A World Apart (19 page)

"Stand closer together."  Jake said, getting Cherise and Hailyn to stand shoulder to shoulder.  He reached over and put an earbud in the girls' ears, then hit the play button.  The girls' eyes widened when the music started playing, broad smiles on their faces.  Jake let the music play for a minute or so, then hit pause.  The girls pulled the earbuds out and handed them back to Jake.

"That was magical, Jake."  Hailyn said happily.  "How does it do that?"

"Uhh…that is a complicated question."  Jake said, struggling for away to explain it.  "I'm not sure you would understand the answer since some of the things don't exist here."

"That's ok, Jake."  Cherise gushed.  "I'm just glad it worked!  What else can it do?"

Jake switched to the camera and pointed it at the girls and Maxis.  He took a picture of the three of them, then showed them.  Cherise clapped with delight, grabbing Hailyn and pointing.

"I need to shut it down for now."  Jake said as he closed out of the pictures.  "I am not sure how long I can keep it charged."  He powered the phone down, wrapping the earbuds around it and putting it back into his pocket.

"Thank you for sharing that, Jake."  Hailyn said warmly.  "Do you want to continue on?"  Jake nodded.

"Where to next?  It is your tour."  Hailyn asked Cherise.

Cherise grabbed Maxis' leash and they made their way down the street, with Cherise pointing out the various shops.  There was a clothing store, a general store and a tavern.  At the end of the buildings, there were several stands set up selling food and drink.  They stopped at a vendor selling a fruit drink and Hailyn bought them all a cup.  Jake found the drink to be cool and delicious.  After finishing their drinks, the little group continued on their way.

After the stands ended at the next cross-street, the shops gave way to more homes; these were closer together than the area around Cherise's house.  When they reached the cross-street, Cherise asked if Jake wanted to go see her father's smithy.

He said yes and they made their way through the neighborhood of homes.  After passing several blocks of homes, a group of larger buildings appeared ahead, lining both sides of the street.  These buildings were made of wood and stone, with both entry doors and large wide doors for deliveries.  Jake could see several wagons and horses in the street and groups of people standing on the buildings' porches, talking.  Smoke rose from chimneys on a couple of the buildings and they could hear the sounds of metal ringing on metal, wood being sawed and hammering.

Cherise led them to the building on the far side, where the sound of banging metal was coming out of the open doors.  As they entered the shop, Jake's nostrils stung with the smell of burning coals and he saw a slight smoky haze hanging in the air.  Cherise took them past racks of knives, metal fixtures and stacks of raw metal into the rear of the shop.  The next room opened up into a large yard with a couple of smaller outbuildings.  The room had several workstations along the walls, with grinding stones on the desks and hammers, tongs and other tools hanging above them.  In the center of the room was a large pool of water surrounded by several anvils.  Each anvil had two barrels next to it.  A brick furnace with a large leather bellows was in the back corner near the yard.  Jake could see a couple of boys his age, dressed with heavy leather aprons, working with glowing hot metal rods at the anvils, supervised by an older man with a stern face.  The older man saw Cherise, the sternness fading into a smile, waving her over.

"Hello, Cherise."  The man said loudly over the sound of hammering metal.  "What brings you to the smithy?"  He took in Jake and Hailyn standing behind Cherise, a curious look in his eyes.

"Hello, Helman."  Cherise replied happily, giving the man a quick hug.  She gestured back at Jake.  "I just wanted to bring Jake over to see where Father works."

"Well, he is the back yard with a couple of guests."  Helman said, pointing out into the yard.  His gaze drifted back over to the boys working at the anvils.  "You should go out and say hello.  I am sure he will be happy to see you and your friends."  He gave Jake and Hailyn a nod and walked back over to the anvils.

The little group headed out of the smithy into the yard.  The yard, covered in short grass, was surrounded by a low stone fence.  A gate was built into the wall that led out to another street.  Near the back of the yard, a couple of small wooden buildings were pressed against the back wall.  Jake gave a little start as he could see Norlan, along with Dominic and Jonas, standing near the front of one of the buildings quietly discussing something.  Dominic noticed the group approaching and the conversation ceased as they turned to face Jake and the girls.

"Hello, Jake."  Norlan said with a smile.  "I see that Cherise has you out and about exploring the city."  Maxis ran up to him.  He reached down to pet him.  "I am glad that you and Maxis have met.  He likes you, it appears."

"I am also glad to see you, Jake."  Jonas said, coming over and laying a hand on Jake's shoulder.  "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine, thank you.  Hailyn checked me out this morning."  Jake replied.

"I'm glad to hear that."  Jonas planted his staff, leaning on it slightly.  "We were actually just discussing you."  He indicated Norlan and Dominic with a nod.  "The three of us are responsible for you while you are with us.  We want to give you some purpose while we figure out why you are here and how to get you back home.  As I mentioned, even if Tomaris can help, it may be weeks before we hear back from him.  However, we don't believe that a young man like you should just be sitting around waiting."

"We think that we have come up with a good plan for you.  Starting tomorrow, Norlan has agreed to bring you here in the mornings, allowing you to assist him and be around boys your age.  In the afternoon, you'll train in combat with Dominic."  Jonas gave a shake of his head, clearly not happy about that.  "I would like to believe that we can keep you protected, but Dom has made a good point that our enemies took an unusual interest in you.  You should have the training to defend yourself."

"Of course, I'll always be available to you, if you need anything."  Jonas finished.  He held out his hand.  "Does this sound like something you can agree to, Jake?"

Jake was taken back for a second, not having giving much thought to a long-term plan.  He did not see how he could refuse, given everything these men had done for him.  He took Jonas' hand and shook it.  "That sounds fine, Jonas.  Thank you for your help."

"It is our pleasure."  Jonas said.  "Now, I need to get back to the Temple."  He turned to Hailyn.  "Hailyn, please see Cherise and her dog back home, then come back to the Temple."

"Of course, Master."  Hailyn said with a nod.

"You go with Hailyn and take this idiot dog with you."  Norlan said good-naturedly to Cherise, nudging Maxis away with his knee.  "Tell your mother that we will be home for the evening meal."  He gave his daughter a quick hug.

"I will, Father."  Cherise said, a bit crestfallen that the little adventure was over.  She looked over to Jake.  "I guess I'll see you this evening, Jake.  Have fun."

Jake watched Hailyn and Cherise leave with Maxis out the side gate, following Jonas.  Norlan came up to him.  "Dominic needs you for a while, Jake.  I'll see you this evening."  He gave Jake a pat on the shoulder and headed back into the smithy, calling for Helman.

"Let's go, boy."  Dominic said, turning and heading for the gate.  Jake caught up with him and walked by his side.

"Where are we going?" Jake asked.

"To the Military Quarter."  Dominic answered, his long legs setting a quick pace.  "You can help me wash Shadow at the stables, then we'll get you some armor and a sword for your training.  Remember the way we are going, so you can find your way back."

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTEEN

Jake and Dominic reached the street, the sounds of the smithy fading in the background.  Without many people in the way, Jake could see Hailyn, Cherise and Maxis ahead of them as they turned right onto the street, the palace looming in the background.

Dominic's pace allowed himself and Jake to quickly overtake the three of them.  He did not slow down, so Jake could only smile and shrug his shoulders as they passed by Hailyn and Cherise, talking quietly, Maxis giving a short bark.

They left the girls behind, heading straight towards the palace.  The neighborhood was made up of homes with fairly large yards.  It was after they had passed several side streets when Jake realized that the wall ahead was the side of Norlan's house.  Dominic turned to Jake as they passed the gate that led into the side yard.  "You can see that it is a quick walk to Norlan's smithy."  He indicted the street.  "This is the main thoroughfare for the River Quarter that leads to the central courtyards around the palace.  To help you from getting lost, just remember that all large streets in the city lead to the palace."

They continued for several more blocks until they reached the palace courtyards.  Dominic turned south and led Jake through the parks and open areas, some of the people in the area pointing at them when they recognized Dominic.  After about five minutes, Jake could see a very wide paved road on their left.  He asked Dominic about it.

"That's the road that leads to the East Gate."  Dominic replied.

After they passed that road, Jake started to see more soldiers mixed in with the people going about their business.  The buildings ahead all had a similar look to them.  When he mentioned it, Dominic gave a short snort.  "It's not called the Military Quarter for nothing, boy.  The mindset of the military is uniformity; that extends to their architecture.  While there are non-military buildings in the Quarter, most of the ones around the training grounds were built by the army, so they all look alike."

Passing by several groups of soldiers who called out to him, Dominic led Jake to a large street that cut through the buildings.  As soon as they got to the street, Jake could see that the street ended after a couple of blocks at a large open field surrounded by a wooden split rail fence.  Inside the fence, Jake could see several groups of soldiers, some marching in formation while others were practicing with their weapons.  In the background, he saw small groups of soldiers on horseback riding around.  Behind the field, several long buildings, each a couple of stories tall and similar in appearance, formed a backdrop to the training area.  As they reached the fence, Jake could see that it extended for at least a quarter mile.

"This is the training grounds."  Dominic said as he made his way to an open gate on the side of the grounds, a couple of soldiers standing guard.  They gave Dominic a salute as he entered, Jake right behind.  "I will speak with the commander to make sure the guards on duty know you will be coming here daily for training.  I will expect you to be here, ready for training, an hour after the mid-day meal."

Dominic continued on towards the far building.  As they got closer, Jake could smell the scents of horses, hay and manure; it was obviously the stables.  In the center of the building, a set of large double doors lay open.  Dominic headed straight for those doors.  The stable smells hit Jake as he entered, much stronger than outside.  He could hear the whinnying of the horses and the conversations of the stable hands.  Several of the hands called out a greeting to Dominic when they saw him, Dominic returning the greeting to those close to him.

The stables had a large open area in the middle, with another set of doors on the far side to match the one they came in, the floor covered in a light coating of straw.  There were several rooms lining the open area, some filled with saddles and bridles, others weapons and a couple of administrative rooms with desks manned by soldiers.  Dominic led Jake over to one of the administrative rooms.

Sitting behind the desk as a lean, clean-shaven man with long dark hair, face angular and hard, dressed in black leather clothing, gloves and boots, with a mail shirt over his clothing.  He had a sword belted on and a golden rearing horse symbol pinned to his mail.  He looked up as Dominic entered, a smile crossing his hard face.  "Good afternoon, Dominic.  Are you heading out already?"  He asked, voice gravelly.

"No, Armartas.  I'm just here to check on and wash Shadow."  Dominic replied.  He gestured towards Jake.  "This is the boy I was telling you about.  His name is Jake.  He will be training with me every day, but I will carve out some time for him to work with you."

Dominic turned to Jake.  "Boy, this is Captain Armartas.  He is the stable master for the King.  He is also one of the best riders and horsemen I have ever seen.  Since I believe that you will be spending some time in the saddle, I have arranged for the Captain to help teach you riding."

Armartas rose and shook Jake's hand, eyes appraising.  "Welcome, young Jake.  I will do my best to help you keep up with Dominic."

"Thank you, Captain."  Jake replied.

"Let's go meet your new companion."  Armartas said, walking around the desk, a slight limp noticeable in his step.  He led Jake and Dominic down the center opening to long hallway that cut across the building and ended with a large door that opened to the outside.  Jake could see a line of stable doors, some with horse heads sticking out.  Jake looked into a stable and could see that it extended to the back wall of the building, with another stable door that gave access to the outside.

They walked down the hallway and Armartas stopped at a stable almost to the outside door.  In the stable was a large tan horse, who nickered and came to the open top half of the stable door when it saw the group stop, sticking its head into the hallway.  Armartas reached out to gently rub the horse's cheek.

Armartas turned his head to Jake.  "Jake, this is Dontas, your horse.  As part of my agreement with Dominic, I will teach you how to care for him.  Come over and greet him."

Jake came over and reached out to Dontas.  The horse shied away at first, but then came back to Jake's hand.  Jake copied the Captain and rubbed the horse's cheek, the horse giving a little snort.  "So he's mine?"  Jake asked, not quite believing that this was happening.