Identity Revealed: The Tue-Rah Chronicles

by Butler, J. M.

  Shon nodded. "I know you can't say it." He cupped his hand beneath her chin and guided her gaze back to his. "But I also know that you need to know you have a future beyond this. You aren't just going to die. There is good in store for you, Amelia. And I am some of that good for you. Just wait and see. Elonumato won't abandon you."

  "Maybe," Amelia whispered. "Maybe so. But…right now, I can't think about that." She pressed him back and stepped away. "And that's why I hate what Kepsalon did. These feelings have been brought into being in both of us. And if I was so weak…if I could have been so weak to need this…" She rubbed her blood-covered hand across her face. "I won't let you die, Shon. I can't. And what you said sounds beautiful, but I can't think about that yet. I can't even imagine this as a possibility. And right now, I really need to be alone."

  "Surely you don't expect me to leave you out here by yourself," Shon said. He did not sound angry to Amelia's surprise. In fact, the tender concern he expressed angered her more. She did not deserve this.

  "Yes, you can. I'll be fine. But I need to be alone. I have to decide what I'm going to do, and I can't do that with you here because you being here just makes me want to…" Amelia put her hand to her head. "Just go, please. You said you would respect my decisions. This is one of them. I'll be fine."

  Amelia expected Shon to argue with her. But just as he had surprised her with his understanding, he surprised her again. He simply nodded. "All right." A faint smile pulled at his lips. "I will see you soon, and I'll tell the Machat where you are but that you want to be alone."

  "Thank you." Amelia ducked her head so that she did not have to watch him go. It was bittersweet, and she did not know how to comprehend it. Everything was so jumbled inside. She didn't feel like herself in any sense of the word.

  Picking up the edge of her skirt, she made her way over one of the lower crests and down to the small river.

  The moon's silver light paved her path. All was still. Not even insects or birds sang now. They had fallen silent. But the river spoke. It sliced over the rocks and babbled along. Stepping into the cold water, Amelia waded in up to her knees and began scrubbing. The water numbed her within minutes, but it did little to remove the blood. Even with only the moon to see, the blood continued to stain her hands.

  Frustrated, Amelia knelt and scrubbed harder. The dress was soaked. Rivulets and streams of diluted blood flowed out into the river, but it didn't make much difference. Her agitation increased. Why wouldn't the blood come out?

  Something rustled behind her, and several branches snapped at once. "Hello there, little sister," a familiar voice said. "Are you ready to come home?"

  55

  Enemy, Brother, Friend

  Amelia looked up from the river, letting her hands fall to her side. Somehow she wasn't surprised. "What are you doing here, WroOth?" she asked wearily.

  WroOth picked up a handful of stones and gave her a crooked grin. "What do you think?" He turned the top stone between his fingers and tossed it up in the air. Catching it, he then plopped it in the river. It vanished, leaving behind ever-expanding ripples.

  Amelia shook her head and resumed washing her hands. She focused on her thumbs and the tops of her palms rather than pressing around her elmis. The coolness of the water was most intense over them, and it did nothing to help her current mood. "Are you going to take me back then? At least let me get the crudon blood off." Perhaps in that space of time she could construct a plan.

  "Yes. You did get yourself into a bit of a mess." WroOth tossed another stone into the water. He walked along the edge of the riverbank until he stood in front of her. He looked her up and down, chuckling. "What did you do? Roll in it?"

  Amelia pushed her hair back. It had already started to dry, and it stank horribly. She lifted her chin and glared at him. "How did you find me?"

  "I fly over this way all the time." WroOth gestured to the sky. "Even before the conquest, you know. These valleys are the best place for transformations, dips, and dives. The rush you get…" He chuckled and sat down on one of the boulders, his boots pressed into the mud at the river's edge. "Anyway, I generally fly for an hour or two on a good night before bed. Sometimes longer. Clears the head. Not too many live out this way until you get beyond the seventeenth crest that way. But then I heard your scream, and that's what drew my attention to here. I'd know your voice anywhere."

  "So you sat back on a mountaintop and watched me fight off a crudon with nothing more than a set of knives?" Amelia flung the water from her fingertips. The stains remained. They were dark beneath the moonlight. A blight she couldn't remove.

  "Actually, it was that tree." WroOth motioned to an oak. "And yes. I did just watch. The hallmark of a good older brother is one who only intervenes when necessary. Besides, you handled it well enough. Though what did happen, dear heart? I could have sworn that for a few of those moments, you were quite strange. Not very like yourself. Telling it to die after it was dead was unnecessary. It's more effective to tell your victim that before you kill it. A beginner's mistake."

  "WroOth, I've had a very bad day." Amelia waded out a little deeper and began washing her hair. She spat some of the blood water from her mouth as it streamed down her face.

  "It's all about to get much worse, Amelia. You are in danger."

  "And let me guess. I'd be safest if I went with you."

  "Yes, you would be safest with me. But I wouldn't take you back to Naatos." WroOth folded his arms and gave a slight shrug. "At least not for a couple more days. Four maybe."

  Amelia frowned, glancing up at WroOth. "And you were so set on us being together."

  "I still am. That hasn't changed. But, while you would be safer with Naatos than you would be here, I think you would be safer with me and away from Naatos for a couple days longer."

  "I'd rather avoid Naatos entirely until I have to kill him." Amelia ducked her head under the cold waters. She scrubbed at her hair furiously and then resurfaced. The water streamed off her in thick rivulets. She could barely feel her feet anymore.

  "So you kill one crudon, and now you're feeling like you're strong enough to take down your viskare." WroOth clicked his tongue at her. "I suppose we should all be glad you haven't tried becoming some sort of murdering seductress."

  Amelia squeezed the water from her hair. "If I am to be an executioner, I will be that. I don't seduce people. I didn't even have a boyfriend. Never thought I'd live long enough." Memories of Shon pressed in on her. That desire flared stronger than ever. The spark of anger rose again, fanning through her chest. It didn't matter what Shon said. Kepsalon was wrong. She tightened her grip on her hair, pressing out more water. She then dipped her hair in again. "I don't want Naatos to ever think I love him. Because I don't. And I won't."

  "Be that as it may." WroOth removed his puzzle box and turned it over in his hands. The tines clicked together with soft wooden voices. "I will say well done in sending your paramour away. It is hardly an easy thing to deny one's heart."

  "Of course you heard all that." Amelia continued to scrub away at her garments and hair. "I'm sure you'll tell Naatos."

  "No. Like I said, I'm a good older brother. Though I would ask…this Kepsalon…" WroOth's voice had taken on a deadly note. "Is he about so tall? Gaunt and slightly built? Silvering hair. A voice something like this." He completed the mimicry but did not change his form.

  Amelia nodded.

  WroOth stiffened, but he kept the same relatively calm tone. "You have my sympathy. The Machat are highly manipulative. I pity your Awdawm as well, but I would remind you that he is an Awdawm. There are none so resilient in matters of love. And Naatos will love you far better than he ever could."

  Amelia bristled at those words, but she turned her back to WroOth instead of answering. She continued washing herself, drenched and chilled. WroOth said little else of meaning except for passing remarks and muttered comments she barely heard. The numbness spreading over her body was welcome. Yet even with such determination, her thoughts d
rifted back to Shon.

  Shon made her feel whole and safe in a comfortable way. He was the husband she would have chosen. At least she thought she would have. Naatos could not be more different, and yet she had been manipulated with both. At least she hadn't kissed Shon goodbye. Her cheeks burned at that thought, and her embarrassment grew as she thought of what WroOth had seen.

  She ducked down beneath the rippling water yet again and ran her fingers through her hair, combing out the last of the mess.

  Light flared above the water, golden and orange. Surfacing, Amelia pushed her hair out of her face and looked around. The twisted white oak was now in flames.

  WroOth stood in front of it, nodding with satisfaction. He glanced at her. "You should probably get warm."

  It was a fair point, and Amelia was grateful for the fire. It unnerved her that WroOth would be so kind to her. Her suspicions rose. Maybe it was a signal? Then again, what did it matter? She didn't want to go back to New Istador yet. She had to make up her mind about the best course of action, and she had to find one that kept her friends alive and didn't betray her calling.

  "What are you really doing out here?" She eyed him as she left the river. The cold night air flowed around her, and the warmth to her front made her feel the chill all the more against her back. "You do realize we're still enemies. I despise all three of you. You almost as much as Naatos. I've seen your handiwork."

  WroOth chuckled and shook his head. He sat on the other side of the crudon and began skinning it. Once he had removed a section of fur, he carved off hunks of meat. "We're family, Amelia. Love and hate often exist simultaneously. It took me years to decide I actually liked Naatos. And you've only known him for a couple weeks." He placed the chunks of meat in the flaming tree.

  "You're telling me I misjudged him then? He's just misunderstood. Deep down he's a wonderful, soft, and compassionate man." Amelia wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. The heat from the fire pushed that chill back, at least. She came to a stop a few feet away from WroOth but still close enough to the fire to feel its warmth. The sweet, piney scent of the tree filled the air.

  "No. You didn't misjudge him. You just misjudged your happiness with him. Naatos has the kind of personality that tends to grow on one over time."

  "What you're really saying is that he is abrasive and cruel but that people around him adapt because it's either that or live in misery. He's like some flesh-eating parasite that envelopes you whole. You have to adapt, and if you don't, you'll just get eaten alive."

  WroOth nodded. "A fair analogy. Though other analogies might be more flattering. I wouldn't like him so much if he was just there to strip the flesh off bones, even though, let's face it, no one does it better. All members of the family have their roles to play. Before we were Paras, we had many adventures and occupations of our own, but the roles typically remained the same. AaQar was the reasonable one. He handled the research and gathered the information as well as the actual negotiations, if there were any. I was the charming one, and so I drew our prospects in, got them in the right place, and all that. But Naatos was…is the enforcer. He always closed it and cleaned up afterward. Lately I've found myself wondering what role you'll play in the family. There's just so many possibilities. But regardless, you and Naatos work well together. You would be magnificent if you moved to the same side."

  "Perhaps so." Amelia's gaze fell on the crudon carcass lying on the ground. She was already changing. There had been no pity at all in her killing of that beast. Which bruin had it been? It had been innocent despite its appearance, and she had done nothing to avoid the battle. She ducked her head. As she did, her gaze fell on her arm. The arm where Claudius had bitten her. The Amelia of a few days ago would never have done this to an animal. At least with the guards, they had attacked her and there had been nothing else to do except defend herself. With this crudon, she could have done more. If she was changing this much so fast, where would she stop? Her sorrow and shame grew. "I won't assist in the conquest of the worlds or the Tue-Rah. If Naatos wants me as his wife, he knows what he has to do."

  "Yes. You have both made your positions quite clear." WroOth came to sit beside her. He folded his hands. "You are also both quite stubborn. Something will give, but in the end, dear heart, you are the one who will break."

  "I won't." Amelia glared at him.

  "What are you fighting for, after all?" WroOth asked.

  Amelia smoothed more of the water from her sleeve. "The restoration of the Tue-Rah and freedom for all the worlds connected to the Tue-Rah." In her mind, she added, And Shon. But she despised herself all the more for even thinking that. It was best set aside and forgotten.

  "Precisely what I thought you would say." WroOth smiled. "You are fighting for ideals. They sound good, don't they? Perhaps they even inspire you. And for a few battles, they might rouse you to great action and wondrous deeds worthy of songs and legends. But that is not what my brothers and I fight for. Well, actually, it's part of what we're fighting for. But those are not our primary reasons, and those principles you hold are not the reason you'll break. The reason you will ultimately let go of all this is because, simply put, we are motivated by something far greater. Something more than a feeling."

  "What? The desire to control all of creation? The need to oversee people's lives and make them do what you want."

  "No. Those are only secondary objectives at best. Our motivation is family. It is the strongest attachment and loyalty any Vawtrian ever feels. And you are part of that family now. Whether you like it or not."

  "WroOth—" Amelia started.

  "The greatest thing any Vawtrian can accomplish is to preserve and continue his family, making it better in some way. AaQar and I have both lost wives and children. If our family continues on, it is through you and Naatos."

  "That still doesn't explain why you're taking over everything. And I am sorry for your loss." Amelia stared into the crackling flames. "But there is nothing you can say that will make me change my mind."

  WroOth rose and poked at the meat cooking in the tree with a long stick. "You'll have adorable children. And they will stay young for such a long time. With Awdawms, those beautiful early years are over so swiftly."

  "You can't tempt me to allow world conquest and destruction with cute babies."

  "Perhaps not, but you'll need to choose the father of the New Neyeb, and there is no one better than Naatos."

  "I doubt that." Amelia warmed her hands. "There has to be."

  "You are the mother of the New Neyeb. You will have to choose a suitable father who will add something to the core of what it is to be Neyeb. Your children will likely be mindreaders as well as shapeshifters. Your children would be powerful indeed." WroOth pulled out some of the pieces of meat and examined them. Apparently satisfied, he handed a small slab to Amelia. "They are almost certain to become legends."

  The meat burned Amelia's hand. She nearly dropped it before WroOth handed her a large dock leaf. "It sounds like you should be doing what I want rather than the other way around."

  "I don't think so." WroOth returned to his seat beside her. "You must understand, we will not stop. It will take more than what strength and will you have, little sister. You are in a game of tug-o-war. But there are three of us and one of you."

  "I'm not alone though."

  "Aren't you?" WroOth laughed. "It's been pointed out before, but I don't think you realize how alone you really are if you choose to reject us. It is only a matter of time before the Libyshans turn on you. You were barely their princess before. You certainly aren't now. Not when you've been whisked away, aged, and married to their greatest enemy. Your attempts to end us have been and will continue to be unsuccessful. Your people will need someone to blame, and, dear heart, you are perfectly qualified for that. Not only have you failed them, but, if you go back, they can reach you. They can hurt you."

  "That doesn't matter." Amelia stared at the ground, her hands folded. The meat sat in the dock leaf at her side, h
er appetite nonexistent. WroOth's words didn't surprise her. She'd feared this herself, particularly after what happened with Vorec. If she was one of the villagers or townspeople who had lost their family members, she would have blamed the so-called princess too. Particularly with all the evidence against her.

  "What does matter then? Just that you stop us?"

  "I…" Amelia sighed.

  "Saving these people will not bring you peace, Amelia."

  "You don't care whether I'm at peace. All you care about is whether I give your family children and power."

  "You still haven't told me what is so bad about our ruling all of creation. People die anyway. We may even save some. The changes we will bring about are grand indeed. Those who die will die because they deserve to die or because they no longer have purpose."

  "Is that why so many people died or were wounded from the villages?" Amelia demanded. "They deserved to die?"

  "Perhaps. But, in truth, dear heart, this is not really about that. If it were not for the interference of the Machat and your affection for the Awdawm, you would know precisely what you would need to do."

  "Even if I liked Naatos, I wouldn't go with him. I will not make that man more powerful than he is."

  "At least you aren't harboring plans of sabotage. But I'm not talking about Naatos. I'm talking about this Shon. There are some who are marked for life, and there are some who are marked for death. And this Shon…I have never seen an Awdawm so marked for death."

  "No!" A lump formed in Amelia's throat. "You said you wouldn't tell Naatos. Or…promise me you won't kill him, WroOth. You are supposed to be the ruler of this world, and supposedly you can decide what does and doesn't happen here. You said you loved your wife, Mara. Imagine if someone wanted to kill her. What would you do?"