EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy (151 page)

“Anathema?” Mark said, reading over my shoulder. “Doesn’t that mean to curse something?”

“That is does, my boy,” Johna said. “At least it does today. A long time ago, before the Malborn invaded, anathema had another meaning.”

I released my breath, afraid for a moment that Johna would tell me I was cursed because of my gift.

“It means an offering to Eloh. Reychel here is our offering, our savior, the Prophet.”

Chapter XIII

“T
HE
STORY
THAT
LANDED
ME
in the dungeon,” I whispered. “It was true.”

I looked up at Johna and Mark.

“When was this?” Johna asked.

“My birthday,” I said. “The master invited me to his chambers to talk. It was rather pleasant, really, like the other times. He even offered me a balm to help the pain from the branding. But then he opened the shutters, my eyes were drawn to the clouds, and a story poured out of me. One that told of my escape. It was at that moment he had the guards put me in the dungeon.”

“He knows,” Mark said. “That bastard knew all along what you were and he’d been keeping you hostage.”

“And using your gift for his own gain,” Johna said. “Why bother with spies when a slave can tell you everything you need to know? No wonder his sigil is the fox.”

“That’s why he’s been searching for her. He doesn’t just want her back, he needs her back.” Mark punched his fist into his open palm. “If her skill were to fall into someone else’s hands, he could be ruined, either by his secret leaking out or by someone else getting his advantage.”

“Everything makes more sense now, doesn’t it?” I asked, stunned at how neatly the pieces fit together. Only one spot remained blank. “Do you think this is the secret Ivy was keeping?”

“Did she ever ask you to read the clouds?” Mark asked.

I shook my head. I didn’t even have to take time to think about it. Kandek was the only one I ever told stories to, at least stories that came from gazing into the sky. I’d told Ivy plenty of stories over the years, but none were a direct result of seeing the clouds.

“Then it’s doubtful,” Johna said. “Ivy didn’t seem to know what your power was any more than you did.”

“I agree with Johna,” Mark said. “That’s not what Ivy was hiding. There’s something else. But whatever that is, it’s not important right now. She’s gone and so is her secret. What’s important is figuring out what to do with this proclamation Kandek has issued.”

“I’ll turn myself in,” I said. “It’s really that simple.”

“No!” Johna exclaimed. “We can’t let you fall into his hands again. You have a greater destiny than to serve him. You were born to save the Serenians.”

“Let’s take this one step at a time, Johna. I consider poor people who stepped on the wrong side of the law to support their families as part of the people I’m supposedly going to save. If this is all true, then I have to try to protect everyone I can, starting with these prisoners. I saw those people tonight in the tavern. I know more than ever how much family can mean to a person. I have to help them.”

I felt as though I should say something more. The weight placed upon me tonight far outweighed anything I’d ever considered for my life. How could they be certain? How could I?

“I can’t do this alone,” I said.

“You’re not alone,” Johna said.

Mark sat down next to me, and put his arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder. I’d spent so long avoiding him and now I couldn’t imagine not having him by my side, not being able to touch him.

“We won’t let you do this alone,” he said while squeezing my shoulder.

“How do I know where to start?” I asked. Doubt rose in me. I didn’t know anything about the world. I couldn’t do it alone, if I could even do it at all. “How am I, a former slave, supposed to free our people? It’s laughable.”

I looked to both of my friends for answers, but no one said anything. Mark took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and then closed it.

“What’s going through your head?” Johna asked. “You’re always so unreadable.”

“I’m gifted too,” Mark said. I slowly raised my head off his shoulder and turned to look at him. He was opening up to Johna. He’d known her for years and not once told her about his gift. Today certainly was a day for surprises.

“I take it this isn’t a surprise to you?” Johna asked me.

“I thought you wouldn’t read another gifted person’s mind without their permission,” I said. I hadn’t felt anything in my mind, but I wasn’t sure I would even know if she did.

“I don’t have to. You didn’t even flinch. I can read body language just like any other person, child. Someone doesn’t make a statement like that without shocking people.” She turned to Mark. “What’s your gift then?”

“I can build impenetrable walls in my mind. I can also sense them in other people,” he said, shrugging.

“Useful,” Johna answered. “I presume that’s how you knew about Ivy?”

Mark nodded his head.

“But you can’t see what’s behind the walls?” she asked.

“No.”

“Too bad. Then you’d be even more useful,” she said.

“Yet you don’t seem surprised,” he said.

“I knew there was something special about you. That’s why I let you in on my secret. I may not have been able to read your mind and see your little secret, but I knew you understood.”

I slipped away during their conversation. I knew about Mark and what he could do. I wanted them to work out their relationship without me. Making my way back to the window, I gazed out at the clouds again.

I saw the fat man who had been at my branding ceremony. He was drinking a cup of wine with his wife, who sat nearby looking at him out of the corner of her eye. I could see her plotting a way to kill him in his sleep and still maintain her graceful position. I could also see a bird’s nest in her hair.

Another cloud showed me scores of people banding together in a town square. They shouted to each other. One woman waved a knife in the air and a man next to her whispered in his friend’s ear. They were arguing about how best to proceed in finding someone.

“If we catch her, all our problems will be solved,” the woman yelled, stabbing the air with her knife while the man next to her ducked to avoid losing an ear.

“If we go along with this, we’ll be just as bad as him. There must be another way,” he said.

“I want my son back!” she wailed. “He was only trying to feed his little sister. What’s the life and safety of one woman compared to the freeing of our
family members?”

I shrank back from the window. They were talking about me.
 

“Did someone see you?” Johna asked, running over to close the shutters. “You must be careful, child. What if someone should see you?”

“I need to go back,” I said. “I have to turn myself in to save those poor prisoners.”

“I already said no,” Johna insisted.

“Before we get sidetracked again,” Mark said, “let me offer an alternative. I’m also a member of the Sons of Silence.”

He paused, looking at us both. I have to say I wasn’t surprised he told Johna. Nothing could shock me today. I wondered, not for the first time, how many of the rumors about the Sons were true. Did they kill innocent Serenians to get to the Malborn? I couldn’t imagine Mark doing that.

“Tch,” Johna said. “You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself in to. They are dangerous people.”

“No more dangerous than the Malborn,” he retorted. “At least we’re doing something to take back our land. What about all of the hidden gifted? What are they doing? Nothing. I want to help Reychel and I know we could work well together.”

Johna smiled at me with the same look in her eyes when she suggested I was in love with Mark all those weeks ago. Now wasn’t the time to sort out complicated feelings. I turned away from her and looked to Mark.

“Do you think they would help?” I asked. “Peacefully?”

“I do. There is a man living in our town who might be able to help us. If you’re determined to turn yourself in, maybe we can rescue the petty criminals at the same time. Create a diversion.”

“Rescue? Why on earth would you rescue them when he’s said he’ll free them?” I asked.

“Do you really think he’ll keep his word?” Mark asked.

“I don’t know,” I rubbed my fingers through my short black hair. A few months ago I would have said an unequivocal yes. After everything I’d learned I didn’t know what to think about Kandek’s honor.

“Do you want to take the risk that he won’t?”

“Risk? You’re talking about risking the prisoners and completely ignoring the fact that Reychel’s delivering herself back into slavery. That cannot happen,” Johna said.

“We’ll figure that out too,” Mark said. “It’s a detail.”

“Detail? Just giving our Prophet of the Clouds back to a man who has used her for her entire life to forward himself politically? I won’t have it! I’ll call in the council!” Johna insisted.

“Council?” Mark and I asked.

“Of course there’s a council of gifted people, you foolish children. Do you think that we operate independently? You’re both so young and you know so little,” she sighed. She shook her head at us. I knew there would be much to learn, but time wouldn’t afford me the option to learn now.

“I’m seventeen and army trained. I’ve had more life experience in the last year than most people do in ten years,” Mark said.

“There’s only one week,” Johna argued.

“Yes,” I said. I grabbed Johna’s hand and Mark’s hand in my free hand. “That means we have seven full days to make a plan. Where do we start?”

Chapter XIV

F
OR
THE
FIRST
TIME
SINCE
leaving Tania’s cottage, I ventured out into the world in daylight. The sun shone brightly in the clear sky, giving me chance to view the town without worrying about visions intruding. Mark and I were on our way to visit his contact with the Sons of Silence. I was more than a little nervous, but I couldn’t relate the stories of heartless thugs to Mark and I hoped his friend proved the rumors wrong too.

I resisted the urge to scratch my head under the wig. Having avoided using it in Johna’s cottage, I was having a tough time getting used to the rough netting on my head. The warm weather didn’t help either. Rather than beads of sweat, the tickles reminded me of tiny bugs scrambling around underneath the wig.

I followed Mark closely, not wanting to lose him. Though the town was small, I didn’t know my way around nor did I feel confident enough to ask anyone for help. One look at my eyes followed by a tug to my hair would reveal my identity. I gazed at the people as they walked by, noting the sadness in their faces. No wonder they’d be willing to turn me in to Kandek for the return of their loved ones. I couldn’t blame them. I couldn’t hate them.

As Mark stopped at a doorway and knocked, a lone cloud drifted into view. Before I could tear my eyes away, I saw Ivy wearing embroidered clothes and sitting in an over-stuffed chair. She looked angry as she ripped the leaves off of a flower in her hand.

I could see the whole room was filled with flowers, but Ivy wasn’t happy.

“This is for you,” a little girl said, interrupting my vision and handing me a flower. “I love your hair and I thought it would look beautiful in it.”

“Thank you,” I said, pushing the stem into my hair just above my ear. “What’s your name?”

“Sara,” she said, smiling. “Are you here to see my new baby sister?”

I looked up at Mark, not quite sure what to say.

“We’re here to talk to your dad. Is he around?” Mark asked.

“Sure, follow me.”

I smiled at the carefree little girl skipping through her cottage. All children should be able to smile and play like this. I never had, there hadn’t been time. Even as a young child, I was forced into chores and duties nearly all of my waking hours. Granted, they were easier tasks when I was little, but I couldn’t remember one day where I bounced around smiling.

As we followed Sara through the cottage and out the back door, I spied a man brushing a horse in the stables. He seemed content enough, but the way he carried himself reminded me of older slaves. Years of hard labor showed in the body, along with a resigned slouch to the shoulders. As he heard his daughter and turned to see us, I saw a huge smile break up his shaggy beard. I smiled back, glad to see that not every part of him was feeling beaten down.

“Mark! What can I do for you?” he asked, shooting a side glance at me. The two shook hands.

“I want to introduce you to my friend, Reychel. She’s someone I think you’ll want to meet,” said Mark

“Sara, why don’t you go back in the house and help your ma with your baby sister. She’ll be needing a good, strong girl like you.”

“Okay, Da.” Sara skipped back into the house.

“Hi, Reychel. I’m Roctor,” he said, holding out a hand.

“Roc!” I knew I had recognized his voice. “You’re the man who was asking Johna about your baby before she was born a couple months ago. Congratulations, by the way.”

“I don’t remember seeing anyone there that day,” he said, looking from me to Mark. “But, I think we ought to talk elsewhere. Follow me.”

We followed Roc into the stables. To the back of a tall wall of stacked hay, was a door hidden behind hanging dirty horse blankets. We stepped into a tiny room no bigger than a double-wide outhouse. Roc closed the door behind us and lit a candle.

I looked around at the tiny table surrounded by short stools. On the opposite end, I saw the wall was made of mortared logs. Clever. The opposite side must be where Roc stored his firewood. No one would even suspect the tiny room hidden in the stable.

“I don’t have a lot of time,” he said, settling down on a stool. He motioned for us to sit down. “I hate to be blunt in front of a lady, but who is she and why did you bring her here?”

“Reychel is the Prophet,” Mark said, pausing to let the words sink in. Roc stared at me with keen eyes. I had a feeling that little escaped him and he was so much more than just a normal blacksmith. “She’s also Kandek’s missing slave.”

“I had heard about that,” Roc said. “He says he’s going to let the petty criminals go if she turns herself in. But you say she’s the Prophet. How do you know?”