Redeemed

Ch. 34

It was not until I had crested a hill and recognized the grassy, hilly terrain of my region that I allowed the small glimmer of hope inside of me to grow.

Home. Finally, after everything that had happened, all of the obstacles and people who delayed my trip, I was nearly back to where I belonged.

If anything had been left to belong to, a voice kept whispering in my head.

I shrugged it away, focusing on the thought that a town could be rebuilt. A house could be rebuilt. According to the Prince's report from a few months ago, the townspeople were safe, staying on the Governor's island. That is, if they hadn't already started to rebuild. The people of Tosach were stubborn and hardy with a deep love for the town; it was how we had persevered through the war all of these years. They would want to return as soon as possible. A smile crept up my face as I imagined walking into the bar and asking Rita for tea. She would likely bark some answer about still only wanting leaf juice after all I had been through. Or telling Marice about the healer I had met in Tunack and some of her remedies.

Of course, they would probably want to hear the bad parts, too. Especially my mother. I wasn't sure she could handle hearing about the danger I had been in, how I had taken lives. That last thought weighed on me. How could I ever face followers of the Prince again knowing that I had killed some of them?

And then there was the fact that Tosach was attacked because of me. Knowing that the only reason Marduk singled out Tosach was because of his interest in me did not sit well. Nourse's words echoed in my head: "The only reason Marduk took any interest in you was because he knew the Prince wants you."

The Prince.

Hurt, anger, relief, hope, wonder, fear, and regret welled up, causing my eyes to sting. I gripped the reins tighter, trying to work through the emotions. It was because of the Prince and his war that the men left, that Dad ended up dying. It was because of the Prince that Marduk singled me out. But it was also because of the Prince that I had been saved twice from the Dragon's forces. It was because of the Prince that Maurine was able to instill hope in me. It was because of the Prince that I wondered why he cared about me.

And it was because of that fear of the Prince that I had run from him.

Even if Nourse was right and the Prince welcomed me back to his side, there was little chance he would ever trust me. I certainly wouldn't.

It was with these pleasant thoughts that I crested a hill and caught the first glimpse of my town.

Or, more accurately, should have caught the first glimpse.

All that I could see in the dying light of evening was a deep shadow of pure black. A faint smell of soot reached my nostrils.

No. The reports had been true. There was nothing left. Up until I saw it with my own eyes, a small part of me had hoped the reports had been exaggerated. My heart twisted, sending waves of cold through me.

Squeezing Kynthelig's sides, I urged him into a lope.

Riding down what had once been a defined and maintained road but was now a blackened and broken trail, I surveyed what had been the town of Tosach. Anything made of wood was gone. Here and there piles of stone, charred by fire and crumbling, lay as reminders of what once was. White-gray ash covered everything, small puffs of it rising up with every step Kynthelig took.

Memories plagued me as I pictured where buildings once stood, where people once met, laughed, and talked.

There was the tavern where Rita offered drinks and a listening ear, now only a pile of rubble.