A Taste of Catholic Fiction Part 9

A preview from the book The Arrow Bringer

Chapter 3, part 3 The Wrong Choice

I hug my arms against myself despite expecting this answer, something tickling at the back of my mind. I vaguely recall being furious with my birth parents, but I can’t remember why.

Katalin now waves to a beige-skinned, brunette man outside the garden, also dressed in silky clothes and wearing a crown. He smiles back at her with his blue eyes, revealing his dimples as he holds out a white rose-like flower for her. “I brought you an Amuree.”

Katalin greets the man with a kiss. “Is that…” I glance towards the Arrow Bringer. When he nods, my stomach flip flops—I’m seeing both my birth parents. I’m immediately seized with a strong desire to speak with them.

“Thank you, Baeddan. It’s beautiful.” She inhales its honeyed scent. “I’ve just come from the temple. I was giving thanks to the Arrow Bringer.”

Baeddan’s smile instantly vanishes. “Again? What has he ever done for us?”

“Baeddan!” Katalin glances around and then lowers her voice. “Shush! What if someone hears you talking like this?”

“What of it, Katalin?” He waves off her concerns. “What have I to show for my faith? You have grown more ill. We have served the Arrow Bringer all these years. And yet he did not grant our one request. Either the Arrow Bringer never existed, or he is dead.”

Baeddan storms out of the garden in a huff. Katalin drops the Amuree as she tears after him, both of them arguing as they disappear into the night. I sink onto the bench. Now that my birth parents are gone, the reality of what’s happening overwhelms me. A hundred questions swirl in my mind, but I’m not ready to know the answers.

“Do Mom and Dad know?”

“Your parents once loved Aletheia well. But no longer.”

I jerk my head up.

“Why wouldn’t they tell me…” The Arrow Bringer is staring off into the distance, his brow furrowed. His expression banishes any betrayal I might have felt. Whatever the Arrow Bringer sees matters far more. “You didn’t bring me here just to tell me where I come from.”

He shakes his head. “I did not.”

“Then why? Why are you telling me this?”

He turns to me. “Aletheia is going to suffer. I’ve come to ask for your help to save it.”

(This book is available 3-19-19 for .99 on Kindle)