Arnor nodded then tilted his head sideways. ‘Fine. Before I go, you should be aware: I was followed out of Quiri. All the way down to the Vosgar.’
Sodar half rose from his seat and his eyes snapped to attention. ‘What? You should have led with that. How?’
‘It was an eidolon, and I killed it.’
‘You mean shadow spawn? You’re certain?’
The other man gave Sodar a flat stare.
‘Of course you’re certain.’ Sodar tugged at his tangled beard. ‘And you killed it? Good, good.’ He scratched at his chin, thinking. ‘Any connection between it and the artisans disappearing?’
‘I wondered that,’ Arnor said. ‘But I can’t think of a single brother who can summon an eidolon. I’ve been followed before, too – usually by brothers belonging to factions in the other guilds – but this was the first time I’ve been stalked by shadow spawn. I just don’t see the connection.’
Sodar grunted. ‘So we can assume it was sent by a priest of the Shadow God, or by someone who can command void magic. Why was it following you?’
‘Perhaps someone guessed I’m visiting brothers in hiding. Can’t say for certain, but I think it a strange coincidence that I was also coming to see you.’
‘Agreed,’ Sodar said, fretting.
Arnor patted him on the shoulder. ‘Maybe it really is just a coincidence, though. The other brethren think you’re dead. I didn’t know you were still alive until Reeve gave me orders to find you – and it was difficult even with his instructions.’
‘Yes,’ Sodar said, ‘the ward of protection keeps strangers and visitors away. Unless your eyes have been anointed with aqlumera, you can’t see the village – and that means the village can’t see you.’
‘Aqlumera?’ Arnor repeated, eyes widening. ‘Well, that’s a secret worth protecting.’
‘Yes. See that you do.’ He paused. ‘The arrows were a clever way to get my attention. How did you know where to shoot them?’
‘I didn’t.’ Arnor laughed, scooping up the missiles. ‘But Reeve was very specific. Even gave me an old map you’d once drawn for him – though I can’t say it helped at all since I was firing blind into the forest. I’m not likely to recover all my arrows.’ He lifted a backpack from behind the log he’d been sitting on. ‘Anyhow, I mentioned the shadow spawn because I knew you would want to know, but I think you’re safe as houses. I doubt anyone is looking for you specifically, nor will they stumble onto you.’ Arnor pulled his unstrung bow from behind the same log, dropped the arrows into his pack, shouldered the bag, and hefted the bow like a walking stick.
Sodar stroked his beard, thinking. ‘Where did you lay the eidolon to rest?’
‘In the Vosgar. I guessed I was being followed not long after I left Quiri, but I didn’t know who or what it was till I was just outside the Brakewood. I circled farther south, hoping to lose it, and finally had to kill the thing.’
‘I’m glad you did.’ Sodar took a deep breath and slowly let it out. ‘Sounds like there’s still plenty of danger out there, but Chaenbalu remains a sanctuary.’
‘I’ll tell Reeve,’ Arnor said. They shook hands and Arnor held Sodar’s grasp just a moment longer. ‘You sure you can’t come back to Quiri with me? Gods, but we need you, and it would be good to have another of the ageless around.’
Sodar smiled but shook his head. ‘Maybe when Annev is older. For now, so long as his arm and his magic remain secret, this is the safest place I know. My time with him is a burden worth bearing.’
Burden? Annev’s hand clamped around the branch beneath him, steadying himself. Am I really a burden? He had often felt he was, but it hurt to know for sure that the priest viewed him as a task that had to be tended to.
He still sees me as a child, Annev realised. Not as a man. If he trusted me, he would not sneak off to the woods and pretend to chop firewood to protect his secrets. This stranger … Arnor … he knows more about Sodar than I do. The truth of that made Annev feel sick, dizzy even, and only his grip on the branch stopped him toppling to the ground.
Who in all of Chaenbalu – in all the world – knew Annev better than Sodar? No one. Yet here was a stranger who knew all Sodar’s secrets, all his past lives. Meanwhile, Annev had been fed lies his whole life – about Sodar’s past, about the nature of their friendship, about the priest’s motives for raising Annev – and he’d been naive enough to believe them.
No more.
Arnor nodded. ‘Very well. Good luck, Sodar. I don’t envy you.’
‘Nor I you,’ Sodar said. ‘I wish I could risk leaving Chaenbalu.’ Arnor clapped the priest on the back, and Sodar hugged him tightly. ‘Be well, my friend. Give my best to Reeve, and see that he gets my copy of the Speur Dún translation.’
‘I will. Be well, Brother Sodar.’
They separated, and Arnor hoisted his pack and strode purposefully from the clearing. Sodar slowly exhaled then began cleaning up the tea kettle and cups, and putting out the campfire.
Annev cradled his broken wrist to his chest and watched, heart aching, then stiffly climbed down from the tree. He crept away from the clearing and walked back to the chapel in silence, his physical pains an echo of the sorrow he felt.
Annev had gone to the chapel seeking solace but had instead found a mystery. He had then left the chapel in search of his mentor and friend, but instead had found two strangers: one he had never met, and one he had thought he knew.
He had never felt so alone.
Chapter Seventeen
Annev paced the chapel in a daze, the pain in his wrist competing with the ache in his heart.
How much more has he kept from me? How much was lies?
Annev knew Sodar was secretive – the man had to be to survive with magic under the noses of the masters and ancients – but until today, he thought he had known the important parts of Sodar’s past.
During his seventeen years with the priest, Annev had pieced together a rough biographical sketch of the man. He knew Sodar had discovered his magic as a young boy in Odarnea, in a time and place where people were slightly more forgiving of the cursed. He’d been shunned, but not executed or exiled, and a travelling merchant had taken pity on him by inviting him to join his caravan. Sodar had accepted, and through the merchant he had found mentors in both religion and magic. When he was fourteen he entered the priesthood, and at twenty-one a local war hero asked him to leave his monastic home to serve as his spiritual advisor. Sodar consented, and in time he came to use his magic to protect those who rode under his lord’s banner. He even fought in some of the battles – a detail that led to Sodar showing Annev his notched heater shield.