The Path Of Destiny Read online

  The guard followed him into his home, banging the door almost off its frame. Kelln ran quickly through the small home to outdistance the guard. He didn’t know why he was being chased, but he knew he didn’t want to get caught. He had done enough sneaking around in the city to warrant some notice, but some of King Edward’s guards chasing him didn’t make sense. It must be something to do with his father going to Belor. His father had been talking about the trouble in Belor for some time but Kelln didn’t think he would actually leave his forge and go there.

  He grabbed a small cap from a peg on the wall and pulled it down over his red hair. With his short thin frame he jumped out of a back window and ran around the forge. The apprentices had let everything cool since his father had left. His feet kicked a few small, stray pieces of steel out of the way as he ran onto the cobblestone streets of a darker part of the city.

  Guards shouted from behind, ordering him to stop and return. He turned around once to see if they followed. Their bright swords flashed in the lamplight of the late evening air.

  A dark, moonless night threatened a summer thunderstorm. He ran down a few less-populated streets and found himself in the merchants’ quarter. Large warehouses with their small storefronts were dark at this time of night. Kelln turned down a nearby alley and waited a moment to catch his breath and to think about where he would go. On such a dark and eerie night he didn't relish the thought of staying in the narrow, dirty alley longer than was required. It could be more dangerous than the guards. The small dark streets seemed to breed thoughts of danger and despair.

  He heard slowing footsteps approach. He tried to crouch into the shadows. The men passed and he let out a sigh. Something brushed against his leg and he went to hit it away. As he did so he bumped into an old crate and knocked something down. The sound would alert the guards. He looked for a way out. The backside of an abandoned inn with rooms upstairs sat a short distance down the alley. He couldn't see well enough in the dark to distinguish if the building held any promise for escape or not, but it held his only hope.

  The guards’ voices floated through the air and their footsteps came closer. Jumping up, he skirted towards the building. Kelln tried one door after another. In sudden desperation he noticed an opened window on the second floor. He jumped up on the ledge of a first-story window and pulled himself up onto an overhang and into the top window, barely making it in before the guards came back into the alley.

  They stood talking right below him. He overhead them mention his father. The dark masked his presence. The guards soon convinced themselves the sound had only been rats or a stray cat. After a few moments they walked away, talking about getting something warm to drink before they returned to their guard station.

  Kelln sat in the dark for a few more moments, letting his brown eyes adjust to the old building. He got up to move and a hand covered his mouth from behind him.

  Terror grabbed him for a few moments and he pushed his head back into his attacker and tried to turn around. A girl not much older than himself smiled at him. A dark black cape swirled around her when she stopped. With her raven-black hair and black leather pants she was almost a shadow. His heart beat in rapid succession. She was beautiful.

  He lowered his fists.

  “It’s all right,” she whispered with a smile, and her dark eyes picked up a few stray flecks of light from somewhere. “Kelln, I'm here to help. Your father sent me.”

  “My father! Is he all right?”

  “Yes he is, but he wants you to join him.”

  “Wait. I don't even know who you are, yet you seem to know more about my family than I do at this point.” Kelln glanced around him for any other trouble.

  “My name is Alessandra El’Lan. I, too, am Belorian, though I may not appear that way at the moment. I had to disguise my red hair. Your father, Grisham, went to Belor two weeks ago to oversee the delivery of weapons to the King’s men there. At least that’s what everyone thought. In reality, he was bringing them to us.”

  “Us? Who are you?” asked Kelln. A dreadful feeling started to develop in his gut. His father had been talking strangely the past few months. The talk about a man in Belor who spoke about freedom and independence had seemed to excite his father.

  “I am part of the Belorian resistance. Belor has approached the king for our independence, yet he has denied us, so we have taken up arms to convince him ourselves. It’s not right that we should be under his rule. He treats us as foreigners and his taxes are heavy. We contacted your father a few months ago, and he agreed to help us reestablish the Belorian rule back to its purity!”

  Information came at Kelln too fast. He knew his father had left for Belor to help deliver swords, just as the girl had said. During this time his mother and two sisters had gone to visit an uncle in a small village by Crystal Lake.

  “What about the rest of my family? They are not in Belor, are they?”

  “We will arrange for them to meet you and your father again in Belor after the present situation has died down.” Alessandra smiled a big smile. “For now I will be your guide to safety.”

  Kelln wasn't sure he needed a guide, but on the other hand he sure didn't mind Alessandra's company. The way she looked at him and smiled captivated him deep inside his heart. He found it hard to think in a reasonable manner with her in front of him, but he tried his hardest.

  “I have to think about this first. I have been born and raised in Anikari. Now you want me to fight against the kingdom. I need to think about this.”

  “Don't think of it as fighting against anything, but for something. For the freedom of your people.”

  My people? Who are my people?

  She did sound convincing. Maybe it was those alluring, dark, almond-shaped eyes. “I need to talk to a friend first.” He thought of Darius and tried to pull his mind from the girl.

  “All right. Talk to him, but be careful. They may be watching your house for someone to return. Your father made some of the best weapons. I am sure they would love to have his son. Meet me tomorrow morning behind the Mid-Summers Inn on the south end of town. Make sure you have clothes and a weapon to travel with.”

  She touched his arm with a few fingers, smiled again, then disappeared. He sat alone for a few minutes in the dark. The night became quiet once again except for the loud beating of his heart.

  He absently rubbed his arm where Alessandra’s fingers had touched him. He stood up and headed out towards Darius’ house.

  The Williams’ home stood tall up on the hill in the nobles’ quarter. Kelln crept past a few bored guards. The lamps in the large stone house were off, so he worked his way around until he was under Darius’s second floor window. There were ornamental bushes to block the view from the street. A night guard would be walking by soon, so he hurried.

  Kelln threw a few pebbles at the window and waited. He knew Darius slept lightly. This was not the first time he had woken up his friend for a late-night adventure. After a few seconds, a sleepy Darius came to the window. “Kelln. What are you doing?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Oh no. What sort of trouble are you in now? Can't this wait until morning?” Darius pulled the window open a little further.

  “No, I need to talk now.” He tried to sound as serious as he could.

  Darius snuck downstairs and outside and together they hurried to the back corner of the courtyard. Darius brought up a flame in his hand for light and lit a lamp on the wall. Kelln raised his eyebrows.

  “Well, this strange power has got to be good for something.”

  “Getting more comfortable with being a wizard, I see,” Kelln commented.

  “Kel, I am not a wizard.” Darius looked around the dark yard. “And don’t say that out loud. No one knows about my powers.”

  “Not even Christine?”

  “Not even Christine,” Darius answered. “I still haven’t found the right time. Soon, though. Soon. I promise you. I just have to figure it out for myself first.”
/>   Kelln smiled and proceeded to tell him what had happened over the past hour. Darius had a little knowledge about the current situation in Belor. He shared what his father had told him about the uprising and the Preacher.

  “My father has been telling me a lot more about the Realm of late. I’m not sure why,” Darius added.

  Kelln furrowed his eyebrows. “Don’t you know? He is grooming you to be a councilor, now that we have graduated. Your full training will start in the fall.”

  “He knows I’m not interested. I am still hoping to train for the army in the fall. He hasn’t said anything more about my relationship with Christine since he was embarrassed at the archery contest either. But since that day he has been more patient and at least not as angry at me. Well, when you get me in trouble, his still gets mad at me then.”

  Kelln laughed. “Trouble? Me? It’s that power of yours that has gotten us in more trouble lately. You seem to be growing more powerful.”

  “So what are you going to do about Belor?” asked Darius, pushing the subject of his powers away from Kelln.

  “I realize I am Belorian by heritage, but I am also a member of the Realm. My parents may have ties to Belor, but I don't. Why should I go?”

  “Have you been there to notice if things are as bad as it sounds?” asked Darius.

  “The last time I was in Belor was about two years ago. It seemed like a nice city to me. It was clean and had new construction going on. It looked different from here, but in an exotic sort of way. I don't understand what the problem is.”

  “I have heard about a man in Belor they call the Preacher.”

  “You mean a religious man is causing this trouble?”

  “No, I don’t think so. They call him the Preacher because he preaches that they are better than us and that the Belorians should take control of their own land. Not exactly religion, more like some political maneuvering, it seems. He’s also rumored to be a wizard.”

  “You mean there are two of you now?”

  “Kel, I am not a wizard.” Darius was adamant.

  “Then what do you call it?

  The two had been over this a thousand times and Darius still didn’t have an appropriate answer for Kelln.

  “This isn’t about me, Kelln. This is about you. If you go and fight, that’s civil war. You would be fighting against the armies of Anikari!” exclaimed Darius. “Maybe an army that I will be in someday. Our army could kill you or arrest you for treason.”

  “I know. I know!” Kelln paced the garden area. “But my dad wants me. You know my dad, Darius. He wouldn't go if there wasn't a good reason.” Kelln’s father had been making swords for King Edward and his father before him. He had always been level-headed, a good businessperson, and a great father.

  They continued to reason back and forth well into the night. In the end Kelln decided he would go. He would not do any fighting until he talked to his father and saw for himself what was going on.

  They said their goodbyes and Kelln went a back way to his house. He looked around the outside of the home and waited for a few minutes in the dark to make certain he was not being watched. Two guards sitting on the ground down the street seemed to be sleeping against a lamppost. He went in through the back and arranged some clothes together. He grabbed his sword and bow and laid down to rest a little.

  He tossed and turned between dreams of fighting and dreams of Alessandra. He dreamed she had deceived him and that his father was held as a prisoner. He dreamed she loved him. He dreamed Belor destroyed under rubble. Some of the dreams seemed so real. Others seemed like dreams. Still others seemed to be warnings or premonitions of future events.

  Kelln woke in a sweat as sunlight streamed into his room. It was an hour before he was to meet Alessandra. He looked outside. The previous night’s threatening storm had seemed to pass away. It was the kind of clear summer day that made him remember lying in the field with his dad and finding shapes in the clouds as a young boy. He pulled a cap over his head and walked out to find the mysterious girl from the night before.

  Noises made him jump and glance around. He thought someone watched him. That everyone was calling him a traitor for leaving. Doubts crept back into his mind as to what he should do. If he fought, he could possibly be fighting against friends he knew.

  He was so deep in his thoughts he almost bumped into Alessandra. She wore men’s dark leather pants again, a dark shirt, and a dark cape. Her hair was tucked up under a hood, but in the light of day and up close he could see the soft features of her face. She looked even more beautiful than the night before.

  “How are we getting out of the city? I am sure they will have guards on the lookout for me,” Kelln asked Alessandra, to see if she did have a plan. “They found me easily last night by watching my home.”

  “We are going out through the tunnel where the Black River runs out of the city, then through part of the forest until we reach the Everlasting Meadows.”

  “The Black River? The Black Forest? Are you crazy? Haven’t you heard all of the stories?” Kelln looked at her in astonishment.

  “Yes, I know them all. I’m sure most aren’t true.”

  Kelln gulped. “Most?” He had to think hard to stop his legs from shaking.

  “For us it’s the safest way.” She smiled and picked up her bundle. “Let's go.”

  Kelln stood for a moment, wondering what he was doing. Images of his dreams came back to him, and he again grew suspicious of what was happening. He was not sure he should entirely trust her. Something drew him to her, but he was smart enough to not be led away by just a pretty face. He reasoned that going to Belor and checking it out would not be treason. He needed to talk to his family about it and make up his mind for himself.

  Chapter Seven

  QUESTIONS

  Sitting in the Field of Diamonds later that morning, Darius told Christine about Kelln. She didn’t seem to be listening and he repeated himself.

  “Do you believe in God?” she asked all of a sudden. Her blond hair bounced around as she turned her head with the enthusiastic question.

  Darius sat silent for a moment, stunned by the apparent change of subject. “I . . . uh . . . Well, I know my mother does. I go with her to the worship service most weeks. I guess I feel it in here too.” He pointed to his chest.

  “That's kind of what my parents say. My dad says if you are doing what's right you will feel good inside. That’s what God is. Dad says that God will help us and tell us what we are supposed to do. That God created everything, including you and me,” Christine said, as if deep in thought.

  “Why are you worrying about this? I would trust your parents. They seem happy.”

  “How are you and your father getting along, by the way?” said Christine with a concerned voice, another jump in the conversation topic.

  “Better, but it’s in fact kind of strange. On a personal level we don't talk much about anything, though I do see him looking at me when he thinks I am not watching. He knows you and I see each other, but he ignores it. He's been telling me a lot more about the happenings of the Realm lately. He sent Kelln and me to White Island, as you know, and he has taken me to a few meetings with the councilors. I guess he is trying to push me into doing what he does . . . politics. That’s what Kelln thinks.”

  “Why does he not like me or the other farmers?” asked Christine. “Why can’t he and the King and the other councilors do something about all the trouble? “

  “I don't know, Christine. Like I said, I don't understand him at all anymore. It goes back to the time of the wizards’ rebellion. Many of the nobles just can’t forget what their ancestors went through.”

  “But it wasn’t us.”

  “No, but they put everyone outside the city in the same group now. It’s easier that way for them. It gives them someone to blame for things.”

  “Does he believe in God?” asked Christine.

  “I don’t know what my father thinks!” Darius stood up and threw his hands wide. “He doe
s what he wants for reasons I’ll never understand. All of them do. All the councilors sit in meetings and decide what is right and wrong and good and bad for us. Yet very few of them actually get out and see what is going on.”

  Christine stood up next to him and put her hand on his arm. “It's just not fair. You’re not any better than us and neither are they.” Tears came to Christine’s eyes and Darius put his arm around her. He still struggled with handling Christine’s emotions. It wasn't that it didn't feel good to have her in his arms. Quite the opposite. It felt like the best thing in the world. The problem was he wasn't sure what was going to happen now that school was done and they were getting older. She molded her slim body into his arms and he felt the beat of her heart against him.

  “What's wrong, Christine?” asked Darius with concern.

  “Today Emily came back from the city with a bruise on her face,” cried Christine. “Some girls beat her up. She’s so young, eleven years old, just a little girl, and it’s starting already for her. It gets worse every year. I don't know where they get it from, but someone is spreading lies and rumors and whatever about us, and everyone in the city believes it.”

  Darius was not sure what to say. He was in an awkward position, being from the city himself. He tried to hold her and tell her that things would be all right, but he couldn’t convince himself totally that they actually would be.

  “It’s so beautiful here,” Christine whispered, looking across the field and lake. The summer grass grew thick and green, and wildflowers scattered themselves throughout the field. “If God created this, why can't he create beauty and love between people? Unless he thinks we aren’t worth it.”

  “Christine, don't talk like that. I am sure God thinks you are just as good as them . . . uh . . . us,” started Darius, not knowing what he was going to say from one word to the next, but knowing that he had to comfort her somehow. “You said your family believes God speaks to your hearts. What if he speaks to everyone, but some don't listen? What if someone besides God speaks to us also, and others listen to him?”