“That’s not assured.”
“Oval is not a fool, Mooriah. Anyone can see that you are better, more prepared, and take your tasks more seriously than Glister does.”
She shook her head but was smiling softly. He would count that as a win. However, the moment, whatever it had been, was gone, and she still had a sad air about her that Ember wanted desperately to dispel. If nothing else, he could do that for her.
He stood and held a hand out. “I know what will cheer you. Let’s take a break.”
“We’re already taking a break,” she said wryly.
“Well a slightly longer break. I’d like to show you something.”
She looked at his outstretched hand and instead of taking it, stood on her own. He fisted his hand at his side, ignoring the mallet that continued hammering away at him.
They exited his hiding place and walked along the abandoned corridors of this section of the city. Some of the staircases here were already falling into disrepair; he made a mental note to have them attended to. Anything to keep his mind off what had almost happened.
“Were you raised in the orphans’ home?” he asked, realizing he knew little about her life.
“At first, though when I was around six, I went to live with Murmur and his family group. He’d had a vision and was convinced to take me in.”
“What does he have again, four wives? Five?”
She shook her head. “Only three—Sparkle passed on to become one with the Mother two years ago. And they added another husband, Yaw, when I was fifteen.”
“The old ways seem very complicated,” Ember said. “How can someone keep up with so many spouses?”
“They have their way of doing things. Though I admit, I have no desire for more than one partner in my life.”
Most of the Folk under one hundred years of age or so eschewed the polyamorous lifestyle that so many of the elders participated in. There just weren’t as many people around any longer.
“I agree. I’d rather focus my attention on one person. Jealousy is a poison that infects too many hearts.” His mother had never shown outward jealousy of his father’s other wives, but had she merely hidden it from him?
“Where are you taking me?” Mooriah asked, looking around.
“We’re almost there.”
She huffed irritably, and he held back a smile. It was obvious that she liked to be in control. He wisely kept to himself how adorable he found her lack of patience. They climbed up a staircase and down another, then snaked through a warren of empty halls until they finally reached the destination.
This place was high in the city, located beneath one of the Mother’s taller peaks. A narrow, dark tunnel, unlit by firerocks, led to a wide cavern. Mooriah gasped as they entered the much brighter space, and Ember tried to recall what it was like to see it for the first time.
The ceiling rose high above them, nearly as tall as Night Snow’s entire city. Here, the Mother’s ragged walls were not smooth like they were in so much else of the territory. This stone was unblemished by the spells which embedded memories or protections in the walls. It was just raw mountain, and on the far wall, an enormous waterfall fed a lake below. Rocks jutted up from the surface of the water, forming a rough path leading to the waterfall. The unexpectedness and majesty of the sight took Mooriah’s breath away.
“Do you want to get closer?” he asked.
Her head tilted up, staring at the grand falls, she nodded mutely. With sure steps from years of practice, he showed her how to leap from rock to rock, crossing the lake in no time.
They stood on a ledge a dozen paces from the water’s thunderous fall. The spray misted them as they drew closer.
“How did I not know this was here?” she said, voice raised to compete with the falling water.
“It was once a retreat for the elite who lived on the upper levels. Now no one really comes here anymore.”
“You do.”
He grinned as they approached the falls and stuck his hand in the spray.
“It’s warm?” She laughed, splashing a little.
“There’s a hot spring in a hidden mountain oasis up there somewhere. At least that’s what they think. No one has ever been there, it’s too high.” He craned his neck to try to see the origination of the water but could not. He didn’t even catch a glimpse of daylight up above. Firerocks were the only thing illuminating this cavern.
“How could there be a hot spring on the top of a mountain?”
He shrugged. “One of the many mysteries of the Mother. My own mother brought me here when I was young. It was her favorite place. I’m almost glad I don’t have to share it with others anymore.” He flushed and turned toward her. “I mean, I’m happy to share it with you.”
She grinned, still enthralled with the feeling of the water streaming through her fingers. Her whole face was transformed with joy as she laughed, waving her arms. She accidentally splashed him, then laughed at his reaction of mock affront.
He splashed her back, and soon they were in an all-out water fight. Her solemnity of before was forgotten, and Ember was overjoyed to have put a smile on her face.
When they finally left, they were both soaked through. The fabric of Mooriah’s chestcloth clung to her breasts, and her waistcloth made the curve of her wide hips impossible to ignore. Ember struggled not to stare. She didn’t seem to notice though, still riding high—this place had that effect on people. In the days after his mother’s death, it had been a great comfort. He didn’t want to do anything to diminish her shine, and so with great force of will, he endeavored to look only at her face.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” she said, still smiling as they entered the tunnel which was the only exit. At the other end she stopped, half hidden in darkness. “You truly don’t care about my Song?”
“I don’t.”
Her gaze lowered to his chest, and he found himself holding his breath as she looked her fill. The only light was from the chamber they were about to enter. The air became charged between them, almost sizzling with a heat he was sure would dry them off in no time. When her gaze finished roaming and met his again, her eyes were heavy lidded.
She reached up to cup his cheeks and draw him down closer to her height. “I have something to tell you,” she whispered.
He bent lower and lower, not resisting her pull. “What?” He wasn’t certain when he’d last taken a breath, his attention was on her skin touching his, the intensity in her eyes.
“I’ve always wanted to do this.”
This time neither of them backed away. They erased the space between them and met in the middle, pressing their lips together. The contact was like a spark on dry kindling. Ember ignited, the kiss moving from innocent and chaste to blazing in the fraction of an eye-blink.
His hands encircled her waist, and he picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him, pressing the heat of her core against his abdomen. He shuddered and broke the kiss, spinning her and bringing her back against the wall. Her arms came around his neck, and he pressed against her, causing her to gasp.
He sought her lips again, the kiss a fiery inferno of need pent up between the two of them. Her admission had surprised him. How long had she felt the pull toward him? As long as he’d felt it for her?
Their tongues danced together as she pressed tighter against him. If he could open himself up and bring her inside, he would. He settled for tumbling into the kiss, becoming consumed by it. He hitched her higher and enjoyed the feeling of her body clinging to his. The score of her nails against his back and neck. Her heat singed his stomach; he slid a hand up her thigh to explore and possibly get burned, when footsteps sounded.
Their mouths tore apart; Mooriah was wild-eyed, breathing heavily. They were at the edge of a hub where a half-dozen hallways converged. This place was obviously not as abandoned as it looked.
Ember set her down, and they swiftly straightened their drenched clothing before turning to face the person exiting a tunnel across from the
m. When Glister appeared, Mooriah stiffened and moved further into the darkness behind them.
“There you are,” Glister said with a smile before she took note of Mooriah. Her welcoming expression turned harsh. “What are you doing here?”
Ember wrangled his expression, hoping he didn’t look guilty or flushed or aroused or any of the other myriad things he was feeling.
Mooriah stepped to his side, though quite a distance away. “I’ve been looking for a new source of rubia honey. I had reason to believe a hive of cave bees was near here.”
Glister frowned then turned back to Ember. “Your father is looking for you.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Why didn’t you just summon him?” Mooriah asked, eyes narrowed.
Glister tilted her head coquettishly. “I could have, but I wanted to find him for myself.” Ember’s face heated, much to his dismay. She must have used some sort of locating spell. If he could ward himself, he could prevent being found—all the more reason to train harder.
Shooting another look of disdain Mooriah’s way, Glister seemed to finally notice that both of them were wet. “What happened to you?”
“The ceiling of a tunnel back there caved in,” he said, quickly. “Water started pouring down. I’m going to have one of the maintainers see to it.” He cleared his throat. “Could be dangerous.”
Glister’s smile was brilliant. “And that’s why you’re going to make a great chieftain. Come along, we don’t want to keep Crimson waiting.” She held out a hand as though she wanted him to take it.
When he did not reach for her, she grabbed him. Unlike Mooriah’s, her palm felt clammy and sickeningly boneless. As Glister led him away, he looked over his shoulder back to where Mooriah stood with her arms crossed, watching them.
Her expression was shuttered, offering no clue to her feelings. Then she turned away.
This wasn’t how he wanted to walk away from her—in fact, he didn’t want to walk away from her. Not now or ever.
But he would go now to appease his father. He didn’t want anything to make Crimson disqualify him before the match with Rumble. After that though, all bets were off. Ember would win—somehow—and then the whole clan would know how he felt about Mooriah.
~ 10 ~
Inception of Illusion: To pass a memory on to another.
A liberal mixture of salt bronze, shadow nightshade, cinderberry, and ash of mercy may be optionally used to focus those new to working this spell. The true activator must be chosen by the mage and imbued with their intention. Light-headedness and fainting are common.
—WISDOM OF THE FOLK
Mooriah returned to the cornerstone the next day, confident she could complete her spell. Though after a fitful night tossing and turning in her bed—reliving the kiss with Ember, the way he’d felt pressed against her, and her body’s reaction—she wasn’t as bright and chipper as she could be.
She desperately wanted to know what would have happened if Glister hadn’t interrupted them. His hand had been so close to where she longed for it to be. What would it have felt like if he’d reached his destination? Her face heated, along with other parts of her body.
She still couldn’t believe Ember had taken her to a place that held so much sentimental value to him. And she had loved it. Adored being there amidst the beauty and majesty of the largest waterfall she’d ever seen or conceived of. Its strangely warm water had been comforting, and even walking back to her quarters through the tunnels soaking wet had not been a hardship.
Around Ember she felt peaceful. He wasn’t judgmental. He’d never looked down on her for any reason. And though they had never been in each other’s orbits before, she’d witnessed his kindness, compassion, and strength for years.
Something inside her had cracked open when their lips touched. The force of the feelings rushing out shocked her. She was so used to hiding everything, keeping everything tucked away so it wouldn’t be cause for criticism, that now she felt raw and without protection. Her heart was at serious risk.
Finish, and then you can see him tonight, she told herself. Of course this day would last forever until she did.
“What has you smiling so mysteriously?” Fenix asked, cutting into her thoughts.
She startled, then with great effort, blanked her face. She’d forgotten he was there. “Nothing.”
“Ah, I was hoping you’d share what put such an expression on your face. Could it be because you’re here again with me?” He grinned, his lambent eyes seeking to hypnotize her. She blinked and shook her head.
“Not everything is about you, you know.”
He chuckled. “No? If you say so.”
She groaned at his arrogance and got back to work. Amazingly enough, Fenix did as well.
She was still feeling her way around the process of integrating Nethersong into her father’s spell using the complicated weaving technique he’d described to her. Speaking of Yllis, he was nowhere to be found this morning. She squashed the pang of disappointment until it was so tiny as to almost not exist.
Mooriah flowed back into a meditative state, directing death energy around Yllis’s existing spell. She could not affect the Earthsong, she could not even truly sense it, aside from a sort of emptiness where nothing else was. But that was the key to the technique, to braid a chain of energy that wrapped around what she could not see.
It was difficult but invigorating work. She was at it for half the day before falling back into her physical senses, excitement thrumming through her.
“I think I’ve done it!” She opened her eyes, surprised to find Fenix seated right next to her. She grinned at him. “I’ve finished and it’s… Oh it’s magnificent. I can’t believe such a thing is possible. It’s just—” His expression gave her pause. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
For the duration of their short acquaintance, he had generally been cheery and full of mirth. Not taking anything too seriously, except for the incident with the cougar. But now all traces of his signature smirk were missing. He reached up and touched her braided hair, freezing her in place. “It’s wonderful to see such joy is all. You’re so beautiful and even more so when you smile.”
She swallowed and backed out of his reach. Though his face was almost grave, his body began shining bright.
“You cannot really want to stay here,” he said. “Now you’ve completed your father’s task, why would you want to retreat back into the darkness?”
“It’s not all darkness. There’s beauty there too.” Like the waterfall and kissing Ember. Neither of which she’d share with him.
She stood and turned her back to him, her feelings a jumble. There was something intoxicating about Fenix that made it hard to concentrate with all that brightness in her eyes. She didn’t want to be addled, she needed to think clearly. Which was also hard to do when he stared at her like she was some sort of jewel.
She felt him at her back and stiffened. “What do you want?”
“I want you to come with me. Leave the darkness and come out into the air and the sunshine. Explore this world and live under the blue skies every day. Maybe even…”
She looked to the side, sighting him in her periphery. “Maybe what?”
“Maybe I could even take you to my world.”
Shock stole her voice.
“I’m not sure if it’s possible—we’d have to find a way for you to survive the portals, but I’m willing to try.”
She spun around to face him, squaring her shoulders. “Why? Why do you want me to go so badly with you? You hardly know me at all.”
“Because you’re a diamond trapped in a bed of coal. You deserve to shine and let the world see your light. Don’t you know that you’re blinding?” He glowed even brighter as he said this, making her squint. One shining hand rose to stroke her cheek, and the touch was like sparks of energy on her skin.
He leaned in farther like he was going to kiss her, but she slid away from him.
He dimmed somewhat. “I’m not i
magining that there is something between us. The way you look at me sometimes.”
Her stomach churned as if cave bees had taken residence within. “You are very interesting to look at.”
He leveled a gaze at her, and she shook her head. “I find you intriguing. You’re different to anyone I’ve ever known. But I don’t want what you want. I want—”
“A people who will only accept you once you reach a set of criteria? Who will never truly see you as one of them?”
“And you think out here would be different for me?” she said with a dry laugh.
“Out here is real; in there is not.”
Once again, his arrogance got her hackles up. “In there is just as real as anywhere else. It’s my home.”
But an ugly thought raised its head. Yesterday, Ember had walked away from her with hope in his eyes. But even if he became chieftain, wouldn’t a woman like Glister be better for him? Someone with a good family with resources and connections?
If Mooriah succeeded in becoming clan shaman, she would have respect and a place in Cavefolk society, but it was not the same as what Glister offered.
As if he saw the doubts in her mind, Fenix came closer. “I know you are thinking about it. I’m not giving up. I will be here, waiting. I know you will change your mind.”
Some of the smugness was back, but underneath she sensed real emotion. She wasn’t sure how much was bravado and how much was sincerity, but her heart hurt for him.
“I don’t want to hurt you Fenix. I will not be here.”
She spun around and headed back down the path that led her home. As her footsteps traipsed across the trail, a voice in her head wondered if she should accept his offer. But she shook it off.
Soon she was out of the cold and back inside the warmth of the Mother. Where she belonged.
~ 11 ~
Barrier of Rivals: Forbidden, except by the elder shaman. Blocks the spells of others for short periods of time. Can cause temporary blindness or double vision. Punishment for unauthorized usage is banishment.
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