Dagger - The Light at the End of the World (31 page)

“
Here there were no bars,
and no cells,” Araya continued. “There was only the law written in
blood that the criminals exiled beyond the portal gave themselves.
Condemned to live in a world dominated by their same violence. I’m
not surprised that, through the centuries, they have created a city
as pleasant as Melekesh.”

“
This path was built just to
make sure this would remain a one-way street,” Olem added. “In
fact, it hasn’t been used so many times to return on
Candehel-mas.”

“
My mother did.”

“
There was no need to
specify,” Olem muttered.

“
And those Guardians who
were here looking for me and died in the sinking of the ship? How
long had they been here? Did they ever go home?”

Araya grinned bitterly.
“There was no coming home for them. Once they came in this world,
once they crossed the portal, those Guardians knew that they would
not see
home
ever
again. They had to find you and that would be the last thing they
would do in their Guardians life.”

“
What, they would kill
themselves?”

“
Well, at least those who
wished to come back to Candehel-mas. They could do it only
feet first
. The others
would simply remain here to build a life away from Golconda, if
they found it possible.”

“
You don’t understand how
far the sense of sacrifice goes, for a Guardian.”

“
Blind obedience,” the boy
guessed. “The Great Mama always talked about it.”

“
The Great what?”

“
Sannah,” Olem specified.
“It’s the name Sannah used on this world.”

“
In Golconda they were
declared missing,” Olem went on. “As a cover for their mission. Men
erased from history, you may say, sacrificed for the common good
which was your discovery. We could not bear to know of your
existence and, at the same time, not know where you were. As long
as your mother didn’t to speak, locked in her madness, the only
thing we could do was look for you without ceasing. At the
Fortress, there are children who will never see their parents come
home again. Dead dogs waiting for their masters on the doorstep.
Old parents surviving to their sons.”

“
It’s the price of your
secret, Dag,” Araya continued. “No one outside the Dracons
needs
to know who you
really are. When we get back to Golconda, always remember that.
Talk little with the other ones, mind your business. Already too
many people died because of you. The human being is
corruptible.”

“
Would it not be easier to
tell the truth? Tell your blood brothers, or whatever you call
yourselves, that I’m the son of Skyrgal?”

Araya shook his head. “They
would come to you at night,” he answered grimly. “They’d put you
into a sack, piece by piece. They would burn your remains and seal
you in a case to throw you in the bottom of a ravine, or the ocean.
Then you would come back to life. Your obscene self would be built
again starting from
a little piece
of your heart. You’ll find yourself waiting
forever, at least until someone, in the course of ages, finds you.
Then you will be already gone mad. Don’t play with our
superstitions, my boy. Skyrgal is a disturbing presence in our
unconscious, part of the personal history of each of us, as well of
our collective one. We grew up at his feet. Each stone of the
Fortress was placed under his silent gaze. We saw him scream at the
sky in his petrified anger every damn day of our existence.” He
bowed his head, and stopped his foot a few inches from the ground.
He moved to another quadrant and continued to advance.

“
I hope you’re not getting
distracted,” Olem said.

“
It was a mistake even to
bring Moak here,” Araya went on. “But when, after twelve years of
fruitless searching, your mother emptied the bag and Hammoth the
Pendracon sent also me and Olem to this world, he ordered us to
take him too. ‘You will need his help,’ he said. And he was damn
right. Moak was a trusted Guardian and would become Dracon of the
poison at my death. One necessary exception to the
rules.”

“
Why him?”

“
Because Moak had traveled
and studied much, even things that I do not know. Forbidden
knowledge. He had searched extensively for the Temple of Ktisis and
its damn inscriptions. It was the very reason of his existence. He
was fluent in the language of Gorgors, had even made friends with
some clandestine Tankar. He knew your story already before we
informed him. He would definitely come in handy to follow your
tracks on this world.”

“
And now he’s dead,” Olem
added. “Dead because of you.”

“
Yet his knowledge did not
go entirely lost,” the Messhuggah replied, watching the face of
Kugar, asleep, on his shoulders. “He must have passed on his
knowledge to this student of his, at least in part. I’m not
surprised he insisted so much in taking her with him. They traveled
and studied a lot together and, I fear, they knew about your nature
more than us.”

“
I’m just an abomination to
her,” Dagger said.

“
No, I don’t think so,”
Araya contradicted, grinning. “In some ways, I think she likes you,
but you cannot see it. You must have had a sufficient experience of
life, and a certain number of disappointments in love, to recognize
some looks, some dynamics.”

“
The only thing to do. You
repeat it all the time,” Dagger noticed. “It’s nonsense: there is
never
the only thing to
do
, at least that’s what the streets of
Melekesh taught me. There’s always a choice, sometimes it’s just
deciding what we should sacrifice. Like the life of our blood
brothers sent on a hostile and depraved world, for
example.”

“
Only we Dracons had to be
involved in your research after the mistake of your
mother!”

“
Kugar will keep my
secret.”

“
We cannot know,” Olem
objected.

“
And what do you want to do,
kill her as we arrive at the Fortress?”

“
There are other solutions,”
Araya said, at last. “Perhaps even worse than death. As for you,
get used to the idea of not creating strong bonds with mortals. You
will live forever, we won’t. Trust this lizard, who lived so long
to see the death of all his friends, and his only love.”

“
Could you please focus on
your steps, lizard?” Olem said. “I don’t want to end my days with a
pole stuck up my ass! When you die, there will be plenty of time to
reflect on your past.”

“
If you’re trying to make me
feel guilty, you are succeeding,” Dagger said. “I lived in the
belief I had never killed anyone, despite what I did for a living.
Now you tell me that far too many people have died because of me,
and that others will.”

“
Watch where you
walk!”

“
There’s no need, Olem,”
Araya said. They had arrived at a spacious and tidy lawn,
surrounded by larches. The trail continued at the other end but,
for the moment, the Dracon seemed to have no plan to deal with
it.

“
Let us rest. When they
created the Death Pass, my ancestors knew that mind needs to rest
after a prolonged effort. Now there are no traps beneath our feet,
even if the lawn and all the Pass are surrounded by them. Try not
to walk around.”

“
So ends our long journey,”
Olem considered. “A city in flames, thousands of deaths, and a
Tankar in our ranks.”

Araya blew a puff of smoke,
watching Kugar lying on the ground beside him. “It could have been
worse, Olem. A lot worse,” he said, turning to Dagger. “Imagine if
they had caught
him
, too.”

“
They’ll take him, sooner or
later. Eternity is a far too long time to have a minimum control on
it.”

“
Stop talking about me as if
I were just a fucking… thing!”

“
What do you find funny
about that?”

“
Nothing.”

“
Let me go!”

“
Let him go!”

“
What did you find so
funny?”

“
Kam Karkenos!” Dagger let
out.

“
Uhm
,” Araya said, puffing out smoke. “Few still use that name, my
boy. Where did you hear that?”

“
When I was dead, I’ve
seen
him
.” Dagger
brought a hand to his throat, sitting down again. “Did you want to
kill me, you bastard?”

“
Yes,” Dagger continued.
“And he says he hates coarse language too. This is why I laughed.
You and my father have something in common.”

“
And what else did he
say?”

“
That he needs me, that I am
destined to a greater power and that I should not trust anyone,” he
replied without looking at them. “Not even you. Funny again. I just
wonder why I’m talking about it right now with
you
.”

“
Me? I don’t know. There was
a time when I thought I’d trust him, I can’t hide it. Come on, put
yourself in my shoes!”

“
Skyrgal only wants your
blood!” Araya retorted. “Once he will have used you to return in
his body, do you still think he will… love you?”

“
I
tell you!” Araya cut short. “Save us from your foolishness.
He’s just using your pain, can’t you get it? You won’t die once,
they will do it! Death
does not
exist for a force lived through eternity! Each
mortal touched by that god lives forever – think about the Divine –
Imagine you are his son! The great power of which he speaks is
something horrible. HORRIBLE!”

“
What was I before I was
born? I have some memories: sand, screams of pain, and when I was
in that temple—”

“
Stop it. Stop it,
Dag.”

“
I remembered something. I
don’t know what, but it deals with an endless pain and… I’m
afraid.”

“
He even advised to let you
help me.”

“
Really?”

“
Yes, damn it! It looks like
you are working for the same goal! Gorgors are no more trying to
revive Skyrgal. Now they only serve the Divine and he wants to
annihilate me to prevent his return.”