Chapter 3

Cye was in the kitchen cooking something to eat. The castle had been filled with many people who had come over to offer money for incense and to express their sorrow. Traditionally, there would be an all night wake and he knew everyone would get hungry. Thankfully, Sekhmet showed him where the kitchen was so he could do some light cooking. There was another reason why Cye wanted to escape into the kitchen. Dais and Ryo had been debating on if they should bury Anubis or cremate him. Sage ended the debate by saying that if the Kami wanted to give Anubis back, then Warlord of Cruelty would have to be buried. While the conversation had been going on, Cye brewed some tea and rolled some rice balls.
Sekhmet was watching Cye. For some odd reason, Cye's innocence and trust reminded him of Anubis. The ex-Warlord of Venom mentally slapped himself for that thought; Anubis and Torrent were two totally different people, but they both had this special light in them. Sekhmet had wanted to make Anubis a Warlord after the young soldier had talked to and treated the Warlord of Venom as if he were a normal person and not some type of freak. When Anubis' lord refused to surrender Anubis to Talpa, Sekhmet made the older man suffer an excruciatingly painful death. For 400 years, Talpa almost killed the light in Anubis' soul. A soul that forced its way back to the surface after Strata destroyed the Armor of Cruelty's helmet. "Torrent," Sekhmet cleared his throat, startling Cye, "can you tell Strata thank you for his part in freeing Anubis."
"Rowen doesn't see it like that." Cye said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Sekhmet questioned.
"Rowen told me that he was the one who had the responsibility to take care of Anubis," Cye began. "He knew that keeping Anubis away from you, Dais, Cale, and Talpa was part of the job. But even now, I still don't know if Rowen was expected to protect Anubis from himself."
"Strata's not expected to do everything," Sekhmet countered.
"But protecting people is part of our job," Cye stated, "and Rowen felt that it was part of his job to protect Anubis"
"Why do you say that Torrent?" Sekhmet asked.
"We are the first friends he's ever had." Cye said flatly, "He doesn't want to lose us."
"When you think about Anubis' death, what do you feel?" Sekhmet questioned.
Cye finished the rice balls and placed the finished food on a tray he had taken from one of the smaller cabinets in the kitchen. Then Warrior of Trust turned to Sekhmet and looked at his former enemy straight in the eye, "I want to trust he's in a better place, but I know he wasn't perfect. In the western part of the world, what he did is considered the ultimate act of love, and I consider it the ultimate act of love too. But I also know that his suffering is over. No one can touch him, use him, manipulate him, or harm him."
Cye walked out of the kitchen with the food. Sekhmet smiled as he absorbed Torrent's words. Anubis' suffering was over, but what Cye didn't know was that the other Warlords, the one's who were supposed to be Anubis' friends, were the ones who made the Warrior of Spring suffer in the first place.