Fulcrum of Light (Catalyst Book 2) C.J. Aaron (unputdownable books .TXT) 📖

direction of Da’agryn. The mysterious old man had told him he would find his answers.

Would the Council have them?

He’d soon find out.

Chapter 27

Ryl rested for a short while before the anticipation of the upcoming meeting awoke him from his peaceful slumber. Brasley had left food for them while he slept and he dined alone as Andr had long since finished his portion. As the sun had yet to complete its descent behind the jagged tips of the surrounding mountains, he had opted to sit outside, enjoying the last few rays of the sun's warmth. He rested on the single stone step that separated the small residence he and Andr shared with the neatly paved stone road that formed an exterior ring around Vim.

The city was still abuzz with a flurry of activity. People moved with determination; their heads held high as they went about their tasks. To his right, carefully manicured fields of crops stretched out in a sea of greens and yellows. He could see the tops of the orchard’s trees in the distance, their branches still laden with unharvested fruit. The heads of the workers popped up, out of the plants they tended, like animals sneaking a view of the surrounding world before ducking back down.

To his left, two smaller avenues separated rows of buildings before reaching the wide gap of the Northfate. From his conversations with the mender and Andr, he had learned that the nearest building, which shared the opposite side of the avenue with the first field of crops was the school for the youngest of Vim’s children. The building was a two-story affair with the first floor constructed entirely from stone. The second level was constructed from wood. Gleeful laughter of the children floated on the air in random outbursts.

The next building up the alley was the University, housing the advanced set of classrooms for those closer to the age of adulthood. Similar in footprint to the primary school, the University stood two stories tall. Education had been all but forgotten in The Stocks, yet here it appeared to be held in high regard.

Distance did little to hide the artful decorations of the buildings. The elaborate design and meticulous attention to every detail was foreign compared to his bland upbringing.

Even before his life in The Stocks, Ryl could remember no construction nearing the mastery of anything he witnessed now before his eyes. Being but a child, his experience was by no means all encompassing, yet the world that surrounded his youth seemed to have been constructed purposefully plain. In his memory, every drab, sterile building seemed to blend in with the next.

Carved into the face of the cliff running along the exterior of the road were a series of entrances similar to the one which he rested on. There were few single apartments like the small modified clinic he presently shared with Andr. Brasley had mentioned that these dwellings, carved into the exterior wall were the homes of the original inhabitants of Vim, long before the population swelled to its current state.

He snapped his mind back from wandering thoughts of the past. Surveying the city to the west, he noted the body of the uniquely shaped mender approaching with another. He'd expected to see Ticco, the ever-present apprentice, so the sight of the woman wearing the single sleeved cloak gave him pause. An intricate tattoo covered the skin of her exposed right arm.

The woman approached with an intriguingly agile gait; her hips swayed ever so slightly as she glided alongside the mender. Her brown hair captured the light from the setting sun at her back, setting it ablaze with an orange glow.

Kaep.

Ryl hadn’t seen her or any of the other phrenics in person since he first awoke two days earlier. He’d searched with his mindsight on occasion though he was hesitant to utilize the skill. Their presence was clearly noted as they moved about the city. In his current state, even the brief visions were exhausting, and fruitless; finding none straying close to his location.

The face of the mender contorted with mild annoyance as they approached.

“Tell me you haven't been out for another walk again?” Brasley scolded. “I thought I made it perfectly clear you were to be resting.”

“Aye, Brasley, that you did,” Ryl responded politely. To his side Andr grinned. “I have been resting. We just came out a short time ago, I needed the fresh air and sunlight.”

The mender eyed him askance for a few moments as if expecting to have caught him in a lie.

“Very well,” he said after a moment of careful observation. “The Council is ready to see you now.”

To his side, Kaep nodded in acknowledgement, a small smile encroaching on her otherwise serious expression.

“Will you be joining us for the meeting?” Ryl asked the pair of them as he worked himself to his feet.

“That we will, Ryl,” Brasley answered for them both. “As your Mender and as the vanguard for the scout detail that collected you, Kaep and I have been summoned as well.”

Ryl, with Andr at his side, fell into position, following on the heels of the mender and phrenic. The party headed to the left, toward the west and the setting sun, retracing the mender’s steps. As they approached the first alley, a steady stream of children bolted from the school’s main double door, spreading out in all directions like water along the earth. The children laughed and skipped as they ran carefree toward whatever destination they chose. He smiled as a young boy and girl weaved in and out of their small party, chasing each other with the reckless abandon only a child can possess.

Ahead of them lay the main north-south avenue, the Northfate. The avenue ended at the foot of a great stone staircase leading to the buttressed entrance of the tunnel into and out of Vim. The volume of citizens navigating the city’s avenues had increased as the sun had fallen further below the rim of the mountains. Cautious