The Reborn King (Book Six) (40 page)

In reality, she knew very well why he had chosen to come directly to Millet’s. As much as Melli was after her to join the Village Mothers, she was twice as adamant that Gewey should take his place on the council. But his hatred for politics was immeasurable. The constant bickering and shouting was far more than he cared to deal with.

“I know,” he said, using his most humble tone. “I’m sorry.”

Kaylia sniffed and gave him a playful pinch on the arm. Just then, the sound of horses arriving at the front of the house reached them.

The group looked at one another in surprise – all but Gewey, who smiled knowingly.

Moments later, the door opened to reveal Aaliyah and Nehrutu. Kaylia flew from her seat and wrapped her arms around them both, nearly weeping with joy.

“Did you not know we were coming?” asked Aaliyah. “I sent a message to Gewey several months ago to say that we could attend this year.

“Another surprise,” he smiled.

Kaylia kissed him lightly. “For this one, you are certainly forgiven.”

After greeting the others, the new arrivals took their places at the table. Soon, the wine was flowing and the time apart melted away.

“So, what news from across the sea?” asked Linis.

“Strange things, actually,” Nehrutu replied. “The Morzhash have vanished. There is not a trace of them to be found. It is as if something has plucked them from the face of the earth.”

“Interesting,” remarked Millet. “As I understand it, they had been raiding your villages for many years.”

“Indeed,” he affirmed. “No one is lamenting their departure. But it is odd, nonetheless. However, it
has
opened up new space for those coming from this land to settle.”

“Has there been a lot of them?” asked Dina.

“A fair number,” he replied. “Too many for some of my folk's taste. But they will grow accustomed to new people in time.”

Aaliyah turned to Kaylia. “We were hoping that you and Gewey would return west with us when we depart.” She looked to Dina. “The two of you as well. I am certain your mother would be pleased to see you.”

“My mother visits us quite often actually,” she said. “And it’s bad enough hearing Kaylia go on about Linis and I having a child. When
she’s
here and they join forces…” She shook her head.

“I would love to go,” said Linis. He kissed Dina’s hand. “But there it much to do here, and I simply can’t spare the time.”

“Also, I think Gewey and I returning west might not be the best idea,” said Kaylia.

“No one there even remembers you,” Aaliyah countered. “Which, by the way, still amazes me. You would be safe from notice.”

Gewey shook his head. “When I erased all connection between Darshan and Gewey Stedding, it took every bit of my power to accomplish it. I would not risk someone remembering who I really am. To the world, Darshan is dead and Gewey Stedding spent the war hiding in Hazrah. Neither are connected in any way.”

“Well, at least we still remember you,” said Dina.

“That actually surprised me,” he admitted. “I didn’t intentionally exclude anyone.” He saw the sour expression flash across her face and held up his hand. “Not that I would have wanted any of you to forget me, but I honestly didn’t know how to be that specific. I used the same power that the Dark Knight had used to erase all memory of him. But I knew he’d only partially succeeded. I needed more. Which is why I went to the Chamber of the Maker. It increased my power and hopefully my influence on people’s memory.”

Linis shifted in his seat. Gewey could tell he wanted to say something.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Well,” he began hesitantly. “In all the time we have been living here in Sharpstone, you have never once spoken of what happened in the desert. This is the fourth annual gathering we’ve had, and still you avoid any talk of it when asked.”

Gewey sighed. “I suppose it was too soon…still too fresh in my mind. And there was so much of it that I didn’t really understand.”

“This is the first gathering Aaliyah and I have attended,” said Nehrutu. “So if you are able, I would ask you only one thing. When you met the Creator, what was it like?”

Gewey’s eyes grew distant for a moment. Then Kaylia touched his shoulder and he smiled faintly.

Nehrutu spoke again. “If you cannot answer, I understand.”

“No,” said Gewey. “For a time it was difficult. But not because of the Creator. There were memories I was trying to push from my mind. It has taken me a few years to make peace with what happened. Those who were lost…those that I failed to save.”

Though unspoken, everyone knew he was thinking about Lee.

“No one alive today has caused more death than I have,” he continued. “How do you live in a world with such a burden on your heart?”

“But we were at war,” Linis told him. “You did not kill simply for the joy of it.”

Gewey nodded. “I know this. But knowing something in your mind and understanding it in your heart are often very different.”

“And how do you feel now?” asked Dina.

“With Kaylia’s help, I have learned to accept the past,” he replied. He took hold of her hand. “I try to remember that I am truly blessed. And that my family needs me. They get me through the dark times when the guilt I carry becomes too much to bear.” He sat up straight and banished his melancholy. “But as to your question…”

The room went silent.

“When the Dark Knight and I sank into the vortex, I truly thought that was the end. There was no sense at all of my spirit living outside of my body. Only blackness. And even the blackness was fading. I knew I was facing oblivion, and I was terrified. I tried to cry out for help, but I didn’t have a voice.  No matter what I did, I knew the end was coming.

“It was in this moment of utter despair that I finally realized there
was
nothing to be done. This was the sacrifice I had agreed to make. My life for the lives of everyone else. So I accepted it and thanked the Creator for giving me the courage to go through with my task.”

He looked up and shook his head. “I can honestly say that, had I known in advance about the sheer terror of oblivion, I couldn’t have done it.”

Dina cocked her head. “But oblivion is just…nothing. How could you have felt fear?”

“We live in this world secure in the knowledge that there is a life beyond this one,” he explained. “The only reason we fear death is because the spirit world and heaven are mysteries to us. There is always that little bit of doubt. Will I go there when I die, or will something
else
happen? Is this world everything there is for me, or is there more to come? No matter what we think we know, we can’t help but wonder. But this was different. I knew for certain that the complete end was coming. It would be as if I had never existed. My love for Kaylia and our children, my friends, everyone…all gone. More than that, I wouldn’t care about it because I wouldn't exist.”

He could see that no one aside from Kaylia understood.

“It doesn’t matter. Just know that in that moment, I was more terrified than I ever thought possible. And then there was nothing.”

Now the group truly looked confused.

“Nothing?” said Millet. “You mean you
did
die?”

“No,” he replied. “I mean I ceased to exist. I have no memory of what happened. I was no longer of this, or any other world.”

“Then how is it you are here now?” asked Aaliyah.

“I’m not,” he replied. There was a long uncomfortable pause. Then Gewey burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. That was a bad joke. But I really was gone. And for how long, I can’t say.

“My first memory was of standing in the middle of the desert, naked as the day I was born, trying to figure out what had happened. It was then that I saw her.” He shook his head. “No.
Saw
is not the right word. I did see a blinding light, but it was more like I felt
her
.”

“And how was that feeling?” asked Dina in a half whisper.

“How much do you love Linis?” he asked in return.

“With all of my heart.”

“Try to imagine that love. Then multiply it by the number of drops in the ocean. That is what I felt…and it hurt.”

“It hurt?” repeated Millet incredulously. “How can love hurt?”

“Any strong emotion can cause pain,” he replied. “Love most of all.”

Millet’s eyes grew suddenly distant, as if recalling a memory of long ago. “That is true. But you’re describing this as if it was a physical pain. Not a broken heart.”

“It was,” he replied. “No one, not even a gods is capable of bearing the full force of the Creator’s love. It’s beyond anything we can fathom. I fell to my knees, screaming for it to stop. But it didn’t. It got worse and worse until I was yearning for death. And still the pain continued increasing.”

Gewey leaned back in his chair, a strange little smile on his lips. “And then something remarkable happened. I returned it. I couldn’t tell you why - or how - but in that moment of the most excruciating pain of my life, I loved
her
back. And then…all at once…the pain went away.”

“So the Creator only wants our love?” asked Aaliyah. “Is that what you are saying?”

Gewey chuckled. “No. And yes. What I began to understand was that I hadn’t really given
her
anything. I had given my love to
her
creation. And the more I began to understand this, the angrier I became. Not at the Creator, but at myself for being so stupid and blind. It was all so very simple.”

“What was?” asked Dina.

“That all I ever needed to do was surrender myself,” he replied. “If I had,
her
true power would have been mine, and I would have become invincible. The Dark Knight could have never stood against me. And as I returned the love I was given, I suddenly knew
her
will.”

“And what was that?” asked Linis.

“For me, it was to return home and raise my family,” he replied.

Dina obviously expected more. “Yes. But what about me? And Linis? And Aaliyah? Everyone?”

“For you, who knows? But if you listen, you will be able to feel it. It’s simple for each one of us as individuals, but unclear for the world as a whole. It’s one message, while at the same time being many. There
may
be a single message for everyone…I just don’t know. But I doubt it. I think
she
has something different in mind for each of us. Otherwise, we would all be the same person.”

“So what happens if we don’t listen?” asked Millet.

“Look around you,” Gewey said. “There is still hatred and mistrust in the world. People still seek vengeance and retribution.
That
is what happens when we don’t listen. The Creator only wants us to be happy…and that’s all. Nothing more. It’s really that simple. And
she
doesn’t need us to earn
her
love. We already have it.”

“What about evil?” asked
Nehrutu. “Surely
she
doesn’t love evil.”

“And why not?” asked Gewey. “Could you stop loving your child for any reason? Even if it did bad things? That’s what we are to
her
. Children. And naughty children at that. But
she
still loves us. All of us.”

Dina furled her brow. “Are you saying that the Dark Knight...?”

“
She
loves him too,” he said, cutting her short. He smirked and rubbed the spot on his chest where the Sword of Truth had pierced his flesh. “All the same, I have to admit I’m glad
she
didn’t expect me to feel the same way about him.”

“What else did she tell you?” asked Aaliyah.

“
Tell
me?” He spread his hands. “Nothing in words that I could repeat. But
she
let me know that I had done well, and that
she
was proud of me. And when
she
did, I wept like I have never wept before. I was overjoyed to know that the Creator…my mother... was proud of me. And that
she
loved me so much that she would bring me back from the depths of oblivion. I felt so much joy that I thought my heart would burst.”

“So did you say anything to
her
?” asked Millet.

“No,” he replied. He could see the disappointment on their faces. “I couldn’t. Being in
her
presence was almost more than I was able to stand. I wanted to say thank you...I love you…anything at all. I just couldn’t form the words. And then
she
was gone. Well, not
gone
exactly, but the force of
her
presence had disappeared.

“From there, I just came home. Kaylia was already here waiting for me. And you know the rest.” He folded his hands on the table and watched with a smile on his face as the group absorbed all that he had said.