Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One

by Akers, Tracy A.

  Mahon played over and over in his mind the uneasy rumors that had been circulating in the streets. The thought of them made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Reiv had become the topic of much misguided speculation, and it was causing concern for both the Temple and the Throne. Mahon ground his teeth, resentful of the fact that he had to deal not only with Brina, but with the whispers that proclaimed Reiv to be the Unnamed One, the hero of some outlandish prophecy.

  But as much as Mahon wanted to blame his recent problems on Reiv, he knew the boy wasn’t the only reason for his and Brina’s estrangement. It had begun sixteen years prior, at the death of their infant son, Keefe. Mahon closed his eyes, fighting to suppress the memory, but it did little good. He could not shake the image of his only child’s face, nor the mark upon the child’s neck. The birthmark had required that Keefe be weeded out; it was law. What else could a man do? Of course he felt guilty for it, yet he could not understand why he alone had borne the brunt of it for all these years. It was Brina, not he, who had killed Keefe, strangled him with her own hands, she said. But then Mahon had met Dayn, and it was as though every truth about Keefe he had ever known was a lie.

  A voice sounded in Mahon’s head, sending a stab of pain to his chest. Are you Mahon? it asked.

  “Silence from you!” Mahon hissed. He quickened his pace, as if by doing so he could leave the voice on the trail behind him. But the voice persisted. Are you Mahon?

  “Yes,” Mahon growled. “And you are Dayn. Now leave me in peace.”

  But Mahon knew there would never be peace until his own questions were answered. And now there were several. Dayn was about the same age Keefe would have been; he had a similar birthmark on his neck. That could be coincidence, of course, but what about the uncanny resemblance between Dayn and Whyn? The boys looked enough alike to be brothers, or cousins. Ever since Mahon’s brief encounter with Dayn, he could not see Whyn without thinking of Dayn, could not hear Whyn’s voice without thinking of Dayn. Mahon knew it did no good to dwell on things he could not change, but Dayn had asked him questions, questions that made him even more suspicious. And “Are you Mahon?” was one of them.

  He squared his shoulders and hustled up the steps to the entrance of the palace. There he was met by two guards who pushed open the towering doors. Mahon made his way across the polished marble floor, the sword at his side clanking to the rhythm of his feet as he moved through the foyer toward the receiving room. More guards stood posted, their bodies snapping to attention as he swept past them and through the portal to the room beyond.

  Whyn could be seen seated in a high-backed chair centered on the dais against the far wall. His blond head was held high as he waited for Mahon to make his way across the cavernous room. As Mahon approached, he could not help but notice the determined expression on Whyn’s boyish face, a look that did not indicate the emotions of a grieving son, but more like that of a vengeful one.

  Mahon stopped and bowed, his hands firmly at his sides, his head lowered almost to his knees. “My lord,” he said. “My condolences for the passing of your father. May the gods bless Tearia and her King.”

  Mahon stared at his feet, waiting for a response, but for a long while it seemed as though none was coming. Then Mahon sensed Whyn rise and heard his footsteps as they stepped down the dais and moved in his direction.

  “Rise, Mahon,” Whyn ordered. “We have no time for condolences. We have duties to attend to.”

  Mahon rose and surveyed Whyn’s face. Although there was no sound of grief in his nephew’s voice, nor any hint of sorrow in his features, Whyn’s skin seemed paler than usual, and there were hints of dark circles under his pale blue eyes. Surely he was hiding his emotions in an attempted display of strength. He had, after all, been by his father’s side for months. The ordeal had clearly taken its toll.

  “My duty is always to Tearia and her King,” Mahon said.

  “And to her gods,” Whyn added.

  “Of course.”

  “The Priestess has made a demand of me. I am, therefore, making it of you.”

  “Anything, my lord.”

  “I wish for you to post spies at Market today. And send more into Pobu.”

  “Spies are already in place, and have been for quite some time.”

  “Double them,” Whyn said.

  “Consider it done. What is it you would have them seek?”

  “The Unnamed One.”

  Mahon kept his expression in check. “What do you wish to know of him?”

  “I wish to know that he is dead.”

  Mahon felt the blood drain from his face and hoped Whyn did not notice. “My lord, forgive me, but he is your brother. Surely your family—”

  “He is my brother no longer, just as he is your nephew no longer. Do I sense from your response that you still feel loyalty to him?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “But your loyalty does lie with Brina, as it always has, and she loves him as her own, an emotion she rarely spared for me.”

  “I do not wish to dispute you,” Mahon said, “but I know Brina has always loved you equally.”

  “While I doubt she maintains much affection for me, her love for Reiv has always been strong.” Whyn eyed Mahon suspiciously. “Will your wife’s duty to her renegade nephew hinder her husband’s duty to his King?”

  “No—no, of course not! I will do right by the Throne as I always have. I am your servant.”

  “Then you will send spies throughout the Market grounds and Pobu today. There can be no obvious display of arms. You have informants within the Jecta population, do you not?”

  “Yes, Lord. Many. Most are eager to earn a bit of coin. They have more loyalty to their bellies than to their friends. That is why there are so many detained Jecta as of late. You know the rumors about the insurgency.”

  “I am well aware. That is another reason to double our efforts for information within Pobu. Have them find the Unnamed One and report to you alone. He is to be disposed of only on your order.”

  “On my order?”

  “Of course. It would not look well for it to be on mine; people have not forgotten he was both my brother and king-heir. But once this so-called Unnamed One is disposed of, the traitorous whispers in our streets will cease. Then we will take care of the Jecta filth once and for all.”

  “What do you have planned for them?” Mahon asked.

  “There is to be a new Purge. The Priestess has ordered it. The Goddess has ordered it.”

  “A new Purge? You mean…”

  “You know exactly what I mean. It will take some time to get the plans sorted out and our forces in shape. The Guard has grown weak, Mahon. Too weak if we are to be successful in this endeavor.”

  “I have always abided by the expectations of my King,” Mahon said defensively. “The state of the Guard is, and always has been, representative of those expectations.”

  “Those expectations of which you speak were those of a weak King. But Tearia has a weak King no longer. Things are different now; preparations must be made. You will contact your spies and proceed with your duty.”

  Mahon stood speechless, unable to utter a single syllable as the realization of what was happening scurried through his mind.

  “Do not let your emotions get in the way of this, Mahon, or you will regret it.”

  “Of course not. I will do as you command.”

  “How long do you think it will take to locate Reiv?” Whyn asked.

  “I do not know. I have received no word of him in weeks, though I have made no inquiries. He was to fade, and that is what he has done.”

  “What of Brina? Has she had contact with him?”

  “No—no, my lord. Not since Reiv was banished from Tearia. True, she paid him visits when he was still housed within the walls, but she has had no contact with him since. Her loyalty lies with you.”

  Whyn narrowed his eyes. “How can you be certain where her loyalties lie, Mahon? She abandoned her loyalty to you easily
enough.”

  Fear for Brina’s safety mushroomed in Mahon’s throat. “I—I give you my word that she has not left the city.”

  “I suggest you exercise caution when giving your word. No one has been able to locate Brina to inform her of my father’s passing.” Whyn laughed. “And you thought you were the last to know.”

  Mahon felt his breath stall. Gods, where could she have gone? Surely not to Pobu. She could not have slipped past the gates so easily. But then again, with the hustle and bustle of Market preparations…

  “I will locate her immediately, my lord.”

  Whyn nodded. “You had best get a rein on your wife, Mahon. I can risk no information reaching Reiv’s ears. If Brina is found outside the gates, I can only assume she has been meeting with my brother. Of course, that would make her an excellent source of information.”

  “She has not been meeting him, I assure you,” Mahon said.

  “Your spies must find him without delay, though I doubt it will be too difficult. Reiv does tend to stand out, even amongst the dark-hairs of Pobu. I expect a prompt report, Mahon, and I want to know where Brina has been.”

  “It will be done.”

  Mahon bowed as Whyn returned to his chair and slouched upon it.

  “Leave me,” Whyn said with a flick of his hand.

  Mahon rose and turned, then walked from the room as quickly as he was able. He could feel the sweat of fear beading on his face, just as he could feel the cold grip of disaster clutching at his chest. Who was that young man he had just faced? Certainly not the good-hearted nephew he had known for the past sixteen years. It was as though Whyn was a stranger to him now. But of even more concern to Mahon was the nagging question of his own conscience.

  Mahon walked out of the palace and into the glaring light of day, his eyes stinging with barely-suppressed emotion. There was no chance he could save his faltering marriage now, and even less that he could save his immortal soul.

  BACK TO ToC

  Chapter 5: Into the Vortex

  Dayn stormed across the room, the force of his anger threatening to pull everything not tied down into it. “How could you have said that to him?” he shouted. “How could you have been so stupid!”

  Alicine took a startled step back. “I—I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “No? Then what did you mean by it exactly? Didn’t you see the look on Reiv’s face when you came in? Didn’t you see how happy he was? You would have to have been blind not to.”

  “I wasn’t prepared to see him, that’s all!”

  “Don’t hand me that excuse, Alicine. You knew full well he would be here to see us today. He told you himself he would be back for Market.”

  “But I didn’t expect to see him looking like that. I…it caught me off guard. I didn’t know what I was saying.”

  “You knew exactly what you were saying, and you should have taken back those words right then and there, the moment you saw how hurt he was by them. But no, you just spewed on and on.”

  “I said I’m sorry. Please, Dayn, don’t be mad at me.” Alicine placed a hand on his arm and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

  Dayn set his expression hard against her. “Don’t bother using your tears on me. Maybe it worked in the past, but not any more. I’m smarter about things now, including your girlish manipulations.”

  Alicine gasped, taken aback by his reproach. “It’s just this place!” she cried.

  “No, it’s not this place. It’s you! I’m tired of your threats to leave. Every time something goes the least bit wrong it’s ‘this place’, or ‘I’m homesick’, or ‘I don’t belong here’, or some other excuse. Well, we’re here and we’re staying here until I say we go. I’m someone who matters now, someone who’s making a difference—”

  “At the risk of your life!”

  “It’s my choice. Mine! Not yours, not our parents’, not Brina’s, not anyone’s but mine. Now, as for Reiv, I want him in my life, even if he wants to pierce and tattoo every part of his body and have a hundred Shell Seeker wives and children. All that matters is that he’s happy. But that’s your problem with him, isn’t it? That he’s found happiness without you. Well, I won’t sit back and see you hurt him.”

  “I never said I wanted to hurt him!” she shouted.

  “Then grow up and stop behaving like a spoiled girl who is too much of a child to know what kisses can lead to!”

  Alicine’s hand flew to her mouth. “I can’t believe you said that.”

  “I’m not stupid, little sister. You wanted Reiv to kiss you that night, didn’t you? I remember how you always looked at him, how ever since the first day we met him you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. Did you think I didn’t see it, or that he didn’t? I’m not saying his touching you was right, but you were just as wrong. What do you expect him to do? Stay away from us forever? Or would you rather he come back and pine for a girl who made it perfectly clear she can’t wait to leave this place and him behind forever? Reiv has a life to live, Alicine, and if he finds someone else, then you’ll have to accept it and put your petty jealousies aside.”

  “How dare you say those words to me!”

  “Well, it was time they were said!”

  Alicine straightened her spine, clearly primed to launch the defense working in her mind, but a rap at the door stopped her short.

  Dayn turned his eyes toward the portal, then flashed them back to her. “You’d better hope it’s him!” But when he swung open the door, his emotions were a mixture of disappointment and delight. Though it was not Reiv as he had hoped, it proved to be the next best thing.

  “Brina…Jensa!” he exclaimed. He would have loved to hug them both right then and there, not only for joy, but also for the need to grab hold of someone. Brina, however, did not hold back her feelings at all. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, squeezing him tight.

  “Son, I have been counting the minutes until this moment.” Her eyes gleamed as she stepped back and looked him up and down affectionately.

  “Come in, come in,” Dayn said. “Alicine and I were just having a, uh…conversation.”

  “Yes, we could hear it all the way up the path,” Jensa said. She scanned the room. “Where’s Reiv? I left him at the door not long ago. He came in, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, he was here,” Dayn said, “but he left.”

  Brina became suddenly alert. “What do you mean, left? Where did he go?”

  “I don’t know where he went. He was upset and—”

  “Upset? Why was he upset? Did you discuss the issue in question?”

  “I didn’t get a chance to.” Dayn glared in Alicine’s direction.

  Brina turned her attention to Alicine. “There was a fight between you?” she asked. “Alicine…was there a fight?”

  “I said some things I shouldn’t have and he left, that’s all,” Alicine said.

  Brina’s mouth compressed as she removed a long bundle from beneath her cloak and leaned it hastily in the corner. “I have to find him,” she said as she moved to the door.

  “No, Brina, you stay,” Jensa said. “I know my way around Pobu better than you, and you don’t need to be seen wandering around. Dayn, will you come with me? There are places a woman shouldn’t go alone.”

  Dayn moved toward her, then looked at Brina and nodded. “We’ll find him. Don’t worry.”

  He shot Alicine a scowl, but said not a word to her, and walked out with Jensa, slamming the door behind him.

  Brina stared at the door momentarily, lost in thought, then turned and made her way past Alicine to the kitchen table.

  “Come. Sit with me,” she said, motioning Alicine over.

  Alicine took her place on the bench across from Brina, struggling to look anywhere but at the woman’s concerned face. The realization of her own role in Reiv’s disappearance left a guilty taste in her mouth. “I’m sorry I angered Reiv and caused him to storm off like that,” she said. “But I’m sure he’ll be f
ine. He can take care of himself. He’s certainly proved that on a number of occasions.” She attempted a laugh, but it sounded feeble.

  “Yes, let us hope so,” Brina said. She lowered her face and paused as though debating whether or not to continue, then leaned in and raised her eyes to drive her point home. “Alicine, Reiv is in danger. He should not be out alone.”

  Alicine jerked her head, surprised by Brina’s perilous tone. “But he’s a Shell Seeker now,” she said. “Nannaven said few Jecta would dare challenge a Shell Seeker.”

  “It is not the Jecta I am concerned with. It is the Tearians.”

  “The Tearians? But they banished him. Why would they…?”

  “Much has happened in Tearia these past several weeks,” Brina said. “And it concerns Reiv. I meant to tell you all together, but…” She looked toward the door, then rose and poured two mugs of tea. She offered one to Alicine. “There is much to tell. We might as well make ourselves comfortable.”

  Alicine took the mug, but found it trembling in her grasp. She set it on the table, and clasped her hands in front of her. “What’s happened, Brina? What’s wrong?”

  Brina took a deep breath and paused to collect her thoughts. “As you probably know, Reiv was once destined to be the King of Tearia. When he lost his right to the throne, some people were most unhappy that he had been taken from them. Those were the ones who believed with all their hearts that he was to be the Red King. All Tearians expected him to be a king who would make Tearia greater, although everybody’s idea of ‘greater’ was not necessarily the same. You see, not everyone believes in the ways of the Priestess, but the belief system is firmly entrenched. To speak against her would only serve to bring down the wrath of those in power, namely the Throne and the Temple. The Throne is tightly bound to the Priestess. She is powerful and very dangerous. Those who oppose her have always kept their views to themselves. For a while the quiet ones turned their hopes to the future Red King, but those hopes were dashed when Reiv was disowned.”