by Lori Holmes
None of it mattered. Not his demon disguise, not her pain or his attack. Nothing. Motionless, she drank in the sight of him. Nyri could not describe the emotion she was feeling; it was too great to be comprehended.
What should she say? She opened her mouth several times but in the end, all she could whisper his name. “Juaan. My Juaan.” For it was him. Alive. He had come back to her. After all this time, he had come back.
Joy filled her heart, glowing like girru moss until the light of it spread to every fibre of her being and could no longer be contained; she would surely burst. Nyri started forward, the child within rising from the forgotten regions of her soul, fully intent on throwing herself into his arms, alone no longer.
The raising of the bone blade he held in his fist stopped her short and punctured the moment. Wide-eyed and confused, she rocked back. “Juaan. It’s me. It’s Nyri.”
The blade did not waver. He did not relax his tense posture. He stared at her and she stared back. She stared right into familiar eyes housing the soul of a perfect stranger.
“My name is Khalvir.” He spoke and his voice was not that of the boy that had haunted her through all the passing of the seasons. It was the deep and discomfortingly unfamiliar voice of a man. “I do not know you and if you try to come near me again, I will kill you.”
Nyri recoiled. The sight of the blade raised against her cut at her heart. “Juaan. It’s Nyriaana,” she repeated. “Don’t you know me?”
For the briefest moment, the hatred in his gaze clouded with confusion, pain and… fear. She took a step towards him, reaching out with a trembling hand; he had to know her. The knife held steady against her approach but he tried to shift to the side to put more distance between them.
“Keep away, she-elf,” he threatened.
He transfered his weight onto his broken leg. Nyri winced as she heard the bones shift. He did not make a sound but she saw the blood drain from his face. He collapsed to the floor with a hiss. The ground rushed up to punch his broken ribs and then he did cry out. He fought hard to rise again, struggling to keep Nyri in his sights but his depleted body betrayed him. His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed in a motionless heap.
Nyri rushed forward without a thought. “Juaan! Juaan?”
No answer; he had lost consciousness again. Timidly, Nyri touched his dark brow. She studied his face, trying to see past the strange hair covering the lower half. She stroked at it carefully with trembling fingers, weeping over every dearly familiar feature, morphed and hardened by time but still, every bit of him, her Juaan.
She was overcome; unable to hold back any longer, Nyri threw herself on his chest and cried long tears. It felt as if every shred of pain she had experienced since he had been taken from her, every moment she had missed him, was pouring from her soul in this dreadful, blessed Pit.
Questions flew through her mind. How could he not know her? The hostility in his eyes had been almost more than she could bear. Juaan had never looked at her in such a way.
Khalvir, he had called himself. Nyri dragged her fingers through the hideous fur coverings on Juaan’s chest, wet now with her tears. He did remember her, she told herself. He had spoken her name in the depths of unconsciousness; the memories were there, somewhere. He was just weak and bewildered right now, drunk with pain. Once he was healed and in his right mind, he would know her.
At least now she knew why he appeared so normal with no trace of evil spirit; this was no Wove. He had simply been disguised to survive among the enemy until he could return.
She sniffed, scrubbing her eyes as she sat up. She was unable to take her gaze from his face. By and by, Nyri began to see past her glowing wonder and saw the signs of severe deprivation. Cringing at the thought of how long she had left him here while she wrestled with her inner demons, Nyri vowed to do all that she could for him now.
His lips were cracked from lack of water; his cheeks beneath the hair were sunken from lack of food. Then there were the injuries. Nyri drew a breath. Even with Ninkuraaja skills, broken bones could take a while to heal fully. Baarias had taught her how but Nyri had to admit, she had had little practice at it.
She wasn’t sure if she trusted herself but she didn’t have much choice. She could not involve Baarias in this. He might be the only one who would not come down here with a pack of wolves set to kill, but she could not guarantee his reaction if he believed she was putting herself in danger. Daajir certainly could never ever find out. Juaan’s true identity would not protect him from Daajir. Daajir had hated Juaan even as a child.
Nyri refused to let the reason for that hatred register, though the evidence lay clearly before her. Forbidden…. She banished the thought down deep.
Seating herself as comfortably as she could beside Juaan’s head, Nyri placed her hands on his temples. Her mind and body were still buzzing with a mix of fear and excitement but years of training made it easy for her to quiet it all and focus her energy on what was needed. He was alien and familiar all at once.
The flow of energy was sluggish; unused to being directed or used. Buried. Merging her life force with and directing a fellow Ninkuraa’s energy was like breathing air; this felt like wading through mud. The energy did not flow smoothly under her direction.
As a child, Juaan had struggled to harness Ninmah’s Gift, the vital connection in the mind given to all Ninkuraaja, he had always seemed so… frightened of it. Now it lay entirely dormant and forgotten. Sweat beaded on Nyri’s brow from the extra effort. She increased the blood flow to the affected areas, threw energy at the broken bones, encouraging them to knit and merge together once more.
Ninmah was high in the sky when Nyri finally withdrew, the golden light filtered through the trees to dance over them both. She had done as much as she could. Now she needed some materials. She climbed back out of the Pit and collected some of the tough leaves growing close by along with a couple of slim, flexible stems before carrying her finds back into the Pit. With them, Nyri bound the broken leg; they would give the limb extra support until it had healed completely.
As she tied the last stem tightly in place, she spotted an an object on the ground. It was the knife; lying where Juaan had dropped it when he collapsed. For a moment, Nyri dared not touch the object. It was a Wove weapon, most likely soaked with all sorts of terrible magic and unknown power; a killer. It appeared to be made from the tooth of a grishnaa cat and was carved with mysterious markings.
Nyri hated it. It had to go. Screwing up her courage, she took it between a thumb and forefinger, careful not to waken its power, and then hurled it as far and as fast away from her as she could. It flew up out of the Pit and thudded into the undergrowth somewhere out of sight.
Relieved by its absence, she went back to watching the man lying beside her. A part of her was still trying to convince itself that this was not an illusion. Her fingers kept stretching out to touch him, a hand, his brow. Real. So very real. And so very hard to accept, even now. She did not know how this was possible.
Ninmah passed higher overhead and an awareness for the rest of the outside world came stealing upon her. She had to leave. The very thought of it caused her pain but if she did not return to her tribe soon, they would come looking for her. She could not let them find Juaan. She had to leave for his sake if nothing else; they would kill him.
Kyaati needed her, too. She leaned down and spoke quietly to his ear. “I’ll come back soon. I’ll bring food and water.” She had to make sure he survived. Nyri would not lose him again.
With that promise fixed firmly in mind, she tore herself from his side and moved back to the Pit wall. She took hold of her root-rope and scrambled back to the surface. Batai was still waiting at the edge.
“Keep him safe for me,” Nyri spoke to him in a low tone as she coiled the rope. She placed it next to the Pit, allowing herself a last lingering look over the edge and the figure sleeping there. She took care to re-cover the hole before she walked back into the forest.
She did not run; she had done enough running these past days. Maybe this was all a vivid, cruel dream that she would have to wake from at any moment but she did not care. She wanted to live in the dream for as long as she was able. Only one thought was allowed to exist and it shone so bright it burned away all else.
Juaan had come back to her.
16
Recovery
“Nyriaana!” The cry cut through the silence of the tree.
Baarias leaped to his feet, heart hammering in his chest as he was roused from his sleep. He blinked, trying to clear his mind. He knew that voice. “Kyaati?”
It couldn’t be.
“Nyriaana!” The cry sounded again. “No! Don’t go!”
“Kyaati!” Baarias dashed from his personal chamber into the part of the tree where Kyaati had lain in her death sleep. His stride faltered at the sight of her sitting up in her bower, her face alive and beautifully animated as her eyes darted around the chamber. Distress radiated from her in waves.
“Kyaati! Shhh!” Baarias recovered himself and rushed to her side, he needed to keep her calm. “Nyri is safe. She came back. She came back. Relax, dear one. She has been here with you. She’s…” Where had Nyri gone? She had left in such a hurry she had not stopped to tell him what had been so urgent to her.
“No, no!” Kyaati refused to be calmed. “She is in danger. She said…” Kyaati’s eyes continued to rove around the chamber. “She said…”
“Shhh, shhh,” Baarias placed a hand upon her tense shoulder. “I will go and find her for you, just try to stay calm. She will be so relieved to know that you are awake. Stay here, Kyaati, rest. I will find Nyriaana and bring her to you.”
She resisted for a moment as he tried to lean her back into the leaves but she did not have the strength to fight and gave in. “Nyri… Wove.”
“She came back after the Woves, Kyaati. She is safe. I will find her, try to stay calm, young one.”
Baarias turned and left the chamber. Relief coursed through his veins. He had almost given up hope. He lifted his eyes towards Ninmah. Thank you… He didn’t think his heart could have taken another death. He knew things were far from over but he couldn’t let such concerns trouble him in this shining moment.
A presence brushed against his senses, getting closer and his heart leaped. He wouldn’t have to track Nyri after all.
His student entered his tree before him. She was distracted and did not noticed him waiting in the shadows. Her face was twitching, as though she was trying very hard to control her expression. Her emotions gave her away, however. She was elated about something. Overjoyed.
Baarias would learn the reason behind this elation later. Right now he had other news to add to her joy. Unable to resist, he darted forward and caught her in his arms, crushing her to him. He couldn’t help it. His own elation was too great.
“Oof!” She cried out. “Baarias! What’s the matter with you?”
“Nyri, she’s awake!” he breathed. “She’s awake!”
Nyri blinked then gripped his forearms as his words took meaning. He felt her heart soar. “When? How? What did you do?”
“Nothing. She woke just moments ago. She seemed most agitated as to your whereabouts. I struggled to keep her down.” His smile widened into a grin. He couldn’t remember smiling this much in a very long time. “I knew you were the key to bringing her back to us.”
To his surprise, Nyriaana’s face became somewhat fixed as he said this; a sharp crease formed between her brows, wrinkling the Mark of Ninmah. “Can I see her?” She asked quickly. “Please, Baarias.”
He laughed. “Yes.” Of course she would be anxious to see this miraculous recovery for herself. Then he noticed the dirty streaks upon her face. “What’s the matter? You’ve been crying.”
Her eyes widened at the observation and she hastily wiped at her cheeks. “I was just… worrying about Kyaati. I’d lost hope that she’d ever come back to us.” She kept her eyes down, avoiding his gaze as a flush crept into her cheeks.
Baarias patted her shoulder in sympathy. She should not be embarrassed about her tears. “Cry no longer, my dear Nyriaana. She has come back to us. Come, she has been asking for you. Just be mindful that she is still very weak.”
“Of course,” Nyri agreed. “I won’t tire her.”
Baarias could feel her tension mounting as he led her back to the chamber where Kyaati waited. He was anxious himself, afraid that Kyaati would have lapsed into her stupor again in the short time he had been away.
He needn’t have feared.
“Kyaati?” Nyriaana’s voice came upon a sigh of air as her friend’s face turned towards them upon their entrance. “Kyaati!” His student rushed past him and threw her arms around the other girl. Smiling, Baarias leaned against the wall of the tree. He ought to leave them to have their reunion in private but there had been so much sorrow lately, he couldn’t help gravitating towards this joyous scene.
“Nyri,” Kyaati’s voice cracked. “You’re safe?” Her hands fluttered up and down Nyriaana’s back.
“Yes, I’m safe,” Nyri reassured her. “I’m here.”
“W-where did you go?” Kyaati asked. “I remember you talking. I could hear you b-but it was like a dream. You were telling me about a Wove in a Pit and… you were going to see it.” She pulled away and rubbed her forehead dazedly.
Nyri’s shoulders jerked. “You were dreaming, Kyaati.” Was her quick reply. “Why would I be going to see a Wove in a Pit? That would be suicide. Even I am not that reckless.” She gave a half grin, but Baarias could tell it was forced. “Daajir would never again let me leave my own tree.”
Baarias frowned. There was no doubt that what Kyaati was saying was ridiculous but something was wrong,. He made a note to ask Nyriaana the cause of her agitation later when they were away from Kyaati. She knew she could confide in him for anything.
“I-I don’t know.” Kyaati’s face clouded at Nyri’s words. “I don’t know where I’ve been.” She was exhausted.
Baarias stepped forward, he took Kyaati’s shoulders and laid her back down. “Rest now, dear one. All that matters is that you have returned to us. I shall go and fetch your father.”
Kyaati did not resist him this time; she laid down quietly, curling in on herself. Silent tears started to slip down her face. “I did not want to come back,” she murmured so low Baarias strained to hear her. “I did not feel pain wherever I was.”
Baarias felt his breath catch as the words punctured the joy he had been floating on. Here was the reality he had been trying to hold at bay for as long as possible. He heard Nyri’s breath hitch beside him. Her face was agonised as she stared down at her friend. Baarias sighed as he put a hand on her shoulder and guided her from the room. He, at least, had been expecting this.
Give her a few moments, he thought.
Nyriaana gripped his hand, clutching at his presence. The lightness he had felt in her heart had drained away. She was now coming to terms with the terrible challenge that lay ahead of them.
“Will you be all right here while I go and find Pelaan?”
Nyri nodded, straightening her shoulders as she accepted the burden. His pride swelled.
Pelaan was not hard to find, he was on the farthest side of the grove tending to the plants around the roots of his home. He had evidently not felt the change in his daughter’s condition; he was not even paying attention enough to feel Baarias’ approach. His every movement was heavy with defeat. He had given up hope.
Baarias cleared his throat. The surprise on the Elder’s face as he looked up turned quickly into a scowl. “Baarias,” he said stiffly. Baarias knew he had not yet been forgiven for his outburst at the auscult. Worse still, Pelaan still blamed him for his inability to revive Kyaati’s baby. The Elder’s animosity twisted like thorns inside Baarias’ chest. Didn’t Pelaan realise that he would have done anything to save that infant if it had been within his power?
“Kyaati has awoken,” he murmured, tonelessly. “I have
come to take you too her.”
The Elder’s brows rose into his silver hairline as his pale eyes widened. Without waiting for another word, he dodged past Baarias and ran towards the healer’s tree. Baarias could do nothing but follow in his wake.
He caught the Elder outside of Kyaati’s chamber. Pelaan was frozen, staring at his daughter in disbelief.
“Nyri?” Baarias heard Kyaati’s voice call softly.
He watched from behind Pelaan as Nyriaana moved to her side. “Yes?”
“Where is my baby? Why isn’t she here with me?”
Shock rippled through Baarias’ chest as he heard the words. Surely Kyaati remembered what had happened on that terrible night?
“Kyaati, don’t you…?” But the rest of Nyri’s words were cut off as Pelaan recovered from his amazement and rushed into the chamber. Nyri made room for him beside the bower and came back to Baarias’ side. They both retreated to leave father and daughter alone. Baarias felt a twinge of unease as he did so. He knew what Pelaan would be thinking now and he hoped the Elder would have the tact to keep it to himself.
“Baarias… please tell me she’s going to be alright.” Nyri’s voice broke into his thoughts as soon as they were out of earshot.
Baarias pressed his lips together. “It’s not going to be easy. It will take her a long time to recover and it may be that she won’t want to.”
“Is this an ‘I told you so’?”
“I always do my best to avoid those,” he shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong, Nyriaana, I am unbelievably happy to have Kyaati back but that is because my own selfish desires have been fulfilled. I did warn you that it might be kinder to just let her go. Pelaan will want to make another match for her, mark my words. I ask you, if you could choose between release and living only to face more death, what would you decide?”