Chapter 7

Chapter 7
Jereme and Zoe walked tiredly through the door. Copper rushed to embrace her son.
“Where on earth were you? I have been so worried about you. What is that on your forehead? Is it painful? We should get you to bed right away. Your head doesn’t seem to be bleeding.”She bustled around, talking a mile a minute.
“What are you talking about? What mark on my forehead? Zoe, What is it?”Jeremy asked perplexed.
“Oh Jeremy, She has marked you.” Zoe said alarmed. “The eye, marked on your forehead in red.”
Suddenly, the noise of silence filled the room. They were all frozen, listening in horror as a voice began to speak.
“Do not forget the power of darkness. You must come to the temple tomorrow. If you do not, I will take Jeremy and kill him. Do you doubt me? See the mark on his forehead? I hold his life in that eye. I can take it whenever I choose. Here is a taste of what will come if you do not obey. Zoe, look to Jeremy. I can take his life as easily as what I do now.”
“Jeremy!”  Zoe cried. He had crumpled silently to the floor. The mark on his forehead glowed red hot. His face was rigid in a mask of dread and anguish.
“Zoe!” Jeremy spoke, “Help me! It hurts. Pray for me. Oh, EL!” His eyes went terribly blank then, and a voice that was not his spoke.
“The test will take place tomorrow. When your husband wakes up, you must go.”  Jeremy’s mind was once again his own.  “Pray for me Zoe. She does not promise that I will live. Always remember, El’s way is the best way. If I don’t make it. . .”
“Don’t say that love.” Jeremy’s eyes closed then.  Zoe called his name again, but she knew he could not respond.  Crying softly, she and Copper placed him in his bed. They did not know what the new day would bring.
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Bryn brought a bowl of food to her patient. He was standing at the window, gazing out, he did not seem to hear her come in.
“Yan! What are you doing up?! You should be in bed!”  Bryn scolded.  “Do you want to have a relapse?”
Yan turned towards her, “El healed me for good Bryn, I am fine.”
“You still shouldn’t be standing by the window. You might catch a cold. What is so interesting out there. It is just my vegetable garden.”
“I heard a scream, out there somewhere. It was a familiar scream, I have heard it before. It was the tormented cry that exploded in my brain whenever someone spurned me because of my sores. That is the cry of a man who is alone, without anything or anyone that he cares about.” Yan turned to Bryn and her words of denial were stilled on her lips. The fear was clearly engraved on his face.
“It is no one you know, and you can do nothing about it. Please, come away from the window.”  Bryn softly whispered.
“All right.”  Yan said resignedly. “I wish I could stop hearing that scream everywhere. Then, gathering his resolve together.  He looked at her in a way that suggested he would brook no argument. “Look, I need to go look for that scream. Please come with me. I don’t know what I will do if I can not find the person who made that scream.”  He said, a little more urgently.
“Okay, I will help you.” Suddenly a loud knock sounded at the door. Bryn stopped. “I have to go get that. Put your shoes on. We will need to get you a new pair, but they will do for now.”  Bryn stopped by the door and opened it. Aidan stumbled inside, Samara closely following him. He was gasping for breath. He shoved a piece of paper at her quickly. Bryn opened it and read it quickly.”I am sorry Yan, but I cannot help you locate that scream. I need to get to Qintar very quickly. I am sorry, but my best friend needs me. You can stay at my house until I return.
“I’ll come with you.”  Bryn looked at him reproachfully.  “I need to go somewhere, and I think you don’t want me going alone. Besides, I think Qintar is the right direction for that scream. Please, I want to go with you.”
“All right. Aidan, Samara, this is Yan. He will be coming with us. We must hurry.”
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Bryn rushed into Copper’s house. Aidan, Samara and Yan were not far behind her.
“All right, what is going on? Micaela, what is so urgent? Somebody please tell me what is going on.”  Bryn blustered.
“Zoe.”  Zoe automatically corrected.
“Huh?!”  Bryn stopped in her tracks.
“My name is Zoe, not Micaela.”
“Whatever, tell me what has happened since I saw you last. Why are you crying? Micaela, what happened?”  Bryn asked, she was really concerned now.
“I told you, it’s Zoe. Look, you better sit down. I’ll see if I can tell you this story without crying.”  She smiled wobbly through her tears, and told them all that had transpired in the two days that had passed.
“Can I see. . .um. . .Jeremy?”
“Of course, he is in this room here. He looks dead, but don’t be alarmed, he is still breathing.”  Fresh tears streaked down Zoe’s face.  “I don’t know when he will wake up.”
“Oh my goodness!”  Aidan said when he saw him.  “Are you sure he isn’t dead?”  Bryn hit him.  “Ouch! What was that for?”  Bryn looked at him with an “I’ll get you” look.
“It’s all right Aidan.” Zoe smiled a little. She remembered what Jeremy had been like at that age.  “And now Bryn, who is this young man?”  She asked, more to get her mind off Jeremy than any real desire to know. Bryn told her all about everything, Zoe marvelled at how happy Bryn seemed, and wondered just what effect Yan had on her.
Copper came in then. “I am sorry to disturb you, but sleepless nights for you are not going to help Jeremy. I suggest you all go to bed.”
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Zoe yawned and stretched. For a moment, she was content and happy. Then she remembered where she was and why. It was still early, but she went to see if Jeremy had awakened. She found Copper, slumped over in sleep. She must have been there all night. Zoe saw that Jeremy was breathing evenly, and she tried to wake him up. He did not stir and she realized with disappointment that he was still in a coma. Copper was very little and frail. It was no problem for Zoe to pick her up and carry her to her bed. She then took the chair that Copper had sat in all night long and continued the vigil. Her tears had been finished the day before. She sat there, feeling a rift in her heart that was a mile wide, but the tears that would have healed were spent. Zoe watched his face for the merest indication of life, but it did not come. Not a flicker of an eyelash told her that Jeremy still lived, only his rhythmic breathing could convince her that it was a living man and not a soulless shell that lay on the bed in front of her eyes.
The morning passed. Aidan and Samara offered to sit with Jeremy for her, but she refused. When Jeremy opened his eyes, hers would be the first face he’d see. Zoe ate by his side, and slowly, the afternoon began to pass. The darkness outside the door was deeper.  She looked into Jeremy’s face.  She could see less movement in his chest than before.  She could feel the fear rooting deeper into her soul.
It was almost five O’clock when it happened. Jeremy moved. His eyes opened very suddenly and he sat up. “Zoe! Is the wagon ready? We must go to the temple.”  He said, his voice strong once again.
“Jeremy, are you sure you are all right?”  Zoe asked, after all, he had just been in a coma for almost twenty four hours.
“We have no time to talk. We must get to the temple before Freyje decides we are not coming and decides to kill you.”  Jeremy looked into her eyes tenderly.  “My life is not important to me, but yours and the life of the child you carry are. I love you. I do not want to lose you.” Zoe smiled at him softly.
Bryn stepped in to say that supper was ready and won’t you please let me sit with him for a while. When she saw Jeremy she stopped, speechless.
“Bryn, tell the others that we will be leaving for the temple right away, there is no time to eat. We must go.”  Zoe said quickly, when she realized that Bryn was not going to do anything unless someone said something. Bryn could only nod wordlessly and turn. They were on the road in less than five minutes.
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Freyje smiled in mindless cruelty.  “They come, my master. What is the next step?” She then listened as The Unnamed One outlined a plan far more cruel than anything Freyje had conceived of. Together, they laughed.
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Samara shivered as she watched the temple draw nearer. She sensed something and it made her uneasy. She wished she could stop Jeremy from going but she knew there was no use. There was no turning back. Samara felt sure that Jeremy would not return with them from the temple.
Zoe shook in apprehension as the temple drew closer. She looked beside her at Jeremy. He looked tired and she knew he was not fully recovered from his coma. Jeremy noticed her gaze.      “It is all right my love. El will protect me. Do not be afraid. What I do, I do to protect you and our child.”  Jeremy’s words helped a little, but Zoe still looked at the temple with dread.
 The wagon stopped outside the massive doors. The courtyard echoed. Nothing living was inside those walls. Bryn could feel death in the cold wind that swept the courtyard bare. Then, Freyje appeared. She smiled. Samara huddled in her cloak, seeking to hide herself from the piercing gaze. Jeremy stood with apparent boldness. Only he knew that he was shaking inside.
“Freyje, we have come. Keep your promise. Where are the people, or do you not mean to let them see us triumph?”
Freyje laughed. “You fool. Do you really think I intended to take you up in this contest. That is not the way The Nameless One works. You think you saved yourself, but you have only condemned yourself. I never even thought of letting you go.”  Tears filled Zoe’s eyes as Jeremy fell to the ground, writhing in pain. And again, Freyje laughed. Jeremy had no time and no breath to say goodbye. Freyje waved her hand, and he was gone.
Zoe sank to the ground, cradling the unborn babe that grew in her stomach, and sobbed. Bryn helped her up and into the wagon, and they fled that place. Zoe resisted, but in the end she knew there was nothing she could do. Samara looked back. She wished she could comfort Zoe, but she realized that her time had not yet come.
Aidan rode stoically beside Zoe. He was angry. His brother had been found and then snatched away before his very eyes. Tears threatened to leak out of his eyes, but he stubbornly held them back.
Bryn ached for her young friend. She held her close but Zoe refused to be comforted.
Yan sat in the back, rather shocked at what he had seen happen. He wished he could do something to stop the crying. He knew El could comfort them, but he was not yet experienced enough to know what to say.
Zoe’s heart felt empty and cold. She felt as if nothing could take the pain away. Her tiny baby moved in her womb. She felt for her little fatherless child and a resolve grew in her to raise that child the best she could, even without Jeremy.
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They reached Jeremy and Zoe’s house. Zoe invited them to stay the night. Copper said she needed to go home, but Aidan and Samara could stay if they wished. They were afraid to travel any farther in the dark. They tried to convince Copper to stay, but she did not intend to give in.
Bryn put Zoe to bed as soon as they got home. Zoe was more than happy to comply. She was asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.
“Zoe! Help me. Oh the pain. He is killing me Zoe. There is nothing I can do. He wants to take my name from me.” bloodfiretears “El is keeping me alive now, but who knows how long I can keep going this way. You must take care of our son. He may be the only thing you will have left in this world. Always remember that I love you. I always will, no matter where I go from here. Trust El always. Do not blame him for what has happened to me. He loves you. Never forget that. Tell my son about me. Don’t let him forget how his father lived and died. Tell him to be true to El. It may seem hard sometimes, but He will bring you through.” painsorrowlove “Goodbye, until we meet again. I love you always, Zoe.” burstofpaincryofagonyfading “I LOVE YOU!”
Zoe sat up in a sweat. Her tears ran down her face. The dream had been the most real thing she had ever experienced. She felt Jeremy’s pain and she wept from the agony of it. She thought she had cried already, that she was over the pain of losing her beloved, but she was not.
Bryn stepped into her room. Her face concerned. She had not slept at all for worrying. She hurried across the room to Zoe when she saw her tear stained face.
“What is wrong? Do you want to tell me what it is?”
“I don’t want to raise my baby alone.”  Zoe whispered.  “Do you hear me El, I don’t want to raise my baby alone!”  She wept into Bryn’s shoulder. Bryn tried her best to comfort Zoe, but finally they just wept together. They fell asleep with tears still drying on their faces.
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Aidan crept out the door. He felt he needed to be alone, alone with his thoughts, alone with his anger. He had just lost a brother, a brother he still only vaguely remembered. He did not cry. The pain and hate only built up inside him with no place for release. He ran. He could not face anyone and he was sure that Samara would come looking for him soon.
The trees were black. There was no light to light his way through the thick forest, but he did not care. He only wished to get away. Aidan was quickly lost. He was not familiar with the forest around Zoe’s home. He tripped on a root that no one could have seen, and stopped his frantic rush away from his family and friends. Then, in the silence of the forest, he finally let his grief control him and he cried.
For many hours he lay there, crying. He became aware of his surroundings in a snap, and finally realized how far away he was from anything remotely familiar. He had been aware for several minutes, of a deadly resolve that was growing inside him. Aidan looked at the dark forbidding sky and vowed to wreak his vengeance on both Freyje and the Nameless One for what they had done to his family.
Aidan stood, and he sought He who is Nameless. It did not take him long to find those he searched for. The Nameless One wanted him too.
Aidan became aware of a light in the depths of the forest. He did not know what it was, but he followed it. He did not know where the light would take him or even who held it, but he followed. The light stopped in a small clearing. Aidan walked to the middle. He wished to see the stars and perhaps find his way. The sky was overcast, and Aidan, disappointed, tried to leave the center of the clearing. It held him like glue. He could not move. It was as if the light had solidified to hold him. It grew brighter until it hurt him, but he could not move, not even to close his eyes. It flashed once, very brightly, and Aidan felt himself float softly into darkness.
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Jeremy woke up very quickly. Someone stood over him; someone in a dark cloak and wearing an evil grin. The agony that had dominated his thought since Freyje had taken him had faded into a dull ache. He wondered why El had let this happen to him. Jeremy wished for nothing more than to be with his wife and unborn child, but El had not granted that wish.
Freyje stood there, watching the emotions that played on his face. “Will you give up this foolishness and live in service to the Nameless One? Will you give up your name?”  She rasped hoarsely.
“No, I will not.”  Jeremy replied with as much force as he could muster. An angry flicker lit in Freyje’s dark eyes. With a bloodthirsty grin, she waved her hand, chanting words no ear could hear. Jeremy felt the pain increase once again. He was gasping for breath. It ceased very suddenly.
“Will you reconsider, Jeremy?”  Freyje whispered.
“NO!!!”  Jeremy gathered strength enough to shout that one word.
Again, Freyje began to chant. Jeremy writhed on the floor in pain, retching.
“I will never serve you.”  He whispered, trying to defeat the mind numbing agony.
“You are done for, Jeremy. Don’t worry about your wife and coming child, I will take care of them for you.”
Jeremy screamed and kept screaming. The pain had reached an unbearable level, and the pain in his heart about his family was greater still. His scream split the night air, but, for Freyje, it was still not enough. She gazed at Jeremy, his hands claw like as he reached for something to take the pain away. His body shuddered in agony, but even though his body was broken, his spirit was not. Freyje could not conquer him by pain.
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Yan cringed in the loneliness of his room. He had felt that scream before. He knew who made that scream. He knew it was Jeremy, and though he had only followed El for a little while, he prayed. He felt helpless. He had felt that soundless scream for years and no one had helped him. He wished he could help, but he was unable to do anything but cry and pray until the wee hours of the morning. . .or evening.
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Aidan woke up slowly; his mouth was dry and his head ached. Everything was dark. He couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face.  “I’m not in the forest anymore.” He whispered into the lonely darkness.
 There are two kinds of darkness. There is the cozy darkness, the darkness that comes when you are tired and only promises rest, the darkness that makes you feel safe, the darkness that conceals you from danger and calms your fears, promising the healing of sweet dreams and soul’s rest.  Then there is the lonely darkness, cold and quiet. That is the darkness that sucks your courage and even your life away. It holds you in its frozen breath. It is a darkness born out of fearful tears, and silent screams. No matter whose arms may be there to hold you, you are always alone, abandoned to your terror, unable to see the coming light.  That was the darkness that Aidan lay surrounded in, and he was afraid to the very core of his being.
Suddenly, he knew he was not alone. There was someone with him in the darkness, someone that only added to his fear. Then, although no light leaked into the room, he could see his surroundings. There she stood, a figure from his worst nightmare.
“You can not save your brother this way.” She cackled. She saw the look of horror on Aidan’s face.  “I haven’t killed him. Nor have I succeeded in taking his name, but I will. He does not have long to wait. I. . .the Nameless One will break him soon. No one can hold out  forever.” Freyje laughed as Aidan cringed on the floor. She knew no fear from the darkness. It did not hurt her. Instead, it hid her from the eyes of those she feared would judge her. She wanted no light coming and exposing her foul ways to the people she ruled. Aidan just cried on the floor, trying to hide himself from her dark piercing gaze. Yet her words had given him a slight hope. Jeremy was alive, and still able to fight. He only wished he could tell Zoe now.
Aidan whispered a prayer as he lay fainting on the floor. He grew aware of light glowing  faintly around him, healing light, not burning light. He found his fear lessening and the dark presence fading. He looked up only once, and Freyje was gone. He lay on the floor, bathed in the light, and slept.
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 In the morning, no one said anything about the night before. Zoe walked around with her false cheerfulness. Everyone else just stepped around her carefully, trying not to remind her of Jeremy. Samara tried not to show everyone how worried she was about Aidan. That was hard to do. She knew the dark ways of the enemy they all faced, and knew that there was a very small chance that he would survive if he was captured by their enemy. She sat and she feared for his life.
“El, hold him in your hands right now. Keep him safe. Mother can not lose another son. And please, keep Jeremy safe.”  She prayed as she sat in her room.  “I don’t want to lose him either.”  Tears ran down Samara’s face, but even in her sorrow for her brothers, she knew peace.   
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Freyje sat in her rooms. She spoke to her master. She had two prisoners and was unsure what to do with them.
“What do you intend for the young one, my master?”  Freyje whispered. “Shall he be our next sacrifice?” 
“Yes, that would be fitting. Tomorrow morning. Be careful, you don’t know what El will do. You have already seen that this child is protected by El. But, we were not prevented from sacrificing the last one. Perhaps El will not be able to stop us.”  The Nameless One spoke in his dead voice.
“I hear and will obey.”  Freyje smiled. “ But tell me, when will you reward me? When will I become Nameless and live forever as you do.” 
“Soon my child, soon.”  Freyje could hear him smile as his presence faded.
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Aidan lay in the timeless darkness. How long had he been there? He really could not say. It felt like years had passed as he lay, hardly daring to move, in the darkness that shrouded his body. The only sound he could hear was the sound of his own breathing. He was not afraid anymore, though the darkness whispered to him of despair. El held him, and the prayers of his sister strengthened him. He heard footsteps in the darkness. He knew with certainty that they came to take him away. They came, and he followed, though he knew not where they were taking him. He recognized the altar when he reached it, and was chilled as he realized Freyje’s purpose. He was the only one that stood on the platform that day. He was the only choice for sacrifice and he was finally afraid.   He felt alone.
“You can be afraid now young one.”  Freyje whispered to him. “What can your El do now?”  She mocked him and laughed in his face.
“He can save me.”  He said, but he could not hide all the fear that he felt. It showed in his eyes. Freyje saw it.
“Are you convinced? Are you sure he can save you?”  She smirked.
“Yes”  he said, but he was no longer convinced.
Freyje stepped forward, her face to the people. She cried out in a loud voice. “See what happens to those that defy He Who is Nameless. You will be treated as this young man, if you do not repent of all the secret rebellions that you hold in your heart. You must serve the Nameless One alone.”  The people shivered as they heard her words. Freyje smirked, everything was going exactly as planned, and then HE stepped forth.
“Let this young man go.”  He shouted across the temple courtyard to where Freyje stood.
“And why should I. He must die according to the law of the One Who Has No Name. I can not halt this sacrifice. Blood must be spilt.”  Freyje cried, angry now at the one who had interrupted her ceremony.
“If blood must be spilt, then why not mine. You may kill me, but let this boy go. You have nothing against him.”
“Who are you? I command you to speak your name.”  Freyje blazed.
“You know who I am.”  The man spoke with bowed head.  “And you also know that I am the one that you are really looking for.”  He lifted his head and stared at her, his eyes shone out with compassion from the sorrowful angles of his face.  “Take me instead.” 
Then Freyje recognized him.  “El!”  she whispered. He nodded his head slowly. Slowly a predatory grin formed on Freyje’s face. She pushed Aidan into the crowd and ordered her guards to seize the man that stood there so willingly and meekly. Tears formed on Aidan’s face as he too realized who had given him his life back. He tried to push through the crowd towards him, but the crowd held him still. He could hear the sounds. Freyje spoke the ritualistic words and he heard the whetting of the knife. He heard the splashing of the blood on the ground. Then he heard Freyje’s scream.
He straightened up in time to see Freyje carried away from the platform. El’s body was left on the platform. No men to guard it. The altar was burning quickly to ash.  The horns were broken into several pieces and scattered all over, glimmering red with freshly shed blood.  Aidan waited until all the people were gone. Every nerve was screaming for him to flee, but he did not want to leave El’s body to rot in the temple square. The last few people walked by him without a second glance. Aidan ran to the body. It was still warm. Aidan carried it out of the square to a small cave he had hidden in many times as a child. He laid El’s body there and left it.
He stumbled out of the cave and through the forest. It was the hardest thing Aidan had ever done, leaving El’s body without a proper burial, but he knew that he must not be caught again, Zoe needed to know that Jeremy was alive. He looked down and saw that his shirt was covered in blood, El’s blood. Tears flowed down Aidan’s face, and he began to run. He ran towards the small house where Jeremy and Zoe lived, through the darkness.
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Freyje cringed before the presence of the Nameless One as she huddled on the floor of her little room.  “I didn’t know.”  she cried.  “I didn’t know what his blood would do to the altar. I did not know you didn’t want me to kill him yet.”
“I told you to kill that boy. You have let him go and now he is hidden from our eyes.  I don’t know how. El’s power should be broken in death, but even so, we should be wary of doing what El plans. This could be a good thing, but it could also be a grave mistake. I don’t have followers who make mistakes.”
“Please, give me another chance to serve you. I will do better next time.”
“Will you? I have no guarantee of that. You are now a liability. I’m sorry, but I will have to kill you.”  He laughed, a dark sadistic laugh.
“But you said you had a reward for me, that I would be paid for my hard work.” Freyje shook, grasping at straws.
“Didn’t you hear, those are my wages. That is all they ever were. There were many who served me. They have all died. And now they die forever in a cold, nameless eternity. That is my plan. Isn’t it beautiful? Be thankful, I have let you be a part of it.” 
Freyje gasped in pain and horror. Her name was stripped from her, and she who had once been Freyje was gone.   
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A presence stirred in the ruined temple courtyard. It blew past the ruined ashes that had once been an altar. It whistled past the bloody cow horns that had slit many throats and now were broken and dull, of no use to anyone. It whispered past the place where a body had lain, not so long ago. It was not happy.