XLII
Ladra stepped out of Radha's home, ducking under the doorway as he did so. “He has now gone, my Lord King.”
Normally Faeder would have made a scathing remark whenever someone made such an obvious statement but on this occasion he let it pass. The realisation of what they now faced surpassed anything that had come in the aeons before. At last they had located the wielder of the Glove of Junives but the King of the Gods felt no delight in that fact. Now the real work had to begin. They had missed him by a hair's breadth. On top of that they had yet to discover his true identity.
Ladra had first approached him as he sat upon his throne within the Great Hall. He seemed ant-sized compared to the statues he strode past but Faeder knew him to be a mortal of great power. As usual he was dressed in his grey Oak Seer robes but Faeder could not decide whether it was due to the role he now played, or was it a longing for something from his past? Briefly he considered entering the mortal's mind to discover those answers. But sometimes, just sometimes, even the King of the Gods enjoyed a mystery. Ladra had bowed dutifully and respectfully. He awaited permission to speak. Faeder looked down at the minuscule figure and, with a nod, granted his audience.
“It is the man Meuric that I have been watching over,” began Ladra, speaking louder than normal so that his God King could hear him. “He is approaching the home of a fellow Knight Protector by the name of Radha. A localised Veil Narration has been placed around her home.” He paused then and Faeder was forced to prompt him further. “I cannot penetrate the narration. It has the same signature as before.”
Faeder stood and rose. Like a giant he loomed over Ladra. A great sense of urgency rose within him. “Are you sure?”
Ladra had nodded. “Yes, my Lord King.”
Faeder closed his eyes and reached out with his magick, with the power given to him by the devotions offered up to him by the prayers from the Realm of Mortals. He reached into the mind of Meuric. He could see the former Knight Protector was at the edge of the Veil Narration. With his colleague, they were about to
assault her home. There was no way that Ladra could follow alone. Only with a god's help could they penetrate that shield.
And they had done so. Together, with effort, they infiltrated the shield, watching all that took place. Simultaneously they had felt a source that could rival the god of creation. So it was true. The Kosmos Stones had been located. And yet Faeder still could not physically interfere. The mortals that allowed him his immense authority also bound him by the laws of the Otherworld. But he could, on occasion, bend those rules. Faeder opened his eyes. He shrank to a size similar to that of Ladra.
“Return to the Realm of the Mortals,” he commanded. “Contact me when the fight is over unless Malitia is directly involved.” He looked at Ladra. Automatically he looked to the paths of his future. It was a growing trend that was quickly turning into a habit. As the mortal bowed and turned away, the King of the Gods stopped him. “Do not speak to them of your past, Ladra. At least not yet, my friend.”
The Oak Seer stopped and looked to Faeder. A look of discernment crossed his face. “You looked to the paths of my future?” he asked. Faeder realised that he probably already knew the answer. “Do I have to remind my Lord King of the folly of that action? Not even the Fari can perceive the true path of a man. They see the multitude of possibilities that changes from moment to moment. You, my Lord King, can see only two and even those two can change upon the smallest decision.” Ladra paused then. Faeder waited for the inevitable question. Even a mortal such as Ladra could not resist asking. The mortal sighed. “What did you see?”
“In one vision I saw you serving us faithfully, consistently, for many years to come,” answered Faeder. He smiled in a mocking fashion. “In the second you were home accompanied by Meuric. You were both searching for Knight Protector Paulus who had gone missing.”
“Home,” mumbled Ladra, disbelieving. “It has been so long.” The Oak Seer momentarily stumbled. Faeder momentarily wondered if he would have to catch him if he fell. “So very long.” He looked directly at the King of the Gods. “Having Knight Protectors there would be impossible, my Lord King.”
“And yet I saw it,” responded Faeder gently, spreading his hands. “Go now, Ladra, to the Realm of the Mortals. As you have said, it is only one possible future and it would very much depend on whether Meuric or even any of us survive the coming days.”
He did not have to wait very long. In almost no time at all Ladra had returned to him announcing that the fight was over. The Knight Protectors had been victorious but they now faced the man who wielded the power from the Glove of Junives and the Kosmos Stones. In the blink of an eye the two of them stood in the centre of Radha's compound.
Faeder looked to the heavens. He could feel the eyes of Junives bearing down on him. And yet the mortal who wielded the Glove of Junives seemed to have no idea of its worth. He must now remove that power before the mortal recognises what he has. Suddenly it was gone; spirited away before they had taken even their first steps towards Radha's cabin. It was Ladra who entered the cabin only to return a moment later stating the obvious.
“He has now gone, my Lord King.”
Behind him came the Knight Protectors. Faeder approached them.
“My Lord King?” asked Ladra seeing the look on his face.
He was unsure of what he was planning. “It is time to become more proactive, my friend,” explained Faeder. “Staying in the shadows is getting us nowhere. We need to get the Glove of Junives back before the mortal realises what he has or what he can do with it. Junives is watching us.”
Ladra said “What I do not understand is why Malitia has not told this person of what he has. Nor why she has not used the glove more aggressively for her own ends.”
Faeder nodded. “You can be sure that she has a plan though. Whether it takes her one year or one thousand years to accomplish, you can bet your immortal soul that she has some sort of scheme.” After a moment's pause he added, “Your questions do have merit though.”
Faeder looked to the two Knight Protectors. Both continued to stand by the cabin's doorway. Though relatively safe, their training still took over. They scanned the cabin and the area, in opposite directions, before stepping forward. Both had to shield their eyes from a luminosity that radiated from Faeder that only they, or those of their ilk, could discern. Once again the King of the Gods searched the only two paths he could fathom of their futures.
Of Radha he saw only one future. She was fighting the Dark Druid in hand-to-hand combat. With Meuric, he saw fighting in a cave. He had been sliced several times. An arrow wound bled unchecked from his shoulder. In short he was bleeding to death. Behind him, Abram and his mother, Jemima, sat crouched on the ground, hugging each other. As usual, in both visions, he saw the stirrings of a black nothingness in the distance. At first it was merely a tiny pinprick that grew rapidly to encompass the whole of his sight.
“You have come a long way since we met in that Travelers' Inn in Ay'den, Meuric of Daw'ra,” said Faeder. He attempted to sound welcoming.
The female Knight bowed respectfully. Meuric continued to stand upright. He looked directly at Ladra.
“So this is who you answer to?” Ladra nodded hesitantly. “But you are no god yourself!”
“No,” replied the Oak Seer. “I am just a man like you.”
“Not like us,” muttered Meuric. “More like something in between.”
“Do you not kneel before a god, Meuric?” asked Faeder. The mortal's defiance amused him.
“I do not bend on a knee to anyone who allowed the death of my family and friends for no reason,” said Meuric angrily.
“A terrible act,” Faeder agreed sympathetically. In truth such things no longer affected him even when in human form. He had long seen the cruelty committed by man and had grown accustomed to it. “But you must understand that was not of my doing and went unseen by me.”
“Unseen by you,” spat Meuric and Radha looked at him sharply and flashed a warning stare. The former Knight Protector plainly ignored her. His voice trembled with rage. Faeder understood that it was an anger that he barely kept under control. “You are a god! You are all-seeing!”
“No, my friend,” explained Faeder. “That is not how it works. It is true that I can see or visit any part of the world at my whim but not as a whole. I can only see one section much in the same way as you see the land around you. Not only that, but I have to be looking at the right time. Time for us does not run in a linear motion as it does for you. We can appear at any period of time at will. At the time that the Dark Druid had attacked Gla'es he had placed a Veil Narration over the whole of the area. I would need to have been looking directly at Gla'es to have even spotted the magick during the correct moment.”
“You were probably rutting with a king's daughter somewhere in the world at the time,” griped Meuric.
Faeder stepped forward and held out his hands. “You have kept this pain with you for far too long now, mortal. Allow me to remove the burden of guilt from you.”
“No!” Meuric took an involuntary step back in response. “It is all that I have now. It is what keeps me going.”
Faeder stopped and lowered his arms. “What it will do is eventually kill you,” he said in a small voice. “But it will be as you wish.”
“Why are you here, Faeder?” asked Radha.
The King of the Gods looked at the female Knight. She was now standing and looking at him with large unafraid eyes. Respectful she may be, considered Faeder, but brave and no man's fool. He beamed at her, a smile so radiant that it was almost perfect. It was a weapon that he had used over the ages to woo thousands of women. But she continued to gaze at him unflinching, her pea-green eyes silently sizing up the god before her as all warriors did when meeting anyone who was not a friend. His respect for Radha grew instantly. The only movement she made was the slightest of glances towards her male companion.
“I need you both,” began Faeder. “Originally I had sent Ladra to pursue my interests and steer things in my direction but new information has since come to light. It forces me to take a more direct hand.
“There is a power in the possession of the Dark Druid called the Glove of Junives. It gives the wearer the might of Junives. As an irony, only a mortal can wear the glove. I need you to retrieve it and return it to me. The stones need to be separated again to keep the universe in check.”
“If what you say is true, how do we fight someone so powerful?” asked Radha. “You might as well ask us to push against the wind.”
“There is a child out there, Knight Protector of Kel'akh,” responded Faeder. “Currently he is in Rabi'a in western Nah'cho. Your Knight Captain, along with a team of Troopers, is there now protecting the child.”
“Abram,” stated Meuric. Radha looked at him sharply.
Faeder smiled. “He is a Child of Junives. That boy and that boy alone has the Gift to nullify all magick. All he has to do is be near the Kosmos Stones. When that happens, the Dark Druid will be as vulnerable as anyone else.”
“Our magick will also be included in that,” noted Meuric.
Faeder recalled that the Daw'ra man had already had experience of that. He held up his hands. “I did not say that it would be easy. But the protection of Abram is of the greatest importance. But know this. Right now Knight Protectors from around the world have been targeted for assassination. The two of you have already fought off your attackers. Many others will not. When enough of you are dead Wardens Keep will be assaulted.”
“But why?” asked Radha, anguish in her voice.
“Out of the whole of the world the Knight Protectors and the Conclave are the only organisation that has the strength and the capability to defend Abram. With you out of the way the child will be an easier target.”
“Why not just kill him?” asked Meuric.
“As far as we can ascertain it is the Dark Druid's hope to turn the boy to his side. If that fails then he will kill him. We think that his end game is to replace Junives. Our only saving grace is that the Dark Druid does not seem to realise the power that he possesses.”
He looked to both Knights. “This is a quest for all our futures that I ask you to undertake. But I must leave the final decision down to you both.”
“If I may, my Lord King,” added Ladra. Faeder nodded and stepped back. “You must be made aware that the Dark Druid travels with Malitia, the Goddess of Malice. It is she who steers the dark mage's dreams. In reality they are probably her own. She cares nothing for mortals. We do not know yet what her ultimate aim is but considering that her pawn seeks to replace Junives and that she is one of the Dark Ones it is not hard to guess. We ask you both to travel to Rabi'a and meet up with Petros. Hide the child somewhere safe until such time that we can formulate a plan.”
“And if we do not?” asked Meuric.
“You must,” roared Faeder. Desperation forced him to cry out. “We need you to do this. We need you to win this.” He needed them to fight to the last man; to their last breath if need be. “Do not make a god beg, Meuric,” said Faeder. He offered a weak chuckle. “I know that this is no easy choice for you and you can walk away if you so wish but if Malitia wins you will have to watch the world disintegrate around you. On the other hand if you stay and protect Abram⦠well you already know how that ends. Give it some thought at least.”
As one, Ladra and the King of the Gods turned and moved off outside the palisade. By their third step they stood before Faeder's massive Throne Room in the Great Hall. Ladra stopped moving but Faeder continued on, growing in size and stature, until gargantuan in mass. Finally he turned about and sat.
“Will they do it?” asked Ladra. “Will they go to Rabi'a?”