The Forest at the Edge of the World(129)
“What are you doing here?!” He looked his visitor up and down with a critical eye.
“Nice to see you too, Sonoforen,” Dormin whispered as he ducked into the room.
“Hey, I didn’t invite you in.”
“Shh. And don’t worry, I’m not looking for a place to sleep in Idumea. I just wanted to talk to you. Some place private?”
Heth sighed and gestured to his bed. “My roommates could sleep through a wrestling match. I know that for a fact,” he sniggered quietly.
His brother sat on the edge of the bed without commenting.
Heth sat a few feet away from him. “So what do you want?”
“To know what you’re doing,” Dormin said. “I’ve been looking for you for weeks.”
“And that brought you all the way to Idumea? I thought you were afraid to be seen.” In the dim light he eyed his younger brother’s dark concealing and ill-fitting clothes, untrimmed blonde hair that was covered by a sloppy hat, and scruffy boots. “You look like a rubbish remover.”
“That’s because I am. And yes, I am worried about being recognized. I move only at night. Twice I’ve been stopped by soldiers wondering what I was up to.”
“Hope you gave them an interesting story to think about during their long night shifts,” Heth leered.
Dormin sighed. “You always were so simple-minded. I don’t know why I bother.”
“I don’t either. So leave.”
Dormin folded his hands. “I promised someone I would at least try. Sonoforen—”
“It’s Heth, now.”
His brother rolled his eyes. “Call yourself whatever you want, it doesn’t change who you are unless you change yourself.”
“And you never made any sense,” Heth rolled his eyes back. “Look, I’ve got early classes—”
“Yes, exactly how are you paying for all of this?”
“How did you even know I was here?”
“There was a message delivered to our aunt’s house from Chairman Mal, of all people, asking how I was doing. He said you were in Command School! I don’t get it—how are you paying for this?”
“Gold,” Heth said easily.
“Whose?”
“Mine. Never told you this, but I had a stash, as the Little King. Great Grandmother set it aside for me, in case I should ever need it. After mother died, I decided I needed it. Apparently Great Grandmother didn’t leave any gold for you.”
Dormin sighed. “Figures. Where was it hiding?”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
“So there’s more?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know!”
“Not really. I don’t need it. I’m just glad to hear that . . .” Dormin paused to find the right words, “you’re doing something useful with your life, finding a way to be productive, to return to the civilization that has given you so much.”
His brother scoffed. “Doormat, you sound like an old man, you know that?”
“Maybe it’s because I’ve been spending a lot of time with an old man.”
Heth sneered. “Really? Why? Can’t get any girls to talk to you.”
Dormin took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. “Knew this was going to be useless—”
“Yep,” Heth nodded. “No girls.”
Dormin clenched his fists. “Sonof—Heth, why are you here?”
“Why not?”
“I mean, what possessed you to join the army? I thought you hated Mal. And Shin was the one who had our father executed!”
“Nothing better to do,” Heth said dismissively. “Exactly why are you here?”
Dormin took a deep breath. “Last time we spoke I told you that I was going to read The Writings. Well, I did. I know why Great Grandmother hated it so much. She was the very embodiment of evil The Writings warn against.”
Heth chuckled. “Yeah, she was a piece of work, wasn’t she? They discussed her in one of my classes. I really didn’t know how tough an old bird she was. Took all my self control to not puff up in pride.”
“She’s not something to admire, Sonof—Heth.” He sighed again. “My point is, there’s a better way to live. There’s so much in The Writings about how the Creator—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—I know what this is. You’re trying to get me to read The Writings, aren’t you?!”
Dormin shrugged. “It’s just that I’ve gained so much—”
“Oh, please,” Heth snickered. “Don’t start, just don’t start any of that nonsense. You know what believing in The Writings does? It makes you blind! You don’t think for yourself—”