Out of the Faold (Whilst Old Legends Fade Synchronicles) (14 page)

He roared into the sky in fierce rage when he left the building. He stomped around the yard, checking the barn, the guard
tower, around by the tree line. He finally spotted her exiting the latrine with a huge smile and red eyes like she’d been crying. Tears of joy, no doubt. Her expression dropped when she saw his face.

“What…”

He shook the letter at her. “Overjoyed, I see. Well, at least you can go home now.”

“You don’t…” she started, smiling.

“Stop!” he shouted
, scaring her back a step. “I haven’t said anything because I was trying to be kind. I know. I know what y
ou’ve been doing. I trusted you.
I went up onto that hill and got inv
olved in some scheme. I held my
self back from you because of my
future, because I didn’t want to hurt you and knew I’d get hurt. The girls were more important than anything we could feel for each other. And now I see your happiness at me having a wife, of leaving you and I am so mad at myself. I’m sending Kel with
you and the girls.
Send
my men
to the King for further orders
when you are done with them
.” He turned to leave.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” she demanded sounding annoyed. “What scheme? And you don’t know…”

“Take Kel, he’s a good man. Just don’t torture him
like you did
me,” he bellowed, passing Kel as he came out into the yard at the sound of shouting.

She pushed Kel out of the way as she stomped off into the forest, so bewildered at the attack and anger in Amias’ vo
ice and face. She ran, just ran. T
he limbs and
br
ush, spider webs and mud pulled
at her. Voices called to her but
she didn’t want to see anyone, listen to anyone or be near anyone. Again, tears pushed out of her eyes, but this time not from joy. She finally stopped, completely surrounded by trees and staggered to sit on a log.
She yelled in frustration and sat crying silently.

The girls were worried. Amias had ridden off in anger, leaving them behind, without good-byes. Brother Karl hadn’t come back and was missing in the forest for hours. Kel assured them they were safe at the outpost and they still had him and the others. Karl would return and they would carry on like normal. He began to worry about her himself as the sun set and she hadn’t come back. He sent Pat and one of the outpost guards to search for her
but they told him it would be almost impossible to find her in the dark. Especially
if she didn’t want to be found.

The girls slept fretfully. Glory had a nightmare about Sisters staring at her with red eyes. Pearl asked someone to escort her to the latrine four times during the night so she could stare into the blackness of the forest. Krisa
laid
awake listening and wishing she
was out there looking for Karl.

The storms came again but further north still. The sky lit up brilliant white for so long they thought for sure that whatever place was the target must have had casualties. Silently, the men prayed, lik
e they had never prayed before. Now that they knew the gods heard them, they prayed harder.

Amias l
ay
on his bedroll pressed up against a rocky slope, watching the white flashes in the sky to the north, listening to the booms that roared through the night sky. He worried about the distance of the storm. It seemed to be as far north as the King’s palace, as far north as his home though that was much more East. He hoped it didn’t stretch all the way across to the
coast
.

The sky remained white for ages, it seemed. Constant flickering and blinding flashes forced him to keep his eyes closed. That storm was much worse than what they had experienced several nights before, he reasoned as it was
a day
away and still so fierce.

When it finally ended he closed his eyes in exhaustion. He’d ridden the horse hard all day, stopping only when they had to. The sooner he got to the King, made his report,
and then
headed home, the better. He could meet his new wife, forget about Karl, make babies and raise his own daughters.
He had
always
thought he’d wanted sons
but now…he wanted daughters. He wanted a spunky one like Pearl, a little lady like Glory, a wise….

And he was asleep.

“Listen,” a male voice said to him. He opened his eyes to find the world a muted grey with nine figures standing around him. He couldn’t move but didn’t need to. “Your delay has put everyone in peril. Trust
that she will keep them safe.”

Panic rose in his chest for Karl at the god’s words. “She suffers. You are a fool. You have driven her away from them at their time of need. And now you aren’t there either. We cannot send you back, for you must go to the King. Are you ready?”

Confused, Amias nodded inwardly. His world jolted
sideways then forward, his breath knocked out of him. A lingering voice called to him, “Remember the child, she has much to teach you,” and they were gone.

He opened his eyes to a world of full colour, of the bright orange of flames and the red of blood in the blackness of the night. Screams filled his ears as people ran about him panicking. He was in the castle courtyard. His bedroll still under him, his blanket clutched to his shoulders, his horse danced around in fear at being suddenly in the middle of chaos rather than asleep off the road. He led the horse to a guard with a blank shocked expression and told him to stable him. Without checking to see if he did, Amias rushed up the steps of the Keep and pushed his way inside, where he knew the King
would be protected by his men.

His uniform gave him passage through the Keep
. Salutes flew around him as he made his way toward the inner rooms. A door was opened for him by a guard and he entered the war room. The King and three advisors sat a
t a large table, facing two
Sisters in yellow robes, cover
ed head to foot, and a Brother.

“Your
Majesty
,” he shouted, “they are the …”

And they all froze except for the Sisters. One approached him and walked in a circle examining him. She let out a
quick
breath of air under her
veil
like she was amused at his appearance. The other
still stood near the war table
.

Amias saw the confusion in
his
King’s eyes. He could see the exertion in them all as they tried to free themselves of the power that held them in place. Amias pulled and pushed, struggling to breathe.
Remember the child
he had been told.
Relax and you will be able to breathe
.  In a great effort, completely against his instinct to fight, Amias forced himself to relax every muscle in his body and go limp. He fell to the floor. When he stood to face the Sister circling him he noted her eyes smiling at him. He was a toy she was playing with. He
could see
evil
in those eyes.

The Sister near the table lifted a hand toward him. Pearl. Pearl was brilliant. She had knocked them back, threw them against the wall. But he had no idea how. He thought of her, the sweet little face and her bobbed hair that bounced as she ran down the road toward him, so happy to see him. She was angry, protective, worried about them and she
had tossed the Sisters
about like puppets.

Amias
stared at the Sister by the table
and imagined the yellow robes as a shroud. A shroud that tightened and tightened, squeezing the Sister into a cocoon. Her eyes popped open in surprise as her robes indeed began to encapsulate her.
She reached up with her hands to her face but couldn’t remove the scarves that were smothering her. He swung around to find the Sister with evil eyes trying to escape out the door. His hands rose in an arc and slammed toward her. From the back of her yellow robes burst wet red blood from two punctures on either side of her spine. She collapsed against the door then fell, dead.

The room erupted in noise. Amias fell to one knee only to be lifted by the King’s advisors only moments later. The Brother was taken into custody and locked up securely. The King came forward, surrounded now by guards, tears and admiration in his eyes for the son of an old friend of his.

“What is ha
ppening?
” he asked, out of breath. “They just came to me saying they saved most of the city from the storms.
We thought for sure the gods had ended the world tonight. Yet they came and they promised…”

Amias shook his head. “They brought the storms.”

“What are the gods playing at?” the King demanded, not really expecting an answer. He looked much older than Amias remembered. He was graying fast with deep creases in his face, aging noticeably over the last year. The worry of fever across the land must have taken what was left of his youth. His age was between that of Amias and his father and he had younger sons of his own, but he had aged so fast.

“It isn’t the gods. The
Faold
is acting on their own, putting their members in positions of power. Did they try to get you to bring one in as advisor?”

The King nodded, now ashamed. Amias put his hand on the older man’s arm and shook his head. “There was no way to know. My men and I have encountered them along the road north. People fear them but dare not oppose them. They are now sitting, I suspect, on councils in most of the cities and towns.”

“Your men, bring them in, I must thank them for their service.”

Amias looked down. “When I got your message I was to return I left them to complete a task and rushed on without them. They will be here within the week.”

The King watched him closely then spoke in a stern tone,
“You left your men?”

Captain Doran had not felt more ashamed and traitorous than at that moment. What had he thought, at the time, to leave his men behind and run away from a
woman?
She drove him crazy enough to desert his unit. It stung. He was a fool. The gods were right. He was a damn fool.

“We will discuss this later,” he told Captain Doran, “Now we must fix this mess.”

Guards apprehended Sisters and Brothers all over the city. The Sanctuary was closed and guarded. It appeared that the Sisters with the yellow veils were the only ones capable of the sorcery he’d witnessed. Brothers were not immune to the immobilizing spell they used, and apparently hadn’t been taught how to resist it. He wasn’t
going
to tell them.
Messengers were sent to all the nearby posts warning about the Sisters and explaining they are not to be trusted in positions of power. Further instruct
ions would be sent by the King.

Three days
later
the city had got most of the
storm
cleanup done and was starting to rebuild. A dozen buildings had been leveled, even more damaged by fire.
Amias did what he could to help, hauling stone, laying foundations and organizing teams to haul in new materials. He worked hard and long, exhausting himself. But h
is conscience
still ate
away at him,
feeling
guilt toward his men and the girls,
toward
the King for leaving the men behind, his father for not going home immediately. He felt guilt toward the gods for having let them down bec
ause he let everyone else down.

The King called for him on the fourth day. He slid to one knee in front of the King, sure his punishment was overdue
. The man simply stared at him.

“You look horrible,” the King told him. “I see you haven’t made it to the barber yet.”

Amias
nodded his agreement but didn’t say anything. The man watched him longer then waved for a page. The boy ran forward, handing the King a letter.

“You used sorcery,” the King commented. “Like the Sisters. You used it to kill.”

A rush of fear swept through Captain Amias. Was the King threatened? Did he fear for his life? If he did Amias would be good as dead in minutes. “Yes, I did.”

“Did the evil ones teach you?” he asked, his tone rising.

“No, your majesty. I…had an encounter. A small child was inspiration.”

The King looked at him puzzled. “I am trying to decide what to do with you,” he told his Captain.
“On the one hand you betrayed your men to rush off on your
own;
on another you saved my life and the lives of countless others. You have helped this city rebuild and shown nothing but dedication to me and your country. I cannot overlook the fact that you used sorcery.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“You will return to your father at once,” he said decidedly. “Build a grand house by the vineyards. I’ll be coming to visit you and your new wife often.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Amias rose to h
is feet and backed to the door, relieved he was still alive.