The Year of the Lumin

by Andrew Ryan Henke

  Chapter 27

  The Lumin's Lodging Inn

  The group left the Bark and Bough early and bought two more horses from a local farmer. Most people on the road out of the city did not pay them any mind as they rode past.

  Once they were alone on the road, Grandel described the capitol and its people to Noir and Ratt. Telfa chimed in occasionally to add details since he'd grown up there.

  They passed many other travelers on the road. Most were in horse drawn carriages as they had seen before. A few tried to stop and peddle, but Grandel quickly refused them, usually shooting a wry look at Ratt all the while.

  At one point, they passed a long line of walking men and women with silver collars on their necks. Noir looked away from the blank faces as he heard Ratt make a scoffing noise in disgust. They rode out of the city and continued on the road eastward.

  Lunch and dinner were eaten on horseback. Dried bread and shriveled berries did not appeal to Noir very much, but it was all they had. Grandel said they could eat better at the inn in the capitol.

  The landscape had changed slowly during the past few days of travel. The tall grasses had become more sparse. The dirt beneath their horses' hooves had become more red and sandy. It reminded him of the trip from his home town out to Wyoming every spring, though it was still a far cry from a desert.

  Breaking up the monotony of rolling scarcely vegetated hills, sparse farms and houses signified their approach to the Chiron capitol. The sun was getting low and it cast long shadows behind the four horses when they finally crested a hill and saw the tall central tower of Chiron that Grandel had described looming over a sprawling city.

  He had said it was called the Azurite Tower. It was the home of the largest group of Syeters in Chiron. Along with the Syeters was Jotunar, the dragon who brought sye to the world. Other than that, no one was quite sure exactly what took place in the halls of the wide tower.

  Grandel had said that although it was by far the largest structure in Chiron, it was not where the senate and government resided. Grandel said he had only been inside the tower once except for the bottom floor which was open to the public. There were baths and fountains in the partially enclosed facility. While it was said to be open to all, guards held out anyone who did not look to be of at least somewhat high fiscal stature.

  As they neared the city, small hovels lined the main street. Horse-drawn carts and people on foot began to clog the street as it widened. A large stone wall was approaching and Telfa said it was the main gates of the city.

  Noir marveled at the capitol as they entered its huge gates. The cities of his world reached taller and more grand scales, but they had tools of equal stature to help build them. The massive amount of stones and clay bricks that must have been moved by hand and horse alone was amazing.

  Once they had passed under the large wall, the buildings on the sides of the street became taller and more well-built. The red, brown, and tan of the dirt beneath their feet was the same color as the buildings. It was almost as if they had been molded directly out of the ground beneath them. Large potted plants and people's clothing were the only things that stood out from the drab surroundings. The sun now painted only the tops of the tallest buildings in orange. The streets below were quickly becoming dark.

  Telfa stopped the group beside a large clay inn and dismounted. The others did as well. Telfa talked to the group. “Well, this is goodbye. If my memory serves me correctly, this is a fine inn and you should have a comfortable stay here.”

  Ratt said, “Aren't you going to stay with us until you find a place to live?”

  “No. I have some old friends I will visit, so long as they still live in the same place. It has been many years,” he said simply as he looked around, obviously anxious to be on his way.

  Grandel stepped forward and said, “Thank you for what you did with Kit. I am still not sure if you shouldn't have just let him strike me down, but I....”

  Telfa responded, “You have done your best to make up for whatever you did in the past. And you kept me and the town safe for many years, so we are even.” He turned to Noir and said, “Good luck finding your uncle. It is a large city and may take a while.” He spoke to all three. “Good luck to all of you. If our paths cross again, I hope it is in peaceful times.”

  They all said their farewells as Telfa detached his belongings from the saddle of his horse. As he watched the man go, Noir thought about when he had first met the man. His defiance of Grandel had been unsettling, but in the end, Telfa was not at all what Noir had expected.

  “Purple?” Interrupting their farewell, a girl's voice came from behind them toward the horse stables. They turned and looked at the newcomer. The girl wore a waitress skirt and apron. Her long, blond, wavy hair hung loose around her shoulders. She looked to be a year or two older than Noir. He felt odd as he realized she was staring straight at him with the most perplexed expression on her face.

  “Excuse me, girl?” Grandel said.

  She looked at Grandel as if shaken out of a trance. She cleared her throat and looked annoyed. “Forget it.” She walked over and held out her hand to Noir who happened to be the closest to her. “Well?” She said curtly.

  Noir raised one eyebrow. “What in the world do you want?”

  The girl's jaw dropped as though she had just been insulted to the highest degree possible. “Fine, you wayward simpletons. Stable your own horses.” She then turned sharply, causing her skirt to flare out in a circle. She walked swiftly back around the inn and disappeared.

  Grandel said, “What an arrogant girl.”

  “Cute, though,” Ratt said.

  Noir shot Ratt a perplexed look. “Cute? You gotta be kidding!”

  Ratt smiled and looked back. “I guess I like arrogant.”

  Grandel cleared his throat. “Anyway...” he lingered on the word to turn their attention from the girl, though he had a smile on his face. “While we are here, I need to be very careful not to draw attention to myself. So you two will have to take over some things.”

  Noir asked, “Why are you so worried about being noticed, anyway?”

  Grandel rolled his eyes, apparently thinking the answer was obvious. He answered with the question, “What do you think they'd do to a deserter general?”

  Noir's imagination answered his question. Grandel spoke to Ratt and continued with his original thought. “I should not make any eye contact or draw any attention to myself, so you need to pay for the room.”

  Ratt took the small pouch of tali that Grandel handed to him and said, “Why me?”

  Grandel smiled and said, “Because it's about time you did something useful.”

  Ratt protested as Grandel pushed him toward the inn door. “Oh, come on! I killed about fifteen straghs in Talik. And I got us that nifty prisoner holder thing for free.”

  Grandel opened the main door and pushed Ratt in. Then he held it open for Noir and smiled mischievously. As Noir walked by the larger man, he asked, “Why do have so much funn messing with him?”

  Grandel laughed and said, “Me? Oh, I don't know. It's just so easy.”

  Noir entered the front lobby. It was a different layout than the other inns they had been to. The front desk was right at the door and was separate from the bar. Both sides opened up to large rooms with many tables and chairs. Behind the front desk were the stairs leading up to the rooms. Ratt had already approached the man tending the desk as Noir walked up behind him.

  The man wore a red and white vest decorated with silver embroidered vines. Most of the other people in the adjoining rooms wore much the same, but in different colors. He said to Ratt, “Welcome to the Lumin's Lodging Inn. How long will you be staying?”

  Ratt replied, “I'm not sure. Can we just pay each night?”

  The man nodded and said, “For tonight it's forty tali.”

  Ratt looked startled and began counting the tali that Grandel had given him. Once he finished, he turned around and started to say, “You only gave me...,” but
he stopped when he did not see Grandel behind him as he had expected. “Hey. Where is the big guy?”

  Noir turned around and noticed Grandel’s absence as well. They looked in both of the rooms and did not see him. “I guess he went to go stable the horses.”

  The innkeeper said flatly, “Do you have the forty or not?”

  Ratt grumbled and pulled out his own tali pouch. “I'm going to get him whenever he gets back.” Ratt counted out ten more tali and placed them on the counter. “There.”

  The man slid them into his own pouch on his belt and said, “Follow me. Your room is on the third floor.”

  Once in the room, Ratt and Noir slung their bags onto the floor. There were four small beds in the room and they both claimed one. After the innkeeper left, they relaxed for a few minutes and unpacked some of their stuff, but Gradnel didn't come back.

  Noir asked, “I guess Grandel left after taking care of the horses. With all that talk about him not wanting to be noticed, why do you think he left like that?”

  Ratt kicked off his boots and laid down. “Beats me.” He stretched out and put his hands under his behind his head. “Hey, we have our own glow sphere in our room. Fancy!”

  Noir also stretched out on his bed. It was the most comfortable bed he had felt since coming to this new world. Despite Ratt's lack of concern, Noir wondered where Grandel had gone. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that after being away for so long, he would want to see more of his hometown.

  Noir's mind wandered to his family. He missed them terribly. Being in this world was interesting and exciting, but he yearned for home. Sometimes he felt himself so wrapped up in what was happening around him that he forgot his original goal: to get back home with his cousin and uncle. Then his mind turned to a question that Noir had never thought before. If it wasn't for his family, would he want to go home? He was more respected in this world. Plus, his leg was fixed. If he returned, would it go back to being damaged? How was he supposed to get home anyway? Could he get home?

  Eventually, Noir's conscious mind shut off and he glided into his dreams.

  Chapter 28

  Kahmi

  Grandel sat on the opposite side of the street from a small tan hovel. It had been many years since he was last in this place and Grandel felt himself unable to proceed.

  The glow spheres on the building corners had become the only sources of light. Grandel absentmindedly walked to one that was growing dim and touched it, causing it to glow again brightly. He walked back to the crate he had been sitting on and realized that if he sat back down, it could be hours before he mustered up the willpower to get up again. He turned and looked at the house and took out the small box that he had carried all those years.

  “How long has it been, Kahmi?” Grandel spoke softly to himself. “I have held my end of the deal. Have you held yours?”

  Grandel finally crossed the street and approached the door. He knocked three times and waited. After a moment, the door opened revealing a man wearing a coat with dozens of pockets.

  Grandel said with as much of a smile as he could muster, “Hello, master chemist.”

  “Can I help you, sir?”

  “I am sorry for coming by so late. I just arrived in town. Is Kahmi….” Grandel was not sure how to finish the question.

  “Yes, she’s here.” The words felt like cool water running through Grandel's nervous body. She was still alive. “Though she obviously doesn’t get out much.” The man paused and shifted his feet. “How can I help you, sir?”

  “Well, I want to see her. I think she’ll want to see me.”

  “Let me ask. Who should I tell her is at the door?”

  “Tell her....” Grandel started before remembering to be careful about using his real name. He couldn’t use a false name because Kahmi wouldn’t let a stranger in. What was something that would convey the message of his identity without giving his real name?

  “Tell her that her hawk is here.”

  The chemist lowered his eyebrows, obviously perplexed at the stranger’s response. Then he said, “Okay, it’ll be just a second.”

  The chemist left for a short moment and then came back with his chemist bag. “The lady summons you and asked me to take my leave. Good evening, sir.”

  Grandel nodded and the chemist pushed past him out the door. Grandel closed the front door and entered into the small room that he had known so well in the past. It was much more plain than the picture from his memory. Kahmi's expensive pottery, paintings, and sculptures that she had once loved were now gone.

  Memories flooded to Grandel of a time long past. Missing was the table where they had written out the plans night after night to escape together with many others and form a truly free town. Missing were the flowers and trinkets that he would bring Kahmi as presents.

  Grandel walked to the gossamer curtains hanging over the doorway. He brushed one aside and ducked into the small bedroom. Kahmi was sitting up with her back propped against the wall. She looked many pounds lighter than he remembered. She smiled warmly at him, but her eyes showed sadness.

  Kahmi's small voice squeaked out, “Hello my hawk.”

  Grandel smiled and walked to her bedside. They shared a long, loving hug. Her body felt thin and frail, not at all like the strong woman he remembered. He knelt, took her fragile hand, and put it to his cheek. “I have missed you, my love. How is the....” Grandel couldn't finish the sentence, but she knew what he meant.

  “It will soon take my life, love. But please, let us talk about more pleasant things. How goes the resistance?”

  Grandel smiled and gave a small laugh. “Resistance? I thought we agreed calling it that that was too… cavalier. We just want to live by ourselves in peace, not resist anyone. Remember?” He kissed her hand and continued. “I fear that topic is not much more pleasant than the other. Talik was recently attacked by straghs and destroyed. And it was all my fault.”

  Kahmi shifted in her bed and said, “What? That's horrible. What happened?”

  “Straghs came in the night. They seemed to know the locations of all of the sentries and scouts. We had no chance.”

  “How was it your fault, though?” Kahmi asked.

  “There was a traitor that I was too trusting and naive to see. Others saw but I was blind to it. Because of my mistake, nearly half of Talik's population perished in the attack. Luxin Kit was the traitor.”

  Kahmi coughed a couple times, then said, “Ah, yes. I could tell Kit was very angry at the world back when I met him. I guess he never was able to get past it. Knowing you and your silly logic, I’d assume you resigned command?” He nodded somberly. “Who now leads?”

  “Elrid was appointed captain when I resigned.”

  “If he is as I remember, Elrid is a good, strong man.”

  “That he is, and a fine leader he will make.”

  “Grandel darling,” Kahmi put a hand on the large man's bearded chin. “It was not your fault. You've always been foolishly hard on yourself. You gave those people hope and helped--” Her words were suddenly cut short by a spasm of coughs. She brought up her other hand to her mouth which had a white cloth in it.

  Grandel watched helplessly as the fury of coughs shook the frail woman's body. Once it finally stopped, she quickly held the cloth far away from sight, but Grandel could smell the blood.

  “No more dodging the topic. Tell me more about your illness, Kahmi?”

  Kahmi smiled sweetly causing dissonance with her cryptic words. “The tali is running out. The Luxin and chemists have reduced their prices for me as much as they could. Even if I keep paying them to come, they say I do not have more than a month, though I think they're lying to me. I'm glad you came when you did.”

  “I have a Luxin with me. He would surely help you if I asked.”

  “No, my love. The Luxins that come already do what they can. You know the disease is incurable. Your coming here was a sign. It is soon time for me to go.”

  Grandel slammed his hands on a night stand
. The glass bottles and plates shook against each other. “You’re just giving up? All this time I’ve waited. What am I supposed to do after you are gone?”

  “Surely with all this time there is another who has touched your heart.”

  Grandel said nothing, but he continued to keep his eyes away from Kahmi. He turned the small box over in his other hand. He had not noticed himself pulling it from his belt pouch.

  “Did you ever open it?” She motioned to the box.

  “No, of course not. As I promised.”

  Softly Kahmi said, “Open it now, Grandel.”

  Grandel stood sharply up and turned away from her. “No! You have not passed. That is what you told me before. To wait until you passed on.” He turned back around and held out his hands in a pleading manner. “There are rumors of the Lumin appearing. If he is real, he could cure you.”

  Kahmi smiled and took one of Grandel's outstretched hands. “Darling. It is a fool's hope, and you are not a fool. He will be a false Lumin just like the others.”

  “No.” Grandel shook his head. “No. I have not given up hope and neither should you. I will check out this Lumin tomorrow.”

  Grandel turned to leave but Kahmi's small voice came from behind him. “Grandel, darling. Stay with me tonight. It has been so long. Stay with me and hold me.”

  Chapter 29

  The Din Mage

  Noir was awakened by a rough hand on his shoulder.

  “Luxin Noir. Wake up. It's almost mid-morning and I need your help.”

  Grandel stood above Noir with a serious look on his face. “What is it, Grandel?” Noir blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. “Why now? Do you know the last time that I got to sleep late?” He sat up and motioned toward the lump in the bed across the room. “Why can't Ratt help you? He always gets to sleep in.”

  “Please, Noir. Only you can help me with this task. It is very important to me.”