Pledged

by Gwynneth White

  “If I do that the Gefallen will have you, Caleb, and your soul could be lost forever.”

  “I said go!” Caleb shouted.

  Erin and Seth saw Phineas hesitate, but Gideon spoke from the world of the dead: “Honour Caleb’s right to choose.”

  With a heavy sigh of defeat, Phineas dissolved like a dying flame into the Fourth Dimension.

  Chapter 18

  ENSLAVED

  Seth and Erin watched Caleb as he sank into the closest chair. His hands clutched the arms, digging his fingers into the Lightning Bird motifs carved there.

  “What’s he thinking?” Erin asked, breaking the heavy silence.

  “Part of him can’t believe Jared’s really gone. Although they’ve hated each other for so long, Caleb always meant to make him Lord of the Armoury when he came to power. He knows that for his vision to work in Shenaya, he has to have a muscle man on his side to keep everyone under control. That was always Jared’s job. They’ve planned it for years.

  “So Caleb is now–”

  “Seriously doubting the reason for his existence.”

  They watched Caleb exhale slowly.

  “There’s more.” Seth closed his eyes as he delved into Caleb’s mind. “Talitha. It’s almost painful how much he loves her. But with all the stories he’s heard about her, he’s so confused. Is she really alive? Does she still love him? That kind of stuff. Without that he can’t make proper decisions.”

  “It’s such a pity he won’t trust the Guardians.”

  Seth faced Erin. “You can say what you like about me and authority figures, but the fact is, the Guardians aren’t perfect.” He slapped his chest. “The mortal Seth, me, the guy that I am, didn’t ask for this experience. I was shoved into it. Same as what’s happening with Caleb.”

  Erin frowned. She could see Seth’s point, but for some reason having this experience didn’t bother her at all. In fact, she was loving it. I wonder what makes me so different to Seth or Caleb?

  “Look! Caleb’s hand.”

  Seth’s voice pulled her away from her musings. A small flame had licked up out of the chair’s armrest, spreading a deep red glow across Caleb’s bandaged fingers.

  Feeling the heat, Caleb also looked down, gasped, and then leapt to his feet. The Lightning Bird carving had reared up, shooting fire from its beaks.

  They heard a scuttling noise coming from behind a rack of hand-axes, loud in the heavy silence. Seth and Erin, and Caleb, pulled their eyes away from the burning Lightning Bird and scanned every corner of the room, every weapon rack, but they saw nothing.

  Then a voice Seth and Erin found vaguely familiar but could not place spoke. “Guardians and Gefallen. Curses and Prophecies. All so unfair, don’t you agree?” A man of average height, dressed in a dark brown animal pelt robe appeared, standing in the air before them. His face was unremarkable, almost benign-looking. Erin was about to ask him if he was Guardian, but Caleb got in first.

  “Who are you? You emerge from nothing, like a Guardian. But I said all Guardians can go to hell. Gefallen too, while we’re about it.”

  “I’m neither a Guardian nor a Gefallen, Caleb.” The man chuckled. “Although Reuel and Gideon would strenuously deny it, there are those amongst the dead who support neither one of them.”

  “And I suppose you claim to be one of those.”

  “I do.”

  A doubting frown creased Caleb’s face. “Then what do you want here?”

  “To help you.”

  “Why? I didn’t ask for it.”

  “Because, like you, I think it’s time the dead sorted out their own problems and left the living alone.”

  Caleb’s eyes narrowed as he considered the man’s words; then he took a step closer. “You have my attention. Keep talking.”

  “I can help you implement your vision for Shenaya. Once your father dies, of course.”

  “So you’re not suggesting I kill him? How refreshing.”

  The man smiled. “You will be successful with whatever you do, Caleb. If you use the helpers I will send you.”

  “Helpers?”

  “Yes. Others who share our vision for Shenaya.”

  “Dead people?”

  “No. I told you, I don’t approve of the dead meddling in the affairs of the living.” When Caleb frowned at that seemingly obvious contradiction, he added, “I’m different to the others, as you will see as we get know each other. And the helpers of which I speak still breath living air. You rub shoulders with them every day. You just haven’t seen their worth – yet.”

  “What’s your name?” Caleb asked, more intrigued that he cared to admit.

  “Only Guardians and Gefallen are obsessed with hanging onto their mortal names after death. I have long since renounced mine. But if you must call me something, then call me Nimrod. I’m an archangel. Like an inquisitor, I stand above the dead, monitoring and punishing those that interfere with the living. And I understand you have been severely harassed by both Lucien and Phineas. I’m here to assure you that it will never happen again.”

  “What about my mother?” Caleb asked angrily. “You’ve forgotten to mention her.”

  “Your mother?”

  “Yes. She made me try to kill my father.”

  Nimrod raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. “Hmm . . . I think you’re mistaken.”

  “Phineas told me it was her,” Caleb insisted. “She’s a Gefallen, and she made a deal with Reuel.”

  “Made a deal with Reuel, did she? Now that would be most unwise. He’s notorious for breaking his word.” Then Nimrod laughed. “But I can assure you, Caleb. Your mother would never have been so foolish.”

  “Well, that’s what Phineas said. That she loved my father so she made a deal to be with him.”

  “And you believed Phineas! Really, Caleb. How conceivable is it that anyone – let alone a beautiful woman like Cassandra – could love your father?”

  Caleb had to agree. “If my mother isn’t a Gefallen, what is she?”

  “One of the neutral ones. She stands above the conflict between your Family and Norin. She wants nothing more than to enjoy a peaceful death.”

  “Then who tried to make me kill my father?”

  “Caleb, perhaps the easiest way of solving this would be to show you your mother. Then you can ask her all these questions. Once you have your answers, we will leave. And, I give you my word, no dead person will ever trouble you again.”

  “That sounds like my kind of deal.”

  Nimrod smiled, putting his hand forward. “Should we shake on it?”

  “Just do whatever it takes to make my mother appear with a poof and a cloud of smoke.”

  Nimrod chuckled and pointed a finger at someone Caleb couldn’t see. “Cassandra. Join us.”

  Caleb heard a scuttle. An ethereal woman whom he recognised from the painting in his father’s office appeared. “My son.” Her voice was as gentle as her smile. “I hardly knew you. You were so young when I died.”

  Heart pounding, mouth suddenly desert-dry, Caleb still managed to reply with cold detachment, “You tried to make me murder my father.”

  She gave a mournful cry and took a hesitant step towards him. “No, my boy. You only have Phineas’s word for that. Why would I make my own child do something terrible like that? Especially when we all know how ferocious Terah can be. By commanding you to kill your father, I would have sentenced you to death.” She reached out her hand; then dropped it to her side before he could respond.

  Caleb searched her face for some sign that she was lying. He found none. “Then who did it?”

  “Lucien,” Cassandra replied without hesitation. “He is truly evil, and will stop at nothing to destroy you.”

  Caleb nodded. His face told all his watchers that the news didn’t surprise him. “One more question before you all get out of my life.”

  “Anything.” Cassandra smiled. “If it is in my power, then I’ll answer.”

  “Talitha. What do you know about her?�
�

  “I know you love her.”

  The desperation in Caleb’s eyes was painful to see. He longed to know if it was true that Talitha still loved him, but fear of the answer stopped him from asking.

  “Caleb, as an archangel, I cannot lie,” Nimrod said. “So I must tell you that Phineas was right. Against all odds Talitha still loves you. Jared knew that when he hid her, that’s why he concealed her from you – against her wishes – to cause you both pain.”

  Caleb’s pulse quickened. He looked to his mother for confirmation. She smiled at him, her face aglow with love. Although his mother had been nothing but a name to him, that love touched him. He allowed himself to believe Nimrod. “So where is she?”

  Nimrod smiled at the excitement in Caleb’s voice. “Before I can tell you that, I desire something from you.”

  Caleb stiffened, suddenly wary. “What?”

  “This.” As Nimrod spoke Cassandra surged towards Caleb, grabbing his hand in hers. Although his living flesh passed straight through her, she locked him into her with a force he couldn’t break. Effortlessly, she wrenched him to the floor, plunging his wrist against a Lightning Bird carving on the arm of the chair. It was again hissing smoke and fire. He tried to snatch his arm back, but it was too late. The flames charred the inside of his wrist, filling the room with the sickly-sweet stench of sacrificed flesh. She released her grip; and he fell back, too shocked to even feel pain.

  In a whirl, his beautiful mother began transforming before his eyes. Her body twisted and contorted, finally sinking to the floor where it vanished, leaving a rat squealing at his feet. Released from providing controllable atoms for Cassandra’s disembodied spirit, the rat scurried away, its feet struggling to grip the stone floor.

  Hysterical laughter splintered the air. His mother, now nothing more than a wraithlike spectre clothed in the robes of a Gefallen, whirled around him, whooping in delight. “Lord Reuel, I’ve kept my part of the deal. I’ve brought you Caleb. The Lightning Bird is now branded into his soul. He’ll have no choice but to obey you. Now do your part. Free me and Marlthas from the curse so we can be together for all eternity.”

  “You fool, Cassandra.” The persuasive benevolence of Reuel’s – aka Nimrod’s – voice was now a block of ice, his benign face covered by a mask of hate. “Didn’t you hear what I said? Only the unwise make deals with me. I’m notorious for breaking my word.”

  “No, Reuel!” Cassandra fell at his feet. “You promised! I gave you my son in exchange for my freedom. You cannot keep me a slave any longer.”

  Reuel clicked his fingers. The Lightning Bird burst into view above Cassandra’s head, raining fire onto her. Screeching with pain and terror, she vanished into the Fourth Dimension.

  Brimming with the arrogance Erin and Seth remembered from the Mists of Time, Reuel threw off his flesh and bones, conjured from another rat’s body. With his dark matter flickering erratically as he floated before Caleb, he said, “You have defied me for years. First you refused to pledge. Then, when I sent your mother to possess your soul, you refused to obey my command to kill your father. Your defiance has left me no choice but to enforce my will upon you.”

  Caleb tried to stand, but the Lightning Bird shot a bolt of blue fire at him, driving him back down onto the floor at Reuel’s feet.

  Reuel looked at him with contempt. “Now for the real truth about Talitha. Like any normal human being, she despises you for betraying her. And nothing in heaven or on earth will ever change that.”

  Caleb’s face crumpled with pain. He wanted to bury his head in his hands, but that would just increase Reuel’s victory. So he forced himself to focus on Reuel as he continued speaking.

  “As my branded slave, you will now worship me.” Again Caleb tried to move, but was stopped by a ring of fire. His defiance just annoyed Reuel. “You will learn to obey me, Caleb.” He gestured to the Lightning Bird. It shot a blast of current at Caleb’s face, singeing his eyebrows. The air filled with the stench of burnt hair. “That was just a warning. Don’t push me.” Caleb may have settled back on his knees, but his face was still defiant. Reuel ignored it. “It is in both of our interests that Sophia should die. Your first act of devotion will be to kill her. Tonight. Or else.”

  Two words – ‘kill’ and ‘Sophia’ – ripped Caleb off the floor. He vaulted straight over the ring of flames, coming face-to-face with Reuel. “Kill Sophia! For you! After what you’ve done? I would rather let Jared have her!”

  A shaft of fire struck Caleb’s branded wrist. Wide-eyed with pain, he screamed as the current bolted him into the air. There, for the briefest moment, his body hung suspended, as if nailed to the very ether.

  Reuel laughed as, with pleasurable, calculated slowness, his Lightning Bird curled the lightning back, collapsing Caleb onto the floor. “Now go and do as I command, lest you would again feel my wrath.” In a flash Reuel was gone.

  Seth immediately ran to Caleb, but as he bent down to help him, Gideon appeared. “There’s nothing you can do for him, Seth. Remember Nathan’s words – you cannot alter the past. What is, will be.”

  Seth fell back on his haunches. “But it’s unfair! He was tricked into that.”

  “In part he was,” Gideon agreed. “So I’ll help him overcome some of the consequences of Reuel’s brand. I will not permit Reuel to take Caleb’s freedom to choose.” Gideon paused. “But exercising that choice will be much harder for him now that Reuel can torture him with excruciating pain.”

  “Excruciating pain!” Seth said. “How’s he supposed to resist that?”

  “It will be difficult. But not impossible,” Gideon replied with his characteristic hardness.

  “But you can heal people. Work miracles even. So why can’t you just remove the brand so Reuel can’t hurt him?” Erin demanded, watching Caleb writhe on the floor, cradling his blackened wrist.

  “But Erin, Caleb made a choice . . .”

  Seth stepped in front of Gideon and looked him straight in the eye. “Not to be branded! He didn’t ask for that. Or for his own mother to deceive him.”

  “He was warned, Seth. Phineas made it quite clear with whom he was dealing. So to answer Erin’s question, no, I won’t heal him. To do so will negate his freedom and remove the consequences of his choices.”

  “But that’s insane,” Seth insisted. “Reuel didn’t care about his freedom or the consequences when he branded him, anymore than he cared about my freedom or choices when he set his crows on me on the pan.”

  “And that’s the fundamental difference between a Guardian and a Gefallen, Seth.” Gideon’s wiredrawn face was even more severe than usual. “We believe in human choice and they don’t. So I warn you, it’s always better not to dance with them. They tend to change the steps without warning.”

  Seth stared at Gideon, unable to believe what he was hearing. “So you’ll just stand here and do nothing to help Caleb? And you tell us you’re on our side.”

  Gideon gave Seth another leaden look. “You plead for me to help Caleb who, in your time, in your world, is long-since dead. But as for pleading for yourself – you remain silent. When will you ask me for help, Seth? Because I have all the answers you need.”

  “Why should I ask for help when I know you won’t get me back to Kyle if there’s a risk to the Stone?”

  “Because,” Gideon replied, ‘there is other help – or rather, information – which I can give you that could make that journey not only unnecessary, but inadvisable too.”

  “But Kyle’s my brother, and I owe him everything. How many more times must I say this?”

  “He is also one of Reuel’s Sons. As are you.”

  Seth rocked back on his heels. “What?”

  “You heard me loud and clear. There was no trouble at all with that transmission.”

  “You lie,” Seth said, studying Gideon’s face to see if he could detect the falsehood there.

  “In your estimation I have faults enough, Seth. But we both know that lying isn’t one of t
hem.”

  Seth heard truth in Gideon’s quietly spoken words. He slumped down into a chair, burying his face in his hands.

  Erin’s eyes widened to their fullest extent. “But how’s that possible, Gideon? Seth’s an American.”

  Gideon waved a white-robed arm around, as if encompassing the entire Earth. “People travel, Erin. A few people from both the Shenayan and the Norin Families survived the final break-up of Shenaya. But finding themselves alone, strangers amongst the Negroid people who had settled in southern Africa, they returned to Europe. Once there, Reuel’s Sons adopted the name ‘Hunt.’ They felt it appropriate. From there, later generations joined the migration to the New World. Of course, they carried Reuel’s Curse with them – and my prophecy – which has irrevocably linked our two Families in a cruel dance for almost fifteen-hundred years.”

  Erin blinked as understanding dawned. Frank, her stepfather, had been born and raised in Buffalo, not far from Rochester, Seth’s childhood home. He had left America and had met her mother shortly after her divorce. Newly-wed, they’d settled in Cape Town – a mere thousand miles from the ancient Norin’s ancestral lands. And Frank had brought Izzy and Mia into the family.

  That has to be the link, Erin thought. Frank has to be a Norin. And a Family Patriarch, at that! Who would have believed it? She frowned. If that’s my family’s story, what about Seth? Could the fire that wiped out his family have had anything to do with Reuel’s Curse?

  Gideon smiled and nodded, leaving her in no doubt that he had read her thoughts and that she was on the right track with everything. Gideon, she asked, has Seth even stopped obsessing about Kyle for long enough to figure all this out?

  Gideon shook his head in the negative. Erin was about to demand that he tell Seth everything, when Seth spoke. “I don’t get it, Gideon. Why did you make me Custodian if I’m one of Reuel’s Sons?”

  “Because of who, and not what, you are, Seth. We have great hopes for you.”