The Path of Dreams (The Tome of Law Book 2)

by Matthew W. Harrill

  “It is the Golem, it is draining the focus. That is why it hasn't taken us.” Zya felt the focus being absorbed, felt the redirection of her will being sucked into the Golem by its presence. Looking into the face of darkness, Zya remembered a phrase, the simplest phrase, a phrase that was used commonly a million times a day in a million different places. In her dream it had been a bizarre phrase that uttered in a nightmare, but it made sense to try it. Looking into the face of the creature, she uttered three simple words. “I love you.”

  Everything stopped. The Golem froze, and the drawing of Zya's focus halted. The air seemed to shudder around them.

  “Now! Let us get out of here!” The Duke yelled, and grabbed Zya by the arm. They ran through the alcove, Ju close behind as he fired a volley of arrows into the mercenaries who now swarmed after them. The Duke locked the heavy wooden door as they ran down a different passageway, and then Zya remembered where they were supposed to go.

  “We need to leave, don't we Ju?”

  “Absolutely,” the boy agreed.

  “Wait. First you need to tell me why my sword suddenly acts as if it were alive whenever you two are around.” Duke Hester was insistent. “They will come through soon enough, and we shall be ready.” He indicated the two ranks of archers lined up along verandas on either side of the hallway. The room was a semi-circle, focussed on the doorway through which they had come.

  “You are going to slaughter them? That's monstrous.”

  “Zya, they would do the same to us.”

  “Intent is everything, Zya,” Ju reminded her, “and it is the only way to save them.”

  Zya smiled grimly. “We all use the Law to our advantage, whoever we are. The sword that you carry is enchanted somehow. I cannot tell you much more than that, and also the fact that it is linked to my dagger, and Ju's bow. We were given these weapons by my father, but as to where your sword came from I cannot tell.”

  “It is an heirloom,” Hester replied, as he looked down its engraved surface. Double edged, it was gleaming and looked brand new. “I would make a supposition and say that it came from the same source. Judging by my ancestors deeds, it is probably safe to say that they stole it from someone while on a raid.”

  “Why they are linked remains a mystery,” Zya continued, “but perhaps there are others.” “Different weapons meant all for some grand purpose?” Hester mused out loud.

  “Perhaps,” Zya agreed.

  A resounding boom came from the door, making them jump.

  “They are coming! Places, men. Shoot anything that comes through that door, man or otherwise!” Hester turned to his two guests. “Now is the time you should go, is it not?”

  Ju nodded urgently. “If we do not leave, we will be stuck here. Our chance is now. We must take it.”

  “Go then, and the God's speed to you both. I pray we shall meet again. Cameron, Joshua, accompany my guests to the dock, and see that no harm comes to them.”

  The two named guards stepped forward to lead them away, but Zya stood as if in a trance. “We will meet again, Duke Hester. You can count on it. Pray also that we meet in better circumstances.”

  The mysterious look in her eyes was enough to convince him that the words she spoke were sincere. “Go then, and I look forward to our next encounter.”

  The guards nodded to their Lord, and led the two out to safety. It was only moments later that the door splintered with another boom, and finally burst inwards. Hester peered through the dust, and for a moment saw O'Bellah stood there with something in his hand. Then the fighters poured through. Yelling with fury, the outlanders were silenced just as quickly as they were mown down with arrows. But it was not enough. Warriors and mercenaries ran through quicker than archers could aim and fire, and soon there was a knot of resistance.

  “Through the door! Follow the girl!” O'Bellah bellowed to his men. More of the numb-faced mercenaries stood there taking arrows while the conscious ones ducked behind. Because they had no concept of pain, it took many more arrows to fell them, and by the time Hester led a counter attack, the mercenaries were through and gone. The dead piled several deep, as was intended when one Duke built this particular hall, but it was no good. O'Bellah had still made it through with a sizeable force.

  “What do we do now, my Lord?” Asked one of his captains.

  “There are rats loose in my palace, captain,” he replied as he held his sword up to his face, “we have to go and catch them.”

  Zya did not even bother to look behind her as she ran through courtyards and under the sturdy wooden bridges that made up the Duke's coastal estates. The heavy footfalls and shouts they had been hearing had grown steadily louder. It was obvious that they were being chased, being hunted down by a pack that would show them not an ounce of mercy. She hated to admit it to herself, but she was struggling with the pace. The two guards were hardy and fit, and could run for days on end so it seemed. Ju as well had been running from one end of the city to the other, and found the pace easy. Zya did not want to believe the fact but the secular existence while she had learned about focussing, even for a couple of moons, had robbed her of the fitness she used to enjoy. Breathing heavily, she managed to gasp out a sentence. “I cannot keep this up. Go on ahead.”

  “No, we will stop.” It was Ju that had replied.

  The guards looked around them. “Through here.” Indicated Joshua, and they ran through a narrow side-passage and out into a different road. Shouts and footfalls went past the other end of the passage. They had been so lucky, and they all knew it.

  Holding onto her stomach, Zya heaved in great gulps of air. When she had recovered enough to look up, she was presented with a sight that puzzled her. They were stood so it seemed halfway up a street of shops. In the twilight there were dark shadows where signs hung, and glinting reflections of the early moon above. “What is this place?” She asked.

  “The Duke's private town, called Dukestown by many.” Cameron whispered as he watched the passage for any pursuers.

  “But who lives here?”

  “The household staff, the private army.” Came the whispered reply.

  “But where are they?”

  “You may have forgotten in the excitement Zya, but it is the Festival of Growth today.” Ju grinned as ever he did when he was able to get a dig in. “They are not here because they are out celebrating. The one day they have to get away from their daily life was today.”

  “Through here! Voices!” Came the deep cry from the other side of the passageway.

  “Run!” Zya cried, and bolted towards the darkness. What possessed her to run so fast so suddenly she never knew, but before any of the others could react several mercenaries beset the two guards. Flowing into action, they defended while Ju did his best to incapacitate. The mercenaries were as confused by the sudden change of scenery as Zya was, and it was their undoing. Even though they were outnumbered, it was easy work for Cameron and Joshua. After they had dragged the bodies out of the way, they stood quietly drawing breath, listening for any others. There were none.

  “Did either of you see where Zya went?” Asked Ju. There was no sign of her.

  “Sorry lad, we were concentrating on the enemy.” Joshua replied as he checked his blade for nicks.

  Cameron looked at his brother guard, a stare that Ju could not entirely make out in the darkness. “Why don't we split up and see if we can find her? Either road leads down to the dock.”

  Joshua nodded and moved silently off down the main road of Dukestown.

  “Come on lad, let us see if we can't find her ourselves.” The tone in Cameron's voice gave Ju no reassurance at all, and he remained silent as he followed the guard into the darkness.

  The deepest shadows became a blur for Zya, flying by with the speed of the swiftest bird, a collection of deep colours mixed with deeper shades. She ran without thought, without any conscious decision. If there were buildings along the path, she did not notice them. She stared straight ahead at all times, and did not feel it
when the stone beneath her feet began to shift and change. If she had looked down she would have seen the road fall away beneath her opening up as a great void filled with distant stars. She ran on, drawn deep into herself by the shock of the mercenaries, her eyes drawn to the beautiful but very distant light. It was silver, and nebulous. Gradually, her fright over the mercenaries subsided and she became more aware of the gleaming expanse in front of her. The stars, the darkness had disappeared from beneath her and now Zya was running on a bed of silver sand that shifted with a wind that she could not feel. Her footsteps erased by the strange surface as soon as she passed, Zya did not look back. There was no way back to where she had come from. The sand rippled and beams of pure white light shot out at her, but she was not afraid, did not look away. The horizon began to turn a light shade of blue, and azure glow at the farthest point that the eye could see. Above her, the stars gathered, closer and closer until they appeared to fill the entire sky before her. Something bade her slow down, reassured her that she was safe. Zya fretted silently that somehow the sand would not bear her weight.

  “Do not let that worry you, daughter of Ilia. I would not let that happen, not in this place.”

  The words somehow boomed, and yet were spoken inside her mind as the tiniest of whispers. It took much for Zya to concentrate on one aspect of the voice, so elusive was it. “Where am I?” Zya asked simply, giving up on trying to get her bearings in this vast desert of the night.

  “You have been brought to my place of eternal residence, where I spend forever casting my eye over all who care to look up at me.” The voice now came to Zya as one so beautifully feminine that only the perfect woman could have spoken it. The lilt was so musical and distant, yet warming and close. Zya felt instantly comforted by it, at ease in the very depths of her troubled soul. “Fear and angst are feelings for another time, another place,” the voice soothed, welcomed, and instantly all thoughts were banished from her mind.

  Zya stared into the light, trying to seek out the source of the voice. There was no obvious reason for her to look this way other than the light, but she led her hand up trying to see past the dazzling brightness. “Who are you?” She wondered aloud.

  “You know the answer already, deep within yourself, Zya S'Vedai. I have brought you before me to tell you this. The dreams you have had were but the beginning. They have significance, but significance unlike any of those who have gone before you would realise. Your dreams cover a wider vision, and it is up to you to realise that vision before it is too late. Time continues to pass you by, and you are but one of a few that will need to survive the coming darkness. Remember Zya, the gates aligned focus the mind to cross the bridge. Seek out the gates, and use the knowledge that you gain to open or close them as you see fit.”

  “But where shall I look?” Zya squinted. There was a humanoid form behind the light, but it was encompassed in the eldritch glow, far too bright for the eyes of a mere human.

  “You are already looking in the right places. Seek within yourself for the final answer. You shall have seven dreams. Over the course of the seven you will learn certain truths if you have the fortitude to withstand and survive. It will not be easy.”

  “I don't understand the relevance.”

  “One seeks to change your world at a level more profound than most could understand. Your world cannot take this. At the end, you must destroy it all if you cannot preserve it. The world was not meant for this.”

  “Not meant for what?”

  The glowing being ignored her question, and continued. “Your dreams, Seer of the Law, shall be the seven dreams of the Gods.” The light faded just enough that Zya could make out the form in front of her. Robed only in a silver glow, the lithe body gleamed in the light. The silver hair matched the colour of the skin, the only difference being the reflection of the face in the silvered chest that marked the being as female, if such a distinction was possible. There was one difference, that being the eyes. They were completely blue, and looked into Zya's soul. She knew exactly who she was seeing. Ondulyn reached out and trailed her fingers down Zys's face. “This is the first. Go now, make your way to my brothers domain, for it is the only route to safety.” The light dimmed just enough for her to have one better glimpse of the glowing being in front of her, and then it brightened to the point she had to close her eyes in pain.

  “Zya? Can you hear me?”

  In the darkness Zya's senses began to return to her. The pain remained. “Ondulyn? Moon Goddess?”

  “She knocked herself out good and proper,” another voice observed, “let us get her to her feet. We need to get away from here.”

  In the distance came the distinct ring of sword against sword. Zya opened her eyes slowly, trying to see who held her in the near-darkness. “Ju? Is that you?”

  “It's certainly no Moon goddess. She resides up there.” Ju pointed, and Zya followed his gaze. A great white moon hung low in the sky.

  “What happened to me?”

  “Feel your forehead. That might answer your question.”

  Zya touched tentative fingers to her face, and winced at the pain.

  “Best guess we can give is you ran flat into something during your little moment of panic.” The voice was Cameron, the guard that had been with her since the great hall.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Not a great deal of time. We were attacked and fought them off, and then came after you. I think we should best be getting to the dock though. If the ship is still there, then time is wasting.” Ju turned to walk on towards the sea, and the next moment he was lying flat on his back. Cameron turned round to her, and for a moment Zya thought that he had run the boy through.

  Dropping the cudgel he had hidden from them both until now, Cameron approached her warily, stalking her like a cat would stalk vermin. “Oh I don't think you need to worry about the fighting. They are a world away from here, from you and I.”

  Cameron closed on her, and Zya came to realise very quickly that he was a very dangerous man. Even in the dark there was a gleam to his eyes that equalled the cunning of O'Bellah, and perhaps the viciousness as well. He reached for her, and she batted his hand away. “Leave me alone, I'm warning you.”

  In response Cameron hit her with a backhand of such ferocity that she flew backwards into the front of a shop and crumpled in a dazed heap to the ground. “You do not tell me what to do, woman. You are no wizard, nor any sort of important person. I know you for what you are, just as I knew that whore that married my Duke. You would supplant him, bitch. I will not let you do that. I will show you what you should face should you ever come here again.” Zya felt hands reaching over her, but fortunately she was barely aware of what was happening. She did not feel the hand between her legs, seeking out her most private parts, trying to separate her robes. She could not see the lust in Cameron's eyes, the flecks of spittle that hung from his chin as he tried to molest her in the dark. She wondered instead about Ju. Zya could not reach him.

  “Step away from the girl,” a voice spoke out of the darkness.

  The hands removed themselves from her, just inches away from their goal, and the moon's reflection intruded itself upon her confused eyes. “What are you? Some kind of mercenary with scruples?” Cameron's much harsher voice, thick with lust and annoyed at being interrupted, growled.

  “Perhaps I am,” the voice replied, “but at least I can attest to the fact as I have never raped a girl.”

  “Well you can swear that before the Gods, when I am finished with you!” Cameron shouted, and drew his sword. The clash of swords and resulting sparks indicated that the newcomer was ready for this, and the battle that ensued did a lot to wake Zya from the stupor that had come over her. The din made her ears ring, but she managed to gather her wits enough to look around her. Ju was on his side, blood seeping from what surely must have been a nasty cut to his head. Zya reached over to him, and pulled his inert body closer to her.

  He groaned in response, “Mother?”
r />   “You wish,” she replied, “call me sister maybe.”

  “Zya? What happened?”

  “Cameron has lost his wits. He is very dangerous, tried to kill you, rape me, and only the intervention of one man has saved us.”

  “Ju tried to look round, but groaned and nearly collapsed. He shivered from the shock of the assault, but stared out into the shadows where the two men fought. It was a ferocious battle, both of the men very competent swordsmen. Even in the moonlight there was no clear advantage. One would strike low, and the other would parry low. Thrusts were met with counter thrusts, chops angled off by the opponent's blade. In the moonlight they fought like avatars of the Goddess that Zya had seen or thought she had seen only moments ago, silvery monarchs in their world of white light and darkest shadow.

  “Zya, we have to get out of here.” Ju insisted.

  “Can you walk?” She asked.

  “I could probably fly if it would get me to the ship. It is late though. They may have left without us already. We may be stranded here.”

  “We will have to take our chances.” Injured and dazed as they were, Zya and Ju managed to get to their feet and make achingly slow progress down the street towards the dock. The key was to not let anybody know they had gone. Zya knew as soon as Cameron spotted them, he would move in for the kill. Even now she could hear his battle roars as he tried to unsettle the mysterious opponent. They eventually made it to a point where they were nearly out of sight of the combatants when Ju turned to her. “We should help that stranger. He is doing us a favour.” Without pausing for breath, Ju unslung his bow from its accustomed resting place on his shoulder and notched an arrow.

  “Ju wait. You don't know who is who.”