healed, Bren could feel magic being used once again. It was irritating to know that these people could use magic when he couldn’t. In that moment, all he wanted was to know how they had done it.
After they had gone less than a mile, Bren and the others found horses waiting on them. They took the offered horses. As soon as they were mounted, one of the men approached Hayao and pulled down the thin layer of cloth that covered his mouth. “Ride due east until you reach the village. Any detour and you will find yourself in an extended stay in the afterlife.”
Hayao bowed his head and spurred his horse into the darkness. Bren and the others quickly followed his lead and raced after him.
Though the village was a good walk from where they were camped, on horseback it took less than two hours to reach the edge of the village. When they arrived, a host of more black-clad soldiers greeted them. They were ordered to disarm and dismount, and then led to a large building in the center of the village. They were marched inside where they found that their quarters for the night would be small rooms surrounded by iron.
“Where is Cass?” Bren asked as he was pushed inside the small cell. He hadn’t seen his friend since they had arrived in town. While his own wound had been mostly healed back at the camp, Cass’s seemed a bit worse, and only the blood loss had been stanched.
“Do not worry, my friend,” Hayao said from the cell next to his. “He will be well taken care of. In the morning we will be taken to see the elders of the village, and if all goes well, we will be given more…accommodating quarters.”
“Then let us hope that it goes well,” Bren said, slumping onto the hard cold mat that was meant to be his bed for the night. He didn’t like the idea of not knowing where Cass was, but he had little choice in the matter.
It had been the first time since he had become king that he had been without his sword and staff or the company of Cass. Having to do without one of them might not have left him feeling so vulnerable, but with all three gone, he felt like a newborn babe in the middle of a storm. With little choice, Bren closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.
Chapter 19
Bren woke the next morning when someone opened the door to his cell. The sound of metal on metal set his nerves on end. “Come with us,” the man said. Bren thought about refusing, but he noticed that Hayao was already with them and decided it was best to comply. Anyway, it was better than staying in his cell.
Hayao and Bren were led to the far edge of the village. Carved into the very face of the mountain was a large building. The inside didn’t really feel like cave as all the walls were covered in much the same style as any other house. They were led directly to a large circular room in the center of the building.
Unlike the other villages where there had been four elders, this time only one elder man sat in the room.
“It has been years since we have had visitors,” the elder said once their escorts had left and closed the door. “Sorry for the treatment, but you must understand that we have our duties to attend to, and with so few visitors, we do not have a proper inn. Now, would you mind telling me why you have come to our part of the world? I can’t believe it is for our food…though it is well worth the trip,” the old man added with a chuckle.
Bren stepped forward and gave the elder a low bow. “I am Bren Torin. I have come to seek entrance into the valley of the gods,” Bren said, deciding the best choice was to get right to the point.
“Well, Sir Torin, I am Ren Chido,” the old man said giving his head a slight nod. “I cannot show you to the valley as I have never been there myself, but I can show you the door to it. Many of the villages that send their children here believe we are to guard the valley, but that is only partially true. We were placed here to protect those who come here in search of the valley. Many…many centuries ago, long before