by AA Lee
“So you willingly imprisoned yourself and recklessly brought this girl into this mess?” Kisig could not help raising his voice. He paced back and forth, not knowing what to do.
“I apologize, Datu. I had no idea that the torch would require her death as well. I didn’t know—”
“I’m not the datu anymore. Four hundred years have passed since you cursed me.”
Tala gasped and put a hand on her chest. “My curse lasted for four hundred years?” She shook her head. “No. It can’t be. I only did it to hide in the torch for a while. And you… you’re still young. Please tell me that you’re only trying to make me feel guilty.”
No words came out of Kisig’s mouth. He wanted to be angry, but at whom? Tala was just a slave who’d borne the burden of High Priestess Mutya’s expectations, only to be betrayed later when they didn’t know how to properly guide her magic. He was angrier at himself for not seeing what he could have done differently. This time, he wouldn’t betray anyone. This time, he was determined to help Kenda and Tala even if that cost his life.
“Listen,” he said sternly, “what’s important right now is you free Kenda before you undo the curse or find a way to undo it without you dying. She’s a clever girl. She must have done something before stabbing herself. She must have found a way to survive. We just have to figure it out.”
Tala blinked rapidly then stared at his trousers. “Four hundred years…” she whispered. “I should’ve died that day. Because of me.” Her gaze landed on the torch, and her face contorted into anger and frustration. “It only used me.” Her voice rose as she clenched her fists. “The torch knew there would be a powerful priestess at this time, so it made me curse the village so Kenda would search for it. I’m going to make it pay.”
“Tala, stop.”
Tala turned, anger painted all over her face.
Kisig considered his next words. “If the torch could somehow predict the future, I think it is powerful enough to hear or understand you. Perhaps you should consider your words. It could harm you.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think it can only do so when someone is holding it. You see, it can’t control me when I’m not holding it. It’s like it only wakes when held. Why, Datu?”
“Good. There’s something you should know, and I think the torch knew, but it didn’t show you. Kenda said that instead of betraying you, we could have used your emotion to control the torch instead of it controlling you. Your feelings and your humanity weaken the power of the torch. Priestess Mutya also said that you were not supposed to hold it for a long time. But when we returned…”
“It had already fed on too much blood and consumed me.” Tala shook her head slowly. “Now, I can see clearly what it did to me.”
“Look, I don’t know how to ask for forgiveness.” Kisig kneeled in front of Tala.
“No! Datu, don’t kneel in front of me. I was a slave.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m no longer the datu. And I hurt you.”
“I killed and hurt more people than you did.”
“I was wrong. Like you, I didn’t know the correct way to handle the situation. None of us did at that time. We were blinded by fear like you were blinded by greed and power. So forgive me.”
“If that’s what you want to hear, yes, I forgive you, Datu. But I don’t deserve to forgive you because I have done atrocious things myself.”
Kisig rose to his feet. “Hula is the Datu of Nayon now. You can just call me Kisig.”
“Kisig…” His name escaped Tala’s lips like a foreign word.
Their eyes met, and her face turned crimson. In that moment, she became the shy slave girl from before the torch corrupted her.
“So Kenda was so gifted that she had thought about solutions,” she said, weakly attempting to escape the awkwardness of the situation.
Kisig was just thankful they had something else to talk about. “Yes. The girl is brave and brilliant. And stubborn too. She freed you without anyone’s help because no one seems to have much power now. There are no priestesses in Nayon and only four in Daa. Five if we count Kenda. She’s the high priestess.”
“Dear spirits… Because of me.” Tala shook her head. “But the staff and that torch survived.” Tala’s eyes fixed on the torch as if she was seeing something new.
“What is it?” Kisig couldn’t help staring at the torch also. As much as he wanted a closer look, he maintained a safe distance.
“I think there are strands of hair tied on the handle. Can you see them?”
Kisig squinted. Sure enough, a few strands of hair were tied onto the torch. The flame had been so bright just moments before that it demanded his full attention and he didn’t notice the long strands of hair tied around the handle, too far from the flame to catch on fire.
“I think that’s Kenda’s hair,” he said. “But why?”
“I can touch it and view what Kenda did, but if I do that, I’m risking the possibility that the torch would find out. Why did she tie her hair there?”
Kisig had no answer to her question. He had only more questions. “When you were imprisoned, did you hear or see anything?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s like I’ve been asleep for so long. You and Kenda have been together. Didn’t she say something before she stabbed herself?”
“No.” Kisig massaged his temple. He thought that once they freed Tala, the curse would be solved and they would return to Daa and banish the evil souls back to the underworld. Had he only known that Kenda would take Tala’s place, he would have stopped her. That must have been the reason Kenda had kept her plan a secret.
Tala stood, legs wobbly but determined. “I need to know where you went before you came here. I need to know how Kenda knew the torch was here and how to free me. She was brave enough to offer her life. Unless she was confident that I could save her, I think she wouldn’t have sacrificed her life in the first place.”
Chapter 13
Tala
They headed to Priestess Mutya’s underground without telling anyone that their high priestess was gone. Tala insisted on telling Kenda’s family what had happened, but Kisig said he could not face Datu Goni, Kenda’s uncle, at that moment, and he needed more time to think of what he was going to say. Their trip to the center of Nayon village was long because she needed more time to rest and recover her energy when she let go of the torch. This time, she paid attention to the length of time she held the torch so that it wouldn’t consume her as it had before.
“We traveled from Daa for less than an hour,” Kisig said.
He was holding the high priestess’s staff because Tala refused to take it. She thought that if she held it, the villagers would suspect she was trying to take the high priestess position from Kenda.
“The water brought us here,” Kisig continued. “Kenda can command water and earth. She can even talk to animals. Her cat, Lucy, can understand her and follows her commands.”
Kisig had been talking about Kenda nonstop. As much as she wanted to know more about the new world, she wished Kisig would stop mentioning Kenda’s name. She hated to admit it but… But what? she thought. Am I jealous? Heat rose to her face, and she quickened her steps to hide it.
“Slow down, Priestess Tala! I need light.”
“Who is the high priestess now?” she asked.
“It’s Kenda, but in her absence, I don’t know. There are four priestesses left, so I think it’s going to be Priestess Pasi, the oldest one.”
“Well, I can take over in the meantime.” The thought of having total control of the village in this time when magic had waned wasn’t a bad idea. Perhaps she was the most powerful priestess since Kenda was gone.
Kisig suddenly grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes. “It’s probably time to rest,” he said in a low voice.
His hand felt warm on hers, and she wanted them to stay that way for a long time, but his eyes were dead serious. Gently, she let go of his hand and planted the torch on the ground.
She hated the vulnerability and powerlessness she felt upon letting it go, but she knew she needed to before it consumed her.
“So listen… Four hundred years ago, I wasn’t just pretending. Maybe I overdid it by always being close to you and holding your hand, but I really liked you.”
Liked you. Tala could feel the heaviness and disappointment in her heart. She tried to look away, unable to find her own voice.
“I still like you… but there is too much going on. I don’t want us to focus on our feelings. We have to undo the curse and make sure both of you are alive. And just to let you know… When Kenda returns… The girl also likes me.”
“And do you like her too?” she blurted without thinking.
She didn’t understand the change in his attitude. He used to look strong and reserved. Now, he was spilling his feelings, which made her uncomfortable.
“Yes, as a friend.”
He didn’t sound so sure. She wanted to shout at him and tell him to choose between the two of them, but she was too weak. The torch seemed like an invitation to dull her heartache. Freeing Kenda didn’t sound as heroic to her now. But if she was going to die afterward, she thought Kisig would at least be happy with someone… if Kenda made it.
They sat in silence for a long time before she told Kisig she was ready to continue. When she held the torch, she welcomed the coldness, the hunger for power, and the hatred. But it did not last long. When Kisig held her hand, the pain returned, but not as strongly as when she was not holding the torch. He must have sensed she was heartbroken and was trying to use the torch to mask her feelings.
“I regretted betraying you. This time, I want to be completely honest with you.”
Tala smiled, this time without malice. “Thank you, Datu.”
“I believe we’re near,” he answered. “It’s still dark, but it’ll only be a moment before the sun rises. Let’s hurry to the shrine.”
Tala was taken aback by the structures in the village. “The houses did not change much.”
“Exactly my reaction. But their clothes became really uncomfortable. You have to get changed later as well, or the villagers will stare at you.”
“Dear spirits.” She could not believe her eyes. Except for the small clearing, the shrine was surrounded by a forest.
“Told you that there’s no priestess now here in Nayon. The shrine was completely abandoned.”
“The magicians could use it.”
“This place is associated with the priestesses. I think that’s why they didn’t want to use it. Perhaps if girls with magic are born in the next decade or so, this would be rehabilitated.”
Tala looked around, trying to pinpoint Priestess Mutya’s hut, but she found herself completely lost.
“There, we already cleared it. We just put the stone cover back to prevent anyone from falling down.” Kisig pointed toward the clearing.
“It must have been hard to find the opening to the underground.”
“Thankfully, the rock gave it away.” Kisig squatted next to the rock.
Tala just stood there and touched the stone with her foot, shuddering at the first use of her gift after waking up. She saw how Priestess Mutya had shaped the stone with her gift until it became flat and thin. Then the stone moved aside, exposing the underground.
“H-how did you do that?” Kisig asked, dumbfounded.
“This was a part of the trial. Contenders were taught how to control objects.”
“Oh! You’re right.” Kisig scratched his head. “It’s just… It’s been a long time since anyone did that. Only Kenda could… Anyway, thank you.”
“My pleasure, Datu.” Tala bowed a little.
“I’m no longer the datu. Keep that in mind unless you want to upset Datu Hula.”
“Sorry.” She bowed again.
“Since you have the torch, would you mind going in first?”
Tala climbed down the stairs, the same ones she’d used four hundred years before, when she discovered the underground for the first time. As she walked, she couldn’t help but wonder how everything looked exactly the same. Like her, the underground seemed to have been frozen in time.
“Where is Priestess Mutya’s diary?” she asked after they had been walking for a while.
“In the same spot where you saw me and the high priestess when you first entered this underground. We’re almost there. I need you to leave the torch here,” he said as they were about to enter the biggest space in the underground.
“How are we going to see, then?”
“Datu Hula and his men came here last time to help us. They left some torches inside. Wait for me here.”
Tala planted the magical torch in the soft soil, making sure it would not fall over. When her hand let go of it, her legs wobbled. Kisig returned with another couple of torches and lit them using hers. He held her hand until they reached a room littered with ashes and the remains of burnt straw torches.
Tala took slow steps and sat on the biggest stone in the middle of the room. As she waited for her energy to return, she noticed the flat stones nearby had inscriptions. Without thinking, she picked one of them and started reading.
“Is this how Kenda knew?”
“Yes and no. She knew through Priestess Mutya’s diary, but not through words. I believe she had some sort of a vision, perhaps like how you knew about the past of things.”
“Where? What did she touch?”
Kisig walked closer to the wall and started reading. Tala could not keep sitting. Thankfully, her knees did not fail her when she stood.
“Right here. She touched this.”
To her horror, they were not only words. On the wall, a drawing of Kisig’s betrayal was so lifelike that her knees buckled. Kisig’s warm grasp against her cold and sweaty hands slowly calmed her.
“Are you okay?”
“This is not a simple drawing. Priestess Mutya had used magic. Perhaps to communicate with Kenda.” She took a few deep breaths, trying to shake away the memory, but the drawing staring back at her made it harder. “I have to do this.” She gently let go of his hands.
Tala closed her eyes and moved a hand to touch the drawing. Just as she’d practiced four hundred years before, she let the memory of the drawing flow into her, treating it like a friend and opening herself. She welcomed the vision from when Priestess Mutya inscribed the walls. She held on, not letting go until she saw Kenda entering the cave.
Tala’s head spun, and she knew she must rest. Letting go of the torch had drained her, and she needed time to recover, but she wanted to see how Kenda had figured out how to free her. She was losing her focus, and just as she saw herself through Kenda’s eyes, she fell to the ground, darkness replacing her vision.
Chapter 14
Kisig
Gently, Kisig moved Tala to the center of the underground. He had panicked when she fell unconscious, but her soft snoring told him she just needed to rest. This wasn’t the first time a priestess had fallen asleep due to the fatigue of using her power too much. Four hundred years before, when priestesses still held the priestess trials, tenured priestesses would commonly heal overexerted priestesses. As much as he wanted answers, waking her up wasn’t a good idea. She would only use her magic again instead of taking the time to rest.
He got up and read Priestess Mutya’s writings on the wall instead. He hadn’t gotten to read all of them the last time, and he wanted to know more. The rest of the writings were mostly about the horrible things Hagibis did after his imprisonment. Others were about magic that he didn’t understand.
“I’m sorry. I was too exhausted.” Tala’s voice was sleepy.
“What did you see? Did you find a way to free Kenda?”
Tala shook her head slowly. “What she saw were the things that happened to me… to us that day. She saw how I asked Priestess Mutya to help me. Maybe she saw something else. Did she touch other things that gave her visions?”
“No. I read some of the writings and had her write it down because their
writing had changed.”
“How did that happen?”
“I guess the Españols found their way here. I used translators to speak to them four hundred years ago and was planning to study their language.”
“Which ones did you read to her?”
Kisig pointed at the drawings he had read, but nothing helped Tala come up with a plan to free Kenda.
“Look, I think it is time to ask for some help,” he said. “I don’t want to face Datu Goni right now, but I think the best way is to go back to Daa and let her family know what happened.”
“I… I don’t know what to do.” Tala bowed her head. “Her family won’t be happy to see me, knowing that Kenda disappeared because of me. Should we continue looking for a way to free her first?”
“Kenda communicated with her uncle through water. Datu Goni will know that something is wrong either way if he hasn’t heard anything from her. The magicians from Mani and Nayon are in Daa to fight the evil souls, and Kenda made sure to check the situation from time to time.”
“Evil souls?” Tala asked. Kisig hadn’t told her about Romu yet.
When he explained what happened, Tala asked, “Like the souls on the way to where the torch was hidden?”
“Worse. They not only lure people to death, but they make them suffer too. At least those souls seem to stay in one place only. Romu, on the other hand, is pure evil.”
Tala did not argue when Kisig started walking. She jogged to get ahead of him and grabbed the torch and the staff. “There is a fast way to get to Daa.”
“Can you command water?”
“Perhaps not. Maybe when I’m holding the torch, I could, but I’m not talking about that. Inside the shrine, there’s a big candle. That candle allowed priestesses to go somewhere in an instant.”