Dragon Knight - The Ancestor Gods Saga Book 2

7. Listening to the Thoughts of Butterflies

I went in search of my brother Kelt.

My argument with Lexon had flared up emotions I had not cared to explore just then. If I did not care for him, why did it bother me so that he was going to cast his life away and become a prisoner of his own Order?

The answer to that question was simple and I did not want to hear it.

Kelt was out in the gardens behind our house. He looked tired and drawn. Kelt normally patrols the forest gathering information from the birds and animals he is able to communicate with (his inheritance of divine power). This was no hardship on him as he has always felt happier among the beasts of the forest than among people. Usually, it was hard to find him at home. The sight of him in the garden compounded in my mind just how bad things had become so quickly.

"Kelt."

"Riva."
Kelt was sitting on a bench, watching butterflies among the herbs. He rose and embraced me as I approached.

"I am glad you are home safely," he said, stepping back to look at me.

He is the caring one. My sister Livya would not notice if my leg had fallen off. Kelt sees all. I sometimes wonder if there is more to his powers than meets the eye.

"Why are you so sad?"

I tried to laugh off his question.

"What a thing to say when I have come home to see grandfather and our uncles so badly injured?"

"But they will recover. They are already much recovered. That is not why you are sad," Kelt frowned at me. "Something is eating at you."

"I am worried for the town," I said.

It was the truth. I was worried about the town my family had sworn to protect. It was just not the full reason for my sadness.

"There are a band of outlaws taking advantage of our grandfather's absence," Kelt explained. "I have not encountered them myself, but I have heard the whispers from the wild things in the forest. They watch them for me."
"They have moved fast," I said. "The incident could only have happened a fortnight ago."

"They must have been watching," Kelt replied. "Such men are quick to take a chance. The night after the terrible attack on grandfather, there was a raid on one of the perimeter houses. We think it was a test to see our response."

"What did you do?"

"Mother and her sisters went into the forest with their bows. I talked to the owls and bats to see if they knew more about the men. Mother tracked them to an old camp, but there were too many to take out with bows alone."

I understood. My mother and my aunts had chosen to be healers rather than warriors. They were experts with a bow but had never learned hand-to-hand combat. In close quarters, an archer had to switch to a sword or long dagger, especially among multiple enemies. I had bucked the trend in the female line of our family by choosing to be a fighter rather than learn the healing arts.

The divide among our family had always worked well. My grandfather and uncles were fully capable of taking down any outlaw that threatened our people, and it had never before been necessary for my mother or my aunts to get up close with combatants.

They could easily provide arrow support from a distance, if required, but I could not recall the last time that had been necessary.

"How many outlaws were there?"

"Maybe two dozen," Kelt explained. "There was only our mother and Aunt Itya and Aunt Nesta to fight them."

"Mother said they had to fall back and reconsider what they did next," Kelt continued. "She debated getting others from the town, arming them, and chasing off the outlaws. The townsfolk refused. After seeing what happened to Isbold, you can hardly blame them."