Page 105 of Beasts of Briar
“What now?”I signed.
Kairoth rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know where Khalasa is. I don’t want to act rashly, but I’m afraid of what she can do when she’s at her full power.” He hesitated. “When I went away the past two times, it’s because I’ve been looking for someone.”
This was news. Kairoth hadn’t shared the details of what he’d been searching for, but I trusted that he’d tell me when he was ready to.
“Who have you been searching for?”
“I’ve been looking for him for years.” Kairoth strode over to his dresser, opening a drawer and pulling something out.
When he turned around, I could see that he was clutching a small leather-bound journal. He held it up. “This is his diary. He sent it to me over fifty years ago. It answered many questions I had about what happened after we’d been trapped.”
He held out the diary to me, and I took it. “This will tell you everything you need to know.”
“Who wrote this?”
Kairoth sighed. “The person who trapped us.”
Goosebumps skittered across my arms.
“The diary explains everything much better than I could,” Kairoth said. “I was so far removed from a lot of what happened. But he was in it. He knew the dangers of the gods, he suffered from their wrath. He was also my friend.”
I opened the diary to the first page, squinting at the loops and swirls of the language. It was written in the language of the Old World: Othala.
“I know you probably can’t read this, but I do have translations. The pixies have translated this in case something ever happened to me. So the world might know the truth about everything.”
I lifted a single hand.“I can read this. My father taught me.”I studied the words on the page, the years. This was written thousands of years ago. An ancient piece of history. It was surreal holding it in my hands. I frowned at the loops and swirls.
“What’s wrong?” Kairoth stepped closer, looking at the journal over my shoulder.
Again, I used one hand to sign:“This handwriting. It looks so familiar.”
“Hm,” Kairoth said. “That’s odd... unless... well, maybe you came across him in the Wilds?”
I reeled back. That made no sense.“How would that be?”
Kairoth’s gaze darkened. “He was immortal. Made immortal by Khalasa against his will.”
A shudder ran through me. How awful to be forced into immortality. I didn’t even realized the gods had that kind of power. I was discovering new things about them daily at this point.
“So he lived in the star court?”I asked, gazing roaming over the first page.
“I don’t know.” Kairoth shrugged. “Like I said, it took me a long, long time to finally find him. My shadows have been searching for him for years, even though I assumed he was dead by this point. I hoped he might be able to help me. He trapped us once, so maybe he could figure out what to do with the gods now. What to do in case they escaped like I did. What to do about Khalasa.”
“So did you find him?”
Kairoth opened his mouth, about to answer, when yells and screams broke out on the other side of the door.
“Sir, you cannot go in there!” Wesley’s voice rang out, followed by a strangled sound.
“Fuck.” Kairoth shoved a hand through his hair. “This wasn’t how I wanted you two to meet. I have to warn you, he’s not in his right mind. He’s skittish. Not the man I knew thousands of years ago.”
My heart sank. So he likely wouldn’t be able to help Kairoth. I didn’t even know this man, hadn’t read his journal yet, but I already felt sick over what happened to him. He’d lived for so very long, the only immortal in the world left after the gods had been trapped. He must’ve felt so lonely, so scared.
“Sir!” Wesley yelled. “You need to calm down!”
“Where am I?” the voice cried, and I stiffened.
“It’s okay.” Kairoth put a hand on my arm. “He won’t hurt you.”
