“No,” Kaden answered. “I never thought to look.”
“They were there for an important mission, so I imagine it’s possible that they were Sleepers. If that’s the case, they will still be alive and in Marenon somewhere too.”
“What do you mean?” Kaden asked, his stomach churning.
“Well, they were Human, right?”
Kaden nodded.
“Garland originally died on Earth and spent many years here in Marenon,” Jiaros explained. “After Silas was born, the Gatekeeper allowed him to pass through the Blue Gate back to Earth to offer Silas protection. Garland was killed on Earth seventeen years later, right? He then showed up in Marenon again. Why wouldn’t it be the same with Marcus and Theron? I imagine they are still out there, ready to be used again.”
Kaden couldn’t believe it. The Sleepers, the execution; everything seemed to be falling apart.
“They must have passed through the barrier from Marenon to Earth before Garland made his agreement with The Gatekeeper,” Jiaros said. “That agreement would have kept the Stühocs from entering Earth so long as Garland remained alive. Mere Humans without a powerful magical ability would never be able to open any gate for themselves. But Anithistor had that power. He must have been anticipating Garland’s move and sent them right away.”
“I don’t buy it,” Kaden said. “It took seventeen years for them to find Silas and Garland.”
“It was a shot in the dark for Anithistor, I’m sure,” Jiaros said. “I hear Earth is a big place. And for all you or I know, Garland could have kept his location hidden very well. The confrontation that killed Garland on Earth a second time, might not have been their first conflict on Earth.”
“Silas had never seen them before.”
“Do you remember anything before your third birthday?” Jiaros asked. “If it had happened when he was a child, he would not remember. This is all speculation anyway, but it’s all possible too.”
Jiaros had a point, but to see it unfold like this was bizarre. He wondered who else could be a Sleeper. There was Holden, Marcus and Theron. But who else? He knew Spencer was a definite possibility. He was sure of the first three, but what about the other four? No! Could Julian have been right after all? Those three plus the four council members would make seven. Using the council members could have potentially given the Stühocs all the power they needed. Kaden couldn’t accept it, though.
“If you’re thinking that Julian is right, think long and hard about it, Kaden. I don’t think that the memory orb can be manipulated in such a way, but I also don’t know how all those members could have been possessed. I fought beside Darius Umar in the war. His actions were not controlled by the Stühocs then, I assure you.”
“Nor would he betray us,” Kaden said matter-of-factly. “Nor would any of them.”
“You should try to stop him,” Jiaros said. “You have my permission to leave and take care of this.”
“What about Silas and Inga?” Kaden asked.
Jiaros shook his head. “This is not their fight.”
Kaden wasn’t going to argue with him about it. Silas and Inga already had their plan for getting out of the city in search for the Gatekeeper. He didn’t know why Jiaros insisted on keeping them here, but with this new situation in front of him, he didn’t have time to worry about it.
“I want Lorcan to go with me then.”
“I can’t let you take him. He’s a criminal and will be given swift justice.”
“Come on, Jiaros. You and I both know that it was because of you that he’s in there right now. Your favoritism got him in trouble. Your fool of a son didn’t help things either.”
Jiaros said nothing to this. He looked at his feet for a long time before speaking. Kaden could see that Lorcan had been right; the king still favored the young Erellen. He was torn between showing justice, and giving mercy to a friend. His people would hold him accountable for his decision.
He sighed to himself, then looked up at Kaden. “I’m sorry. I cannot.”
Kaden couldn’t help but show his disappointment. The king had made his decision and Lorcan was going to face trial. The bad part about it was that Lorcan was guilty. There was no denying it, for it had come from Lorcan’s own mouth. Kaden believed, however, that knowing the circumstances could help Lorcan’s case. It hadn’t been cold-blooded murder. Lorcan had been defending himself. He had probably let his anger get in the way of better judgment, but he was no criminal.
Kaden turned to leave. As he made his way back down the stairs, Jiaros’ voice called down to him. He stopped for a moment, turning his head only slightly.
“I’m calling a meeting within the hour to discuss protocol with the prison guards and to make some changes. I suppose that will mean Lorcan will only have one guard near him.”
Kaden turned back to Jiaros with his eyes lowered, hoping he was hearing what he thought the king was saying.
“It would be terrible if Lorcan were to escape,” Jiaros said as he stared out through the window. “I don’t suppose I would permit any pursuit, but if he were to ever come back to Elysium, the guards would have the obligation to kill him on sight.” He turned back to Kaden and shrugged. “Just thought I would let you know, friend to friend.”
Kaden bowed deeply at the waist and turned to leave. No more words were needed. Within the hour, he and Lorcan Zamire would be on their way to Farlaweer to try and stop Julian from destroying the Dunarians.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A few hours after the sun had gone down, Coffman stood in front of the small fire as thirty or more slaves gathered around him. They knew they could all be executed for holding a meeting of any kind, especially after working hours. Slaves were not permitted to converse with each other unless it was related to their work. But most of them were ready to die for their freedom, and this was a necessary step.
Two days before, just after Anithistor had declared that Alric, Nalani, and Daewyn would be the first of the Soldiers of the Dead, a man named Ellis said something that caught Coffman’s attention. It was something like: We will die before we let him turn us. When Coffman tried to ask him about it, the man just tried to move away from him. Coffman didn’t let him. He had followed him down an alley and thrown him up against the wall.
“You’re not one of the spies, are you?” Ellis said with a grimace.
“The what?”
“People who act like slaves, but have been put in place to tell the authorities what they overhear.”
“Far from it,” Coffman said, setting the man back down and pointing up. “My friends are up in those cages, and I’m looking for a way of getting them out.”
The man snorted. “Good luck.”
“You said something about being dead before the Soldiers of the Dead could be formed?”
“It’s what I hope,” Ellis said. He looked in both directions and continued with a whisper. “There are a few of us who are talking of revolting, but we don’t have the numbers to support it.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know,” Ellis said shrugging. “I imagine all of the slaves would if they knew we stood a chance.”
That was all Coffman needed to hear. Ellis had told him it would take a little bit of time to gather the people necessary for a meeting, but they were all there now. A meeting such as this was dangerous, not only because they could be seen, but also because there was always a possibility of spies among them.
Coffman looked around at the others, disappointed by the small numbers, but encouraged that many of them were section leaders. Each section leader had about a hundred or more people under his command. All of this was a long shot, but his friends were scheduled to die the next morning, and something had to be done about it.
Ellis didn’t have to call the meeting to order, for everyone was already silent. Fear permeated the small crowd of people in a way that Coffman had never seen before. There was a sense of desperation among them, knowing that at any moment they could be killed.
Yet they sat peacefully in front of a small fire, waiting.
“Well, I don’t really know how to start something like this, so I’ll just get to the point,” Ellis said. “We outnumber the enemy ten to one. That includes the recent addition of the Stühocs that came in two days ago.”
“They outnumber us ten to zero in arms,” a man said. “We’ve got no weapons at all. You speak of revolt, but we’ve got nothing!”
“Not true,” another man said. “They aren’t swords, but some of us have hammers and others have sharpened tools.”
“And surprise,” Coffman said. “The element of surprise is key.”
“That’s right,” Ellis said.
“You can’t forget that we’ve only got the thirty of us or so,” a man chimed in. “Even if the people under our command follow us, there’s no guarantee that more will join in the fight.”
“I think you underestimate the desire of everyone out there,” Ellis said. “All of them are ready to fight, with or without weapons. “I wager if they see us fighting, they are going to join in.”
“I don’t think it can be done.”
“You don’t think it can be done without losing lives,” Coffman said to the man. “If that is your thought, then you are right. People will die here tomorrow if we revolt. But if we don’t, all of us will be Soldiers of the Dead. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Pyramid is complete and the Sphere is ready. They don’t need all of us anymore. What do you think they plan to do with us?”
He let the words sink in, knowing that most had not thought of it that way. A reflective silence hovered around the group. They were in a small area of the slave camp. Their fire probably wouldn’t be noticed since there were many fires dispersed throughout the camp. In their silence, however, the sound of approaching footsteps jolted them to attention.
When the Stühoc appeared, none of them knew what to do. Almost all of them stood ready to fight, though they had nothing in their hands. The Stühoc held up its hands declaring his apologies. Upon closer observation they could see that he wasn’t a Stühoc at all. He was Human.
“Sorry about the disguise,” the man said. “It’s kept me alive for the past couple of days.”
“Who are you?” Ellis called out angrily.
“My name is Dink,” he said. “I came in behind the first caravan a couple of days ago.”
“What are you doing here?”
Dink looked around sheepishly. “I assumed this was your camp. I was looking for some decent food. The stuff they feed Stühocs is barely edible, and it’s all I’ve had to eat for a few days.”
“Sorry,” Ellis said. “No food here. Now be on your way, and tell no one of what you saw here tonight.”
“Wait a second,” Coffman said. “Did you say you came in with the caravan?”
“The first one,” Dink confirmed. “My wife is still in one of the carriages. They’re being given food and water, but I don’t know why they haven’t been released to the camps.”
“You mean the first caravan of Humans aren’t brainwashed?” Ellis asked.
Dink shook his head. “They aren’t from Mudavé like Anithistor’s caravan. These are fresh recruits. The Stühocs have been attacking villages up and down the Midland, taking as many prisoners as possible. They are moving them directly here.”
“The Stühocs will use them and us for their new army,” Ellis said.
“What’s that?” Dink asked.
Coffman briefly explained the weapon and how it was meant to create an army called the Soldiers of the Dead. Dink’s jaw dropped open.
“You mean, they plan to use that thing on my wife?”
“I would say that’s why they haven’t been released yet. They are going to use the Sphere tomorrow,” Ellis said, almost to himself. “They’ll start with your friends,” he nodded to Coffman. “They’ll move on to the caravans, one of which carries your wife, and eventually they’ll move on to us.”
“We can’t stand by and let any of that happen,” Coffman said. “We’ve got to fight before they get a chance to create their new army. If that happens they’ll outnumber us thirty to one. Then there will be no chance at all. It’s tomorrow morning or not at all.”
“He’s right,” Dink said. “I’ve been hearing some chatter about something big happening. I haven’t been able to get in the conversations much, but it sounds like they are planning a massive attack on Jekyll Rock. I suppose it’ll be with this new army of theirs.”
Ellis dropped his head.
“So it’s decided,” Coffman said. “We fight tomorrow, before anyone can be turned.”
“What’s the plan then?” Ellis asked.
No one spoke for about a minute.
“I think we should go for the snake’s head,” Coffman said finally. “Anithistor is going to want everyone to see the power of the Sphere. He might be standing next to it, or maybe Mintuk. Either way, one of them will be standing next to the pedestal, watching the demonstration. If we can kill one of them, or at least attempt to, it could spark mayhem.”
“Which is exactly what we want,” Ellis said. “How can we do it?”
A man stuck his hand in the air. “Hi,” he said shakily. “My name is Darren.”
“Nice to meet you Darren. What can we do for you today?” Ellis asked sarcastically.
“My group is in charge of pulley systems,” he said as though that meant something to anyone else.
Ellis sighed. “What’s your point?”
“Well, we make the scaffolding the builders use to reach the top of the Pyramid. They’re pulled up by ropes. To initially set the ropes in place, we have to shoot them to the top with a grappling gun. We could use it as a weapon A harpoon, if you will.”
“Does it have a decent range?” Ellis asked him.
“It reaches the top of the structure,” Darren answered timidly. “So, I think it would have a decent range.”
“Would you have a way of getting it into the Pyramid for the demonstration tomorrow?”
“Easily,” Darren said. “There might already be some in there.”
For the next hour, the group discussed where each man would be positioned. The Nestorians would have them confined to certain parts of the structure, but all of them were sure they would be able to position themselves in the correct places. Since Darren had the most skill with shooting the hooks, he was selected to be the assassin. The idea was to take out Anithistor with the shot. The hope was that he would be killed, but if Darren missed, it wouldn’t be the end. It was the signal to start. Each department leader would tell his group that during the assembly they would start a revolt. All of them were expected to fight. The hope was that there would be so much pandemonium that the slaves would be able to grab hold of weapons and fall back to the slave quarters. The quarters were situated in such a way that they could not be surrounded, or attacked from behind because of their proximity to the city walls. The Stühocs and Nestorians could only mount a frontal assault. The hopes were that, by the sheer strength of numbers, the captives would be able to take the city. All of them knew it was a stretch, but they agreed that they would rather fight against the Stühocs and Nestorians than become their Soldiers of the Dead.
When the meeting was over, Ellis pulled Coffman aside.
“At the assembly, I want you to be next to Darren. I don’t know if he’ll have the guts to do it. If he doesn’t, or if he gets caught, we’re going to need a second attempt. No signal, no fight, you understand?”
Coffman nodded. He did understand. The signal might possibly be the most important part of the revolt. His friends’ lives depended on it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Night fell more quickly than either Silas or Inga had anticipated. Both of them had spent most of the afternoon in their designated rooms, secluded from each other. At this point, it was the preferable plan for Silas. He didn’t need to be around Inga. Seeing her in Lorcan’s desiring arms sparked more jealousy in him than Silas could have imagined. He ha
d to tell himself over and over that it was the desperation of a person facing his own mortality, mixed with the vulnerability of a female friend who hated to see him in such a state. Whatever the case, it proved that Inga and Lorcan’s relationship went deeper than friendship.
He tried to shake the thoughts from his head as he sat up at the end of his bed. He knew he couldn’t be angry with Inga. Lorcan had put her into the situation. He couldn’t be mad at Lorcan because he hadn’t known about Silas and Inga. He was also facing death. Silas hated this. He wouldn’t speak to Inga about it at all. If she wanted to talk about it, he would let her do it. Silas just decided to focus on the task at hand. No kissing, no love, just the mission.
The mission.
No one had really said this, but the thought came to Silas’ mind that what he and Inga were about to do was a huge step in the direction of completing The Reckoning. The operation conceived by his grandfather would still be carried on through Silas and the others. Silas doubted Garland Ainsley had expected that most of the people who would help to accomplish The Reckoning weren’t technically members of the Dunarian group. Kaden was the exception, but no one else on the council seemed to be very involved.
Garland Ainsley had paved the way for Silas to be where he was at this moment. He sat in his room deep within the confines of the Erellen city. Jiaros had kept Silas’ presence a secret from the people. Though no one would recognize him by sight, Jiaros knew that if Silas’ identity was discovered, the Erellen people might have thrown him a parade. He was the Meshulan and was respected not only by Humans, but Erellens as well. Silas assumed this was because he was an anomaly; he knew of no one else in Marenon who was half Human and half Erellen.
Thoughts of his parents would come to his mind from time to time. He wondered what they might have looked like and what kind of people they were. He had spent much of his childhood wondering about them, but once he had grown, he did not give it much thought. His grandfather had been the only parent he ever needed and he was fine with that. He never felt like he missed out by not having a mother and a father. Sure, he wished their lives had not ended so tragically, but what was done was done. Dwelling on them would not bring them back to life and would only deter him from finishing his purpose in Marenon.
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