‘I understand,’ said Antikas. ‘So now tell me what else you have seen.’
347
For a moment Nogusta did not speak, and stood staring out over the lake. ‘I have seen the death of a friend,’ he said, at last, dropping his voice. ‘And the question that haunts me is this, can I change his destiny? Could I have prevented Dagorian from standing on that bridge with you? And if I had would you have won alone?’
‘Probably not. Dagorian took out three soldiers. Ten would have been too many – even for me.’
‘That is what I thought,’ said Nogusta. ‘Which could mean that, although I could change the future and save my friend, by doing so I might bring about the return of the demons.’
‘Alternatively, by changing the future you might bring about the opposite,’ Antikas pointed out. ‘Have you ever tried to alter events, based on your visions?’
Nogusta nodded. ‘I saw a wagon crushing a child to death outside an inn. I knew the inn, and I could tell the event was to happen just before dusk. I went to the area, seeking out the child. I waited at the inn. She came on the second day, and I spoke with her. I told her to beware of running out in front of wagons. I went every day for a week, and we talked often. Then, one afternoon, she was running towards me when I saw a wagon turn the corner. I shouted to her, and she stopped running. The wagon missed her.’
‘Then you can alter the future for the good,’ said Antikas.
Nogusta shook his head. ‘No. I thought I had accomplished the task. The following day she was struck by another wagon and killed. But that was not the worst of it. She was running to meet me, because she enjoyed our conversations. Had I not sought her out she might never have been outside the inn at all.’
348
‘It is all very complicated,’ said Antikas. ‘I am glad that I do not have visions. I do have one observation, however. The Demon Lord needs to sacrifice the babe in order to bring about the end of the Spell. If the child were to die before the sacrifice the Spell would be thwarted.’
‘That has occurred to me,’ admitted Nogusta.
‘And what conclusion did you reach?’
‘Whatever destiny holds in store for me it will not be as a killer of children. What the Demon Lord plans is evil. I do not believe that the way to fight great evil is to commit a lesser one. My role now is to protect the child. That I will do.’
‘You are very rigid in your thinking,’ Antikas pointed out. ‘Kill one babe to save the world? It seems a small price to pay.’
‘It is not a question of scale,’ said Nogusta. ‘If it were then ten thousand babes would be a small price for such a great reward. It is a question of right and wrong. That child may prove to be one of the greatest men ever born, a peacemaker and a builder, a prophet or a philosopher. Who can say what wonders he may bring about?’
Antikas chuckled. ‘More likely he will be another Skanda, full of vanity and arrogance.’
‘Is that your advice then, Antikas Karios, to kill the child?’
‘Answer me this first,’ responded the Ventrian. ‘If your vision told you that the babe was certain to fall into the clutches of the Demon Lord, would you reconsider?’
‘No. I will defend it to the last drop of my blood. Now answer my question.’
‘I am no longer a general, Nogusta. I am merely a man. You are in command here. As long as you live I will follow your orders, and I too will defend the child to the last.’
349
‘And if I do not live, and you survive me?’
‘I will do whatever I think is right by my own principles. Does that satisfy you?’
‘Of course.’
Antikas smiled and began to turn away. Then he stopped. ‘You are a romantic, Nogusta, and an idealist. I have often wondered how men like you find happiness in such a corrupt and selfish world.’