The Mountains Rise (35 page)

After
a
period of some ten minutes
,
Daniel relented. Aston was still conscious, though his face was covered with tears,
snot, and mucus. Drool ran freely from his mouth.
Turning to Larry Banks
,
Daniel discovered that the man had already pissed himself.

“You’re a fine sight to see, Larry,” noted Daniel.

“Please,” begged the older man. “I’ll give you anything. I never should have hurt
your Dad. I’m sorry, please, I don’t deserve this.”

“Don’t deserve it?” said Daniel questioningly. “Of all those I’ve hurt today, you
deserve it most of all. In fact, you’re probably the only one I’m going to enjoy
punishing.”

“I wasn’t thinking clear, you killed my boy and Emily too,” blurted out Larry. “Anyone
would ha’ done the same in my place.”

“I did kill Ronnie,” said Daniel, leaning in close to stare into the man’s eyes.
“But he was an evil bastard. I caught him in the middle of trying to rape someone,
and his buddies had already nearly killed Seth Tolburn. He deserved what he got.”

Unable to restrain himself any longer Daniel gave Larry two hard strokes with the
whip, relishing the sound of his screams. “And Emily!” he shouted. “I can’t believe
you dare mention her name to me! She told me about how much you ‘loved’ her. You
sick son of a bitch.
”

More howls came as he laid into the helpless man again. “If she killed herself
,
it was to escape you!”

“I never touched her!” cried Larry, leaning back and then forward, doing all he could
to avoid the cruel touch of the whip.

“Don’t lie you
monster
, or I won’t stop ‘til you’re dead,” said Daniel coldly. He intended to kill Banks
anyway, but he preferred to leave the man with hope until the very end. Emily had
never told him directly what her father had done, but Daniel had a pretty good imagination
,
and he knew she hated the old man fiercely. Whatever it had been was probably pretty
terrible. Ronnie had probably turned out bad for similar reasons.

Pain, abuse, hatred, torture—
these things foster and nurture evil,
he thought.
They’ll ruin the heart and darken the soul. It may be too late for me, but at least
I can make sure this sick bastard never hurts another.

He knew that he had become the very evil that he sought to punish, but he no longer
believed in hope. Daniel had given himself over. He tortured the man
,
even as he screamed and begged, confessing his crimes against his family and crying
for mercy.

Daniel was so caught up in his frenzy that he almost failed to notice the small form
running toward him. At the last moment his mind alerted him
,
and he twisted,
throwing up a secondary shield which caused his attacker to rebound. Blades of force
appeared around his arms
instinctively,
and he swept one down to cut the offender in two. Daniel’s brain registered what
he was seeing almost too late
,
and he froze before making contact, the blade around his right arm bare inches from
the small girl’s face.

Blue eyes stared up at him, framed by wild dark hair. The girl had his eyes, though
something in her features reminded him of Emily. Her face was red and dirty, streaked
with tears. She had been screaming something
,
and belatedly his mind recalled the sounds and translated them.
“Don’t hurt my pawpaw!”
were the words she had hollered as she charged.

This must be Haley,
Daniel realized,
Emily’s daughter.

“Please,” begged Larry Banks, “Listen to her!”

Daniel turned to the older man, even more furious at the thought that the man who
had ruined two children already was now raising his child. “You think I should spare
your life?”

“Yes, please,” said Larry. “I’m all she has now.”

“I’ll give you a choice then,” said Daniel coldly. “Your life or the child’s, choose
one and I’ll spare
the other
.”

Larry Banks stared at him, wide eyes filled with tears while snot clung to his beard.
The offer stunned him at first
,
and he looked back and forth between his granddaughter and the man
who
had fathered her. Then his face twisted into a hateful expression, “Kill the girl
then! I’d rather live than raise your
ac
cursed spawn!”

Haley’s face was a picture of surprise. The girl registered her grandfather’s words,
but she couldn’t reconcile them with her image of him. She looked up at Daniel, fear
touching her face in place of the protective fury that had been there before.

Looking down, Daniel felt remorse as the terror in her eyes finally reached his darkened
heart. “Don’t worry, child. I won’t hurt you,” he whispered. Addressing Larry
,
he decided to finish his business, “Very well, Larry Banks. I’ll take this child
in place of your life
. Tell the people here what you’ve decided so no one questions it later.”

“She’s yours! I don’t want anything more to do with the bitch!” screamed Larry, in
a voice that mixed relief and shame. “Take her!”

Daniel stood straight,
backed
up a step
,
and
took
the girl’s hand in his own. She tried to pull away from him
,
but he held her hand tightly. Looking around
,
he saw that the entire town was watching with faces shrouded by resentment, fear,
and loathing. Fear seemed to be the predominant emotion at the moment, though.

Raising his voice he spoke to the assembled townsfolk, “My name is Tyrion Illeniel.
I was raised Daniel Tennick
,
but I’ve given up that name. My last words to you are a warning! If any harm falls
on the heads of those who were my family, there will be a reckoning. If any harm
comes to Seth Tolburn or his wife Kate, there will be a reckoning. If any harm comes
to their children or any others they care for, whether man or beast, there will be
a reckoning!
”

He stared at them, watching their faces before adding, “Do you understand me?!”

People nodded fearfully, but Alice Hayes spoke up, “What if someone else hurts one
of them?” She glanced around, as if uncertain everyone in the crowd would pay heed
to Daniel’s warning.

Tyrion
looked down the street toward the house that belonged to Larry Banks. With a smile
he held out his fist and sent a flaming sphere of incandescent fire at it. Seconds
later the building was engulfed in flames. The people gasped and cried out in panic,
but Daniel shouted them down. “If anything befalls them, I will come back and burn
every living soul in this town. I don’t give a damn for justice or fairness. So
,
I suggest you all keep an eye on your neighbors.”

The flames had begun to spread
,
but
Tyrion
tamped them out with his aythar before the rest of the town caught fire. “I will
be returning to the deep woods
,
and I won’t be back for many years, but when I do
, I will be prepared to ex
act revenge for any wrong done to those I have named.”

Pulling at Haley’s hand
,
he began to walk, moving in Alice Hayes direction.
Everyone in that direction moved away
,
but he pointed at Alice, “I’ll be looking for a delivery of lumber to my parent’s
house tomorrow morning.”

“How much?” she asked meekly.

“All of it,” he declared. “And from now on, anything they request, you will provide,
whether they’ve got credit or goods to trade or not.”

She knelt in the dirt, “Yes, Lord.”

Tyrion
kept moving, tugging at the girl’s hand, dragging her along with him.

“Let me go!” she cried, desperate to escape him when they got to the edge of town.

Bending over
,
Tyrion
caught her around the waist and picked her up, carrying her against his side while
she kicked and fought. “You should relax, Haley. Things will be better where I’m
taking you. That man didn’t deserve to raise another child.”

The words didn’t register on the girl, though, and she began to weep, crying and begging
him as he continued onward.

She can hate me if she wants,
he thought as he carried her.
In fact, it’s probably better for her if she does.

Everyone was inside when
Daniel
finally got back to Seth and Kate’s home. Alan was conscious and Helen was there,
fussing over him. Seth had gone to fetch her after
he
had left.

They all looked up expectantly when he entered the front door. Haley had gone silent
during the last part of his walk, so there was no noise to alert them before he came
in.

His mother was coming out of the bed
room and was the first to react.
“Daniel!”
she said, as if his name was enough to convey her question and worries.

He nodded in her direction before glancing at Kate and Seth. He was uncomfortable
meeting their eyes. “My name is Tyrion now,” he told her.

“What did you do?” asked Kate, her question serving dual purpose as an accusation.

Staring at the floor
,
he answered, “I made sure they’d never threaten any of you again.”

“What did you call yourself?” asked his mother.

“Tyrion,” he repeated. “Tyrion Illeniel. It’s the name they gave me and the only
one that matters anymore.”

Helen
was confused, “I don’t understand. What kind of name is that? You aren’t making
sense, Daniel.”

“It’s a slave’s name, Mother,” he replied harshly, “and it’s mine. It’s the only
thing I truly own now.”

“A slave?”

Seth had moved slowly across the room, approaching with some caution. “What’s that
under your arm, Daniel?”

Tyrion
looked down in surprise
.
The girl
had gone limp during his trip back, too tired to fight any more. His arm and shoulder
were numb
,
and his back had developed a dull ache
,
but he
had been ignoring the discomfort in such a thorough manner
,
that he had forgotten its source. “Oh,” he responded dully, lifting her with his
other arm and holding her out. “This is Haley Banks.”

“I recognize her,” said Seth soothingly. “Is it alright if I take her?” He was leaning
in with his hands up.

“Yeah,” said Tyrion.

“Why do you have her, Daniel?” asked his mother, somewhat insistent now.

“Tyrion,” he replied, giving her a harsh glare. “I don’t answer to the other name
anymore.”

Helen flinc
hed at his tone. In the twenty-
one years since she had given birth to her son he had never spoken to her in such
a voice, not even during his difficult teenage years. She didn’t know how to react
to the bitter man standing before her now.

Kate put a hand on Helen’s back as a gesture of support. “What happened? Why do
you want us to call you by a different name?”

He turned away, moving back through the doorway. “I don’t deserve the old one anymore.”

Catherine Sayer was no timid flower
,
and his attitude had roused her anger. “Don’t think you can just walk out that door,
Daniel Tennick
!” she growled behind him. “I want to know what happened.”

Even though his back was turned
,
Tyrion could see their actions clearly with his magesight. Kate started forward
,
and her husband gestured silently for her to stop, urging caution. She ignored him.

Seth always had more sense than either of us,
he thought silently.

Her hand caught the back of his shirt
,
and he suppressed the urge to take her in his arms. “Talk to me,” she said.

“I cut John Wh
eeler’s arm off. I branded him
and Billy Hedger before torturing Aston Hayes and Larry Banks in the middle of the
street. Then I threatened to burn everyone alive if they ever crossed you or my family
again
,
and I made my point by burning down Mr. Banks’
house,” said Tyrion coldly, rattling off his crimes in a nonchalant manner. “Now,
let go of my shirt.”

“No,” she answered calmly.

Her resolve almost stopped him. There was confidence in her voice and strength in
her hold on his shirt, but when he turned to face her
,
she flinched and he saw the white flash of fear in her aura.
She thought I was going to hit her.
That knowledge hurt him more than anything, and it made him angrier.

Gripping her wrist in his hand
,
he ripped
his shirt free
. She gasped in pain at the tight hold on her arm
,
but she glared defiantly back into his eyes. “You think I’m afraid of you Daniel?
That’s what you want isn’t it?” she accused. “Don’t waste your time!”

“You put up a brave front, but I can see the fear in your heart, Kate.
” Pushing her away he raised a shield between them to prevent her from getting close
again. “You’re right to be afraid.”

Helen had listened to enough, “Daniel, don’t you dare talk like that!” She came up
abruptly when she reached the barrier that separated him from the rest of the room.
“What’s this?”

“I’m leaving,” he told them. “They will be delivering new lumber in the morning
,
and I plan on using it to finish what I started. Leave my breakfast outside the
barn.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep in your room?”

Tyrion answered by closing the door on her question. Inside
,
silence reigned
,
and he could see them glancing at one another, unsure what to say. Walking down
the path, he moved toward the trees that covered that side of the trail. Sleeping
in the rough wouldn’t be difficult for him.

***

The next morning he found a cold plate of eggs and sausage outside the barn when he
arrived. He could feel two people in his parent’s house, but one of them was new,
Haley
Banks
.
She must have come home with his mother. Alan Tennick
wasn’t present.
He probably won’t be fit to come home for at least another day or two.

He waited, sitting on the far sid
e of the barn until mid-morning
when two wagons from Colne appeared. They were driven by Tom Hayes and his son,
Aston, and each was heavily burdened with lumber. He walked out to meet them when
they drew up in the yard.

“Daniel,” said Mr. Hayes, tipping his hat and nodding timidly. Both he and his son
looked like they would rather be anywhere else in the world just then.

He stared coldly back at them, “Call me Tyrion.”

“Forgive me, Tyrion,” answered the older man nervously, executing a half bow. “Where
would you like us to unload the wagons?”

“Just move out of the way,” he told them. Focusing his mind
,
he created a shield beneath the wood stacked in each wagon and used it to lift the
entire load at once. Both wagons were empty in less than half a minute
,
and their contents were now on the ground beside the barn.

Aston watched him fearfully, with eyes that reminded Tyrion of a dog that had just
been whipped.
Did I look like that after Thillmarius treated me to his educational punishments?
He decided that he probably had.

“You can go now,” he said dismissively. “Just remember what I said yesterday.”

They left as quickly as two men could
,
without running or trying to whip their teams into a frenzy. Tyrion watched them
go before switching his attention to the supplies that they had brought. There was
far more than he needed
,
but he had expected that.

I’ll finish the new pen, add a couple of stalls and leave the rest. That way he won’t
have to worry about going into town for more later.

He worked for a few hours until the sun was high overhead. Helen had finished lunch
and was approaching from the other side of the barn. Tyrion created another shield,
this one large enough to keep her at least twenty feet away. He added a faint shimmer
so that she wouldn’t run into it without warning.

“Daniel? Are you hungry?” she asked, stopping at the edge of his boundary. The sympathy
in her eyes burned his conscience like acid.

Gritting his teeth he answered, “Leave it where you left breakfast.”
He kept his eyes on his work, refusing to meet her gaze.

Helen didn’t leave, though. She remained, watching him quietly for several minutes,
trying to find the right words. “No matter how bad it is, or what you’ve done, you
are still my son,” she stated. “At least if you talk to me
,
I can understand better what’s happened.”

Silence was his only reply.

“I know you may feel bad, or guilty. People do terrible things when they’re angry…”

“I don’t feel guilty,” he responded tonelessly. “I did
exactly
what I wanted.”

“Daniel…”

He turned his burning gaze on her then, “Daniel isn’t my name any more. Daniel might
have felt bad, or remorseful, but that isn’t me—not anymore.”

Helen refused to give in, “You can’t hide from your feelings son. If you…”

A sudden wind blew in, throwing sand into the air and forcing his mother to take a
step back. “I don’t think you understand. What happened yesterday, that was nothing.
I’ve done far worse. That was the closest thing to what
you
would consider mercy that I have left in me.
”

Tyrion used his aythar to still the wind. He hadn’t intended to let his emotions
get the better of him. It felt as if the air was responding to him without the need
for him to use his power, but he knew that couldn’t be right. His feelings were clouding
his judgment.

“We are not done talking about this!” shouted Helen, trying to make herself heard
over the
roaring wind that vanished in the middle of her sentence.

Smoothing his face Tyrion turned, “You’re right. We can talk later, but not now.
Let me think, give me time.”

She accepted that as a small victory and left him alone.

***

He finished the work he had planned, but he didn’t go into the house, choosing to
sleep outdoors again.
The next day he took the flock out. They’d been penned the day before, forced to
subsist on hay while he worked on the new stalls. They seemed eager to get to the
pastures now, and Lacy was certainly happy to go.

Tyrion was the only one in a dark mood, although even that was lightening. It was
impossible to stay grim in the face of so much sunshine and good weather. The air
was cool enough to balance the heat of the summer sun
,
and there were just enough clouds to give the fields a speckled appearance.

I’m going back tomorrow,
he thought.
Back home.

It no longer felt strange to think of his place with Lyralliantha as ‘home’. Four
and a half years in Ellentrea had reshaped his sense of self, remaking him into the
man he was now. Living with Lyralliantha had seemed soft, comfortable in comparison
to his previous isolation. He had dreamed of returning to his family, but now that
he had, he realized he no longer fit.

His family, Seth and Kate, even the people of Colne, they were different. Despite
what they had done to his father
,
they understood nothing of violence, pain, or cruelty. He had given them a small
taste
,
but ruining the last free people in the world wasn’t his goal.

I have to protect them from ‘me’, from the She’Har, from becoming
like
the
people of Ellentrea.

That made him
grumble to himself,
“I can’t protect anyone, even my family.” Once he returned
,
his life was guaranteed to be spectacularly short.

A man was approaching, too far to see yet,
but
he could identify him by his aura. Alan Tennick was limping along, using a staff
to assist himself.

What’s he thinking? He should be recuperating.

Tyrion went to meet his father, offering him his shoulder when they came together.
Neither of them spoke, which suited him just fine. They returned, more slowly now,
to the spot where he had been watching the flock.

Sitting a few feet apart a half an hour passed before Tyrion broke the silence, “You
shouldn’t be walking around yet.”

Alan shrugged, looking down at his leg, “It’s sore as hell, but you fixed the bone
up good. Might as well start stretching it out a
little
.”

“Your ribs were pretty bad too, and I don’t know what’s going to happen with that
lung.”

“They’ll get better or they won’t,” said his father, before lapsing again into silence.

Another hour passed
,
and finally Tyrion spoke again, “You’re a lot easier to not talk to than Mom.”

His father laughed, “Sometimes silence says more than words, no one knows that better
than a shepherd.”

“Yeah.”

“You did a good job with the pen, and I didn’t expect you to build extra stalls.”

He glanced at his father, “I won’t be coming back again
,
so I wanted to do as much as I could.”

“I gathered as much from Kate and your mother,” returned Alan.

“You don’t have anything t
o tell me? No admonishments or reproach?” asked Tyrion.

His father shook his head, “Nope.”

They sat still for a while before he finally replied, “That’s refreshing.”

Alan Tennick reached out casually and put his hand on his son’s shoulder, but he only
left it there for a few seconds before removing it. “You are what you are, son.
Your mother and I had something to do with it, but life has its way of shaping each
of us regardless of what others may want or expect. You’ve made mistakes
,
and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about them, but I certainly can’t judge you.”

Tyrion clenched his jaw, feeling his anger and frustration rise again. “I hate them
all.”

“The townsfolk?”

He nodded, “A bit, but mostly I mean the She’Har, and the people they’re keeping.
They’ve made me like them. I don’t belong here anymore.”

“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through,” said Alan. “But I do know
something about ‘becoming’
and hatred. Whatever else happens, don’t ever believe you have to ‘become’ anything.
You do what
you
want to do. Make your own choices.”

“I’m a slave,” reminded Tyrion. “I don’t get choices, that’s what it means.”

“You still get choices. You choose what you do, and you choose how you feel. They
might determine how long you get to make those choices, but you aren’t truly a slave
until
you
decide you are.”

He looked at his father, unsure of himself again. “What are you telling me? Do you
know what I should do?”

“I have no idea. Just don’t let fear make your decisions.” Alan struggled to get
back to his feet
,
and Tyrion leapt up to give him a hand.

“Do you need me to help you?”

His father waved him away, “I’ll make it back on my own. Just be sure you don’t miss
dinner.”