Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties

by Kellie Doherty

  Stee chuckled at her annoyed look. “Me and the other knights are only trying to make you better, you know.”

  “Calling my bloodline weak doesn’t help,” she replied, wishing her voice didn’t sound so high-pitched. Slipping the daggers in her belt, she turned away. She felt better with all three in easy reach. Safer.

  “It helps more than you think,” Stee said, his voice growing more distant. When she turned back to reply, all she saw was his retreating back disappearing between the nearby tents.

  “Make sure you check on Markus tomorrow!” Misti called after him, no longer trying to be quiet. He threw a hand up in reply.

  Misti huffed and sat down next to her pack. What should I do now? Her stomach rumbled again, and she looked longingly at the bustling village. There would be cheese, breads, nuts, fresh fruits of all kinds at the marketplace. But while the mother and daughter had recovered, she didn’t want to chance going into the village and causing more trouble, so she opened the front portion of her pack and pulled out a handful of purple garis root. The sour root made a satisfying crunch, and she leaned on her pack, looking up at the night sky. Darkness spread like ink, peppered with stars, though with the daygems’ glow she couldn’t make out any constellations. Still, she knew they were there: Aluriah’s Battle, Ponuriah’s Defeat, The Great Rift, and her personal favorite, Wyvern’s Glory.

  Misti found herself reaching for the metal wings dangling from the bracelet on her left wrist. It had once been a full metal wyvern piece, but her brother had intentionally broken it in her youth. She rubbed the metal, feeling the bumps and ridges of the feathers, the jagged edge, remembering how beautiful the wyvern had been when it was whole.

  Danill had insisted they each carry a piece—Danill, the body; Char, the head; Misti, the wings—so no matter where they went they’d always be together. Char had nodded along, slipped the head piece into her pocket, ever ready to make their younger brother happy. Misti had followed suit, first keeping the wings in her pocket, but then fashioning a bracelet out of them.

  Guilt sliced through the memory, boiling hot in her stomach and scorching the fleeting happiness away. Even now, seasons later, it burned to remember. I had to run. I couldn’t stay there any longer. I had to leave them behind.

  Something rustled by her head, and her focus turned back to the present and the neades currently nudging the side of her face. Dis grunted, a puff of sour air wafting over Misti’s nose. She sat up and, chuckling, pushed him away. Only then did she notice the people walking over to her. It seemed like Met’zil Zarious had come to a decision. Met’zil Zarious stared down his nose at her, his sleet dragon nowhere to be seen. Ever Zarious’ shadow, Ithuia shuffled next to him, looking anywhere but at her. Arias stood a bit away from the group, facing Misti with a keen, even stare. But it was Dylori who put out a hand to help Misti to her feet, Dylori looking madder than a mother firebird chasing after its errant young.

  Dylori who spoke first, ice in her rough tone. “Met’zil Zarious has come to a decision, though some don’t like it.”

  Misti nodded, worrying her lip between her teeth. No matter what it is, keep it together.

  “You need to leave,” Met’zil Zarious said.

  That she understood. Why the others would be so discomfited by it, Misti didn’t know. This orb was dangerous, so in a sense, so was she. Gathering a few Moon Knights together and making the trip back to Amiin made the most sense.

  “And you are dismissed from the Moon Knights. You will surrender your rank and blades in Amiin to Aramet’zil Vivia. ”

  Misti stared at him. “What? Dismissed?” she yelped. Does that mean…?

  “Yes.” Met’zil Zarious gave her a curt nod, his eyes flashing. “You are no longer part of our ranks.”

  She sensed he was angry, but at what she didn’t know. It wasn’t her fault the banished one put this orb around her neck. Her dream of becoming a T’zil like Dylori, of becoming stronger and faster and better, darted through her mind. If she was dismissed from the Moon Knights, none of that could happen. She’d never be able to face her parents. Never be able to save her siblings or be brave enough to go home.

  Met’zil Zarious’ gravelly voice rumbled through her thoughts. “There are more suncreatures now than ever before, attacking the main cities and the villages in our section, and we can’t afford to make mistakes anymore. With the emergence of this pendant, your presence here…or around any Moon Knights, would dangerously weaken us, and we can’t let that happen. On top of that, your fighting skills haven’t improved, regardless of how long I spend drilling you. I was willing to accept your ignorance of my fighting technique a few seasons back, when this surge of evildoers wasn’t yet at our doorstep, but I can’t any longer. I took a chance in letting a vulnix bloodline in, but that’s a mistake I won’t make ever again.”

  Wait, what? So not only would she probably never be able to return to the Moon Knights, but because of her, no other vulnix Vagari would be able to join either. That’s not fair. Surely other vulnix Vagari could do better than me? Others could work within the tight confines of brute strength Met’zil Zarious demanded. Although everything Zarious had said about her own actions was true, a burning seed of anger grew in Misti’s heart. She wanted to snap back at him, but anger and defiance would only give him another reason not to let her bloodline in, so she gave a respectful nod.

  “Yes, sir,” she said, not lifting her gaze.

  “Good,” Met’zil Zarious said. “We can’t spare an escort for you, so you will go back to Amiin alone to get this Blood orb business taken care of.”

  Alone? A trickle of fear dripped down Misti’s back. She could travel in the safety of night, but that meant the trip would take four nights, and she didn’t know if the Moon cage would last that long. If she traveled by day as well, it would take her two, but she’d have to contend with suncreatures on the way there, and they had encountered some massive ones traveling to this village. She certainly didn’t want to meet one on her own. And I’m still tired from the pendant. She’d have to stop early because of it and that meant it would take even longer to get to Amiin. Under Met’zil Zarious’ watchful eye, she tried to appear calm and hoped he didn’t see the trembling in her legs.

  “Here.” He shoved a letter into her hands, cast one more disgusted look at the pendant, and left. Another pair of footsteps traveled with him. Ithuia, most likely.

  Misti held the letter for a moment, staring at it, the thick paper sealed with a white moon heavy in her hands. Dumbfounded, she looked to the others. Ithuia was gone, but both Arias and Dylori had stayed. Dis had stayed as well, standing next to Dylori, though he stared after Zarious and huffed again.

  Arias moved first, coming over to her. “I apologize for how this turned out.” She frowned, appearing conflicted. “Don’t leave right away. I have something for you.” Her dark hair bobbed around her head as she darted away.

  At last, Dylori approached her. Her usually jovial face held a deep frown, wrinkles creasing around her dark eyes that glinted with a hardness Misti hadn’t seen before. “He’s wrong. You should go to Amiin, but you shouldn’t be thrown out of the Moon Knights. You’ve worked so hard—”

  “I know.” Misti folded into herself, shoulders slumping, head down. “But he’s right. I can’t be around the Moon Knights right now, I’d be a danger…more than I am already,” she mumbled. A tight lump of grief had formed in her throat.

  “That necklace is the danger.” Dylori’s rough voice and her hand, landing heavy on Misti’s arm, jarred her from her sorry state.

  “I don’t know what to do with myself anymore,” Misti said, staring at the letter.

  Dylori shook her a little. “You go to Amiin. Get that pendant off you. Then you figure it out.”

  Misti knew she was right, but she felt like there was a gaping hole in her chest. She’d run to the Moon Knights after leaving her family, and they’d taken her in. They were the only thing she’d ever considered as a career. What else can I
do? I have to go to Amiin. That much was certain, so that’s what she held onto. She touched the smooth surface of the Moon cage, the shining light that held the danger at bay.

  She’d have to go to Amiin alone. Fear clamped on her chest, making it hard to breathe, hard to think. She’d never been alone since becoming a part of the Moon Knights. Never, since that desperate crescent of fleeing Northtown, with little food, even less sleep, and a heavy guilt weighing on her shoulders. The fourteen nights traveling out of the Ruinswick area and down into the Ratnaa Grove, pleading for help from the Nemora who lived and mined gemstones there. Of going from village to village after receiving aid, using the gems the Nemora gifted her to pay for supplies and a bed, and then eventually entrance into the Moon Knights. A gift she hadn’t figured out how to repay just yet.

  The glow from the pendant around her neck seemed to wash her surroundings out for a moment, and Misti’s fear now gripped her throat. But then a squeeze from Dylori’s hand brought her back to the present, and the blue subsided. The gentle pressure of Dylori’s hand lifted some of the fear. She took a deep breath.

  “I…I’m afraid, Dylori. I don’t want to go alone.”

  Even though she felt like a little child saying so, she knew Dylori wouldn’t tease her for it. Their friendship had lasted seven and a half seasons, had gone through the trials of initiation into the Moon Knights and been strengthened by the battles they’d fought together, even if Dylori had always protected her.

  “You can do it, Misti, I know you can,” Dylori whispered, running her hand up to Misti’s neck and forcing Misti to look at her. Even now, Misti’s body responded to Dylori’s touch. Her skin tingled again, and a thrill tightened her stomach. Dylori’s dark brown eyes shimmered, strands of gray and black hair clinging to her dark forehead. She looked like the night itself, and Misti held that intense gaze for as long as she dared. Too long probably. Her pounding heart had nothing to do with fear. Listen to her words, girl, Misti scolded herself.

  Dylori gave her a soft smile. “Or I’ll have to come out there and kick you in the ass myself.”

  With that, she knocked Misti on the side of her head and hefted Misti’s pack, handing it to her. Despite her fear, a smile tugged at Misti’s lips. She took the pack, strapping it to her back and sliding her curved sword into her belt next to her daggers. The Moon Knights couldn’t technically take her weapons away until she got to Amiin, and she’d need all the help she could get on her way there.

  Misti turned to look into the darkness beyond the daygems’ light. Nighttime had always seemed so comforting, a cool blanket she could wrap around herself. But that had always been in the presence of others. Now it looked foreboding, seeming to stretch further than ever before. Just like it had when she was a youngling. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Dylori staring at her with a curious look.

  “I’m back,” a soft voice called to them. Arias had slipped through the tents once again, a large side bag slung over her shoulder. “Please take this as a show of our thanks, even if the village is a bit frightened of you right now.”

  She slipped the sidebar off and handed it to Misti. The sudden weight of it pulled her arm down, and the side bag toppled to the ground, a large brown oval spilling out and making a crinkling sound. Face burning, Misti ducked down to grab it. A large loaf of dark bread speckled with dried fruit and nuts had unwrapped slightly from some paper. She rewrapped it and put it back in the bag, noting that it was full of fabric pouches and metal containers no doubt containing dried fruits and nuts, a wheel of cheese as big as two hands sealed in wax, and two large water flasks so full they nearly burst at the seams. Curiously, a letter sat on top of it all. Misti instantly recognized the script as her sister’s, and her throat tightened again.

  “There’s a fire-starter in the front pocket, and some extra coin, too,” Arias was saying, her voice a melody to Misti’s ears, a song even in the common tongue. “We had a successful harvest this season, with the Nemora’s help, of course.”

  “Of course.” The Nemora aided every harvest, their crafting producing the best fruits and vegetables from even the tiniest seeds. “Where did you get this?” She pulled the letter out, careful not to smudge the writing.

  Arias shrugged, her pale eyes crinkling at the sides. “Carrier vulnixes came and gave all the Moon Knights their mail. That one was addressed to you, and I assumed you’d want it before you left.”

  “Thank you,” Misti said, tucking both letters, the one from her sister and the one from Met’zil Zarious, into the pouch. “And thank you for everything else. For the supplies and for this.”

  She touched the Moon cage, and Arias nodded. “Certainly. It should hold for a while, but the Elu at Amiin are more powerful. I’d travel as quickly as you can. We can even lend you a mount if you’d like.”

  Misti frowned. As much as riding an impuni local to these parts would make the trip quicker, she couldn’t risk it. What if the Moon cage broke sooner than expected? She thought back to the herds they had seen on the hike over, the brown six-legged beasts with dark spiral horns curling around their narrow heads like a crown and black stripes decorating their sides. Their high-pitched bellow followed the knights as the creatures called their young closer. “Thank you, but I wouldn’t want to hurt it.”

  “You are a thoughtful soul,” Arias murmured and nodded again.

  An awkward silence crept between them from the seriousness of the compliment, so because she really didn’t like awkward silences, Misti blurted out, “Nice earrings, by the way.”

  It was true. Misti really did like her earrings. Arias’ ears were pierced multiple times, with one particular piercing in her left ear weaving in and out of her lobe in a complex pattern. The metal was the same rust color as her bow.

  Arias smiled, then looked between Dylori and Misti and stepped back. “I should let you go.”

  Lightning ants seemed to crawl in Misti’s stomach, tightening her muscles. Taking a quick swig of water from her flask to settle her stomach, Misti tied it to her belt and swung the side bag on. She rolled her shoulders, shifting her packs and weaponry until they settled comfortably. Then she turned to Arias and extended her hand.

  “May the moon be always over your head,” she said as Arias clasped her hand. The dabbler shook her hand once and let go again.

  “And over you, as well.” Arias’ gaze slipped down to the pendant once more, the glow casting strange shadows across her face. She seemed to shake herself from her thoughts and gave Misti one last nod before stepping back.

  Misti turned to Dylori and tried to shake her hand, but Dylori pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, murmuring, “Don’t die on the way. And say hello to Zora for me when you see her.”

  Wrapping her arms around Dylori and trying to pull as much strength and courage from her friend as she possibly could, Misti whispered, “Thank you, Dylori. I wish I could take you with me.”

  Dylori let go, a strange shine in her eyes and her smile sharper than any sword’s edge. “I’ll always be there to protect you. In here.” She tapped the side of Misti’s head with her finger. “Yelling at you to move faster, think quicker, and always—”

  “Bring up my sword to block, I know.” Misti glanced at the tents and suddenly wished she could see her fellow Moon Knights one more time before she left, but with the way her luck rolled, the pendant would burst through the Moon cage right then and make everyone faint. She couldn’t, wouldn’t chance it. “Tell the others I said goodbye.”

  “Consider it done.” Dylori squeezed her arm once more then turned her to face the forest. “Stay safe out there, and move quick.”

  Misti stepped forward. Cool night air twisted under her tunic. She shivered. The forest loomed ahead of her, darker than ever, and fear trickled down her spine. The woods looked so big and she felt tiny in comparison, even smaller than usual. Moon above, I wish Zora were here. Fingering her vulnix’s feather in her hair, Misti took a deep breath. She had a few good hours before the sun started r
ising and the suncreatures would awaken once more. A few good hours to go as far as she could under the protection of the moon and stars.

  Try as she might to resist the urge, Misti failed and looked over her shoulder. Dylori waved. Dis raised his head and huffed, a puff of white cloud emanating from his gaping jaw, the cold definitely settling in. To her surprise Arias also waved, a sturdy presence and one she welcomed. She might have been sent away from the Moon Knights under a cloud of disgrace because of Zarious’ words, but at least two people had cared enough to see her off. Three, if she counted Stee. Jaw set, she shoved her fears to the back of her mind and began to jog deeper into the forest and further away from the safety of her friends, the azure glow of the Moon cage brightening the darkness as she went.

  Chapter Four

  MISTI TRAVELED ALL NIGHT along the path the Moon Knights had taken to get to the Vagari village. It would lead her straight to Amiin in two nights’ time if she took Arias’ warning and traveled as fast as she could and slept little. Four nights if she took the safer route of traveling only by darkness and slept during the daytime, hidden from view. Misti didn’t know what she’d do once the sun rose, but she had some time left before the dark blue horizon melted into pinks and reds. She’d use the time to go as fast as she possibly could.

  Misti broke into a sprint for her second time that night, knowing she could keep this pace for a while and have some energy left to make her decision. Her vulnix bloodline gave her this running ability. She could usually sprint four times a night, but tonight exhaustion pulled at her muscles more than ever. Next time, sleep first, then food, then sprinting. The extra pack at her side thumped into her hip as she ran, and her rolled-up sleeping mat smacked into her shoulders with each step, but she didn’t care. She didn’t need to be sneaky at night.