The Balance (The Stone's Blade Book 2)

by Allynn Riggs

  “What?” He didn’t bother to keep the exasperation out of his voice. He’d thought this excursion to the library would be a mere formality. They would come, find the book, read the relevant songs, and get their answers. The Anyala Stone would be saved and life on Lrakira would return to normal.

  Diani placed a hand on his arm in a motherly fashion. “I need you to relax, to remember what you were doing when the bells rang. Close your eyes, child. Breathe the air of your beloved books. Be calm. See the song on the page.” Her voice was whispering, hypnotic.

  He closed his eyes and breathed — slowly, steadily, and deeply. The words formed themselves on the inside of his lids. He smiled at the beautiful script, each letter patiently shaped by some scribe long ago, and whispered the words as they appeared in his memory. He remembered the aliveness of the paper between his fingers, and his heart ached to hear the tune that accompanied the song.

  The bells in the bell tower rang, startling the singers and pilot. Renloret jumped out of the chair and walked directly to the nearest stack. Layson was still sitting on the floor at the end of the second row from the stairway. He nodded to her. “That’s where I pulled it from the shelf.” He pointed to the shoulder-high shelf to his right. “And this is where I stuffed it when I left.” He read the titles on the first two bindings before slowly extracting the third. Cradling the ancient tome, he headed for the stairs.

  Diani hurried behind and pulled on his sleeve. “Let’s be sure.”

  The three returned to the table and Renloret opened the cover.

  “Why is such an old book not in the archives?” Layson whispered.

  Renloret shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I was surprised to find it readily available to anyone. Similar to what Diani just had me do, my great-grandmother, Tivi, once told me I needed only to open my heart and I would find all the answers.”

  Memories flooded back, reminding him of a clandestine conversation with the ancient woman who sat in a rocker humming the most beautiful tune. “I remember her saying the Stones had plans for some of us and we had only to listen to the songs to discover what those plans were. She was very old then. I think I was twelve sun-cycles. She was the only one who said my interest in the Stones and their history made sense. She thought I would need it someday and told me to listen for the Stones’ songs because they would show the way to the stars and the beginning of the Stones.”

  “What did she mean by ‘the beginning of the Stones’?” Layson asked as she turned a page.

  “I didn’t think to ask her then. I wish she were around now. She passed a few moon-cycles after that conversation.”

  “The Kita Stone was bonded outside of the direct line, at Tivi’s request, years before she passed,” Diani advised soberly. “Kita’s choice of Singers has been wonderfully erratic, much to the consternation of Selabec. As the current Kita Stone Singer, Layson, do you know if there was a Ceremony of Passing for Tivi?”

  Layson shook her head. “I have not researched how many Passings have officially occurred with Kita. I will ask when all the Stones are well. We may need that information to help us fully understand the songs.”

  Renloret placed a hand on the page to stop Layson from turning it. “Here it is.”

  The ancient script seemed to jump from the page to his heart. He was ready for it. The remembered tune his great-grandmother had sung seemed to fit the old syllables perfectly. He hummed as he silently read, his fingers tracing each line.

  Gasps came from Diani and Layson.

  “Our Stones are singing with you!” Layson announced in an astonished whisper.

  Renloret stopped humming. “How do they know?”

  “We were reading the words and the Stones heard us, and they just started singing. It’s the same tune!” Diani replied. “How do you know the tune? It’s not written here.”

  “It was the last song I heard Tivi sing,” Renloret said. “It was the one that spurred my interest in ancient Lrakiran because I didn’t understand the words. I liked the tune enough to research the language. It only took a sun-cycle or so before I was considered fluent at reading and speaking.”

  Diani shook her head. “Only one sun-cycle? It took me sun-cycles to become barely proficient. The Pericha Stone is constantly amused with my difficulties.”

  Renloret turned back to the book. “It was natural to my tongue and I was still young enough to learn quickly.” Fingers on the lines of the second verse, he recited a few lines aloud in ancient Lrakiran and then he translated.

  Plague and sickness spur Stones to send

  Singer and blade to chosen star unknown

  The Blood and Balance, in one birth two

  She, The Blood to be aged by Time-Song’s end

  He, The Balance, in time to heal first a Stone

  Then home to awakened three to join anew.

  “Yes, we have the correct twin.” He tapped the page for emphasis.

  Diani frowned. “So it’s true that The Balance is male?” Her shock was evident.

  “Are you saying you didn’t believe it possible even after studying the verse I wrote down?” He shook his head. Obviously, she was so steeped in one belief she could not function with a new blade even when it was held in her hand. “I’m not telling you anything new. This song has been telling every Singer for a thousand sun-cycles that The Blood and The Balance are opposite sex twins. You were not prepared because you Singers stopped reading the old songs and old prophecies eons ago. And you two did not believe us when we told you that the whole song — the whole prophecy — was important.” He couldn’t stop the accusatory tone. If they had been listening or at least reading, there wouldn’t be any confusion or reluctance.

  Layson touched Renloret’s shoulder. “So it really is Taryn, Ani’s brother?”

  “Yes. And he should be fully awake and recovering from the effects of the anesthesia by now. Ani will tell him who he is. We are to meet them at the Stone Chamber with the book.” He closed the book more gently than he did the last time, tucked it under his arm, and again started for the stairway.

  Neither of the Singers moved. They just stood, staring at each other.

  He paused on the second step. “Are you coming or not? You can talk to them on the way, can’t you?”

  Singer Diani appeared to come out of trance or, more likely, Renloret thought, a state of shock. “Of course we can.” She tugged on Layson’s robe.

  The younger Singer blinked and followed. Unlike Diani, she still seemed to be in a daze. “Kita says The Blood and The Balance have just arrived and are waiting for us,” she whispered.

  “I know,” Diani said as she towed the younger Singer down the flight of stairs.

  The route they had taken to this cathedral-like building had been convoluted. Taryn was unsure he could retrace the path, especially since he had been trying to pay close attention to Ani’s abbreviated story of his actual birth and how he became the son of Gelwood and Melli. Once inside the building, the smooth stone walls and floors cooled the air to a comfortable temperature. Ani stopped at a door she said opened to the Stone Chamber, and Taryn ran his fingers over the engravings. He raised his eyebrows in question. “Like the doors at the lake house?”

  She dipped her chin. “Similar. Parts actually match my championship markings. Renloret says they’re both in ancient Lrakiran and only a few people can actually read it. This one says I am Anyala, the Anyala Stone’s Singer.” She pointed at the identical patterns on the door. “See how they match?”

  Taryn was impressed by the detail the carver was able to cut into the stone surface of the door. “Does it say anything about me?”

  A shrug of her shoulders indicated she did not know. “He didn’t translate the entire door carving.” Ani pushed the door open. “Come meet the Stones of Lrakira.”

  Lush wall hangings surrounded a trio of pedestals, each cradling a large crystal. Two points of light, one amber and the other blue glowed softly, illuminating a stunning view of a blade buried hilt-deep in the
dark green lump on the pedestal at the apex of the triangular configuration. Ani moved out of his way. Taryn patted his chest, where his notepad usually was. With a grunt of disappointment, he dropped the hand back to his side.

  “Do they have notebooks here?”

  She shook her head. “Sorry.”

  Well, he’d make do with strict observation. He moved to the center of the triangle to peruse the surrounding wall hangings. As he examined them, he tucked away in his mind the similarities between the banners in front of him and the ones so common on Northern that he’d forgotten what many of them represented.

  A frayed and faded hanging depicting a rather gruesome sacrificial ceremony caught his attention. Bodies lay in piles while a group of robed people standing in a circle raised swords above their heads. Two rainbows arched away from the zenith of weapon points. The actual workmanship was exquisite, but he wondered why such a violent event had been chosen for the wall hanging. Other hangings showed people engaged in agricultural activities, magnificent aerial crafts floating above surreal landscapes, and what he thought might be general home life for residents of Lrakira. One even displayed naked warriors of both sexes receiving honor wreaths and arm tattoos from three gold-robed priestesses.

  All the hangings were museum quality. He mentally figured the price certain individuals on Teramar would gladly have paid for a single hanging. They were priceless.

  His penetrating gaze moved to the crystals, which Ani said were intelligent living beings. Living or not, they, too, were beyond price. He walked around the two crystals with brightly glowing centers. There was no change in the intensity or shade of color of the lights. Were these inanimate things aware of their surroundings?

  At his internal question, the two lights began to flicker. Taryn glanced around the room, looking for wires or switches. Neither was apparent. He heard Ani chuckle as the blue and amber lights began to grow, filling each of the stones. The illumination gave the Stone Chamber a more cheerful feel than the supposedly injured green Stone elicited from Taryn. He studied the amber and blue Stones, which had begun to flick colored beams and waves of light from their bright interiors. Similar electrical displays created by artists for celebratory extravaganzas had decorated the buildings and streets of Northern’s capital over the years. The fact that an object emitted light was not sufficient reason to believe it was alive. He had yet to hear any music, but he suspected people with instruments could hide in alcoves behind the rugs to provide mood music if needed. It could be an elaborate ruse.

  Again, he wished for his notepad. How would he remember all of this when it came time to explain to his parents? His parents. A sigh escaped from his lips. He wished for a tumbler of vaquin. Straight up. Yes, that would be nice — not helpful, but nice. Gelwood and Melli were his parents, not Yenne and Shendahl Chenak — or, rather, Yenne and S’Hendale Chenakainet. He decided he preferred the Teramaran pronunciation of his birth mother’s name. He pushed those thoughts aside, arguing with himself that there was too much to discuss that couldn’t be discussed until he had proven he was The Balance.

  Standing before the green lump, he placed his hands on either side and leaned in to study the amber blade protruding from the supposedly solid object. It didn’t make any sense. How could a crystal be stabbed without shattering? Was there a glimmer of life deep within the crystal? Not even a flicker. Were they too late? Had it died? He blinked. He had framed the question as if the crystal was alive. He still wasn’t quite convinced of that. He was not yet convinced he was on another planet, either, though the buildings had quite a different feel from those on Northern. Ani said he would know for sure when the moons rose. Moons? She’d said three, hadn’t she? Was this all a very poorly constructed dream? He decided it couldn’t be because he knew he could not have come up with such an outlandish story line. This had to be real.

  Taryn straightened and glanced over his shoulder as more people entered the chamber. Ani and Kela joined Taryn in front of the pedestals to greet Renloret and the two golden-robed women following him. He glanced back at the tapestry with its circle of gold-robed people holding blades aloft. Were they here to execute justice for the Stone if he failed?

  Ani touched Taryn’s arm and dipped her head at the women. “The one on the right is Diani. She’s the amber Pericha Stone’s Singer. And Layson is the blue Kita Stone’s Singer.”

  The Singers looked uncomfortable, as if they were out of their usual surroundings. Taryn offered a smile and bowed.

  “Do they understand Northern, because I don’t know any Lrakiran?” Taryn asked.

  Renloret answered as the trio halted. “They have translators.”

  The younger woman, the blue rock’s Singer, rolled up a sleeve of her robe to show him a thin metallic bracelet on her wrist. “I give you greetings. Welcome to Lrakira. We wish it was under less stressful circumstances.” The words were heavily accented but understandable.

  “Me too, milady.” Taryn looked at the pilot. “The accent is similar.” The pilot grinned at him.

  “I’m relieved that you will be able to understand what I say,” Taryn admitted. “As you might imagine, this is all a bit surrealistic to me.” He was trying hard to keep it all real enough that he could remember who he’d been before this rather outrageous turn of events: the sheriff of Star Valley. And whether or not he was The Balance, as Ani claimed, he was still the sheriff of Star Valley — a man of logic and common sense. “Shall we find out if this alien prophecy is true?”

  “It’s not an alien prophecy,” the older Singer said.

  “It is to me.” Taryn cocked his head at Ani. “And you can’t hit me unless I fail to save the rock.” He leaned back a tad when he saw her clenching both fists. Perhaps he was being too flippant. Taryn brought himself to attention and held up both hands to quiet the protests that had started to issue from the Singers.

  “I apologize if I sound disrespectful. This is all … foreign to me. I am trying to protect my sanity by going along with all this, but you must admit that I’m under a lot of personal stress. And as the sheriff of Star Valley, I wonder what will happen if I can’t save the rock’s life.”

  He paused to inhale deeply and pushed down the panic that really did threaten his sanity. Was he looking at the last moment of his life? “On my honor as a sheriff and a blade ring champion, I will do my best. I promise.”

  There was silence in the room. Taryn realized the colors had stopped bouncing around the chamber. He glanced at the amber and blue Stones. Fist-sized spots of light pulsed from the center of both rocks. The green crystal remained dark. He had not seen even a flicker of light since Ani, Kela, and he entered the chamber.

  He suddenly remembered why Renloret and the Singers had arrived separately. “Did you find the book?”

  Renloret nodded and placed it on the pedestal. “It’s in ancient Lrakiran and should have been included in the Singers’ training, but it has been ignored for several generations because it has been viewed as nothing more than a collection of fables. We haven’t figured out everything yet, but here’s the important part for now.” He pointed to the page and began singing.

  Taryn recognized a few of the words as being similar to those in the Song of Healing, which he and Renloret had sung in the cavern … how long ago? That song had saved Ani’s life. The two Singers added their voices and moved closer to read the lines of the song over Renloret’s shoulder. The amber and blue Stones seem to brighten as the trio concluded the two verses.

  Ani spoke first. “So what does it mean?”

  Renloret cocked his head toward Diani. The Singer cleared her throat. “Basically, it verifies that The Blood and The Balance were to be twins born of a secret Stone Singer on a chosen planet other than Lrakira. The Stones were to have been notified of the birth so they could sing a time-song to age the twins to puberty. The Blood would have the needed hormones to save the people of Lrakira. She,” she nodded at Ani, “would then be brought home. Once our people were safe, there would be a t
ime of peace until one of the Stones would be endangered in some way, thus requiring his assistance.” She looked self-consciously at Taryn. “We had presumed Ani was both The Blood and The Balance until we were told otherwise. We also assumed the twin would be female.”

  “In our defense, there is no record of a male Stone Singer, so we never expected that to change,” Layson added apologetically.

  Taryn waved it off. “There is nothing to defend, Singer. We were all looking for a girl.” He glanced at Ani. “Even our mother was under the impression that Ani was both The Blood and The Balance, and she willingly gave her son to another woman to raise. That woman, the mother of my heart, had just lost her own in childbirth and Shendahl knew I would be loved and cared for. My parents do not know my true identity.”

  Ani’s arm encircled his waist. Pulling her closer, he whispered, “Do we have to tell them?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied.

  Renloret seemed to have overheard the whispered question and added, “I think it is a blade yet in the making, Taryn.”

  “By your leave, Taryn, you are taking this change unexpectedly well,” Diani said.

  Taryn grinned. “I have often been accused of being too open, too accepting of the unusual or the impossible. It’s a trait that has gotten me into trouble frequently, though it has also helped me remain calm in most emergencies, with the exception of this one. This has been … unimaginable.”

  He gave Ani a gentle squeeze and released her so he could turn to look at the book. “Are there instructions to guide me? Is there a special ceremony or song for this sort of thing?”

  “This sort of thing has never happened before,” the older Singer admitted. “I assume you just pull the blade out.”

  An expectant silence overcame them. All eyes watched as he wrapped a hand around the hilt. He pulled. It did not move. Taryn grinned at Ani. “If at first …”

  Bracing the other hand against the Stone, fingers on either side of the buried blade, he inhaled deeply and began a long steady pull. As he exhaled, he felt the blade move. The surface of the Stone seemed warmer under his hand, and he saw a flick of light. Perhaps they weren’t too late.