line. Aaron nodded.
“That line is the Golden Mountain,” Robert explained. “It has two peaks. The lower one represents Dezrel, and the height we can ascend to in our lives. The higher one represents the Golden Eternity. As you can see, nothing on this world can ever make one rise as high as in the afterlife.”
“Who is Ashhur? And why do people pray to him?”
Robert raised an eyebrow.
“Where have you heard people praying to Ashhur?” he asked.
A brief memory flashed before Aaron’s eyes, that of the red-haired girl sobbing in front of him as she called out to Ashhur.
“Nowhere,” he said.
“Hrmph. Ashhur is brother to Karak, who I’m sure you know a little bit more about, considering who your friends and associates are. He represents Justice, Mercy, Grace…things that most would consider the finer parts of mankind. That is why someone would pray to him. They seek comfort, or forgiveness, or protection.”
Robert went to put the amulet back into the drawer, then paused. He saw how Aaron was looking at it, and his curiosity kindled.
“What is going on, boy?” he asked. “Why do you come in here asking about gods?”
He didn’t want to answer, but Robert was his master. If he refused, then the next time he came in asking questions, he might get only silence.
“Kayla killed a priest of Ashhur today. I was to kill his daughter, but I failed.”
“Failed?” asked Robert. “Or refused?”
Aaron felt his cheeks flush. If his father had read him as clearly, then their conversation might have taken a very different turn when scolding him for his failure.
“She was crying,” he whispered. “She didn’t even know I was there. Her father, killed right in front of her. I’ve killed before, I’ve, but she’s not like us, not like, not…”
Tears swelled in his eyes. Aaron couldn’t believe it. He wiped them away, the blush in his cheeks fierce. He felt so stupid, so young.
“I’m an embarrassment,” he said.
“No,” Robert said, putting his hands on Aaron’s shoulders. His beard wasn’t tied behind his head like normal, and with it loose it stretched down to his waist. It made him look older, less controlled and more grandfatherly. His whole face seemed to sag a little, as if he had dropped a layer of armor from his flesh.
“Listen to me, Aaron,” he said. “Your father is raising you to be something terrible. He’ll deny you everything, even his love, to make you into what he wants. Do you know what that is, boy?”
Aaron went to say no, but he remembered what Robert had always said: any question he asked, he should already know the answer. And Aaron did know the answer. It scared the abyss out of him.
“A killer,” Aaron said, his voice once more a whisper.
“The perfect killer,” Robert gently corrected. “He’ll starve you of love, affection, friends, faith…everything but the blade and the shadows.”
Aaron sniffed and rubbed his nose against his sleeve.
“What should I do?”
Robert handed him the amulet. The boy took it as if it might burn him. His eyes were wide as he traced a finger over the gold.
“Pray, Aaron. Pray for anything and everything. We live in a harsh world. One day your father will place you at the edge of a cliff. I’ve heard the stories about you. I know you killed your brother when you were but a child. You can jump down that ravine, or you can stand tall and refuse him.”
“I know what happens to people who refuse my father,” Aaron said. “They die.”
Robert smiled.
“We all die, son. The question is, who are we when we do?”
Aaron lifted the amulet before his eyes.
“Everything good about mankind?” he asked.
“Everything we wish we were and most often fail to be, Aaron,” said Robert.
But he wasn’t Aaron anymore, not then.
He put the amulet in his pocket, where his father wouldn’t see it. When he turned to leave, he paused, then glanced back at his teacher.
“Do you pray to Ashhur?” he asked.
Robert sighed. With what he had already said and done, Thren would surely take his life. There was nothing left to risk.
“Not as much as I should,” he said. “And nothing like I did when I was younger. The world is harsh, Aaron. Sometimes it seems like Ashhur isn’t even listening.”
He thought of the girl, pleading to Ashhur for him to give back her father. The hurt in Robert’s eyes was so plain, Aaron wondered who he had prayed for Ashhur to send back.
How cruel a world, thought the boy. But I won’t be its cruelty. I won’t.
Aaron left.
Robert poured himself a drink and sat down on his bed. And waited.
A aron searched the entire compound. Dustin was nowhere to be found. Holding in a curse, he went looking for Kayla. He found her in the mess hall, eating with several other men. Aaron’s mind raced, trying to think of a way to talk to her without letting it be obvious. If anyone might help him in protecting the girl, it’d be her.
Summoning his courage, he walked straight up to her. If there was no subtle way, then being brazen about it would be less likely to draw attention than some half-assed secret communication.
“Kayla,” he said, feeling the eyes of others on him. No matter where he went, he was Thren’s son, and the thieves acted like a word from him would be their deaths. It might have been true, but it still made him feel uncomfortable. Of course, any attention made him feel uncomfortable. He preferred the corners and the shadows, not front and center.
“Yes, Aaron?” she asked.
He felt even more awkward with Kayla looking at him. He kept thinking how pretty she was. It didn’t help that with her leaning toward him, he had a nice view down her shirt.
“I need to find someone,” he said. Kayla shrugged and stood from the table, having already finished eating. A couple others mocked her for leaving a glass full of beer, but another cheerfully volunteered to finish it for her. When they were far enough away, Aaron blurted everything out at once.
“I need to find Dustin,” he said. “The one you fetched for my father.”
“Dare I ask why?”
“I’m going to kill him.”
Kayla held her surprise well.
“Again…dare I ask why?”
They were at the door to the mess hall. Aaron waited until she pushed open the door, then used its creak to help hide his voice.
“Because he’ll kill her,” he said.
Kayla immediately knew who.
“Shit,” she said. “You’re out of your mind. He’s a pro, Aaron.”
She led him down the hall. In the quiet, their voices seemed more ominous, their whispers carrying far. Kayla led them to her room as quickly as possible.
“You can’t,” she said once she shut the door. “You don’t even know her name. You’re throwing your life away, don’t you understand?”
Aaron clenched his fingers around the medallion through the fabric of his pants.
Everything good about mankind, Aaron thought. Everything good about me.
“I have to try,” he said. “Please, tell me where he went.”
Kayla bit her lip and stared at him. She’d joined the Spider Guild in search of money and reputation. So far, she’d rescued an old man from a prison and slaughtered a priest in front of his flock. Her reputation wasn’t exactly on the upswing. Aaron’s infatuation with her, while first seeming to have possibilities, had turned out to be a threat. What in the world would Thren think if she encouraged open rebellion within his own guild, let alone by his son?
