A Friend Indeed
CHAPTER 3
Amo lay across his bed and sulked over his father’s decision to go
to the Hall of Letters alone. “Why does father not encourage
my desire to study the prophecy? Am I, too, not a son of Caasi?”
He sat up and kicked a pillow that had fallen on the floor. “Perhaps
if I were as brawny as Sier!” He tossed the pillow in the air several
times, punching it as it landed on the bed. “Come what may, I must
discover who I am, not perish in Sier’s shadow.”
Startled by an urgent knocking at the window behind him, Amo
caught sight of a darkened silhouette against the light blue of the
curtains. Recognizing the outline, he trudged over to the window
and peered out. He smiled. His friend Rachel continued her rapidfire
tapping on the glass.
Amo opened the window, and Rachel hoisted her petite frame
up and into his room in one swift, smooth motion. The two had
climbed in and out of one another’s windows almost since learning
to walk. They’d been best friends for about as long.
Rachel strode across the room, and with a casual flick of her
brown ponytail, plopped into her favorite chair. She placed a finger
across her lips and tilted her head to one side.
“Still trying to look cerebral, huh?” Amo smiled.
Rachel flashed him a condescending smirk. “My aim is to give
Sons of Caasi: Battle for Time
my face some character,” she said. “I want people to perceive me as
the intellectual that I am.” She tried to appear scholarly, but instead
dissolved into giggles.
Rachel’s laughter was one of Amo’s favorite things about his
friend. He thought the tinkling sound of it was magical. He’d
always found her a bit quirky, but her natural smile and quick wit
made them kindred spirits. Amo was a trickster, and Rachel was a
fan of his most clever pranks.
As far back as he could remember, Rachel had drawn attention
with her oddball clothes and confident attitude. She didn’t quite fit
the same mold as other girls he knew. Rachel never cared as much
as they did about fashionable clothing and silly infatuations. Lately,
though, she’d begun to turn heads in a different way. The sound of
her voice brought him out of his reverie.
“So, what are you doing?” Rachel demanded with her usual
bluntness. She thumbed absently through a book from a small table
near the chair where she’d landed.
“Nothing. Just thinking about things.” Amo noticed the volume
of Spatian history perched precariously on her knees. His thoughts
returned to the prophecies and his father.
“Must be sad things. You look sort of glum,” Rachel said. “Come
on, you can tell me.” She studied his face.
Amo had always confided in Rachel. He’d told her countless
times how much he hated hunting but wished he loved it the
way his father and brother did. He’d even begun to share his
disappointment over Caasi’s reluctance to search the prophecies
with him. For the first time, though, he wasn’t sure how much of
his growing misgivings to reveal.
“Let me guess, it’s your father,” she said. She plucked the book
from her knees and dropped it on the table with a thud.
“Yes, it’s my father,” Amo said. He hesitated, then rushed
A Friend Indeed
headlong into disclosing his feelings to his closest friend.
“He does not consider me in light of the prophecies,” Amo said.
“The FINISHER created me as well as my brother. Isn’t my stock as
valuable as Sier’s?”
He dove into the pile of pillows on his bed. “I wanted to go to
the Hall of Letters with him,” he said, recalling the conversation
at the table with his mother. “Then all of a sudden, he had to go
directly there from his duties.” Amo sniffed, wrinkling his nose in
contempt.
“Well, instead of getting angry, why don’t you just go there
yourself ?”Rachel asked.
She seemed to be angling for an adventure, but Amo doubted
sneaking into the Hall of Letters was such a good idea. Yet, his
father’s attitude infuriated him. He resolved to prove himself
worthy to be The Kronos, even if Sier was the chosen one.
“You can get back before your father ever gets home. He won’t
even realize you’ve been gone.” Rachel encouraged him, her eyes
full of mischief. She’d covered half the room before turning to see
if Amo followed.
“Hmm, that may not be a bad idea,” Amo said. He didn’t take
long deliberating. He jumped up and joined Rachel halfway across
the room.
“Let’s do it!” Amo said. “My mother will be resting until my
father returns. We’ll leave through the window.”
