Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One

by Tania Johansson

  Soon thereafter, there was an urgent knock on the door. I stood up to answer it, but before I could cross half of the small room, my visitor walked in. Master Almeida’s face may as well have been carved from solid rock, until he saw her lying on the bed. His expression melted into a mixture of relief, concern and love. He knelt by the bed and took her hand in his. “Sweetheart, daddy is here. You are going to be fine.”

  Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled weakly at him. “Daddy.” Her voice was raspy and he quickly grabbed a cup of water and tenderly helped her take a few sips.

  “I am so happy you are alive. You should not have stayed behind.” She broke off as a fit of coughing overtook her.

  “Hush my darling girl. Do not fret. It all worked out for the good.” She closed her eyes again and soon was taking the slow deep breaths of sleep. He gave her a kiss on her forehead and came over to the small desk where we sat.

  “We managed to defeat them, but we took heavy losses. All of my employees apart from some of the kitchen staff are trained fighters. I knew we may someday need them to defend us and if I had not taken that precaution we would not be having this conversation today.” He looked over his shoulder at her. When he looked back, his mouth was pulled tight into a thin white line. “She will be weak for days yet, but you cannot delay later than first light tomorrow. You need to be moving again. We may have killed all of the attackers that we saw, but there may yet have been some watchers who will report to the Master of the Dark. And even if not, when they do not return, he will send more.”

  I nodded grimly. “Master Almeida, I have learnt a lot from the Guardians and now from you about the past and who I am as well as what I need to do, but there has been something that no one as yet has said.”

  His eyes were attentive and he gave a small nod. “I will help with anything that I can. If I know the answer to your question I will give it to you truthfully.”

  I nodded. “I have assumed that there will be a battle coming between Rakadamon and his followers and the Resistance. He has been defeated before, though, and he has come back again. My question is this, do I simply have to defeat him, kill him, I mean, in order to succeed or is there more that I have to do?” He looked pleased at my question.

  He again looked at his daughter for a long moment before answering. “Kadin that is a very good question. You say ‘simply’ kill him...it will be anything but simple, but no, I do not believe that is all that needs to be done. There has been rumour and speculation that his power resides in some unknown location. This, I believe, needs to be destroyed. However, where this is or how to destroy it, that is what I do not know. I do not think the Guardians know either, but perhaps they have some information that has been lost to us.” It was confirming a notion that had been niggling in the back of my mind for a while. Hopefully, the Guardians knew more or would be able to find out something about it.

  Brant had been quiet throughout this conversation, but his eyes had been sharp and I was sure he had his own thoughts on what had been said. “Will you be coming with us?”

  Almeida looked at him as if he only now noticed him sitting there. “I cannot. She has all the knowledge I could offer her to help her on this journey, but I have other responsibilities that I cannot abandon.” He looked at me with steely grey eyes. “We will meet again though. If the heavens spare me, I will be fighting by your side at the final battle.” He stood up and sat down on the edge of the bed next to his daughter.

  He put a hand to her forehead and started stroking her hair. “Promise me that you will take care of her. I know you already have a lot of responsibility and I do not mean to add to your burden, but I cannot let her leave me without knowing there is someone there watching over her.” His fierce love for his daughter moved me.

  I put a hand on my heart. “I solemnly swear to do all in my power to keep her well. I swear this with the stars in the heavens as my witnesses.” He nodded firmly his teeth gritting. He gave her another kiss on her forehead and walked to the door.

  “May the gods remember you and strengthen your sword.” With that, he walked away.

  CHAPTER 11 – Direction

  I slept in the chair I had been sitting in. When I woke stiff and sore the next morning Alathaya was sitting in the chair opposite me looking out of the small window. It was still dark out. “He is not coming with us, is he?” She spoke without looking at me.

  I had no need to ask of whom she spoke. “No. He said he has other obligations.” She nodded firmly, resembling her father in that moment. “We leave at dawn. Are you hungry? The kitchen staff will already be preparing breakfast.”

  She gave me a small smile. “Ravenous.” I smiled back at her and fetched some food for us. In truth, it took some convincing to get the cook to prepare a meal to take up. She was still muttering about it when I left with the tray.

  She had washed and changed by the time I arrived back. Her hair was tied in a tail down her back with loose strands framing her face. Her plate was loaded with so much food that I was certain she would not finish it all, but by the time she was done, not a crumb remained on the plate and I wondered how she had found space for it all. “Shall I bring you more?” She shook her head.

  The sun was just rising outside. She pulled her knees up to her chin and sat looking out. “Where are we going?”

  That was the question of the day. I did not know. “We start out towards the west and hope that Quiniewa comes to tell us where we are meant to go. For now, we just need to get as far away from here as quickly as we can. Still, I think we may be followed.” She continued staring out of the window.

  I packed the rest of my things and helped her down the stairs of the inn and out towards the stable. Trissa and Seran were waiting when we arrived. All the horses had already been saddled and were standing stamping their feet in impatience. I made the introductions and Trissa actually smiled politely and came over to talk with her. Soon the two were standing to one side talking and laughing. I was glad of it. It may divert Trissa’s attention away from Seran for a while and I was sure it would make Alathaya a bit more comfortable to have another woman around. Brant came around the corner of the inn still pulling on his coat and he mumbled apologies for keeping us waiting.

  We mounted and set off at an easy pace. I did not want to push too hard to start with. Alathaya may have seemed much better, but it was obvious that she was still very weak and I did not want to make her condition regress. I rode out front with Seran next to me, the two women behind us and Brant making up the rear.

  Markai joined us of her own volition. As soon as she arrived, I felt my senses expand through her. To either side of the path were thick woods and I could hear the small creatures scurrying away as we approached. The blue sky above us promised a long dry day, which I was grateful for. We needed to put as many leagues between Andos and us as possible. The pace throughout the day was rather slow though and we stopped several times to allow Alathaya to rest and catch her breath.

  That night we made camp under the cover of the dense woods. We divided the watch shifts and decided to keep them rotating for the duration of the journey. Markai was an immeasurable advantage. She checked a wide perimeter of the camp to make sure no enemies were close. During my watch, I focused my Navitas simply for the boost to my senses. I could hear the scurrying mice in the underbrush, hear an owl hooting leagues away and I could smell the earthy smell of the woods to the point that I could pinpoint different species of trees from where I sat by smell alone. Markai lay next to me fast asleep, I could hear every breath, every heartbeat, and if I put in a bit of concentration, I could even hear her blood racing along her blood vessels.

  We set off again at dawn. Alathaya looked much better and she helped with clearing away our campsite. After a while of riding, she came up and rode next to me. “This is a bit daunting is it not? I mean at least I was prepared to a certain degree, but for you. With your parents, you know… not there to teach you and guide you, this must have come as a bit of a
shock.” She said the last half question half statement.

  I nodded. “It was, but then I have always been quite driven. I had to be able to do everything anyone else could do and I needed to do it better. I never felt at home in Predaki, where I grew up. I think some part of me knew I was destined to leave them.”

  She looked deep in thought. “From a very young age, I was taught our history. Humanity’s history. It became a part of who I am. By the time I was four, I was being taught the sword. I knew exactly what I was supposed to do if we were attacked and I was left alive with everyone else killed. Yet, the prospect of what would happen when the Dark Master rose again, that was almost like a tale. Something that would happen long after I die. Then, when I found out of my ability, I was forced to admit, to myself at least, that I might be one of those who are called.” She looked at me wryly. “Although, I did not accept it easily. I denied it even to myself for a long time. I only truly acknowledged it when you showed up. That is why I had not told Father.” She went quiet.

  “And now, how do you feel about being called?”

  She pursed her lips and frowned thoughtfully. “I suppose it is a bit frightening, but at the same time rather exciting! I know that is silly and terrible things might happen, but at the moment it feels like an adventure.”

  I understood exactly what she meant. When this all started I felt like I had finally found what had been lacking in my life. Found my purpose.

  I cleared my throat. ”I had meant to say thank you. For warning us at such risk to yourself.”

  She shrugged. “Believe me, we all would have been at much greater risk had I not done it.” She looked over to where Seran rode. ”I doubt he would have made it. One of those things,” she shivered before continuing, “had bitten him. If I did not miss my guess by a league, they were Lakreay. Even though the bite itself had only severed a hand, the venom would have killed him by now.”

  I gaped at Seran as if he really was dead. A Lakreay had bitten off his hand? It was a very strange thought. “Do you mind telling me what had happened? Before I mean.”

  She shook her head. “Father always says that you learn from experience. The advantage here is that our enemies do not know that we had that experience.” She was staring straight ahead and was quiet for such a long while that I thought she was not going to continue.

  When she started talking her voice was low and it looked as though she was seeing the scene in front of her as she spoke. “We were sitting and talking like we had been. Father had told you of the Alliance and you had explained about your family. He started telling you that because of the secrecy required to keep the alliance members alive, much contact had been lost between the families. In fact, we were only in contact very sporadically with one other family. That was when we heard the noise outside. A group of them had gone to the stable and killed all the horses to try to prevent an escape. The screaming horses had alerted us, but too late. They had us surrounded by then. They came pouring in through the windows. We had a safe room, a cellar underneath the house and we tried to get in there. We were backing away from them; you and Seran were in front of us trying to fight them off long enough for us to get into this room. That is when he was bitten.”

  She looked at him again. “He will be loyal to you to the death. He fought on even though he must have been in excruciating pain and weakening by the moment because of blood loss and the venom spreading. Some of our servants lay dead throughout the house. That is when we realised they were not just in front of us. To confirm our worst fears they then came from behind, effectively cutting off our escape route. That was the moment I knew that I had to go back. It was very difficult. In order to come back the memory of the moment I wish to return to must be stronger than the reality of the current moment. You can imagine with fear pumping through me and enemies closing in; I thought I would not be able to do it. You know there was one thing that I could not figure out.” I looked a question at her. “There was the most awful smell. Almost disguised under everything else, but there insipidly spreading. The Lakreay do not have a smell such as that.”

  “I think I may have come across the same creature.”

  Her eyes widened. “When?”

  “It was when we were in Searille which is two days’ travel from Predaki. I woke up in the middle of the night and my room had been searched. The whole room reeked of rotting meat. They had gone through Brant’s room as well. I later checked the Book of Remembrance and by the description in there of the Scavenger’s smell, I would say that is what it was.” She was nodding. “I had also likened it to rotting flesh or meat. What are these Scavengers then?” I told her what we had read in the Book. “Do you have any idea what it had been searching for?” She shook her head a worried frown creasing her brow. “Because of the fire, we could not even have checked if something was missing. Maybe that is why they burnt it down. They did not want us to know what they had taken.” Her face was troubled. “That could be it, but there is no point in fretting over something that we have no way of finding out now.” She nodded, but her frown only deepened.

  Something occurred to me. “Alathaya, you said that your family was in contact with another Alliance member?” She nodded. “Do you know where they are?” She looked confused. “Well, no I do not know their exact location, but I know how we can meet with them. I thought Father had told you of this. I thought that was why we were heading west.” I shook my head. “I did not know where to look for the next member, but I knew we had to get as far away from Andos as possible.” She looked incredulously at me. “You mean we have been a boat without a rudder since we left? How can we just go ambling along without a plan? You realise we were not simply going to be bumping into these people by accident? In this manner, you will get nowhere very fast.”

  I was so taken aback by her tirade that I sat there gaping at her like a fool. She rolled her eyes at me. “Ah, men! You will get lost for a cycle before asking for directions.” After some more head shaking and eye rolling she continued. “The next town along this road is Mirtudale. There we will find Ami; he has carrier pigeons that we use. We can contact them with a message to arrange a meeting.” She shook her head at me and fell back to ride next to Trissa.

  I looked over at Brant and he seemed to be laughing at me.

  I rode up to him scowling. “What?”

  He shrugged. “She put so well what we have all been thinking.”

  I grit my teeth. “I don’t see any of you coming up with any better plans. If you have one let us hear it.”

  He gave a deep belly laugh. “No, that’s fine. I think I like her plan just fine. Seems rather sensible.”

  I could not stop a growl from escaping me. “She did not exactly volunteer this information before, now did she?”

  He shook his head, a broad grin splitting his face from ear to ear. “You did not ask.” I shook my head in exasperation and heeled Balder on to ride next to Seran.

  He spoke before I could say anything. “I do not think you have made any mistakes, but it is nice to have an exact plan of what we do next.” Seeing the look on my face, he held up a hand. “However, as you say, none of us had any better plans and I think this is just part of the nature of what we are doing. No one expects you to have all the answers…or the right questions at the right time. We must all work together.”

  We rode in silence for a while. When I spoke I dropped my voice to a low whisper to avoid anyone else hearing. “Do you think I have made a complete fool of myself with Alathaya?”

  He gave me a knowing smile. “I do not think so. Besides, women like to feel superior to us sometimes; although they would lead you to think they believe that all the time.”

  My mood clouded for the rest of that day, made more so by the giggling conversation that carried on between Alathaya and Trissa. That night Trissa cooked for us making a mouth-watering stew. We shared out some of the flat bread and cheese as well. The wonderful meal lifted my spirits and I even found myself asking Alathaya how far it
was to Mirtudale before I realised I was still not best pleased with her. She smiled at me as if I had conceded a point to her, which made me scowl. “I expect we should be there by late tomorrow afternoon.”

  I wanted to ask her how long then before we would be able to meet her contact, but pride, or stubbornness, or both kept me from asking anything. Instead, I said, “You realise we need to hurry this along as much as possible. The first day of travel was slow and who knows how close the enemy is to finding them before us.”

  With slow patience as if speaking to a child, she replied. “I know all these things Kadin. Do not fret, we will find them as quickly as possible.”

  Fret? I was not fretting! I could feel colour rising in my face, but just as I opened my mouth to retort, I caught a subtle shake of Seran’s head. I snapped my mouth shut.

  I needed to let off some steam so I stood up and walked off into the woods without a word to the rest. I did not even realise I was calling her until Markai came padding up to me. There was no need for an explanation with her. She knew what had happened and she knew how I felt. It was a relief to have her there knowing she, at least, understood. She did not need to say anything to me to make me feel better, I knew what she thought of it and that was enough. I focused my Navitas to help me see in the darkness of the woods.

  A breeze picked up and was swirling the leaves around my feet. Curiously, the wind seemed to thicken into mist. Danger. Markai’s warning was clear and sharp. I unsheathed Sunder. The mist kept thickening and suddenly was swirling up as if pulled by some invisible force. It shaped into a huge man with a blade in his hand, except that he and the blade were nearly transparent and looked insubstantial. Vaguely, I remembered reading in the Book about a creature called a Haze. It had said that its blade was as real as steel. I fell into Crouching Cat form of the Shea-Rin. It attacked, furiously swinging its blade in an arc and toward me. I blocked it easily enough with a loud ring as if it was metal meeting metal and countered with my own attack. My blade sliced right through it effectively bisecting it. It did not even notice that though and I stumbled back as it launched another attack. Markai attacked it from behind, slashing at its back with her massive paw. It went straight through the creature though, and it did not as much as pause to look around.