Chapter 26 #2
“Kaelus declared that the lack of demons was a sign from Othrix. A reward for expelling the blasphemous female rider from the Light.” He shakes his head. “I’m pretty sure the bastard sent word to the Prime Klerick, claiming he was the one responsible for banishing Rosomon from the Light.”
Treacher leans forward and whispers. “Where is she? Does she still live?”
Anger shudders inside me, but I contain it.
Treacher waits for a response. Let him. I’m well practiced at remaining silent.
He finally gives up. “To seize control, the head klericks of the other six kingdoms accused their kings of various forms of blasphemy. After that, Khotor seized power with the Prime Klerick’s support.
“He sent his knyghts armies to capture castles and execute kings, like he had a fucking divine right to do it.” Treacher folds his arms over his chest and leans back, and the wooden chair creaks from the strain.
I look directly into his eyes for the first time.
I’m too sleep deprived and delirious to trust my instincts, but I see nothing but sincerity in Treacher’s expression, and I’ve heard no hint of lies in his words.
In fact, this is the best conversation I’ve ever had with this man, even though I’ve said nothing, and we’ve known each other over twenty years.
The Kingdoms of Light were meant to be an egalitarian coalition between seven benevolent sovereigns. I knew that even before Zogar told us about the Founding Principles.
Everyone knew that. No single king was meant to hold power over another, and each was to provide for and watch over his subjects—or her subjects according to Zogar. According to Zogar and Surath, there was to be no war in the Light—and no religion.
But it’s hard to imagine the Seven Kingdoms without the Tenets of Othrix.
Something went terribly wrong during or after the Separation, beyond the fact that Zogar’s people were trapped on this side of the veil. No wonder the dragons are furious. I’m furious too.
And if all Darkness, all access to magic, was to remain on the other side of the veil, how does one explain my existence? Not to mention all the other boys sent to the seminary, or the little girls put to death when they showed signs of magic.
Realizing I’m not going to respond, Treacher leans forward again. “So, that’s the gist of what’s happened here.” He eyes the dry crust of bread in my hand. “But since you’re still busy eating, I guess it’s up to me to keep the conversation going.”
He smirks. “I’ll bring you up to date on what’s happened, since you were tossed in this dungeon. Then you can tell me what went on in the Darkness.”
I chew slowly on the bread.
“Tynan told us that less time passed for you.” He looks at me quizzically, and so I stuff more stale bread in my mouth, hoping to hide any hint of an answer that my eyes might betray.
The hard edges of crust scrape my cheeks, but I crunch on it anyway, the sound deafening after the hours of near silence I’ve endured.
I have no way of knowing what Tynan disclosed over the two moon cycles I’ve been held. He hasn’t come to see me, and that gives me a tiny bit of hope that he’s not cooperating with my captors. If he were, they would have used him to aid their interrogations.
“After the guards dragged you from the field,” Treacher continues, “Tynan mounted his dragon and—” he leans forward “—you won’t believe this, but your dragon, Surath, she also took flight. All on her own!” He shifts back, looking for my reaction.
I give him none.
“I tried to mount her.” Treacher whistles softly. “She nearly killed me in the process.”
I fight to hide the grin rising inside me. I would have loved to see Surath toss Treacher off her back, not to mention the look on everyone’s face when she took flight on her own.
“I broke my leg as it was, and that’s one reason it took so long to find you,” Treacher continues. “Tynan and Xendus fled that day, with your dragon following behind. Four dragon handlers bore witness to it, alongside me, or I would’ve kept that part to myself.”
He shakes his head. “Kaelus had ordered both dragons to be hobbled. Tynan barely got away in time.”
I shift in the chair, thankful that Xendus and Surath escaped that fate, and proud of Tynan for getting them away—assuming he had any part in the decision.
“No one knows where Tynan took the dragons.” He shakes his head. “I ordered a battalion of riders to follow him, but the fucking klericks overrode my orders.”
He leans forward again. “Can you imagine? Klericks issuing commands to dragon masters.”
I shake my head, yielding my first true indication that I’ve been hearing him speak.
“I suspect the klericks know where Tynan and the dragons went, but they haven’t told me.
Do you know?” Leaning forward, Treacher lifts from his chair and whispers close to my ear.
“They think all of this was your doing. All of it. The klericks believe your magic allowed your dragon to fly without a rider. Is that true?” He leans back to look into my eyes, but I give him nothing.
“Saxon.” He swallows hard, and his apple of Othrix bobs sharply. “We’ve never been friends—I know that—but you need to defend yourself, man—and soon. They plan to kill you.”