Truth

The white light from my silver-edge coupled with the red light from Piers’ iron-edge and the Everburn lantern’s glow did little to hold back the darkness all around us. The shadows themselves resembled an avalanche, ready to bury us where none would ever find our bones. If there was anything left.

The sour stench of rotting meat made it impossible for us to forget the dangers of the darkness. As did the occasional deer skull, shattered in two, that we stumbled across.

We kept our sights fixated on Zac’s footprints, though as we reached drier ground the trail became harder and harder to discern. As far as I could tell, Piers was no tracker, and neither was I.

A soft glow ahead caught my eye. “Stay here a sec,” I told Piers before running over to the source of the light.

A glowing stone lay on the ground, resting in a patch of grass which had been recently pressed down by one of Zac’s feet. “His Dream Light,” I said. “Zac’s been here!”

Piers jogged over to me and shined the Everburn lantern on the spot. “What’s a ‘dream light?’”

“Zac used to have nightmares all the time, so I gave him this light to put on his bedside table so at night so the dark wouldn’t be so frightening. He must have taken it with him when he went into the woods.”

“Why did he drop it here, then?” Piers raised the lantern to illuminate more of our surroundings. Creatures we couldn’t see scattered away from us, shaking the branches and bushes all around. “You think he’s close?”

“Could be,” I said. “Bring that lantern down here again. See if we can discern his tracks.”

Piers brought the lantern down to shine upon the spot where the Dream Light lay. I picked up the glowing stone and took a few steps further, attempting to logically deduce where Zac might have gone next.

Just beyond Zac’s footprints I beheld the tracks of a much larger creature, which had completely crushed the ground. They were large and round, and appeared to be from some kind of beast with cloven hooves.

“Oh, gods!” Piers gasped, obviously seeing the same thing I saw.

“What sort of predator has cloven hooves?” I asked.

“Umm… yeah, that does seem a bit odd…”

I shone the Dream Light and the glow from my sword a little further along the path, where I saw the monster’s footprints continue. There was no further sign of Zac’s trail. “I think he went with that creature. Maybe he rode on it or something.”

“Rode one of the monsters in the darkness?” came Piers’ disbelieving reply. “That… I don’t know about that…”

“It’s worth it to keep looking,” I said. “I’m not giving up on him yet.”

The lantern trembling in Piers’ hand caused shadows to dance around the clearing. Some remained in place even after light shone upon them, just before they disappeared into the darkness again. “Yes… let’s keep searching then…” he said, his voice wavering.

We followed the cloven-hoof tracks, which we found were far easier to follow than Zac’s footprints on a dry forest floor.

Further in, I heard the sound of rushing water, and the ground beneath my feet grew damper. Soon, we came to a stream running through the forest floor, with a stone bridge leading across it. Maybe “bridge” isn’t the right term. It was more of a slab of granite stretched over the water.

“This way,” I whispered to Piers as I made my way across the long stone bridge.

Whispers drifted out to us from the surrounding trees, and we heard the hiss of some enormous creature in the darkness.

“Turn back!” the voice was low and it filled my heart with dread.

A single, white, shining eye appeared in the blackness before me, and I heard the sound of great hooves splashing in the stream.

“Sweet gods, have mercy!” Piers said, the lantern erratic in his terrified hands.

The creature before me was obscured in shadow, but every now and then the light of the tremoring Everburn lantern illuminated its features.

Cloven hooves big enough to crush the kegs at the Chalice Inn.

Long, spider-like legs rising from its back and clinging to the trees nearby.

A body covered in jet-black feathers.

And one eye in the middle of its raven-like face.

Antlers like those of a stag rising up from its head.

I had heard of such a creature only one place before.

“Mr. Muk?”

“Go back to Oakbridge where you are safe,” came the booming voice in response.

Something long and writhing swam through the stream.

Then there were dozens more.

Snakes?

“I want my son back!” I called out. “Is he here?”

The creature took two lumbering steps toward me, its hooves crashing down into the water on either side of the stone bridge. “Your son is not here, because you have no son. Zahac is prince to those who dwell in darkness.”

I pointed my silver-edge at Mr. Muk, though by its shaking it seemed far more frightened than I was. “Zac is just a boy. I’m leaving here with him. One way or another.”

“Are you crazy?” Piers whispered to me.

“Dad!” Zac’s voice cried out from beyond the monster.

“Zac? Is that you?”

“Dad! Help!” he cried.

Without another thought I sprinted down the length of the stone bridge, raising my silver-edge high. The light from the blade revealed the bizarre form of the monster to me, the mere sight of it threatening to stop my heart.

The monster reared back like a spooked horse, then brought down its cloven hoof upon me. For a moment, my vision went white.

Then black.

I swam in an ocean of dreams, none of which made any sense. I saw Zac’s face in the madness. Heard his desperate cries for help. Voices spoke in a tongue I knew not. A waterfall poured over my head. Hooded figures in scarlet robes walked in a straight line toward a serpent big enough to swallow cities. A lonely minstrel strummed at his lute outside the Chalice Inn. A woman of ethereal beauty smiled at me, and ran her hand over her pregnant womb. The tortured cries of crows, and Mr. Muk’s raven-like face appeared before my eyes.

I awoke with a start, discovering that I was back in my own bed, staring up at my own ceiling. Rain still beat my window and thunder rumbled in the distance. The same day? Or was it simply raining again?

I turned over on my side and peered at Zac’s bed, which was still empty.

Knowing that my son was still missing, I forced myself out of bed, my temples starting to throb as I did. I raised my hand to my head and discovered bandages wrapped there. Looking down at myself, it seemed someone had mostly undressed me, leaving me clad only in my trousers. Actually, no, these were not the same trousers I’d worn when I headed out to find Zac. Someone had changed those for me too.

My face burned at the thought that it might have been Jeseka.

And then I remembered again that Zac was still missing, and I had no time to contemplate what Jeseka may or may not have done.

Snatching my silver-edge from its place propped against my wall, I headed downstairs.

The moment my foot hit the bottom step, a hand reached out and seized me by the wrist. With surprising force, the assailant yanked my arm behind my back and forced me a few steps forward, into the tavern area of the inn.

In the tavern area, I saw dozens of soldiers in white uniforms, each with weapons drawn. Benji stood behind the bar, his hands raised in surrender. Jeseka was tied to a chair, glaring her hatred at the Tagrosis. Elora sat at one of the tables, both of her hands raised in surrender like Benji’s. Private Piers stood with his fellows, his weapon in hand and an accusing look in his eye when he saw me.

Glancing at the windows, I noticed masked legionnaires in their black uniforms standing outside the front door as posted guards.

And Consul Eon Maganti sat in his wheelchair just inside the front door.

The soldier who had me by the arm forced me to march forward, until I stood before Eon. The Consul slowly shook his head at me and make a tsking noise with his tongue. One of his many rings glowed and he rolled toward me with his hands forming a pyramid in front of his chest, fingertips touched together. “Well well. It seems our little secret-keeper is finally awake.”

For a moment, I was sure my heart had stopped. I glanced up at Piers again, who pursed his lips together as if fighting to keep his emotions inside. Benji simply looked confused. Jeseka was clearly searching for an opportunity to escape, any which might come her way.

Eon’s wheelchair stopped just outside my arm’s reach, apparently cautious that I might break free and lunge at him. A fair assumption, under the circumstances. “Zahac,” he said, and the veins in my neck turned to ice. “That was the name the creature in the woods called your son.” Benji gasped upon hearing this. Elora gave a pained sigh. “Clever that you should shorten such a name to ‘Zac.’ Kind of cute, really. Or, at least it would be, if you hadn’t been harboring the Great Serpent in Oakbridge all this time. Keeping such a wicked creature in your care for so long…”

“He’s not a wicked creature!” I protested. “He’s a child!”

The soldier behind me twisted my arm upward, causing pain to shoot through my shoulders at the socket.

Eon sneered. “Are you unaware of the legends of Zahac? The Harvester who comes to judge humanity? Every one-thousand years he is reborn, and he destroys whatever civilization stands at the time, leaving only a few survivors to repopulate the world. According to the legends, he’s done it nine times by now. That’s nine worlds ended, Ahv! Do you really think this time will turn out any differently?”

“Whatever he might grow up to be some day, right now he’s just a boy,” I groaned, my shoulders throbbing.

“Is he?” Eon asked, tilting his head to one side. “Or has he already killed someone? Private Avery died from snake venom, even though there wasn’t a snake-bite anywhere on his body. Tell me truly, was that Zahac’s doing?”

I wanted to deny it, but the words never left my throat.

Eon gave a slow nod and pointed a finger at me. “That’s what I thought. He’s already a killer. How old is he now? Five?”

“Seven,” Elora said.

Eon turned to one of his soldiers, “Private Parry, how old were you when you first killed a man?”

“Sixteen, Mr. Consul,” said the soldier.

Eon’s eyes widened. “Sixteen? Well, it seems little Zahac is way ahead of us, isn’t he?”

I struggled against the man who held me, relieving some of the tension on my shoulder sockets, and bellowed, “Eon! I swear to you, if you do anything to hurt my boy I’ll kill you! I’ll come back from the grave if I need to. No force, whether Heaven, Hell, or otherwise can keep me from spilling your blood!”

Eon chuckled. “Dear Ahv, who said anything about hurting your boy?”

“You did!”

Eon shook his head. “No. No I didn’t. Never said a word like that.” He rolled closer to me, a surprisingly gentle expression on his brow. “All that I said was not an argument about why we should kill Zahac. I’m not even sure it’s possible to kill Zahac, given what I’ve heard in the legends. No…” He poked me in the chest with his index finger. “By my words I mean to call you out. You have failed as a father, Ahv. The boy’s already used his powers to commit murder. That makes you a failure.”

The words stung far worse than what the soldier behind me was doing. There was no argument I could offer. From the moment he said it, I knew it was true.

Eon continued, “I hold you personally responsible for Avery’s death. Yes, Zahac poisoned him, but that boy was your responsibility when it happened.” He glanced over at the soldiers around him and sighed. “But… I can’t deny that what happened amounts to self-defense. Just as Zahac was your responsibility, Avery was mine, and he tortured the child. One cannot expect to poke a snake with a stick without getting bitten. What I’m more concerned about now is Zahac’s current situation.”

“He’s been captured by a monster in the woods,” I said.

“So Private Vinter has told me,” said Eon, gesturing to Piers. “If the boy learns to kill while in your care, I hate to think of what he’ll learn while captive to such a beast. Therefore, it is my intention that we should rescue him.” He must have seen the look of shock on my face, because his next words were, “Surprised? What sort of monster do you think I am? I told you, Ahv, I’m a father too, I have great compassion for children. And that boy’s fate affects us all. We will rescue him, and once he is safely back in Oakbridge we will decide who shall take over his care.”