Sisters of the Sands

by Villinger, James

  Sula shrugged. “I’ve never heard of someone having more than one power. But further trauma could make an Acolyte even stronger than before.”

  Iya shot up from her seat. “That’s enough,” Iya said to Sula before looking at me. “Come on, Sacet, it’s time to go.”

  They both locked eyes, giving each-other a stern look.

  Sensing the tension, I slowly stood and smiled at Sula. “Well … uhh, thanks for the tips. I’ll make sure I practice. Training again tomorrow?”

  She nodded back. “Tomorrow, yes.”

  Iya and I approached the door, and she let me through first, before glancing back at Sula one more time.

  Later

  At the hospital

  The door opened for us and Iya and I stepped into Maya’s room.

  “Maya, how are you feeling?” I began.

  Maya was propped up in her hospital bed. She had the whole room to herself, with a beautiful view of the city outside the window. She was wearing a gown and had bandages all over her arm. Tau was by the bed’s side, too, averting her gaze.

  Maya noticed us and smiled. “Oh … hey! Thanks for visiting. And you, too, Corporal? I didn’t know you cared so much.”

  Iya folded her arms and gestured at me. “It was her idea.”

  Tau refused to look up, instead focusing on Maya’s sheets.

  “Sacet? Shouldn’t you be in training right now?” Maya asked.

  I shrugged. “It … ended early.”

  “And did you get your assimilation session done last night?”

  Iya waved her hands dismissively. “Stop worrying, I made sure of everything.”

  Maya nodded. “That’s great.” A pained look came over her and she looked down at her missing hand. “It still feels like my hand is there, even though it isn’t. Every time I try to move it …”

  Maya was oblivious to the friction between the rest of us.

  “Well, I think I might go get a drink,” Iya said, turning to me. “Stay here until I get back, understand?”

  I nodded and we stayed silent until she left. I went over to the door and closed it, then turned back to the others. “What did they say to you, Tau?”

  Tau looked away from me and we both stood frozen for a moment.

  Maya looked confused. “Am I missing something here?”

  “No, no,” Tau said. “It’s nothing.”

  I scoffed. “So being abandoned by your squad sisters is nothing?”

  Maya raised an eyebrow and looked up at Tau. “Er, you abandoned Sacet? What?” Maya puzzled for a moment, then looked back at me with an expectant expression.

  I pointed at Tau. “The Acolytes in her squad trapped them on purpose and left them for dead. It was a slaughter.”

  Maya looked back at Tau. “Is this true? That’s treason. Which Acolytes were escorting you?”

  Tau looked out the window. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not here for that. I want to get on with my job here, okay?” She looked back. “I’ve been testing this new power throughout the hospital, working my way up from small wounds, and I would like to try something on you, too.”

  “You think you can heal me? Heal an entire missing hand?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I’m here. Are you up for it?”

  “Of course. Fire away!”

  Tau closed her eyes and brought her hands to the stub of Maya’s bandaged wrist. Like the other day, small silvery, light-blue flickers of air engulfed Tau’s whole body like a silent coat of flames. As her skin turned a pale white, the bandages on Maya’s wrist shifted and budged as if something was prodding them from underneath. I ran over to the bedside and brought my hands to the bandages, too. Even with my assistance, it was like they were unravelling themselves to reveal the healing flesh.

  “Wow, can you feel this, Maya?” I said.

  “Yeah, it’s like … tingling, kind of. It’s weird. But there’s no pain.”

  The bones were reconstructing themselves in front of our eyes, followed by an overlay of muscles and ligaments. The small bones that made up the digits appeared from thin air and held themselves in place as the finger tissue wrapped itself around them. Finally, the muscles and skin formed around the creation.

  Maya pushed up off the pillows. “I can’t believe it. Tau, this power … it’s going to change the course of this war for us.”

  “Yeah, it just might,” Tau said. She smiled and moved away.

  But she was grabbed by Maya’s new hand. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m grateful for this. But you have some explaining to do. The Acolytes, give me their names.”

  Tau struggled against her. “I’ve been ordered not to speak about what happened. I’m sorry. I was told it would be bad for morale.”

  “It was Iya and Neva,” I interrupted. “They said they had more important things to do … while Tau and her squad were exterminated.”

  Tau looked at me with anger, closed her eyes and stared down at the foot of the bed.

  Maya jumped up from her bed. “That can’t be,” she said in a hushed tone.

  Tau wandered over to the adjoining bathroom and gestured for us to follow. We walked in and shut the door behind us. Tau leant against the sink. Maya and I huddled closer with widened eyes.

  “Tau,” Maya said. “Tell me Sacet’s wrong.”

  Tau shrugged. “I was told not to speak about this, otherwise I’d be branded a traitor. I don’t know … I just … I want to forget all of it. I’m going to stay here and help with whatever I can and hope everyone leaves me alone.”

  “What? Tell us what?” I whispered back.

  She shook her head. “It’s complicated, alright? When my squad first walked into that place, Iya and Neva were behind us. They just said, ‘Good luck’, and made one of the walls collapse, sealing us in …”

  “They could be executed for this!” Maya shrieked, before Tau and I shushed her. “Are you absolutely sure?”

  “I bet it was Mira,” I interrupted, leaning against the sink with Tau. “This must go all the way to the top. They must have been ordered to do it.”

  Maya nervously checked outside the door to make sure no one was listening in, then looked back. “Our commander? You’re saying the Acolyte commander sentenced an entire squad to their deaths for no reason?” she said.

  I folded my arms. “Oh, there’s a reason, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

  Tau shook her head. “Please, Sacet, don’t do anything. I don’t want to pursue this further.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t want even more of my friends to die.”

  Maya raised a hand at me. “Just leave it to me, okay? I’ll clear this up with Iya myself. It’ll be a misunderstanding.”

  Tau and I nervously looked at one another, knowing it wasn’t a good idea. Maya opened the door and gestured for us to leave.

  26. Commendation

  Maya entered the amphitheatre first, the sleek doors parting as she approached. The massive circular room was filled with women sitting in seats surrounding the centre. Their conversations echoed off the high ceiling arcs and skylights above. Like the arena, the rows of seats were built at an incline. An illustrious podium stood In the middle of the room, with a vacant seat behind it.

  We made our way down the aisle steps and found ourselves some empty seats next to the other Acolytes. There must have been hundreds of women in the room. I searched around and spotted Iya on one of the higher rows, sitting in silence with her feet up on the arm rest. Back in the centre of the room there were six empty seats around the podium. A number of doors lined the walls, which occasionally opened to admit another Acolyte into the meeting.

  “Earlier than I thought we’d be,” Sula said as we sat down.

  Maya smiled. “Hey, maybe we’ll discuss attacking the male capital for once?”

  “Trust me, kid, don’t even joke about that.”

  One of the doors on the opposite side of the meeting room opened and in strode Commander Mira, followed by her six colonels.
Everyone stood up from their seats in silence. Maya tapped me on the shoulder and I did the same. The commander approached the podium and sat in her seat. The colonels positioned themselves in the six empty seats around her.

  “Thank-you for your patience everyone, take a seat,” Mira’s voice boomed over the speakers from above. There was a loud shuffling as the collective sat back down. “Before we begin, I would like to officially welcome our sisters from neighbouring provinces, who have arrived three days early to compete in the upcoming tournament. If those women could stand up please.” More than half of the audience stood up and looked around the room.

  “Good, I would like each of my own Acolytes to help out the closest standing woman at some point today. They can do this by giving them a tour of the city after the meeting and just generally making them feel welcome. Thank-you, ladies, you may sit.” They sat back down.

  “The focus of today’s meeting is on yesterday’s conflict in Usre. Overall, we suffered a tremendous loss. If the enemy’s primary objective was to halt the production in the factories, then their mission was a success. However, thanks to your valiant and brave work, the attacking force suffered enough losses that they decided to withdraw. Unfortunately, so did the civilians of Usre, who now need to be relocated into the neighbouring provinces while the city is made safe and operable again.

  “There has been an estimated 3000 casualty list for our forces, which includes over 2000 civilians, 1000 soldiers and 3 of our own Acolytes. A service will be held later tonight to honour their loss and the sacrifice they have made for the people of Usre. On the enemy’s side, we have found roughly 400 bodies so far, and have captured only 38 prisoners.

  “Now, some good news. I would like the following Acolytes to come down and form a circle around the podium for their promotions: Aki, Ameli, Baura …” One by one, girls from the audience stood up and made their way down the aisle to the centre of the room. “… Iya, Penn, Ralu, Sacet …”

  Maya looked at me and gave me a reassuring grin. “Good work. Come on, get down there!” She gave me a little push towards the aisle. I squeezed past Sula to get to the steps.

  “Taleu, Tiana …”

  I made my way down the steps and was met by Colonel Korin, who guided me to where I needed to stand. As I stood there, more soldiers came down the steps and formed a circle facing inwards around the podium. Iya had also joined the circle.

  “… and, lastly, Wrai. My colonels are going to recolour their tips for them, and while they’re doing that I’m going to inform you all of a few of the highlights of their exploits in the recent battle.”

  Colonel Korin approached the girl to my left and brought a small set of hair-dying forceps towards her. The other colonels did the same with more girls in the circle.

  “First, we’ll start with the newcomer, Sacet.”

  Mira descended the podium. She walked over to me, beaming.

  “Although only an Initiate, she has already proven herself in her first encounter, and today will join the Trooper rank,” Mira said as she looked around at the audience. “She was able to capture three high-level enemy Acolytes alive on her own, and aided with the capture of a fourth. Among her captives was the seemingly unbeatable pair of Noor and Tetsu, as well as the indestructible Colonel Kalek.”

  The crowd murmured, and some applauded. I was supposed to feel proud of actions, I guess, but that would be a lie. I wanted to leapt towards Mira and strangle her to death.

  Mira smirked, noticing I was barely able to contain my anger. She turned and walked to the next soldier.

  “Another amazing performance came from Aki, which is why she will be promoted to officer,” Mira said as she placed her hand upon the shoulder of a smiling soldier. “Her abilities alone propelled her squad through the most dangerous area of the battlefield. It is estimated she killed over 50 men by herself!”

  A swell of cheers grew throughout the audience. The colonel to my left had finished and walked towards me with the forceps. She raised them to my hair and clamped them onto my white tips.

  “Lastly, I would like to make a comment about young Iya over here. Yet again, she has set another record. This time, it’s for becoming the youngest officer ever.”

  The audience continued the applause for Iya as Mira made her way back up the podium. “The actions of all of you in yesterday’s battle will not be forgotten by the citizens of Usre or by me anytime soon. Once you have your tips, could you please take your seats.”

  Korin finished with my tips and moved onto the next girl. I turned back to the steps and began climbing. I pulled on my fringe, bringing one of the purple streaks to my eye and saw that it was now tipped blue.

  “Strategically speaking, this was a loss for our people. But out of the ashes, the war zone gave birth to some glimmering hope in the form of a new Acolyte,” Mira said, and I stopped on the steps and stared at the floor. “A young soldier named Tau was killed in battle by Colonel Kalek. But miraculously, she brought herself back to life with the first-ever display of self-resurrection!” Many in the crowd erupted in gasps of shock.

  “I personally had invited her here today to receive her new streaks, but she insisted on helping the wounded in the hospital. She has already restored more than 100 women with her new healing powers. Maya, where are you? Would you please stand?” Maya stood up from her seat and raised her healed hand in the air. “Maya had one of her hands blown off. When Tau was able to see her, she fully restored that hand. If she hadn’t, Maya would still be in hospital. Astounding!”

  My body shook. I turned back to the podium and glared at Mira. She dared bring her up? I had to say something. But if I spoke up, would I get Tau in trouble? No, they need her now.

  “Even now, Tau is quickly becoming the talk of the city with many of our citizens visiting her to cure their ailments. She is taking her celebrity status well; perhaps humbled by the loss of her squad sisters.”

  “She wasn’t ‘humbled’. You tried to have her killed!” I yelled towards the podium. “You ordered Iya and Neva to betray them. Her whole squad died because of you!”

  The crowd of shocked Acolytes all stared at me and I glared back at them. “I was there. The Acolytes escorting the squad trapped them, and then they were ambushed by Kalek. The Acolytes did nothing to help them!”

  Mira stared at me and smiled. The colonels made their way over to the stairs and started to climb towards me. “Wait,” Mira instructed the colonels, who stopped at the foot of the stairs. “Your accomplishments in yesterday’s battle have clearly rewarded you with a stroke of confidence. However, it appears as if your first encounter with the horrors of war has left you quite confused.”

  The audience laughed. What was happening, why did no one believe me?

  “I’m sure you’ve thought of a very creative motivation for why I would have my own people killed, but perhaps that’s something you and I can discuss another time when you’ve reclaimed your sanity. It is considered a treasonous act for speaking out against your superiors in such a way, but seeming as I am in a generous mood and you’re new here, I will forgive your outburst should you take your seat and not speak out again.”

  I stood staring back up at her, then turned and made my way back to my seat. The room fell silent except for the noise of my footsteps shifting past Sula. I sat down and stared back at Mira, who continued with her address.

  “Now where was I … moving on to the next point, I think. The tournament,” Mira continued. The audience broke their gaze from me. “The stadium has already been set up and all of the participants are now in the city. The Queen has personally told me she is looking forward to the event and instructed me to wish you all good luck. Although the capital has the most Acolytes, there will be a points system in place to see which province impresses the most.”

  I buried my head into my arms on the bench in front of me. I didn’t belong here. I wanted to leave. Mira’s voice faded as she spoke about trivial details. A part of me wished I could live here and m
ake a life for myself, but how could I do that when those I cared about were put in danger like this on purpose?

  I shook my head against my arms in frustration. Why would I ever want to live here? They had slaves. I helped them capture people, too. Was I no better? Maybe to protect the innocent I would need to harm the few. But now was I justifying killing as a necessary evil? What was wrong with me? This wasn’t me.

  A hand pressed on my shoulder; it was Sula. She grimaced. I brought my head out of my warm arms and saw that the meeting was over. Everyone was standing and shuffling through the rows of seats towards the aisles. The doors along the sides of the room opened and the Acolytes exited. Back at the podium, Mira still stared at me.

  Maya stood up and leant towards me. “I warned you. I told you I was going to take care of it.” She made her way past and out towards the aisle.

  Mira withdrew from the podium and made her way up the stairs. The six colonels accompanied close behind. She stopped in the aisle beside Sula and faced us.

  “Sula? Do you mind?” she asked.

  Sula stood and looked at me sternly. She dematerialised from the room, and I was alone with them. I avoided eye contact, instead crossing my arms and staring at the empty podium.

  Mira waited until the last of the Acolytes had left. “Now you listen to me. I have spoken with Tau already about the horrible incident she was in. She admitted to me already that perhaps she may have been a bit quick to lay the blame on others for the upsetting loss of life around her. She has calmed down now and is fully aware of how ridiculous she sounded accusing her fellow soldiers of such a thing.”

  My second perception, which hadn’t being paying much attention to my surroundings up until this point, spotted something peculiar. On top of the roof of the building was Sula, peering down through the skylights. I didn’t look back up; instead, I kept focusing on the podium in front of me.

  “As for you … and look at me when I’m speaking to you!” I broke away from the podium and locked eyes with Mira. “When you first came here I asked you to prove to me you were worth keeping. You have certainly shown you have the talent to become a great asset, but your commitment to our cause is lacking. To question your superiors in this way … clearly your assimilation procedures aren’t intense enough. I never want you to speak of this again or I will have you and your brother publicly executed for your traitorous accusations. Are we clear?”