“Why don't you travel with Nora.”
Adan gave Kal a surprised look. “Why?”
The bald man wiped some sweat from his forehead and leaned on his shovel. They'd dragged the bodies further away from the road and buried them. “I'm sure you have questions. She can answer them the best.”
Adan hoisted the chain mail on his shoulder. It fit him well enough that it'd be of use if another fight came their way. There were no insignias on it to mark it as inquisitor equipment so it was safe in that regard as well. They'd taken plenty of other things from the dead men as well. “If you think that's for the best.”
Kal nodded. “I think it would be.”
“All right.” They were done with the bodies so Adan started to head for the wagons.
“Adan!”
He turned around.
“You did well today,” said Kal and pulled the shovel out of the ground before resting it on his shoulder.
Adan nodded and headed for the wagons. He put the chain mail inside the wagon Jonas drove and walked past the young man on the drivers seat. He looked pale. He had not been his usual talkative self after what Nora had done to him.
He nearly died. It'll have an effect on anyone. Give him time.
Bigs and Carnes emerged from the near by woods, having completed their share of burying corpses. Carnes had been tasked with sending the horses off. They were branded as Church property so there was no safe way to keep them.
Tess emerged from Nora's wagon. She shook her head and took a deep breath.
“Everything all right?” asked Adan and stopped.
Tess rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, everything is fine. It's just.. never mind.”
“Kal told me I should travel in the back with Nora.”
She sighed. “You must have questions. Kal's right. You should talk with her.”
“We've buried the bodies. Seems everyone is about ready to head on,” said Adan.
“We're lucky no one died,” Tess muttered. She seemed to be taking the thing hard.
“We nearly did lose one,” Adan reminded and glanced back at Jonas. He was staring at his hands like they were there for the first time. The confused expression he had made it clear he was not all there just yet.
“I wish we'd had Nora with us the previous times we've ran into the inquisitors. Maybe we'd have more friends alive today.” There was a bitterness to her voice.
“Nora hasn't been with you for long then?” Since she seemed to be the leader, Adan had assumed she had been there for some time. Though given her age she can't have been the senior member in the group.
“A few years,” said Tess and looked around. Everyone had gathered from their disposal duties. It was time to move on. “Climb inside. We're moving out.”
Adan nodded and watched her go talk to the others before hoisting herself up on her horse. He didn't feel comfortable just climbing in so he knocked on the closed doors of the wagon.
“Come in, Adan,” came the voice of Nora. He did as told and opened the door to climb in. It was a far cleaner wagon than the one Kal resided in. There was a table and some soft pillows to sit on around it. The clutter of items was hidden by trunks and barrels where everything was neatly hidden away.
“Kal told me I should travel with you,” said Adan.
Nora nodded and motioned for him to sit down. She was already sitting down with a cup of some steaming liquid in front of her. She looked tired and Adan could have sworn her facial bones were showing more than usual, like something had drained the life out of her. What ever she had done it looked like it did not come without a price.
They sat in silence for a moment. The wagon nudged forward and they were back on the road again, leaving behind the mess the inquisitors had caused. Nora took a sip from her cup.
“You must have questions.”
Adan nodded. “Wouldn't you, after seeing what you did?”
“I would,” she admitted and put down the cup. Her white eyes turned to regard Adan even though there was nothing they could see. “How much do you know about us? People with strange eyes. How it came to be that the Church hunts us down?”
Adan shrugged even though the motion was wasted on her. “Not much. I've heard the name Cievman mentioned in passing, but not much more than that.”
“It's not surprising. Few of us have the fortune of having someone talk to us, let alone reveal our history.” Nora took a sip from the cup. It smelled like a mix of potent herbs.
“Cievman was a ruler with eyes like ours,” Nora started. “His kingdom – or empire – spanned much of the lands the current kingdoms occupy. He was a strict man and showed little mercy to his enemies. It was that lack of compassion that ultimately led to his downfall at the hands of rebel lords and outside kingdoms. It was a costly war, not least because he had something no one else had. He had powers. At least, that is what the Church tells of him. We don't know how true that is since they've spent centuries erasing anything that contradicts their view of the world.”
“Powers?” Adan couldn't keep the question from leaving his lips.
“He could wipe out entire armies,” said Nora. “He could create flames that would burn away anything in their way. He could do many things, but the Church has done its best to distort or destroy the accurate accounts so we're left guessing all he could do. I can say that what I can do is but a shadow of his powers.”
Adan fell silent to ponder what he'd heard. A dream from the past was rustling in the back of his mind.
“But none the less, he was defeated, his once mighty kingdom divided amongst many. Out of those ashes rose the Church and started its persecutions of people with eyes like ours. Given what Cievman did it is not surprising those he oppressed came up with a faith that sought to prevent anyone like him from emerging again.”
“Yet here we are,” said Adan.
Nora nodded. “We survive, but few of us have even a hint of his powers. In fact, I am the only one we know of.”
The wagon jolted over a larger bump in the road. The soft cushion under Adan dampened much of it. “Why is that?”
Nora shifted in her seat. The sleeves of her robe hung over her hands, but Adan could see them twitch nervously. “It is difficult to say with any certainty. So much time has gone by, so much has been distorted by the Church. The best theory we have is that those with actual power are Cievman's descendants who had children with people who have some disposition towards the same in their heritage.”
“If he was so hated how did anyone with his blood live?” To Adan it seemed the first thing any newly risen Church would have done was to hunt down them all and kill them.
“The Church teaches that he was a man who got around, despite being a king. Maybe he had many bastards and legitimate heirs. Some survived despite the hunt. The eyes, they can skip generations before manifesting,” said Nora.
“So you're one of his descendants?”
Nora shrugged. “All I know is I have this power.”
“What, exactly, can you do?” She could heal people, that much Adan had witnessed himself, but it had demanded the life of another.
“Every one of us has a life force. I can affect that. It allows me to heal like I did with Jonas or I can take that force away, like I did with the soldier I used to save our friend.” Nora shifted in her seat again. “I can rob that force from several people and do things that should not be possible. Horrible things. Deadly things.” Her voice tapered off. Her usually calm and determined outside had cracked. The power she wielded frightened her.
For a moment they sat in silence. “How did you discover you had the power?” Adan was keen to know the answer.
“I had a dream,” said Nora. The wagon shifted slightly to one side, but soon straightened itself. The road could have deep grooves in it at places. “I believe it was Cievman in it. He used the power to save someone. It was years after that when my power woke. It just happened when I needed it.”
“What did Cievman look like in the dream?” The memory of a dream had creaked open the door to its small corner. Adan could feel slightly light headed as Nora described him exactly as he had been in his own dream.
“I have seen him in a dream as well,” said Adan after going through the dream in his mind and comparing the man to Nora's description.
“When? What did he do?” It was the first time she showed genuine excitement. She leaned over the table, white eyes fixed on Adan.
He told her the story. What Cievman had done, when it had happened and what he'd done before and after that. It wasn't a short story so by the time he was done an hour had passed.
Nora sat back and unfolded her legs from underneath herself. Adan saw the skin of a white shin and thigh when she sat cross legged, though her robe quickly covered it all up again. “But you've never been able to use any sort of power?”
Adan shook his head, forgetting or a moment she could not see it. Finally, he realized and said, “No.”
Nora pursed her lips. It made her look much younger and had the corners of Adan's lips nudging towards a smile. “Perhaps you have not yet encountered the triggering situation,” said Nora.
“There have been plenty of times where I could have used a power,” said Adan and thought back. If he'd had some sort of ability then his life might have turned out less painful. On the other hand he could see it having made his life shorter.
“There is another theory some have passed around,” said Nora and grabbed the cup. The liquid had become cold, but she sipped it none the less with a small cringe. “It's that there needs to be others like you around you for the power to awaken. You need to use it to save another one like you.”
Adan chuckled. “That's not very convenient now is it?”
Nora shrugged. “It's a theory. Fact is, we know very little. Too little. And what little we know is tainted by the Church's view.”
“You'd think there would have been others before you if that were the case,” said Adan.
“There may well have been, but they got caught by the Church and were killed,” said Nora. “You've heard the stories among the people about how we can create fire and all that other stuff. Those have to have come from somewhere.”
“They could just be from the original Cievman story,” said Adan. “And the Church uses it to remind us how dangerous we are.”
“It's possible,” Nora admitted. She let out a sigh. “The Church has destroyed so much of our past that it's nearly impossible to say anything for certain.”
“From the sound of it they weren't completely wrong,” said Adan. “Cievman does not sound like a pleasant man.”
“We are not him,” reminded Nora. “The Church does not hang the family of a murderer. They don't kill his sons and daughters because of his crime.”
“I'm not defending the Church,” said Adan. “Give me a priest and I'll spend the rest of the day making him cry out to his god in vain while his church burns. They deserve everything that's coming to them. I'm just saying they had a reason to do what they did. Not a good one, but a reason other than someone writing a bunch of stories into a book and calling it the holy word from god.”
“It has been a long time since we burned a church or a monastery,” said Nora. There was a slight hint of regret in the way she said it. Adan was not sure what to attribute it to: the past burnings or the fact they had not done so lately.
“Why?” To Adan it seemed like a good way to strike against the Church. There were plenty of isolated monasteries that would have been an easy target for a group even their size.
“That tends to attract attention,” said Nora. “You saw what a chance encounter with inquisitors was like. We nearly lost Jonas. If they focus their efforts on us it would be even worse. Our best tactic is to remain unseen and not draw attention. At least for now.”
“It sounds like you plan to step into the public at some point,” said Adan.
Nora nodded. “When we're ready.”
Adan wanted to ask for specifics, but the way Nora shifted her body made him think it would be useless. He was not yet deserving of that knowledge. They still did not fully trust him.
Given what was at stake he couldn't blame them.
“So, what now?” Adan leaned back and supported himself with his hands.
“We go home like we planned,” said Nora. “We wait to see if you wake up.”
“You think I will develop a power?”
Nora nodded. “So far you're the only other one to have seen a dream similar to mine. You just need the right thing to trigger it.”
Adan wasn't as optimistic, but he said nothing more. The silence grew longer. The wagon swayed as it ran over bumps in the road. It gave Adan time to examine the woman opposite to him. The whiteness of her hair and eyes gave her a certain charm, though most would have found it off-putting. Adan didn't mind. He had not had the chance to be close to women his age so it was a rare opportunity in his mind.
“How did you survive?” asked Adan to break the silence. She was someone who'd stand out not just because of her eyes. If she was alone then she was even more tenacious than Adan.
“I was born inside the safe place to parents who were both World Destroyers,” said Nora. “I never had to contend with the outside world trying to kill me every day. I had a childhood that was safe.”
“Then why are you here, outside?” Adan was uncertain he would have left the safe place. It sounded like a good place to be and when you'd found a good place, why leave?
“Because I have seen what the Church does,” Nora replied and sighed. She closed her eyes. “The way they oppress our sort is not right. Anyone with a working sense of moral knows it. So I joined the parties that go to the outside world to help find people like you. It wasn't easy because of my blindness, but once my power woke up, there was soon no shortage of groups wanting me to go with them. But then there were others who wanted me to stay in safety.”
“With your power, isn't that what you should be doing?” asked Adan. It seemed short sighted to risk her life on the outside when she could be of great use in a safer place.
“If I did that then we would have lost Jonas today,” said Nora and opened her eyes. “I've saved a dozen lives by being out here, just from attacks by the Church. That doesn't even take into account people like you that we have found and guided to safety. What would I have done otherwise? Nothing of worth.”
“I can see the sense in that,” said Adan. Her words had revealed what sort of a woman she was. She did not lead the group for no reason. She genuinely cared about the cause.
The wagons came to a halt. It wasn't long before Tess knocked on the wagon doors and entered after permission from Nora.
“Lunch break,” she said and dug up some rations from a barrel behind her. She took a seat between Adan and Nora.
“How are things looking?” asked Nora and wrapped her hand around a piece of dried meat Tess put in her hand.
“At least no one is following us,” said Tess and took a bite out of the meat. “The road has been empty so I doubt anyone has even had a chance to pass by the mess we left behind. We've had a bit of rain so hopefully that has washed away most of what we couldn't clean up.”
“The Church will eventually miss those men,” said Adan and reached for a piece of meat himself. Chewing the dry piece had saliva filling his mouth. He hadn't realized how much the fight had taken out of him.
Tess nodded. “Let's hope they were on a long mission.”
“If the Church comes after us we won't be able to get to safety. We can't lead them there.” Nora nibbled another bite out of the meat.
“Less Church officials in the north,” said Tess. “They like the warmer south, fat bastards.”
“We need to be careful,” said Nora, not giving an inch on her concerns.
“We will be,” said Tess. “But there's nothing we can do about chance encounters like we just had.” The smell of her wet clothes was starting to overpower the herb smell that had lingered about from Nora's teapot.
“How's Jonas doing?” asked Nora. She shifted in her seat. It seemed the thought of not being in control of a situation was unnerving to her.
“You know how they are,” said Tess and grabbed another piece of meat to chew on. “He doesn't understand what happened to him. What he experienced. You should talk to him just as you've talked to Adan here.”
“He needs time to come to terms with it himself,” said Nora. “I will talk with him once he's ready.”
“Just don't leave it for too long,” said Tess. “We don't want him ending up like Sam did.”
“Who's Sam?” asked Adan. The fact they were talking like something bad had happened to him made him worry about Jonas.
“I healed him like I did Jonas,” said Nora. She looked down at her hands. “He couldn't come to terms with it. He lost his mind.”
“Poor man,” said Tess. “One moment he was fine the next he was shouting gibberish and swinging a knife at anyone coming close to him. The only blessing was it happened in the sanctuary so we had people to subdue him and look after him.”
“Why did he do that?” asked Adan.
“We're not exactly certain,” said Nora. “The others I have saved have said they experienced something when they were at the door leaving out of this world. That something haunts them, but they're unable to describe it accurately.”
“Sam went on about seeing things from the past. Horrible things. People getting tortured, all the horrors of war and then he started saying there were people coming for him, to drag him into their torture chambers. That's why he started swinging that knife.” Tess bit into a new piece of meat.
“I hadn't heard that.” Nora frowned.
“I'm sure I told you,” said Tess.
“You didn't.”
“Well, I'm sorry. It must have slipped my mind.”
Adan didn't believe her. Tess did not seem like the sort of person who forgot things. But why would she keep something like that from Nora? Especially when she was the one who needed to know. No one else was going to find much use in it.
Nora did not seem pleased with it either, but she said nothing more on it. Instead, she glanced up at Adan. “Why don't you go ride with Jonas the rest of the day. See what he's going through. Maybe he'll be able to talk to you.”
“Good idea,” said Tess and leaned back. There was still some of her ration left, but she seemed to be satisfied with the amount she'd eaten.
Adan grabbed a final piece of meat and quickly chewed it down. “I'll do that.” He had to admit to being worried about the young man after hearing Nora talk. He stood up and turned towards the door.
“Come see me this evening when we stop,” said Nora. “I want to hear what you've learned from him.”
Adan nodded, but then remembered. “I'll do that.” He jumped down from the wagon and closed the door, leaving the two women to discuss what ever they still had on their mind. He got the feeling Tess was going to get an ear full from the young woman for forgetting to mention such important information to her.
The clouds in the sky had grown darker. Rain wasn't the only thing that was going to come down later in the day. You could tell there was going to be some thunder and lightning. The wind was starting to pick up which was a tell tale sign the show wasn't far off.
He found Jonas sitting in the wagon, ready go back on the road. Kal and the rest were huddled up a short distance away where they'd found some rocks to sit on. They still had food going in so it looked like they wouldn't be moving for a while yet.
“How are you holding on?” asked Adan as he climbed to take a seat next to Jonas.
The look he got from Jonas was one of confusion. For a moment it looked like he didn't even see him. “It's strange.”
Adan took a comfortable seat, not that the bench offered much in that. “What is?”
“I'm supposed to be dead, but I'm not. Here I am feeling wet, cold and miserable. I should be beyond things like that now.”
“Who knows, maybe those things don't go away when we die.”
“They're supposed to,” said Jonas. There was a note in his voice that sent shivers down Adan's spine. “If they didn't then what would be the point?”
“The point is to live,” said Adan.
The edge of Jonas's mouth twitched. “I've had my brushes with death before. They've always left me feeling more alive when I made it through. It's not like that this time. I know I should be dead. I went away and got a glimpse of.. something. But then I was ripped back here and I'm feeling like I've been robbed of something precious.”
“What did you see?” asked Adan. He noticed Kal and the rest were done with their food and heading back to the wagons. He gave the bald man a nod and received one back. No words needed to be exchanged for him to give the two young men their own space. Tess climbed out of the back of the wagon and jumped on her horse. Her expression was frozen so it was hard to tell her mood, but Adan could tell by the way she moved that she was upset. Nora had not spared her words it seemed.
Jonas didn't reply until the wagons were back on the move. The rumble of distant thunder greeted them in the direction they were headed.
“I can't describe it. I know it was something important, but the details elude me. All I have is the feeling that I've lost something precious.”
Adan wanted to prod further, but he could tell the answers weren't there. The look of confusion and frustration that took over Jonas every time he tried to remember was enough to convince anyone he couldn't answer even though he wanted to.
“I talked with Nora,” said Adan. “She mentioned others she has saved, like you. Has she talked with you about them?”
Jonas shrugged. “I've heard stories.”
“Do they worry you?”
For a moment Jonas simply stared at the backs of the horses and the reigns in his hands. “I've heard enough to have some worries.”
“Nora was concerned about you too,” said Adan. “She's here. We're all here. If anything comes up we will help you through it. You know that, don't you?” Though he had spent only a small amount of time with the group he knew them well enough that it wasn't in their blood to abandon one of their own in a time of need.
“I know,” said Jonas. For a moment they listened to the thunder and watched the bright flashes that preceded it in the horizon. The mountains loomed ahead of them like an impassable barrier. The rain started again. It was a miserable day to be on the road.
“The road's going to be nothing but mud soon,” said Adan to break the silence.
Jonas just nodded.
Adan didn't try and pry any further. Jonas needed time to arrange his own thoughts before he'd be able to give anyone an explanation of what he had gone through.
The wagon rolled along the road. The rain waxed and waned, sometimes beating them so hard it hurt when a large raindrop hit your face, other times turning into nothing more than a gentle mist.
Adan tried to start up the conversation again, but Jonas had retreated into a shell of silence. He gave up by the time it was time to set up camp for the night. Nora called the young man to her before the food was ready and Tess took their portions to them. Jonas didn't come out before it was time for Adan to sleep.
The next morning there was a noticeable change in Jonas and he was back to his usual self, though you could tell he had been through something trans-formative.
The group continued its journey towards the sanctuary.