The Last Faoii

by Tahani Nelson

  “The Goddess doesn’t ask for our worship through words or songs. She cares about our love of justice and strength. Our faith in honor and virtue. She cares about the strength that comes from being us. We don’t have to worry about pleasing Her.”

  Oh, Mollie, did you understand even then? I never went to chapel because the Goddess asked me to. I went because I knew that it would make you happy. I knew that going would make me a better Faoii for you and all the others. It made me part of something more than just myself. And I loved it.

  Kaiya knew where to go. Throughout her life, she had always depended on her sisters more than any deity, alive or dead. There was a strength there that no war song could ever dominate, a compassion that grew far deeper than Thinir’s hatred could scratch. That was where her sisters had always been and where they yet remained. Now she would have to depend on them again.

  My blade will sing with the voice of every throat that has cried out against injustice and dance with the steps of every innocent child.

  Focusing on the Tapestry, the metal shard still gripped in her hands, Kaiya willed herself through to a place she’d never thought she would return to.

  *~*

  Now that Lyn’s warriors and Amaenel’s soldiers were cooperating, life was easier in the camp. Many of the Faoii maidens had begun trading their services for blades and bows, and they were given their own training times in the evenings. Most of the hand-forged blades crafted in the enclave had been stripped from the Faoii maidens and left to rust on the plains, but those that had been salvaged were slowly doled back out as their physical prowess and skill became evident. Lyn even earned the right to wield her fantoii and throwing disks again, and her followers’ hopes grew.

  Once or twice Lyn saw Tendaji drifting among the Croeli warriors, his gaze lifeless and his movements ghostlike. She’d called out to him, but he only looked through her with soulless eyes and continued on his way. The other Croeli gave him a wide berth, but none showed the animosity that had laid him low on the bloody plains. Even Amaenel tolerated his presence, displaying the broken warrior like a demented battle trophy.

  Tendaji’s deep scars were easier to look at than his soulless eyes, but all of it made Lyn’s blood run cold. She hoped that killing Thinir would help Tendaji heal. She hoped that Thinir’s blood would cover the wounds carved across the land by his mindless slaves. But as she looked at the still-empty spot in the circle that she and the others still sometimes formed, she knew that some wounds might never truly close.

  Kaiya, I still need you. Please watch over us. Help us end this.

  Her whisper drifted, unanswered, over the dark forest.

  38

  The broken, skeletal remains of the Monastery of the Eternal Blade loomed above Kaiya. Shards of rock and fallen towers jutted toward the sky, grasping at dark clouds. Again Kaiya tried to pull the scattered pieces of her mind back toward her. They finally fell into place with a snap, and with it, all of the emotions associated with this place came tumbling forward. Shivering at her unchecked memories, Kaiya took a tentative step in the direction of the monastery’s looming gates, now asymmetrical and partially fallen. The broken walls shimmered for a moment, fading into an overlaid image of their original splendor.

  Kaiya gasped out a startled breath. Dozens of leather-clad girls in the superimposed vision materialized before her, filing through the open entrance, laughing and joking on their way to training. The sun was painfully bright, and the first buds of spring were peeking their way through the grass. The faintest hint of Cleroii songs danced on a nonexistent breeze.

  Kaiya had never wanted anything more than she wanted to join those girls. She wanted to walk with them again, to go to chapel and to sing her songs—she wanted to go back to a time when the worst thing she had to worry about was Cleroii-Belle’s stupid staff. She wanted to walk through those gates and go home.

  As Kaiya took her first step, however, the image disappeared. It did not fade away slowly like the visions she had had before, but vanished with the force of a window falling closed and shattering on impact. The girls and their bright smiles winked out of existence, and Kaiya was left staring at her booted feet on the muddy path. She turned the Goddess’s symbol over in her hands before taking another step forward. More images appeared: Playing tag with other unascended when she was barely big enough to walk. Practicing swordsmanship with sticks and wooden shields. Dancing in the summer with other girls that were just old enough to start discovering their true selves. With each step, the best parts of growing up in the monastery swirled around her, only to be swiftly and violently shattered as she stepped forward again.

  Just when Kai was sure she wouldn’t be able to take any more, the visions changed. Darkness surrounded her and the chilling rain continued to fall, but the ghostly maidens did not dissipate as they had. Kaiya stared. A hundred Faoii stepped toward her through the broken gates, greenish and translucent against the inky blackness of the monastery’s remains. They came to Kaiya, their bodies bloodied and broken, reaching out to her with transparent hands. Terrified, she backed away.

  The girls stopped at the sight of Kaiya’s retreat, their eyes filled with hurt. Shame filled Kaiya. These were her sisters. They had been with her for her entire life—even after their own lives had been extinguished. And now she feared them?

  Mollie drifted forward from the crowd, her bright red hair subdued to an ashen hue. Her smile was no less beautiful, however, and Kaiya’s eyes flooded upon seeing it.

  Mollie. Beautiful, sweet, loving Mollie . . .

  Kaiya wasn’t even aware that she’d knelt until Mollie was crouched in front of her, concern etched at the edges of her ghostly eyes. Kaiya knew she could banish these spirits if she tried—knew she could force her senses back into the living world rather than this place that sat somewhere between her world and the next. But she didn’t. Instead, Kaiya reached forward to grasp Mollie’s hand, wishing to feel the warmth of living flesh and a heartbeat beneath the skin.

  This time, however, it was Mollie’s turn to step away, and she only smiled, just out of Kaiya’s reach, gesturing toward the monastery’s awaiting gates. The other Faoii fanned out behind her, lining the muddy path, beckoning Kaiya forward.

  Kaiya obeyed. She followed her sisters’ spirits and entered the charred ruins of her old home. She walked by the scattered pillars that had once been the grand hall, then through the training quarters and past the demolished armor stands, careful to step over the melted remains of bronze breastplates and ivy helms. Eventually she came to the forge behind the armory.

  The forge was unadorned in construction. It did not have the high, vaulted ceilings that the rest of the monastery sported but was squat and square with a flat stone roof. Kaiya realized that this is what had kept the forge standing despite the Croeli’s best efforts to demolish the entire sanctuary. Goddess, bless whoever designed this place.

  In the middle of the room was the huge circular forge, its chimney rising up through the stone slab. Kaiya circled it slowly, checking for damage. Though the mortar was broken in a few places, it was otherwise solid. Surprised and pleased, she set to work gathering untouched coal from the stone cutouts in the walls.

  Kaiya had never been in the forge before. As one of the unascended, she had been forbidden to enter this place. But her work in the enclave had taught her the basics, and watching Leonard’s life over and over had honed her skills. She could do this.

  She could do this.

  Kaiya worked for six days, the rain outside pelting down on the ceiling with an almost continuous thundering beat. She forged the blade from the Goddess’s symbol as she would a fantoii, beating the red-hot metal into shape before resting while it cooled, then starting again. Again and again she repeated the cycle, sleeping as the blade cooled and awaking again to reheat and reforge the metal. Slowly, it began to take the shape she’d seen in the Tapestry, but it wasn’t yet perfect.

  During the last forging cycle, Kaiya purposely left the metal nea
rly three times thicker than her ultimate goal. Then, using a red-hot chisel and mallet, she cut a third of the thickness from each side, shaping the fantoii and honing its edge. This is what made the blade different from any of its predecessors, a mixture of criukli and fantoii—light and dark. Perfect.

  She was ready now. Kaiya smiled at Mollie’s ethereal face as she lifted the newly forged blade. It glowed in the warmth of the fire.

  “I’m going to end this, Mollie. I promise.” She wanted to hug her shield sister in a final farewell, but she only fisted her hands in front of her, gripping the new blade’s hilt with both hands.

  “I know, Kai,” Mollie seemed to say. “May Illindria offer you a thousand glorious battles in Her hall when this is through.” Mollie’s ethereal green eyes glittered as Kaiya Blinked back out of existence.

  *~*

  Thinir screamed into the wind, cursing the Faoii goddess and all her false glory. Still the Hag and her followers sang of equality and fairness. Still she said that she loved all her children, and that all were worthy in her eyes. But he knew—HE KNEW— that his niece had somehow reached the halls that he had been fighting his way toward for as long as he could remember. All were supposedly equal, and yet only a few were allowed access there? Only some were offered power while the others starved, fighting over scraps of meat? What made his niece worthy while he was not? What made her able to see the whole world without sacrifice, while he had had to give up so much—too much—for only a fragment of what she had received? And she would squander it. She would not use the knowledge to reshape the world into something beautiful and great. She would declare it dangerous and keep it under lock and key. He knew it.

  It was not fair that she should continue to hold power despite all his work to tear it from her. She had been handed everything since the day she’d been born, and he and his men had slaved to come as far as they had. They would not stop here. If pretty little Kaiya was the only one capable of using the Hag’s power, he would have to access it through her. He could reach that power and this tonicloran demon at the same time.

  He pulled himself together as a scout approached. He had long since searched for the source of the poison that had drowned out his calls. His own nephew—his own brothers—it had not occurred to him to look so close to home.

  Oh, how they would suffer for having plotted against him. They would grovel at his feet even as he cut out their eyes and tongues for their disobedience. This—all of this—had been for their benefit, and this was how he was repaid? The knowledge that they were willingly coming to him barely eased his heart. They thought that his niece was dead. How, oh how, would they react to discovering the truth? Would they be willing to fight her once he enslaved her mind? It would be a priceless image—and the last thing they ever saw.

  He chuckled and turned to the approaching soldier. “Take a group to the old outpost. There is a pit there, and inside it is the last barrier between us and our final reward.” The warrior nodded and turned to leave. Thinir’s eyes glinted as he called him back.

  “Oh, and bring two virgin blades. Faoii-Kaiya will come to save the tonicloran witch. Be prepared and use the blades to destroy the chained one and make Faoii-Kaiya mine. It won’t be long now before you may choose the site on which to build your wife’s new home.”

  39

  The wind in the Goddess’s world screamed, beating against the white walls and howling through deserted gardens and corridors. The last Weaver had to brace herself as she stared at the Tapestry for what she hoped would be the last time. Its images crackled before her.

  Kaiya saw everything. She saw the last band of free Croeli herd their prisoners toward Thinir. She saw the traps that he left for them and watched his captains plot their ambushes. She watched Lyn saunter forward without fear in her eyes—sure of a victory that she could not hope to grasp. She watched her brother limp on, his eyes wet with unshed tears, his heart fallen. A year ago, she had not known of his existence, but now she saw him watching her through all her years of childhood, always there, just behind the scenes. He had grown up next to her, protecting her, loving her. And her death had broken him. He was not walking to a final victory. He was walking toward an unattainable revenge, and he knew it. Tendaji was walking toward suicide.

  Eili and Emery were less sure than the others. They tottered on the edge of hope and despair. They steeled their hearts and minds while they clenched fists that would not be graced with bow or sword, prepared to give it their all, anyway. Asanali walked beside them. She was unafraid, but did not harbor the hopes of vengeance that pushed Lyn. She simply followed the course of the river with her friends, prepared to help them cross however she may.

  Thinir’s ambushers were not the only dangers. Another group was coming, Blinking sporadically across the weave. Kaiya saw them through the Tapestry and the Goddess’s high, glassless windows. They leapt through Her fields and gardens, making their way to the pit below the Croeli stronghold. Making their way home.

  They will destroy Vonda. They will kill her and stop her song—stop the only voice that can drown out Thinir’s bells. They will make his reign complete.

  Kaiya could wait for them there. Wait and break their spirits and spines with this new blade with its beautiful, terrifying cry. But Kaiya was not sure she could hold them all off, and if Vonda fell, her remaining soldiers would only join Thinir’s dead and dying army.

  She could meet up with her Faoii—use her blade to lead the charge. But even that held the chance for defeat. She knew she could fight her way to Thinir’s dark, brooding walls, but how many would she leave bloodied and broken behind her?

  No. Kaiya scowled and gripped her blade, her eyes locked on a specific spot in the Tapestry’s eternal weave. Enough people had died already. She would end this alone or not at all.

  I am coming for you, Uncle.

  The Goddess’s halls stood empty and silent.

  *~*

  “This is it, then. We always knew we’d end up here eventually.” Eili stared at the mossy trees that covered the dark mountain. “They’ve probably already seen us. If they don’t strike tonight, they might wait until we reach the tree line. Easier for foot soldiers to maneuver, even with the incline.”

  “If even one of us is able to make it to him,” Lyn said sharply, “it’ll be worth it. No matter what, this ends tomorrow.” Despite her tone, everyone heard the significant if at its beginning. It hung in the air among them, and no one dared mention the overwhelming numbers of the opposing force, the lack of sufficient weapons on their side, or Thinir’s seeming invincibility. The wind cackled mockingly at their unspoken fears.

  Emery rose to his feet. “No matter what happens at dawn, I want you all to know that it’s been an honor serving with you, Faoii.” He snapped a salute and clicked his heels.

  “May the ever-flowing waters bring you to your desired shore. If your flame is extinguished in the coming day, I hope we meet again on the far bank.” Asanali smiled as she rose to embrace him. Neither Eili nor Lyn pulled away when she turned to offer them both the same affection.

  “Aye. It’s been good knowin’ you all, and it’ll be good to fight beside you in the end.” Eili tried to smile, but it was forced. Emery and Asanali returned it anyway.

  Three sets of eyes fell on Lyn expectantly. The silky-haired Faoii only shrugged and pulled out her fantoii. She didn’t look up as she began sharpening the glittering blade.

  “I don’t know why you’re all looking at me. I’m planning on walking out of that keep tomorrow. You’re all welcome to join me if you think you can keep up.”

  40

  Kaiya appeared in the heart of the dark forest that encased Thinir’s keep and stumbled into a tree. She gasped for breath, trying again to pull her mind back into place. It didn’t fit back quite the way it had before—like a puzzle with worn-down pieces. With an effort of sheer will, she snapped it into place and pushed herself vertical.

  The forest’s black trees whispered ominously all around h
er. Kaiya focused on the black towers that sprouted just above the tree line a few miles from where she stood. Kneeling, she pulled her sagging boot to a more comfortable position and tightened the straps before straightening again. With a set jaw and steely eyes, she began her journey up the mountain.

  The trek was more arduous than Kaiya expected, her muscles unaccustomed to hiking after the tonicloran poisoning and their disuse in the Goddess’s hall. However, she continued to move with unbroken strides, drawing on her Faoii training and the wild magic Asanali had begun to teach her in order to keep the tremor out of her legs and the sound out of her step. She glided through the forest with a grace it did not deserve, and the patrolling Croeli seldom became aware of her presence. Those that saw her had only enough time to recognize danger through a fog-addled brain before she cut them down. Their blood slaked the dying forest’s thirst.

  Kaiya knew that Thinir or one of his lieutenants would eventually see her through the subordinates’ eyes, but she pressed on anyway. She did not fear their coming.