Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One by Tania Johansson Page B

It
felt like it released some of the tension I had been carrying around. I
inspected each sketch critically and was satisfied with what I had done. My
stomach rumbled loudly and I set off to the town dining hall.
    I found Prea, Jench and Wilm at
our usual table. With some annoyance, I noted Jamber’s absence, but I tried to
convince myself it had nothing to do with what happened the night before.
    Jench waved a greeting.   “Kadin, we were just speculating on your
denouement gift.   Prea here thinks it is
some herbal cure all remedy, Wilm is guessing some sort of small, but deadly
weapon I am inclined to think it is something to do with your father or your
mother. So put them out of their misery and tell them I am right.”
    With a start, I realised I had
not even looked at the gift yet. I had intended on looking at it last night. I
frowned. “I do not actually know.”
    Prea grinned. “I told you he
would keep it to himself. I think I would as well. Especially
if my gift was so small!” This brought a round of laughter from all of
them.
    I laughed with them. “Yes, very funny, but no. I have not opened it yet and
therefore I cannot tell you what is inside. I fell asleep so quickly last night
that I did not get a chance and this morning it completely slipped my mind. I
am going to get my breakfast.”
    Now that I remembered, I
couldn’t stop thinking about the little blue silk package. “So is Jamber not
joining us today then?” Prea and Jench exchanged a meaningful look.
    Prea answered. “We saw him
before we came in. He said he’s already had breakfast.” The way in which he
said that told me that he had not believed him. Wilm said nothing, but he was
shaking his head.   I decided to shrug it
off, sure that he would get over whatever was bothering him soon enough. I
wolfed down my breakfast, only stopping to give quick responses to their talk
of small things. As soon as I cleared my plate, I made my excuses and left.
    As I walked away from the dining
hall, I turned a corner and froze in my steps.   A short distance away, Jamber was talking quietly with Brant. Brant!
They hated each other even more than Brant and I!
    I ducked back around the corner
so that they could not see me. Without even realising that I was doing it, I
reached for Navitas. It felt as though I might as well have been deaf a minute
before in comparison to the noise that rushed over me. I could just catch what
they were saying.
    Brant was speaking. “...mist was
all there was to it. That it did not actually even do anything.”
    “That is what I thought ! I didn’t know about anything
else.” The exasperation in Jamber’s voice made it sound as if he was repeating
something that he had said several times before.
    Brant snorted. “You better hope
I don’t find out you have been keeping information from me. For
your and your father’s sake.” I peeked around the corner and released
Navitas. Brant stormed off and Jamber walked away in the opposite direction.
His shoulders were slumped and he was scowling at the ground.  
    Surely, Jamber had not revealed
what had happened during my Hunt. Surely! He would not. He was my brother. My
heart was racing. He would not have told him about Markai. Would he? No, no, I
was sure he would not do that to me. He would not betray my confidence.
    I tried to convince myself that
I was being foolish. I was misinterpreting a half-heard conversation, which
made me feel a bit guilty for eavesdropping. Putting all thought on it away, I
hurried home and removed the package from my chest. Carefully, I untied the
strings and removed the silk. It revealed a small dark wooden box.   Suddenly curiosity burnt any stray thoughts
about Jamber’s odd conversation away.  
    The box had symbols engraved on
it. I found myself trying to puzzle out what they meant for it was clear it was
some sort of script.   One looked like a
gnarled tree with thorns instead of leaves, another looked almost human, but with
too large