by A. G. Henley
THE FIRE SISTERS
Brilliant Darkness, Book 3
By
A.G. Henley
Fennel and Peree are finally together and safe from the Scourge in the protected village of Koolkuna. But, on the day of their partnering ceremony, the children of the village are stolen away—Fenn’s loyal companion, Kora, among them.
Fenn wants to bring the children home, especially as the villagers seem to blame Peree and her for the tragedy. Only, since the death of her own family, she’s terrified a wrong move on her part will lead to the loss of others she loves.
Fenn and Peree join a small search party led by rival Kaiya, the one person who stands a chance of finding the children, thanks to her mysterious past. As they travel away from the safe waters of Koolkuna and into the Scourge-infested wilds, Fenn endures Kai’s scorn, her subtle designs on Peree, and the squabbling of the group. But nothing in her life so far has prepared her for the fierce warrior women who will steal others’ children to preserve their own existence—the Fire Sisters.
If Fenn is to survive the threat of the Scourge, rescue the children from the Sisters, and have a hope of making a life with Peree in Koolkuna, she must face her fear of failure and loss and become the leader she’s destined to be.
Recommended Reading Order for the Brilliant Darkness series:
THE SCOURGE, Book 1
THE KEEPER: A Brilliant Darkness Story (#1.5)
THE DEFIANCE, Book 2
THE GATHERER: A Brilliant Darkness Story (#2.5)
THE FIRE SISTERS, Book 3
Copyright © 2015 by A.G. Henley
All rights reserved
Cover design by Robin Ludwig Design Inc.
http://www.gobookcoverdesign.com/
Images:
© Evgeny Dubinchuk | Dreamstime.com
© Olegator1977 | Dreamstime.com
© Rudall30 | Dreamstime.com
To Mom and Dad, for a lifetime of love and support,
and to Ginger, my own, dearest Fire Sister.
Table of Contents
THE FIRE SISTERS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter One
I grip Peree’s hand as we stand beside the fire lit for our partnering ceremony. My palm is slick with nervous perspiration, but I’m prepared to speak the words that will bind our lives and souls together. Among our friends and family in the peaceful village of Koolkuna, I’m ready to intertwine my life with his.
Nerang chats with others in the first language of the anuna, the people of Koolkuna. I have no idea what the talented healer is saying, but it doesn’t matter. The warm tone of his voice tells me he’s happy to be part of our celebration. We’re only waiting for our friend, Arika, and her children, Kora and Darel, to arrive. I won’t start without them.
I can’t see the group gathering nearby—Groundlings, Lofties, and the anuna—but I still hear echoes of their well wishes as we entered the clearing to stand beside the water hole. I smell the musky scent of the heather burning over greenheart wood in the fire, a combination I was told would encourage love and longevity for our union. I feel Peree’s warm, bow-callused hand clasping mine now. And I taste his last kiss on my lips, a sweet drizzle of honeysuckle.
Everything is perfect—a validation of all we worked so hard to accomplish, a small recompense for what we lost as we led our people to safety in Koolkuna.
My thoughts are splintered by the sudden noise of a woman’s shrill screams and shouts, coming from the path to the village.
“Help! Help me!”
Peree pulls me close, and fear punctures my heart.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I don’t know.”
The woman reaches the clearing, her feet slapping unevenly against the dry ground, as if she stumbles as she runs.
“It’s Arika. Her head is bleeding.” Peree’s normally musical voice is low and rough.
What? Is she all right? Did she fall and hit her head or something?
Nerang ministers to her, speaking softly. I tug Peree forward to hear what they’re saying.
“Tell us what happened,” the healer asks.
“They took the guru,” Arika cries. “The children are gone!”
Gone? My body tingles.
“What do you mean?” a man says.
“Took them?” a woman asks, her voice rising. “Which of the guru?”
“Let her speak.” Nerang’s firm words are lined with distress.
“Frost and I… led a small group of guru into the forest to gather wildflowers for the ceremony.” Arika chokes on her tears. “We were on our way here, when we… we were attacked. They were all taken!”
“Thrush was with Frost!” Moon gasps.
“He was there. Kora and Darel were with us,” Arika says with fresh sobs, “and four others. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. They are gone.”
Horror rushes through me. “I don’t understand… who took them?”
“What did they look like?”
“Which way did they go?”
People shout over each other, their voices loud, harsh, and frightened. I can’t tell anyone apart. The clamor hurts my ears and makes me dizzy. Peree puts a steadying arm around me; I clutch his waist to ground myself.
“Quiet!” Nerang says. “Who took the guru, Arika?”
“I don’t know.” She pants. “They came suddenly… out of the trees. They wore strange clothes, and their hair was painted… they carried weapons, and… and they were all women. I tried to keep hold of Kora and Darel, but one of the women put a blade to my throat. She struck me with the butt and took them away.” Her voice breaks.
Peree hisses out a breath. I feel faint.
“There were no men?” Kaiya asks sharply.
“No, no. Only those terrible women.”
“Were there colorful feathers at their waists, like the one in Myall’s hair?” Kai says.
“Yes!”
Peree’s feather?
“We must follow them,” a man yells. Others shout, agreeing.
“It won’t do any good.” Kai sounds shaken. “Those feathers are their mark.”
“Whose mark?”
“The women who took me away when I was a child. The Fire Sisters.”
Arika moans. I put a hand on my friend’s shoulder.
“Why did they take the children, Kai?” Peree asks.
“The Sisters live without men.” Her voice is bleak. “They gather girls from other groups to survive.”
We erupt with fresh cries.
“We will catch them!” Derain, Arika’s
partner, says. “Can you lead us to where they attacked you?”
She says she can. Running feet pound out of the clearing.
“Kadee’s here,” Peree says to me. He places my hands in a smaller, softer pair, and his lips brush the top of my head. “I’m going ahead.”
“Peree—!” I don’t have time to tell him to be careful. He’s gone with the others.
Kadee, my natural mother, holds my arm as we run after the group, following footfalls and the sounds of parents calling their children’s names. We reach the path to the village, but rather than turning that way, we enter the forest ahead, pushing through the grasping arms of trees and bushes.
We stop in a clearing—the light brightens and I’m no longer surrounded by vegetation. Frightened voices flutter around me, birds flushed from their nests by a predator.
“Do you see anything?” I ask Kadee.
“Only the trees and our own people.” Her hand is icy on my arm.
A poisonous brew of dread and helplessness oozes through my body. I close my eyes and listen for any sound of the children.
“Which way did they go?” someone yells.
“Here,” a woman shouts in a quivery voice. “The bushes are crushed!”
Kadee pulls me in that direction. We crash into the woods again as people fall in behind us. Branches and brambles claw at me again, drawing stinging trails along my face and arms.
We move this way and that, following those in front. I’m jostled and jerked, but I can only think of Kora and the other children.
A battle cry pierces the air over our heads as if the trees themselves scream out. The voices are feminine and fierce. They aren’t the wails of the sick ones, the Scourge, but the same prickling feeling crawls along my scalp.
Those ahead of us shout warnings as what sounds like spears whistle past, hammering into the trunks of trees all around us. I freeze, my heart rocketing in my chest, waiting for the agonized screams of the injured.
“Back! Go back!” a man yells.
We all turn and run the way we came. People push and shove into Kadee and me, and in the confusion, I lose her and stumble. Another, larger hand grabs my arm, righting me.
“I’ve got you.”
Peree. I gasp, relieved to hear his voice. He puts my hand back in Kadee’s and positions himself behind us, probably to shield us, as we charge away with the rest. When we reach the clearing again, people begin to shout.
“Does anyone have a weapon?” Peree yells. “A bow? A knife? Anything?”
“No!” a man says. “Why would we be armed at a partnering ceremony?”
Why indeed? Few dangers lurk in Koolkuna. Because of the Myuna, the village’s pure, underground water source that supplies its water hole, we aren’t even exposed to the poison that creates the monstrous illusion of the Scourge.
“The armory!” A group of people sprint noisily from the clearing, heading toward the village to collect weapons.
“There were knives for the feast back at the Myuna. I’ll get them.” It’s Bear, my old Groundling friend. His voice is grim.
Peree touches my hand. “I’m going for my bow.” He tears away again.
Nerang’s voice rings out. He sounds as upset as I’ve ever heard him. “Amarina, Derain, Konol, track the guru. Stay far enough behind to be safe.”
Branches crack and leaves rip as bodies push into the trees, moving slower—more cautiously—this time.
“The rest of you remain here,” Nerang says. “Do not approach these intruders again. Their spears were warnings only. If they had wanted to kill us, they could have.”
“I am not standing around while my daughter is taken from under my nose by lorinyas!” a man shouts.
The forest swallows the sound of his running footsteps a moment later. Lorinyas. Strangers. That’s what we were to the anuna until recently.
“We cannot wait, Nerang,” a woman says. “We should go after the guru!”
“Of course we will. But we must have weapons to defend ourselves. You cannot help your guru if you are dead. Now, which of the children are missing besides Kora and Darel?”
Arika whimpers at the sound of her children’s names. My heart contracts with fear for Kora, my first companion in Koolkuna. I can feel her small hand as she led me around the village, gossiping about her people through the observations of her doll, Bega. Darel, her younger brother, is only four years old. They can’t be gone.
“My brother, Thrush.” Moon, the partner of Peree’s cousin, Petrel, sounds destroyed. Her newborn, Yani, howls. The baby’s name means hope in the anuna’s language. Hope feels far away now.
Exuberant and pesky Thrush reminded me so much of my own brother, Eland, when he was younger. Pain rips through me as I think of them, our brothers who only met once. One is dead. One is now missing.
The parents and guardians of the children say the names of their beloved. Seven in all were taken, five girls and two boys.
“And Frost.” I recognize Conda’s voice, one of the younger brothers of my Groundling tormentor—and protector—Moray. “But I don’t understand why they took her and not Arika.”
“Frost is still young enough to be trained in the Sisters’ ways,” Kai says, “and she’s pregnant. Her baby is even more valuable to them. If she has a girl, they can raise her as their own.”
“My baby?” Moray says. “I don’t think so.”
I wish I could say he was worried for Frost, too, the Lofty girl of about fifteen or sixteen who somehow got mixed up with him back home, but he’s only ever been concerned about their child. His baby. While Moray’s not my favorite, he doesn’t deserve this. No one does.
I hear Bear passing blades around. Others clatter into the clearing soon after, hopefully with more weapons. Peree and Petrel’s voices are among them.
“We’re going after them,” Peree says, touching my arm.
“I am, too,” Moray says.
Which means his brothers, Cuda and Conda, will follow. They seem to follow him everywhere. Right now, I’m glad. The group jogs off in the direction the Sisters took the children, and I send a silent prayer of protection after them.
Kadee and I stand with the rest of the villagers. Some cry softly, others wail. Still others argue, their voices crashing together like the waterfall meeting the Myuna. I find Moon and put my arms around her and Yani as they both sob. What else can I do? I’m desperate to look for Kora and the missing children, but I can’t move as fast as Peree and the others. I’d only hold them back. I don’t know the first tree or bush in this forest.
Kora, where are you?
“These Fire Sisters,” someone asks, “where do they come from?”
“Their home is called the Cloister.” Kai’s voice is hard, her words clipped.
“Where is it?” I ask.
“Many days’ walk through dangerous territory.” Her voice grows even colder and sharper when she speaks to me. “Along the River Restless.”
River? A stream runs out of Koolkuna from the Myuna, but I had no idea there was a river somewhere.
“We must find them before they get that far!” someone says.
“You won’t catch the Sisters if they don’t want to be caught.” Kai’s voice dips. Is she upset about the children, or are her memories painful? Both? It’s hard to tell with her. “And you’ll have no chance of getting them back if they reach the Cloister. Flames that never die protect the Sisters’ compound. High walls are guarded day and night. No one gets in or out unless they allow it.” She pauses. “They… they aren’t like the anuna. You can’t reason with them or talk them around. They’ll kill you if you try to take the guru back.”
I bite my lip, drawing blood, as people cry out.
“What of the boys?” Moon’s voice quavers. “You said they gather girls and have no men. What do they do with the boys they take?”
I hold her closer and rest a hand on Yani’s plump, velvety thigh, reassuring myself she’s safe. My pulse slows a bit in response.
&
nbsp; “I don’t know. I didn’t see any boys in the Cloister,” Kai says. “Only girls and women.”
If Eland had survived, if he’d come to Koolkuna with us, he might have been taken with Thrush. I would have lost him anyway. Our world is so precarious. Why do I try to pretend otherwise? I sway on the edge of the dark well of guilt and grief I’ve often fallen into since my brother’s death.
People begin to shout at Nerang and at each other. My eyes fill with tears. Although we’ve only been in Koolkuna a short time, I’ve come to care deeply for the community—the people who live here and the place Peree and I hoped to call home.
“What can we do, Nerang?” The woman’s voice thrums with sorrow.
“Calm yourselves. Perhaps the others are already bringing the guru back to us. In the meantime, look around. We might find something of importance.”
Nerang’s probably buying time, giving us something to do, but standing here talking about the awfulness of the Sisters isn’t helping anyone. With a gentle squeeze, I let go of Moon. I may not be able to look for clues, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find any.
Dropping to one knee, I feel the ground, trampled under our feet. All I feel are the crushed remains of grass and flowers, their petals still soft but already wilting. If there’s anything else down here, it’s been smashed flat. I listen to the agitated voices of the anuna as they search… the breeze rattling leaves in the branches of trees around us… the song of one intrepid bird not driven off by the commotion. Breathing slow and deep, I sift the air as I might a handful of grain.
And there is something else.
One scent stands out. It’s like the smoke from a fire, only more abrasive, as if it were created by something other than burning wood. I realize it’s been needling my nose and throat; I just wasn’t paying attention.
“I smell something—” I start to say, but someone interrupts.
“Is this one of their feathers?” a man asks. The group goes silent.
“Yes,” Kai says.
“Arika.” Kadee speaks from a few paces away, regret in her voice. “I found Bega.”