B008P7JX7Q EBOK

by Ijaz, Usman

  Alexis looked towards the horizon. “Connor told us where you might have gone.”

  Adrian felt a momentary hatred towards his cousin, but let it pass. He was not angry at Connor, only at himself.

  “What distresses you?”

  Adrian didn’t bother to answer. Such a stupid question.

  “Is it learning that you’re an Ascillian?”

  “What else would it be?” he demanded.

  “There’s no reason to feel the way you do.”

  “How would you know?” Adrian demanded, turning to stare at the other man. “How would you know what it feels like to discover that you’re part of a race despised by everyone?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Alexis said simply. “But I would have more sense than to hate myself simply because others do.”

  Adrian didn’t say anything and the two sat in tensional silence. At last Alexis said, “We must leave tomorrow morning.”

  Adrian remained quiet. After a few moments of silence filled with the cries of gulls, he said, “What if I don’t want to go?”

  “You must. It’s your duty, just as it is ours to guide you to the Source.”

  “Curse your bloody Source!”

  “If not for yourself, then come with us for your uncle and your cousins. If this Source dies, terrible things will happen.” They sat there staring at the sinking sun until the light left the sky and darkness began to creep in. Alexis stood up. “Will you come with us?”

  For a long time Adrian was silent, pondering the Legionnaire’s words and his choices. “If I don’t, are you going to tie me hand and foot to the saddle and carry me there?” he asked sarcastically. Alexis’s silence was answer enough. “It’s not as if I have any choice,” he muttered. And there is nothing left to keep me here. He remembered the look on Connor’s face. No one will want me here now. Would they all look at him as if they didn’t know him anymore?

  Alexis offered him his hand. Adrian took it grudgingly and let the other man pull him to his feet. The two made their way back towards the Golden Lilly.

  7

  The young legionnaire glanced at Adrian and felt a wave of pity towards him. Hamar had told him to stay out of the conversation with the innkeeper, and he had done so, but that didn’t mean he liked doing this. They walked up the small hill, the legionnaire and the boy, beneath a dusky sky growing darker by the minute.

  “How long will it take us to get there?” Adrian asked. He spoke mildly, with no great interest in the answer.

  “I don’t know,” Alexis answered truthfully. “Perhaps a month or two, depending on how fast we travel.”

  “What must I do once we reach the Source?”

  He makes it sound simple, Alexis thought. He doesn’t realize how dangerous this mission could prove to be. “I’m not sure,” he told him, hating to admit it.

  The boy understood that he must do this, and that was for the good, it might make things easier, though Alexis doubted anything would be easy henceforth.

  “Are you really a Legionnaire?” Adrian asked.

  “Yes.”

  The streets were mainly deserted now, the shops closed and few people walking about. The sounds of merriment came from some of the inns and houses they passed, but there was no merriment in the streets.

  “Where are your guns then?” Adrian asked.

  “In my room with the rest of my belongings.”

  “Do you have the mark of the Legion?”

  For answer Alexis peeled off the glove on his left hand and showed Adrian the mark tattooed on the back of his hand. It was a maroon circle of vines with a maroon eagle in flight in the center and flaring sunbursts along the outer brim. Adrian looked at the tattoo and nodded slightly. Alexis slipped the glove on again.

  8

  They walked the rest of the way in silence. As they reached the inn, Alexis told him, “You should pack your belongings, we will be leaving early in the morning."

  As they entered Adrian noticed many of the faces turning and looking at him, and every one he seemed to know. He saw Hamar and Owain sitting at a table in one corner of the common room. He ignored them all. He headed for the stairs, and as he did he looked past the bar and into the kitchen. There he saw Anne, Bertha, Connor, and Nina looking at him as though he was some odd creature that puzzled them. It was harder to ignore them or the looks on their faces, but he did so and marched up the stairs, feeling more alone than ever before.

  As he opened the door to the room he shared with Connor, he saw his uncle standing there staring out the window. On his bed lay a small pack. Uncle Jon turned away from the window and looked at him. Adrian could see that he had been crying. He stood in the doorway, looking at the floorboards beneath his feet, unable to meet his uncle’s eyes.

  “I am sorry,” Uncle Jon said with a deep sadness as he walked over and led him into the room, closing the door behind him. Jon sat him on his bed and knelt beside him. “We should have told you sooner. You shouldn’t have had to find out in this manner.”

  Adrian let go of any of the remaining vestiges of anger he held towards his uncle. At first he had been angry with Jon for not telling him sooner, and even when he had seen his uncle’s reasoning he’d still felt a little anger towards him. But as he watched his uncle now, with his solemn face and reddened eyes, Adrian couldn’t help but forgive him for his efforts to try and to keep him safe. His uncle had risked so much for him, had risked everything in fact.

  “The ... the Legionnaires will take you away tomorrow morning,” Jon said. “I brought you a bag to pack your belongings.”

  “Thank you,” Adrian said.

  Adrian picked up the bag and went to the dresser. He began stuffing it with shirts and trousers. Jon came over and helped him. When they were done a listless silence hung in the room.

  “You mustn't blame Connor or the others for how they behave,” his uncle said. “They ....”

  “I know,” Adrian said sadly.

  “You must be hungry. I’ll bring you something to eat.”

  Adrian thanked him quietly. He sat on the bed and stared at the floorboards, trying to comprehend everything that had happened today.

  When Jon came back carrying a tray of food he was followed by Connor. Adrian looked at his cousin, who could not look him in the eyes for very long.

  “You ... you’re leaving?” Connor asked, his eyes picking out the laden bag.

  “Yes,” Adrian said as Jon set the food on the bedside table and sat down beside him.

  “Why?” Connor asked hesitantly.

  Because you don’t want me around, Connor. “It’s something I must do.” He looked at his cousin and thought: He’s frightened of me. Does he think I will set him on fire? He turned to his uncle. “Will you tell me about my mother and father?”

  Jon looked at him, and then his eyes drifted to his son. “All right. Sit down, Connor, you should hear this as well.”

  Connor went to the other bed and slumped down.

  “Your father’s name was Jared and he was my older brother,” began Jon as he wrung his hands. “We lived on a farm in those days, in a small town called Dillo, and all we both wanted was to move away and start our own lives. When we decided we were old enough, we left home and set out to create our own lives. We lived alone for months, working at a mill, saving our money whenever we could. Then Jared met a girl named Lysa and fell in love with her. A year later they married and left to live on their own, even after she’d told him she was an Ascillian, and this at a time when the Ascillians were still being hunted down. But it never fazed Jared; he loved her too much.”

  Adrian listened in quiet silence. He glanced towards Connor and saw that his cousin was listening just as attentively.

  “I met Helen soon after,” continued Jon, “and we married. She came from a prosperous family, and she believed in my dream of opening my own inn. Without her this place would not exist. She gave birth to Anne soon after the Inn was built. In those years we saw little of Jared and Lysa, but at times t
hey came to visit and spent weeks here. Helen and Lysa formed a strong bond, as if they were sisters, and spent all their time in one another’s company.

  “Then early one morning Jared showed up on our doorstep with a small child in his arms. He was bedraggled and bleeding, but he refused any help. He only said that Lysa was dying, and that the child was their son. He had to get him out of harm, he said. But Helen would not let him leave without asking about Lysa, and when she realized the peril that her dearest friend was in, she insisted on going with Jared. There was nothing I could do, not when she had her mind set as she did, and I couldn’t follow, for who would watch the children and the inn? I watched Jared and Helen both disappear galloping into the night. It was the last time I ever saw either one of them.”

  Adrian listened, waiting for more, and when he realized that his uncle was done talking he looked up and saw the other man wiping tears away from his eyes. Adrian felt the warm trail of tears upon his own cheeks, and wiped them away. What his uncle had told him gave him more insight into what the dreams showed him, but it also made them that much worse. “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “You’ve never told any of us that before,” Connor said quietly. “Why?”

  “It’s not something that one can easily explain to his children,” said Jon, “but I hope you’re old enough now to understand it.”

  Connor’s eyes darted to Adrian, and Adrian was stunned by the anger they suddenly held. “You. All because of you.”

  “Connor--” began Jon, and was cut off.

  “If not for you, she would be alive!” cried Connor, his face contorted in anguish. “She left to save your mother and died as well!”

  Adrian could only look at his cousin in hurt wonder. In all the time that they had known one another, since they had been little children, they had never shouted at one another like this.

  “Calm down, Connor!” shouted Jon. “It happened a long time ago, and it’s not Adrian’s fault!”

  “It’s all been his fault!” shouted Connor, crying in harsh sobs. He rushed out the door.

  Jon stood up and began to pace back and forth, running a hand through his brown hair. “Forgive him, Adrian, he’s simply overcome by anger.”

  “I ... I know,” replied Adrian, remembering the accusation in Connor’s eyes.

  “I’ll go speak with him,” said his uncle and left.

  Adrian looked at the food, and thought there had never been a time when he’d felt less like eating. He put the tray aside and methodically packed the rest of his clothing. He then lay down on his bed and closed his eyes for a few moments, wishing that he could shut away his thoughts as easily.

  He fell asleep, and for the first time in what felt like forever, did not dream.

  Chapter 5

  Leaving Port Hope

  1

  Adrian awoke at the crack of dawn from his uncle’s gentle shaking. Morning was only a hint across the sky outside. Jon watched him silently for a few moments, and Adrian expected him to say something, but at last he turned and left in silent misery. Adrian went to the washbasin on slow feet, not feeling any hurry to put his life behind him, and washed his face. He went to the bed and picked up clothes he had lain the previous night and dressed at a lethargic pace. Once dressed, he grabbed his bag and headed for the door. He stopped in the doorway and turned to look at the room. It already had the feel of something long deserted, or something that he had given away. He looked to his empty bed, and thought he should have at least made it up one last time. Connor’s bed was empty as well, he saw; it looked as though he had slept somewhere else.

  Adrian carried his haversack and blanket rolls with him and walked out of the room, realizing that it was likely the last time he would ever see it again.

  In spite of the time, Nina was awake, and she had eggs and porridge ready for him along with milk. Adrian didn’t feel much like eating, but he ate nonetheless, for Nina’s sake. When he was done he exited to the stables. He stopped inside the door, surprised to find Connor saddling one of the horses. Behind Connor the three Legionnaires tended to their own mounts, doing last minute checkups.

  Uncle Jon came out and stood beside him. “Connor ...” Adrian began, puzzled.

  “He plans on going with you as well,” said Jon, his voice grave and his face haggard. “He’ll have it no other way. I’d strap him down if I thought it would do any good, but he says that he will follow after you even then.”

  “But why?”

  Jon shook his head sadly. “I think he wants to know what his mother died for. He’s younger than Anne and Bertha, and he doesn’t have any memories of her, which hurts him all the more.”

  Jon led him to Wind and helped him saddle the horse and tie his pack and blanket rolls on the back. “You can take Wind. I know you like her, and she likes you as well.”

  “Thank you,” Adrian said, looking towards Connor. His cousin wore a stern expression, one that Adrian had never seen on him before. As his father had said, he didn’t look easy to deter. Adrian walked over to the other boy. “You don’t need to do this, Connor. I know you think this will be an adventure, but it won’t be. It’s simply something I have to do. You should stay here.” But for all the response Connor gave him, he might as well not have existed. Adrian went back to his own horse, feeling as though everything around him was crumbling to pieces, and he standing in the middle could do nothing but watch.

  The three Legionnaires were soon ready. They had cast aside their worn-out garments, and were dressed as though they meant to travel. Hamar wore a dusky-gray coat that came down to his hips over a faded blue shirt. Owain wore a wide-brimmed hat on his head and a long brown coat that came nearly to his knees. Alexis’s head was bare and his hair fell freely around his face and to his shoulders. He wore a black coat similar to Owain's over a black shirt. As Adrian watched them he caught the steel glint of Owain’s right gun beneath his coat. Hamar moved towards them. “We must go.”

  Anne and Bertha stepped out from the kitchens, followed by Nina, joining Jon in the stables. Adrian looked at them and saw the worry in their eyes. Jon stepped forward, and spoke solemnly to each of them. “Good luck, boys. Watch out for one another. Come back to us.” He shook their hands, surprising Adrian since he had not been expecting it, and hugged them fiercely.

  Adrian looked at Connor, and for a moment their eyes locked. In Connor’s eyes Adrian saw the same reluctance that he thought must be in his own. It was hard to leave, he realized, even harder to say goodbye.

  Anne and Bertha came next, and Adrian immediately felt sure that they meant to rush past him and go to Connor. Instead, they both hugged him fiercely, and though he could feel their reluctance, unsure of what he might be, he loved them for it. “Come back home, Adrian,” Bertha said. “Take care of yourself,” Anne told him. They hugged their brother in the same fashion, and gave him the same message. When they stepped back, they were wiping tears from their eyes.

  Nina came last, and she was already in tears. She handed Adrian a small package wrapped in a white kerchief that radiated heat. “I baked you two some apple tarts,” she said, and tried to smile. The boys couldn’t help but respond to her smile.

  “Thank you, Nina,” Adrian said.

  The head cook moved back to the rest of the party and Adrian and Connor were left alone. On one side awaited the Legionnaires, on the other side stood their family. And are we not family? Adrian wondered, looking at them. Even if everything else comes between us, in the end are we not still family?

  As he and Connor turned around Adrian could feel the onset of tears. He wiped the back of one hand across his eyes, trying to forestall them. They mounted their horses, and looked at the small party that watched them with somber faces. The boys smiled wanly, and then turned their horses and followed the Legionnaires out of the stables.

  2

  They hadn’t gone fifty feet down the street before Adrian turned around in his saddle to look back at the Golden Lilly. He could still see the small party
in the stables, and he waved half-heartedly at them; one of the forms returned the wave. He saw that Connor also kept turning around and looking back. Then they turned a corner and the inn was lost from view.

  They rode through the city silently. Alexis fell back and rode beside them, while the other two Legionnaires led them all. In the early hours of the morning the town appeared sleeping; alive, but as if awaiting its occupants to return from some grand ball. The small party rode to the Great Road leading east. As they joined the Great Road, leaving the city behind them, Adrian couldn’t help but feel as though they had stepped from one world and into another. Certainly everything looked the same as it always had, but it was the only way he could express how he felt.

  They rode in silence, and the land slowly gave way to plowed fields that receded to plains on both sides of the road and then to farms. On the farms people were already up and about, tending to livestock and beginning their chores. The party rode on, and soon the farms grew sparse, and then there were only empty grasslands rolling off to their left and right. Overhead the sun was still rising, casting aside the dull grayness of dawn.

  “Where are we going?” Connor asked.

  Adrian watched Hamar and Owain ahead, awaiting an answer. “East,” Hamar said at last.

  “How far east?” Connor asked.

  Hamar’s answer was blunt. “A long way. You’ll see when we get there.”

  As the sun rose the world awoke as well and merchants and farmers driving their wagons soon shared the road with them. Some went racing by them going the opposite direction, while others traveled at a leisurely pace, much as they did. Adrian lost all track of the time and how many hours they spent in the saddle, he only knew that by the time Hamar let them stop he was tired and the sun sat high in the sky. They stopped on the side of the road and lunched.