A World Apart (13 page)

She reached out to touch Jake's face when he nodded.  She turned his face, looking at the bruises and cut lip.  Her hands tightened on his face as she closed her eyes.  "Please relax, Jake.  I will not hurt you."

Jake watched her, her eyes closed, face showing concentration.  He was wondering what she was doing when, suddenly, a golden nimbus shone around her.  Jake tried to pull back, but she held his face tight.  "Don't be afraid, Jake."  She said softly, eye still closed.

Jake, pride stung a bit by the suggestion of fear, tried to relax, his mind still racing.  From his face, he could feel a sensation of warmth spreading throughout his body.  He was focused on that sensation when the light around Hailyn flared and the warmth turned hot at the areas of his injuries.  It startled him, but it was not painful.  It only lasted for a moment or two, then the light faded and Hailyn sat back, opening her eyes, face calm.

Jake noticed that his pain was gone.  He pulled up his sweatshirt and looked down at his ribs.  To his shock, the bruises were completely gone.  He reached up and ran a finger across his lips, finding only unbroken skin.  He could not see his face, but he was sure that those bruises were gone as well.

"What did you just do?"  He asked incredulously, noticing his hand shaking slightly.

"I healed you."  Hailyn said, looking perplexed.  "I know that you are a stranger here, but surely you have seen a cleric perform healing before?"

Jake took a deep calming breath and shook his head.  "Where I come from, there are no clerics.  Well, there are clerics, but they do not heal people like that.  How did you do it?"

Hailyn tilted her head slightly and gave Jake a smile, her brown eyes sparkling with curiosity.  "Truly, you have never seen healing?  You are a strange boy, Jake."  She started to say something, then gave a little shake of her head.  "Your question is probably better answered by my Master.  He will have a better understanding of how to assist you."

She reached out to the tray on the table and pushed a bowl and spoon over to him.  "You should eat.  Your body will need the strength after receiving healing."

Jake nodded slowly, still bewildered by what just happened.  He took a spoonful of the stew in the bowl and gave it a quick sniff, finding a slight spicy smell.  He saw that there were chunks of meat mixed with chopped vegetables in a brown broth.  He tasted it and found it delicious.  He began to spoon it in, as Hailyn tore the bread into pieces for him to dip.  He didn't realized how hungry he was until he finished the bowl.  Despite the food he just ate, his stomach gave a loud growl, causing him to flush slightly as he was sure that Hailyn heard it.

"Here, Jake."  She said, sliding the other bowl to him.  "Go ahead and eat.  There is plenty; I can get Dominic another bowl."  She filled a cup for him and sat back.

Jake ate slower this time, conscious of Hailyn watching him.  He glanced at her from time to time and she would give him a reassuring smile every time, her brown eyes curious.  He finished the bowl and leaned back in his chair.

"How old are you, Jake?"  She asked suddenly.

"I'll turn eighteen near the end of next month."  Jake replied, struck by a sudden thought that they could tell time differently here.  "Eighteen years old.  Do you use years here as well?"

"Yes, we use years."  Hailyn replied, her eyebrows scrunching, confused.  "There are three hundred and sixty days per year."

"That's about the same as ours."  Jake said, relieved to have something he could understand.  "How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen."  Hailyn said.

"Really?  That's cool.  So, how long have you been an apprentice?"  Jake asked, delighted to be able to talk with someone his age.

Before Hailyn could answer, the far door opened and Dominic and Jonas came back in the room.

Dominic strode over to the table, saw the empty bowls and grabbed the remaining bread.  He gave Jake a look and a shake of his head.  "Thanks for leaving me some, boy."  He said sarcastically.  He held up a hand as Jake started to protest.  "No harm done."

He moved away from the table and went to the outside door, turning his head to look back at Jake.  "I need to take Shadow to the stables in the Military Quarter and will find something to eat there.  Stay here with Jonas.  I'm sure he will answer your questions.  I will be back shortly."  He left, closing the door behind him.

Jonas spoke to Hailyn, a proud smile on his face.  "I can see from Jake's face that you did a fine job healing, Hailyn.  Thank you for your assistance."  He gestured at the door.  "If you please, I need to speak with Jake alone.  Please make sure no one disturbs us."

"Of course, Master."  Hailyn said with a small bow, giving Jake a smile as she turned and left the room.

Jonas took the other chair and set it across the table from Jake and sat down.  He studied Jake for a few moments with his warm eyes, a thoughtful look on his face.  Then he smiled and said.  "Dominic has told me quite a tale about you, young Jake.  He said that you are a stranger to these lands and have a great many questions.  Let me try to find answers to them, if I can."

C
HAPTER
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INE

Jake took a second and organized the questions in his mind into some semblance of order while Jonas waited patiently across the table.  Unfortunately, once he started, in his excitement that he may finally get some answers, everything came out in a rush.

"First of all, where am I?  How did I get here?  How can I understand you?  What did Hailyn do to me?  Who is Dominic?  What are half-men?  Why…"  Jake cut off as Jonas laughed and raised his hands.

"Dom was right, you do have questions!"  He chuckled a bit more, then said.  "Be at peace, Jake.  I will do my best to answer all of your questions, but perhaps we should start from the beginning.  Why don't you tell me how you got here and we can go from there."

Jake, embarrassed by his outburst of questions, took a deep breath, and then told Jonas about the events that brought him here, starting from his day at school.  He got to where Dominic saved him from Matus and his men and stopped.

"Dominic called them 'half-men'."  Jake asked.  "I don't understand what that means.  They seemed as human as you and I."

"I will explain that shortly, but please finish your tale first."  Jonas said, smiling to encourage him.

Jake continued on with his story.  He got to the part of Dominic giving him the drink to help his injuries when Jonas laughed out loud.

"You actually drank that?"  He said, chuckling.  "I make that special for Dom.  He is stubborn about not allowing me or anyone else to heal him, so I mix up some herbs and other elements that do help the healing process.  But, because of his stubbornness, I add something special for the taste."  He gestured to Jake.  "Forgive my interruption; please continue your story."

Jake finished with the day's travels and the arrival at the city.  Jonas was quiet for a moment, looking at Jake, then started to speak.

"Jake, to start, I cannot answer why you are here.  I have never read or heard about any similar occurrences in the histories.  I can only pray that the One has brought you here for a purpose."

"The One?"  Jake asked, confused.

"He is whom we serve, the One, the Light of All Things.  He is also called by some the Creator, He who made All."  Jonas said, reverently.

"You mean God?"

"He is not commonly spoken of by that name, since many of the people used to worship many gods, but if I understand you, yes.  Speaking of understanding, maybe it is He that allows us to understand each other's speech.  I may be biased because of my calling, but I would like to think that He would want us to understand one another.  We have to have faith in His goodness."

"I guess.  So, you are a priest?"  Jake responded.

"I'm not familiar with that name."  Jonas said.  "We are clerics, servants of the One.  We teach the people of Him, as well as work as healers, scholars, historians and teachers of children.  We each do work according to our strengths.  Hailyn, for example, is very adept at healing, yet she also teaches the young children to read and write."

"Can all clerics heal like Hailyn?"  Jake asked, remembering the unusual sensations of that process.

"No."  Jonas said, shaking his head.  "It is a gift that only some possess."

"What is it that she does?  I mean, how does it work?"

"That is not an easy question."  Jonas replied, pausing to think.  "I will try to explain it this way:  We believe that it is a gift from the One to help us serve the people.  The old writings say that, in some way, we are able to tap into the Light of His power.  Besides the ability to heal, it shields us from the power of our enemies, the demons and their followers."

"Demons?!"  Jake asked incredulously, sitting up straight, not believing what he was hearing.  "You mean you actually believe that demons exist?"

"We do not believe that they exist, Jake; we know."  Jonas said, face serious.  "We are told that these creatures were once servants of the One, in a time before all things were made, but that they were shut away from the Light for rebelling against the One.  They were banished into the Darkness, evil spirits twisted by hate and envy."

"That sounds like the story where I come from."  Jake interrupted, remembering his Sunday school lessons at church.

"The histories also tell us that around a thousand years ago, the demons first appeared in this world.  When I say appeared, I mean that they have physical form and are present in this world.  How they came here, it does not tell."

"I'm not sure I can believe that."  Jake said quietly, his mind trying to wrap itself around what he was hearing.

"Whether you believe it or not, Jake, they do exist.  I pray you never meet one."  Jonas paused for a moment.  "You have already encountered their followers.  You had asked why Dom called those men who had captured you 'half-men'.  That is the name we give the servants of the demons.  Did you notice a certain wildness about them?  That they seem to enjoy cruelty, hatred and envy?"  Jake nodded, shuddering, remembering that crazed look and his treatment at the hands of Surt and the rest.

"The reason for that is they have allowed the demons to corrupt them.  In a way I do not understand, when these men commit themselves to the demons, part of the demons' power goes into them.  What the demons receive from this exchange, we do not know.  The men gain extra strength, but lose themselves.  They act on their base impulses without thought or concern for others.  They are savage in battle, delighting in killing.  As such, we believe that they are now only half a man, the other half demon.  Thus, 'half-man'."

"Have any ever changed sides?"  Jake asked, thinking about Matus protecting him from Surt.  "Can they be cured?"

"No."  Jonas said sadly.  "Once they allow the demons' power to go into them, they are forever corrupted.  Some of our writings tell of efforts by clerics to cure these half-men, but every attempt failed.  To use our power on them, like Hailyn did for you, only destroys them."

"Why is that?"  Jake asked.  "I mean, they are still human after all."

"I believe that is because the power we wield is in opposition to the demons'.  The demons' power worms its way into every fiber of the half-men.  When we try and cure it, the powers conflict and that destroys the half-men."

Jake thought about that for a moment, then asked, curious.  "Have you ever seen a demon?"

"Yes, Jake.  All clerics who can wield power have gone out with our soldiers, both for healing and to protect them from the demons.  Ordinary soldiers cannot stand against their might without our help.  As I said, our power is in opposition to theirs.  So, yes, I have faced demons before."  Jonas's face was grim.  "They are horrible things.  You can feel the evil radiating from them.  As I said, I pray that you never meet one."

"I'll take your word on that."  Jake said, grabbing his cup and sipping at his water.

They sat in silence for a minute, Jonas relaxed and patient, as Jake tried sort through everything that he had heard.  The only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the faint sounds of conversation out in the garden.

"Will you tell me about Dominic?"  Jake asked, changing the subject away from demons.  "I know that you are friends.  He is clearly someone famous.  The guard at the gate called him 'Sir Dominic'."

"That is an easy enough question, Jake."  Jonas replied, a smile returning to his face.  "You are correct; Dom and I have been friends since we were children.  We grew up in a small village to the north, along the Blue River.  In many ways, ours was an odd friendship.  Dom was tall, a natural athlete, strong and fast, and always fearless; I was smaller, not quite so graceful, and cautious."  His smile turned rueful.  "That has not changed much over the years."

"Once we were about your age, Dom convinced me to go with him to join the army.  We came here to the capital and enlisted."  Jonas chuckled, recalling.  "I must admit, Dom was in his element.  He was a natural.  He took to swordplay and combat as if he had always done it.  Our instructors were amazed at how fast he picked things up and his battle prowess.  Needless to say, he quickly rose through the ranks."

"If you joined the army together, how is it that you are now a cleric?"  Jake asked, recalling Dominic's comments about apprentices.

"Jake, I was, at best, an average solider.  I became adequate with a blade, but it was clear that I would have to find another occupation once my enlistment was up."  Jonas replied, with a little shake of his head.  "As with all things, events do not always follow expectations.  For me, that meant I would not need to wait until my enlistment ended."

"Our officers knew of our friendship, so Dom and I were placed in the same unit after training and, shortly thereafter, were sent to the western border to guard against raiders."  Jonas paused, a look of sadness passing across his face, eyes haunted.  "We were deployed to defend a remote border outpost.  Three days after we arrived, we were attacked in force by raiders from the Inland Sea.  Surprising us by advancing in the night, their forces surrounded our position.  We were just able to get a messenger away to gather reinforcements from nearby posts, since we were outnumbered at least three-to-one.  We dug in, as we knew it would take at least two days or more for help to arrive.  Sadly, after a couple of days of hard fighting, they were able to breach our defenses.  Let me just say that I am glad Dom was there with me."