Book of One 04: A Child of Fire (27 page)

"How could Kenra attack Aaron when he was trapped outside this realm?" Ehlena asked Stroma. "The god of shadows had only just returned."

"There are many paths from this world to the next," Stroma said. "He likely had help from those who follow him, these mage priests of his. There are old magics, forgotten magics, that they may have found enabling them to summon some portion of his essence to this world. Kenra knows many things, and through the book, he has communed with his many servants."

"I often dreampt of a man with a dagger," Aaron said. "I was bound to an altar, under the stars of night, and the man with the dagger smiled and laughed as he held the knife over me, before he killed me with it. Like most dreams, it would fade, but this dream was always followed by the headaches caused by the ward that Stavros put on me."

"It is likely because of that ward that the shadow remained dormant," Stroma said then he frowned. "As for the dream, you speak of a very old magic, Aaron. It is a form of death magic, one that I believed forgotten to this world."

"It is not entirely forgotten," Zachary said. "I have studied some of it."

"And it is obvious that others have as well," Stroma said. "This man with the dagger is likely one of Kenra's followers, a mage who has learned of these things."

"Yes," Aaron said. "I did not know who he was, but I do now. His name is Dakar."

"Dakar," Zachary said. "I know him all too well. I should have killed him long ago."

"I do not disagree with that sentiment, Zachary, but such things were not done under the old laws," Stavros said. "It would have made you an enemy of the Council of Mages."

"I should have killed him anyway," Zachary said. "The Council has fallen, replaced by this accursed priesthood, so what would it have mattered? "

"What is done is done," Stroma said. "We must look forward and decide what will be."

"When I see him next, Dakar will meet his end," Zachary said. "That is a decision of what will be, and one I look foward to."

"Tell me more of this Dakar and the priesthood," Ehlena said, curious to know what kind of man would willingly choose to follow Kenra and she had little experience with the black robed mages, who did not have much of a presence at Aghlar, where she had been raised.

"Dakar is one of the key members of the priesthood, in many ways like a high priest, though the black robes do not have a heirarchy, as they are all equally subservient to the book," Stavros told her. "They are obsessed with the book and they do whatever it tells them, which we now know are little more than the thoughts of Kenra, the god of shadows."

"Dakar has been obsessed with dark magics for many years," Zachary said. "I knew him once, long ago, when we were both young mages."

"If he is the one reponsible for the shadow that lives within Aaron then perhaps there is some way he can undo what he has done," Ehlena suggested.

"Dakar would not help," Zachary said. "If he is under the power of this god, then he is lost. And even if he were not, Dakar will only do things that will benefit him."

"This mage, Dakar could no more remove the shadow then any of us could," Stroma said. "He was merely a tool, as with all those who are foolish enough to follow Kenra."

"Then how can I rid myself of this?" Aaron asked. "I do not want to live with some shadow within me, controlling me, making me feel nothing, or with some spell causing me pain. What must I do to be free of these things, that I might decide my own fate?"

Stroma stared at him for a moment and Aaron thought he saw a twinkle of amusement glimmer in his eyes.

"Do you find this amusing?" Aarron asked.

"Not at all," Stroma said. "Think on the things you have just said and the questions you have asked. There is much I cannot tell you, but know this; there are things that you might do, and things that others might do to help you, but if you know what they are, then there will come a point when Kenra will learn of them as well. I do not believe his power has reached that point yet, but it is now growing stronger. Your power is now truly a part of you, which makes many things possible, but when you bring your power forth, you will face the shadow, which feeds from it, and as your power grows, so will the shadow, so you must find clarity within yourself and be sure of your thoughts and your actions. While the shadow lives within you, there is much harm you might do without even knowing it, if you let the shadow take control."

A flurry of questions ran through his mind, but as much as he wanted to know the answers, he knew that discussing such things could mean betraying them to the shadow. After a few moments, Aaron nodded.

"I understand," he said.

"He speaks the truth, Aaron," Stavros said. "I tried my best to protect you, but I failed, and for that I am truly sorry."

"Many things have been hidden from me for most of my life," Aaron said. "Those who wished to protect me have kept me from knowing things about myself and about the dangers that I face in the world. I will accept that you have had your reasons and I will accept that you believe you are doing what is right, but I ask that you consider the wisdom of continuing to hide things from me, whether the shadow knows it or not." They could all tell from the look in his eyes that he was not happy, and he smiled bitterly then turned and began to walk away. "I will go see how Lexi and Tash are doing with their training. You discuss what you must, and decide what you will."

"Calthas," Stroma said, turning to the young mage. "Go with him."

"Am I to be guarded now?" Aaron asked, stopping for a moment but not turning to look back.

"No," Stroma said. "Merely accompanied."

Aaron shook his head and sighed then turned and looked at the young mage, who he had not seen for some time, ever since his visit to his workshop in Maramyr with Ariana and Borrican.

"Come on, then. You might find it interesting to learn something of the Ansari," he said as he continued toward the passage that led from the cavern and Calthas hurried to catch up with him.

"It is good to see you again, Aaron," Calthas said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small, metal flask and uncapped it. "I was glad to learn that Cerric failed when he tried to have you and Ariana killed, and glad to learn that you were not to blame." He took a sip from his flask and Aaron could smell the distinct scent of sweetwater. He offered to Aaron, but he shook his head and declined.

"I fear that he may have succeeded in the end," Aaron said. "The mage, Cerric's high priest, Dakar, killed her himself at Rivergate. I did not want to believe it, but I don't know what to believe anymore.

"You would not have heard? Cerric's people have done their best to quell the stories, but Ariana lives," Calthas told him. "She and a force of warriors from Elvanar fought at Kandara. Many soldiers of Maramyr sided with her against Cerric in defense of the mountain kingdom and though they were not successful, I have heard that she continues to aid the Kandaran people and has sought refuge for them in the elven forests."

"Thank you, Calthas," Aaron said, his spirits lifting a little as they exited the cavern and walked out into the cool air of the mountain forest that Stavros had chosen for his home. "That Ariana still lives is the best news I have heard in a very long time."

Calthas stared at Aaron for a moment as they walked through the dark evergreens.

"I thought you might be glad to hear it," he said. "The moment I saw you with the princess, I knew there was something between you."

"Then you knew more than I," Aaron said. "Ariana is my sister."

"What?" Calthas seemed surprised, then he understood what the others had been talking about, when they spoke of Aaron being attacked. "Does that make you the prince of Maramyr?"

"I am no prince," Aaron replied. "If you want to know more about such things, then you can ask Zachary or Stavros. Let's leave it at that."

"Of course," Calthas said, accepting Aaron's desire not to talk about it, though he still tried to put the pieces together in his head.

"What of Borrican?" Aaron asked, changing the subject. "Does he live as well?"

"His father and uncle were killed in the battle," Calthas told him. "His brother, Elric was taken prisoner by Cerric, and there are rumors that he is being kept in the dungeon beneath the palace at Maramyr, but I have heard nothing of Borrican. Did you know that he and the nobles of Kandara are dragonkind?"

"The dragon is the symbol of their house," Aaron said.

"It is not just the symbol. They are dragons, like from the stories of old."

"If you had told me this when last we met, I would not have believed you," Aaron said. He looked ahead through the trees to the clearing where Tash and Lexi were training with Kasha and Ashan. "I think you will find the Ansari most interesting."

Aaron and Calthas emerged from the trees into the clearing and, as soon as Tash saw them, she immediately came running.

"Look, Aaron!" she exclaimed, and spun around. "I have a tail!"

"A tail?" Calthas nearly choked on the sip of sweetwater he had just taken.

"Very good, Tash," Aaron said, smiling at her.

"It's just like Kasha's," Tash said, with a grin on her face. "I can make it like Lexi's too, see." She squinted her eyes in concentration and the long, thin tail of fur changed into a thicker one, scaled and leathery like Lexis, though hers was red in color instead of blue. She laughed and ran ahead to where Lexi and the two Ansari stood waiting.

"Is that what the Ansari look like?" Calthas asked, quietly, his eyes fixed on Lexi.

"No," Aaron said. "That is Lexi. She is something else. The other two are Kasha and Ashan. They are Ansari."

"They don't have tails," Calthas observed.

"Not at the moment, they don't," Aaron said. "They are shapeshifters, so they can look like whatever they want. They also have excellent hearing, so you might want to save your questions until you get to know them a little bit."

"Perhaps I will save the rest of this for later. I think I might need it," Calthas said as he put away his flask.

*****

Willem finished brewing a large pot of tea and readied the large silver tray upon which he had laid out enough cups and biscuits for all the guests that Stavros had brought home with him. He added two more cups and a few more biscuits for the two others he had sensed, who had recently arrived, one of them being Calthas and the other seemingly familiar, though obscured, which meant it was likely another mage. He lifted the lid of the teapot and inhaled the rich aroma of the leaves along with the hint of fruit he had added, thinking it might be pleasing to Stavros' guests. It was not every day that one served tea to a goddess or a legendary mage like Zachary, and the Ansari, for that matter, who he was very curious to learn more about.

He picked up the heavy tray and made his way from the mage's small kitchen, through the sitting room and down a passage that led to the large cavern where he knew they should be, but he found himself blocked by a barrier. It was strange that he would not have sensed it, and from what he could tell the power that had created it did not belong to Stavros, though there was something about it that felt familiar. Willem reached for his power and sent a thought through the invisible wall, announcing simply that the tea was ready and the barrier dropped almost immediately, letting him continue.

A few moments later, he walked into the cavern to see Stavros, Zachary, Calthas and Ehlena, all with very serious looks on their faces, staring at a man in a robe, who appeared to be the new guest. The man turned and smiled at him and Willem stumbled and nearly dropped the tray.

"Willem," Stroma said warmly. "Good of you to join us. We were just speaking about you."

*****

"We need to find out more about what Cerric is planning," Jax said, idly spinning a dagger in his hand then he stabbed it into the thick wood of the long kitchen table in front of him. "I'd go myself if I could get through those tunnels."

"It smacks of folly," Fergus said, snatching the dagger as Jax reached for it. "Too dangerous, I say. What if Cerric's lot figures him out? We got enough troubles keepin' White Falls safe from that army without losin' our defenders."

"That army is just sitting there, doing nothing. That's all they can do, is wait, and hope we starve, which we won't, thanks to the tunnels Brian found," Jax said as he slid another dagger from his sleeve and spun it in his hand. "We could last a year or more, so long as Cerric doesn't send out any of his blasted mages."

"An' if he does?" Fergus asked.

"Then it won't make a lick of difference is Brian is here or if he's scouting around Maramyr or somewhere else." Jax turned to look at Brian, who sat quietly at the table. "What say you, Brian? It's your skin we're talking about here."

"If I go, then I will have to fight in this tournament," Brian said, tugging at the scrap of cloth that marked him as a competitor. "It also means that I will be able to move around the city and talk to other fighters from all across the land, and other kingdoms as well. They might have news about Lord Kaleb and what is happening with the war and those sorts of thing might be good to know. Some of the fighters can barely swing a sword. I can fight a few of them and make it look real then lose a fight and do some scouting."