Archon (22 page)

It lasted for a few seconds, and the last sight Taemon had of Gevri was his shorn head. Pointed in front and pointed in back.

Gevri — peace-loving, honest Gevri — had made his first three kills.

Long ago, many years in his past, Taemon had learned not to cry. He had Yens to thank for that. If Yens ever saw him cry, whatever Yens was doing to cause the tears would worsen times ten. No matter how much it hurt or stung, Taemon had learned how to push the pain down where tears couldn’t reach. Right now, he had to push deep, this pain joining the one from when Moke had died.

He heard Amma’s quiet sobs and envied her. He wanted to console her, but what could he possibly say? Nothing could undo what had just happened.

He felt Da’s hand on his good shoulder. “War is coming, son. We’d best prepare.”

Da’s idea of preparing for war amounted to something like a town meeting. Everyone assembled on a hillside that had a rough-hewn table at the base of it. Da sat at the table along with Taemon, Amma, and the lead archer, Lervie. Everyone else sat on the hillside, looking down at the table. It reminded Taemon of the amphitheater his family used to go to in Deliverance.

Da called the meeting to order and began by repeating what Taemon had told him about his trip to the Republik.

As Taemon listened, he saw Da in a new light. It was strange, how Da was so different, and yet he seemed more himself than ever. The way he was handling this meeting, out in the open with everyone involved, every opinion considered — that was just like Da. Even the outdoor setting seemed to suit him.

“Taemon, do you have anything to add?” Da asked.

Taemon shifted in his seat. The last thing he wanted was to get up and make a big speech. The True Son was meant to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. But so far all he’d managed to usher in was pain and chaos and, soon, war.

But Taemon was done pretending to be someone other than who he was. He wasn’t his brother, Yens. And he wasn’t some random Nathanite come to rescue his da. All that True Son business aside, these people were his responsibility, and he could not let them down.

He pushed himself up with his good arm. “It seems to me,” he began, “that we have three groups of people in Deliverance right now. There are people in the city who want their psi back. There are people in the colony who want to get on with life without psi. And then there is a third group, made up of people like you, who wish only to follow the Heart of the Earth.”

The crowd murmured its assent.

Taemon nodded. “Somehow these three groups have to come together and find common ground. It’s the only way we’ll have any chance of standing up to this archon army that the Republik will be sending our way.”

“Speaking for myself,” Lervie said, “I have no bone to pick with the colony. I’ve been there a couple times on scouting missions, and they seem like decent folk.”

Others in the crowd agreed.

“It’s the city people we can’t abide,” said someone from the hillside.

“They locked us away!”

“Treated us like dirt and swept us under the rug.”

“Are you asking us to fight beside them? To lay down our lives for theirs?”

“The boy’s right,” Da said. “Unity is strength. We’ve got no hope if we don’t fight together.”

“And what will the city dwellers think of such unity?” someone asked. “Does anyone here truly believe that they’ll fight beside the likes of us?”

The man’s words were met with cries of agreement.

Da cut through all the restless muttering with his booming voice. “We follow the Heart of the Earth! And this boy — my son,” Da said, looking at Taemon, “this boy has heard the voice of the Heart of the Earth. She has spoken to him. If you truly follow the Heart of the Earth, then you will follow this boy.”

Wild shouts and cheers greeted Da’s rousing speech, and even Taemon found himself filled with a new confidence, a renewed sense of purpose.

As the crowd gradually fell silent, Da looked to Taemon. “Tell us what to do, son.”

Taemon looked out upon a sea of trusting, hopeful faces. Once again he felt the weight of his destiny heavy upon his shoulders.

“If we are to have any hope of defeating the archon army,” he said, his voice booming through the clearing as his da’s had just done — no amplification needed —“then we must unite with our brethren in the colony
and
in the city. For we are all children of the Heart of the Earth, rebels, colonists, and city dwellers alike.”

Men and women nodded in acceptance. Taemon knew that many details would need to be worked out later, and many struggles were on the horizon, but for now, the group seemed willing to extend the hand of brotherhood, which was as much as anyone could ask.

“To begin, we must send one delegation to the city and one to the colony,” Taemon said. “Amma, would you be willing to lead the group that goes to the colony?”

Amma nodded. She was the logical choice and a natural-born ambassador. She was perfect for the job.

“As for the city . . .” Taemon took a deep breath. “I’ll lead that delegation. I’ll talk to my brother, Yens, and get him on our side.”

“Taemon, no!” Amma cried.

Da frowned. “Are you sure that’s wise? Yens is not the boy we once knew. His time with Naseph has changed him,” he admitted sadly.

If Da only knew! “I’m the one who broke things with Yens, and I’m the one who should try to repair them. There’s no one else, Da,” he continued when Da started to interrupt. “You can’t risk getting caught by Naseph’s men and locked away again. These people need you. And Yens won’t be able to resist speaking with me face to face. He won’t kill me.”
At least not right away,
Taemon thought but didn’t add.

Da held Taemon’s gaze for a long while, searching for something. At last, he seemed to have found it.

“Go with peace, my son. And may the Heart of the Earth protect you.”

Taemon was outfitted with a sturdy pair of crutches for the trip. The healer who’d made them had added extra padding where the crutches rested under his arms.

“Even that will start to chafe a few days in,” she warned him. “It’s the best I can do for now, I’m afraid.”

Taemon tested them out, striding from one end of the clearing to the other. “They’re terrific!” he said genuinely. For the first time in weeks, he was able to move with only minor discomfort. The return trip to Deliverance wouldn’t be easy by any means, but at least it would be much less painful and grueling than the trip up the mountain had been.

The two delegations traveled together at first, and at night around the campfire Amma and Taemon regaled the rebels with their tales of the Republik.

All too soon, though, their shared journey was near its end. Amma and her group of rebels would go one way, toward the colony, and Taemon and his group of rebels, led by Lervie, would go the other, toward the city.

“I’ll see you soon,” Amma said, holding his gaze.

“Soon,” Taemon agreed, and hoped he was right.

He watched Amma and her delegation go till they disappeared around a bend. Then, with a heavy sigh, he adjusted his crutches and set out toward the city, following Lervie.

He couldn’t help but compare this trip to the last time he had gone to the city to confront Yens. So much had changed since then. Some things, however, were the same. Once again he had no idea how he would accomplish such an impossible task.

Taemon tugged at the scarf around his neck and tucked one of the loose ends into his jacket. It was silly, he knew, but wearing the scarf made him feel better. It had gotten him over the mountain; it had helped him understand his young archon friends. Maybe it would help this time, too.

An old saying came to his mind: Just because you smell better than a skunk doesn’t mean you smell good. The scarf took away a little of his fear, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid. He was terrified.

If the people in the city found out that he had psi, and if they knew that he was the one who’d taken it away from everyone else, he’d have little chance of seeing another sunrise, much less persuading Yens and the other city dwellers to unite with the colonists and the rebels in a war against an army of archons.

There’s no way I can do this on my own,
Taemon said to the Heart of the Earth.
You’re going to have to help.

There was no answer.

True to their word, Lervie and his men got Taemon through the city gate with little trouble. Lervie pressed a small package into the guard’s hands, and they were ushered through without any questions.

Taemon glanced back and caught the guard stuffing the contents of the package into his mouth.

“Honeycomb,” Lervie said with a grin. “A sweet tooth is a powerful thing. I could probably tell you the particular vice of each and every guard in this city.” He patted his thick coat. “Always good to be prepared.”

Taemon shook his head in wonder. “Once we get to the marketplace, our goal is to mingle with people on the streets,” he said, “to see if we can pick up any clues about where Yens might be. No arrows.”

Lervie nodded.

Taemon, Lervie, and the four other archers melted into the crowd. They looked at the tables of wares spread out for sale and tried to listen in on snatches of conversations. Most people were talking about providing for their families — finding enough food and staying warm over the winter.

Taemon picked up a cloak pieced together from old blankets. The stitches were rough and the patterns mismatched, but it was a sign that people were constructing things by hand, that they were adapting.

The man behind the table spoke up: “That’s good-quality wool, right there. It’ll keep you plenty warm.”

“It does look warm,” Taemon said. “But I’m not buying today.”

“Ah,” the man said. “Here for the gathering, are you?”

“Gathering?” Lervie asked.

The man narrowed his eyes. “You two say you’re from the city?”

Lervie blinked rapidly, his mouth hanging slightly open as he tried to come up with some explanation for why they were so clearly out of touch.

Taemon jumped in: “We’ve been in the colony for the past few weeks, learning how to do things without psi.”

“Good idea if you ask me.” The man sniffed and made a wry face. “Every day those people gather at the temple ruins and talk about bringing back psi, but nothing ever happens. I’m starting to think it’s nothing but talk.”

A woman stepped up beside Taemon. “The True Son will be speaking today.”

Taemon’s heart skipped a beat. Apparently he wouldn’t have to go searching for Yens after all. Yens was coming right to him.

“Hmph,” said the man. “He speaks too much, if you ask me.”

The woman glared at him. “I
didn’t
ask you.”

“When is the gathering?” Taemon interrupted.

“In about half an hour,” the old man said.

Taemon nodded at Lervie, who passed the signal on to the others. Once again, they melded into the crowd and slowly made their way to the temple site.

A sizable crowd had already gathered.

Taemon tucked his chin deeper into his scarf. The air felt colder, even though the sun was out. Bodies jostled him on either side. The crowd’s excitement was palpable.

At last, someone stepped onto one of the temple’s fallen stones to speak. The crowd instantly hushed.

It was Elder Naseph.

“You know the tragedy that now befalls us. What you do not know is how this hardship has come to pass and how we can overcome it. This is what I have come to tell you.

“We were all — myself included — deceived by a false prophet. I am ashamed to remember when I stood before you all and renounced the real True Son and claimed that his younger brother was the chosen one.” Naseph made a sound of disgust.

Yens stepped out onto the stone. He was taller than Taemon remembered, and more confident. He looked every bit the part of the True Son.

Yens raised his hands to quiet the crowd, then held his right hand over a pile of loose rocks that lay at his feet. Slowly he lifted his hand, and the rocks rearranged themselves into a neat stack.

“Psi. He’s using psi,” the crowd murmured.

Great Earth and Sky! Taemon had seen this. He’d been here. It was exactly like the dream he’d had in the Republik!

“As the True Son, I alone have psi,” Yens announced. “My power has been weakened, but it has not disappeared. The same is true for you. The power is still within you, but you’re crippled with fear and unbelief.

“You have been fooled by my brother. He is a skilled deceiver and a false prophet. Where is he now? Where is he when his people need him most? Is he here, helping us to rebuild? No! Is he at the colony, tending to the wounded? No! He has deserted us in our time of need!”

Taemon knew better than to call out now and alert Yens to his presence.

“But
I
am still here!” Yens went on. “I have not forsaken you. I am the True Son, and I will restore your rightful powers to you and see my brother locked away for his crimes!”

Lervie leaned over and whispered in Taemon’s ear, “This is gonna be harder than I thought.”