“No. Men can never be witches. Only women are witches, though men have sufficient magical instruments, and the ability to use them. Anyone can learn a spell, even men. Some men may know how to wield spells and magic. Those men are healers, like Hyun, who inspected your clothes. He is learned in witchcraft. He has to be, to defeat witches or their spells.” Ky raised an eyebrow. It sounded like men were wizards, too. Ky wondered if men were merely stereotypical toward women. He disregarded her disbelief and continued, “But the three kings might as well be witches. They have very powerful magic devices. They are made of dark magic, but a copy of a human, not a healer.”
“Cobaaron, obviously men can be witches. You just said it. They can learn witchcraft and use it.”
“No, men cannot be witches. I know what you’re thinking, but I assure you only women can be witches. I’m not explaining this well, and don’t think I can at the moment. My temper still flares easily. Let’s drop this, or I’ll get upset. Let’s just read.”
“But are these three kings alive today?”
“Yes. They have always been assumed to be the same kings—duplicates of King Brock the Great. But keep in mind it’s a story. I don’t know if it’s true, or if parts of it are based in truth. I’ve never considered it until now. There certainly is no Angel of Death, though. The story said death couldn’t find anyone to take, but people die every day. It’s life. No, I think it’s more symbolism. I guess; I don’t know.”
“Maybe it’s all true,” Ky supposed, and shrugged with uncertainty. “This world is filled with strange things. Maybe you can’t see the angel, but even in my world they exist. Maybe the angel appears to only those who die.”
“I died and saw nothing in the form of an angel. I saw stars, countless stars.”
“Possibly it just wasn’t your time. What if you only see the Angel of Death when you are passing on and not coming back?” Ky said.
“I don’t know. But why would people gather in cities among Stars and death not find them?”
“Maybe the Stars were not making it to the cities at first, when the world was changing, and dying before they could find help.”
“But people die outside of the cities.”
“Maybe it’s the moon that shines outside for death.” Ky shrugged. “There has to be more to the story.”
“But there’s nothing more to the story. It’s always told the same. There isn’t anything else to it.” He paused and looked at her curiously. “Wait, Ky, yes. I just remembered another legend about a girl and a god. I wonder if they’re connected. It could be—it just might,” He continued on to tell another story: “A god saw a young girl with such beauty he followed her throughout her days. The girl grew to love the god. But she was forced to unite with another man, a man who was no equal to the god. On the night of her union, when she was to bed her mortal partner, she slipped away and first slept with her true love. He promised her one day to be with her, and as proof he said he would give her anything she wanted. She asked for a moon, and the god gave it.
“As time went on, and the beautiful girl stayed with her mortal partner, she grew angry with her first love because he wasn’t taking her away. In her anger she threw the moon away, and it was lost from her reach forever. The god saw the moon in the sky and cried bitterly. Then the god came to the girl and asked why she threw his love away.
“‘Because I’ve grown to hate you for not keeping your promise,’ she said. ‘If you can’t take me away from him, then I have no choice.’ She thrust a sword into her heart, and the god watched her die in his arms.
“The girl was free of her moral partner, and free to be with her first love. She could do what the god couldn’t, and he rewarded her by giving her back the moon but kept it for her locked up in the night sky. The woman commanded the moon to shine onto the earth, so the god was powerful once again.”
“Don’t you see the similarities?” Cobaaron asked her. “Why else would a shining moon give this god power unless it was death who couldn’t find her to take her away?”
“Yes.” Ky nodded. “But what does all this mean? It doesn’t tell us anything. At least I’m not connecting the dots.”
“It means it could all be true,” Cobaaron supposed. “I wish I had proof.”
“And does that help us?”
“Information always helps. That’s why we need to find this prophecy,” Cobaaron said. “However, I don’t think we’ll really know anything until we find it. Right now I’d just be speculating.”
“So, I have a question. Do prophecies always come true? Or do they change? Do our actions change the path of the future?”
“No. A prophecy will happen. Knowing the future doesn’t mean you can change it. Prophecies consist of different actions, small and large, with the results coming together. No one person can interfere with enough influence to change the outcome. In fact, the flawed nature of humankind never really changes and therefore neither can fate. It’s not possible. It simply means you know it, and you have power of knowledge. You might do things differently to fulfill or prolong it, but even that isn’t always possible.”
“So why try? If there is a prophecy about a Star and warrior uniting and they bring light back into the world, why try to find this prophecy? Why not let fate take its course?”
“The reason we’re looking is because if there is a prophecy about a Star and a warrior, and if it is us, we better know all we can about it. The three kings surely know this prophecy if it has anything to do with them. It might be the end of their reign of darkness. No doubt they would silence these scrolls. Our lives would be in danger. It may tell us to hide somewhere until they are weakened. Maybe it’s not us but our children that fight the kings. I don’t know. But the more information we have the better. We may even learn how to avoid hidden dangers or even save lives.”
“But if it’s already written…” Ky began to say but he interrupted her.
“Don’t you want to know if it’s us, or if we can stop the three kings and bring the world to light again?”
“I do want to be in a world of light. I miss the sun,” Ky said emphatically. “But if I die, then no, I don’t want to know. I don’t want you to tell me. And I don’t think it’s fair. I should have a choice. I mean if it’s us...what if I don’t want to fight the three kings? It’s hard enough to travel. What if all I want is to have a normal life (as normal as possible in a world of darkness)? I liked the City of Sterlings. What if I want to go back and stay until I’m old?”
“Ky, if it’s our destiny, we can’t stop it. We could try to live in a city, but it would only postpone what would come. Destiny will follow us. It’s best to choose to move forward, do what we need to do, and then live the rest of our lives in peace.”
“That’s easy for you to say, you’re really old. I’m eighteen,” Ky said. “I want to live a little. I want it all. I want marriage, babies, and a happy life. Not some crazy journey, with prophecies and stories about looming danger and death as the main character. I’ll choose to fight against this.” Ky stood. “I’m hungry. I’m going to go downstairs and see what the women are cooking.”
“Yes, let’s take a break,” he agreed. “I’m hungry, too.”
“I’m not taking a break, Cobaaron. I’m done looking,” she stressed.
“I know. I got that,” he said. “But I still want you with me while I look.”
“Fine, but I’m not reading another archive. I don’t want to know anything about them, either.”
“I know. You just want a happy marriage and babies. I got it,” he said, smiling.
“And live a long life,” she added.
“Yes, and live a long life with me. So, let’s go eat.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The women sang while they bathed in the bathhouse. Some women mingled beside the large pool, standing around its borders dressing, combing their hair, or primping each other. Ky hated bathhouses for that very reason. There was no modesty, and no boundaries.
&nbs
p; “Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo. Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo.
Lu Lush, a woman in love with love.
We walk in your steps to be like you.
And though you are gone, you still remain.
A teacher to us of seduction.
We brush our hair. We wet our pink lips.
Wash our bodies with care. Pinch our cheeks.
It’s the way you used to seduce men.
You were blessed with so many children.
Now we hope to follow as you did.
Make us smell sweet. Have all men swooning.
Let us catch their eye. Make them want us.
We’ll do what we have, too, ooo, ooo, ooo.”
When the women in the pool saw Ky enter, they lured her into the water’s depths as one woman continued to sweetly sing:
“Mother of us children, who love you.
Pretend this is your spring of lushness.
Bless our bodies so we’re not barren.
Open this Star’s womb, give her children.
We won’t be jealous, then again, no.
Beauty, sweet smelling, what’s not to hate.
We won’t lie; she’s got what we all want.
Cobaaron’s love, status, and safety.
We live vicariously through you.
Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo. Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo.”
The woman shoved Ky backward, and she splashed into the shallow pool. Women surrounded her, and heaved her up out of the water. They yanked off her clothes, and dumped a large ball of slimy gel into her hair. Ky smacked at their hands as they bathed her, but it was pointless. They rubbed the gel into her hair. She pulled away, but they firmly held her by the hair and arms, before dunking her. This time they held her under longer. Ky tried standing, wriggling free, but several hands pinned her.
When it became clear they were trying to drown her, Ky screamed, and fought harder. Just then Ky was lifted, and she gasped for breath. All the women scurried away, except the woman who sang her jealous song, and the woman firmly holding her.
“You shouldn’t let envious women bathe you. You might find yourself fighting for your life,” the woman warned. Her features were plain. Her nose was quite thin, her sunken eyes were a dull shade of earth-toned brown, and her dark blonde hair covered the curves of her naked body. “Leave her alone,” she spat.
“Come off it, Athaya,” the woman who sang and pinned Ky rolled her eyes. “You hate us because you’re ugly. You can’t even get a man in a troop of thousands, but then who could look at you next to someone like me. That is why I’ll make it to another city with child, and you will most likely die, because no warrior will want to protect you when he’s sleeping with me.”
“Or me,” another woman quickly interjected.
“I can get a warrior. I’m just not like you. We all have different approaches when it comes to men, Vergara,” Athaya hissed.
“Right, and your approach is what? Not talk to them and hope they’ll see past your looks and fall in love?” Vergara sniggered. “If I were you (and I’m thankful I’m not) I’d walk around naked, because that would be the only way I’d get their attention. But then you’re probably worried about keeping a guy, so that wouldn’t work.”
“Like I said, I don’t like your tactics.” Athaya gritted her teeth.
“So you want him to sleep with you out of pity? That might actually work.” Vergara simpered a fake smile. “I hope that works out for you; I really do. I’m sure there is a lowly stud warrior, newly out of the labor force, that might consider you. I may need you in case I conceive, because nothing would make me happier than to see you, a farmer’s daughter, serve me.” Vergara turned and began to sing. Women soon joined in the vicious song. They went back to bathing and wiping gel into their hair, and onto their bodies.
“I really do hate her,” Athaya exhaled, still glowering at Vergara.
“I can see why,” Ky replied. Vergara was vicious and competitive. She was a queen bee in a hive of killers. Ky could tell by the way the women surrounded her and mimicked her.
“Yeah, well they’re worse around the warriors. That is when they’re downright scandalous.”
“I believe you.” Ky was certain Athaya was right.
“Well,” Athaya paused, “excuse me, my Lady.”
She left Ky alone wading in the pool. Ky quickly bathed and got out. She put on a clean dress from a folded stack left for the women, but within minutes it began to smolder. Then it went up in a puff of smoke. Ky started to put her dress back on, when a short girl, about her age with beautiful velvet eyes and jet-black hair, approached.
“Allow me, my Lady.” The girl took gel from a seashell bowl, smeared it onto the dress and began to scrub. “Oh, this is magic,” she said, dipping it into the water. “I should have guessed.”
“Um, yes. A gift from Oella.”
“I wouldn’t trust her. Not with anything.” The girl touched the garment with one finger. The cloth rippled and as it did, it returned to its lustrous shine. Ky was certain there was magic in her touch. “Well, it’s now clean. And I assure you it’s not evil, or it would have attacked me.”
“Are you a witch?” Ky asked, though she already gathered she was.
“Of course I’m not! Witches are evil, vile things,” the girl stated, deeply offended.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never seen anyone do that.”
“My father was a healer. I’m a healer’s daughter. There is a big difference,” the girl explained. Ky smiled, but said nothing else. In her mind she was convinced male healers were warlocks. If she knew magic, clearly she was a witch. “Anyway, your dress is clean.” The girl returned the garment.
“Thank you.” Ky put it on.
“Just come to me and I’ll wash your clothes,” the girl said. “Don’t use Oella.”
“How will I find you?”
“My name is Ambrosia. I can usually be found where the women entertain the men in the mess hall. Surely, your clothes need laundering; I could clean them today. If you wish, my Lady, I will find something that will make it so your skin can touch things without burning them.”
“I didn’t know it’s possible.”
“It is. I’ll find the instrument I need. My father would have given you one, when you came of age, if you stayed in the city.”
Ky was reluctant, after hearing the story of the witch, and Cobaaron stressing that all gifts have hidden costs, but slowly she said, “Oella made my belonging for free, without payment, but I might have…”
Ambrosia shook her head vigorously. “No, my Lady. I would not be here, traveling among warriors, if it weren’t for you. This is a privilege to repay you, and small in comparison.”
A few minutes later, Ky left the bathhouse. She headed back to the room of prophecies to meet Cobaaron. After three weeks it was starting to weigh on both of them. Their bodies were sore from sitting, almost every waking hour. She was waiting for him to tell her to stop being so stubborn and help him look, but he didn’t. He listened to her talk as her mind wandered and every once in awhile he would put a prophecy in a stack that he wanted to keep.
However, Cobaaron wasn’t looking at prophecies when she entered. Surprisingly, he wasn’t alone, either. His brother and a warrior she didn’t know were in the room. The stranger had reddish-brown hair, a shadow of a beard, blue eyes, and a small but deep cut on his forehead. He had two axes strapped to his back in leather holsters crossed above his scarred chest.
Ky got the feeling they had been talking, possibly about her, before she entered, because they were quiet and stared at her. A moment later Cobaaron introduced him. “Ky, this is Octavos.” Cobaaron paused as he beamed at him with pride and clapped his back. “He’s my successor.”
“I see.” Ky smiled in greeting.
“There are few men I’d trust with my life and secrets; they all happen to be standing in this room,” Cobaaron told her. “They’re my trusted advisors, and I’m telling you this because my men are concerned that you are a witch. They star
ted to suspect that you bewitched me in the City of Sterlings, when I chose to stay instead of leave the moment Octavos got back.”
“Yes, I heard that.” A warrior called her a witch on the ship. Spaci, too, seemed convinced she possessed the ability to perform magic, though she didn’t realize it was a growing consensus among the warriors.
“I know you heard it. But they,” Cobaaron gestured to his brother and Octavos, “tell me the men are more anxious by the day. I haven’t told them what we’re seeking, and I won’t until I find it. The men are assuming you have me under a spell. Honestly, I can’t blame them. I never shared company with a woman until you, I never brought women outside the city, and I never brought my men to a place like Elder and not told them why.
“I’m afraid the secrecy must remain until I find what we’re searching for. This has to be a secret. The three kings have numerous spies. They may know we are here. That might be why Octavos sensed a witch or banshee following us. We can’t risk breathing a word of the prophecy. We need this prophecy, and until we get it, we’re going to have to keep a close eye on you. I don’t want you alone; one of us must be with you no matter where you go. Any warrior would kill a witch they thought ensorcelled their chief.”
“Okay,” Ky said.
“And you’re going to have to stay in this room,” Cobaaron added.
“Even if it takes months to find it?”
“Ky, this isn’t a negotiation. You’re my partner. Mind me. I’m doing this to protect you. We talked about this,” Cobaaron said. She wasn’t protesting, but the possibility of months did make it sound like she was complaining. She closed her mouth, and pinched her lips together without another word. She wasn’t going to question him in front of his men, but she still had reservations. “Thank you, Ky.”
“So what do you want us to do?” Octavos asked.
“They need distraction,” Cobaaron said. “Ask the women to entertain them. Have feasts, drink ale, dance, sing, and tell tales, anything. I need more time. Send a few men out to scour the land to see if there is an increase of activity on the main land.”
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 26