Green Eyes

“What are you saying?” Jared questioned Selene who was leaning on her chair. She was already drained from her efforts to heal the twins.

“Remember…when my father…was killed?” she panted out. Jared nodded. “While much of what happened that night is fuzzy, I vividly remember that when I came up to the house, it was like I got hit by a bucket of ice water. That’s how I feel right now.” Again, she clutched her gut and shuddered as another wave of cold washed over her.

“Are you going to throw up?” Mara put her hand on Selene’s back.

“I don’t think so,” Selene shook her head. “I don’t feel nauseous, just chilled.”

“Like when you have the flu?” Jael asked.

“I, uh, don’t know,” Selene answered. “I’ve never had the flu.”

“What?” Jael looked confused.

“One of the perks of being a Navi is that she doesn’t get sick, ever,” Jared added.

“That’s convenient,” Jael remarked with raised eyebrows.

“You think it could be another one of her powers emerging?” Mara questioned her brother.

“Like a sorcerer sensory thing? Maybe,” Jared bit his bottom lip, looking pensive. “If it is we could be in trouble.”

“Not unexpected though,” Mara replied. “To be frank, I was more surprised that they hadn’t made an appearance yet, especially with all the havoc we’ve been raising.”

“True,” Jared sighed heavily. “Let’s hope that’s not the case.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Selene cut into the conversation.

“There’s a coven of sorcerers about fifteen miles from here,” Jared responded. “The reason that Beth Haven doesn’t have much of a troop compliment this close to the Ammonite border is because Brutus has made the castle outside Beth Haven one of his strongholds. As a result the castle, which used to be called Traveler’s Haven and is now called Witches Haven, is stocked with sorcerers which Brutus and Manasseh use to guard the Ammonite Road.”

“Wait, you knew the whole time that there was a castle loaded with sorcerers, my deadliest enemies, and still came here anyway?” Selene exploded.

“We weren’t planning on staying more than a few days,” Jared couldn’t resist casting a quick look at Jael. “It was because of Witches Haven that Mara and I were reluctant to help Jael. This is the best place to stock up for crossing the Harosheth, especially in winter. What we were planning was to lay low here for a few days, stock up, and get out before anyone was the wiser. Clearly that didn’t happen.”

“So this is my fault?” Selene glared.

“A little bit, yeah,” Mara nodded.

“Look, it may be nothing,” Jared held up his hand. “Before we panic, I’m going to see what, if anything is going on. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

A moment later he was out into the night, leaving the three women alone in the common room.

“Can you guys fight sorcerers?” Selene asked Mara, still warding off the chills. She was starting to get the cold feeling under control to the point it wasn’t so debilitating, but every few seconds, she would involuntarily convulse.

“No,” Mara shook her head. “Against natural opponents, we’re invincible. But sorcerers, and Navi for that matter, are an entirely different matter.”

“What’s the problem?”

“It’s very difficult to kill someone that you can’t touch and can kill you with a single thought,” Mara replied.

“So if they find us, we’re dead?” Selene concluded.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Mara confirmed. “Unless, of course, we can figure a way out of here before they find us. But with there being only one gate, that might be a bit of a problem.”

“Why didn’t you guys tell me?” Selene demanded angrily.

“Would it have really made a difference?” Mara raised an eyebrow.

Selene looked over at Jael and Deborah. The older woman looked both concerned and guilty, as if she felt responsible for their possible predicament. Deborah had no real idea what was going on, but knew that everyone had gotten very serious, very quickly.

Would Selene have left the two of them to suffer some horrific fate at the hands of the Bats, knowing what she did? No, she decided, she wouldn’t have. Risk was part of being a Navi and that was a risk she had now wholeheartedly accepted.

“Didn’t think so,” Mara read her expression. “Don’t feel guilty Jael. Jared and I anticipated something like this might happen. If Brutus and his merry band are here, we can escape into the forest easily enough, as long as we can get out of the city.”

“How do we do that?” Selene wondered.

“Not entirely sure,” Mara admitted. “That depends on whether or not they have the gate blocked off. I imagine that they will; Brutus may be a sadistic bastard, but he’s not a complete moron, unfortunately.”

“And if it is?”

“Then we’ll figure something else out,” Mara shrugged. “The real trick is going to be getting the horses out. We can slip over the walls easily enough, but getting the horses through is going to be a challenge. You wouldn’t happen to know of any small doors in the wall, would you?” the former slave questioned Jael.

“No, sorry,” the innkeeper shook her head.

“Like I said,” Mara reassured confidently, “we’ll figure something out. Besides, this is assuming that there is actually something to worry about. It could just be that you had a bad reaction to the ale.”

“Not my ale,” Jael protested. “We have only the finest.”

“It is rather good,” Mara appraised her glass. “But Selene is a Navi and so one can’t ever quite be sure how her physiology is going to react.”

“You two do realize I’m sitting right here, don’t you?” Selene demanded gruffly, crossing her arms.

“Relax child,” Mara smirked. “Let’s wait until Jared gets back to see what, if anything is going on.”

*******

Jared’s first sign that something was amiss was the throng beginning to assemble in the city square. The sun had been down for several hours at this point so the shops had closed up and most people had called it a night. Usually at this time the streets were empty except for a few lightweight drunks teetering home. But tonight, dozens of people were making their way to the town square. Clearly something important was happening.

The second sign was an unnatural chill that permeated the atmosphere. While it was still the heart of winter, this cold that Jared was feeling was not from the night air, which was cold enough. No, the cold he felt was the kind that crawled at your bones. He may not have had a Navi’s senses, but he could still sense the presence of pure evil.

His third sign was in the square. It was brightly and unnaturally illuminated. Arrayed around the square were 20 or so richly dressed individuals, about half of them male and the other half female, all holding exceptionally bright torches in their hands. But on closer inspection, Jared realized that they weren’t holding torches; they were the torches. Blazing fire roared from their outstretched palms, lighting up the sky like it was daylight. There were only two kinds of people that could do that: Navi and sorcerers. Jared was pretty sure he knew which of those these people were.

Keeping his distance from the human torches, Jared shuffled through the crowd to roughly the middle: close enough he could hear whatever was going on but far enough away that he wouldn’t be noticed. Around him people were whispering and talking about the sudden appearance of the sorcerers who rarely troubled the city. A few even suggested that Viceroy himself, the chief of all sorcerers in Kalashon, was here. Jared fervently hoped not.

A trumpet blast from the obelisk drew his attention and instantly Jared’s hopes were dashed. Standing there, flanked by two Blood Guards, was Viceroy Lord Brutus.

He looked little different then how he had appeared a little over a month previous. In fact the Viceroy had changed little from when Jared had first encountered him some 20 years before. Same short, stocky build; same black and gray dreadlocks; same beady black eyes that radiated pure hatred and evil. It was enough to make the mercenary’s skin crawl.

“People of Beth Haven,” the Viceroy addressed the gathered crowd. “No doubt you are wondering at my sudden and unannounced visit. I wish it were to bring you good news.”

Yeah and I’m a unicorn, Jared sarcastically thought to himself.

“Sadly, I have come to tell you that you all stand guilty of treason,” the Viceroy announced succinctly.

Instantly the masses broke out into shocked cries, excited whispers, and loud protestations. Brutus raised his hands for silence, something he quickly got. You never question the Viceroy, especially when your entire town is accused of treason.

“For the last week, this town has been harboring three fugitives,” Brutus produced a copy of the wanted poster. “These are the three most dangerous people in the entire kingdom and enemies of his highness, King Manasseh. As citizens of Kalashon, you are obligated to find these traitors and turn them in as soon as discovered but you have not done so.” Brutus raised his hand, cutting off the protests.

“The king is of course a compassionate and understanding man,” he continued. “And he understands that most of you are innocent of betraying the Crown. But someone here clearly has and until that traitor is found, the entire town is going to be held responsible.” Again he had to raise his hands to quiet the terrified mob.

“King Manasseh had hoped that the vast reward would be enough incentive to induce anyone to turn in these rebels,” Brutus added. “Clearly this has not been the case so I will introduce the incentive of fear. If no one comes to turn them in, then I will interrogate everyone in this city before I burn it to the ground. You do not want me to interrogate you.”

For a demonstration, Brutus telekinetically grabbed a young man from the crowd. But to the horror of the crowd, Brutus placed his fingers on the man’s forehead and then ripped the thoughts from his mind. Writhing, the man screeched in agony as his brain was turned to goo before being released by the Viceroy. He dropped to the ground, a quivering, catatonic wreck.

“You have until noon tomorrow, Beth Haven,” Brutus announced. “Then we begin our investigation.”

*******