The Day That It Happened

“What…” Hilami said. “You did what?”

“I destroyed the necklace. Rini and I figured out the truth,” I explained. “There was a dark magical inscription on it. It was a demon artifact that put a curse on whoever wore it to serve the Demon Lord.”

“That's horrifying,” Hilami answered. “Well, I'm glad you came to your senses and destroyed it once you figured it out.”

“Why did you tell me to find it?” I asked her. “Did you know about the evil magic or the fact that the demons made it?”

“I did not.”

“How did you find out about it?” was my next question to her.

“I read about every single ancient artifact that I could get my grubby little hands on the scrolls for,” she answered. “I merely settled for the one that was easiest to find, one that could be a quick little errand to find. The Watcher knows it.”

“The Watcher knows nothing,” I countered. “If he did, I don't think he would have allowed all of this to happen.”

“Don't be a fool,” she told me. “The Watcher only observes, and he judges based on what he sees.”

“What about the other gods?” I asked her as I slowly made my way closer. “Forget about the Nine, what about any of the other gods in any of the other heavens of this world?”

“I don't know why the gods fled,” she answered. “Even the best scholars in the world cannot figure that out. I just know they will return someday.”

“Is it possible that they fled because they knew we were unworthy to be saved?” I continued to push for more answers from her. “Think about it for a second. Our allies have knives at each other's throats. The Children of Fire ambush us wherever we go. We are outmanned and outsmarted, according to the Merfolk King. There are traitors in our midst. And the gods do nothing, save for the Watcher who judges us silently. What if the people I trusted most are the ones plotting my demise right behind my back?”

“I swear to all the gods I didn't know what the necklace was,” Hilami cried. “Nobody knew. I just hoped you would find it because I thought it would help you.”

“Oh, I swear to the god of the elves,” I mocked her, partially echoing the words Tomosse cried out as he begged the royals to trust him, “the Elder Gods, the Nine, the gods of the trees and streams, the god of lust, every bloody god in every rotten heaven!” I didn't know what else to do. All at once, I was tired of running, I wanted to put an end to my misery, take my revenge against the Demon Lord, and lay down and cry like a newly born baby.

“Halliyah!” shouted the old witch. “Stop this at once, or I swear -”

“Was that the oath you swore to Hattu when you agreed to perform forbidden magic on me?” I had gotten dangerously close to the old witch. She had been pushed up against a cliff face. I could smell the fear on her face. She could probably smell the anger on mine in return. Good. Never had I stepped this close to her before. I was tired of being her errand boy, of being everyone's errand boy.

“Do it, Halliyah…”

What? What was that voice?

“What?” she continued to play her dumb little game with me.

There were demons… demons everywhere. Who could I trust? Who actually had my best interests at heart? Did any of them really care? Or did all of them just see me as a pawn in their endless harata game? They all called me the chosen hero. Chosen for what? A lifetime of anguish? An eternity of torment? To be dragged into Arakkia before I died?

The anger… the fear… the betrayal… Everything that had happened to me, everything that had happened everywhere, all of it stemmed from this one infernal ritual. I knew it then. My cowardice was my body telling me to run from those who wanted to hurt me. Perhaps that was the true bravery all along, me claiming the right to live my life how I wanted.

“Damned witch, you know what I'm talking about.”

I could have ended it all right there. All I needed to do was draw out my sword.

“What? No!”

But I stopped. No, I told myself. I needed the answers first. The dead did not speak, but she could as long as she lived. I backed away from her, giving her the space to breathe and speak for herself.

“You never told them, did you?” I asked her. “About what you did. I'd expect not.” There were people I wanted to trust. I wanted to trust her. Hilami had been good to me for so long. She wouldn't hurt me like this, I tried to tell myself. Why would I try hurting her now?

“What are you talking about?” she asked in response. “They already knew I was the Archmage under the old king, and his father before him. That's why they invited me to Freehold.”

“If they found out it was you who performed the Choosing,” I told her, “they would never trust you.”

“You insolent moron!” She scolded me and followed through with a slap to the face. “It was not me, child. It was that foolish boy, the King's idea. All him.”

“It may have been his idea,” I countered, “but it was you who did it. I've seen the old pigeon records.”

“Do you know what I said to the King on the day he came up with that idiotic idea?” she asked. “I told him that I would rather be sentenced to exile than enact such an evil scheme. And so he did.”

My expression softened upon hearing that. If what she said was true, then truly she had no role in the ritual. But I had every reason to not believe her. She said she knew all of the forbidden spells. The pigeon records said that she assisted in the ritual. King Hattu had been dead for fifteen years, so he could not speak to defend himself.

“Then why do the pigeon records say you helped him? And then resigned afterwards?”

“I assume guilt,” was her answer. “After all, he sacrificed his only brother, his own flesh and blood, to conduct the ritual. He needed any means he could to keep the truth hidden away. The simplest way was to omit a few words here, add in a few words there. And there you have it, a brand new narrative for suckers to fall for.”

“Why did he do it? The ritual, I mean.”

“The King was young, foolish, desperate, and relying on whispers and visions,” Hilami explained. “He reacted accordingly and did not consult anyone to make sure there were other options.”

“He was my friend…”

“This is why I say to not trust anyone trying to offer you power,” she continued. “Not Rini, not Edagri or Gihri, and especially not Tomosse. The whole lot of them are just trying to put ideas into your head. They're all trying to use you, child.”

I fell backwards, but managed to catch myself before hitting my head. The pain had returned, now worse than ever. Oh, why did I have to destroy that necklace? It was the only thing that even came close to relieving that pain. No… I knew why. The necklace was the work of demons.

“Why did you rescue me that day?” I asked her, barely able to maintain control over my body at that point. She revealed a letter in silence. On the papyrus was the distinctive red eagle seal of Hattu the Red. “That's…”

“The last letter that foolish boy, the King, ever wrote,” Hilami finished my sentence for me. “Even exile couldn't stop him. He sought me out the night before the Battle of Luwas and gave it to me. The fool said I was the only one he could trust to deliver it to you.”

“What does it say?”

“I don't know,” she answered. “Only you can open the letter and only when the time is right.”

“Can I -?”

“No. The time is not right,” she interrupted. “King's orders. You can see what's written on the front, though.” She handed me the letter. Written around the seal was a message addressed to me.

My dearest friend, Halliyah,

If you have received this letter, it means I have long since passed on. May the gods forgive me and judge my heart light enough to enter into the Seventh Heaven. You may only open this letter when the time is right. You will feel it in your heart when the time comes.

Hattu

“I imagine the King thought I would be successful in my quest,” I observed.

“The King was many things,” Hilami told me, “foolish above all else. But he was wise in this one regard. Whatever the King had planned for you, he wanted to make sure you lived to defeat the Demon Lord Ayya. That was why I rescued you, so you could fight again another day. I just was not expecting it to take fift-”

I threw my arms around her, interrupting what she was trying to tell me. Even after so many years of cowardice, of running when I should have been fighting, even after the betrayal, they still had faith in me to keep going. I cried into Hilami’s shoulder. She responded to my emotions in kind, wrapping her arms around me, though she did not cry. The warmth radiating from her told me just one thing. She could be trusted.