The Children of Calm (30 page)

A sickening knot tightened in his stomach, and for a moment he had the feeling the figure was trailing them yet again. Instinctively he looked behind, but saw nothing.

Maybe I’m just paranoid about everything,
he thought.
Maybe they are all unrelated and purely coincidental.

Something inside his gut told him otherwise. The longer he dwelt on it, the more he gave credence to the idea they had been swept into a conspiracy theory instigated by people they had trusted. He silently cursed the Oathbinder as he longed for the opportunity to share his ideas with someone, anyone.

What if the Oathbinder is a lie?
he found himself thinking.
I have no real way of knowing whether it actually works or not, unless I tell someone what I know. But that’s a terrible risk…

He looked at Selenor as she walked ahead of him and helplessness weighed on his heart again.

I can’t, I just can’t.

But the guilt in his heart could not silence the voice in his head that was telling him they were being played. Anxiety and frustration ached his head.

His eyes settled again on Altan, and he noticed that the further they went, the more stooped the old man stood. By the time they were back in normal light in the cave tunnel, Altan stumbled often over his own feet. But he pressed on, leading them ever closer to the cave’s mouth.

***

Eventually sunlight could be seen ahead of them and the rushing sound of water filled their ears. They naturally found themselves hurrying along even faster until they emerged from behind the waterfall. Altan rushed out into the sunlight and lifted his head to the sky.

“Home, home at last!” he said, and his color immediately returned to his face.

Rylek found it odd that he briefly felt a cold breeze pass him by, and his old paranoia returned.

But before he could think more on it, Lana suddenly cried out in horror, and the others looked in the direction she was pointing. On the other side of the stream, on the edge of the tree line, a tall thick stake was driven into the ground. The body of the horned mare they had seen early that dawn was driven into it like a skewer. The stake entered its body low in its midsection and came out of its mouth. Its body and the grass leading down to the stream were coated with a dark silvery-black color.

They rushed over the stream, and then Altan said “Be wary! Do not touch anything!”

He slowly approached to examine the body. Rylek drew Faldrahil and quickly scanned the area, but could see no trace of any other living being.

“Her horn has been removed,” Altan said. “And there is a puncture wound here under her ribs. I would hazard a guess that whoever did this killed the mare with her own horn in order to drink of her blood, and then set her upon this stake as a warning of some sort.”

“Why?” Lana asked between tears. “Why would someone do this?”

“In the darkest circles of the Forbidden Artes,” Altan said in a daze, “it is said the horn and blood of a horned white mare are ingredients of an elixir that when prepared and mixed properly will provide the consumer with regenerative health for as long as her blood remains in his blood.

“Rylek, Tresten, take the girls into my cottage while I take care of the mare. You will all be safe there.”

“Are you sure you don’t need a hand?” Rylek asked.

“Yes,” Altan said. “I shall bear the weight of this deed alone.”

Rylek looked over at Selenor, who instantly turned away from him and walked over to Tresten. He put his arm around her as they went in the direction of the cottage.

“Oh, Rylek!” Lana said, as she tightly embraced her brother. “What a horrible day this has been!”

“I know,” he said as he led her away from the scene, watching the back of Selenor’s head as he walked. After a few seconds he lowered his gaze and watched the grass pass him by in silence.

***

Inside the cottage Lana and Selenor sat at the table, holding each other as they wept, while Tresten paced the floor. Rylek stood at a window, looking in the direction of Altan and the mare’s body. But the angle of the canyon walls prevented him from seeing anything. No one said a word as they waited for Altan to return. There was nothing to say.

After some time Rylek saw Altan come around the corner and approach the cottage. They exchanged glances through the window, and then Altan slowly shook his head. He then walked in the door, poured himself some water, and sat at the table with the girls silently for a minute.

“It has been quite some time since an unwelcome person has set foot on this land,” he finally said. “It gives me reason to feel somewhat anxious, especially in light of the reason this person was here. They know of the Forbidden Artes, which is especially rare among Aenosh today. I cannot imagine one of Andulibar’s people doing something like this. Tragic, tragic waste…”

His voice wandered off for a moment.

“We will depart in the morning for Perdeisolen,” he continued. “After a couple days of rest there, I will escort you back to your home. I do not trust the paths right now for you to go alone, and it has been far too long since I have made my presence known in Calm. If you can stomach it, I urge you all to eat. And if you wish, ask of me whatever is on your minds. I am sure you have had time enough to organize your thoughts, and surely there is much you desire to know after the…unexpected events of the day.”

Rylek looked over at Tresten, who was too wrapped up in himself to look back at him. He made a decision.

“I wasn’t sure if it was paranoia or something else,” he said, “but I’ve had moments all day long where it’s felt like someone or something has been following us.”

Tresten looked up at him but did not say anything.

“And you’re just now telling us?” Lana asked. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“No one else seemed to notice,” he said.

“If you are correct, it is odd that I did not pick up on it,” Altan said. “Before we had returned here I would have counted it as nothing but paranoia. But I have been easily distracted today, and my mind is not as it normally is.”

“Do you think it’s the same person that killed that poor mare?” Lana asked.

“Maybe, but how could we know?” Rylek said. “I even felt something odd brush past me both times we used the Twilight Gate.”

“That could just be an effect of the gate itself,” Altan said. “Its energy field warps space. It is bound to have unforeseen effects on our physical bodies.”

“Maybe,” Rylek said again, unconvinced.

“But why would someone be following us?” Lana asked. “Where would they have come from to find us? It’s not like we’re in possession of anything valuable.”

“Don’t tell your parents that,” Tresten said.

“Didn’t Selenor tell you the Dawnstone and Twilightstone were taken from them?” Rylek asked.

“No,” Tresten said slowly. He looked back and forth between the girls. “For Mira’s sake, I told you it was foolish to take them!”

“I know!” Lana said, shooting an icy glare at Rylek. “Believe me, I know! We feel awful enough without having to hear you say ‘
I told you so!
’ The Aesid took them when they questioned us. What else were we supposed to do? If you hadn’t started yelling in the middle of the temple, none of this would have happened. Why in the world did you do that?”

“If it had felt like someone was stabbing your head and back with hundreds of knives, I would wager you would have reacted in the same way!” Tresten said hotly. “Don’t blame me for something that was beyond my control.”

“I suppose you’re going to say that witch of an empress made you do it,” she said, rising from her stool. “Go on, blame it all on somebody else so you don’t have to take any responsibility for your own actions!”

“How dare you say that?” he countered. “You just blamed me for
your
losing the stones, and now you accuse
me
of blaming someone else? You hypocrite! And yes, I do think the Empress might have caused me to react the way I did.”

“She wasn’t even in the temple!” Lana said.

“How could you possibly know that?” Tresten asked.

“To be fair,” Rylek interjected, “she did appear to have some kind of power working over me, too, though I didn’t experience the pain Tresten did.”

“How convenient,” Selenor said softly but tersely.

Altan had been sitting silently, observing the fight unfold. “
ENOUGH!
” he finally called out in his commanding voice. The others instantly stopped and looked at him. “Each of you sit here at the table,” he told them, and they unquestioningly obeyed. “What has happened today goes beyond the initial shock your naiveté has provided you. There is much more going on than you can possibly imagine: things more pressing than lost jewelry – though that is of some consequence – headaches, and hurt feelings!” He paused as everyone lowered their eyes. “There will be no more baseless, self-righteous accusations flying rampant around this room. Do I make myself clear?”

Rylek raised his eyes to look him in the face. “Yes sir,” he said. The others nodded in agreement.

“I told you before that if you have any questions, or accusations for that matter, address them to me,” Altan said in a gentle but firm tone. “I do not want you to think I care nothing for your personal concerns. However, I want to make you aware of the bigger picture. And yes, Keona has had her way with each of you more than you can possibly know. Her voice is powerful and can illicit charms on the unsuspecting. She is a vocamancer.”

“What’s that?” Lana asked.

“Someone who uses the Forbidden Artes to empower their voice as a weapon. The power does not necessarily dwell within the words, but the voice itself. She has elicited the Artes to enable herself to seduce men with her poisonous voice, while in women it stirs up bitterness and jealousy. So, in a manner of speaking, each of you has been charmed to a certain degree. Even now the effects of her powers still linger in your minds, as evidenced by the venomous tones of your previous argument.”

“Why didn’t you succumb to her spell?” Selenor asked.

Altan sighed. “I’ve been around long enough to see through charming ways such as she possesses. It took every bit of concentration I could muster to resist, but The One granted me the grace to do so.”

“You acted like you knew each other,” Lana said. “Had you previously met?”

He sat silently for a moment as though he were considering something. “The time has come,” he eventually said. “I had never met
her
before, but we know each other. I did not even know that I knew her until I looked her in the eye. But it was then that I discovered who she truly is – or partially is, I should say.”

Rylek had kept quiet throughout the conversation. His mind was running wild with his conspiracy theories as he believed he was on the brink of finding the one missing piece that would tie everything together. The fog had been lifted from his brain and he was beginning to see things clearly. It was as though he were able to take several steps back from all that had happened to them in order to better observe the past few weeks. What he was seeing, if he were correct, angered him deeply. He was so close, but needed to know for sure before he said anything.

The others sat silently, waiting for Altan’s revelation.

“I do not understand how it can even be possible,” he finally said, “but the Empress Keona is in actuality Fornrihgula himself. There can be no denying.”

There it is
, Rylek thought.
The missing piece that ties everything together
.

The other three exchanged confused looks. “I thought you said the great hulking mass of a thing in the temple was Fornrihgula,” Tresten said.

“I did, and it is,” Altan said. “It would be better if I said that Keona as we saw her is actually a woman
and
Fornrihgula, two entities fused together in one body. Somehow, either all or part of his essence has been merged with what I assume is an oddly mutated Aesid. I do not understand how she is Aesid but looks to be Aenosh. However, knowing their history with experimentation on bodies, maybe they found a way to alter their genes back to how they were originally designed…”

“Might she actually be an Aenosh?” Tresten asked.

“I cannot say for certain,” Altan said, “but I find it extremely difficult to believe the Aesid would allow an Aenosh to rule over them.”

“Wait a minute,” Lana said. “Before you lose me in your explanation of everything, I want to clear something up. What you are saying is you previously knew Keona not because of
her
, but because you recognized Fornrihgula in her, right?”

“That is correct.”

“So you and Fornrihgula know each other?” she asked.

“Yes, you might say we have somewhat of a history.”

“But I thought you said he’s been sealed away for millennia,” Selenor said, catching on to where Lana was leading. “How can you possibly know him?”

Altan smiled. “I told you once that I am far older than I appear.”