by Kyrja
“It’s better if you lie down,” he replied, not seeming to mind Ceirat’s strange behavior. But then, he didn’t know how she usually acted. And this man had a history of hiding things; not to mention a connection with the land that was... unique, Honsa decided. Or, perhaps, not quite so unique, he reconsidered. Watching him, it was obvious he used a different kind of magic than what he was used to, but it tugged at him in a way that reminded him of the circle of children in the chant Ordan had sent him. The glowing lines he’d made appear, though, those were logical and made perfect sense once he saw them illuminated – both on Ceirat’s body, as well as all around them. They extended far beneath the surface of what they could all see with their own eyes, he knew.
“Answers,” Ceirat repeated, more confident now.
“Ceirat says you have answers,” Honsa said, looking at Chared. “She has a connection to the potential of... things... ” he finished lamely, trying not to interrupt, so only providing the bare necessities to whatever questions Chared might have.
“The future,” Ceirat added.
“Why is there so much... ” Chared asked, obviously speaking to himself. Honsa watched as Chared closed his eyes, a troubled expression on his face. He seemed to relax further into himself, then his hands started moving over Ceirat in a way that looked like he was making a pattern, but not one Honsa was able to recognize. He paused, frowned, then repeated the pattern, frowning deeper. Finally, he opened his eyes, looking at Ceirat. “Why does this say you are a man?”
“Until a short time ago, I have always had a man’s body with a woman’s spirit. I was born with a male body, but am not a man,” she replied.
Honsa opened his mouth to explain further, when he saw a look of understanding brighten Chared’s features. He even smiled in a way that made him look as though he was delighted. “That explains it!” he laughed out loud. “There’s nothing “wrong” with you! You have simply evolved!”
“What does that mean?” Savaar asked, leaning forward with an intense look of interest on his face.
“Here, I’ll show you,” Chared smiled, holding out his hands to Ceirat. “Take my hands, close your eyes, and remember what your body looked like before you changed.” When she hesitated, looking at Honsa, he simply said, “Trust me. You’ll see.”
Honsa shrugged at her, clearly leaving the choice up to her. He watched her take a deep breath as she put her hands in Chared’s, then closed her eyes. “That’s it,” Chared encouraged her quietly. But Honsa couldn’t see any changes in her. “Shhhh... “ Chared hissed quietly. “Be brave. You can do it. Start with your hands. You’ve seen them hundreds of times. Picture what they look like when you’re washing your hands.”
Honsa felt a shiver of something snake up his spine, but wasn’t sure whether it was amazement or fear. He could see Ceirat’s hands phasing back and forth, as they grew larger, then smaller again. Nor was it just an illusion, he knew, because Chared adjusted his own hands to accommodate Ceirat’s larger, male hands. After that, the change came rapidly. In just a few moments, she was back to herself, although the beard stubble didn’t come back as her face changed.
Ceirat opened her eyes, looking at her hands, then looked at Chared, a wide smile on her face, with tears rolling down her cheeks again. Only this time, Honsa knew, they were tears of joy, and great relief. “Oh thank you!” she gushed, turning her hands back and forth between the backs of them and her palms. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me!”
“But why haven’t I changed?” Honsa wanted to know. “I am a man in a female’s body. Why did my body not change like hers did?” He wasn’t sure whether to be alarmed or not; he only knew it felt as though he had missed something by not having changed. Evolution, after all, usually meant the next step forward, or up.
“There could by any number of reasons,” Chared replied. “She’s older than you are, right?” At Honsa’s nod, he continued, “Maybe that’s it, or maybe because the transformation from one gender to the other is more difficult, or maybe it’s just because she was ready and you were not,” he shrugged.
“Evolution!” Savaar gasped. “Of course! That makes so much sense!” Turning to Chared with a rush of excitement, he explained that the eldest among his people had died, while the youngest had left with no explanation. He briefly shared how some of those who remained had been affected – that many of them had had injuries completely healed, and that the rest of them felt refreshed, stronger, and more confident.
“Batal used her Tear to heal Ordan,” Neiva spoke up. When every eye turned towards her, she shrugged saying, “The sound wave tasted like it came from the sea. The sound was an ancient one, and should not have been heard here, on the land. I could hear it differently than the rest of you because I was in my owl body. All of your people,” she gestured at Savaar, “are not just from the sea, but of the sea, so you were all changed.”
Once more impressed by the girl’s powers of observation and deduction, Honsa asked, “But what about Ceirat? She’s not from the sea. And what about you?”
“Batal was trying to fix Ordan after I hurt him,” she explained. “Ordan shares a special bond with both of you, so you were touched by the sound because of him. Maybe they were only touched because the sound was traveling to you,” she suggested, then, obviously embarrassed at sounding like she was accusing them of being the cause of everyone else’s problems, pulled her arms around her thin frame, hugging herself.
“Tyran?” Ceirat asked, looking to Honsa.
Shaking his head, he replied, “We have no way of knowing. I can’t reach her.”
“I thought it was just me,” Ceirat frowned. “I haven’t been able to touch her or Ordan.”
“But what about her?” Savaar asked, nodding at Neiva, turning to Chared. “Why was she changed from her owl form to her human form when the... the... sound wave passed through us?”
“I’m not sure, but it was probably because she could hear it better than the rest of you, and it may have interrupted her magic.” He paused, considering. “I could examine you if you like,” he offered. “Maybe that would tell us what happened.”
“No, thank you,” Neiva replied, and in the next moment, she had returned to her owl self, seeking out Honsa. When he picked her up, placing her on his shoulder, she said, “I am all right now,” closing her eyes while lowering her face into the feathers around her neck, she said nothing more.
“Batal’s Tear?” Chared asked. “Where is she now? Maybe you should try reaching out to Ordan again. If Ceirat was affected this way, it’s possible he was too.”
Nodding, Honsa closed his eyes, seeking a connection. A moment later, his eyes flew open, staring at Savaar. “He’s all right, and so is Batal, even though she died... ” he paused, holding up a hand for silence when everyone started asking questions at the same time. “And... and... that can’t be right. He says your brother Sabbah is with him.”
Just then the sky over their heads seemed to explode with a peal of ear-shattering thunder, as the ground rocked beneath them and the sun seemed to be coming apart.
Chapter Fourteen – Blood Magic
Feeling like his burning calf muscles might give out on him any moment if he didn’t move soon, Than eased himself into a standing position, careful not to make any noise, despite the numb feeling in his feet. He had been squatting near the temple where the shields were kept for several hours, waiting for just the right opportunity to take Sahil into custody. He’d been sure, more than once, the old man had sensed him and the magic he’d used to cloak himself from sight. But since he hadn’t taken any action against him, he hoped Sahil assumed that he had headed back to Bila to warn the emperor to expect an attack from a group of Fire Tenders. Sure, everyone kept talking about the possibility of an invasion from Bila, but he knew the truth. They had set the abominations free so they could attack Bila so they could take over the empire. If it had been up to him, he would never have let them be born. Creating human weapons with free will was just
plain stupid. Why was it that he knew that, but none of the rulers ever did? Probably because they weren’t the ones who had to do all the dirty work, he groused to himself. They just gave the orders and it was people like him who had to deal with the consequences of their decisions.
He’d never even seen the emperor, but knew he must be a weak, stupid man to have magic makers all around him, but was unable to do the smallest magic for himself. No wonder he was always making war – he was afraid of everyone! Than shook his head, knowing his own thoughts in the matter would never make any difference, because the emperor had used magic to make sure that he obeyed his every order. There were days though, when he would like to just walk away and never come back. But, he sighed to himself, since that wasn’t an option, he would have to wait for the opportunity to either capture or kill Sahil so he could just go home. He really hated this place and all the damned people who could kill you just by touching you.
Following Sahil and Vray – the worst of the worst, as far as he was concerned – would be especially tricky without being detected by either of them. Vray had said they were going to the gardens. Instead of following them, he would take the long way around and find them again once he got there.
* * * * * * * *
“What is your name?” Sakari asked, as she drew her borrowed blade across the arm of the last Kasais in a long line of the men and women who had surrendered to her, careful not to let the blade bite too deeply.
“Muuaji,” he replied, sounding as tired as she felt. He, at least, would get a meal and place to lay down when they were done. She doubted there were any beds left at this point, though. She, and those who were helping her, had taken over this building where many of the Kasais lived. She had learned they weren’t required to live in the places specifically built for them, but most did, because there were very few who found comfortable companionship with others who weren’t also in the business of keeping the rest of the citizens in line through threat and intimidation. Most people avoided Kasais as much as they possibly could, knowing they could be selected to give their life forces to the shields any moment of any day. Or they could be imprisoned. Or beaten, or killed. Using their own living spaces as a place to detain them had seemed the wisest course of action to Sakari.
“Well, Muuaji,” she paused as she drew the Uchawi symbols for “truth” and “reveal” over his blood, then chanted the words she’d created for “Kasais” and “Fire Tender,” watching the blue tint begin to softly glow around the edges, “it looks like you’re telling the truth. You’re a Kasais, all right.” She paused again, to dip the blade in the hot water others had provided for her. “So what do you think we should do with you?”
“I am willing to give my life force for the glory of the Sun God,” he told her, although not quite as vehemently as some of the others had.
“Of course you are,” she replied, knowing her own patience was at an end for this day. She was tired. Heartsick, really. She hadn’t come here to kill anyone, nor to topple an empire, but she had done both. She would welcome a warm bath and a long night’s sleep, but knew she was unlikely to get either. There was still far too much to be done.
“And your Sun God is willing to kill you, although I doubt that is a very comforting thought.” Looking at him, she wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she should expect. Almost all of them had the same look in their eyes – they were just waiting for someone to tell them what to do. They had no idea – which was probably lucky for her, and for all of the regular citizens of the entire city, really. If the Kasais had had enough of them with independent thoughts, it would have probably been possible to have done a whole lot more damage. They might have even won, if they had rallied enough of the people who lived here against the her and the rest of the “strangers,” as everyone was calling her and her companions. But the people here had rallied against them. The Kasais were the most-hated of all. The Fire Tenders were feared, but they had only killed others because they had been forced to. By the Kasais.
“The question now, is whether you are going to be able to keep your life force and start a new life without hurting anyone else. Do you think you can do that?” The same blank stare. The same inability to answer. These people were going to require a lot of help if they were ever going to live any kind of normal lives, she told herself for the hundredth time.
“I would like to,” Muuaji told her quietly, looking into her eyes, instead of down, at the ground, as the others had done.
“I’m happy to hear that, Muuaji,” she told him, smiling for what was probably the first time this whole, wretched day. Suddenly inspired, she asked him if he would be willing to help her.
“Lady,” he answered quietly, ducking his head in what seemed to be embarrassment or shame, while still trying to maintain eye contact, “Nobody asks Kasais if they want to help. They give orders, and we obey.”
“Thank you, but that’s only one of the things that is going to change in Nohoyo,” she said with a tight smile. “I have found out how to tell if each person is a Kasais or a Fire Tender, by using magic on their blood,” she said, holding up the knife she had used to cut him by way of explanation. “I need to share this information with my … “ she hesitated, wondering what to call Sahil. What was he to her now? Did it really matter? Yes, she decided, if she was going to help teach these people new ways, words were going to matter. “With my friend,” she knew no matter what else they might be to each other, and no matter how badly she had strained their relationship by getting Vray to start this terrible bloodbath in attacking her, they would always be friends. “Will you come with me, so I can show him?”
“You want my blood?” he asked, a worried look on his face.
“Just a little bit of it,” she smiled at him again. “Trust me,” she said, wanting badly to laugh at the expression on his face. As she placed her hand on his arm to turn him towards the door to leave, the ground shook under them, causing them to fall against each other.
“Sov is angry!” he shouted at her over the screams all around them.
“Oh damn!” she replied, gritting her teeth. Holding up her hand, she showed him the blood there. When the ground had shaken, she had stumbled, falling against the wall, stabbing herself in her left side when she tried to keep from falling.
“Here,” he said, taking the knife from her. He never even looked at her as he quickly said a few words, then slapped the knife against the palm of his hand. In the next moment, he was holding it against her wound, and she could feel it healing. Instantly! It burned! But the pain was gone a moment later, and so was the sting from the original wound.
Lifting up her shirt, she saw the crusted blood around where the knife had punctured her skin, but there was no wound to be found. None at all. No scab. No scar. Nothing. Looking at him in astonishment, she asked, “How did you do that?”
He shrugged, noncommittally, as he handed the knife back to her. “It is my gift from Sov. All Kasais do this.”
The ground shook again, harder this time. “Come on!” she shouted at him, “We have to get these people out of here before the building falls down on them!”
* * * * * * * *
Peeking out carefully from behind one of the larger trees her mother had had planted more than five years ago, Sina watched as Vray and another man walked quickly into the gardens. I was right! she told herself. He had lied to her. He had only put her in the bushes so he could come back later to get her. Sina felt her whole body quiver with fear, thankful she had been smart enough to get out of there before he came back for her. She had never been truly afraid in all of her life before the strangers arrived. She just wanted to get back to her mother and go home. She had never been brave before, because she had never been afraid before. She and her mother had lived much differently than most of the people in Nohoyo, but Sina had never known of the differences between her and the rest of the people, because she rarely came in contact with them. Not close contact. She had been to festivals, events, rituals, and other act
ivities as a guest at her mother’s side. But today, she was hiding from everyone because she didn’t know what to do.
When the strangers had come for her mother, she had been instructed to run to her uncle’s house, but as soon as she had slipped out of the window in her bedroom, she had been overwhelmed with fear. It was only because she could “ghost” herself that she was able to take more than a single step forward. And even that had taken a very long time to do. Mostly, she had been sitting on the ground, hugging herself, trying very, very hard not to cry so the strangers wouldn’t get her too – her mother had told her that no matter what happened, she must not be caught and imprisoned by the strangers. And so she had sat on the ground, invisible to everyone, purposefully not crying while she tried to gather enough courage to go to her uncle’s house. It wasn’t until she was sure she would wet herself that she finally started moving. It had made her feel both strangely grown up, and very embarrassed to relieve herself behind someone’s house. She had never done that before, and certainly never while she had been ghosted.
She saw people running everywhere, and even people lying in the street; people she didn’t want to see lying there, because she was sure she would throw up if she thought about the fact that they were probably dead. And these all had to be people she knew, her friends and neighbors. People her mother worked with. This kind of thing wasn’t supposed to happen. Not here, not in the compound where she lived with all of the rest of the families from the ruling council. They were supposed to be safe here, from everyone who would harm them. That’s why they all lived together, after all, to make sure that the rest of the people – people who were dirty, and thieves, and even some who took terrible drugs, or had dangerous magic – wouldn’t be able to harm them. If the ruling council wasn’t protected, who would take make sure everything ran the way it was supposed to? Who else would make sure Sov was honored? Certainly not the other people. They didn’t care about things the way her mother and the rest of the council did. That’s why there was a council, she’d been told over and over again, so that everything would get taken care of, so that even when people didn’t do what they should, there would still be enough food, water, and other things for everyone.