by AA Lee
“But we’re missing some officials. Let’s wait. We have all day. In the meantime, if someone wants to confess, that would be great before I use my own means.”
The girl was right. Hagibis wasn’t inside. The officials started bickering, but some stopped speaking after glancing at Tala.
“We can start,” the girl announced after Hagibis entered.
The man looked like he hadn’t seen the atrocity that had befallen the village. He strode quickly through the meeting hall to the front.
“Line up!” Tala barked like a head warrior.
Hagibis didn’t flinch. Instead, he climbed up the stage, brows furrowed and fists clenched. “Your power must have fucked up your head. Who do you think you are to stand beside the datu?”
He raised his hand, but before he could touch Tala, the girl closed the distance between them. With the torch in her right hand, she grabbed the official’s neck with her left. His brows remained furrowed, like he was suspended in his anger.
The meeting hall disappeared. Day turned to night. In front of them, Hagibis faced a muscular man illuminated by a lamp. Kisig had met the man for the first time when his father had still been the village datu. The man he saw now had been younger back then, but there was no mistaking the most powerful man in Daa.
“You have a week left before we attack. If you don’t agree to my proposal, your village will surely disappear off the face of the earth.”
“What do you want in return?” Puno, the Daa datu asked. “And how can I be sure that we’re not walking into a trap?”
“You just worry about your tactics. I have a plan of my own. And you’ll know when I hand you a list of Nayon spies in your village.”
The sudden light blinded Kisig. When he opened his eyes, Tala was still holding Hagibis by the neck.
“Thank you for speeding up the investigation, Official Hagibis. Now we can move on to other things.” The girl let go of the official’s neck, and he fell limply to the floor, as if he had only been standing through Tala’s strength. “The torch has shown me crucial information that the priestesses failed to let us know.” Tala held the torch higher.
“Oh, speaking of the priestesses, welcome back, High Priestess.” The meeting hall door opened like the girl had just summoned the high priestess. “I’m glad you made it back in one piece. The village wasn’t so lucky. If only you had told me what to do, that I only needed to hold the torch and that the torch would choose me, nobody would have died tonight.”
The high priestess’s lips pressed tight together as she approached the stage. She gripped her staff until her knuckles were white. “The torch will consume you. You should only hold it when it’s an absolute necessity. Let go.”
“I am the only one who can hold it. If you had only told me what to do instead of putting me together with the other contenders, the village wouldn’t have had to attack Daa. The gold I could make would have been enough to feed the village for decades!”
“Gold!” the officials exclaimed in one.
“Priestess Tala! Let go of the torch. You need rest. You will be lost to its power.”
“I’m fine with that as long as the village won’t suffer anymore.”
“It changed you.” The high priestess slowly climbed the stage. “That’s why I needed you to train first, before holding the torch.”
Instead of answering, Tala picked up the spear lying on the floor and tilted the spear’s head toward the torch. Fire met iron. Kisig rose to his feet when the iron turned yellow.
“Bring me iron!” Tala ordered.
The officials scrambled to their feet. In a moment, they were looking up at the stage, holding spears and arrows. The promise of gold had made them all obey Tala. She stepped closer to Official Lupit, who arrived in front of the stage first, and lowered the torch. The official raised his spear to meet the fire.
Official Lupit’s eyes grew bigger as he moved the spear’s head closer to his face. “Ahh!” he screamed as he touched the gold.
“Be patient!” Tala scolded him.
“Of course, of course. High Priestess, I will bring more iron.”
“High Priestess?” Head Warrior Bagsik shouted in disbelief.
His voice was followed by an uproar of protests.
“Yes! She should be the high priestess. She is the most powerful priestess in here. Just look at what she can do! And even before holding that magical torch, we saw how powerful she was when she created those visions and fought the other girls.”
“The high priestess is still alive!” Official Hagibis pushed his shaky hands against the floor in an attempt to rise. “You should follow her command.”
Official Lupit pointed at Hagibis. “A traitor like you isn’t qualified to speak about this matter. You belong in prison!”
“Exactly!” echoed the other officials. More shouts directed at Hagibis followed, and the officials pushed against each other to get near Tala. Kisig was relieved to see Hagibis’s downfall, but the girl was a whole new power he would have to struggle with. She had become the opposite of the slave girl who had been afraid of getting noticed. Hagibis might have been cunning, but he had been subtle in his attempt at power, so Kisig had known how to fight him.
“Line up. I will not change iron into gold unless you behave like officials. Draw lots or something. I don’t care as long as you line up.”
Chapter 33
Tala
The houses were rebuilt in a matter of days, and the dead were given proper burials, except those who had been reduced to ashes. Tala’s ability prompted the people to visit the nearby town frequently to buy iron. Daa village, having lost their warriors from Tala’s power, didn’t try to attack again.
People from other villages brought iron to be changed into gold, but Tala refused them. She insisted on only changing iron for Nayon villagers, so outsiders had no option but to sell their iron to them. When the people got too greedy, Tala stopped, pretending that she was tired and needed rest to continue. The truth was, she never felt sleepy or tired after she got ahold of the torch. The torch was always in her hand. The thought of losing it made her fear that she would lose her power.
Stretching her legs, she noticed the delicate flower painting on her skirt. A villager had given it to her on his return from town after selling the gold. Others had given her various kinds of expensive things.
Her small hut had grown too shabby for her liking after the village had turned from the brink of famine into a center of trade. She also hated standing by the door while villagers waited outside in line, so she was having a house bigger than the datu’s built. The construction was taking longer than she’d expected, and the datu had agreed to let her stay in his house, in the meantime.
Her life prior to being a priestess became dimmer and dimmer in her memory. She didn’t know if it was because she’d hated her pathetic life as a slave, or if it was because of the torch. Either way, she’d decided it was for the best.
A knock on the door startled her.
“We have important visitors, Priestess Tala.” The village datu’s voice was low, but there was a hint of urgency.
“Coming,” she replied as she opened the door.
The datu wore his silver armor, looking elegant and strong. He didn’t step back to let her move forward.
When her eyes met his, she didn’t see the fear in almost everyone’s eyes since she’d taken up the torch. She saw something else. Is it disappointment? Standing too close to him reminded her of the time she’d danced with him. She hated the datu because of that. He reminded her of the past and her weakness. She hated how he distracted her.
She stepped to her right to avoid colliding with him and marched, head high, to the living room. Five men stood on the living room to greet her. They wore brightly colored clothes from head to toe. Tala felt suffocated just looking at them. Only their heads and hands weren’t covered.
The man wearing the brightest clothes bowed and kept his head down. “Swerte gid a namon nga makita ka
, Priestess Tala.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Priestess Tala.” The words came from Ganda, one of the datu’s attendants.
“How did you learn their language?” Tala’s gaze captured Ganda, and the girl, who was always sure of what to say seemed frozen, her mouth open. “Speak! How did you learn their language?”
“I… studied it. My father brought me to town when I was younger to learn it.”
“Ah, so they’re townspeople. It’s nice to meet you too. I know you’re here for gold. You can just wait for the villagers to sell it to you.”
Ganda translated her words. Tala was annoyed at the delay in communication, but she was thankful that at least someone could relay her message. As powerful as it was, the torch didn’t seem to offer a language ability, and that made her jealous of the knowledge. She pushed the thought aside and listened to Ganda instead, blocking her interest at learning the town’s language.
“We have an interesting proposal.”
“I’m sure that proposal is only interesting on your part. You see, we are faring well these days.”
“We are aware. I am Yaman, the mayor of the town.”
“What’s a mayor?”
“Something like your village datu, but my power is over the town, which is bigger than any village. So… back to the proposal, I propose that you visit the town. We will welcome you with gifts…” Yaman glanced at Ganda, as if to make sure the girl was translating his message well. When he spoke next, he did so slowly, as if he didn’t want any of his words to be missed. “And we have lots of iron there. You can transform any amount you like, and you can keep a huge percentage of it.”
“And abandon the village.” Tala sighed. “Come closer.”
“Yes, Priestess.” The man bowed his head and looked at the stone floor as he walked closer to her. Tala grabbed his neck as he got within reach. The living room transformed into something else.
They stood in a room with smooth walls and a smooth floor. The walls were painted white, and the room was decorated with vividly painted curtains.
“Translate.” Tala commanded Ganda.
“I heard the young girl was powerful.” A man dressed as colorfully as Yaman spoke.
“Yes, but she still is just a woman. We have to negotiate with the datu.” The rest listened to Yaman when he spoke.
“How about just pretending to respect her when we talk to her? We still have to negotiate with the datu, but we need her to agree. If she declined, we would be in trouble. According to some reports, she can burn a man in a heartbeat. I don’t want to die.”
“Fine. Let’s at least pretend, but I hate that we have to give tribute to España. Perhaps we can make this trip a secret.”
Tala withdrew her arm, bringing the room back to the present. Yaman fell to the floor. She searched for the datu’s eyes, and he met her gaze without guilt.
“Yes, they talked to me before I called you.” His voice didn’t tremble. “But the decision is still yours. I didn’t agree to or reject their proposal.”
Tala broke eye contact and looked down at the man on the floor. “Just a woman… from now on, you will obey me—a woman.” Tala kneeled in front of the wide-eyed man and reached for his neck again. “You are mine.”
“No!” The high priestess rushed through the open door. “Humans are not things. You cannot own them.”
“But I did, High Priestess. It proved to be very useful when the village was under attack.”
“You will take away his soul. You are not a monster. Don’t let the torch turn you into one. You’ll pay a price—”
“Gladly.” Tala let her power flow through the man. It was the technique no priestess had taught her. Only Nimfa had, and now she wasn’t even around.
“Yes, mistress. I am yours.” Yaman tried to kneel despite his lack of energy.
His companions gasped in shock.
“No!” the high priestess screamed.
Light erupted from the high priestess’s staff, but the flame from the torch shielded Tala. She didn’t even blink from the impact.
“Go back to where you come from. Let it be known that I, a woman, am the most powerful of all. I will not be kind to those who will look down on me. Whoever disagrees…”
“Yes, mistress. What should I do?”
“Kill them.”
“As you wish, mistress. I should hurry.”
“Stop now, Priestess Tala. Don’t let the torch’s curse consume you.”
“What curse?” Tala hadn’t seen the curse in the torch’s memory.
“The only thing that keeps it alive and powerful is its curse. Once you undo it, you can control it. I will help you.”
“You aren’t even powerful enough to hold it.”
With tears in her eyes, the high priestess left with the visitors. Tala couldn’t fathom why she had shed tears. Tala had just shown how powerful priestesses could be, and the head priestess should have been thankful for it.
The high priestess’s warning about the torch consuming her bothered her like an itch she tried to ignore. For days, she tried to not to think of it. She was aware that the torch’s magic required payment, but she already knew that the payment was magic from the gifted it sucked in. Five days after seeing the high priestess, she couldn’t bear to leave it to her imagination any longer. She called Ganda and told her that she wouldn’t be changing iron into gold for the rest of the day.
After locking the door, she slowly lifted a stone from the floor and planted the torch on the ground. She took a deep breath and opened her palm. Her last thought was how small the fire had become before darkness enveloped her.
Chapter 34
Kisig
Tala hadn’t eaten dinner the previous night. It was almost nightfall, but she hadn’t come out of her room.
“Priestess Tala,” Kisig called.
There was only silence. Something was wrong. The light passing through the walls was weaker. He rapped his knuckles harder against the wooden door. Still no answer.
He unsheathed his bolo knife and started hacking at the door. If the girl was only asleep, she would have woken. The door came down with a thud.
“Oh no!” Ganda gasped behind him. He hadn’t noticed the attendants gathering around. Tala was on the floor unconscious, and the torch burned much dimmer. He almost stepped inside when he remembered that the new priestesses had talked about the torch throwing people back.
“Call the high priestess right away. No other person should hear of this.” He looked at Ganda specifically, knowing she would do the job right.
She bowed and disappeared.
The high priestess arrived in no time. “I will move the torch out of her reach. That’s the only way to make sure she gets the rest she needs.” She lay down in the living room hastily. “Don’t be surprised. I’ll be unconscious for a short time while I move the torch.”
“Where?” Kisig asked.
“To the shrine where it belongs.” The high priestess closed her eyes.
Not long after, the torch moved and left the house.
When the high priestess woke up, she was visibly shaking. “Well, I haven’t been out of my body in a long time.” The high priestess put her arms over Ganda’s and Hinhin’s shoulders. “I’m going to heal the girl.”
He followed them to Tala’s room. The girl was barely breathing. Her pallid skin made it hard for him to believe that just the previous day, she had been the most powerful gifted person.
The high priestess started singing. She stretched every syllable of the forgotten tongue. Her voice rose and fell, bringing memories back of when he’d been injured out in the woods. Color returned to Tala’s face. The girl opened her eyes for a moment then closed them again. Her stomach rose and fell with every breath. When she opened her eyes again, the high priestess stopped singing.
“I think she’s not fully healed.” Kisig sat beside Tala. He put the back of his hand on her forehead. “But she doesn’t have a fever.”
“I’m bey
ond exhausted,” the high priestess said. “And what the girl needs the most right now is rest. Porridge would be great to start with.”
Tears flowed down Tala’s cheeks. “What have I done?” she whispered.
“You need to get your strength back.” The high priestess held Tala’s hand. “You might be confused right now about what happened to you. I’ll send some priestesses later to heal you more. After that, we’ll talk about it, and I’ll help you deal with the struggle of handling the torch.”
Tala shook her head vigorously. “I don’t want to hold it anymore.”
“We’ll undo the curse. I’ll tell you how later. I promised that I would help you. Oh, thank you, Ganda.” The high priestess looked up at the attendant carrying a bowl. “Hot soup is perfect to restore her health.”
Ganda bowed her head and placed a bowl of pumpkin soup on the floor. “Vegetable stew. This was supposed to be her lunch. I just heated it and removed the big slices of vegetables because she hasn’t eaten since yesterday. She might have a stomachache if she eats solid food.”
“Thank you,” Tala croaked. Tears continued to flow down her cheeks. She tried to sit up, but her weak body failed to cooperate.
Kisig moved swiftly to her left and helped her sit up.
The girl couldn’t look him in the eyes. “I’m sorry.” She covered her face with her hands. “I killed many. I disrespected you. I don’t know how…” Sobs racked her frame, which suddenly seemed so tiny. Her body leaned slowly to the side, and Kisig held her steady before her head could touch the floor.
The high priestess lifted the bowl to her mouth when she calmed down a bit. Tala drank the soup slowly. When she finished, she looked at the spot where the torch had been.
“Did you put that thing back where it came from?” she asked.
“No.” The high priestess shook her head. “When you’re ready, you will be able to control it.”
“No! That’s the last thing I want to do. I have killed enough, and we have enough gold.”