I was untying the last rope when I heard pounding on the dirt floor. I quickly removed the ropes and stood up. My body shook, frail from no food or water. All I could do was focus on not falling over. Achates bounded into the room. His eyes were wild with rage.
“You are a fool!” Achates spat at me. “How could you let your fate be intertwined with another's?!”
The old woman appeared by his side. She grabbed his hand in hers and gripped it tightly. “Shhh,” she said quietly, stroking his hand. “Shhh.”
Achates eyes seemed to focus as she calmed him down. “Yes, yes,” he nodded. “Food,” he said with a smile and walked out of the room.
“What did he mean about my fate?” I asked.
The woman shook her head. “Achates is right, child. First you need to eat.”
I followed the woman through the doorway and sat at the table she motioned to. Before I knew it, mounds of food were placed before me. The bread and stew were piping hot. I washed everything down with freshly squeezed blumberry juice. When my appetite was gone, I finally looked up at the couple sitting across from me. Achates was patting his beard, and I watched as remnants of our meal fell from it to the floor.
The woman looked at her husband and then at me. “Tell us what you know about the divinares.”
I didn’t know much about the divinares, so instead I told them all about my past, starting with my parents being murdered, and about my journey after leaving the Iron Gates. Once I began talking about what I had been through, it was hard to stop. Soon I had told them almost everything that had happened and most of what I had discovered along the way. “And that’s when you captured me,” I said, finishing up my story. The old couple stared back at me. Achates mumbled something under his breath and his wife placed her hand on top of his. Achates looked furious, but the woman looked like she was about to start crying again.
“What did you say your name was?” Achates whispered.
“Mahlia,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. I was still frightened by this crazy man.
The old man and woman looked at each other. “Well, let me tell you what we know,” she spoke slowly. “There is truth within the story of the Lights of the Lords. I believe the first darkness that is mentioned is just an old tale to teach us about the sun and stars and the importance that they truly hold. The second darkness in the story happened a very long time ago. In this world there were once two brothers. One was born with the gift of strength, the other with the gift of reason. At first they lived like brothers do, creating a harmonious world together. But soon resentment ignited between the two brothers as each began to claim that he was better than the other. Bitterness filled their souls due to the leadership they believed they deserved. They did not know that strength and reason were equally needed in this harsh world.
Soon they went their separate ways and their resentment turned into hatred for the Lords. The strong brother eventually formed the brutarian race, each generation stronger and more menacing than the one before. The intelligent brother formed the human race, much smaller, but very logical. Ultimately, all brutarians were born with the gift of strength and all humans were born with the gift of reason. And each group was born with a hatred for the other. To bring peace between the two races, two Lords were sent to live in this world. These Lords created children who became known as divinares, and all divinares were born with the gift of sight. Three races balanced the world and peace was restored.”
The woman paused in her story and looked at me. “As you know, divinares eventually felt the same discord that originally separated the two brothers. They believed they possessed the best gift, and were thus the best race. As punishment, the Lords stripped the divinares of their gift. The third darkness is now upon us. I fear that it will be worse than any other. This time, the Lords have abandoned all of us.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair as I heard the tale of what I feared was true. Darkness had returned. “But what about me? Why do I have the gift?”
“Tell her,” Achates spat. It looked like he had fallen asleep during the story, but he seemed alert and angry once again.
“First, let me tell you about us,” she said wearily, glancing at her husband. “We both lived in the divinare castle at Divinoira. Achates was most trusted by the last king. He was second in command, in charge of training and leading the divinare royal guard. The army was defeated when the brutarians stormed the castle. They only kept Achates alive to torture him in order to find the king. But Achates did not break. When the king was found slaughtered, we suspected treachery, but we never found the traitor. All the divinares were locked inside the gates and the city was set on fire. Achates and I were some of the few that made it out alive through an underground tunnel connected to the king’s quarters.
Most of the survivors continued east, but we stopped here. I was with child and couldn’t travel any farther. We’ve lived here ever since. Being so close to the desert makes visitors scarce, which is exactly what we wanted. Achates and I were very protective of our child. We knew the world was not what it used to be. Brutarians and humans were angry with the divinares, and rightfully so. But they didn’t understand that our gift had been taken away. They hunted divinares, torturing us to find the magic we possessed. They didn’t understand that it was gone. They still don’t believe us, as you know,” she said, gesturing to my scars.
“Where is your child?” I asked.
“Our protectiveness drove her away,” the woman replied sadly.
Achates had suddenly grown weary as well. “We had no choice, she was the last divinare who was born with the power of the Moira.” There was a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at me.
“What is her name?” I asked in almost a whisper.
“She was named after me,” the woman spoke. “Augury. That was your mother's name, wasn’t it, child?”
Chapter 11
Achates slowly rose and left the room, his eyes glazed over. I was still embraced in my grandmother’s hug. Her warm tears fell softly on the top of my head. “My Mahlia, we knew you would find us.”
My hair twitched uncomfortably at her
words. I hadn’t been looking for my grandparents. I had never even considered the idea that I might have more family left in this world. Augury’s head turned at the sound of Achates closing the door behind him. She stood and patted my back. “You must forgive your grandfather. We still had hope that your mother was alive.” Augury started to follow her husband out of the room.
“Wait, she is! Or, she might be,” I stammered. “Remember the owl I mentioned, Chinook, who helped me on my journey? Well, she wasn’t Chinook, she was my mother. I know it sounds crazy but it was her. I know it is true. She disappeared several days ago, though. I don’t know what happened to her.” I was rambling. Augury’s body looked rigid, and she kept her back to me.
Augury finally spoke: “She has taken her true form.” Then Augury said something in a language I didn’t understand. Before I could ask her what she had said, she disappeared through the door Achates had gone through. I slumped back into my chair.
Muffled screams escaped through the door they had just walked through. I closed my eyes and hugged my knees into my chest. I grabbed my hair and held it firmly in a ponytail, but I could still make out the sound of glass shattering. Achates continued to cry out in a fit of rage. I understood how he felt. I pictured my parents being tossed into the flames and shivered. If I had known that it was their daughter, I wouldn't have described it as vividly. I removed my hand and let my hair fall around my shoulders as I heard Augury begin to hum. Achates slowly stopped yelling and grew silent in the adjacent room.