“And I have been doing that,” Sinto said.
“She has run away,” They hissed.
Sinto flinched. “I will have her back. I promise!”
“You better do.” They said. “Or we might not need for you.”
Sinto got up from the armchair and walked towards the huge table close to the window. There was a corked jar of cider on it, and an empty goblet sitting just beside it. He filled the goblet, drained its content, and filled it up again.
His heart bled with hurt, fear, and regret as he thought of Eldana. He regretted ever opening his heart to her childhood exuberances.
I guess at some point, the heart gets the better of you, he thought.
He had never expected to see her as more than a child of chaos and balance, who will end up a sacrifice of power to the gods – a sacrifice that would enable them to restore balance and order to the world. But throughout the years of his training her, he had indeed developed a fondness for her. In fact, he had even begun to see her as a daughter. And she saw him as a father. An image of her flashed through his mind, and he felt a pang of hurt. Her eyes had been always filled with respect and admiration for him. Always. He never showed it because he wanted her to be strong. Not once had she caught him staring at her.
But there was something else that moved Sinto more than anything else in the world, His fear of death. He wanted to live as long as possible. Regretfully, he knew that if he was not of use to the gods, he would lose the subtle increases in his life span he was getting from every successful sacrifice of a being of Balance and Chaos.
He knew what he had to do. He walked to a small chest sitting atop his bed. Unlatching it, he lifted its lid and retrieved a purple silk scarf from it. The scarf held memories, Happy memories, but also painful. It was the scarf he had bought Eldana, the day she had learned how to build an energy wall with air. The magician, he was about to meet, would be needing something of Eldana’s to be able to trace her location. He folded the scarf and put it within his robe.
As he walked out of his chambers, he thought of going along with Tabeli. Tabeli had personally recommended the mage he was about to meet and knew of her whereabouts. But Tabeli posed a problem. He was well aware of Sinto’s weak spot for Eldana. And if he discovered her whereabouts like he was going to if Sinto took him along, he could decide to act on his own, and bring Eldana in, through whatever means necessary.
No, Sinto thought, shaking his head. This journey, I must make alone. He told himself.
As Sinto descended the stairs towards the exit, a man peered out of the corner at him. When Sinto was well beyond the gate, the man walked out hurriedly from the corner, and towards the gate, He had a mop of brown hair, and a long scar running from the left side of his cheek. On getting to the gate, he peeked his head out and caught Sinto walking down the street. Looking around to ensure that he had not been seen, he walked out of the gate casually, with his hands on his pocket, and followed Sinto from a distance. The man remembered last night very clearly. He had been met by a member of the guard and had been instructed to keep tabs on the head of the palace guard.
And that was what he was going to do.
You are the prey now, the scarred man thought, and I the predator.
He smiled and began to walk faster as Sinto disappeared around a corner.
CHAPTER TEN
The Battle For Tonar
Sinto and Lord Taboon stood before Henok, who was pacing like a lion in a cage. This was about the third time in one week that he had summoned them. Sinto prayed that this was not yet another request for a report on how far they had gone in capturing Eldana.
Lord Taboon, on the other hand, followed the King’s every move. He had raised and trained the King and knew when something grave was bothering him. This was one of those times. Now, the King’s official counsellor would have asked Henok for the reason behind his agitation, but some privileged people, like Lord Taboon and Sinto, understood that that would only be a waste of time and life. Henok’s anger could be dangerous. When he was angry, he was highly erratic. In the fury of his rage, people had lost their lives as quickly as it would be to draw a breath.
“We have to attack!” Henok said suddenly.
Sinto’s brows furrowed in confusion.
“Pardon me, my king. I think something must be wrong with my ears. I seemed not to have heard you well,” Sinto said.
Henok stared into the distance for a while, then turned and went to sit on his throne.
“Your ears work correctly, Sinto,” Henok said. “You heard what you heard.”
Sinto flashed Lord Taboon a questioning look. Lord Taboon pressed his lips together and then moved a slight foot forward.
“My king,” he began, “I think the confusion here is the uncertainty of who exactly we’re attacking.”
“My attempts at establishing wartime interactions with the Technocons failed,” Henok replied.
“Pardon me, my king, but may I ask why the Technocons rejected such a lucrative partnership?” Lord Taboon asked.
“Is it not clear?” Henok said, “Tonar, has probably fed them lies about us!”
“But as a country of their own,” Sinto said, “is it not appropriate that they make investigations of their own before making a decision on which party is lying or not?”
“I had asked this same question to the ambassador, and he had told me that without a doubt, he had said they told them the same thing.”
“What
