The Path Of Destiny (20 page)

Christine shut the Cremelino out with such force that the
horse neighed loudly and stumbled outside. Christine didn’t want to be
consoled. Not now.

“It’s not fair. They took his life from him once and now
they took it away from him permanently.” Tears streamed down her face.

“It's all right, Christine. Things will be better.” Jain put
his arm around his sister. She had barely noticed how quiet he had become
during the words of her father. “He is better now in the hands of God. He will
watch over us.”

“They never listened and they never will,” she shouted
uncharacteristically. Tears slid down her face. “His aunt and uncle, the boys
that beat us up, the King that does nothing, and the cowards that burned our
farm today. They all deserve to burn. I am not part of the city. I am a farmer,
and I am happy to be an outsider, if that is what they want to call us. They
will pay for what they have done to my father.”

Christine pushed Jain’s arm away, making him stumble
backwards. Anger boiled up inside her. All the feelings and frustrations of
dealing with the King and Richard, of the persecutions, of Darius leaving her,
of her father dying, all built up to a point that could not be contained any
longer. It was too much for her. She had finally hit her breaking point.

“Christine. Please sit down,” said her mother.

“I hate them. The King, his condescending councilor, the
stewards, the noble Sans, all of them. They don't want peace and they don't
want us.” She ran towards the front door, with Jain chasing after her.

“Christine.” Jain embraced his sister. She fought him at
first, then stopped and cried against his shoulder.

“I hate them. I want to kill them,” she kept saying. “They
don’t deserve what they have.”

“We will find a way for peace,” said Jain, knowing that his
words sounded hollow against his recent feelings of wanting to fight.

Christine barely registered his change of behavior since
their father had died. “There will be no peace for us.” Christine pushed away.
“There will never be peace!”

“You are just upset now.”

“Yes, I’m upset. Our petition failed, I have been threatened
by the councilor, and now my father is dead. What is happening to my life? What
am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t push us all away Christine. We are all in this
together.”

She looked at him through teary eyes. “You are a good
brother, Jain, but I don’t know what I will do now.”

“Now your family needs you. Now your neighbors need you,
Christine. Look around you.”

Smoke still stood in the air, and the fire was farther away.
Their barn stood burning and smoldering. She knew the fire had hurt other farms
too, but she couldn’t help them. Not right now. Not today.

“I can’t, Jain. I can’t help anymore. I have nothing left to
give.” With that she turned and dragged her feet slowly in the opposite
direction of the fire. She couldn’t believe how her life had crumbled in the
last five months. She felt hollow and hurt. A while later she found herself,
for the second time that day, in the Field of Diamonds.

The grass, brown during the winter, supported patches of
snow in the more shadowed corners. The large oak stood like a skeleton in the
now-grey sky.

Anger grew, boiled, and steamed inside of her. She breathed
out and watched a rush of fog escape her lips. She walked aimlessly around the
lonely field. Her tears stopped. There was nothing left. She ended up next to
the pond, standing in the mud. She picked up a large rock and hefted it through
the air as far as she was able. “They will pay. They will pay!” was all the
sound that escaped her trembling lips.

The soft sound of someone walking on the stiff brown grass
made her turn around. Her Cremelino was walking down across the bare meadow.
Compared to the anger Christine felt inside, the beauty of her white horse
lifted her spirits. She seemed to give off a soft glow that trailed behind her
as she walked with cautious steps towards Christine.

Christine reached out her hand and ran it in loving patterns
across the top of Lightning’s nose, moving down her beautiful, soft, snow-white
mane. Bright light erupted in her mind. She closed her eyes and once again felt
a reassuring, calming presence.

You pushed me out,
Lightning said softly.

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
Tears rolled again down
Christine’s face.

I miss him too.

Miss who?
asked Christine.

A light laughter ran through her mind.
Darius.

How did you know?

Oh, I know. He is very special. More than you know.

You talked to him, didn’t you?

Yes, I did. It surprised me. That hasn’t happened in a
long, long time.

What does it mean?
Christine asked her Cremelino.

Get on, let’s ride,
was Lightning’s only answer.
We
have some work to do to get ready.

“Ready for what?”
Christine voiced out loud. She
jumped onto her Cremelino and began to ride.

But Lightning didn’t come forth with any further answers.

COMMANDER

D
arius batted away the large
birds that swept into him as if to consume him alive. They were so close he
could make out the individual thick black feathers of each bird. The giant
vultures came swooping out of the large trees as if they had been hiding for
days, waiting for something to eat. Darius stumbled as he tried to run. His
hand scraped against a large ice-covered boulder. A large bent branch he found
and picked up became the only protection from being pecked, and even that was
working less and less.

One sleeve of his tunic hung off his arm. The screeching
birds tore away at the thick fabric. Small scratches dripped blood down
Darius’s tired arm, attracting the birds even more. He swung his stick in wild
circular motions while he searched for cover, but none could be found. Large
trees and small bushes wouldn't stop the ravaging birds.

The exhaustion of fighting the birds overcame his senses.
The power began to respond to his needs and build up inside him. He pushed the
urge back down. He told himself he wanted to do this on his own.

All of a sudden an arrow flew through the cold afternoon’s
winter air, piercing one of the birds in its breast. Large black feathers
drifted away in the mountain breeze, landing as a stark difference on the white
snow. The other vultures hesitated a moment, as if deciding whether to turn
away or continue attacking. Darius stood still, breathing hard, not yet knowing
what was happening. Another arrow splitting one of the other large birds seemed
to make the decision for the rest of them, and with a noise of protest they
flew off over the tall pines.

Darius began to let the power die down.

He looked around with wonder to find out who had shot the
life-saving arrows with such skill. To his surprise, out walked Sean from
behind a large tree. Darius’s mouth, dry from the fight, just hung open in
apparent surprise. Sean’s lips curved into his cocky smile as he sauntered
towards Darius.

“You’re lucky I came when I did.”

“Where did you come from?” Just seeing Sean made the power
come alive again inside him. Sean represented everything he hated about the
attitude of the nobles. He had taunted Darius since he was a young man.

“I came to help you and find out what you were doing up here
for so long. I have been following you for a few hours. Wasn't hard. It was
obvious you weren’t trying to hide your tracks.”

“A few hours?” Darius finally got hold of his senses. “Why
did you wait until now to help?”

“Well I'm not supposed to be here, you know. But you looked
so desperate with all of those birds attacking you.”

The adrenaline from the recent fight with the birds still
raced through Darius’s veins. Sean drew out the anger in him as usual. “If
you’re not supposed to be here, why are you?”
Don’t lose control. He’s not
worth it.

“Let's get your wounds cleaned and the blood wiped up, then
we can talk. Any smell of blood might bring worse things than those birds after
us.”

Darius knew Sean was right, so he found a nearby stream,
which, although it had ice around the edges, still flowed freely in the middle.
Cleansing himself with the cold mountain water, the water felt like ice to his
warm skin. One of these days, Sean was going to push him too far. He glanced
over at him through the corner of his eyes. Sean set up a small fishing pole
and tried to catch something from the stream. He smiled with thoughts of just
pushing him into the stream.

He took another step towards Sean and let out a deeply held
breath. He felt the power recede, but it was always present now. A prickle at
the back of his mind. He knew now he could summon it with a moment’s notice; he
just wasn’t always sure how to direct it or what its limits were.

“I bet Cray and the others are quite worried by now,” said
Sean.

“You mean they didn't send you?”

“No. If they knew I was here they wouldn’t like it very
much. It’s against the rules.”

“Then who sent you, Sean?”

“Settle down, Darius.”

Darius walked away from the water’s edge, rethinking again
whether Sean deserved another reprieve.

“Not much appreciation for saving your life,” Sean mocked.

“I would have survived without you, I am sure. I always
have.” Darius turned around in a blur.

“Now, Darius, let's not get hostile. I came here to help
you. We don't have to be best friends, but I may be able to help you.”

“Who sent you, then, if it wasn't Cray?” asked Darius one
more time, trying to regain a hold upon his patience.

“Your father,” Sean said. “He sent me to make sure you
remained safe.”

Darius smiled inside. It had been ten days since his test in
the mountains began. They had expected him to return after three or four days.
He wanted to show them he could do what he wanted. And he had. In fact, Darius
had begun to enjoy the quiet mountain surroundings, staying below the worst of
the snow. Plenty of fish filled the cold mountain streams and he was able to
catch a few winter rabbits with handmade traps. He smiled with the small
triumph.

“What do you find so funny, Darius?”

“Are the men in the camp worried?”

Sean raised his shoulders up and down. “I suppose that they
are. I haven't been in camp for quite a few days. Like I said, they don't know
I am here.” Sean lit a fire with wood he had gathered from nearby. “I know why
you are still here, Darius. You and I are a lot alike, you know.”

Darius raised his eyebrows, “And how is that?”

“We are both independent people, not wanting others to order
us around.”

“But you want to be where I am. You want politics and
power?”

“And you are trying to escape it,” concluded Sean. “Is that
what you really think you are doing? You are now more a part of this big game
than you or I probably know. You are going to be the youngest commander in the
King’s Elite Army. How does that make you feel?”

Darius thought for a moment and then actually smiled. “It
actually feels quite good.”

“See, having power isn’t all that bad. It’s about how you
use it and what you do with it.” Sean paused a few moments before turning back
towards the fire. “Your father cares about you far more than you think,
Darius,” whispered Sean. “He was truly concerned with your safety up here.
Don’t hate everything that you are. Many are not given the privileges you
have.“

Darius sat back and ate a few bites of the fish Sean had
caught and cooked for them. After the battle with the large birds, the food
renewed his energy. He had never seen birds so large back in Anikari. He was
tired of eating fish, edible roots, and rabbits. He felt a cold storm coming in
the breeze. He should begin heading back to the others. He couldn’t stay in the
mountains forever. Though it was a little tempting, he didn’t have the
provisions or fortitude for that kind of life.

Darius knew this final test was more symbolic than anything.
Being on his own and fending for himself was just a way to solidify all that he
had already accomplished in camp.

Darius wondered why his father had sent Sean. Darius did not
trust Sean now and he never would
.
He thought enough of his father’s
senses to know that his father wouldn’t trust Sean either.
Something is
going on that my father is not telling me.

They finished eating without much conversation, each deep in
his own thoughts of what his part was in the whole plan of the Realm. The full
moon rose from the east over the giant evergreens as darkness settled in around
them. The cool wind picked up and began to blow down through the nearby
canyons. Despite their differences they decided to work together, and they
built a small lean-to to block out as much of the wind as possible.

Through the rest of the evening conversation became lighter.
They talked of Anikari and of things happening since Darius had left. Sean
mentioned the problems in Belor and in the surrounding farmlands, which made
Darius think of Kelln and Christine. Sometimes he longed for those simpler days
back in Anikari. He knew they were never to be that way again. His position and
his powers now changed all of that.

The fire died down and the mountains became quiet as
everything seemed to drift off to sleep, including Darius and Sean.

All of a sudden, something woke Darius. He found Sean
already standing up, turning his head as if listening for something.

“Something woke me,” whispered Sean, “but with this wind I
can't tell for sure.”

The full moon lit up the tree-filled mountain landscape as
far as a sharp ravine on the west and a thicket of large trees on the east.
After studying the area for a few more minutes, they sat down once again behind
the lean-to. Since waking up so suddenly Darius’s heart beat a quick rhythm.
The power, always a heartbeat away, heightened his sense of awareness. Someone
moved out among the trees. Or something.

“Who’s there?” yelled Darius, hoping it was something that
would answer back, but his voice was lost in the wind.

Silence followed. Sean motioned that he would circle one way
while Darius circled the other. The moonlit forest made an eerie kind of
darkness, casting uncertain and hidden shadows.

Darius crept along, being careful to step on the soft
snow-covered portion of the ground, where no branches or leaves would give him
away. His sight sharpened as he took in the surroundings. Despite the cold
wind, sweat beaded from his taut body. With deliberate slowness he moved. A
dark shape became visible to him up ahead, between two weathered trees.

Darius stood still, next to a tree, as if one with it,
putting into practice all he had ever learned about tracking. The shadow moved.
It appeared to be a person. A man, by the way he stalked. He came closer.
Darius’s muscles held tight and still. He feared that the man, whoever he was,
would hear Darius’s loud heartbeat. A twig snapped on the other side of the
figure, and the man turned.

It must have been Sean. Darius wasted no time. He sprang
from the tree, covering the distance quicker than a normal man should have, and
flung himself on top of the dark figure.

The man was strong, but when Sean joined in he became no
match for the two of them. They flung him to the ground.

“Stop,” they heard the man say. “Stop. It’s me!”

Darius recognized the voice and pulled the man’s head up off
the ground, pulling back his hooded wool cloak. With a stern and bewildered
gaze, Cray looked up at him.

He turned to Sean in gasping breaths. “What are you doing
here? I thought you went back to Anikari weeks ago.”

Sean just smirked in apparent joy at the man's reactions.

“Well, what are you doing here?” Darius asked Cray.

“If you will let go of me, maybe we can sit down and talk
about it,” mumbled Cray.

They moved back over towards the lean-to and threw more wood
on the fire. It seemed the mountain had come awake with Cray’s apprehending.
They saw a few ground squirrels scuttle by and heard smaller birds take off in
a midnight flight.

Cray looked sternly into Darius’s eyes. “The camp is worried
about you, Darius. You have been gone longer than expected.”

“Are you worried also?” Darius challenged.

Cray laughed and settled onto the ground more comfortably.
“I am only anxious that you figure out what you really want, Darius. After a
slow start, during the last few months you threw yourself into training, and I
don’t think anyone will challenge your right to be the first commander. But
what do you want?”

“That’s what I have been trying to ask him,” Sean piped in.

Cray glared at the young noble. “I am more worried about why
you are here, Sean, than why Darius didn’t come back yet.”

The fierceness of Cray’s face made even Sean straighten and
take notice. “I don’t report to you.”

Even with Sean’s never-ending arrogance, Darius was
surprised at how he stood up to Cray. Not many men could.

“We will discuss that later.” Cray continued to stare
forcibly into Sean’s eyes until finally turning back to Darius to continue
talking.

Darius learned that the camp indeed was worried about him.
Rumors had him escaping or being eaten by wild animals. Cray had been sent to
find him and bring him back.

“King Edward has sent notice that he wants a group of the
Elite soldiers in Denir as soon as possible,” said Cray after they had
discussed all of the reasons why everyone was there. “You are the only one to
lead them at this time. After watching the Gildanians building up a small army
on their side of the border, our spies have said they have finally crossed over
into our lands.”

“Don't we need more training?” asked Darius.

“Apparently not,” said Cray through tight lips. “But
everyone is more than capable. The King doesn’t want a war; he wants to settle
this as quietly as possible.”

Darius sat back, lost in thought about his new command
opportunity. He had stayed in the mountains longer to think about what he
wanted. He didn’t know everything, but for now, yes, he would take the command
and be able to make his own decisions. He would be a leader that others would
watch and look at. He’d wanted to visit Denir anyways. This would be a good way
to start seeing the Realm and protecting it from outside influences before he
turned his attention inward.

The three men decided to sleep for a few hours before
heading back to the base camp. Cray took the time to continue to brief Darius
on the tools of leadership, and how he should organize the group. The return
trip was not long with Cray leading them back through the valleys of the
mountains. They reached the camp in a day and a half.

When they returned, the camp was in turmoil. Some of the
young men did not want to actually fight in the King’s army and had left during
the previous night, escaping with many of the horses.