“I suspect the knights will make their move by tomorrow at the latest,” Apramor said. “I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before the villagers confirm their suspicions. The only reason they haven’t acted already is because they do not want to foster ill will with the locals.”
“Well then, let’s hop to it!” Rudvik said, slapping his knees.
The priest hesitated. “I think we should let the boy have a say in this matter, don’t you?”
“Ye. He should.”
“Vir?” Apramor said, turning to him. “What would you like to do? Will you stay? Or will you flee?”
Vir hadn’t gotten a word in this entire time, only because he’d had few objections. He wasn’t about to let some strangers from the capital dictate his future. “We’ll flee. Tonight.”
Apramor gave him an appraising look while Rudvik set his jaw and nodded.
“That is… I admire your determination,” the priest said, “but you do understand what this means, yes? You may not be able to come back to the village. Perhaps not even after the knights leave.”
“I get it. It does scare me, you know. Scares me so much it’s taking everything I have not to shiver right now. But I’d rather take my chances in the Godshollow than with these knights.”
One look at how the knight captain had treated Apramor told him all he needed to know about those people. There would be no happiness in his future if he followed them. Only misery, and Vir suspected even the village bullies wouldn’t hold a candle to what the knights would do to an ‘Ashborn freak.’
Neel sidled up to him, whining. Vir smiled. “We’ll take you too, boy. Don’t worry.”
“If that is your decision, then we shall support you,” Apramor said with a sigh. “Rudvik and Vir will flee the village tonight. Meanwhile, I shall stall the knights for as long as I can.”
Rudvik grunted. “Godshollow ain’t no place ta be after dark, but well,” he smacked his chest, “you’ve got the best badrakkin’ lumberjack in these woods right ’ere! We’ll do alright.”
Vir was already moving to retrieve the rucksack he’d packed earlier.
“Come on, Mai. Let’s go home,” Apramor said.
But Maiya shrugged him off and stepped away. “I’m going with them.”
“No challin’ way ya are, Crimson!” Rudvik roared.
Vir had to agree. “I think that’s a terrible idea, Maiya. You’d be hunted just like me if you come with us.”
Rudvik nodded vigorously. “You tell her straight, Apramor!”
“Hmm…” the priest said, deep in thought. He kneeled and looked deeply into Maiya’s hazel eyes. “Are you sure about this, Mai?”
Maiya nodded vigorously. “What kind of friend would I be if I abandoned Vir now?”
“Apramor, ya outta yer mind? Tell her straight! Tell her she can’t come with us! It’s far too dangerous!”
The priest turned his gaze to the lumberjack. “You understand, don’t you? You know why I wish for her to go with you, yes?”
“Wha—I…” Rudvik’s words caught in his mouth. “S’pose I do,” he said at last, his expression grim.
“What do you mean?” Maiya said. “What does he mean, Dad?”
Apramor spoke with a sad smile, “You’ll understand, someday. But not today. Go with your friend. Support him when he falls. Protect him in this dark hour. Be his anchor in the sea.”
Maiya nodded slowly. “I will.”
“Rudvik, my daughter will meet you and Vir at the forest’s edge as soon as she’s retrieved her things. We shall now make our leave. May Adinat favor you.”
Apramor and Maiya left shortly thereafter. So much had happened in the past half hour that Vir’s mind still hadn’t caught up.
I’m really leaving… It hadn’t really sunk in yet. Yesterday, he thought he’d live out his entire life here. But now? Now he might not spend another cycle in his house ever again.
His thoughts drifted to the modest log house. It wasn’t much, but it was home. When he realized he may never see it again, he suddenly appreciated its coziness. He felt its warmth and the sense of security it had always given him. Why had he never noticed those things until now?
Rudvik rested his giant hand on Vir’s slender shoulders. “Every child leaves da nest some day. Jes’ yer day’s comin’ a bit earlier than expected, eh? S’ides, seein’ the world’s not a bad thing. Haven’t seen much of it me’self, but it oughta be a whole wagonload more exciting ’n this boring village life, eh?”
Vir smiled, but his heart wasn’t in it. Rudvik clapped his back. “Don’t worry, boy. I’ll be right here. Not goin’ anywhere now, am I?”
A melancholic fifteen minutes later, Rudvik, Vir, and Neel stood at the edge of the Godshollow. The forest was spooky enough during the day, and the voices only grew louder at night. Vir was having a hard time staying calm, and the bizarre sounds only he could hear just added to his worries.
“Where are they?” he asked, pacing around as he searched for Maiya.
“Relax,” Rudvik said, dropping a heavy bundle of lashed firewood. “We only just got ’ere. Maiya’s got ta pack her things ’n then come all the way back. Sit tight.”
Sitting tight was the last thing Vir wanted to do. Instead, he focused on the new voices in his head, as he’d done in his spare time since his encounter with the cultist. Slowly, he was beginning to identify the patterns in the voices.
One thing was obvious; they were consistent. They whispered the same gibberish for the same objects. Utility orbs all sounded similar, while the Godhollows resembled other trees, but were far louder in his head. At his home, Vir felt little, other than the faintest whisper that was always present.
Just a bit more, and I feel like I’ll have it!
A whole half hour passed in nervous silence before Maiya and Apramor arrived. Neel noticed them first, perking up the instant he caught a whiff of their scent.
“This is it, then,” Apramor said as he hugged his daughter. They stood that way for a good minute before he broke the embrace. “Be well, Mai. Be strong. I love you, dear.”
Maiya looked away. “Not like it’s set in stone that we’ll never come back, yeah? Why’re you acting like this?”
Apramor laughed, wiping away his tears. “You’re right, Mai. You’re quite right.”
He turned to Vir. “Remember what I told you at the temple. Hold your head high. Protect those close to you, and never feel ashamed about who you are. You bow to no one, Vir.”
Vir gulped. “Yes, sir.”
“And finally, to you, Rudvik, I bid goodbye and godspeed. May Janak watch over you,” he said as the two clasped arms.
Rudvik whispered something to Apramor, but Vir couldn’t hear it. The priest smiled sadly. “I’m afraid nothing will change that now, old friend,” he said, leaving Vir and Maiya scratching their heads.
Apramor watched his daughter and the boy who he treated as his own son disappear into the darkness of the Godshollow before returning. The priest had many thoughts during his long walk back to the village.
He contemplated his life. He thought of his daughter and his beautiful wife. He gazed up at the stars and thanked Adinat for all that he had been given in life. And he prayed. For Rudvik’s success in evading the knights. And for his daughter’s safety.
But he did not pray for himself. Not even when the steady clacking of hooves grew louder and louder, coming to a stop right in front of him.
“Priest! Odd for you to be out and about at this hour?” Knight Captain Vastav said from atop his steed. “Where were you?”
“Just taking a stroll. Lovely night, wouldn’t you agree, Knight Captain?”
“A lie. We know about Ekavir. You helped him escape, didn’t you?” The captain didn’t wait for a response. “This is a grave crime, Apramor. A grave crime. Don’t think for a moment that your station protects you from the law. I just wish…” Captain Vastav sighed, shaking his head. “We already know they’ve escaped to the woods. Your actions have amounted to naught.”