Mara - The Lady Grief (Completed)

10 Rattle the Chains

2651 B.C.E., The Desert

Early Spring, Month of Addaru, One Year after Mara's Rebirth

Thane

Overnight, sand piled up against the door to the tower, covering it until it could no longer swing open without creating an avalanche at our feet. I order the warriors to clear a path for the door to shut again. Part of me knows that the tower must stay intact, at least with a solid door.

That thought is confirmed when we can finally shut it again. Standing outside the tower, the sunlight blazing, the door swings shut from the gloom of the tower.

There are claw marks on the wood. Some are weathered, old and grey, but there are new ones, fresh gouges on the surface, around the handle. Something was trying to get in last night.

My first thought is Gray.

"Search around the perimeter, try to find Gray," I bark. We all scatter, looking for footprints, more claw marks, any sign that our House member is alive and nearby.

The sand has obscured everything. There is nothing out here but the sand and the five of us.

Frustrated, I call a halt to the search an hour later. Part of me wonders if Gray is lost to his demon. If so, then I will have to report it to the Recondites. Their duty is to hunt down and cull any out-of-control demon.

My first months as Lord of the First House and I may have lost a Tasuri to his demon.

Father, give me strength. I haven't even reached my grandfather's tomb, yet.

We set out, grim and determined. As we leave the relative safety of the abandoned tower behind I wonder at my own selfishness. Why did I bring these males with me? Love's oracle told me that my life was the sacrifice, not these males. They don't need to be here. Gray didn't need to die. I was going to send them back after we reached my grandfather's tomb, but now... I can't wait. Just being here in the desert is a risk.

At the mouth of the valley to the tombs of the Forgotten, I pause. Slowly, I turn around. I can see the apprehension in their eyes. Their demons glare at me in turn. This was a mistake.

"Go home," I order, my voice like a croak.

"Lord Thane?" Holsten questions me.

"Go home. I will continue on from here," I say with more confidence. This is the right way to do this.

The males look at each other uneasily. "Lord Thane..." Rolle stares at me, "we can't leave you here. This is a dangerous place."

"I know how dangerous it is." I take a deep breath. "I won't be returning," I tell them. Ignoring the shock on their faces, I pull out the scroll I came with, "give this to my father. It explains everything."

Holsten takes it with slack features. "Lord, I can't-"

"This is where we part ways, Holsten," I interrupt him.

"No, no Lord Thane," Holsten protests. "We can't. I can't. I am sworn by the Father god to protect you."

"Nothing can protect me," I say quietly.

Holsten straightens his spine, "you will not face your fate alone."

My heart nearly stops when he says 'fate.' My Fated. Parijan.

"You can't stop us, Lord Thane," Rolle says.

I spin around. "Go home. This is no place for the living."