The Secret of the Golden Gods Omnibus Edition

by Pedro Urvi

  Kyra was excited by the possibility. “Then she saved him? Could she save Mother?”

  “Yes, she saved him. It’s risky letting yourself be guided by a story like that… more fiction than reality… but we could try.”

  “Risky?” Ikai said. He shook his head. “It’s a lot more than that. It’s irrational, if not downright crazy.”

  Kyra ignored her brother’s comment. “Do you believe the story?” she asked Idana.

  Idana thought about this for some time, then nodded. “Yes, I believe what my father told me is true. He had no reason to lie to me, even more so considering it’s such a weird family story.”

  “It sounds to me as though it’s no more than myth and folklore,” Ikai said. He sounded unconvinced. “A story told around the fire to scare the children at dinnertime and entertain the adults.”

  Albana had said nothing until then. Now she did: “As a general rule, there’s always a glimpse of truth behind myth and folklore. And sometimes a lot. We shouldn’t dismiss the story too easily. There might be some truth in it.”

  Ikai shook his head again. “I’d need more than that to make me believe in something so illogical.”

  Urda rarely expressed her opinion, but this time she did: “I’m with Ikai on this. There are many strange stories among our Senoca beliefs. They don’t have to be true. This one seems quite incredible.”

  “Is there anybody in the Shelter from the Fourth County who could corroborate the story?” Albana asked.

  “Isaz comes from the Fourth County!” Kyra said. “He’s always telling me about it.

  “I’ll go and fetch him,” Albana said, and slipped away.

  When Isaz came in, with Albana following him, he greeted them all politely and shook his head when he saw Solma’s state.

  He listened attentively as Idana told him her grandfather’s story. When she had finished, he stroked his chin and considered what he had heard.

  “This business about the Witch of the Lake is bad, very bad,” he said at last. “We shouldn’t go bothering her.”

  “So you’ve heard of her?” Ikai asked.

  “We know of her in the Fourth County… and we know that disturbing her ends in death, nine times out of ten. It’s a bad thing even to talk about her. The Hunters can never locate her. They’ve tried unsuccessfully, time and again. When they get to the lake they lose her trail completely, just as if it had vanished into thin air.” He looked around him with his shoulders hunched, as if worried that the Witch might hear him.

  Ikai found the trapper’s strange behavior puzzling. “I didn’t take you for a superstitious man, Isaz. You’re intelligent and experienced. How come this witch from your own land scares you?”

  “The Witch of the Lake is an evil being, a creature with Dark Power. She sacrifices beasts and humans to drink their blood. She takes babies away in the night, sacrifices them and drinks their blood so she can live forever. She’s been by that lake close to a thousand years. Some say even more, that she was already there when we were enslaved.”

  “But that’s impossible,” Ikai said. “She’d be dead by now.”

  “Not if she rejuvenates herself through her sacrifices,” Isaz said. He made a protective sign to Father Girlai.

  “But have you heard that she’s ever cured people?” Kyra asked.

  Isaz nodded. “Those who seek her out do so for different reasons: some for gold, others for glory, still others for miraculous cures. With those she doesn’t kill and eat, she names a price for their requests. A very high price, which many can’t or don’t wish to pay, but once it’s fixed she won’t let them refuse. And yes, I know she’s cured people of illnesses and deformities which the surgeons and apothecaries were unable to.”

  Ikai was infected by Isaz’s unease. “I don’t like this at all,” he said,

  Kyra looked at her mother’s pale face, then turned to the group. “Idana thinks there’s a chance, and Isaz has confirmed it. I’m going to see this Witch. I don’t care about the risk or the price she asks in return. I’m determined!”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Ikai said curtly.

  “But we have to go. Mom’s dying, we’re losing her!”

  “Don’t be hasty. Let me think…” Ikai said. He needed a break before he could make the right decision.

  Kyra clenched her fists. “There’s nothing to think about. I’m going!”

  “Kyra, for the love of Oxatsi!” he scolded her. “Does anybody have any other idea?”

  Albana stepped forward. “I do.”

  “Go ahead, we’re listening,” said Ikai, and glared at his sister.

  “It’s as farfetched and risky as the one we already have, if not more so. But it is a chance...”

  “What? Go on, then. Explain.”

  “All right then, here you are. We could kidnap Miratos, Sesmok’s Personal Surgeon, and bring him here to take care of Solma. There’s no better or more experienced surgeon within the entire Boundary.”

  There was silence as they all considered the suggestion. Surprisingly, Urda was the first to speak.

  “It’s a really dangerous idea,” she said, frowning. “Miratos is the second most well-protected man, after Sesmok himself. An Elite Guard stays with him day and night. Nobody can get near him, because he’s the only man the Regent trusts.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” Kyra snapped without even pausing to think. “I don’t care how well protected he is, we’ll kidnap him and that’s that. And we’ll get rid of anyone who gets in our way.”

  “What, a whole Elite Guard Regiment?” Ikai said. He shook his head. “I understand it’s an alternative, Albana, but as you said yourself, a very dangerous one. Besides, we’d have to go to the Capital, into the wolf’s den. We’re wanted there. There’s a price on our heads. To kidnap Sesmok’s Surgeon, in his home territory, under his very nose, seems near-suicidal to me.”

  “I’d already said it was farfetched,” Albana said. “A thousand things might go wrong… the incursion, the actual kidnap, getting away…”

  Ikai turned to Idana and put his hands on her shoulders. He gazed into her eyes and said: “I trust your judgment, Idana. We have two alternatives. And frankly they’re both pretty unviable and hard to carry out. Which would you recommend?”

  Idana sighed and pondered her answer.

  “Miratos is the best and wisest Senoca Surgeon. A man of proven worth. I’d say that’s the most rational choice. But faced with this unusual illness of Solma’s, I honestly believe it’s out of reach of a Surgeon’s knowledge, even if he is the best. My instinct tells me we need the Witch. I may be wrong, though.”

  “Thank you, Idana,” Ikai said. “My head tells me Miratos is the most sensible option, but for once ‒ and I hope I don’t live to regret it ‒ I’m going to listen to what my instinct tells me, which is the same as your own, Idana. We’ll go with the option of the Witch of the Lake.”

  “I hope I’m not making a mistake,” Idana said with a grimace.

  “I hope none of us are.”

  “All right, then,” Kyra said. “We’ll set out for the Fourth County at dawn,”

  Ikai turned to his sister. “No, Kyra, you’re not coming. I need you here.”

  “Of course I’m coming! She’s my mother, and nothing’s going to stop me!”

  “If we both go and both of us die, what’ll happen to Mother? What’ll happen to the Shelter and these people? Have you thought of that?”

  “But… I need to do something! I can’t just stay here doing nothing, watching Mom slowly die!”

  “You stay here and protect her till I come back. Both her and the Shelter.”

  “Why can’t I go and you stay?”

  “Think with your head and not your heart, sister. Which of the two is best prepared for an expedition to some faraway mountains, to face dangers, to kill if necessary?”

  Kyra had a sharp retort ready, but she bit her tongue.

  “Take care of Mother and the Shelter until I come ba
ck. That’s your mission. I know you don’t like it, but I need you to do it.”

  She waved her arms furiously. “Oh, to hell with it!”

  “Thank you, sister. I’m counting on you.”

  “I’ll help her,” Urda said. “You can be easy in your minds.”

  Ikai was grateful for this. He thanked her with a smile.

  “Isaz, will you guide us to this lake in the mountains?”

  The hunter shook himself as if he were shivering, then let his shoulders sag. “I’ll guide you there, but I think it’s a terrible idea. Most likely we won’t come back.”

  “That won’t stop me.”

  “I’ll come with you. To make sure you live a little longer,” Albana said with a roguish grin.

  “Thanks,” said Ikai, and grinned in his turn.

  He gave a final look at his mother in her bed, then turned to his sister and friends, one by one, and said:

  “It’s decided, then. We leave at dawn.”

  Chapter 9

  It was mid-morning when Karm and Honus saw the little village from the ash forest where they were hiding.

  “What do you think? Shall we risk it?” Karm asked. As he spoke, he was looking out for any sign of danger.

  Honus hunched his substantial body to hide himself behind some bushes. “Be damned if I know!”

  “It looks like a quiet village. I can’t see any sign of either the Guard or the Enforcers.”

  “Huh. That doesn’t mean the villagers won’t turn us in the moment they set eyes on us. We’re a couple of bloody Pariahs now, and we’ll stand out from a league away.”

  Karm looked at his grumpy friend. Honus was right; their appearance was pitiful. They were in rags, badly in need of a bath, and they had not eaten decently in the three weeks since their escape from the mine. All this time they had been in hiding, keeping away from roads and villages, lurking in the woods and scrub.

  “And what if the damn Hunters are after us? If we leave the cover of the forests the pigs will hunt us down.”

  Karm shook his head. “I doubt they’ll have sent Hunters after us. They’ll think we died in the fire. I don’t believe they even know we managed to escape. There was too much confusion.”

  “With my bad luck, you can bet they know!”

  “If they did, the Hunters would already have caught us. You and I aren’t exactly experts when it comes to hiding our trail…”

  “How am I supposed to know how to hide my trail if I’ve spent most of my life digging underground?”

  Karm laughed. “I don’t mean we should know how, just that all we know is how to dig tunnels, which means they’d have caught us by now.”

  “Maybe you’re right… I tell you something, I’m starving. My stomach is growling and I’d give anything for a piece of meat. And I’m well aware we don’t know how to hunt, so spare me!”

  “We’ve managed to survive till now, and that’s what counts, my friend.”

  “Yes, on berries, roots and a few fish from the river. I need something solid, or else I’ll faint!”

  “Then we’ll have to take the risk. There’s not much choice.”

  “All right,” Honus grumbled. “Let’s do it. But you do the talking. You know that’s not my thing.”

  A smile crept over Karm’s face. It was true enough. He would have to be careful. To be captured after managing to escape from that underground hell would be devastating. Although dying of hunger would be even worse.

  They left the forest and approached the village, slowly, keeping a wary eye on everything around them. It was small, a community of farmers, with fields spreading around a dozen plain wooden houses. A little to the east were half a dozen more houses, with a clear brook running between both communities. The size of the village was not big enough to hold a garrison, which eased Karm’s stomach. It seemed to have taken on a life of its own, what with hunger and nerves.

  They came to a square where several small children were playing happily: they still wore no Rings.

  Enjoy your freedom as long as you can, little ones. You’ll lose it soon enough, and you’ll never get it back.

  “Who’s there?” an old voice challenged them.

  Karm and Honus turned to find a white-haired peasant with a wrinkled face. He looked about sixty, but seemed to have lived more than a hundred. Such was life and the struggle for survival. Three women ran out from the houses, fear in their eyes for the lives of their children, whom they gathered and carried away in a hurry. The square was soon deserted.

  “Good morning,” Karm said. He raised his hands to show that they were unarmed. “We mean you no harm.”

  “What do you want, then?” the old man asked. There was distrust in his black eyes.

  “Something to eat. It’s been days since we had a bite.”

  “We’re all hungry. That’s the sign of the Senoca.”

  “Because of the bloody Gods!” Honus barked.

  At this the old man stepped back in fear.

  “Forgive my friend,” Karm hastened to say. He glared reproachfully at Honus. “That’s hunger speaking. He doesn’t really know what he’s saying.”

  The old man looked doubtfully at the two fugitive miners for a moment. Several other figures began to appear in doorways, watching them.

  “That’s blasphemy, and the punishment for that is death. It’s against the Law of the Gods. If the Enforcers heard, we’d all be punished.”

  “It won’t happen again, I promise,” Karm said. He raised a finger to his friend in warning.

  “They’re Pariahs,” a woman said in an unsteady voice from one of the houses. “We can’t trust them. They could kill and rob us,”

  She was middle-aged, and the fear on her face mirrored that of all the others.

  “We’re only asking for a little food and water, then we’ll go on our way,” Karm pleaded. “You’ve nothing to fear from us,”

  Several men arrived in the square, armed with hoes and rakes. “We can’t risk helping them,” said the one in the lead. “The Enforcers…”

  There was silence. The fugitives watched the farmers. They could understand their fear of Pariahs, and most of all of Enforcers. Nobody moved for a long moment, and the touch of the wind on the roofs was all that could be heard.

  At last the old man spoke. “Come to my house. I’ll take you in.”

  “Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts,” Karm said in surprise. He and Honus hurried after the man.

  The old man offered them what little food he had: a spiced soup, smoked meat and fish, cheese and nuts. The two friends ate as if this were the best feast they had ever enjoyed.

  The old man introduced himself as he brought a jug of water. “My name is Adas.”

  “I’m Karm, and this big guy is Honus.”

  “We were starving to death,” Honus said as he bit off a strip of meat.

  The old man smiled. “You certainly look a mess. I have some clothes that belonged to my son. I’ll go and fetch them. Behind there is a basin of water. You’d better clean yourselves up a bit. I don’t fancy ending my days with the stink you two are spreading around you.”

  When he came back with the clothes Karm asked him: “Why are you helping us?”

  Adas scratched his temple. “I wanted to remember what it felt like to do something that defied fear. I wanted to remember what it felt like to do the right thing. We’ve been at the mercy of terror for so long, we’ve forgotten even the most basic humanity. But this old Senoca does remember. Helping those in need is something that should always be done, not letting oneself be intimidated. You’re Senoca, just like me. You need help, and I can give it to you. I won’t let fear get the better of me. I won’t allow terror to defeat human decency once again.”

  “You’re a good man, a decent one,” said Honus. “There aren’t many like you left.”

  “There are some, but they’re so fearful they’ve forgotten who they once were.”

  “Perhaps one day they’ll remember,” Karm s
aid.

  The old man’s lips twisted into a half–smile. “I hope you’re right.”

  The two friends washed after taking the edge off their hunger, then put on the clothes Adas had brought out for them. They felt blissful.

  “Won’t your son need these?” Karm asked.

  Adas shook his head. “The Enforcers took him years ago.” He pointed to the Rings the miners wore. “I don’t know where, but I think it was to the mines. He was strong and tall. I’ve never seen him again and probably never will. My time is up. But I like to think that if he should escape, some tired old man from a little village would help him survive.”

  Karm understood and nodded. “Honus and I will be forever grateful to you.”

  “Go to the back. You’ll find two beds. Rest for the night. You’ll be able to go on your way tomorrow. I’ll beg some victuals from the neighbors and leave them in that satchel.” He indicated an old traveling bag on the table.

  “You’re a great man,” Honus said. “Your son must be very proud of you.” He stepped forward to hug the old man.

  There’s still hope for the Senoca, Karm thought. His eyes were moist.

  The two friends slept as they had not for a long time. Karm even managed to dream: a pleasant dream, very different from the usual nightmares of darkness and pain which used to torment him in the mines.

  “I feel as if I’d slept for a hundred years!” cried Honus as he stretched his eye-catching muscles.

  Karm got to his feet and enjoyed the warmth of the morning which filtered through the window.

  Adas appeared at the door of the room carrying two bowls. “Goat’s milk,” he said with a smile. “You’re in luck.”

  “The luck was finding you,” Karm replied, and both friends drank the milk, which tasted to them like the finest of elixirs.

  “And to go with that…” Adas went on. He tossed them two slices of black bread.

  “I’ll put up a monument to you!” Honus said as he gulped down the bread.

  “The square out there is a big one,” said Adas. “There’s plenty of room!” All three of them laughed.