―Yet you escaped,‖ Axis said softly, moving around to the old man.
Brother Francis‘ eyes dimmed a little, as though he felt guilty. He nodded. ―Brother
Martin, young and of quick presence of mind, pulled me into a linen closet where we huddled,
listening to our family being torn to pieces outside. Pray you never have to listen to such as that.‖
For long moments there was silence, Axis standing deep in thought as Brother Francis
pottered about the kitchen, picking up the various pots and pans lying about the floor and placing
them neatly in ranks upon the bench spaces.
―Brother Francis, do you know who I am?‖ Axis finally asked, lifting his head to look at
the man. Brother Francis stopped his useless efforts at tidying and stared a moment at him.
Finally he nodded. ―Yes. I know who you are. The soldiers in the streets speak of no-one
else, of your patrols, of your courage, of your leadership. Your name is Axis Rivkahson and you
have come to ask me about your mother.‖
―She died here.‖
Francis looked surprised for a moment, but he quickly recovered. ―She gave birth to you
here, Axis. Yes. But she died elsewhere, not here.‖ He smiled a little sadly at the shock on Axis‘
face. ―I am an old man now, Axis Rivkahson, and I am not frightened of the things that I once
was. For many years I have held my silence, each year burying another of my fellows who knew
the secret. Now only I am left with the memory.‖ He paused before continuing. ―All of us were so scared of the king, old King Karel it was then, and of the fury of Duke Searlas, that none of us
ever spoke again of the events that surrounded your birth. But now I have seen such horrors that
the fury of earthly creatures no longer frightens me. And now stands before me the young babe
who lost his mother. I will speak, if you wish it.‖
Axis considered. ―No, Brother Francis. Perhaps the danger for you is not yet past. The
Duke of Ichtar still walks the streets of Gorkentown. I will not knowingly put you in danger. All
I ask is that you show me the room where I was born.‖
―That is all? Very well. Follow me.‖
Francis led Axis back through the ground floor apartments until they reached the entrance
hall, then he started to climb the great curved stone stairway that led into the upper reaches of the
Retreat. His breath wheezed a little in his throat as he climbed and Axis stepped forward,
supporting his arm. ―Thank you,‖ the Brother gasped, pausing to catch his breath. ―They carried
your mother in through the main doors,‖ he said, ignoring Axis‘ injunction not to risk saying
anything. After so long holding his silence, Francis felt that he had to mention something about
those few days at the end of Wolf-month of that winter thirty years ago; it was almost a
confession for him. ―I was young and strong then, and I was one of the ones who helped to carry
Rivkah. Searlas had brought her to Gorkentown in an old wagon, and the journey was hard. She
had gone into labour fifteen hours out from the town, and those last few leagues across the
pot-holed road must have been agony for her.‖
They reached a landing and Francis turned into a long corridor which stretched the length
of the building. ―One of the brothers hurried for midwives, while another and myself carried her
to a room we always left prepared for guests.‖
Brother Francis stopped at a room at the very end of the corridor. His hand, papery skin
stretched tight over the swollen joints of his fingers, closed about the doorhandle, but Axis‘ own
hand closed gently over his and stopped him from opening the door. ―Thank you, Brother
Francis. Thank you. I will be alone now, if you please.‖
Francis turned and looked at the face of the man who leaned over him. BattleAxe he
might be, mighty warrior he perhaps was, but all Francis could see was the face of a man who
was searching for his past. He nodded.
―Go with Artor, young man. Furrow wide, furrow deep.‖
Axis bent his head and smiled gently at the old man. Reinald had shown him the rooftop
where he had been conceived, and now this old man had brought him to the place where he had
been born. ―Go with Artor, father.‖
Brother Francis nodded and walked back down the corridor and stairs. Halfway down the
stairs he blinked in surprise at the person he met coming up them, but after a moment he simply
nodded and continued on his way. He was an old man, and the only real surprise left in his life
was that death had not already claimed him.
Axis left his hand on the door knob for long heartbeats before he could summon the
courage to turn it to one side. It clicked softly in his hand, and for a moment he could hear
laboured breathing. The door swung open slowly and Axis stepped inside. It was a relatively
large chamber, probably the one the brothers kept for their most important guests. Nevertheless,
it was bare and dismal now. Two high and small windows let in a minimum of light. Even had
she been capable of it, there would have been no escape for Rivkah once the door was bolted
behind her. To one side a bed, its lumpy mattress hanging half off broken springs, was pushed
against the wall, a stool standing at its foot. A fireplace arched into the room from the opposite
wall, the side furthest from the windows throwing deep shadows into the extreme corner of the room. A chest stood underneath the windows, a chipped and dusty china pitcher and wash basin
sitting on its flat lid. Axis walked a few steps into the room, lost in his thoughts. It was a barren
place to start a life.
Axis turned back to the door and saw Faraday standing there, wearing her green cloak
thrown over a high-necked black dress. So stunned he could not speak for several moments, Axis
stood there and stared at her.
More composed, Faraday folded her hands before her and drank him in with her eyes.
Alone, finally.
―I almost tore that Barrow apart with my bare hands to reach you,‖ Axis said eventually,
so quietly that Faraday had to step forward to hear him. He paused and took a half step towards
her. ―And then I mourned you for weeks, only to find that you had survived and fled to
Borneheld‘s bed. Can you tell me why?‖
―Axis, I have to explain to you.‖
―Then explain!‖ Axis shouted, turning on his heel and marching over to the far wall
underneath the high windows. ―Explain,‖ he said in a quieter but no less intense voice, ―why you
told me one night that you wanted me more than life itself and yet within days had left me
mourning you dead while you fled to Borneheld.‖
―Axis,‖ Faraday said in a broken voice, taking a step towards him until his furious gaze
stopped her in the middle of the room. ―I live only for you. I love you with every breath I take,
with every beat of my heart. But I could not marry you. Not once I had been betrothed to
Borneheld. He would have killed you, and I would rather have you alive than dead.‖
Axis‘ face did not soften. ―I am not afraid of my brother!‖
―Axis! I know!‖ Faraday said desperately, wondering if she should have risked coming
here. ―But it is so important that you live. I could not be the one responsible for making it
Borneheld‘s life ambition to track you down and kill you!‖
Axis‘ eyes narrowed. ―What do you mean, ‗it is so important that you live‘?‖
―Because I believe that you are the StarMan spoken of in the Prophecy of the Destroyer,‖
she said finally. There. Let him make of that what he would.
Axis stared at her for a moment, then his face slowly relaxed and he laughed gently. ―I
have been told that by others. Belial would have me crowned this evening if he thought I would
accept the diadem. This damned Prophecy spreads like wildfire, and I think I have been too
firmly caught up in it to shake myself loose just yet.‖
―And do you believe it?‖
Axis‘ smile died. ―I must, if we are to survive. But, oh Faraday, it is so difficult to
understand. It is so damned difficult to understand the changes in me!‖
Faraday was horrified by the frustration evident in his voice. ―Axis, I…‖ but he did not
give her the chance to finish.
―You have heard the Prophecy, Faraday. You tell me what it means. Ah,‖ he turned his
face away and finished on a whisper. ―It frightens me.‖