She extinguished the flames and the light, then commanded the air to lower her to the square. The crowd moved back in response, leaving a wide, open area where she landed gracefully, her long black hair and dress billowing in the breeze that lingered.
The people fell to their knees and gushed with exclamations and prayers, overwhelmed by the display.
“Praise Dei,” said one.
“Our angel,” said another. “Thank you, Lord.”
“Dei bless the Great Land.”
Some were prone, babbling in shock, while others were silent. Staring.
It was time for her to speak. “I am the hand that feeds you,” she said, hands held out, palms up. She took two gentle steps toward them. “I am the flame that guides you.”
She licked her lips, which were now dry from the wind and the heat.
“I am the dawn. I am the way. Follow me, and my light will take you into Dei’s favor.” She looked up at the sky. “Into Dei’s love.”
Kayna then looked down, cleared her throat, intending to deepen her voice. She narrowed her eyes as she delivered the next words. “Never cross me.” She lifted a hand and pointed at the crowd, her brow furrowing and a scowl appearing. She turned slowly, her finger directed at all as she completed a circle. “For I will hand my enemies over to darkness. My foes will taste pain and torment. I will deliver their souls to Kai and they will never be seen again!”
Her hands fell to her sides as she held the pose, brow still furrowed. After a moment, she erased the scowl from her face, replacing it with a bright smile. She lifted her hands in a gesture of blessing. “I bless you, my people. May your crops grow rich, your children healthy, and your hearts full.” She stepped toward them again, hands still raised. “I love you all. With all my strength. From the depths of my gentle heart. Now until the end of the age.”
With that, she flared the light rune, blinding the crowd again, then flared strength, launching herself with a great leap into the air, where the wind took her into the sky and far from the Grand Square.
Several hours after the display in the square, the minister of lands knelt before Kayna in the middle of the throne room.
“That should help your efforts, Jayho,” she said. “Don’t you think?”
“Yes, Majesty.” He wasn’t displaying any of his former frustration, instead shaking in place like a child caught stealing a cookie. She almost expected him to wet himself. Hopefully, the rest of today’s attendees were experiencing similar emotions.
“I will hear no more about unpaid leases. You will solve your own problems or be punished.”
“Yes, Majesty.”
“On your way out, tell the page to send in the next one.”
He nodded, then scuttled out of the room. General Jordan Almit followed thereafter, then took a knee before her.
“Yes?” she asked.
“We have a problem,” he said, rising.
“And?”
“A caravan from Keetna, carrying prisoners back to Fairmont, was struck by two ruffians on the road. They took the prisoners.”
“Don’t you have gifted in every village detail?”
“Yes, Majesty, and few left for the army because of it.”
“Stop whining and state the problem.”
“One attacker moved like a racer and had other gifts. She had red hair, Majesty. Her companion used a staff. They killed one of our racers.”
Kayna’s heart skipped a beat. Nara was attacking? She had expected to have more time to prepare, to build cursed and then go looking for her sister. She needed months, or maybe even a year to do this right, but that little witch was on the offensive?
The man fidgeted with one of his sleeves as he cleared his throat. “Majesty, that’s not all.”
“What else?”
“We haven’t heard from our outpost in Junn.”
20
Pep Talk
Nara directed Jahmai and several others to resupply in Keetna, but she and Mykel never showed their faces in town, despite her desire to check in on Mimi and Nilly. Instead, they took the rest of the soldiers and one wagon to the nearby hills, where there was work to do.
Derik’s leg fared well, and when given the chance, he got to his feet, strutting awkwardly but with a smile on his face, saying thank you to Nara whenever he could. The enthusiasm was encouraging, as there was little to be found in the rest of the troops, many of whom were tired of travel and eager for action.
Nara directed the group to a wooded area replete with game trails. Mykel directed the others to cover the wagon with tree branches.
“I’d hate for some kids from Keetna to find this here and alert the rest of the village,” Derik said.
“They will know eventually,” Nara said, irritated. “But I’d like to have a defensible position before our enemy learns of our whereabouts.”
“We should fill our bellies and rest. It would be nice to have moose for dinner,” Mykel said as they finished covering the wagon. “There is plenty of game sign on these trails. While you build us some shelter, maybe others could go hunting. They’d enjoy the sport, I’m sure, and while Derik is laid up, Ferron can manage a bow just fine.”
“I hope you’re right, but he may prefer hunting humans.”
“They’re hungry, nothing more. We all are. Nobody is hunting humans today.”
Nara was surprised at her own negativity. These men had followed her, far from their homes, yet she still harbored dark thoughts where they were concerned. Maybe she should do something for them, as much for her own attitude as anything else. “I’m heading uphill. This slope would be perfect for a cave. Until I can make something more permanent.”
“I wish I knew more about soldiering,” Mykel said. “We’ll have to pick Jahmai’s brain. Combat. Fortresses.”
“For now, just a cave. I have enough on my mind.”
The snark in her voice prompted an odd look from Mykel, and he frowned before heading off to talk with the soldiers. Nara regretted her harshness. Maybe she needed a nap.
She wandered for a while before finding a stream that trickled down from the snowmelt above that would provide plenty of water for their needs. Close to the stream, she happened upon a level area that butted up against a cliff face rising almost a hundred feet. There was little evidence of a rockfall from above, and, with some massaging, it might provide a good area for staging supplies, sparring, or just milling about in the open daylight. Both the ground and the cliff were rocky, with little moss or foliage. Ideal for making a cave, as it would be far faster than trying to convert large amounts of soil.
She took her time, savoring how the earth magic moved with her thoughts. It took almost an hour for her to finish, but the cave was even larger than the first one she had made and more open, with room for many. She crafted three fire pits to accommodate them all. As she finished, she pictured the soldiers, absent their armor and weapons, eating a meal around the fires. Perhaps they would sing, and Mykel could join them. She’d heard him sing at church from time to time, long ago. A beautiful voice, deep, solid and happy. She’d like to hear that again.
She sat on one of the stone seats. Moving earth was getting easier with practice, and the joy of working with the magic eased a headache she hadn’t noticed was bothering her. She would have to apologize to Mykel.
Footsteps approached, and Mykel came into view. “Better now?”
“Yeah,” she said, motioning to the cave. “Making this helped.”
“I figured.” He dropped a pack and the staff near one of the dirt sleeping pads. “Dibs on this one.”
He lay down, hands behind his head on the dirt, and closed his eyes. “Derik saw Jahmai and the others. Way down in the valley, heading this way. Should be here soon.”
“Good. He can pick a more permanent spot for us. Hopefully not too far from here.”
“Yup.”
“Mykel?”
He didn’t move, still resting with eyes closed. “Yeah?”
“What
are we doing?”
He didn’t answer right away, and the question hung there for a moment. He sat up and looked at Nara straight on. “I want to say we’re saving the world. Fighting for justice. But I’m not sure that’s it.”
“What is it, then?”
“She killed Sammy. We’re angry, and we don’t know what to do. So, we do the only thing we can. Maybe stop another kid from dying.”
“In Dimmitt, when I snuck into the church and filled the ceppit, I thought the same thing. I was sure it was the right thing to do, but it was foolishness. People died. You almost died. Now we attack soldiers. Rob banks. It’s out of control. What makes us any different? What makes fighting the right choice?”
“I don’t know. But I have no better ideas.”
“Me either.”
“You want to stop?”
“Is it that simple?”
“It’s very simple. Either we fight or we don’t. If we fight, we need help, and we are getting it. We have money. You’ll build us a place to gather. We get more help. It’s as simple as it gets.”
Nara bit her lip in frustration. Indecision was something she had left behind, or so she thought, but the cost to others would be profound in the days ahead.
“We’ll need more men.”
“Yes. There are places we can go.”
“Go? Do you mean raid? An outpost or two we can destroy, and some soldiers we can convince to join us or die. Like that?”
“It worked in Junn.”
“Yes, it did.”
“Nara, I’m a simple thinker. We fight, or we don’t. We get help, or we don’t. You make things complicated when you second-guess yourself like this. They killed my brother and my pop. I want payback. If I can stop it from happening to another family, to some other town, I’m happy with that.” He grabbed the staff and stood. “Dei gave me this.” He slammed the staff on the stone, the thunderous impact cracking the stone, chips of rock exploding outward.
The shock of it prompted Nara to take a step back.
“He gave me strength. Protection. The ability to heal from wounds. Aside from you, I may be the most powerful warrior in centuries! You want me to sit by and let Fairmont walk all over the people of this land? You want me to tie my hands and do nothing? I’d have a hard time with that.”
Wow, he was worked up. Her fault. “No, I don’t want that.”
“Then stop talking and act! Build us a fortress. Or a simple hidey-hole in one of these mountains where we can plan, train, defend ourselves, and launch a war. Maybe we’ll just use this cave. It’s enough. Let me take Jahmai, get more soldiers, and we’ll march on Fairmont. Heck, I’d go with a hundred. If we hit them hard and fast, with both you and me, it might be enough. I’m half ready to go north with what we have right now. These men—they’ll come. They think you’re a goddess and will follow you anywhere.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“And so will I,” Mykel said. “Anywhere. Just name it. But don’t say you will stop. Not now. We can do this. We really can.”
“You’re looking violent, today, Mykel Aragos,” she said, smiling. “Maybe you need a good dinner and a long nap.”
He chuckled and looked at the shattered stone under his feet. “Yeah, maybe so.”
“Thanks for the chat. I’m good, now. I’m hungry, though. What do you say I go look for some game? Probably find it faster than a few tired soldiers.”
“Good idea.”
She got up to leave.
“Nara?”
She turned, still smiling. Mykel looked sheepish from his outburst, examining the damage he caused.
“Sorry I broke your cave.”
21
Old Places
Anne found the port in the wall and busied herself with the sharp engraver, chipping at the mortar that she had used to fill it so long ago.
“Is that a defect in the wall?” Gabriel asked. The odd gap between two of the stone blocks showed what appeared to be a measurement error by the builder who constructed the wall.
“I put it here on purpose. Hold the torch closer,” Anne said. “I’ve only got one good eye.”
“I don’t want to get it too close to the tapestry,” Gabriel said. “It’s wool. Would burn fast and I don’t think we pinned it up high enough.”
“Who cares? It’s done its job. If you light up that old rug, maybe I’d be able to see what I’m doing!”
His sharp intake of air made it clear that Anne had horrified him. He doesn’t see the big picture, but how could he? “That should be enough,” she said, then blew the gap free of dust.
“What now?”
“Just watch.”
She reached into her pocket and retrieved one of the vials of blue liquid she’d carried from Eastway, then removed the stopper and poured it into the wall defect. She tapped the edge of the vial on the stone, using every drop, then replaced the stopper and dropped the vial back into her pocket.
“Nothing’s happening,” he said after a moment.
“Just wait. Takes a while to drip down into the rune.”
“Rune? What rune?”
She didn’t answer, instead holding up one finger and cocking her head, moving an ear close to the wall. “Here it comes.”
A rushing sound of water from behind the wall began, then grew louder.
“It still works. Ha! I worried for a moment.”
Rock vibrated and Gabriel stepped back, a terrified look on his face. Then the mortar around more than a dozen stones burst from the seams as a huge section of the wall receded, revealing a dark passageway. Anne clapped her hands together.
She took two steps, then turned to see Gabriel standing still, awestruck.
“You coming? If not, you better gimme that torch.”
The dark passageway led at a slight downward angle, taking them deep into the mountain behind the monastery several hundred paces. Light runes could be seen high on the walls, but there was no life in them. This place died many years before.
“Move faster, boy. Nothing in here to bite you.”
The tunnel opened into a large cavern, a dried-up hollow to the right where a lagoon once was, the torchlight inadequate to reveal the ceiling or the far walls.
“This place used to be full of life. People living. Teaching. Learning.” She pointed to the lagoon. “I learned to swim over there.”
“Amazing,” Gabriel said. “Right under the monastery. Nobody knew. All this time.”
“I pulled the wool over your eyes, eh?”
The joke elicited a loud cackle from Gabriel. Excellent. That should push his fear back.
They walked across a wide, flat area, passing stone tables, benches and fire pits until they reached the entrance to some far rooms.
“This one,” she said, veering to the left, waving Gabriel to follow.
They entered the room, the torchlight revealing a good-sized chamber with many desks and chairs, all fixed into the stone—or, rather, grown from it. On one wall was a stone lectern with an old wooden table on either side. A variety of objects rested on the near table, crafted from metal, stone, and wood. High on the walls near the ceiling, many runes were visible, engraved in the stone.
“A classroom?” Gabriel asked.
“Yup. Spent many days in here. First as a child, then as a teacher,” her voice cracked with the emotions of the memory. “It’s a good room.”
She approached the first table, directing Gabriel to illuminate it with the torchlight. Covered in dust, some of the wooden objects had long since rotted away. Several long, thin stones bore markings on them. “These were rulers. Used to teach basic measurements.” She picked up a stone mortar, blew the dust off, then stifled a sneeze. “Where’s the pestle?”
Gabriel moved the torch closer and pointed it out, near the edge of the table.
“There you are,” she said, grabbing it and placing it inside the mortar. She tipped it, displaying the rune carved on the side so that Gabriel could see. “Grind all kinds of st
uff in this one. Then we’d set it in a water bath. Would stay fresh forever. We used bigger ones, too.” She tapped the rune. “As long as it sits in the water, this design keeps the rot away. Well, not just any water, I suppose. But that’s not why we’re here.”
She set down the mortar and pestle and moved to the other table. “There it is.” She reached for an old metal chalice that sat all alone in the middle of the table, covered in cobwebs. She blew the dust off, being careful not to inhale the subsequent cloud this time. Holding it high, she turned it reverently in the light. “Been here the whole time. Even when we studied. Teacher’s cup. Not just mine, but every teacher before me.” She turned to look at Gabriel. “It was a big deal back then. Represented knowledge. Patience. Care for the students. It was a badge of honor we often carried with us.”
“What does it do?”
“Do? It’s just a cup. It does nothing. ‘Cept maybe hold water. Wine. A good ale.”
The look on Gabriel’s face was priceless. An ancient wool tapestry that held an almost religious significance in his family’s life for centuries had covered a hidden passageway to an ancient cavern. When an epic figure arrives to reveal solemn secrets, leading the frightened young man to a reverent place of learning, she retrieves an ancient chalice so she could…. get a drink of water? Anne laughed loudly—a long, steady chortle that surely convinced her companion she was cracked.
“It’s okay, young man,” she said, wiping away an errant tear. “It’s not what it does. It’s what it will do, for someone very important to me.”
She went to the wall and looked up at the designs near the ceiling. “Hold the torch higher.”
Finding Kai Page 13