Shattered Destiny (12 page)

Gwen stopped Gerok with a hand on his leg. When he opened his mouth to question her, she shook her head sharply. She gathered her power and sent in the direction of the people. She knew what she was looking for, and as soon as she found it she gave a squeal of delight.

“It's them! Tell the others!” She took off as fast as her legs could carry her, ignoring Gerok's exasperated shout. Her parents were close. She ran faster, her breath coming in gasps.

“Papa!” Gwen saw her father, Bart, standing next her mother.

Gwen flew into her father's arms, and as he picked her up and
hugged her, she felt as though she would die from sheer joy. She sobbed in relief, glad that he was alive and well.

“Gwen?” Her mother, Cynde, ran toward her husband, hearing Gwen's voice calling. She shouted out and grabbed her daughter from her husband's grip, crushing the girl to her chest. She stroked her daughter's hair and let the tears fall freely.

Gwen did not even notice when the others arrived, yelling for their families. The woods were soon filled with the cacophony of shouting and screaming as the villagers tried to pass the word through the entire camp.

“Where is Master Brok?” Rome Collins, the village leader, stood off to the side, trying to be patient, but his need for answers overcame the need for decorum.

“We were attacked on the way to your village, and he was taken,” Gerok answered.

“And who might you be?” Rome asked bluntly. The man stood a full foot shorter than the Volgon Guardian, but he stood his ground, meeting Gerok's stare.

“I am a friend of Brok. We trained together.” Gerok tried to stop the rapid beating of his heart. He was not certain what Brok had told this man, and he was loath to say anything that would contradict what Brok may have told him.

“Where have you been? We thought you had all been killed. And there have been rumors, terrible rumors,” Rome said.

“What has happened? We saw the other villages, and the people…” Kaelin couldn't finish. Her mother shushed her, telling her she was safe now and that that was all that mattered.

“A lot has happened, I am afraid. And it involves all of you,” Rome said, giving the children a hard look.
They no longer look like children.
This observation shocked him. They were tougher, stronger, and their eyes held a maturity that can only come from enduring hardship.

The Chosen knew that they had to tread very carefully. Gerok had managed to meet the eyes of most of the Astran Chosen and was relieved to see that their looks were guarded and their posture tense. He had been afraid that being back in the relative comfort of their families’ arms would loosen their tongues.

“We are not to blame for what happened in the villages. The Queen took Jon and held him prisoner. She would not give him up so we had to take steps to rescue him….” Gwen stopped as the village council leader shook his head. She was startled to note the plethora of wrinkles that had appeared on the man's face, and how his eyes had sunken into deep pits.

“The one who did the killings is a man named Fa’ Vel.”

The Chosen gasped. They recognized the name of the dark magician who had sold Jon to the Queen of Siswae.

“The Queen must have sent him after us. But why kill the people in the villages? Why hang their bodies to rot? She could have found another to perform magic for her,” Gwen said, frowning. What Rome had told them made no sense.

“I don't know anything about a Queen or kidnapping. But you obviously know Fa’ Vel. He has been roaming the Continents for years, ranting about the end of days, killing and terrorizing people in the Tarrows and Plains Territories, trying to find out where you were from. He claims that he saw the lot of you pass straight through solid rock and disappear.” Rome saw them jump at the mention of this feat and shivered in fear.

“Years? Is that how long we have been gone?” Kaelin's face grew even more pale. She had been showing Moira to her little sister, Malory, and Rome's words had caught her off guard. After careful scrutiny, she reluctantly admitted to herself that Malory looked a little older than she remembered. She had been so excited to see her and to introduce Moira that she hadn't really noticed how much her younger sibling had changed.

Rome glared at the group, his stance becoming threatening. “I want to know where you have been and what is going on. Now.”

The Volgon Chosen reacted to Rome's anger by taking up both defensive and offensive positions. Gerok felt things spinning out of his control. He looked helplessly at the Astran Chosen, hoping they could diffuse the situation.

“We will tell you where we have been, but we can't do it now.” Saemus held up a hand when Rome began to interrupt. “You have to trust me. There is more at stake here than you realize. Much more.

“We need to know the details of what's happened here. We also
need to know who the men are that attacked us and where they could have taken Master Brok,” Saemus said, his tone both quiet and commanding.

Rome opened his mouth to argue but stopped. All of a sudden, he was filled with dread, a heavy weight crushing the fight out of him. His instincts told him to trust Saemus.

“It started about two years ago. Word reached us of this man, Fa’ Vel, and the rumors he was spreading about a white-haired old man and five young people who'd disappeared into a wall of rock. He ranted and raved, saying that this was connected to the mysterious rings that had appeared around the moons, and that the people who had disappeared into the rock were going to bring about the downfall of Astra.

“People harrumphed and brushed off what the man said, at first. But they were already scared, first by the appearance of the moons’ rings and then by the telling of the prophets, seers, and bone-readers. They all said the same thing: that something was coming to Astra. Something that would destroy us all.

“It didn't take long for the fear to become hysteria. The Patriarchs tried to quell the fear, but the people were caught up in the frenzy. Once word spread of what Fa’ Vel had seen, people acted on their fears, fueled by a need to protect themselves and those they loved.

“Fa’ Vel began to take on devout followers. They formed the Tribunal, a jury of people whose sole purpose was to try and convict those that they felt were a threat to the people of Astra.” Rome looked to the Chosen, a haunted look in his eyes.

“Fa’ Vel had convinced the people that those who possessed magic, those who could make potions or charms, or read the bones, were to blame for what was coming. The Tribunals ordered their deaths. Fa’ Vel's men, those with the tattooed faces, scoured the land in search of all who could touch the power. He claimed that the spirits had given him the ability to sense in others the facility to use magic, and that he would kill them where they stood.”

“But that's preposterous! The man is a dark magician! He's
using
magic to detect the ability in others.” Jon fumed. His mind wandered for a moment to the book Brok had given him about Mystic Anali
using the dark magic on Lord Lucian.
Fa’ Vel will be as dangerous as Mystic Anali, but I'll never get that bad. I can control the magic.

Rome shook his head sadly. “That is news to me. No one ever suspected him of having magic. And even if someone were to say something, he would have them killed.”

“How can he have such power? Didn't the Patriarchs fight him?” Saemus asked.

“Patriarch Mordaen tried but was unsuccessful, and is imprisoned in Faerow. Patriarch Seldon hides in his fortified castle on Tranquility Island and does nothing.” Rome spat. “Fa’ Vel and his men have recently taken to killing the families of those who practiced magic or herb lore.”

“We saw the bodies and the burned villages between here and the Stroh Hills.” Kaelin shuddered.

“He came to Enisae a few weeks ago. He demanded information on Brok and those that traveled with him. When the villagers told him that they did not know any such man, he put them all to death.

“He traveled with his minions, killing people as he went, always demanding to know where you all were from.” Rome's voice hardened. “We got word of what was happening, but we didn't believe it. It didn't sink in that bands of roving men were putting people to death to find you all. It wasn't until he put Ashford to the torch that we realized the truth of it.

“We got most of the people to the mountains before he came. I do not know why he didn't follow. It would have been easy for him to follow and kill us all,” Rome frowned. “Maybe he realized that the killing wasn't helping him to get his hands on you.”

“He had a trap set for us. He was waiting,” Jon said.

“Then he used us as bait, hoping you would come back home,” Rome said.

“So where did Fa’ Vel take Master Brok?” Gwen said, covering her mouth in horror at what Rome had just told them.

Rome gave her a sympathetic look. “He has most likely been taken to Faerow. That is the seat of the Tribunal.”

“What will happen to him?” Keera asked. The memory of the grinning skull of the half-buried child flooded her thoughts.

“He will be tried before the court, found guilty, and hanged, or
burned at the stake,” Rome said.

“We have to do something!” Gwen cried out. The thought of her teacher, lying dead, was more than she could bear.
What will we do without him?

“There is nothing you can do, child. The city is overrun with Fa’ Vel's men. They now live in the home of Patriarch Mordaen. He has taken to using the Patriarch's soldiers to patrol the city. Even if you managed to get Brok out of the jail cell, you would never make it out of the city alive.”

Gwen looked to the Volgons and her fellow Astran Chosen and grinned. “I think you underestimate us.”

ASTRA

“OOO!
These are the worst contraptions ever invented!” Martha groaned as she slowly stood. Her body hurt so badly that she barely remembered she was naked. She was delighted to find that the physical form on this world was the same as on Earth.
I wonder if I look the same as I do back home?
She was curious and a little frightened to see her reflection. She looked at Brad and Robert, who were surveying the cave. She sighed in relief as she recognized their familiar features. And yet they did not look
exactly
the same as they did on Earth. Their features were—
softer
—somehow, less angular and harsh.

--I can sense that the others are far from this place. Number 5 said. The Kromins were bald and did not have the outward sexual characteristics that the others had. The Earth Chosen and even Mirka and Forka stared at them, their mouths gaping in disbelief.

“And I thought that the form of the Gentrans was strange,” Mark mumbled.

“While I would love to sit around and gape at our sexless comrades, I think we need to find something to wear,” Martha said.

“Are you too good to be naked like the rest of us? I never took you to be the shy type,” Robert said, winking.

“That's not the point. It's chilly in this cave,” Martha said primly.

“I agree. We need clothing,” Mirka said, holding her arms in front of her chest. She was baffled by the large appendages that she found attached there. Martha noticed her perplexed look and took the Guardian off to the side for a quick lesson in anatomy.

“Well, it certainly would have been nice to have been warned about this!” Mirka said.

“We will have to travel at night. We don't have the magical capabilities of the Astrans to make us invisible. People of this planet do not walk about naked. We do not want to call too much attention to ourselves.” Forka gave the Kromins a sidelong glance. “Although there isn't much we can do about
them.
We will have to think about a story to explain their physical appearance.”

“I vaguely remember the location of a few towns from our training. Brok showed me where his home village was,” Mirka said, her voice tinged with sadness. She hoped that nothing was amiss, as the Masters feared.

“That's a good place to start,” Forka said.

The Chosen and their Guardians waited until dark to leave the cave. Their breath misted in the nighttime air. They began trotting to try to keep warm. The light from the twin moons showed the way so that they could keep up a decent pace. Mirka took the lead and tried not to wince as her bare feet hit a sharp rock or a branch.
The village had better be close. My feet can't take much more of this.

Enisae was as the others had left it, except that the night kept them from seeing the worst of the damage that had been done. The first things the Earth and Kromin Chosen tried to find were shoes. The Earth Chosen had to show the Kromins how to put on the footwear.

“These will protect your feet,” Robert explained.

--I can see the need for such attire. The ground here is quite rough. Number 3 said, standing awkwardly in the leather shoes. The shoes that the Chosen and their Guardians had managed to find were not a perfect fit, but it was better than going barefoot.

The Chosen and their Guardians managed to piece together a hodgepodge of outfits from clothing taken from several homes. They
had to assist the Kromins and Mirka, who seemed quite at a loss as to what to do with the shirts and leggings and dresses they were given. Since the Kromins had no outward sex, the Earth Chosen simply gave them clothing at random. Numbers 1, 2, and 5 were dressed in men's clothing, while Numbers 3 and 4 were given dresses.