Seth studied his unexpected companion. She was tall for a woman. She wore a long black robe and cloak that shimmered around her as if the fabric was not quite whole. It was as if the strands within it were constantly rearranging themselves to better fit her body, a body that Seth was unable to measure with his intent gaze. Seth realized that this must be due to his tired eyes and the poor lighting in the room. Perhaps the woman shivered under her clothing, causing it to move so much? The clothing fit her well, if not a bit tightly, yet with its constant movement he could not really tell much about her build, only that she appeared slender. But it was neither her body nor her clothing that had Seth reeling in unanticipated horror. It was the woman’s face. Not that it was twisted or mangled, quite the contrary she had a small, pretty face. She was familiar. The woman before him had a face that Seth had seen recently in a dream. Or was it a memory? The face staring back at Seth was the face of his mother. Only it had been changed, altered slightly for reasons unknown to him. All the facial features were there just as he remembered them. Her high cheekbones, narrow pointy nose, full rosy lips, all there just as he remembered. The eyes and hair though were not the same. The woman’s eyes could only be described as crimson. There was no pupil at their center, no interruption to the swirl of blood in her gaze. This looked horribly unnatural to Seth, and it made him uncomfortable, nervous. Her hair too was different than his mother’s. Instead of the long, brown, flowing locks he remembered, there was in its place rows of black braids. The hair was knotted tightly to the woman’s scalp in neat rows from her forehead, over the top of her head, and then, still braided, trailing down her back and over her shoulders. The image reminded Seth of a farmer’s fields. In all, the woman was beautiful, with a striking resemblance to his mother. Seth wondered what illness or injury had befallen this person causing the insides of her eyes to bleed. He felt sorry for the woman realizing that she must be blind, not even knowing she was a prisoner. The poor woman probably did not even realize he was here with her.
Seth’s scrutiny had only lasted a moment, but the woman remained, her stare fixed in his direction with no sign of emotion on her face. It was as if she waited for something. Seth watched her a minute longer, then deciding that what he was doing was rude, he felt compelled to let the woman know he was there.
“Excuse me, miss,” Seth began in a tone barely over a whisper, trying not to startle the woman. “Are you OK?”
Seth waited for the woman’s response, but it did not come. She continued to peer with sightless eyes in his direction, her features unchanged. Perhaps she was deaf too.
“Can I help you?” Seth asked, this time quite loudly.
The woman’s face stirred. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and one eyebrow rose as if she were amused by his question.
“Perhaps you can,” the woman replied, her voice much deeper than Seth had anticipated. Not so deep that it was unnatural for a woman, but deep enough that it did not sound as if it came from her mouth.
“Are you hurt?” Seth asked.
No answer.
“Can I get you something?”
Again the woman did not respond.
“What can I do for you?” Seth again asked the woman, this time trying to broaden the range of his question.
“Find me,” the woman responded simply.
“What do you mean ‘find me’? You’re directly in front of me,” Seth pointed out, now thoroughly confused.
“I am lost and nearly forgotten, Seth. Seek me out once in Valdadore. Find me and I shall help you,” she stated in her hollow voice.
Seth’s mouth hung open. He did not know how the woman knew his name, or how she knew he was traveling to Valdadore. Nor did he know how she expected him to get out of this godforsaken room. Seth began to get angry, thinking the woman must have something to do with his imprisonment, after all she knew too much about him. Something in his subconscious brushed at him as if wanting attention, but he pushed it aside, too busy now to deal with anything else.
“Who are you and how did you bring me here?” Seth demanded.
“I am who you seek and I have brought you nowhere. You came here of your own volition,” the woman replied, no hint of emotion on her face, nor in her voice.
“I seek no one, lady. Now take me back to my companions,” Seth again demanded.
“You will seek something eventually and when you do, look to the oldest buildings,” she answered in a hollow melody. “When you have found me, and when you know me, I shall help you find what you seek.”
Seth shook his head in both disbelief and anger. What was wrong with this woman? Was she both blind and crazy? How did she get here? How was he supposed to get out? What in the name of the gods is she talking about? All this he asked himself, his eyes closed in concentration. He realized that no matter how mad the woman might be, she had found a way into the room and he needed a way out. He opened his eyes to face her once again and ask her this most important question, but she was gone. Replacing the woman was a swirl of blackness that steadily grew, faster and faster, consuming within it the room and Seth alike. When the darkness swallowed Seth he tried to scream, but no sound escaped his lips. Terrified, he forced himself to open his eyes.
Seth found himself once again within the confines of the small stone cavern that was his shelter. In his arms slept Sara, peacefully breathing her sweet warm breath into the cold night air. His twin and Ashton both snored loudly across the small room. Everything was as he had left it, only he realized now that he had not left. It had been his dream that had awoken him. He remembered it clearly. It had been so real he could swear it had actually happened. He remembered every detail of the small circular room he had been in, every detail of the woman who was his only company within that place. A shudder raced down his spine at the thought of the woman and her unseeing blood-like eyes. It had been an unnatural dream, unlike any other dream he could ever remember having. He knew he would not easily forget it. Silently hoping to himself that he would not dream again this night, Seth closed his eyes, trying to quickly fall back asleep. After all, the sooner he slept, the faster the night passed and the sooner they would be away from this place where he nearly lost it all.
Chapter 56
Sara
As expected, morning came all too quickly. Sara was the first to wake and decided she should rouse the others so they could resume their journey. She turned in Seth’s lap, and kissed him gently, waking him the nicest way she could imagine.
Seth’s eyes fluttered open, feeling Sara’s lips on his cheek. He reached his large hands up to cup her face, and lightly grasping it on either side, pulled her mouth to his.
“Good morning angel.”
“Good morning to you, love,” Sara replied softly in her musical voice.
She could tell the greeting caught Seth off guard. He did his best to conceal his thoughts, not to make a big deal out of her words, but he over did it. But it was not so much about gaging his response as it was a look inward to see how she herself would feel saying the word. To her surprise she was able to say it easily, honestly, and it felt great. No longer afraid she might betray her own emotions, she wished to tell him now her feelings for him. She pondered for a moment where to start, but then decided to wait. She would wait until she and Seth had some privacy, where they could openly speak their feelings without fear that someone might interrupt. She smiled to herself, her face hidden on Seth’s shoulder, finally able to at least know her own heart. She hugged Seth’s neck again tightly and kissed his cheek.
Crawling out of his lap, Sara stood and watched her dark-haired, brown-eyed guardian rise and stretch his weary muscles. She watched him, loving everything about him, wanting to spend forever with him, and wanting to show him her love in every way she was able.
CHAPTER 57
Seth
Finishing his stretch, Seth again gathered his angel into his arms and kissed the top of her head. He held her there a moment, wishing he could do so forever, and scan
ned the small room around them. He released Sara reluctantly and strode across the room coming to stand between his brother and Ashton who both snored lightly, still sleeping on their backs. He nudged them each with his booted foot, rousing them. Turning on his heel he then walked back across to Sara, picking up the sack of food along the way.
Seth sat near Sara’s feet gesturing for her to join him, and she did so happily. Garret and Ashton wearily rose from their beds, and joined the others for a filling breakfast. Their meal consisted of the same food they had shared the previous night, and once again each ate their fill. Seth said that he felt well enough to continue their journey, and so after eating, everyone went about gathering their belongings and loading them into their packs. They prepared themselves quickly and they headed out of the cavern together, Garret and Ashton taking the lead, Seth and Sara trailing, their hands entwined. Garret left the goblin’s short sword in the cavern, stating that he had no wish to carry a reminder of the day he nearly lost his brother.
They walked at a leisurely pace throughout the day, stopping to rest often. Seth was thankful for their stops, his body not as willing as his mind to handle the exertion. The path widened slowly, becoming more level until it turned eventually into a road. Seth was able to travel further now without resting as the even ground allowed him to walk more easily. The group talked merrily, the light conversation allowing Seth to concentrate on something other than his body. His legs shook and his knees gave out on occasion, but he had been able to catch himself, with Sara’s help, each time before he fell.
Seth limited his input to the group’s conversations, preferring to listen as they walked. His mind wandered and he found himself thinking over the last several days, taking in all the events that had come to pass and which had brought him to this point. Though he had nearly died, he could not believe the tremendous luck that had so obviously filled his life. He and his twin had traveled from home, accompanied by a man blessed with the gift of healing, which man he was now proud to call his friend. They had arrived in Stone Haven, and due to Ashton’s gift had been given free food and free goods, including the crossbow. It was also Ashton who had inevitably led them to eat outside the inn that morning he first met Sara. Seth was extremely grateful for this part. Not only had he met her, he had protected her and in doing so, had laid the foundation for their relationship, a relationship he now knew he could not live without. Joined now by the woman he would come to love and adore, they had set out from Stone Haven along the road to Paldoon’s Hold. Sara had slowed them, causing them to fall a day behind, but this too was as if it was meant to be. Because of their delay, they had fallen into the path of the goblin that had nearly killed him, but as it had turned out, Sara had instead played a vital role in killing the creature that mortally wounded him. If not for her, Seth would have died, and probably his twin and Ashton as well. Again Seth had been blessed by Ashton’s friendship, being healed by his control of the goddess’s gift. Their delay had run their stores of food dry, and this had resulted in Garret’s meeting with the Knights of Valdadore who had rewarded them, not only with the food they so badly needed, but also with enough coin to deliver them safely and comfortably to the castle city of Valdadore with possibly several days to spare, allowing them to enjoy the city.
All this Seth felt had to be more than just pure luck. No one on the face of Thurr could possibly have ever been this fortunate. Seth felt as if someone watched over him, guiding his life safely to some predetermined end. He felt thankful for it; he felt blessed. He now looked at Sara and realized that if they had not met, he would not be here to look upon her this day. She, in his greatest moment of need, had come to the rescue just in time to save his life. As he had vowed to protect her, she had in turn protected him, his little guardian angel. The thought made Seth smile, and returning from his daydream, he found Sara’s eyes watching him. He returned her look with a smile of his own.
The group marched along through the evening much the same as they had through the day. They talked occasionally about nothing in particular. Seth at one point began to relay the dream he had had the previous night to them, but then thought better of it. This he would keep to himself, at least for the time being.
The flat, bleak, shrub infested plains had slowly cleared as they walked and now had been replaced by gently rolling hills. The slopes were covered by tall grass that for the most part remained green. Occasional groves of trees dotted the hills, and eventually the group could see fenced pastures on the horizon filled with animals. This they knew marked civilization. Before long they could see the roof tops of several farmhouses over the hills, and as they grew nearer, the buildings themselves came into view. It was not long before they were passing down the road between those very farmhouses. Occasionally they would see someone in one of the fields, tending animals or crops, and each time the person would wave or nod to them in greeting from a distance, and they in turn waved back.
The farms continued for a long time, and eventually as the sky began to grow dark on the horizon, they no longer noticed people in the fields. It was when they were approaching a large gray farmhouse that Garret stopped abruptly in his tracks. Placing his hand above his eyes he peered off into the distance ahead of them. He had stopped so suddenly that Sara had actually run into him, but Garret seemed not to notice as he tried to focus on something just out of sight. He stood searching the horizon as his companions stared at him in wonder.
“I think that’s it,” Garret stated matter-of-factly.
“What’s what?” Seth asked his twin.
“That.” Garret said jabbing his finger toward the horizon in front of them. “I think that’s Paldoon’s Hold.”
All four companions studied the horizon, and after many moments all but Ashton could discern, barely, the massive complex of buildings that was as of now just a smudge.
“How far away do you think it is?” Seth asked his brother.
“It’s hard to tell,” Garret began. “I think I first saw this house about three hours ago.” He pointed to the large gray home only a stone’s throw away from them. “I would assume that if that is the city, then it is much bigger than the house here, so probably can be seen from farther away. If I had to guess I would say four, maybe five more hours, give or take.”
Seth nodded his agreement to his brother’s calculation and turned his gaze to the sun.
“We only have a couple hours of daylight left, three at most,” Seth reckoned, knowing as he did that three hours was being very generous.
Almost without thought the four began walking once again, a new urgency to their pace. They agreed shortly after resuming their trek that they would not stop until they reached the city, even if it took them until well past dark. The road was level and wide here, accustomed to frequent use, and easily discernible from the fields around it. It would not be hard to keep to the road even in the gloom.
CHAPTER 58
Garret
Just over two hours had passed since Garret had spotted the city. The sun began to sink past the horizon to the west. They had traveled a great distance in the last few hours, their pace much faster than it had been throughout the day. Now, in the last minutes of its light, they could see the city clearly in the distance. It was apparent that they would indeed need to continue a few more hours into the night to reach their destination, but at least now they knew they had seen it. Paldoon’s Hold was not what they had thought it was previously. From a distance it had appeared to consist of several different-sized buildings jumbled together, creating a broken silhouette. Now it was apparent that it was actually several rows of buildings, each row taller than the previous one, and growing ever taller towards the center of the city. The whole thing was surrounded by a great wall of stone with enormous towers at each corner. This much the group could see in the last moments of light, but any further details they might have taken note of were lost as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
The group was in luck, it seemed. They did not walk on
in endless darkness towards their destination as they all thought they would have to. Instead, both moons appeared in the sky this night, lighting their way in a yellow-green half-light that was adequate enough to illuminate the road clearly. They could also see Paldoon’s Hold. The city itself was obscured, but above it shone the light of the hundreds of lanterns and torches that must be lit within it, creating a dome of light in the sky above. The four walked on at a brisk pace in the half light, hurrying towards the city that seemed to grow larger with each step.
All four companions stared at the high city walls as they approached. They marveled at the gigantic towers that made the corners of the city, and the enormous stone walls that surrounded it. Directly in front of them was a large gate in the wall where they could see on the road well ahead of them that people walked and carts rolled through. As they neared the gates, they saw guards posted to either side who would occasionally stop a person and speak to them before letting them pass. Paldoon’s Hold was bigger than any of them had imagined, and it occurred to Garret that there would very likely be more than one inn within the city. They needed to find the inn which Sirus had said would have a room and horses awaiting them. Garret figured he would have to ask for directions from someone familiar with the city to see if they knew Sirus.
The twins and their companions fell into line behind the mass of people waiting to gain entry to the city. In front of them was a large cart of turnips and carrots, drawn by a mule led by an old man. They waited patiently behind the cart, moving forward as it did, ever nearing the gates to the city. When they reached the entrance through the massive stone walls, Garret led them directly towards one of the guards posted there.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 14