Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One (59 page)

“Had her cough gotten worse?” I asked. “I had known that she
was ill, but I did not think it was serious. Otherwise, I would have been
here.” I added guiltily.
 

She shook her head miserably. “No, I don’t understand it. If
anything, I thought it had gotten better.”

I took her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. “When was the
funeral?”

“I think, um, about eighteen days since. We would have
waited for you to arrive, but…” she trailed off. I nodded my understanding.

“Come.” She stood up and I called Thaya and the children. We
walked in silence to the grave. Thankfully, passers-by stood gazing after us,
but kept their silence.

We stood staring at the piece of dirt that now covered the
first person to ever love me, accept me. I was startled when Thaya wiped at my
face. It was then that I realised I was crying.

She reached up on tiptoes, kissed my cheek and whispered in
my ear, “We will give you some time alone.” I looked up as she ushered the
children away. Lilana had already gone.

I sat down. As always when troubled, I pulled my sentinel
from my pocket. It had been my denouement gift when I completed the Tretakai
induction ceremony. Little did I know it would end up saving my
life.

Although the disc’s beautiful golden surface was marred by
burn marks, the inscription was still clearly visible;
‘We come when summoned, but bearer
be
aware, we come but once’. I had long pondered these
words. When I activated it with my Navitas in a moment of dread, it had
summoned a group of Fae warriors. It had been clear that they had had some sort
of debt to repay and once they had come at my call, rescuing me from my dire
situation, the debt had been repaid.
 

Even though I knew there would be no one forthcoming from it
again, I still carried it with me wherever I went. It, and the Alliance symbol
on it, was a sort of reminder that no matter how bad things seemed, they have
been worse. That day though, I was not sure if this was true.

All those seasons ago, the Cha had sent Moma to find me, but
no one had asked her to adopt me. She raised me as her own, even in the face of
opposition in the village.

I sat there for a long while. When the sun started
disappearing, I hunted for a flower. I found a red rose and laid it on the
grave. The Kichwa had once said to me that I was like a blood red rose in a
field of white moonflowers, so it felt right. I wiped at my tears and strode
away.

I walked along blindly until I nearly bumped into someone. I
gave my head a shake and muttered an apology before brushing past him.

“Kadin?”

With a scowl, I turned. “Brant!” Despite the circumstances,
I managed a small smile. He had not changed since I last saw him. His wavy dark
hair was cut short with a long fringe, as was the fashion. His russet eyes
peered at me.

He gave me a hug and a pat on
the back. “You look rough. Let me buy you a drink.”

I shook my head, “I am weary after my long journey,” I
glanced back over my shoulder in the direction of the graveyard, “and this
day.”

He smiled broadly. “That is
exactly why you need a drink.”

I relented and trailed after him to the Sprouting Fountain
inn. It was Wilm’s da’s Inn, the only one in the village. As much as I had
missed my brothers – the group of friends I had grown up with and who had
become my family - I hoped I would not bump into them on this night.

Brant took a table near to the centre of the room, but I shook
my head, walked to a dim corner and sat facing the wall. He sat down with a
shrug.
 

When the drinks arrived, Brant lifted his mug and solemnly
intoned, “To your Moma.”

I nodded and clinked glasses with him before taking a long
draught. “How is everything here?”

He grinned impishly. “You know your brothers, always up to
some sort of mischief. With Master
Draek
getting old,
Prea has practically taken over now as the village healer. Everyone loves him
and I think a few were a bit relieved when old Master
Draek
finally handed over the reins. He was getting so forgetful. Not what you want
in your healer!” he said with a chuckle. I tried and failed to raise a smile
for him.

Prea would have loved meeting the Jerieghens. They were a
people of the Fae who were more adept at healing than what we humans could ever
aspire to.

After a moment of awkward silence, Brant asked, “So, have
you been in touch with any of the Alliance members?”

I lifted my shoulders, vaguely saying, “Occasionally. I
probably do not see them as much as I should or want to.”

“I saw Seran, Trissa and Dhillion not long ago. Did you know
Dhillion lives with them still?” he asked, his brows lifted quizzically.

Trissa’s little brother had been a pebble in my shoe during
the last part of our expedition. I did not know how Seran could live with him.
Out of everyone’s Talents, his had been the one to frighten me. Truly, his
compulsion was a Talent that lent itself well to selfishness, immorality and if
not guarded against, evil. I shivered. “I know of it. I have not seen them in a
good many seasons.” I did miss seeing Seran, but Dhillion had been reason
enough to postpone my visits time and time again.

“I was surprised at how mature he had become,” he said.

I snorted. “Well, he is now a man of twenty-nine turnings; I
would be rather surprised if he hadn’t.” Even so, I had always thought that he
lacked the maturity to be responsible with his Talent.

With a nod, he continued. “True, but he is not using his
Talent as loosely anymore. As far as I could tell, he isn’t using it at all.
Almost seems a bit of a waste,” he added softly.

I looked at him disbelievingly. It had been about six
cycles-of-the-seasons since I had last seen them, but at that point, he was
still much a child. Demanding what he wants and if he did not get it, resorting
to his Talent to force people to give him whatever he desired.

“It is true,” Brant said. “He had learned a hard lesson.”

I raised my eyebrows at him enquiringly.

“Trissa had an argument with Dhillion and in vexation, he
told her to go and wash dishes. Of course, she was compelled to obey. He
stormed off and didn’t return for near on two days later. Seran nearly had his
head for that, because naturally, Trissa was still busy washing dishes! At the
time, she was five months pregnant with Griaty. Seran had managed to convince
her to sit down while washing, but he could not get her to stop.”

I could not hide my outrage. “Could he not pick her up and
carry her away? Lock her in a room?”

Brant shook his head. “He tried that. He managed carry her
some distance, but as soon as he put her down, she would walk straight back to
it, and if he locked her in a room, she went crazy. Screaming, crying and
banging on the door for hours, until Seran relented and opened the door. She
had to have medical treatment for her hands after that. They were worried for
the baby as well.”

I sat shaking my head as he told me this.

“Dhillion claimed it was a lapse of judgment on his side,”
he continued. “That he had not realised he had compelled her. Since then
apparently, he had been a whole lot more selective with how he uses his Talent.
It is also the reason why he is so protective over their little girl, Griaty.
Probably trying to make up for his mistake that nearly cost her
life.”

I sat back in my chair absorbing this story. He had always
been irresponsible, but this went beyond stupid.

“When last did you see them?” he asked.

I thought for a moment before answering. “It must have been
shortly before she was pregnant. Do you think Dhillion has learned his lesson
then?”

His mouth pulled down at the corners and his bottom lip
jutted out. “As I say, he did seem to have changed his behaviour after that
incident, but I only saw them for a few days.”

I looked down at my mug and saw I had drained it, so I made
my excuses and headed back to Moma’s house, Lilana’s house now. As I stepped
out of the inn, though, another person stopped me.

“Master Kadin!” he exclaimed. I thought I recognised him
vaguely as being one of the elders who had sat on the village council when I
was growing up. “I haven’t seen you in such a long time, son. The Kichwa told
us of your great achievements and glorious victory. We were all so happy that
our faith in you paid off.”

He smiled ingratiatingly at me. I could almost smell the
waves of honey coming from his tongue. I shuddered inwardly at the complete
hypocrisy of it. They never had any faith in me. Their enmity was what had forced
me to learn the Navitas in secret and even when I achieved that, they had
rejected me as an outsider, with the Kichwa leading the mob with pitchfork in
hand! I clenched my teeth to keep from saying anything, and strode past him.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

After the children went off to
bed, I told Alathaya of my evening. She was not as shocked as I had been about
Dhillion’s carelessness. “I always thought he was going to get into a whole lot
of trouble with his Talent. That boy never knew where the line should be drawn.
He was lucky that it was not more serious.” She sat shaking her head.

I scratched at my beard. I would have shaved it off long
since, but Thaya liked it, so I put up with it.

“You look tired. Do you want something to eat before bed?”

I shook my head. “No thank you, I am not going to be awake
long enough for that.”

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Far off in the distance, I
heard a howl. I had to strain my ears to catch it at first, but over several
minutes it rose and fell like a lamenting call, louder and louder. My heart
started racing. That was no wolf; it was a Dyrrendrel. The nightmarish
creatures that Rakadamon had
Twisted
from the shape of
the wolf were much larger than their normal counterparts.

But, how could that be? The Twisted Ones had all reverted
when Rakadamon fell. Suddenly, it sounded loud and clear and very close.

I sat straight up in bed, covered in sweat. Thaya woke up
and laid a hand on my arm. “What is it?”
 

I squinted at her through the darkness. “Did you not hear
it?”

“Hear what? Is Myria awake again?” she asked with a groan.

I shook my head and sat listening a while before answering.
“I heard howling…a Dyrrendrel howling. It was getting so close.”

She sat up next to me. “That can’t be. You know they all
reverted back to their natural forms. Perhaps it was a wolf, or do you think
you could have been dreaming?”

I ran a hand through my hair. “I suppose.” Could I have
dreamt it? I was so sure I heard….With a sigh I laid back down. Thaya cuddled
up next to me and soon she was taking the long slow breaths of sleep. I stayed
awake listening for a while more, even focusing my Navitas to enhance my
hearing. When I heard nothing more though, I had to admit it had probably been
a dream.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

The next morning we all went to
the common dining hall where I knew I would find my brothers. When I saw them
sitting at the same table we had always used, I could not help the smile that
came. Jench spotted me first and sent up a joyous cry of greeting, jumping up
and nearly knocking his chair over. “Look, I think I recognise that man!” he
said, pointing to me.

“No Jench, you are mistaken, I am sure that is a stranger,”
Prea laughed.

I chuckled along with them. “It’s not been that long!”

Jamber snorted. “Please! We have not seen you in, what is
it, like two whole cycles-of-the-seasons! And look at the
mini-Kadin’s
.
Not so
mini anymore, are
they? Riaph, you are almost
as big as your da now!”

Riaph grinned at this. Prea got up and bowed to Alathaya,
taking her hand and kissing it lightly on the back. The others followed suit
with the bow and I gave them each a hug before going back to get some food.
Riaph was already sitting down and talking animatedly with Jamber.

After a short while of sitting there chatting, Lilana walked
in and after getting her food, came to sit with us. I was relieved to see that
she looked better than she had the day before.

“So, Lilana, have you decided to give in and marry me then?”
Jench asked with a serious face.

Her tinkling laughter made her eyes sparkle. “I have told
you, if I am not married by the time I am twenty five turnings, I will be
marrying you.”

Jench’s face was a picture of mock disappointment. “And in
the meantime, you are happy for me to become a lonely old man?”

She chortled again. “Become? You already are a lonely old
man!”

I was sitting with my back to the entrance, but when I saw
Wilm waving to someone at the door, I looked over my shoulder to see Brant
raise his hand in turn. Jamber groaned. “Why did you have to wave at him?
Please, do not let him come and sit with us today.”