Web of Deceit (37 page)

“Let’s split up into pairs,” said Rejji. “Each pair can take a floor. Mistake, you take Grank and cover this floor. Bakhai, take Voltak to the second floor.”

“What are we looking for?” asked Mistake.

“I have no idea,” frowned Rejji. “If you find something important, take it. Otherwise, just try to remember what you have seen and we can discuss it later.”

Rejji raced up the stairs with Mobi on his heels. The third floor appeared to be a series of dormitories and they completed their search swiftly. As they checked the last room on the floor, Rejji walked over to the window overlooking the square. He gazed out the window at the square below and the buildings surrounding it. He frowned as he noticed the length of the shadows and realized that night was fast approaching.

“We are going to need a place to sleep for the night,” he said to Mobi. “It will be dark soon.”

“Maybe we should have waited outside the gates for a new day before entering the city,” pondered Mobi.

As Rejji gazed out the window, he saw shadowy figures several blocks down the broad avenue where it continued on the other side of the square. He leaned out of the window and peered at the street that ran in front of the building he was in. He looked far to the right and far to the left and saw other shadowy figures converging on the square. The figures appeared to be keeping to the shadows and Rejji figured that they were trying to approach unseen.

“There are more hellsouls coming,” Rejji stated. “They are approaching from every direction, but they appear to be more cautious than impatient. Do you think we can hold this building?”

“Depends on how many of them there are,” answered Mobi. “If the group that attacked us are any indication, these creatures are slow. I cannot see how they could protect the city from anyone. I would prefer a building with less entrances though.”

Rejji peered out the window again and looked around the square. He saw a hellsoul enter the building across the square, which looked identical to the building he was in. His eyes landed on the temple and he nodded.

“The temple might be better for us then,” Rejji stated. “I can only see one door to it.”

“If it is like our temple in the village,” offered Mobi, “there will be no other entrance.”

“Let’s join the others and move there before it gets dark,” suggested Rejji.

Mobi followed Rejji down the stairs to the first floor. The others were waiting by the door.

“Any thing important in this building?” asked Rejji.

“There is an armory on the first floor,” offered Mistake. “I grabbed a few more daggers.”

“Nothing on the second floor,” Bakhai offered. “Just dormitories.”

“I think I will see what the armory has,” Voltak said. “I don’t think we can have too many weapons in this city.”

“Just dormitories on the third floor too,” reported Rejji. “This was probably a barracks of some kind. We are heading for the temple next. It has started to get dark out, so we will spend the night in the temple. The hellsouls appear to be converging on the square, so we should keep together.”

A shout and a clash came from down the hall and the group sprinted around the corner. Rejji slid to a halt beside the body of a hellsoul with a spear in his chest. He looked into the armory and saw Voltak nursing his hand.

“What happened?” asked Rejji.

“I don’t know where he came from,” Voltak said. “I was just picking up a sword and he slashed down on my hand with his sword. I dropped the sword I had just picked up, but my spear was not far away. Sure glad he wasn’t any faster.”

“Are you all right?” asked Bakhai.

“Yes,” Voltak replied. “It was just a nick on the hand. I will be fine.”

“Retrieve your spear,” ordered Mobi. “We are moving to the temple.”

Voltak nodded and pulled his spear out of the hellsoul. Rejji led the group out of the building and into the square. He saw hellsouls darting for the shadows and into buildings around the square. He marched the group out into the square to avoid walking near any of the buildings, and then turned towards the temple. He tried to lead the group at a fast walk, but fear gripped him and he ended up running for the steps leading to the temple. The others followed right behind him and as soon as they entered the temple, the group let out a collective sigh.

“Mistake,” ordered Rejji, “take Grank and see if there are any other entrances to this building. Bakhai and Voltak watch the door. Mobi and I are going to find something to barricade the door.”

Rejji and Mobi trotted off and returned carrying a large wooden table. They shoved the table against the door. Mobi ran off again and returned with a large vase and propped it on top of the table.

“That should at least alert us if they try to get in,” stated Mobi.

“No other entrances,” reported Mistake as she and Grank returned.

“Good,” responded Rejji. “I think we should eat and then get some sleep so we can get an early start in the morning. We will take turns guarding the door during the night.”

“Can we have a fire or will that alert them to where we are?” asked Grank.

“I am sure they know we are here,” frowned Rejji. “Light a fire if you wish. I am going upstairs to a balcony I saw from the other building.”

Rejji climbed the stairs and Mistake followed. They found the balcony with little trouble, although the inside of the temple was quite dark. They stepped out onto the balcony and Rejji noticed that the sun had set. They city was a maze of shadows of gray and black and Rejji knew it would be all black soon. They walked cautiously to the edge of the balcony and gazed down on the square.

“There are hundreds of them,” he frowned. “We cannot kill all of them. Look, they infest every building even. I think they allowed us to get to the city center so that they could make sure that we never left.”

“Not every building,” corrected Mistake. “They seem to be avoiding this one. There is not even one on the steps below.”

Rejji looked below and nodded. “I wonder why?” he queried. “Do you think they are afraid of the temple because they know we are in it?”

“They weren’t afraid to enter the barracks and they knew we were there,” declared Mistake. “I think they are just afraid of the temple.”

“I think you are right,” agreed Rejji. “I imagine they might fear entering the house of the god that left them captive here. That suits me fine. We should get some torches after the meal and explore the temple while we are stuck here.”

Mistake gasped and grabbed Rejji’s hand. She pointed to a figure that had just approached the temple steps, but had stopped before reaching them. Rejji could feel Mistake’s hand trembling and he focused on the figure.

“There is no way that thing could be alive, Rejji,” she said haltingly.

“Not with your knife still in its throat,” agreed Rejji. “These things are not really alive, so how can we kill them?”

“Let’s find what we need to and get out of this city,” suggested Mistake.

“I wish it was that simple,” sighed Rejji. “We have no idea what we are looking for. I wish the Sage had been clearer on the subject.”

“Maybe we have already found what we came for,” offered Mistake. “He said to discover the mystery of Angragar and learn the mysteries of yourself. Perhaps knowing for sure that you are the Astor is what he meant.”

“He also said our fate lies within the walls,” added Rejji, “so I think it is more than just opening the gate.”

“Perhaps,” agreed Mistake, “but the mark is on your hand so I think he was talking to you. He must have known you were the long awaited Astor and that is why he sent us here.”

“What am I supposed to do as Astor?” sighed Rejji. “The Qubari act like I am a god. I just want to help the people of Fakara. I don’t want to be a god.”

“Not a god,” smiled Mistake. “You are a special servant of God. Why do you fight it? Had your father never left the jungle, you would probably have ended up as the chief and Bakhai as the shaman. Why is this so different?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Rejji. “I am barely older than a boy and all of these people are depending on me. I fear letting them down I guess.”

“Then try hard not to let them down,” suggested Mistake. “Nobody can ask more of you than you will ask of yourself. Just do your best.”

“Let’s go get some torches and explore,” Rejji said. “The meal can wait.”

“You go ahead,” responded Mistake. “I want to contact Yltar and let him know what we have found. I will be along shortly.”

Rejji nodded and found his way to the stairs and descended to the first floor. He reported his observations to the others.

“That makes our task more difficult,” observed Mobi. “Still, knowing they do not care for the temple is a blessing. We have decided to split the watch between my men and myself. The three of you can use the time to explore or sleep as suits you. I will prepare the meal and call you when it is ready.”

“I found torches,” added Bakhai. “It will make searching at night possible. Shall we get started?”

Rejji nodded and Bakhai handed him a torch. Rejji lit the torch in the fire that Grank had just lit and turned to explore one side of the first floor. Bakhai lit his torch and went in the opposite direction. Rejji found mostly storage rooms as he explored until he came to the library. The room was huge and had floor to ceiling shelves, which were loaded with ancient books. Racks in the center of the room held thousands of scrolls. He glanced at the books along the shelf and realized that they would all predate the time of Vand. He could not imagine that they would hold any clue as to his fate. He ran his finger along one shelf and noticed that there was no dust on the shelf. He wondered how anything could last for thousands of years and not even have dust on it. He shook his head and headed for the next room.

As he was walking down the corridor, he heard Bakhai calling his name. He turned and ran towards the sound. He reached the entrance hall and turned to the right, just as Mistake bounded off the stairs. He passed through a massive room with benches and an altar, with Mistake right behind him. Bakhai kept calling, but his voice sounded excited, not frantic. Off to one side of the altar was a doorway and Rejji raced through it. He ran down the hallway and through the doorway at the end where he could see a flicker of light that he assumed was Bakhai’s torch.

As he raced into the room, he saw Bakhai standing in a large room with a long table in it. The table was ringed with chairs and murals adorned the walls. He did not see any danger and he slowed to a walk.

“What have you found?” asked Rejji as Mistake moved beside him.

“Something you are not going to believe,” Bakhai declared. “Take a look at the mural on the far wall.”

Rejji tired to see the wall mural, but he was too far away and mural was in darkness. He walked around the table and held his torch up high to shed light on the mural.

“I don’t believe it,” gasped Rejji. “How can this be? This place is thousands of years old. It just isn’t possible.”

“And yet there it is,” Mistake said haltingly. “I think you have discovered your fate, Rejji.”

Rejji stepped closer and held the torch close to the mural. He shook his head in disbelief. The mural was a perfect picture of Lord Marak holding his wicked-looking sinuous sword. On one side of him was a young woman and a blue star shone from her finger. On the other side was a picture of Rejji holding a staff with three red rings around the tip. A crescent mark was just visible on the other end of the staff where the likeness of Rejji’s hand held it. Above each of the three people were symbols. The woman had a five-pointed star above her. Lord Marak had his sword above him and Rejji had the crescent above his likeness.

“It is as if this is all preordained,” Bakhai said softly.

“Only part of it,” corrected Mistake. “The Sage indicated that there are many paths to the future and any one future depends upon the actions of many people.”

“You mean if I had died before getting here that the picture might have been of somebody else when they arrived?” questioned Rejji.

“Perhaps,” frowned Mistake, “or maybe you and Lord Marak would also exist at another time in history until you all got together. Maybe you both have existed before in time and the reason it has taken thousands of years is because those earlier versions of you never made it this far. I don’t really know, but I would sure like to talk to that Sage again. This is too strange.”

“Who are the other people?” Mobi asked from behind them.

“The one in the center is Lord Marak,” Rejji answered. “I do not know the woman.”

“I think what you seek here in Angragar must be that staff,” declared Mobi. “If I were king and had possession of something like that, I would keep it in the treasure room at the palace.”

“Then that is where we head in the morning,” decided Rejji.

“That may be a problem,” frowned Mobi. “The treasure rooms were sealed with magic. The meal is ready. Let us discuss this while we eat.”

The group returned to the entrance hall and Mobi explained to his men what he had seen. His men merely nodded and Rejji frowned.

“Why are you Qubari not surprised at what we found?” he asked.

“You are the Astor,” explained Mobi. “Your coming has been foretold for thousands of years. Why should we be surprised that God would know what you would look like? If he placed that mark on your hand at birth, why do you find it hard to believe that he shaped your face also?”

“So it is not that the picture looks like Rejji, but that Rejji was made to look like the picture,” nodded Mistake. “That makes more sense.”

“So what am I to do with this staff?” asked Rejji. “What am I supposed to do with my life?”

“I do not know about the staff,” answered Mobi, “but I think the mural is clear about your path. Did you not make an agreement with Lord Marak?”

“I did,” nodded Rejji.

“Then proceed with your plan,” replied Mobi. “This Lord Marak plays an important part in what is to happen, as do you. If you both have agreed to do something, I have to believe that it is the right thing to do.”

Rejji nodded and everyone finished their meal. Grank had drawn the first watch and the others bedded down for the night.