Chapter #5A Braja Burnt and a Braja Born by: CJ Reddick   “This, my friend, is the most important run of your life.”
I approached Lord Anaximander where he lounged on his couch.
“I take it we caught your father’s assassin?” I asked, nodding at the bloody stain on the floor.
“Perhaps, although I suspect something far deeper in the works.”
“A ring of assassins, then?”
“Not just a ring,” Anaximander stated, withdrawing a pendant. I leaned in for a closer look.
“I don’t recognize the symbol, my lord.”
“Nor would you, it is beyond your time.”
“You are not that much older than me, my lord.”
“Old enough…” he said, looking into an imaginary distance.
“What is it?”
“Have you ever heard of Lilyana Baroo?”
I drew back. “The witch?”
“A braja, actually. The last of her kind. You know, our people used to worship brajas, back in the day.”
“In the dark ages?”
“Yes, the dark ages. Brajas were slightly more than human, slightly less than angel. We feared their powers, and submitted to them. But brajas, by nature, are darker than pure humans.”
“Which is why they must be destroyed with fire or purified water. Any weapon not of pure light would not work.”
“Yes, and so when they became too oppressive, we turned on them, and hunted them down. Lilyana hid well for many years, but my stepfather ferreted her out.”
“I do not understand why this is pertinent.”
“Because, at the stake, Lilyana was defiant. She boasted. I was but a boy of five, but I remember. She calmly insisted that she had established a new organization of followers, a group of skilled assassins. And that she had entrusted something very important to these followers.”
“What would that be?”
“A daughter.”
I took a step back. “So, another braja lives?”
Lord Anaximander stood up and walked over to his bookshelf. “At the time, everyone believed this was the last desperate plea of a mad braja. But, I have seen this symbol before.” He picked a book of the shelf and opened it. He turned the painting towards me, and I squinted.
It was a burning. A witch burning. The burning of Lilyana Baroo. And around her neck, though miniscule, I could make out the same talisman that now dangled from Lord Anaximander’s grasp.
“Oh no, it is true then.”
“Yes, Brer-Jak, it is true. We now must assume that she was telling the truth. Another braja lives among us.”
“What should we do?”
“This is where you come in. Deliver this talisman to Reesa Havensporth. Say this, and this exactly ‘Three days, regards from Lord Anaximander.’”
“Reesa Havensporth? What has she to do with this?”
“You know her then?”
“She and I were childhood friends.”
“Oh… really?” Lord Anaximander raised an eyebrow.
I nodded nervously. “Yes, sir.”
“Did you hear she recently gave birth?”
“No, my lord. I have not spoken to her in several years.”
“Ah. She is an unwed mother. Such a shame the poor child will never know it’s father.”
“Knowing Reesa, she’s not one to let that type of thing happen. I’m sure she’ll find a proper father for the child.”
“Perhaps,” Anaximander smiled.
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
“Which is?”
“What does Reesa have to do with this?”
“In our line of work, Brer-Jak, it’s not the best to ask questions. However, I will ask you one in parting. Perhaps it will answer your question.”
“My lord?”
“Did you ever meet Reesa’s parents?”
“No, my lord.”
Lord Anaximander smiled again. “Interesting. Well, off you go. Deliver this pendant to her as quick as you can.”
I nodded, reached up, and took the pendant. I excused myself, bowing quickly before I left. This whole assassin/braja business was way too deep for me to dive into. Although I felt as though I was being pulled in anyways. Perhaps just delivering this pendant to Reesa would safely cut me out of the situation.
A small voice told me that wasn’t true, but I hushed it and made my way through the village. Reesa’s cottage wasn’t that far from the palace. I desperately wanted to see her, and that baby.
“Gods above, please keep us from danger,” I muttered. I rounded the corner and approached Reesa’s cottage.
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