Children Without Faces by Erik Marshall

Author:Erik Marshall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tangled Sky Press

16

No,” Toby said, scowling. “This is too far-fetched. We’re not in the middle of some sort of plot, we’re not.”

“We aren’t?” Dani asked, her lips pressed tightly together. She was scared, which just pissed Toby off more.

“No, we ain’t. All of this smacks of the kinds of tales the bards tell, the ones that come through the forest. All those stories are too simple — way too simple for real life.”

A bony finger snagged his chin, tugged it up until his gaze met Gram’s. She leaned forward, a strange look kindled in her eyes. “Simple, boy? Explain.”

He wanted to pull away, wanted to break free, but knew that her question was important. Too important to dodge. “In the stories, all the reasons are clouded and simple. ‘Lammen’s rule became harsh and cold’, but why? He already was loved, he already lived in the light — why’d he change? There isn’t a reason. You say the Rider wants to raise Lammen, but why? What good’ll that do?”

Dani frowned, her fingers picking at her shirt’s sleeve. “I said before, to use Lammen’s power. Like Hand Lane said, summoning and controlling demons is hard. Maybe he wants more, or is trying to accomplish something big.”

Toby shook his head, breaking free of Gram’s hand. “It just don’t make sense, is all. How would he even do that?”

He glanced over at Dani, who sighed and stopped chewing on her lip. “The book said something about an object of some sort, something that would bind and anchor Lammen’s spirit to this place, so it couldn’t just go wandering around at will. The story said it, too.”

“Good ear,” Gram said, and her needles clacked approvingly. “Stone has a long memory. If this man has the anchor, then he may be able to use it to call Lammen forth, or to harness the spiritual energies Lammen holds. That anchor of stone is, in many ways, Lammen’s heart.”

Toby grunted. “I still don’t get why he’d want to. There has to be a reason.”

“Just because you don’t understand the reason now doesn’t mean there isn’t one, lad,” Gram said, leaning back into her chair. Her eyes looked toward the doorway, but there wasn’t anyone there — it seemed she looked far, far away. “Men always have reasons to grab for power, but to those crushed by it, the reasons aren’t always important.”

Toby felt Dani stir next to him, and she pulled away, leaving his side cool in her absence. “The reasons; do they matter at all? Should we ever understand them?”

“Ah, girl,” Gram said, her smile sorrowful as she came back to herself. “If we understand the reasons, we can better understand how to stop them from gaining power. But no, lass. There’s no good reason to crush with the power Daivat gives; any man who abuses it is accursed.”

“Fat good it does,” Dani spat, her voice so bitter that Toby jerked around to blink at her. She tugged her sleeve down over a bruise, and glared at her hands, which trembled in her lap, knuckles white.

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