“Those men, they were not from this village were they?” he asked.
“No. They arrived several years ago. Before we knew what was happening they had driven out or killed most of our menfolk. Several of us tried to escape. Fabian and the others caught them, dragged them back. The punishments we suffered made certain no one else dared to escape. Lisle got the farthest. She made it to another village. They found her there and the people of that village just stood aside, watched as she was dragged away. Once she was back in the village she had the word whore cut into her face in punishment. Since then no one has tried to escape.”
“And the Bronze Order visited? They did nothing?”
“Yes. Four or five times. All they cared about was the darkness that their toys revealed. Somehow none of our masters ever failed the test. I don’t know how.”
“I do. The test is very specific. Those men had darkness throughout their souls, but not the dark power.”
Several of the woman made the sign against evil.
“Will you be all right?” Sarah asked the woman.
“Aye, we will be now. Thanks to you. Some of us have relatives in nearby villages. None dared to visit or come to our aid, but now they will. With their help we will get our village back to how it should be. More than that. I saw how you stood against them lady. I intend to learn how to fight. If their like visit our village again they will find that women can fight even more fiercely than men.”
“Good!” Sarah smiled at the woman. “This is a cruel world. You have to be able to fight for what matters to you.”
“Sir,” the woman addressed Daniel again. “If you won’t accept payment, is there any way that we can aid you?”
“A little fresh food would be welcome, but what we mostly need are directions. We seek Echtberg. Can you tell us which way it lies?”
“I believe we can. Lisle travelled much in her youth. I am sure she can help you. And while you speak to her we will prepare a meal for you and supplies for you to take.”
“Please, only if you can spare the food.”
“Oh we can. We suddenly have nine fewer mouths to feed, and those mouths were the ones that took the most food, and the best. Now, let’s see how Lisle can help…”
Chapter Fifteen
Lisle was not only able to help but delighted to. She led Daniel and Sarah to her home. As she drew a rough map she spoke of her travels. Daniel saw glimpses of the young woman she once was, a woman who had travelled far and wide, often without an escort. She wasn’t able to tell Daniel the exact location of Echtberg from where they now were, but she could show the route in terms of villages and other landmarks.
Daniel was reminded in part of the memories he had stolen from Razgul, memories that had been a series of landmarks. This was different though. Lisle was showing them the most direct route she could think of. Other villages and landmarks were added in case they lost their way, but other than that the focus was on getting them to Echtberg quickly.
Finally she sat back, studied the map for a short while then nodded in satisfaction.
“That’ll get you there,” she said. “Take care when you do. Echtberg is a big town. Plenty of traps for the unwary. Why do you travel there?”
Sarah answered before Daniel could speak.
“My daughter was taken. She’s only seven years old and something terrible took her from us. All we know now is that she has been taken to Echtberg. Once there we will find her.”
Lisle smiled at Sarah, grasped her hands.
“We in this village know that pain better than most. We suffered at the hands of the men your brother killed in many ways. Losing our children was one, be it the boys who were driven away or the girls whose innocence was taken far too young, leaving women where there should only have been children. I hope you succeed. My map will help. I just wish there was more I could do.”
“It’s more than enough,” replied Sarah firmly. “It will save us days of travel, maybe even weeks. The sooner we get to Echtberg the sooner we can save Mary.”
“Like I said, it’s a big place. Crawling with the Bronze Order too.” She gestured at Daniel. “Your brother will need to be cautious. One display of his magic and every one of them in the town will be chasing you. Not that he is your brother of course.”
Daniel looked at Lisle sharply. Her eyes held certainty. There seemed no point in denying it.
“No,” he said softly. “I am just a friend. I have sworn to see Mary safe.”
“Pretty good friend to have. How about Mary’s father?”
Sarah’s face crumpled and she was unable to speak.
“I know that look,” Lisle said softly. “He’s dead I take it.”
Daniel nodded. “He died earlier today.”
Sarah’s body started to shake with silent sobs and Lisle immediately grabbed her in a hug.
“Oh… oh my dear… I had no idea. And you were standing out there so bravely. Standing there ready to cut the balls off that Fabien. Come on. Let yourself cry. You can’t keep this sort of thing bottled up. I know. Believe me I know.”
Lisle gestured to Daniel, making shooing motions and pointing towards the door. He nodded, smiled his thanks to Lisle for her actions then quietly stepped outside.
Daniel walked to the edge of the village and stood staring off into the trees. Only now was Jon’s death really sinking in. Daniel had been so worried about fleeing from the Bronze Order and about how Sarah was feeling that he hadn’t found time to mourn himself. He’d only known Jon for such a short time, yet it felt like so much longer. Daniel had felt at ease in Jon’s company from the start. While Sarah had viewed Daniel with suspicion and outright hostility, Jon had been friendly and welcoming. Daniel suspected it related to Jon’s powers, that they lay latent but allowed Jon to grasp on an instinctual level that Daniel’s power came from a natural source. That there was no darkness involved.
Now Daniel started to realise how much he would miss Jon’s company. Worse, he realised that Mary was somewhere waiting for her parents and Daniel to rescue her — he couldn’t begin to consider any other possibility. Now Mary would never get to see her father again. The thought made Daniel’s heart ache and his chest tighten. Tears threatened to spill down his cheeks.
“I could see what you did you know.”
Daniel had no idea how long he had stood there when the voice startled him from his thoughts. Turning he found a young boy, maybe eight or nine, standing just out of arms reach. The boy looked a little nervous but determined to stay where he was.
“I could see,” he repeated. “When they attacked you with their hammers and knives. You made a shield around you. It was full of colours and so beautiful. Like a rainbow. Is that how you did it? Did you pull a rainbow from the sky to protect yourself?”
Daniel just stared for a moment, stunned both by the sudden transition from thoughts of Jon and by what the boy was saying. Seeing the boy becoming impatient Daniel managed to speak.
“No… no, not a rainbow. You saw it? You saw the powers I used? You saw all the colours?”
“Yes! I saw red and green and blue and white and some others.”
“And can you ever use those colours? Reach out and touch them? Move them around?”
The boy suddenly looked guilty. He clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. Daniel smiled gently, then sat down on the ground so he wasn’t towering over the boy. The boy considered for a moment then sat down too.
“I am Daniel. What is your name?”
“Johnathan. Everyone calls me Johnny though.”
Daniel swallowed hard. It had to be coincidence, but what a coincidence! To meet a young boy who could sense magical power on the same day as Jon was struck down. If the boy had only been able to see the green power of healing, as Jon had, then Daniel would have struggled to believe it could be any form of coincidence. The boy could do far more though. He could at least sense all the powers. And Daniel suspected more than just sense.
“Johnny,” Daniel said quietly, reassuringly.
“Your mother has told you not to speak of seeing these colours, has she not?”
Johnny nodded. “She says the witch hunters will take me if I do. But I’m sure I can speak to you. The witch hunters would take you too, wouldn’t they?”
“They have tried,” Daniel replied. “They failed.”
Johnny’s eyes went wide. “You beat the witch hunters?” he asked, amazed.
“Yes, I beat them. They could not hold me.”
“Wow! That’s amazing. I wish I had powers like you. Then the witch hunters couldn’t frighten mum. And those men you killed, the really bad men, I could have killed them when they first came here. I could have made everyone happy like you did.”
“Johnny, you can trust me. Tell me the truth. Can you touch the colours?”
Johnny studied Daniel with big eyes, clearly thinking hard. That alone was confirmation for Daniel but he wanted the boy to admit it. Daniel realised he could make that happen, he could stretch out his will and nudge the boy in the right direction. He didn’t. Once again any thoughts of forcing another to his own will made Daniel uncomfortable, like the first step on the road to darkness.
Did the original Golden Order wrestle with these problems Daniel wondered. Or did they master such thoughts before their transition. Or maybe having others of their kind around kept such thoughts from occurring. He would never know.
Finally Johnny nodded.
“Don’t tell mum I told you,” he said quietly. “She’d get upset.”
“I will not. I promise. What can you do with the colours?”
“Nothing really. Nothing like you did. I can touch them, change their shape a little. Not enough to make anything happen.”
“You are still very young. Keep practising and I am sure you will be able to do far more one day.”
“As much as you can?” Johnny asked breathlessly.
“Yes.” Daniel smiled. “Maybe even more.”
“Wow! I’ll keep practising. I want to be able to save people.”
“Johnny, listen to me. This is important. You must not…”
“I know, I know. Mum keeps telling me. I mustn’t tell anyone. I mustn’t touch the colours where anyone could see. If anyone I don’t know comes to the village I must go and hide in the small cave until mum comes to get me.”
“All those are important, but I was going to say something different. Johnny, you must not use your powers to hurt anyone, or to make them do something they do not want to do.”
“Why?”
Such a simple question, yet Daniel found himself struggling to explain. How could he possibly explain it in terms such a young child would begin to understand, let alone take to heart. Then Daniel’s eyes fell on the bodies of those he had killed earlier and he had his answer.
“Those men I killed, they were very strong. Did they make people do things they did not want to? Did they use their power to hurt other people?”
Johnny nodded, eyes wide.
“Your power, touching the colours, is no different than the strength of those men. If you use that strength to hurt people, even just to make them do something they did not want to, then you will start to become like them. Every time you do something nasty it will become easier to do it again, until one day you do it without thinking. The strength they had made them evil inside. I want you to be better than them. Can you do that?”
Johnny nodded again. “Yes, I can. I promise.”
“Good.”
“If I practice really hard can I be like you one day? Can I be part of the Golden Order?”
“Yes. If you practice really hard, and you do as I said, then I will try to come back one day and see if you still want to join me. My road is dangerous though. I may be killed. If I never come back then remember me and live your life well. Look after others and stand against the darkness. If you can do all those things then you will be part of the Golden Order, even if I never return.”
Johnny sat up straight, puffing his chest out. There was a determined gleam in his eyes. Daniel smiled at the boy, realising that he had started something important. For the first time he started to look beyond rescuing Mary and considered the path he would take afterwards. The Golden Order had clearly been a force for good, a force dedicated to fighting darkness. Daniel was beginning to understand that there were many kinds of darkness. Some came from the Creeping Dark, the Dark God, but too many came from the souls of men. Daniel didn’t know if the original Golden Order had fought against every form of darkness, but he felt that it should have.
Daniel realised that he had already decided to form a new Golden Order if possible, though he hadn’t consciously known it until then. His words to Johnny showed how he was thinking. Johnny fidgeted, making Daniel realise he had been sitting in thought for some time.
“I will leave soon, but I can teach you one thing that will help you greatly. Concentrate on creating patterns with the colours. Lots of patterns mixing different colours in different ways. Study the patterns you make, study what effect they have. The better your patterns the stronger you will be.”
“I will. Thank you!”
“Johnny! Johnny, come here! Stop pestering Ser Daniel!”
“Yes Mum!” Johnny shouted. He turned to Daniel quickly.
“Thank you!”
“My pleasure. Remember… practice the patterns.”
“I will!”
“Johnny!” his mother shouted once more.
Johnny jumped up without another word and ran over to his mother. She scolded him for pestering Daniel then sent him back to his house, then she walked over to Daniel who stood to meet her.
“I’m so sorry Sir. I hope Johnny didn’t trouble you.”
Daniel could see the question in her eyes, the question she couldn’t bring herself to ask. He took pity on her.
“Yes, I do know that Johnny has unusual powers. It will take time and practice but he should be able to develop powers like my own.”
She stood with her mouth open, shock on her face.
“It is all right. Really. The powers are not evil, they are not rooted in darkness. The power, the colours as he calls them, are all natural. They come from the world around us.”
“I know. I can see them.”
Now it was Daniel’s turn to stare in surprise.
“I can’t touch them,” she continued. “Not like Johnny can. But I can see them. I know the powers aren’t evil, if I didn’t I’d have banned him from using them at all. Or tried to. The power is part of him. He’s a good boy, he does as I ask. He keeps his powers hidden from everyone. Everyone except you.” She followed the last sentence with a wry smile.
“I think I made quite an impression on him. He wants to be like me when he grows up. To protect you, and other people, from men like those I killed. I think he will be able to but he needs to practice and he needs to be careful not to be found.”
“I know. The Bronze Order would kill him if they knew of his powers. All the children scatter when they arrive though so Johnny doesn’t stand out.”
“He told me about the cave. He knows what to do.”
“All these years of being careful, and he spills everything to a stranger!”
“Believe me, I will not be talking to anyone from the Bronze Order. He saw what I did, he saw me use my powers, and wanted to talk about it. He wants to become one of the Golden Order when he grows up.”
“Is that possible? Will they have him?”
Daniel laughed. “The Golden Order disappeared from these lands hundreds of years ago if not longer. I recently became aware of them, and in effect became the first member since they disappeared, so for the moment I am the Golden Order. If Johnny avoids using his power for evil or unkind reasons then yes, I would be very pleased to have him join when he grows old enough. It will be a dangerous life though. There is so much darkness in these lands, both the kind that people create themselves and the kind sent by dark powers. Anyone choosing to make a stand against that darkness will be hated and hunted.”
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“I can see that. They will be adored too though, by those they manage to save. You will never be forgotten by any of us, or by our descendants. We will grasp the chance you gave us with both hands. No one will take our freedom again.”
“Good. I have killed today. I killed men who offered me no alternative but it still makes my soul ache. Seeing the good that has come from it goes some way to dulling that ache.”
“I’m glad. Now, I’d better go check on Johnny. I’m sure he’s aching to start practising with his powers. I need to make sure he’s well away from the village first. I’ll send him out on some errand.”
She turned and walked away, leaving Daniel with his thoughts. He turned to face the forest again, but this time with hope in his heart instead of pain. On his own his ability to fight back against darkness was limited. Very limited. But if he could bring others to his side, if others joined the fight, then they could achieve so much more.
Chapter Sixteen
When Lisle and Sarah emerged Daniel studied Sarah carefully. Her eyes were red from crying but she stood tall. As they joined Daniel he bowed to Lisle.
“Thank you for your directions,” he said.
“Like I said, I’m glad I could help.” Despite her words Daniel could tell she was pleased by his gesture.
“I wish I could do something about your scars,” Daniel said gently, hoping not to offend Lisle. To his surprise she laughed.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m past the age of chasing after men and I’ve done all the travelling I want to. No one’s going to see these scars except my friends right here, and they all know what they mean. They mean I stood up to those ball-less sons of bitches. Stood up to them so bad they had to do something terrible to me. They weren’t smart enough to know, but everyone saw it that way from the moment my face was cut up. Every day those bastards stared at a reminder that someone was strong enough to get away from them. That someone was brave enough to face them down. That’s why I stayed instead of running again.”
“You are an amazing woman Lisle.”
“Why thank you Ser Daniel. You ain’t so bad yourself. If I was ten years younger you’d have to watch yourself! Now, let me see about getting you some fresh supplies.”
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