“Likaan,” said Mother, exasperated, as he and Lillia finally walked through the door. “Where have you two been? Do you know what time it is?”

  “Time to eat?” Likaan said hopefully. “All I’ve had today is a mouthful of beef.”

  Lillia hung her satchel on a hook by the door and sat her bowl on a shelf. Likaan kicked off his boots.

  “It’s nearly time,” she complained. “We should already be on the road. You two stink. And you’re filthy. Just ridiculous,” she muttered absently as she sped about the little house.

  “Mother, it’s fine. We don’t have to be right on time. Why does it matter if we’re a minute or two late?”

  “This is important, son. You’re sixteen. Your Ageing must be blessed. Here, have a pancake. Or I made a stew, if you hurry. Lillia, get out of those clothes. I cannot believe you two spent all day doing who knows what. Gallivanting. Certainly not doing your tasks. But why would you? Just wasting time. Having me constantly watching the windows to see if you’re coming home. I didn’t know if you’d show up at all. I was about to come looking for you.”

  Likaan rolled his eyes. “But mother, we were trying to enjoy the day. How many times do you turn sixteen years, after all? You might even say we were honoring the occasion.”

  Mother’s temper flared. “Don’t you dare, Likaan. Don’t get smart with me. Do you have the faintest idea how much work I’ve put into you two? To ensure that you reach your Ageing’s? Hiding out. Now I’m just waiting around here for you to turn up. What if you missed it? This is beyond important.” Her voice began to rise, her words coming faster. “So much planning. So much preparation. Your poor father. Do you think this is what I wanted?”

  “Mother, just calm down,” said Likaan in a soothing tone. “I’m getting ready. See?” He dipped a cloth in a basin and began wiping himself down. “A minute late or not, we’ll be there. They can’t very well do the thing without me,” he chuckled.

  Mother spun around fast. So fast. “Are you laughing?”

  “Mother, please be calm,” said Lillia in a small voice, her eyes lowered.

  Mother didn’t seem to have heard. “You think it’s funny. All the sacrifices I’ve made? Day in and day out I keep you fed and clean. I see to your education. I keep this roof over your head. And you would disrespect all of that? You think it’s funny?”

  Likaan didn’t answer, realizing he might have pushed her too far. Realizing things were getting out of hand. He knew it might be too late for reason. There’s a point where speaking can only make things worse, but saying nothing is somehow worse than speaking.

  “Well?” She barked. I asked you to be here. Ready. I thought I impressed on you the importance of this ceremony. And you stride in covered in muck like it’s any other day.” Then her face contorted in disgust. “You two stink.” She made for a chest that held fresh pants and a shirt for Likaan, and a yellow dress for Lillia. “There’s no time. We must leave. But you’re filthy. The disrespect it would show.”

  “Mother we’re fine. Just stop. I’m sorry we were out all day. I’m sure you were waiting and worrying. It isn’t like we’ll be any worse off than everyone else. We’ll probably be on the cleaner end of the spectrum,” he said.

  “Do you think I care for those simple folk?” She raged. “It is not them, foolish child.” She was pacing. Fidgeting. Mumbling.

  Likaan had seen his mother in this state one other time. When he stole the tome. But this was different, somehow. But why? He couldn’t grasp the strand. She was vibrating. She must have been getting worked up all day, and now she was imploding. “Mother.”

  “It must be blessed,” she repeated. “Such disrespect.”

  “Mother,” Likaan persisted.

  “Maybe it will be alright. Maybe we’ll make it. We must run. Hurry. Hurry.” She was talking faster and faster, repeating things, rambling. “But how you stink,” she hissed. “The disrespect.”

  “Mother!”

  A shriek tore itself from her throat. Then everything stopped. Suddenly there was no movement. No sound. All of the little things that we don’t usually notice weren’t there anymore. The ambient noises. The wind. The rustling of the leaves outside the windows. The creaking of the house. The air. True silence. Few people ever experience true silence. It’s unnatural in the worst ways. The silence giving the impression of hidden watchers more so than a cacophony of incoherent, out of place bumps in the night. Mother’s body shivered. The only perceptible movement. And then a wave of something struck both Lillia and Likaan. It all happened in a moment, catching Lillia off guard. Likaan half expected something would happen. He was aware of mother’s unique magic today, despite knowing nothing of its existence the day before. But knowing it was coming didn’t make it any less unpleasant. Likaan’s skin felt wet, slippery. Like a gelatinous substance running from head to toe. All the dirt, grime, and sweat washed away, pooling at their feet. At the same time his clothing disintegrated. And new clothing was assembled around his body, thread by thread. He thought he felt something touch him. Invisible, bony fingers delicately fitting him. And in the seconds that the experience lasted, mother fell to the floor, horror on her face. No one spoke. All was still and quiet, though not in the same unnatural way it had been.

  “What was that?” Lillia’s voice betrayed her shock.

  Hearing Lillia broke the spell on Likaan, pulling him out of his own paralyzing stupor. He whispered hurriedly, “Quiet, Lillia.”

  Mother sat on her knees, hands shaking, bulging eyes. Dark shadows danced around her form. The air felt charged somehow.

  “Mother,” said Likaan softly. “Be calm.”

  “Oh no,” she whispered. “What have I done?”

  Likaan Knelt in front of her. “You just lost your temper a bit. You’re overstressed, but no harm done. Let me help you up. Why don’t you have some water and lets all head into town?

  “They will come. They will come, Likaan. They will have felt it,” she said, bursting into tears. “What have I done?”

  Likaan’s eyes became silver and he peered hard at his mother for several minutes as she wept. His eyes widened. He understood. “It’s done, mother. You cannot take it back. They will be coming.”

  Her eyes slowly lifted, meeting his. They were knowing eyes. Depthless. A final tear drop pooled and fell. “I’m so sorry,” she said, hiccupping, her voice weak and afraid. “I’ve ruined everything. All these years I’ve been so careful.” She looked at him. And then she became aware of the unseen architecture that surrounded her. “I sense your hands, Likaan. Is this your design?” She looked around at invisible things. She sniffled. “My word, what is this?” She looked into his eyes once again. Questioningly.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “They are coming,” he said. “You will not be at my Ageing, mother.” She whimpered anew as he spoke on. “You must gather your things and leave with the utmost haste if you wish to escape the boundaries of the search. You must put as much distance as you can between yourself and this house.”

  “Surely the evening will make no difference,” she bargained, questioning the need to leave swiftly instead of Likaan’s display of knowledge.

  “With haste,” he commanded, eyes flashing. “And once you set out, you must not return. No matter your longing. No matter your thoughts. No matter what you may find on the road. You doubtless have the ability to take care of any obstacles you come across. But do not use whatever that magic is, again. Do I make myself clear, mother?”

  “Likaan. Your Endowment. It’s wisdom based, isn’t it? It bestows knowledge as does mine. I knew it would be powerful. It must have been.”

  “Whatever you do. Do not come back here. Choose your heading and do not stray. I will adjust the path as necessary.”

  “But what about you? And Lillia? They’ll smell your blood if they get close. And what will you tell your father?” Her eyes were darting all about the room and beyond.

  “Trust that I know the path. Keep to it, mother.”

  Her lip trembled. She stood and embraced him. He whispered in her ear. Then she embraced Lillia, kissing her. She let her daughter go and ran to the basement, and before disappearing, she said back to them, “Go now. It must be blessed.” And with a whimper she was gone.

  Likaan took up his boots and pulled them on. He took Lillia’s hand, dragging her out of the house and taking off toward town.

  “What is going on, Likaan? I don’t understand what’s happening.”

  “You must trust me,” he said, breathing hard. His eyes were that eerie, intense silver as they scanned in every direction. “I am laying the path. Though leave it to mother to complicate things. Listen, Lillia. I can’t see all and I don’t know everything. But mother is pursued. That is why we live here. In hiding. And her pursuers make things hazy for me. But they don’t matter. There is another entity that actively obstructs my sight’s true power. It’s like nothing I can describe.”

  Lillia was tiring, half-way listening to her brother, half-way thinking of her mother. And despite pushing herself, her body slowed. “I need to rest, Likaan. I can’t run anymore.”

  “Please hurry, Lillia,” he urged. He seemed frantic. Worried. “Mother seems adamant that we fulfil the Ageing ceremony, though I don’t know why. But we’ll trust her in this.” He sighed aggressively. “Leave it to mother to doom us all,” he growled to himself. “Listen,” he snapped. “All I have said and will say to you is purposeful, Lillia. You should neither believe nor disbelieve what I say. Anything I say. But you must trust what I tell you to do. And you must fulfill every command I give. It is imperative.”

  She ripped her hand out of his, doubling over, heaving. “Likaan, to hell with today,” she spat between breaths. “I don’t want to go to some stupid ceremony, anymore. I just want to go back home. I want to go to bed. I’m so tired.”

  “Lillia please,” he said urgently.

  “No, Likaan. I’ve had enough. Please don’t be upset. I can’t do anything else. I’m about to lose my mind. Please. I’m going to bed.”

  He thought only for a few seconds. “Alright. An early sleep should be fine. I was going to send you to bed after this nonsense, anyway. But Lillia. Do not leave your room once you enter it. Do not. Not until morning. Father is at the tabernacle, and I will speak with him. Mother has gone. Go straight to your room and wait for me. We will speak when the Ageing is done.” He turned and ran on.

  Lillia took another couple minutes to catch her breath. Then she stood and walked back to her home. Upon entering the house, she paused, taking in the room. Running the day through her mind. Considering her initial worries and how they jump from one worry to another, always increasing in severity. She walked to her room, collapsing onto her bed, instantly asleep.

  A closing door woke Lillia. She sat up at once, trying to discern shape in the darkness. “Likaan?”

  “It’s me,” he said.

  “Give us some light.”

  Where one moment there was only blackness, the next there was a dim flame suspended in the air above Likaan’s open palm. In his other hand he held a lantern. He gestured and the flame lazily drifted toward the lantern, settling onto the wick. He placed the light down on a chest next to the bed. He closed the shutters and drew the curtains across the window, then sat down next to Lillia, sighing deeply.

  “How was it?”

  “Stressful. I couldn’t concentrate. Everything screamed at me that I was wasting time. That it was pointless. But the more I thought about everything, why mother would be so adamant about attending my Ageing, the sooner I understood.”

  “Understood what?”

  “Mother turned forty-eight this year. Do you know what that means?”

  “She did? Why didn’t she say anything?”

  “It means,” he stressed, disregarding Lillia’s question, “she obtained her Enfolda.”

  “No,” Lillia said in realization. “But you said she only had three of her Age skills.”

  “That’s all I could see,” he replied, frustrated. “That’s all I noticed, anyway. It’s not like reading a book, everything in neat lines.”

  “So you don’t know anything about it?”

  “I had only just realized she must have received it. What’s really interesting is what that means.”

  “What does it mean, Likaan?”

  “It means in the same year each of has had an Ageing.”

  “Well, what does that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s just interesting. That sort of thing surely doesn’t happen often. Three of the same blood all Ageing in the same year? It occurs to me that with all we know, we know next to nothing.”

  “Mother knew.”

  “And I’m going to find out. There’s a wide gap in our knowledge, and it’s making me very uneasy.” Likaan looked at Lillia. “When you receive your endowment, it must be blessed. Make sure you do it. I don’t know the significance, the magic at play is beyond us.”

  “Likaan, what are you talking about?”

  “Lillia, just listen. You must honor your Ageing when it is time. No matter where you are. You must find a Member of the Faith to bless it. You must. There is meaning. I’m sure of it now.”

  “Yea, sure. Fine. It’s eight years away, but I’ll keep it in mind,” she said gruffly.

  “Do that,” he replied. “Now lets talk about a few things. Firstly, I’m sorry, but you have the right to know.”

  “What?”

  “Father is dying.”

  “What?” She yelled. “How? What happened? How do you know?”

  “Not right this moment, Lillia,” he reassured her. “He’s I’ll. I asked him tonight. That’s what mother meant. Don’t leave us and all that. He doesn’t have long. They’ve tried health potions, spells, and even a couple, lets say, unsavory routes. I’ve given him a task to perform. And Lillia,” he said, hesitating. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you will ever see him again in Provertyn.”

  She stared at him dumbfounded. “I can’t believe this. Why can’t I see him?” She stood as if to leave.

  “No, don’t go. He’s not here anyway. But he sends his love. And this.” Likaan pulled a ring from his pocket. And took a small, sheathed blade from his waistband.

  Lillia took the items, slipping the ring onto her thumb at once. “His—"

  “His wedding band,” he said. “And his dagger.”

  “It’s a ring of healing,” she said, looking at the simple golden band.

  “Is it? I love that, actually.” He smiled briefly.

  “Doesn’t fit, though.” Lillia felt her emotions rising again. “Likaan,” she said holding back tears. “What is going on. Why has everything gone to hell?”

  “Don’t worry, sister. We’re almost through this.

  “Through what?” She begged him.

  “All you must do is lay down in this bed and go to sleep. And if you should wake before the morning’s light, you must not leave this house. Preferably not this room.”

  “Well where will you be? You can’t leave me alone.”

  “I’m going to bed as well.”

  Upon hearing this, that Likaan wasn’t abandoning her like mother and father had, that he would be only a room over, she relaxed. “Will you sleep with me?”

  He looked at her with pitying eyes. “Of course I will. Go on, lay down.” She stretched out against the wall, giving him room. He laid down next to her, pulling the blanket over them both. She rested her head on his chest, he cradled her in his arm. He could feel the silent sobs as her body trembled against his. “In the morning we’ll wake up, and no matter what we’ll be together. We’ll be alright. No matter what else. There will be a man. Not a bad man. Not a good man. But not an evil man. The vagabond. He will help us.”

  A moment of silence passed. “Likaan,” Lillia said, confused. She sniffled. “I thought you said when I meet the vagabond, I must go with him. You didn’t say anything about the both of us. If you would be meeting him with me, then why would you bother specifically telling me to go with him?”

  Lillia didn’t notice Likaan freeze. But freeze he did. He had said that, hadn’t he. Why would he say that? The vagabond would arrive shortly after sunup, and they would both meet him. But this morning he’d told her when she meets him, she must go with him. Maybe it was nothing. He hoped so. However, he became troubled and worried anew.

  “Likaan?”

  “Oh, don’t worry. Just a misspeak. We’re almost there. Go to sleep.”

  Lillia yawned. “I can’t wait for this day to be over,” she said, and before long she was snoring softly.

  “Today was not the day to fear,” Likaan whispered, staring off. Then with an imperceptible flick of his finger, the flame obeyed, and the lantern went out.