by Phoebe Brown
There were whooping cheers behind her, but she ignored them. She began to rise from the battleground. The men below her held spears upward and threw them. She unsettled the ground beneath their feet and watched as they began to sink into the Earth as if it was made of water. She observed the scene before and saw a man running. She was at his side in less than a second. He turned to see her and tripped sending himself into the dirt headfirst. She didn’t wait for him to recover from his fall, only walked over to him and pulled him up by his hair.
“What are you?” he asked looking up into her eyes.
She could sense his fear and it made her happy.
“Who do you work for?” she asked
In her mind, she knew that she had the answer already, but she wanted to know. Suddenly a scream split the air.
Gaia’s eyes opened and she saw Lolita staring at her from across the room. There was a look of shock and horror on her face. Hoping that she hadn’t done anything weird in her sleep, she looked down at herself and realised that she had only made it halfway unto the bed. Half her body still dragged on the floor. She hadn’t felt a thing.
“My bad.” She said, “can I have some help?”
Chapter 21
Gaia smiled as she entered the classroom. She was pushing herself around in a chair fitted with wheels that made her seem much weaker than she felt. Still, she wasn’t one to complain. Her body still hurt and she still needed time to heal and figure out who she truly was. Lolita had insisted that if she had to go to class, she would need to be comfortable. To cover the real reason she had to use the chair, they had agreed to tell the others that she had hurt herself during one of her training sessions.
“Nice to see you.” someone said, “We heard you weren’t well but it’s good that you’re back.”
She looked up at a Dorylus who had never spoken to her before. He was in Andrew’s group, but his smile seemed genuine enough. She wondered if there was a way to find out if his motives were pure but then she thought better of using her powers so openly.
“Thanks.” She replied flashing him a smile.
Kirk must have spotted her because he walked over to where she had stopped.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“I have classes.” she replied, “It’s too boring to stay in my room all day.”
“It’s probably good to be around others too.” The Dorylus said.
Kirk shot him a look as if he hadn’t seen him before.
“I’ll take you to the others now.” He said moving to stand behind the chair, “They’ll be glad you’re back.”
She smiled at the Dorylus who looked sheepishly at Kirk wheeling her away. He took her over to sit with the others who were watching them intently.
“I have had dreams of using that very contraption.” Helen said, “You’re so lucky.”
Gaia doubted it but she didn’t say anything. Everyone seemed to be buzzing with chatter, much more than usual.
“Wat’s going on?” she asked Khar who looked nervous.
“I think they found the little massacre you carried out.” she whispered, “The students have just found out about the powerful being who destroyed all those men. They’re spinning it to sound like the work of the Dorylus.”
Gaia was surprised because the Dorylus were the least likely suspects for anything that involved physical violence.
“How did they come up with that?” She asked.
“I have no idea,” Kirk replied.
“Students please assemble in your seats.”
Gaia knew who was addressing them, but she wished she didn’t have to deal with him so soon after what had happened.
The other students in the class hurried to their seats. Kirk pushed her over to a table where she could see the entire room.
“Good,” Solomon said, “Time for today’s lessons.”
Gaia saw the Dorylus she had spoken to earlier raise his hand. The entire room was silent, and she listened intently to what he had to say.
“What happened on the mainland?” he asked
Gaia could feel the tension in the room, and she wondered what Solomon would say
“I have no idea,” he replied, “nobody can be sure. Anything but the truth is a lie. Until we have the truth there should be no discussion of the lies.”
The class seemed satisfied with his response. Gaia knew that the old king knew much more than he was letting on, but she didn’t think it was her place to tell anyone.
“Today we explore traditions.” he said, “We will discuss the different traditions of each of the Guilds. As you all know the Gitreg day Gathering is upon us. All the leaders of the different Nations and Guilds will meet here to celebrate.”
Gaia remembered Master Morell telling her that he would be arriving soon.
“Can anyone tell me what we do on that day?”
Myren raised her hand so fast that Gaia wondered if she had dislocated her shoulder
“Yes,” Solomon said pointing to her
With a satisfied smile, she turned to face the rest of the class. Gaia realised instantly that although the girl was smiling and beaming, there was something about her aura that was off. It wasn’t like Cenobytes to take on the day with open enthusiasm. It was bad form to show so much emotion all at once unless you were being purposefully deceptive.
“We celebrate the god of gods.” She said, “We have a week of ceremonies which commemorate Lod. The first is the Gitreg day gathering.”
“Yes, correct.” Solomon said, “We have a few rituals. Can anyone tell us about one.?”
Gaia could see other students raising their hand but Myren’s hand went up so fast she was once again questioning if something was wrong with the girl. Solomon gave her a wary look.
“Yes?” he asked.
“We have the smoking ceremony where the palace is shrouded in a white smoke produced by the Anduanna. The smoke transitions from white to blue which is the symbolic colour of Lod.”
Solomon nodded. She saw he was about to ask another question but changed his mind.
“There are a few tasks that we need a few students to carry out on the day of the ceremony of sacrifice.” He said, “I need a few of you to guard the sacrificial offering.”
Gaia’s stomach turned. She didn’t want to see any animal being sacrificed. She had always managed to avoid these ceremonies back in Tyre, but it seemed her luck had run out.
“I volunteer.” Helen said raising her hand so fast Myren was surprised and couldn’t recover in time to stop Khar from taking the second spot.
“I do as well,” Khar said with a triumphant smile.
The two girls chuckled when they saw the sour look of defeat on Myren’s face.
“Perfect.” Solomon said, “Don’t worry Myren, there are many opportunities for everyone to help”
Having never been to one of these ceremonies, Gaia was reluctant to see what it would be like. In Tyre they only celebrated the Rakin ceremony which was the tradition of the Cenobytes whenever they honoured Ceno. Many of the Tyrians celebrated the Gitreg ceremonies but they would travel to the mainland to do so.
“Have any of you ever been to the ceremony?” Solomon asked.
Many of the students in the room raised their hands and she realised that everyone in her group had been to the ceremony at least once before.
“Who knows the significance?” Solomon asked.
Myren was surprisingly quiet and Gaia guessed that the girl knew nothing.
“It’s a celebration of all the gods.” One of her classmates said
She had never spent much time getting to know him, but she knew he was Shango. He was bronzed like Tafari, and his eyes were green and piercing.
“Yes.” Solomon said, “We celebrate the six Gods who have ruled the earth since the beginning of time.
The others in the class nodded in agreement but she held back. She knew this wasn’t true. The fact that her classes reinforced it meant that it was a part of their history that was
being kept hidden from the public.
“Why does the ceremony only happen here?” Khar asked, “Why not host it in each kingdom.”
Solomon seemed surprised by her question and Gaia waited patiently for him to respond.
“They can celebrate in the nations,” he said, “but the nobles of the nations and guilds must celebrate together to show solidarity.”
Something told her that this wasn’t the case. Her mind began to drift, and she tried to understand why this was so important. Solomon could have assumed the class knew of the ceremony, but he had chosen it for their lesson today. There was something he was trying to accomplish, and she needed to understand why.
“Are you listening?” Tafari asked looking over at her with veiled concern, “Do you need to go back to bed?”
She shook her head and tried not to cringe as she tried to move. She realised then that she would have to figure out the significance of the ceremony to understand the old king’s plan. She wouldn’t let him know she was unto him or he would find a way to prevent her from foiling his plot. She needed to figure out just how far back this went. There had to be records of it somewhere and she would have to find those.
The palace was the only place they would keep the true histories without risking that anyone would find it. She didn’t know enough of the palace to figure it out. She would need help from the others. She had sworn to keep the secret but there was no use in trying to do that when she needed help so badly.
“Gaia.”
She heard Solomon calling her name and chastised herself for spacing out in the middle of the lesson.
“Yes,” she said turning to face him.
“I was just introducing a new student to the class,” Solomon said.
Her shock must have been obvious because Helen chuckled.
She looked towards the new student who was standing before her. He was young and looked to be about her age. There was something familiar about him that she couldn’t place.
“I would like to introduce you all to my grandson, Nixon.”
Her eyes flashed to Kirk and she could see the blank expression on his face. He was guarded and he only did that if something was wrong.
“He’ll be a part of the class?” Myren asked, “I thought this was a class for only the chosen ones.”
“Ah, he’ll join as a royal.” Solomon said, “Your positions are all safe, he’s merely here to learn.”
There were murmurs around the room, Kirk said nothing.
“He can join our group.” Myren said, “There are only so many royals to go around.”
Gaia sensed the girl’s bitterness.
“I think he’ll find it better to partner with his cousin,” Solomon said.
“I and only I choose who gets to be on my team.” Kirk said, “I refuse.”
Nixon smiled and shook his head.
“Brother.” He said affectionately.
She saw Nixon’s face light up and small dimples pressed into his cheeks making him seem much more amiable than before. She almost fell for it. It was the scar on his neck that marked him. It was the fresh mark of someone who had been cut. She saw the image unfold before her and she knew it as surely as she knew he was evil. Not only was he an Abyssinian, but he had also been there that night on the beach and had managed to escape being killed.
“I agree with Kirk.” Solomon said, “The other teams may decide if they’d like to have Nixon on their team.”
The young man looked over at Solomon and shrugged.
“I guess I’ll be here with this chatterbox.” He said before sitting on the other side of Myren.
She watched as he settled down. The scar on his neck was so prominent she wondered how the others hadn’t suspected him of wrongdoing. In her mind, she knew that it would hardly come into question since no-one, least of all those in the palace, knew that the Abyssinians were still in existence.
She thought of the multitude of men who had attacked them. They had been young and well trained and many of them had been Cenobytes. It didn’t make sense that they were there, and she had no clue where they could have come from. Aside from the main temple in Tyre, there were many others but the best students had always been trained by Master Morrel. It would have to mean that there were other temples training students who would then join with the Abyssinians.
The class continued without much interruption and she learnt more about the Gitreg day gathering before they were dismissed. Kirk walked ahead of them with his mind so far away he hadn’t heard her calling out to him. when he finally realised she was talking to him, he turned to look at her. They were all facing him and waiting for an explanation.
“Not here,” he said.
Gaia did her best not to laugh at his obvious dislike of his cousin, but it was hard to ignore. They went towards the library which was usually deserted and assembled around one of the smaller cedar desks. When they were finally settled Kirk faced them.
“You don’t like your cousin.” Khar teased.
“You don’t know him,” Tafari said.
Gaia was reminded then that Tafari had spent a great deal of his childhood in this very palace.
“He couldn’t be that bad,” she said.
“He hates Kirk,” Tafari said.
They all looked at him then.
“What’s the matter?” She asked, “Is he a threat?”
It felt so weird to hear herself say it but she was living in a world now where even the most innocent often turned out to be her enemy.
“You’re kids,” Helen said,
“He’s been trying for many years to get my grandfather to remove my father as the heir and place his mother on the throne.” Kirk said, “Now that my father is king, he wants to overthrow me.”
“Why is he here?” she asked.
“That’s the thing,” Kirk said, “I have no idea why he’s here or how he got here.”
Kirk began to pace. This was his usual demeanour when he was thinking, and she found herself trying to figure out what was going through his mind.
“Do you think they know it was us?” Helen asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kirk said eyeing her warningly, “they’ll never figure out we destroyed the garden during practise.”
Gaia understood and hoped that Helen would take note.
“With your cousin in the midst, I’m fairly sure they could figure it out.”
Kirk smiled a bit then and shook his head.
“What we really have to look out for,” he said, “are his parents. He and his mother both hate me.”
Gaia wondered if this was how families were. She knew that in Tyre, the families were close units who guarded each other possessively.
“His parents are coming?” Khar asked, “I haven’t seen Lilian Temple in so many years.”
Gaia didn’t have a clue who they were talking about, but she supposed it was Kieron’s sister.
“She’s the most beautiful woman in all the kingdom.” Helen gushed
“As beautiful as a diseased rose.” Kirk said, “But if he’s here then it’s a probability that his mother is on his heels.”
“What does this mean for us?” she asked.
“It means that we’re being watched, and we must be careful.”
Gaia felt a sense of unease at the thought that she was being watched. She needed the freedom to move around. That was the only way she would discover what Solomon was up to.
“I have no idea what they’d expect to see.” She said.
“He’s here for a reason.” Kirk said, “The goal is to figure out that reason before he completes his task and reports it to whoever sent him.”
“We have to be careful,” Gaia said instinctively,
She didn’t want anyone messing up so badly that it led Solomon to her. He was already suspicious enough without confirmation.
“I’ll try to follow him around.” Helen said, “I can trail him so that you guys can know where he is at all times.”
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It was a good plan and one Gaia hadn’t imagined herself.
“That should give Kirk and I enough time to figure out what he’s here to do,” Gaia said.
“Tafari, you should work with them and make sure that he doesn’t try to harm her in any way.”
Tafari seemed up to the challenge and the memory of her dream came flooding back. He was a powerful warrior who would someday go down in history.
“What will I do?” Khar asked
“I want information on the plans for the Gitreg Day Gathering.” She said, “Everything you can get would be great.”
She didn’t know exactly why, but she knew something was being planned for that day. Even if she could catch the smallest hint of a conspiracy, she’d be able to act on it.
“I will,” Khar replied enthusiastically.
“What purpose does all this serve?” Kirk asked looking over at Gaia
In truth, she had no reason to be so obsessed with the ceremony.
“I think if anyone is planning something as big as we think, there will be a trail no matter how small.” She replied.
They fell silent; each contemplating what they were about to do.
“I have a few exercises to do now that I’ve learnt how to master the lightening and arrow,” Tafari said as if to break the silence.
“I’ll come with you,” Khar said pulling Helen out as well.
Soon, only Gaia and Kirk were left. He was looking over at her with his intense blue eyes and his attention made her nervous.
“I, I uh wanted to look for a book.” She said.
“A book?” he asked walking over to her makeshift wheelchair.
“Yeah,” she replied, “I’m usually good at finding these things on my own but in my current state.”
He smiled and came to kneel before her and undid the strap that secured her to the chair. His face was so close to hers that she could hardly resist the urge to reach up and touch his hair. The light brown curls were soft to her touch. He noticed and looked up. He was so close her lips brushed gently against his forehead. She jerked away instantly realising what had happened.
“I’m sorry” she whispered with her hand clasped over her mouth.