The Truth about Heroes: Complete Trilogy (Heroes Trilogy)

by Krista Gossett

  Rienna opened her eyes slowly. She was in some sort of underwater cave. She was dressed in a beautiful white silk dress, the color of a flawless pearl. Her hair was dry and soft; a tiara of pearls wove into the hair and across the forehead. The smell of the ocean near Merschenez enveloped her. Surrounded by an enormous magical bubble, she sat inside of a giant pink oyster shell. She slowly stood and tried to walk. The bubble moved with her. Nervously she watched as a blue-skinned mermaid swam in slowly, smiling a secret and all-knowing smile. The mermaid twirled around giddily and looked at Rienna with her large, slanted, florescent green eyes.

  “Not a mermaid, child, I am an undine. There is someone here to see you. Couldn’t leave until talking to you first,” the undine purred out in a musical voice.

  Into the chamber walked Belias himself, wearing white silk and glowing ethereally. He needed no bubble. He smiled at her lovingly. Rienna made an involuntary high-pitched noise in the back of her throat then ran to him, throwing her arms about him. Unable to believe it, she ran her hands over him frantically as if afraid he was not really there.

  “I’m dead, Rienna, nothing can change that,” he said gently, holding her back. “I’m supposed to tell you that you can stay if you like but that means you will be dead too.”

  Before Rienna could give her answer, Belias put a finger to her lips.

  “We all imagine our souls return to the Fount but some are not so lucky. My soul is wandering in anguish now and elementals gather lost souls. The undines will gather your soul and it will be in a dark place far from my own. I am only with you now because you are alive,” Belias warned her quietly. “Do not fear or hate the undine, Rienna, but refuse this offer and forget about me. I begrudge you nothing, my love, not even your feelings for another or, should it happen again, love.”

  “I cannot just forget you! I only live to repay what was done!” Rienna moaned miserably.

  Belias smiled gently at her and touched her cheek tenderly.

  “You must forget me and you must live for more,” Belias begged, slipping the ring he gave her from her finger. She cried out and tried to take it back but he kept it from her. “No, please, I can’t just leave you to this! How can I put your soul to rest?” Rienna begged him, still reaching futilely for the ring. Her voice raised an octave in desperation. “Don’t you love me anymore?”

  Belias suddenly grabbed her face and held it tightly.

  “I will never stop loving you! That is why I want you to find happiness. I am gone now and this ring is no longer a symbol of love but a bind to misery!” Belias told her firmly. His voice became gentle again. “My soul will only rest if you use your life wisely. Undines have no use for souls at peace.”

  “Souls at peace? You say you don’t want me to avenge you, but then why aren’t you at peace?” Rienna asked worriedly.

  “It’s not because of you, Rienna; I don’t regret loving you and as much as I hated leaving you, there is more to my troubles than I can explain now. No one living can aid me and I will find peace soon enough. What do you truly want, Rienna? What are your plans without me? You have to think of that. Don’t give the undine reason to keep you so soon.”

  “I want revenge, Belias. It is all I can do to wake up each day without you!” Rienna protested vehemently.

  “No, Rienna, revenge does not make you chase him so urgently. That is why I won’t tell you to stop. I have seen into your heart. You chase Melchior now for the sake of the precious lives he seeks to end. I am so proud of you; your father is too and worry not, for your father is at peace. There is nothing more to say now. Our souls are bound forever, as all souls truly are. Do not despair over answers. I love you now as I always did. That is all you need to know. Now please, ask to be sent back. Undines only take the willing ones.”

  “Belias… Before I go, I have to know one thing… did you… never feel sad? I mean, did you ever feel like you could show me if you did?” Rienna asked softly.

  Belias smiled at her and began to slowly fade away.

  “Never once since I met your father and then you. But I will be sad if you cannot find happiness in life, Rienna. I love you…”

  And still haunted by the moment of having never said it back one last time, she screamed with all her heart.

  “I LOVE YOU, BELIAS!”

  His satisfied smile was the last thing she saw as he disappeared.

  Without waiting for the undine to ask, Rienna looked at her resolutely. The undine held in her hands the braid that Rienna had discarded. Rienna shook her head. “I don’t need that anymore. Please take me back. To … my friends.”

  The five companions dredged through the water frantically, fully dressed and slowly losing hope. Even Freesia had done no more than wrap herself in a towel before calling for help. From the center of the pond, the magnificently dressed Rienna rose up, looking like she was asleep in the fetal position. They stared in awe as the bubble slowly hovered over the pond and deposited Rienna on dry land. The bubble popped in a fragile mist and Rienna opened her eyes groggily as if in a dream. The five of them rushed out of the pond, Rienna hurrying away from them, not wanting to get wet.

  “Are you mad? This is white silk! This material is see-through when it’s wet!” Rienna scolded them. The men might have been more perversely motivated any other time but it was relief that made them charge her anyway to embrace her.

  Back at the camp, all were wearing blankets now, drying their clothes over the fire. They had given Freesia the privacy to change back into her dry clothes so only her wet towel hung with their clothes. The glitter that had covered her skin was gone now and the flesh peeping though the slits in her body suit was more enticing. Rienna watched them laughing and teasing each other, but managed to slip away through the forest, suddenly wishing to think alone. She still wore the dress and a warm blanket, but she counted on the air to dry the thin material. She sat on a boulder she found and stared at her now bare ring finger, touching the skin a little sadly. She heard rustling behind her but didn’t turn.

  When she finally did turn to look, she wished she hadn’t. Ashe stood there wearing nothing but a short towel tied to his hips. Her eyes focused curiously on the leg tattoos before turning away and pretending a casualness she didn’t feel. Her heart hammered in her chest. What could she say to him now? She still felt wretched about that morning’s events, but she had resolved to settle this.

  “You had us worried. We thought you’d decided to stay with the undines,” Ashe said very softly, as if the air around them might break if he spoke too loudly. She hadn’t taken him for someone who would know about undines, but in all fairness, she couldn’t have thought less of him before even knowing him. He shrugged at the little frown on her face. “I did a lot of reading in Guileford. Thought it might shed some light on my past, but mostly I just learned a lot about some pretty obscure lore.”

  Rienna shook her head and rubbed the bare ring finger unconsciously. He didn’t fail to notice the ring was gone. She looked as if she was struggling for something to say and he didn’t want to rush her.

  “Well, you did get a beautiful dress out of it. The rest of us are dripping like wet dogs for our trouble,” Ashe joked. With that short hair and blanket, he was actually dry, but his clothes probably weren’t yet.

  Rienna couldn’t hold back the laugh. It was bell-like and quick.

  Ashe walked up and stood beside her. Her head jerked up to look at him. She tried to stand up and get away from him, but he gently but firmly grabbed her shoulder and kept her sitting there. What is wrong with me, she wondered. Why am I so jumpy? It’s not like he could know what was going on inside of her head.

  “Listen, I’ll make things easier for you. I already have a feeling why you reacted as you did this morning and I don’t blame you for being too distraught to tell them I didn’t say anything wrong. I know who I look like and I know I’m not that trustworthy. Telling you I tend to watch everyone die around me didn’t help. I figured it out fairly quickly. I thought ma
ybe rushing ahead to beat you to it, like I realize I’m doing again now, would be enough, but it seems to make you more upset…”

  “I… I should have said something then…” Rienna said miserably, his hand tingling the skin where he touched her still. “You’re not the problem, Ashe. I’m not blaming myself either. I’m confused, even more so now that I saw Belias again. This isn’t like me at all! When did I become such a crybaby?”

  “My guess is that it started once you’ve finally had a reason to cry, once things started to sink in,” Ashe offered. “Always so strong, trying to hide your grief. I know you don’t like me very much, but… wait, did you just say you saw him again?”

  Rienna frowned and nodded miserably, unable to meet Ashe’s eyes again.

  “What… exactly did he say?” Ashe asked with concern.

  “To refuse the undine’s offer to reunite us. Said it was a test and I had to… let him go. To find a reason to go on without him, that he would find peace on his own.”

  “Stupid…” Ashe said, under his breath then shook his head apologetically as Rienna started at the word. “Not you, Rienna, him. I might have thought the undine used a decoy to convince you to join him, but I don’t like the sound of that. Find peace on his own? If he is avoiding the Fount to pursue some regret then he leaves himself open to corruption, leaving you open to harm as long as he hangs on. Sorry, I know you wanted to hear good news. Here I go, giving you more reason to hate me…”

  “No!” Rienna shouted shoving his hand away and standing up defiantly. She liked his passive touch far too much for comfort. “That’s just the problem! You don’t really get it, do you? I DO like you! I just don’t WANT to like you! Any of you! You’re not making it very easy for me! None of you are… I… I wanted Belias to tell me to avenge him. I wanted to simplify my single minded pursuit…”

  Ashe waited patiently for her to continue.

  “He… told me I could not live to join him in death. He loves me and doesn’t want me to join him there; death is not always a place where we join the ones we love.” She shook her head to clear it as she realized her voice was coming to quick and her words were repeating. “I want to believe in all of you. I want to stop anyone from feeling the pain that I do. But wishing is not doing and it will… take time. I have to stop Melchior; I don’t care what his reasons are. But maybe… maybe if I live after all is said and done… there will be a reason to do so.”

  She was shaken by what Ashe said about corruption and wanted to believe that Belias would take care of his unresolved issues. Rienna tried to run off but he pulled her into an embrace. She felt too weak suddenly to push him away. She held herself rigid, unsure of where to put her hands, but he wrapped his arms around her midsection and she rested her curled hands against his chest, resisting the temptation to trace the tattoos there.

  “I like you too, Rienna, and I’m going to make it extremely difficult for you to not like me. I’m going to make sure you don’t regret coming back. Freesia really freaked us out, screaming her head off,” Ashe told her, his lips to her ear, his voice tinged with amusement.

  He let her go now and she wobbled a little, trying to catch her balance. She looked into his eyes with uncertainty and bit her lip when she grew shy enough to look away. She tucked her short hair behind her ear and stepped around him as she ran back to the camp.

  He couldn’t see it but she smiled as she ran away.

  None of them could sleep well that night. Rienna was once more up before the others, slipping out of the tent she shared with Freesia. Freesia woke as well and quietly followed Rienna out, who was now wearing the warrior’s garb again. Freesia noticed that Rienna carried the silken dress folded, the pearl tiara sitting on top. Curiously, she followed Rienna without her knowing.

  Rienna went back to the pool of water they had bathed in the night before. Freesia watched as Rienna sighed heavily and kneeled at the pond’s edge. With much care, she set the dress and tiara onto the water and let the water swallow it. Freesia nearly cried out but the water in that spot began to swirl and the undine Rienna had seen appeared, smiling kindly at Rienna.

  “You are returning the gift?” the undine asked, a little touch of bewilderment in her voice.

  Rienna nodded firmly but smiled.

  “It is a beautiful gift, but I do not deserve it. Where I am going, it may be destroyed, in any case. Thank you for showing Belias to me again. It is a gift I can take with me wherever I go. Please… I only ask you help him find his peace and release his soul,” Rienna humbly and softly told the undine.

  The undine reached into the water gracefully and pulled up an aquamarine amulet, holding it out to Rienna.

  “I am called Sea Star, young one, and I must ask you take this amulet with you. With it, you can summon me to your aid. The gifts I gave before, the garb of the waters, you will need it more than you think,” Sea Star told her kindly. “It is far more than a pretty dress, child. They are items of our magic and stronger than any suit of human armor. Keep in mind that only you can use the amulet and if it is ever lost or stolen, it will reappear about your neck when summoned. The ears of the undine reach everywhere and we will grant whatever you ask. Your heart is pure so this is a gift of trust in you.”

  Rienna was awestruck by this. She shook her head in disbelief.

  “Why do you give me so much?” Rienna asked in awe.

  “It is the least we can give you. You fight our enemy. That evil man fills our waters with the blood of innocents. It is destiny that we meet. Your friends all bear the worth of other elements but must discover this on their own. Earth, fire, wind, light, and darkness; they will be drawn to them beyond their knowing. You have been right to guess that something had pulled you together. Your enemy has chosen his demise. There is no promise that all of you will live, of course, but you will all play your parts.”

  Sea Star whispered to the amulet and it disappeared, reappearing around Rienna’s neck. The dress and tiara also reappeared on her in a swirl of sparkling bubbles. Rienna frowned deeply. A silver and pearl belt with a sheathe for the dagger also appeared, and a magnificent, white fur-lined, silver sword strap appeared for the long sword as well. Sea Star waved her hand once more and set the precious weapons in their new homes.

  “You need not thank us, child; this is our role and all gifts come at a price. We ask much of you and your lives are at risk in our service,” Sea Star said, her voice chiming in more musically.

  “Do not tell your friends of what awaits,” Sea Star now laughed and gestured behind Rienna. “That one does not hear what we are saying, but I believe the Luminas are eyeing her for their purposes. To reveal what awaits them gives them no edge— in fact, it may jeopardize their chances.”

  With that, and nothing more, Sea Star swirled into the whirlpool and disappeared beneath the quickly calming currents.

  Rienna turned to see Freesia standing there in the open, smiling at Rienna. Rienna frowned a bit, not liking what she was hearing. Talks of fate and destiny and loss of free will did not delight her. It was only in the stories of the old gods would fated heroes meet to take on the powers of elements and charge against their foes. Those stories did not appeal to her now, certainly since they did not make her new friends immune to death.

  “I was going to apologize for putting you in danger last night, but it appears it was good fortune and not just my stupidity,” Freesia told her. “The undines hear the lament of loved ones in grief and try to claim the soul of the living ones left behind. It sounds very frightening, but it is an offer of kindness as well. The elements themselves were once human I am told. They were born from the deaths of the first humans.”

  “Do you think this might be why we were gathered? But how would Melchior know what the elementals planned for us and why would he strengthen us against him? Something just doesn’t feel right about that…” Freesia rambled on, as Rienna had never seen her do.

  “Ah, um… You’re talking a bit differently lately… It’s not a bad
thing, just … different,” Rienna confessed timidly.

  Freesia looked a little shocked then smiled.

  “Yeah, I guess so. I’m usually pretty pessimistic; to be honest, a little too sarcastic and bossy mostly,” Freesia frowned then. “I guess men are the reason I get so mean and quiet sometimes. Especially ones like Night. He just can’t seem to leave me alone, you know? Ashe is a flirt and all, but at least he’s not so damn persistent. There’s more to life than getting someone naked.”

  Rienna blushed and smiled at the forwardness of Freesia’s statement, but she managed to nod in total agreement.

  “Have you… been naked… with a man?” Rienna started to ask, but couldn’t quite ask. Freesia was blushing too now.

  “You mean, have I had sex? To be honest, I don’t remember much of my past but I know I had been… badly violated and left for dead. I guess it’s kind of like never having done anything, as long as I don’t focus on the scars,” Freesia explained seriously. “Amelda healed me the best she could, but I’ll never have kids.”

  Rienna frowned, feeling awful for bringing it up.

  “I’m sorry, that was rude of me to ask. I … haven’t myself and don’t really get what the fuss is about,” Rienna softly confessed. It fell flat—she was curious to be sure, but it scared her a little too.

  “But you were married, right?” Freesia asked.

  Rienna nodded a little sadly now.

  “I guess I forgot to mention that we had just finished the ceremony when he was taken from me. If … you know, if we had … done anything before the wedding, my father would have killed him. It was extremely rare that my father wasn’t having me followed and Belias was a man of honor,” Rienna explained, hating that she spoke of him in past tense. Weirder still because she had seen him not hours ago, dead in actuality but he had seemed very much alive then too.

  The two women walked back to the camp now in silence. However, as if on cue, they both laughed at the same time, a strange sort of relief from the strain they felt, and locked arms in camaraderie. It was time to get the others and make way for Morgaze.