The Path of Decisions (14 page)

“What do you want?” asked the guard. Suspicion lined his young
face. The man was much larger than Kelln, with a short black beard and small
beady eyes.

“Sean woke up a little while ago and wanted to know if the
prisoner was still here.”

“Why shouldn't he be? He can’t just disappear now can he? When I
took him his last meal, he was just lying on the floor moaning.” The guard
laughed. Two large swords hung at his side. Kelln knew he couldn’t fight the
man alone. He excused himself and went a little farther to the outside door.
Upon his leaving the cave, the same two guards from earlier approached him.

“No one is supposed to leave here without Sean’s permission,” they
stated.

“I just need to check on our horses. We had to run quickly through
the forest to get him here.”

“All right, but hurry,” said the second guard with a strained
voice for the protocol they were violating. Kelln walked over to where the
horses were tied. He bent over, pretending to inspect their shoes. He heard a
faint rustle through the bushes in front of him.

Without looking, he whispered to Alessandra. “He's here. But it
will be morning before we can get out again.” The sun was quickly leaving the
sky ahead of the incoming clouds. “Are you sure you are fine out here alone?”

“Yes. I should beat the storm back to Anikari. I will steal one of
the other horses here.  They are tied up loosely on the other side of the
cave.”

Then just as quickly, Alessandra was gone. Kelln hated sending
Alessandra alone, but he had to admit to her highly trained skill in the
forest. He remembered the first journey they had made together. From Anikari to
Belor. It had been Kelln's first time in the Black Forest, and he had been so
paranoid. He smiled at the thought as he walked back to the cave.

Back inside he returned to Sean’s quarters. People were asking
questions about him, and Kelln had to keep them away with the guise that Mezar
was still seeing to him. Once inside Sean’s room, Kelln pulled some leaves out
of his pocket that Alessandra had found earlier. Given to Sean, they would
ensure he slept at least through the night. Mezar ground the leaves up, mixed
them with water, and poured the liquid down Sean’s throat.

Looking at Sean lying on the ground, Kelln thought again, for a
brief second, of just killing him and doing away with the trouble. He knew,
however, that no matter what Sean had done, he couldn't kill like that in cold
blood. Also, they would need to use him in order to get Darius freed. Mezar and
Kelln sat down on the ground next to Sean and waited until all was quiet.

THE RESCUE

A
few rooms away from Kelln, Darius picked himself off the cold
ground and sat on the worn-out cot. He'd lost all sense of time in the dark
stone cell, but figured since he was fed a few hours before, it must be late in
the evening. He thought about escape until his head hurt, but he found no way
out until they brought him out of this room, or until the drug that limited his
power wore off. The day before, they had untied his hands and feet. Sean told
him he had to go help Richard but would be back soon. Darius hoped his father
could see through Sean’s antics and send help soon.

He continued trying to reach for his power. He knew it was close,
but they must be putting something in his food. He thought about not eating but
decided he needed his physical strength more than his magical strength. He
trusted it more, anyway.

His time thinking had brought him to the conclusion that Sean was
correct in the fact that Darius couldn't trust anyone anymore. Anger flooded
through him, thinking about Leandra for the first few hours, but then subsided
into mere frustration. Darius thought about Belor and the Preacher. He thought
about his father. He thought about Kelln. Could he trust anyone? The Preacher
wanted him just for his power. Kelln wanted things to be like when they were
younger. He just didn’t understand that Darius was different now.  His powers
would always make him different. The King and his father wanted him to be a
political leader. None of them understood and cared about what
he
wanted.

Darius himself was not sure what he wanted either. At first it was
simple. While at the academy he learned about the Realm and wanted to be a
leader that protected it. He wanted things to be fair among all the people that
lived there. Then he found out about his powers and everything changed. He was
different now. Anger seemed to fuel him, he became frustrated more often, and
he saw more clearly injustices that were done throughout the Realm.

He had to trust someone, but whom?  Who could guide him and help
him be what he wanted to be and do what he wanted to do in life? He felt a
tugging inside that said he could trust someone.

Kelln's few discussions on God as they crossed through the Black
Forest on their way to Belor came to Darius now as he lay on the broken cot.
Kelln always seemed to be jumping into something. Thinking of Kelln and growing
up together brought Darius’s mind once again to Christine. The memories of the
last year with her before he had left Anikari made him smile inside. He had
felt so happy and alive then. He remembered the Field of Diamonds and felt a calmness
come over him. Picturing the dew on the grass, the tall trees surrounding the
small lake and the Superstition Mountains off in the distance, his breathing
slowed. His mind began to relax.

Christine was so charming and understanding. He remembered some of
their talks about God. Christine seemed to believe in one even though her
people from the farmlands were persecuted. Her simple faith and joy in life had
always attracted him to her. He thought about these things and felt a small
stirring of joy inside him. With this joy, his power began to rise once more.
He felt an excitement as he reached for it, but it was still locked behind a
barrier.

He continue
d thinking of the past, and his
thoughts took him to the King and his father. They had, with no explanation,
sent him away as the youngest person among the new recruits to train in the
Superstition Mountains. Anger built again, and he felt the power subside. He
groaned out loud and became discouraged once more.
What is happening to me?

 Then a stark realization brought him to his knees.
Am I any
better than they?
He had done nothing to become the person he truly wanted
to become either. He had entertained thoughts of marching against Anikari and
the King. Why? Because of his relationship with his father? It had never been
that
bad. All of a sudden, nothing made sense. He and his father had not seen eye to
eye in the last year before he left home, but he had fond memories of him when
they were younger. It was his father who had instilled in him a sense of duty
and love of the Realm, had taught him the bow and the sword. Their disagreement
over his relationship with Christine had caused a large rift the past year.
That was the one thing Darius saw that was hurting the Realm. The councilors
couldn’t see how divisive things were becoming.

However, the King and his father had sent him away, and in the
end, he ended up being a leader in the King’s army. Wasn’t that what he had
always dreamed of his entire life? Didn’t he want to protect the Realm and keep
it strong? He’d marched to Denir and conquered the Gildanians. Then he’d
marched to Belor, finding Kelln on his way.

Poor Kelln. Darius had treated him like the enemy. He thought of
their childhood antics—the library, the trip to White Island where they had
brought back Christine’s Cremelino for her, the games they played.
He must
hate me now!

Darius stood and began to pace the room. Maybe he was better off
here, he thought, where he would do no more harm to anyone he cared for. He had
become something he hated. He had not handled the power of his magic or
leadership very well. What would Christine think of him?

“Oh, God!” he said out loud as he pounded a fist on the cold hard
wall. He tried to figure out where his loyalties were. He knew now that the
Preacher had manipulated his feelings, but on second look, it probably wasn’t
too hard for him to do so. Darius had just been looking for a justification for
his own thoughts and pending actions. W
ho is right? Whom can I trust?

Darius thought Sean horrible for using everyone, yet hadn't he
done the same? He had used Leandra, Mezar, Kelln, the Preacher, and anyone else
who got in his way. The thought scared him more than anything else had. How had
he let his own power and insecurities rule him?  Had he gone too far to be saved?

“Trust me,” a small voice seemed to whisper to him. “Trust me,” it
echoed through his mind and heart. Could he trust God? His mother did,
Christine did, Kelln did, and Alastair did. So many people had failed him, but
maybe it was because he had failed
them
. Maybe he should be looking at
what he could give to others not what they should give to him.

“Free me, and I will trust,” he said out loud. He knew it was an
unfair bargain. But it was all he could do for now. Thoughts of his mother and
Christine came to him—their smiling faces and their love for him. He breathed
in deeply and let the love wash over him, for the first time in months. Peace
overtook him again, and he lay down on the dirty cot. His body relaxed as his
mind drifted further away. Peace, warmth, and love burned through to his soul,
a purifying fire that washed away the anger and evil thoughts.

As sleep engulfed him he felt his power once again flow through
his veins, as pure and strong as ever before. It felt like light had infused
his soul and chased the fear and darkness away. A content smile turned his
lips. The rapture made him feel as if he would burst out of his body. But he
couldn’t help but fall asleep, taking his power with him into his dreams.

The next morning, loud noises outside of his dark cell invaded
Darius’s slumber and brought him awake. Sitting up, he tried to remember what
he was thinking before he fell asleep. He realized that the power was his once
again. Smiling, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He felt at peace
for the first time in the last year. 

The door opened, and Sean fell into the room unconscious. Kelln
and Mezar stood behind him. Darius jumped from his cot to his feet, trying to
put together everything he was seeing.

A feminine voice in the hallway followed behind them. “Who are
you? What's going on?”

The men turned toward the sound.

“Leandra!” Mezar exclaimed. He quickly grabbed and hugged her as
he pulled her into the cell with them.

With a weak reflection of a torch from the hallway they each
looked through the shadows at each other in the cell.

 “Is he...?” Leandra looked at Sean.

“Dead?” finished Kelln, “No. Just a little confused.”

“Take me with you, please.” Leandra begged, looking at Mezar.
Darius looked away, pain filling his eyes.

“Kelln... how...?” Darius stammered. “And Mezar—”

“We will explain later. We have to go before the other guards wake
up. Do you want her along?” Kelln asked Darius.

Mezar realized what must have happened. “You turned him in?” he
said to Leandra.

“I didn't want to... Sean made me.” She began to sob. “It was his
plan all along.  He threatened my family with harm.  Please take me away. You
can drop me off anywhere. I just don't want to be here when he wakes up.”

The men looked at each other. Leandra’s fears were well founded.

“Fine,” said Darius. “But let’s go.”

They left Sean in the room on the floor, closed the cell door and
moved around a guard lying on the floor. They wrapped Sean’s cloak around
Darius to hide his face and moved to the outside door. As soon as they opened
it, two guards approached them, demanding to know what was going on.

Kelln glimpsed the faintest signs of morning brightening the
eastern sky, sending small silhouettes of the large cedars into the front of
the cave. The ground was wet, but the storm had seemed to blow away during the
night.

“Sean needs to go to Anikari. He is very sick,” said Kelln,
pointing to the bent-over Darius. The guards saw Leandra and questioned her.
She assured them it was all right. As the group turned to go, one of the guards
saluted them with a shout. Darius, without thinking turned around too quickly,
and his hood came off his head. The guards now shouted for reinforcements from
the cave and began to run after them with swords drawn.

With a calm look on his face, Darius lifted his right palm toward
them, and a barrier of air blew into them. They stumbled to stay upright, fear
covering their faces.

“That’s fantastic,” Kelln exclaimed. 

The escaping party followed Kelln through the trees to where their
horses had been tethered. Kelln and Darius hopped on Kelln’s horse, while Mezar
and Leandra jumped on the other.

One of the guards stood back up and shot an arrow at them. It hit
Leandra in her shoulder, and she yelped with pain. They couldn’t stop riding
but pounded north through the forest at a breakneck speed. Soon others would be
after them.

Darius breathed in the morning air. Never had it felt so good to
him. His head seemed clear. His power was back, but with more purity than
before. He almost felt giddy with excitement. He would have to set things
right, but his life had been spared.

There is a God!