The Destroyer (17 page)

"This will be your room good sir." Herin opened the door to a large suite with a small fire burning in the hearth while he gestured to the tall tracker. "Are you hungry as well?"

"Nope. Just want a bath and a nice clean bed. Thank you friend." Iarin looked to us. "I'll see you all tomorrow over breakfast, if we don't get summoned. Shall we eat together, say an hour or so after sunrise?"

"Sure, we'll meet you here," Kaiyer said over my shoulder.

Iarin nodded and stepped into his room, waving before the door closed.

"This will be your room, young master," Herin said as he directed me to the room next to Iarin's.

"Is there a way that my companion and I can room together?" I asked as I looked over to Kaiyer. I realized that I hadn't been away from him during the night since we woke him.

"My apologies, young master. I was told that you were to be given this room and your friend is to be given the room across the hallway from you. Can I get you any food?" I shook my head. "Are you sure? We've just had a fresh batch of peach cobbler cakes made."

"No thank you, I'm just going to go to bed." I looked at Kaiyer. "Will you be okay?"

"Of course. I'm across the hall. Talk to you tomorrow." He smiled at me and then turned to walk to his room. Herin opened it for him and showed him in. He gave Kaiyer a brief rundown of the items in the room before wishing the thin man a good night.

"Let me know if you need anything. Just ring the bell. Good night, young master," Herin said as he walked away. I closed the door with a sigh.

The room was magnificent. A low fire burned in the stone hearth, and a massive four poster bed with drapes that extended from the ceiling sat in the middle of the spacious floor. The bed’s ornately carved headboard butted up against the far wall, which was decorated in flocked wallpaper in a rich golden hue. Upon closer inspection I realized the color came from actual threads of fine gold wire woven into the paper. The wallpaper in this room was probably worth more money than the assets of every citizen of my small village combined.

The room also contained a stout desk with a small oil lamp, a round table with chairs enough for six, and a couch wrapped with sumptuous dark green upholstery. Behind the desk were two towering bookshelves that extended to the ceiling, filled with leather-bound tomes. This was just a small sampling of the books in the main library, but still a rich trove of knowledge I was eager to delve into. I smiled at the gesture, Nadea knew I was a scholar and had made sure I would have a proper room in which to study. Perhaps she did intend for me to stay?

While my body was sore and my limbs felt heavy with fatigue, my mind whirred, both agitated and excited. I did not want to go home, I had enjoyed my travels, the knowledge that I was part of something important. I missed my home and my grandfather, but I did not miss the quiet, dull life we led. How could I go back to a world where the most important decision I had to make all day was what book to read to the village children, after spending weeks as an integral member of a mission vital to the success or failure of the entire Kingdom of Nia? I hoped my plan to teach Kaiyer to read would allow me to remain in the castle for a little longer. I knew eventually the homesickness would outweigh my yearning for honor and adventure, but at the moment I just wanted to stay here with these people whom I had come to consider friends.

There were double doors beside the fireplace that I hadn't noticed at first. They were paned in beautiful leaded glass, cut with designs that sparkled and reflected rainbows even in the dim firelight. I imagined in the daytime with the full sun pouring through, the glittering crystal would be spectacular. I opened them and walked onto a small balcony that overlooked a quaint garden. I thought about eating breakfast and studying here tomorrow, but remembered that I would be eating with Kaiyer and Iarin. The room was larger than the small house Grandfather and I shared next to the lighthouse. I thought in amazement that this huge room, so ornately appointed, was just one of many hundreds of guest rooms within the castle. Nia was so grand, so prosperous, it was hard to imagine it could be in any real danger, though I knew intellectually that the threat was very real and would soon be very present.

I walked to a side room that kept the sink, toilet, and enormous bathtub. The elegance of the bathing area inspired me to take a bath, but I didn't feel like unpacking my clothes at the moment. Instead, I turned back to the bed and took off my shirt, ready to crawl in and rest my spent muscles.

A knock sounded at my door.

I tiptoed over to it and opened it. A kind face, full of wrinkles and white facial hair was the first thing I saw. His light blue eyes were almost always crinkled with a smile.

"Grandfather!" I shouted as I hugged him. He smelled like the sandalwood oil he used after he shaved around his beard.

"Paug! I am so happy to see you. I worried so much. Let me look at you." He held me at arm's length and looked me up and down. "I think you've grown an inch! Also, I see a bit of muscle on you. You look like you are becoming a man." He hugged me again. "Invite me inside and tell me all about your trip."

I did, and we both took seats at the table. Seeing him had invigorated me and I was eager to tell him all about our adventure. He wore a loose pair of black pants and a yellow shirt that was stained with spots of black ink and various paint colors. His usual floppy hat was absent from his bald head.

"Start from when you departed Desai," he demanded with excitement.

I began to tell the story from when I left our home, the travel down south with Nadea and Iarin, Jessmei meeting us on the road when we had just left the Sapphire, then Greykin finding us a few days later. I told him about Jessmei really putting a sour apple in our basket of plans. Then I talked about our journey into Vanlourn. The days that seemed to stretch forever as we cut our way through the jungle, finally coming to the ruin that Nadea previously discovered. Kaiyer lying cold and dead, but somehow alive, on a slab deep in the darkness, how I used the words Grandfather taught me to awaken him. My voice started to crack after an hour and Grandfather rang the bell, summoning a servant to bring us some water and a snack.

"Fascinating," he said as he ran his fingers through his mustache and beard. "I wondered if the language we had learned would have been corrupted after generations of being passed down. Or maybe we never learned it correctly in the first place?" He sat back for a moment and thought to himself.

The servant arrived with a large pitcher of water, some cups, and a loaf of bread with cheese. I took a glass and some of the cheese before I continued.

I told him about our fears that the enemy was right on our tail and that they discovered us when we came out of the ruin. I recalled for him how Kaiyer had defeated them easily, then how we followed him to the guard post where he had massacred the rest of the soldiers.

"Amazing. You said he moved like a spider, quickly and with great strength?"

"Yes. I haven't seen much fighting, but he was so fast my eyes hardly had time to register his movements."

"Surely, he must be the O'Baarni. I've never heard of such things, but the legends say he had amazing strength and speed. They also said that he was supposed to be very intelligent and was undefeated in his conquests over the Ancients."

I nodded and told him of the travel up the cliffs, how I translated and taught him our language, and how he picked it up with amazing speed. Grandfather nodded and smiled.

Then I got to the part I hadn't told anyone else about.

He listened intently as I described waking up in the campsite. I hadn't known at the time, but everyone save for Kaiyer and I went to gather water and rinse off at the nearby stream. Grandfather's mouth hung open when I spoke of the quick battle, and of Kaiyer being shot in the chest by the crossbow.

"He didn't seem to experience pain?" he asked in amazement.

"He didn't seem to, no. He yanked it out easily. I fainted though." I frowned and remembered the wave of nausea that caused me to black out. "When I awoke he had changed his shirt and pretended like nothing happened."

"Didn't Nadea or Greykin suspect something? Didn't they hear the sounds of the battle?"

"It happened so fast there wasn’t much sound. When I awoke he smiled at me and shrugged like he always did. Nadea said later that night he told her that he surprised them. I didn't want to mention that he had been shot by the crossbow since I didn't quite believe it myself." Grandfather nodded.

"Did you ask him more about it?"

"No . . ." I sighed. "I was afraid to. But during our first night in the inn I brought up his bags an inspected his clothes. The shirt he had worn was still in his pack, and I could see the hole the bolt made and the blood stain. He seemed to be unharmed though." I sat back and felt relief. A huge weight had been taken off of my shoulders. Grandfather seemed lost in thought for a few more minutes.

"I'll need to think about this some more. Please continue with your story, Paug."

I told him about the assassins that tried to attack Jessmei while I had slept. I finally finished by accounting the remainder of our journey here. Several hours passed and I could have fallen asleep on the table.

"How selfish of me! Here I am keeping you awake when we are going to have a very busy day tomorrow. Go to bed Paug, I'll talk to you in the morning. I am down the hall three or four doors. The duke, Nadea, you, the O'Baarni, and I will meet tomorrow after you break your fast," he said as he got out of his chair and grabbed the last slice of bread.

I nodded as we hugged again and parted. Before he shut the door I had laid my head on the pillow and was drifting to sleep.

"Wake up Kaiyer, time to work, son." My father's hands shook me awake gently. I moaned and rolled over, out of the bed and onto the dirt floor of the small room I shared with my father and brother. He looked at me as he sat back down at the table, the only other piece of furniture in the humble room besides our three beds and matching chairs. It was dark, we woke well before the sun, and our windowless room had little to light it save a small fire that was used for food, light and heat.

"Want breakfast? Leotol is making eggs and heating some beans." I could smell them. My older brother's broad back was to me as he flipped eggs on a pan over our stone stove and stirred a pot with his other hand. There was never much time and he was an efficient cook, using what he could to flavor our meager rations fairly well. I was always hungry, and the smell of the food made my mouth water. My work was strenuous and there was rarely time to eat during the day, nor enough food.

"I don't think there is enough for the Little Demon. Aunt only brought us a dozen eggs and a few handfuls of beans." He looked over his shoulder with his trademark smirk.

"Hey, I don't eat that much. I'm thinner than you are, fat ass." I looked for something to throw at him even though I knew I was wrong to say this. Neither my brother nor my father were fat. They were all muscle; they had to be since they worked in the smithy, over the hot forge all day, making horseshoes and tools for the master's slaves.

"It's not fat little Brother. This is solid muscle. The girls love it. Once you get some meat on you maybe you'll get one for yourself, unless horses are your thing." He shook his head with laughter, his thick, dark hair flying over his shoulders. I moaned and sat down to watch my father, Kai, drink his morning cup of tea. He looked like an older version of my brother: muscular, with a dark mane of hair, bright green eyes, and chiseled facial features. By comparison, I was scrawny and awkward.

She didn't seem to mind though. Perhaps she would tire of me when I began to fill out and look more like them. Our human bodies were big-boned, bulky and thick when compared to the sleek, beautiful bodies of our masters. Where we resembled lumbering, stout donkeys, work-worn and tough, they were graceful antelope, strong, yet lithe and elegant.

My recollections of her were interrupted when Leotol slid a heaping plate of eggs and beans in front of me. We ate in silence, thoughts of the work we had to do filled each of our heads. It was Sunday, so there would be no training today. Most Sundays there were no visitors to the stable, so it was the best day for me to catch up on the never ending list of tasks. I always had too much to do, especially since I had been losing almost an hour of my work per day for the past few months.

"Leotol?" I asked my brother for his attention. He grunted at me over his eggs but didn’t raise his face.

"Can I have help shoeing that new stallion they brought in a few days ago? He's pretty unruly and I haven't gotten a chance to calm him down yet."

"I don't know, Little Demon. I might be a little too fat to help you out with so difficult a task." He smiled at me and then opened his mouth to show me the food he was chewing.

"Gross! Come on. I need your help. It will take me all day to do it by myself and less than half an hour with you," I begged him.

"Fine. But you have to cook tonight and tomorrow."