Angondra Holiday Special

by Ruth Anne Scott

  Aquilla whirled around and raised his hand to his mouth

  Piwaka flew at him and tried to rip his hand away from his face, but he couldn’t reach Aquilla in time to stop a shrill screech echoing through the trees. “No!”

  Chapter 15

  In an instant, hundreds of Avitras swarmed out of the trees. Where had they been hiding? They flooded the glade and surrounded everyone, including the Avitras. Aquilla raised his hand to signal to them, but this time Piwaka was ready. He knocked Aquilla’s hand down and spun around to face the Guards. He positioned himself between them and Deek to shield the Aqinas with his body. He only spoke one word, but his hand signaled to the Guard in ways no one else could understand. “No!”

  Aimee rushed forward. She faced the other Alphas and swept Donen, Caleb, and Renier with her eyes. She took in Faruk, Menlo, and Turk standing nearby. “The Aqinas came here because we called them. We came here to negotiate peace for all Angondra, and that includes the Aqinas. Are you going to stand by and let the Avitras wipe them out?”

  She took her place at Piwaka’s side between the Aqinas and the Guards. “No one will lay a finger on the Aqinas as long as we’re here. They’re our invited guests. If you attack them, you’ll have to go through us first.”

  The Avitras paid no attention to her, but at least she got the words out. They rang through the clearing with more force and determination than she felt in her heart. At first, no one made a move, and Aimee’s courage faltered. None of the others would stand up for the Aqinas. She and Piwaka would face the Avitras alone, and the Guard would obey Aquilla. He would override his decision to hand over power to Piwaka, and he would destroy their chance at peace.

  Something shifted in the corner of her eye, and Renier moved out of line. He planted his legs wide next to Piwaka and pulled his short, curved blade from his belt. He chopped the air with it and let it dangle from his hand at his side. “We came here for peace, but the Aqinas are the only people here not carrying weapons.” He nodded to the Avitras Guards. “If you want to fight someone, you can fight me. You won’t fight a bunch of unarmed men and women.”

  One by one, the others joined him. Caleb and Turk, Faruk and Emily, Aria and Carmen and Marissa—they all came forward and formed ranks between the Aqinas and Aquilla’s Guards. Aimee’s spirits soared, but in the end, it was Piwaka’s hand signals that drove the Avitras back. No words passed between the Guard and their Captain, but he told them something that made them turn against Aquilla.

  Aquilla saw his advantage flagging, and he waved his arm to his Guards. “Attack!”

  Piwaka made one more signal with his hand. The Guard stayed where they were, but the tension dissipated. They wouldn’t attack, no matter what Aquilla said. Piwaka was in charge for good now. Aquilla fumed and ranted, but no one moved or said a word.

  A murmur rippled down the row of Aqinas. Then something made her spin around with a gasp. A short woman with black hair stepped out of the water onto the grass. The instant her foot hit the ground, she shivered and huddled over on herself. Her eyes took on a glassy sheen, and her face went blank. Chris turned around at the same moment. “Sasha! You came!”

  Sasha nodded, but she barely looked Chris in the face. “I told you I would come if you called.”

  Chris took her hand. “Help us. All we want is to make peace.”

  “You have it already,” Sasha replied. “You don’t need the Aqinas for that.”

  Aimee dropped her voice to keep Aquilla from hearing her. “There must be something we can do to avoid all this hostility.”

  Just then, another figure broke out of the Aqinas line. Taller than Sasha, the same long ropes of hair hung down past the person’s shoulders, but the hips widened to reveal a female shape. Aimee looked closer and noticed a bump protruding under the white robe. She was pregnant.

  Anna and Emily rushed forward, but Aimee got there first. “Frieda!”

  Frieda put her foot on the grass and pulled it back as though it was burned. She hesitated to leave the water. She scanned the scene, and a shadow of doubt crossed her face.

  “How have you been, Frieda?” Emily asked. “We’ve been so worried about you.”

  “You had nothing to worry about. I’m fine.” Frieda spoke so softly they leaned forward to hear her.

  “We thought you got stuck with the Aqinas,” Anna told her. “We didn’t know what to think.”

  Frieda shook herself. “Fritz told you I was happy where I was. He told you I chose to stay with the Aqinas of my own free will. You can believe him.”

  Anna frowned. “How did you know that?”

  Frieda fixed her sister with a piercing stare. “I was there.”

  Emily gasped. “You were there? You were there when Fritz told us you were alive and living with the Aqinas? Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you speak to me? I traveled all that way to find you....”

  Frieda cut her off with a shake of her head. “I couldn’t leave the water. I won’t leave the water, not even for you.”

  Emily dropped her eyes to the ground where Frieda stood up to her ankles in the foaming spring. “How can we trust the Aqinas when we don’t understand them? We need you and Sasha to explain them to us.”

  “Nothing we could say would make sense to you,” Frieda replied. “The Aqinas are the only people on this planet capable of living in peace. The water gives them the peace you all crave so much. You can’t understand it on land. Everything is warm and comfortable there, and the water gives you everything you need.”

  Emily looked around. “That’s what Sasha said last time.”

  “You didn’t believe her then, either, did you?” Frieda asked. “The Aqinas world is too different from this world to understand. It has to be experienced to be understood. I found that out for myself.”

  Anna surveyed Frieda’s pregnant body from her feet up to her hair. “You certainly look well, Frieda. Whatever they’re feeding you there agrees with you. I can see that.”

  Frieda shook her head. Not even Anna’s compliments could penetrate the veil separating her from her own family. Chris shot a glance at Fritz. “How can we be certain the Aqinas won’t interfere in our affairs in the future?”

  Sasha shuddered. Her lips trembled with cold, and her teeth chattered. “We would never interfere in your affairs if you didn’t call us to do it. No Aqinas would leave the water if they could avoid it. Ask anyone.” She nodded toward the line, but she didn’t gesture with her hands. She clutched her arms around her in bitter cold, even though the air was mild.

  “You and your people will never understand the Aqinas,” Deek broke in. “Frieda said you would misinterpret our watching you as a hostile act.”

  “I tried to explain it many times,” Frieda added. “Only another person who came from the land could make you understand.” A sob escaped her. “I thought I would have to leave the water to explain it to you.”

  Emily surveyed her sister up and down. Her lips turned blue, and she shivered, too. “Why don’t you explain it to us now?”

  Frieda shook her head. “You think the Aqinas spied on you by watching you when you didn’t know they were looking, but it doesn’t work that way. The water brings us information about everything it touches. The water creates a seamless connection between everyone so nothing is hidden. It does the same thing with the people on land.”

  “How can it do that?” Aimee asked. “The water isn’t touching us.”

  “The rain falls on you and runs into the rivers,” Frieda replied. “The same water evaporates from the ocean and rises into the clouds and falls again as rain. It’s all one water. It touches you and carries your signal to us in the ocean.”

  “So you understand everything about us,” Anna remarked. “Nothing we do or say or think is hidden from you.”

  Frieda closed her eyes. Every word required a superhuman effort. “We can’t stop it. We couldn’t close our eyes to it even if we wanted to. The water surrounds u
s and touches every inch of our skin. It penetrates our cells and brings its signal into our minds and into our blood.”

  Chris shuddered. “It sounds awful. I couldn’t stand to live that way.”

  Aquilla leaned toward Penelope Ann. “We’ll fall back to the village. We’ll raise other Guards who are loyal. Then we’ll....”

  Aimee whipped around. She couldn’t let him leave. Piwaka glared at Aquilla and moved forward at Aimee’s side. They would stop him together.

  A microscopic movement from Deek stopped them. How could such a subtle movement mean so much? It stopped them in their tracks, and Aimee stared in amazement. Sasha glided over the ground in ghostly silence. Her white gown hovered over the grass and hid her feet from view. Frieda floated at her side, and the two women approached Aquilla.

  Some queer magic rooted his feet to the ground. He and Penelope Ann stared at the two women in wonder. They ceased their shivering and gazed directly into Aquilla’s eyes. “You have nothing to fear from the Aqinas,” Sasha told him. “They are Angondran, just like you.”

  Aquilla shifted from one foot to the other. “You don’t have to stay with them.” His eyes flickered to Frieda’s face. “You are human. You can come back to the Avitras. We would welcome you the way we did the first time.”

  “The Aqinas always counted the Avitras their friends,” Frieda answered. “The Avitras did more to bring peace to Angondra than any other faction.”

  “Your father trusted the Aqinas,” Sasha added. “Your father protected the Aqinas.”

  Piwaka’s head spun around. “What did you say?”

  Aquilla frowned. “That was a long time ago. That has nothing to do with this.”

  Sasha shook her head. “Your father’s deeds remain alive with the Aqinas. In the water, he continues to act each and every day, as if for the first time. You could be a hero like your father.”

  Everyone stared at her. Aimee swallowed hard to make her voice work. “What are you talking about?”

  Sasha gazed at Aquilla. “The Ursidreans and the Avitras both lost countless people in the last war. Toward the end, the Alphas called on the Aqinas to broker a peace agreement so both factions could lay down their weapons without losing face or seeming to admit defeat. The Alphas met over there, at the top of the Eastern Divide, along with their Aqinas representatives.”

  “They didn’t know it was a trap,” Frieda went on. “The Ursidrean Alpha sent word to the Felsite that this was their best chance to annihilate the Aqinas once and for all.”

  All eyes turned toward Donen. He dropped his eyes to the ground. “That was in my father’s day. Many horrible things happened then.”

  “The Felsite moved in on the meeting site,” Sasha told them. “They would have wiped out the Aqinas, but the Avitras Alpha, Aquilla’s father, found out about the plan beforehand. He ordered his personal Guard to lie in wait on the north side of the Divide. When the Felsite moved in to attack, the Avitras jumped out and surprised them. They forced the Felsite to retreat back to their own side of the border, and the Felsite never attempted another attack.”

  Donen raised his eyes. “My father never related that story. He must have been ashamed of what he’d done, and rightly so.”

  Aquilla frowned. “My father never related that story, either. It sounds like a fairy tale to to get me to fall in love with the Aqinas.”

  Piwaka broke in. “It is all true.”

  Aquilla’s head shot up, and Aimee gasped.

  Piwaka nodded. “It’s true. Your father never told a soul what he had done, but I remember.”

  “How could you remember?” Aquilla asked.

  “I was there,” Piwaka murmured. “I led the assault on the Felsite.”

  Sasha touched Aquilla’s hand. “Your father was a friend to us. Let us count you as our friend, too.”

  He didn’t stop frowning, but he didn’t recoil from her, either. He pursed his lips together and didn’t answer. Penelope Ann moved to his side. “We value peace. That’s what we came here for. If the Aqinas want peace, they won’t have anything to worry about from the Avitras.”

  Frieda smiled at her. “You were always kind to me when I lived with the Avitras. We won’t forget you, either.”

  Penelope Ann passed her hand through Aquilla’s arm. “Let’s put the hateful stories of the past behind us. We can count on the Aqinas to help us establish a lasting peace between the factions. Communicating through the water will be very useful, even if that communication only goes one way.”

  Sasha smiled. “The Aqinas will do everything possible to help establish peace on Angondra.”

  Penelope Ann pulled Aquilla back. “Excellent.”

  Aquilla held back, but his eyes slid sideways to Piwaka. An unspoken signal passed between them, and Piwaka answered for him. “The Avitras will be friends to the Aqinas, the way they always have been.”

  Penelope Ann pressed Aquilla’s arm one more time, and this time, they stepped backward together toward the trees. In a moment, all the Avitras were gone—except Piwaka.

  Frieda muttered under her breath to Sasha. “It’s so cold here.”

  Sasha nodded, and they both retreated to the spring. Emily followed them. “Don’t leave yet, Frieda. Stay a little longer.”

  Frieda shook her head. She barely looked at her sister. “I have to get back to the water or the connection will be broken.”

  Emily put out her hand to her sister. “Just tell me you’re happy there. Tell me you’ve found your place there.”

  Frieda didn’t hesitate. She stepped into the water and joined the other Aqinas. The anxiety and dread fell away from her, and she relaxed in relief. She didn’t look at either of her sisters or her cousin. She kept her eyes on Deek. “You don’t have to worry about me. Everyone is happy in that world. It’s the most beautiful, most peaceful world you can imagine. I only wish you could experience it for yourselves. Come with me, and I’ll show you.”

  Emily shrank back. Her hand fell to her side. “I don’t think so.”

  Deek turned to Aimee. “We won’t forget what you did for us today.”

  Aimee blushed. “I didn’t do anything.”

  Deek shook his head. “The Aqinas don’t forget.”

  He and Fritz stepped into the water with the others. “Call on us when you need our help, and we will come.”

  Chapter 16

  Aimee stood at the door of her tent. Her friends sat around the transmogrifier with their evening meal. The men talked in low tones, and the women laughed together on the bench in front of the store chamber. Tension no longer hung over the camp, and the soldiers and warriors relaxed their watches. Word spread through the armies. The Avitras had made peace. Everyone would leave here in the morning for their own homes.

  Aimee couldn’t join them, though, and she wasn’t hungry. She looked around, but nothing appealed to her. Her eyes wandered up to the mountain, and she slipped away unnoticed. She walked slowly through the woods knowing what she was looking for and what she would find, but the old compulsion no longer drove her. She found him waiting for her under the tree where they’d first talked. “I thought you’d come here.”

  “I suppose you’ll be leaving in the morning with the Avitras,” she remarked.

  He nodded. “There’s a lot of work to do. You’ll be going back to the Lycaon. What will you do, now that the warriors no longer have to patrol the border?”

  She didn’t answer. She gazed at the sun through the trees. “I’ve never heard the woods so quiet. Even the animals seem quieter.”

  “Everyone is more relaxed,” he replied. “They all know what you did here today. You’ve given them peace.”

  Her eyes widened. “Me? I didn’t give them peace. If anyone did it, it was you.”

  He shook his head. “You stepped between the Avitras and the Aqinas.”

  “You stepped between them first,” she countered. “I only followed you.”

  “Aquilla wouldn
’t have stopped his attack for me,” he told her. “He only hesitated when the others moved forward, and they wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t told them to.”

  She blushed. “I didn’t tell them to do anything. Besides, it was Sasha and Frieda who convinced him to make peace. None of us knew about his father protecting the Aqinas.”

  “I knew about it,” he pointed out.

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked.

  “That would have sent him into a rage,” he replied. “No one could have told him except one of you human women. That’s your genius. You can say things and do things and make decisions no one else can. That’s why it’s you who’s responsible for this peace. If we had to do it ourselves, we never could put aside our hostility to talk, let alone come to any agreement.”

  She sighed. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

  He studied her. “Is it over?”

  She smiled and nodded. Then she turned to him and placed her hands on his chest. His eyebrows went up, but he didn’t say anything. She pushed him back against the tree trunk and kissed him. His breath filled her nostrils, and her heartbeat quickened. Scorching heat ached between her legs, and she no longer held back her desire.

  She pushed him down on the ground, and he lay back on the fallen leaves. Aimee stretched herself out on top of him and closed her eyes in his kiss. His breath caught in his throat. The same ache tormented him. His body tightened in desperate need, but he kept still underneath her. He waited for her to release him.

  She pressed her breasts into his chest, and a shiver ran down her belly to the yawning chasm between her legs. She would take him for herself. The forgotten shade would rise out of the past and destroy the hollow shell she had become. She inhaled the pungent scent of Piwaka, of the forest, of the leaves under them, and the transformation was complete. Raw hunger took over, and she let it control her. Nothing held her back anymore.