Seeker's Light (The Tazalian Series)

by N. I. Snow

  The light emanating from the Gaia became too unbearably bright for Jonah. He closed his eyes and covered them with his arms, but even then the light pierced through his vision. An overwhelming exhaustion flowed through him. He threw his arms forward as he felt himself falling to the floor. Then everything went dark in his mind. The unconscious boy was unaware that the gray Seeker was also overcome by the light. Emma's body vanished from Zaharak's arms as he slipped to the ground, his damaged gold eyes remaining open as an abrupt coma took hold of his body.

  The Gaia watched as the forms of both Jonah and Zaharak vanished into the foggy light. As they disappeared, a new form appeared beside her. The Light recognized it as the spirit of Alekia.

  The Ancient bowed his head to the Gaia. “It was close, but we have done what you asked.”

  “You have exceeded beyond expectations, Alekia,” the Light spoke soothingly to the Tazalian specter. “What would you request as your reward?”

  Alekia shook his head. “We have discussed among ourselves and have come to an agreement. We do not wish for anything for ourselves, but instead that our reward be used for another. One who deserves it far more than we.”

  Twenty-Three

  Jonah slowly opened his eyes. His entire field of vision filled with light. He could hear muted voices speaking from somewhere nearby. He shifted uncomfortably in the bed where he lay. Bringing a hand up to rub his eyes, he noted the IV tube trailing from his arm. He blinked with confusion. He realized that he was in a hospital bed, but he couldn't remember being brought there. In fact he couldn't remember much before he had lost consciousness. Jonah blinked as a head blocked the light from the ceiling panel.

  A calm, authoritative voice spoke from the blur of a face, “He's awake.” The head turned to look at someone standing out of Jonah's sight, “I told you he would make it, Vem. Took almost two weeks for him to wake up, but here he is. ”

  Another muted voice reached Jonah, this one much younger than the one that spoke from the figure, “I had no doubts he would.”

  As Jonah's vision began to focus he recognized the chiseled face and short, auburn hair. “Lieutenant Connell,” The boy tried to sit up as he spoke the name.

  Connell held a strong hand against Jonah's chest. “Easy there, kid, you've been through a hell of a lot.”

  “Indeed,” spoke the other voice from Jonah's right. The boy nearly leapt from the bed when he looked over to see a dark-blue-scaled Tazalian leaning against the hospital wall with his arms folded across his broad chest. “Not many would even survive long in Tarline's hands.”

  Tarline. Jonah knew that name all too well. The cruel torturous Elder who prided himself in the pain of others. Jonah shivered involuntarily at the reminder of being in the Elder's claws.

  Then Jonah remembered something. An escape. A fight. He remembered nearly dying at Tarline's claws. He remembered a soul shattering screech when the boy overcame the Tazalian and killed him.

  “He's dead, though,” Jonah murmured.

  Connell nodded and gave Jonah a grin, “That's right. You killed him. You killed one of the Elders.”

  Even the dark-blue Tazalian nodded appreciatively.

  Jonah frowned. He had killed an Elder; that he could remember. He was escaping from the Elders and so was another…

  “Emma!” Jonah tried to sit up only to be pushed gently back by Connell. “ I've got to find her.”

  An awkward silence fell over the three. Jonah saw a solemn look cross Connell's face, and the blue Tazalian shuffled uneasily against the wall. Jonah frowned. He tried to remember what had happened after his battle with Tarline. Someone or something had been there helping him and his sister escape, but he could only draw blanks when it came to events. It wasn't Kahluna; she had died on Tazal. Who then?

  Connell spoke quietly, “I'm afraid your…”

  “I will tell him,” a husky voice from an open doorway interrupted Connell.

  The blue Tazalian at Jonah's right stood up straight and held both claws at his side. A brief look of fear shot through his gold eyes. Connell stood up and backed away from Jonah. He kept a wary eye on the doorway. Jonah had a puzzled look on his face. He knew that voice. He knew he should be afraid of it like Vemque, but he could not put a name or a face with it.

  Then, it all came flooding back to him as the gray-scaled Tazalian entered slowly. His black leather jacket hung loosely from his broad shoulders, and gray scales could be seen through the new tears in the jacket. Jonah let out a gasp. when he looked above the Seeker’s now scarred snout. Beneath a tattered black fedora, a pair of cloudy golden eyes peered towards the wall beyond Jonah, missing him entirely. Nearly identical scars ran from the ridges above each eye down to the upper jaw line. There was no doubt in the boy's mind that the Zaharak could no longer see.

  The gray Tazalian walked over to the side of the bed and knelt down on one knee. In a quick motion, making Connell and the blue Tazalian reach for their weapons, the gray Tazalian withdrew a dagger from his jacket and held it out, laid across both hands, presenting it to Jonah. The young man stared at the Tazalian in confusion.

  The gray-scaled reptile bowed his head and his husky voice spoke softly, “I am sorry.”

  Jonah looked down at the dagger, “You, you are Zaharak, the Seeker that marked Emma with that blade, the same Seeker that sold her to the Elders.”

  Zaharak closed his blind eyes, faint tears shining from the rims of his eyelids. His voice had a tremor to it, “Yes. I am.”

  Jonah tilted his head. “I remember, though, you were the one who helped me escape the Elders. You were helping Emma escape, too,” Jonah looked back to the doorway. “She's here, isn't she? You rescued her, right?”

  The tears now fell freely along Zaharak's snout and he shook his head. “For two months I kept her safe from harm. Two months she had no fear of Salianos. I knew that I had to rescue you, though, for her.” The Seeker's voice wavered. Zaharak drew in a deep breath. His voice was hardly a murmur as he continued, “I am truly sorry.”

  Connell and Vemque relaxed. The blue Tazalian looked at the Seeker in disbelief. Jonah could only shake his head. “I don't understand. Where is Emma?”

  Zaharak quietly pushed the handle of the dagger into Jonah's hand. “I told them everything that happened to the Elders. How I found you unconscious near Tarline's body and brought you back from Ta Almania, but I could not tell them how she died, not without you.”

  A wave of shock overcame Jonah. He gaped at the gray Tazalian, who slowly raised his blind, tear-filled eyes. The young man could only stammer, “Emma? Dead?”

  Zaharak bent his neck so that the top of his head rested against the bed railing. It took a moment for Jonah to realize that the Seeker was exposing the back of his neck to him. Jonah could not help but notice the knobs of bone where sharp white spikes had once been.

  Zaharak's voice was quieter than before, “I loved her. Many would argue that what little time we spent together would not have been enough, but the loneliness was already eating my soul away before I met her. Despite all I did to hide it, she had seen the only chink in my armor.” He let out a painful chuckle. “She was a clever and determined little cub.” He sighed. “The day I gave her to Lutianist I regretted it almost immediately and certainly regretted it every last minute of the next five month, tormented by the slow burning realization that I no longer wanted to be alone. She had reminded me why I had become a rogue in the first place. With her, I became more aware of myself; I remembered that I wasn't a dog to come barking whenever Salianos wanted.”

  The dark-blue Tazalian scoffed, “Not that you ever did before.”

  Vemque's eyes widened with shock when he realized what he had said and he clapped a claw over his snout, but Zaharak only ignored him. The blind Seeker voice wavered as he continued, “She was such a brave little one. She wanted to fight right beside me. If only I hadn't been so weak. I should have been able to kill Salianos without this happening. If I had only been faster.” He made a cl
awing motion at his ruined eyes and bared his fangs in anguish as more droplets flowed from his eyes.

  Jonah gazed numbly at the reptile. It hurt to see a creature who was raised from birth to be a cold-hearted killer crying over the death of a young human girl. He, on the other hand, was calm. He knew he should be just as upset on hearing his sister was dead, but for some reason he wasn't. Perhaps he was still recovering from the shock.

  Jonah tried to comfort the Tazalian with a gentle response, “You did what was in your power to save Emma from Salianos.”

  Zaharak shook his head solemnly. “Salianos wasn't the one who killed her.”

  Jonah frowned. “Then…”

  Zaharak interrupted him before he could go on, “Before I could reach her, Salianos had poisoned her with Takato.”

  “But you said Salianos didn’t kill her,” Jonah interrupted.

  “It is a slow poison with no cure,” the Seeker continued. “Salianos wanted to be sure that if he could not have the Gaia's power, no one would. He poisoned her, all for a myth,” Zaharak's voice cracked and he fell silent for a brief moment before continuing.

  “She would have spent three, maybe four, years in agony. There are ways to slow the poison and reduce the pain. I told her that, but…” Zaharak's words caught in his throat silencing him. Jonah wasn’t sure the Seeker would be able to finish; then he managed to let the words out, “She asked me to do the impossible. She wanted me to kill her. She did not wish to live to see those around her affected by her pain. She wanted you, Jonah, to be able to find a mate and start your family without worrying about her. She didn’t want your parents to see her suffer. I couldn't do it though. I begged her not to make me. I held her in my arms.” Zaharak took another deep breath. “She told me, 'Seeker, do you really want to see me living what few years I would have left in fear that a surge of agony would claim my body today or tomorrow? It would kill me more than the poison itself if I had to burden Jonah, or my parents, or you with the sight.' I knew she was right, but I refused to kill her.”

  A tremor shook Jonah's body as he listened to Zaharak's debriefing. His mind told him he should feel spiteful towards the Seeker, but he couldn't. It was apparent just how much Zaharak did care for Emma. And, he could see that it pained the Seeker to tell him what he had done. Zaharak felt regret, which Jonah was sure was new for the Seeker.

  “She kept begging me and in the end, and, well, I honored her wish. It was with that blade in your hand that I killed her. I felt her life fade in my arms. I understand if you hate me for everything that I have done, and I will not blame you if you take my life with that dagger.”

  The boy felt pity for the Seeker who still had tears rolling from his blind eyes. He lifted the dagger in his right hand. He looked from Vemque to Connell as if hoping for guidance from them, but they both wore an ashen expression on their faces. Jonah felt a tear roll down his own cheek as he looked back down at Zaharak. A voice in his head told him he should kill the pitiful Tazalian. That had been what he wanted to do ever since the Seeker kidnapped his sister, but seeing him now made Jonah realize that this was not the same Tazalian he had known. Zaharak had become someone entirely different, and Jonah could not hate him.

  Carefully Jonah turned the dagger so that he had a delicate hold on the blade. He pressed the handle against the side of Zaharak's gaunt snout, “I cannot kill you. You did what was right.” Zaharak lifted his head face to face with Jonah. The young man went on, “Emma did not deserve to suffer. She deserved a long, happy life, but was denied by a selfish monster. I cannot hate you either. You are no longer the cold-hearted Seeker I knew; you are different.”

  Zaharak nodded and gently took the dagger from the boy. He quietly stood up. All eyes were on him as he slowly made his way to the door. Just as he was about to pass through, he was stopped by Vemque. “What now, Seeker? You don't plan to go back into hiding do you?”

  Zaharak turned his head towards the younger Tazalian, his ruined eyes unseeing. “I am done hiding in loneliness. I will take over Salianos’s role in leading our people. As of today his wars will end. Our armies will leave here.”

  “You certain they will obey you?” Vemque asked skeptically.

  “I am the Seeker who killed the High Elder. None are mad enough to deny me leadership. However, I could always use a second in command.” Zaharak gave the blue Tazalian an odd smile.

  Vemque, looked stunned and stammered, “M-me? Your second in command? I am only nineteen Tazalian years old, sir, and I am definitely not a Seeker.”

  Zaharak continued smiling in Vemque's direction, “I learned from a young human girl that neither age nor status makes a being great,” Zaharak turned his head back towards Jonah. “I wish I were able to tell her how thankful I am.”

  Jonah looked solemnly at the Seeker caught by an inner feeling. “I think she already knew.”

  Zaharak gazed for a long moment at Jonah's direction before nodding and disappearing into the doorway. Tears rolled silently down the young man's face as he watched the Seeker leave; yet, he felt a calm reassurance that his little sister was in a better place, away from darkness and pain.

  Connell walked awkwardly over to the boy's side. “I am sorry for your loss, Jonah. I will see to it that your sister goes down as one of the fallen heroes of this war.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant Connell.”

  Connell gave the boy a solemn smile, “I know times may be difficult right now, but you take it easy, kid. You more than deserve it.”

  “Will do, sir.” Jonah smiled weakly.

  Connell gave the young man a salute, which Jonah matched awkwardly. Then the lieutenant turned and almost marched towards the doorway signaling for Vemque to follow. Jonah lay back in the bed as the pair left. He had suffered, he had endured, but he still lost Emma. He knew that he could never go back to his life before the war broke out, but he also knew one thing: Emma would not want him to spend the rest of his life mourning her. She would want him to be happy. And so, Jonah knew that despite the darkness he had traversed, he had made it. Now was a time for light.

  The next day Jonah asked Lieutenant Connell to help him locate his parents. With the military's technology they were able to track down a signal from his mother's and father's implants, which led to a destroyed department store. It took Connell and Vemque hours before they unearthed the grizzly remains of the young man's parents. To spare Jonah the horrible sight, the two soldiers arranged for the bodies to be cremated by the city along with those of the many other victims. When told of his parents' deaths, Jonah sank into his wheelchair, his heart aching at the knowledge that there was no one left for him anymore. Everything in his life was gone.

  Over the next week, news spread like fire through the cities of Earth. New orders been given to the Tazalian forces. Their new self-appointed leader had ordered the Tazalian troops to stop their attack on the humans and before returning to Tazal they were to help the humans rebuild their cities. Amazed and skeptical, Jonah feared that the Tazalians would lash out against the orders, but it seemed they all still feared their new Seeker leader enough to comply.

  When Jonah was finally discharged from the hospital, he decided to walk around the city with a military escort to observe the extent of the damage. He had been so focused on rescuing Emma that the invasion had slipped from the forefront of his mind. It took Jonah a long while to recognize that the collapsed buildings and the ruined bridges and roadways belonged to the city of Polinia. It was disheartening to see all the destruction.

  They toured many blocks before they caught sight of the first group of Tazalian workers. As Jonah watched, six large reptiles would climb a collapsed building, each carrying steel beams under one arm. They climbed to a certain spot on the building and placed the beams. Then they removed what looked to be plasma torches hanging from their belts and fused the beams to the structure. Once the beams were secured, they climbed back down and carefully dug through the piles of rubble to pull out more beams or even large steel platin
gs. They then climbed back up the building and placed the additional pieces where they belonged. The Tazalians were reconstructing the buildings as a child would a complex puzzle.

  Jonah wondered how many human contractors would have lost their minds if they watched this. The Tazalians did not use blueprints to reconstruct and didn’t demolish an entire building to rebuild on a new foundation. Then again there were not enough resources to reconstruct the buildings from ground up; and with billions of people homeless, they did not have time to wait for new materials to be forged. So the Tazalians were careful about which pieces they salvaged and how they were attached. It was amazing to watch the Tazalians work.

  Jonah and his security guard were not the only ones watching the Tazalian army at work. A group of humans with dirty faces and ragged clothing gathered at the base of the building. They huddled together and began muttering among themselves. Then without warning one of the ragged humans threw a piece of rubble at one of the Tazalians. The jagged object hit the back of a green-scaled reptile. The other five Tazalians watched as their comrade winced and reached to rub his back. His yellow eyes flared and he directed a feral growl at the humans before returning to his work. His fellow workers continued their tasks as well.

  As the group of humans walked away laughing, Jonah watched the Tazalians with awe. It was apparent that they wanted to tear their hecklers to pieces, but their fear of Zaharak outweighed their anger.

  “Amazing. The blind Seeker was right. They don't dare disobey him,” Jonah spoke distractedly.

  His military escort pursed her lips in thought, “Can't blame them. Even without his eyesight, he is still menacing.”