Chapter 15
1632 Words
15
We parted ways, and Caius and I took the sullen Marcus with us. He wouldn’t look at either of us as we headed in the direction of puffs of smoke that rose from the village chimneys.
“You can’t keep quiet forever,” Caius teased his little brother.
Marcus pursed his lips and hardened his face.
I smiled. “Bee and Sage are the best at finding things that nobody else can find. If there’s something around or in the manor they’ll find it.”
Marcus wrinkled his nose. “Bee and-” He froze and a look of horror passed over his face.
Caius laughed. “See? Not more than two minutes.”
Marcus scowled at him. “That wasn’t fair! Those two called themselves something else, didn’t they?”
I shrugged. “They like to remain incognito when they need to be.”
“Why do they need to do that?” he questioned us as he looked from Caius to me. He narrowed his eyes. “Why did you guys come here in the first place, anyway?”
“To escape some pretty nasty people,” Caius admitted.
He frowned. “Who?”
Caius studied him, but his eyes twinkled. “I don’t know. I don’t think you can keep a secret.”
Marcus perked up. “I can! I promise!”
Caius looked to me and jerked his head to his brother. “What do you think? Should we trust him?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. . .”
“Come on!” Marcus pleaded as he scurried across Caius and grabbed the front of my coat. I jerked to a stop and nearly fell over him. He looked up at me with puppy eyes. “Please? Please, Jane? You can trust me!”
I smiled and looked up at Caius. “Well? Should we?”
“I suppose we could tell him that the Blue Binds are after us, and our companions are none other than the infamous Beastly Bee and Storm Sage,” Caius mused.
Marcus’ eyes grew as wide as saucers and his voice was an octave higher than usual. “Really?”
“Would I lie to you?” Caius countered.
“Yes,” Marcus retorted.
Caius cringed. “Ouch. That hurts.”
I laughed and drew Marcus to my side and between us. “Come on, you two clowns. Let’s go see Father Ferrero before he forgets we exist.”
“Bee and Sage. . .” Marcus breathed as we continued on. “Wow. . .”
We reached the village as the setting sun drew itself below the horizon. Candles illuminated the windows and cast their soft glow on the street as we made our way to the church. The small house beside the church was dark, but the church windows were illuminated by soft light.
We entered the church and I had my first view of the interior. There were two rows of pews on either side of a central aisle. Ornate white columns rose up a yard from the walls and ran down to the front of the building, creating two more aisles. The front of the church had a round altar with a flat top. A white cloth covered the top, and on the cloth was a large candelabra. Behind the altar was a depiction of the sun with its rays spilling outward in all directions. Candles hung at all the points and cast such a light that I almost believed they had captured a star.
A few worshipers sat in the pew, and the father himself knelt before the clothed altar with his head bowed. A thin figure appeared out of a side door that led to an office. It was Jacob Mechta, the nephew to the solitary baron.
He walked up to the kneeling father and spoke in a hushed whisper. “Were you needing my help with anything else, Father?”
Father Ferrero raised his head and smiled at the young man. “Is fetching the water, the wood, and cleaning the church not enough tasks for you after your long day in the stables?”
Jacob returned the smile. “The stables aren’t too bad, and the food is good thanks to Joshua’s wife.”
“A weak body is of no use to anyone, and so I insist you go home and rest,” the father commanded him.
Jacob bowed his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He walked up the aisle, but paused in front of us when he recognized our group. “Do you have news of my uncle?”
“He’s alive,” Caius told him.
Jacob smiled. “I’m glad for that, but how is his health?”
Caius shook his head. “Not that great.”
Jacob’s face fell. “I a truly sorry to hear that, but thank you for being honest with me. You all have a good evening.” He bowed his head and left.
“I wish he was at the manor instead of Fen,” I mused as I looked at where he’d gone.
“You and me both,” Caius agreed.
At the sound of our voices Ferrero rose and turned to us where his eyes widened with surprise and glee. He opened his arms and smiled at us as we approached him. “I am glad to see you, my dear friends. The messenger from the baron informed me you would be extended guests and I feared you would forget about our little village.”
Caius clapped his hands on the father’s shoulders and grinned. “Never, Father.”
The good father looked down at his young charge. “And I am very glad to see you, Marcus. How went the treasure hunt?”
“It’s not over yet,” Marcus told him.
Ferrero’s eyebrows shot up. “Truly? What have you found?”
Caius’ eyes flickered to the few parishioners. “Not here.”
Ferrero chuckled. “Very well. Go to my home and I will see you there shortly.”
We left the church and entered the small hut. Caius made a fire in the hearth and Marcus lit the candles placed about the room. Together they made the room shine for the father when he came in a few minutes later.
The good father flopped himself into his seat and sighed. “No rest for the good.”
“Or perhaps the wicked?” I suggested.
He chuckled. “Perhaps not for them, either.” He stretched out his legs toward the fire and smiled. “Gad forgive me, but I appreciate these small comforts almost as much as the beauty of my church and my people.”
“You have a very nice church,” I agreed.
The father perked up. “That was your first sight, was it not?” I nodded, and he leapt to his feet. “What a poor leader of men I have been not to have led you on a tour!”
“What about your rest?” Caius teased.
“Rest is for the wicked, my good son,” Ferrero countered as he drew his coat back on. “Now let us see to the beauty of our church.”
He took my arm and led me outside while the other two followed. The church was still lit with the beautiful soft light of the candles. The pews were empty now, but I still felt their prayers in the soft way we treaded across the wood boards. The echos reverberated off the high ceiling and columns, and provided a hymn of worship as we made our way down the aisle.
“The church was built by the hands of our ancestors ten centuries ago,” Ferrero explained as he gestured to the columns. “The stones were carved from the mountains just to the north and brought here in the largest blocks they could pull, which as dragons they could pull a great deal. Many of these columns are a single piece weighing more than two dozen belk.” We stopped at the altar and the father beamed with pride as he studied the candelabra. “As in all churches, this is the centerpiece.” He raised his hand to the sun. “Great Gad the provider, the Sun, who watches over us with all his blessings that he offers to the world. Each ray reaches out to the many corners and blesses all the deserving souls.”
“What is the sun made of?” I wondered.
“Wood brought from the land of Wyvern,” Ferrero revealed. “They carried it with them all those many miles and set it upon this wonderful church so that they might once again receive Gad’s blessing and flourish.” Caius pursed his lips and turned his face away. Ferrero looked at him out of the corner of his eyes and smiled. “Hope is not yet lost, my son. You and Marcus live, and there are others.”
“Yeah. . .” Caius reluctantly agreed.
Marcus grabbed his sleeve and smiled up at him. “Maybe your friends have found the book.”
Father Ferrero half-turned to us and arched an eyebrow. “What book?”
Caius shrugged. “There might be a book around here that has a cure for my curse.”
The father fully turned to face us. “You sound as though you have discovered many interesting secrets. Tell me more.” Caius recounted our adventures, and by the time he was finished the father’s face was one of amazement. “By Gad, what secrets! And to think they were hidden only a few miles from our small village!”
“But we didn’t find the stone we were looking for,” Marcus added with a sigh.
He smiled and gestured to the altar. “Perhaps I might have a suggestion. Have you both forgotten that this altar grants wishes to those who with pure hearts and fervent prayers kneel before it and touch the cloth?”
Marcus wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, but that’s not true.”
The father chuckled. “Perhaps not for you, my dear son, who have yet to find the fulfillness of Gad’s love, but this young lady-” He turned to me. “You have been with Caius through many adventures and such loyalty shows a good heart. Will you not pray for his curse to be lifted?”
I winced. “I’m not so sure that would work. I mean, I got him into a lot of those adventures.”
“What would it hurt?” the father persisted.
I looked to Caius who shrugged. I smiled and rolled up my sleeves. “All right, let’s give this a try.”
I marched through the men and up to the altar. My gusto was tempered by the soft lighting and the flickering candles that cast their hypnotizing dance over me. I knelt on one knee before the altar and grasped the cloth.
“You son of a b***h!”
- Writer
