Anathema - The Song of Eloh Saga, Book 2 (20 page)

“Please exit to the formal gardens,” he
announced, sweeping his arm to the left. I saw Ian, who leaned on
the door for support, holding the way open for all of the lords and
ladies. I fell in line behind them, wishing I could say hi to Grey
or give Ian a hug. Seeing them, I realized I missed them almost as
much as I had missed Ella. Hopefully that could all come later,
after I finished what Ivy had set in motion.

As I emerged through the doorway, I gasped
at the transformation. The gardens had always been beautiful with
their winding pathways leading to a grand sweep of land. But today
the open space was filled with hundreds of embroidered blankets,
wide enough for the nobles to sit on for the ceremony. There would
be no straw bales acting as seats. Each guest was assigned to their
own personal blanket complete with wine, apples, and an assortment
of cheese. A grand dais was erected at the front so everyone could
see the ceremony.

White lilies and orange starbursts gushed
forth from tall vases and the dais was flanked on each side by
three poles, each with streamers of pink and golden damask. A
trellis stood over the top covered in vines cascading with burnt
orange flowers. It was beautiful, I mused. Ivy had gone to a lot of
trouble to make her wedding day perfect. With the small amount of
time she had, it was amazing she’d gotten so much done.

A hush fell over the crowd as Kandek strode
into the garden. Gone was the worry I had seen earlier in the day,
instead a smile shone from his face as if this were the happiest
day of his life. It wasn’t surprising. I knew he was a good actor
considering everything he had been hiding from me for the last
fifteen years.

He raised an arm and bowed to the people
gathered before him.

“Thank you for coming everyone,” he said.
“My bride will be arriving soon and we’ll have our little wedding.
Then let the celebration begin!”

Cheers erupted followed quickly by
thunderous applause.

I kept my head ducked inside the hood. I was
grateful the sky was clear of clouds and I could scan the entire
area without being overtaken by a vision.

As the musicians played the wedding melody,
Ivy emerged from a tent at the back of the lawn. I gasped along
with the crowd. Ivy was beyond beautiful. Her hair, her wig I
quickly reminded myself, flowed down past her waist in long golden
ringlets. Her face glowed with a smile that had I not known better,
I would have assumed was genuine. But it was her gown that took
everyone’s breath away.

The radiant silk fell gracefully across her
body as if Ivy were draped in liquid gold. Every inch of the dress
hugged her curves and when she walked, the fabric billowed around
her feet giving her the appearance of walking on clouds.

For a moment, I was lost in the vision
before me. I followed Ivy’s eyes as they swept the crowd and
settled for a moment on Gerrold, who was seated in the fourth row
of blankets. Seeing him snapped me out of my reverie and brought me
back to my task. I did not know his gift, but hoped that whatever
it was, it wouldn’t get in the way of what I was about to do.

I skirted along the side of the crowd,
making sure not to touch anyone in the slightest. The wind was calm
and the lightest touch might alert someone to my presence. I kept
pace with Ivy as we walked together, I on the outside of the row
and Ivy in the middle.

As Ivy approached the steps to the dais, she
paused. I grabbed the opportunity and ran past her. Reaching out
with my hands I pulled the wig off of Ivy’s head, letting it drop
to the ground. Before I even cleared the end of the row, I heard
the scream.

I turned around and saw Ivy’s hands covering
her short hair. It was only a few inches in length and the fox
brand glared out from the back of her neck. It hadn’t fully healed
yet and its pink edges rippled as Ivy whipped her head from side to
side. I caught her eyes and shrank back in my cloak. I had planned
to run after the wig fell, but my feet wouldn’t move.

“Where is she?” Ivy snarled, turning around
to face the crowd. Guests were already talking and not quietly.

“What’s that on her neck?”

“Is it Kandek’s mark?”

“A slave!”

“That’s impossible.”

“Kandek,” a voice from the crowd roared. I
recognized him as the man who had been at my birthday party. Blorn.
“What is going on?”

I looked at my father as he rose up from his
chair. I saw his eyes, but could make nothing out of his
expression. For once, I didn’t know how to read him.

“Who are you?” he bellowed at Ivy. “Let me
see your neck! Guards!”

Two of Kandek’s honor guards ran over to Ivy
and grabbed her flailing arms.

“Bring her to me.”

They dragged Ivy over to Kandek, her dress
tearing at the bottom as it caught under a guard’s shoe.

“Bind her hands,” he ordered, tossing them
the scarf he’d had tied around his neck. The guard on the right
held Ivy’s hands behind her back as the second tied her wrists.
Ivy’s face twisted in agony as he tightened the knot.

Kandek grabbed Ivy by the elbow and spun her
around so she faced the crowd. He pushed her head down until he
could view her neck.

“You bear my mark,” he yelled. Then he spun
her around again so all could see. Murmurs of disbelief and anger
rippled through the mob of wedding guests.

“You knew exactly who I was,” Ivy
screamed.

“She’s a liar,” Kandek roared.

He beckoned to a man who, until now, had
been hidden behind the draped linen. No one noticed him, myself
included, until Kandek asked him to approach. I felt my throat
tighten as he stepped into the light.

“How may I help you, my lord?” Nemison
asked.

“Check her,” he said, flinging Ivy to
Nemison’s feet.

Ivy looked up at Nemison, her eyes filled
with terror. She must have recognized him from the information she
found that led her to Gerrold. Not knowing what to expect, I stood
my ground.

Nemison reached down and grabbed Ivy’s chin.
He stared at her eyes, but she refused to open them. Ivy struggled
against the guards who had taken her arms again, forcing her into a
kneel before Nemison.

“Open your eyes, child,” he ordered.

Ivy turned her head up towards Nemison and
spat on him. The voices in the crowd grew louder and more agitated.
I hoped that Mark and the rest of our friends were leading the
prisoners to safety. No one could take their eyes of Ivy and
Nemison. They wouldn’t notice if a dragon flew over their
heads.

Nemison calmly reached down and pried Ivy’s
eyelids open with his fingertips. He gazed into her eyes as she
futilely struggled against his strong hands. I was amazed that a
man who looked so old would have such strength.

To the crowd it looked as though he was
simply looking into her eyes, but I knew better. I had been on the
receiving end of Nemison’s powers to explore the mind. I wondered
if Ivy was fighting back as his mind touched hers in places no one
had ever been.

Within moments, my former friend’s head
relaxed back into Nemison’s hands. He slowly removed his fingers
from her eyelids. Ivy blinked her eyes, but did not close them. Her
arms relaxed and her head rolled to one side as Nemison released
his grip.

“Take her to her chambers,” he said to the
guards, “but leave her hands bound. She is to touch no one.”

“Kandek,” Blorn roared as he stomped up the
aisle. “What is going on here? Who is that man? And who is the
girl?”

“Calm down, Blorn, I can explain
everything,” he said, patting his friend’s shoulder. The man’s
chest heaved with the exertion from yelling and stomping. He was
obviously used to having people come to him.

“That slave,” Kandek pointed in the
direction Ivy had been taken, “had me under her spell. She’s
gifted.”

“Slaves aren’t gifted,” Blorn said. “It’s
impossible. They are supposed to be tested before entering a
household.”

“Apparently my former advisor was lacking,”
Kandek said. “My new advisor, however, is obviously worth the money
I paid for him.”

My confusion grew by the moment. Nemison?
Paid for? A slave?

“What will you do with her?” Blorn
asked.

“I’ll take care of her,” Nemison said, his
mouth twisting into a cruel smile. Blorn backed away as a gasp
popped out of his throat. No one messed with gifted people, even if
they were considered property.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“I suggest anyone else who might be hiding
among the crowd to show yourself to us immediately,” Nemison said.
I looked at him, stunned. He was calling me out. He knew what we
were planning thanks to Tania, who thought he’d come to help us.
But here he was asking me to reveal myself.

I watched as he scanned the crowd and gasped
when his eyes settled on me. I moved to the side, sure that his
gaze wouldn’t follow. I was hidden from everyone in the cloak. But
his eyes did follow and a smile spread across his face.

“Take off the cloak,” he said.

My hopes he wouldn’t see me were dashed as I
remembered what Tania had told me the day of my birthday.

Only a friend can see what no one else can
see.

Was Nemison my friend now or was he in
league with Kandek?

I hesitated a moment, pulling the cloak
tightly to my body. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know who to
trust. I looked up towards the sky, hoping for an answer.

One lone cloud meandered in from west, its
puffy ends undulating like tentacles. I felt my mind go blank as
images formed in my mind. I saw myself standing next to Kandek, one
of his hands resting in mine and his other arm outstretched towards
the crowd. I saw Nemison standing behind us, a grin on his face.
Most telling, I saw a grin on my face.

Determined that my vision was leading me
down the right path, I strode up to the platform. I took my place
next to Kandek and pulled off the cloak with a flourish. I looked
at my father and noticed that he barely flinched, almost as if he
were expecting me.

“What is the meaning of this?” Blorn roared.
“Kandek! You are wearing on my patience. If you ever expect to
attain a higher office, you’d better tell us who this other girl
is.”

“May I introduce my daughter, Reychel,” he
said, grabbing my hand and outstretching his other arm towards the
gathered people.

“You don’t have a daughter,” Blorn
yelled.

“I do,” Kandek said. “And she’s coming to
live with me.”

I turned back and looked at Kandek. The
smile I had seen in my vision was beaming from his face. But one
thing I hadn’t seen in my vision was the wink Nemison gave me and
the message he sent into my mind.

Play along, child, play along. Kandek will
soon face his fate at the council’s hand.

Was the ability to speak to my mind part of
the mark he left when he had explored my gift? Or were Nemison’s
gifts more extensive than I knew?

I smiled to the crowd, unsure of how to
proceed. I felt exposed and trapped. Kandek had never physically
hurt me, but I was sure he’d never planned on introducing me into
his world. It’s a good thing I threw the wig on underneath the
cloak. I hoped it was still straight.

As I raised my arm to wave to the crowd in
an imitation of the many ladies I’d witnessed over the years, a
roar broke out from the forest. Nemison’s face clouded over,
telling me immediately this was not part of his plan.

Dozens of men waving swords spilled from the
trees, yelling at the top of their lungs. Ladies on blankets
screamed in horror as their defenseless husbands, who were forced
to leave their weapons at the front gate, stood up to defend them.
Malborn against Serenian. But this time the attack was started by
my people. The attackers spread out, forcing their blades to the
necks of the Malborn nobles.

A tall man leapt to the dais, forcing Kandek
to the side with the tip of his blade. His smile, no snarl, grew as
he turned to face the helpless people before him.

“None of you blasted Malborn move or you’ll
die by our swords,” he yelled to the crowd.

A man near the center struggled with his
captor, elbowing him in the stomach.

“Kill him!” the man on the dais next to me
yelled. The injured Serenian pulled his blade across the noble’s
throat and tossed him to the ground next to his screaming wife.
Blood poured from the wound. His wife gathered up the bottom of her
gown and pressed it to his neck, but it was too late. He was
dead.

“Who are you?” I demanded, acting every bit
the noble lady my parentage gave me. Violence was one thing I
couldn’t bear. If it was my destiny to free my people, I wanted it
to be my terms.

“Don’t you know?” He laughed, tossing his
arm around my shoulders. I stepped away, sickened by his touch.
Whoever had sent him, whoever orchestrated this covert assault
would face my wrath.

I turned to Nemison but he only shrugged. He
didn’t appear concerned, but he also didn’t have any information to
give me.

“Aren’t you Mark’s girl? I’m his brother in
arms, Ace. We’re all his brothers. The Sons of Silence.”

Mark? Mark did this?

“He told us yesterday to save you by
whatever means necessary.”

“That,” I yelled, pointing to the dead man
and his screaming wife, “was not necessary!”

“We’re here to liberate the Serenians, just
like you.”

“This is not how it should be done,” I
yelled. “You make me sick. Violence is not the answer!”

“What is the answer, my lady?” The snarl
returned to his face. “Did you peek at the clouds? What kind of
little shapes do you imagine you saw? Don’t think for one moment
your supposed visions mean anything to us. We are going to take
back our land from the Malborn regardless of your so-called prophet
status.”

He paused and his eyes narrowed as he stared
at me. “But I do wonder, did Mark set all this up to help you or
his people?”