Akatika's Legacy Page 22
Altogether it took the two girls the better part of the day to make it back with the wagon. Lafe made good use of the time moving the treasure to the foyer while they waited for them to return. Tony managed to move himself slowly to a pile of gold coins and was sleeping on it when Gabby and Ivy returned.
Lafe waited impatiently inside as the girls loaded the treasure and Tony into the wagon. He tried as best he could to instruct the girls on the finer points of loading a person into a wagon. More than once Tony protested as the girls nearly dropped him.
“You’ll need to tell the guard about what happened here.” Lafe said.
Gabby examined the foyer to make sure no treasure was left behind. “If I do, they will find you. Then…”
“I’ll be gone before they get here. Nightfall is only a few hours away. It will take you that long to get back to town at least.” Lafe said.
“Where will you go?” Ivy asked as she joined Gabby.
“I have a house, you know. I just had it built. I’ll hold up there.” Lafe said smiling at the two.
“It’s called Facinus Manor.” Gabby said. “And its actually mine. You left it to me when you died, remember?”
“What? Facinus Manor?” Lafe questioned.
“We had a vote.” Ivy said.
“It was that or Adventure Keep.” Gabby said, as if the explanation cleared all his questions up.
“Doesn’t that just mean Adventure Manor? I’m not that well versed in Kerolian but I’m sure it means the same thing as Adventure Keep.” Lafe said.
Gabby turned around, grabbing Ivy’s arm, and led her to the wagon. “Nope, it’s better, my love.” She said as they moved toward the fortresses gate.
Epilogue
The sun hadn’t quite set yet. The Red Wave Inn, however, was as busy as ever, glasses clanking, the pungent haze of smoke filled the air, and calls for serving girls being shouted over the din of the crowd. That was until a cohort of the town guard entered the dining room led by a girl with bright red hair.
Nobody had seen Siliras in the few days, or nights, after the fight with Akatika. Tony was brought back to town and when he was able to form real understandable words told his father what happened. They had agreed to let him do it, He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about Lafe or Facinus Manor. They didn’t want their hard-earned treasure found.
The town guard was dispatched immediately to investigate Siliras. They had been told of his part in the events, but with his being turned into a vampire the town guard took no chances.
The army had been dispatched to the fortress and thoroughly searched for any vampires still holding out. None were found except the for remains of the one left in the armory. When they had attempted to move it out of the fortress it simply smoldered and turned to ash after a few minutes. Lafe had left and made his back to the house under the cloak of darkness.
So, Gabby led the guards through the dining hall, back behind the bar, and down the narrow stairwell in search of Siliras. His vampirism and what he had done made him a kill on sight villain to the guards under Tony’s father’s command.
A few well-placed blows from a massive hammer one guard carried opened the door to Siliras’ makeshift shop. The door fell inside the room and set off a series of explosions. Because no one had entered the room yet the only things that were injured were the rugs.
Gabby peaked inside, the book she had given Siliras was now in tatters on the table. Guards started to take everything off the once neatly organized shelves and toss them into burlap sacks they had brought with them.
Gabby took the book off the desk and quickly placed the tattered remains into the satchel at her side. If this was important to Siliras she was not letting the book out of her sight again. He had wanted this book more than Gabby had ever seen a person want something.
Less than an hour later everything in the room was packed onto a wagon outside the inn and started on its way to the magistrate. Hopefully, the end of this adventure would finally come.
Once Gabby got back to her new home, she found a note stuck in the door with a jeweled knife.
“I understand what happened was not altogether your fault. I let my ambition cloud my judgment and went into a situation unprepared. Ivy has raw potential for the magical arts, a gift of her heritage, I am sure. Give her this delver and encourage her to peruse it. Akatika wanted to recreate her brood and punish those who wronged her. She would have a legacy of hate. You are her legacy now. Make something of yourself.
-Your friend, Siliras”
The end of
Akatika’s Legacy
Book one of
The Adventures of Gabriella Sanderson