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  Samuel went to the altar and kneeled. “Not evil. Perhaps a blessing sent from God.”

  “No god is at play when innocents die. That is a much darker thing. Promise me you will not use your ability again. If we are meant to survive then let us carve our own path.”

  Samuel stood and walked to his window, gripping its sill tightly. His voice rose. “And what if the beasts attack and my people do not wish to fight? Do I allow this place of the Lord to fall because of their fear?”

  “Your people?” A chill ran through Ivanus as the humidity of the day hovered over him. Samuel had not referred to the gathered mass as his before. “How are they yours? I thought they came of their own will to learn of the Lord. They are no more yours than the wind is mine.”

  “How do you think so many came? I planted seeds, that is all, but those seeds drew them here and then I taught them.”

  “Man is meant to have his own will.” Ivanus reached within his robe and withdrew the book he had taken from Samuel’s future citadel. Its cover was worn and its pages were browning. He brought it to Samuel and held it before him in the daylight.

  “You have a copy of the Book?” Samuel grinned. “I did not know you were partaking of our faith. I hoped…”

  “I read it.” Ivanus did not allow Samuel to continue. “Do you read it still? I want you to hear something.

  “‘For this is what the Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice. Therefore this is what the Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. I the Lord will be their God. I the Lord have spoken.’”

  Ivanus let his words sit in the air. He watched the script on the page, hoping Samuel had taken something from this. If he truly believes this book, then he must see.

  “You read from the Book. What are you saying? I am sorry, my mind is cloudy.”

  Ivanus closed the book and held it in his hands, looking at the worn binding before turning to Samuel’s eyes. “The Lord in this book wants to call his own flock. He does not wish them forced into his bidding. You are but a messenger. If the people beyond these walls are meant to survive, then don’t you think your Lord will see that they do without you controlling them and forcing them to fight? Is it your own flesh that you fear for?”

  Samuel turned from the window and walked back to the altar, bracing a hand there. “I do not fear. I know what the Lord asks. I want to give him more.”

  “How can there be more? There is nothing beyond what this infinite being you put your faith in desires. He requires your faith and love, if I read the pages correctly. I have pored over them many nights.”

  “Yes.” Samuel closed his eyes. He looked as if he aged in the moment and he slumped where he leaned on the altar. “Ivanus, I hear it. The essence speaks to me. It says my Lord forsakes me, that I am the lord of this land and must set up defense against these dark things beyond. It has been so long since the essence came to me. I feel alone always, but the essence alone is a constant by my side.”

  “It is evil.”

  “How can you say that?” Samuel asked as he met Ivanus’s eyes. “How can you know?”

  If there is a time, it is now. Ivanus opened the strings drawling closed the top of his shirt. The mark of the essence bonding with him shone clearly there. Lines of scorched flesh labyrinthed forth from it.

  “I never knew,” Samuel gasped. “Why did you not tell me?”

  “I am not prepared to divulge my past completely, but trust me when I say the essences are the worst evil. I was there when the meteor fell. I believe I was the last survivor of my city. I was saved from the blast while all others around me were shredded into dust.” Ivanus walked to Samuel and hugged him. “You must fight this. It is the only way to save yourself.”

  “Does your essence speak to you?” Samuel broke the embrace.

  “No, I have never heard it, but I have heard from others that the essences speak in their minds. One day I may experience the same. I pray not. Perhaps if you turn to the Book for guidance, to your Lord, then the voice of the essence will be squelched. I will study with you, if you wish. I am your friend. I am by your side no matter what. That is my promise, Samuel. When I arrived to the citadel you welcomed me immediately. My friendship and love remain with you.”

  “How can you ask me to place faith in my Lord when you, yourself, do not believe?” Samuel asked.

  “It is in your goodness that I place my faith, my hope.” Ivanus turned and looked back out the window. “In the dark times especially, humanity must be maintained.” Silence lingered between them and he felt Samuel’s doubt. “Perhaps as we study I will grow to know your Lord. I ask you to not use your ability, to not control others’ minds. Try to find faith where you have lost it, both in your Lord and in yourself. You do not need the essence.”

  Samuel turned toward the altar and looked upward. “If you are with me and will study by my side, then I will stop all use of my power.”

  “Thank you.” Ivanus sighed, relieved that though it was bleak, he could have hope in altering Samuel’s fate.

  “Please forgive me; I need time to commune with God.” Samuel looked to Ivanus. “Would you leave me to think?” He picked up his own Book and began to search it for something.

  “Yes.” Ivanus smiled. He went to Samuel and placed a hand on his shoulder before leaving the chamber and shutting the heavy door behind him. In his sight he saw Samuel kneeling down on the stone floor in prayer. He spoke words desperately, though Ivanus could only see his lips moving and could not hear what came out. It heartened him. Yes, for now, there is hope.

  *

  Time passed. Hours became days. Days became months. Each day Ivanus would meet with Samuel in his personal chamber to read in the Book and to speak of what was written there. It seemed as if Samuel was keeping his word. Ivanus saw strength in Samuel’s eyes and resolve. He hoped it was resolve to live the way his Lord wished and to maintain faith in him, but he could not know for sure. Ivanus saw that as the key, even if he was not sure of the truth of that god’s existence. It was Samuel’s strength. Ivanus had even begun to believe the Book’s words, though doubt also remained.

  Marl never came to Ivanus’s door and Ivanus never saw the man in the market or the citadel. It was as if he had just vanished from their world. The were-beasts had also not been reported of in months.

  Then, one day when the sky was gray with clouds and the sea beyond the citadel’s windows frothed with waves, Ivanus was startled from his writing desk. Somewhere beneath the citadel he saw Marl move. It was just a flash, almost as if a dream, but Ivanus trusted his instincts. Why are you there? Why have I not seen you before now? Ivanus questioned. He closed the Book he had before him and stood, placing the book in his robe pocket. He grabbed his sword from the wall and walked from his chamber. The snoot scampered quickly after him, leaping upon his back and nuzzling up to his ear.

  Priests and messengers passed Ivanus as he walked. A young girl with a plate of bread hurried past. The scent of it made him
salivate.

  All was as it should be, all except the vision he had seen of Marl.

  His footsteps led him to the bottom level where he searched for an opening leading below. He searched the lower hall, worship chamber and kitchen to no avail. A pot of something boiled over a cooking fire. As he stepped within the lower center of the citadel, its library, he was certain the entrance would be there. He went to the far shelf of books and wiped a finger over a book. Heavy dust was caked there. He looked around. All of the books were like this. Why was nobody using them?

  “Can I assist you?” A sword-wielding man stepped from the shadows. His eyes were dark as he walked slowly towards Ivanus. His voice was rasped.

  “I am looking for a book on herbs,” Ivanus spoke. “I was told that this is where I should come. Do you know what shelf?” he asked. The entrance to the lower level has to be here. If only I could get rid of him so that I could look.

  Before he could form a plan the snoot leapt from his shoulder to the nearby shelf and ran, spitting dust in its wake. The furry creature leapt upward from shelf to shelf, five tiers up until it leapt against a woman’s bust, knocking it to the side.

  The chamber rumbled and Ivanus startled back off of a stone slab that opened up in the chamber’s floor.

  “You infernal rodent!” the swordsman shouted at the snoot and then turned his attention to Ivanus. “I do not believe you meant to see this, but you cannot leave here.” He leveled his sword with his waist and approached Ivanus, who was now trapped behind the open floor.

  Adrenaline swept through Ivanus as he leapt over the crevice, simultaneously hammering his sword against the man’s blade. The reverberation stung his hands as he hammered his sword again against the guard’s.

  Clang! Clang! Steel beat against steal.

  There would be no keeping this secret now.

  Ivanus parried to the side and struck his sword into the man’s side, finding only protective leather with his lunge.

  Clang! Clang! Clang!

  Out of the corner of his eyesight, Ivanus could see the snoot leap off the shelf a distance up and into the black hole. It squeaked as it landed.

  Clang! Clang!

  Ivanus stepped back, breathing heavy as he calmed his nerves and focused on his sight. It was all crisp then, the way the swordsman would lunge at him and he would dodge it, bashing his sword against the man’s skull.

  The attack came; Ivanus dodged away and then crushed the hilt of his sword into the man’s unprotected cranium. Blood spattered from the blow and his opponent fell unconscious to the floor.

  The man spasmed, knocking his sword into the hole before settling in silence. His eyes were rolled in his head.

  Ivanus kneeled, touching a hand to the man’s neck and feeling a pulse before looking to the library’s entrance in expectance of others. How did someone not hear us? Are they heading for reinforcements? He turned back to the open floor before him. At least we are in a time where war is seemingly non-existent. Surely all is ruined with Samuel now if he was the one keeping this passage hidden. I feel that I must be here, though. I must go onward.

  He felt with his hand into the hole and discovered a ledge a few feet down. Its stone was cracked but firm. He sheathed his sword and then lowered himself onto the ledge before feeling for another ledge and moving down again. Several minutes later he discovered a flat floor and walked forward into the darkened passage. “Friend?” he called to the snoot as he braced his sword at ready. He heard the thing scurrying back to him.

  Ivanus closed his eyes, trying to see the future around him, to sense his surroundings, but could not because there was no light. The darkness must be illuminated if I am to find Marl, he thought. How did I see him the first time? Something suddenly came to him. Even the faintest light will give all I need. He reached in his robe and removed a rock he had found in the woods and had been carrying for some time. He braced it to the rock wall and dragged it quickly across. His eyes could not see enough but as he quickly walked he could see around him in his sight.

  At first there were only the stone walls of the passage but then he recognized cells with metal doors. A prison? He shuddered as he saw a slat that was open near his eyes. A man sat inside on a stone bench. He did not move or try to speak to Ivanus. He only breathed. It was not Marl. What is this place? Why does this man not speak to me? When I am discovered here I will be forced to fight. His heart beat faster as he moved, scraping the stone against the wall.

  The snoot returned to him, rubbing against his legs and then scampering to another rusted metal door close by.

  “Here?” he asked it, almost expecting an answer. He scraped the stone on the door and with the minimal light that refracted within the eye slat of the cell he saw Marl sitting in the same way as the last man. His face was hollow, devoid of expression. “Marl? It is Ivanus. Why are you here?”

  Nothing.

  No response.

  Ivanus felt for the lock, remembering his skills as a Smith before the meteor and forcing a piece of metal he had on him within the hole. He made quick work of the inferior lock and soon heard the click of it releasing. He gripped the door’s handle and with strong effort pulled the door open.

  The snoot squeaked as it lunged past him, running to Marl’s side.

  Ivanus struck the rock against the chamber wall to see more in the darkness. He made his way to Marl and placed a hand on the warrior’s shoulder. “Marl, can you hear me?” He is under Samuel’s control. It is the only explanation. All of the men here must be. Is Samuel amassing an army and hiding them from me? Does he suspect what my ability is? Is that why they are hidden in the dark? No. How would he know and why has he not attempted to possess my mind? “Marl, take control of your senses if you can hear me.”

  Ivanus paced the chamber for a moment. How could he force Marl’s mind back within his body? Bayne brought Riad’s senses back when he knocked us all unconscious in Kaskal. Would it work the same without the help of an essence? “Friend, return to me,” he instructed the snoot, which quickly scampered away from Marl and up Ivanus’s arm. Ivanus struck the stone harshly on the cell door and used the brief light to get solid knowledge of where Marl was positioned. He put the stone away and braced his sword, thrusting the flat part of the blade against Marl’s skull.

  Marl thumped down, motionless on the stone floor for a moment before hacking loudly and then moaning. “So dark… where am I… a dream?” He clumsily maneuvered to one of the cell’s walls. “Where am I? This is not the barracks.”

  “Marl,” Ivanus spoke.

  “Ivanus, is that you? How can you be here? Where am I?”

  “What is the last thing you remember?”

  “Yesterday we arrived back. Shouldn’t you be in the citadel?”

  “It has been months.” A loud noise came from far back in the passage the way Ivanus came.

  “No…” Marl gasped.

  “We are beneath the citadel now and I fear an enemy is coming for us. If we can escape, we must flee the city.” Ivanus took a step into the passage, bracing his sword high. Footsteps raced towards him. “Shhh,” he hushed Marl, striking his blade into the dark and hacking into their pursuer’s neck as the man reached them. The man soon lay hacking up blood in the passage’s dark. “We must go now.”

  “My head…” Marl groaned.

  “There is no time. Snoot, stay with Marl.” Ivanus ran down the dark passage with Marl and the snoot a distance behind him. His heart raced. He did not run into any other attackers, but was aware of the other men still under Samuel’s control in the cells lining the passage. Thank goodness they are still bared in their chambers. As he neared the shimmering light of the passage’s entrance he stopped, leaning against a wall. In his sight he could see no one above in the library or the base floor of the citadel. How are you not aware? he wondered of Samuel. Shouldn’t you sense the connection lost with Marl?

  Loud shouts echoed down toward him then and he saw men and women running frantically above. Wha
t is happening? Samuel must be distracted if this is not because of us. He held an arm out and touched Marl’s chest as he approached, halting him. “Follow me, but be silent. Something is wrong above. This could be our opportunity to escape, unless it comes from the woods.”

  “How much safer can we be, with the beasts in the woods?” Marl’s whisper returned.

  “We will take each trial as we must.” The snoot scampered past them and Ivanus followed it, holding his sword at the ready, prepared for any confrontation.

  Soon they were in the library and Ivanus reached an arm down to help Marl up. The man squinted and Ivanus was sure he could see little in the light.

  “This way.” Ivanus motioned with his arm and they made their way past the cooking area and several other rooms before leaving through the citadel’s main doors.

  Men, women and children ran in panicked hysteria, while others stood, watching the sky.

  As Ivanus looked he saw the fiery, smoking thing pummeling through the atmosphere. They believe it is another meteor, but what is it truly? Ivanus took a deep breath. His chest burned as bile rose in his throat.

  The thing fell quickly, exploding earth in the distance. The ground beneath Ivanus rumbled with the impact. Flames erupted high in the air where the thing impacted.

  “I have to go there,” Ivanus told Marl, still watching the blaze in the distant field and the chaotic people in the streets. “You should flee into the woods!”

  “And I would be safer there? No,” the man insisted, “I am coming with you. But first I need a sword.”

  “There is no time. If we cross a vendor to purchase from, then we will, but we must move quickly if we want to arrive before Samuel. I am sure he will be drawn to this like an insect.”

  Marl headed towards the vendor-streets, away from Ivanus. “All the better reason for me to be armed!” he shouted back. “I will catch up to you! Do not wait for me!”

  Ivanus didn’t argue. Whatever had fallen would be important, he could somehow sense that. He ran quickly through the streets as most people ran away from the direction where the thing had fallen. As he ran, dirt filled his lungs. A layer of filament had exploded into the air with the thing’s crash and it now hovered over the land as brown fog.