The Power and the Glory

Book 2 Chapter XX: Prince of Tananerl

In that moment Ilaran felt rather like imitating her.

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After the patricide incident Abi did the equivalent of skipping a chapter in a book. Except it wasn't a chapter, it was Ilaran's time as King of Ahalál. And it wasn't a book, it was a record of his life. She walked as far as she could. When she paused to catch her breath she walked on again as quickly as possible. Not once did she give the world a chance to clear and show her some new horror.

Eventually she had to stop. She'd missed at least five thousand years, based on Ilaran's age now. Apparently some very important things had happened in those five thousand years. The first thing she saw was Ilaran and Nuvildu being dragged out of a carriage by armed guards. Ilaran's face was a mask of blood. Nuvildu was shirtless. His back was covered with open, bleeding gashes that could only have been inflicted by a whip.

A woman dismounted from her horse and sneered down at them imperiously. "Do you see that well?"

For the first time Abi took stock of their surroundings. They were in a ruined building of some sort. A temple or a palace, perhaps. In the middle of the floor was a large round hole. She approached cautiously and peered down into it. The bottom was so far below it was out of sight.

The woman continued, "It will be your grave. The water dried up long ago so you needn't worry about drowning. I will go back to the city and tell everyone you died heroically in battle, leaving Father's throne to me."

Another half-sibling? Abi thought. This is the worst family I've ever heard of.

"No one ever comes here now. It will be months at the earliest before your bodies are found. Anyone who does discover you will think you fell in by accident. No one will ever trace it back to me."

Abi would have been even more horrified by this if she hadn't known Ilaran would survive. She looked at Nuvildu with foreboding. Ilaran had never mentioned having a brother. What happened to him? Did he die here, in this awful place?

"Throw them in."

The guards dragged Nuvildu to the edge first. As he passed the woman he turned his head and spat in her face. He didn't scream as they shoved him off the edge. Next they dragged Ilaran over.

Abruptly the world disintegrated before Abi's eyes. A confusing blur of light and dark surrounded her. She blinked several times to clear her vision. When she could see again, she found herself in on the stony, uneven ground at the bottom of a dark pit. A small circle of light glimmered far overhead.

Someone moved beside her.

"Ilaran?" Nuvildu's voice trembled as he spoke. "Ilaran? Are you there?"

For a terrifying moment there was silence. Then, "I landed on my leg. I think it's broken."

Nuvildu tried to crawl over to where Ilaran lay. He gave up, whimpering in pain, after moving a few inches. "My back hurts too much to move."

Silence reigned again. The memory faded into a dreamlike haze. Night fell, day returned, night fell again, all within the space of a few minutes. The sun couldn't reach them so far below the ground. They could see its light above, but none of its rays fell on them down here.

Ilaran managed to stand on his good leg. He circled the well, scrabbling at the wall in hopes of finding a way out. When day came again Nuvildu was muttering nonsense. Abi looked at his wounds. They were still open and oozing green pus. Infection had already set in. Her feeling of foreboding got worse.

Towards the night Ilaran sat down next to Nuvildu. He stared helplessly at the wounds.

"If we had water I could wash them," he said.