Souls of Aredyrah 3 - The Taking of the Dawn

by Tracy A. Akers

  “But where would we go?” someone asked.

  Yes, where would they go? Reiv pondered. To the mountains? He had attempted that trek before, and very nearly starved for it. Up the coast perhaps. No, that led to The Black, and everything around it was still Tearian realm. Kirador? No, not possible…they would not be welcome there. But where else was there?

  An image formed in Reiv’s mind. “The valley,” he said, startled by the realization. “Yes…beyond the mountains—I have seen it!”

  Color drained from Yustes’s face. “Valley?”

  “Yes, Agneis showed it to me. During my Transcension…” Reiv knitted his brows. “Or did she take me there? I do not know for certain. All I know is the valley is real.”

  “The prophecy names this place,” Yustes said, his voice hopeful.

  “Names it?” Reiv asked.

  “Oonayei.”

  The word, though spoken softly, echoed as if it had been shouted across a canyon. Many faces in the crowd brightened, while others gawked in wonder. But some scoffed at the suggestion.

  “Oonayei?” Lyal said. “Why, that is nothing but a children’s tale.”

  “Is it?” Yustes said. “It is named in the Prophecy of Kalei, the one that foretold the coming of the Transcendor who now stands before you!”

  “You may lay your hopes on fables if you wish, old man,” Lyal said. “But no prophecy determines my future. The gods gave me a free will, and I intend to fight for it!”

  Others who had snickered at the suggestion of Oonayei joined him in similar sentiment.

  “You are correct,” Yustes said, addressing the skeptics. “The gods did indeed grant us free wills. But they also gave us tools to guide our lives, and Kalei’s prophecy is one of them. It speaks of a great migration, of a shift in the stars. Look around you. Does the evidence not point to it?”

  “All I see is an outcast prince speaking hallucinations!” Lyal said. “How do we know he even Transcended? You’re a fool if you think the gods mean for us to skip down some golden path with a Tearian!”

  Yustes settled his gaze on Lyal. “I did not hear those words from you when Reiv slew Seirgotha. Nor did I see you dispute the truth of our histories when he risked his life to give it to you. You united with the rest of us when Dayn led us to rescue Reiv. And it was Reiv that you, and everyone else here, turned to when the time came to negotiate with the King.”

  “I’ll not deny it,” Lyal said, “but now I see the truth of things. I see a worthless treaty and a Purge in the making, and more lives in ruin if we don’t do something to stop it! If we don’t fight for what is ours, if we don’t show the King that we will not bow down to him, we will return to the darkest part of the history that Reiv so eloquently spoke of!”

  “He’s right!” a voice shouted. “We cannot lie down like sheep before the slaughter!”

  “Slaughter it will be if we try to fight the King,” another argued.

  “Death is better than servitude!”

  “Perhaps you should ask those who have already died!” someone sniped. “They might have a different opinion on the matter.”

  “I for one would rather die on my feet than on my knees!” Lyal declared.

  The air exploded in argument. Some sided with Lyal, but others defended Reiv, basing their views on his Transcension and the prophecy’s promise of Oonayei. But after much debate, Reiv decided he had had enough.

  “Stop!” he shouted. “I know little of your prophecy. I only know what I must do if I am to keep my head attached to my shoulders. Stay if you must. Follow if you wish. I leave tonight.” He turned, pushing through the men, and marched toward the path.

  “Reiv, wait!” Brina shouted, hustling to catch up. “What do you plan to do?”

  “Leave,” he replied.

  “Will they come with us, do you think?”

  “I do not know.”

  “What of the prophecy Yustes speaks of? Will it sway them?”

  “It will test their faith, and their tempers. Of that I am certain.”

  Brina struggled to match his steps. “Some—some of them may be tempted to leave. But I think most will stay and fight.”

  “Then they will die.”

  A roar of voices approached from behind. Reiv glanced over his shoulder to see a wave of men sweeping around them. The meeting had clearly dispersed, and from the battle cries of the men racing past, a decision had already been reached.

  “So they have made their choice,” Reiv said, watching them disappear down the trail.

  “Perhaps they have the right of it, Reiv,” Brina said reluctantly. “We do not know for certain that this Oonayei even exists.”

  “I do not know about Oonayei, but I do know about the valley.”

  “Regardless, for us to simply bow to Whyn’s demands…”

  “It will be difficult,” Reiv conceded.

  “What if we stayed, Reiv? Stayed and fought by their sides.”

  “No,” Reiv said.

  “So you will simply abandon them?”

  “If that is what you think I am doing,” he snapped, “perhaps you should stay with them.”

  Brina grabbed him by the arm and yanked him to a halt. “What are you saying?”

  Reiv scowled at her fingers digging into his arm. “I am saying, everyone has the freedom to make their own choice, even you. You need not feel obligated to go with me if your loyalties lie elsewhere.”

  “You know where my loyalties lie!”

  Reiv jerked his arm from her grasp. “Then why are you putting me in this position? You act like I do not care about these people! You know what will happen if I stay.”

  “By staying, you might at least offer them hope!”

  “I saw little hope placed in me just now,” Reiv said, waving his hand in the direction of the path.

  “You place too much value on the actions of a few. They were only reacting out of fear. They are your people. You will see.”

  “They are not my people!” Reiv blurted before he could think what he was saying. “I am Tearian.”

  Brina slapped him hard across the face.

  Reiv raised a hand to his flaming cheek, his eyes stinging from the blow.

  “I will not hear you speak such words,” Brina said harshly. “You are no longer Tearian, Reiv. No more, do you hear me? You are Shell Seeker.”

  Tears filled Reiv’s eyes—more humiliation to heap upon that which he had already suffered. Yes, he was Shell Seeker. He knew that, just as he knew any hope he had for happiness was all but lost.

  “I know what I am,” he said, forcing the words past the pinch in his throat. “But if I must leave, I can pretend it does not matter, can I not?”

  “Pretend all you wish,” Brina said. “You fool no one.”

  Reiv looked toward the village. “Well, I cannot pretend with Jensa and Kerrik. They will need the facts if they are to accept leaving this place.”

  “They may still choose to stay, Reiv, regardless of your honesty.”

  Reiv shook his head determinedly. “No. They must leave. At least Kerrik must. He would not be found worthy.”

  Back to ToC

  Chapter 18: United We Stand, United We Fall

  The village was a mass of confusion. Men, women, young, and old—all were gathered at its core to debate the impending invasion. Reiv and Brina shoved their way through the crowd. Hands clutched at them; voices cried out for answers, but they dared not stop to address them. They broke through the mass and stepped past the perimeter of the village. The air became easier to breathe, but Reiv knew it would only be a momentary respite.

  They made their way toward a cluster of palms near the dunes that separated the village from the sea. Torin’s and Jensa’s hut came into view. As they approached, Reiv’s heart grew heavy. This was probably the last time he would ever see it. It occurred to him that although he had lived there for months, he had never called it home. He had always referred to it as Torin’s and Jensa’s hut. Perhaps, he reasoned, he had n
ot set his roots in Meirla after all. That would have required a hut of his own, wouldn’t it? He had dreamed of having one, of course, but had he ever taken any real action? No, all he had done was plant his feet in someone else’s. And now it was probably just as well.

  They arrived at the doorway, and Reiv paused to gather his wits. Give me strength, he whispered, then swept open the drape and entered.

  Jensa rushed from seemingly nowhere and threw her arms around him. “The Guard was here—in the village!” she cried.

  Kerrik ran up behind her, his eyes as round as saucers. “Did you see them?” he asked Reiv. “The guards, they had weapons!”

  “Yes, Kerrik. I saw them,” Reiv replied. He released Jensa from her hold on him and ushered her to the nearby work bench. “They did not harm you, did they?”

  “No,” she said as she sat down. “Some stayed and searched the village, but appeared to take nothing. The rest rode toward the Place of Observance. We were so worried. But then, before we knew it, they simply rode out again. Why did they come, Reiv? What do they want from us?”

  Reiv realized Jensa’s hands were trembling. He grabbed a pitcher from a nearby shelf and poured a mug of herbal tea, then handed it to her. Though Jensa was one of the bravest girls he knew, fears of the plague, Torin’s recent injuries, and now the arrival of the Guard had clearly taken their toll. Whether she drank the tea or not, Reiv did not care, as long as the holding of the mug helped calm her hands.

  Brina instructed Kerrik to sit next to his sister. The boy huddled next to Jensa as they watched and waited.

  Reiv paced for a moment, then stopped to face them. “There is something I must tell you both,” he began. “It will not be easy, but there is no way around it.”

  Color spilled from Jensa’s face. “Gods, no,” she said. “Do not tell me that Torin is dead.”

  “No,” Reiv assured her. “Cora is taking good care of him.”

  “Thank the gods,” Jensa said. She smiled weakly. “Say what you must, Reiv. Anything is better than what I thought you were about to tell.”

  “You are right, anything is better,” Reiv said. He opened his mouth to explain, but for some reason the words refused to leave his lips. This was going to be harder than he had imagined, though he had had very little time to imagine it.

  “I am leaving,” he said stiffly. “I will not be coming back.”

  Kerrik launched from the bench. “No,” he cried. “You can’t leave us. You can’t!”

  “I am sorry, Kerrik, but I have no choice,” Reiv said.

  “You do have a choice,” Kerrik said. “Everyone has a choice!”

  “You are right, Kerrik. I do have a choice. And I have made it.”

  “As have I,” Brina said. “I intend to go with him.”

  Jensa rose slowly, her eyes moving back and forth between Reiv and Brina. “Why?”

  Reiv looked down at his hands, realizing Jensa’s weren’t the only ones shaking. “Whyn has exiled me from Tearia,” he said.

  “Exiled you? But why?” Jensa asked.

  “Jealousy, spite…” Brina answered. “All we know is that he has given the order that Reiv must leave. If he is not gone by sunrise, Meirla will pay.”

  “We could fight the King,” Kerrik said boldly. “We could take our spears and knives and fight him!”

  “And we would lose.”

  “But we fought him before and won,” the boy insisted.

  “No. We did not win,” Reiv said. “The gods cut the fighting short, but they did not hand us a victory.” He turned his attention to Jensa. “There is more that I must tell you, and I fear this will be even harder to bear.”

  Jensa nodded, but remained silent.

  Reiv chewed his lip. How could he tell Jensa and Kerrik that they had to leave their home? What words could convey the reason for it? And what words could make them understand the overwhelming guilt he felt for it?

  “I am sorry,” he said, though that was not what he had meant to say.

  “Sorry?” Jensa asked. “For what?”

  “For everything." Reiv clenched his fists, fighting to keep his feelings at bay, but self-control was sifting through his fingers, and the words came tumbling out. “If I had never come to this place…” he said. “If I had not begged you to bring me here, none of this would have happened.”

  Jensa took a step toward him. “Say what you have come to say, Reiv.”

  Again Reiv hesitated. Just say it…he told himself. Just say it. “Whyn has reinstated the Purge. He returns in the morning to select those who will serve him and—” His eyes darted between them. “You and Kerrik must leave. There is no other way.”

  The mug slipped from Jensa’s hand, sending tea splattering across the floor.

  “I am sorry,” Reiv repeated. But he expected no forgiveness.

  “Sorry?” Jensa asked. “You are sorry?”

  Reiv grabbed her hands in his and held them fast. “I should have stayed in Pobu all those months ago. I should have accepted my fate, not burdened you with my problems. Then everything would be as before.”

  “Before what?” Kerrik asked.

  “Before I came,” Reiv said. “Before I ruined everything for you and your family.”

  “Ruined everything?” Jensa threw his hands from hers. “Fool of a prince! Do you truly not know?”

  Reiv narrowed his eyes with confusion. “Know?”

  “Do you not realize how much you have given us? By the gods, Reiv. Before you came to us we were slaves to the King!”

  “And will be again,” Reiv said. “The Guard is coming, and there is nothing I can do about it!”

  Jensa thrust a fist to her hip, waving the index finger of her other hand inches from his nose. “There is only one man that will ever enslave me again,” she said. “And that is the man who holds my heart!”

  “Well, if it is Lyal, you may find death instead of slavery,” Reiv said with irritation. “He has convinced the Shell Seekers to fight.”

  “Is he so wrong in it?” Jensa asked. “What else can we do?”

  “You could leave with me,” Reiv said, annoyed that she had not even considered it. “Whyn said those who wish to leave may do so. Would that not be better than spilling your blood in a fight that cannot be won?”

  “At least our pride would be intact!” she said.

  “Oh, and mine would not?”

  Jensa stomped her foot. “That is not what I meant and you know it!”

  Reiv leaned his face to hers. “And what of Kerrik?” he said darkly. “When the Shell Seekers lose, and they will lose, what happens to him?”

  Jensa looked at Kerrik’s deformed foot, and her expression collapsed. “Oh gods,” she whispered. “You’re right.”

  “What happens?” Kerrik asked, tugging at her skirt.

  Reiv and Jensa hesitated, but before they could answer, Brina pulled Kerrik to her side. “No. He is only a child. He is too young to learn such things.”

  “Young or not,” Reiv said, “I would rather he learn it from us than witness it for himself.”

  The muscles in Brina’s jaw tightened. “Very well. But he does not have to know everything, does he? Leave him some innocence at least.”

  Reiv turned to Kerrik and knelt on one knee before him. “Kerrik,” he began. “Remember how you told me your parents abandoned you because of your foot?”

  Kerrik nodded.

  “And that you did not understand why, because you would have been no trouble?”

  Kerrik nodded again.

  “Well, in Tearia your foot would have been considered an impurity. And impurities are weeded out.”

  “I know that,” Kerrik said. “My parents threw me away because of my foot.” His eyes glistened with tears, but he blinked them back.

  “No, Kerrik,” Brina said, resting a hand on his head. “They did not throw you away; they loved you very much. But Tearian law forbade them to keep you.”

  Kerrik turned his gaze to the floor, but Reiv crooked a
finger beneath the boy’s chin, tilting his face toward his. “What Brina says is true, Kerrik. Your parents saved you, through her. You told me once that Brina saved many babies, did you not?”

  “Yes, that time on the beach, when I taught you to swim.”

  Reiv smiled. “I was a rather awkward swimmer back then.”

  “Awkward? Hmmph!” Kerrik said. “A better word for it would be awful.”

  Reiv laughed. “You are right; I was awful. You know, Kerrik, that was an especially difficult time for me. I was struggling to make a new life for myself…away from my family, everything I held dear. At first I thought I could be happy no place else but Tearia, but when I met you and Jensa and Torin, I found happiness after all. Now I must leave, and though I hope you go with me, I will understand if you do not. But if you stay only because this place holds your heart, please know this: You might think Meirla is the only place you can find happiness, but that is not necessarily true.”

  Reiv rose, then turned to Jensa. “You and Kerrik are free to stay, but you know as well as I do why you must leave. Even Torin has little choice; Cora and I removed two arrows from his back, and they belonged to Whyn. But there is more.” He paused, dreading the words. “Mya and Nannaven are dead.”

  Jensa’s hand drifted to her mouth. “No,” she said.

  “Whyn murdered them, Jensa. He is possessed by a hatred we will never understand. But there is no time for anger or grieving; we must fetch Torin and leave this place.”

  “Who else is going?” Kerrik asked. “Are we the only ones who must go?”

  “No,” Reiv replied. “Anyone who wishes may come with us. But I suspect most of the Shell Seekers will stay.” He forced a smile for Kerrik’s benefit. “As for who will be going with us, Nely and Gem are safe with Torin, so they will come, of course. As for Cora—”

  “She will go, too, I suppose,” Jensa said with obvious annoyance.

  “I suspect she will,” Reiv said. “She has no other family. I know she will be sad to leave Meirla, but—”

  “She would be even sadder to leave you,” Jensa said, finishing the sentence for him.

  “Why do you say that?” Reiv asked, surprised by both the statement and the sentiment.