Dirt (The Dirt Trilogy) (13 page)

“So, now I’m a rodent. Why don’t you focus on destroying
Straif instead of me? He’s the real threat. Get rid of Straif and your
people will be free.”
“It’s not easy, Ashe.” This is the first time he’s ever called me
by name.
He is morose as he lies back on the bed staring at the ceiling.
He doesn’t know what else to say. That’s a change. He seems to
always have something to spout back with.
After a few moments he takes a different tone.“Females…
You’re all such a mystery.”
“That’s an improvement,” I say with a reel of sarcasm. “I’ve
gone from mere bithling to female. That’s the real mystery.”
“I’ve never been alone with a girl before.”
“What?”
“I’ve always avoided females, to avoid temptation. I didn’t
want anything to get in the way of my position. Falling in love is
forbidden and I intend to keep it that way.”
I don’t respond. Surprisingly, I empathize with him. In the
human world, I always avoided boys, not because I had to, but
because it was comfortable. I didn’t want to have to confront my
father with that issue.

I wake the next morning. Coll sits by the window gazing out.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Late. Almost noon. “
“Did you get any sleep?”
“Sleep?
Are
you kidding?”
He
stops himself. “Sorry. I
promised myself I would lose the attitude.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“No. I didn’t sleep. I watched over you last night. I can’t do
that with my eyes closed you know.” Coll is so different from
Rowen. My blood flows warmer as I think of him. Deep in the core
of my heart, I know he’d be here if he could, and that fact begins to
stir worry. Has something happened to him? Where is he?
“Get cleaned up. We are meeting with the other brethren in a
few minutes.”
I raise my hands in the air, shrugging my shoulders.
“Oh, the bathroom is right here,” he says pointing to the next
room that has no door.
“I’m very aware of where the bathroom is. Do you mind?” He
turns his to face the opposite wall. “I mean you’d better not look.”
He smirks, making me doubt him. “I promise,” he says.

Tensions build with the intense chatter. There are sentries from
wall to wall. Alder stands on the platform in front of the frazzled
audience, Arcos sits behind him, and little Cy stands at his side.
Ruis remains as invisible as always, in the back of the room.

“
There have been developments,” Alder says, looking over the
crowd. “Straif is coming here.” A gasp vacuums air from the room.
“We must prepare. We must include everyone in the fight.” He
resists his next statement. “Even our students.”

A tall, slender man in a red robe speaks out,
“We cannot risk
the lives of our young. They are the future of the brethrens.”
“There will be no future if the bithling is captured, if Straif is
not stopped,” Alder says.
Another tall man wearing the same crimson robe shouts from
the crowd. “When will he arrive?”
“He’s on his way. The celebration is tomorrow. We’ll make
preparations today.”
“May we see the bithling? If we know what it looks like, we’ll
be better able to protect it,” someone in an emerald robe exclaims.
I hold my breath as Alder peers over his men.“There is no
need for that. Your only job is to destroy Straif and retrieve the
sister key to the Doorway of Feda. My brethren have her in safe
keeping.”
I’m thankful he does not sell me out. Alder gives instructions,
“We will continue with the celebration as planned, however, each
of you will need to prepare your brethren. We will assign each
group a place to stand guard at all times and the alarm will sound
with the first sight of The Thorn. Be armed and have every horse
ready for flight. I don’t know how or when he will attack, but my
suspicions make me believe it will be when the twin moons are at
their brightest. That will occur in two nights. We have many
civilians here making our task even more complicated. Be prepared
my brothers and remember what is at stake.”
As the men exit, we head back to our small secluded room. I
can’t help but think of him. He should be here instead of this
“Rowen wanna-a-be.” Coll is protecting me for glory, not Rowen. It
isn’t about him. It’s about us. Where is he? Something is wrong.
Something is terribly wrong
.
The crisp morning light peers in through the window, creeping
past my eyelids. The room is hazy and I’m still dazed in a partial
state of sleep. Across the room I see him. He’s here. His chiseled
back moves in perfect motion as I watch him getting dressed. He
makes chills move through me like wind over ocean waves. I creep
out of my covers and crawl over to the other bed; I slide my hands
across his smooth shoulders and press my cheek to his warm skin.
“You came back for me.” I stay there for a moment his perfection
on my cheek.
He turns around. “I never left you.”
I jump back in shock. The sun illuminates the miasma of dusty
air clouding the room. “It’s you! You jerk! You let me…Why
didn’t you say something? I thought you were…”
“Rowen?” Coll smirks. “I did say something.”
“Yeah, but … you should have said something sooner.” My
face glows cardinal as I slide back to my side of the room.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Tell anyone what? Nothing happened. I thought you were
Rowen, that’s all.” I stare at his face and see something I have
never noticed before. “You know you two look a lot alike.”
“That’s because he’s my twin brother.”
“Do what?” I yell. “He’s your twin and you aren’t the least bit
worried about him?”
“My first allegiance is to the brethren. He broke the law. Don’t
you know what that means?”
“Yeah, it means your law is stupid. He’s your own flesh and
blood. Your own brother. Aren’t you at all worried about him?”
“I won’t allow myself.” He sits on the edge of the mattress
polishing his sword with a cloth, which glimmers against the
sunlight, the reflection of his bare chest shining back at him in the
blade. “You need to get ready. We have to leave soon.”
“You’re unbelievable.” I jump from the bed.
Entering the bathroom, I notice a sheet is now hanging in the
doorway, providing me
some privacy. He
put the
makeshift
doorway there—a bit of consideration I didn’t think he was capable
of. But he still appalls me.
“Hurry up. It’s almost time.” He works on his blade. Coll does
all he can to stay in the frame of mind he was taught to stay in.
After I shower, dress, and come out of the bathroom. Coll is
gone. I’m surprised he left me alone. Either something is wrong or
something is right. Maybe Rowen has actually come back. With
wet hair dripping on the floor, I quietly open the door and peek out.
A very large man stands outside with his back to me, his arms
folded across his chest. Ruis is beside him. His broad shoulders
meet the width of the door. I shut it immediately, tucking myself
quietly back into my room.
Okay, now I wouldn’t mind having Coll
back.
I sit festering.
I hear someone talking loudly and Coll storms in and slams the
door. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
“He’s a traitor! He’s turned his back on all of us!” He peers at
me with so much anger my soul is scorched. “And he has turned his
back on you. Love. It’s a joke.”
“What are you talking about? Who?”
“We met with Cy, and he had a vision.” Anger slices through
Coll’s words. “Your beloved Rowen, my worthless brother, is with
Straif. Cy saw it.”
“There has to be some mistake.”
“You can live in your make-believe world, Ashe, but it is what
it is.”
“Exactly, what did he see?”
“Cy’s visions are not always specific, but we do know Rowen
is with Straif…and that’s all I need to know.”
“You don’t know anything, Coll. You’re jealous.”
“Jealous?” he laughs. “That he’s a traitor? You need to face
reality, bithling. He doesn’t love you and he never did.”
“You’re wrong! And don’t call me bithling again!” I’m furious.
I swelter with anger, leaning my hands on the desk beside my bed.
Suddenly, the desk flies across the room, shattering into splinters as
it hits the wall. Coll looks at me with disbelief. I don’t believe it
myself.
The door swings open. “What was that?” Ivy heard the crash
from across the hall. She sees
the furniture
in pieces. “Coll!
Wh…what did you do? Ashe, dear, are you hurt?” She scurries
toward me placing her arm around my shoulder and giving Coll an
evil eye.
“I’m fine. He didn’t do it. It just happened.”
“What do you mean it just happened?”
“We were arguing and suddenly the desk crashed into the
wall.”
“She was touching it,” Coll adds, which seems unnecessary.
Coll looks at me as if I have the plague. Ivy investigates the
destruction. The desk hit the wall, leaving a gaping hole with slivers
of wood pierced into the stone. “How did you…?”
“I don’t know how it happened.” Since I arrived here I’ve seen
stranger things, and a shattered desk isn’t the most unbelievable
thing I’ve witnessed.
I’m so worried about Rowen that my mind is still arguing with
Coll. “He’s wrong. He told me about Rowen. There has to be some
mistake. He wouldn’t side with Straif. I know he wouldn’t.”
“Ashe, the truth is Cy saw him. There is no denying that,” Ivy
reminds me gently.
“We don’t know what he saw. And Coll, you said Cy couldn’t
give you any details.”
Both of them wear pity in their eyes, but I refuse to believe
Rowen would turn his back on us…on me.
“The celebration is about to begin.” Coll’s expression is empty,
as if he’s lost his best friend, but from what I’ve seen, there was no
friendship and no love
between them. The fact that they
are
brothers is still hard for me to get my mind around.
I calm down a bit, but the worry inside me overflows. I know
in my heart Rowen would never betray me. Either Cy is lying or
something is horribly wrong.
I cover myself in brown, and follow behind Coll while Ivy
walks alongside me. As we make our way through the castle’s dark
and narrow corridor, Ivy explains the purpose of the celebration.
“During the ceremony, the new sentries will receive their rights
of passage and take oaths to their assignments.”
I hoped this day would be one of joy and I could be one in the
crowd. The brown cloak is a safe place and gives me unexpected
comfort, but my mind wanders in and out of the thought of Rowen,
hoping they are wrong. I know if Rowen is with Straif it isn’t of his
own free will. I know deep down if what they are saying is true,
Rowen is in danger.
As we leave the castle, great masses of people are organized
into groups. A rainbow of cloth covers the field of attendants. Each
group of brethrens has their own colors. Emerald robes in one
group. Crimson in another. Mustard yellow. It’s all rather beautiful.
We sit in the stands. Only brown robes are amongst us, the
youngest of the brethren who are still in training. So, I blend in
perfectly. Those who have moved beyond Congramaid, like Coll,
Alder, and Ruis, wear no robes, but regular clothes.
My grandfather sits on an ornate wooden throne on the dias
alongside the instructors. It doesn’t seem like a celebration at all.
Even with the thousands of people in attendance, you can hear dust
drop and it’s creepy. A single instructor stands before the crowd
and begins reciting something in a foreign tongue. It sounds like
Latin, but I am not really sure.
Not one out of the thousands in the theater utters a sound. The
sentries being initiated are motionless in the middle of the theater.
The pews are made of stone, much like a Roman Coliseum. I think
I’m supposed to be happy for those being placed into the sentry life,
but I can’t help feeling sorry for them.
The scent of the air changes from a refreshing gust of life to
one of foreboding sadness. The atmosphere is thick with solemn
darkness, as sinister clouds pull a curtain over the sky. Breathing
becomes difficult.
I turn to Coll, who’s in some kind of trance. Then I peer over
the crowd and everyone is in the same disconnected state. I shake
Ivy’s sleeve.“What’s going on?’
“Shhh. Total silence,” she whispers with insistence.
No one seems to recognize the menacing feeling in the air
except for me. The clouds grow darker, but everyone remains
dazed. Then, I see him standing at the edge of the crowd, covered in
blood.
“Rowen!” I yell at the top of my lungs. Instead of looking at
him, the spectators turn their eyes on me and he falters. “Rowen!” I
shriek again unconcerned with decorum. My secret is out.
Rowen drops to the ground
Coll looks up and sees his brother, alarm marks his face. He
runs toward his brother and I follow right behind him. The entire
congregation is
in an uproar. All the leaders, including
my
grandfather, run to Rowen’s aid. He’s conscious, but barely.
Kneeling by his bruised and broken body, I take his hand and
draw it to my chest. “Rowen! Open your eyes. Look at me,” I beg
him. A strand of black-thorned vine is wrapped around his neck. I
try to pull it off, but with each bit of contact the noose tightens
more around his throat causing blood to trickle down his muscled
neck.
“Don’t touch it,” Coll instructs, and he gently slips his knife
under the vine. With one swift motion, he severs the noose. Rowen
groans at the slice and a small glimmer of blue peaks through the
small slits of his eyes. Coll picks him up and we make towards the
castle. Arcos, Alder, Ruis, Ivy and few of the instructors rush
behind us. The celebration stops and everyone is sent back to their
quarters. There is no sign of Straif or his thugs.
We end up in one of the dormitory rooms. Coll places Rowen’s
nearly lifeless body on the bed.
“What happened, my brother?” I’ve never seen this side of
Coll. His face
blushes
as
a
bit
of
compassion slips into his
expression like an unsuspecting victim. The others stand on the
other side of the room except for Alder and Arcos who stay close to
Rowen’s bedside.
“Str…Straif,” the words struggle from his lips. “He was here.”
Coll presses his palms on Rowen’s chest. After pushing me
away, Coll closes his eyes intently. Slowly, the wounds covering
Rowen begin to shrink. He’s still bleeding, but the red that runs
from him slows down. Coll pullshis hands from his brother’s chest.
“What are you doing? Why are you stopping?” I ask confused.
“He’s a healer; still he can only do so much. Only time will
tell,” Alder says.
“If you’re a healer, why don’t you heal him? You’re holding
back on purpose? Do something!” I yell in Coll’s face. I don’t know
what he’s capable of, and I don’t trust him.
Coll is empty and exhausted after sharing his gift. He makes no
expression as I
scream at
him. “What’s your problem?
Do
something!” I continue aggravated with his indifference.
Alder pulls me away from Coll, who now looks like he is on
the verge of collapse. “Coll is limited when it comes to healing
Rowen.”
“I know he is. He hates Rowen. He’drather see him….” I stop
myself before I go too far.
“Let me explain,” Alder says as he points to the chair next to
Rowen’s bed insinuating I take the seat. By this time, Coll is lying
down on another bed, looking pathetic and pale.
“Coll is unable to heal himself. The reason he is limited with
Rowen is because they are twins. Their DNA is so similar that
Coll’s gift restricts his ability to help his brother. We’ll have to see
how effective Coll’s powers are on Rowen. He’ll have to lay hands
upon him several more times, but with each healing Coll gets
weaker and has to rest to regain his energy.” I can see how the
healing affected Coll, who looks like he’s run a marathon in one
hundred degree temperatures.
“Rowen is going to make it. I know he will,” I insist, sitting by
his side with his hand in mine. I’m not leaving him. I have him
back and I’m not letting him go, not again. My heart aches to see
him suffer. Even though I don’t like him, I now have a new
appreciation for Coll.
Rowen remains unconscious, but the bleeding stops. Coll
places hands on his brother’s chest ever so often and with each
touch Rowen’s color improves, his wounds shrink. Each time Coll
gives of his gift, he is weaker, like someone recovering from the
flu.
Ivy brings us dinner along with my yellow muck. “You need to
eat, my dear.”
“I’m not leaving his side.” She places the food on the floor by
my legs. I eat what I can and drink my medicine, which was about
half the usual dose. I don’t understand what Straif’s purpose is in all
of this. Why would he want to hurt Rowen? I’m the one he’s after,
or at least I thought I was. As I gaze down on Rowen’s battered
face, I realize I’m the reason for his near-death condition. Straif has
to be stopped, or I will have to die, yet if I meet my death so will
they.