Uniting the Heavens

by Emily English

  “It was in a tome from Illithe. The Library acquired it recently.”

  A dainty cordial was placed before Crina, who brought it to her lips and breathed its spicy sweetness before taking a sip. “Your story, Apprentice.”

  Aren cleared his throat and began. “This is the story of Kaila, goddess of Water, and how she came to trouble with Alaric. She’s often portrayed as a troublemaker in Illitheien lore because they are Light worshippers and she is a goddess of the Night.

  “In times untold, the goddess Kaila would play out in the sea, and all the creatures of the water would venture near the surface to frolic with her. Her laughter is an ocean song, and they say that fishermen have developed a sense for hearing this song. When they hear it, they know it’s time to drop everything and cast their nets because they’ll be rewarded with a large catch.

  “Kaila enjoyed wandering around Cordelacht, but she tried very hard not to stray from her home on Mytanth because Alaric loved her and wanted to keep her close. Sometimes, she couldn’t help but wander off. One day, Kaila was on one of her many adventures and she ended up on the shores of the Laithe Inlet, far from her home. She was playing near the tidal pools, and she laughed as the oysters teased her, snapping their shells open and shut, daring her to stick her fingers inside to grab the pearls. She was so distracted by her games that she didn’t notice the fisherman who had walked up to the beach, dragging his weatherworn boat. He had heard the ocean’s song and was answering her call, but she didn’t hear him gasp as he spotted her long fish-fin tail and her scales glistening like sapphires and emeralds in the sun.

  “You see, the fisherman’s people told tales about beautiful sea dwellers who drowned ships and men. They believed that it was a bad omen to set eyes upon a mermaid, that to allow the mermaid to sing or speak or even look at you would doom you on the seas forever. The only way to rid yourself of the curse was to kill the mermaid.

  “The fisherman raised his spear in terror. He took aim and threw. All Kaila could register at that moment was the pain and piercing of her flesh, and the salty tears that streamed from her eyes filled the oceans. The fisherman was frightened. He took a step towards her and saw her eyes, wet and aquamarine, and his gaze followed her tears, which burned down her face and dripped to her breast, where her hand clutched at the shaft of the spear. Her blood spilled upon the sands, stones, and shells.

  “His heart beat too fast to contain, and he choked on the air he breathed, coughing up bile and watching as her fish tail disappeared and turned into long, slender human legs. He dropped to his knees and returned his eyes to her face, focusing on the paling lips, which mouthed a word he wished the wind didn’t carry to his ears: “Alaric.”

  “The fisherman felt his soul tugging upwards and away from his body as the god Alaric claimed it. He doubled over, grasped at the sand, trying in vain to hold onto the earth. His life was at an end. By attacking the goddess, he had insulted Alaric, and at Alaric’s side was the most terrifying of the elemental gods: Tanghi, god of Fire. Before the fisherman could close his eyes, he was wrapped in flames and darkness, then his life was painfully extinguished. His charred body was barely recognizable to his kinsmen, who had set out to find him after he had been missing for several days.”

  Selina was on the edge of her seat. “What happened to the goddess?”

  “She was brought home and placed under the care of the goddess Taia, who is Alaric’s mate. Taia wove healing spells and in a few days Kaila was well enough to face Alaric’s anger. Kaila was prone to trouble and scolded often, but never as badly as when she had healed from the fisherman’s spear. The people of Cordelacht knew heavy rains for several seasons, and the seas and rivers swelled, swallowing several shore towns. Darkness descended upon the land, and Alaric’s voice shook the boulders from the mountains of Mytanth, causing liquid fire to pour forth from the depths.”

  “Why was Alaric so mad?” asked Selina. “Why didn’t the fisherman ask the goddess her name first? Was he from Tiede?”

  Aren looked to Crina and shrugged. “That’s all I know of the tale. I’d never heard it before.”

  Nianni said, “I’ve never heard it before either. It’s not in Kailen lore.”

  Crina finished the ambrosia and twirled the glass stem between her thumb and forefinger. “I heard of it from the older Priestesses at Illithe; however, no one knows who wrote it or how the story passed from one generation to the next. It’s likely a story to explain the time leading up to the end of Equinox. As the Apprentice said, the story is from Illithe, which is why it seems to place the blame of the end of Equinox on the realm of Night.”

  “The first Equinox was a long, long time ago,” Aren explained for Selina, “when night and day were balanced like it is now. At the end of that Equinox, there were many natural disasters: floods, mountains erupting fire, terrible ocean waves.”

  “And after the Equinox?” Crina quizzed him.

  “Perpetual Twilight,” he replied. “According to legend, twin moons dominate the skies and the House of Tiede is blessed with unspeakable power.”

  “But is it true about the goddess?” Selina asked. “She turns into a mermaid? What does she look like? Does she look like the mermaid in the courtyard?”

  “The gods take any form they choose, but our history, our religious history,” Crina amended for Aren’s sake, “has shown that the gods only choose forms that correspond to their element or chronos. For example, the Wind god has made known to us his falcon form, but Alaric has also taken the form of a bird. One that we know of is an owl.”

  “Owls are nocturnal,” Aren explained when Selina looked confused. “They wake and hunt at night, remember?”

  “There are several stories that depict Kaila as a mermaid; however, no Priestess has witnessed her in that form. Without the recorded witness of a Priestess, it is not considered religious truth,” Crina said. “As for what she looks like, the majority of the depictions resemble the mermaid in the courtyard: beautiful.”

  “All the gods are depicted as beautiful,” Aren said, recalling the painting of Sabana in the Weavers Guild. “They’re gods: perfect, unrealistic, and unattainable.”

  “Unrealistic is blasphemous,” Crina said, her tone somewhere between patience and annoyance. “The Wind god used to visit long ago during morning rituals, always in falcon form.”

  “My people on the Islands depict the Water goddess as a lady, not a mermaid, who lives in the sea. Many claim to have spotted her bathing in the waterfalls of our rain forests. The holy texts say the gods wander among us from time to time,” Nianni offered. “We just aren’t always open to seeing them.”

  “With all due respect, Priestess”—Aren’s grin was lopsided, teasing—“I would notice heavenly beauty if it were walking down the streets of Tiede.”

  Nianni was about to counter when Crina touched her wrist and said, “There are always those who do not believe. Our job is to be patient and to continue to guide them towards the ways of the gods.”

  “If they’re out there, they want nothing to do with us,” Aren explained. “You said yourself that the Wind god used to visit. Where has he been lately?”

  “The Apprentice,” Crina continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “is lost. He lives day to day, wondering where he belongs. He rationalizes that if his parents had abandoned him, then why not the gods? This is why he and Selina are so close. The gods and society have turned their backs on them.”

  At that, Aren found the words burning on his tongue. “That is exactly the kind of talk that I’m tired of hearing! What makes any of you better than us? How dare you tell a child that she is nothing and then take her in as one of your own.”

  Nianni gasped and looked to Crina.

  “I have seen time and again,” Crina said, her voice strong, resonating, “the Unblessed, Unwanted children of Cordelacht end up lost and copper-less or dead.”

  “The same can be said of the so-called blessed,” he countered. He looked over at Selina to make sure the
arguing wasn’t upsetting her; she hadn’t made a peep for a while. Selina was marble-white, and her wide, unblinking eyes seemed to glow. Aren placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently, the Head Priestess no longer on his mind. “Selina?” he asked. “Are you all right?”

  “That’s what she looked like before she passed out this morning,” Nianni said as she began to twist at one of her silver bracelets.

  Aren reached for a glass of water and put it to Selina’s pale lips, trying to get her to drink. The water dribbled down the side of her mouth, but she began to speak in a whisper. “The mages are coming,” she murmured.

  Crina was standing behind him, trying to decipher Selina’s words. “What is she saying?” Crina asked.

  “The mages are coming,” he told her, their argument forgotten. He pushed Selina’s chair away from the table so he could get a better look at her.

  Crina’s eyes widened and she turned to Nianni. “Quickly, sister. Ask Lord Vir to please excuse the Priestesses.”

  “What’s happening?” Aren asked as Nianni rushed off towards the main dining room.

  Crina examined Selina’s glowing eyes and blank expression. “Can you wake her?”

  “She doesn’t look asleep.”

  “Stop playing at stupidity,” Crina murmured, snapping her ringed fingers in front of Selina’s face. “The way you switch from intelligent to ignorant and back again is tiresome.”

  There was a flurry of activity as a party entered the small dining room. Aren dropped to one knee at the sight of Vir in the doorway. “Up,” Vir commanded, entering the room. “The Priestess Minor said the girl was having visions again.”

  Crina bowed her head as Vir walked over to where Selina was sitting, unblinking and unmoving. Aren remained by her side as he noted the people in Vir’s wake: Elder, the tall Illitheien lady, the Illitheien nobleman, and Nianni, as well as Tiede Counselor Novin Helmun, whom Aren didn’t care for. Vir positioned himself against the table in view of Selina’s gaze. He crossed his arms against his chest and waited. When nothing happened, he motioned to the nobleman. “Doctor, have you seen anything like this before?”

  The Illitheien, tall and thin like a stork, picked his way over to Vir’s side and brought his face close to Selina’s. “No, Lord Vir,” the Doctor said. “That is to say, we have seen brain damage and other such complexities that would result in a blank stare like this; however, this glowing—I can’t be certain where that’s originating from. Does she bear the marks of a magic wielder?”

  “She has no marks, Doctor,” Crina said. “We cannot wake her.”

  Vir frowned. “She doesn’t look asleep.”

  Before Aren’s lips could curl into a smile, Crina shot him such a look that he thought he would fall over dead. The exchange wasn’t missed by Elder, who followed up Crina’s glare with one of his own. Aren made to explain himself but refrained for once.

  “Has anyone tried holding her?” the Illitheien woman asked. “Studies have shown how touch can break through a state of hypnosis, and this is a child after all. Children need to be held.”

  Vir looked from Aren to Crina and back again, his brows raised questioningly. Crina motioned to Nianni, who had pressed herself against the wall by the entrance. She came at once and bowed. Crina indicated that she should hug the little girl. Nianni bit her bottom lip, then awkwardly approached Selina, who sat ramrod straight in the large leather chair. After examining the position from two angles, Nianni wrapped her arms around Selina’s shoulders. Selina remained as inanimate as the marble mermaid.

  “It doesn’t seem to work,” Nianni said, retreating back a few steps.

  “For stars’ sake,” Aren burst out. The situation had turned into a carnival, and now that the Illitheiens had come in and made all of their pronouncements on Selina’s mental state, he was really starting to worry. He placed his hands under her arms and lifted her close to his chest, the way he had held her when he first found her and the countless times afterward, when she was upset or had fallen asleep while following him around.

  Selina took a deep breath, and her eyes returned to their usual soft violet. She looked around, then laid her head on Aren’s shoulder, her eyes closing from exhaustion. “The mages are coming,” she yawned. “The gods are preparing for war.”

  ELEVEN

  The stone courtyard surrounding the Keep was drenched in moonlight, and Alaric leaned against a wall. Tanghi had returned, and the reports from Trum were not as he expected. The city was on fire, and the air was filled with an acrid black smoke that Tanghi assured him was not natural.

  Magic.

  When would they be done with the mages and their ridiculous uprisings? He had enough to worry about with his sister trying to destroy his Realm.

  The click of heels against stone interrupted his thoughts, and he watched as Taia walked towards him, papers in hand. Her form flickered, and he recalled the incident that had caused her disability. It made him want to strangle his sister all the more. Taia smiled when she caught his eye, and he admired her strength and patience. Levelheaded and logical, she examined a problem from all angles before engaging. She was a powerful spell-weaver. When Mahl had allowed his offspring to take a mate to keep them company, Taia was Alaric’s first choice. With her skills and abilities at his side, his Realm would be absolute. Her bond with him made him stronger.

  So why was Kaila always on his mind?

  “You seem more lost in thought than usual,” Taia said, standing before him. “I just spoke to Tanghi, so I can guess what’s on your mind.”

  “If Trum falls, Thell will be next,” he said without greeting or preamble. “We need to stop the mages now, but we can’t engage in combat in Aalae’s territory without her permission.”

  “Perhaps that’s why she hasn’t called on us. If there’s no hope for Trum, she may decide to let it fall, knowing that Thell would be next.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Then she could prepare her forces to defend Tennar or Rose, the next likely targets.”

  Alaric visualized the fate line that would result if she were right. Millions upon millions of factors could reroute the line, but by making some overarching what-if predictions, and without going into the analysis, he could see that the mages might get as far as Kaishar, south of Tiede. “At worst, that would be three of her Houses to our one, then a stand at Kaishar, where Tiede can easily come to aid. The odds aren’t in her favor.”

  “Your reading of the fate lines is clearer than mine.” She shrugged. “I just don’t think Aalae cares as much as you think she does. Illithe is her stronghold and Tiede is her target—that’s what it boils down to. It sounds insane but this is Aalae we’re talking about.”

  He pressed his lips together. Her logic was convincing, as usual, but he didn’t have to like it. “I need numbers. How many mages are we talking about?”

  She was about to respond when a flash of light filled the courtyard, causing them to shield their eyes. Demons swarmed to Alaric’s side, putting a defensive wall around them, and Tanghi appeared as a raging inferno, adding another line of defense. When the blinding light receded, three figures stepped forward and Alaric growled at the sight of his sister and her Knights. They looked tired and battle-worn. A strange red welt wrapped around Geir’s neck.

  “What business do you have here?” Taia demanded, pushing past Tanghi and the demons. “You weren’t invited; you shouldn’t have been able to enter this Realm.”

  Aalae laughed, taking in her surroundings. “I mean no harm. Rafi recently learned that the barriers woven around my brother’s Realm work only if there is intended malice, and I have only come to visit said brother.” She spread her arms as if to encompass all the demons standing there with their weapons drawn. “Is this necessary?”

  Alaric was furious, but with a thought the winged creatures dispersed, returning to their posts. “I wasn’t expecting company,” Alaric said, moving to Tanghi’s side.

  She flashed him a wide smile. “I’m here to discuss th
e mages. All of their summoning will end up freeing the planetary god, and if that happens we can only pray that father will return in time to save us, because neither of us has amassed the power to deal with the likes of a planet.”

  “Father conquered the planetary god. We’re safe from him or her or it, if not from each other.”

  She reached out, tugged on his jacket to straighten it, and brushed his hair away from his face with the back of her hand. Her tone was soft again. “I have always found your naïveté charming.”

  He pushed her hand away. “The mages are burning down Trum. What is your plan?”

  Aalae’s pale-green eyes were unreadable. “The mages are too embedded, too great in number, and I don’t know if my Knights can hold the House even with your help. If there is no hope of pushing them back, I ask that you allow your Knights to fight with mine to evacuate the Priestesses.”

  “What do I get in return?”

  “My Knights will fight alongside yours to defend Thell.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Why would you do that? Why risk your Knights for my House? It was only yesterday that you threatened to destroy my Realm.”

  “What good is your Realm if it’s been destroyed along with mine?” she shot back.

  “I’ll think on it.”

  “Think quickly. You can send word through Taia once you decide. She knows how to contact Rafi.” Aalae was about to leave when she turned back to Alaric. “Where’s Kaila? She wouldn’t happen to be in Tiede watching over the new Priestess, would she?”

  “Stay away from her and the Priestess Initiate or you’ll feel my wrath.” Alaric’s eyes were glowing, and the darkness was beginning to gather at the edges of the courtyard.

  Aalae laughed. “Calm yourself. I haven’t the time to watch Kaila sitting in a glorified tub of water. I heard that the new Priestess hasn’t even reached the age of reason, so she’ll provide very little power to your Realm. You should ask the Seer to try again.”

  The darkness ebbed, and Alaric pointed towards the path leading out of the Keep. “Get out.”