A Gathering of Souls

by Dianne Keep

  “My father made sure Shane was assigned to you,” said Khrisk. The bed creaked and she heard footsteps as Khrisk moved about the room. “He hoped you’d recognize your honsworn and find yourself before the Ranking. Before Osling tried to—”

  “What?” She changed into her clothes and tied on her sash. After shouldering the pack and blades, she came back into the bedroom.

  “—marry you off to Bayan.” His cheeks flushed. “We all could’ve done more. But.” He shrugged. “None of us have defied Osling.”

  “You did what you could.”

  Khrisk stepped closer. “I could have done so much more.”

  “I had to stop fighting my grief and anger. I needed to accept my life.” She ran her hands over her mussed hair, untangling it with her fingers. “No one could have saved me. I know you tried. Everyone did, in their way.”

  She thought of Tosha, who had really been Copia. No, Tosha had been human Tosha until the day Khrisk came home. “I have to get to Shane. Nathan blasted him.” Nathan was dead too. His magic had reminded her of Ehre. He might have been in her tribe, her brother even. Her stomach lurched at all the death drenching her memories.

  “Can’t you summon him?”

  “How could you—” Illeya began to ask. Khrisk couldn’t possibly know about the bond between a honsworn and a Faewyn. “No, I can’t. He’s still got a hole in his chest.”

  “He does?” Khrisk lifted an eyebrow. “We have much to discuss, you and me. But I think those little chats will have to wait until we’re out of Stav.”

  “Maybe.” How much did Khrisk know? She touched Shane’s handprint on her chest. The connection allowed her to see where he was and how he was doing. He was in the kitchens with Copia. “We’re going to the kitchens.”

  “Wonderful. I’m starving.”

  Illeya couldn’t stop the laughter. She shouldn’t be laughing, not when people were dying. Not when the entire planet of Parsa was once again being plagued by darkens. But she couldn’t help it. She was in love. Foolishly in love with a non.

  The hallway with the aprons rang clear in her mind. “Hold on to me.”

  “Oh, I will.” Khrisk wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in much closer than what was required for her to shift them both. She didn’t mind.

  They shifted through the stone and wood of an empty palace, intangible, unseen.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Khrisk wobbled as their feet touched the solid ground of the hallway outside the kitchens.

  “Here.” Illeya touched his face, savoring the feel of his skin as she took his dizziness away. “Shifting can be disorienting.”

  “To say the least.” Khrisk covered her hand with his. They stood looking at each other.

  She barely knew him, yet her heart and mind already belonged to him. It was impossible. “Shane,” Illeya said. “He’s bleeding to death.”

  “Yes, Shane,” Khrisk whispered.

  Illeya felt Shane’s presence like she had since the day she turned one. The bond of a honsworn was more than family. More than love. They shared a part of each other. Just like her father had made the Seyhs at the beginning of time on Parsa, she had transformed Shane from a human to a Seyh, creating a honsworn that would protect her until his last breath and hers on this world. The same power that pulsed in her center ran through his veins.

  “He’s in that direction,” she said.

  Her boots slid soundlessly over the tile floor. Khrisk was just as quiet behind her. She turned the corner to the main preparation area and stopped. Guarding the door was none other than Tosha and Khrisk’s bodyguard, Thac.

  Tosha jumped. Thac pulled a knife.

  “Easy,” Khrisk said. “We’re here to heal Blondie.”

  With a grin, Thac sheathed his blade. “They’re in the back. Glad to see you’re not dead.”

  “Not yet anyway.” Khrisk followed Thac.

  Illeya stayed where she was. Seeing Tosha and knowing it was Tosha, the human, required a moment of her time. “Thank you for being my friend.” Illeya reviewed the memories from when she had been Bree. Tosha had not feared her. She had been nothing but kind and helpful the entire time they were together. “Did you know?”

  Tosha nodded and held out her arms. “Everyone in the palace knows who you are.”

  Illeya hugged her. “I’ll miss you.”

  “Me too,” said Tosha. “Your Copia is something to behold.”

  “She is.” The honsworn connection tugged. “Shane needs me.” Illeya released Tosha and ran to Shane. Thac and Khrisk stood outside the pantry. They parted when she came behind them.

  Shane was in the back with the root vegetables and the salted meats. “There you are,” said Illeya.

  “Here I am.” Shane’s wound oozed. Blood pooled around him. Copia held him from behind, her legs stretched out on either side of him.

  “You’re alive.” Illeya would say her hello to the Lumen later.

  “So are you.” He winced. “You didn’t hurry.”

  “You were in good hands.”

  Illeya brushed his blonde locks from his sweaty face and moved her hand to rest on his heart. Their handprints glowed through their clothes. Shane’s breath caught as she pieced him together, washing away the remnants of Nathan’s blood magic that had kept the wound from fully healing with Copia’s touch. His muscles regenerated. His skin covered the hole.

  “Thank you,” said Shane. White specks danced in his blue eyes. He smiled and touched her cheek.

  He’s been waiting for me to return to myself. Tears stung Illeya’s eyes. “You need new clothes.” She poked the massive gash in his armor. She glanced at her Lumen friend. “Copia?”

  Shane laughed. “Yes, my dear, sweet Copia. Can you manage to get me some clothes?”

  Copia shoved Shane aside and stood. “You, you, you.” She pointed at Illeya. Her nostrils flared. “He could have died.”

  Copia could get so angry. Illeya ignored the wrath that made Copia’s rainbow eyes and hair entirely too bright to look at. “I had to save Khrisk.”

  “Khrisk? You had to save him?” Copia pointed at Khrisk, who loomed in the pantry doorway. “Before your honsworn?”

  Instead of answering, which wouldn’t have cooled Copia’s fury, Illeya hugged her and kissed her cheek. “I missed you too.”

  Copia relaxed in her embrace, and soon Copia’s hand rubbed soothing circles on her back. “You scared us. We thought you’d stay hidden forever in your misery.” Copia held her at arm’s length. “Never do that again. Ever.”

  Illeya smiled. “I don’t think I will. My family can’t leave me twice.”

  “We’re your family now.” Copia motioned to Shane and herself. “And we can leave you. But we won’t.”

  “I know.”

  “So why Khrisk?” Copia glared at Khrisk and then at Thac probably because he was Khrisk’s bodyguard. Illeya remembered how much Copia loved to glare at people.

  Illeya opened her mouth then closed it. She didn’t know why Khrisk either. Nothing showed up in her memories after her capture. Some of them were fuzzy from when she was Bree. “Someone has tampered with my memories.”

  “That purple ogre no doubt.” Copia said. “Khrisk, do you know anything about why Illeya has immediate and unflinching love for you?”

  Khrisk’s face flushed. He ducked his head.

  “What? What do you know?” asked Illeya.

  “I was going to tell her.” He ran a hand through his hair. “In the camp, the first day, you tried to escape. It was killing my father.” He looked at Illeya only. “Ehre needed a way to keep you calm. So, she bound us together.”

  Copia’s hands wrapped around Khrisk’s neck. “I’ll fix this.”

  “What do you mean bound? What kind of binding?” asked Illeya. “Copia, let go of him. He can’t breathe.”

  Khrisk coughed and sucked in air. “I don’t know. It’s not the same as the binding between Honors. Ehre needed me to convince you that you were one of us. S
he used some golden powder from Yenn. The connection was immediate. That’s why I was sent away the next day.”

  “The bond lets you tell me what to believe.” A chill passed through Illeya. All those times when Khrisk told her what to think and feel. The memories were scattered, but pieces weren’t difficult to place together. “The tunnel. After the hospital. In my bedroom. You lied to me.”

  “My father was dying.” His eyes pleaded. “And yes, I lied to you. To keep you safe until you found yourself again.”

  “I…” She would have done anything for her father, her family. And Ryne had died for her freedom. She loved Khrisk. And now she knew why. “Do you feel the same way?”

  Khrisk nodded. “If you can remember anything I said to you before, believe what I said to you that night.”

  He wants me.

  For a reason unknown to Illeya, she accepted their bond. What could she do about it anyway? They’d have to talk later, and alone. “Okay then.”

  Illeya gave Copia a hard look and turned to Shane. As her honsworn, he would protect her first, but through their connection, Shane wouldn’t hurt Khrisk unless she gave him permission. “Aren’t you going to hug me?”

  Shane snatched Illeya from Copia. He squeezed her tight against his chest.

  Her nose pressed against Shane’s solid muscles. “Humph. Can’t breathe.”

  His grip loosened, slightly. Kisses showered her head. “I really thought I’d lost you.”

  “Not yet.” Illeya squeezed him.

  “Not ever,” said Shane.

  Khrisk rubbed his hands together. “If Shane is going to get new clothes, I could use some too.”

  Illeya hadn’t realized the extent of Khrisk’s dishevelment. “Your clothes are literally hanging off of you.”

  Her stomach did little flips at the sight of his muscles shining through the rips and tears despite knowing that her feelings were a product of a magical binding Ehre performed. She would need to see if there was a way to undo it, which meant somehow speaking with Ehre about it.

  “New clothes, and then we have to go.” Copia placed her hands on Shane’s shoulders and the black armor morphed into brown leather traveling clothes. Khrisk’s Ranking outfit simply mended. “And I need a quick change.” Copia’s blood-spattered white leather suit changed to a clean, sky blue.

  “Since Thac and Tosha are guarding the doors to the kitchens.” Khrisk pulled an oily, brownish-green, shriveled bag from his breast pocket. “Let’s pack some supplies while we’re in here.

  Copia gasped. “You, you.” Her sputtering was kind of endearing. “How did you get one of those? And how come you didn’t tell me?”

  “Are you referring to my good looks or my isap bag?” Khrisk winked. He picked up two empty baskets from the pantry floor. “Grab your favorites. But make sure your favorites are in bags or covered baskets and won’t rot in a day or two.”

  Illeya remembered the isap bag from when she was Bree. He had shown it to her at the camp in Anthea before he left to go on a mission for Osling. “His father brought it home as a gift after his mother died. It’s from Theodel. Apparently, it can hold anything you place inside it without making it grow bigger or heavier.”

  Copia grabbed a couple of jars of neyne from the shelves. “Humans. They think they can just take and take and take.”

  “If I recall correctly,” Khrisk said as he placed four baskets of dried fruit into a crate. “The Lumen harvested and harvested and harvested until all the fish were extinct.”

  “It’s not my fault they killed all the lona fish before I was born,” said Copia. “I would have tried to conserve the population.”

  “Wait,” said Shane. “That bag came from a fish?”

  “It’s a lona fish stomach,” said Copia.

  “We should gather some information since we’re here,” Shane said, piling dried meat into a canvas pouch. “Do you know where there might be a map for the thanum production plants?”

  Khrisk took the neyne jars from Copia and placed them into a box, and then put them in the isap bag. “Maps are usually in Osling’s study. We could use some comm disks too. He has a secret stash that probably weren’t destroyed. And we can always send Thac to the bunker. There are relics there.”

  Illeya watched them for a moment. Shane and Copia acted like they knew Khrisk. Really knew Khrisk. “When did you meet each other?” asked Illeya.

  Shane, Copia, and Khrisk exchanged a look. “Soon after Khrisk left the Resh’s encampment in the Alwire forest,” said Shane.

  “What?” Bree couldn’t believe it. Her friends had become friends with a Rysan.

  “Oh, don’t act surprised,” said Copia. “How else do you think we were able to infiltrate the palace so easily?”

  “So, what—” Illeya couldn’t form the sentence.

  “Shane ambushed me and took me to Copia,” said Khrisk as he opened the isap bag and Shane shoved in more sacks of food. “They insisted I bring them to you, which I did. Near Urham’s capital.”

  Illeya remembered being there for a few days to get supplies. “I had an unusual amount of flare ups there.” Illeya narrowed her eyes and turned to Shane. “Couldn’t you feel the bond between me and Khrisk?”

  “I thought I felt something different about you,” said Shane, rubbing his chest. “But I wasn’t sure. I thought it might be the memory-erasing charm. Khrisk was just someone I could trust.”

  “Like you trust me?” asked Illeya.

  Shane nodded. “I’ve never known a bond like that.”

  “And I—,” said Copia. “I might have tried to kill the charm.”

  “I forged the papers,” said Khrisk. “And since Blondie here looks the part of a captain, it wasn’t difficult to get him in, and Copia as you know can assume the appearance of anyone, so….” He shrugged. “It was a good plan. I had to stay away. Shane and Copia had to hide too until Ehre told us you were ready to see them.”

  Illeya remembered the dew bird on the balcony and how much Copia loved birds. She recalled the day Captain Shane joined her quad and how nice he’d been to her.

  “You both were with me.” Her eyes stung with tears. “I wish I would’ve returned sooner. Bree was so lonely.”

  “Enough of that.” Copia placed a few barrels of something into the isap bag. “We are together now, and we’ve got to eliminate the Nexvenes.”

  “You mean I’m eliminating them.”

  “Correct,” said Khrisk.

  Could she do it? She’d destroyed two Nexvenes when she was Bree. The Source could accomplish it through her. Maybe that was the task she had to complete before she could ascend. “Okay, where are they?”

  “All over this forsaken land,” Copia said.

  Shane heaved a barrel of salted meat into the isap bag. “Since we’re going on a Nexvene hunt, and we’re far from home, we should raid the stores here. We’ll need some comm discs and handhelds.”

  “Thac and Tosha can grab some from the barracks. I’ll go ask them.” Khrisk handed Copia the isap bag. “I am not giving that to you permanently.”

  Copia rolled her eyes. “I understand, human, but if anything happens to you, I’m taking it.”

  “You wound me, Copia.” Khrisk left, but not before smiling at Illeya.

  Illeya couldn’t help watching him go. She sighed when she lost sight of him. The cord between them was stronger than ever, a truly physical thing she could feel going from her heart to his.

  “Odd that. I should question Ehre to see what she did before we leave,” Illeya said.

  “I can’t figure it out,” Copia said as she stuffed root vegetables into bags. “What did that purple ogre use to bond a Faewyn to a human?”

  “I feel this connection to him like we’re supposed to be together,” said Illeya. “Do you know anything about Seyh blood magic that could explain it?”

  “No,” said Copia. “I studied the mesomatrix, but there weren’t any incantations involving Faewyn.” She stuffed some sacks of grain into the is
ap bag. “What about Jir? You know Khrisk can’t…. Especially, since Faewyn, well, your mother told me.” Her eyes welled with tears. “New Faewyn aren’t born on every planet.”

  Illeya glanced at Shane. He was the only person who knew she had never really loved Jir the way that Jir loved her. “I’ll see Jir and the rest of my family again. Even if it takes a million life cycles and I have to travel to a million other planets.”

  “Besides,” Shane said, a smile teasing his lips. “We can’t expect her to be alone until she ascends. Even if they can’t make babies.”

  “Please, he’ll be right back,” Illeya said, blushing.

  Khrisk entered the pantry and glanced around. “I think we have enough to last us more than a few days.” The shelves were almost bare. “Thac and Tosha will meet us back here in half an hour.”

  “Are they coming with us?” Illeya asked. The more friends the better.

  Khrisk frowned. “No, they’re staying here to help the Rishi and Zeir Bayan.”

  “Bayan?” Bree was surprised.

  “He’s not what you think,” Khrisk said. “My cousin is a very good liar. Better than me. Bayan had a part to play just as I did.” He said it as if he would never come back to Stav. Where she’d lost her family without a choice, he was voluntarily giving up what was left of his.

  Khrisk smiled. “Bayan is very loyal to Rysa, but in a different way. He wants to end the war and cure the people.”

  “Tosha loves Bayan. I didn’t see that,” said Illeya. She thought of Bayan kissing her, well, her as Bree. He had seemed pained when she didn’t return his affections.

  “And Bayan loves Tosha,” said Khrisk.

  “Maybe after all this is over, he’ll be able to choose his own wife.” All the secrets. The lies. She’d been right in the middle of all it and hadn’t realized most of it. I’ll have to be more observant.

  “Maybe,” said Khrisk.

  “None of it matters if we’re dead,” Copia said. “Are we going to Osling’s study to get a map or not?” Copia glanced around. “I vote for going.”

  Khrisk threw the rest of the items on the counter top into the isap bag, tied off the top, and tucked it into his breast pocket. He grabbed Illeya’s hand. “I think we’re all set.”