinguished forever.”

  He felt unsatisfied by that answer, but another question popped into his mind then, “Who was the woman Major Gylem and Gildur fought over when they first met? Was it Tilda?”

  “Tilda, no. I’m not sure if I’m the one to tell you that story,” she said.

  Zaan took a sip of wine. He asked a few more questions, more information about his friends, and the history of Barrier Cliff, and even a question about how old Fur-lol was. She told him over eight-hundred years. He looked forward to when he could travel home and tell his parents. Yet, after learning that even the elders had little idea what the Azulūz was, the rest seemed less interesting, and less dramatic. He traveled back home afterward and lay in his bed, thinking of where the Azulūz could have come from, and why such a thing would exist.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  WALKING down the winding stairways of the city, Zaan pondered over all of the things Elindrill had told him. He also thought of the things that he could’ve asked, but didn’t. Maybe that was why she had that bottle, to cloud his thoughts, but probably not. It was just a nice touch.

  It crossed his mind that he should find Lily, if he could. She was usually difficult to find, as she was known for being a bit of a rarity around Barrier Cliff. He heard far more of her than he got to see of her. Would it make it easier for her if he told her what Elindrill had told him about her power, or rather, the possibility of her Azulūz’s capabilities? Zaan dismissed that thought though. It was generally more beneficial to learn things on one’s own.

  Although, it would have been nice to know about his own abilities before being enslaved in the Black Cave. He could have escaped that first day. Then, a very difficult question crossed his mind: was it good that I suffered so in the Black Cave for so long? Did it make me stronger? He didn’t think anyone could answer that question for him, but he would continue to think about that for the remainder of his life.

  He let his fingers glide along the tops of the black, slick stone hanging over the high cliffs of the city. The feeling of the smooth stone contrasted nicely to the feeling of the lilacs blooming out of garden boxes along the walkways. To his right, were the three high towers of Barrier Cliff. They shot straight up, hitting the cloud line. Zaan wondered if Palanzal was researching the red stone at that very moment up in the high nest of the tallest tower.

  Turning a corner leading to the main courtyard, he saw the new statue of Gildur, looming large and heroic. There were a few people bustling in the courtyard, all of whom he recognized. A bright shimmer of gold caught his eye, and he saw Lily sitting on a bench not far from the statue. As he wasn’t in great spirits the last time they met, he decided to go over and apologize.

  As he approached, he expected her to lift her head and see him, but the closer he got, the warier he was about joining her at that time. She lifted her head slightly and glanced at him through a couple of her golden locks. She quickly put her head back down and sniffled, wiping away moisture from her face.

  “Oh, hi, Zaan.”

  Zaan kept his distance. “Is this a bad time? I can come back later.”

  “No, it’s okay. You can come sit,” she said, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks. He went and sat next to her, but not too close. She looked up at the statue of Gildur. Her normally smooth complexion was rosy and blushed. They sat there for a few moments in silence, looking up at the magnificence of the statue.

  “It really is nice, isn’t it?” she said.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “He saved my life.” Tears formed again, she closed her eyes, and the tears streamed down. Zaan sat there silently as she sobbed. Poor girl. She has gone through so much, and she blames herself for it. I wish I could ease her pain.

  “He died for me,” she said, pain cutting through her words.

  “He died for us,” Zaan added. “It’s not your fault.” I wish I could go back and change the way things ended. Maybe I could’ve done something to save him. I guess she thinks the same thing.

  “You ever feel like you are just bad luck?” she asked, then looked up at Zaan
. “You ever feel like bad things just follow you around? And that everyone that gets close to you gets hurt? I feel like I’m cursed.”

  “Don’t think like that, Lily. You’ve just had terrible things happen to you. You are safe here, we are safe here,” Zaan said.

  They sat there silently for a few moments more. Lily sniffled, and pulled out a handkerchief to blow her nose. Excuse me. “You don’t have any tobacco leaves, do you?” she asked Zaan.

  “Sorry, no I don’t, I can go get some if you want.”

  “No, that’s okay,” she gave Zaan a small smile.

  “I didn’t know you smoked,” he said.

  “I don’t really. I’ve taken a few puffs off of Stave’s pipe a couple of times,” she said, seeming lighter. Zaan gave an approving smile. “Funny thing is, I think its disgusting. I usually feel like an old man the next day after smoking.” He started laughing, and then Lily followed.

  “Now I want to go get some, and see you smoke it,” he said.

  “How about just a glass of wine. That sounds better.” She held her hand out and, he took it and helped her up.

  “Folk’s?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  They walked up to the left of the courtyard towards Folk’s Inn, and Zaan’s heart about beat out of his chest. He was elated to finally have some time alone with Lily, albeit, initially quite sad. “I’m sorry for the other day by the way.”

  “Oh, no, don’t even think it was anything.” She gave him a gentle touch on the arm. “I do hope you are feeling better.”

  “Yeah, I am. I was just having a rough day.”

  “I don’t know anything about that,” she said, giving a slight laugh. “Let’s just both pretend that we’re two normal people going to get a drink for no other reason than to just enjoy the beautiful day.”

  “Agreed.”

  They entered Folk’s Inn, and as Zaan was looking for a table, in the already crowded bar, he heard, “There you are.” Zaan knew instantly who it was.