“I understand Fiera. I understand why you’ve been avoiding me since that incident in the valley.” She turned and though she glared at first, her expression softened. Her next words were nevertheless stiff.
“You’re a Spirit Follower. Not that that’s a bad thing but…why?”
“Because I believe in Elyon, the savior He is going to send, and Ruach, His spirit which will become our guide,” Caleb replied simply. He did not continue to explain. Fiera took his answer as sufficient for the time being. There was hardly any time left to speak of such things anyway for Kane’s eyes had fluttered open.
“Please, Cam, come back soon,” Fiera whispered through the vines of their prison door.
Twenty-Nine
Riah hid; from his father, Saffira, and even the servants. No one
shared his bed. He did not call it hiding. He studied, telling himself he had to pass his test of translations upon Leviathan’s return, which he was certain would be any day now.
The faces of those dying people echoed in his sleep, followed him as he walked in wakefulness. At times, he would shudder in a wave of guilt. Other times, he would only feel fire in his veins. Blood pumping at a far faster rate than normal. And furthermore, an urge to clench a fist as if around the hilt of a dagger...or a throat…
It filled him.
Before the urges came flashes of such an action that he stomped from his mind quickly. Now, he did not compel them to leave but...welcomed them. But he didn’t call them that. He just let it waver before fading.
There was a certain passage in one of the dusty volumes Leviathan had ordered him to study that always stumped him. This passage was leaving him irritated again, and Riah hurled it across his bedroom just as a knock sounded upon his door. With an irritated muttering under his breath, the prince trudged across the room and yanked opened the door.
A servant stood with hands clasped before her. Riah glared at her with the question in his eyes, “What?”
“Saffira Adriel awaits you in the throne room.” The servant said nothing more and left Riah leaning against his doorframe. He could not determine if he wished to see Saffira. Of course, he always wanted to see Saff, but she hardly ever awaited him. If she wished to see him, she would have come right up to see him.
He took his time down the winding marble stairs to find her pacing just within the throne room doors. “You wished to see me?” He asked without greeting as he pushed through the doorway.
Saffira turned on him with arms crossed. “Why is it I have to send a servant to see you now?” She did not glare as he might have expected to accompany these words. A tear trailed down her cheek, and her eyes were puffy and red as if she had been crying.
“What’s wrong?” Riah asked softly, stepping forward.
“Did youknowhewas goingto kill them?” Saffira whispered hoarsely.
“Kill who?” He neared her, concern etching his expression. He had never seen her so distraught.
“My people,” she gasped out. “All those people who were found poisoned in this very room…”Saffira wasn’t supposed to see that. Any of it. Riah cursed inwardly. “Your father…or that…that creature…they did this, didn’t they?” Riah’s mouth fell open, in surprise at her words of “my people.” Saffira took it the diverging way. “So they didn’t tell you?”
“They were your people? The Spirit Followers?”
Saffira’s expression turned from dejected to suddenly surprised and then to boiling anger. “So you did know,” she said in a hard tone. “You knew they would be killed.”
“I killed them,” Riah’s mind taunted. He swallowed the sickening guilt that rippled through this stomach and throat. He drew her into his arms, but she pushed him away roughly.
“You knew!” she screamed.
Riah’s expression hardened in a stony mask. “You are a Spirit Follower.” It wasn’t a question. “You never told me.”
“Do you remember when your father nailed those rebels to the trees thirteen years ago? Do you remember their death and nakedness?” Riah gaped, confused. He was startled when she screamed, “Do you remember!” The prince stumbled back and collided with the throne room door. Saffira’s voice lowered to a whisper. “My father was one of those. I do not remember it, Riah. But my brother and my mother carry that burden and will until their lives end. And now, I am beginning to understand. Those people…they were my friends. And you let them die.”
The truth was, Riah had barely remembered it. His mother had not allowed him to attended the crucifixion. He had been quite young then. So had Saffira. Riah swallowed hard, and his own eyes glazed over. His lips parted to utter something, anything that would sound apologetic.
Saffira only shook her head as the tears continued to spill over her cheeks. “I am going home now. Do not summon me. Do not come to me. Stay away.” Then she had vanished into the overcast day, and Riah was left alone in that throne room still seeing the spilled blood of the man whose throat he had slit. He saw it even when he had long since been cleared away.
Leviathan returned the following day. He was a storm which
bellowed into the castle. Riah could have sworn that he turned the sunny skies dark. Riah and his father awaited him in the throne room. The Shadow Bearer entered in clothing tattered and splattered with blood. Neither Apollyon nor Riah dared to inquire of his quest. Their guest gave them one long, hard look before he marched silently away. Riah glanced sideways at his father but received no explanation.
Leviathan joined private dining room. He arrived dressed in a fine jacket and cape of a raven’s wing’s color. He wore no hood, but his inky hair still framed his ivory face upon which the eyepatch was still fastened. Leviathan sat elegantly in the seat opposite Riah. The prince shifted uneasily. He did not like Leviathan sitting in what was once his mother’s chair. Hehadnotmindedwhen Camariasat there, but this creature he was not pleased with.
The Shadow Bearer did not speak for what seemed an eternity. He took food offered to him and ate with precision and regal elegance. “He does everything with elegance,” Riah’s mind muttered.
“Imber Fel remains intact…for now.” Leviathan said this with a calm tone, but his eye was blazing. “I was poisoned, but was carried here.”
“What took you so long?” Riah blurted. Leviathan flickedhis gaze to meet the young prince’s. “I was gathering the rest of our army.” Riah’s eyes drooped. The Shadow Bearer leaned forward on the table, interlacing his fingers. “I have been informed that the Spirit Followers of Gnosi have been dealt with.” He gave Riah a nod of approval. “I will see those translations in the morning.”
Leviathan returned to his meal, and the three finished in silence. When their plates had been cleared away, the Shadow Bearer motioned for the servant to leave. They were left alone when their guest withdrew a map of dark parchment and spread it upon the table. He stood over it. With a motion of his hand, he said, "If you complete your trials with success." He looked at Riah. "You will eventually be able to distinguish all features of this map."
Riah leaned over the table to peer at the map beneath the candlelight. Words drawn in the language he was just beginning to understand were written on random parts of the map. Triangular shapes peaked in ink as well, forming what he supposed were portions of mountain ranges. In the left, top corner, Riah read from them for their evening meal in their theShedim’s speechthewords “TheInfernal Cities.” Theremainder of the map was empty.
“As you near the end of your quest , the map will come into your full vision. Until then, you will only receive bits and pieces. For now…” Leviathan paused to bound the parchment with string. “Your trials will be on hold. We have a battle to fight.” The Shadow Bearer turned to Apollyon. “You will lead the army.” Apollyon nodded.
“What about me?” Riah asked. Leviathan turned to him. "You will continue with your reading so that you may learn more about our master's ultimate quest." Their guest flashed Riah a wicked smile. "I suppose that now would be the proper time to
inform you of exactly what that quest is."
Riah was only interested in his own quest, but he came to realize that this quest would involve to a large extent the master’s plan, whatever that might be.
Leviathan seated himself once more and began. “His name is Lucius.” The Shadow Bearer paused as if he was granting the name a quiet moment of reverence and respect. “He was the one to enact the Shadow Bearer birthing age. His legions, called Shedim as you have learned, mated with mortal women and produced our kind. The first generation of our race was erased by a flood sent by Elyon.”
Riah interrupted. “Who is Elyon?” Leviathan’s eyes widened slightly. He shot a disapproving look Apollyon’s way. “He is God. The God.”
“You believe in this...god?”
“My master has seen Him with his own eyes. Lucius dwelled with Him in Caelae. So yes, I believe that He exists. The Spirit Followers did not create a false god.” Leviathan returned to his earlier story. “The first generation birthed me, and many generations later, your father.” Riah turned his gaping expression to his father.
“What can I say,” Apollyon said with a shrug. “You would have never believed me.” Gnosi’s leader leaned forward. “I am one of the surviving citizens of the Shadow Bearer Realm of the Air. And that is why they come to be our army.”
“This army will help to exploit the Spirit Followers from Mirabelle so that we may have no obstacles when we search for the Crown of Caelae.”
“Caelae is Elyon’s home. Is Elyon our enemy?”
Leviathan laughed bitterly. His eyes were blazing. He did not answer, but his reaction was enough for Riah. “Elyon banished Lucius from Caelae after Lucius revolted. Elyon decided to create a race to replace the Spirits. Humans. AndElyon’s sonwill beborn in this world and will save these humans; unless we find the crown and destroy it. Without the crown, the prophecies cannot be fulfilled. We have reason to believe that the crown is in this very nation. With the Spirit Followers dead, we will find it.”
Riah’s head spun with this revelation. “And the Spirit Followers…” He gulped, thinking ofSaffira. He shoved her from his mind. “They are searching for this crown as well?”
Leviathan nodded. “Their eyes are more alert for the Savior Himself than for the crown. If they locate Him, they will protect Him until the day He saves them.”
“How will He save them?”
Leviathan’s lips twistedinto acrookedsmile. “Nowthat isn’t important if we can stop Him, is it? You will play a part in this conquest, Riah. If you prove yourself a worthy servant."
“And if I do prove myself?”
“I will take you to your new home; A mountain fortress over the Infernal Cities themselves. You will leave Gnosi forever, and one day you will meet our master.”
Dawn had broken for nearly a couple hours by the time Cam and
Peter approached the Medulla Realm. The moon had dipped beyond the hills, and the sun had crawled over them to reveal its light through the thick fog. They halted to allow their horses rest and to devise a plan. One does not simply waltz into danger without a strategy, especially when awakened guards notice their bird has taken sudden flight as Peter pointed out.
Peter observed the borders of the realm, arms folded across his chest. Cam could kick herself for not forcing Fiera, Kane, and Caleb to escape with her. Now they not only had to rescue them, but Cam was still determined to convince as many as possible to not align themselves with Apollyon and his…unexpected allies.
"I have a plan," Peter said quietly. "It's risky, though." Cam gave him her full attention. "We return to where your friends are and start a fire, a forest fire."
"You want to set the realm on fire?" Cam was rather shocked. She knew Peter did not particularly favor Medulla, but physical destruction seemed extreme.
He nodded. “The point of such an action would be to attract the attention of the realm leaders; proving that we are a threat. It will also attract realm citizens.” Cam now understood his strategy, and although possibly harmful, it was brilliant. Cam nodded, though rather reluctantly, in agreement.
Leaving their horses to enjoy the dewy grass, they crept through the forest towards their destination. They found a small path which Cam had run over copious times in the many games played with her sisters. Gradually, the fog thinned, and Cam detected clamorous shouting. Peering through the veil of gray, she glimpsed five guards scurrying around the perimeters of the prison area, looking for, as she assumed, her. Fiera, Caleb, and Kane stood adjacent to two huge oaks, their hands tied behind their backs.
“Run out there,” Peter whispered. Cam gave him an alarming, questioning look. He rolled his eyes at her lack of understanding. “Be a distraction. I’ll free them and give instructions.”
“Where do I go?”
“Other side of the clearing.” Peter pointed.
“They will see me!”
“That’s the point. Just do it.” Peter pushed Cam forward.
She summoned her courage and with a wild yell, broke into the clearing. The guards jumped. Whirling around, they pointed and made to chase after her.
Cam slipped quickly under the grasp of one’s hand and dodged the figures of two more. She ran as if there were no obstacles. Her pounding heart threatened to leap from her chest. She felt triumphant at her success in creating commotion. She leaped over brush into the forest on the other side of the clearing. For a second, she glanced back to see Peter creeping along the edge of the trees towards the captives. Cam hesitated no longer as she heard the thumping of boots on the path behind her.
She fled.
She had covered the grounds of this forest in rapid pace many times before. She leaped over fallen branches and heard the exasperated cries of pursuers as she flung low hanging branches behind her and into their faces.
After a few minutes, when Cam had taken turn after turn, she halted, catching her breath, no longer detecting the sounds of hot pursuit. She whirled in all directions, making sure she was indeed alone. Though she was quite fatigued, she had no time to rest. She turned once more and made her way back to the clearing on an alternative, beaten-down path.
The watchers were probably on their way back as well or searching for her in an area she would not be found in. When Cam came to the clearing’s edge, the watchers had just jumped into the open to see three young people setting fire to the edges of the forest. Cam caught Peter’s eye, and he gave her a quick nod, signaling that his plan was going as intended.
A few of the watchers fled the scene to recruit help. Peter leaped over debris and approached Cam who still stood among the trees. "Come on!" he shouted over the sound of distant shouting and crackling fire. He threw a lit torch beside her, and it quickly inflamed the brush. Cam scrambled away with Peter.
He held himself erect for a moment, catching his breath, overlooking his work. Then the real commotion began. Anxious looking men, women, and some children appeared in the clearing, having seen smoke from their homes in the nearby village.
“Water! Get water!” a man ordered. Kane signaled for him to remain where he was. The people stood in a confused state. “Bring news of fire to the realm leaders!” the man shouted instead. Peter grinned sideways at Cam, for this was precisely what he wanted. Cam and Peter walked to the center of the clearing and stood still, eyeing the citizens of the realm. Cam caught confused looks from those who recognized her and Fiera.
The guards arrived moments later. With dress trailing on the ground, an indignant and rather aghast looking Silva appeared through the line of trees. Her eyes revealed the shock of the situation, but she managed to sustain a calm disposition. Kazbek stood beside her, glaring at the watchers for not successfully executing their simple task.
The smoke was beginning to gather in Cam’s lungs, and the aroma of burning wood filled the air. “Who, may I ask, is responsible for this unfortunate incident?” Silva interrogated rhetorically. She caught Cam’s gaze andheldit amanner drastically diverging from the loving, motherly gaze she
remembered from her childhood.
“What are you waiting for?” she exclaimed. The watchers gathered buckets of water.
“Stop!” Peter ordered, meeting the wondering stares of many of the villagers gathered around in shocked amazement. Many were shouting indignantly, asking what sort of joke they were pulling. “We have the power to destroy this place even further,” Peter declared slowly, in an enunciated manner. Fiera, Kane, and Caleb held torches ready to hurl at untouched dry wood at Peter’s signal. “In order to keep your home stable, we would like to make a request of the realm’s leaders.”
Although Silva and Kazbek bored their eyes into Peter, he stood resolute and calm as ever. Cam, standing next to him, was quaking somewhat. Her adopted parents looked at them expectantly. "We will not inflict further damage if you allow us the safe departure from your realm," Cam stated loud enough for those in the general vicinity to hear.. She almost choked, not on flying ashes, but on the sudden urge to cry, for Adria and Mista emerged from behind Silva, looking bewildered and distraught.
“They think I’ve betrayed them,” Cam thought.
“By all means,” Silva said over withheld rage. “You and your accomplices take leave.”
“Not just us,” Peter spit the words towards her. Both her brows shotup, andher eyeswidened. “But anyoneinthis realmwho believes we should not assist Apollyon and majority of the Gnosi Realm inhabitants in revolting against the rest of Mirabelle.”
The faces of the villagers turned into pure astonishment. They looked in complete puzzlement towards their leaders. Silva and Kazbek pasted upon their dispositions the most innocent expressions.
“Revolt! What revolt?” cries of the people erupted.
“Oh? You haven’t told them?” Fiera laughed mockingly, stepping towards with center of the clearing beside Cam and Peter.
“Apollyon, leader of Gnosi, has schemed to rid the nation of what he believes is threatening to our society, has schemed to take over the entirety of Mirabelle,” Kane explained. “My father and the rest of Cinis Lumen, are preparing at this very moment for a possible attack.”
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