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Everything Begins Chapter 37
“Who is this, Frank?”Anmah had the boy get down and did not fail to notice that Mathi’s eyes were once again on the ground.“Head up, Mathi,” he said, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder, feeling the trembling. “No more looking at the ground. Not with us.”“Yes, sir,” Mathi whispered, and he slowly raised his head.“This is Mathi,” Frank said to the others who were now all standing. “He ran away from the Asabya, and I saved him from them. They were going to kill him.”Sophyra nodded sadly and knelt down in front of the boy. “Mathi, you are very lucky. Captain Mistri also saved me from the Asabya, and he is a good man. So are his friends, Captain Sekara and Captain Rabina. They will keep you safe like they keep me safe.”“Truly? They will not hurt me?”“Never!” Tero said, stepping forward. “We would never hurt a boy.”“I...I did not mean…” Mathi stammered, his eyes going wide.Tero forced himself to calm down. “I know you did not,” he answered. “I am sorry I snapped at you.” He loo
Everything Begins Chapter 38
“You sure about this, Dinton?” he teased. “You know what happened the last time you tried to take me down.”“That was five years ago! I am better now,” the other returned. His hands were up and open.Tero laughed and moved to the fire where he sat down to watch. “So is he, you fool.”“We will see,” Dinton said, starting to circle his friend slowly, looking for an opening. “Come on, Anmah, let me see what you have got.”Frank’s grin grew bigger. “Whenever you are ready, baby.”Dinton growled, and after a few more steps, dropped low and grabbed for Frank’s legs, but Anmah stepped back with his left leg, and Dinton only managed to barely grab hold of the right. Frank once again easily removed himself from his friend’s grasp and, almost faster than Tero could follow, twirled behind Dinton and dropped a knee on his back, forcing him to hold himself up on his hands to avoid having his face buried in the ground. Dinton tried to roll to his left, throw up his leg, and pull Frank down undernea
Everything Begins Chapter 39
“This is not a choice! You are asking me to sacrifice a friend for the world! I cannot do that!”You must.“I cannot.” Frank fell to his knees and wanted to cry, but a sensation of peace drifted over and around him, and he took a deep breath.You must. The voice drifted into silence, and Frank slowly stood. He looked back at the camp to where his friends were sleeping. Dinton, his best friend and the brother who had replaced the one he lost; Tero, who had become something of an uncle to him; Mathi, coming into a camp full of strangers and trusting them completely; and Sophyra, his heart. He could not imagine losing any of them, but he knew that there was more than one life in his hands. If he did not make the choice to lose one of them, the entire world could be destroyed.He walked back to the fire and sat down with his legs crossed and his sword across his lap. He stared at it as he traced one finger up and down the blade. His father had given it to him on his twelfth naming-day. It
Everything Begins Chapter 40
As Frank drew his knife swiftly across the man’s throat, Tero placed his hand over the woman’s mouth, and Dinton watched the children closely. The eyes of both adults opened at the same time, the man’s in horror and pain, and the woman’s in simple surprise. The man gurgled as he tried to call out, but Frank had taken that ability from him. The woman on the other hand, merely lay there, staring up at Tero. The children slept through it all.When the man stopped moving, his eyes staring unseeing at the ceiling, Tero said quietly, “If I take my hand away, will you scream?”The woman slowly shook her head, and Frank nodded to his friend. Tero slowly released his hand, and the woman sat up and looked at the dead man next to her. Then she said quietly, “Thank you.”Three sets of eyebrows went up. That was definitely not the reaction they had expected. Then the woman spoke again.“You must kill them all, or they will take their revenge on us. They will think I killed him, and they will make
Everything Begins Chapter 41
Sophyra’s naked body was propped up against a tree, and Frank could see ropes securing her to it. Her head was canted at a strange angle, and blood covered her. A piece of paper was stuck to the tree above her head:THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO SLAVES THAT RUN“! Sophyra!” Frank covered the distance to her in a few steps, and he instantly saw that her throat had been cut so deeply that she was almost decapitated. He dropped to his knees and reached for her, but he did not know what to do. Finally, he carefully undid the ropes that held her to the tree with hands that shook violently, and then he sat on the ground and cradled her closely to himself. He started rocking back and forth as tears streamed down his face.“No, no, no, no, no,” he muttered, desperately clutching her to his chest. “Please, Yisu, not her, please, please, please.”He was still there, muttering to himself and rocking her in his arms, when Dinton and Tero came back. He heard them return, but he could not make himself ca
Everything Begins Chapter 42
“You did not answer my question,” Tero put in. “What was Frank going to do?”“That is for him to tell you if he chooses. I am here for another reason. The five of you must immediately return to Grama. The people you left there are confused and scared, and there is only one old woman to guide them. They need your help.” Telantes looked at Frank and narrowed his eyes. “You,” he said, pointing at him, “need to be less selfish. You need to remember that the world depends on you, and you do not have the luxury of doing only what you want. No matter how painful the alternative is.” He nodded at Sophyra. “She is not supposed to be here, but your decision made this necessary. Do not waste this gift you have forced the Creator to give you. Use it to make you stronger. And remember, the Daitya can kill her as easily as a mortal human. If that happens, you cannot let yourself give in to narrow-minded desires again.”Frank felt like he was seven years old again, listening to his father lecture hi
Everything Begins Chapter 43
“And I am not a liar. What I tell you is the truth.” He frowned when he heard the sound of horseshoes on cobblestones, and his head slowly turned toward the main entrance of the town. Sure enough, Dinton and Tero guided their horses through the crowd that had formed around him and the old woman. Sophyra followed, but she stayed near the buildings away from him. Gasps filled the air as women finally recognized the men who had killed their husbands and sons.He turned back to Nikale, ignoring his friends. “Listen, I was told to come to you to help you with the women, children, and slaves left here, so here I am. What needs to be done?”The woman was about to answer when a small girl, maybe five or six years old, tugged on her skirts. Nikale bent down, and the girl whispered in her ear.“I think so, dear. Why?”The girl did not answer but instead stepped up to Frank. “Did you kill my baba?”Frank squatted down in front of her. “Probably.”“Are you going to kill me, too?”He frowned and l
Everything Begins Chapter 44
His friends were led to two different homes, and the women gestured inside before leaving. Sophyra led Frank to a third home, but she entered before he did. With another sigh, he stepped inside. A wooden washtub was in the middle of the room, the water steaming. Next to it was a towel, soap, and his saddlebags. He paused when Sophyra stood next to the tub.“Are you staying?” he asked as he pulled his bloody shirt over his head.“Do you want me to?” Her voice was icy, but he felt her tears wash over him like a flood, and he ran his hand through his hair in frustration.“Yes, I want you to stay,” he said, looking at her. The tears were dripping down her cheeks, and his chest tightened.“Why?”He took a step toward her but stopped when she stiffened."Sophyra, I...” Her bottom lip trembled, and he reached out a hand toward her. “My heart, I am so sorry.” She did not move, and he dropped his hand.“What are you sorry for, Frank? Ignoring me? Hurting me? Forcing Yisu to make me Anmah? What