Revelation: The Todor Trilogy, Book One

by Jenna Newell Hiott

  “Liked it so much,” Lumon continued, “We decided to take it.”

  The knot in Soman’s stomach twisted tighter and tighter. He looked at Gemynd and motioned at the door with his head. They had to get out of there.

  “Thinking of leaving?” Lumon asked and nodded at the brutes who blocked the door. Working as a single unit, they reached out and grabbed Soman, pinning his arms behind his back. “You rude, big fella. I offered you food.”

  Soman struggled to pull his arms free, but he felt like a mouse inside a cat’s jaws. He pulled and thrust and jerked to try to free himself, but the men holding him didn’t even sway. Never in his life had Soman felt so weak.

  “As I was saying, Carenvale is ours now. Ran most folks off last night. Killed the others. No one here but us now. This our town now. We got many things here. We got food; so much food. We got houses. We got beds and clothes and jewels,” Lumon said as he set his bow down on a table and slowly pulled a longknife from his belt. Soman saw blood smears on the knife and bile surged up his throat. “But you know what we don’t got here in Carenvale?”

  The other men laughed. “What are we missing, Lumon?” one of the men asked.

  “Women,” Lumon growled.

  “No!” Gemynd yelled and lunged at Lumon, but the third large man stopped him in midair and pinned him to the floor.

  Numa looked at Gemynd and then at Soman with terror in her wide eyes. “What do I do?” she whispered through quivering lips.

  Soman fought again with all his might to free himself. He couldn’t let them hurt Numa. But his strength was no match for his captors’.

  “If you touch her, I’ll kill you,” Gemynd shouted from the floor where his guard had him pinned with only one hand.

  Lumon laughed and began to walk in a slow circle around Numa, admiring her from every angle. “Prettiest girl I’ve ever seen,” he said and Soman watched his eyes darken with sickening desire.

  The other two men stood and walked towards Numa. They reminded Soman of a pack of wild dogs taunting a helpless hen before the kill.

  “I’m ready for her right now,” one of the men said and lifted his tunic, pointing his engorged penis at Numa.

  “Get away from her!” Gemynd yelled and Soman saw the blood vessels in Gemynd’s head swelling with exertion.

  Lumon stopped behind Numa and wrapped his arm around her, pointing the tip of his longknife at the pulse in her neck. He leaned his head in, closed his eyes and took a long, deep sniff of her neck. He put his vile lips against her ear and whispered, “I don’t wish to slit a throat as fine as this.” Then he licked her cheek.

  Numa cringed. “P-p-please don’t,” she stammered.

  Soman watched helplessly as Lumon bent Numa over a table. He kept one hand on the knife at Numa’s neck and with his other hand he lifted her skirt. “I can already tell I’m going to have me another go of this one,” he said as he moved his own tunic out of the way.

  Soman closed his eyes and prayed to the Deis. He pulled and kicked and tried everything in his power to get to Numa. He had to stop this from happening to her. He opened his eyes and summoned all his might to give one, final pull when he saw a look of confusion pass over Lumon’s face. Then Soman saw why.

  The longknife in Lumon’s hand had pulled away from Numa’s neck and for the count of five heartbeats, it floated in the air, held up by an unseen force. Then, abruptly, it flipped around so that the point was facing Lumon. And before he could react, it drove itself deep into Lumon’s forehead as though his head was as soft as of a block of cheese. Lumon’s eyes rolled up and his jaw fell open in a look of surprise. He fell to floor in a heap. Except for the stream of blood that flowed past the knife, all signs of Life had left him.

  Soman was trying to make sense of what he’d seen when, suddenly, three more longknives from a side table levitated in the air, their points facing the same direction. As if of one mind, they flew across the room and two of them headed directly for Soman. He pinched his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable, when he heard a sickening sound on either side of him. It was a hacking, slicing sound followed by wet sputtering. And then the guards holding him suddenly let go. He opened his eyes as they fell to the floor with their heads rolling some distance away. He looked up and saw that the guard who held Gemynd had met the same end.

  Soman felt his mouth fall open and he heard himself gasp. He looked down at his feet and saw he was standing in a puddle of blood. The smell of it filled his nose and he gagged.

  “Glinters!” one of the two remaining bandits shouted in panic.

  Soman looked up then and saw Numa across the room, all color gone from her face. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. What was happening? Was any of this real? Somehow he managed to turn his head to look at Gemynd for answers.

  Gemynd’s dark eyes were eerily clear as he opened his mouth. “Run!”

  Gemynd

  Gemynd turned to grab Numa, but saw that Soman had already scooped her up and ran out the door. Gemynd ran after them as fast as he could, commanding his legs to move faster and faster. But catching up with Soman was simply not going to happen. He was already just a small, dark blur on the horizon.

  At least Numa is safe, he thought to himself as he stopped running and pulled his dagger from his belt. He turned around, prepared to fight.

  But no one was chasing him. In fact, he could make out the forms of the two survivors from the tavern running down the road in the opposite direction.

  Relieved, Gemynd turned back around and continued east down the road in the direction of Aerie. He could no longer see Soman and after a moment’s thought considered that Soman had probably taken refuge in the mantle grove. As soon as he stepped into the grove, he saw Soman walking back towards him, carrying a squirming Numa over his shoulder.

  “Are we safe?” Soman asked in a ragged whisper, his eyes darting in every direction.

  Gemynd nodded. “I think so. I saw the other two men fleeing west down the road as fast as their stumpy legs could carry them.”

  Soman let out a rush of breath and set Numa on her feet. At the sight of her, Gemynd felt his chest tighten. “Numa,” he said softly and opened his arms to her.

  She fell into them and buried her face against Gemynd’s chest. Her shoulders bounced with every sob and Gemynd tightened his hold on her, wishing he could do something to erase what had happened.

  “I should have made you stay in Aerie,” Soman said, echoing Gemynd’s thoughts. “I’m so sorry, Numa.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Numa said as she pulled away from Gemynd and dried her cheeks with her sleeve.

  “The whole thing was my stupid idea,” Gemynd said. “I put you in danger.”

  “I should have been man enough to go by myself, but the truth is: I wanted you to come with me. And look what happened,” Soman said and Gemynd felt a prickle of irritation. For some reason, he did not want Soman to take responsibility for what had happened.

  “Stop it!” Numa said, glaring at both of them. “What happened was Lumon’s fault. And, anyway, I’m fine now. I was frightened, nothing more. Lumon was stopped before he caused any real harm.”

  The three of them regarded each other in silence. Gemynd was at a loss for what to say.

  “What happened in there anyway?” Numa asked in a whisper so quiet it was as though she didn’t even want the trees to hear her.

  Soman glanced at Gemynd and then gave Numa a look of pure pity. “You glinted,” Soman said.

  Numa’s eyes widened. “I did?” she asked and then shook her head. “No. It wasn’t me.”

  “It makes sense, Numa. It’s just like the polished silver when we were sevens,” Soman persisted.

  “But...but I didn’t do anything,” Numa insisted.

  “You were frightened,” Soman went on. “Maybe when you’re frightened, it just happens.”

  Numa looked down at her hands, which were now balled into fists. “I didn’t mean to,” she mumbled sadly.


  “What else do you think you can do?” Soman asked with a strange gleam in his eye. Numa looked up, horrified.

  “Enough,” Gemynd said, grabbing Numa’s hands and forcing them into a relaxed position. “It wasn’t Numa. It was me.”

  “What?” the other two asked in unison.

  “It was me,” Gemynd repeated. “I knew I had to stop them. So I did.”

  He held his breath as he looked first at Soman and then Numa, waiting for their response. What would they think of him now?

  “But, how did you do that?” Soman asked.

  Gemynd shrugged. “I don’t really know. All I could think was: ‘protect Numa.’ Over and over again the thought went through my mind until I just had a sense of knowing that I could control the longknife without even touching it,” he said, feeling his throat constrict with anxiety. What would happen now that he’d confessed?

  “You saved me,” Numa said breathlessly with a look that Gemynd had waited his whole life to see. In that moment, he knew he was truly her hero and it felt better than he’d ever imagined.

  “I couldn’t let them hurt you,” he said.

  “You’re a glinter,” Soman said with wonder. “What does it feel like?”

  Suddenly the feeling of warrior pride vanished as images of blood flashed through Gemynd’s mind. He heard the sound of Lumon’s body hitting the floor. And again he felt his guard’s hand release its grip on him as his life drained away. Gemynd felt powerful and sickened all at the same time. “It feels like I just murdered four men,” he replied.

  Soman knitted his brows together as though deep in thought. “Those men who held me were so strong,” he said.

  Gemynd nodded. “Unnaturally so. The one held me to the ground with only one hand as though I were just a lump of dirt.”

  “Maybe they were glinters, too,” Numa said.

  Gemynd looked at Soman. If great physical strength was a form of glinting, then Soman could very well be a glinter too. While he wasn’t as strong as the men in the tavern, he was certainly stronger than anyone else in Aerie.

  “What do you think your training will be like?” Soman asked, ignoring Numa’s statement altogether.

  Gemynd shook his head. “I’m not going to training,” he said in a tone he hoped was firm enough to stave off any arguments. “I’m not leaving Aerie.”

  “Keeper Stout told us that glinters are sent off for training,” Soman explained as though Gemynd might have forgotten that information.

  “I know that,” Gemynd said, trying to be patient with his friend. “But that would only happen if people find out that I’m a glinter. If we don’t tell anyone, I won’t have to leave.”

  “But you wouldn’t be leaving forever. It’s just for training and then you come back,” Soman said.

  Gemynd sighed. “Remember Ruddy Tom’s son, Brighton?” he asked. “He was sent off for training over two years ago.”

  Numa gasped. “You’re right,” she said. “He hasn’t returned. Do you think training could be that long?”

  “The Keepers explained to us that not everyone chooses to return after training,” Soman put in. “Maybe Brighton finished his training a long time ago and has simply made the decision not to return.”

  Gemynd gave Soman an incredulous look. “Who would choose to not return to Aerie? Especially after seeing what it’s like out here!”

  Soman shrugged. “Glinters can’t use their powers in Aerie. Maybe that was something Brighton couldn’t do.”

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to get rid of me.”

  Soman shook his head. “It’s not that at all. I would just rather see you go to training and return than get caught and be banished forever.”

  “That won’t happen,” Gemynd said, hoping to reassure his friend as well as himself.

  “Do you have control over your powers?” Soman asked.

  Gemynd nodded. “I know that I have to be very focused in order for anything to happen. And, being very focused is not something I do without extreme effort.”

  Numa stepped forward and looked directly into Soman’s eyes. “Gemynd is not leaving Aerie,” she said in a forceful tone that sounded strange coming from Numa’s mouth. “Not for training and not for banishment. We will keep this a secret forever. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” Soman answered quickly.

  “Now, about us getting back into Aerie unnoticed,” Gemynd said. “I have a plan.”

  “We can always count on you,” Numa said and Gemynd felt his heart swell with pride once again.

  “Numa and I will spend the day in the mantle grove. I believe we’ll be safe in here. I really don’t think Lumon’s men will be returning to the area. And once it’s Soman’s shift at the bell post, we’ll climb back up to Aerie. We need to come up with some kind of signal for you to let us know when it’s safe. The last thing we want to do is climb up if you’ve got people hanging around your post up there.”

  “A signal?” Soman asked. “Obviously we can’t use the bell.”

  “Obviously,” Gemynd stated, shaking his head. “There’s no need to over think this. When it’s safe for us to come up, just move your torch in a big arc three times.”

  “Got it,” Soman said with a short nod.

  “The only problem is food. We’ll need something to eat while we’re down here.”

  “I can help with that,” Soman said and gave Gemynd a sheepish grin as he pulled two loaves of bread from some mysterious, hidden cavern in his tunic. “I grabbed them from the tavern on my way out the door.”

  “Impressive,” Gemynd said as he reached for one of the loaves.

  Numa giggled. “I wondered what you were stuffing into your tunic with one hand while you held me with the other. I should have known food had something to do with it.”

  Soman held out the other loaf. “Take them both. I can eat in Aerie,” he said and Gemynd smiled at his friend’s generosity. He knew Soman must be famished.

  Gemynd walked behind Numa as they made their way to the mantle grove. He couldn’t help but admire her curves. She wore a yellow apron over an oat-colored kirtle. It was the same style of dress that all women in Aerie wore, but somehow, Numa made it look extraordinary.

  Gemynd wanted to glide his hands down the sides of her body and let his fingers trail over her curves. He wanted to feel the silk of her hair and let it flow through his fingers.

  But, just as expected, his mind began it’s whirring. Do you think she considers her apron to be yellow or gold? Why don’t women wear tunics? I wonder if she’s ever admired my backside. Do I have a nice backside? Would she like me to touch her hair? Has she ever let another man touch it? Why can’t I just admire a woman without having so many questions?

  Numa looked over her shoulder and smiled at Gemynd.

  Is she smiling because she’s happy or is she compensating? Is she genuinely all right after what happened with Lumon? How could she be? Should I have stopped Lumon sooner?

  Gemynd smiled back.

  “Would you like to find a place to settle for a while? Or shall we continue walking?” Numa asked.

  Would she like to rest or does she think I want to rest? She had a rough morning. She probably should rest. Should we eat the bread now or save it? We should find some water.

  “I remember seeing a spring up ahead. We can stop there if you’d like,” Gemynd answered.

  “A spring sounds perfect,” Numa said and added, “I’m glad Soman grabbed the bread.”

  I should have thought to bring food with us. Is Soman becoming smarter than I? Does this mean Numa likes Soman more? Stop being a fool!

  “Me too,” Gemynd replied.

  In no time at all, he found the spring. It was a small, deep blue pond with a cluster of stones at one end from which a steady stream of water trickled. As they approached, Gemynd saw two bright red narcissum birds squawking and bickering by the edge of the small pool.

  “Gemynd, look!” Numa whispered, pointing to the other sid
e of the spring. Moving in ghostly silence, three grey beings emerged. The largest one was solid grey and clearly the mother of the other two who were dappled with black spots. They looked a bit like horses, but much, much larger. Even the two small ones were larger than any horse Gemynd had ever seen. And from their heads, two elongated black horns protruded at least eight hands straight into the air. They approached the spring with majestic grace.

  “Carus,” Gemynd whispered back. “I remember hearing of them in discipleship, only I never believed they were real. They are said to be glinters in the animal world.”

  “Carus,” Numa repeated and slowly got to her feet. The mother carus lifted her head, clearly startled by Numa’s movement, and displayed a broad chest that spoke of unimaginable strength.

  Numa slowly put her arms out in front of her, palms up, and began walking around the small pool to where the carus stood. Each step she took was deliberate and measured as though she was entranced. The two carus youths reflexively moved behind their mother as Numa continued toward them. The great mother carus stomped her massive foreleg once in warning and blew air out of her enormous nostrils, but Numa was not deterred. She moved to within ten hands of the beast, and Gemynd sat, mesmerized, by what unfolded.

  Numa and the great Carus regarded one another in stillness for several moments. Gemynd saw the flashing, yellow eyes of the carus look directly into Numa’s eyes. Then, the carus slowly lowered her head in a gesture that could only be understood as acceptance. Numa closed the distance between herself and the carus, keeping her arms outstretched. Then she reached up and placed her hand gently on the side of the carus’ head. The great beast stood still, then her eyelids drifted closed and she leaned into Numa’s hand. The two young carus slowly ventured from their hiding place, creeping along either side of their mother to inspect the newcomer. Numa whispered something to them that Gemynd couldn’t hear. Then she let her arms fall to her sides and once again stared silently into the eyes of the carus for several moments. Numa then dropped into a deep bow as the three carus vanished back into the recesses of the mantle grove from where they had come.