Chapter 31
A Fate Now Sealed
Damalis lifted the silver goblet to her red stained lips. She halted feeling the coolness of it as it made contact.
“Why do you stop my daughter?”
Damalis shook her head, “You promise that if I do this he shall be mine?”
“I have yet to lie to you child.”
Still she did not drink moving the cup away. Peering into the dark liquid she saw her reflection there. If he could not give her an assurance that the one that she desired would be hers then she saw no point in giving everything over to him.
“I only wish for your word that he shall be mine when this is done, and that I shall be free to live my life with him.”
A dangerous look crossed the beautiful face before her. “You want him then you shall drink of my cup, and of my portion.”
“Thus I shall do here I drink of your cup and of your portion I partake.” Damalis lifted the silver goblet to her red stained lips, and this time without halting she drank the contents. A retched scream sounded from her as she fell to her knees before the Engraved Stone and before him. Looking up through clouded and dimmed eyes Damalis willingly pledged her allegiance, “For him, the one I have chosen to love, I give up my soul to you. Do with me as you will, my lord Negel.”
It had turned out true what Morgan had predicted of his father’s men. With them not prepared for the groups return it in the end had been easy to disarm them. Morgan spat at their feet in disgust. These were the men that his father thought to be Geder’s great warrior; he strode away leaving behind the unconscious men lying there in the dirt. What had become of his people a people that had once been so great, was his father that much of a senseless ruler that he could not see his very kingdom slipping from within his grasp, even as he continued to try and grip it tighter?
“Are you truly alright Morgan?” Staring at his chosen Morgan forced an easy smile not wanting to see the worry lines that he knew would come if he told Leora the truth.
“Dryan we should hurry and get to the passage to Loam.” Morgan shot a challenge Dryan’s way, “Let us turn this three day journey into a two day one let us see who shall be the quickest.”
“Let’s.” Taking to unbound form Ryan waited for the others to board.
As Leora made to join them Morgan took hold of her arm. “I want you to stay with me.” Leora said nothing, as she waved bye to the others.
The minute she knew that Dryan was out of ear shot she looked up at Morgan. “There is something that you are not telling me.”
“It is nothing Leora.” Seeing the expression on her face he added, “Trust me.” As he uttered those two words Morgan came to the realization of how much he wanted Leora to be able to do just that. If in the end it turned out she could not where then would that leave their relationship that was ultimately leading to their marriage and in the long run, the uniting of their two peoples? This he placed aside.
Leora reached out to him, “Morgan though we have known each other for a short time, I still have come to know you. And I can see even though you do not wish to admit it that there is something you are hiding from me.” A memory surfaced in her mind, it was of Amori and the Dweller watching them as they exited the caverns that she had been held in. Her mind’s eye remembered the look that the Dweller had given her chosen before he had walked away. Deep inside a voice whispered in her heart to pursue the matter, and as she was about to Morgan spoke again. “We must get going; I believe it best if we let the subject be.”
Leora closed her eyes, the voice within her, and the voice of her tradition fighting to be heard. As she opened them again and locked gaze for gaze with Morgan her traditions won over, and she ignored the voice that had led her many a times. Pulling back from him Leora shut herself off.
“Just as you desire the matter is no more, let us then be on our way.”
Morgan moved near to her, “Leora do not shut me out.” The tone he held was one of a command and plea.
Passing over his request she peered in the direction which they would take. “If we are to be at the gate before them then we must start now.”
Frustration rolled off Morgan in waves but he put the matter aside. Lifting her much as he had when they were in Aiken he stepped into the shadowed plains of the realm Addar.
Their excursion to the passageway that would lead to Loam held no excitement. Ryan allowed the wind to carry him, and it did running and flowing in the way the prince directed it, it speaking with him in a language that only the wind itself could speak.
Morgan, for Leora’s sake, moved atop the shadows. Neither resting nor stopping until they had made it to their destination, the two making it at the same time.
“It seems that the shadows do not move as fast as my wings can carry me.”
Morgan grunted. “Neither can your wings take you as fast as the shadows, seeing as we made it here at the same time.”
“That is only because I had extra weight upon my back.”
“The only one that you carried that would equate to extra weight would be Cody.” The three females rolled their eyes as the two continued on and they passed one by one into Loam.
As they made their way through Amori asked the question that she had been wondering. “Since we are in the end heading right back to Eldon why didn’t we take the crossing through Addar to get there?”
Leora was the one to answer her question. “It would have taken longer to get to that crossing, and also the gate is shut from Addar to Eldon.”
“But doesn’t that mean that the way in from here to there is closed as well?” Amori asked.
“It will be closed for two days, but the crossing for Addar shall be closed for five. Thus it was decided that you and Cody should go to your homes and be with your families while you still could, while the three of us including Chay, delivered the Book.”
Amori said nothing more at the mention of being able to go home, even if it was for a short period of time. It would be a refresher from all the unusual things that she had had to deal with over the past week.
Walking beside Cody they headed to the Percival parking lot. Not needing the guidance of the other since they more than knew their way when it came to this place that they had played in since they were kids.
“Amori do you think it would be wise to return to our respective homes yet?” Cody asked his tone serious.
“Why on earth wouldn’t we?”
“I don’t know, maybe because we are likely to have to leave yet again, and I don’t think it would be wise to put our folks through something like that.”
Amori let out a huff, as she had to admit to herself that there was an unmistakable logic to Cody’s statement.
“Where then would we stay?”
His bulky shoulders lifted showing off well defined muscles. “Other than my mom I have no one else I’m willing to stay with.”
A thought popped into Amori’s head at that moment. “We could stay at Ma and Papa’s place.”
“Your grandparents house, are you sure that’s wise?” He asked unsure.
“Of course, it’s a great idea; we can finally eat a decent meal. I can tell them just about anything, and I think they’ll take the whole situation much better than my parents will. Plus their farm is closer than my home. So I can call Papa, and he can come pick us up.” Cody wanted to laugh as he watched Amori’s excitement as she talked about her grandparents, along with her anticipation of seeing them again.
“Mom and dad haven’t really been around there since my grandparents as they said,” she did bunny ears, “got religious.” Amori shrugged one shoulder. “You know how they are.”
Cody shot her a glance as he lifted an overhanging branch so that it wouldn’t hit them in the face. “You’re not going to tell them about what’s happened are you.” It was more a statement than a question. Cody waited for her, knowing that she was gathering her thoughts together. They walked on the sound of leaves crunching beneath their feet filling the silence.
With a mumble of something unintelligible she began. “It’s not like I want to keep this from them,” she removed a hair that had flopped down over her face away. “But, you’ve met my parents and have seen how they are.”
He moved out of the way of another branch. “I haven’t been around your parents since the move, so due to lack of interaction I would like you to enlighten me on the subject of why you can’t, or won’t, tell your parents what’s happened these past few weeks.”
Crossing her arms she began to talk. “There what one would call…Well they simply put don’t believe in anything that can’t be explained by science fact.” His gaze connected with hers. He sure did have blue eyes.
“And what about you, do you believe in the unseen?” Amori found herself nodding. Though she had never talked with her parents about it she had always found it easier to believe what was for most unexplainable than those around her. Of course her present circumstances did help with her believing as well.
“I do, unlike them I find it harder to believe only in what science has told me is truth.” She let her arms flop to her sides. “I think Spenc and Pierce helped me with that.” She smiled, “The both of them had as they said, ‘encountered God’ while overseas and so whenever they came home they would talk with me about it. They even took me to church at times. That added with Ma and Papa’s belief in God, and the Bible and all that I have researched myself. I don’t know it all made sense, I mean I’ve never seen science heal a person in an instant.” She stopped as they made it to the parking lot. Pulling Cody’s phone out of her pocket she quickly turned it on and called her grandparents’ home.
Three rings and the comforting voice of her Papa greeted her. “Hello this is Zachariah Johnson, who may this be?”
Her eyes watered and she didn’t even know why. “Papa, it’s me Amori.”
“Sweetheart where are you, are you safe?”
“Yes I’m fine Papa, actually I’m waiting in the Percival Forest parking lot, and I was wondering if you could pick me up.”
“Of course, I’ll be there in twenty.” After they said their goodbyes Amori hung up the phone.
“He said he’ll be here in twenty minutes.” Looking behind them Amori wandered what was taking the others so long.
Knowing to what she was wandering Cody answered her unspoken question. “They took a different path, than us.”
“Oh, ok then.”
Sitting on the bench that was in front of the sign Cody patted it, “Come sit, we have some time to blow.”
Sitting down beside him, Amori continued from where she had left off knowing that Cody would have asked her to anyway.
“The truth is my grandparents are happier believing in what my parents say is a make believe God and all that that entails, than my parents are with their firm belief in science fact. I must admit thought I still cannot say that I completely agree, rather have chosen to accept fully what my grandparents and brother believe. Though most to all of what they say rings true within me, and when I compare it to evolution and the Big Bang theory well it is most definitely words that cannot be gainsay.” Turning so that she was facing Cody she looked at him. “So you tell me what do you believe?”
“My mom raised me in the church, and from the time I was a boy I never had a problem with having faith.” He gave a puff of a laugh, “As hard as it all may seem to put your trust in someone who you cannot see, I know that it’s all real. And add on all that I have come to experience during these past weeks, I can only say that my faith has grown stronger than before.”
Cody knew that Amori was searching for something but he didn’t know what, as she continued to stare at him.
“I wish I had your faith.” Moving so that they were sitting with their shoulders touching she leaned her head against his shoulder. “You’re an amazing person, Cody Elwyn, you know that.”
Cody smiled as he put his arm around her, “You’re pretty amazing to Amori Johnson. Never forget that.”
They stayed seated that way all the way up to when Amori’s grandpa, Zachariah, pulled up in his old blue ford pickup truck into the Percival parking lot. Before he even had a chance to make it out of the truck, Amori was there waiting to give him a big hug. Zachariah held his grandbaby in a tight embrace.
“Where have you been lamb, I’ve missed you.” He asked, lamb was his nickname for her.
“I’ve missed you too Papa.” Amori squeezed tighter not wanting the moment to end but knowing that they needed to get a move on it. So pulling back, but not completely leaving the stability of her grandfather’s arms Amori looked to Cody, who was standing a little ways off waiting.
“Papa you remember Cody?”
Cody watched as the man nodded. The image that Cody had had from memory of Amori’s grandfather ended up needing to be rewritten. The man though he had grays appearing in his, military style hair cut it was hard to tell that he was over sixty years of age. Zachariah Johnson stood tall and well over six two, and he had muscles that had been honed and trained from years of farm life. Putting his preferred hand out there Cody was relieved when Amori’s granddad shook his hand.
“You have a firm grip, that’s good.” Zachariah studied Cody with a serious and calculated gaze, before his eyes turned upon his granddaughter and softened considerably. “Over the phone you didn’t tell me that you had someone with you.”
“I know, but it wasn’t something that I thought would be wise to say over the phone.”
“You know that you’re going to have to, when we get to the farm, tell me and your grandma what’s been going on.” Zachariah stated as he opened the door for her to get in.
“Yes sir I know.” Shutting the door he went around to the driver’s side. Getting in he waited until Cody was situated in the truck bed before driving off.
“So are you going to explain to your gramps why you’re with Cathlin’s boy?” Amori looked out the rear window to Cody. “It’s a long story, and I think it would be best if I tell you when Ma’s there with us. Oh and please could you not tell mom and dad that I’m back?”
Zachariah shot her a look, “When we get to the farm you’ve got a lot of explaining to do lamb.”
Amori nodded as she peered out of the window, he had no idea.