The Path to Destiny: Tia's Folly (5 page)

           
“And did Roland ever receive an answer from the Gods?”
The dragon asked lazily. Lying on his back, Aldeed purred his pleasure as he cracked
open one of his green eyes at her.

           
His eyes always reminded her of cats’ eyes, except;
behind his eyes was the gleam of profound knowledge and power. Noticing another
fresh wound, Tia winced. Dragons were just barely bigger than the average
raccoon. They just seemed too small – according to Tia - to be in a battle, but
ever since the Dragons had joined in the Great War, Aldeed kept showing up with
new wounds. Not that she was complaining; at least he was still alive. There
were fewer and fewer of his kind showing up lately. Shaking her head, she
realized she hadn’t answered him.

           
“They indicated to him that I should accept the Warlord’s
protection for the benefit of the Druid people,” she admitted with an outward
grimace, as her belly clenched in anticipation. “But, Aldeed-“

           
The dragon looked at her curiously.

           
“I heard the Gods whispering the other day but Roland
told me I was imagining things.” Tia leaned closer to her Dragon as she looked
around to assure herself that they were alone. “I don’t think Roland can hear
the Gods.”

           
“How could Roland be a High Priest when he can’t hear the
Gods?” Aldeed shrugged and rolled over onto his belly. Stretching languidly, he
yawned before continuing, “Since this is what the Gods say you should do-“

           
Abruptly, Tia stood and walked down to the water.
 
Apparently, even her dragon wasn’t willing to
listen to her. She sat down with a huff and contemplated the situation. On one
hand was her head, it was telling her that something was off with Roland. Her
gut swore he couldn’t commune with the Gods. On the other hand, if he could and
she was wrong, then she was disobeying a direct order from the Gods. Neither
situation was a good one.

 
Running her fingertips through the water, Tia
decided to call softly to the Water Sprites; the only ones who would tell her
what she
wanted
to hear.

           
“You know as well as I do that I cannot pay you,” she
whispered across the lake. “But I beg of you to tell me what I should do!”

           
She watched dejectedly as a Sprite rose from the water by
her hand.

           
“He lies!” The Sprite whispered up to her. “Run…run from
your destiny!”

           
Startled into falling backwards, Tia watched as Aldeed
landed on the Water Sprite with a splash before swinging her way furiously.

           
“You know you cannot trust a Sprite!” He growled as his
eyes burned a clear green. “They will tell you a mixture of truth and what you
want to hear. Free advice from them is less than worthless, it is garbage.”

           
“I just wanted someone to tell me what I wanted to hear.
I know I can’t trust a Water Sprite!” She informed the angry dragon as she
struggled to contain her frustration. “I
cannot
believe that the Gods are going to whore
me out to a Phoenix Warlord
.
I can’t
believe
everyone I thought loved me is going along with it! I summoned you
– even though I wasn’t supposed to – so someone would listen to me!”

           
“Go spread your legs for Bylan,” Aldeed hissed, green
fire shot out of his mouth as he flew away in a huff. “
Your
permission is not needed from the
Gods
! If you refuse, you and the whole Druid race
will
be punished!”

           
“Why me?!”
Tia called to the
rapidly shrinking figure. “I can’t even hear the Gods yet!”

           
“I’m afraid,” she whispered as she sat down, crying by
the water’s edge. “Druids are supposed to be guided by the Gods. Why have they
forsaken me?”

           
“You should be afraid,” the Water Sprite whispered from
the water. “Bylan is not a Warlord…he is a monster. Don’t believe his lies, he
destroys everything he touches.”

           
“I wish I could believe you,” Tia whispered to the
Sprite. “But your kind has always been notorious liars.”

           
“I do not
lie
, Druid!” The Water
Sprite insisted. “Very few of my kind have survived Bylan’s reign. If the
Druids fail, my kind will be gone too.”

           
“Then tell me, what do I do?” Tia asked with a heavy
heart. She wasn’t sure why, but she just knew her heart was breaking.

           
“His cruelty is like a disease; he destroys everything he
touches. Stay far, far away from him. Go to the Falkeries. They will know what
to do.”

Chapter Two

           
Tia sat slumped in the chair of her hut thinking about
the last month of forced seclusion. She was so sick and tired of being alone!
Sure
, no Druid had ever disobeyed a
direct order from the Gods before.
Sure
,
the Gods had refused to speak to any Druid since her refusal to become Bylan’s
whore; but did that really mean she needed to be sequestered in her hut? She
was
supposed
to be monogamous; she
was
bonded
!

 
Back at the ring, shortly after she had spoken
to Aldeed, a messenger had arrived with a missive for her. Upon opening it, she
had read that the
Highest Priest
was
ordering her to accept Bylan’s offer. Since the Highest Priest rarely talks to
anyone but the Gods, she had basically refused a direct order from the Gods.

“But
that doesn’t make any sense!” Tia yelled at her roof as she shook her fist at the
Gods. “Why would you order me to bond with Roland,
and then
order me to become the Warlord’s mistress?”

She
was so frustrated, she was sure steam was coming out of her ears. Getting up to
pace the room, Tia fanned her face with her hand. Even though the nights were
growing colder, she would swear it was always too warm in the hut. If only the
Elders – at the thought of the Elders, Tia froze and considered her
predicament.

Currently,
the Elders were afraid to decree a punishment without the advice of the Gods,
so her punishment had yet to be decided upon; which Tia found to be highly
ironic. Other than her bonding ceremony, which had already been demanded by the
Gods before her fall from grace, Tia was not allowed outside of her hut after
returning from the failed Peace Council. With so little interaction, she half
regretted refusing the Warlord.

It
was as though she had been given half of a puzzle and then ordered to complete
it. The Gods orders made no sense, the Elders’ orders made no sense! She knew
they were keeping something from her but since Tia had basically been
imprisoned she had no way of finding out what was going on. Plus, to add to her
confusion, the Gods had been whispering
non-stop
to her since her bonding! They were always in her ear but the words were so
garbled she couldn’t figure out
what
they were saying!

           
Startled by the sound of a key unlocking her door, Tia
smiled happily. Her only break from the monotony of her days was when Roland or
Uren brought her meals. Bewildered when she saw her bonded’s empty hands, she
watched curiously as Roland stepped into the hut and leaned back against the
door. Immediately noticing his haggard expression, her excitement quickly
turned into anxiety.
Had the Elders
finally decided on her punishment
? She wondered.

Biting
her lip, Tia was troubled by the idea that Roland’s appearance had something to
do with a lack of sleep. In the time since their bonding ceremony, he’d chosen
to sleep on the floor in front of the hearth. She was embarrassed that her new bonded
was avoiding their bed, but she felt a little guilty for not having noticed his
exhaustion sooner.
     

“Roland,
it has been over a month since the bonding ceremony. Why don’t you join me in
our bed?” Tia shyly offered. She was afraid he wasn’t joining her because she
was sullied.
Was it possible that he no
longer desired me?
“I don’t know why you haven’t…completed the bonding, but
there is
no reason
for you to not
rest well.”

           
“The Phoenix
are
slowly
advancing into Druid lands. You are our best and
only
bargaining chip,” Roland blurted out with a pained look on his
face. “Before the ceremony even happened the council
ordered
me not to bond with you.”

           
“I am sorry, I didn’t know.”
 
Tia was stricken by the thought of the
Warlord invading Druid lands. Aldeed had warned her about the consequences of
not submitting to the Warlord…she’d just thought he was speaking in anger.

           
“He is killing Druids because you would not surrender to
him,” Roland yelled as he spun to face her with tears in his eyes. “Hundreds of
men, women, and children killed.
Just because the Gods won’t
talk to you?
Tell me. Is your
pride
and your doubt worth it?”

           
“No!” Tia shook her head in denial of Roland’s accusation
and of the invasion. “I didn’t know Roland! I didn’t know!”

           
Tears rolled freely down her cheeks as she tried to think
of something to say.
How do I tell him
the truth? That I ran from the Warlord because I felt too much for him.
Tia
felt her heart constrict over the idea that Bylan - the man she fancied herself
falling in love with – was capable of such atrocities.

           
“What can you do now?” Roland cocked his head and glared
at her through blurry eyes.

           
“Bring me to him!” She cried helplessly as she tried to
figure out how to stop the Warlord. “I am sure he will stop once he has me!”

           
Surely he will stop
if I come to him willingly. That is what he said, it was important that I gave
myself to him freely.
Tia frantically thought over the odd things Bylan had
said to her, trying to figure out if there was a way to stop the bloodshed.

           
“He is attacking Gremlaw.”

           
Tia dropped to her knees as the importance of those words
sunk into her mind. Clutching her chest as a stab of pain went through her
heart, she was sure she wouldn’t survive the horrible guilt she was feeling. “
Why was I not told of this sooner
?
Please
bring me there!
I will stop him
! I will find a way!”

With
one long unreadable look, Roland pulled her to her feet and hurried her
outside, forcing her to run to the short distance to the nearest stable. Tia
was surprised to see two horses saddled and waiting for them but didn’t pause
to think on it. Mounting the horses, they quickly left their small village
behind.

Tia’s
heart beat a tattoo in rhythm with the horse’s thundering hooves; all she could
think about was Gremlaw. It wasn’t just the heart of the Druids, it was where
all
of their power was centered and
drawn from. Without Gremlaw, they would slowly become non-magic and their race
would weaken into extinction. Desperate to save their beloved city, they raced
through the afternoon, slowing only to rest their horses.

           
As the miles fell behind them, Tia sent prayers to the
Gods to protect the city, to make sure they would arrive in time to save the
Druid race. But even as she prayed, she knew her prayers would go unheeded. From
the beginning of Druid time, the Gods had demanded their chosen people - the
Druids - guard their source of power and take accountability for
themselves
. If the city fell to the Warlord it was over for
her race…She didn’t even want to
think
about what the consequences would be in the Afterlife.

           
Shortly before sunset, Tia finally saw the towering peaks
of Gremlaw. Smoke filled the air around the city and spiraled lazily up into
the sky. Pulling back on the reins and slowing the horse to a stop, both Tia and
Roland dismounted.
 
Exhausted, she
watched as Roland smacked both horses on their rumps to send them heading home
before turning back to her. The awkward silence between them stretched as
Roland pulled out a sack and motioned for her to sit. Seating themselves
beneath a large weeping willow, they quickly began eating the meal Roland had
provided.
 

           
Tia’s heart was broken, she had long ago figured out that
the horses and the dinner had been prepared before Roland had come to the hut.
She knew the Elders and Roland had literally bartered her in a last ditch
effort to save Gremlaw.

This
was also her punishment - in a way - to be forced back to Bylan’s side. She
knew what the Warlord wanted from her. Now that she was bonded, Tia knew that
she would be giving up all of her Druid abilities, the chance to ever speak to
the Gods, if she went to his bed willingly. She would lose her destiny and her
soul would be forced to wander the lands, lost for all time.