Here Shines the Sun (4 page)

The two stared down at the thing for a long moment in silence. Rook had told her about the Golothic and the demon. She knew as well as he what its closing meant. It meant the demon’s payment was coming due.

Kierza padded over to him and held him in her arms as she rested her head upon his warm chest.

“I have to find her.” said Rook at last. He looked down into Kierza’s eyes. “Time is running out.”

Kierza pursed her lips. “Rook, maybe it’s time to—”

Rook broke from her grasp and slipped a black shirt over his body and then began fumbling with his pants.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ve got to go see Gabidar.” said Rook. “I have to find Ursula before it’s too late.”

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The first light of dawn had begun to creep up from the horizon as Rook found himself at the outskirts of town where the Caelestia River and the Great Narberia River met. The Caelestia originated far in the north, beyond even the mountains and Wildlands of Narbereth where nobody was allowed to go. Some said the Caelestia flowed all the way from the forbidden lands of Duroton where it finally emptied into the Lake of the Eagles. The Great Narberia River originated in the east, not far from Rothara where Rook first came to Narbereth. From there it flowed across the lands and disappeared down into the kingdom of Penatallia.

The intersection of the two rivers made the city of Bellus a rather busy merchant stop—too busy, actually, for the city’s size. Bellus was by no means equipped to handle the traffic here at the docks and the two rivers could get backed up for a mile in all directions on busy days. The crafty merchants of Bellus, however, liked it this way and had done all they could over the years to keep Bellus from expanding. The heavy patrols of city guard were so busy trying to police the area while simultaneously checking cargo and collecting taxes and tariffs that it was easy to slip things in and out with secrecy. For Rook, this meant he had an easy time getting Gabidar to traffic goods bound for Jerusa out of the city. Unfortunately, Rook also knew that this made Bellus a hub of illegal slave trading, something he despised.

Slaves were perfectly legal in Bellus; Rook and Kierza were both technically slaves. However, slaves who had bought their freedom were supposed to be off-limits and it was illegal to recycle them back into slavery. Unfortunately, the permanent brands upon their necks made it very easy to kidnap them and smuggle them into different parts of Narbereth where nobody would be the wiser, and where it would be all but impossible for the slave to prove his freedom. Similarly, people from other countries—especially Jerusa—were often kidnapped and brought into Narbereth and systematically branded for slavery. Rook himself had been victim to that crime. Rook despised the slave trade and tried his best to deter it, but as a slave himself, there was very little he could do. Gabidar used to be part of the slave trades until Rook made it more profitable for him to traffic goods and food for the people of Jerusa, and to bring back exotic items from other lands as he looked for his sister, Ursula.

This morning, however, Rook was not thinking about the slave trades. He was, however, more thankful than ever that the docks were so crowded. Although he looked more a merchant than a slave in his nice outfit of black shirt and pants, carrying with him a large sack of goods, the slave brand on his neck would give him away if any took the time to look. He had left without telling his father, Callad, and therefore did not have his slave bracelet on. Without his slave bracelet, he was technically not allowed to be out in the streets. A slave without a bracelet often meant he was skipping out on his master, or out and about when he should not be. The bracelets were used by slave masters to declare where their slaves were allowed to go, and they were also used to declare what their slaves were allowed to carry with them, especially in terms of money. Rook knew that if he were to be stopped by a guard while carrying what he had, he would certainly be beaten and arrested. Thankfully, the falling star had stirred the entire city into an uproar, and although the guards were out in force, they were too busy controlling crowds or gossiping among themselves to bother patting slaves down.

Trusting his luck, Rook quickly made his way down the crowded streets that lined the docks. Here there were warehouses with adjoining homes everywhere, mostly owned by the wealthy merchants. There were also a number of inns and taverns, and around those the crowds of excited people were thickest. Gabidar himself owned a warehouse and home at the very far end, just outside the busiest docks where he kept a number of his own ships berthed.

Although Gabidar was independently wealthy—largely due to Rook’s coin over the years—the man liked to keep a low profile. His warehouse was a nondescript building of timber and stone with an upstairs that served as housing. It mingled seamlessly with the other structures around it. The tributary that ran behind the buildings was clogged with small boats where crewmen gathered on decks, pointing at the last remaining star in the murky, dawn sky.

Outside Gabidar’s warehouse a pair of his brutish guards were chatting and pointing up at the sky as they puffed on cigars. From the upstairs window Rook could see Bones, Gabidar’s quick-hound, barking and fogging the glass with his hot breath. Gabidar’s three children were out playing at the edge of the river, and his wife, Marisal, was there tending them as Gabidar himself held her around the waist, peering into the heavens.

Gabidar had three boys, the eldest was twelve and the youngest was five. They all had their father’s bright, brown eyes and straw-colored hair. Marisal was a beautiful and buxom woman who liked to dress plainly and wore a simple, black veil upon her face. As Rook came upon the warehouse Gabidar’s men turned to him but didn’t stop him. They nodded their recognition of him and allowed him to run past them.

“Gabidar!” cried Rook. “Gabidar Notaro!”

The man turned to Rook, as did Marisal. Gabidar was a tall man, dressed in his usual travel-worn clothing. He stroked at his pale beard as his eyes found Rook through the morning dusk. “Rook?” He turned to Marisal and Rook could see the disapproval in her eyes as she hiked her veil and silently communicated something to him. Rook knew that she wasn’t very keen on him sending her husband off to all corners of the earth and she had become more vocal about it this last year.

Rook ran up to them, panting slightly. “Gabidar,” he said between breaths. “I need you to—”

“Did you not see the star fall from the sky?” said Marisal. “There’ll be no going anywhere this day. It is a bad omen to travel after a star has fallen.”

Gabidar frowned at Rook but didn’t acknowledge his wife.

Rook looked at her. “I’m sorry, Marisal. Let me just ask one trip for this summer.”

Marisal shook her head and Rook was certain he could see the scowl beneath her veil. “It is pointless and dangerous. Gabidar, tell him. Tell him about—”

Gabidar gently placed a hand over her mouth and they exchanged a look before Marisal rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Gabidar sighed and looked at Rook. “Rook, my lad, now is not a good time.”

Rook pushed the large sack he had been carrying into Gabidar’s arms. “I’ll make it well worth your while.”

Gabidar exhaled loudly, looking down at the weighty sack he now held. Marisal eyed it suspiciously.

“Just one trip and I won’t ask again for the rest of summer.” said Rook. He gestured at the sack with his head. “It’s enough to buy plenty of provisions to take into Jerusa…” he paused, and then cautiously added, “and to take you into Escalapius to look for Ursula.”

“Escalapius!” shot Marisal. “That trip will
be
the entire summer!”

Gabidar shook his head and began unwrapping the sack. His eyes went wide as a sword with the distinct silvery-metal grain of Everlight emerged amid a number of large, gold coins. Marisal craned her head over and her eyes focused more keenly on the wealth before her.

“I made that sword for Lord Anubeth.” said Rook. “It’s worth eight-thousand crowns easy; twice over if you sell it in Escalapius, I’m sure. I don’t think they’ll even have heard of Everlight yet. And there’s another thousand crowns in there as well.”

Gabidar looked at Marisal but she was shaking her head. “Tell him.” he heard her whisper. “Tell him now.” Gabidar hushed her with a wave of his hand.

“Tell me what?” asked Rook.

Gabidar exchanged a look with Marisal and then said, “Rook, I’ve been to Escalapius for you before. I’ve been to Penatallia and Dimethica, I’ve been all the way to the Woes looking for your sister. Rook, maybe… maybe it’s time to stop.”

Rook scowled. “Stop? How can I stop, Gabidar?” An anger surged inside Rook and his hand went into his pocket and began playing with the Golothic, tracing over its sandy texture, taking in its heat. He knew Ursula was alive. Whenever the demon brought her to his dreams she was so real. Yes, she was older than when he had last seen her—indeed she had just been a baby when she was torn from his arms—but it was unmistakably her. Whether it was really her in those dreams or just a phantom conjured by Bulifer Rook did not know, but he was certain that little, black-haired girl was out there somewhere, and that it was undoubtedly his sister.

Rook’s fist clenched around the Golothic. “She was just a baby and I failed her,” spoke Rook, mostly to himself, as the vision of Ursula being taken away in the cart driven by Rennic Finn played in his mind. He could still hear that fiend’s giggling. “I let her get taken away from me. I was all she had; all she could count on. But I failed her.” Rook looked at Gabidar and wrath smoldered on his words, “Don’t ever tell me to stop, Gabidar. I can’t give up. I
won’t
give up. Not so long as she’s still out there. And she is, I know it.” Rook noticed that Gabidar was eyeing his hand strangely. He looked down and realized he had taken the Golothic from his pocket and was squeezing it so hard that his knuckles were white. Without a word he slipped it back into his pocket.

Rook sighed, calming himself. “Gabidar, please, you have to do this for me. If I could do it myself, I would. You know that. But I need you. I know she’s out there, Gabidar. I know it. And I have to find her, before it’s too late.”

Gabidar shook his head. “And what if she is? Have you thought about that? What if she is out there but she’s not the sister you remember? She’d be older now. Ten years old. What if she’s changed? What if she is not a person you want to know?”

Rook’s brow furled. He was too disgusted to look at him. “How could you even say that?”

“Rook,” stated Marisal. “Let her go.”

Rook turned his burning eyes to hers. “I’ll never do that. I’ll never just let her go. Would you just let one of your children go? Would you?”

“If it was your Kierza going off on these trips would you let her go?” retorted Marisal. “Would you send—” Gabidar held up a hand to cut Marisal off before she could say anything else. She huffed and then turned and stormed away, mumbling something about a foolish waste of time.

Gabidar looked at Rook. “Rook…”

“Please.” said Rook. “Just one more time to Escalapius. You can get silks there. You know as well as I that they’re worth a small fortune here. My ma will even buy many of them from you to make dresses.”

Gabidar frowned. “You said you would go yourself if you could.” He paused and looked Rook in the eyes. “You could go, you know. I’ve seen you fight. I know that alchemist, Diotus, is one of the Jinn and I know he’s been training you. Rook, you would sweep these lands like a storm and Aeoria help any who got in your way.”

It was now Rook’s turn to frown. He sighed. “I know I can fight. Diotus has trained me well.” Rook rubbed at his neck where the slave brand was burned into his flesh. He looked at Gabidar. “But with this I would never get far. But it’s not even that.”

“Then what is it, lad?”

“There are too many people who count on me.” said Rook. “Without my skills in the smithy, Callad and Sierla would lose everything—and they’d be devastated if I left. But it’s not just them. What about the other people here in Bellus? Many in Ragtown count on what me and Kierza give them to buy food and medicine. If not for the money I make forging Everlight, there’d be nothing to send to the people of Jerusa. Everything rests upon my skills in the smithy.” Rook shook his head. “I wish I could stop. I wish I didn’t need to work the forge. I hate making Everlight. I hate selling weapons and armor to rich nobles. But it’s all I have. I have to work the forge. I help everywhere I can, but there’s just so much to do. I know it’s all probably for nothing, but if I don’t try to stand up for others, who will? And I… I couldn’t take Kierza with. I’ve already lost my sister and my parents. If I lost Kierza too…”

Gabidar’s face softened and he smiled faintly at Rook. “What you do isn’t for nothing. I look back on how things used to be here in Bellus not so very long ago. People see what you do, and they all stand with you. Many of the city guard even stand with you, I think. And what you send to Jerusa makes a great difference there too. I’ve seen it. The eyes of the people light up whenever I come with one of your shipments. And there are Saints there who are thankful to you as well. Good Saints, Rook. Saints who appreciate what you do, and help me make the deliveries.”

Rook sighed. Gabidar had told him about Saints Karinael and Hadraniel. They were known as the Saints of the Generous Hand by the people of Jerusa. Rook had never seen the good side of Saints and spent most of his childhood hating them. However, knowing that Gabidar had met a few of kind heart gave him hope that the tales of old were not all lies; that Saints like Bryant of the Horn had really existed; that maybe even the tales of the Sleeping Goddess were not all lies. It gave him hope that one day the world could change, and it reminded him that all things have a cycle and that no matter how dark things got, light would once again come to shine.

He forced a smile and looked at Gabidar. “Maybe one day the time will be right and I won’t need to work the forge. But until then, I need you, Gabidar. You know all the lands. If anybody can find my sister, it’s you.”