Read Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One for Free Online

I tentatively reached over
to her and put my hand on her shoulder. It was the most astonishing feeling; my
whole body felt on fire, but at the same time, as though I had ice-cold water
running under my skin. Markai had her eyes shut and she was purring softly.
    It was the first sound I had
ever heard her make and I could not help but smile. We sat like that for a
while. It was as if we were getting to know each other for the first time. I
opened my eyes and was surprised to see how high the sun was already sitting in
the sky. I relaxed out of Navitas and watched with fascination, and some
regret, how Markai seemed to turn to mist and blow away on the gentle breeze.
    I saddled my horse and gathered
up the last of my things. I set off with no destination in mind, but it felt
right to be on the move. When I focused my Navitas again, it somehow felt
different now. At first, it had been like a new cloak made of rich wool. It
felt nice to wear because it was new and soft and fresh. Now achieving and
maintaining my Navitas was as comfortable as wearing seasoned boots; they fit
perfectly, like a second skin. It was starting to feel more natural giving
myself over to my Navitas than being without it.
    Markai trotted along beside my
horse. The mare shied away from her, eyes big and darting from side to side as
if trying to find the source of her agitation. I was sure it was only the
horse’s training that kept her from bolting. That was intriguing. No other
human, as far as I had been able to tell, could see or sense Markai and yet my
horse was obviously acutely aware of her presence. Something had made Balder
skittish, yet it did not seem like the horse could see her, so perhaps she
could smell her.
    Clouds were gathering above my
head so I decided to start looking for shelter. I found a cliff with a huge
rock overhang and decided to stop for the day. I settled Balder and went out to
hunt for dinner.
    It was not long before I spotted
small tracks in the dirt. I was pretty sure it was forest rat and followed it.
I spied the huge rat long before it spotted me. I moved upwind from it and
stalked closer. Markai was also moving in on it. I realised that I must have
focused my Navitas unintentionally.
    Markai launched into a run. The
forest rat’s head jerked up and it gave a startled screech as she hit it with a
powerful front paw. The rat flew twenty feet through the air before hitting a
tree. I was so stunned I stopped in place. I gaped at Markai who was padding
over to the dead rat. I walked over too and examined its body.
    The Jurpa had shown no sign of
Markai’s claws or teeth. I was sure that it had been my arrow alone that had
killed the Jurpa. This rat had wide ragged claw marks running all the way down the
side of its body. I hadn’t been sure whether Markai could affect the world
around her. After all, I had never even seen her so much as leave a paw print
on the ground. But this rat… I hadn’t touched it in any way. This was purely
her kill. Apparently, there were things I did not yet know or understand about
her.
    I walked back to camp and
started building up a fire to roast the huge rat. By the time I had skinned and
gutted it, the last of the sun was disappearing over the horizon. The rain had
arrived and I was grateful for my dry shelter.
    Soon the roasting meat was
making my mouth water. I seasoned it with a little of my precious salt supply.
Following a long day with hardly any food, it tasted incredible. After eating
my fill, I spread my bedroll, but just as I was settling in, I remembered the
Cha’s instructions about his tea. Reluctantly, I fetched myself a cup of it and
holding my nose, I swallowed the whole of it down in three gulps. A shiver ran
down my back and I had to fight to keep it down. It tasted even worse than the
previous night if such a thing was possible. The Cha had not given me any
further instruction so I lay down on my bedroll and listened to the rain,
waiting for something to happen.
    I heard