Airel - Aaron Patterson [38]
“You have your daughter and that is all that matters. I must take Maria away and keep her safe. I fear I will not be able to accompany you on your journey. But we will keep your baby safe.” Zedkiel called Maria from the other room and gave her a kiss on the lips. It was tender, speaking much more than words could say.
Kreios was glad Zedkiel had changed his mind about staying. He thought Zedkiel must have decided that, with the horde so close, it was not worth the risk. Zedkiel knew that Kreios would go after the horde and find out what was going on. It was the only way.
Kreios looked down at the soft eyes of his sweet baby girl and bathed his heart in her smile. She had her mother’s complexion and soul, he could feel it. They want me? He could not believe it. He knew they had really wanted her but he could not guess for what purpose—especially since they had let her slip from their grasp so easily. He looked at his brother and they shared a moment of mutual yearning and pain.
Kreios broke the silence. “We will go to the mountains of Ke’elei. In it there is a City where we can all be safe. They dare not go to it. It is one of the last places where our kind are free. I will show you the way brother, but after that I must track the Seer. It is time we are rid of him and his witchcraft.”
“I have heard of this place. I did not believe it was real. I believed that they had scattered us, all of us. I thought that the last of our villages had been either buried or taken to the sky for eternity.” Zedkiel was lost for a moment in thought and reflection, during which his shining face dimmed and his eyes cooled, losing their passion.
“…But you and I both know that there is no going back. We are outcast, cursed.” He lowered his head and a tear ran down his cheek as he remembered the home from which he had been in long, painful exile. It had been a very long time, but the remembrance of the smell of perfect air, a sunless sky that never gave way to darkness, filled him with hope.
Kreios thought about it too, remembering when he had walked into the sea of crystal and let the cool white water flow between his toes. He remembered the beginning times, after they had been banished and El had turned his back on them. He had every right, but it still cut him deeply into his very soul. “Remember, even though we are outcasts, without a country or a place to lay our heads, we still feel and receive blessing from El. That love is like flowing water breaking hard rock. We cannot begin to hide from it... or Him.”
Zedkiel nodded. He stood up straight and embraced his very pregnant Maria, whose smile was radiant, like the first spring dawn after a very hard winter. They looked at each other knowingly and packed anything else they might need before setting out.
Kreios led them around back to the ramshackle stable, where three white stallions stood, ready to ride. “They are the most potent line ever bred. This is the tenth generation.” Zedkiel grinned with pride as he helped Maria into her saddle, then sprung up onto his own mount. The stallions were massive, standing well over twenty hands tall, and would be looked upon with terror on the field of battle. From this breed would spring the mighty Percheron of France—horses bred for war, for strength, for power.
Kreios was given the largest. He ran his hand over its muzzle and neck, whispering into its ear. The horse grunted as if understanding, even as if in agreement.
Soon they were on the road, riding out of town. Zedkiel looked back at the home they had built. His heart sank. He could tell it was not going to be an easy ride. Kreios had told him that it would take three days and nights to reach their destination. They could not take to the sky, so that the secret of the mountain city could be kept. It was not worth any amount of risk. Besides, Kreios had an idea of how to throw the Brotherhood off the trail.
“I will go with you as far as the head of the Two Rivers. Then