Free The Eventide Child by C.A Hines Page A

You’ve a call to higher purpose.
    She hardened herself against those emotions, forcing the thoughts from her mind. As they walked through the streets of Alexandria, bustling with life, Alexandra was drawn in with every sense to the displays around her. Foreign sounds and smells caught her attention while merchants with wares more exotic than anything she had seen in Greece caught her eyes. Cass had to constantly remind her to keep up as she became distracted. Titus continued to make her laugh and giggle with his stories and bizarre antics intended to draw a smile from her. He knew she was struggling with the recent events and she appreciated his attempts to distract her. As they neared the market, the magicians caught her attention. It was a sense of wonderment for Alexandra whom had never seen so many people before, let alone so many different people. Magicians plied their trade craft in the streets. Snake charmers willed cobras from baskets. Merchants tried to sell their wares, and priests cried about an oncoming darkness that would engulf the whole of creation. The clamoring of the priests had given her small pause, their words reminding her of the Abbot make in Arkadia who had often warned against a coming darkness.
    Their journey brought them deep into the city until they finally came to a stop outside a villa. It was humble and modest in design, no bigger nor smaller than the homes which surrounded it. Cass rapped against the door and a slide opened at eye level.
    “What is it?” A voice spat.
    “I was looking to buy some violets,” Cass said.
    “How many?”
    “Two and one specially wrapped.”
    There was silence and Alexandra watched with interest as the wooden slide slammed shut. A series of clicking sounded and the door opened to reveal a man. He was old in age, eyes sunken and his face gaunt. He stretched out his hand, beckoning them to hurry inside. She didn’t waste any time, chasing right behind Cass as they poured in.
    “This her?” the man abruptly asked, a bony finger jabbing Alexandra square in the forehead.
    “In the flesh. Could ya maybe not prod her, Samar?” Cass replied with a hint of annoyance, a hand promptly pushing the stranger away.
    The one Cass called Samar was an interesting sight to behold. He stood easily a foot taller than the rest of the group, his skin a shade darker than her own and several shades darker than Cass’. A wide smile crossed his mouth as he stepped back and offered a gracious bow.
    “Samar is at your service!” he announced with a cheerful voice. Alexandra was unable to help her surprise at the sudden expression of loyalty.
    “Alexandra, this is Samar. He has been one of our most valuable agents in the Nile since their separation from the Empire. Ya can’t do much in this town without Samar knowin’ it, and his loyalty is unflinching.” Cass nodded.
    “Yes! My clan is ever loyal to the Eternal Throne, ever since our cousin, Emperor Septimius sat upon it. We swore to serve his descendants faithfully,” Samar explained, grinning ear to ear.
    “So ... that makes us family, then?” Alexandra asked, suddenly finding herself uncertain. Samar, however, kept on grinning as he slowly nodded.
    “Indeed!” He embraced Alexandra as if they had known each other all their lives.
    The loyalty of family can be a treacherous thing. Be wary. Do not forget that it was his own brother that deposed Septimius Tertius.
    Forget it? She’d never known it to begin with. The voice, however, had not given Alexandra a reason to doubt it. It had promised to save her, and it had done so. Perhaps she was being naïve to so fully trust a voice inside her mind. She knew not from where it came or if it was even real. Was it just her own mind playing tricks on her? She could not be certain. Everyone else had lied to her. But not the voice. Never the voice. The voice had remained ever faithful and ever present, she just merely had to let it in. Perhaps she had truly lost her