‘Adila,’ Riley interjected. ‘I need you to judge Aerlid.’
‘What?’ she replied, nonplussed. ‘I cannot.’
‘Yes. You must, I am concerned about him.’
‘Really? You’re concerned about Aerlid?’ her voice was rising again, ‘I am far more concerned about Andalla! You sold your own sister to him to save yourself!’
‘My sister?’ Riley said harshly. ‘I don’t have any sisters, Adila. Nor do I have a mother. They abandoned me long before I knew them. After what your people have done to me, I owe them less than nothing. And I am not asking you to judge Aerlid, I am telling you. You are a judge. It is your duty. Rose has already failed, and so it falls to you.’
Adila glowered darkly, her mouth tightly shut.
‘You will judge him, I will give you a time, and I expect you to perform without complaint.’
Adila, dangerous anger flaming in her eyes, nodded.
Riley turned then and headed back to the camp. All the while she was aware of eyes burning holes in the back of her head.
Later, Vann came to Riley’s tent as he often did. And as usual, he felt the usual thrum of anticipation at being so very close to her in such a private place. It distracted him, but he stayed focussed and resolutely ignored those thoughts. She needed a friend. And he’d already hurt her too much in that regard.
They had talked long and hard about her plans, but he could not see where treating Adila and Rose so badly fit into it.
He carefully raised the question.
She shook her head, did not answer.
As night fell he left, worried but not doubting her. He went to his own tent, situated close to Riley’s. Like hers, it was constructed from animal skins and had enough room for him to stand up straight and lie down comfortably. The floor was covered with more animal skins, which he slept on. They were surprisingly comfortable. The tents provided only a modicum of privacy, and he could hear the hushed conversations of people in the nearby tents, and the loud snores from those already asleep. Nights in the forest were mostly cool, but on particularly humid nights he would leave the front flap open in the hopes of catching a light breeze.
Vann knew Riley did not sleep well when she was alone, she often woke in the night and sat by a fire, or near the edge of the shield by the flames. She slept sporadically, but she slept. And so she put up with it and did not ask him to keep her company.
But sometimes he woke too and noticed. He would come out and sit by her for a time. Sometimes she would go back to her own tent after a while and manage to sleep. But on nights when the fear was hitting her very hard, she would stay by the flames, showing no signs of ever leaving. And so he would offer, and she would accept.
But it was not often.
Chapter 38
‘Is there a reason you want an audience?’ Adila asked Riley, her voice hot with anger.
‘It’s none of your concern, Sunsinger.’
‘I am a judge, not a performer.’
‘I’m sure you’ll manage.’ Riley replied and walked off to stand by Andalla, fervently hoping Adila would manage.
On the other side of Andalla stood Ralana. Aerlid was in front of the group, alone and waiting. Rose was also present, Vann was not. Riley did not want Andalla to remember his face if anything went wrong.
‘Adila is going to judge Aerlid,’ Riley explained to Andalla. He had almost been excited at the prospect of seeing a judging, and it had not been hard at all for Riley to convince him to come. ‘I’m afraid the new Judgement Master, Rose, has already failed to judge him correctly. The valkar judges are not well organized these days, your magnificence, there will likely be a change in leadership soon.’
He merely smiled, perhaps at the thought of some of the highest of the valkar being perceived as incompetent.
And then Adila whacked Aerlid with her staff. Aerlid crumpled to the ground, the staff following him, keeping contact with his head.
Andalla’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘And that’s how they judge?’
‘Not all, your magnificence. Adila is perhaps the most gentle judge. Rose suffocates her victims with roses.’
Andalla nodded knowingly.
Riley stored this information away. Aerlid had not known whether Andalla had ever witnessed a judging. Now she knew this was his first.
Adila soon righted her staff. She looked unsettled as she said, ‘I can’t.. I cannot tell you much. I can tell you nothing.’
Angrily, Riley exclaimed, ‘and you used to be the Judgement Master! Is there none among you who can do your job?!’
‘I told you-’ Adila began.
But Riley turned, muttering to Andalla she said, ‘your magnificence, were the valkar always so useless?’
‘They are beneath my notice.’ he said magnanimously, ‘they are quite disappointing.’
Riley agreed. Adila stared at her, as did Rose.
Aerlid rose to his feet and rubbed his head.
‘Oh please, don’t be disappointed, Andalla.’ Ralana pleaded, ‘Adila is no longer the Judgement Master, she’s supposed to be resting, enjoying her last years. I’m sure the other judges would do a better job!’
Riley knew Ralana did not mean to be unkind. Andalla seemed amused and as they left he was in a good mood.
Riley sighed in relief. And then Rose was scolding her.
‘You were told Adila could not judge Aerlid. What is the meaning of this?’
Riley didn’t reply and started heading back to the campsite.
Behind her, Adila demanded angrily of Aerlid, ‘you raised her, Aerlid, what is wrong with her?’
‘Perhaps exactly that.’ Rose responded calmly, though her eyes were sharp.
Aerlid shook his head. ‘Please, Adila, you must calm down. She likely has some plan in mind she hasn’t thought through. I can assure you, her intentions are good.’
‘She has sold Ralana to Andalla, and treats us as her slaves.’
Aerlid shook his head. ‘She will not share her plans with me Adila, but please don’t do anything rash. She must have some plan, she would not do all this for nothing. She is not cruel or unkind, Adila,’ Aerlid said earnestly.
Adila observed Aerlid for one angry moment. And then she stalked off after Riley.
She did not catch up to her until she was in the camp. Adila stopped some way behind. And she started singing.
Riley turned. There was not a hint of guilt or regret on her face, merely mild surprise. She waited, watching Adila as she sung.
A shadow drifted over the sun, the world became dark and cool for a moment.
But that moment lengthened out, became darker, colder. Riley suddenly looked up.
And Adila’s song cut off.
The world was very quiet.
Riley looked back to Adila, fear was now evident in her eyes. The world was as dark and cold as night.
‘This is easier for me than making a shield.’ Adila stated, her body tense and blazing. ‘Should Ralana be forced to marry Andalla, this is how your world will always be.’
‘J-just me?’ Riley asked.
‘Yes. Just around you. If your people stay with you however, they will have to live in eternal darkness.’
Riley nodded slowly. ‘I see.’
She waited a moment.
‘Can you bring the sun back now?’ she asked.
Adila waited. The minutes stretched out. She could see Riley was getting increasingly afraid. She waited until the other woman was on the verge of panicking. And then when Riley was visibly trembling, Adila sung again.
And slowly the sun came back.
Riley heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
‘There is no one in this world who can save you if I choose to take the sun away.’ Adila threatened. ‘No other Sunsinger can undo what I do.’
Riley nodded fervently, and Adila left.
Still somewhat shaky after the daytime darkness Adila had summoned, Riley went to have another of her unfriendly conversations with Aerlid.
He looked up sharply as she approached. ‘Are you alright?’ he asked.
‘What do you know of valkar wedding traditions?’ she asked.
‘Riley,’ Aerlid said, ‘you must apologize to Adila now, explain yourself, make something up. If you say it was a mistake, you were trying to help Ralana, she may forgive you. Your attitude is almost as bad as your actions.’
‘Aerlid, I asked you a question.’
‘I cannot help you if Adila takes away the sun.’ He said harshly, ‘I have no sway over the sun. The most I could do is ask the moon to shine brighter. You need to make amends.’
Riley observed him coolly. ‘Are you done?’ she asked.
He sighed and nodded. ‘I see you have your reasons, I just hope you’ve thought things through. But alright. Weddings are very rare among the valkar… let me think…’
‘What about royal weddings?’
He looked surprised. ‘I don’t remember the last time a Queen married. Rilodana never did, neither did her mother…’
‘Does Andalla know?’
‘What? Of course not.’
‘What about Ralana?’
Aerlid shook his head. ‘Why, I don’t think I even know what we do for royal weddings.’ he looked at her for a moment, his eyes narrowed. ‘I see. Well, even if I could tell you, Rose and Adila will doubt anything that comes out of your mouth.’
Riley nodded, relaxing a bit. ‘That’s fine. If asked, you must back me up.’
He nodded slowly. Then, ‘what happened to your hands?’
Momentarily caught off guard, Riley looked at her hands. There were small cuts and scratches on her hands and forearms, though only the ones on her hands could currently be seen. She could not actually remember getting them, and only noticed them after fighting the ehlkrid. ‘Nothing.’ she said curtly. She turned and left, ignoring everything else he tried to say.
After that there was nothing she could do but wait. The next part of her plan required being in Andalla’s kingdom. So she would have to wait until Ralana visited again and needed a chaperone.
‘Did anyone else notice the sun?’ she asked Karesh.
He nodded. ‘Yes, but it came back quickly enough there was no panic. Do you need any bandages?’
She was momentarily caught off guard by the change in topic. ‘What? No.’
‘Your hands.’
‘They’re just scrapes, Karesh, they’re not even bleeding. No, I’m fine.’
He nodded and then quickly moved on to another topic, ‘Master, you need a name.’
‘My name’s Riley.’ She had long ago dropped the fake surname, ‘Meilis’, she’d used in Astar.
‘But you need a name, so everyone can know you are Master, and so the tribe can take your name.’
‘Ah. You mean like Riley the Fierce?’
Karesh nodded. ‘But not that.’
‘Why not?’
He frowned, tried to hide it, ‘that is too common. Many gemengs take that name, you need something more.’
She nodded. ‘Riley the Very Fierce then.’
Karesh stared for a moment. Then he said, ‘yes.. yes, that’s not bad.’ he hesitated, ‘perhaps we can think about it.’
Riley narrowed her eyes. ‘Karesh, if you don’t like Riley the Very Fierce you can come up with a name yourself.’
Karesh nodded eagerly at that suggestion and was about to say something when Riley said, ‘And how about a name for yourself, Karesh? If I need a name surely you do too!’
Karesh hesitated, frozen.
‘You don’t want a name?’ Riley relented.
‘Perhaps you have a point…’
As Karesh was clearly uncomfortable with the idea, Riley dropped the issue and said, ‘were you going to say something else?’
‘Ah, yes. You also need a flag.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘For your tent, so it can be distinguished from the others.’
‘You want to put a flag on my tent.’
He nodded.
Her eyes narrowed again, ‘I’ll think about it.’ was all she said before walking away.
A few days later, Riley was called on for her chaperoning duties. Once in the Kingdom of Andalla, it was easy to sneak away. Andalla and Ralana did not pay much attention to her, and besides, the Andallites helped her.
Hidden by wan clouds and golden light, Riley said to the Andallites in a low voice, ‘I need you to take me to the Land of the Ehlkrid. And bring me back here afterwards.’
‘That is the land of our enemy.’ The Andallites said in the unsettling way they had.
‘I need your help. I also need you to suggest to Andalla that he should give gifts to his bride’s family.’
‘How are we to do that?’
‘When royalty get married among the valkar, each family gives gifts to the other to show their skill and power. The side that gives the best gifts shows their superiority. Say it anyway you want, he doesn’t even have to agree. I just need you to mention it so it’s in his mind.’
‘You want us to mention gifts.’
Riley nodded.
‘But not convince?’
She nodded again.
‘We will mention them.’
‘And the ehlkrid?’
There was silence among the Andallites.
‘Where do you want to go in their land?’
‘Do you know the Dragon ehlkrid? He lives near the King. I need to go there. Please, if I don’t the King may come and ruin our plans.’
‘Your plans. Andalla will kill you if you fail. Not us.’
Riley nodded.
‘And you must kill the King too.’
‘I’ll try. But Andalla first.’
‘Very well.’
And suddenly she was swarmed by the golden beings. For a long time she felt like she was suffocating in a sea of clouds. And then suddenly dark red sky, empty air and black sea greeted her. One of the Andallites was with her, golden and still.
‘Hurry.’ was all the Andallite said.
Riley saw she was on the island with the tunnel to the Dragon’s cave. Quickly she headed down the dark, winding tunnel. At the end she found the Dragon, the same as ever.
strange one. he greeted her. have you been kidnapped again?
His voice boomed and thundered in her mind, threatening to shatter it. But she didn’t want to waste time. ‘No, I need your help.’
do you still intend to save my people?
‘I’ll try, but I need your help.’
ask it.
‘Andalla is going to marry a valkar princess. The best time for the King to ruin everything will be at the wedding. You must convince him, and don’t let him know I was here. The King must wait til the wedding, no sooner.’
ruin Andalla’s wedding? it will not be difficult to convince him of that.
‘Thank you. I have to go.’ And Riley raced off down the tunnel to the waiting Andallite. As soon as she appeared she was snatched back to Andalla’s kingdom. The trip back was as uncomfortable as the trip there.
Andalla and Ralana didn’t appear to have noticed her absence. She hoped she wasn’t the one being taken for a fool.
Chapter 39
Riley entered her tent, grim faced. Her arm was bandaged. She couldn’t remember how it had been cut. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.
She picked up a cloth to start cleaning her sword.
Bright red bloomed on the cloth, she cried out in surprise. She dropped her sword. And then she yelped again as she narrowly missed cutting off her foot. She hopped away.
She undid her boot. There was a shallow cut on her foot. Her eyes wide, she backed away. Everything needed bandaging. How had she managed to cut herself? She had never been clumsy. It was as if her body just wasn’t working well lately.
And most of the time she didn’t even notice her lapses.
She managed to bandage her various wounds. Sitting down, she tried to clean her dagger. Rattled, she was more careful. But still, the dagger slipped i
n her hands. It didn’t draw blood, or leave much of a mark, but it hurt.
Breathing hard, Riley threw the thing over to her sword. She tried to calm down, but the pain in her hands and feet kept intruding, and with it the only explanation. It was too horrible to consider, but the pain kept bringing it back, closer and closer. Breathing heavily, on the verge of tears, Riley put her head in her hands.
And she couldn’t help a few sobs.
Sounds came from outside. Riley looked up just as Vann poked his head in the tent.
‘Riley?’ he asked, ‘Are you alright.’
She nodded, pushed down the intruding knowledge once more. ‘I’m fine, Vann.’ she stood.
‘Are you sure?’ he came closer. ‘What’s wrong?’
She shook her head. ‘It just hurts, that’s all,’ she half lied. ‘You know little cuts hurt me a lot. Let’s go, we have a lot of work to do.’
Riley did not put it off any longer. Later that day, when Vann was busy elsewhere, she called Karesh into her tent.
‘Master?’ he asked.
Looking distraught, unable to hide it, Riley said, ‘Karesh, you know I am half human half valkar.’
He nodded.
‘Do you know what that means?’
He shook his head, cautiously attentive.
‘Before me, the longest anyone like me had lived was fourteen years. Guess how old I am.’
His eyes widened. ‘I-I don’t know, Master.’
‘I’m nearly twenty.’ she gathered her strength and said, ‘Karesh, I… I’m getting old. For what I am. I don’t know how long I will live, but Aerlid told me it would not be very long. Karesh, you may have to lead the gemengs when I’m gone.’
He stared at her a moment, his face slack. He was silent for what seemed a long time.
‘Karesh, you need to take care of Vann. He may not like it, but you’ll have to take him back to Coastside. It’s the only place he can be safe.’
The Broken Kingdom Page 17