Anathema - The Song of Eloh Saga, Book 2 (18 page)

“Who?”

“Me,” a voice said from the doorway. I
craned my neck out, trying to get a glimpse of the man hiding in
the other room.

“You can come out,” Ivy said. “She’s not
going to bite you.”

I stood stunned as I looked at the man who
entered the room.

“Nemison is…”

“Why is it always about Nemison?” Gerrold
asked, his grumpy expression replaced with one of irritation. “I’m
just as powerful as that old coot. Why doesn’t anyone care about
what I can

do or what I have to say?”
“I care,” Ivy said, reaching over and touching Gerrold’s arm. His
expression lost a bit of its fire as he turned to look at her
adoring face.

“Gerrold,” I cried. “Don’t you see what
she’s doing to you? How she’s soothing you?”

“She has no power over me,” Gerrold said,
looking at me. Ivy’s expression return to the smirk she’d sported
earlier. “I’ve been practicing my gifts for years. She’s just a
babe.”

I shook my head in disgust. Was anyone
immune to Ivy’s gift?

“Now what?” I asked.

“Well,” Ivy said, “your daddy and I are
getting married in a few hours. Are you excited to have me for a
step-mom?”

“Wicked step-mother,” I whispered under my
breath.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing, Mommy,” I said with as much
sarcasm as I could muster.

Ivy’s lips parted to bear the most beautiful
smile. At least it had been a beautiful smile back when I thought
Ivy was my best friend. Now she looked more like a caged beast
about to attack.

“Kandek and I are getting married. Then I
will take everything he’s built with your help and build upon it
for myself,” Ivy said as she walked over and grabbed me by the
chin.

I stood still waiting to see what was
coming.

“And you, my dear best friend, my little
Prophet, will help me.”

She knew. Of course she knew. But who told
her? Was it Gerrold or Kandek? Which of them betrayed me?

“Never,” I said, my voice steady and
resolute.

“Oh, you will,” Ivy said. “And I know how to
make you.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

I didn’t fight the guards as they escorted
me back to the cell. Too much information swirled through my mind,
too much to process so quickly. My heritage, my father, my former
best friend, nothing was simple. For years Ivy had known who my
father was. She used me. She exploited me. She fooled me.

And I felt every inch the fool. Why didn’t I
ever see through her? Was my judgment of people so poor?

We arrived back at the cell, the guard
unlocked the door, and nudged me back in. I didn’t fight. Why
bother? What would it gain me? Tania lifted her head and stared at
me through dim shadows. Her toothy smile slowly disappeared as I
walked towards her, my shoulders slumped, my mouth turned downward.
Her arms opened wide and I collapsed in her embrace.

“Ivy’s marrying Kandek. He’s my father.
Gerrold is in on it. They knew, they all knew about my gift,” I
blurted out in one breath.

My whole body heaved with the tears that
were breaking free from my eyes. I’d held them in during my time
with Ivy and Kandek. Now they could no longer be contained. My
sobbing echoed in our small cell until it sounded like a chorus of
grieving widows. Still Tania held me tightly, keeping me from
falling apart.

Not caring who heard, I let loose a wail I
felt I’d been saving up my whole life. It traveled throughout my
body, beginning in my lungs and spreading to the tips of my fingers
and toes. I screamed until there was nothing left inside that
hadn’t been stripped raw.

Only then did I take my first breath, born
anew. My muscles relaxed as I slipped comfortably into Tania’s
embrace. The tears fell, but instead of a gushing torrent they
dropped silently and lightly on my cheeks.

“Reychel,” I heard a voice whisper.
“Reychel, are you alright?”

I pulled away from Tania, looking around to
see who else was sharing our cell. I turned to Tania, my eyes
narrowed in confusion. I was sure I’d heard voices, but we were
alone.

“It’s Mark,” Tania said, her smile
returning. She stroked my cheek, wiping away the tears. “While you
were gone, we discovered a tiny hole between the cells. Not enough
to see each other, but enough to talk. It’s over there.”

I followed Tania’s pointed finger to the
back corner of the cell. I settled down on the floor, laying my
head against the stone wall.

“Mark,” I whispered.

“What did they do to you?” he asked. “I
heard your scream. Eloh, I think you even shook the stone walls.
Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

I heard a pounding noise echo off the wall.
I could only assume it was Mark’s fist against the wall or his foot
on the floor.

“I wish I could hold you,” he said.

“I’m okay, Mark. I know the truth now. I
know the secret Ivy had been keeping from me.” I paused. “I don’t
even know where to begin.”

“Just give me the basics. We can fill the
rest in later.”

I paused wondering how to admit I was the
illegal daughter of the overlord.

“Turns out that Kandek is my father,” I
heard a loud gasp from Mark. “Ivy has known for years and that’s
why she pretended to be my friend. She didn’t know what my gift was
until recently. And she’s working with Gerrold.”

“That sneaky…” his voice mumbled off a few
uncomplimentary words.

“I just don’t know what to do from here,” I
said. I looked to Tania who shrugged her shoulders. “We’re all
trapped in here. Our only hope is that Tania’s husband, Jon,
figures out where we are. But what can one man do alone?”

“If he’s alone, not too much. But with a
friend, he can accomplish anything,” a familiar high-pitched voice
said from outside the cell.

I jumped to my feet, scrambling to reach the
door. A smile spread across my face as I saw Ella through the
grated window. The last few months had changed her. She was taller
now and the fear that used to hide in her eyes was replaced by a
mischievous twinkle.

“Ella, it’s you!” I cried, but I quickly
stifled my laugh as I looked around for the guard. I saw him lying
on the floor, looking very much like a sleeping bear. “How did you
do that?”

Ella giggled as she turned to her left. A
man suddenly appeared next to her, wearing a black cloak.

“Jon,” Tania shouted, pushing me aside to
get a better look. “I knew you’d come for us.”

“Can’t let my wife waste away in a cell when
there’s dishes to be done,” he said.

I appreciated his wide grin. It was
well-matched to his wife’s irrepressible smile.

“Get me out of here so I can smack you,”
Tania said. “That’s so rude.”

Jon laughed as he grabbed the cell keys from
the guard’s pocket. He jiggled the first key in the lock with no
success while Ella kept a look out at the end of the hall.

“Hurry up,” I said. “We have other friends
to free too. I think they’re around the corner.”

“I know,” Jon said. “It’s the buzz all over
the town. We all saw you walk in together and one of the gate
guards drank a little too much at his noon meal and informed
whoever would listen that you were both behind bars.”

“Gerrold is here,” Tania told Jon. “He’s
helping Ivy.”

“Ivy?” Jon asked. “Is she involved in this?
I thought that girl was trouble the moment I laid eyes on her. But
you had to free her, didn’t you Tania?”

“She had the spark. How could I let her
remain a slave when I knew I could help? It’s my duty,” she sighed.
“I just never thought it would backfire on me like this.”

The door creaked open after Jon finally
found the right key. Tania spilled out of the cell and into his
arms. I slipped out the side and grabbed the keys from his hands. I
had someone’s arms to fall into and I wasn’t going to wait one more
moment to free him.

“Where are they?” I asked Ella, who was
still keeping watch. She pointed down the hallway behind her to the
cells that backed up to my old cell.

I ran around the corner, counting the doors
until I found the fourth door. The one that was opposite of mine. I
looked in the window and saw Mark, still huddled in the corner of
his cell, straining to hear us through the hole. I tapped on the
heavy wooden door to grab his attention.

“Reychel!” he exclaimed, running over to the
door. “I could barely hear what was going on over there. How did
you get out?”

I stuck the first key that settled in my
fingers into the lock and turned it until I heard the familiar
click. Throwing the door open, I ran in the cell straight into
Mark’s arms. I buried my head in his shoulders, wiping the lone
tear that was left onto his shirt.

Grabbing my head on both sides, Mark pulled
me back until we could look each other in the eyes. I felt his
breath mingle with mine as we moved closer. He pressed his nose to
my forehead, our eyes closed. Squeezing him around the neck, I
melted into his strong embrace.

“Keep moving,” Tania shouted down the hall
to us. “There’s time for all of that later.”

I pulled back and looked Mark in the eyes. I
could see his spark shining brightly as he nodded his head
resolutely towards the door. We laced hands and Mark ran behind me
out the door.

Ella stood with Roc, whom she had been busy
freeing while we reunited in Mark’s cell. She dangled the keys in
her hand.

“Where to now?” I asked, too overcome to
think about good hiding places in my old home.

“The slaves’ quarters,” Ella said, leading
the way down the hall.

“But everyone hates me there,” I insisted.
“Someone will tell.”

“No one hates you, Reychel. Not anymore,”
Ella said, leading us through the deserted servant’s hallways. “Not
once they realized that Ivy was marrying Kandek. She’s been so
cruel to us since the day she came back and tricked Kandek. I don’t
know if she thinks we don’t recognize her or if she simply doesn’t
care, but no one will stand in your way if you’re going to stop
her.”

I couldn’t help but take in the familiar
hallways as we ran for safety. The crude paintings on the walls,
made by servants who’d lived there over the years. While the main
halls were stocked with paintings and tapestries, the servants’
parallel hallways were dotted with their own creations. I’d never
noticed how beautiful they were until today. It had been our
expression of freedom within captivity.

When we ran through the doorway that led to
my old bed, I ran ahead and jumped on it. Laughing, I rolled over
to see all of my friends eyeing me. Even Mark looked confused.

“I’ve never laid down here because I wanted
to,” I explained. “I usually fell in at the end of a long day.”

A smile spread across my face as I glanced
around. Regardless of all the bad things that happened, it had been
my home for most of my life. In a weird way, I missed it and loved
it.

“I know we could escape, but let’s set
things right. We need to rescue all of the prisoners,” I said.
“Who’s willing to help me?”

No one replied.

Chapter Twenty-Three

After everything we’d been through, I
couldn’t believe no one was volunteering to stay.

“I hate to say this,” Tania said, “but maybe
we should escape now and regroup. We can call the council. They’ll
know how to deal with Gerrold.”

“I don’t know how we could fight all of
these people,” Jon agreed, putting his arm around Tania’s
shoulders. “I know Roc and Mark are soldiers, but there will be
hundreds of nobles in attendance, not to mention the large numbers
of guards they’ve brought with them.”

Roc looked down at his feet. For a man so
proud of his strength, I could see that Ivy’s soothing had all but
destroyed his confidence.

“I’m standing with Reychel,” Mark said,
walking over to my bed. “She’s right. We have to fight and now is
the time. If Ivy marries Kandek, who knows what she will do with
that kind of power.”

“Kandek’s weak,” I said. “I’ve known him, my
father, my whole life. The man was never anything but strong. But
now, he’s different. If we leave now, I don’t think he’d have the
strength to stand up to Ivy.”

I glanced over to Roc.

“How do you feel?” I asked him.

He shrugged.

“How many times did she soothe you?”

Roc held up one beefy finger without meeting
my eyes.

“How would you feel if she’d done that to
you day after day? Wouldn’t you want someone to help you?”

Slowly lifting his head, Roc glanced at me.
He looked carefully at each of the people standing in the room with
him.

“I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” he
confessed. “That includes Kandek. I stand with you.”

“Ella?” I asked turning to look at my bald
friend.

“Of course I’m with you,” she said. “Like it
or not, this is my home too. I can’t imagine leaving my other
friends behind to suffer.”

I looked at Tania and Jon again. I raised an
eyebrow as I studied their faces. Tania turned to look at Jon. He
looked at her. I saw a twitch at the corner of Tania’s mouth as a
smile spread across it.

“Why not?” she said. “Give me just a minute
to contact Nemison.”

“How are you going to do that?” I asked.

“Easy,” Tania said. She closed her eyes and
tilted her head towards the ceiling.

“What...” I started.

“Shhh,” Jon said. “It’s easier for her if
it’s quiet.”

We watched in wonder as Tania's mouth moved,
but no sound came out. Her face tightened as if she was irritated.
She seemed to be arguing, but then a big smile burst across her
face. She nodded her head and then fell silent.

“Okay,” she said. “Nemison is contacting a
few gifted people. They’ll get here as soon as they can, but it may
not be fast enough. Although, he says he’s already on the grounds,
here to make sure our plans don’t fail. How long until the
wedding?” she asked Ella.