“Maybe not,” Gideon said gently. “But he did, and it was his choice, and I can respect that. We should honor his sacrifice, not question his decision. It’s over.”
Asha nodded. “It is over. But too many people had to die to end it.”
I came here to save him. And instead, he died to save me. He didn’t have to. I wasn’t in danger. I was stronger than her, I know I was.
So then, why? My soul wasn’t his to save.
Asha cast one last look around the chamber and listened one last time with her dragon’s ear. She heard nothing. “Come on. There’s nothing left here now.”
He managed a wry smile and turned to leave. “Time to celebrate?”
She looked up at him.
How can he just smile like that? Two people he’s known for thousands of years have just died. He could have died himself.
She tried to smile back, and after a moment she succeeded. With that one gesture, she felt some of the pain and darkness of the last few days begin to fade. The memories were still there, the pain was still there, but she too was still there. Still alive, with a life before her. “Celebrate? No, no time for that. We still have work to do.”
Chapter 30
Life
Asha and Gideon climbed out of the pyramid and back down to the road where they found Taziri and Wren talking and laughing quietly in the shadows.
Asha paused in the middle of the road and looked back up at the pyramid, a dark pile of stone in a dark cavern that the entire world had forgotten.
“What’s wrong?” Gideon asked.
“I don’t know,” Asha said. “After all this madness, it doesn’t feel quite real to think that’s really over, just like that.”
He nodded. “I know what you—”
The feathered beast lying in the road behind him snorted and shuddered. Its beak scraped the stone road and its huge legs bent and kicked, and it lurched up onto its feet. The huge predator lifted its blood-painted face and roared at the blackness above them.
Gideon grabbed his gauntlet and his seireiken illuminated the giant bird of war. Asha hesitated, and then a strange smile spread across her face. She ran past Gideon toward the monster as the dragon came alive within her. It did not hunger in her belly or rage in her heart. It simply slipped over her skin like a soft blanket, wrapping her in scales and claws that shone and glittered in the bright white light.
Asha leapt into the air with a song in her heart and a light in her eyes, and she drove her fist into the side of the monster’s head. The feathered titan’s skull snapped up and back, and the beast was lifted off its feet as it fell backward, and then it crashed down onto the road. The earth groaned and the dust rose, and Asha landed lightly on the belly of the predator. She listened, and heard nothing at all from the body beneath her.
When she dropped back down to the road, Gideon stood there gaping at her. “That was reckless,” he said.
“I know.” Asha exhaled, washing the dragon away with that simple breath.
“It was childish and dangerous.”
“I know. You’re absolutely right.” She patted him on the shoulder as she walked past him toward the shadows where Taziri and Wren waited. “But now it feels like it’s over.”
The soldier nodded slowly. “Fair enough.”
Gideon carefully lifted Wren, and they set out down the long, dark highways of the necropolis, and all the way Gideon recounted the events that had transpired with Lilith and Omar.
Asha watched Wren’s face and saw the sadness in the girl’s eyes upon learning that Omar was dead, but it was a momentary grief. The girl accepted the loss calmly and thoughtfully, and she was quiet for many long moments. But their conversation moved on to other things, to helping the fifty lost men and women waiting by the bonfire, and Wren soon joined in, smiling and saying silly things to make Taziri laugh.
They found the refugees huddled around the dying embers of the bonfire that glittered red and gold with cinders and hot coals. They all appeared calm and ready to leave, and most could walk unaided, so together they moved on down the dark road through the city of the dead, guided by the gleam of Gideon’s sword. It was a slow procession, but a calm one, and even those who were afraid of the dark, who flinched at every sound and clung to their fellows, learned to smile nervously. Some of them even sang.
Eventually they reached the tunnel and began to ascend, and then they reached the surface and began to climb out. Night had fallen, and the black sky shone with stars and moonlight. And there by the fountain stood Isis, Horus, and Bastet. The immortals led the strange and weary procession a short distance down the road to a large hotel, which they had rented out in its entirety for the night.
For hours, Asha sat by the fire and cleaned cuts and stitched wounds and washed away blood, until everyone was whole, and everyone was fed, and everyone found someplace warm and safe to sleep. She fashioned a splint for Wren and made her some tea to ease the pain and help the girl sleep.
And then, whenever one else had been taken care of, Asha slept.
When morning came, Asha’s patients began to leave one by one. Most of them had only been missing for a few days, or weeks at most, and they were eager to hurry home to their families. By noon, every last one of them had come down from their beds, eaten breakfast, thanked Asha and Gideon profusely, and left.
Gideon sat down across from Asha. He turned his chair around and rested his chin on the back of it. “It feels strange, knowing that they’re gone. Bashir and Lilith, and Set and Nethys. The world feels different. Smaller, somehow.”
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Do you think you’ll miss them? Mourn them?”
“Probably not. I wasn’t close to any of them,” he said. “Still, it is strange.”
A door opened at the back of the room and Taziri helped Wren hobble out on her cane to sit by the fire and rest her leg on a pillow. And a moment later, Isis and her son came out and sat with them. Bastet appeared as well, stepping lightly through a thin cloud of mist, and sat down on the floor facing the fire.
“So,” Taziri said.
Asha smiled. “So.”
“What’s next?” the Mazigh woman asked with a warm light in her eyes. “Angels? Demons? Armies of the dead?”
“Already did that,” Wren said. She smiled, but the smile faded. “I’m sorry to say it, but with Omar gone, I think the world will be a much quieter and safer place. It’s a pity he had to die now, of all times. His one regret still lingering, his last desire in life left unfulfilled.”
“And what was that?” Asha asked.
“To atone for his mistakes,” the girl in black said. “To undo what he had done.” She glanced nervously at the three Aegyptians. “To unmake his creations.”
Isis nodded, her eyes stern and sad. “I understand. And I agree. It was a bold vision he had once. And it was a great effort, even a noble undertaking. But the grand experiment has long outlived its purpose, and so have we.” She reached up and removed the slender chain from around her neck and placed a pair of sun-steel hearts on the table in the center of the group. “Mine, and my husband’s. I’ve had it for centuries. I didn’t trust him not to lose it,” she said. She sighed and looked at her son.
Horus said nothing as he took off his own pendant and placed it beside his mother’s and father’s. The youth’s face remained etched with grief and pain, and he kept his lips tightly sealed as though not willing to trust himself to speak.
Bastet smiled shyly up at Taziri and then at Gideon as she took off her necklace and set it with the others. “I get to grow up now?” She looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time, marveling at the wonders of furniture and firelight.
One by one, all eyes turned to Gideon. The soldier pouted a bit as he ran his thumb down the edge of his jaw and studied the bits of gold on the table. “Well, who wants to live forever anyway?” And he tossed his in with the others.
“And mine.” Wren slipped
the eight silver bracelets from her wrists and leaned over to set them on the table. The sun-steel wires on each of them shone with dark gold. Then the northern girl with the strange ears pulled off her right glove to reveal a ring on her finger, a ring so small and thin that it was barely more than a circle of wire itself. “Can I keep this one? It’s not Omar’s. It belongs to my people. It houses the souls of my teachers. And frankly, I don’t know if they could handle being set free.”
Asha gently folded the girl’s hand closed. “I think you can keep that.”
Wren nodded and slipped her glove back on.
Gideon looked at the pile of necklaces and bracelets. “So, how do we…?”
“I can.” Asha collected the little hearts and rings in her palm, and then watched as her skin turned golden and her bright red claws curled around the sun-steel. The metal grew soft and dripped off her hand onto the table top in dull gray drops as thin wisps of aether and smoke rose into the air. “There. Done.”
“I don’t feel any different,” Bastet said, rubbing her hands together. “I thought I would feel different.”
Wren grinned. “Trust me, you’ll feel different enough when the cramping and the bleeding start. Welcome to the wonderful world of growing older.”
The women laughed. Gideon and Horus exchanged pained looks across the table.
“What about this?” Gideon tapped the armored gauntlet on his right arm. “It’s probably the most dangerous weapon in the entire world. And it’s hotter than any other seireiken. I don’t think it would be safe for you, even with your dragon trick there.”
“I’ll take it,” Taziri said, hold out her hand. “I can dispose of it safely.”
“Are you sure?” Gideon asked. “I’m not sure you realize how hot this blade really is. I doubt there’s anything in the world that can destroy it.”
“Trust me.” Taziri took the gauntlet and set it down carefully beside her chair. “No matter how hot your magic sword is, my plasma torch is hotter. I can take care of it, and dispose of it safely. And actually, I suppose that’s everything, isn’t it? Well then.” Taziri pushed herself up to her feet and picked up Gideon’s gauntlet from the floor. “I have an anxious husband, a talkative daughter, and a hundred ungraded engineering exams waiting for me back home.” She shook Asha’s hand, and then Gideon’s. “I’ll go by Jiro’s place and say goodbye to him, too. He has a few of my tools.”
“I’ll go with you,” Bastet said.
“We’ll all go together,” Isis said, patting her son on the knee. “We’re not immortal anymore. We’re going to have to get used to the idea of being more careful, and taking better care of each other.”
Horus nodded and they stood. The Aegyptians said their goodbyes, and then escorted the Mazigh engineer out into the bright daylight beyond the inn’s doors.
For a long moment the remaining threesome sat and looked at each other in silence.
“You know, when Omar asked me to help him undo all his old mistakes, I thought it would take us years and take us all over the world together,” Wren said as she petted Jagdish in her lap. “I certainly though it would take more than a few days in one city.”
“Has it really only been a few days?” Asha asked. She stared into the fire, trying to count how many days had passed since Priya had died. She couldn’t tell. It felt like an eternity apart, a life lived by another woman in another land, another age. “Wren, I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Omar back to you. But I stand by my promise. I won’t leave you alone.”
Wren smiled down at Jagdish. “I’m a big girl. As soon as I can walk again, I’ll be just fine. I won’t hold you to that promise.”
“Why not?” Asha looked at her. “Don’t you still want to see the world?”
“Sure.”
“Do you want to learn new ways to heal people?”
“Of course.”
“Good.” Asha nodded at her. “I could use an apprentice. Or at least someone to carry my mongoose and to criticize my outlook on life. Interested?”
“Very,” Wren said with a smile. “Thank you.”
“And then there’s you.” Asha peered across the table at Gideon. “You’re not much good in a fight, are you? No weapons at all, and your skills are centuries out of date. You’re not even immortal anymore.”
“I guess not.” He grinned sheepishly. “But I can carry heavy things, and look intimidating when there are unpleasant people around.”
“Good enough.” Asha held out her hand. “You’re hired. You won’t get paid, you’ll sleep outside, and you’ll eat whatever we can find on the road.”
“On the road?” he asked, shaking her hand. “Where are we going?”
“Everywhere. There are still a lot of people out there who need help.” Asha leaned back in her seat and looked thoughtfully into the fire. “There’s no rush though. It’s a big world. There are still a few immortals and seireikens out there, too. And besides, I hear there’s a whole other temple in Nippon. But then, there’s no need to worry about that. We already know what happens when I find one of these temples, don’t we?”
They smiled, and called the waiter over to order lunch.
Asha looked at Gideon, and then at Wren.
They aren’t you, Priya, not nearly. But they’re good people, and we’re going to do good things together. And you know what?
Asha smiled.
That’s all that matters. That’s all I want.
Appendix
This appendix lists many of the people, places, and things mentioned in the Chimera books. Next to each item are the Fiction and the Fact of the matter. The Fiction part says what the item means in the Halcyon story. The Fact part says what significance the item has in the real world.
Aegyptus – Fiction: One of the provinces of the Empire of Eran located in the south-east corner of the Middle Sea region. Fact: This location corresponds with the modern nation of Egypt. Aegyptus was the Roman/Latin name for it.
Aether – Fiction: A mysterious vapor most often seen in cold climates that allows the spirits of the dead to become visible. Fact: In the ancient world, philosophers believed there were five elements: air, fire, earth, water, and aether.
Aetherium – See sun-steel.
Afghanistan – Fiction: One of the provinces of the Empire of Eran located in east near Rajasthan. Fact: A country located in central Asia between Iran and Pakistan.
Ahura Mazda – Fiction: One of the names of God in the Middle Sea region, most often used by Eranians and the followers of the Mazdan Temple. Fact: This is the name of God in Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion of Iran that is still practiced today.
Alexandria – Fiction: A port city on the northern coast of Aegyptus. Fact: A real location in Egypt, named for Alexander the Great.
Anubis – Fiction: A young man gifted with a sun-steel soul-locket, granting him eternal life and youth, as well as other abilities. A member of a large family of similarly immortal men and women, he lives a generally secluded life in the undercity of Alexandria. Four thousand years ago, he and his family posed as high priests and living gods of the Aegyptian people, presiding over state and religious functions, such as funerals. He was the god of Death. His appearance is unique within his family, notably his pure black skin and jackal mask. Fact: The Egyptian god Anubis was associated with mummification and the afterlife. He was depicted as having a jackal’s head (jackals were associated with cemeteries) and being black (to represent the fertile black soil of the Nile river valley).
Asha – Fiction: Born in Kathmandu, this herbalist was trained by Ming doctors after recovering from a dragon’s venomous bite. Fact: The Sanskrit name Asha means desire or hope.
Ayurveda – Fiction: The traditional form of medicine in India. Fact: Same.
Bansuri flute – Fiction: A type of bamboo flute common in India. Fact: Same.
Bashir – See Thoth.
Bastet – Fiction: A young girl gifted with a sun-steel soul-locket, granting her eternal life and youth, as well as oth
er abilities. A member of a large family of similarly immortal men and women, she lives a generally secluded life in the undercity of Alexandria. Four thousand years ago, she and her family posed as high priests and living gods of the Aegyptian people, presiding over state and religious functions, such as funerals. Today she protects the children of Alexandria, particularly girls, and has a large entourage of stray cats. She appears as a twelve-year-old girl in a black dress and carries a cat mask. Fact: The Egyptian goddess Bastet was a protector of the royal family. She was depicted as having a cat’s head. Over time, she was replaced by a similar warrior goddess, Sekhmet, a woman with the head of a lioness.
Brahma – Fiction: The Indian (Hindu) god of creation. One of the three principal deities of India, alongside Shiva and Vishnu. Fact: Same.
Buddha – Fiction: An ancient Indian prince-turned-philosopher or sage who taught a lifestyle of moderation, selflessness, and harmlessness. Fact: Same.
Buddhism – Fiction: An Indian philosophy-religion dedicated to ending human suffering by ending desire, greed, anger, and other vices. A vast body of monks and nuns striving to achieve and teach personal enlightenment, freedom from suffering, and a deeper understanding of the universe. Fact: Same.
Bull of Heaven – Fiction: A mythical creature from ancient Eran (Persia). Fact: In the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh, the king and Enkidu kill the Bull of Heaven to defy the gods.
Chandra – Fiction: A man living in eastern India with his son. Fact: The Sanskrit name Chandra means moon or shining.
Cockatrice – Fiction: An extremely rare animal, a hybrid of the Indian peacock and the Europan basilisk, a poisonous lizard. Its venom causes paralysis, coma, and death. Fact: A legendary animal, a cross between a rooster and a dragon with the power to turn people to stone.
Constantia – Fiction: An ancient and powerful city-state on the border of Hellas and the Eranian province of Turkiya. Ruled by the princess Lady Nerissa, the city is locked in unending conflict with the nearby Eranians who wish to claim the city. The Hellans are unwilling to defend the city too staunchly to avoid provoking a war with Eran. Fact: The city of Constantinople was founded on the city of Byzantium, located on the Bosporus Strait between modern Greece and Turkey, and which later became the modern city of Istanbul.
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