Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One (57 page)

He sat down with a thump, his jaw slack and his eyes staring far away.
I gave him a while to recover, but when Definia came over to start my stitches,
I said, "Thaya and Tas are busy digging the grave..." before I could
say anymore, he stood up.

“Where?"

I pointed to where they were and he walked away without another word.

I had to grit my teeth against the pain of the stitches, but even so,
I was willing it to drag on.
Anything to postpone what I had
to face next; the burial.
Eventually though, it was done and I walked
back to the grave. They had made huge progress with the digging and it was soon
ready.

I swallowed. “I think we should wait until we have everyone together.”
Roscien and Thaya nodded grimly.

“I will see who I can find.” Roscien spoke as he was walking away. We
set off as well for the same purpose.

It did not take us long to find Seran and Trissa. They had been on
their way back to the campsite, but when I told them of what we were doing,
they turned back to find Dhillion and to check on Malion. If he were well
enough they would bring him along as well.
 

I called
Markai and asked her to come along too. She came immediately and we walked back
to stare down at the empty grave. My stomach felt as though I had swallowed a
rock. Slowly, everyone trickled in. Thaya gave me a small nudge. When I looked
up, everyone apart from Malion was there and looking at me. Markai informed me
that he had not yet regained consciousness, but the Jerieghen thought his
chance at survival fair. Fair, as though that should be comforting to me. Did
they all expect me to speak? What could I say? “Roscien,
Tas
,
Seran, would you please help me lower him in?”

We carried him over and using some blankets carefully lowered him
down. Standing by the side of the grave, looking at him
lying
there, my tongue felt twisted around in my mouth.

I cleared my throat several times, before I could speak. “Xain was a
true friend, a brave man. He gave his life to secure our victory. We will
always remember his bravery and forever honour his memory. May he find
peace.
” I wiped my tears away and Thaya gripped my hand in
hers.

The others all said their piece. I found I could not listen. I plucked
a flower that was nearby and dropped it into the grave before we filled it back
up with soil. Beyond my grief, I felt a terrible guilt for his death. If I had
only managed to defeat Rakadamon faster, my friend would still be here. Part of
me screamed that it was a fool thought, but the small voice whispering at me
that it was my fault drowned out the scream.

We spent the night at the campsite. There had not been much daylight
left at the end of it all and it had made more sense to stay. As soon as I woke
though, I made my way over to where Malion was in the Jerieghen camp. He seemed
at ease in sleep. Karina was sleeping next to him and I was careful to be quiet
so as not to wake her.
 
I sat down next
to him, pulling my knees up and resting my head on them. I watched the sunrise
over the mountains in the distance.

I was lost in thought and did not immediately notice him stirring.
“Kadin?”
He croaked and nearly made me jump right out of my
skin.
“Water.”
He said hoarsely and I scurried away to
find a water skin, all the while cursing myself for a fool at not having
brought my own.

I quickly found one though and he drank thirstily. He tried to sit up,
but winced against the pain and lay back down. “We did it?” He asked and I
nodded.

“Look who is here.” I whispered, gesturing to Karina next to him.

He gasped and silent tears started rolling down his cheeks. He did not
wake her though, but simply lay there watching her sleep with a joyous smile on
his face.

Without looking away from her, he whispered back. “You found her?”

I smiled. “Tas did.”

He nodded, clearly making a mental note to buy him the moon.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

He gave me a sickly grin.
“Like I have been trampled
by a herd of riqesh.”
I could not stop the laughter that bubbled from my
throat and he chortled.

A few minutes later, I broached the subject that I did not want to
face. “Mal, Xain did not make it.” I could see his jaw working and he turned
his head away, looking at Karina again. “We buried him yesterday. When you are
up to it, I will take you there.” He nodded weakly.
  

I sat with him a while longer talking of small things until Karina
woke and I left them to their tearful reunion.

I found
Thaya with
Tas.
I clapped him on the back. “I think
Malion wants to make you King of all of Surrelmidia. He is awake and Karina is
with him.” He smiled with relief washing over his face. He looked over my
shoulder and his face darkened.

I looked
round to see Brant approaching. I could not stop the smile that bloomed on my
face even if I had wanted to. I walked over to him and hugged him.

When I
stepped back, he looked confused. “I thought I was coming over here to explain
things to you.”

I
laughed. “I think there are a few things I have to explain to you.”
 

I told
him of our meeting, of the trap that had been set for both him and me and how
Thaya had taken us back to avoid the attack. “That slice of information about
the Skell being the key is what saved us all.”

I told
him of my fight with Rakadamon and of how I saw his blade absorbing the blood
and the realisation that the Skell’s sword was the answer.

Thaya
and
Tas
had not heard this yet and they had moved
closer to hear what we were talking about. They had been looking at him with
pure hate and distrust in their eyes, but once they understood the truth of
what had happened that changed completely.
Tas
shook
his hand and apologised for ever doubting his loyalty and Thaya hugged him. The
look of total surprise at this turn of events on his face, made me laugh.

Eventually
though, we had to tell him of Xain.
Tas
took him to
visit the grave. Thaya took my hands in hers. “What now? As unbelievable as it
still seems, this is all done. Where do we go?”

I looked
back towards where the castle was. “There is one more thing I have to do before
I can leave here. I have to burn his remains and destroy that sword. I do not
want any trace of him to remain.” She nodded her understanding and we started
towards the castle.

I
avoided touching the castle walls even though I knew that they were just stone
now. I wanted to get this done with as quickly as possible. I hurried into the
throne room and looked around, but quickly, my search became frantic. I knew
the exact spot where he had died, but his bones were not there. I scoured every
inch of the massive room, but there was no trace of him, his sword, or the
Skell blade. I sank down onto the floor. “How is this possible?” I could not
hide the despair in my voice.

She sat
down next to me and put her arm around me. “Who would have done this? The Dark
Children are all dead, the Twisted Ones released…” I shook my head.
“Unless there was a Twisted One who did not want to be released.
We should have thought about this! I should have burnt the remains as soon as
this was done! Curse me for a fool!” I knew I was shouting, but I did not care.

“You
cannot blame yourself. You were not to know,” she said, her voice soothing.

I looked
at her incredulously. “No? Who should I blame then?”

She
recoiled visibly from me and immediately I wished I could call the words back.
I sighed heavily. “I am sorry Thaya. I am not angry with you. I just don't know
what to do. What am I going to tell everyone?”

She
looked around and took a deep breath. “We don't.” She held up her hand to stop
me interrupting. “I can agree to telling Markai, but beyond that... What would
we say? This might not even mean anything. We can all swear an oath that we
will remember what passed today. We will spread word of it as far as possible;
teach our children the truth of it. Then at least there will still be some who
know it and the rest will know legends about it. The world will be better
prepared next time.” She saw my face and hastily added, “If there even is a
next time.”

I thought about her words a long time before I nodded reluctantly. “We
must all agree to the oath and I will add information to the Book of
Remembrance. I will get copies made of it so that all of the Alliance members
will have a copy.
Even if I have to make the copies myself.”

She smiled.
“Agreed.
Now let’s get back
before they start wondering what has become of us.”

When we reached the camp again, everyone was busy packing up. They
were all so busy with their own things that no one even asked us where we had
been. It was not long before we were ready to leave.

Our plan was to get clear of the forest and then cross back over to
our plane. Thaya and I had agreed that it was probably best to wait until we were
settled into our camp that night to speak to everyone about the oath.

 
The procession started and
Malion came up behind me. “What is the plan now Kadin?”

I laughed. “I don’t know! I guess I will go to Thaya's house with her.
Tell her father all of what has happened and then I would like to take her back
to Predaki to meet Moma and my little sister Lilana.” I glanced at her quickly.

I had not yet mentioned this to her, but she gave me a beautiful smile
that made my heart skip.

I solemnly swear to record,
remember, and to retell the tale of the Battle of Magtisanya so that it may
never be forgotten. I swear to teach my children of Rakadamon and train them to
be ready should the Great Threat rise once more. This I declare and affirm.

Always
remember. Always be prepared.

The
Alliance lives.

A word
from the author:

Thank you dear reader, for taking the time to
read my book.
I hope that it took you on a journey of
adventure and excitement. I would be so grateful if you left a review to tell
others what you thought.

‘The Forgotten Gods: Book Two, Of Folly and Fear’, is out 04 August
2012! Page on for a sneak peek at the first two chapters.

Warm wishes!

Tania

Talk to me:

Twitter @
TaniaJohansson

Webpage:
www.taniajohansson.co.uk

Of Folly and Fear

Book Two of
The
Forgotten Gods Series

By

Tania Johansson

I barely managed to block his
attack. Our swords collided with a loud thwack. I counterattacked and managed
to gain some ground back. Sweat was stinging my eyes, but I dared not let that
distract me. One of the most important things I had
learnt,
was that an instant of distraction during battle, could mean death. He slowly
turned in a tight circle around me. He suddenly lunged forward, swinging his
sword in an arc toward my neck. I blocked it again, but this time I was able to
put my whole weight behind it, knocking him backward and off-balance.

Taking my moment, I took a few steps closer to him. I spun
around low to the ground, flicking my foot out and swiping him off his feet. He
fell back and hit the ground with a loud thud. I closed the distance between us
and lay the tip of my sword against his neck. A grimace was contorting his face
as he lay there squinting up at me, shock and pain making his electric blue
eyes sparkle.

A scarcely contained giggle broke the moment. I lowered my wooden
sword and looked over to Myria. She had been watching us spar from the
door.
 
I held my hand out to Riaph to
help him up and - with a scowl directed at his sister - he gripped my hand.
“You did well, son. Every day you get closer to getting the better of me.”

He paused for a moment from shaking the dust of his clothes
to give me a dubious look. “You say that every day we practice. Yet, I have
never beaten you.”

Myria was still standing with a grin on her face and he
turned on her. “Don’t you have anything better to do? I thought Moma told you
to make sure to study the Book today!”

Her face fell, but she left without a word of objection.