Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One (50 page)

Xain nodded along as he spoke.
“True, but they might well realise what you are doing and then there would be
no point in it. I think you should copy me, just to be ready, in case.”

“You should copy all your
companions.” Markai broke in. “We will not know exactly what we have to face
until the fighting starts, but having you able to impersonate every one of them
will be an advantage. We must use all our resources. I am surprised that you
have not done this already.”

What she said was true, but I
had one more suggestion. “Should he not copy you as well Markai?”

I could feel her surprise at my
suggestion, but her body language revealed nothing. “I do not think that will
be possible.”

There was a hint of indignation
in her voice, but I pressed on. “I think it is worth a try. As you say, we must
use any advantage we can find.”

The image I got from her was of
a gnashing of teeth in frustration, but what she said in a level voice was,
“Very well, we shall try.”

“I think my Talent’s use is
quite obvious as well. I can go where no one else can safely. I can go and see
what it is like down there. We can get a fair idea from here, but there is
nothing like being in amongst them. Of course, I would be able to go into the
castle as well. See what the layout is like. See exactly where Rakadamon is
holed up in there.” Excitement filled Roscien’s voice, he sounded as though he
wished he could be off doing just that.

If he could go in there first, I
realised, that would give me a great advantage when I went. “There is one more
use for what you do,” Markai broke in. “When Kadin goes in there, you will be
going with him. You can go ahead of him and make sure the way is clear, warn
him if enemies approach.” He smiled enthusiastically at this. “We will start
that later today then.”
 
There was still
a sour note in her voice. She was not very happy with me.

Suddenly, we were no longer
sitting in a dense forest, but exposed on a bare hilltop, a lone wisp of a tree
blowing in the wind. Markai jumped up snarling, which made Malion laugh. He was
always one for dramatic demonstrations as Roscien and I had learned. Markai
though, was not all too impressed with the surprise. She snarled at him again.
Still laughing he held up his hands as if in surrender. Just as suddenly, we
were back in the forest. “You made your point. That would be a bit
disorientating in battle.” Markai said in a dry tone. “I would want to as far
as possible, decide beforehand what landscapes you will use. We do not want to
disorientate our own people.”

A sly smile crept across
Dhillion’s face. “Markai, you should eat that rock over there.” He pointed to a
stone the size of my two fists together.

She looked from him to where he
pointed. I could feel her anger bubbling below the surface. “Dhillion, I
understand you are young, but this is no time for games.”

He looked so shocked; I would
have sworn there were suddenly two suns in the sky. Clearly, his ‘Talent’ did
not work on Qupari, possibly, not on any of the Fae. His face tightened. “I
said you must eat that rock.” He jerked his hand, pointing to the rock.

A low grumble came from deep in
her chest. “What are you trying to do, compel me to eat the rock? Well, sorry
to disappoint, but Compulsion does not work on any of the Fae. That is also why
I have been meaning to speak with you. You will not be coming into battle.
Correct me if I am wrong, but you have not received any training with sword or
bow and as you just found out, your Talent will not be much use to us out there.”
His face contorted in rage and he jumped up to his feet. He glared at her
before stomping away. Trissa had been trying to hide her obvious relief that he
would not be following us into danger. Relief now warred with sympathy and she
followed him.

Seran looked after Trissa, but
spoke to Markai. “Trissa’s Talent has saved our lives several times, but she
does not know how to control it. It tends to kick in at the right times, but it
would be comforting if we could rely on it.”

Markai nodded her massive head.
“Laskia, I believe you can help her with it. Go now.”

Laskia grumbled a bit, but stood
none the less and walked off in the direction that Trissa had gone.
 

Markai turned back to Seran.
“You are quicker to point out her use than your own.”

He shrugged. “There is only one
use for a Talent such as mine; the battle itself.”

“
True,
and yours is another reason I think Tas should be able to copy everyone. Do you
have extra whips that he can carry to use when copying you?” He nodded. “Good.
Having two highly skilled whip warriors who do not tire and can effectively
steal the enemies’ energy can only be to our advantage. Now, Alathaya… are you
able to deliver short messages to your past self without too much of an effect
on your health?”

She shook her head. “I have
never done it without feeling sick afterward. It is proportional to the time I
spend delivering the message, so presumably I should be able to deliver a quick
message and have minimal effect.”

Her blue eyes narrowed in
thought. “We will have to test that also later today.”

She turned her gaze to me.
“Finally, Kadin, you obviously have the most pivotal role of all. You will kill
Rakadamon. Whatever plan we decide on will be aimed at giving you the best
possible chance at success.”

I
nodded,
my stomach in a twist. However I looked at it, it was a daunting prospect.

We continued discussing plans
and strategies for the rest of that day only stopping for food late in the
afternoon. After coming up with, and discarding dozens of ideas, two common
elements became apparent: distraction and surprise. I was fervently wishing
that we still had the latter, but with Brant missing and possibly working for
the other side, there was no way to be certain. Even if he had been captured as
opposed to turning on us, they could have tortured him, forced him to reveal
every last secret about us. I shivered at the thought.

Markai finally called a halt to
the day’s discussions, but held Roscien and me back. “I know your spirit self
cannot be injured, but we would for obvious reasons prefer if they did not know
we had surveyed their camp. Start with the most important part, the castle.
Find the safest route there and try to explore as much of it as possible. Fix
what you see in your mind for I will ask you to sketch the layout once you
return. Critically, we need to know where he sleeps, where he eats, where he
spends his time. Get as much information as possible. Wait until dark and then
go.” He
nodded,
his face a mixture of determination
and eagerness.
 

That night whoever was on watch,
had to sit with Roscien’s body while his spirit travelled. He lay down on his
bedroll and slowed his breathing. It almost looked like he was sleeping, except
that his breathing was so shallow and infrequent. A few times, I was afraid it
had stopped altogether. He did not move at all, not even to respond to
Dhillion’s sudden loud whoop at something that Trissa had said to him.
Watching him like that made even time feel slow.
What he
learned would lend us a great advantage and I was eager to hear it. The end of
my shift came before he returned and I tried to get some sleep.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

When I
woke the next morning, he was already sitting up and talking with Markai. I
hurried over and seeing my eager expression, he smiled. “Don’t worry, I have
not said anything. Markai thought it best if we wait for everyone to join us
before we discuss it. It will save me repeating it.” I relaxed.

A large pot was bubbling over a
cook fire and the aroma that rose from it made my mouth water. I guessed it was
the Jerieghen’s porridge and I tried not to show my interest in it. They were
already insufferable and I did not want to give them another reason to feel
superior. But then they surprised me by inviting us to have some of their food,
with only the barest hint of smugness, before they went on their way to eat in
seclusion.

After breakfast, which tasted
even better than it had smelled, we all gathered to hear what Roscien had to
report. His white hair was loose this morning and he looked somewhat dishevelled.

He cleared his throat. “Last
night, I explored the castle.” He gestured vaguely over his shoulder. “First of
all, it is much bigger than it looks. It has several underground levels and
four above ground. There is only one set of stairs going up and down, which
will make it that much more difficult to escape detection. Luckily, you will
have my special skills assisting you with that.” He looked at me and gave a
cheeky smile.

“I did not find anything I would
call a bedroom. Several rooms held couches big enough to lie flat on, but that
was it. I did however find a throne room. The room was massive and unfurnished
apart from one huge throne made of gold if I do not miss my guess
completely.
 
I did not see anyone apart
from catching a glimpse of a man rounding a corner. I followed carefully, but
by the time I glanced around the corner he had disappeared. I only saw him from
the back, but he appeared to be very human-like if not human." He pulled
out a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out to me. "I have drawn
a sketch of the layout as best I could from memory. I think everyone should
copy that and keep it with them just in case."

That seemed like a sensible idea
and I nodded, but all of a sudden, he looked very uneasy. He stood dry washing
his hands and shuffling from foot to foot. Markai noticed it as well.
"Roscien, there is clearly more that you haven't said. We do not have all
day."

He cleared his throat several
times and ran a hand through his hair before continuing. "As I was leaving
the castle, I came across, umm, Brant."
 

"What?" Several of us
asked it at the same time.

"What did he say when you
saw him?" Markai asked.

He shook his. "He was
trying to convince me that he was playing them foul. That he is pretending to
be their follower, but that he has only given them false information."

"You did not believe
him." I said it half question, half statement.

He shrugged and rubbed his
shoulders as if cold all of a sudden. "I do not know to be honest. I did
not know him all that long before he left, but he looked sincere.
So.
..
I
agreed to meet him again tonight. I said I would see if I could bring you
along."

Markai took a step forward and
he shrank back from her. "Fool! They will have a trap ready. Now they know
for certain that Kadin is close by. Fool!"

His face betrayed a strange mix
of embarrassment and outrage. "He looked sincere and I thought if Kadin
did come, I would go ahead and scout around first to make sure I am not leading
him into a trap. Otherwise, if he did not want to come, I could still go. They
cannot hurt me and if Brant is still on our side it will be worth seeing what
he has to say."

She stared at him icily for a
long moment before conceding.
"Fine.
The rabbit
is downwind now anyway. But, you go ahead alone first and then call Kadin if it
is safe. I will be coming as well." A small smile crept onto Roscien's
face.

Once everyone had a copy of the layout
of the castle, Roscien went through it with us. It seemed a maze and I could
not help but think that even with the map I could very easily be turned around
in there.

Tas
had
spent his day copying everyone’s ability. Markai had been first in line,
growling that she wanted to get it over and done with. She sat down in front of
him. I was aware of a very rare emotion in her.
Fear.
She suppressed it viciously and without my bond with her, I would not have been
able to detect even a glimpse of it.
Tas
stood in
front of her and placed his hands on her massive shoulders. He took a deep
breath and closed his eyes. For a few moments, nothing happened. I was just
starting to think that nothing would happen, when his hands took on that sickly
melting appearance. It started creeping up her shoulders and chest, but then it
halted and started to reverse.
Tas
’ eyes remained
closed, but a deep frown furrowed his brow. The flow did not stop though; it
started creeping up
his own
arms. His eyes shot open
and his mouth opened in a silent scream.

I took a step forward. “Stop,
let it go,
Tas
!” His eyes found mine; terror was writ
large in them.

 
“Markai, step back now!” I ran the short
distance to them and pulled at her with all my might.

I knew she was trying to back
off as well. I kept pulling at her until suddenly, we were released and I sat
down heavily with Markai landing next to me. I scrambled back to my feet and
rushed over to
Tas.
His hands still had the melted
appearance, but I could see they were reverting to normal. He lay flat on his
back, breathing heavily.

Markai stood next to me and
looked down at him. I could feel her worry over him, but all she said was, “I
knew that it was a bad idea.” She stood watching him a while longer and when
she was certain that he would be fine, she walked off without another
word.