The Path to Destiny: Tia's Folly (17 page)

           
“Yeah,” Roland said as he turned to the doors. Leaning
down to move a sleeping guard, he froze before physically recoiling. “Bylan-“

           
“Yeah, he is one of the Great Warlord’s sons.” The Human
looked at him oddly.

           
Holding his breath, he dragged the Bylan lookalike away
from the door by his feet and pulled the door open. Stepping out into the crisp
morning air, he drew in a couple of deep breaths. Roland was disturbed to know
that even two centuries after his death and rebirth, Bylan still scared the
shit out of him.

           
“Seeing as how the sky is already starting to lighten,
don’t you think we ought to be getting outta here?” The man asked as he eyed
the sky. “Phoenix are
notorious
for
their swift retribution. If one of these guards wake up before you
think
they will, we will all be dead, or
at least
wish
we were dead, by
midday.”

           
Glancing back over his shoulder, Roland followed the man
away from the keep and towards the horses they had left in the woods.

           
“I can’t believe that was so easy!” The man exclaimed as
they reached the horses. “It is harder than that just to get into the kitchen
as a servant!”

           
“Let’s go,” Roland mumbled as he mounted his horse.

           
The man’s thoughts whirled as he adjusted the child and
climbed carefully on to his horse. Setting off for his home, they trotted
together until sometime after sunrise.
 
Slowing the horses, he checked on the sleeping child again before
turning to Roland.

           
“
Why
did you
need me?
Why
is this child so
important?” He rapid-fired questions at the Druid. “If she is so important
why
wasn’t she guarded?
Why
didn’t you just do this yourself?”

           
Passing a hand over his face, Roland deliberately ignored
the Human.

           
“Do you plan on
harming
this child?!” The man exclaimed in outrage as he tucked the infant
into his side tighter. “I will not allow
anyone
to harm a child!”

           
Stopping his horse and turning to the man, Roland
realized he could think of nothing to say. Continuing on his way, Roland
decided the Humans should have been exterminated instead of any of the other
races. Had he been serious about harming this man’s family, they would probably
be dead out of
kindness
to his entire
race!

           
Looking at the infant and seeing her awake in the morning
light, the man suddenly gasped.

           
“There must be some mistake!” The man addressed Roland
frantically. “This isn’t a Phoenix child! Phoenix have red hair and gray eyes! Why
was this child even in the keep?”

           
“This is the child we have come to claim,” Roland assured
him. “She is the key to the survival of all of the races.”

           
Looking at the infant, the man tried to see something
special about the blonde haired, blue eyed little girl. To him, she just looked
like a regular baby.
 
Gazing at the
infant curiously, he noticed her looking back at him just as intently.

           
“I am sorry little one,” he whispered, “I don’t have
anything for you to eat.” To his dying day, he would have sworn he saw a sad
little smile of acceptance on the infant’s face. Shaking his head to expel the
thought, he told himself it was only his conscious trying to make him feel
guilty.

Anxious
to be home, he was relieved to see his little hut in the distance. Noting the
old Druid standing outside, he searched for some other signs of life. A pang of
regret went through his heart and he tightened his arms protectively around his
precious bundle. He knew he would always regret not having the power
or
the bravery to stand against the
Druids.

           
“Hello Uren,” Roland sighed in greeting as he slid down
off of his horse. Motioning the man down, he watched as the man carefully
climbed down and handed the reins over to Uren.

Pointing
him towards the door, Roland leaned heavily against the hut and waited for the
door to close before he addressed Uren. “
Humans
are idiots
!”

           
The door softly shut behind the Human and he immediately
looked for his family. Seeing his children peacefully sleeping in their
pallets, the knot in his chest eased for the first time in hours. His wife
quickly approached him and froze when she saw the child. He didn’t notice and
drank in the lovely sight of her tear stained face.

           
“I will take the child now,” Tia breathlessly stepped
between them and reached excitedly for the child.

           
Hesitantly, the man turned towards her and slowly
extended his precious bundle. The blankets fell away and Tia gasped to see the
child’s exquisite face framed by soft blond curls. Her eyes were bluer than the
sky and her hair rivaled the golden wheat of October harvests. Reverently
taking the child, Tia felt her heart clench with joy.

           
“Reassure your wife that you are fine,” Tia said a little
anxiously as she left the hut to bring the child out to Uren. “Here, take her
for a moment please.” She carefully placed the baby in his arms before
returning to the hut.

           
The Human couple stood in the middle of their hut with
their arms wrapped around each other.
 
Tia looked at them sadly and wished she had not
had
to visit this night’s terror on them. Though it wasn’t fair,
she just didn’t know that there had been another way.

           
“Please, sit down,” she softly ordered the Humans and
waited for them to comply before she continued. “You have done us a great
service tonight. In return I would offer answers.”

           
“
Answers?
” The
woman seemed incredulous. “You offer
answers
when the Phoenix will
kill
us for our
part in what you
forced
us to do!”

           
“What can I do for you?”
 
Tia tried to soothe the woman.

           
“Wipe this entire night from our memories!” She demanded.
“Then maybe we will have a chance to survive.”

           
“I would like answers!” The man spoke up quickly. “I do
not want to be stuck with a burden and not remember why. If the answers can
clear my conscious; I would like to know.”

           
“I will take your memory away as a gift for your service
to us,” Tia addressed the woman first, “You are right; it will protect you from
the Phoenix. I will put you to sleep before I leave and when you wake, you will
be very tired, but you will not know why. But the feeling that something
happened will linger, and it is possible that your conscious will bother you
without you knowing why.

           
“I want you to know that this is not the way of the
Druids. We will forever be in your debt. I promise we will honor you and your
descendants; we will remember you in our teachings for as long as the Druids
live.”

           
Hesitantly, Tia paused and waited to be questioned, but,
of course they only waited for her to go on. Sighing she thought,
it is so sad that the once proud race of the
Humans has been reduced to this. After only two hundred years, you have become
comfortable in your status as servants and slaves. I had always hoped the
Humans could be saved.

           
Continuing sadly, Tia said, “We Druids tried to make
the Phoenix see reason; two hundred years ago they – and everyone else -
ignored us and they continue to ignore our warnings. Even though the Gods told
me it would come to this, I had hoped they were wrong.

           
“As you know, after the Great Battle many races were
extinct and some lost their powers becoming non-magic; like your ancestors.
After this battle, when the peace talks began, the leaders were too wrapped up
in their grief to see reason. At first, they felt as though peace, without the
victory, dishonored their dead friends’ memories. When the leaders began
talking, and sharing their pain with each other; they just no longer had the
strength to take responsibility for their own actions.

           
“It became easier to blame their lust for power, which had
driven the war, on the dead Phoenix King; than to accept their part in the war.
If it wasn’t their fault, they could forgive themselves.” Tia shook her head at
the memory of those last days in the Peace Council. “But…part of grieving is to
accept our mistakes and forgive ourselves for them...

           
“Wanting to fix the unfixable, they decided to create an
individual by combining all of the power of all of the tribes; even the dead
ones.” Tia realized they needed to get moving before the Phoenix found them and
decided to cut the story short. “The child we kidnapped tonight is this child.
She is everything that is good and everything that is evil. Before she really
can understand the evil she is capable of, we hope to teach her love and
compassion for all things; if we fail, all of the races could die by her hand.”

           
“So in helping tonight,” the man said thoughtfully, “I
may have helped to save everyone in the lands?”

           
“Yes.”

           
“Thank you for telling me.” He smiled for the first time
at the Druid and looked at his silent wife.

           
“Please,” Tia motioned to them, “Lay down in your pallet
and I will put you to sleep.”

           
Watching the pair remove their shoes and lay down on
their bed, Tia chanted softly and passed a hand over each of their faces.
Covering them gently with their blankets, she watched them sleep, a little
envious of their peaceful slumber.

           
“You will never know what a service you have done for
me,” she whispered to them before she checked on their children and made sure
they were snugly wrapped in their blankets. At the door, she looked back
longingly at the sleeping family. “I wish you all the best.”

           
Shutting the door, Tia quickly mounted her horse and took
the child from Uren. A small satisfied smile passed over her face as she looked
at the beautiful little girl in her arms. Her decision to trust the Centaurs
and her subsequent centuries of being barren had been her greatest sorrow since
her rebirth. Snuggling the sleeping child closer, she felt her heart overfill
with joy.

           
“I have waited two hundred years for you, my child,” she
whispered to the sleeping infant. “Our souls have met before and have been
destined to be together.”

           
“What are you naming her?” Roland asked as he led the
horses away from the Human’s hut.

           
“I think we should call her Najia.” Tia replied, unable
to look away from the infant. “Look Roland, she smiled, it is a sign.”

           
“It is settled then,” Tia whispered to Najia. “You will
be my Najia, and I will be your Mama Tia.” Warmth blossomed in her heart as she
raised the child and kissed her forehead. Savoring the feel of a child in her
arms as tears spilled down her cheeks, Tia knew she would never be happier than
she was in this moment.

Chapter Eight

Four years
later

“She
is a murderer!” One of the High Priests exclaimed.

           
“She is only four years old!” Another countered the
ridiculous accusation.

           
“It isn’t safe for her to be here! We had no idea she
would be so dangerous this young!”

           
The arguments raged back and forth and many of the Elders
were in agreement, she had to be isolated from the village.

           
Breathless, High Priestess Tia ran into the hut. Leaning
over, holding her stomach, she braced a hand on the wall for support as she
tried to get her breath back.

           
“What happened?” She demanded between breaths. “All I
know is Allon, who may I remind you is only seven, came banging on my door and
said a meeting had been called
against
Najia.”

           
A hush descended over the gathered Elders, and Tia knew
it was bad. Looking at all of the adverted faces, she felt her heart drop into
her stomach.
Something has happened to
Najia
, she thought frantically,
I
just know it!

           
“Tia,” Uren stepped forward and placed his hands on her
arms. “Just a little while ago, Najia killed Roland.”