Vellswar surprised me by responding. His accent was thick but I could decipher what he was saying. “I worked for the old king with Achates,” he said, gesturing towards my grandfather. “I translated the elder brutarian tongue for the king and served as one of the royal guards. When the castle was raided, my brethren tortured me and left me for dead.” He removed the mountain dweller fur and showed me the long, deep scars across his back.
Large chunks of flesh were missing from his shoulder blades and arms. Achates had similar scars from being tortured for the whereabouts of the king. But Vellswar also had burn marks spread from his lower back toward his neck. I knew that the old castle had been set on fire after it was raided. It appeared that Vellswar hadn’t made it out as quickly as Achates. Both men possessed the scars of allegiance to the divinare king. Vellswar and Achates were on the same side, and probably the most loyal members of the king’s guard. I felt ashamed that I had jumped to such bitter conclusions about him. I no longer saw the slimy skin, just the scars and a man that I could now trust.
“I had nowhere to go once I escaped from the ruins,” he continued solemnly. “The divinares were scared of me and I had been shunned by my brothers. I fled to the mountains, knowing no one lived there because of the harsh conditions. It was only a few years ago that I found out that your grandparents were still alive. Before that, the only friends I had were the mountain dwellers,” he added with a reassuring toothy smile.
I cringed at his words. I was embarrassed yet again. I had assumed he was a brutish man and skinned the mountain dwellers alive. Now that I knew that he considered them friends, it was apparent that he probably only wore their pelts after they died natural deaths. I sheathed my sword that was still clutched in my hand and walked over toward Vellswar. “I’m sorry that I misjudged you,” I said and stuck out my hand for him to shake.
Vellswar shrugged. “I cannot blame you for judging me based on what my brothers have done. I know that they terrorize these lands and I was born to share their looks. Your preconceived notions have grown from truth.” He ignored my outstretched hand and instead slapped me on the back. It was meant to be friendly but his strength made me teeter to the left a little, which made him laugh. It was a pleasant sound, very different from the cruel laugh that escaped Mortwar's lips. Vellswar continued talking, “But know that I am here to assist you in any way you need. I am here to help reunite the kingdom, before it is too late.”
"What do you mean before it's too late?"
"I will tell you what I know. But first I must speak to Achates alone."
"Ahem," I heard Augury clear her throat by the door. I nodded at Vellswar and went over to help my grandmother clean up the broken glass on the floor. She had been bringing tea out to everyone when I decided I was going to murder their house guest. The tea cups had ended up falling to the ground in the chaos. As I helped clean up the mess on the floor, I was trying hard to overhear their conversation.
Achates was standing on top of the bench that Vellswar was sitting on. Vellswar was hunched over, so that Achates could lean in close to one of Vellswar's large hearing ears. There was an ear on each side of his head, farther back than his face. Wiry gray hair stuck out of the center of each one. Achates was whispering and I couldn’t hear a thing.
“Stop eavesdropping,” Augury said when she noticed I wasn’t paying attention to picking up the shards of glass on the floor. I scrunched up my lips to one side, annoyed by the wait. “He’ll tell you soon enough.”
“So you already know what they’re talking about?” I asked.
“Unfortunately so,” she replied. Her tone hinted that I wasn’t supposed to ask any more questions.
There was no reason to try and pry the answer out of her. I had already had enough bad news recently, and I didn’t need to hear any more right away. I was content knowing I had a large, strong brutarian on my side against Breghton. There was no way that Breghton had the same adv
antage. Vellswar could also help protect me from Mortwar.
I picked up the last pieces of glass and took the pile outside to the trash heap. After dumping the glass in a pile, I heard the low rumble of a mountain dweller growling. I looked around but couldn’t place the sound. I ran around the house and saw the animal. He instantly calmed down when he saw me, and for a moment I thought it might be Mikado. When I got closer I could tell it wasn’t him. This mountain dweller was slightly smaller than Mikado, but still large enough for a brutarian to ride. I felt a pang of despair as I realized that Mikado may no longer be alive. I placed my hand on the mountain dweller's head. He stared at the blue light glowing from underneath my cloak and sniffed me curiously. I gave him one last pat on the head and turned to go back inside.
As soon as I stopped petting him, he started growling once again. I turned around. “What’s the matter, boy?” I said. His eyes moved from me to the roof of the hut. I turned and couldn’t help but scream. “Mama!” I yelled. I jumped up on one of the barrels and heaved myself up to the roof. Chinook cocked her head and stared at me as I charged over and wrapped my arms around her. I buried my face into her warm feathers.
“Oh, Chinook I…” my voice cut off and I pulled away. I heard voices below me and knew my grandparents and Vellswar had come outside to see what the commotion was about. I looked into the owl’s eyes and then placed my head into my hands and started to weep. I felt a large set of hands pick me up off the roof and place me back onto the ground. I looked up at Vellswar and then at my grandparents. Their faces were eager.
“Is that her?” Augury asked. A huge smile spread across her face. I looked over at Achates and he had the same grin planted on his face, happy yet very apprehensive. They hadn’t seen their daughter in such a long time.
I looked back up at the owl and shook my head. “No, it’s not Chinook. It’s not my mother.” Augury’s face fell instantly, but Achates didn't seem to care.
“Well, who is it then?” he asked excitedly.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I’ll call him Owly,” Achates said without hesitation. He began to clap his hands together in excitement. “He’s mine.”
The bird flew off the roof and landed next to Achates. Owly nudged his hand and Achates began petting his head. Augury sniffed and I went over and hugged her. Achates giggled happily. Vellswar stood there confused, watching everyone silently.
Eventually Vellswar spoke. “The man that this owl once was had the power of the Moira. From what we believed, everyone with the power of the Moira died dozens of years ago. It's strange that such a young owl has suddenly appeared here. Maybe Mahlia isn’t the only one left with the gift after all.”
“Do you really think so?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to rule the kingdom. And maybe if I wasn’t the next ruler Mortwar wouldn’t want to kill me anymore.
Augury sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Maybe there are a few divinares with the power in hiding?”
Vellswar nodded his head. “We know for a fact that the gift can skip generations. Neither of you have the power, but your daughter did. If there are divinares with the gift out there, they would know that they are being hunted. They wouldn’t want anyone to find them.”
“But someone found this one,” I said sadly, looking at the bird.
“Nonsense,” Achates waved his hand. “The odds are against us. If there were any more blessed divinares, this guy probably would have been the only one.” He patted the owl on the head. “And he’s dead,” he added in a whisper, nudging his head at Owly, as if the bird couldn’t hear him.
Vellswar nodded in agreement. “This owl found Mahlia for a reason. It further proves that she is the one that we have been waiting for. Besides, we really don’t have time to search for more divinares. We have no time to spare. I think Mahlia needs to know of the other challenges that lay ahead of her now.”