the more reason to have one who does,” Ira said, letting her harsh words go. “Besides, you must admit it’s an excellent disguise. I’ve never had my identity challenged in the whole of these fifteen years.”
“Nor I in five years,” Telemachus added.
“Five years,” Parvel repeated, his face suddenly animated. The roll in his hand was forgotten. “Then you were part of the same Guard as my brother.”
“I knew you looked familiar,” Telemachus said, studying Parvel carefully. “Lighter hair, rounder face, that sort of thing, but the resemblance is there. Yes, I knew your brother—only by sight, of course. There were one hundred of us, and he was not part of my squad. I can’t quite recall what his mission was.”
“What happened to him?” Parvel pressed. Jesse had never seen him so focused.
“Ask Chancellor Doran,” Willa grumbled, setting the plate of rolls on the table with a thunk. “If you ask me, the Guard is unlucky that he’s the one keeping their records. Very unlucky indeed.”
They all stared at her. “Explain,” Silas said, saying what they were all thinking.
Instead, she turned to her husband. “Ira?”
“Not again,” Telemachus moaned. “Ira, I beg you, do not fill their ears with baseless tales.”
“You let them decide for themselves, Telemachus,” Ira snapped. He rolled his eyes. “Baseless indeed. Working on the Patrol so close to the capitol, I hear rumors, and I listen for anything related to the Youth Guard.”
“It’s called the Forbidden Book,” Telemachus interrupted, leaning toward the center of the table and making his voice melodramatic. “No one knows where it’s kept, you understand. It’s all very secretive.”
“But what is it?” Rae asked impatiently.
“A record,” Ira said. Unlike Telemachus, he was perfectly serious. “With the names, missions, and fates of every Youth Guard member ever sent out.”
“Poor dears,” Willa added.
For a moment, Jesse almost stopped breathing. He could hardly imagine such a book. Hundreds of names, so many have died…. He pictured the last several pages, where Silas, Rae, and Parvel’s names would be written. And Eli’s.
All during his journeys, Jesse had wondered what had happened to Eli. If we could see the book somehow, I could know for sure.
“Rumor is that Chancellor Doran, the governor’s right hand man, keeps the book as his service to the king,” Ira said. “This is all hearsay, you understand, pieced together from fragments of rumors and the like.”
“Yes, and the book is cursed,” Telemachus added, “so they say. And I say that the entire thing is legend.”
“You mean you’ve known about this book, only a short distance from your door, and you’ve never tried to get it?” Rae asked incredulously.
“It doesn’t exist,” Telemachus repeated.
“Even if the Forbidden Book did exist, it would be foolish to try to find it,” Ira countered. “Chancellor Doran and his scribes have seen sketches of our faces. If someone turned us in….”
“No one would recognize you,” Silas reasoned. “You’ve changed your appearance considerably.”
“That’s a risk I am not willing to take,” Ira said. “You cannot understand. I have a wife, a job, a house. I have a life again.”
Jesse looked at Parvel, and from the look on his face, he guessed they were thinking the same thing. Jesse wanted to know what happened to Eli. Parvel wanted to know what happened to his brother.
“We’ve got to find it,” Jesse said suddenly. “Don’t you understand? If we had that book, we could find the Youth Guard members who are still alive. We could save them!”
“That’s a noble thought,” Telemachus began, “but…”
“He’s right,” Rae said, jumping up. “I don’t want to disguise myself, to go around the rest of my life playing a part. I do not want to live in ‘perfect obscurity.’ That wouldn’t be living.”
“No,” Ira said firmly, slamming his fist down on the table for emphasis. “It’s far too dangerous.”
“Dear…” Willa said, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder.
“You don’t have any say in what we do,” Rae said, throwing her shoulders back to face the challenge. Jesse wondered if Ira knew what he had gotten into. They stood there, the petite, dark-haired girl facing the burly Patrol member.
“You’re too young to know better,” Ira said. “We’re just trying to protect you.”
“And what about the others,” Jesse said. “The ones whose names are written in the Forbidden Book. Who’s protecting them?”
The silence hung in the air like smoke from a cooking fire. Then Willa put her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “It is late,” she said. “I have the rooms ready.”
“No,” Rae said again. “I will not leave this unresolved.”
Telemachus sighed. “The girl speaks the truth, Ira. We cannot force them to stay here.”
“But…” Ira protested.
“No, Ira. It’s no use. Besides, you know as well as I do that, in their place, fifteen years ago, you would have said much the same.”
That seemed to cool Ira off a bit. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “But I would have listened to reason. To my elders.”
“We do not mean to show disrespect,” Parvel said. “You would have us stay to protect our own lives. We would go to protect the lives of others. Foolish or wise, our intent is good. And some of us,” he glanced at Jesse, “know and love people whose names are written in that book. You would be hard pressed to convince us not to go after it.”
As usual, Parvel’s words had a way of calming the situation. Telemachus still shook his head. “But I tell you, the book is not real. Please, do not throw your lives away for a mere legend.”
“But I have reason to believe that it is true,” Parvel said. “My father was a courtier in the capital of Amarias, and he heard similar rumors of a cursed book. At the time, I did not believe it. The supporters of the king are often foolish boasters, especially after having too much to drink. Now, though, I begin to wonder if perhaps there is such a book.”
Telemachus had no answer to that. “Please, at least stay here tonight,” Willa said. “Perhaps in the morning you will see things differently.”
“Thank you,” Parvel said, standing to bow. “We accept your generous offer.”
Ira nodded. “It’s not much, but it’s a safe place to spend the night. I only have one spare room, so the little lady can have our room.”
Rae bristled at that.
