The Awakened Book Two (21 page)

His body…the ocean…the two objects moving closer and closer together.

Kael reached out with his sense, stretched it toward the water…and pushed. He pushed with all his might and felt his speed decrease. It was an action of instinct, born out of desperation. He didn’t think he could control himself, he just reacted. He kept pushing until he felt consciousness slipping away from him. And then he hit the water, feet first. It felt thick and solid, like mud, trying to deny his entry. But his speed was too great and he couldn’t be refused. The wind was knocked out of him as the water moved to escape the space he now occupied. Plummeting beneath the surface, he struggled to maintain his grip on his awareness, fearing that he would drown otherwise. And still he descended, almost expecting to reach the bottom. But there was no bottom to be reached. The ocean was an endless mass, able to swallow him, remove him from existence in this world.

And then he was motionless. It was a startling realization, an absence of the horror that had just occurred. Now there was a lack of sensation, no deafening roar…again weightlessness. Seizing the opportunity, Kael kicked his feet to propel himself upward to the surface. One of his legs didn’t work. It hung, useless, from his hip. But it didn’t matter; he was alive. The only thing that mattered now was reaching the surface and breathing air.

He kicked his one good leg and clawed with his hands, moving the water out of the way that separated him from the precious air above. Darkness and silence surrounded him now; only the muted grunts of his own struggles to accompany him. His lungs burned with desire. They began to pump in and out, demanding air, but he wouldn’t open his mouth. To do so would only invite death to win this battle.

Suddenly, he burst through the surface and gasped, as though he were taking his first breath. His lungs thanked him and he breathed deep the fresh, life-giving substance.

As he treaded water, Kael became aware of a dull ache in his left leg. It was too soon to tell where the pain was originating from, but it didn’t matter. He was alive. He was free. The escalating pain would tell him soon enough what had happened. But that didn’t seem important now. It was a wonder that he hadn’t broken all the bones in his body.

He looked upward. The air was clear for almost a hundred yards, but the top of the cliff, much higher, was shrouded in fog. Kael was curious about how far he had fallen, and what he had just endured, but is seemed that his curiosity would just have to wait. For now, he had to concentrate on survival. “Now what do I do?” he asked himself.

“I escaped,” he replied simply.

“Oh,” came Dacien’s mumbled response.

Kael wasn’t quite ready to reveal his abilities just yet, especially when he didn’t even understand them himself. There was just no good way to explain.
Better to leave that for another time.

“And…” Dacien prodded. “Actually…never mind” he reconsidered. “We’re stopping soon anyway; we’ll pick this up tomorrow.”

Chapter 14

Maeryn, Aelia, and their escort arrived in
Orud
three weeks after the slaves had set out from the isle of
Tur’cen
. The bay was choked with vessels of all shapes and sizes, attending to the various needs of the city. Fishing boats, merchant ships, and slave traders prowled the waters, slowing their entrance to the docks. It was just after noon and the sun was intense overhead, signaling that the coming summer would be warm, indeed.

After unloading their few possessions—for they were supposed to appear to be traveling for leisure—they climbed into a coach and began their ride through the city. Immediately, Maeryn knew that they were not headed for the underground headquarters that she had visited last fall. She must have appeared concerned, because their escort quickly offered an explanation.

“We have a different route and destination this time.”

Maeryn nodded. “I can see that.”

“My lord explicitly instructed that your accommodations be more suited to a woman of your stature.”

“Oh,” Maeryn exclaimed. “I shall have to thank him. That’s very kind!”

Aelia was smiling at these words, as she longed to have a comfortable bed and a good meal.

The city passed by at a comfortable pace and Maeryn contented herself with watching through the window. The city was magnificent. All the streets were paved with stones and lined with lamp posts. Everywhere she looked, flowers were beginning to bloom in their designated areas of each intersecting road. Aelia, tired from the journey, leaned her head against her mother and was asleep within minutes. The slight bouncing of the carriage was rhythmic and Maeryn too, began to feel the pull of sleep. Instead, she let her mind drift, recalling her beautiful garden in
Bastul
; a gift from Adair.

It was now mid-afternoon and Maeryn was getting hungry.

Aelia had awakened and was stretching her arms. “How much longer?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“Only a few minutes,” replied the man sitting across the cabin.

The seats faced each other, which would have made the silence awkward, but Maeryn had grown accustomed to long periods of quiet. They had been traveling northeast along the coast of the bay, rising in elevation. The terrain had become rockier and their surroundings more rural with groves of trees arranged at regular intervals, extending from the road.

The wagon turned south off the pavestones and started down a dirt road toward the sea. After dropping around a low hill, the carriage turned to a stop in front of a large residence. The driver came around and opened the door, extending his hand to Maeryn. She nudged Aelia to go first, and then followed, stepping down to the ground.

The view was breathtaking. The entire eastern bay of
Orud
lay before them. To their left, a sprawling mansion extended along the rocky cliff to the northeast, and beyond that, a vineyard. It reminded Maeryn of their home in
Bastul
, only much more elaborate.

“My lord will be joining us tomorrow. For now, follow me and I will help you get settled in.”

“Thank you,” Maeryn replied and followed their escort, turning to give a quick smile to Aelia who was beaming from ear to ear.

Once inside, they were taken up a set of marble stairs to the second floor, then down to the end of the hall. On the right, double doors opened into a spacious guest room with large windows to the south and the east, with views of the bay and vineyard respectively.

“I hope this will do?”

“I’ve been living in the forest on an island,” Maeryn laughed. “I think the accommodations will be just fine, thank you.”

“Would you ladies care for some tea and a light snack? You must be famished.”

“We would, indeed,” Maeryn replied.

The escort backed out of the door with a bow and disappeared down the hall.

Maeryn turned to Aelia. “Well,” she said, arms outstretched.

“Mother, I love it!” she exclaimed. Running to the south windows she stopped to gaze out at the water. “How long do we get to stay here?”

“I’m not sure. At least until tomorrow, but hopefully longer.”

Aelia continued her inspection of the room, stopping by the east windows to stare at the vineyard.

“The plan was to get the slaves to
Orud
; we didn’t discuss anything after that.”

Aelia didn’t seem to be listening, but Maeryn didn’t mind; she was speaking more to herself than anyone.

After tea and some miniature flaky bread loaves, the two rested until evening. Maeryn fell asleep, and when she awoke, Aelia was gone. Startled, she rose quickly and went searching for her daughter. But, as expected, she found her almost immediately, wandering in the vineyard.

“Aelia,” she called. “Don’t run off like that.”

Aelia waited until her mother was close. “Mother…it’s safe here. And I’m not a child anymore.”

“I know. It’s just that I don’t think we can completely let our guard down…not yet.”

Grabbing her hand, Aelia pulled Maeryn along and the two walked in the cooling air of the afternoon. The setting sun filtered through the leafy vines, covering them in dappled light, and the smell of sweet wet earth surrounded them.

“Mother,” Aelia questioned. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner about father?”

“You mean Lemus?”

“Right,” Aelia replied.

Maeryn knew she would have to have this conversation eventually. Yet there had always been too much to do, too many responsibilities, too many people counting on her. There was never enough time. But now their mission was completed. And here in the vineyard, with the evening breeze, there was finally peace. To her credit, Aelia had been patient. Initially, it was difficult for her to be torn from her life and told that the man she knew as her father was anything but. Eventually, she left the topic alone and contented herself with the tasks at hand. She was an impressive girl, mature for her age. With a deep breath, Maeryn answered.

“I’m sorry if your life hasn’t turned out the way you hoped. It hasn’t exactly gone as I planned, either. Life has been very difficult since Adair disappeared. I only kept it a secret because I feared that Lemus would harm you if he knew you weren’t his child.”

“He wouldn’t have harmed me.”

“Actually,” Maeryn corrected, her heart now pounding. “…he would have. I never told you this, but you had a brother.”

Aelia stopped and turned toward Maeryn with an intense look in her eyes.

“Yes,” Maeryn continued, tears instantly coming to her eyes. “His name was Kael,” she managed to say with a choked voice. “Lemus was beating Ajani one day and Kael tried to defend him. He had Kael executed for it.”

Maeryn was sobbing now, the emotions just as real as the day it happened. Aelia held her mother until the tears subsided.

“I guess I was scared too…for myself. If I was only the mother of Adair’s child, what would he have done to me?”

“It’s alright mother, you didn’t have a choice.”

Maeryn took a deep breath and continued walking. “I do now. We both do. I’m sorry that you’ve had to make sacrifices, but things are going to be different now…you’ll see.”

Aelia smiled. “Tell me about my real father.”

“Ahh,” Maeryn breathed. “…now that’s something I like to talk about.”

* * * *

Kael huddled down in the cargo hold of a merchant ship. The light was dim and after pulling a tarp over himself, he was sure that he had a good hiding place. His leg was throbbing again and he was quite sure that he had broken it in the fall.

After days of swimming to the southeast, he had reached the mainland. There, he slept in a seaside cave and after the first light of day he began to slowly make his way south along the coast. Years of studying maps in the library of the monastery had given him a good sense of landmass proportions and their relation to each other. And after their trip to the temple of the High Priest, Kael had been able to pinpoint the location of the monastery after they returned.

It was with this confidence and knowledge that he had moved south into the small port town of
Suppard
. After rummaging through garbage for something to eat, Kael searched specifically for a fully loaded merchant vessel, one that appeared to be on its way out of port. And now that he felt well hidden, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

“
Hey,” called a deep voice, loud inside of the confined space.

Kael’s eyes snapped open, but his body was frozen still. There was no possible way that he could be seen.

“
They’re looking for you, you know! Yeah…real mean crowd.”

Kael wondered whether to stand up, but something told him to stay still. Maybe the man was drunk. Surely he couldn’t see.

“
Well, normally I’m a nice fellow…normally. But some people are just rude. I don’t much care for rude people. So I’m gonna catch some sleep now. We push out in the mornin’. If you have a home, you should go. Otherwise, anything aboard my ship when we set sail is my property.” The man paused for a moment. “Hello? Sure are quiet aren’t you? Well…good night.”

The voice was followed by stumbling footsteps, retreating up the stairs. The pounding in Kael’s ears slowly decreased, as he wondered how the drunken man knew that he had a passenger. Maybe he was just bluffing. Either way, Kael stayed awake from then until morning.

The ship lurched and rocked as it left the port and headed for the open sea. With each passing minute, Kael felt more and more relieved. Distance was what he needed, distance between him and the monastery. It didn’t matter that he had just spent days swimming and walking on a broken leg, without food and water. It only mattered that he got away, got his freedom. Kael stayed hidden in the cargo area for the rest of the day and the night as well.

“
Alright now,” called that same deep voice. “You’ve been down here long enough. Come out where I can see you. I won’t bite.”