Souls of Aredyrah 3 - The Taking of the Dawn (5 page)

“Please don’t go,” she said. “I don’t think
your father would be angry once we explained. We know all about the
demons now—why Dayn’s eyes are blue and his hair is blond. Don’t
you ever wonder why your eyes are blue, Eyan?”

Eyan stared at her hand upon his arm, then
pulled away. “No girl’s ever touched me except my mother,” he said,
sounding younger than his age. His head swiveled toward the sound
of wagon wheels in the distance. “They’re home early! I have to be
gettin’ dinner on the table. Don’t come inside yet, and please
don’t tell ‘em ye saw me.” Then he bolted to the house and
disappeared through the door.

Back to ToC

Chapter 4: Eye to Eye

Dayn and Alicine stood in the doorway of the
barn, watching as Eyan sprinted toward the house. An approaching
wagon could be heard in the distance, the jangle of horses’
harnesses and the thud of wheels clambering up the road.

“I’m scared,” Alicine said.

Dayn grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Don’t be,” he said. “This whole thing was my fault, not
yours.”

“No, I mean about Eyan.”

“Eyan? I don’t think we have anything to fear
from him.”

“I’m scared
for
him, Dayn, not of
him.”

Dayn considered her words. Eyan had clearly
been in terror of being discovered with them. But why? He suddenly
noticed the amethyst brooch still pinned to Alicine’s dress. “You
might want to tuck that away,” he said, nodding toward it.

“Why?”

“I just think it best not to show it off yet.
We have enough explaining to do.”

“Fine,” Alicine said with irritation. She
removed the jewel and tucked it inside her collar, where it slid
down her chest and settled at her waistband. She gave Dayn a smirk.
“What about that thing on your ear?”

“It’s only bronze and a bit of stone. Not
worth much.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

The wagon came into view, and Dayn and
Alicine stepped slowly toward it. They heard a startled cry,
followed by the wagon lurching to a halt. A woman was struggling to
leap off the side, but a man up front had twisted around to hold
her back. He managed to stay her attempt, then he hopped down from
his seat and lifted her off. The moment her feet hit the dirt, she
limped in Dayn’s and Alicine’s direction, her arms extended. “My
children…my children!” she cried.

In an instant Dayn and his sister were in
their mother’s arms. She smothered them with kisses and hugged them
until the breath was nearly squeezed out of them.

“Where have you been, where have you been?”
she sobbed.

Haskel and Vania rushed toward them, the
ashen hue of their faces obvious even in the darkness.

“My god—Dayn—Alicine!” Vania exclaimed as she
joined the reunion. But Haskel stood back, his expression
stiff.

Dayn felt the muscles of his own happy
expression droop; Haskel was obviously not thrilled about their
unexpected arrival. Dayn’s eyes met his uncle’s, but the man turned
away. “Vania, get everyone into the house and out of the cold,”
Haskel said over his shoulder. “I’ll tend to the horses.”

“Shall I help you, uncle?” Dayn asked.

“No need,” Haskel replied gruffly, and headed
for the wagon.

The rest of them moved toward the house. As
they walked, Dayn noticed how thin and sickly his mother looked.
Even the smile gracing her lips could not disguise the gloomy
circles under her eyes. She hugged his waist, but it was as if she
had placed her arm there for support rather than affection. At her
other side, Alicine walked hand-in-hand with her, chattering about
how happy she was to be home and how nice a warm, clean frock
sounded. But Dayn could only think one thing at the moment: Where
was Father?

They entered the house and were greeted by a
cozy fire, the tantalizing aroma of stew, and a long plank table
now set for dinner. Eyan was nowhere to be seen, and neither was
their father. Dayn thought to ask, but decided against it. Eyan was
a touchy subject, he knew, and he wasn’t keen on bringing Gorman
into the conversation just yet. His father was probably off on some
errand, a blessed relief, at least in Dayn’s opinion. He wasn’t
looking forward to the altercation that was sure to explode between
them.

Vania helped Morna remove her coat and hung
it, along with her own, on a row of pegs by the door. She then
ushered Morna to a bench at the table and helped her sit. Alicine
settled next to her mother, hugging her close. “Oh, Mother,” she
said. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Here, Dayn,” Vania said, “let me take your
coat.” He pulled it off and handed it to her without a word. She
looked him up and down. “Goodness, child,” she said. “What a state
you’re in. And this coat…” She frowned and shook her head. “I’d
best give it a wash.”

Dayn nodded, but remained silent, his eyes
scanning the room for a sign of Gorman. Strange how no mention of
him had been made. He turned his attention to the place-settings.
He counted five. Surely Eyan wouldn’t have included him and Alicine
in the count. That would have given away the fact that he knew they
were there and had possibly met up with them. No, five would be the
right number without them, but including Father. Seven would have
meant that Eyan—

“Sit Dayn,” Vania said, breaking his
concentration. But he remained standing.

“Alicine…shawl,” Vania said, holding out her
hand. Alicine pulled it off and handed it to her without a glance,
chatting on happily with her mother.

Vania tossed the coat and grubby shawl on top
of a basket piled with laundry. “Missed my wash day because o’ the
rain,” she said to Dayn. “Maybe tomorrow if the sun’s out. We’ll
need to give those clothes o’ yours a good scrubbin’.” She waddled
her chubby body over to the hearth and gave the stew a stir. “And
baths…ye’ll both be gettin’ ‘em, no arguments. I’ll heat ye some
water after dinner. I’ll bet you’re both starved, poor dears.” She
chattered on about baths and empty stomachs as she grabbed a towel,
wrapped it around the handle of the stew pot, and lifted it to the
table.

“Sit Dayn,” she repeated. “Haskel’ll be in in
a bit. No need for formalities.”

Dayn took his place on the bench across the
table from his mother. She turned her attention to him. “Words
cannot express my joy at the sight of you,” she said, then she
cocked her head. “What’s that on your ear?”

Dayn reached to his ear, fingering the small
bronze earring that dangled there. Body mutilations such as this
were forbidden in Kirador, but he refused to remove it. It was a
symbol of his bravery in the battle against the King. Though the
war paint he had drawn on his face that day had only been
temporary, as far as he was concerned, the earring was
permanent.

“Have you been well, Mother?” he asked,
changing the subject. “You look—”

Morna continued to study the earring, then
smiled. “I’m well, now that my children are home,” she said.
Recognizing Dayn’s expression of doubt, she patted his hand. “Just
had a bit of the cold in my bones, dear, that’s all. Haskel and
Vania have been taking me to the hot springs. It helps ease my
aches. I’ll be fine.”

“To Marvel Springs? But that’s so far.”

“Oh, no. We can’t go there anymore.”

“Why not?” Alicine asked.

Morna hesitated, then said, “We tried making
the trip, at night, but it was too hard on me. Besides, the last
time we went, Lorcan’s children showed up and—”

Dayn perked up. “Falyn and Sheireadan?”

“Yes, and we knew only too well what that
meant: their father would soon find out about us being there.”

“So what if he did?” Alicine said.

“A lot has happened since you left.” Morna
shifted her gaze, as if contemplating whether or not to
continue.

“Mother,” Dayn said. “We went by the house
before we came here. The place was a mess. And we found something
while we were there: a spell-curse—of me. Is that what this is
about?”

Anxiety creased Morna’s brow. “Dayn,” she
said quietly. “The day you disappeared, word spread that you’d
revealed yourself as a demon. The Vestry met that very afternoon to
discuss what to do with you.”

“Do with me?”

“I suppose it’s a good thing you did leave,
because they intended to bring you to judgment—and your
father.”

Dayn rose slowly from the bench. “Where is
Father?” he asked.

Alicine blinked. “He’s on errand. Right,
Mother?”

Morna remained silent.

Vania turned and hustled toward the door.
“I’ll fetch us some more wood,” she muttered. But before she could
open it, Haskel blew in and met her head-on.

“Where are ye goin’ without your coat,
woman?” he bellowed.

“To fetch some wood,” she said, eyebrows
raised. “Maybe ye should come with me.”

“What’s wrong with the stack I brung in
earlier? Have ye lost your senses?”

“I’m sure we have plenty, uncle,” Dayn said,
annoyed at the interruption. “Mother. Where’s Father?”

The room went quiet. Dayn accessed everyone’s
expressions: Morna looked grave, and Vania and Alicine were as pale
as mist. But Haskel—was the red rising from his neck that of
embarrassment or fury?

“Well, someone say something!” Dayn
demanded.

Alicine rose from the bench, her uneasiness
now matching his. “What is it?” she asked. “Mother?”

“Children, I—” Morna buried her face in her
hands.

Alicine looked at Dayn, then at her mother.
“Please. We have to know.”

Morna pulled Alicine into her arms. “Oh my
dear child, I don’t know how to tell you.” She kissed the top of
Alicine’s head and held her close, then held out her hand to Dayn.
“Son.”

But Dayn did not take her hand. He knew he
was about to learn some unhappy news, but there was one thing he
already knew: this woman was not his real mother and the man in
question was not his real father. They had stolen him, and just as
bad, they had lied to him.

Morna lowered her hand, her eyes recognizing
the look of hesitation staring back at her. “Your father loved you
very much, Dayn,” she said. “When you and Alicine went missing, he
set out to find you. He never came back.”

Suddenly the past and all its implications
seemed irrelevant. Fear for the man that Dayn had called Father for
sixteen years was all that mattered to him now. “What do you mean,
never came back?” he sputtered. “He just disappeared?”

“Aye. That’s right,” Haskel said, marching
toward him. “My brother left without a word to any of us because o’
you. And we haven’t seen him since.”

“But you went looking for him, didn’t you?”
Dayn asked, already knowing the answer.

“Of course we went lookin’ for him!”

Dayn felt his legs itching for the door.
“Where did you go? Did you follow the river? What about the cave?
We left the horse there. Did you find it? ”

“Forty clansmen scoured the mountainside from
Kiradyn to the mouth of the cave and back,” Haskel said. “We found
nothin’.”

“You went inside the cave, right? Inside—not
just to the mouth.”

Haskel took a threatening step and moved his
face inches from Dayn’s. “The cave’s forbidden, boy. Ye know that.
If your father went inside it, there’s not a thing any of us could
have done for him. The demons would’ve had him for sure.”

“There aren’t any demons!” Dayn said. “You
should have gone in. You should have looked!”

“Who are you to judge, boy? While you were
off on some ridiculous folly, your father was out searchin’ for ye.
Did ye give a single thought to his well-bein’ when ye left, or
anyone else’s for that matter? No, and ye never did!”

Dayn felt his blood begin to boil. His uncle
was acting like the whole thing was his fault, like Alicine wasn’t
involved at all, like Father’s deceptions were irrelevant. “What do
you know about me?” Dayn blurted. “You were never around! You were
hiding out here with your own blue-eyed son!”

Haskel’s face went gray. “What are ye
sayin’?” he said.

“I’m saying that I know about Eyan, and that
you’ve kept him hidden away like you’re ashamed of him!”

“I am ashamed of him!” Haskel practically
shouted.

“Eyan’s not the one you should be ashamed of,
uncle—you should be ashamed of
yourself
!”

“Dayn!” Morna said, rising.

“No!” Dayn said. “It’s true!”

“What would ye have preferred I do, boy?”
Haskel growled. “Prance him around for all to see?”

“Why not?” Dayn retorted. “He is who he
is.”

“And what is that?”

“A boy like any other.”

“He’s not like any other. He has the demon
blood in him! Just as you do!”

“I’m not a demon—I’m Jecta!”

“What nonsense are ye talkin’, boy?”

“My real parents are from the other side of
the mountains. I know because I’ve been there and I’ve met them.
Alicine will tell you; she’s met them, too. My mother is Brina, and
my father was Mahon, and they’re people just like you—only better!
There are no demons, you fool. They’re just a myth fabricated by
superstitious Kiradyns.”

“How
dare
you speak to me in such a
tone!”

“I’ll speak to you however I wish,” Dayn
said, though he couldn’t believe he was actually saying it.

“Dayn!” Morna said sternly. “You’ll not show
disrespect in this house.”

“Disrespect? Let’s talk about disrespect,
shall we?” Dayn forced a laugh. “How about the fact that neither
you nor Father respected me enough to tell me the truth? How about
the fact that you stole me from my real mother and lied to me!”

Morna collapsed back onto the bench. “Dayn,”
she whispered.

“Dayn—ha!” he continued. “That’s not even my
real name! My name is Keefe! It means cherished. My
real
mother told me.”

Dayn knew he should show the woman before him
some sympathy; she had raised him, after all. But the gate was
finally open, and years of pent-up emotion were flooding through.
“Did Father even ask what my real name was?” he ranted on. “Did he
even care? No, sounds to me like—”