Chapter 6
Appearance
The shadows of the city were long across the ground as Kortin and his mother made their way through the streets towards the Keep. Kortin stayed close to his mother even though the crowds of the city had begun to lessen by this time of day. They were going to the Keep on an important errand. They were going to release Tareth from the dungeons.
It had been an excruciatingly slow seven days since Kortin had watched his brother get taken by the City Patrol. They had thrown Tareth behind bars and would only release him when the full charges of the damages had been paid. Unfortunately, Kortin’s mother couldn’t afford the fee until the next wages from his father had come in. And that had only happened a couple hours ago.
Kortin’s sisters were back home, being watched by a neighbor. Kortin’s mother had wanted him to stay home as well, but Kortin had waited long enough to see his brother. Even when his mother insisted, he hadn’t taken no for an answer. Kortin still felt like it was his fault that his brother had been thrown in the dungeons, so he hoped seeing Tareth finally set free would help ease some of his guilt.
After getting out from under the crate, Kortin had headed home. But that walk had been the longest of his life. He’d never before felt so lonely. There were people filling the streets in every direction, but they seemed so far away. His mind told him to go home, but his feet took him to the nearest main gate leading out of the city. Then he had just stood there in the middle of the street, watching as people walked past him, going in and out of the gate, traveling along the dirt path that ran away to the trees in the distance. Standing there, Kortin thought about leaving the city and disappearing into those trees. They looked so peaceful there in the distance, swaying in the breeze that shook their branches. He could leave everything behind if he just walked through the gate and out into the world beyond.
But Kortin knew he couldn’t just leave everything behind. He would leave the city one day, but it wouldn’t be today. He couldn’t leave just because he didn’t want to face what he needed to do. What I have to do. So he turned around and walked home.
The next thing Kortin remembered was standing outside the door of the living quarters he called home, hesitating to go inside. He remembered his arm being unusually heavy as he lifted it and turned the doorknob. Everything was moving very slowly; the door took forever to swing open. But once he finally walked inside, things jumped forward in a blur.
One moment, his mother was asking him why Tareth wasn’t home yet, and the next, he was telling her everything. And not just about today and Tareth’s arrest, but about all the times they had missed school and all the bad things they had done. And of course, his mother had been furious. She had scolded him in a voice that was just barely below a scream. He had wanted to run and hide in a corner, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking at his mother. Because even though her words were harsh, Kortin saw the tears in her eyes.
His mother had gone immediately to the Keep to try and release Tareth, but it had been to no avail. When she returned, Kortin had been afraid to come out of his room to meet her. She’d finally called him to her and explained the situation. Kortin listened, but as he heard his mother talk, he realized she looked different than any other time he had seen her before. She was still his mom, of course, but for the first time, he saw the wrinkles on her face. He saw that she had wisps of grey hair just above her ears. He could tell she was tired. There were dark circles under her eyes that he’d never noticed before. For the first time, he was seeing her as a person and not just his mother. He didn’t know what it meant, but the trees outside the main gate seemed more inviting than ever.
For the rest of the week, Kortin had been on his best behavior, helping his mother whenever he could, until finally the page had come with the coin purse. There was enough money to get Tareth out but not much more. Kortin wanted to ask what they’d do until the next wages came in, but he decided against bringing up that concern; he didn’t think his mother would have the answer anyways.
Now, a short time later, Kortin and his mother were approaching the Keep, which loomed large in front of them, blocking the sun and throwing a dark shadow over the street. The Keep was a separate building from the Lord’s Castle, and Kortin had always thought that while the Castle looked glamorous, the Keep looked almost sinister. But that could’ve just been because Tareth used to tell him horror stories about the place and the prisoners inside. Whether those stories were true or not, Kortin wasn’t going to take any chances and hung tight to his mother’s hand.
There were guards outside the main doors of the Keep, but they merely watched Kortin and his mother pass without hindering them. Once inside, the place was brighter, lit by lines of torches along the walls. On the far side of the entry room was a huge oak desk that Kortin thought must be far too big for any normal Human. And indeed, the man sitting behind it was certainly no normal-sized person. His shoulders seemed wider than Kortin was tall, and the long, jagged scar crossing his cheek didn’t make him look exactly Human either. The man looked at Kortin, and the young boy hid farther behind his mother.
The man gave a raspy chuckle before turning his attention on Kortin’s mother. “What can I do for you?”
“We’re here for my son. Tareth Mortaque,” Kortin’s mother answered.
The man’s focus lingered on her a moment longer before he opened the thick book before him and turned the old pages, scanning the names written inside. “Let’s see. Mortaque,” he said to himself, running a finger along the page. Finally, he stopped. “Here it is.” He glanced back up at Kortin’s mother. “Did you bring his fines?”
His mother nodded, pulling out the leather pouch that contained the precious gold. Kortin had heard the steadiness of his mother’s voice, but now that she tried to open the pouch, he noticed that her hands shook. But she moved quickly and counted out the amount, setting it on the book in front of the big man. The coin purse was now nearly empty.
The man’s hand dwarfed the coins as he gathered them up and counted them himself. Then he looked at Kortin’s mother. “You’re a little short, lady.”
Kortin felt his mother tense. “No, that’s the right amount. They said that’s how much we had to pay for the damages.”
“Well, this might cover the damages, but the boy’s been in here a week. There’s the cost of his food, bedding, water; the list goes on.”
Kortin still held his mother, and though he couldn’t feel anything physically change, he suddenly couldn’t feel her strength. “We don’t…” She didn’t even finish her sentence.
Kortin looked up at his mother, but she had her face turned away from him. He squeezed her tighter, afraid that she’d slip away from his grasp.
The big man behind the desk studied the two of them. Then he said, “Just give me whatever you can, and we’ll call it squared.”
Kortin felt his mother nod, but he kept his eyes on the big man. The man’s appearance was as close to a monster’s Kortin had ever seen, but this man was actually trying to help them. He sure doesn’t act like some evil creature.
Kortin’s mother dropped the coin purse on the table, but the man didn’t even look inside. Instead, he gestured to a soldier standing across the room next to an ironclad door.
“Take them in. They’re getting the kid in cell fifteen.”
The soldier by the door nodded and pulled out a ring of large, brass keys. As he unlocked the door, Kortin’s mother looked back at the big man behind the desk. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Just go get your son,” he answered, returning to his work.
Kortin let his mother turn him away, and they followed the soldier through the ironclad door and into the hallway beyond. They walked through several hallways where other soldiers were going about their business and down a narrow flight of stairs before coming to a another locked door. On the other side of this one, everything was much darker. Only a few torches lit the whole space, and Kortin realized immediately this w
as where Tareth was being held.
Kortin’s mother paused in the doorway of the cell room and looked at her son. “You should wait here, Kortin. I don’t want you to see this.”
Kortin nodded. His mother touched him on the cheek gently before turning around and following the soldier into the room. Kortin waited all of two seconds before falling into step right behind his mother. He figured this wasn’t the place to argue with her, so he’d just told her what she had wanted to hear. His mother might not want him to see this, but he was going to be there when his brother was let out. Just try to stop me.
With his mother just before him, Kortin walked past the line of cells to either side. He stared into the darkness of each one, looking at the people behind the bars. Some just watched him pass with vague, distant looks in their eyes, while others sneered or even smiled at him. All of it sent a chill down Kortin’s spine.
Then his mother was stopping, and Kortin had to sidestep so as not to run into her. The soldier was already moving to unlock the door of cell fifteen, and Kortin looked forward, eager to see his brother again. But Kortin could only see an old man behind the bars of this cell. The old man looked at him with bright blue eyes set deep in a face that had a long white beard flowing down from it. Out of everyone Kortin had seen so far, this feeble old man actually looked somewhat pleasant. Not in his appearance necessarily, but Kortin could see kindness in his eyes.
The soldier finished unlocking the cell door and swung it open. “Com’n kid. Your mother’s here.”
And that’s when Kortin finally saw his brother. He was curled in a ball in the corner, covered in dirt and straw. He looked half starved, and he stood slowly as if he didn’t have enough energy to move quickly. Kortin’s mother immediately ran into the cell and threw her arms around Tareth. But Tareth didn’t respond to the affection at first. He just stood there as his mother cried into his chest. Kortin, meanwhile, just watched, not really sure what he should do. His mother finally pulled away from Tareth and took his hand.
“Let’s go home, sweetie.”
Tareth still didn’t respond as his eyes looked off at nothing. His mother began leading him out of the cell, and he followed obediently. But as they passed the old man, he grabbed Tareth by the shoulder. Tareth’s eyes turned towards the old man, who said, “Don’t forget what I told you, boy.”
Tareth nodded with an unreadable expression on his face. Kortin wondered what the old man was talking about, but it didn’t seem important right now. Kortin’s mother led Tareth the rest of the way out of the cell, and Kortin finally walked up to his brother. He stopped in front of Tareth as their mother watched, having obviously forgotten that she had told Kortin to stay behind.
Kortin had so many things he wanted to say to his brother. He wanted to tell him he was sorry, and he’d never let anything like this ever happen again. He wanted to tell him how much he’d missed him and how he wished there’d been a way to release him sooner. But Kortin couldn’t get any of it out. He just looked up at his older brother.
Tareth’s eyes seemed to have cleared since he’d stepped out of the cell, and now, he actually looked at Kortin. But as Kortin watched his brother, he realized something. Something that he didn’t want to realize. Just like a week ago when Kortin had seen for the first time that his mother was more than just his mother. As he looked at Tareth, Kortin saw more than just his brother. There was a difference in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Only a week had gone by, but Kortin could see it already. Everything’s going to be different.