Brian awoke with a painful stiffness in his limbs. He and Justin were lying on the stone floor of the cave in which they'd taken refuge the night before. The cave was relatively dark, although it was clearly morning. Brian could hear birds singing, and when he looked down, he saw the tributary sparkling with the bright yellow light of the sun.
Brian's eyes widened when he caught sight of a tall lanky man with short sandy brown hair standing beside the tributary (at the bottom of the cliff). He appeared to be surrounded by an aura of soft yellow light and held his hand above his eyes, as though trying to spot something above him. For a moment, Brian had the crazy thought that the man could see them behind the waterfall, but he quickly shook off the thought. That was simply impossible.
While Brian was watching the young man below, Justin awoke. He followed the line of Brian's gaze. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the young man.
In Brian's language, Justin stated, "He's looking for us."
Brian turned toward Justin sharply. "What?"
Justin smiled when he saw the look of alarm on Brian's face. "Not worry. He's kind."
"Who is he?"
Justin looked at the cave floor as he struggled to find the words. Slowly, he said, "He gives honor to the Shining One. He's…he's…"
Unable to think of the words in Brian's language, he continued in Vigan, "Asi (He is) sey'uo (a high priest). Za'ai Bhati (The Shining One) epp'nu (gives) ammi (him) azha (the power) za'ar (to see)."
(He's a high priest. The Shining One gives him the power to see.)
"Oodo za'ar?"
(What see?)
Justin smiled. Brian was so adorable when he spoke Vigan. "Ossa (Everything). Umja (The past). Umn'o (The present). U'sha (The future). Ossa (Everything). Topaphersu (We must speak) chaku (with/to) ammi (him). Akaconi (He will know) oodo (what) topa-ii'ja (we should do). Ooro (where) dzban-topa (we should go)."
(Everything. The past, the present, the future. Everything. We must speak with him. He will know what we should do. Where we should go.)
Justin stood and pulled Brian along with him. Then he let go of Brian's hand and started climbing down the cliff. Brian was amazed by the ease with which he descended. Justin made it to a wide ledge and stopped, turning back to help Brian down. In short order, they were both on the ledge.
The young man smiled at them and waved. Justin waved back. Then they continued their descent. Ten minutes later, they waded through the tributary and joined the young man on the other side.
The young man suddenly dropped to his knees and breathed in awe (in Brian's language), "Your highness. You honor me!"
Brian looked at Justin for an explanation. But Justin simply smiled and said, "Brian, this is Emmett."
Emmett led Brian and Justin along the tributary, which moved about a hundred feet away from the cliff and then curved to travel a parallel path. They walked for about thirty minutes, Brian and Justin holding hands and Emmett chattering about the area they were passing through.
Finally, they came upon a gigantic metal apparatus. It stood as tall as the cliff, and, in fact, many metal staircases and ladders led up to the top. Brian imagined that one could cross the apparatus to reach the forest they'd seen last night. Underneath the apparatus, which spanned several thousand feet, were tall thin stone buildings that were connected by small walkways suspended in the air. As they walked beneath the tall sprawling metal structure, sunlight filtered down through gaps in the apparatus.
Brian looked around in wonder. All the buildings appeared to be abandoned. All save one. The building in question was bright pink, and its front door, bright green. However, from far away, no one could see the bright colors.
Brian, awed by the apparatus and the little city beneath, asked, "Who built this place? Where have all the people gone?"
Emmett stopped walking and turned to face Brian. He frowned. "This place once thrived. Many, many years ago. Before any of us or our parents or our grandparents were born. It was built by our ancestors ten or fifteen generations ago."
Brian inquired carefully, "Whose ancestors?"
Emmett smiled. "All of our ancestors. Ancestors of those who live in the keep and the quarters. When this structure was erected, no hatreds existed between people. They spoke many languages and worshipped many gods and goddesses, but they looked upon their differences as a strength. They intermarried often and lived together happily. Now all that has changed. Most people don't even speak to people from other quarters, let alone with people from the keep. Few can speak all six languages, and intermarriage is rare and generally frowned upon."
Brian's eyes widened. The world Emmett described was hard to imagine. In fact, it went against everything he'd ever been taught. According to Brian's father, the people in the quarters were a lower form of life. Not that Brian had ever believed it. But he never imagined that the people in the keep and those in the quarters had common ancestors.
Emmett led them into the colorful building and into a large, mostly empty room. He directed them to sit on brightly colored pillows on the floor and then went into another room.
He returned a few moments later with coffee, biscuits, and a meat stew. He placed it all on the floor in the middle of the room and sat down. He laughed. "Come on, don't be shy. You have to keep up your strength if you are to succeed in the perilous journey to come."
Justin and Brian looked at each other in surprise, but joined Emmett in the middle of the room. The entire time they ate, Brian kept his arm around Justin's waist. Everything was so strange. But just touching Justin centered him. Made everything less frightening.
After they had eaten, Emmett said, "I sought you out because I dreamed of you both last night. The Shining One has much guidance to give you both."
Brian pulled Justin into his lap and slid his arms around the boy's waist. Justin smiled and kissed Brian's cheek before settling in to hear what Emmett had to say.
Emmett continued, "You must see, young prince. Very little is as it appears. Your mother and father are not held together by bonds of love. Your father acquired your mother as one would acquire a territory to consolidate power. She is strong and has allies, but she is not powerful enough to gain her freedom. Your father is stronger and has more allies, though he is arrogant. So he does not see that even as he wields power over your mother, she wields power over him. Even you...You are and are not what you seem. You are of both worlds. You were conceived out of hatred and from evil, but you carry your mother's goodness as well. Only your love for Justin, and his for you, is real..."
Justin blushed and looked at Brian shyly. They hadn't spoken yet of love. Brian met Justin's gaze, but Justin wasn't sure what Brian's eyes were saying. He desperately wished he knew.
"...It alone will never lead you astray, for it is pure and unselfish, unconditional. Everyone will try to separate you..."
Brian held Justin a little tighter.
"…not just the forces of evil but also the misguided. You cannot let that happen. No matter what. Stay together, and you can save us all. Allow yourselves to be rent asunder, and all that is good in this world will be lost. Justin is your light. Without him, you will dwell in darkness, following your father's path, and the land and its people will burn.
Brian exclaimed in frustration, in fear, "But what if my father takes Justin from me? I can't defeat his personal guard. Not alone."
"I can give you some protection, talismans that will keep you connected, but you must travel through the forest to the mountains. A woman there can help you further."
Emmett pulled two bright silver rings out of a small pouch hanging from his waist. They were covered with strange writing, undoubtedly sigils, as they seemed to glow with their own light.
Emmett stated, "Take these rings. As long as you wear them, you will never truly be apart. They will allow you to speak to each other without words over vast distances. In fact, with their inner light, you could find each other in the dark. You would quite simply be pulled in the correct direction. With these, no one can separate you."
Justin smiled and took the rings from Emmett. He whispered, "Thank you. What an amazing gift!"
He looked at Brian a little shyly and slipped the larger one on Brian's left middle finger. Brian smiled, took the other, and slipped it on Justin's. They suddenly had the urge to kiss, and kiss they did. Emmett had to call their names several times before they heard him.
Emmett laughed when they looked at him quizzically. But then he continued, "The woman you seek is Deborah, but most people call her Debbie."
