Gewey felt cold, smooth stone pressed against his face, and a terrible wind roared in his ears. He opened his eyes. Nothing but pitch-blackness surrounded him. He remembered his fight with Harlondo. He felt his body searching for wounds the half-man had inflicted. No injuries!
“We have healed you,” said a voice from the darkness. It was soft and musical but neither male nor female.
Gewey tried to tell where the voice originated from, but it was as if it came from everywhere.
“Where am I?” He got to his feet as his voice echoed. “Who are you?”
“You are home,” said the voice. “You are with us. We have been waiting so very long.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
“There is plenty of time for questions. For now you must take your ease.”
A light appeared, piercing the darkness several yards away. He stood on a raised stone walkway, surrounded by pure nothingness that went on forever. The only other thing he could see was a silver door at the end of the path. Gewey crept forward, careful not to step to close to the edge.
When he was only a few feet away the door opened, and the light dimmed.
“What’s in there?” he asked but received no reply.
He stepped inside the door and found himself in his own house. A fire burned cheerfully, and a hot plate of roast lamb and honey-split bread were on the table. Harman Stedding, his father, sat at the far end of the table smiling at him.
“Finally,” said Harman. “Did you have a good day?”
Gewey turned pale and tried to back out of the door, but it was no longer there.
“What's wrong, son?” Harman asked.
His father was just as he remembered him, tall, and lean with salt and pepper hair. Gewey had always thought he looked more like a teacher than a farmer. He wore the green linen shirt and trousers that he always had worn in the evenings after the day’s work.
“Who are you?” Gewey demanded. He reached for his sword, but it was no longer at his side.
Harman looked concerned and tried to walk over to him, but Gewey ran to the other end of the table looking for something to use as a weapon.
Harman sighed, shaking his head. “He told me this might happen. Gewey let me explain.”
“Explain what? You’re not my father. My father is dead.”
Harman backed away. “Son, please. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal. Let me help you.”
“Liar! Get away from me.” He found a knife on the table and snatched it up.
Fear struck Harman’s face. “If you’ll just let me speak to you for one second.”
Gewey tried to calm himself and focus. “Speak,” he growled. “But if you come near me, I swear
I’ll kill you.”
Harman slowly pulled up a chair and motioned for Gewey to sit as well, but Gewey backed away and put himself near the front door.
“You’ve been ill,” said Harman. “Very ill. Lord Starfinder took you to Gath for treatment.
You’ve been back for three days now.”
“Gath, eh,” said Gewey. “I was in Gath with Lee, and so far that's the only true thing you’ve said.”
“I’m not lying, son. This is the third time you’ve lost your memory since you’ve been back. It’s the medicine they gave you. Lee told me that the healer said this might happen.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Gewey snorted. “You’ve been dead for two years. I buried you myself.”
“Your fever is causing you to hallucinate,” said Harman. “Last time you lost your memory you thought you were a God. You even told me I wasn’t really your father.”
Gewey glared. “This won’t work. Tell me the truth, or I'll gut you right now.”
Harman bowed his head. “You’re not going to make this easy are you? We really hoped being here, and seeing your father alive and happy would be enough for you just to accept this.”
Gewey raised his knife and readied himself to attack. “What are you?”
“I’m here to care for you,” he answered. “You are with us now. Your body has been left behind.”
“My body? What have you done to my body?”
“Your body was destroyed. Only your spirit remains. However, you shouldn’t fear, we love you, and we will care for you. Anything you want is yours.”
“You still haven’t told me who you are?”
“We are the first,” he replied. “We are the lovers of the Gods. We have been waiting for you. We love you.”
“Return me to my body now,” Gewey demanded. “You can’t keep me here. You don’t have the right.”