The falcon's daughters

Chapter 7

Dark and evil dreams disturbed his sleep and as the rays of the rising sun touched his body he opened his eyes in fear and gasped for air. With a deep sigh he realised that it was just a dream and sat up in the bed. He pulled a hand through his damp hair and put his feet down on the floor. While calming his breath he put his hands on his knees and stared at them for a long time as he tried to gather his thoughts. A profanity escaped his lips as he saw the mark on the back of his hand. It seemed to glow in the dawn of daylight. Throughout his life he had seen the green dragon on his hand and for the first time, the sight of it filled him with horror.

- Kit!

He threw the bedding aside and quickly got dressed before leaving the room. He walked across the corridor and knocked on the door. There were no sounds coming from inside the room so he put his hand on the doorknob and uttered a word.

- Fosgail.

A low click was heard and he opened the door and entered the room. A faint growl was heard from the bottom of the bed, where Dorcha rose threateningly from the floor.

- Dorcha, calm down girl. It's just me.

He held out his hands and the big panther relaxed again. His gaze fell on Kit, who laid stretched out across the bed, with her clothes still on. A faint smile showed on his lips over how fast she had fallen asleep the night before but it disappeared quickly as he stepped forward and gently shook her shoulder.

- Kit. Wake up.

- Hmm.

She turned her head towards him and squinted with one eye before moaning.

- Lace, what's the matter?

- We have a problem. I haven't thought about it that much over the years, but if others notice it, I don't even want to think about what can happen.

Tired she covered a yawn and sat up in the bed trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

- What are you talking about?

- Your mark.

- The one on my hip?

- No. The one on your hand.

Confused, she raised her hands and looked at them from different angles.

- What mark? What are you talking about? There is nothing there.

- I know and that's the problem. See here.

 He held up his own hand so she could see the green dragon.

- Why would your tattoo be a problem?

- It's not that I have a mark that’s the problem. The problem is that you don't have one.

- I don't understand.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled his hand through his hair. A gesture he often did when he was in a hurry or worried about something. 

- When a human is born, the gods choose who will get the human. That god then gives his mark to the child. That mark ends up here on the back of the hand. It is something that happens to every human being during their first year of life.

- But if every human is chosen then why don't I have a mark?

His eyes were sad when he looked up at her.

- I don't know my girl. The only answer I can think of is that no god has chosen you. And that's not a good thing.

- Why not?

He hesitated and tried to get the words to leave his mouth. The words were a thing he didn't want to think of being possible to happen to the girl he raised as his own. 

- Lace why isn't it a good thing to be without a mark? Tell me.

- If you don't have a mark you will be executed.

She looked at him in disbelief and shook her head.

- Executed! But why?

- Because of something that happened in this world a very long time ago. About eight hundred years ago a man was born so evil that none of the gods wanted him. At that time for some reason, the gods did not choose all people, so it was not unusual to not have a mark. The man grew up and became a skilled magician and as he grew older so grew his wickedness. One day he decided to take revenge on the gods for rejecting him. With the help of magic, he began to steal people's souls. After a while he discovered that owning a human soul gave him control over the body of the soul. Time passed and he managed to get several people without the mark to follow him.  They managed to e*****e half of Derl'ion. They called themselves The Rik'oti " the soul stealers". People began to beg the gods for help and when the gods intervened they moved the Rik'oti to a remote island. As punishment for their crimes, the gods transformed them. Their skin blackened and their bodies distorted into the creatures they are today. Since that day, the gods have marked all people and the people executed all who achieved their first year without receiving a mark. They do not dare to take the risk that such a disaster may occur again.

- So what do we do now?

- We must come up with a way to protect you. We have to hide the fact that you don't have a mark.

Dorcha got up and walked up to Kit’s satchel. With a stroke from the heavy paw she knocked the bag over and the contents rolled out. She sniffed around among the garments on the floor before finding what she was looking for. Carefully, she grabbed it with her teeth and walked over to Kit and dropped it into her lap.

- Here try this.

- Dorcha you are a genius. Will these work Lace?

She held up the black gloves for Lace to see while giving the big panther a hug. Lace nodded his approval.

- It will hide your hands quite effectively.

She put the black gloves on when a thought struck her.

- How do we explain that I suddenly wear gloves?

- I hope we don't have to, because that would mean that someone has already noticed your hands. Shall we go down and eat some before we continue?

- I'm starving. I just have to pack my bag again first.

She cast a mean look at Dorcha, who apologetically looked back as she quickly threw her clothes down into the satchel. Lace picked up his own satchel from his room and they went down to the salon. After a nod from the innkeeper, they sat down at a table and a maid came out with a tray. She put down two plates of hot ham, fried eggs and golden brown fried potatoes. She gave a piece of juicy raw ham to Dorcha who immediately closed her powerful jaws on it.

- Are we going to walk all the way to the mountains?

He shook his head and swallowed the potato he chewed on before answering.

- Hopefully we can get hold of a couple of horses here.

- But I can't ride.

- You will learn fast.

They continued to eat under silence, but he could see that there was something on Kit’s mind.

- Is something wrong my girl?

- That Rik'oti you spoke of. Can they only take people's souls?

- No. All beings have souls and Rik'oti can take every one ... Why didn't I think of that!

He left the table and quickly reached the innkeeper who raised the questioning on an eyebrow.

- I think we've figured it out. Rik'oti.

The innkeeper looked at him doubtfully.

- Do you think they may have taken control of the Gords?

- The gords do not behave like themselves. If they have been under Rik'otin's control does that explain everything, right?

- You might have a point there.

The innkeeper grumbled in agreement and then vigorously slapped his hand against the bar counter.

- We have been fighting the wrong enemy. We should not fight the gords but those smelly black bodies instead. I'll make sure the Queen gets this information right away.

Lace nodded and picked up a few silver coins from his pocket and put them on the counter.

- Will this cover our bill?

- Keep your money. This information was worth more than a night's food and lodging. I'll make sure you get some food to bring with you.

The innkeeper pushed the coins back to Lace and looked at him intently until he picked them up.

- Thank you.

- No problems. You will always be welcome at the Black Rooster.

Lace went back to Kit and a maid came up to them with two bundles. They packed the bundles with food in their satchels and left the inn.