Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One (60 page)

I looked at him with a frown. “I thought you were all
friends with him now?”

He gave me a deplorable look. “Have you forgotten how he had
used me, blackmailed me to get information on you? How you ever became friends
with him is truly beyond me.”

I sniffed. “That was a long time ago. Besides we went
through a lot together.”

His eyebrows climbed. “Well, we have not.”

To Jamber’s dismay, Brant made his way over to us. He put a
hand to my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I heard that you had arrived
yesterday. Just wanted to say I am really sorry for your loss, Kadin.”

I looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Now it was his turn to look at me with a baffled expression and
he glanced over to the rest of the men. “
Your
Moma,
Kadin. I am saying that I am sorry for your loss.”

I shook my head and pursed my lips. “I know that of course.
But, I spoke to you last night. We went to the Sprouting Fountain. You bought
me a drink…is any of this ringing a bell?”

He looked at Aliana who had come up behind him, but she
shrugged. “Well,” Brant continued, “I must have had a lot more to drink than I
had thought. I vaguely remember sitting in there, but I do not seem to remember
talking to you at all. I did wake up with a fierce headache.” He added almost
to himself.

Aliana grinned, gazing up at him. She was short by Tretakai
standards and only came up to Brant’s shoulder. “Brant that is a new record for
you,” she said and looked at me apologetically. “He has been known in the past
to get hazy on the details of nights out, but this…” She shook her head at him.

Myria giggled loudly until Thaya told her off and even then,
she tried quite unsuccessfully to stifle her mirth by pulling her long blond
hair over her mouth. His cheeks flushed lightly with colour and he
self-consciously rubbed the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry
Brant,
we will have to
catch up again.” I tried for a placating smile.

“Kadin,” Aliana said, “it is nice to see you again. We will
have to arrange to take tea together before you go, perhaps when Brant is
feeling better.” She linked arms with Brant and led him away.
 

I looked after them. He only had two drinks while I had been
with him. Perhaps he had more after I left, I mused.

I turned to Prea. “Does he often drink this way?”

A worried frown creased his brow. “Not that I was aware
of.”
 

Jamber grinned to himself, most likely revelling in Brant’s
embarrassment.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Later that day, I found myself
walking toward the Cha’s house. Before I knocked on the door though, he opened
it with a welcoming smile. “Kadin, you have returned.” For a moment, his face
went sombre. “I am sorry for our loss. Your Moma was a remarkable woman.” He
waved his hand gesturing for me to follow him in.

He led me to his sitting room. Large plush cushions covered
the floor and the ceiling had a sky light in the centre, allowing the cheerful
sunlight to brighten the room. He put a kettle of water on the boil and
gestured for me to have a seat. The smell of herbs transported me back to the
day I had arrived home from my Seeking. So much had changed since then…

He handed my tea to me and sat down across from me. “How
long are you staying for?”

I shrugged.
“A few more days.”

He nodded seemingly deep in thought. “You seem troubled
about something Kadin.” His dark eyes gave the impression of looking beyond the
surface. I found myself idly wondering how old he was. I did not have a single
memory of him looking a day younger than he did sitting there before me.

“I do not yet know if I have reason to be troubled,” I said
eventually.
 

He took a sip of tea, his eyes looking over the top of the
cup at me. “You have always shown good instinct. Some have called it
stubbornness, but you tend to be right. Tell me.”

I realised I had my hand in my pocket, absently rubbing the
sentinel, so I pulled my hand out. “Do you know of Dhillion? What he did?”

He pursed his lips into a thin white line. “That was most
troubling, but I do believe he learned a hard lesson through it. From what I
have gathered, he devotes his time to his family, doting on both Trissa and
little Griaty. That was a long time ago now, though. Why does this trouble you
now?” He looked at me with concern.

“I guess it is not just that. I was talking with Brant last
night and he was the one who told me this tale. I suppose that what is
bothering me more is that when I saw him today, he did not seem to remember any
of our conversation. Although we had a drink at the Sprouting Fountain inn, I
did not think he had been drunk. He must have stayed after, because why else
would he not recall anything. I am not even talking about the specifics of our
conversation. He does not even remember seeing me at all! Prea does not think
he has a problem with drink, but I am worried.”

He nodded, his hands folded as if in prayer and his chin
resting on the tips of his fingers. “I do not believe he is an alcoholic. Drink
is not the only thing that can make a man forget,” he added enigmatically. I
raised my eyebrows at him in question, but he did not elaborate. “What of your
dreams, Kadin? What do they tell you?” His eyes lit up in anticipation.

I looked at him perplexed. Where did that come from? “What
do you mean?”

He looked at me searchingly before answering. “Simply that
your dreams often gives voice to what your conscious mind withholds from you.
What have you dreamt?”

“Last night I thought I heard a Dyrrendrel howling, but then
I started thinking that it must have been a dream. Is that what you mean?”

A slow smile crept over his face. “Only you know what you
dream, but what you need to work out is what it means. Do you think the Dark
Children and Twisted Ones are roaming again?”

I shook my head.
“No, of course not.
It is not possible. Without Rakadamon they cannot be.”

He nodded. “Yes of course, not without him. I cannot tell
you what they mean. This you must work out for yourself. My advice would be to
mind your dreams, boy. And mayhap speak to Markai of hers as well.”

I did not know where this had come from, but what I was sure
of was that it would be pure foolishness to ignore the Cha’s advice.

I left his house with the events of the last few days
spinning through my head, circling back around to my too-real-for-comfort
dream. Unable to wait, I called Markai. It took her some time to appear, but
that had become the norm. She knew it would not be an urgent situation.

I hugged her tightly. Her silky black coat was warm. I had
not seen her for many cycles of the moon and the separation was difficult. The
physical contact between us produced the familiar sense of flames running
across my skin and ice coursing through my veins. It was invigorating.

You are
troubled and it is more than your Moma’s passing. You know she is in a better
place now.
 

I started walking and she fell into step beside me. We had
been bonded for such a long time that I could not remember what it was like
without her awareness nestled in my head. I sometimes forgot that I alone could
see and hear her unless she chose to reveal herself to others. I knew I would
look strange to others; seemingly walking and talking to myself, but everyone
knew about her and so would not trouble me with questions.

I told her about Brant’s strange behaviour, my dream and the
Cha’s advice. She listened carefully and mulled it over for a while before
speaking again.

I have
had a few dreams of someone waiting in ambush for me. I get the feeling of
danger lurking. I search for the source, yet when I think I have it pinpointed,
it disappears. As though a Qupari brother is calling me from the forest, but
when you look, there is no one there. I did not think much of it.

“Do you now think these dreams mean something?”

Her long tail flicked and whipped in agitation.
Perhaps.
We should take heed of the Cha’s advice. I
think we must walk lightly.

“What do you think of Brant’s behaviour?” Through our bond,
I could feel a ripple of worry.

I think
something odd may be going on. It might not be that he tried to deceive you,
but be careful of him.

I sighed. It felt like I was back to when I was starting out
on this journey and Brant was an unwelcome and untrustworthy addition.

After a pause, she added,
I see you still carry the sentinel.

I realised I had been rubbing at it like a talisman and
purposefully took my hand from my pocket.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

I decided to take Aliana up on
her offer of tea, except I needed to speak to her alone. I found her at the
market and arranged for her to come over to Moma’s house when she finished her
shopping. “I will go home to fetch Brant and then we can both come and catch
up!” she said excitedly.

“Actually, I would prefer if it was just you on your own.”
Her face dropped a bit, but she nodded.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

It was later than I had thought
it would be when she finally arrived. “Sorry for the hour, but I got caught up
in some work and lost all track of time!” she said, but it was obvious that she
had been wavering over indecision on whether to come or not.

Alathaya came out and greeted the other woman warmly.
“Tea?”

She
smiled,
relief evident on her
face. Did she think I had meant to see her alone for some unsavoury reason? And
she had come anyway?

“Yes please.” She took a seat at the table.

Alathaya placed the steaming mug in front of her and Trissa
held it up to sip daintily from it.
 
“I
must admit I am now very curious as to why you wanted me to come over on my
own.”

Thaya stood behind Aliana and she rolled her eyes at the
implication that she had thought there was an illicit reason for this visit. I
had to force myself to keep from smiling.

I spread my hands on the table. “Has Brant been behaving
strangely?”

She sighed, but whether in relief or annoyance I could not
tell. “You are asking because he said he could not remember last night?” She
did not pause for an answer. “No, he has not. As any man, he does overindulge
in drink on occasion, but he does not have a problem if that is what you are implying!”
Her voice had risen as her agitation grew.

“I do not mean it like that,” I said. “I was just surprised
that he did not remember any of our conversation. We had spoken for some time,
he even told me about his recent visit to see Seran. He…” she held up a hand.

“What are you talking about?” She asked. “He has not been to
see them in a good number of cycles-of-the-seasons. The last time we were there
was soon after Trissa had found out she was with child.”

I sat with my mouth half open, but before I could respond,
Alathaya did. “That is not possible. He would not have known about what
Dhillion had done or how he had changed because of it. He must have been there
afterwards. Perhaps you have forgotten…it is a long time ago now.”

Aliana was shaking her head vigorously in denial. “He could
have heard this from someone else. I knew of that story from a friend who had
heard it from another friend.” Her face was indignant.

“Why would he have told me that he had been there then?” I
asked. “Why lie about it?”

She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes, and rose from her
seat. “You must have misunderstood. Or else he had already been in his cups. He
would have no reason to lie and I do not appreciate your going behind his back
to question me like this.”

I tried to soften my tone. “I did not mean to cause offense.
We were merely concerned for him.”

“I thank you for that concern, but I can assure you, Brant
is fine. If you need to convince yourself any further, I advise you speak
directly to him. No doubt I will see you around.” She inclined her head and all
but stormed out the door.

Thaya looked at me with raised eyebrows. “Brant was not
drunk when I spoke to him. So either he was lying to me, or he has lied to
her.”

She nodded. “Either way, it seems strange.”

“Where are the children?”

She pointed vaguely into a direction. “They needed to get
out and Lilana could do with some fresh air as well, so she took them into the
woods. I expect Riaph will be trying to catch something for our dinner.”

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Their laughter and joking
drifted toward me through the trees and lifted my spirits. Myria had a rabbit
strung onto her belt, teasing Riaph that he had not yet caught anything. I was
relieved to hear that he was taking it in good humour. “That is because I have
not seen anything big enough! I am not going back with a puny little rabbit.
Who are you planning to feed with that?
Just yourself?”