Finding Refuge: The Marked Ones

by Cathi Shaw

  Thia followed him, unable to speak despite the thousand questions that were pressing up through her mind.

  Caedmon led her down a steep stairway. As the path sunk into the earth, Thia’s heart began to hammer. She was not afraid of being below ground - she had spent months with the People the previous year. But there was something different about this place. It reeked of corruption. The mine walls became damp and musty the further they descended into the earth. While the Underground felt organic and alive, this place felt corrupted and filled with the forewarning of death. Why was Teague in such a place? Thia felt sick just thinking about happy-go-lucky Teague in this place of darkness.

  After they had descended for what seemed like far too long, Caedmon turned right and led her into a dark chamber, lit dimly by a few torches. Across one wall were a series of cells, clearly built to hold prisoners. Only one was occupied and at first Thia didn’t recognize the bundle of rags huddling in the corner. As Caedmon unlocked the cell, it suddenly hit her. That bundle was Teague.

  As the door clattered open, Teague jerked his head and squinted into the torchlight.

  Thia gasped. He had lost so much weight his body now resembled a skeleton clothed in filthy ripped clothing. His hair had grown and hung in dirty matted curls around his painfully thin face. But it was his eyes, darting around the darkness, glinting in a dangerous way that hit Thia the hardest.

  What had happened to Teague? Tears filled her eyes, as a band of pain tightened around her chest.

  He squinted at them and then looked away muttering under his breath.

  Thia looked at Caedmon in concern.

  “He doesn’t recognize any of us anymore,” Caedmon admitted.

  “Why is he locked down here?” she choked out.

  “We left the door unlocked at first but last week he attacked the guard when he brought him his dinner. Ripped his ear off.” Caedmon closed his eyes for a moment and Thia could see how much this was paining him. “Bellasiel wanted him chained to the wall.” He nodded toward the chains that hung from the wall.

  Thia stared at them in horror. What did Caedmon mean? Had Teague been chained up?

  “I would not let her do that to him again,” Caedmon said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Instead I’ve been staying with him. When I must leave I lock the cell.” He paused and looked at her. “Not because I fear Teague escaping but because I don’t trust Omen to stay away from him.”

  Thia stared at him in surprise. “I thought Omen was helping him?” she said softly even as she remembered Teague’s words from their last dreamwalk.

  “So did we - at first.” Caedmon cursed under his breath. “If I’d just paid more attention to what was happening here instead of recruiting more children for Bellasiel’s army.”

  Thia shook her head in confusion. What army? Clearly there was much more going on at the Refuge than she anticipated even with Teague’s warning.

  Caedmon shook his head. “Never mind. I’m sure Kiara will fill you in on the details.”

  Bewildered but nodding anyway Thia turned back to where Teague was still huddled in the corner. He was rocking slightly now, his muttering had taken on a rhythmic quality but it was tinged with such pain. She stepped toward him but Caedmon stopped her with a large hand on her arm.

  “I don’t think that’s wise, Thia. Teague is not himself and he has already killed a child not much larger than you.”

  Thia shook her head. Teague would not hurt her. She was sure of that.

  “Let me go, Caedmon. I know the risk. It is my choice.”

  She gently removed his hand from her arm and walked over to where Teague was rocking. She crouched down in front of him. “Teague?” she said softly. There was no response. His mutterings continued as if he hadn’t heard her.

  “Teague?” she said again, louder this time. But it was to no avail. The voices in his head were louder than her spoken word. Thia decided to become one of those voices.

  Teague.

  His eyes flashed to her face.

  “You!” He growled aloud before he launched himself at her, his hands clamped around her throat, as they had in the dreamscape.

  Thia felt the electric charge from him resonate from his hands. She vaguely heard Caedmon moving behind her and then she was falling into a vision. The first one she’d had in months.

  Teague standing in front of a child army, laughing manically as they advanced on helpless peasants. Bellasiel smiling with Omen over plans on a table. Mina with a terribly scarred man, a crown glinting on her golden curls. Meldiron and Xyrisse on a ship with the ocean spray sparkling on their skin. Kiara, naked and scarred, blood dripping down her legs.

  Thia awoke from the vision suddenly, her head throbbing and her throat aching for breath. Kiara was cradling her head in her knee while Meldiron and Caedmon chained a sobbing Teague to the wall.

  “Thia, I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Teague moaned, his silver eyes pleading with her.

  Thia sat up.

  “Careful, darling, you’ve had a vision.”

  Thia shook her head, pushing her sister away and moved to stand in front of Teague. She’d been so stupid not to anticipate the energy from Teague. It had been so long since he’d been able to throw her into a vision. Now he felt guilty. Her heart ached as he sobbed on the wall.

  “Shhh,” she said softly as she cupped his cheek, this time she controlled the sparks that erupted sending them back to Teague. “I know you wouldn’t harm me on purpose. I should have been prepared.”

  She turned to Caedmon.

  “Unchain him.”

  Kiara shook her head. “Thia, you saw firsthand how unstable he is. It’s not safe –”

  “It’s inhumane to keep him chained up,” Thia turned on her sister savagely.

  Thia, they’re right.

  Thia turned back to see Teague watching her, tears glimmering in his silver eyes. He shook his head.

  I’m sorry.

  No, I will not let you live like this.

  Then kill me.

  His words cut her to the core. What are you saying?

  I can’t control these voices in my head. I don’t know how to do it. Right now I’m here. I’m me. But …

  “Alright. I have a compromise to suggest,” Thia said aloud. “Teague will not be chained to a wall.”

  She held up her hand as the others protested.

  “No. Listen. He can have his freedom in the cell. But Caedmon will keep the door locked. And only Caedmon will enter until we have a plan to help Teague regain himself.” Thia closed her eyes, fatigue pulling at her.

  “You need rest,” Meldiron observed.

  Thia nodded. She did - she needed to sleep after her vision. Teague, she called out.

  Thia go. I will be fine for a while.

  I will find a way to help you, she vowed.

  But Teague did not reply. He closed his eyes and let himself slump to the floor as Caedmon unchained him. Thia had never seen such a physical symbol of hopelessness. She couldn’t let Teague give up. She wouldn’t.

  #

  “Do you really truly believe that Bellasiel is working against us?” Meldiron asked Caedmon and Kiara, disbelief clear in his voice.

  Kiara watched as the Elder struggled with story that Caedmon and her had shared with him. Thia was still sleeping, she hadn’t yet told them about her vision but Kiara knew it would be an important one. And in the meantime, Caedmon and her had shared their concerns with the others.

  “I refuse to believe it’s true,” Meldiron said vehemently. “Why would Bellasiel work against us?” But there was a hint of doubt in his voice.

  “Regardless of past relationships, we need to consider that Bellasiel may not as impartial as we had first thought,” Caedmon said reasonably. “Much has happened while you were away.”

  “Tell us again what Bellasiel’s reaction was when the girl was killed.” Meldiron instructed Kiara.

  Kiara recounted all that had happened with Teague and Bellasiel since she
arrived from the last scouting trip. She also told them about her distrust of the former Draíodóir named Omen.

  “I can’t put my finger on it,” Kiara said, “But there’s something about that man that I don’t trust. And Teague became extremely agitated when he came into the room.” She paused for a moment, her eyes distant. “It was almost as if Omen was violating Teague in some way.” Kiara shook her head. “It sounds crazy but that’s the only way I can describe it.”

  “What about Bellasiel?” Meldiron asked.

  “Bellasiel has been extremely uncoorporative since we arrived. She was insistent that Teague be locked up stating that he was a danger to others.”

  “Well, he has hardly proven himself innocent there,” Meldiron interrupted.

  But Kiara shook her head. “I know but it was how insistent she was about it. But beyond Teague it’s her fixation with the Marked children.”

  Meldiron looked her sharply. “What do you mean?”

  But it was Caedmon who spoke up. “It is like she is obsessed with finding more of them. She has been trying to get Kiara and I to fit in another scouting mission before the winter sets in.”

  “That’s crazy,” Xyrisse said suddenly, speaking for the first time. “Winter will come quickly to these mountains.”

  Kiara nodded. “Yes, but Bellasiel wants more of the children and I think she would be happy to have Caedmon and I out of the picture for a while.”

  “Why?” Meldiron asked impatiently. His disbelief was clear in his voice.

  “So that Omen can have access to my brother again,” Caedmon answered.

  Kiara nodded. “It’s as if Teague is an unfinished project to them. They keep saying it’s to keep the Draíodóir away -“

  “Well that is a noble cause,” Meldiron argued but his reasons were starting to sound desperate.

  “Perhaps,” Kiara conceded, “but not to the extent they are pushing it.”

  There was movement at the door to the chamber. Mina turned and saw Thia entering leaning heavily on the frame of the door.

  “Thia, you should be resting,” Kiara told her little sister. But Thia shook her head despite the lines of fatigue that were clear on her face.

  “We need to leave this place and take Teague with us,” she told them.

  “Winter is almost upon the mountains and you are suggesting we leave?” Meldiron asked incredulously. “Why?”

  “I fear we are all in danger here.”

  #

  Thia sat down on a chair and accepted a glass of water from Xyrisse before she continued.

  “I had a vision with my seizure,” she said softly, knowing that this would be no surprise to her sister.

  “What did you see?” Kiara asked urgently.

  Thia thought back to the jumble of visions that had come to her. Some she didn’t understand - like Mina and the crown. Others she didn’t think were important enough to share - at least not for the discomfort they would cause others. Xyrisse and Meldiron, for example. And she didn’t want to scare Kiara …

  “This was one of the most complex visions I’ve had since we ran,” she explained slowly. “Teague must not stay here - Omen and Bellasiel will use him for wicked purposes if we leave them to it.”

  “I knew they were up to no good. We should never have trusted that woman,” Kiara said vehemently.

  Meldiron stood and looked like he would leave the room.

  “Wait,” Thia said, her quiet voice clear despite the others’ exclamations over Kiara’s words. “I do not think Bellasiel is evil. I’m not sure about Omen. Bellasiel believes she is acting in the best interest of the Five Corners. And she is not acting alone.”

  There was silence at Thia’s last words.

  “I do not know who she is acting with but first and foremost we need to get help for Teague.”

  “And how do you propose we do that?” Caedmon asked.

  Thia took a deep breath. “We must take him to Celeste in the Underground.”

  Again the others began to argue and talk at once. Thia waited for them to fall silent. She was still tired from her vision and didn’t have the energy to attempt to speak over them.

  “I’ve been thinking about this. The Draíodóir did this to him. Celeste and the People are the only ones who have the skill to help him. And more importantly,” Thia paused until they were all looking at her, “We can trust them.”

  “Are you certain of that?” Meldiron asked.

  Thia didn’t hesitate. “Yes. They have no interest in rejoining what they call the Upper World. But they do have an interest in Teague and I as Halflings. They will do anything they can to make him well again.”

  “But last time you said you became sick when you were in the Underground,” Kiara pointed out.

  Thia nodded. “We did but not immediately. We were there for months before we started to exhibit signs of sickness. I’m hoping Teague will be well before he becomes ill.”

  Caedmon spoke then. “If it will help Teague then we must try. Nothing here will help him.”

  Thia nodded.

  “Well, it’s good in theory but how do you propose we transport him there?” Kiara asked. “We agree, for the most part.” She looked at Meldiron. “That we can’t trust Omen with Teague. But how are we going to travel with him.”

  Thia licked her lips. She had given this some thought. “We can sedate him. I can mix a tonic that will keep him asleep for most of the journey. But that isn’t our greatest challenge.”

  All eyes turned to her again. “I don’t know where an entrance to the Underground might be,” she admitted.

  “What?” Kiara asked. The others looked equally confused.

  “Or I should say, a safe entrance.” Thia shook her head. “You remember the passage in the Northern Mountains was buried beneath a landslide. I’m assuming that entrance is still blocked. The only other entrance I know of is the one near Séreméla and that one is not safe to enter as it is far too close to the Valley where we are still outlaws.”

  There was silence in the room as her words sunk in. The Kiara spoke up.

  “I may have another option,” she said slowly. She turned to Caedmon. “The manach may be able to help us?”

  “The mystic monks?” Meldiron interrupted. “Do they even exist?”

  “They do exist,” Caedmon said drily. “I thought they were just a nursery tale as well until I saw them with my own eyes.”

  “And what makes you think they would help us?” Xyrisse asked.

  Thia watched as Kiara hesitated for a moment. “I can’t guarantee that they will help us,” Kiara admitted. “But they did help Caedmon and I before and they expressed their concern for the Marked Ones at that time. I believe they will help us. But that is not our biggest problem in soliciting their aid.”

  “What is?” Thia asked.

  Kiara sighed. “Their location. There is a reason they are considered characters in folktales. They live deep in the Northern Mountains on the edge of the great glacier. Caedmon and I only found them by chance.”

  Caedmon nodded in agreement. “Not only that, winter is fast approaching. Kiara and I barely made it to the Valley last year. The manach did aid us but even so - getting to them and then back at this time of year would be close to impossible even for us.” He looked at Thia. “You would not have made the trip last time and there is no way that a sedated Teague could be carried to them.”

  Xyrisse surprised them by speaking up. “There is another way,” she said softly. “You forget that I am able to teleport. I could take one, possibly two, there and back without the hardship of a journey.”

  “You can do that?” Thia asked.

  Xyrisse nodded. “Hunters are able to transport their prey. I could easily transport you to these manach.”

  Thia didn’t like being compared to prey but what choice did they have? And she did trust Xyrisse.

  “But I don’t know them at all. Either Kiara or Caedmon would have to come with us.”

  Xyrisse looked at
them both. “Kiara I could take. Caedmon would be too much, I fear.”

  “One of us should stay here and watch over Teague at any rate,” Kiara put in.

  “Okay. When do we leave?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  It was decided that they would leave after Thia had recovered completely from her seizure. While she normally only needed a day to recover, the seizures that were induced by Teague took longer to get over. Thia was annoyed at herself because she should have been ready for the reaction she had to Teague. It wasn’t until she’d spent time in the Underground that she’d learned to control it. Teague, in fact, usually wore gloves but they seem to have been taken away from him. Or he may have stopped wearing them on purpose, a little voice inside her head reminded her.

  But there were other issues to deal with before Thia and Kiara could make the trip to the manach with Xyrisse. Bellasiel was not happy about Mina and Arion being missing.

  “Why did you not go after them?” she asked Meldiron and Thia was surprised by the tone in the Elder’s voice. She did not sound like someone speaking to her Crown Prince.

  “I did go after them but they had too much of a lead on us,” he told her.

  Bellasiel looked dubious. “You had a Hunter with you. Could she not have tracked them?”

  “Xyrisse was recovering from injuries so severe she almost died,” Thia broke in. “There was no way she would be able to Hunt, even if she wanted to.”

  Bellasiel remained unconvinced. She spoke about putting together a recovery team but to Thia’s surprise, Meldiron seemed less keen on the idea than he had been when they first arrived at the Refuge.

  Later in Caedmon’s chambers, where they were holding a private meeting, he expressed his own suspicion of Bellasiel.

  “Arion told me that he did not trust Bellasiel and Omen with the Prophecy or with Mina. I didn’t believe him but now that I’m here and I see what is happening …” he paused, his shoulders slumping for a moment, “I see I should have given his words more credence.”

  Thia smiled at him encouragingly. “Arion will forgive you,” she assured him.

  Meldiron sighed. “He isn’t in a relationship with your sister, is he?”