NexLord: Dark Prophecies (44 page)

He let his eyes adjust without
moving.  
At first,
he
thought he was alone, but then he saw a dark shape in one corner
and two eyes watching him.

Aerin waited a moment
longer
until his eyes adjusted as best they could to the
dim light.  He moved nearer the man and knelt down to
both knees when he drew near.

"I am Aerin," he stated, wondering if the man
would answer.

The man moved forward, and Aerin heard metal
scraping against stone.  He caught the glint of polished
metal, and could just make out the shape of a sword in the man's
hand.  The strange man moved forward in a crouch by
scooting
on two feet and one hand,
his other hand was occupied in holding the sword by the
blade.  Aerin continued to apply his teaching and managed
to hold his position on his knees, as the man drew near with the
naked blade in his hand.  It was the sword Mara had left
out in front, back during the siege. 

Aerin was wary, but before he could move, the
strange man laid the sword on the floor and slid it over toward
Aerin.

The sword stopped after sliding on the rough
stone and came to rest between them.  Aerin didn't move
forward, so the crazy man backed up and then lay down on the stone
floor on his side and rolled on his back.  It was an
obvious gesture to the boy, from that position it would take a lot
of effort to get up and reach Aerin quickly.

Aerin crawled forward, slowly approaching the
sword.  He reached it and took it from the stones, before
moving back to his original position.  He knelt again and
then carefully set the sword down on the floor next to
him.  "Thank you, but I did not come to retrieve the
weapon we loaned you," he said to the strange man.

The man got off his back and sat on his
heels, and his head rotated slightly, in a questioning look that
somehow reminded Aerin of a dog that was puzzled by
something.  There was no look of comprehension on the
man's face.

"
Abuok
...
bar
pul
... Tog?" Aerin tried,
speaking haltingly in the Togroth's raw tongue.

This time the man's face lifted into a half
snarl, but he did not seem to understand.

"I wonder what language you speak, my
friend," Aerin muttered, "or if you speak at all."

The man crawled around in a tight circle and
rummaged around in a pile of junk in the corner behind
him.  He came out with one of the food packets that Aerin
had seen Mara with at various times.

"No, I don't have any food for you," Aerin
noted, "but next time I will bring you some."

The man presented the food pack again and
Aerin shook his head in a 'no' gesture, holding up his hands to
show them empty.

There was a look of disappointment from the
man, and he put the food packet back in the corner.

From behind
Aerin,
a bony form suddenly launched itself from the
shadows toward the naked sword lying on the floor.  The
surprise movement knocked Aerin aside before he knew what was
happening.  Aerin saw the crazy man leap in a dive over
him and then the sounds of
scuffling
and a yelp of pain from the dark.

Aerin scrambled back to his feet, just in
time to see a dark form half crawling and running out the
doorway.  The crazy man came out of the dark, dragging
the sword by its tip behind him.  He left it next to
Aerin again and returned to his position in the corner.

"Thank you," Aerin said with true feeling;
while concentrating on his attempts to communicate he had been
taken completely by surprise.

Aerin realized that his thanks meant nothing
to the man, and he tried to think of some way to thank
him.  He looked at him and saw that he was naked except
for filth, and though the night chill was not so biting here inside
the abandoned building, it was by no means
comfortable.  Aerin removed his sweater and placed it
before them on the floor.  Then he pointed behind him to
where the attacker had fled.

Again he got the puzzled look from the
man.

Aerin
sighed
but hoped he would at least appreciate the warmth, even if he
didn't understand the thank you.

Aerin picked up the sword and backed away
slowly, and the man watched him go.

It was a cold walk back to his rooms, but
Aerin didn't notice since he was busy contemplating about how good
his life was compared to the poor man in the building.

He was almost home before it occurred to him
that the man might have been offering food, instead of inquiring if
Aerin had brought any.

Two months after the siege ended, Aerin was
back in Jezebeth's house alone.  Their teaching, by Mara,
had gone on non-stop, and finally, his nightmares had quit
bothering him as he learned to control his fears, even during
sleep.  Mara thought he was ready and asked him to return
to Jezebeth's house.  Of all of them, Aerin had gone
through the worst experience there, and Mara had come to his rescue
to find him huddled and shaking in a corner.

Now Aerin stood in the main room and closed
his eyes.  He could feel the fear about him, permeating
everything, but it was all outside him now, and he gave nothing
back.  After a
time,
he
opened his eyes and went to the child's room.  Here is
where they had died and here the stain was the strongest.

Aerin entered and there was no vision or
sound from the emotional ghosts, the fear was still there, but he
was not a part of it.

Aerin was about to turn and leave, safe in
the knowledge that he had conquered his
fear
when a new voice spoke.  It was not
Jezebeth, or her dead husband, or child, but Aerin had heard this
voice in the past.

"You can hide inside yourself from these weak
echoes, but you cannot hide from me, Aerin," the whispery voice
said.

Aerin's heart skipped a beat when the voice
spoke, but his training was strong enough for him to regain
control.  He did not answer, as he did not wish to
recognize the presence and therefore give it power by his
belief.

"Cat got your tongue?  Or do you
fear to speak?  Many have thought they could stand up to
me, and all have learned they are too weak.  Even your
Nexlord went to a knee before me, and so will you.  But you
are strong, young Aerin, and I have need of strength.  I
will teach you what you are missing, I will teach you not to avoid
the power given to those with strong emotion and purpose, but to
use it.  Your teacher has not told you everything; she
has kept the most important things from you.  This is her
mistake, but I will be honest Aerin, I will never lie to you."

"You are the master of lies," Aerin
answered.

"No, I am the champion of truth, for I rip
the
mantle
of lies from mortals by
showing them the truth of our world.  I will give you a
piece of truth that you will not believe, but eventually you will
learn that I spoke the truth.  Remember this then, young
Aerin, for you will know that I told you the
truth
when your teacher lied, even to
herself."

"I don't want to hear this, I don't believe
you," Aerin demanded angrily.

"That is the way of most people when it comes
to truth, but it cannot be stopped.   The truth you
should know is that your teacher does my work."

"That is a lie!  Mara doesn't work
for you!"

"I have been the Dreadmaster and I will live
again.  I have no need to lie; that is for lesser beings
unsure of their destiny."

"I see your game, you attempt to split us,
and cause me to fear so you can feed.  I do not fear
you!"

"And so you lie to yourself, just like your
teacher," the voice whispered, it was fainter, as though
dissipating.

Then Aerin could not feel the presence around
him any longer.

The troubled young man stood in the empty
room for awhile, thinking about what had been said. 

When Aerin went down the old wooden steps,
Mara met him at the bottom.  "So, did you have any
trouble with the denizens of the house?"

Aerin answered her truthfully, as far as her
question went.  "No, the stains of their fear and hatred
could not reach me."

"Good, I am pleased with your progress,
Aerin.  You have learned much in these past weeks."

Aerin nodded, but his thoughts were
different, as doubt crept into his mind,
 Yes, Mara, yet
have you taught me all I need to know?

The Dreadmaster’s words haunted Aerin's mind
in days that followed.  He watched Mara closely, not so
much in suspicion, but so that he could exonerate her, and exercise
the evil one's words from his thoughts.  But with each
stolen glance and every overheard conversation, Aerin was wracked
with guilt.

Aerin saw Mara and Tocor approaching slowly
along the walkway past the practice area of the
courtyard.  They were in deep conversation and
half-oblivious to the students working out.  Aerin
stopped his solo warm-ups and sat down on one of the benches, where
Mara and Tocor would soon pass.  They wouldn't be able to
see him, as he would be on the far side of the thick column,
supporting the balcony, but he would be able to hear
them.  There was nothing suspicious about him taking a
rest on this bench, but he felt the familiar lump of guilt in his
stomach.

"…they are, but I'm worried about
Gandarel.  He has missed the fear training, and he will
need it even more than his friends.  We must figure out a
way to tear him away from the clutches of those power hungry
councilmen!" Mara said as she came into Aerin's hearing
range.

He couldn't make out Tocor's low rumbled
reply, and then Mara spoke again.

"I know, and I'm worried about that
vision as well.  It made no sense before, and it makes no
sense to me now after much study.  If he fails... not
only will he die, but all..."

Aerin couldn't hear them
anymore
since they had walked too far away.
After a
minute,
Aerin got up and
continued his weapon practice. He even took a lump from Katek when
he let his mind wander too far from the business at hand.

"Here, let me show you the proper block to
that attack," Katek said, after giving Aerin his bruise.

Aerin was rubbing his shin with his hand in
anger, mostly with himself.  "You mean this
move?"  Aerin replied and performed it with perfect
accuracy.

"Yes," Katek said in
surprise.  "Why did you not use it, if you know it so
well?"

"I was distracted," noted Aerin, "I've got
something important on my mind.  Mara..." he paused,
wondering if he should even speak to his friend about his
problem.

Katek pointed with his left hand, "Look, Mara
is..."

When Aerin turned to look, Katek hooked his
feet and dumped him to the ground.

"That was a little lesson in
attention
when sparring or fighting you should
concentrate on one thing, your opponent!"

Aerin looked up in anger for a
moment
and then cracked a
smile.  "Point taken, Katek."

Katek offered his hand to his friend and
pulled him to his feet.

Aerin tried to tangle Katek's feet with his
quarterstaff as he came up, but Katek was too cautious for
that.

"Ha!” he yelled, "Now did you really think
you could turn the tables on me so easily?"

"No, but it was worth a try," Aerin said with
a grin.

Dono and Lor were at the front gate, and they
had it cracked open so they could look out into the street.

"What's going on over there?" Katek
asked.

Aerin didn't take his eyes off his opponent;
"I'm not going to fall for it twice, Kat."

Katek stepped back and bowed, officially
ending the bout.  "I'm serious."

Aerin looked just in time to see Lor and Dono
run in their direction.

"To the roof!" Lor called and
leaped
for a hold to swarm up the side of the
Villa.

Katek and Aerin looked at each other a
moment, and then both headed after their friends.  They
joined Lor and Dono on the roofs and moved to look down on the
street in front. 

Troops were marching past.  These
were not like any soldiers that Aerin had ever seen
before.  Their uniforms were perfectly matched in deep
blue with gold buttons.  Each carried the exact same
sword and pack, and they marched in perfect unison.

"What's going on?" Mara called up to them
from the courtyard.

"Soldiers, all dressed in blue," Dono called
back down.

Of the students on the roof, only Aerin
watched to see Mara's reaction, the others had their attention on
the passing soldiers.

"Bluecoats," Mara said to Tocor, "it is
time."

Chapter Thirteen

"The ground was blue with torn uniforms and
red with blood.  The heir to hope lay dead amongst
them.  Where was help in his time of
need?  Where were his friends?"

-  From the Dark Prophecies

We're leaving," Mara said in two simple
words.

It rocked her student's
universe.  "But..." Lor exclaimed, "we're coming back,
right?"

Mara shook her head.  "Not the way
you are thinking, Lor.  The time of waiting
is
over and from here the events become tangled
and frenzied.  We are at a crossroads and not the
last.  We must leave this city and go to Gandarel's aid
or he will be lost."

"But Gandarel is here, how can we leave to go
to his aid?" Lor asked.

"Gandarel will be leaving soon, trust me,"
Mara explained.

It was afternoon and the students sat on the
ground around the bench where Mara liked to teach in the training
yard area.

Katek was taking the news completely
differently.  He had a slight smile of anticipation when
he asked, "To where do we travel, Mara?"