Inheritance · Volume II

VII - Refuge

It was raining.

Not casual, slacking rain, yet not rain that feels sharp on the skin and when it hits the ground instantly disappears. This was a steady fall, pattering cautiously, so you'd only know it was there when you stepped outside.

Naturally, Tavian didn't mind rain. It gave life, Evia had once said, filling rivers and restoring oceans. Keeping and nourishing the land to bear crops, feeding cities and reviving nations. But now, the rain only added difficulty to his panicking search.

The paper was sodden in his hands, and he could only just read the directions in the watery ink.

Market Square
Past Dedrik's Bakery
And the last door
in the second alley

And then, the name.

Cassius Arnon

But it wasn't finding the house itself that made him apprehensive. It was who this Cassius was, and if he would help him.

Eventually, he found the door. It was a rusty brown, with a single window in the crumbling wall. Tavian shivered as he reached his fist forward.

He tapped three times and stepped back.

Nothing.

After a few nervous moments, he tried again. No answer.

Without a second thought, Tavian looked to the window. It was only very slightly ajar, but his small, agile fingers slipped under it and eased the window upwards. He then climbed inside.

Tavian turned to close the window, but was grabbed from behind. He cried out as he was hurled into the wall, and as he opened his eyes, they met with a man's. He was old, Tavian deduced, and his irises were that of a murky blue. He gripped the scruff of his neck and he screamed in shock.

"Let me go-"

"What do you want?" the man snapped.

"Scout! Drop him!" A voice broke across the room as he saw a hand pull the man back. Another, younger, stepped in front of the other and crouched down beside him. "What's your name, boy?"

After hesitating, he swallowed.

"Tavian."

The young man put a soft hand on his shoulder, before glancing back at the other man. "He won't hurt you. Don't worry." He breathed out. "Why are you here?"

He looked up, confused. In truth, he wasn't entirely sure. "I- I was told to find him and-" he paused. "-she said he would be here-"

"She, he-" the younger man frowned. "Who?"

He swallowed, continually glancing nervously at the taller, older man. "I'm looking for Cassius Arnon."

The man beside him stared in a strange, fixed way. He chose his words carefully. "What do you want with him?"

"Evia said that he would help me if she got into trouble."

Silence. The other, older man still stood with his arms crossed. But the other was agape in shock. "Scout- a moment."
He nodded and left, shutting the door behind him.

Tavian looked around nervously. The room was dark, with the one door leading to two staircases: one up, one down. The floor was rough wooden boards, and the walls were strung with various weapons and provisions.

The man's eyes were wide in a strange excitement. "Did Evia send you?"

Tavian nodded. "Can you take me to Cassius?"

He laughed and looked the boy in the eye. "He's right here."

Almost straight away, a broad smile slid across Tavian's face. "Mister Arnon?"

"Indeed I am." he replied, before looking to the door. "...Just to warn you, there's four of us. But don't worry about the others. It's- if you feel uncomfortable, tell me, alright?"

Cassius stood and squeezed his hand. He walked over to the table and picked up a bottle that had been left there, before pulling off the lid and pouring some into a mug from the shelf. Tavian looked up and back out the window, where the rain was now cutting across the sky more violently. He was glad he wasn't still waiting.

"You said about Evia?" Cassius asked, eagerly yet kindly.

Tavian breathed out. "We came to Galamir five days ago. On the evening we arrived she told me she was going to help someone- an old acquaintance. And she said she'd be no longer than a few hours, if that."

"...what happened?" Cassius asked. He knew most of the reports from the Parade, and he shuddered to think of the consequences.

Tavian bowed his head. "She left the next morning. She told me to meet her on the roof of the Embassy at midday."

He looked at the boy, who was now fidgeting nervously. "It's alright, you can tell me."

So Tavian swallowed. "I waited and waited. But she never came."

Cassius sighed. "I'm sorry, Tavian."

"But she gave me a note. She went out and found this house that she said you'd be here."

Cassius suddenly recalled the flash of white Enda had told him about. "...did she tell you where she was going?"

Tavian shook his head. "She didn't tell me anything-" he sniffed, wiping his moistening eyes on his sleeve. "and what if something's happened to her?"

He shook as he held in his tears, but Cassius stood, took off his coat and put it round his shoulders. The wind was sweeping through the cracks in the door, and it was bitterly cold.

Cassius swallowed. He was pretty certain he knew what had happened.

"It was the right thing to do." He hugged the boy's shoulders reassuringly. "I know where she is, Tavian. I'll go and find her. Alright?"

He stood, and Tavian gazed out the window, now closed and boarded up again. Cassius gripped the mug in his hands before walking to the boy.

"Hey," he reached over and handed it to him. Tavian remained silent as he stared into the drink. There was a dark, amber liquid inside, and it smelled sweet.

"How do you know Evi?"

Cassius paused. "It's a long story."

"Please tell. Please!" he smiled childishly, and Cassius leaned back on the chair.

"She gave me this," he lifted his right hand, showing him the ring on his fourth finger. "From my father. Before he was killed he gave it to her, to eventually find me."

Tavian smiled, but then his face fell. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mister Arnon."

"No," he nodded. "It was fate."

Tavian tasted a bit of the liquid, and it rested on his tongue with a sweetness that he could sense would linger. So he drank some more and sat back slightly.

"And please, just Cassius." He smiled with the boy. "We don't use those fancy titles 'round here."

"Thank you, Cassius." Sloshing the liquid round in circles, he took another sip. "What's this called?"

"It's a customary Galerian drink. We call it Tiger's Gold." Cassius grinned as Tavian giggled. "It's expensive, but tastes delicious."

"Tiger's Gold..." he whispered. He nestled back into Cassius' coat before spotting a glint of a Sendrite crystal from a concealed pocket on the inside.