Fate's Hand (23 page)

Drask gestured to the host of demons, gnolls, and a giant waited close to the entrance of the encampment. A large demon with massive wings twirled the arrow with the white flag between his fingers, flipping it over his knuckles. Drask turned back and smiled at his guests.

“We are done. Leave us alone, and we will do the same. When you want to be civilized, come back and we can talk.”

As Drask and Lar turned and began walking away, Arctus spoke.

“I think you are here for something else.”

“
What you think is irrelevant.”

“
What do you want to do?” a wizard asked Temo.

“
Dying here today won’t help anything,” the mercenary said. “Our cards are on the table. He knows he is not hidden anymore. I don’t believe he will try anything as we leave this area, but we should still make haste.”

The general nodded and the party rode from the clearing. They were not far into the forest when elves dropped out of the trees before them. General Arctus rode forward. A tall, lean elf in deep green armor strode forward as he spoke in a soft voice.

“We should talk.”

Jerib sat at the edge of the creek, smoking his pipe. Since the interaction with Yusar, everyone was in a somber mood. They all laid their thoughts out, but no one could come to an agreement on the next course of action. Val sat in the cool damp grass next to him and watched the small minnows dance around each other in the water.
              “You know, in the end, it's your choice,” Jerib said as he toked his pipe and let the smoke drift out of his mouth.

“
I don’t know what to do. You all know more about this than I do.”

“
Switching hands with a demon, fighting three-headed dogs, and magical rings? We know just as little as you do, my boy. But I know you have good friends.”

Jerib looked out at Asher crafting new arrows out of branches next to the barn, and at Rylan and Daria on top of the barn, playing with one of the squirrels that had joined them. Val smiled, thinking there would be more than a few broken hearts, if they ever did make it back home. He looked over the water and hung his head low as he thought about his simple life and his uncle.
             

Jerib placed his hand on Val’s shoulder. “Life never really turns out how we think it will, does it?” Val didn’t look up, but watched the minnows dance, and waited for the moment to pass.

“I’ve been removing the binding on my hand at night,” Val told everyone later that evening. “Now that I have all the feeling in the hand, I believe it won’t try to harm me again. It’s almost like we have come to an agreement.” The crickets outside the window played their nightly tune.

“
I also believe that we should leave Jerib’s peaceful dale and travel on. We have already tainted this place with enough blood for a lifetime. I cannot lose my sister again, but I also don’t want her in harm’s way. For that same reason, I would also ask for Rylan and Asher to part ways with us.”

Rylan started shaking his head.

“But it’s also obvious that Rylan is in love with me and would be heartbroken to leave my side.”

Daria smiled at her brother then looked back to Rylan as the man blushed and grinned ear to ear.

“I’ve grown rather fond of your sister, to be honest.” Asher said. Rylan’s eyes went wide and he chucked a wooden spoon at his laughing brother. The group all had a good laugh, and then Val continued.

“
Jerib, I thank you for everything you have done for us. But, in the morning we will leave you back to your peaceful life. I really envy you. You were right when you said life doesn’t go like we plan, but I can only hope to be as lucky as you and end up in a place like this.”

The next morning they packed up, Jerib gave everything he could for their travels.

“I think there is more to this,” he said. He walked into his cabin and grabbed a pack he had prepared. Val gave him an odd look as the man went and got Gabby saddled up in the barn.

As he came out riding, Rylan finally asked, “Did you decide to come with us?”

Jerib chuckled and patted Gabby on the neck. “What, and get us both killed? No, I think I would only hold you back. I still have a few powerful friends out there and I am going to go look into this Drask. As I said, I think there is more to this and people should know. One other thing before we part Val: be careful with that ring. The wizard on the other side might not be the helpless captive he wants you to believe he is. If I find anything out, I will come find you all.” With that, he smiled and started off in a different direction.

“
He is going to find us?” Rylan asked. Daria shrugged.

“
How will you find us, old man?” Rylan called out to Jerib’s back.

“
Magic, my boy! Magic!”

Val laughed as he recalled Jerib telling him the exact same thing once before.

“Well, Val, where should we go?” Asher asked.

Val looked at his sister and answered. “Home. Let's pay our respects to our uncle. After that, I don’t know. I guess we will just figure it out.”

As the group left the peaceful scene in the woods, the many shy creatures came out and started to make their way back toward Jerib’s cabin.

Drask’s hand shook in excitement as he returned to his room to gather his book. As he opened the door, he knew something was off. The papers were still in disarray, just not like he had left them. His bag was opened slightly and there were fresh burn marks across the floor in front of it. Drask heard Arihem approach and waved him into the room as he closed the door.

“Apparently, my brothers managed to put a spy among us,” Drask chuckled as he approached the bag and removed the book.

“
You had the bag warded?” Arihem asked.

“
Something like that.” He carefully placed it on the table and spoke in a hushed tone, as if the book was sensitive to sound. “We must be very careful from this point on, Arihem. I need to read this book, undisturbed, and read it again after that.”

He opened the book to the first page and smiled at the seemingly empty pages that welcomed him. He ran his fingers across the edge of the page and then to the top left corner. He held his breath as he grazed the page, feeling for embossing. As his finger dipped to the first letter, he let out his breath and smiled. All his work would not be in vain. He would get his kingdom in the sun and bind his existence in the plane of man.

“I do not want to be disturbed.”

The door opened. “About the humans: what do you want done?”
             

Drask waved his hand in the air to dismiss the question. “They are slow. They will have to report back. Then they will talk and have meetings, and in the end, they won’t know what to do. Have our construction focused on the outermost defenses. Double our scouts, and find the missing ones. Have Sirash summon them if need be. I need to read this book and bring this plan to the next step.” Drask continued to caress the page, his frustration swept away.

Val, Daria, Rylan, and Asher had been on the road for some time. They took it slow and covered little ground in the first few days because Rylan was still gathering his strength. They stopped in a shaded spot near the road and gave him another break.

“
What do you think your friends and family will say when you come back in one piece?” Asher asked.

“
Pent was the only family we had, and our uncle was a hard man to get along with, so he didn’t make many friends. But the few we've made over the years will be happy to see us back,” Daria replied.

“
We haven’t talked about what we're going to do after we get you back to normal,” Daria said to Val. He picked up a stick and starting digging into the dirt.

“
You mean if I ever get back to normal,” he said.

Daria looked at Rylan and Asher. The two men were going through their packs and setting up for the night, trying to stay out of the conversation. She scooted next to her brother and put her arm around him.

“Hey, It's not like we have to get caught up in this demon’s plans. We can just throw that ring in the fire, say our goodbyes to the village, and run far enough away to where he won’t be able to find us.”

“
We won’t be able to outrun this problem. Without Uncle Pent looking over our shoulder, I agree we can finally go out and see the world like you always wanted. But first, I need to be able to remove you from danger. This demon needs my hand; it’s obvious he isn’t done with me. That Cerberus may have just been the beginning.”

Rylan sat next to Val as he placed a few skewers of meat over the fire. “As long as we stay together, we'll be okay. We don’t have anything holding us here and I have wanted to see more of the world. There will always be adventure, demon hand or dragon.”

Asher chimed in. “As long as we don’t have to fight any spiders, right?”

“
Well…yeah,” Rylan slowly said.

Val put his arm around the man and jostled him a few times. “That has got to be the first time I’ve seen you at a loss for words, Rylan.”

“If it came to it, I would fight any spider for you guys.” He looked sincerely into Val and Daria’s eyes, then looked over to Asher, who was squatting near the fire, his face was illuminated by the flickering light.

“
As would I,” he swore.

“
I really am lucky to have stumbled into you guys,” Val said.

Rylan rolled his head back and let out a deep breath. “That reminds me! We never did tell Daria about the first time we met! Val here was going to take down a massive boar with a kitchen knife.” He ribbed Val, who laughed.

“Oh, no. It sounds like you remember it better than me. Why don’t you tell the story?”