She held the knife by the encased blade, so I could take the handle.
“Thanks, Cali,” I reached for the knife. “I really appre—”
As soon as my fingertips grazed the carved wood, memories rushed through.
A train whistle screamed in the night, the tattered passenger car jostled back and forth as if the tracks hadn’t been completely cleared of debris. Brakes squealed, and Cali lurched forward. The few lights still working along the aisle flickered and then the world plunged into darkness.
Other passengers grumbled, some standing, demanding to see the engineer, but Cali’s dainty hand reached down, grabbing a knife that had been taped to the inside of her ankle.
White noise closed in around the train, the hissing and screeching getting louder. Almond eyes gleamed, yellow teeth snarled, and Cali ducked down, hiding between the seats.
Behind her, the screech of ripping metal made the others panic, and they scrambled to get to the other end of the car. Cali stayed put, burrowing as far from the aisle as she could. Thin demons with sharp ears and almond eyes laughed as they entered the door closest to her, their focus trained on the hysteria at the other end. Glass shattered somewhere up front. Screams and pleas exploded around her. She crouched back, holding her knife so tightly her hand shook. Tucking under the window, she tried to make herself as small as possible. One by one the black creatures made their way to the other end of the car, passing by Cali without glancing down. Her breath hitched, and one paused, his onyx body just a few feet from her. He lifted his nose in the air, inhaling deeply. Letting out a hiss, he turned his back to Cali as he glanced at him.
“There is courage here.” His voice sounded like a whisper and a scream. “This is one we seek to destroy.”
Not waiting to be discovered, Cali jumped up and lunged, planting her knife squarely in the back of the Dokkalfar.
Stunned, he lurched forward, but she kept the hilt tight in her grip, holding onto the weapon as she pushed him between the seats on the other side of the aisle. Black blood streamed from the wound, and he fell to his knees, struggling to breathe. Cali stumbled forward, stabbing him again and again. He crumpled to the ground, and she pushed his legs under the seat, so they wouldn’t be seen. She could only hope that the others were too busy killing to notice the skirmish in the back of the train. Wiping the knife off on her pants, she slinked to the aisle and backed away.
Pain lashed through her skull as something grabbed her hair, pulling her back.
“You will pay for that, Warrior.” Long, thin fingers, black as death, wrapped around her neck. The foul tang of rotting flesh engulfed her, and she gagged. He licked the side of her face before grabbing her knife and snatching it from her hand. “Mmmm ... your fear is delicious. Let’s see what your suffering tastes like, shall we?”
Cali’s scream was blended with the sounds of the dying, as the Dokkalfar ripped her shirt open. The knife pierced her stomach, below her left breast. He shifted the blade, slicing the edge deeper as he drew it across her torso, tearing through her belly button and cutting past her right hip bone. Blood poured from the gash, streaming in rivulets down her body and dripping on the floor.
The Dokkalfar tightened his grip on her hair, his rancid breath crawled across her skin. “Delicious. So much energy here.” He ran his fingers across her bloody abdomen and brought them to his lips. “Yesssss,” he whispered. “Your blood is as sweet as it smells.” His lips touched her ear. “I bet your flesh tastes even better.”
White-hot pain sliced through her abdomen, and Cali went utterly still. The Dokkalfar eased his grip on her hair, and she clenched her eyes closed, gather what strength she had left. His hand tightened on her arm. With as much force as she could muster, she threw her head back and butted him in the face. His surprise roared through the car as he stumbled into the aisle, dropping the knife. Cali lunged under the seats, managing to grasp the hilt and not the blade.
She turned, blindly sticking the knife in the air as the Dokkalfar came over the seat. The blade plunged into his heart, and he landed on top of her.
The horrible hissing white noise rose and fell as the screaming at the end of the car got louder and then waned. Cali curled up in a ball and pulled the carcass of the Dokkalfar over her, hiding her body from view.
Drenched in black blood, she cowered beneath the lifeless Dokkalfar and prayed that no one looked too closely.
It wasn’t until dawn blushed the horizon that the demons seemed to have their fill. Sated, most of them took the closest route off the train, which left only a few that passed by Cali and the dead Dokkalfar.
No one seemed to notice the bright red blood that mixed with black ooze, pooling at the end of the aisle.
A large hand gently took the knife from mine.
“Gavin?” My voice shook.
“What’s going on?” Cali looked from Gavin to me. “Are you okay? As soon as you touched the knife you sort of went into a trance or something. And then Gavin ran in, and told me not to move.”
“Tell me, how did you survive the train?” I whispered, my hand rubbing a trail across my midriff.
Cali blanched. “How do you know about that?”
“The memory is embedded in the art.” Gavin quickly explained my gift, and nausea rolled through me.
I bent down and put my hands on my knees.
“Nora, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Cali rubbed my back as she looked at Gavin. “Why would that memory be there? Why not something pleasant?”
Gavin took my hand and pulled me to his chest. “Your mind must have been focused on this memory as you carved the handle.”
Cali looked away. “It was the only weapon I had, that knife. So yeah. I thought about it while I made this for Nora.”
I took a few deep breaths, my heart starting to slow. “Tell me. Did you intend for me to use this knife in battle?”
Cali thought for a moment. “Not really. I spent more time trying to carve the stupid handle than I did working on the blade. I wanted you to have something I made.”
“That’s why I can see the memory at all. Your intent was to give me a gift, which makes the energy running through the piece one of expression.” I stood on shaky legs and forced a smile. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness though.”
“Not so sure you should be thanking me if you saw what happened on the train,” Cali muttered, looking down at her feet.
“How did you survive?” My body ached like I had the flu, and I put my gloves and hat on.
“I waited all morning, thinking that I’d go to sleep and not wake up. But that cut hurt like a mother. Eventually, I stood, got out one of the carry-ons that someone had stored overhead. I ripped a clean shirt into strips and tied it around my waist, then put a sweatshirt on over that. We weren’t too far from the next station, and so I managed to jump in an empty boxcar heading east.”
Gavin took the knife and tucked it under his belt. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll keep this.”
Cali glanced my way. “Good idea,” she muttered.
Gavin took my hand. “Come on. Molly’s waiting.”
Cali stood in front of the door. “Will you both do me a favor? Please don’t mention any of this to Weylin. I’ve got a scar that makes me look like Freddie Kruger’s girlfriend. I look like a freak. No one will ever see it anyway, but I don’t want him thinking one of those things got the best of me, ya know? It’s a little embarrassing.”
I took Cali’s arm and led her through the door. “You were sixteen and practically unarmed. I think it says more about you that you made it out alive. Had you ever been near a Dokkalfar before?”
Cali grabbed her scarf, pulling it tighter around her neck. “I dreamt about them once. When they came on the train, I thought my nightmare had come to life.” She glanced over. “Turns out, it did.”
I stared into her chocolate brown eyes. Weylin already considered her his source. There was no way he wouldn’t eventually see that scar. And the shock of what she went
through might weaken him.
“You could always tell Weylin. He’d understand.” Gavin reached around me and opened the door to the dining hall.
“No, he wouldn’t,” she mumbled as she stepped through. “It’d prove his point that I’m weaker than they are.”
She turned away, and I knew she wouldn’t discuss it further. Gavin took my hand, and we made our way across the room.
“Ah, our Light is here.” Molly waited until we had gathered around the table before pointing to a spot on the map. “This’ll be where we are, and I’m thinkin’ this’ll be where we set anchor.”
“How long?” Elias asked.
“We’ll be seein’ land on the horizon by the morrow’s nightfall.”
“How far do you think the Dokkalfar will have gotten?” I sat next to Gavin, trying to banish images of black demons on trains.
Rune grunted. “They’ll have made it no more than here.” He pointed to the bottom of the map. “That is, if they’d not be sendin’ scouts months ago.”
“I believe Mia put her best soldiers in the Appalachian Mountains. They didn’t know we’d go north until we started this way.” Gavin looked out the vast window that ran along the sidewall. “But they’ll be waiting. And Mia will be with them.” He tilted his head, his eyes narrowed. “I feel it.”
The room stilled, leaving only the muffled clanging of pots and pans. Elias sat back in his chair, his expression held a sad steadfastness as his eyes blanked.
My heart pounded as reality came barreling through. These past few weeks had been a reprieve. But Cali’s memory brought back how horrible the Dokkalfar were. And every day we were on this ship was one more day Mia had to prepare her troops. She was waiting. Waiting for us to show our position so she could attack as we made our way to shore. Waiting for us to deplete our supplies or weaken because of the suffering that ruled this place. Waiting for Gavin to accept the dark energy she was only too willing to give.
I looked down at the map, trying to contain the feeling of hopelessness running through me.
Rune’s feather’s ruffled. “’Tis wrong, t’ be lettin’ yer mind wander, Lass.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry. Sometimes I can’t help it.”
Gavin ran his hand up and down my spine. “Try,” he whispered.
Rune stared at his mate. “I’ve been sayin’ from the beginnin’, me Molly. She’ll be needin’ our help.”
Molly’s eyes illumined to a dusty blue as she kept her gaze locked on Rune, silently arguing about something.
Finally, she took a deep breath. “Fine. It’ll need to be done by morn. We’ve only a few days left on this ruddy boat, and we’ll be usin’ every minute of it in case the Nora needs healin’.”
“Healing?” Alarmed, Rena’s eyes darted from the Urisk to Gavin and back again.
Rune stood. “Beggin’ pardon. But I’ll be needin’ t’ speak to the Light and her mate alone.”
As soon as he spoke, the few Urisks that had been eating got up and left. Elias, Elaine, Cali, and Weylin headed toward the door, but Tark and Rena hesitated.
“She’ll be fine.” Gavin’s eyes met Rena’s and an understanding passed between them.
“I’ll be in the weapons room if you need me.” Rena glanced at me before Tark nudged her out the door.
“Lass.” Rune stared straight through me. “We’ll be trainin’ the pair of ya in the way of our kind.”
Gavin stood and put his hands on my shoulders. “What did Molly mean, ‘heal?’”
“We’d never be tryin’ this with any other than a Urisk,” Rune grunted. “We’d be thinkin’ an Alfar’d handle it, but a human’s a different story, now idn’ it?”
“I’ll not risk the Princess getting hurt,” Gavin said.
Rune’s feathers ruffled. “And I’ll not be riskin’ the Light not bein’ strong enough to handle what’s ahead.”
Startled, my eyes flew to Rune. Gavin squeezed my shoulders. “This could help?”
Compassion warmed Rune’s eyes. “I’d not be suggestin’ it otherwise.”
“When?” Gavin’s voice grew husky.
“Aye, it’d have t’ be tonight.” Rune stood from his chair. “Me Molly’ll be preparin’ things. We’ll be meetin’ in the cargo hold.” He stopped by the door. “Oh, and Prince. It’ll be sacred to our kind. No one, not even the Keepers’ll be needin’ t’ know what’s takin’ place.”
Without another word, Rune walked out the door.
Chapter 24
The Khiton
“There’s something you should know,” Gavin said as we made our way to the cargo hold. “The Urisk culture is unique. What we’d call privacy they view as isolation. They fiercely protect their clan’s secrets, but among themselves, they are extremely open. That’s why they never train against one another. For one Urisk to strike another is almost sacrilege.”
I took his arm as we crossed an icy patch on the deck. “I don’t understand. If they never practice, how do they know what to do?”
Gavin smiled. “That’s the Alfar way of thinking. Most of the time, the Urisk share memories and experiences through telepathic songs. They have no need to practice fighting because each Urisk has lived every battle collectively. That’s what makes them such great warriors. They have a hundred lifetimes of war experience to draw from.”
“So how do they plan to train us in this way?”
Gavin pulled me closer. “I’m not sure. No one outside the Urisk clan has ever been allowed to witness it, much less participate.” He opened the narrow door next to the kitchen and ushered me through.
“You asked Rune if this would help. Help what?”
Silence. Gavin kept his eyes forward.
“Whatever happens, never doubt that I love you,” he finally said.
Alarmed, I pulled him to a stop.
“I know you love me. Even when you keep your emotions from me, I don’t doubt. Why would you say such a thing?”
“Nora, every time Mia’s name is mentioned your mind races with what-ifs. I have no idea what waits for us once we’re on land. You must trust that, while I’m able to use the power of hatred and evil, I’m not drawn to it. There is nothing that Mia has or can do that will ever tempt me to stray.”
I kissed him and started forward again. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll try not to let my mind wander so much. But I still don’t understand. How will Urisk training help?”
“I guess we’ll find out. Rune’s only request was that we wear as little as possible.”
Oh yeah. Rune had sent word as soon as we made our way back to our cabin. The camisole would work for the top, but I had to cut up my rattiest pair of sweats to make shorts.
Lights flickered as we walked along the thin passageway, momentarily plunging us into utter darkness. Little air circulated here, leaving a musty scent. A door stood at the end of the tapered hall. Its solid metal frame rusted from the sea air. Rune opened the door, inviting us in. The space ran the length of the ship. The outer perimeter held hundreds of hammocks swinging with the swell of the waves. Black feathers and gray fur lined the walls of the hold, as the entire Urisk clan stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their heads bowed in respect.
A large vent overhead allowed a ray of light to shine on a lone figure standing in the middle of the hold. At her feet lay a rectangular box, its wood blackened with age, the crest on the top as old as time.
“We’ll be doin’ as I requested when ya first made your way back to this realm,” Rune grumbled, motioning us forward. “You’ll be strengthenin’ in the way of our kind.”
I cleared my throat. “I thought we were training.”
“In a way, Lass, ya are.” Rune left us just beyond the light’s reach and took his place next to Molly.
“Princess,” Molly spoke in the Ancient Language. “Please bring your source and step forward.”
Gavin and I walked toward the center of the room. Sunlight poured over us, assuring the Urisk could see.
&nbs
p; “Our Nora, Urisk Light of Hope and source to the future Alfar King, Gavin of Frey, my Rune is troubled. He has shared with us his concerns that your mentor, Malachi, Guardian of the Ancients’ Tomb, hindered your education due to fear. He has shared his concerns that your mate weakens with your wild visions—visions that your mind protects your spirit from yet Prince Gavin must endure alone. My Rune has shared with us his concern that your responsibility to both Earth and Kailmeyra is too great for your young years, for you have not the experience of time. To assuage his fears, we offer to strengthen you with our Khiton.”
Restless energy ran around the room as the Urisk shifted in their spots.
“With all due respect, what is this Khiton?” I asked.
“It is the ceremonial cloth used in our mating ritual.” Molly opened the chest, revealing a large bolt of folded fabric. “If one views the term in the literal sense, a Khiton is an ancient shroud or cloak. For the Urisk, however, we must look to the figurative. The intent of a Khiton is to cover the body, protecting its most intimate parts as well as its flaws and vulnerabilities. But this cloth is woven with lifetimes of achievements and failures, contentment and regret, of love and loss and decisions made. The wisdom imbued in the Khiton cannot be discarded or traded with another. No adornment can alter its essence. It is our life’s tapestry, one that will eventually be celebrated or mourned. And the decisions made by the wearer are the ones that determine its fate. It is a blessing, as it hides that which we do not want others to see, but it is also a curse, one we cannot shed and leave behind. It binds us to our past mistakes, our regrets, our loss, and limitations. This we offer so you may strengthen.”
Gavin stood behind me, his warm hand wrapped around my waist and rested below my belly button. I tilted my head, and he kissed my neck.
Molly smiled. “This is as it should be, my Light. A warrior and his source, two entities melded together by love, forged by life, forever bonded in body and spirit. It is beautiful, as the Maker intended.”
I smiled, and Gavin’s hands tightened around my midriff.
“The Urisk live as the sum of the whole. We share with one another our thoughts, our emotions, our experiences. As one has loved, so we all love. As one has suffered so, we all suffer. As one became victorious in battle, so we did as well. Experience, knowledge, and faith. This is the essence of our race. We call upon our ancestors when in battle. For in their pain and anguish lies knowledge and strength.”
The Heart of the Ancients Page 25