by Jaleta Clegg
Tayvis and Jerimon crowded into the bathroom.
“We steal one of their ships and leave,” Jerimon said.
I shook my head. “Even if we got that far, I doubt we could fly one.”
“Why not?” Jerimon crossed his arms.
“Their ships are ancient technology. The controls would be completely different.”
“And I have no idea where we are,” Jasyn said. “That makes it a bit hard to navigate.”
“Why are we here, Dace?” Tayvis studied me, asking questions with his eyes.
Someone knocked at the outer door. I crossed the courtyard, the Eggstone clutched in my hand.
“Ask the Eggstone,” I said as I opened the door.
* * *
Four skitarrit entered, bearing steaming trays of food. They set them on a couch; pale gray grain with kizzt, green thorny leaves, and fish in an orange sauce.
Jerimon took one look at the kizzt eyes and shuddered.
Jasyn poked the orange sauce. “Space flight but no eating utensils.”
“They stole the ships, centuries ago.” I cradled the Eggstone, feeling its presence watching us.
“Dace, what are you thinking?” Tayvis asked.
I absently stroked the Eggstone. “I’m wondering if their biology could be a key.” I couldn’t figure out how to explain it. I had Sessimoniss memories, but I wasn’t Sessimoniss.
The fish had a weird, sweet taste to it. Sessimoniss taste buds were definitely different. The leaves were crisp. Once we picked off the spines, they were actually quite good. We finished the food then piled the trays near the door.
“What now?” Jerimon asked.
I shrugged. “Whatever you want. I’m going to sleep.” I pulled a cushion off one of the couches, dragging it into the altar room. It just fit behind the altar. I set the Eggstone on the skystone block.
*They will come at moonrise for Council.*
I lay on the cushion, staring at the glowing row of stone high on the wall. “What is Council?” I asked, knowing the answer would probably involve a lot more information than I really wanted.
The Eggstone thought for a long moment before sending the memories.
Scenes of a round room, filled with Sessimoniss. Anger, betrayal, loss—emotions flooded my mind. Stone floor cool against my feet, my claws clicking over the surface worn smooth through centuries. Sight of black, priests of Sekkitass watching from across the Council circle. My crest rose halfway, angry and threatened by their dark presence. Thousands of years of tradition circled through my head.
I woke to a pounding at the door. I stood, rubbing gritty eyes and pulling the robe straight. I heard the Sessimoniss hissing. I scooped up the Eggstone and hurried into the main room.
The Dresh’Nikterrit of Kishtosnitass stood barely inside the room. Several more Sessimoniss, very young males, crowded behind him. The Sessimoniss hissed, crests rising as they reacted to the presence of humans. I stepped forward, pushing myself in front of Jerimon. They would have to tolerate at least one human in their midst. I kept the Eggstone in full view, cradled in both hands. The Dresh’Nikterrit glanced at it, his eyelids flickering sideways.
“You have been summoned to Council,” he said.
If I’d read the memories right, each clan was supposed to send a representative to escort me. I noted the lack of colored slashes on tunics, marking these as very low ranking males.
“Dace?” Tayvis stepped closer to me.
“Stay here. As long as you keep the door shut, they won’t bother you, not in the priestess’ private chambers.”
He hesitated.
“I’ll be fine, Tayvis. You may not be if you come.”
He relented, moving back to stand with Jerimon and Jasyn.
“You have been summoned,” the Dresh’Nikterrit repeated.
“I have been insulted.” I swept out the door then down the hall, walking swiftly, hoping I remembered the way.
The Eggstone’s guards closed in, boxing me so I couldn’t see. They led me through the temple, outside to the plaza.
Pale streamers of blue, green, and yellow poured across the sky, punctuated by three moons. I paused, looking up. It was the most beautiful sky I’d ever seen.
My guards shifted their feet, unwilling to touch me. They started walking again. I had to walk with them or be trampled. We crossed the stone plaza then entered the low mound of the Council chamber.
It was carved down into the bedrock. Tiers of stone circled an immense expanse, a giant’s staircase. Smaller stairs separated the tiers into sections. A wide flat space at the bottom held eight throne-like chairs carved from the stone. I took my time walking down the nearest staircase. I entered the circle, crossing to the empty chair.
I stood in front of the massive chair, studying the room and gathering my thoughts. Only a handful of sections were occupied. The chamber could have held over a hundred clans; less than twenty waited. Seven of the Council waited for me, sitting in the seven stone thrones, representing the most powerful clans of the Sessimoniss. Each held a long spear, symbolic of their status. They still had very big, very sharp heads on them.
The Koresh’Niktakket, clan leader, of Kishtosnitass was in the middle on my right. From the Eggstone’s memories, Kishtosnitass Clan might support me. They were most tolerant to change, to new ideas. In centuries past, theirs was the clan that provided engineers, those who could build and maintain technology. The two clans flanking him were lesser clans, also more moderate in their views.
On my left, Koresh’Niktakket of Risskaratass glared in open distaste. Next to him was Koresh’Niktakket of Ruskarinatass. The last one on my left was Koresh’Niktakket of Keristass. I recognized his tunic markings. A representative from his clan slashed my shoulder on the Twinkle. I wondered if he regretted his clan member not killing me then.
Across the circle, I faced the High Priest of Sekkitass. A full dozen of his priests stood behind his chair. Their black tunics stood out among the garishly bright tunics of the others. Slashes of scarlet, like fresh wounds, striped their tunics, denoting their status. The malevolence of their collective glares hit like a physical blow. They hated me, hated the Eggstone. My very presence was blasphemy.
“You scorn our escort?” Risskaratass demanded as the brown robes filled in behind me and the young males sheepishly rejoined their own clans.
“You insult the Eggstone,” I replied. “You send dreshtarrit. Only Kishtosnitass has done me honor this night.” The stilted formality of Sessimoniss Council sat oddly in my mouth. The words and phrases filtered through eons of borrowed memories.
Risskaratass lifted his crest in anger.
Kishtosnitass slammed his spear butt against the floor. The sound echoed in the huge room. “Council has been called.”
I sat, keeping the Eggstone in plain sight on my lap. My feet dangled above the floor. I felt like a child playing grownup.
“I call for Testing,” Keristass said, his gaze fixed on the floor.
The Sesimoniss fell silent. My future depended on the decision Kishtosnitass made. If he recognized the call, I was in deep trouble. Every immature female of every tribe would gather. They would pass the Eggstone, one by one, until the Eggstone chose one to be Priestess. The displaced priestess, me, would be sacrificed on the altars of the bloody temple of Sekkitass.
“Testing has been called,” Kishtosnitass announced then slammed his spear butt against the floor.
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly very dry.
*You have perhaps a week before they gather,* the Eggstone informed me.
Kishtosnitass pointed the spear butt at Risskaratass. “You have called Council. Speak your grievance.”
The Koresh’Niktakket launched into a very long, very detailed list of offenses committed by the Keristass clan against his own.
The Eggstone fed information into my brain while he talked. Any clan could call Council, but it couldn’t be held unless all eight chairs were filled. The Eggstone had disappeared over sevent
y years previously, taken by someone and hidden on the world where Jerimon had picked it up. Its memories were blank for those years, as if it had been hibernating until I touched it. With a priestess, no matter how unorthodox, Council could once again be held.
The Eggstone dumped the entire history of the feud between Keristass and Risskaratass into my head. Six hundred years ago, Risskaratass negotiated a marriage contract with Keristass. Another clan of higher rank offered a better alliance in return for the same female. Risskaratass broke their original agreement and accepted the other offer. Keristass retaliated by stealing a dozen drosht from Risskaratass. Drosht were herd animals, status symbols for the clan that owned them. Keristass had also made a better alliance without telling the Risskaratass. Both of them broke the agreement. Both of them claimed to be the clan insulted. They had been raiding each other ever since.
Risskaratass finally finished. Keristass responded with his own very long, very detailed list. Neither of them mentioned the original double deception. He finished and both waited, standing in the center of the circle of chairs.
“Decide.” Kishtosnitass pointed a clawed finger at me.
The word echoed through thousands of years of memories. The Eggstone Priestess gave a decision, then the High Priest of Sekkitass. The Koresh’Niktakket of each clan then chose sides. Majority ruled. It was binding. Clans had been disbanded and destroyed for ignoring the decision of Council. I stared at his finger and thought as hard and fast as I had ever done.
Risskaratass clutched the shaft of his spear, his claws leaving dents in the wood. Keristass watched me, his crest half-raised in threat. Ruskarinatass shuffled his feet nervously. His clan lived in the land between the two feuding clans; they had taken the brunt of the destruction.
I made the mistake of looking at the Priest. He stroked the arms of his chair with his claws, leaving glistening trails of poison. I swallowed heavily. “Each clan has been wronged. But the clan that has been wronged most greatly is Ruskarinatass.”
The Priest hissed in surprise. His fingers stopped dripping poison down his chair.
“Keristass and Risskaratass must recompense Ruskarinatass,” I continued. “Each will give Ruskarinatass the spring that borders their land. And each will give Ruskarinatass twenty drosht.” I glanced at the two complainants. Their crests rose, flushing dark red. Ruskarinatass flushed pale blue. “Keristass and Risskaratass wronged each other. Both agreed to a contract of marriage, both broke that agreement. To end the quarrel, they must honor that contract.” It didn’t matter that the original female was long dead. That was their problem. If I won.
*Interesting,* the Eggstone murmured in the shocked silence following my judgment. *No Sessimoniss would ever have thought of that.*
“Decide.” Kishtosnitass pointed the spear at the Priest.
“They must fight, now. Koresh’Niktakket.” The Priest watched me, his eyes slitted. He proposed a fight to the death between the heads of both clans. The losing clan became slaves, outcasts, if they were not killed on the spot. He wanted the death of one of the most powerful clans of the Sessimoniss.
Kishtosnitass slammed his spear on the floor twice, booming echoes answered. “Choose.” He pointed the spear at the Koresh’Niktakket on his right.
“Sekkitass,” the Sessimoniss said.
“Choose.” The spear pointed to his left.
“Eggstone.”
“Choose.”
“Eggstone,” Ruskarinatass said firmly.
“Choose.”
“Sekkitass,” Risskaratass hissed. His crest was fully raised, a row of bright red spikes on his head adding inches to his height.
“Choose.”
Keristass hesitated. He looked at the Priest, then at the Eggstone in my lap. “Eggstone,” he whispered.
The Priest hissed; his claws scraped over the stone chair.
“So be it.” Kishtosnitass slammed the spear on the floor twice more. “Council has spoken.”
They were bound to my decision. Risskaratass hissed, then subsided, his crest settling back down.
*Neatly done,* the Eggstone said, smug satisfaction in its tone.
Kishtosnitass raised his spear. Council would adjourn when it hit the floor. I would not have another chance. I would have a week locked in the temple, and then I would die. I jumped from my chair to grab his spear shaft.
They hissed in outrage. I had broken protocol.
“This Council is not over.” My knees shook. I was glad the robe and my long dress covered them. I fought to keep my voice steady, as firm as I could possibly make it.
“Decision has been made.” Kishtosnitass hissed. His crest rose, his eyes burned with outrage. What little support I might have had, I would have to win back.
“The end of one pitiful feud,” I answered, picking my words carefully. I had to make them upset, make them think, without raising the blind rage that would get me killed. I lifted the Eggstone, holding it at his eye level. “I hold thousands of centuries of memories of priestesses of your race. Where is your past glory?”
Risskaratass surged to his feet. “We are Sessimoniss. We are great and glorious. You are a weak human. I could crush you without thinking.”
“You could crush me, one small human, yes. But, there are millions, billions of humans. We have an Empire of thousands of worlds. You are a few clans living in the tattered remains of a city built for hundreds of thousands. You have no technology, except the few pieces that remain from a thousand years ago. You have lost knowledge.” I stepped back, where I could look at the entire Council. “You become primitive.”
“Lies!” the Priest rose slowly to his feet, his black robe billowing.
They towered over me, trying to use their height to intimidate. I refused to let them. If I was going to die anyway, I might as well go down fighting.
“Bashnessit,” Keristass hissed.
“Heshk Bashnessit.” I thrust the Eggstone in front of me. “Your god has chosen me, a human. Because you are dying. The Sessimoniss are departing into the dark night of extinction.”
“We are a proud people, with centuries of might and power! We do not die!”
“You wither away, a vine that has destroyed its own roots.” The words came from the Eggstone, flowing from its vast memories. It cared for the Sessimoniss, passionately, and that same feeling filled me, made me want to fight to help them.
“And you would save us, weak human?” the Priest spat, contempt and anger warring in his eyes.
“I would help you save yourselves.”
They waited, holding their anger. Kishtosnitass lowered his spear, watching me. The others subsided, except the Priest.
“You hold yourselves apart,” I said. “You take what you can from others, such as humans, and use it without understanding. Where are your ships? Where are those who know how to fix them? Or fly them? You have a few, but do they truly understand what they do? Humans are weak by themselves, alone, but together they are strong. Learn from them, rebuild your cities, your strength.”
“You would have us become as you, human, weak and pitiful.” The Priest raised one clawed fist.
“No, you would not become as humans. You would become Sessimoniss as you were meant to be. As you were in centuries past, but stronger.” I reached deep for the memories, back thousands of years.
“What would you have us do?” Kishtosnitass spoke.
I knew I couldn’t change them overnight, and probably not in the week I had. I could get them started somewhere, though. I silently asked the Eggstone for suggestions.
*I have been trying for centuries to steal power from Sekkitass. The rituals have changed, very slowly. Sekkitass does not demand blood as often. Start with the priest, remove his power, make him look weak or foolish.*
“How?” I muttered. The Eggstone didn’t have an answer and the Sessimoniss Council waited impatiently.
“You have no answers.” Keristass slammed his spear against his chair.
“End your feuding,” I
said. “End challenge by combat. Stop killing each other.”
“You insult our honor!” The Priest hissed.
“You insult Sessimoniss,” I shot back. “You call for the two strongest clans to kill each other, weakening both, so you can grab power for yourself. You care nothing for your people!”
“Only the strong should be allowed to live.”
“Sekkitass weakens you by demanding your blood.” I was really sticking my neck out, making a permanent enemy, but I didn’t really see that it mattered. “Think on what I have said, think on what Sekkitass demands of you.” I looked around at the Koresh’Niktakket of the Council. “Think of what is best for your people and clans. All of them.”
I turned my back, sweeping up the stairs one slow step at a time, trying not to trip over the trailing skirts.
“Council has not been ended,” one of them objected.
I paused, turning to face them. On the stairs I was finally taller. “Council will continue tomorrow at moonrise.” I wanted them to have time to think, to consider my words. I wanted time to find more to give them.
“The Priestess is not permitted to call Council,” Keristass said.
“The law is now changed.” I left them hissing in outrage, walking from the chamber surrounded by my brown-robed escort.
The wind scoured grit from the worn stone of the city, flinging it through the air. I ducked my head, squeezing my eyes to slits. My guards hustled me silently back through the temple to the plain wooden door of my quarters.
I opened it and walked in. The guards locked it behind me.
The lights had dimmed. In the shadows, I couldn’t see anyone waiting. I leaned against the door, knees shaking. I’d taken a big chance at the Council. I’d practically shoved change down their throats. I’d challenged the priest of Sekkitass to his face in front of the Council. Honor demanded he retaliate. I had no idea what he might do.
I pushed away from the door, stumbling to the small altar room. I set the Eggstone on the altar then pulled off the robe, draping it over one end of the skystone block.
“Is this why you’ve brought me here?” I whispered. “Is this why you chose me?”