The Path of Ashes [Omnibus Edition]

by Parker, Brian

  The mayor’s office was an old, crumbling stucco building with a tattered rectangle of faded cloth flying from a pole out front. “I’ve seen that before,” Brandt stated. “What is it?”

  The horseman looked around and finally followed his finger to the top of the pole. “You mean the flag?”

  Brandt shrugged. “I don’t know. If that’s what it’s called, sure. What’s it used for?”

  Muffled laughter billowed out from the horseman. “That’s the American flag, son. That’s the symbol of our nation.”

  Brandt wasn’t sure about that. The region was named Colorado. He was from Homelake and this town was called Creede. What was this place that he spoke of? “So you’re in alliance with American?” he asked hesitantly.

  The man guffawed again. “It’s called America. And no, we aren’t in alliance with them—well, actually, maybe we are… We’re all a part of America. That flag was the symbol of our nation back in the old world.”

  He pointed to the flag and continued, “You can’t even see them anymore, but there used to be red and white stripes on the flag and fifty stars that meant there were fifty states. Colorado, where we live, was just one of them fifty states.”

  Brandt’s eyes grew wide. He knew about Texas and Colorado, but had no clue about the others. “Are there many people living in the other states?”

  The horseman dismounted. He was much shorter than Brandt once he was off the horse. “Your guess is as good as mine, son. We know about a few settlements over the mountains—not many, but there are a few—and there’s a bunch out your way, but what else is left?” he shrugged, “No idea. The war destroyed most of the major population centers and the ones that didn’t get wiped out instantly killed themselves off within a few months or years afterward.”

  “Like Austin, where my family came from?” Brandt asked.

  “No clue. That was in Texas, right?” He waited until the younger Traxx nodded before continuing. “I’ve never been outside of Colorado myself, but if your family says the people of Austin survived the war and then fought amongst themselves afterward, then they probably did.”

  The horseman tied the reins of his horse to a post near the entrance and went inside, holding the door open behind himself to allow the three travelers through. He unwrapped the scarf and took off the heavy coats that he’d layered on, revealing a balding brown head, and walked over to the fireplace to stoke it. “Have a seat; I’ll be with you in a moment.”

  Brandt watched the man as he placed another log on the fire and adjusted its location with a poker before standing upright and rubbing at his lower back. He felt like he’d been here before, with his uncle when they came so long ago, but he couldn’t be sure. The king had dragged him to so many meetings over the years that few of them stood out in his mind; the ritual with the Seers being the exception.

  “Ahh… Sorry, I just can’t stand the cold,” the small horseman stated.

  “It’s only the beginning of winter,” Frederick stated. “What are you going to do when it actually gets cold?”

  “I’ll put on more coats,” he said as he walked around behind a giant wooden desk. “Luckily, I live here where I work, so most of the time, I don’t have to go outside.”

  “Are you the mayor?” Tanya asked.

  He smiled, revealing a set of coffee-stained teeth. “Yes, ma’am, I am. Name’s Craig. Josh Craig.”

  He reached across and shook their hands firmly. Brandt noticed that his hands were soft, like a merchant’s hands or like the hands of both of the seamstresses that he’d been able to bed. It made him embarrassed by his own rough, calloused hands, abused by years of apprentice work in the blacksmith’s shop and countless hours spent holding his sword during the Traxx Guard’s fighting lessons.

  Tanya and Brandt sat in the two chairs in front of the desk while Frederick stood near the doorway. The mayor’s eyes lingered on the warrior for a moment, likely assessing his role in the group, before he sat down himself.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Craig. My name is Tanya, this is my cousin Brandt and our friend Frederick.”

  “Nice to meet you, too,” the mayor replied. “Jim said you were in a rush to go up and talk to the Seers. Not that I can blame you, the weather is just going to get worse from here, but we’ve got a deal with Ms. Diane to screen anyone who wants to see them.”

  “That’s understandable,” Tanya replied. “People’s lives depend on us talking to them soon, though. So, can we please hurry this along?”

  “Quick and to the point. I can respect that. Is this because of the army of madmen that surround Homelake?”

  “Yes.”

  He inclined his chin. “Knew it. I’m not gonna lie to you folks, they have us real scared all the way over here in Creede too.”

  “You should be scared,” Brandt exclaimed. “They can’t get to us for now, but it’s only a matter of time before they figure out some way to do it.”

  “There was reports of a big battle last spring, about halfway between here and there—that’s what prompted us to get off our hind ends and begin building that fence. Do you know anything about that?”

  Frederick cleared his throat. “I was at that battle. They’d split their forces, part of the army stayed at the city and the rest went out to cut trees to use as rams or ladders to get past the walls. We killed almost a thousand of the savages in that fight.”

  The mayor waited until Frederick finished speaking and then said, “You’re one of those special protectors, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not sure I—”

  “Yes,” Tanya cut in. “Frederick is a member of the Traxx Guard, our elite fighting force.”

  “That’s right,” Mr. Craig said, slapping the desk with his open palm. “The Traxx Guard, men and women who’ve dedicated their lives to war and fighting. Homelake is lucky that they have enough resources to allow people to be soldiers full time.”

  “We’ve been fortunate,” Tanya acknowledged. “The climate in the foothills helps our farmers to produce a surplus of crops, which we freely trade with our neighbors.”

  The mayor leaned back, holding his hands out. “Oh, I know. I didn’t mean to send the wrong message. We’ve benefitted greatly from Homelake’s generosity. But, with those lunatics out there murdering everyone they see, I’m more than a little jealous of your Traxx Guard. I wish we had something like that here. We just don’t have the population to support it…”

  The mayor paused, waiting to see if Tanya would add anything to her statement. When she didn’t, he continued, “So, why do you wish to speak to the Seers?”

  “We seek their advice on an extremely urgent matter,” Tanya replied, keeping her voice steady. Brandt knew that she wanted to shake the little man senseless until he let them pass, but she was being diplomatic, like her father.

  “That’s it? You’re not going to tell me how the three of you, including a Traxx Guard, slipped past the savages? More importantly, why?”

  “How we got past them is our business,” Tanya stated.

  “Aren’t we allies?” the mayor asked.

  “We are. But with a marauding army on your doorstep, you could be convinced to give up secrets about our city to save your own.”

  “Or forced to tell them as they disembowel you in front of your family,” Frederick expanded.

  The mayor chuckled nervously. “Well, there is that. Okay, you’re correct, how you got out of the city and past the army isn’t my concern. Now that you’re here, I’m still the gatekeeper for my primary allies, the Seers. Why do you wish to speak to them?”

  Tanya took a deep breath before she answered his question. “Something was stolen from Homelake three nights ago and we don’t know where to start looking.”

  “Something?”

  “It’s not your concern, but it’s very important to the king—which is why Frederick is here.”

  “I see. The savages took it?”

  “We… We don’t know,” she admitted. “This is going to sound s
trange…”

  “I work with the Seers, I’m used to strange.”

  She smiled. “I’ll give you that. Okay, I saw the man who took the thing. Only, he wasn’t fully a man.”

  “How so?”

  “He walked upright—and spoke—but, he was covered in scales and had eyes like a snake. He also leapt from the sixth floor of the Traxx Keep, and then opened a set of mechanical wings to soar off into the night, flying westward the last time it was seen.”

  Tanya paused to allow their host the opportunity to digest the information. After a moment, he said, “Well, that’s a new one.”

  “Frederick hit the creature in the ribs with his sword and it didn’t seem to affect him at all, he batted away the best swordsman in Homelake like he was a child…and I’ll never forget those eyes.”

  The silence in the room stretched toward becoming uncomfortable when the mayor finally spoke. “I simply don’t know what to say. Since Creede lies along one of only two routes open through the mountains, we get a lot of information from travelers going east or west seeking a better life. We’ve heard of giant, hairy beasts that stalk travelers in the mountain snow, man-eating fish in the lakes north of here and creatures that build elaborate tunnel systems to trap their prey out on the prairies beyond Homelake, but I have never heard of flying lizard-men.”

  “I know it sounds far-fetched, Mr. Craig. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d have a hard time believing it; which is why we seek the aid of the Seers. They may be able to help us.”

  The mayor’s eyes wandered the group before settling on Brandt. “And you, what’s your role in this?”

  “Tanya is my cousin. I couldn’t let her go alone.”

  He seemed to accept the statement and stared out the tiny window at the snowflakes that had begun to fall since they came inside. “Let’s see,” the mayor finally muttered. “We have a Traxx Guard, a woman who saw a flying lizard that stole an artifact, and her cousin, who seems content to be along for the ride. The three of you left your walled city somehow, evaded an army of savages on foot, and are now sitting at the base of the trail, which leads to the famed Valley Lodge. Is that right?”

  “Yes, sir,” Tanya replied.

  Mr. Craig tapped his finger along his jawline. “Something doesn’t quite add up… Something…” he trailed off, working through the details of their story.

  “Does the king know you’ve left?” he asked.

  “I, uh… I’m sure he does now,” she stumbled.

  “There’s a piece of it,” the mayor jabbed his finger toward her. “So you weren’t authorized to leave, which means either this artifact that was stolen wasn’t that important—”

  “Believe me, it’s the most precious thing in our kingdom,” Tanya cut into his stream of consciousness.

  “That means that you are too important to leave, then.”

  Damn, Brandt thought. He’s good.

  “You could have been elected the spokesman, but I see how the other two defer to you,” the mayor continued. “Who are you really, Ms. Tanya?”

  Brandt saw the muscles in Tanya’s jaw flex several times as she stared at the mayor. He knew from experience that she did that unconsciously when she was deep in thought or struggling with an issue.

  “Frederick is my body guard,” she finally allowed herself to say.

  “Hmm… Ahh. You are a Traxx.” He turned to Brandt. “Which makes you one too. So, now that we have it in the open who everyone is, what was stolen?”

  “I’d rather keep that private, Mr. Craig,” Tanya replied coldly.

  He considered her words further, causing Brandt to think that he wouldn’t accept her answer. Finally, he acquiesced. “Fine, it’s your business. Far be it from me to keep the princess from speaking with the Seers. You’re granted access to the trail.”

  Tanya smiled and stood, quickly pushing the chair backward. “Thank you, Mr. Craig. You’ve been very helpful.”

  The mayor walked to the window and waved at someone outside. “I wish I could say the same,” he stated. “Although, if the princess is seeking something in the mountains, it must be extremely important, so I wish you luck.”

  Once again, everyone shook hands and they shuffled outside into the biting wind. The mayor bid them a safe journey and closed the door tightly.

  “So, we just head up into the mountains?” Frederick asked, staring pointedly at Brandt.

  “Uh, yeah, sure.” He turned in a circle out on the street. The paved road through town ended only a little ways from where the mayor’s office sat, but a rocky trail picked up where the road left off. The lighter gray and brown trail clearly followed a draw higher into the surrounding mountains.

  Brandt was out of his element. Just because he’d been somewhere when he was a child didn’t mean that he knew how to get there now. His family needed him to be a leader right now. He remembered that the path led upward, ever upward, until a sharp crest and then a beautiful valley opened up before them—a valley laced with explosive devices and armed men. There was a woman….

  “Ho, travelers,” a female’s voice called to them from the house across the street.

  Brandt turned to see a woman in dark brown clothing standing on the porch. Her midnight black hair reminded him of the woman with the crossbow from the Valley Lodge.

  “Hello,” Tanya offered.

  “Mr. Craig has talked to you?”

  “Yes. He granted us passage into the mountains.”

  “That’s good! Few make it past Mr. Craig.”

  “Do many people try to seek counsel from the Seers?” Tanya asked.

  “More than you’d care to know. It keeps the mayor busy.” She stepped off the porch and walked toward the remains of a picket fence bordering the yard. “Where are you from?”

  Tanya glanced at her companions and said, “East of here.”

  “It’s good to be cautious. Are you from Homelake?”

  When it became obvious that Tanya wasn’t going to respond, the woman pointed toward the building they’d left. “I can just go in and ask him, he’ll tell me everything I need to know.”

  The woman’s self-assured mannerisms reminded Brandt even more of the bowman he’d met all those years ago. She’d been in charge of the Seers’ security detail and was a hell of a shot with her bow.

  “Who are you?”

  “I think I know her,” Brandt stated. “You work for the Seers.”

  She shifted her attention from Tanya to him and smiled. “Traxxling. You’ve returned.”

  It was her, but he couldn’t remember her name. “Aye, I’ve come back.”

  “The mistress sent me here to wait for you. She didn’t want an entire day wasted on you stumbling through the mountains to find us and another spent coming back down the mountain, so she told me everything.”

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” Tanya asked in confusion.

  “My name is Darci,” she responded, stepping around the fence and sauntering up to their group. “I’m here to take you to your daughter.”

  TWELVE

  “Mother,” one of the young ladies bathing in a pond greeted her as Freya walked by on her way to check on the child.

  “Daughter,” she replied informally. Even though she knew the girl’s name, Freya had taken to calling all of the People who lived in the Willamette Valley her children, regardless of their age.

  The faith of the men and women who lived in the forest community had won her over. Their religion predated the fall of the old world and they believed that she was the earthly incarnation of Mother Gaia, sent here to help heal the environment after the damage by the war…and she was starting to believe it herself. Even Varan was coming around to the idea after living with them for more than a year.

  The community’s priests talked with him every day about his misguided devotion to the Norse gods of the gladiator society. Since the slavers sold her to Lucas as a child, the gladiator deities were all that Freya had known. The message of the forest People was one of hope
and love, based on the interaction with nature, not about the desire for a glorious death. Varan still held to his hard-won beliefs of living amongst the gods in Fólkvangr during the afterlife if he died in battle, but he also admitted that the similarities between Freya and the goddess Freyja were simply too great to be a coincidence. While the two religions seemed to counter one another, Varan believed that both were real and complementary to one another. The light couldn’t exist without the dark, and vice versa.

  As to their new home in the Willamette, it was simply the most beautiful place that Freya had ever seen. Everything was green from the daily rains; the grass, the trees, the heavy underbrush between the trees…everything. Even the home she shared with Varan was green with moss and ivy.

  At first, Freya had been frightened of the unusual men and women who lived in the Dominion, but she’d quickly learned of their history and discovered that they were just like her, only different. Before the war, people who devoted their lives to nature established the Dominion, choosing to live alone in the forest away from the problems of the old world. They’d been outcasts by people who believed the way to achieve peace was to have bigger and stronger weapons. They were the same ones who eventually ordered the destruction of their way of life.

  The residents of the camp had been able to survive in the lush forest that provided for all of their needs. Over time, wanderers and other outcasts began to appear, cast out by the remaining men because they bore the scars of disfigurements from the wars that they’d begun. The new arrivals were welcomed with open arms to the overflowing love of the nature worshippers.

  Then, something magical happened. The deformities that the new citizens brought with them turned out to be hereditary and the changes became more pronounced with each generation. Less than one in five of the residents who lived in the Dominion were changed, but those who were lived, worked and loved freely amongst the others. Everyone hoped to have a child with their special abilities, so they were sought out as mates.

  Even as the unofficial head of the Coven, the Dominion’s religious community, Freya didn’t know everything that they could do. All of them seemed much more in tune with nature, that much was certain. Most were physically different. Some, like the men who rescued Varan from the river, had scales that grew over their bodies, others seemed to have no facial features at all, and there were a few men and women who had developed longer body hair, with vaguely wolf-like features. And then there were the priests, the religious leader who often showed no outward signs of change except for their eyes, but were able to do things with their minds—the ability to invade dreams being one of them.