Lee shot him a hot glance. “I do as I choose.”
“You will do as I say, Lee Starfinder,” countered Millet. “You are in the service of the House Nal’Thain, and are honor bound to remain so until I release you.”
The fury in Millet’s expression and the steel in his voice forced Lee to avert his eyes. His mind reeled and his heart began beating wildly. He would not be spoken to like that. For an instant, a part of him wanted to reach out and throttle his former servant and current lord.
But the anger faded as quickly as it had formed. Like it or not, something in Millet’s words had touched him deep within his heart, and all he could feel now was deep and humiliating shame. A tear escaped down his cheek as he struggled to keep himself from weeping openly.
Millet’s tone softened considerably. “Your son is waiting for you as we speak. Whatever you may feel right now, I know your love for him has not diminished. Yes, Gewey is dead. And yes, this will likely mean our doom. But until our fate is upon us, Jacob still needs you. He still needs his father.”
Try as he might, Lee could no longer hold back the tears. His body jerked repeatedly from his stifled sobs. “My entire life…a waste. I have failed everyone through my stupidity.”
“Nonsense,” Millet told him. He shifted, as if thinking to move beside his friend, but then settled back down. He knew this was not quite the moment. “You left Hazrah to protect your wife and child. More than that, you have stood proud against the oncoming darkness. You have stared into the eyes of doom and not lost courage. Where most men, be they human or elf, would have fled for their very lives, you have remained firm.”
Millet sighed and smiled. “I have known you since you were nothing more than a child. I may have thought you were stubborn and rash, but never have you been a coward.”
“Until now,” added Lee.
“Bah!” This time Millet did move beside his old friend. “You despair like the rest of us. Only you have taken it upon yourself to be responsible for Gewey’s death.” He put his hand on Lee’s shoulder. “The Dark Knight caused this. He killed Gewey. He is the one ravaging the world.”
Lee nodded slowly. “I know. And I wish I could banish the shadow that blackens my soul.”
“As your friend, I would tell you to look to those who love you. They will bolster your strength.” His hand seized Lee’s shoulder tightly. “As your lord, I tell you that I swear you will have your chance to let loose your wrath.”
Lee looked at Millet, momentarily surprised by his intensely dangerous tone.
Millet forced a smile that quickly disappeared. “I am not unaffected by what has happened. I had hoped that Gewey would avenge Lady Penelope - or perhaps even save her. But that hope is gone. All I can do now is stand against our enemy and make him pay dearly for his arrogance.” Getting to his feet, he held out his hand. “And if I am to die, I will have you with me.”
Lee paused, then took a long, accepting breath. He grasped Millet’s hand and stood beside him. “Where is my son?”
“He is speaking with Lyrial and Bevaris,” Millet replied, motioning to the far side of the camp. “They are debating on what to do.”
“And what of Kaylia?” he asked. “Linis tells me she has completely lost her reason.”
“She still will not allow anyone near Gewey’s body. She claims that she can still feel him.”
“But their bond is broken,” Lee pointed out. “She may be insane with grief, but that much she was able to tell us.”
Millet’s jaw tightened and there was a long pause.
“What is it?” pressed Lee. The look on his friend’s face told him there was more to Kaylia’s condition than he was being told.
“She claims she can feel him through the bond that connects Gewey and....”
Millet hesitated before adding: “Between Gewey and their unborn child.”
This information hit Lee like a hammer. “She’s pregnant?”
“Yes,” said Millet.
Lee stood silently as he allowed this new revelation to sink in. “Then it is clear what we must do,” he said finally.
“What is that?”
“We must protect her at all costs.”
“She will not abandon Gewey’s body,” explained Millet.
“Then we’ll bring it with us.” Without another word, Lee strode off in the direction that Millet had earlier indicated he would find Jacob.
By the time he reached his son and the others, Dina and Linis had also joined the group. Lee gave Linis an apologetic nod. The elf nodded in return and seized Lee’s shoulders fondly.
“It is good you are with us again, my friend,” he said.
“I regret....” began Lee, but Linis shook his head, silently telling him that such apologies were unnecessary.
Lee turned to his son and gave him a loving embrace.
“Now don’t start apologizing to me as well,” joked Jacob with a youthful grin.
Lee was grateful for the moment of levity, but a second later the mood turned grave.
“Millet has told you about Kaylia?” Dina asked him.
Lee nodded. “He did. Have you been able to get through to her?”
“No,” she replied. “She is unable to see beyond her pain.”
“I think....” began Weila.
“No!” Linis cut in angrily. “We will not burn Gewey’s body. It would destroy her.”
“He needs to be given proper rites,” Weila countered stubbornly. “Darshan must be laid to rest. Only then will she move on.”
Lee shook his head. “If you try, she’ll kill you. For now we must do whatever she wants. And her child must be protected. Gewey has died, and because of that the world will burn. But perhaps his child can one day redeem us.”
“How will we do this?” asked Dina. “Now we are without Gewey, the armies of Angrääl will surely attack us very soon.”
“I don’t know,” admitted Lee.
“We could take her to the desert,” offered Lyrial.
“No,” said Lee sternly. “Eventually they would find her there.” He thought for a moment, then said: “We must get her to Aaliyah. She can take her across the Western Abyss to her lands.”
There was a long silence. Gradually, the entire group began nodding in agreement.
Dina cleared her throat. “I should point out that for us to get her to Aaliyah, we must first get her out of the pavilion.”
Lee sighed. “I will attend to that.” He walked off with renewed purpose.
Despite his determination, Lee could feel the uneasiness in his stomach steadily growing. He knew there was a good chance she would not listen to what he had to say. In fact, she may even try to kill him. The last thing he wanted was for things to turn violent. Kaylia was a deadly foe, even under normal circumstances. How he might be able to subdue her without causing any physical harm was beyond him.
As he neared the entrance to the pavilion he could hear Kaylia shifting to face in his direction. Clearly, she was aware of someone approaching. He pulled back the tent flaps and cautiously stepped inside.
She was crouched over Gewey’s body like a great cat ready to pounce. The long blade in her hand shimmered in the dim light emanating from a small lantern in the corner. Lee couldn’t help but notice that Gewey’s body was not pale; in fact, he looked as healthy as one merely sleeping. She must be using the flow to keep his body warm, he thought.
“What do you want?” she demanded. Her voice was steady and emotionless. But her eyes told a different tale.
“To help,” Lee replied, holding up his palm in a gesture of peace.
“If you think for one second that I will allow you to burn him....”
“I have no intention of burning him,” Lee quickly assured her. “But we do need to take him away from here.”
“He still lives,” she said, not seeming to hear what he was telling her. “Our child can still feel him.” Her hand passed in front of her belly and she flashed Lee an accusing stare. “I know what you wa
nt. You think Gewey is dead. You want to spirit us away so that our child will fight your battles for you when he grows up.”
Lee was momentarily stunned by her insight. He could see her muscles tense, preparing to burst forth. He shook his head in denial.
“Do not bother to lie, half-man,” she hissed, before Lee could respond. “I know your mind. Do you think I would allow my child to be used as you have used Gewey? The child of Gewey Stedding will live a life of peace. And do you know why?” Her voice was becoming increasingly loud and shrill. “Because my unorem is not dead. He will rise. He will cleanse the world and make it safe again. You will see.”
Lee tried to keep his voice soothing and sympathetic. “Kaylia - think. If you are right, then we must move him soon. The enemy will attack before long, and we will not be able to stop them.”
“We remain here!” she shouted.
Lee took a step back and crouched down, putting himself at her eye level. He knew this made his situation much more dangerous. If she attacked, he would be off balance.
“Please see reason,” he pleaded. “If you remain here, they will take Gewey from you. Let us take him away from this place. Let us keep him safe.”
“I will keep him safe,” she shot back. “I do not need you - or anyone else. And when he returns you will pay for your lack of faith.” She let out a maniacal laugh. “You will then truly know the power of Darshan.”
Lee could see her madness growing with each passing second. There seemed little doubt that this would have to turn violent. In a final effort, he reached out to her with his thoughts.
The raging turmoil that had become Kaylia’s mind threw him back effortlessly, in the process making him momentarily dizzy. In the time it took for Lee to recover, Kaylia had spanned the distance between them and was bringing her blade across in a tight horizontal slash in an attempt to open his throat.
Her speed was astounding. Lee was only just able to rock back out of danger in time. Not that this bought him anything but a moment’s respite. Kaylia pressed in, furiously thrusting with the blade. In spite of her insanity, her attack was calculated and controlled. Lee had only a split second to react. A lesser man would have already been slain. But Lee’s years of experience and training had taught his muscles to do exactly what was required. Springing forward inside Kaylia’s guard, he gripped her wrist firmly. Not wanting to injure either her, or more importantly, her unborn child, he brought her arm back and twisted with just enough force to make her release the knife.
But Kaylia was not to be so easily overcome. Her other hand shot out, striking Lee in the temple. The force of this blow stunned him long enough for her to bring her knee sharply up. With a dull thud, it made contact right in the middle of his groin.
Lee grunted and doubled over, eyes watering and pain shooting through his entire body. Kaylia immediately pulled herself free and sprang over to where her weapon had fallen. Forcing back the pain, he chased after her. Kaylia’s hand had barely touched the hilt of her blade when Lee’s weight fell on top of her. Once again he seized hold of her wrist and pulled her arm back. Using his body mass to keep her face down, he quickly trapped her other arm. Still Kaylia screamed and fought, but Lee’s half-man strength was too much – though only just.
“Help me!” Lee yelled out to anyone who might be within earshot. If this went on for too much longer, he had grave fears that she would hurt either herself or the baby.
Gewey’s body was only a few feet away from where they lay. Kaylia looked over and began to struggle even harder.
“Do not burn him!” she screamed out over and over again.
“Remove yourself from her at once, Lee Starfinder!” came a commanding female voice.
In the entrance stood Maybell, her hands firmly on her hips, her face red with anger.
“If I let her go, she’ll kill us both,” he shouted back through several grunts of exertion.
In a move Lee could have never anticipated, Maybell produced a short dagger. With surprising speed, she stepped forward and pressed the cold steel to his throat.
“And if you don’t let her go, I will kill you myself,” she said, her tone calm and measured.
At first Lee did not respond. But as Maybell increased the pressure, he felt a trickle of blood running down his neck. There was also a fiercely determined look in her eyes that told him she would most likely carry out her threat.
Reluctantly, he released his hold on Kaylia, who immediately scrambled away to retrieve her knife. Lee expected the elf to renew her attack, but Maybell removed the dagger from his throat and placed herself between the pair of them.
Kaylia stood tensed and ready while Maybell stared silently into Lee’s eyes. He could see quite clearly that this was not the same woman he had met and traveled with. She was now burdened with great purpose and filled with unrelenting determination.
“You should leave,” she said with imposing authority. “Now! I will speak to Kaylia alone.”
Lee was compelled to obey. As he left the tent he realized that Maybell was no longer wearing her priestess’ robes, but a simple blue dress.
Linis, Dina, and Millet were immediately outside. Jacob, Bevaris and the elves were only a few yards away.
“Where did she come from?” Lee asked, trying to make some sense of what had just happened.
“She just walked straight into the camp and demanded to know where Gewey’s body was being kept,” Linis replied.
“How the hell did she know about Gewey?”
Lee’s question was met by silence.
“What should we do?” asked Dina.
“Wait,” replied Lee. “What else can we do?”
Chapter 7
Gewey found himself alone alongside a tiny stream. The air was fresh and clean as it blew in from the distant snow-capped mountains, and the deep emerald colored grass was like walking on feather pillows. The water of the stream, sparkling from the light of the noonday sun, was given an even more delicate beauty by the multicolored pebbles scattered along its bed.
Gewey bent down to touch the water. It was cold almost to the point of being painful, yet it still brought a smile to his lips. It was at that moment he realized Melek was no longer with him.
Gewey called out his name.
“I am here,” Melek said. He was standing beside him as if he had been there the entire time.
“Where are we?”
“Exactly where we were before.”
Gewey looked confused, but Melek gave him a reassuring smile.
“This is an image of your memories,” he explained. “An image of heaven.”
Gewey’s eyes widened. “Heaven? This is heaven?” He scanned the landscape. “I have no memory of this place.”
“Of course not,” said Melek. “Gerath saw to that. But you still have the…the impression of it, if you like, locked away inside of you.” He looked around with approval. “And it is a better image than I expected.”
“Image?”
“Your human self could never fathom the majesty of heaven. And even now it is that part of you that dominates your being. You see heaven in a way you can understand it.” Melek waved his arm in a sweeping gesture. “And this is what your mind tells you it looks like.”
Gewey creased his brow. “Actually, I’ve never thought about what heaven would look like. And now that I have, I must admit I’m not impressed.”
Melek chuckled. “I am. You transformed Shagharath into a thing of beauty. Even if it is only for a short time.”
“So what is it that I’m supposed to see?”
Melek pointed to a small ball of light that had appeared just a few yards away on the other side of the stream.
“What is that?” asked Gewey.
He placed his hand gently on Gewey's shoulder. “Watch and you will see.”
The light hovered for a few seconds before drifting gracefully down to the stream’s surface. Then, just as it touched the water, it flew skyward for at least twenty feet. On reaching it
s zenith, the shining ball finally descended slowly back to earth. Gewey started to get the impression that it was playing a game.
A mist formed just behind the light, and from out of this two figures stepped forth. Gewey recognized them at once. It was Gerath and Ayliazarah. His father was clad in a shimmering silver robe, tied at the waist by a red sash. Ayliazarah wore a blue silken gown that flowed freely around her curves.
Gewey stared in awe, unable to move or speak.
“How long will you let this continue?” asked Ayliazarah. Her voice was as musical as Gewey remembered, even while scolding Gerath. “You cannot keep it in ignorance forever.”
Gerath looked intensely at the light and shook his head. “I cannot. I need more time.”
The light began to dance and bob. It flew toward Ayliazarah, circling her as if excited. The goddess laughed and held out her delicate hand, allowing the light to brush against her fingers.
“You should not encourage it so,” said Gerath, clearly displeased. “It is bad enough that you allow it to see you.”
She flashed Gerath a fierce look. “I do as I please. That you cannot reconcile with your own heart is no reason for me to leave the innocent alone and afraid.”
“Do not try to shame me, sister.” Gerath’s voice was low, yet the ground trembled.
Ayliazarah was unmoved by this display. “And you, brother, do not try to cow me. You are not my master. And you do not hold sway over my choices.”
Gerath lowered his eyes. “I am sorry. I did not mean to suggest….”
Ayliazarah reached out and took Gerath’s hand. “I know why you are so distant. Your heart has always been transparent to me. Though mortals name me the goddess of fertility and love, it was always you who cared too deeply for your own good.”
Gerath gave her a sideways smile. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “If only the others understood me the way you do.” He fixed his gaze on the light. “They would know why I have yet to complete it, and they would not chastise me so.”
She pulled her hand away. “I may understand you, Gerath, but I do not condone what you are doing. Make no mistake, I stand with the others. You are abandoning your obligation to us, to the Creator, but most of all, to your child.”
The Godling Chronicles:Book 05 - Madness of the Fallen Page 7