The Reborn King (Book Six) (25 page)

Gewey remained absolutely still for a moment, his heart pounding and adrenaline coursing like fire through his veins.

“Thank you, Cloya,” he panted while getting to his feet. He promised himself that, should he make it out of this place alive, he would find some way to repay her.

He wanted to look for his sword, but not knowing how long the Ajagara would remain distracted, decided to leave it behind. He gazed up at the sheer wall of rock towering in front of him. It was far too high and smooth to climb.
So which way
? His thoughts raced. The sound of the Ajagara crying out in the mist forced him to choose quickly.
I'll go right,
he decided.
If not, I’m dead. So this has to be the way
.

He ran for a short distance, but the loss of blood that flowed from his wounds began to make him light-headed. Tearing off his shirt, he did his best to bind himself and continued at walking pace. Another series of feral screams sent chills down his spine, though thankfully they did not sound as if they were getting any closer.

He pushed on for more than an hour, still not finding any way either over or around the cliff face. Grunyal had said that what he sought was beyond the Ajagara's hunting grounds. Not that this helped much right now. After fleeing from the creature through the impenetrable mist, he had completely lost his bearings.

Just as frustration was setting in, he noticed that the ground was beginning to change from rocks and hard earth to thin grass. Soon, this gave way to lush moss peppered with delicate white flowers. The foul odor of the hunting grounds was also gone, replaced by the smell of clean soil and damp turf.

He drew in a deep cleansing breath. His wounds ached, but the bleeding had stopped. Even so, he was weak. Should anything else attack, it was unlikely he could put up much of a fight.

After another hour of walking, he came upon an opening in the cliff's rock face. It was just about tall and broad enough to allow him to enter. Its smooth sides and sharp corners made it obvious that this was not a natural cave.

“This has to be it,” he whispered to himself.

As he stepped inside, the walls lit up with veins of blue light. With a rush of relief he saw an iron door only ten yards further down etched with the symbol of Gerath.

He touched the thin blue veins with the tip of his finger. Almost instantly he felt the injuries on his chest tingle and grow cold. It was the familiar sensation of a healer using the
flow
. Though he still could not sense the
flow
around him, it lifted his spirits to see evidence that it did in fact exist in this place.

He stood still until his wounds were completely closed. Satisfied, he walked to the door, pausing to run his hands over Gerath’s symbol before turning the knob. It swung open easily, as if well-oiled and often used. Beyond was a twenty-foot square room with red granite floor tiles and marble walls veined with the same blue light.

At the far side of the room, his eyes fell upon what he had fought so hard to acquire. Two masterfully crafted golden pedestals had been placed on either side of a small round table. On top of the table was an unadorned silver box. But his heart sank as he looked more closely at the pedestals. Both of them were empty.

As he drew nearer, he could see piles of dust on the ground.
They had been destroyed!
He let out a frustrated cry and fell to his knees in defeat. Hope was lost. He knew he could not be a match for the Dark Knight without the power of the god stones.

He had no idea of how long he knelt there. His mind was a storm of confusion and sorrow. Kaylia and Jayden would fall under the power of his enemy. His friends and allies would all be hunted. The elves would be slaughtered. And the world would burn.

“Why, father?” he shouted. “Why let me come so far, only to take away my one chance for victory?” Spitting out a curse, he got to his feet.

He turned his attention to the box on the table. It was far too small to contain the god stones. No - the dust on the floor was definitely what remained of them. He tried to raise the lid, but it was locked. He then attempted to pick the box up, but it would not budge.

Gewey frowned and rubbed his chin. He searched his belt for something to pick the lock, but had nothing that would work. Then he remembered something else…it was in his coin purse.

Suppressing a laugh, he reached inside and felt the tiny silver key that Felsafell had given to him at the Chamber of the Maker. He took it out and smiled.

“Let’s see if you fit,” he murmured.

The key slid in effortlessly. Gewey held his breath while turning it to the right.

Click! The lock opened and he was able to raise the lid. Sitting inside was a crimson jewel about the size of a hen's egg. He stared down at it, uncertain what to do next. Finally, he shrugged and picked it up.

“I am so happy you are here, my son,” came a voice from behind him.

Gewey spun around and gasped. There stood Gerath. Dressed in white robes, his entire body was surrounded by a silver aura. His face was just as Gewey remembered – dark hair and chiseled features. Handsome was not the word for him. Beautiful was more accurate. Beautiful in a way reserved only for the gods.

Gewey could feel the power emanating from his father and knew at once that, unlike the essence he had seen in the Black Oasis, this was not a shadow. He could feel a wave of strength and power that he'd only ever experienced once before - when battling Melek. But how could this be? How was this possible?

“You...” he managed to say. “You’re real.”

Gerath gave his son a loving smile. “Yes. I am real. And I am here.”

“But you’re trapped in heaven? How can you be here?”

“I am here because I love you,” he replied softly. “And I am here to help.”

At first Gewey thought it must be some kind of trick or hallucination. Gerath - here the entire time. But there was no denying the power he felt. His confusion gradually turned into rage as a succession of realizations began to occur.

“How could you do this?” he demanded. “To me? To the people of this world? Why wait until now? Why allow so much death and suffering when you could have prevented it all?”

“I was powerless, my son,” he replied. “As I am still powerless.”

“That’s not true,” Gewey countered. “I can
feel
your power.”

Gerath shook his head. “What you feel comes from within yourself, not from me. I am now a part of you.” He sighed sadly. “There is so much I would like to show you. So much I would like to explain. But now it is far too late. Your time is at hand, and mine is done.” He gestured to his right. Two chairs appeared from nowhere. “But I would at least like to sit and talk with you one time…as father to son.”

Gewey stared at him with barely contained anger. But there was something in his father's expression that he was unable to resist. Eventually, he threw up his hands in exasperation and dropped heavily into the offered chair.

When Gerath was also seated, he gazed at his son with tear-filled eyes. “You have become everything I had hoped you would be. Strong, pure, and true. All the qualities my brothers and sisters feared you would lack. But I knew. I knew you were better than the rest of us from the moment I first saw you.”

“That is
not
how you looked to me,” Gewey snapped back. “Melek showed me my time in heaven when I was with him in Shagharath.” He was well aware that his father had been trying to deceive the other gods through his mistreatment of him. But he was angry, and it was the only thing he could think of to say in order to lash out at him.

Gerath raised an eyebrow. “You met Melek? And in Shagharath no less. You are even stronger than I imagined if you survived that encounter.”

“I almost didn’t,” he explained. He began telling him about his time with Melek, and how he had eventually sent him back to Shagharath. But the moment he mentioned Jayden, Gerath seemed to hear nothing else.

“You have a son?” he whispered.

“Yes,” Gewey replied. “It is for Jayden and Kaylia that I fight. And why I came here.”

“Tell me about him,” Gerath pleaded. He leaned back and closed his eyes. “Tell me about my grandson.”

Gewey did as his father asked. He described Jayden's features and his smile. The color of his eyes and the tone of his skin. Every last detail. “He gives me courage beyond measure, father,” he concluded.

Gerath was smiling when Gewey stopped talking. He remained motionless for more than a minute. Slowly, he opened his eyes and nodded. “Thank you.”

Gewey nodded in return. “Perhaps when this is all over you can see him for yourself.”

A look of pain passed briefly across Gerath's face. “If only that were possible.” He straightened his back. “Forgive my melancholy. Pleased continue with your story about Melek.”

At the end of the telling, Gerath was smiling again. “It is good you have such friends. And fortunate. Melek would have never have guessed that a mortal could lay him so low.”

Gewey grinned involuntarily. “I did enjoy seeing the look on his face when Weila sank the dart into his back.”

Gerath let out a hearty chuckle. “A well-deserved fate. I pray he is never able to plague the world again.”

“He won’t,” Gewey assured him. “Not if Maybell has anything to say about it.”

The two gods both burst into cheerful laughter. For a brief spell they were just a father and son sharing a pleasant moment together. But the moment soon passed and Gerath’s countenance hardened.

“If Melek showed you your time in heaven, then you will have seen that I did not wish to abandon you, Darshan. You must know that I wanted to stay and watch over you.”

“I know,” he replied. “And I understand that the other gods would never have allowed it. I know all of this. Even so, I can’t help but feel…”

“Betrayed?” he said, finishing off Gewey’s thought.

“Yes. Betrayed.” His anger began to rise again. “Why didn’t the gods intervene? Why send me to earth? Why did I have to witness so much destruction and pain?”

“You have been in the moral realm for too long to understand one simple truth.”

“And what truth is that?”

“That the gods are not wise. True, we are powerful. But without the Creator to guide us we are like lost children. Humans and elves see us as beings with wisdom that surpasses their own. But that is simply not true. Strip away our power and we would not last a day in your world.”

He took a deep breath. “Son, know that I did not send you here willingly. I was commanded to do so. When the Creator took me into
herself,
she
passed
her
wishes on to me.” His face grew dark and his tone sorrowful. “And for the very first time, I hated
her
. For the first time I actually considered defying
her
. But I knew defiance would come at a terrible price.”

“And so you obeyed and sent me here,” said Gewey.

“Yes. I obeyed.”

“And now what? The god stones are gone. You say you are powerless. Without help, I will not be able to defeat my enemy. Did you send me here to die?”

“I pray not,” Gerath told him.

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“You are supposed to do what you know you must,” he answered. “You must face the Dark Knight and defeat him. You must put an end to his insanity.”

“But who is he?” Gewey asked. “All this time, and I have learned almost nothing about him. Who he is? Where did he come from? And why is he doing this?”

Gerath sighed. “He is a mortal man. One with due cause for hatred and revenge, but still nothing more than a mortal. He feels betrayed by the gods, and by those he once held dear to him. Most of the details I do not know. I arrived here just before he seized the
Sword of Truth
and have only been able to discover a little. He was once a great knight who served Amon Dähl. However, he turned his back on them and sought the
sword
for himself.”

“This much I have already heard,” Gewey said.

“Then you know as much as I.”

Gewey frowned, disappointed that he would not learn more of his enemy’s past. “So why did you come here?” he asked. “Why choose this place?”

“It was the only place I knew where you were sure to eventually find me. When I told you that I had obeyed the Creator, it was only partly true. I knew you would need my help.” Gerath paused to give a small chuckle. “Here I am at the end of my life, and I lie to myself as would a dying mortal. The truth is, I knew I could not abandon you. At least, not entirely. Whatever the cost, I would not allow you to face your fate alone. So Ayliazarah and I came up with a plan. Though, had she fully understood the consequences, she would never have agreed to carry it out. But I understood all too well, and hid them from her.

“We both knew that the others would not allow me to intervene. And if I remained in the mortal world, they would force me to return to heaven. So I came here, where they could not follow. I created this place to protect the yetulu. Here, my siblings' powers are useless. Even if they discovered where I was, they would never dare to go where they are powerless. They would be like fawns without the protection of their mother.”

Gerath took a deep breath. “First, I tried to destroy the god stones, but was unable to find them all.”

“Why did you do that?” Gewey asked. “I need their power.”

“You could not have used them,” he explained. “And if you had tried, it would have driven you mad. Only Melek might have been able to do so because he is not of our blood – we are of his. But you…I could not risk you trying.”

“So how did the Dark Knight manage to do it? You said yourself that he is only a human.”

“
Only
a human?” Gerath laughed. “My son, humans have far more power than you can imagine – though it may not be as obvious as it is with our kind, or even the elves. Their spirits have unlimited potential, and one day they will finally realize it. At least, that is my hope. The very fact that the Dark Knight
is
human and possesses The Sword of Truth – that is what has allowed him to steal the god stones' power and make himself stronger.”

“Then how can I defeat him?”

“I will help you.”

Gerath rose to his feet and turned his back. “Once you leave this room, my power will reside in you, just as my essence already does. But this time, everything I am and everything I was…it will all be yours.”

Gewey could remember the same words being spoken to him through his father’s essence. He looked at Gerath with suspicion. “And what will become of you after that?”

He bowed his head. “I think you know.”

Gewey leapt from his chair. “No! I won’t do it!”

Gerath turned to face his son again. “It is too late. I am already inside you, and my power is yours. Only my spirit remains. And once you leave, that will fade as well.”

“Then I will not leave,” he declared. Tears began to fall.

Gerath’s face was awash with a father’s love, but his voice was firm and unyielding. “Do you think I desire death? Do you think I would not know my son, or watch my grandson become a man? If I could, I would show you all the wonders of heaven, and reveal the mysteries of the mortal world.” He swallowed hard. “But that cannot be. I love you, Darshan. And I only do what I must. Would you not do the same for Jayden?”

By now, Gewey was weeping openly and unable to respond. Gerath stepped forward and placed his hands on his shoulders.

“Do not weep for me, my son” he said. “I will never leave you. Not really. You are all that is best in me, and that will continue long after my name is forgotten. I have lived long enough to see what you have become, and no father could wish for more. Or be filled with greater pride. I am sorry I was not there for you as a child. But I am truly thankful that Basanti kept her word and saw to it that you were loved and protected.”

“I was,” Gewey said, choking back his tears. “I was very well loved. My father…my human father, was a good and decent man. Everything I am, I owe to him.”

Gerath nodded in approval. “Then my heart is less heavy by knowing this.” He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. “Now, it is time for you to go and fulfill your destiny.”

The pair of them embraced. For a time, neither wished the moment to end. But then, reluctantly, Gerath pulled away.

“I will always remember you, father,” Gewey told him. “And your name will never be forgotten.” His tears were gone. It was time. The end of his long journey was nearly upon him.

“Thank you, Darshan,” he replied.

After a final look at his father's face, Gewey turned and headed to the door.

“One last thing,” Gerath called out. “Tell Ayliazarah thank you…and that I love her.”

Gewey nodded. “I will. I promise.”

After passing through the door, Gewey suddenly became aware that he was still holding the jewel. But it was no longer red. It had now become clear and colorless.

He could feel the power of Gerath circulating inside him. At first it was separate from his own, then, gradually, it began to bind itself to him until they had become as one. All of a sudden, every bit of Gerath’s knowledge and strength had penetrated his spirit, filling him completely.

It was done! Gerath was no more.

“Goodbye, father,” he whispered.

He left the passage and returned to the open air. The mist was still all around him, but now he could easily see through it. The
flow
in this place was tremendous and his ability to feel it had been fully restored. He could have used it to carry him through the air, but he wasn’t ready to use the
flow
enhanced by his father’s power just yet.

Without the mist hindering his perception, he could see that the landscape beyond the grassy area he was standing in was barren and colorless. But that was only on the surface. The power of the Creator was stronger here than anywhere he had been. He thought of the desert, and of the wonders that lay hidden beneath its sands. And now he possessed Gerath’s memories, he knew there were many more that even the elves had not yet discovered in all their long years of dwelling there.

After retrieving his sword, he sought out the wounded Ajagara. It was lying next to a large boulder, hissing and drooling blood. The moment it spotted him, it bared its teeth and charged. But Gewey was unconcerned. He held out his palm and sent waves of reassurance to the beast. At once, it slid to a halt and lowered its head.

He approached and placed his hands on its snout. “I’m sorry for hurting you, my friend. But I had no other choice. I couldn’t very well have you eating me, now could I?”

Gewey closed his eyes. To heal the Ajagara, he would need to use the
flow
…and a part of that was his father’s. He pictured Gerath’s face.
It’s all right son
, came a distant voice. But Gewey knew it was just a shadow – a specter. He understood Gerath’s mind, and knew what he would say about the guilt his son was feeling.