The Sword

by Bryan M. Litfin

Sucula intervened. “Now, Valent, we didn’t ask our guests here to talk about romance. We should discuss the future of the house community.”

  “Indeed.” Valent leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he regarded Shaphan intently. “I see a real future for you, young man. You have leadership skills, that’s for sure.” Lina slipped her hand over Shaphan’s as it lay on the table.

  “Thank you, Valent,” he said. “I like to think so, but sometimes I doubt myself. I’m not sure how to lead. I need someone to show me the way.”

  “Exactly!” Valent held up his index finger. “That’s precisely what I had in mind! With the loss of our beloved brother Stratetix, Maurice isn’t going to be able to hold things together. He’s old, you know. Somebody stronger is going to have to fill the leadership void in the community. With Deu’s help, I’m willing to do it, and I’d like to rely on you for assistance. Can I count on you, Shaphan?”

  Before the metalsmith could answer, Lina broke in. “Shaphan is the kind of man you can count on, sir.” She gripped his hand in hers, and the pair exchanged affectionate glances.

  “Good! I was hoping for that. Despite the horrendous events of yesterday, I continue to be optimistic about the future of the community. The only problem I foresee is that I don’t have access to the Sacred Writing. It’s hard to lead when I can’t consult the holy text directly and have to rely on translations.”

  “Can you read the Fluid Tongue of the Ancients?” Shaphan asked in astonishment.

  A mysterious smile crept across Valent’s face. “Do you think I was a trapper my whole life? Before your friend Teofil was even born, I was a young student at the University, reciting my lessons. ‘Je suis, tu es, il est.’ The monks had great expectations for me, but I grew bored, so I gave it up for the outdoor life.” Valent became thoughtful, gazing out the window with a wistful expression, his finger tapping against his chin. “I sure wish I could see the Sacred Writing for myself. Of course, that’s probably impossible.”

  “Yeah,” Shaphan agreed. “Professor Teofil keeps it under his bed, locked in his room. But who knows? Maybe he’d loan it to you?”

  “Not likely. I doubt he’d let his prized possession out of sight for my sake.” Valent turned toward Shaphan and leaned close. “But what if you—his favorite student—asked to borrow it?”

  Shaphan’s face fell. “I’m not his favorite student. He doesn’t seem to have time for that kind of thing.”

  “Hmm. I don’t know why he’s shunning you, Shaphan. You deserve better. You’re a talented young man. I can see you have promise.”

  “You think so?” Shaphan lifted his eyes, and Valent grinned at him.

  “I sure do. Why don’t you see what you can do about the book, okay?” Valent turned toward his wife. “Now, Sucula, how about some lunch for our guests?”

  Sucula arose and brought a steaming tureen of lentil soup to the table. After the hearty meal, she set out a plate of little cakes dripping with honey. Valent kept the conversation light during the pleasant lunch until at last he stood and offered an apology. “I’d like to stay and enjoy your company,” he said, “but unfortunately I have business I must attend to.”

  Sucula looked surprised. “Business?”

  “Surely you didn’t forget I’m headed to the Citadel this afternoon!”

  “Oh, right. The Citadel.”

  Sensing the visit had come to an end, Shaphan and Lina took their leave, thanking the married couple profusely for their hospitality. They exited the chalet and headed down the trail to Vingin, holding hands.

  “Remember when we used to hold hands like that?” Sucula asked as she watched them go.

  “I need you to pack my rucksack,” Valent said. “Be sure to include my best clothes. It’s contract negotiation time with the Furriers’ Guild, and I want to make a good impression.”

  “I’ll pack for you right away, my love. Will you be gone long?”

  Valent frowned at his wife. “Several nights, unless everything goes perfectly and I can break away early. Of course, that never happens.”

  Sucula sighed. “I’ll think of you every moment until you get back,” she said sweetly.

  The sun slipped behind the mountains as Teo rode down the Maiden’s Valley toward Lekovil. The fields of the small farms on the valley floor had been tilled recently and were ready to receive the spring rye. Teo liked nothing better than a dark rye bread slathered with butter, but with no food on his stomach since yesterday, he could eat boot leather tonight and be satisfied.

  The winds had been gusting all day, creating an unpleasant warmth that numbed the brain and brought lethargy to the body. The unnat-urally dry air made far-off locations loom closer than usual. Teo felt he could almost look inside the windows of distant Vingin, which normally appeared as a brown patch of chalets up on the grassy terrace.

  At the University’s gate, Teo dismounted and handed the horse’s reins to a stable boy. He desperately wanted a bath, though a meal sounded good too. Teo couldn’t decide which he would enjoy more. Maybe I could eat a meal in the bath? He approached the gatekeeper, preoccupied with his dilemma.

  “Greetings, Professor Teofil.”

  “I need my key.” Teo held out his hand. The cut on his tongue made his mouth hurt as he spoke.

  “You didn’t leave your key with me, sir.”

  Teo’s head snapped around. “What do you mean I didn’t leave my key? Where else would I have left it? It’s here somewhere.”

  “I’ll look for it. Just a moment.” The gatekeeper shuffled through his log as Teo drummed his fingers on the desk. “No, sir. There’s no entry since you last picked it up.”

  “Let me see.”

  The man pushed the log across the desk. Teo scanned it, but it contained no record that his key had been left at the gate. A glance at the empty cubbyhole on the wall confirmed it wasn’t there.

  “You must have forgotten to record it. Check the wall for misplaced keys. Mine is 4N.”

  “I know, sir. I’ll check.” The man inspected every key in the cubbyholes. “It’s not here. Could you have kept it in your rucksack?”

  Teo dropped to his knee and began rummaging around, but a sinking feeling was beginning to gather in his stomach. The heavy iron key wasn’t in the pack. When did I last leave here? He tried to recall the circumstances of his departure, but his brain was scrambled by his exhausting day. Suddenly it hit him: Astrebril’s Curse! In all the confusion of that terrible morning, he had left his key in the lock! Teo leaped to his feet and ran to his room. The keyhole was empty. When he tried the knob, it turned. He swore and threw open the door.

  Everything was in its proper place. The parchments on Teo’s desk lay undisturbed, his good bow was still in the cabinet, and the sack of coins he kept in his dresser had not been removed. He breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever had found the key wasn’t out for a quick snatch-and-run. Still, Teo needed to check one more thing.

  He climbed the stairs to the upper room, which served as his bedroom. The bedcovers were rumpled and unmade, just as he had left them when the explosion had awakened him at dawn. Teo held his breath as he slipped the wooden chest from under his bed and raised the lid.

  No! It can’t be!

  The box was empty. The Sacred Writing of Deu was gone. An overwhelming dread settled onto Teo’s shoulders. He ran downstairs, hoping he had left the book sitting out, yet all the while knowing he always put it away when he was finished translating. Frantically, he searched the little room again and again but found nothing. A few messy translator’s notes lay scattered about, but there was no sign of the ancient book. He returned to the chest upstairs and reopened the lid, as if somehow the Sacred Writing would have found its way back inside. Bare wood stared back at Teo, mocking him.

  No! No! He held his head in his hands. What have I done?

  Teo collapsed on his bed, physically and emotionally spent. Without the book, the house community would come to ruin. And it was his fault.

  “I�
��m here to see Professor Teofil.” Ana folded her hands on the gatekeeper’s counter. The satchel of Shaphan’s scrolls was in the rucksack at her feet.

  “You’re in luck. He just arrived a little while ago.”

  “If you could send someone to let him know I’m here—”

  “That won’t be necessary. He authorized you the other day. Go ahead. It’s number four on the right.”

  “Thanks.” Ana hoisted her rucksack to her shoulder and entered the University’s courtyard. The sound of the waterfall in the dusk reminded her of summer rain falling on the Farm River.

  “Excuse me, miss?” Ana turned toward the gatekeeper at his desk. “You should know, the professor isn’t in the best of moods. I hope you’re not thinking of dunking him again.” The gatekeeper was trying to disguise his warning as a joke, but nothing about it made Ana feel amused.

  Teo’s door was closed when Ana arrived, though the lamps were lit. She hesitated, then knocked firmly.

  No answer.

  Ana knocked again. “Teo? Are you there?”

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Ana.”

  The door opened and Teo stood there, disheveled and worn. “You’re the last person I wanted to see right now,” he said. “But come in.”

  Ana sensed something serious had happened. “What’s wrong? Are my parents okay?”

  “They’re fine. They’re at the cabin with everything they need for now.”

  Ana sighed in relief. But as she looked into Teo’s face, she found an expression there she had never seen before. He was pensive, avoiding her gaze. Ana gently patted his shoulder. “You look upset, Teo. What’s wrong?”

  Teo spun away from the touch of her hand and swept all the parchments off his desk. He pounded his fist on the desk, barking, “Everything!” Ana was stunned by the outburst. Teo shut his eyes and rubbed his temples with his fingers.

  Silent, Ana waited.

  Teo slumped into the chair behind his desk, holding his forehead in his hand. The clock ticked on the wall. Finally he raised his eyes and looked at Ana. “I’ve lost the Sacred Writing,” he said quietly. “I left my key sticking out of the lock. Now the book is gone.”

  Ana inhaled sharply, her eyes wide. “How will we know the words of Deu?”

  “I’m aware of that problem!” Teo burst from his seat and slapped his palm against the wall.

  Gathering her strength, Ana approached Teo as he stood with his back toward her. “Teo, I—”

  Before she could continue, he whirled around with a look of determination. “I’ll find the thief and make him pay!” he vowed. “That book didn’t walk out of here on its own. Someone took it, and I’m going to find out who!” He snatched his sword belt from a peg and began to buckle it on.

  Ana spoke in a soft voice. “Teo, your sword isn’t what’s needed now. Deu is the All-Creator. He can help us find the book. We should look to him.”

  “Right now, Deu could use a good sword in his service, and I aim to provide it!”

  Ana frowned as Teo pulled his belt tight. He thrust his knife into his boot sheath and picked up his ax as well. As he started out the door, Ana crossed to a couch and sat down.

  “Are you coming?” he called from the doorway.

  Ana looked at him and asked, “Where are you taking me?”

  The question seemed to throw Teo off, and he regarded Ana in bewilderment. “To recover the Sacred Writing, of course.”

  “The Sacred Writing isn’t what I care about most.”

  Now Teo seemed even more confused. “What are you talking about? You love every word of that book!”

  “I do. But it’s not my greatest concern.”

  “Well, then what is?”

  “Teo! Don’t you know I care more about you than that book? Deu can find another way to give us his words. I trust him for that! Right now, I’m more worried about what I see coming from inside of you!”

  Teo threw his hands in the air. “The problem isn’t me, it’s the thief! Some evildoer took the book that I found in the Beyond! It’s mine, and I’m going to make him pay!”

  “Yes, the thief was wrong. But rushing around blindly won’t solve our problem. We need to stop and think before we take action.”

  Teo gritted his teeth and groaned, cupping his hands like claws in front of his face.

  Ana began to feel desperate. “Please, Teo! Don’t act like this. I need you to be strong for me!”

  “What’s that supposed to mean, Ana? I don’t even understand what you’re asking! I thought you wanted the book back, and that’s what I’m trying to achieve!”

  “I do want the book back! But more than that, I want you back! We’ve hardly spoken since the day by the pool. I can’t go on like this, with you holding yourself apart. The house community needs you! Shaphan needs you! I need you!”

  Teo’s expression was incredulous. He hunched his shoulders and held out his palms. “What exactly is it you don’t have from me? I brought you to safety after Astrebril’s Curse! Then I took your parents all the way to Obirhorn Lake! I admit, I messed up by losing the Sacred Writing, but I can fix that!”

  Ana rose from the couch, her heart beating rapidly as she prayed for wisdom. She approached Teo and stood close to him, tilting her head back so she could look into his eyes. Slowly she lifted her hands and placed them on the cheeks of the tall man who stood before her.

  “Teo, I want you to know I’m for you and always will be. I admire you for the amazing things you can accomplish—for all you’ve already done on my behalf! I owe you my life many times over.” Ana bowed her head and calmed her emotions, then looked up again into Teo’s gray eyes and continued, “What I’m asking is for you to be the man I know you can be. You’ve protected me from many physical dangers. Your strength has been a shield to me. Now give me another kind of strength. Help me trust Deu! I’m hurting right now in so many ways, and you could come alongside me, but you refuse! In your stubbornness you’re unwilling to let Deu be your strength. Why won’t you bend your knee and depend on him?”

  At Ana’s last words, Teo’s expression became hard. He backed away from her, removing his face from her hands. “I’m sorry, Ana,” he said sternly. “But that’s not who I am. I’m not a submissive man, and you can’t ask me to be.” He stepped outside into the courtyard, leaving Ana alone in the room.

  For a long time, perhaps an hour or more, Ana sat on Teo’s couch and prayed. Finally, with a heavy heart, she stood and left Teo’s room. After reporting the stolen key to the gatekeeper, she wound her way up the trail to Vingin. Although she hoped a nighttime hike would clear her mind, she couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding that had settled upon her. At her aunt’s chalet, a single candle burned on the mantel, though Rosetta had already gone to bed. Ana went upstairs to the bedroom she was sharing with Lina and began to undress.

  She had hung her clothes on a peg and brushed her hair for bed when the front door creaked open. The door closed again, and footsteps sounded on the stairs. As soon as Lina entered the room, Ana could tell something was wrong. She had been crying and couldn’t lift her gaze from the floor.

  “Lina? What’s the matter? Did something happen?” Lina nodded, tears springing to her eyes as she sat on the edge of the bed. Ana sat down beside her and brushed a lock of blonde hair from her forehead. “You can tell me. What is it?”

  Lina hung her head. “I’ll tell you, Ana. But it’s going to hurt.”

  “Go on,” Ana said, suddenly afraid.

  “It’s Teo. We saw him a little while ago, Shaphan and me. We saw him come out of a tavern in Vingin. He didn’t see us. He . . .” Lina paused, her lower lip quivering as tears rolled down her cheeks.

  Ana held her breath, unsure what to say or think.

  Lina took a deep, shivery breath, then reached for Ana’s hand and held it. “He was with someone. We followed them secretly. It was Sucula. They went inside her house.”

  Ana bolted up from the bed and stared at Lina. “That doesn’
t mean anything!” she cried. “He was probably making plans with Valent!”

  Lina’s face was ashen as she sat on the bed. “No, Ana. Valent is away on a business trip. We peeked in. They were alone. And then . . . and then—”

  “What? Tell me! What happened?”

  “They went in the bedroom and shut the door.”

  Ana’s body went limp, her chin falling upon her chest, her arms hanging loosely at her sides. She began to weep in anger and humiliation and despair. Her breath came in ragged shudders, and her eyes burned with the hot tears of a broken heart. Lina stood up and hugged her cousin tightly, but nothing could soothe the pain that stabbed so deep into Ana’s soul.

  “The water’s ready, Teofil!” Sucula poured a kettle of boiling water into a wooden bathtub behind a dressing screen in her bedroom.

  “Thanks. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more than this bath.” Teo exchanged places with Sucula behind the screen.

  “You might be surprised at what you want,” she said as she sat down on the bed.

  Teo hung his clothes over the screen and stepped into the steaming water. In some distant part of his mind, he understood he was playing a game, all the while knowing where things were headed. But as quickly as the thought came to him, he dismissed it and resumed the charade.

  “I really appreciate this, Sucula. Just let me soak for a while and clean up, and I’ll be on my way.”

  “Take your time. I like having you here, which is more than I can say for my husband.”

  “Where is he again?”

  “He’s in the Citadel. Took a bag of money with him. He won’t be back for several days.”

  Teo reclined in the bathtub, feeling the hot water soak into his muscles. He reached for the soap.

  “You know, Teofil, I was thinking about what you were saying at the tavern about your fight with Anastasia. I think I see what’s going on here.”

  Teo lathered his hair. “Yeah? What is it?”

  “It’s a typical woman’s trick. She wants to control you—to make you into something you’re not. I don’t think that’s right. In my opinion, you’re fine just like you are.”