Chapter 8 Into The Storm

I see him standing on a meadow of fragrant flowers and wild garlic. One of those clandestine places in the forest, where if a deer would pass by, stepping on garlic leaves, the pungent smell would linger in the air for a long time, and mix with sunlight, coming through the branches of trees… Aret indeed is not alone, but I can’t see who he’s with.

I hear the whisper behind my back. We’re riding full speed, the knights trying to stay very close to me. They can’t be whispering to each other over the thundering sound of the hoofs. And yet the whisper says of death. Death to the one who Dara’s son ran away with. They will kill this woman. Somehow I don’t care. I’ll find them, so I can go back home. Seems like a good plan.

We fly out of the forest and into a big field with a sea of dark-green grasses, flowing in the wind in long, shiny waves. The city walls of Antein appear on the horizon.

“Are you taking us back to our master’s home?” Screams Ner, riding ever closer to me.

“Yes! Aret went north. I can easily track him from Dara’s castle.”

We ride into the open gates of the city I’ve heard so much about. Too bad I see the beautiful city through the veil of Dara’s grief. I’ve already caught his mood. He is distraught over his son’s disobedience, and he is anxious to have him found.

The castle is within the city walls, and it dwarves the houses around. The knights leave the horses by the door, and help me down. My body aches from the unusual exercise, as I’m only used to ride in carriages. Another thing from riding a horse is that I seemed to have bonded with this creature. His name is Sarji and throughout the trip I felt like I could see the world through his eyes. I spilled into the horse. Unbelievable.

A long, dark hallway leads us to the room with tall ceilings where I find Dara. He looks just like the visions I had during the ride. He is surrounded by servants and women, and he looks at me through this crowd of people, our eyes lock and I can sense his utmost pain.

“We brought the child of Gidealis” Says Ner, bowing low.

People around come apart, letting me through.

Dara is not old, his face looks tough, but not ruthless. He has long hair, a small beard and his garment is all dark velvet, somewhat old-fashioned, that gives him an outdated, but still menacing look.

“If you find my son, I’ll take you into my service. Would you like that?”

“ Yes” I answer almost inaudibly, simply because you can’t say no to this man. Besides, it’s not a bad idea. Let him buy Dot from my father, and he’s got himself a deal.

The hall is big, and poorly lit, the darkness whispers around us, and lays in long sad shadows on Aret’s father’s face. I want to know everything about this man, and collapse into him effortlessly. He feels me inside of his mind but can’t do anything about it. The tension between us builds up quickly, until he can’t take it anymore and bangs his fist on the table, startling his retinue.

“Why did he run away?! I just want the best for his future!” Dara screams at the top of his lungs.

The knights get very tense, as they feel for their master’s misfortune with the unruly son. One of the women behind Dara’s back starts crying. I realize it is Aret’s mother.

She fears for his life, filled with deep emotions, torn between her husbands orders and her desire to make her son happy. She is the only one who secretly wishes for her son to escape with the alleged prostitute. If it is love, so be it. She begs me silently for mercy.

But I do not know mercy. Dara offered me to serve him. This is my chance to escape my father and be with Dot. All I see is a good arrangement for my future. If what I see now is the faint ribbon of Aret’s energy, then I’m on track, the prostitute will be dead by nightfall and the defiant youngster returned back for his arranged marriage.

“Hunt him down, you demonic thing!” Orders Dara, looking me straight in the eyes, challenging what he perceives as dark and scary.

Feisty, aren’t we? I’m only happy to oblige.

The three knights, including Ner, lead me away, and outside of the castle that horse, Sarji, is very happy to see me. He prances around and looks at me with joy. I see my reflection in his eyes. A shadow with batlike wings spread wide is behind me. Immaul is here. He never shows up unless I’m in danger. What is more surprising is that I caught his reflection. He cannot be seen by human eyes, and he does not reflect in the mirror. He reflected in the eyes of this horse.

Pondering that, I ride out of the city followed by the knights of Dara. Aret went north on this road. Two horses – a black and a brown one. Aret is ahead on the black horse, and whoever he is with is slightly behind. They ride fast into the flaming sunset. That was last night. Closer to midnight someone alerted Dara to the escape of his son. He immediately sent for me.

But who is his partner? I can’t see her face. Curiosity gets the best of me, and I almost fly off the road, trying to concentrate on the face of the woman this guy ran away with, abandoning the posh life his father was preparing for him.

Sarji, this smart horse, left without my control, corrects himself, thus preventing us from falling into the ditch.

“You scatterbrain” I hear.

Was that the horse’s thought I just caught? It would have been funny, if I was not so concentrated on my target.

I see the “ribbon” of energy. I can feel Aret, now that we’re closer than ever to him. It’s been almost half an hour of crazy gallop, my much-desired freedom, and Sarji seems to have no problem going on. But the knights begin to fall back. I have to slow down to the disappointment of my horse.

“Come on” I say to Ner “He is not far from here, they stopped for rest on a meadow.”

“It’s getting dark. These woods are full of highway robbers and all kinds of unsavory characters. How could he have stopped in the forest? Why didn’t he look for shelter?” Ner’s dusty face looks puzzled.

“I don’t know. I’m telling you what I see.”

The knight nods, and we ride on.

The vision is very clear. Aret is out there, kissing his lover on a meadow of garlic grass and flowers, thinking foolishly that he’s far enough. He is in for a surprise.

It is getting dark, which only makes it more fun for me, and the knights are too fearless to question the night in the woods we’re about to ride through.

There is a fallen tree on the road not far ahead of us. It is broken in half and it’s withered rustling leaves tell me it’s been here awhile. How is it possible, that no carriage had passed here for this long, and no one ordered to remove the tree?

“We can go around in the forest” Says one of the men, as they look for a safe way to get through a small ditch and some undergrowth.

“This is not right. It’s too dangerous. Maybe we should go back and wait out till dawn.” I catch Ner’s thought, and agree with him. As much as I’m lost in the chase, more pleasant than anything else, he may have a point.

As the knights get ready to delve into the forest, I hear footsteps and four figures on my generator. They are very stealthy, and they hide behind the bushes. I can still see their silhouettes through the branches, but a human eye cannot discern that.

The figures slowly raise their hands. In a motion that seems weird.

Suddenly one of the knights screams and falls off his horse with an arrow in his chest. The second arrow hits me in the leg at the same time with the realization, that what they were raising the bows.

Ner and the other knight rush to where the bowmen are, and draw the swords. However there are more people than that. The second arrow is shot from behind the fallen tree. It lodges in my stomach. This is where Sarji takes off, his hoofs hitting the ground loudly and rhythmically.

I can’t believe what he’s about to do. Gaining speed he jumps over the tree on the road in one big, smooth motion, and lands gracefully only to continue his crazy run, taking me farther away from the danger. He pays a dear price for that. The bowman at the tree shoots him at least three times.

Sarji does not slow down right away, but I can feel his pain, which mixes with mine, as we swiftly pass through the remainder of the forest and into the field. An arrow cut the artery in his body. He walks for a while longer and then succumbs to blood loss.

I barely have time to jump off as he falls to the ground.

This is where the vision flashes in front of my eyes again.

I see Aret standing knee high in the grasses of the meadow with his lover. Only this time I can clearly see the face of his lover that makes me jump up.