Excerpt: The Pagan Child

“But I love him still, friend,” King Ashreen had said in the privacy of his chambers. Stripped down to his shirt sleeves, he’d seemed a much smaller, ordinary man; a plain soul with simple needs and desires. His only adornment was his uhlm, a length of cloth embroidered with scripture and secured around his neck with a pin. A mute testament to the strength of his faith. “If only you had seen him at his peak… ah. He was far from the rambling old man plagued by dreams and thoughts that turn his contemporaries against him. I would not have made it through my mother’s death without his guidance.”

The King shook his dark head in fond memory. Seated across from him in an armchair, his lap full of Ashreen’s giant orange cat, Keltir struggled to keep his expression neutral. It was a strange feeling to be asked a personal favor by your King; to have the person who could order you to death for disobedience put himself in your debt and give you the option to refuse. It made saying ‘no’ all the more impossible.

There was more to it than that, though. They were not just King and subject; they were close friends of many years. It was hardly the first time Ashreen had asked a personal boon of him. But it was the first that would send him so far away from the King's side and for so little reason.

It stung.

“Ash,” Keltir said, "You can't possibly believe he'll find the god-touched in Rosscor, of all places. Among pagans. It is not my place to say whether or not the signs he speaks of are truly God sent or not, but hundreds of members of the priesthood have predicting the emergence of a god-touched for months now. If he is right, surely some of them would have received the same dreams." And the church would certainly be sending more than one old, out-of-favor priest to search the Eastern country if that was the case.

Ashreen's mouth tightened, the first indication that he shared similar doubts. "Dehlhem and I have discussed this at length. He is addiment. He also brings up good points regarding the church's willingness to look outside the borders of Lahven." Ashreen lifted his hand in a quelling gesture when Keltir started to bristle. "I cannot deny there are those who would condemn even the most faithful of our people for living in a foreign land."

He reached out and laid his hand on Keltir's arm. His fingers were hot and familiar against Keltir's skin.

"Please," Ashreen said, "Guard him. It would soothe my spirit to know my dearest friend is looking after my dearest mentor, 'till he quiets his demons."

That the journey would send also Dehlhem far from the court, and those there that would use him against the King, went unspoken.