Brotherhood Saga 03: Death (90 page)

“I
’m home!” he cried, thrusting both hands into the air and extending his arms as if he were a bird coasting the current upon which the horse seemed to ride. “I’m home!”

“Hold on!” Virgin cried, a laugh echoing from his chest as he wrapped an arm around Odin
’s waist and took hold of the reins.

“I
’m home! I’m home!”

Birds resting in the trees took flight and a herd of deer
grazing near the side of the road disbanded into opposite directions. A fawn, caught in the midst of it all, stood as if it were caught by some bizarre light in the middle of the road until Odin raised his hand and shot a plume of fire into the air before making it crack about the horizon.

“Odin!” Virgin laughed. “You
’re going to scare everything in the woods if you keep this up!”

“I don
’t care!” he cried. “I’m home, Virgin! I’m fucking
home!”

In response, the older Halfling laughed and locked his arm tighter around Odin
’s abdomen.

Odin looked up.

No more than a few hundred feet away, the flesh-colored road that led to Felnon and the surrounding providence came into view.

Odin closed his eyes.

Behind him, Virgin whispered a slight breath of awe.

When Odin turned his attention back to the one place he called home, his heart began to beat like a thunderclap raging across the sky.

What would his father think of his disappearance, of Virgin, of the man he considered to be the person he loved and of the fact that, in the minds of some, he had betrayed his entire kingdom?

He won
’t think anything,
he thought,
because he’s my father.

If that thought would not soothe his worries,
then nothing would.

The path to the village was sparse but lined with houses. Alongside the road, women conversing with one another about daily life rose to take notice from their places on stumps and watched as the two men riding atop the single horse sauntered into the village with little more than nods or smiles, while to the sides in great heaps and bundles of snow children played with one another and their dogs. Each cried or yipped with glee, raising hands in greeting or barking at the monstrous horse that made its way up the road, and every time Odin took notice of a man cutting wood for his family’s fireplace or making their way along the path he nodded, content with the fact that the village seemed peaceful, immune to whatever forces the outside world had bestowed upon them.

The peace, the atmosphere, the clarity in which the whole village could be seen—it was in that moment, when looking upon those
people’s faces, that Odin truly realized how long it had been since he had been home.

At the bottom of the highest hill in Felnon, atop which currently lay a mountain of snow
, appeared the house he had grown up in.

Home,
Odin thought.

The word a whispered breath upon his lips, molded but not truly echoed, it rang through his head a multitude of times, bouncing off each side of his skull, until it finally fell into place.

A long figure shambling up the side of the road caught Odin’s eye.

Is that,
he thought, frowning.

“My God,” he breathed.

“What is it?” Odin asked.

“The midwife.”

“Who?”

Odin threw himself from his place atop the horse and rushed to greet the woman—whom, in reaction to the figure running
toward her, shrieked and threw her arms up, only to lower them a short moment later.

“Mother Karma,” Odin
said, falling to his knees and lifting both palms to encapsulate her right hand. “Do you remember who I am?”

“Your eyes,” the woman breathed.

It took him but a moment to see that, like all things, she had aged. Beautiful, tranquil, with eyes the color of fresh iron that seemed to encapsulate the world rnd reflect it back at anyone who looked upon them—Odin couldn’t help but be lost in her face, in her rapidly-decreasing cheekbones, the soft and assured whiteness of her teeth, her thin but fine pink lips and her high, flourishing brows. Her chipmunk-brown hair fell around her face and framed it perfectly in the moments following her initial declaration, capturing her in a light Odin couldn’t help but smile at despite the snow that fell around them. There seemed to be nothing that could ruin this moment, especially not when looking upon her beautiful yet sadly stress-worn face.

Come on,
he thought, trembling, holding his hands as steadily as he could.
You remember me.

When a smile sprung across her face and a laugh echoed out through her lips, Odin flung himself to his feet, took her into his arms, then lifted her into the air, a fact that surprised the midwife whom had helped cared for him so much that she cried out in surprise.

“Odin Karussa!” she said, smacking his back as he continued to tighten his hold on her. “Put me down this instant!”

“I
’m sorry,” he said, imparting a kiss upon her cheek as he set her down and brushed a few tears of snow off her shoulder. “It’s just… I haven’t seen you in so long.”

“Where have you been, boy?”

“That’s a long story.” He turned and beckoned to Virgin, who dismounted and began to lead the horse toward them. “Would you… would you care to come visit my father with me?”

“Of course,” Karma said. “I
’d love to.”

“I don
’t bear good news, I’m afraid.”

“Is something… wrong?”

“Something’s terrible happened,” he sighed. “Something very terrible.”

“Where in God’s name have you been?” Ectris Karussa asked, taking Odin into his arms the moment he opened the door. “Dammit, boy—you about scared the shit out of me if there weren’t none.”

“I
’m sorry,” Odin said, bowing his head into his father’s neck before leaning back to kiss his cheek. “Father… I… we need to talk about something.”

“Of course.” Ectris looked past Odin
’s shoulder at both Karma and Virgin, who stood near shoulder-to-shoulder in the slight downfall of snow. “Who might this be? And Karma? What’re you doing here?”

“Your son invited me to visit you,” the midwife said, stepping into the house before Ectris could begin to invite her in.

Without so much as a word in passing, Ectris gestured Odin and Virgin inside, then closed the door, taking a moment to secure the lock and chain before turning to examine them. “Do you want me to—“

“I
’ll make tea,” Karma said, scurrying off into the kitchen.

“Son,” Ectris said, smiling when his eyes once more fell upon Odin. “God, boy… what
’s happened to you? You look so thin.”

“Miko
’s dead, Father.”

Ectris
’ face paled. “What?”

“He was killed in the summer, when the force from Denyon came and claimed Dwaydor. He was… shot…” Odin somehow managed to maintain his tears by snorting snot that threatened to come running out his nostrils. “By a Dwarf that was with Herald.”

“My God,” Ectris said. “Odin, I’m—“

“That
’s not all. He… he told me you… you weren’t my father.”

There,
Odin thought, grimacing, swallowing the lump in his throat as Virgin stepped forward from behind to set a hand on his shoulder.
I said it.

The moment of truth, the eclipse of time, when the sun and the moon aligned to create what could be seen as something of a ring of light around a hole of darkness—that, in the sky, could potentially spell death for every
one who looked upon it. They said to gaze upon such an event could instill the Gods’ power within a mortal man—that if magic ran free within one’s veins, they could tear the world asunder. It would have appeared that such an event had happened, given his adoptive father’s facial expression and the way one vein throbbed and another in his neck quivered, but for that Odin couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that the news, as devastating as it was, had to have been harsh, especially given that, up until that time several months ago, he had believed Ectris to be his only father.

“What else did he say?” Ectris finally said, as if he were out of breath and desperately trying to maintain hold on reality.

“He said that he brought me to you,” Odin said, “on one long, stormy night.”

At this, Ectris shivered and reached up to brush his arms, as if he
’d developed a chill or spiders had run along his forearms. He then shook the tips of his fingers, like he was flinging water from them, until the tremble subsided. When it did, his eyes faltered and stared directly at Odin—into, what he could only perceive, was his very soul. “You may not be my real son,” Ectris said, stepping forward to bridge the distance between them, “but you’re as much my child as you would be had you been born of my flesh and blood.”

“He
’s right,” Karma said, stepping forward with a chorus of cups in one hand and a steaming pot of tea in the other. “Come, friends. Sit. Let us discuss what has happened.”

As Odin sat down—taking a seat directly next to Virgin not only to keep his wits, but to assure himself that he would have a direct look at his adoptive father—he stared into Ectris
’ eyes and tried to discern the emotions that were there. He could not, in the least, see anything other than unease, which came from his still-quivering lip and a bead of unnatural sweat that shivered down one side of his face, but he imagined there must be so much more there, possibly even fear and desperation.

What must it feel like to lose a child, if only in the emotional sense? Does it feel like being stabbed in the chest with a broad-hilted sword, then having it twisted and pulled out of one
’s torso, or does it come with the sensations of tens of hundreds of insects crawling across the skin, then stabbing into one’s flesh? However it felt, Odin thought, it couldn’t have been good, not in the least.

When Karma settled down
in the chair next to Ectris, Odin reached for Virgin’s hand beneath the table.

When their palms touched, Virgin laced their fingers together.

It’s all right,
his pained eyes said.
You can do this.

He had no doubt
of that, but just how was he to continue knowing that he was tearing apart one of the most important men in his life?

“Father,” he said, turning his eyes from Virgin to look Ectris directly in the eyes. “Listen—“

“I shouldn’t have lied to you,” Ectris said, reaching up to claw at his rapidly-greying but also thinning hair. “I should’ve told you when you were old enough, before we left for the castle.”

“And what then?” Odin asked. “You know it would
’ve destroyed me—us.”

“At least I would have been honest. Now I don
’t even know if I have the right to call you my son.”

“I
am
your son, Father. You were the one that raised me, fed me, kept me clothed and happy. There isn’t anything that can take that away.”

“Maybe so,” Ectris sighed. “But all those years… all that time… I should
’ve known when he entered your life, Odin. I should’ve
known
that man… Elf… whatever he was… was the creature that brought you to me.”

“You couldn
’t have known,” Virgin said, raising his voice for the first time since the whole ordeal had begun.

“Who is this?” Ectris asked.

“Father, this is Virgin. He’s my… uh…”

“Acquaintance, of sorts,” Virgin replied, tightening his hold on Odin
’s hand.

Great. Now I don
’t even know how to tell my father I’m queer.

What, in the end, would he think?

Rather than dwell on it any further, Odin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then said, point blank, “He’s my lover.”

Ectris merely blinked.

That’s it?
Odin thought, frowning, almost unable to believe what had just taken place.

He
’d expected something more—at the very least, some kind of questioning.

“Well,” Karma said, setting a hand atop Ectris
’ shoulder. “This is… different.”

“Are you… well,” Ectris said, then laughed as a blush spread across his face. “Of course you would be. Why wouldn
’t you? I mean, God… you’ve known each other for how long now?”

“Almost a year,” Odin mumbled, almost embarrassed for his father for the thoughts that had to have been running through his mind.

“Never mind that,” the man said, reaching across the table to grasp Virgin’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my friend, because anyone who loves my son must be a good person… well…
man…
in my eye.”

“I care for your son very much,” Virgin replied.

He still can’t say it.

Odin bit his lower lip to keep from saying anything.