Souls of Aredyrah 3 - The Taking of the Dawn (21 page)

“All I see is an outcast prince speaking
hallucinations!” Lyal said. “How do we know he even Transcended?
You’re a fool if you think the gods mean for us to skip down some
golden path with a Tearian!”

Yustes settled his gaze on Lyal. “I did not
hear those words from you when Reiv slew Seirgotha. Nor did I see
you dispute the truth of our histories when he risked his life to
give it to you. You united with the rest of us when Dayn led us to
rescue Reiv. And it was Reiv that you, and everyone else here,
turned to when the time came to negotiate with the King.”

“I’ll not deny it,” Lyal said, “but now I see
the truth of things. I see a worthless treaty and a Purge in the
making, and more lives in ruin if we don’t do something to stop it!
If we don’t fight for what is ours, if we don’t show the King that
we will not bow down to him, we will return to the darkest part of
the history that Reiv so eloquently spoke of!”

“He’s right!” a voice shouted. “We cannot lie
down like sheep before the slaughter!”

“Slaughter it will be if we try to fight the
King,” another argued.

“Death is better than servitude!”

“Perhaps you should ask those who have
already died!” someone sniped. “They might have a different opinion
on the matter.”

“I for one would rather die on my feet than
on my knees!” Lyal declared.

The air exploded in argument. Some sided with
Lyal, but others defended Reiv, basing their views on his
Transcension and the prophecy’s promise of Oonayei. But after much
debate, Reiv decided he had had enough.

“Stop!” he shouted. “I know little of your
prophecy. I only know what I must do if I am to keep my head
attached to my shoulders. Stay if you must. Follow if you wish. I
leave tonight.” He turned, pushing through the men, and marched
toward the path.

“Reiv, wait!” Brina shouted, hustling to
catch up. “What do you plan to do?”

“Leave,” he replied.

“Will they come with us, do you think?”

“I do not know.”

“What of the prophecy Yustes speaks of? Will
it sway them?”

“It will test their faith, and their tempers.
Of that I am certain.”

Brina struggled to match his steps.
“Some—some of them may be tempted to leave. But I think most will
stay and fight.”

“Then they will die.”

A roar of voices approached from behind. Reiv
glanced over his shoulder to see a wave of men sweeping around
them. The meeting had clearly dispersed, and from the battle cries
of the men racing past, a decision had already been reached.

“So they have made their choice,” Reiv said,
watching them disappear down the trail.

“Perhaps they have the right of it, Reiv,”
Brina said reluctantly. “We do not know for certain that this
Oonayei even exists.”

“I do not know about Oonayei, but I do know
about the valley.”

“Regardless, for us to simply bow to Whyn’s
demands…”

“It will be difficult,” Reiv conceded.

“What if we stayed, Reiv? Stayed and fought
by their sides.”

“No,” Reiv said.

“So you will simply abandon them?”

“If that is what you think I am doing,” he
snapped, “perhaps you should stay with them.”

Brina grabbed him by the arm and yanked him
to a halt. “What are you saying?”

Reiv scowled at her fingers digging into his
arm. “I am
saying
, everyone has the freedom to make their
own choice, even you. You need not feel obligated to go with me if
your loyalties lie elsewhere.”

“You know where my loyalties lie!”

Reiv jerked his arm from her grasp. “Then why
are you putting me in this position? You act like I do not care
about these people! You know what will happen if I stay.”

“By staying, you might at least offer them
hope!”

“I saw little hope placed in
me
just
now,” Reiv said, waving his hand in the direction of the path.

“You place too much value on the actions of a
few. They were only reacting out of fear. They are your people. You
will see.”

“They are not my people!” Reiv blurted before
he could think what he was saying. “I am Tearian.”

Brina slapped him hard across the face.

Reiv raised a hand to his flaming cheek, his
eyes stinging from the blow.

“I will not hear you speak such words,” Brina
said harshly. “You are no longer Tearian, Reiv. No more, do you
hear me? You are Shell Seeker.”

Tears filled Reiv’s eyes—more humiliation to
heap upon that which he had already suffered. Yes, he was Shell
Seeker. He knew that, just as he knew any hope he had for happiness
was all but lost.

“I know what I am,” he said, forcing the
words past the pinch in his throat. “But if I must leave, I can
pretend it does not matter, can I not?”

“Pretend all you wish,” Brina said. “You fool
no one.”

Reiv looked toward the village. “Well, I
cannot pretend with Jensa and Kerrik. They will need the facts if
they are to accept leaving this place.”

“They may still choose to stay, Reiv,
regardless of your honesty.”

Reiv shook his head determinedly. “No. They
must leave. At least Kerrik must. He would not be found
worthy.”

Back to ToC

Chapter 18: United We Stand,
United We Fall

T
he village was a
mass of confusion. Men, women, young, and old—all were gathered at
its core to debate the impending invasion. Reiv and Brina shoved
their way through the crowd. Hands clutched at them; voices cried
out for answers, but they dared not stop to address them. They
broke through the mass and stepped past the perimeter of the
village. The air became easier to breathe, but Reiv knew it would
only be a momentary respite.

They made their way toward a cluster of palms
near the dunes that separated the village from the sea. Torin’s and
Jensa’s hut came into view. As they approached, Reiv’s heart grew
heavy. This was probably the last time he would ever see it. It
occurred to him that although he had lived there for months, he had
never called it home. He had always referred to it as Torin’s and
Jensa’s hut. Perhaps, he reasoned, he had not set his roots in
Meirla after all. That would have required a hut of his own,
wouldn’t it? He had dreamed of having one, of course, but had he
ever taken any real action? No, all he had done was plant his feet
in someone else’s. And now it was probably just as well.

They arrived at the doorway, and Reiv paused
to gather his wits.
Give me strength
, he whispered, then
swept open the drape and entered.

Jensa rushed from seemingly nowhere and threw
her arms around him. “The Guard was here—in the village!” she
cried.

Kerrik ran up behind her, his eyes as round
as saucers. “Did you see them?” he asked Reiv. “The guards, they
had
weapons
!”

“Yes, Kerrik. I saw them,” Reiv replied. He
released Jensa from her hold on him and ushered her to the nearby
work bench. “They did not harm you, did they?”

“No,” she said as she sat down. “Some stayed
and searched the village, but appeared to take nothing. The rest
rode toward the Place of Observance. We were so worried. But then,
before we knew it, they simply rode out again. Why did they come,
Reiv? What do they want from us?”

Reiv realized Jensa’s hands were trembling.
He grabbed a pitcher from a nearby shelf and poured a mug of herbal
tea, then handed it to her. Though Jensa was one of the bravest
girls he knew, fears of the plague, Torin’s recent injuries, and
now the arrival of the Guard had clearly taken their toll. Whether
she drank the tea or not, Reiv did not care, as long as the holding
of the mug helped calm her hands.

Brina instructed Kerrik to sit next to his
sister. The boy huddled next to Jensa as they watched and
waited.

Reiv paced for a moment, then stopped to face
them. “There is something I must tell you both,” he began. “It will
not be easy, but there is no way around it.”

Color spilled from Jensa’s face. “Gods, no,”
she said. “Do not tell me that Torin is dead.”

“No,” Reiv assured her. “Cora is taking good
care of him.”

“Thank the gods,” Jensa said. She smiled
weakly. “Say what you must, Reiv. Anything is better than what I
thought you were about to tell.”

“You are right, anything is better,” Reiv
said. He opened his mouth to explain, but for some reason the words
refused to leave his lips. This was going to be harder than he had
imagined, though he had had very little time to imagine it.

“I am leaving,” he said stiffly. “I will not
be coming back.”

Kerrik launched from the bench. “No,” he
cried. “You can’t leave us. You can’t!”

“I am sorry, Kerrik, but I have no choice,”
Reiv said.

“You do have a choice,” Kerrik said.
“Everyone has a choice!”

“You are right, Kerrik. I do have a choice.
And I have made it.”

“As have I,” Brina said. “I intend to go with
him.”

Jensa rose slowly, her eyes moving back and
forth between Reiv and Brina. “Why?”

Reiv looked down at his hands, realizing
Jensa’s weren’t the only ones shaking. “Whyn has exiled me from
Tearia,” he said.

“
Exiled
you? But why?” Jensa
asked.

“Jealousy, spite…” Brina answered. “All we
know is that he has given the order that Reiv must leave. If he is
not gone by sunrise, Meirla will pay.”

“We could fight the King,” Kerrik said
boldly. “We could take our spears and knives and fight him!”

“And we would lose.”

“But we fought him before and won,” the boy
insisted.

“No. We did not win,” Reiv said. “The gods
cut the fighting short, but they did not hand us a victory.” He
turned his attention to Jensa. “There is more that I must tell you,
and I fear this will be even harder to bear.”

Jensa nodded, but remained silent.

Reiv chewed his lip. How could he tell Jensa
and Kerrik that they had to leave their home? What words could
convey the reason for it? And what words could make them understand
the overwhelming guilt he felt for it?

“I am sorry,” he said, though that was not
what he had meant to say.

“Sorry?” Jensa asked. “For what?”

“For everything." Reiv clenched his fists,
fighting to keep his feelings at bay, but self-control was sifting
through his fingers, and the words came tumbling out. “If I had
never come to this place…” he said. “If I had not begged you to
bring me here, none of this would have happened.”

Jensa took a step toward him. “Say what you
have come to say, Reiv.”

Again Reiv hesitated.
Just say it
…he
told himself.
Just say it
. “Whyn has reinstated the Purge.
He returns in the morning to select those who will serve him and—”
His eyes darted between them. “You and Kerrik must leave. There is
no other way.”

The mug slipped from Jensa’s hand, sending
tea splattering across the floor.

“I am sorry,” Reiv repeated. But he expected
no forgiveness.

“
Sorry
?” Jensa asked. “You are
sorry
?”

Reiv grabbed her hands in his and held them
fast. “I should have stayed in Pobu all those months ago. I should
have accepted my fate, not burdened you with my problems. Then
everything would be as before.”

“Before what?” Kerrik asked.

“Before I came,” Reiv said. “Before I ruined
everything for you and your family.”

“Ruined everything?” Jensa threw his hands
from hers. “Fool of a prince! Do you truly not know?”

Reiv narrowed his eyes with confusion.
“Know?”

“Do you not realize how much you have given
us? By the gods, Reiv. Before you came to us we were slaves to the
King!”

“And will be again,” Reiv said. “The Guard is
coming, and there is nothing I can do about it!”

Jensa thrust a fist to her hip, waving the
index finger of her other hand inches from his nose. “There is only
one man that will ever enslave
me
again,” she said. “And
that is the man who holds my heart!”

“Well, if it is Lyal, you may find death
instead of slavery,” Reiv said with irritation. “He has convinced
the Shell Seekers to fight.”

“Is he so wrong in it?” Jensa asked. “What
else can we do?”

“You could leave with
me
,” Reiv said,
annoyed that she had not even considered it. “Whyn said those who
wish to leave may do so. Would that not be better than spilling
your blood in a fight that cannot be won?”

“At least our pride would be intact!” she
said.

“Oh, and mine would not?”

Jensa stomped her foot. “That is not what I
meant and you know it!”

Reiv leaned his face to hers. “And what of
Kerrik?” he said darkly. “When the Shell Seekers lose, and they
will
lose, what happens to him?”

Jensa looked at Kerrik’s deformed foot, and
her expression collapsed. “Oh gods,” she whispered. “You’re
right.”

“What happens?” Kerrik asked, tugging at her
skirt.

Reiv and Jensa hesitated, but before they
could answer, Brina pulled Kerrik to her side. “No. He is only a
child. He is too young to learn such things.”

“Young or not,” Reiv said, “I would rather he
learn it from us than witness it for himself.”

The muscles in Brina’s jaw tightened. “Very
well. But he does not have to know everything, does he? Leave him
some
innocence at least.”

Reiv turned to Kerrik and knelt on one knee
before him. “Kerrik,” he began. “Remember how you told me your
parents abandoned you because of your foot?”

Kerrik nodded.

“And that you did not understand why, because
you would have been no trouble?”

Kerrik nodded again.

“Well, in Tearia your foot would have been
considered an impurity. And impurities are weeded out.”