He stopped when he'd reached Jules's body, and to Michael's surprise, he knelt beside him, weeping. He decided out of respect not to question him as to how he could mourn a man who'd so quickly delivered him to what was supposed to be his end. After allowing it to go on for some time, Michael pulled him to his feet. He'd instructed the boy to wait at the rocks.
Eidolon would be a long journey for any man or Adorian on foot, let alone a young boy fresh from a massacre. He looked around, scanning the crowd for a moment, when Kendall noticed.
'Who is it you need summoned, my Lord?'
'Please tell Jareth and Caedmon that I'm accompanying our young survivor back to Eidolon.'
'Alone?' Kendall asked. A voice interrupted them before Michael could say a word in response.
'No. I'll be journeying with him.'
Michael turned to see Caedmon and nodded, glad for the company. He was well aware it was risky, if not outright daft, for a sovereign to do such a thing alone, or even with the accompaniment of just one other soldier. Kendall's expression indicated that the fact had not escaped him, either. Yet, something in his gut told him that he needed to. Something about the boy.
Michael mounted his horse and leaned down to help Micah join him; he was about to let go when the boy pulled from Michael's grasp, then turned to race through the trees to an Adorian whose arms were full of clothing to be burned. Michael cantered to him, watching as the boy tenderly pulled a tattered sleeve from the remnants. It was embroidered with a coat of arms that had somehow managed to survive the slaughter without a trace of blood on it. Michael recognized it as the crest on Jules' shield.
He leaned over once again and helped the boy into the saddle in front of him. 'You don't have to answer this, but your superior was willing to trade you for his own life — why would you grieve him?' Micah was quiet, and at first Michael suspected pure indoctrination as the root of his apparent loyalty.
'He was my father.'
The words fell like stones from Micah's mouth. Michael looked at Caedmon, who'd followed him. They both felt pity for the boy, Ereubinian or not. It was a shame they couldn't take him back to Adoria with them. Michael desperately wanted to, but no Ereubinian could be trusted, no matter how innocent they seemed.
Michael motioned for Caedmon to follow as he dug his heels into his steed, galloping quickly through the remnants of battle and deeper into the woods. It would be better for them to make as much progress as possible in the remaining daylight.
The boy was quiet during most of their ride. Michael leaned down on several occasions to check on him. Finally, once they'd stopped to rest their horses, he had a chance to speak to him.
'I am sorry that you were witness to this. I did not set out on this day intending to — '
The boy's voice was soft and laden with sorrow as he interrupted him. 'You had no choice but to do what was best for your people.'
Michael felt uneasy hearing Micah's words. It was unlike his lineage to say such things. 'You've been taught many things about us, I imagine. Do you believe everything you're told?'
Micah seemed to be choosing his words with care. It was a smart tactic considering that Michael, in his eyes, was the enemy.
'Don't be afraid, you don't have to answer that either. I am just curious what things Eidolon has taught its youth.'
'What could I possibly fear you'd do to me if I didn't give you an answer and you'd fancied one mandatory? If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it by now.'
Caedmon laughed before Michael could even smile. The boy hadn't meant it to be funny, but it had made brilliant light of Michael's mannerisms. Sometimes he was polite to a fault.
Micah shook his head, irritated, and continued. 'We're taught that you purpose to take the Laionai's power for your own. I was told that Adorians are deceitful and weak; that you value your own lives above all else. Your reason for being in Middengard is to gain human sympathies in order to use them against the Goddess.'
'Do I seem deceitful to you?' Michael truly hurt for him, for the lies that he'd been taught.
'I don't know you well enough to make that judgment.' Micah's voice trembled as he spoke. His eyes were still puffy from crying and he wiped at them.
'What your father did on this day was dishonorable and should prove to you that everything is not as it seems in your world. An Adorian couldn't have even conceived of something like that. We don't enter into bloodshed unless it's forced upon us and…' Michael's voice hitched as he questioned his own reasoning. 'Surrender isn't an option for your kind. Jules would have fought to the death.'
'What you haven't been told is that three of my Adorians, our own flesh and blood, were mercilessly killed without reason. Your fearless leader, who is worthy of anything but reverence, committed this sin. I've seen him slay much younger youth than you. It is he whom you should fear, not us. We won't harm you. Our purpose in Middengard is to protect those who are not able to protect themselves. Garren would have left you to survive the journey alone and on foot if he had left you alive at all. It's your well-being that leads us through these woods with you, not the words you carry.'
For a long while, Micah said nothing. He ate what was given to him from Caedmon's saddlebag and drank from Michael's flask of water. Then, just as they were about to mount and start onward, he spoke. 'What is Adoria like?'
'It's much colder, with snow covering the ground most of the year. High mountains and valleys make up the majority of the landscape. No one is in servitude or has any reason to fear our leaders. We value all life, not just those who are deemed worthy. Adoria is bound in duty to protect Middengard because Adoria is not so different. Our sorrows and joys were once very much like that of man.'
'Are they different now, your sorrows and joys?'
'Generations of sacrifice have been made for the sake of man. Adoria is a more somber place now than it once was. A burden lies at the heart of my people, the desire for things to become as they once were, for life to be revered again in Eidolon. It, too, was very different once upon a time. I suppose they've neglected to tell you that as well?'
Micah look up at him. 'What do you mean?'
'Eidolon was once a city filled with life. Don't be fooled by the power of the Laionai. You are but a tool for evil's foothold. The Goddess has no interest in the human realm; it's of little consequence to her. What she wants is beyond our borders and she needs the aid of the Laionai to get it. You may be treated as if your lineage is favored, but it will not always be so. Once you've served your purpose, she'll discard you as your people have discarded humans.'
'I've been told to not trust any Adorian.'
'See for yourself when you return. Go among the humans and you will see traces of their will to survive. You'll have to pay close attention, but when you do, remember my words. Recall the mercy that's been shown to you, and ask yourself if any in your realm would do the same.'
Michael had been told by the Braeden that most Ereubinians don't take their first soul until they're sixteen. He guessed the boy to be several years younger, which explained his relative innocence. He hoped Micah would never see that day — that somehow this epic war would come to an end before he was of age. Michael had never felt compassion toward any Ereubinian. Most he regarded with a soldier's distance; they were all just nameless faces on the battlefield. But this boy he could not disregard so easily. Michael had felt it the moment he'd seen Micah, and he still wrestled with the desire to bring the boy back to Adoria instead of returning him to Eidolon.
Their conversation was limited the rest of the way. They finally reached the outermost borders of Eidolon as the last rays of light sank below the horizon. The air was much cooler than he'd anticipated; it almost felt like Adoria. Without second thought, he pulled his cloak from around his shoulders and handed it to Micah. The boy didn't refuse, taking it and wrapping it tightly around his shivering body.
'You should be alright to travel on foot from here. Remember what I've said, all of it. Speak to him and him alone.' Michael helped Micah dismount and watched as he started to walk away. The boy was a few yards out when he turned around, staring wordlessly at the two Adorians. Michael couldn't read the expression on his face, but he hoped that something had begun to stir within whatever soul Micah still possessed.
The woods were quiet as Michael and Caedmon journeyed back home. A brief thought passed through his mind that it would be quite possible for Micah to tell Garren that they'd brought him back to Eidolon. It would be a swift ride for a Dragee, leaving them in peril's way until they reached Adorian borders. Michael looked over at
