Chronicles of Logos Quest For the Kingdom Parts IV, V, VI, and VII Revised With Index (Quest For the Kingdom Set) (21 page)

Wherever he
turned, Dag encountered furtive glances and downcast eyes among several of the
women. They planned this, Dag thought to himself as a queer fear clutched him,
depriving his lungs of breath for a moment. He became dizzy and swayed on his
feet. With a gulp of air he recovered himself and met the eyes of Judoc.

Say something,
they implored him. Anything, but
say
something!

Dag cast aside
his fear and plunged into the fray.

“My good
friends,” he began, “it has been many years since the worship of Eoghan, the
Tuadan, and all of the other deities of Eirinia was stopped in our village. And
Dominio has blessed us richly for our faithfulness to Him. Have we lacked for
any good thing? Known want of any kind? No, for He has blessed us for our
faithfulness to Him!

“How is it
then that name of Eoghan has been called on here this day? Have you forgotten
the goodness of Dominio, and the sacrifice of Alexandros for your sake? Why do
you thank Eoghan for anything when he has no power except what you give him?”

A murmuring
broke out among them and for a few moments Dag was at a loss for action.

Please,
Dominio, he prayed. Show me what to do. These are my friends and I love them.
But show me what to do.

It was Laig
who spoke for them.

“It’s true
that we have served Dominio all of these years. Yet we have not forgotten the
gods who blessed these lands long before you arrived here and told us we were
wrong to honor them. And of late they have cried out to us, reminding us of who
we are, and what we owe to them. We may serve them and Dominio, for they are
all the same.”

“Aye!” “Yes,
that is so.” “It is right that we should do so.”

Such were the
agreements that Dag heard all around him.

I can not
believe that such a thing is happening, he agonized. What has blinded them to
suddenly turn back to their old gods?

“You are
wrong!” he cried out.

The murmuring
ceased abruptly as they all turned to face Dag.

“There is One
God and His name is Dominio!” Dag declared. “You are mad to turn back to idols,
and any found doing so shall be punished for it. Do you not remember how we
tore down the high places of the Tuadan, and you were warned what would happen
if you ever restored them or turned back to your idolatry?”

The men looked
uncomfortable and cast down their eyes, shuffling their feet on the ground. But
the women gave Dag look for look and clustered together in open defiance. He
stared them down in a silence that was so total that he did not even hear a
cough or an intake of breath. Finally, Niamh spoke into the deafening silence.

“You are
wrong, Dag,” she rebuked him. “You have taken away our very identity, replacing
it with the name of Alexandrians. We were a free people long before you came
here, long before the Valerians overran us and forced us to pay tribute to
them. We have seen the light now and you will rule us no more.”

A roar erupted
from the screams of the women as they agreed with the defiant words of Niamh. Dag’s
daughter Maelys was openly distressed as she beseeched her father with her eyes
not to quarrel. The face of Judoc was impassive as she faced the other women.

She came to
stand beside her husband. And then Cort and Siv came along with Brit. They were
joined by Dirk and Brand. At last, with a wavering look at the young men of the
village, came Maelys.

It was then
that Dag noted that Brenus, Melisande, and Nolwenn stood with the villagers.

It is
Melisande, he rued, she has turned my own son against me and taken my daughter
with him. It was an evil day when she joined this family.

Cort strode
forward and faced the women.

“You are in
sin and have been deceived,” he warned. “Repent or you shall be visited with
judgment and rebuke by Dominio. For He alone is God, and He shall not share His
glory with another. Break your allegiance to your false gods or you shall face
the wrath of Dominio.”

He did not
wait for their response but took Dag by the arm and marched with him arm in arm
to his father’s hut.

Brenus was
just finishing a fruitless day of hunting. What ailed the forest creatures? At
this time of day there was usually an abundance of rabbits and squirrels
scampering through the woods. But today they were nowhere to be found. And the
entire forest was silent…

He tossed his
bow upon the ground, giving vent to his frustration. How he hated going back to
face Melisande with no meat for the evening meal! All she had to do was flash
him a look from those green eyes and he knew her wrath was aroused. She never
raised her voice to him, but her mockery cut him deeply, casting doubt on his
very manhood at times.

What a
creature of contradictions she truly was! So soft and inviting for the most
part, yet so hard and implacable if her will was thwarted. But she still wove a
spell around him that he found impossible to resist. He would give her
anything, anything to prevent that disdainful sneer from spreading across her
lovely face.

A rustle in
the grass caught his attention. Did one of the woodland creatures roam abroad
to face the day at last? He picked up his bow and crept stealthily in the
direction of the sound.

He kept an
alert eye open for the sight of his prey. But the grass revealed nothing…

Another sound
was borne to his ears, one that startled him deeply. A step was heard in the
grass behind him, so stealthy that he had not heard it at first. He turned back
in the direction of the step: there was nothing to be seen.

Surely a
rabbit is attempting to hide from my bow, he assured himself.

He took a step
further in the direction of the sound. And heard another step
behind
him. He took a step: another step followed his. He looked around frantically
for a glimpse of his stalker.

There was no
one there…but now he saw that the grass behind him sank under the imprint of an
unseen foot.

With sweat
pouring down his forehead he began to run frantically, looking around in vain
for any sign of life. He did not notice that his panic had taken him deeper
into the forest until he spied a mound rising from the sea of grass before him.

That mound. He
recalled glimpsing it years before, the day his mother had warned him not to
forsake the path. He had not heeded her, and it was Dag who had dragged him
back to the path in the woods.

Now it rose
before him again, but with a difference. For surely it had not glowed before?
Yet now an eerie light radiated from it for reasons unknown. The sun was behind
him and the mound should have been in shadow. But it glowed…

Brenus turned
back to where he had come. He heard it again; the sound of the footstep. The
glowing mound was before him and the unseen footsteps behind him. He cried out
and ran off to the side to escape them both.

He tripped
over a fallen branch and tried to scramble to his feet. Too late he turned to
look behind him and a scream of pure terror erupted from his lips…

The evening
meal was ready to serve. Judoc had invited Brenus and Melisande to sup with
them, in part to smooth over the strife from the Spring Festival and their
siding with the villagers. She placed bowls of vegetables and freshly baked
bread upon the table. Brenus had not yet returned with any meat for stew so the
vegetables and bread would have to suffice.

Then she
caught herself up with a start. How odd, that Brenus had not returned from
hunting, although he had left hours ago. Even if he found nothing he should
have come home long ago.

Judoc went to
the door of the hut to spy the horizon. She did not see anyone walking from the
direction of the woods, nor see any sign of Brenus.

Ah, but here
was Melisande strolling toward the hut now. She would have news of her husband.

Judoc opened
the door to let her in and Melisande ducked her head demurely and smiled at her
mother-in-law.

“Is Brenus on
his way?” Judoc inquired of her.

“Brenus?”

Melisande was
at a loss for words.

“I have not
seen him. I thought he had already arrived here to bring you the meat for the
stew.”

A strange fear
came over Judoc. How many years had it been since her husband Denzel set out to
hunt, never to return? And she knew with a sudden certainty that an evil fate
had befallen her eldest son…

The two women
looked deeply into the eyes of the other, their faces marked by an identical
fear as the realization dawned on them both that something terrible must have
happened to Brenus.

They waited.
Even after they were joined by Dag and the other children, they scanned the
horizon for a sign of Brenus.

But Brenus did
not return.

Marcus read
with growing fury the letter he had received from Kyrene that morning.

How could the
girl do this! Felicia had promised her mother to return to Lycenium after she
spent a year being mentored by Kyrene at the school in Solone. Yet his daughter
had run off, leaving a note for her mentor that as her mother had broken her
promise and was going to return sooner than expected, that she did not feel the
need to honor her part of the bargain.

He flung the
letter to the floor. With one stroke Felicia had dishonored her mother and
caused distress to his old friend, who had been entrusted with the care of her.
Add violation of hospitality to the charges against her! He knew Kyrene’s
tender heart and how she had no doubt been upbraiding herself for the girl’s
flight.

The door to
the library was flung open and Tullia entered with a vase of fresh lilac which
she placed on Marcus’ desk. She breathed deeply and appreciatively as a smile
of rapture lighted her lovely face. He decided to grant her a few more moments
of ignorant bliss before breaking the bad news.

“Is there any
month lovelier than May?” she breathed as she came and bestowed a kiss on her
husband’s cheek.

Then she
surprised him by dropping onto his lap and snuggling close to him.

“It was a day
such as this one when we wed, do you remember?” she whispered in his ear.

He did remember.
They had waited until a sufficient time of mourning had passed for his parents
and Felix, and then had wed the following spring on a May day that made them
gasp in awe at its emerald loveliness, so green and glowing as though they had
been encapsulated in the heart of a jewel. Surely Dominio Himself had smiled on
them from Heaven that day and blessed it with His approval and presence.

The memory
quickly faded as a frown of anxiety furrowed his brow. Tullia was quick to
notice his preoccupation.

“What ails
you, Marcus? Was it something I said?”

He looked at
her and pondered how best to break the news of their daughter’s disobedience
and rebellious flight. Deciding that her own words were best, he handed her
Kyrene’s letter which quoted the note left by Felicia.

“Because my
mother has broken her promise to allow me to remain a year, I have decided that
I will break my promise to her. I shall not be returning to Lycenium until such
a time as I have deemed sufficient. Do not try to find me: I know where I am going
and shall be quite safe.

“Thank you,
dear Aunt, for your tender care of me and your constant encouragement. Words
will never serve to express my gratitude for all you have done for me since
last summer when I arrived. You have given me a confidence I never possessed
before, and I feel quite prepared for whatever adventure may lie ahead of me on
the road I have chosen.”

Tullia leapt
to her feet and permitted herself the luxury of a scream of utter frustration.

“That
miserable, faithless child! I shall sentence her to bread and water for an
entire month when I find her! How could she do this to us, Marcus? How
could
she!”

Tullia paced
the floor of the library in growing agitation, turning this way, and then that,
with no clear sense of any direction to take. She clutched the letter and read
it again, then returned to her aimless pacing as she muttered to herself.
Accustomed to seeing her composed in all circumstances, it was clear that her
daughter’s behavior had struck some cord deep within her and disturbed her
peace of mind.

“What shall we
do, Marcus? How shall we find her? Where do we even begin to look?” Tullia
wailed openly now as tears began to stream down her face.

He pulled her
into his arms and soothed her. Slowly she relaxed against him and sighed
slightly. Gradually she stopped her weeping and lifted her face to his to
search his eyes for answers.

“I can not
think of where she may have gone,” he answered her. “And Kyrene said that she
has no idea either. But when she made inquiries at the docks, she was informed
that a young lady fitting Felicia’s description boarded a ship that was enroute
to Valerium. Yet she would not be safe there, so she must have some other plan
in mind and will continue her journey on foot or take another ship.”

He shook his
head in anguish. His daughter had always had a special place in his heart, and
now that his initial anger was passing, he entertained his concern for her
welfare.

“Valerium,”
Tullia mused. “No, she would not be heading to Valerium itself. But would she wish
to visit somewhere near Valerium? Or did she take the ship to prevent us
tracking her route and her destination is somewhere different altogether?”

They looked at
one another in growing puzzlement: where could Felicia possibly head for if
Valerium was not safe? For she was a maiden traveling alone and with her
shyness would not wish to live among strangers.

The thought
struck them both at the same moment, and their eyes widened as the tension was
released from their bodies.

“Eirinia,”
Tullia stated firmly. “Felicia is heading for Eirinia!”

Marcus nodded
his head in agreement.

“I must write
Dag to expect her arrival. And I will leave at once to intercept her there.”