She wrapped it back up and hid it deeper into her pack. She didn’t know what it did or why it was important, but the man those brutes called Boss sure seemed to think it was worth killing a little girl over.
Looking back at her escape from the cave, something seemed odd. She remembered waking up and trying to escape as she had told Aegion, but finding her pack and this machine seemed to be more than coincidence. She knew there was somebody down there helping her, though she had never actually seen them. Either way, it had saved her life.
When she had been exiting the cave and the four men saw the machine, they put down their weapons, telling her to be careful and just give it back. This is the only way she had managed to escape, with out it they would have held a gun to her head and forced her back inside.
She put her backpack back behind her and looked at Aegion one more time.
Oh Father, I’m so happy I found you… Now I just need to figure out how to tell you about…everything. So much has happened in the last 11 years, so many things that you should know, that you need to know, but I’m so scared that if I tell you…
A tear fell down her cheek. Her mother had always talked highly about her father, making sure that she knew he did not abandon them and that he didn’t even know he had a daughter. Anadilcia knew his real name, her mother made sure she never hid who he was from her. She had been following stories about him since she could read and asking travelers if they had met him.
Any official news on him was negative, of course, calling him the Scourge of the Wilds, but most everyone she talked to from outside Linmoor knew him as the Hero of Gallia, traveling from place to place with a pure heart and golden intent.
After seeing him today, she now knew that was the truth. He is no scourge, and he is no animal.
Most importantly to her, though, he is her father.
Chapter 5
Aegion woke long before Anadilcia but decided to let her sleep. She must be exhausted, scared, and any other number of things from her ordeal over the past few weeks. He didn’t know if he could help her find her father, but he would let fate lead them.
By the time she woke up, he had already made breakfast, put out the fire, and packed up all the gear. Unlike dinner the night before, she wasn’t impressed with breakfast.
“What is this? Tastes like wood!”
“Stop complainin. Ya think you can do better, then next time yer cookin!”
“Fine, I will! You might be able to cook a great dinner, but if this is what you’re eating for breakfast, no wonder you are grumpy!”
“Grumpy? Did ya just call me grumpy?”
She smiled, but he wasn’t amused
Not even on the road yet and already gettin annoyed at this little girl!
“Besides,” she continued a few minutes later as if the conversation hadn’t ended, “I gotta pull my weight around here somehow, right? I’m good at a few things, although don’t expect me to sew your ripped clothes or wash them, either!”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, a bit more sarcastically than he had intended to. She only looked at him and stuck out her tongue.
“It’s going to be a long day,” he murmured under his breath.
“What was that?”
“I said we have a long way ahead of us, probably gonna have to stop at least one more night out here before we reach the next settlement.”
“Alright! Lets get going then!”
“Now, I can’t promise ya can follow me forever, yanno. Could turn out that we get to the next settlement an we gotta go our separate ways, ya understand that, right?”
“Yeah yeah, I get it. You’re a loner and bad luck. Blah blah blah, lets just get going!”
How can she have so much energy after just wakin up? Kids!
But despite it all, he smiled as she walked away from him to start their day together.
The next 24 hours was spent with Anadilcia talking non-stop and Aegion just listening. He learned a lot about her, what she liked and didn’t like, but shared very little about himself. He did find it odd that she hadn’t even asked his name, but figured with as much as she was talking, she just had other things on her mind.
At night, he did finally break down and tell her a bit about his time spent alone in the Wilds. She seemed to be mostly curious about his thoughts instead of what actually happened. She was a very odd little girl, he often thought, but also energetic and caring. He found himself actually interested in what she was talking about, and cared when she would tell him a sad story. The familiarity of this girl, despite the fact he knew he had never met her, was an odd feeling he just could not shake.
By the time the sun reached its peak on the second day, they found the settlement Aegion was looking for. It was at the most northern point of Gallia and sat on a cliff that overlooked the water and emptiness beyond. This was a place that was almost out of reach of Malos, although his picture still filled the walls of every public building. The difference here was that he was considered a friend, and he knew he didn’t have to watch his back quite as much.
“Now, lemme tell ya something before we get in here,” Aegion said, bending down and whispering to Anadilcia. “We’ve got friends here, no need ta worry too much about anyone findin us. But I haven’t been here in years, so they may not remember-”
“He’s back!” a woman yelled, her voice interrupting him.
“Nah, that’s not him! He’s too tall, and he has a little one with him, you’re getting old, Cherryl,” a man’s voice echoed.
“I’m telling you, that’s him!”
“Too late ta keep our heads down. Just stay close ta me, not everyone sees me as friend here.”
When he bent up and turned to the couple who had yelled, he put the biggest smile on his face he could.
“Well, I can’t believe it. It is him!”
“Heya there Cherryl, Bal. Been a long time,” Aegion said softly as they approached, hoping to quiet them. He had friends here, alright, but also heard that Malos has started to wrap their fingers around some of the higher ups that ran the town.
“If it isn’t the Hero of Avignon himself, come to pay us a visit!” The man said, voice still louder than Aegion would like.
“Hero of Avignon? That’s not one I’ve been called before, but thank ya,” he paused for a second, but continued before they could speak again, “if it’s not too much trouble, ya think we could go somewhere a bit more comfortable ta talk? Anadilcia here is mighty tired from all the walkin we’ve done.”
“Of course, of course!” Cherryl said, running off in the direction of what Aegion assumed was their home. Bal, her brother, followed right after.
Aegion looked over to Anadilcia and was caught off guard when she was staring back at him with a look of shock.
“What? They’re nice people.”
“That’s not what I’m questioning.”
Aegion smiled and started off in the direction the two left.
Under her breath, but still loud enough that Aegion heard her, Anadilcia said, “and here I thought you were a rube,” and then picked up pace behind him.
He didn’t comment, just kept on walking with a smile on his face.
* * * * *
“We weren’t sure we’d ever see ya again after ya left so abruptly last time,” Cherryl said, once they had settled around a small table inside what must have been a very expensive house.
“Yeah, bein so far up north here, we don’t get many visitors, sure lucky you came along that day though,” Bal added.
“I was just doin what had ta be done, nothin to worry bout,” Aegion said, trying to find a way to change the subject.
He looked over at Anadilcia and saw she was smiling. She seemed to enjoy seeing him embarrassed or uncomfortable, she truly was a brat.
“Come now! Ya saved the whole town from raiders! Not only that, but ya got them so scared they up and left the area!” Bal said with a child-like enthusiasm.
“Yeah, single handedly took on 50, n
o, 100 of them at once!” Cherryl echoed Bal.
“Now really, it wasn’t-” Aegion tried to interrupt.
“Ya should have seen him, kid. It was like art in motion, tha way he flowed from person to person, knockin them out one by one, sometimes two by two!”
“That’s not true, it was-”
“Oh yes it was! I lost count after a couple dozen, all layin there in pain on the ground. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think we’d still have a roof to live under!”
By this time, Aegion was redder than the sun and gave up trying to tell the real story. It took them another 10 minutes of exaggeration, with Anadilcia encouraging them to continue, before they stopped.
“Amazin, truly amazin this man is. Sheriff Dawson, rest his soul, loved this man like his own son, offered to build our hero a place ta live, free of charge, before he left.”
That gave Aegion the opportunity he needed to change the subject, “I heard he passed away. Who’s in charge now?”
“Oh a terrible young man by the name Ekron,” Cherryl answered.
“He’s not terrible, Sis! He just isn’t like good ol’ Dawson, that’s all,” Bal corrected her.
A frown formed on Cherryl’s face. “Well, either way, I think he’s workin against us most of the time, just seems like we can’t get ahead since he took over,” she paused, looked up at her guests, and her smile returned. “But enough of that, you two must be starved! I got some fresh salmo salar that was just caught this mornin!”
“Salmo salar?” Anadilcia asked.
“Don’t ask, just eat it. It’s amazing, I had it last time I was here, promise you never had nothin like it back home” Aegion answered. She just shook her head.
While they ate, the brother and sister continued to share stories of life this far north about how they’re one of the few settlements that can get food out of the water, even though it’s not very common. Traders come from all around Gallia for a chance to buy a single fish. They explained that no one was better at catching them than Bal, and it was how they afforded such a large house.
After dinner, they let Aegion know that the barn was theirs for as long as they choose to stay in town, even if that’s forever. Anadilcia didn’t seem to like the idea of sleeping in a barn, until she saw what it looked like inside.
Despite it being a single room, it was decorated and furnished. The walls were lined with sundust lamps, giving a bright feel to the whole structure. Against the wall on the far side of the barn was a machine that Aegion didn’t recognize. It was old and looked rusted, but Bal said it still worked. It had blades in front of it that were used to tear up the land. He explained that at one time, that’s how you’d plant whole fields of amazing foods.
The other half of the barn was set up much like a living area, places to sit more expensive than Aegion had ever seen, save for inside the house, along with pillows and blankets and anything else one could ask for.
At once Anadilcia went to work creating a place for them to sleep, using the seating area and pillows stacked high to create the softest surface Aegion had ever sat on. Once they were settled and Bal had left them for the night, Aegion decided it was time to find out the truth about Anadilcia’s little run in with those brutes.
“Such a nice place ta lay our heads down for the night,” Aegion said, hoping it would start a conversation.
“Yeah, this is nice. Maybe we should just stay here.”
“Well I don’t see an issue stayin here for a few nights, tis mighty comfortable.”
“How about forever?” she said, rolling in the luxurious pillows.
“What about findin yer father? An I can’t stay here, all I’ll do is bring more problems.”
“Hm? My father?” She looked at him with a confused look, then shook her head, “o-of course, I think I was just caught up in how nice it feels. Even better than back home!”
She forgot about her father? Somethin really isn’t right with this one, I really need to find out what’s goin on.
“I been thinkin, yanno, it might be best if we go our separate ways after we leave here. Ya can stay if ya want, I’m sure Bal and Cherryl won’t mind one bit.”
“What? You’re going to leave me? You promised we could travel together!”
“Now, now, I only said temporarily. I told ya when ya first asked me, I’m bad luck an-”
Anadilcia starts to cry.
Aegion started to get mad, he had just about enough of this girls games.
“Stop that, I don’t understand what ya want from me! I saved ya from those men, got ya safely to a wonderful place. If yer lookin for someone to help find yer father, I can point ya in the right direction, but that’s about it!”
“No! You don’t understand! I’m looking for my father because my mother never got a chance to tell him how much she loved him, she never got a chance to tell him about ME! Her dying wish was that I find him, because she knew, I don’t know how, that he was a good man and that he’d want to know what the last 11 years has been like without him in her life! He didn’t abandon us, he left for good reason, reasons that make me proud to say I’m his daughter!
“And it’s not all about that, either! I wasn’t completely honest with you about-”
She took a breath, lowered her voice and tried to control her sobs.
“About what?” Aegion said, less mad now than before. He still didn’t know why, but he cared about her problems, even though she could be annoying. He knew he couldn’t just leave her, not here like this.
“About what happened inside the caves. I was really on my way to find my father and I really was taken, all that was true, but they were going to make us slaves. I don’t know what their plans were beyond that, and I dread to think of the other girls they took, but at the time all I could think of was escaping that place, getting free and finding him.
“I told you I ended up in a room with a lot of weird machines, well I…I took one from them. It was in the center of the room up on a pedestal, different than the rest. It glowed. Not like sundust, this had a glow like I’d never seen before. I took it, thinking I could sell it for some money, since they took all of mine, but on my way out they were all scared of it, like it was going to jump out of my hands and kill them, so I kept it.”
She rolled off the makeshift bed and opened her backpack, pulling the machine out, two lights now glowed.
He instantly recognized it was an ancient machine, from a time before the disaster with the sun. He’d seen a few of these in his time, usually harmless, but he’d also seen one level a settlement in just a few seconds. If the Boss, whoever he was, had plans for this, it wasn’t good.
“Anadilcia,” he said, reaching out for the item, “let me have that.”
She shook her head, pulled back, wrapped it in her clothes and put it back in her bag.
“Please, let me go with you, I don’t care where we go, just let me be with you…”
When she said that, for a moment, he forgot about the item and just stared into her eyes and something inside of him shuddered.
“This is the only thing standing between me and them, so until we get far enough away, I can’t give it up.”
Aegion shook his head and then nodded, “I understand, jus keep it safe. I’ve never seen one that big before, my guess is that it can do a bit of destruction with little effort.”
After a few minutes of silence, Aegion spoke, “How long do you plan on runnin? Chances are they’ll keep comin after ya as long as yer on Gallia.”
She looked back at him, but didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “It’s late, I can’t think straight, I’m going to sleep.”
She smiled at him with what looked like a mix of genuine happiness and concern then laid her head down. Before he could respond, her eyes were already closed.
A few seconds later, when Aegion had thought she was already asleep, he heard Anadilcia speak softly.
“Goodnight, and…thank you…”
He couldn’t help but grin widely. He
hadn’t felt like this in years, despite everything else going on around him.
* * * * *
After Anadilcia fell asleep, Aegion snuck out of the barn for some fresh air and to think. He found a nice secluded area full of shadows that he thought would be perfect, his instinct of always staying hidden kicking in.
As always when he wanted to get some clarity in his life, he pulled out his journal and wrote to Emma.
Dear Emma,
What a crazy past few days it’s been, I’m tellin ya. Got this little girl runnin around followin me, lookin for her father an she won’t leave my side. I saved her from some brutes that she stole from, looks like she got herself into more trouble than she realizes. I’m no expert, but from the look of that machine she’s carrying around, it can probably do some mighty bad damage if it goes off.
You’d like her though, she got a sense of humor just like you and can seem to convince me of anythin.
He paused from writing in his journal for a second, an odd sensation came over him, like he was on the verge of a truth he didn’t even realize was there. Before he could catch onto it, the feeling faded and he continued.
In fact, it’s amazin how much she’s like ya. If ever you two met, I bet you’d hit it off right away. The way she teases me reminds me of when we first met, an how ya asked me if I was okay sittin there all bloody and cut up. Course I didn’t think ya were funny at the time, but lookin back now, I wish no more than to still be in yer arms, recoverin from whatever injuries they could inflict on me.
If I ever get back towards Fairlea, I’ll drop this journal off at yer place and, even though it’ll pain me so much not ta stop in and see ya, I know it’s for the best. And I know you understand it, and I hope you’ve moved on. If ya ever do read this, I hope ya realize yer memory has kept me alive more than once, but it’s the memory that yer better off without me, leading a normal happy life, that really keeps me goin.
The Planet Without A Sun (Sinesol Universe) Page 5