A Land Of Fire (Book 12) (9 page)

“Follow the falcon!” Gwen yelled out.

The men changed course and followed Estopheles
as she led them in a different direction, through the sea of debris, their hull
clacking against all the wood.

Gwen kept her eyes fixated on the water,
searching everywhere, following her heart. She closed her eyes.

Please, God. Bring him to me.

Estopheles screeched, and Gwen watched
as she dove down in the distance and landed on the ocean, behind a huge pile of
debris. Gwen lost sight of her.

The ship sailed for her, and as Gwen watched
the waters, suddenly, she spied something.

“There!” Gwen yelled, pointing to what
looked like a body.

They sailed closer, and Gwen’s heart
stopped as she saw the unmistakable sight of a body draped over a pile of wood.
The body floated there, and seemed cold, stiff, perhaps even lifeless. She was
afraid to hope, and yet, as they got closer, the body shifted in the current
and Gwen for the first time got a look at his face.

She burst into tears: there lay
Thorgrin, unconscious, drifting. Gwendolyn’s heart raced; she could hardly
believe it. She had been right—it was really him.

“Lower the ropes!” called out a voice.

Gwen turned and handed the baby to
Illepra beside her, then was the first to rush forward, grab a thick rope, and
cast it overboard as they approached. Gwen didn’t wait for the others, but
jumped overboard herself, grabbing onto the rope and lowering herself down.

Gwen’s heart pounded as she got closer,
praying that Thor was alive. She reached him and jumped off the rope, into the
water, landing by Thor’s side.

“My lady!” someone called from above,
and several men scurried down the rope to help.

Gwen ignored them; she swam up beside
Thor, and grabbed him, shaking him. She saw he was unconscious, his lips blue.
But he was breathing.

“He’s alive!” she cried out with joy.

She wept, so relieved, hugging his limp
body, clutching him, not wanting to let go. He was alive. He was really alive.

Thor opened his eyes to find himself lying
on his back in a rocking ship, in a dim cabin below, sunlight streaking through
the slats.  He felt rested for the first time in as long as he could remember,
felt as if he had slept a thousand years. He felt a presence in the room before
he saw it, and he squinted and looked up, and in the dim light he was overcome
with joy to see a smiling face looking down on him, as a woman reached out and
held his hand with the softest touch he’d ever felt. Her face so filled with
love, her eyes glistening with tears, at first Thor wondered if it was just
another dream.

But as he sat up, his heart lifted to
realize it was not. There, before him, was the love of his life, the woman he
had prayed, time and again, that he’d have one more chance to see.

Gwendolyn.

Gwen leaned in and hugged him, crying over
his shoulder, and he hugged her tight. It felt surreal to hold her in his arms again.
Every wish, every prayer he’d ever had, had come true. He held her tight as she
cried, never wanting to let her go. He could not believe that they were
together again, after all they had been through.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wished and
waited for this moment,” she said into his ear, between her tears.

“I’ve thought of nothing but you,” he
replied.

“I did not think you’d ever come back to
me,” she said. “I only dared to dream.”

Gwen pulled back and looked into his
eyes. She laid her palms on his cheeks, and leaned in and kissed him, and he
kissed her back, loving the feel of her lips on his. They held the kiss for
such a long time, and all of Thor’s memories of Gwendolyn came rushing back to him—the
first time they’d met…their courtship…Guwayne’s birth. Thor had never imagined
loving anyone as much as her, and being here with her made him feel as if he were
meeting her again for the first time.

Thor also felt a new strength within
him, felt himself healed from all his wounds, rejuvenated, back to himself. He had
rested and recovered on this ship, and he realized that once again, his life
had been saved by Gwendolyn. He leaned back and looked her into her eyes.

“How did you find me?” he asked.

She smiled.

“It was easy,” she said. “You were floating
in the sea. You were hard to miss.”

Thor smiled and shook his head, taking
it all in.

“If you hadn’t come back for me, I would
be dead.”

Gwendolyn smiled at him.

“And if I hadn’t come back for you, I
myself would have died,” she replied.

She embraced him again, and he held her
tight. It felt surreal to feel her in the flesh, to smell her scent, to feel
the fabric of her clothes. For so long she’d been a fantasy in his mind, and he
didn’t know if he would ever return to her.

Thor was suddenly struck by another
thought.

“And Guwayne?” he asked.

He felt Gwen tightening up in his arms,
and she pulled back, and his heart fell as he saw her face become drawn, pained,
her eyes downcast.

She did not reply, but instead slowly
and sadly shook her head, tears dripping down her face,

“What has happened?” Thor asked, worried.

Gwen burst into tears, crying for a long
time, and Thor did not know what to say. His heart was pounding as he waited
for her response. Was his son alive?

“The island was under attack,” Gwen
finally managed to say between tears. “I was certain we would all die. I wanted
to spare Guwayne our fate. So I sent him alone, into the sea. In his own boat.”

Thor gasped, shocked, as Gwen wept.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “So, so sorry.”

Thor leaned in and hugged her, holding
her tight, rocking her, reassuring her.

“You did what was right,” he said. “You
cannot punish yourself. It was indeed likely you would have died—as many of our
people have died.”

Gwendolyn slowly calmed, and stared into
his eyes.

“We must find him,” she said. “I will
find him or die trying.”

Thor nodded in understanding.

“He will return to us,” he said. “What
is ours cannot be taken from us.”

Gwen searched Thor’s eyes with a glimmer
of hope.

“Mycoples?” she asked, tentative.
“Ralibar? Can they help?”

It was Thor’s turn to shake his head
sadly.

“I’m sorry, my love,” he said. “I alone
survived.”

Fresh tears rolled down her face, but
she nodded, stoic.

“I sensed as much,” she said. “I could
feel it, in my heart, in my dreams. I could feel Ralibar trying to talk to me.
I loved them dearly.”

“So did I,” Thorgrin said.

A long silence fell over the room, as
they both stared into space, lost in memories, lost in sorrow.

“And then how shall we find Guwayne, without
a dragon to comb the seas?” Gwen asked.

Thor thought for a moment, reflecting, and
a new purpose arose within him. He recalled his mother’s words, and he sensed
that what lay ahead of him would be the greatest quest of his life. It would be
a quest of greater importance than his search for the Destiny Sword, greater
even than his search for his mother. It would be more important than his own
life itself.

“I shall find him,” Thor said. “Without
the aid of a dragon. Without the aid of anyone but myself. I will take a boat,
and I will embark to search for him right away.”

“I already tried,” Gwen said, shaking
her head. “I feel certain he headed north. There is no land there, nothing on
any map. To lead our people there would be to kill them all. They need
provisions desperately. I tried it once, and I cannot do it again.”

“I understand,” Thor answered. “But I
can.”

Gwen looked at him, hope rising in her
eyes.

“You lead our people to a new land, to safety.
Wherever that may be. And I shall find Guwayne.”

Gwen looked pained again.

“I hate the thought of parting from you
again. Not for anything,” she said. “But for our son…it must be done.”

They both looked at each other and came
to a silent agreement to part ways, and Gwen reached out and took his hand.
They stood and faced each other.

“Are you ready to greet our people?” she
asked.

Gwen led him up the stairs from the
cabin, and Thor squinted at the harsh daylight as they came above board.

Thor was surprised to see hundreds of
his fellow people waiting there to greet him, looking at him like a hero risen from
the ashes. Thor saw in their eyes such love and admiration, as if they were witnessing
the emergence of a God.

They all rushed forward, and Thor
embraced them, one after the next, his heart swelling with joy to see all his
old friends and people again. There came Reece, then Elden, O’Connor, Conven, Kendrick,
Godfrey…one face after another whom he recognized, all men whom he thought he
would never see again.

“My time is short here,” Thor boomed out
to the crowd, as they settled down in silence. All eyes fixed on him, riveted. “I
must leave you all. I go to seek out my son. I shall take one of the small
boats from the rear of the ship. It will be a desolate and joyless journey, and
I do not expect any of you to join me. I shall return when I find him, and not
before.”

In the long silence that followed, Reece
stepped forward, his boots creaking on the wood, and faced Thor.

“Wherever you go, I go,” Reece said. “Legion
forever.”

Reece was joined by Elden, O’Connor, and
Conven.

“Legion forever,” they echoed.

Thor looked back at them all, touched,
honored to know them.

“It is a quest from which I may never
return,” he warned.

Reece grinned back.

“Even more reason to join it,” he said.

Thor smiled back, seeing the determination
on their faces, knowing he would not change their minds, and welcoming their
companionship again.

“Very well then,” he said. “Prepare yourselves.
We shall leave at once.”

*

Reece paced back and forth on the ship,
gathering his few possessions, mostly weapons, and stuffed them into a sack, preparing
for the journey ahead. He was elated that his best friend Thorgrin was alive,
was thrilled to have him back again, and was excited to be heading out on a
quest with him again. This quest, more than all the others, hit home for Reece,
as they were not just searching for a weapon, but for Guwayne, his nephew. Reece
could think of no two people he loved more than Gwendolyn and Thorgrin, and he
could imagine no higher cause than striving to retrieve their son.

Reece prepared his weapons carefully,
sharpening his sword, checking the aim on his bow, adjusting his arrows as he
strapped one bow over his shoulder and another sword over his back. Reece felt that
this would be the most important mission of his life, and he wanted to be
prepared.

Reece tried not to think of the others he
was leaving behind—Gwendolyn, Kendrick and the rest of his people, and most of
all Stara; yet he felt confident he would meet up with them again, and more importantly,
return victorious, with Guwayne in tow.

After all, Reece and Thorgrin were brothers
of the Legion, and for Reece, that was more sacred than blood—more sacred than
anything in this world. They held a bond of honor: if one of them was in
trouble, all of them were in trouble. If Gwendolyn’s son was missing, it was as
if Reece’s own son was missing. Reece recalled Kolk’s words, hammered into him
during training:
Don’t ever imagine that you fight alone. When one of you is
hurt, all of you are hurt. If you can’t learn to be there for your brothers,
you shall never learn to become a warrior at all. Battle is about sacrifice.
The sooner you learn that, the greater warrior you will be.

Reece regretted only one thing about
this quest, and that was Stara. Although he would not admit to himself that he
had feelings for her, he had to admit, at least, that he would think of her.
There was something about being around her, he had to admit, that was addicting.
It wasn’t so much that he ached to be in her presence, but rather that, when
she wasn’t around, he felt her absence. Like something about him was a little
bit off.

But Reece shook these thoughts away; in
the forefront of his mind there still remained Selese, his mourning for her,
his penitence. And sailing with Thorgrin, going on this journey, would help give
Reece time to reflect, to keep fresh his guilt for Selese. That was what he
wanted.

And yet, he had to admit, there remained
a part of him that felt he was abandoning Stara, even if she were here on the
ship with all the others.

“So are you just going to leave then?” came
a voice.

The hair stood up on Reece’s back, as he
heard the voice of the very person he had been thinking about—as if it were his
own conscience speaking to himself.

Reece put his sword in his scabbard,
turned around, and saw Stara facing him, a look of sadness and disappointment etched
across her face.

Reece cleared his throat and tried to
put on his bravest face.

“My brother has summoned me in his time
of need,” Reece replied, matter-of-factly. “What choice do I have?”

“What choice?” Stara repeated. “You have
any choice you wish. You needn’t go on this mission.”

“Thor needs me,” Reece replied.

Stara frowned.

“Thor is a great warrior. He does not
need you.  He does not need any of you. He can find his son on his own.”

It was Reece’s turn to frown.

“So then I should just leave him to the
fates, whatever should happen?”

Stara looked away.

“I do not want you to go,” she said. “I
want you here. With me. With all of us on this ship, wherever it is that we are
going. Don’t I count, too? Is Thor more important than me?”

Reece looked at her, baffled. He didn’t
know where this was coming from; she was acting as if they were a couple—but they
were not. For most of the trip, in fact, she had barely acknowledged him.
Wasn’t it Stara, after all, who had said they would never be together, except
in mourning for Selese?

Reece was certain he would never
understand the ways of women. He stepped forward and spoke softly, filled with
compassion for her.

“Stara,” he said, “you’ve been a great
friend to me. But as you yourself have stated, there can no longer be anything between
us. We both live together in the presence of a ghost, are both joined by mourning.”

Reece sighed.

“I admit, I will miss you. I would like
to be with you, in whatever way we can. But I’m sorry; my brothers need me. And
when I am needed by my brother, I go. That is who I am. There is no choice
there for me.”

Stara looked back at him, her glowing
blue eyes filled with tears, and that look haunted Reece; it was a look, he
knew, that he should not easily forget.