Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One (30 page)

I nodded grimly. “Master
Almeida, I have learnt a lot from the Guardians and now from you about the past
and who I am as well as what I need to do, but there has been something that no
one as yet has said.”

His eyes were attentive and he
gave a small nod. “I will help with anything that I can. If I know the answer
to your question I will give it to you truthfully.”

I nodded. “I have assumed that
there will be a battle coming between Rakadamon and his followers and the
Resistance. He has been defeated before, though, and he has come back again. My
question is this, do I simply have to defeat him, kill him, I mean, in order to
succeed or is there more that I have to do?” He looked pleased at my question.

He again looked at his daughter
for a long moment before answering.
“Kadin that is a very
good question.
You say ‘simply’ kill him...it will be anything but
simple, but no, I do not believe that is all that needs to be done. There has
been rumour and speculation that his power resides in some unknown location.
This, I believe, needs to be destroyed. However, where this is or how to
destroy it, that is what I do not know. I do not think the Guardians know
either, but perhaps they have some information that has been lost to us.” It
was confirming a notion that had been niggling in the back of my mind for a
while. Hopefully, the Guardians knew more or would be able to find out
something about it.

Brant had been quiet throughout
this conversation, but his eyes had been sharp and I was sure he had his own
thoughts on what had been said. “Will you be coming with us?”

Almeida looked at him as if he
only now noticed him sitting there. “I cannot. She has all the knowledge I
could offer her to help her on this journey, but I have other responsibilities
that I cannot abandon.” He looked at me with steely grey eyes. “We will meet
again though. If the heavens spare me, I will be fighting by your side at the
final battle.” He stood up and sat down on the edge of the bed next to his daughter.

He put a hand to her forehead
and started stroking her hair. “Promise me that you will take care of her. I
know you already have a lot of responsibility and I do not mean to add to your
burden, but I cannot let her leave me without knowing there is someone there
watching over her.” His fierce love for his daughter moved me.

I put a hand on my heart. “I
solemnly swear to do all in my power to keep her well. I swear this with the
stars in the heavens as my witnesses.” He nodded firmly his teeth gritting. He
gave her another kiss on her forehead and walked to the door.

“May the gods remember you and
strengthen your sword.” With that, he walked away.

I slept
in the chair I had been sitting in. When I woke stiff and sore the next morning
Alathaya was sitting in the chair opposite me looking out of the small window.
It was still dark out. “He is not coming with us, is he?” She spoke without
looking at me.

I had no need to ask of whom she
spoke. “No. He said he has other obligations.” She nodded firmly, resembling
her father in that moment. “We leave at dawn. Are you hungry? The kitchen staff
will already be preparing breakfast.”

She gave me a small smile.
“Ravenous.” I smiled back at her and fetched some food for us. In truth, it
took some convincing to get the cook to prepare a meal to take up. She was
still muttering about it when I left with the tray.

She had washed and changed by
the time I arrived back. Her hair was tied in a tail down her back with loose
strands framing her face. Her plate was loaded with so much food that I was
certain she would not finish it all, but by the time she was done, not a crumb
remained on the plate and I wondered how she had found space for it all. “Shall
I bring you more?” She shook her head.

The sun was just rising outside.
She pulled her knees up to her chin and sat looking out. “Where are we going?”

That was the question of the
day. I did not know. “We start out towards the west and hope that Quiniewa
comes to tell us where we are meant to go. For now, we just need to get as far
away from here as quickly as we can. Still, I think we may be followed.” She
continued staring out of the window.

I packed the rest of my things
and helped her down the stairs of the inn and out towards the stable. Trissa
and Seran were waiting when we arrived. All the horses had already been saddled
and were standing stamping their feet in impatience. I made the introductions
and Trissa actually smiled politely and came over to talk with her. Soon the
two were standing to one side talking and laughing. I was glad of it. It may
divert Trissa’s attention away from Seran for a while and I was sure it would
make Alathaya a bit more comfortable to have another woman around. Brant came
around the corner of the inn still pulling on his coat and he mumbled apologies
for keeping us waiting.

We mounted and set off at an
easy pace. I did not want to push too hard to start with. Alathaya may have
seemed much better, but it was obvious that she was still very weak and I did
not want to make her condition regress. I rode out front with Seran next to me,
the two women behind us and Brant making up the rear.

Markai joined us of her own
volition. As soon as she arrived, I felt my senses expand through her. To
either side of the path were thick woods and I could hear the small creatures
scurrying away as we approached. The blue sky above us promised a long dry day,
which I was grateful for. We needed to put as many leagues between Andos and us
as possible. The pace throughout the day was rather slow though and we stopped
several times to allow Alathaya to rest and catch her breath.

That night we made camp under
the cover of the dense woods. We divided the watch shifts and decided to keep
them rotating for the duration of the journey. Markai was an immeasurable
advantage. She checked a wide perimeter of the camp to make sure no enemies
were close. During my watch, I focused my Navitas simply for the boost to my senses.
I could hear the scurrying mice in the underbrush, hear an owl hooting leagues
away and I could smell the earthy smell of the woods to the point that I could
pinpoint different species of trees from where I sat by smell alone. Markai lay
next to me fast asleep, I could hear every breath, every heartbeat, and if I
put in a bit of concentration, I could even hear her blood racing along her
blood vessels.

We set off again at dawn.
Alathaya looked much better and she helped with clearing away our campsite.
After a while of riding, she came up and rode next to me. “This is a bit
daunting is it not? I mean at least I was prepared to a certain degree, but for
you. With your parents, you know… not there to teach you and guide you, this
must have come as a bit of a shock.” She said the last half question half
statement.

I nodded. “It was, but then I
have always been quite driven. I had to be able to do everything anyone else
could do and I needed to do it better. I never felt at home in Predaki, where I
grew up. I think some part of me knew I was destined to leave them.”

She looked deep in thought.
“From a very young age, I was taught our history.
Humanity’s
history.
It became a part of who I am. By the time I was four, I was
being taught the sword. I knew exactly what I was supposed to do if we were
attacked and I was left alive with everyone else killed. Yet, the prospect of
what would happen when the Dark Master
rose
again,
that was almost like a tale.
Something that would happen long
after I die.
Then, when I found out of my ability, I was forced to
admit, to myself at least, that I might be one of those who are called.” She
looked at me wryly.
“Although, I did not accept it easily.
I denied it even to myself for a long time. I only truly acknowledged it when
you showed up. That is why I had not told Father.” She went quiet.

“And now, how do you feel about
being called?”

She pursed her lips and frowned
thoughtfully. “I suppose it is a bit frightening, but at the same time rather
exciting! I know that is silly and terrible things might happen, but at the
moment it feels like an adventure.”

I understood exactly what she
meant. When this all started
I
felt like I had finally
found what had been lacking in my life. Found my purpose.

 
I cleared my throat. ”I had meant to say thank
you.
For warning us at such risk to yourself.”

She shrugged. “Believe me, we
all would have been at much greater risk had I not done it.” She looked over to
where Seran rode. ”I doubt he would have made it. One of those things,” she shivered
before continuing, “had bitten him. If I did not miss my guess by a league,
they were Lakreay. Even though the bite itself had only severed a hand, the
venom would have killed him by now.”

I gaped at Seran as if he really
was dead. A Lakreay had bitten off his hand? It was a very strange thought. “Do
you mind telling me what had happened?
Before I mean.”

She shook her head. “Father
always says that you learn from experience. The advantage here is that our
enemies do not know that we had that experience.” She was staring straight
ahead and was quiet for such a long while that I thought she was not going to
continue.

When she started talking her
voice was low and it looked as though she was seeing the scene in front of her
as she spoke. “We were sitting and talking like we had been. Father had told
you of the Alliance and you had explained about your family. He started telling
you that because of the secrecy required to keep the alliance members alive,
much contact had been lost between the families. In fact, we were only in
contact very sporadically with one other family. That was when we heard the
noise outside. A group of them had gone to the stable and killed all the horses
to try to prevent an escape. The screaming horses had alerted us, but too late.
They had us surrounded by then. They came pouring in through the windows. We
had a safe room, a cellar underneath the house and we tried to get in there. We
were backing away from them; you and Seran were in front of us trying to fight
them off long enough for us to get into this room. That is when he was bitten.”

She looked at him again. “He
will be loyal to you to the death. He fought on even though he must have been
in excruciating pain and weakening by the moment because of blood loss and the
venom spreading. Some of our servants lay dead throughout the house. That is
when we realised they were not just in front of us. To confirm our worst fears
they then came from behind, effectively cutting off our escape route. That was
the moment I knew that I had to go back. It was very difficult. In order to
come back the memory of the moment I wish to return to must be stronger than
the reality of the current moment. You can imagine with fear pumping through me
and enemies closing in; I thought I would not be able to do it. You know there
was one thing that I could not figure out.” I looked a question at her. “There
was the most awful smell. Almost disguised under everything else, but there
insipidly spreading. The Lakreay do not have a smell such as that.”

“I think I may have come across
the same creature.”

Her eyes widened.
“When?”

“It was when we were in Searille
which is two days’ travel from Predaki. I woke up in the middle of the night
and my room had been searched. The whole room reeked of rotting meat. They had
gone through Brant’s room as well. I later checked the Book of Remembrance and
by the description in there of the Scavenger’s smell, I would say that is what
it was.” She was nodding. “I had also likened it to rotting flesh or meat. What
are these Scavengers then?” I told her what we had read in the Book. “Do you
have any idea what it had been searching for?” She shook her head a worried
frown creasing her brow. “Because of the fire, we could not even have checked
if something was missing. Maybe that is why they burnt it down. They did not
want us to know what they had taken.” Her face was troubled. “That could be it,
but there is no point in fretting over something that we have no way of finding
out now.” She nodded, but her frown only deepened.

Something occurred to me.
“Alathaya, you said that your family was in contact with another Alliance
member?” She nodded. “Do you know where they are?” She looked confused. “Well,
no I do not know their exact location, but I know how we can meet with them. I
thought Father had told you of this. I thought that was why we were heading
west.” I shook my head. “I did not know where to look for the next member, but
I knew we had to get as far away from Andos as possible.” She looked
incredulously at me. “You mean we have been a boat without a rudder since we
left? How can we just go ambling along without a plan? You realise we were not
simply going to be bumping into these people by accident? In this manner, you
will get nowhere very fast.”

I was so taken aback by her
tirade that I sat there gaping at her like a fool. She rolled her eyes at me.
“Ah, men!
You will get lost for a cycle before asking for
directions.” After some more head shaking and eye rolling she continued. “The
next town along this road is Mirtudale. There we will find Ami; he has carrier
pigeons that we use. We can contact them with a message to arrange a meeting.”
She shook her head at me and fell back to ride next to Trissa.