Queens (The Wielders of Arantha Book 2)

by Patrick Hodges

  Composing himself, he turned his focus back to Kelia, who had spread her arms wide again. “The Sharing is complete. From this day forward and for all time, Bika and Zarina are companions, in love and in life, in thought and in spirit. Let all present celebrate their union!”

  The gathered Ixtrayu erupted in a chorus of cheers and applause as everyone showed their support for the young couple. Davin turned to his mother, who met his gaze. Her grin spread from ear to ear as she clapped, but the sadness in her eyes remained.

  When the tumult subsided, Kelia faced the girls once again. “Rise, my sisters,” she said, helping them to their feet. “You are joined. You may now—”

  Unable to wait an instant longer, Bika and Zarina threw themselves into each other's arms, kissing with such force that Davin wondered if they were going to strip their robes off and consummate their union with the entire tribe watching. The thought set his hormones raging, and Eleri's smile invaded his thoughts again.

  “… embrace,” Kelia finished, a chuckle breaking through. She stepped toward the newlyweds as they parted, enveloping them in a hug. The girls' mothers, the Council, and many tribe members stepped forward as well, congratulating Bika and Zarina.

  The girls were all smiles as Davin took his turn offering his well-wishes, followed by his mother. But as he stepped away from them, his thoughts once again became troubled.

  He made his way to the largest tree in the circle and leaned against it, observing the tribe of which he was now a part, as unbelievable as that sounded. The joy he'd felt mere minutes ago had dissolved, giving way to a frightening sense of dread.

  * * *

  It took many long minutes for the crowd to disperse, making the short journey back to the village. A celebration, complete with a sumptuous feast Aarna had spent the entire day preparing, would soon be starting. Davin heard there would be music and dancing as well.

  One by one, the Ixtrayu women filed out, but Davin remained behind. He found himself staring at the circle where the two girls had wed, then up at the sky where a blanket of thousands of stars twinkled indifferently at him. Nearly half the torches that lit the perimeter had either been snuffed or gone out on their own, but the surrounding darkness couldn't penetrate his whirling thoughts. The laughter and revelry in the distance turned his guts to stone and his legs to lead. He literally couldn't move. Everything he'd pushed down since that day in the Council Chamber had turned into ice in his veins.

  Across the clearing, Maeve said a few hushed words to Kelia before the Protectress left as well. He made no move to join his mother, casting his eyes back to the ground.

  “Dav?” she asked, her voice etched with concern.

  He didn't speak. There was too much to say.

  She strode over to him. “Dav, are you all right?”

  A tear snaked down his cheek as their gazes met. “It was beautiful, wasn't it?”

  The tension melted from her face, but not from her eyes. “Yes, it was.”

  “I mean, for all we know, we'll be attacked tomorrow, and everyone here will die,” he said. “But even with all that, everyone looked so happy.” Another tear fell.

  She wiped his tears away, caressing his cheek. “Dav, talk to me.”

  He closed his eyes, relishing her touch, feeling like a small boy again. Back then, whenever he was scared or sad, he would take refuge in her arms, and she would make the monsters go away.

  And then real monsters came. Destructive, unyielding monsters that destroyed every life on earth. Billions had died, and those that remained were either enslaved or forced to eke out a miserable life in hiding. For five years, that had been Davin's life: hidden deep underground, the only world he knew was one of rooms and corridors, where every surface was a matte, dull gray. A world of artificial light, synthesized food, and metallic-tasting water. A subterranean world with a population of ten.

  He'd tried to fit in, to pull his own weight, to learn from his father and the rest of the team as they embarked on this last, desperate mission to save humanity. He'd tried so hard to keep his family optimistic and happy despite the abysmal circumstances. As the years went on, even as their efforts in fusing Jegg technology to an Earth ship's engine proved successful, by the end, his father was but a shell of the man he'd grown up idolizing. And after what his mom had told him …

  His musings were interrupted by Maeve, who grasped him by the shoulders and spun him around to face her. “Dav, what is the matter with you? You're scaring me!”

  A choked sob escaped his throat, and she pulled him into her arms, patting his back as she held her son close. Neither of them spoke for many moments.

  “Did he ever love me?” Davin whispered into her ear.

  She faced him again. “Your father.” It was a statement, not a question.

  He nodded. “Who am I, Mom? Was I ever his son? Or is the only reason I'm alive so I can take part in this stupid game?” He choked on the last word, and a series of coughs wracked his body as he struggled for control.

  “Oh, baby,” Maeve said, embracing him once again, speaking in her soothing Irish tones. “Of course he loved you. You were everything to him.”

  A sudden flash of anger broke loose, echoing through the trees. “How can you defend him?! He lied to you, Mom! He kept secrets from you! From me! Everything that happened, he knew about it! And he didn't say anything!” As if on cue, a breeze rustled the leaves and snuffed out two more torches.

  He collapsed to the ground, cradling his head in his hands. Maeve sat as well. “I know, kiddo. What he did was horrible. But—”

  “But what? Don't tell me you've actually forgiven him! You were as angry as I am when you first found out, right?”

  “Yes, I was,” she said, her voice as calm as the wind. “But I've had time to think about his message since then. The way I see it, we have two choices: we can either prove his words right, or we don't.”

  “You really believe all that? That the Jegg invading Earth was just part of some … some game between immortal races?”

  She brushed a strand of hair away from his face. “I can heal. I can talk to animals. I can amplify the powers of other Wielders. These are things no one in the entire history of Earth has been able to do. Getting superpowers tends to change one's perspective on things.”

  He gave her a humorless smile and wiped away his lingering tears. “I guess it would.”

  They sat in silence for another minute, during which another torch flickered and died. From off in the distance, the sound of lively music wafted across the plains.

  “Come on, Dav, I don't want to have to make my way back to the village in the dark. Besides, it sounds like the party's started. We'll want to rejoin them before –”

  “I don't want to go back to Earth, Mom,” Davin blurted out.

  Her eyes widened, and for many moments, she didn't respond. “Dav,” she finally whispered, “our world needs us.”

  “I know that,” Davin said, shrugging her hand off his shoulder and facing her full-on. “But think about it: the quantigraphic rift drive isn't working, which means it would take a century at supralight speed to get home. And even if I could by some miracle fix it, how can we take on billions of Jegg by ourselves?” He sniffed. “I want to help Earth, and the Confederation, but … I don't want to just throw my life away on a half-assed attempt to defeat the Jegg.”

  Davin's face scrunched up in sorrow. “Is that selfish of me? To give up on humanity? Just because I don't want to die?”

  Maeve spoke soothingly. “You're a great kid, Dav. You've got so much life ahead of you. I would never ask you to take on the Jegg by yourself, not when I still have the power to protect you. This shouldn't be your war to fight.”

  “Mom … I don't want you to fight anymore either. I want to be happy again. I want you to be happy again. We were happy, years ago, before the Jegg came. Do you remember?”

  “Of course I do. But so many have died, sweetie. I never asked to be the savior of the human race, but if I give u
p now, then all our efforts, all our sacrifices were for nothing.”

  “I don't care!” He jumped to his feet, striding away from her. He didn't go far, turning around after a few paces. The determination in his voice surprised even him. “Don't you think all our friends, our relatives would want us to survive? To find some way to be happy again?”

  “And you think we can be happy on Elystra? Are you serious?”

  “Think about it, Mom! How many planets in this galaxy do you think there are where we can fit in with the locals and have never heard of the Jegg?”

  She pondered this for a moment, then nodded. “Probably not many.”

  “Exactly. I know these people are primitive, but they're friendly, and they seem to like us, and –”

  “ 'They'?” she echoed, cocking an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure you mean 'they', or are you talking about the girl that made that snazzy jacket for you?”

  Even in the dim torchlight, he was sure she could see him blushing.

  “Look, I'll admit, this world does have a certain appeal,” she said. “There are certainly worse options available to us than staying here permanently. But –”

  Now it was Davin's turn to interrupt. “Kelia's in love with you, Mom. And I think you feel the same way about her.”

  Maeve's jaw dropped, and she scrambled to her feet. “What the …? Where the fark did that come from?”

  “I'm a scientist's son, remember?” he retorted. “Dad taught me to observe the world around me since I was a kid. And let's not forget, I've been around nothing but adults for the last five years.” He stepped toward her. “Maybe I've never been in love, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize the signs. The way Kelia looks at you? I've seen that look before.”

  The shock still hadn't left his mother's face. “Oh, really? Where?”

  “Suri and Mahesh,” he replied, referencing the two other married members of Sahara Base's engineering team.

  She considered this. “Okay, I'll give you that one.”

  “Kacy and Gaspar,” Davin continued. “You know, for those two years they were together.”

  “That didn't end well, if you remember.”

  “Yeah, but the look was the same. And you want another example? Those two girls who just got married. Hell, I've even seen Sarja look at Nyla that way. This may be an alien culture, but the look is exactly the same.”

  “Maybe so,” Maeve said, a rough edge tinging her voice, “but even if Kelia had those kinds of feelings for me, and even if I had anything close to those kinds of feelings for her –”

  “Don't deny it, Mom,” he said, pushing forward. “I haven't seen you look at anyone like that in years. Not even Dad.”

  She sighed. “Ah. I get it now. This isn't about Kelia. This isn't even about me. You think that if you push me into a relationship with Kelia—another woman—that'll somehow rid me of any further attachments to your father. It'll be like the last eighteen years never happened. Am I right?”

  His mouth dried up, and his tongue turned to cardboard. His mind raced as he thought over her words. Was she right? Was his anger at his father so intense that he wanted to forget the man ever existed?

  He attempted a staring contest with his mother, and lost. “He's gone, Mom. I can't even tell him how much I hate him for what he did.” He cast his eyes to the ground. “I don't want to be a piece in his game. I just want to be happy again.”

  A brisk gust of wind swept through the circle, blowing out two more torches. Only two remained lit.

  “I don't have the answers, Dav. I wish I did. But after all the crazy shite that's happened, I do know this much: something bigger, way bigger than us is going on. If we somehow survive the next few … 'moves', I guess is the right term, I have no doubt that everything else will fall into place. Somewhere, Banikar is watching us, and I can only pray that he's a better strategist than the Dark Player that opposes him. And as for my relationship with Kelia … well, it's complicated, to put it mildly.”

  “No shite,” he whispered.

  “I won't deny she's an amazing woman, but we've both gotten so caught up in this game that there hasn't been any time to even consider—” she paused, blinking her eyes rapidly, “—a relationship like that. We share a bond, true, but that's a far cry from being in love with her.”

  She stepped right up to him, and Davin saw something indecipherable flash through her eyes. There'd also been a slight hesitancy in her voice that made him think she was trying to convince herself as much as him of her own words. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized she was right. He'd been so focused on his father's betrayal that it had clouded his judgment and his reason.

  He didn't know whether he trusted Banikar, or God, or Arantha, or whoever, to see them through this crisis to end all crises, but he would trust his mother. Just like he always had.

  “Can you promise me something, Mom?” he asked.

  “I'll try.”

  “If we win this game—that is, if whatever side we're on wins this game—can you promise that we'll stay here?” He gave his mother his most irresistible pleading look.

  She sighed. “You really want to live here? No synthesizers, no purifiers …” She quirked an eyebrow. “… no indoor plumbing?”

  “It does take some getting used to,” he admitted, “but I'm game if you are.”

  She nudged his shoulder. “I think you just like the idea of being the only boy in a tribe full of girls.”

  Whoops. Busted.

  A faint smile cracked through the gloom. “What red-blooded, heterosexual boy wouldn't love that idea?”

  Another torch went out, and Maeve immediately ran to the final one that was still lit, pulling it from the ground and using her body to shield it from the blowing wind, lest it be doused as well. “Come on, kiddo,” she called, gesturing in the direction of the village. “We have a party to get to, and an early start tomorrow morning. Let's get going.”

  He sidled up next to her, and they strolled out of the circle of trees, Maeve holding the torch out in front of her. He felt the sensation of grass being trampled beneath his shoes, and the faint smell of cooked meat in his nostrils, though he suspected the latter might have been his imagination.

  “So,” he said, “you really like my jacket?”

  She nudged him with her elbow. “I do. I also want to meet the girl who's appointed herself your personal tailor.”

  “Promise me you won't go all drill instructor on her.”

  “Who, me?” She flashed a beaming smile his way, and he instantly felt at ease. “Hell, no. I want her to sew me a jacket of my own. I'm all for dressing for the occasion, but I'm just not a robe-girl, I guess.”

  “Maybe you and Kelia will wear matching robes someday,” he teased.

  “Don't start.” She shot him a scowl, but it melted away a moment later.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Rahne dug his heels into Rokon's flanks, spurring the mount forward at a full gallop, easily keeping pace with the eleven soldiers riding alongside him.

  He was still surprised Kalik had included him in his small, hand-picked group of soldiers, including Jabel and Calib, which would break off from the rest of the Elzorath and proceed south on Elzor's order. After Kalik's chilling warning to him, Rahne was sure any goodwill he'd earned with the man had evaporated. Learning that Lord Elzor had personally requested he accompany them shocked him even more.

  They kept their merychs at a brisk pace after setting out that morning, in too much of a hurry to engage in conversation, save for one brief respite around midday to eat, rest, and answer nature's call. He attempted to ask Kalik about their mission, but had been met only with stony silence. Calib, Jabel, and the other men selected were equally reluctant to fill him in.

  Over the last few hours, the thunderous sound of the merychs' hoofbeats upon the dry earth did little to calm Rahne's rising sense of dread. He knew Kalik had reservations about his ability to kill without hesitation or compunction, and could only w
onder if the reason he'd been asked to tag along was to prove his loyalty to Elzor once and for all.

  Back in Larth, he'd been mad enough at Sekker to strangle the fat lawgiver to death with his bare hands. The braga deserved no less. Joining Elzor's army seemed like the best way out of his predicament, but now he wondered if he'd made a seriously bad choice in doing so.

  A moment was coming, of that he had no doubt, a moment where he would either prove himself capable of killing another person, one who had never wronged him, or he would convince Kalik once and for all that he was an obstacle to be removed. His adopted brethren would kill him and leave his carcass to rot.

  Did he have what it took? Could he kill?

  He shot a quick glance skyward, mouthing a silent plea to both Arantha and his father for guidance. Neither answered.

  * * *

  After several more hours of riding, the party encountered a dense thicket of dead trees at the top of a large hill. Gnarled, thick trunks gave way to an impenetrable maze of spindly branches that Rahne guessed hadn't sported leaves in many, many years. Apart from a few carrion-eating birds he'd seen circling overhead, this part of Elystra bore no life except for whatever tree- and dirt-dwelling insects called it home.

  Rather than circumvent the thicket, which stretched on for several miles, Kalik ordered the company to plow straight through it. There was an urgency to his voice that suggested they were in a race against time, since taking the long way around the clutch of trees would surely only cost them a few hours.

  Sharp, coarse branches grabbed at their clothing and pricked at their skin as they rode, with only a few fractured rays of sunlight peeking through the conglomerate of dead limbs above them. Kalik took point, leading the rest of them along an undulating path that saw their progress slow to a halt on several occasions. Kalik spewed a myriad of angry curses as he, like the rest of them, brushed insects from his skin and clothing and nursed numerous scratches from his passage through the thicket.