Souls of Aredyrah 1 - The Fire and the Light (32 page)

She leaned her head back, and her eyes
fluttered closed as her body began to glow with an ethereal light.
Whyn sat quickly and clenched the arms of his chair.

A moan, low and deep like that of an
approaching gale, rose from the marble Goddess. The torches along
the walls hissed and sputtered, the flickering of the flames
accentuating the expressions of apprehension plastered across the
faces of those in the room. The Priestess jerked her head and her
eyes shot open. They were no longer pale, but black as the darkest
night, and she stared out as though unseeing. She spoke from the
hole that was her mouth, and her body writhed in the chair like a
snake coiled to strike. Then she said in a voice not her own:

The Unnamed One is among us. He has been
renamed. He is weak, yet he is strong. The truth could give him
power, though he would deny the existence of it. Allowed to
survive, others would show him the way; yet, were he to die, the
reach of his
power would be greater still. He must not be
allowed to live, yet he must not be made to die. He must simply
fade away . . . fade away . . . fade away . . .

Then the ground rumbled, and all went
black.

* * * *

Dayn fell to the floor on all fours and
retched noisily into the straw.

“Are you all right?” Alicine cried as she
rushed to his side.

Dayn spat the foul taste from his mouth. “Did
you feel that?” he asked.

“Feel what?” Alicine asked.

Reiv walked over and stared down at Dayn.
“Well, I hope I do not feel it, whatever it is,” he said, a mixture
of humor and sympathy in his voice.

Dayn scowled at him, then pushed up from the
floor. But he immediately found himself falling into Reiv’s arms as
his legs went out from under him. He landed on one knee, Reiv still
holding him by an arm, and clutched his queasy stomach.

“Gods, Dayn, what is wrong with you?” Reiv
said. He released Dayn from his grip and allowed him to sink to the
floor.

“Don’t you feel it?” Dayn asked, annoyed.
“Like the ground is shifting or something?”

“I do not feel anything,” Reiv said. He
glanced at Alicine who returned his look of concern, then knelt
beside Dayn who was clutching the straw for support. Reiv placed a
comforting hand on his back.

“Is this the same feeling you had the other
day?” Alicine asked. “You know, when we were going to Summer Fires.
Your face is definitely the same color.”

“Yes. The same. But it’s been happening more
and more.”

“You didn’t tell me it had happened since,”
Alicine said.

Dayn waved his hand to disregard her
concerns. “Just a couple of times. You weren’t around. Besides, I
didn’t want you to worry. It never lasts long anyway.”

“This has happened before?” Reiv asked. “You
mean you have been ill?” He stood and took a step back.

“No, not ill. Something else; I don’t know.
But if it’s like before, it’ll leave quickly.”

A long moment of silence passed. As Dayn
predicted, the queasy feeling left him almost as suddenly as it had
occurred. He took a deep cleansing breath and pushed himself up,
then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I’m fine now. Really,” he said.

* * * *

In the darkness of the temple, all that could
be heard was the labored breathing of men. Whyn shivered; the air
felt like ice against the sweat now coating his skin. The torches
on either side of the room suddenly relit, and the room became
instantly warm again. The Priestess sat on her chair, as pale-eyed
and beautiful as before.

“You have heard the words of the Goddess,”
she said. “The Unnamed One is to fade away. And that he will do in
Pobu, where all people are nameless and faceless to Tearia. As for
the other two, an example of their execution will serve our purpose
well enough.”

Mahon sprang from his stool. “No!” he
shouted. He glanced at the others, then bowed his head. “Priestess,
please,” he said. “I mean no insolence. But if there is a
friendship between the three, such harsh punishment might serve as
a catalyst for the Unnamed One.”

The Priestess stared at him, but did not say
a word.

Mahon continued hesitantly. “And . . . and
the Jecta boy looks much like our Lord Prince. If he were put to
death, it could be seen as a bad omen. I do not think any citizen
of Tearia knows the reason for their arrest, and I could see that
the Guard make no mention of it.”

The Priestess studied him in silence, then
spoke. “There is much emotion in you, Mahon, yet there is some
wisdom in your words.” She directed her gaze to Whyn. “What does
our Prince say?”

Mahon sat as Whyn rose. Whyn eyed the row of
men. “Labhras,” he said, “the two Jecta trespassed against you, and
it is from your fields that the thievery took place. What do you
say as to their punishment?”

Labhras squirmed in his seat for a moment,
his expression that of contemplation under pressure. “Let them
fade,” he said.

Whyn then turned to Crymm. “Crymm, I commend
you for your loyalty to Tearia and your prompt handling of the
matter of the thieves. Do you feel you would lose face were the
punishment of the two Jecta less than maximum?”

“My Lord Prince,” Crymm replied, “there could
be some question from the Guard under my command as to whether my
decision was a rash one. Might that lessen their respect for me? I
do not know, but it is certainly not a risk I would wish to take.
Not for myself or for Tearia.”

Whyn nodded. “Well, Crymm, I do not wish you
to lose any respect from your men. You know, you are long overdue a
reward for your years of faithful service. Perhaps a promotion
would stay any doubt from the minds of the guards under your
command. Of course, you understand that one of your first
responsibilities would be to quash any talk. Nothing more could be
said of the three, or of the circumstances surrounding their arrest
and disposal. I am sure word of it has already spread somewhat
amongst the guards, but with your skills and new position of
authority, I have no doubt such talk could be silenced. Do you
agree?”

Crymm grinned. “Yes, my Lord, of course. I
will see to it.”

“Very well,” Whyn said. He turned to face the
Priestess and nodded. “They will fade.”

“So be it,” she said. Then she rose and left
the room, followed by the priests who had not moved or said a
single word during the entire proceeding.

* * * *

“Crymm,” Mahon barked when they reached
Headquarters, “you will see the prisoners escorted to Pobu tonight,
after it is dark and there is no one in the streets. Take only
enough guards to ensure security, no more, and see to it they say
nothing of this to anyone. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And no more grandiose displays.”

“Of course not, sir.”

Mahon dismissed him and returned to his
office, his eyes searching the room as if expecting to see Brina
still there. He gathered up the Jecta trinkets scattered across his
desk and shoved them back into the bag. The evidence would need to
be destroyed or discarded; there was no longer a need to keep it.
Of course, the ornaments could be returned to their rightful
owners, but what would be the point in that?

He paced around his office, pausing at times
to stare out the window, then returned to his seat, only to rise
and pace once more. He could not seem to settle his nerves or the
constant movement of his legs. Lifting a brow, he wondered if Whyn
had seen to it that Reiv was told of the sentence. No, not likely.
That would be a sign of interest on Whyn’s part, and he had already
risked that with his visit to the cell earlier. A groan escaped
Mahon’s throat. He would see to it himself. It was, after all, the
right thing to do, though he had not always been one to do the
right thing.

He walked down the corridor to the holding
cell, determined to keep his emotions in check. Resentment had a
way of creeping into his heart when it came to Reiv. The boy had
pushed the wedge of contempt deeper between him and Brina this past
year.

He stormed into the cell area and slammed the
door against the wall. “Well,” he said in a firm voice, “the
sentencing has been made.” He paused to momentarily enjoy the
terror on Reiv’s face, then relaxed his stiff shoulders and allowed
the pleasure to diminish. “You are to be banished to Pobu.
Tonight.”

Reiv closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of
relief, while the other two stared at Mahon with strained, yet
openly curious, expressions.

Mahon caught Dayn’s eye and looked away
awkwardly. “That is all,” he said as he turned to leave.

“Sir,” Dayn called out. “Please. May I ask
you something?”

Mahon stopped in his tracks. “What is it?” he
said over his shoulder.

“Before, you looked at me so strangely. I
wondered why.”

Mahon turned to him. His face went slack, as
if every muscle had grown weary from so many years of sternness.
“You reminded me of someone.”

“You mean Whyn?” Dayn asked.

Mahon bristled at the boy’s casual use of the
Prince’s name. “No,” he said harshly.

“Someone close to you?”

Reiv grabbed Dayn by the arm. “Do not ask the
Commander of the Guard personal questions. It is not allowed.”

“I—I’m sorry,” Dayn said.

“No, it is all right,” Mahon said. He walked
back to the bars and scanned Dayn’s face for a moment. “Yes, it was
someone close to me. Someone I lost.”

“What happened to him?” Dayn asked.

“He died.”

“Are you . . . are you . . . Mahon?” Dayn
asked, barely able to complete the simple question.

“Yes. And you are Dayn.”

“Yes. I’m Dayn.”

“Well, Dayn, I will not be seeing you again.
You will be escorted from here tonight and will not be allowed back
in the city ever again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

Mahon stared at him for a moment more, then
turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

Dayn walked to the back corner of the cell,
where he sank down against the wall and stared across the room.
Alicine knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him
tight.

“That was my father,” Dayn said.

“I know,” she replied.

No one in the cell said another word for a
very long time.

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Chapter 20: As Good As Nowhere

I
t was the middle of
the night when Reiv, Dayn, and Alicine were dumped into the streets
of Pobu. The Tearian Guard that escorted them had made a point of
insulting and humiliating them every step of the way. Only Reiv had
reacted to the treatment, and he quickly found himself face down at
the behest of a Tearian boot. Crymm eventually notified his men
that no more grandiose displays were to be made. And so they
stopped and simply left the three standing in the dark.

The sound of the guards’ horses faded into
the distance, and the street was left eerily quiet. All that could
be heard was the hollow tinkle of a reed chime blowing somewhere in
the distance. It was most unsettling. The mud-brick buildings on
either side of them were a sandy color by day, but it was dark now,
and they were only looming shades of gray.

“Now what are we going to do?” Reiv said. He
turned in a slow circle, surveying their surroundings. “Brina said
there was a blacksmith’s shop to the right of the town square, so
that is where we should go, I suppose. But I do not know where we
are exactly. I have not been here since I was a child.”

“Well, we came from that direction,” Alicine
said, pointing behind them, “so let’s just go to the right from
this point and see where it takes us.”

“I was going to suggest that,” Reiv said.

“Of course you were,” Alicine replied.

Reiv scowled and turned to lead them in the
agreed upon direction. He carried himself with stiff grace,
determined to look princely, at least somewhat. But in truth, he
knew he was worse than a nobody here, and the thought of it
terrified him.

His entire life he had heard stories about
this place, about the filth and crime and people so primitive they
prowled the streets like animals. Of course, he had been around
Jecta in the past, those who worked for him as well as the
merchants invited to show their wares at Market. But those were the
exceptional ones, not like the others who were allowed nowhere near
the city of Tearia. The others were the diseased and deformed ones,
the ones with dark painted faces and even darker thoughts. Panic
flooded through him. By the light of day he was going to stand out.
Even if the residents of Pobu did not recognize his face, his hair
would surely give him away. And then what? He could only imagine
what they would do to him for their own twisted pleasure. He
quickened his pace, fighting the building knot in his belly.

“There!” Dayn said excitedly. “I’d know a
smithy anywhere. I spent enough time in one.”

“Keep your voice down,” Reiv snapped.

Dayn brushed past him and made for the door
to the smithy. He rattled the handle.

“Dayn,” Reiv said, “I said keep quiet.”

“What’s the problem?” Alicine asked. “Are we
not supposed to be here or something?”

“I do not think we need to make a grand
announcement, that is all.”

“Well, it’s locked,” Dayn whispered loudly.
“But smiths usually arrive early, so we can just wait ‘til he gets
here.”

“Not in the front, though,” Reiv said.
“Around the back perhaps.”

“Reiv? Are you all right? You sound scared,”
Alicine said.

“Do not be ridiculous.”

“Then what are you not telling us?”

Reiv sighed, resolved to the fact that he
would have to tell her the truth, or part of it anyway. “I will not
be welcome here. You and Dayn will be fine, but as for me—”