He exhaled, long and loud, and her heart went out to him.
“Varon’s pet project was abolished once Katya transformed of course, but by that time we’d already successfully settled in a valley about two weeks journey from the Primary Settlement. None of us felt inclined to reintegrate. And at Varon’s insistence, most Dayamari pretended we didn’t exist.”
Thus a new settlement had been born. Over the years, Usehani numbers had swelled to around one hundred and fifty people, as others drifted away from the Dayamari settlements to join them. And often, youngsters specializing in already well-serviced trades were quietly encouraged to resettle with the Usehani.
“We only took you because we thought you were Third Sehan,” Daryon said.
“How did you know about me?”
“We periodically send scouts to observe the goings on at the First Settlement,” he admitted. “Just out of curiosity, not malice, you understand. Their scouts watch us, too, I’m sure. Anyway, one of our scouts attended a burial—it was easy for him to blend with the crowd. And he spotted you doing… whatever it was you were doing.”
“Taking a message from the recently departed to give to his daughter,” she said. “Who happened to be Katya’s sister.”
“Ah. That is sad news about Janus.” He was silent for a long moment before he resumed speaking. “When the scout didn’t spot Katya we figured she’d been sent to one of the other settlements. We had no idea she’d died.”
Hope filed the information away. It all made sad, perfect sense. Except for one thing that gnawed her. “Why didn’t you ask Dayamar for help? He wouldn’t have refused you. I know he wouldn’t.”
“We couldn’t take the chance Varon would interfere and Dayamar would side with him again.”
“I understand. But Dayamar isn’t a petty tyrant like Varon. He might be a sneaky, manipulative old man at times, but his heart is in the right place. I wouldn’t have asked him to adopt me if I didn’t believe that.”
He stumbled and she steadied him as best she could. “You asked Dayamar to be your blood-relative?”
“Yes. My father.”
“Did he accept?”
“Yes. I’m a constant worry to him, and his habit of keeping things from me drives me to distraction, but we do care about each other. And I’ll always be grateful for him allowing me to live with Blayne when—”
“You lived with Blayne?” Daryon’s voice sounded strangled.
“Live. We’re Promised.”
“You’re Promised to Panakeya Blayne?”
He was starting to sound like the Dayamari equivalent of a broken record. She huffed out an exasperated breath. “Yes.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“Um…. Wisa’s my mother,” she mumbled. Better to get it all out in the open now.
He halted, dragging her around to face him. “You’re kidding.”
“No. But don’t worry. She won’t interfere, and I’ll ensure Dayamar doesn’t either. Blayne might take a bit more convincing but he’ll come around when he understands the seriousness of this illness your people are suffering.”
“I hope so.”
“I’d better talk to him right away though—before he gets too frantic.”
“If I know Blayne he’ll be more than frantic. He’ll be murderous. I know I would be.”
Something in his tone gave her pause. “Daryon, how long was I unconscious?”
“Two days.”
She blinked. Crap. He was right. Blayne would be murderous. “I’d better contact them right now—before things get any worse than they already are. Can we stop for a bit? I need to eat, too.”
“We can’t stop. We need to keep moving.”
“That serious?”
“Yes,” he said, so bleakly she had to believe him.
“All right. I can do this on the run. Just make sure I don’t fall on my face.”
As they walked, she drew on the energy of all living beings in her immediate vicinity. She wove a thin, tensile strand of thought and flung it toward the First Settlement. Her eyelids fluttered, and she felt Daryon taking a firmer grip on her arm.
Her thought-strand found a beloved, familiar mind and latched onto it. Blayne can you hear me?
Hope! Are you all right? Where are you?
I’m fine. I’m with Daryon and his people. They need my help, so I’m going to their settlement.
When I catch that bastard I’m going to—
Calm down. They need me.
I’m coming for you.
I’d expect nothing else.
Tell Daryon to look after you. Or else.
I can look after myself.
I know. I’ll see you soon. Be safe. I love you.
I love you, too, Blayne.
His presence faded from her mind and she took a moment to recover from the hollow emptiness he’d left behind.
Daryon must have read something in her expression for he asked, “What’s the bad news?”
“Blayne’s coming after us. I get the impression he’s not too far behind. He’s not happy. If he catches us, he won’t go easy on you.”
“Shit. We can’t afford delays.”
“Don’t worry, I have an idea. But first, I need something to eat or I’m going to be sick again.”
He took her at her word and rummaged around in something—a pack or a pocket. He handed her a bar.
She took a bite. It tasted like an earth-style muesli bar. “Thanks.”
After she’d demolished the substantial bar he shared a drink with her. “I wish we had time for tea,” she said. “It helps settle my stomach.”
He halted in his tracks and released her arm. This time his men gathered around them.
“What’s the matter now, Daryon?” she asked.
“You, Hope. You’re the matter. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“Stop. Don’t say another word.” He addressed his men. “You heard everything we talked about, right?” A pause, probably for them to all nod in agreement. “We have to let her go.”
“We need her—you know that,” one of the men said.
“Rikard’s right,” Hope interjected.
“How do you know my name?” the man asked.
She waved off his question. “I haven’t got time to explain. You can all wait for Blayne to catch up if you want, but me? I’m calling in a favor from Shikari. He owes me one.”
~~~
They were mounted on the backs of what Hope assumed passed for a horse in Dayamaria. The equine-like creatures were unusually docile and she’d given her mount its head. It sure beat walking.
“Can you please ask the humans to stop thinking so hard?” a voice rumbled near her ear. “They’re making this difficult.”
“I’ve tried,” she informed Shikari. “But they’re twitchy. How about I shut down their minds for a while, and you make sure they keep their seats.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
She concentrated on each individual for a moment. Relax now. You’re safe. You’re tired and you need rest. Sleep now, all will be well. Trust me, sleep now. Sleep…
“Finally.” Shikari heaved a gusty sigh. “Now I can get on with— Daryon’s still awake.”
She twisted around to the man seated behind her—supposedly to prevent her from falling off and hurting herself. Instead, all he was doing was holding on for dear life. “Do you want to sleep too, Daryon? You’ll be perfectly safe, I promise.”
“N-no. I’m fine.”
He wasn’t. Even if she hadn’t been able to scent his terror, the rigidity of his torso pressed up against her back gave him away.
“I’ll stay awake in case you need me,” he said. “Blayne said to keep you safe.”
“That’s very brave of you.”
Or very stupid, Shikari muttered inside her mind.
Be nice.
“Um, Hope? Why use the animals? I mean, why didn’t he—”
“Blur time while
you walk? Because you humans are too intelligent,” Shikari said. “You’d be aware of what was happening with every step you took, and your unconscious minds would struggle with it. I’m not saying animals aren’t intelligent but they don’t have the same sense of time passing that humans do. They’re much easier to work with and I’m being lazy. Is that a good enough explanation?”
“Uh, yes. Thank you.” Daryon’s voice sounded squeaky.
“You’re welcome.”
Hope bent forward to pat her mount’s neck—not so easy when Daryon was plastered up against her back. “Relax,” she murmured. “You might even want to capture some of these beasts and domesticate them. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“No, it wouldn’t,” Shikari said.
“Why not? Surely these creatures would prove quite useful to the Dayamari.”
“Like yourself, these beasts are not from around these parts.”
“Oh.” She prudently changed the subject. “How are our white wolves doing?”
“Very well.”
Daryon plucked up the courage to interrupt. “We’ve sighted a pair of white wolves around our hunting areas. Is there something special about them?”
To pass the time and distract him, Hope told him the story of Shikari’s pets.
“Ah. That explains the tall tales some of our hunters have been telling. I’ll issue a hunting ban on white wolves.”
“Don’t,” Shikari said. “You’ll ruin their fun.”
“Ruin their…? Fine. I won’t say anything.”
“Time to wake everyone up now, Hope,” the god said. “It’s only a brief walk from here and I need to send these creatures back where they belong.”
Hope woke Daryon’s men and they clambered from their mounts. It took some moments for them to stand unaided. Uh oh. This didn’t bode well. Daryon slid to the ground and clenched his jaw until the ground stopped moving. Then he helped Hope from the animal’s back. She, he noticed, didn’t have any trouble at all with her balance.
“Thanks, Shikari,” she told the invisible god. “Give my love to Wisa and Kunnandi.”
“I will. Hee-yah! Home you go, my beauties!” The animals galloped off and after a few strides they simply vanished.
Daryon coughed and self-consciously addressed his question to the empty air. “Shikari?”
“Yes, Daryon?”
“Would you help our people? Then we could send Hope home and everyone would be happy.”
“I’m truly sorry, Daryon.” The god’s voice was gruff and heavy with regret. “There are serious strictures imposed on us by forces beyond your ken. We’re assisting you as much as we’re able, but what’s happened to your people is symptomatic of the problem Hope was brought here to solve. It was fated you would choose her to help you—why else do you think it was so easy to abduct her? Have faith. And most importantly, keep her safe until Blayne arrives.”
“I’ll protect her with my life.”
“I sincerely hope that won’t be necessary. Be strong, Leader Daryon. Your people will need you. Farewell, little Sehan.” And then Shikari, too, was gone.
Daryon’s men strode toward the settlement. “Bet they won’t be expecting to see us back so soon,” Rikard said. “And bet they won’t believe how we got here, either.”
Daryon joined in the wry laughter, his spirit lighter now he was home with help in tow.
“It’s too quiet.” Hope gnawed her lower lip. “I can’t hear anything at all.”
The chatter ceased. Daryon’s men eyed each other warily. “You’re right.” He tightened his grip on her arm. “Rikard, take Martyn and go find out what’s up. Something’s not right, I feel it in my bones, so be cautious. We’ll wait here for you.”
Hope sank to the ground and sat cross-legged. Her eyes unfocussed and her breathing rate slowed.
Daryon stopped his pacing. “What are you doing?”
“Shh! I’m following Rikard. As soon as he finds anything of interest I’ll let you know.”
“Pity you can’t show us what you’re seeing,” one of the men muttered.
“Good idea.” She promptly conjured a huge bubble-like thing. “Take a look,” she invited.
Daryon and his men crowded around. Inside the bubble they could see Rikard and Martyn peering through the door into the first dwelling. Empty. The door of the next dwelling was ajar…. Empty, too. They checked another dozen buildings and found not a soul. Daryon witnessed their growing panic as they split up, racing from building to building.
When they met up again, Martyn said, “Let’s check the Healing Hall.”
They sprinted off. Daryon found himself holding his breath. He released it in a sigh that was almost a moan when the two men discovered the hall was deserted.
“I think we should report back,” Rikard was saying.
“They have to be somewhere,” Martyn said. “Keep looking.”
Rikard cocked his head as though listening to something. “Hope says we should try the meeting hall. Let’s go.”
They raced off again, and Daryon darted a glance at Hope. Her brow was furrowed with concentration.
“What’s that smell?” Martyn’s comment reclaimed Daryon’s full attention. “Something’s burning. Smells like scorched—” He choked, and clapped a hand over his nose.
“Flesh,” Hope said. “They think it smells like burning flesh.”
Daryon’s heart skipped a beat. Gods….
The two men rounded the corner of a building and halted. Thick, oily-black smoke streamed in ribbons from a gap beneath the door of the hall. A small group of people stood to one side.
“Kunnandi’s teeth!” Martyn backed away. “What’s going on?”
Rikard grabbed the nearest person and shook her, demanding answers. She hung limply in his hands, her head lolling. Her companions huddled together, gazes intent on the building.
Martyn edged closer, peering at the woman. Silent tears streaked shiny tracks down her dirty face—a face so twisted with anguish it was barely recognizable as Nerraya, the co-leader of their settlement.
“Rikard, it’s Nerraya. I think she’s in shock.”
Nerraya spoke in a voice that was dull and lifeless. “They’re dead. Too many to bury. We had no choice. There are too many.”
Martyn retched. Rikard released Nerraya and pulled the neckline of his tunic over his nose and mouth.
Hope’s thready moan snapped Daryon from his horror. He tore his gaze from the bubble and squatted next to her. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I need to examine one of the bodies before….” She shut her eyes but he’d already seen they were swimming with tears. “Before they burn. I might be able to discover something that could help us. Go. I’ll be all right here.”
“Don’t do anything dangerous,” he said.
“I can’t promise that. I have no idea what I’ll find.”
She retreated inward, leaving Daryon to curse and resume the mantle of a leader, when all he wanted to do was howl and rail against the fates that had stolen so many lives. “Go,” he told his grim-faced men. “I promised to keep her safe so I’ll stay with her. When she’s finished doing… whatever she’s doing, I’ll take her to my house. Look for me there.” His men sprinted off, and, coward that he was, Daryon couldn’t help but feel grateful for the excuse to delay confronting the horrors that awaited him.
Hope’s eyes began to glow, burning brighter than the lamps he used to light his house in the evenings. He dropped into a squat before her unnaturally still form and waited, concentrating on the slow, steady rise and fall of her breathing.
A part of Hope had journeyed to another plane, separate from the physical world she inhabited. She hovered outside her body, fully aware of it, but for the moment free of its constraints. She scanned the settlement, and could easily detect the aureyas of the men racing toward the settlement.
She flew onward, seeking, until she located Rikard and Martyn’s now-familiar aureyas. Their primary colors were dulled, tainted with bleak
black bands. The other survivors were worse, their spirits maimed by what they had experienced. She bolstered their aureyas with as much healing energy as she dared.
It took all her courage to enter the blazing building. And as she wended her way through the ranks of corpses it was infinitely worse than she’d feared.
The clothing of a nearby female corpse began to smolder. She knew the woman’s body was a soulless husk, still, she could not bear to watch her burn. She continued her search.
Around half the bodies were already alight. She fled to the corner farthest from the flames. Something tugged at her and before she could analyze it, she was there, floating over a male corpse.
She entered his body. Now she was a minute traveler, investigating every part of the corpse, searching for clues. Stark horror crashed in on her. What would happen if she delayed too long and this body began to burn with her essence trapped inside it? She smothered her fears and continued her search.
She sensed nothing. She was gathering her courage to leave and explore another corpse when she saw it. Somehow this man had managed to protect a tiny spark of his consciousness in the hope someone—a Sehan—might come looking for it.
Delicately she fed energy into the spark and coaxed it to reveal its secrets. His name, she discovered, was Geramar.
I’m Hope. I’m Sehani—here to help your people. Can you hear me, Geramar?
Thank the gods! Listen to me. I haven’t much time. They will come for this part of me soon.
Who? Who will come? Who has done this?
The six old ones. They are ancient and greedy for life-forces. They’ve lain dormant for centuries, awaiting their chance.
What are they? Are they human?
They were human once. They were young and curious, hungry for power. They dabbled in dark arts until their thirst for power consumed them. And now they consume us.
Where can I find them?
An underground cavern in a valley of lights. It imprisons them but not for much longer.
Where? You must tell me!
No time. They come! You must go now before they take you, too. GO!
Blackness laced with malicious glee. Glowing green eyes. A six-fold presence.
The vivid image of a barren, sand-blasted valley seared her mind. It was replaced by another image—a brilliantly-lit cave housing six shrouded bodies. And then she was thrust back into her body, her ears still throbbing with the echoes of his scream as they sucked the remaining spark of life-force from his body. And devoured it.
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