Son of The Prisonland (The Myth Shadow Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Aylan stayed behind the boulder for one more day. But nothing happened. Nobody, even the old man, who apparently was the resident of the cave didn’t show up either.

  The old man took a while to get out. He did not look surprised to see Aylan as if he was expecting him to be there as Master Dorian did. He just pointed Aylan to take a seat on a rock, and then sat on another rock nearby. “Master Dorian said, you might come here,” he spoke out.

  “Master Dorian?” Aylan was surprised. “He didn’t say that he knew you.”

  “That’s because, you didn’t tell him that you’re coming to me,” the old man smiled. “By the way, I’m Gatik. Master Durian must have mentioned my name.”

  “Yes, he did,” Aylan felt fooled. Master Dorian read his mind and knew he’d come here and gave him a clue indirectly.

  Gatik smiled again, “Don’t mind. It is a part of your training to be a myth shadow. You must be unpredictable, but have full control over your thoughts. And you’ll learn it eventually.” He gave a pause, and then continued, “When the first time you came here and I felt your presence, I informed Master Dorian about your bravery, and he told me that you had his book of the map and thought you’re probably going to be the next myth shadow.”

  “Wow, you knew that I was there?” Aylan wide opened his eyes. “And I was there hiding behind the boulder, looking at the people you had transported here from nowhere and carried them back. Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

  “That’d break the process that you’ve been through,” Gatik replied. “I know you’d complain about the evil things you’ve done. But I’d say that it was your destiny to learn the hard way.”

  “Fair enough,” Aylan said. “Why do you do this transporting thing?”

  “I rescue people from dangers, and that’s my destiny, like yours. The power gets passed down to the next generations, and it continues. And we are called the blaze riders. I need a lot of energy to do that, and that’s why I have taken this place to generate energy from this lightning.”

  “It gets passed down, like us?”

  “Yes,” Gatik replied. He looked disappointed at something. “I have lost the energy that I had as a young man. I wanted to pass it to the next blaze rider, Prince Mirad. But he failed himself and me, too. He didn’t want to take the responsibility and fainted as soon as I showed him the lightning. I understood that he wouldn’t be able to continue the power line. Luckily, the next blaze rider is also from Ashaland and you’ll need him to join me to fulfill your plan as my ability has weakened with age.”

  “How’d I know who’s the right person is?”

  “You’re the myth shadow now, Aylan. You can feel his presence easily. Just make it easier for you, look for this sign,” Gatik showed inside bit of his right wrist. “This isn’t a net by the way. These are six lightning. They have crossed each other and made it look like a fishing net.”

  “I will definitely find him and bring you here in a few days.”

  “You don’t need to,” Gatik patted Aylan’s shoulder. “I’ll meet you guys at the village,”

  Aylan stayed the night in the cave to discuss his plan with Gatik. In the morning he walked to the Gypsy camp. He saw the miserable condition of the camp from the lightning mountain. They obviously didn’t listen to his warning. There were fewer people than before, and that made him feel concerned about them. After about an hour he approached to the camp. The Dainees attacked them last night. The women and the children were still in trauma. Families were gathered together, shielding the children and looking at the sky again and again.

  Aylan walked past them and went straight to Veli’s tent. It was all burned down like his parent’s. Veli was lying on a blanket a little bit away from the ruin of the tent. His head was bandaged, and his wife sat beside him. His two sons were also sitting a bit away from their father, both of them looked devastated.

  When Aylan stood beside Veli, he opened his eyes and mumbled some cursing words. In a moment he got up with his wife help and tried to get a grip on himself. Veli’s wife and his sons gave Aylan an angry look, too.

  “You accursed son of a Dainee Hunter,” Veli growled, “Get lost from here. You’ll bring us more misery.” Veli’s two sons stood up and walked close to their father.

  “No, I will not,” Aylan smiled, sarcastically. “I’ve warned you about it, but you didn’t listen to me. Otherwise, you’d be safe with the people who left last night.” Aylan pointed the empty space of tents. Clearly, some people have listened to him and left as soon as possible.

  The more Aylan spoke, the more Veli’s face was getting uglier out of anger. “Your grandfather died in the Dainee’s hand. So did your parents. Now it’s your turn to follow them. And I will make sure it happens,” Veli burst out of maniacal laugh. His two sons grabbed him from two sides as he tried to stand up. They were looking at Aylan as if they’d chew him up alive.

  “I feel pity for you Uncle Veli. I’d like to see you try,” Aylan replied. He glanced at the brothers. They used to be his shadows in his childhood. There was almost nothing that they wouldn’t do for him. Jeem was his best friend, but these two were his loyal assistants. Now here, after all these years they were looking at him with the killers’ eyes. “I personally owe a lot to your father, as I do to you. This is the reason why I don’t want to harm him or any of you. So, please don’t come in my way or I’ll make sure you don’t disturb me ever again.”

  “You’ve used us as slaves!” Tomal, the elder brother, shouted. “You really do owe a lot to us.”

  Aylan shook his head. “Yes, this is exactly what I’m saying and requesting you to not to try anything silly as your father is going to do. I warned him before, but for some unknown reasons, he didn’t listen to me. I’m warning him again, and I know he’d do the same. Please take my advice and stop him before he harms himself.” Aylan turned his back to them without giving any chance to say any more words. He really liked the brothers and wanted them to help as they’re by born order takers. They weren’t able to make any decision on their own.

  As Aylan walked towards the city, Veli was looking at him from behind. He had a plan in mind for Aylan. Only he needed some time to get better, and he’d bring the hell down to that accursed man.

  Chapter Twelve

  In the village, Laam was wandering around with Cro inside his cart. He went shop-to-shop and house-to-house as he normally did, to know how were the people doing. This particular time he had a different intention. Cro was helping him to find the spies within the village. Which Laam was doing with a saddened heart? He knew that there are some traitors live within the community, but tried to believe that the all-seeing guards were responsible for the arrests for their attempts to get free. Now it was evident to him about Bukka’s disappearance. Somebody had informed about his plan to the guards beforehand.

  Laam met Cro on the way out of the monastery. Cro called him by his name from a tree. He looked up and saw nothing. When Laam about to start walking, thinking it was just in his mind, Cro called again.

  “Who’s there?” Laam shouted as he took an arrow out placed it on the bow.

  “Reveal yourself, or I’ll start shooting arrows.’’

  “Calm down man,’’ Cro shouted back. “This is the reason why I’m hiding here. I didn’t want to fly in front of you and surprise with my supernatural talking abilty.’’

  “Actually, I’d prefer that way,” Laam said, sarcastically. “Now, come out quick. We’ve no time to waste.”

  Cro came out slowly from behind the leaves and tilted his neck to see Laam carefully. When he got assured that Laam wasn’t a threat to him, he jumped down in front of Laam.

  Laam raised his brows. Even though he was told about him before, but still, it’s unbelievable to see a talking raven. It was strolling in front of him and looking at him in a regular interval, “So, you’re the great talking raven. Pleased to meet you Cro.”

  Cro took more than a moment to answer. “I don’t like sarcastic comments,
about me.”

  “But I thought you like sarcasm,”

  “Yes, I do. But that’s only for others. Not me,” Cro’s quick answer. He thought what Aylan had told about him to this stranger.

  “Okay, enough argument,” Laam raised his right hand up. “You have to hide inside this bag for now. Later I’ll keep you in the cart. Apparently, the King has summoned to arrest anybody with a bird. Whatever the reason is, I don’t want to get arrested now.”

  “Arresting anybody with a bird?” Cro asked. “Does that have any connection with Aylan and me, somehow?”

  “Good question. But why’d the King want Aylan to get arrested?”

  “I don’t know. But I can assume it’s not a coincidence. There must be any connection between the King’s summon and us.”

  “Hmm, the King does behave suspiciously.” Laam scratched his chin slowly. “I think you’re right. As soon as we are done here, our first job would be warning Aylan about it.”

  Cro agreed with Laam and walked into his bag with discomfort. His past experiences with the human weren’t good. Mostly the incidence where he spoke to a man, and he tried trick Cro and cage him.

  Laam walked under the bushes keeping his head low to avoid the guards’ eyes and stopped by a crack at the bottom of the massive wall. That was their secret gate away to go to the monastery without getting caught. Laam as a child first discovered the crack when he used to come with his father to supply goods. It was located at the back of a bakery, hidden behind some wild trees in an abandoned, dry sewer. Laam found it accidentally and didn’t tell anybody else. Now the bakery was owned by Jeem. He bought it by Laam’s advice. They still kept it secret from other people, even from their families. Laam entered into the city from the main gate as an approved supplier of Jeem’s bakery and then went to the monastery.

  Cro praised Laam’s cleverness. Keeping some exit available at the enemy’s place is a great advantage. No one knows, when it’s come handy.

  At Jeem’s bakery, Laam put Cro inside his cart and pulled it to the village. On the way, he saw the Kajlas guards were whipping some farmers and laughing hysterically. No doubt they were doing this ‘just for fun.’ Cro realized it, too. He connected his mind to Laam’s, told him to control himself; their time is coming soon. Laam shook his head slowly and walked past the poor farmers.

  They went through the main gate without any problem. Laam was a regular face to the guards. For some reason, they had stopped searching him a long time ago, and this was the first time Laam took the advantage, smuggling Cro in his cart. Then they roamed around the village. Every time Cro sensed the presence of the traitor, he packed on the wooden floor of the cart on the way out. Laam noted the name down on a piece of cloth. At the end of the day, they have listed fifty names. Those names made Laam feel even more frustrated about his faith in the people. Out of fifty, at least twenty of them were close to him. He knew them from his childhood, new neighbors or the traders who he had met almost every day. And many were people he would have trusted to back him in rebellion against the kings’ tyranny.

  “It’s a good thing that I didn’t speak to them yet,” Laam muttered while setting him down on a broken wall facing to the village. It was a bit higher than the rest of the village. He wiped off the sweat from his forehead with a sleeve. “I don’t know who to trust now!”

  “I can help, if you’d like.” Cro offered. He was tired of reading the traitors’ minds. In their minds, Cro only saw greed for money and a comfortable life, which they were promised by the king. No one was thinking a bit about the other people in the village. What would happen to them as a result of their betrayal?

  “There’s a way to deal with them down without creating any suspicion,” Cro said. As Laam looked at him with a question in his eyes, Cro continued, “None of them knows about each other being the spy of the king. I think they were even spying on each other. So, when the right time comes, all we have to do is arrest them and put in the same place to surprise. And they have to be punished to know what they were doing in exchange for a false promise of a few coins.”

  “The King is playing a big game,” Laam said, nodding to Cro. “But if his plan works as he intends then soon after he won’t need any of them. It’s almost dark now, As soon as the night falls, you’d better fly to Aylan and warn him. I’m going to speak to my brother, Amo. He’s the only man I can trust here now,” he sighed.

  “Yes, but don’t lose hope, my friend. I’ll come back soon, and try to find those we can trust, together. There are probably still many people who left who you can count on.”

  Before Laam got up, he spotted his brother Amo coming towards him. Laam waved his hand to Amo and said to Cro, “Here he comes. I know you’ll like him. He’s funny guy, just like you.”

  Cro glanced at Amo and fell in silence. There was something in Amo’s body language that made Cro a little confused. He placed his face against the hole in the cart to take a good look and said, “Don’t tell your brother about me just yet. And don’t look like you’re talking to someone, he’s close enough to notice.”

  Laam raised his brows, stopped himself from turning to Cro and say something harsh. “Tell me you’re not suspecting him, too,” he spoke his mind.

  “I’m not sure, to be honest. There’s something wrong with him.”

  Laam again stifled his frustration. If Cro was right and Amo was one of the spies, then he wouldn’t believe anyone else in the village. As Amo came closer he got up and hugged his brother, “My little brother,” he greeted. “How were your archery lessons there?”

  Amo took a moment to reply. He tried to smile, but it looked dead. “What are you doing here? You don’t usually come here. Do you?”

  Laam noticed that his brother ignored his question. Cro was right then. Amo had something wrong with him. “No, I don’t,” he replied. “I just wanted to see the village better and this is the best place to come, you know that.” He paused to take a breath. “I thought at first, you were coming to me. And it seems like you actually were not expecting me here?”

  “Oh no, no,” Amo was trying to seem normal, even though his eyes expressed his disappointment. “I come here almost every day. I’ve never seen you here. I thought it was somebody else until you waved to me.”

  “Alright, I’ll leave you alone then,” Laam smiled. “Don’t be late for supper,” he pulled his cart and started walking down.

  “I will not,” Amo said. “By the way, I thought I saw you talking to someone, but I didn’t see anyone around?” he moved his hands in question.

  “I was talking to myself.” Laam felt uncomfortable. “I’m a bit frustrated about the way my supply business is going, you know? I was out here just to get my thoughts in order.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Amo said. “Let me know if I can help you in any way.” He said so but didn’t look like he actually meant it.

  “I will,” Laam smiled and waved to his brother as he pulled his cart. When he walked a safe distance from Amo, he said, “I can’t believe my own brother has betrayed the people!”

  “Ah, no,” Cro declined Laam’s claim. “You rather feel proud of your brother, man.”

  “Feel proud for what? Being a brother to a traitor?” Laam said, sarcastically.

  “No, feel proud because your brother didn’t fall for their false promises,” Cro said. “He was threatened to join them. They know he is Laam Yaadsor’s brother. Laam Yaadsor, who has a fair chance at being the next leader of the village, and Amo is the perfect person to keep an eye on you.”

  “But threatened with what? Why didn’t he just tell me everything?”

  “To protect your life, my friend,” Cro said, firmly. “When he declined their promises, they tried to bribe him. They offered him a top place in the regal archer team. He was not ready to help them. And then, they used their last weapon, your life. That’s why he was hesitating up there. He just didn’t know what to say to you and went there to think.”

  “My poor brother,” Laam
felt sad. “They have just earned even bigger punishment now.” Laam’s jaws pressed each other strongly.

  ***

  In the city, Jeem was waiting for the best blacksmith and only dwarf of this region, Bolin. Master Dorian had sent him here with a message for Bolin. Though it wasn’t Jeem’s first time here,it was his first time meeting the dwarf face to face. He and Aylan used to come here to steal metal from Bolin’s cottage. Once Aylan did a horrible thing here, that almost killed them. Jeem didn’t come this way after that incident, until today.

  Bolin always worked alone and had no family. There was no way to know where he had gone and when he would come back. So, Jeem decided to wait for Bolin in front of the closed door, because as far as he knew, it was Bolin’s house, too.

  Bolin returned at the midnight. He looked exhausted and annoyed. He just ignored Jeem while opening the door and closed it again without giving him a chance to say something. After a few moments, when Jeem gathered enough courage, he knocked on the door.

  “Get lost!” Bolin shouted with a loud voice.

  Jeem thought the whole city must have woken up by his shout. He put his mouth closer to the door and softly said, “Master Dorian has sent me here. There’s an important message for you.”

  All of a sudden, the door swung inward as if Bolin was just behind the door. Jeem stumbled in and fell to the floor. Bolin closed the door behind and turned to Jeem. “What is that? Tell me quick and get lost. I have a whole day of duty at the castle tomorrow,” his voice shook and seemed like he was about to cry.

  Jeem was totally surprised. The great Bolin, who was famous for his emotionless face, was about to cry in front of him. What a bad time it is? Can’t even tell this rare incident to anyone now, he thought.

  “Are you deaf, boy?” Bolin shouted again. “What message have you got for me?”