The Path Of Destiny

by Mike Shelton

  Haman tousled his son’s hair and laughed. “So many questions.”

  Tell him he is only a few years older than your son. His name is Darius and he will impact the entire Realm and beyond for either good or evil.

  Haman relayed the message to his twelve-year-old son.

  “I would like to meet Darius,” commented Jakob.

  The other horses joined the man and boy next to the fence. One of the younger ones reached his long white mane over to Jakob, toughing his skin slightly, and spoke.

  Soon you will meet him, but he doesn’t understand who he is yet. In fact you will escort me to him to be given into the care of another. I will watch over the young wizard. It is the beginning of the prophecy.

  Jakob jumped. This was the first time one of the horses had had direct communication with him. It was thrilling. “Papa. It’s wonderful. I heard her voice. She spoke to me.”

  Haman smiled a large, toothy grin, which looked almost too large on his thin face. Looking down at his son, he felt the pride he was sure his father had felt when Haman had heard his first Cremelino voice. He felt the connection with himself, his son, and the Cremelino.

  His son looked up at him and brushed away some of his blond bangs. “She said there is a prophecy about Darius, and I will meet him. What do you think that means, Papa?”

  “I am sure I wouldn’t know, Jakob. Things of wizards are not known much to man. I hear the Jordanian empire have their share, and I have heard of a few from the Kingdom of Arc, and of course there are rumors of great wizards across the Blue Sea to the east, but none have walked the Realm for a long time.”

  Haman reached out again to the Cremelino nearest him, while his son still touched the smaller female. They both heard the words at the same time.

  Forgotten lines of ancient magic and the power of the throne

  One will make them both his own if his heart sees the true power. . .

  Jakob took his hand away. It became clear the Cremelino was not going to share any more of the prophecy. “I’m going to go tell Mom!” Jakob yelled as he ran off towards their small home.

  Haman cleaned up a few things in the barn before heading back. The sun hung low above the harbor. Shading his eyes with a tanned hand, he could just make out the strait of water between the island and Mar. He spotted a speck on the horizon. Watching for a few moments, he saw the shadow continue to grow: a ship coming to port. A large one.

  “Hmmm,” he said out loud to himself. “I wonder whose ship that is?”

  All of a sudden, the herd started neighing and putting their forelegs up in the air. They seemed frantic about something. Haman tried to make soothing noises, afraid they would overrun him. He’d never seen them this way before. The lead horse came back to him and bumped into his hand.

  Another one comes on the ship. A wizard. A wizard of evil power. One that is not natural, but learned. One that could destroy the prophecy. Keep him away from us.

  Haman covered his head with his hands. The words were more frantic and louder than he had ever heard. He tried to soothe the worried horse by running his hand over the horse’s mane and nose. “I will always protect you. I will open the back gate and you can run inland. No one will hurt you.”

  Thank you, caretaker. Make sure that man doesn’t go out of the village on his own. He is dangerous.

  “Who is he? How will I know which one is him on such a large ship?”

  You will know. A pure heart like yours will sense the evil in his.

  Haman ran to the wooden gate and threw it open; thankful the other herds were on the far side of the island this month. It was early summer and new grass was growing in abundance all over the island. It was normal for him to rotate the herds to graze in different fields.

  The Cremelinos ran through the gate in a hurried blur of white. The lead horse turned towards him and sent a final message.

  Don’t let him see your son and don’t tell him about the other wizard.

  This was the first time they had spoken to him without direct contact. His surprise must have shown through.

  We can do much more than you think, kind caretaker. In a short time, the true testing of the young wizard will come. If all goes well, we will be with our masters once again.

  And with that they were off so fast that by the time Haman closed the gates, they were specks of fading light running into the coming night.

  The middle-aged man walked with concern towards his home. The small but sturdy stone home sat up on the hill next to the fields where the white horses roamed. The village sat about two miles west inside the bay. As he looked out, the ship continued to grow in size, coming closer to the island port. Even though the air was still warm, he shivered at the thoughts the herd leader had shared with him earlier.

  Opening the door, he was met with the aroma of baked bread and stewed meat, and he took a moment to breathe it in. The tasty scent wasn’t enough to take the stain of worry from his heart, but it helped. Haman looked around the room and smiled at his wife and son. He would protect them at all costs.

  Later than night, Haman took a lantern and headed into town. The large ship stood in the dock, and he watched sailors, with their sea gait, moving supplies from the town’s small warehouses. He entered the nicest tavern closest to the docks. Immediately he recognized who the Cremelinos were talking about. His heart lurched and terror filled him as he looked on the man.

  He stood with confidence, tall and broad with short-cropped auburn hair. An aura of power and command circled him. Men were falling over themselves to please him, and gathering around him to hear him talk.

  Haman stayed in the background by the wall, but moved closer to where he could hear what the man said. The warmth of the large fire in the hearth spread throughout the room, casting strange shadows on the listening group of men.

  The man talked about keeping themselves protected from the Realm and taking more freedom for themselves. The men seemed enthralled with his words, but Haman noticed they did not have much meaning to them here on White Island. They had a good life here, and were free from most of the Realm’s doing, except for the raising of the Cremelinos.

  As Haman thought about the horses, the man stopped talking and turned towards the caretaker. Haman tried to hold the stare back, but he felt as if the man dirtied his soul with his gaze. He then took two steps forward, towards Haman.

  “You must be the caretaker?” asked the man.

  Haman didn’t know how the man knew, but he just nodded in the affirmative.

  “I would like to meet and observe these Cremelinos I have heard so much about. Such beautiful horses that our king keeps must be a sight to behold. Could I by chance be taken to one?”

  Haman was glad he had let the horses move inland, and also happy he didn’t have to lie about it. This man surely would discern if he did.

  “I am sorry, sir,” said Haman in an even manner. “Just today I have let them out to roam the middle of the island. The grass grows tall there and will help make them strong. It’s too far and dangerous to go out during the night, and hard to even find them in that vast area during the day.”

  “I see. How do they know when to return?”

  Haman wanted to tell the man they would return when they sensed his evil gone, but didn’t. “They are fickle animals, with a mind of their own. They will probably be a few days at least. Who knows?”

  “Who knows?” the man repeated. “I am sure that you as caretaker must know.”

  Haman only shook his head. It was all that he could do not to run from the man. His stomach felt sick and his head pounded.

  “Hmmm. A caretaker that doesn’t know where his animals are. Not much of a caretaker I would guess.”

  The flippant remark stilled the other men in the room. They all held the highest regard for Haman and his ways with the Cremelinos. Haman kept his tongue still.

  The man seemed to think for a moment, then smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, I must be off in the morning. S
o maybe another time. I must get back to Belor to check how my city has been doing in my absence. I am sure to have work to do there.”

  “Yes. Maybe another time would be better,” echoed Haman, relieved the man would not be pushing the idea to visit them sooner.

  The man turned back to the group, ordered some food, and resumed his tales of the eastern kingdoms and their higher level of thinking.

  Haman soon turned and left the building, taking a deep breath only after exiting into the night air. He hoped he never met that man again. He felt sorry for the Belorians if they didn’t see past his evil.

  The next morning Haman returned to the harbor to make sure the evil visitor was gone. The ship was pulling out of the harbor as another one pulled in. He could see the profile of the man he had met standing on the bow of the ship. As the other ship passed by him, he seemed to stop and stare at the two men standing on the other ship’s bow.

  Haman saw a frown form on the man’s face and he waved to his captain to stop. Haman watched as the other boat came up beside a dock. After securing the ropes two men came down the walkway, apparently leaving a captain to stay onboard.

  The two men approached him and Haman saw they were younger than he had first thought. Not much older than eighteen. One stood tall with dark brown hair, carrying himself like a noble, while the other was shorter, with bright red hair, not unlike the color of the man going to Belor.

  “Hello, sir.” The first one spoke to Haman. “Can you tell me where I can find the caretaker?”

  Haman frowned only slightly. These two were young to be here on their own. “Who can I say is asking?”

  The second boy spoke up. “I am Kelln El’Han, and this is Darius San Williams, son of councilor Williams. We recently graduated from the academy and we have been given a task from the King to pick up a few more of his Cremelinos.”

  Haman opened his mouth wide and his face paled. He looked up at the ships in the harbor and noticed the man from Belor still looking in their direction. Darius. That was the name spoken by the Cremelino.

  Trying to distract the man on the ship and protect the young men, he pointed towards an inn. “If you will go and wait in that inn, I will find him.”

  The boys smiled their thanks and Haman walked in the other direction. Hiding around a corner of one of the warehouses he watched the man on the ship shake his head and then proceed to direct his captain to pull out of the harbor. Only when he was clear of the harbor mouth did the caretaker return to the inn to find the two young men.

  Opening the door, he spotted them at a table. The redheaded one was flirting with a young barmaid. Haman tried to compose himself. The Cremelinos had said this man, Darius, was a wizard. He approached slowly and sat down opposite them.

  “You are the caretaker?” asked Darius. “Then why the misdirection?”

  Haman did not feel evil coming from this young man as he did the other one. He took a deep breath and let it out in a big puff. “You said your name was Darius? Why were you chosen to come here?”

  “My father is councilor to King Edward. This is one of our first assignments after graduation from the Academy. He thought it relatively safe to send us here to choose a few of the Kings horses to bring back.” Darius paused as if listening to something. “Is it safe here?”

  “Forgive the trouble,” Haman said. “My name is Haman, master caretaker. There was a man here last night who was leaving as you came in. He looked to cause trouble; I needed to make sure you were kept safe.”

  “But you didn’t know who we were,” Kelln jumped in.

  “Darius,” Haman whispered. Noticing that he had said it out loud, he recovered and continued speaking. “The man was on his way to Belor. He was evil, and I am told a wizard.”

  The two young men looked at each other with wide eyes.

  “The Preacher,” stated Darius.

  “Yes, that is what some of the men referred to him as,” added Haman. “Anyway, he is now gone and you are now here to pick up some Cremelinos for the King. Unfortunately, they are deep inland, grazing, and may not be back for a day or two. Why don’t you come to my house and we will see about some breakfast?”

  “Fantastic.” Kelln hopped up. “I am hungry.”

  “He’s always hungry.” Darius stood up with his friend.

  Thirty minutes later they entered into Haman’s simple cottage. Everything was arranged neatly and the smell of bacon and bread hung in the air. After introductions, Haman’s wife, Nhila, shooed them out of the kitchen until everything was ready.

  Jakob bounded in the front door and stopped short in front of the two visitors.

  “This is my son, Jakob. He helps me care for the Cremelinos.”

  “And how do you like caring for King Edward’s horses?” asked Darius.

  “Oh just fine.” Jakob puffed out his chest. “One day I will be head caretaker like my father. “

  “They are beautiful Cremelinos,” continued Darius.

  Haman saw Kelln glance at the kitchen more than once. He remembered being a young man once. A full stomach seemed to always be the object of his desires. Now he looked at his young son, Jakob. Growing quickly, he had just passed his thirteenth birthday. He would make a fine caretaker.

  “Are you here to take some away?” asked Jakob.

  “Where are my manners?” Haman scolded himself. “Jakob, these young men are on the King’s errand and are here to pick up four new Cremelinos. This is Kelln and Darius.”

  Jakob went pale and his eyes widened three times. He looked at his father. Haman shook his head slightly from side to side. He hoped his son would keep the secret they had heard about Darius. It was not theirs to tell.

  The two young men looked at the boy and wondered what silent exchange was happening. Suddenly the boy closed his mouth and squinted at Darius. He seemed to be thinking about something before he spoke.

  “You will be taking five with you when you leave,” stated Jakob with a barely audible voice.

  “Five? But we only need four.” Kelln looked confused. He looked once again at the kitchen.

  Haman’s wife called them in and Kelln bounced to his feet. His stomach grumbled and they all laughed.

  Darius put his hand on the young boy’s arm to ask a question. “What do you mean we need five?”

  “Four for the King and one for you, Darius.”

  Darius shook his head in confusion.

  “Jakob, what are you talking about? Darius didn’t come for one.” His father stepped up close to his son.

  “Darius needs to give the Cremelino to someone. Someone special who will need it.”

  Just then a horse neighed from outside the window. Everyone jumped and looked around in surprise. Jakob was the first one to the door. The others gathered behind him. There in front of the house stood one of the pure-white Cremelino horses.

  “There she is,” pointed Jakob.

  Haman gave a loud sigh and turned to Darius. “Sir, I am sorry if this causes you any problems. But sometimes these Cremelinos do have a mind of their own.”

  Darius stood staring at the horse as if listening to something. His face grew pale and he took a step forward and then stopped.

  Kelln reached out to his friend. “Darius. What’s wrong? You all right?”

  Darius turned back to the group as if he hadn’t heard their comments. “What did you say?”

  “Are you all right?” Kelln asked again.

  Darius turned to Haman and Jakob. “You are right. We will be taking five back, and I know just who it is for.”

  Haman’s wife ushered them back inside to eat their fill of bread, bacon, fresh fruit, and milk. After filling their stomachs they retired to the porch. A slight breeze blew in off the Blue Sea, giving a salty tang to the warming summer air.

  “So what are you boys going to be doing after your summer service?” asked Haman.

  “I’m going to travel,” said Kelln, stuffing into his mouth a sweet roll that he had taken from the kitchen on his way o
ut of the house.

  “Travel where?” Darius asked his friend. “Your father’s going to have you sweating over that forge of his.”

  Kelln frowned. “I’ll find some way to see the land.”

  Haman smiled at the boys’ banter. “And you, Darius?”

  Now it was Darius’s turn to frown. He sighed deeply. “My father wants me to stay in Anikari and train to be a councilor.”

  “Doesn’t sound like a bad life to most people,” Haman mused.

  Darius stood up. “But I want to do more than that. I want to fight and defend our great land. I want to help others and bring our people closer together.”

  “And you can’t do that as a councilor?” Haman smiled at the boy’s enthusiasm.

  “All the councilors do is sit around and have meetings. They don’t know what is going on around them. They all think they are better than the farmers and everyone else.”

  “What’s wrong with farmers?” asked Jakob, sitting down next to his dad.

  “Oh, Darius likes the farmers,” added Kelln with a mischievous smile.

  Darius blushed bright red and headed out towards the well. “I think I need a drink of water.”

  The group all laughed as Darius’s step quickened and his ears turned a darker shade of red.

  Chapter Six

  A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN

  A week after delivering the Cremelinos safely back to the castle stables Kelln walked back home from eating dinner at a nearby inn. His mother and sister had gone to visit a relative and his father had left to Belor a few weeks earlier. It was not like his father to leave so abruptly, and Kelln was thinking about traveling to Belor to find out if he had met any trouble, if he could get out of his current duties to one of the councilors.

  The night was darkening and a few lamps lit the street. Kelln heard a sound in the street behind him and turned around.

  “Stop!” The guard yelled and rushed down the street toward Kelln.

  Kelln’s heart jumped. He wondered why the city guard would be after him. Something about the way they were running after him vaulted him to action. He took off running down the street toward his home.