Souls of Aredyrah 3 - The Taking of the Dawn (7 page)

“No need,” Falyn said. She cupped the water
in her hands and trickled it over his shoulders and back. “There,
see?”

Sheireadan winced.

“You really did it this time,” Falyn said.
“Will you never learn?”

“I’d say I’ve learned more than my share,”
Sheireadan replied. Then he mumbled something that Dayn could not
hear.

Dayn watched them cautiously as he inched
along the wall. He ducked behind the nearest pillar, then peeked
around to see if he was in Falyn’s and Sheireadan’s line of vision.
Confident that he was not, he leaned around the column, far enough
to spy on them without being detected, yet close enough to hear
their conversation.

“Fool,” he heard Falyn say. “Would you have
him kill you next time?”

“Better me than you,” Sheireadan replied.

Falyn smirked. “He wouldn’t dare. I wouldn’t
be worth much to him dead, now would I?”

“Maybe not. But after he’s handed you over
and gotten what he wants, what then? Will Zared treat you any
better?”

“I’ll not go with Zared.”

“Then you
will
be dead, sister, and
all the blows I’ve taken for you will have been for nothing.”

Dayn sucked in a breath. Sheireadan had
received the injuries in defense of his sister? For a moment a hint
of admiration threatened to weaken Dayn’s distain of the boy, but
then he remembered the hundreds of blows he had received from
Sheireadan, and all thoughts of charity dissipated.

But what did Zared have to do with anything?
Zared was a deacon of the Vestry. He was an elderly man, with
narrow, beady eyes that leered whenever the girls were around. Dayn
had heard the gossip, but just like everyone else, would never bear
false witness against someone he knew little more about than that.
Besides, Zared was not just any member of the Vestry; he was a man
whose wealth gave him more power than most. His wrath could make
anyone’s life miserable, and Dayn’s life had been miserable
enough.

Falyn cupped more water into her hand,
spilling it over Sheireadan’s purpled shoulders. “No sense worrying
about it now. I’ll not come of age for two more years. Father can’t
do anything until then anyway.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. He’s been known to
bend the rules.”

“Hmmph! I’d like to see him try to bend
that
one. It’s a mortal sin to wed before the proper time.
Even he can’t override that law.”

“Since when has morality stopped him?”

“Let’s not talk about it anymore. There’s
nothing we can do about it tonight, is there?” Falyn sighed and
shook her head. “The bruises are really bad this time,” she said.
“I’m sorry I got you into this.”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Sheireadan said.
“I wish Father’d just hit me and leave the pit out of it
though.”

“At least I found a way to get you food and
water. That’s something at least.”

“If he ever catches us…”

“He won’t.”

“He will. And when he does, it will be the
death of us. Well, the death of me anyway.”

“Don’t say that,” Falyn said. “I would never
let that happen. Never.”

Sheireadan turned to face her. It made Dayn
more than a little uncomfortable. But what Sheireadan said next
made him even more so: “I did everything I could to keep Dayn away
from you, Falyn. I don’t think I can keep Zared away from you, too.
Dayn ran. Zared won’t.”

“And you won’t either,” a voice boomed.

Falyn’s and Sheireadan’s heads spun toward
the voice. From out of the shadows a dark figure emerged, its hair
and clothing so black, its face looked like that of a decapitated
skull floating toward them.

Falyn gasped. “Father…We were only—”

“Save your breath, daughter,” Lorcan said.
“It’s clear what you’re doing. You’re defying my orders.”

“I made her come,” Sheireadan blurted. “We
meant no disrespect.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“I only came to take the healing. I—”

“Who gave you permission?” Lorcan asked.

“Father, please,” Falyn pleaded. “He’s
hurt.”

“Hurt?” Lorcan whipped his walking stick from
beneath his cloak, slapping it against the palm of his hand. He
laughed, a laugh so cruel it sent a chill down Dayn’s spine. He
couldn’t imagine the fear it must be sending Falyn’s and
Sheireadan’s way right now. How many times had they been forced to
endure it over the years?

“Out. Now,” Lorcan ordered.

Falyn and Sheireadan hesitated, but then
slowly worked their way to the edge of the pool. Sheireadan reached
it first. Lorcan yanked him by an arm and pulled him out, flinging
him to the ground. Sheireadan groaned and curled into a ball,
hugging his ribs.

Lorcan picked up Sheireadan’s clothes and
tossed them on top of the huddled form at his feet. “Get dressed,”
he said with disgust.

Falyn clambered out of the pool, her skirt
weighted with water and clinging to her legs. She shuffled over to
Sheireadan, but her father grabbed her arm and jerked her away. “He
will dress himself,” he said.

“But Father, he can’t. He—” But the backside
of Lorcan’s hand sent her sprawling.

Dayn stepped around the pillar before he
could think what he was doing. “Touch her again and I’ll kill you
with my bare hands,” he said in a tone that even he did not
recognize. He stood, hands fisted at his side, glaring at Lorcan
with a rage so intense, he wondered if he truly possessed demon
blood after all. Dayn’s legs felt like pudding quivering on a
plate, but at least his words had come out sounding like those of a
demon.

If Lorcan’s expression had turned any darker
it would have disappeared into an abyss void of color. All Dayn
could see of the man were the whites of his eyes, but then a cruel
flash of teeth sent a message of hatred across the spans of the
pool. “Demon,” Lorcan hissed.

“That’s right,” Dayn said, trying to sound as
sinister as the creature he was facing. “Lay another hand on her
and you’ll feel me tear your soul out by the roots.” Dayn forced
his feet forward, slowly making his way around the perimeter of the
pool. As he drew nearer, he kept his focus on Lorcan, knowing that
Falyn was watching him, yet daring not a glance her way.

He stopped within feet of her, and only then
did he turn to her. He reached out a hand. “Are you hurt?” he
asked.

Her eyes darted to Lorcan, then back to Dayn.
She shook her head. “No,” she said.

“No you aren’t hurt, or no you won’t take my
hand?” Dayn asked.

Falyn looked at her father once more, her
face awash with fear, but then, hesitantly, she reached up her hand
to Dayn’s and took it.

Dayn pulled her up gently and ushered her
over to Sheireadan. “Help him get dressed,” he said. “It will be
all right.” But he wasn’t so sure. Lorcan was watching him like a
snake poised to strike, and Dayn didn’t know how much longer his
own façade could last.

“How dare you interfere,” Lorcan said, but he
did not make a move to stop Falyn from assisting her brother, nor
did he make any attempt to tighten the distance between him and
Dayn.

“Even a demon would not treat their own
children so cruelly,” Dayn said.

“You should know,” Lorcan replied.

“Yes, I suppose I should.”

Lorcan inclined his head toward Falyn and
Sheireadan. “The disciplining of my children is my affair, not
yours.”

“Discipline? I wouldn’t call this
discipline.”

Lorcan’s nostrils flared. “I do what is
necessary. Sin must be purged from their souls.”

Dayn laughed. He could not help it. “Sin?” He
laughed even harder.

Lorcan’s face flushed with fury, all
hesitation in Dayn’s regard tossed to the side. He raised his cane
to strike, but from out of nowhere a hand grabbed his wrist,
stopping it in midair.

Haskel leaned his face to Lorcan’s ear.
“Touch my kin,” he growled, “and ye’ll find a hundred clansmen at
your door.”

Lorcan glared at Haskel with an expression
that went beyond hatred. “Your
kin
is interfering in my
business.”

Haskel glanced at Falyn, her lip swollen and
bleeding, and Sheireadan, panting from fear and injury. “Ye call
this business?”

Lorcan’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Yes.
My
business. Now get your hand off of me, or you and your
clansmen will be hearing from the Vestry.”

Haskel stared at him a moment longer, then
let go his hold. He turned to Dayn, without regard to the cane
still clutched in Lorcan’s hand, and said, “Come, boy. We’re
leavin’.”

“But uncle, what of…” Dayn looked at Falyn
and Sheireadan. “We can’t just leave them!”

“I said we’re leavin’. Now.”

Dayn opened his mouth to argue, but before he
could utter a word, his uncle had grabbed him by the shoulders.

Haskel forced Dayn’s gaze into his. “For
their sakes, as well as yours,” he said, “we go—
now
.”

Dayn knew there would be no debating it. He
might have been able to hold his own with Lorcan for a time, but
there would be no winning with Haskel. He felt himself suddenly
spun around and shoved toward the woods where two horses waited.
Dayn glanced over his shoulder at Falyn, but she had faded into the
fog.

Haskel handed Dayn the reins of one of the
horses. Dayn hesitated. “But what will happen to Falyn and her
brother?” he asked anxiously.

Haskel did not answer.

“Uncle, there must be something we can
do!”

“Not here.”

Dayn watched his uncle’s face, searching for
a sign of hope, but the man’s expression bore no sign of it. Dayn
mounted the horse, then looked toward the pool one last time. All
he could see was a blanket of mist, and the lingering image in his
mind of Falyn being slapped to the ground by her father.

“How can the Vestry condone Lorcan treating
his children like that?” Dayn asked when they were some distance
from the springs.

“They don’t condone it. They simply turn a
blind eye to it.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Haskel drew a deep breath and released it
slowly. “You’re too young to understand how things work.”

“I understand more than you know.”

Haskel raised an eyebrow. “Do ye?”

“I have to help her,” Dayn insisted. “Maybe
if we talked to the Vestry…told them how bad it was for her
and—”

“That we’ll
not
do!” Haskel barked. He
steered his horse in front of Dayn’s, stopping him short. Haskel
drew his already large frame into an even more impressive height.
“We’ll not talk to the Vestry, Dayn. Not about this or anythin’
else.”

“But—”

“Ye heard me, boy. Since your little
performance at the Festival a few months back, things have gone bad
for the clans.”

“What do you mean?” Dayn asked, but he was
sure he already knew.

“It didn’t take much for the townsfolk to buy
into Sheireadan’s rantin’s that ye’d revealed yourself as a demon.
Talk grew from ye bein’ one, to the role your family and the clans
played in it. We were harborers of evil, they said, so were
breakin’ the law.”

“But, I’m not a demon,” Dayn insisted. “I
give my word—”

Haskel scowled. “Your word’s not good for
much around here. And now neither is mine, or anyone else’s in the
family.”

“So the clans won’t believe me either.”

“Listen, most of the clans support ye and
your mother—even though it’s put ‘em in danger. All the clans left
the Festival early that day. Several members stopped by your folks’
place on the way home, along with me, your Uncle Nort, and a few
others. By the time we arrived, your father’d already taken off,
and your mother…well, let’s just say she was in no condition to be
left alone. Vania and some of the women folk stayed with her, while
me and the men headed out to search for your father. We gathered
other members along the way and searched for days. When we reached
the cave…” Haskel paused, his expression grim. “Ye know the rest.”
He kicked his heels and reined his horse back to the path.

Dayn urged his mount after him. “What does
that have to do with the Vestry?” he asked.

“The Vestry sent some men the next day to
fetch ye and your father for a hearin’. When they discovered
neither of ye were there, they threatened to take your mother
instead. But Vania…” Haskel’s lips curled with satisfaction. “Well,
let’s just say she told the bastards what’s what.

“When we got back, we had a tough time
talkin’ your mother into goin’ to our place with us. Ye’d been gone
nearly five days, but she insisted ye’d all be home soon, and that
she needed to be there when ye did. Vania reminded her that the
Vestry’s men might be back, that she wouldn’t be safe there on her
own. Only when I promised to check on your place every few days did
she agree to go with us. We told her to pack as much as she could
so it would look like she’d taken off for good. We knew if the
Vestry returned, they’d think twice before headin’ further up the
mountain huntin’ for her. But we also figured if Gorman, or you and
your sister, returned and didn’t find anyone at your place, the
next thing any of ye’d do would be to go to our place. It was the
best ruse we knew of to get your mother to agree to go with
us.”

Dayn felt a wave of regret for all the
suffering he realized he’d put them through. “Thanks…for looking
after Mother,” he said, “and for—”

Haskel grunted. “No need.”

They rode on without speaking for a time,
until at last Dayn broke the silence. “How did you know where to
find me, tonight I mean?”

“Your sister told me.”

“What did she tell you, exactly?”

Haskel cleared his throat. “That ye have
affection for Falyn and had likely gone to find her. Since your
mother mentioned we’d seen her recently at the springs, it seemed
the most likely place to start.”

“I have more than affection for her, uncle. I
love her.”

Haskel looked surprised, then frowned his
disapproval. “Ye’d do better to turn your heart elsewhere,” he
said.