Daughters of Fire & Sea

by Holly Karlsson

  16

  Runa

  Runa was in a sour mood when they arrived at Heldon’s Rock. Her head had throbbed for the past hour, and every time she looked at Lyric, walking cozily with Kell, she was reminded of her sister’s words.

  I’m not acting impulsively, Runa thought stubbornly. You didn’t have to come, Lyric. You could have stayed and watched Mother yourself.

  Elenora’s stern presence coalesced in the back of Runa’s mind, spiking her headache. You did the right thing, girl. That man had murder in his eyes.

  Gritting her teeth, Runa stared down at the city and tried to shake off her irritation as Lyric stepped up beside her. Heldon’s Rock sat at the bottom of a basin as if it’d slid down the cliffs and caught at the water’s edge. She could see a large, sleek ship, with bright blue sails, sitting just outside the mouth of the harbor.

  “It’s preventing the fishing ships from leaving,” Lyric said, pointing towards the dock.

  Indeed, a large cluster of boats floated inside the marina. At this time of day with clear weather, the fishermen should have been out dragging their nets in the water.

  “It’s Sireni,” Kell said. “The ship.”

  “Is it safe to go down into the city?” Lyric asked.

  “We don’t have a choice,” Runa said, turning towards the road.

  They followed the well-worn track as it zigzagged down the slope. Approaching the city’s gates, they found them open with two uniformed guards watching the road. More guards drifted across the walkway above, their attention directed at the sea and not Runa, Lyric, and Kell.

  One of the gate guards, a tall woman with blue eyes, gave them a disinterested look as she shifted her pike in the dirt and yawned, looking past them at the road. The second guard frowned then waved them over. He was short and shaped like a barrel with brown skin and a stubbled chin, a scar marking the cleft at its center. “Business?” he asked. His eyes narrowed on Lyric’s face.

  “We’re looking for a healer,” Runa said.

  The guard studied them again as if to ascertain who required one. “Where did you come from?” he asked.

  “Ivernn,” Lyric said. She shifted closer to Kell and smiled pleasantly, clearly unnerved by the man’s stare.

  “There’s a curfew at midnight,” the guard said. “Make sure you’re not out past then.”

  “Of course, thank you,” Runa said.

  The guard nodded, giving them a satisfied grunt, then waved them through.

  The gate led directly into the market, and Runa, Lyric, and Kell paused at its entrance, getting their bearings among the shops and canopied stalls that lined the main street.

  Runa felt an uneasy awareness in the air, a weightiness that pressed on everyone's shoulders and filled each eye that glanced her way with suspicion. Hearing the crisp crunch of something beneath her heel, she looked down and saw that bits of sea-tumbled stone and crushed shells covered the ground. Runa drew a deep breath into her lungs; the air smelled of baking sausages, fresh fish, crispy fry bread, and the salty smell of the ocean, weaving throughout.

  Someone pushed her, and Runa shot a pointed glare at a man striding past, but he didn't seem to notice.

  “It’s so large!” Lyric said, staring around with wide eyes.

  “Stop gawking,” Runa snapped. “You look like a hayseed.”

  Lyric stuck her tongue out, making a face. “It’s the largest town you’ve seen too, Ru,” she said. “Don’t be a snob.”

  Disapproval simmered through her, and Runa frowned as she felt her mood shift darker. It wasn’t her feeling, though, was it? Lyric wasn’t being that annoying. Runa focused, chasing the emotion, and felt Elenora shift in the back of her head.

  Elenora? Runa asked.

  Her ancestor didn’t respond, pulsing irritably before she drifted away like the airy seeds of a cat-head flower. Immediately Runa’s mind was lighter, calmer. Was Elenora intentionally influencing her emotions, or was it merely an unforeseen effect of their connection, similar to what she shared with her sister?

  “Runa?”

  Runa blinked, seeing Lyric’s face in front of her.

  “Are you well?” Lyric asked, raising an eyebrow. “You went away. Is Elenora here? Is she talking to you?”

  “Just thinking,” Runa said. They had more pressing issues than Elenora’s sour mood affecting her. “Where would the Dragon Blessed be, do you think?” Runa asked, looking around.

  “At their temple, I’d expect,” Kell said.

  Runa nodded and marched to one of the stalls. A dark-haired woman, a few years older than her, glanced up as she approached, smiling hopefully. She raised a polished wood comb in one hand and turned it, so the pearlescent shell inlaid in the handle caught the light. “A comb for you, Miss?” she asked.

  “No, thank you,” Runa said. “We’re looking for a Dragon Blessed temple.”

  The woman’s smile slipped, and she set the comb back down, eyeing Runa as the gate guard had. “Keep going until the fountain, then head right,” she said. “It’s several streets over. You can’t miss it.” Her eyes shifted to Lyric, and she began to lift the comb again, but before she could say another word, Runa hooked her arm through her sister’s and hauled her away.

  “I’m not a fisher-bird,” Lyric said, grinning at her. “I don’t become moon-eyed over every shiny thing I see.”

  “I’ve seen you at the tinker’s wagon,” Runa said.

  Lyric laughed and elbowed her playfully. “I’m glad you’re not still mad at me.”

  “I wasn’t mad,” Runa said. She scanned the faces in the crowd as they wove their way down the street, and kept an eye out for the fountain.

  “No?” Lyric asked.

  Runa felt her stare at the side of her face. “If there’s no Dragon Blessed here, we should find a wise woman or healer,” Runa said, thinking ahead. “Maybe Mistress Gertrude is wrong, and there is a way to heal Mother without a mage healer. She could have a treatable infection unique to this area.”

  “It doesn’t hurt to ask,” Lyric agreed. “It’s better for Mama if we’re not forced to go all the way to the capital.” Her mood darkened again, likely worrying about their mother alone in Ivernn.

  “There’s the fountain,” Kell said. Taller than either of them, he could see over the crowd.

  A moment later, Runa saw the fountain herself. It was a single basin with a dragon statue in the center. The dragon stretched towards the sky on clawed feet, its mouth open mid-roar. Water sprayed out between its teeth and cascaded back into the stone bowl beneath it.

  “Beautiful,” Lyric mused. “Look at the painted scales.”

  Turning right, they followed along another shell-lined street, the shops giving way to narrow houses of dark wood. In the alleys on either side, Runa saw lines of laundry.

  “Look, do you see those wings?” Kell asked, pointing ahead of them. “Maybe that’s the temple?”

  The street abruptly opened up, and they found themselves in front of a weather-beaten building, proud despite its aged appearance. “This is it,” Runa said with certainty. Built from wood that might have once been a warmer hue, the Dragon Blessed temple had turned the uneven gray shade that Runa was starting to recognize as typical of a sea-side structure subjected to salt-filled winds.

  The curved roof and iron spikes adorning the door made the temple look like there was a dragon perched atop it readying for flight. Unlike the other buildings in town, close together and sharing walls, the temple sat inside a large, clean yard bordered by a low barrier of black stone. A black sand path ran from the street to the front steps. The rest of the lot was pale sand and raked into zigzagging patterns.

  “This is it,” Runa said. They didn’t have temples or houses of worship back in Elae’s Hollow, just an outdoor shrine to the Trinity in the center of town, but there was always a tangible feeling in sacred places, as though the air had changed by years of whispered supplications and performed rites.

  Setting her jaw, Runa marched up
the blackened path to the front steps. She reached out and gripped the iron handle, yanking hard. The door opened noiselessly, the hinges oiled and well-cared for, and Runa stepped into a large, dimly-lit room. In the center of the floor was a large, metal basin, with a fire burning inside it. The flames were a fulgent red, and as Runa approached, she didn’t see any fuel to keep it going.

  Runa turned and eyed the walls covered with old and very intricate tapestries. She watched as one of the hangings fluttered gently, blown by an unseen breeze.

  “Dragons,” Lyric whispered, walking past Runa to stare at one of the hangings. “Look, there is Zeldayna, Mother of Creatures.” Lyric pointed at a tall woman woven from gold and silver threads at the top of the tapestry. The figure’s hands were outstretched, and her hair flowed around her body in soft silver like the shine of the moon. Beneath her feet were four dragons — Aery, ruler of air and sky in white; Fyre, the embodiment of fire in red; Rath, the avatar of earth in black; and Serith in blue, the sea serpent and ruler of water, Mother of the Sireni.

  “I’m surprised Serith is shown, considering the general opinion of her here,” Lyric said.

  Runa nodded absently, her eyes caught on the red dragon. Staring at Fyre’s red and gold form, she felt something kindle deep in her chest as if the fire within her recognized its origin.

  “Over here is a depiction of the Trinity,” Kell called from across the room. “Ethethera, Hel and Zeldayna are all shown creating our world, as well as the summoning of Aya, the Mother Tree.”

  Runa turned her head, following his voice.

  “And there, the birth of the Seven, the demigods,” Kell said.

  Runa knew their names — Orion, Hebaria, Temien, Florion, Aren, Valen, and Velaine, though they weren’t often mentioned in Elae’s Hollow. The demigods had abandoned Erith after the Demon War, disappearing to wherever gods go when they’ve become bored with their creations. Their desertion hadn’t endeared them to many Kalizans.

  Even the dragons, who’d stayed for hundreds of years serving and settling disputes between the kingdoms after the demigods left, were hardly mentioned by the magic-fearing people of Runa’s home. It was odd seeing them here venerated and displayed for all to see.

  “They’re beautiful,” Lyric said, brushing the tips of her fingers against the fabric. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Lyric walked along the wall and stared up at another tapestry, this one depicting the Demon War where demigods and dragons fought side by side against the fallen god, Velaine.

  Runa eyed Velaine’s black shape with curiosity. The weaver had surrounded the demigod with a multitude of twisting green shapes, as though she stood inside a poisoned cloud. Its color reminded Runa of the algae poisoning the land and water along the Tainted Shore.

  Opposite Velaine and her demon horde, in the bottom corner of the tapestry, Serith was depicted fleeing from battle. Small human-shaped shadows, dressed in white, clung to the sea serpent’s back and ran behind her.

  “I don’t think they’d know what to do with this back home,” Runa said. “Hang it in the inn?”

  Lyric chuckled.

  “Have you come for Brother Ende?” someone asked.

  Jumping, Runa spun around, her hand rising and the word for fire buzzing on the tip of her tongue.

  A teenage boy stood in the doorway, holding a broom and wearing an easygoing smile.

  “We’re looking for a Dragon Blessed,” Lyric said, stepping up beside Runa.

  Runa dropped her hand, irritated with herself that she’d been surprised.

  “Yes, that’d be Brother Ende,” the boy said, walking towards them. His eyes were curious as he looked them over, and he spent extra time staring at Lyric. “He’s gone to the Feast of Souls. Won’t be back until the end of the week, if not later.”

  “Who are you?” Runa asked, raising an eyebrow. The boy seemed too young to be a healer himself, but both Runa and Lyric had trained since childhood with Elaina. He could be an apprentice.

  “I’m Colden,” the boy said. “I keep the Dragon Fire burning.” He pointed a finger at the basin. “I’m to ensure it doesn’t go out.”

  “And if it does? Go out?” Lyric asked curiously.

  “Well, then I’d tell Brother Ende.”

  “Who isn’t here,” Lyric said.

  “Well, he usually is.” Colden chewed on his lip thoughtfully. “I suppose I’d have to send a Skyrunner or raven after him, though I’m not sure Brother Ende would approve the cost of a Runner.”

  “A what?” Runa asked.

  Colden looked at her, both eyebrows raising into his hair. “You don’t know what a Skyrunner is?”

  Kell, who’d moved up beside Runa when Colden arrived, leaned towards her left ear. “They’re magic-enhanced birds,” he whispered. “Faster and more biddable than ravens.”

  “Ravens don’t always like to do what you tell them to,” Colden said, grinning. “Too smart to be bossed around, I’d wager.” He cocked his head. “Where are you from that you don’t have a Skyrunner?”

  “Are there no other Dragon Blessed in the city?” Runa asked, ignoring the question.

  “Not that I’m aware of,” Colden said.

  “Might Brother Ende return earlier if we can reach him?”

  Colden eyed Runa and leaned on the broom. “I doubt it. I don’t think anything would draw a Blessed away from the Feast of Souls. It involves a rather demanding series of rituals, which typically take place behind closed doors at the Temple of Flame.”

  “Unless the fire went out?” Lyric asked. “Would he come back then?”

  “Well …” Colden looked at the fire burning in the basin. “That’s never actually happened so who can say?” He looked them over again. “What do you need a Blessed for anyway?”

  “Rather rude to ask, don’t you think?” Runa asked. She tried not to glower, but the boy was getting on her nerves.

  Colden grinned and tapped the side of his nose. “Ahhh, I understand. One of those problems.” He looked between Kell, Runa, and Lyric, and chuckled.

  “No,” Runa snapped. “Not one of those problems.”

  Kell coughed, and Runa avoided looking at him.

  “Mhm, well you’ll have to wait until Brother Ende gets back, or you could go to the capital and try to find someone there,” Colden said. “If you decide to do that though, I doubt you’ll have much luck until the Festival is over. Maybe a wise woman can help you?”

  “Where can we find her?” Lyric asked.

  “Probably at the Lady and Crab,” Colden said. “Down by the docks.”

  “Is that an inn?” Runa asked. It didn’t sound like a place she’d have thought to look for the town’s healer.

  Colden mimed drinking. “Mistress Evie likes her beer. By this time of day, she’s well into her cups. If she can’t help you, then maybe one of the city guard’s surgeons?”

  “We’ll try the inn,” Runa said. “Thank you.” She paused, remembering her oath. “Where can I offer devotions to the Trinity?” she asked. Despite being inside a temple, Runa didn’t see any candles or incense for offering prayers.

  “There are several shrines throughout town, but we have a supplication garden at the back of the temple,” Colden said. “Should I lead you there?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Runa said.

  Nodding, Colden gestured for them to follow. Walking to the back of the large room, he showed them a hidden hallway behind the wall. He led them through it to a door, covered by a curtain of black, wood beads, which exited to a small plot of land behind the temple.

  Black sand covered the ground, raked into spirals. In the center of the plot, three large black stone sculptures formed a triangle, with the point facing north. Their shapes were simple, but it was clear they'd been carved to represent the Three dragons, excluding Serith.

  Inside the triangle were three additional figures, carved from white stone and standing on plain blocks.

  Runa brushed past Colden and stepped into the center of the
sand. Standing where she was, she could see the white figures were depictions of the Trinity. The sculptor had given shape to their faces and bodies, but hadn't carved their features or added any detail beyond the beautiful curving flow of their dresses.

  Stepping up to one of the figures, Runa recognized her as Ethethera by a small etching of a tree at the base of her skirt. Several wooden bowls, filled with black sand and sticks of fragrant incense, surrounded the goddess’ feet.

  Lyric joined Runa on the sand, but Kell remained standing by the doorway.

  Colden, having disappeared inside the temple while Runa examined the sculptures, returned with a small hammered metal bowl holding a burning candle. The candle’s flame was the same vivid red as the Dragon Fire inside the temple.

  Picking up one of the unlit sticks, Runa whispered a prayer and lit the incense with the candle in Colden’s bowl. She waved it gently until smoke curled towards the sky in a thin, gray ribbon. Sticking the lit incense carefully in the black sand, Runa stepped back.

  Lyric repeated Runa’s movements, and for several breaths, the two of them quietly stood, heads bowed beneath the eyeless gaze of Ethethera.

  “Thank you, Colden,” Lyric said to the boy. She always did have a good memory for names.

  “Of course, Mistress,” Colden said. “If you decide to stay in town and wait for Brother Ende’s return, I can send word when he’s back.”

  “Thank you, but we don’t have time to wait,” Lyric said.

  “Of course. May our Mother, the Great Wanderer, bless you and may the holy fire of the Three guide and protect you. By Sky, Earth and Fire, Wing and Claw. So it is.”

  “So it is,” Runa murmured. She looked at Lyric and saw her sister’s eyes were smudged with worry. “Let’s go to the inn,” Runa said.

  Nodding, Lyric followed her to the temple’s door.

  Kell reached for Lyric’s hand as they passed, and the two of them trailed behind Runa as she walked through the temple and returned to the street.