With every step they took, Siusan’s heart seemed to tighten more. They had expected to meet with at least some resistance, but the only thing they had seen so far were a few forest animals, and neither she nor Aesri had the ability to ask them anything. When they neared Etrafa, a lone figure stepped onto the path ahead. He or she kept their hands at their sides, in a stance that seemed completely nonthreatening. In the relative darkness of the forest, with the light behind them, Siusan was unable to see the person’s face.
Aesri came to a stop, and she held up a hand to halt those behind her.
“Aesri? Aesri is that you?”
“Aodh?” she called back.
“Oh, thank Rah you are here and safe!” Aodh jogged forward and grasped her arms before pressing his cheek to hers.
“Aodh, tell me,” Aesri urged. “Where is everyone? What is happening?”
“All is well. Let me clarify, all is as well as can be expected. Etrafa is secure for now, though people are very upset. No one knows who to believe or trust, and tempers are running hot.
"Come, everyone is waiting.”
Aesri moved to follow, but Daniel stepped in front of her. “Aesri, it may be just as this man says, but I don’t like it; it’s too easy.”
Aodh rose off the ground and gave Daniel a cold look of disdain. “And who are you to question my honor and integrity?”
“I am Weapons Master of Maj, little man, and I will question anyone and anything I think poses a risk to my family and my friends.”
Darius strode forward and set a hand on Daniel’s shoulder before speaking to Aodh. “We mean no disrespect—Daniel is known for his caution. As you can see, we have brought quite a few people with us in anticipation of liberating Etrafa, and now you tell us that this has already been achieved. I’m sure you can appreciate our hesitation to rush in before we've had the whole story.”
“Breken,” Aodh said. “I do not know how you think standing here, lined up like targets the way you are, will be safer than simply accompanying me into Etrafa, but as you wish.”
“He has a point, Daniel,” Dearra said from beside him, but no one seemed to be paying much attention to the Lady of Maj at the moment.
Aodh sighed as if extremely put upon and began his story. “After Brin rescued the captives and flew away with Siusan, Trina was very angry. She did not like her authority flouted, especially as she had not been in her new position very long and was facing challenges—both public and private—from multiple fronts. She went into a rage, ordering her personal guard to round up any family members of the prisoners who had escaped. People were shocked. Locking up suspected cine measctha and holding them for questioning had been understood, if not wholly approved of, but when she began grabbing up any and all family members without even the hint of a cause, well, that was too much. As you know, Aesri, Brin’du Drak’Tir holds a place in our society bordering on the holy. Dragons were sent by Rah Himself to guard and protect, therefore, any dragon, with the exception of the deceiver Cifera, is a servant of His and is to be treated with respect. When Trina raised her hand to him, it was shades of Cifera all over again, representing an outright disloyalty to Rah and His teachings in a quest for personal power. People began to meet in secret to plot what might be done.
"In the end, the solution was simple. We acted as though she had our full support, even going as far as to cheer her decisions as right and fair. Then, when the council had gone to sleep, secure in the justness of their actions, we acted. Trina’s personal guard was spread thin. Some guarded the new prisoners, some guarded the council, and others were sent in pairs to watch and patrol Etrafa. Among her guard, some were not as loyal as they seemed, and they assisted us. Trina, the council, and her guard are now under house arrest, watched by those we know are loyal. The trouble is, there are not many of which we are certain. There is some concern that people only feign loyalty and bide their time. That may be true, or it may be that we are all tired and doubt has done its work in our minds. We may be seeing threats where none exist.”
Through it all, Aesri nodded or frowned, depending on what had been said. Now she gripped the man’s arm tightly in support. After what he had said about being tired, Siusan noticed dark circles under his eyes, and the way his skin stretched more tightly across his face, as if he had not been eating well. When he talked about Brin and how all dragons were from Rah without mention of Auriel, Siusan knew he had not yet shared the information about Brin’s lineage with anyone. He would probably want to tell Aesri that bit of news in private, and she agreed with his assessment. The Etrafarians had already had their fair share of drama lately. Telling them Brin was Auriel's child could wait.
“We are here now, Aodh, and we will help,” Aesri said. “The king of Mirin Tor has sent aid. They are impartial, so our people will not have to worry about their motivations.”
“We will be glad of their assistance, if only so we can get a full night’s sleep.”
Aesri turned to face Daniel. “If you are in agreement, I would like to go on now; they will be waiting for us.”
Daniel nodded, but he didn’t look happy. Siusan could only speculate that the man was naturally cynical, for she found nothing in Aodh’s story or behavior that would give her pause. Then again, she had known him her whole life and that probably made the difference. She couldn’t help but smile when the gruff man put himself in front of his wife. Everyone knew who Carly was, as she had visited Etrafa on several occasions. Though the woman probably had enough power in her little pinky to level half the city, she did not argue with her husband when he took up a defensive position in front of her. There was no such posturing from the Breken, Darius, and he and Dearra simply moved closer together as they moved forward.
When they emerged into the clearing, it was soon obvious there had been no trick. People stood in huddled groups, waiting to see what would happen. As Aodh had said, they looked tired and frightened. Lost, really.
Siusan saw Brin as he circled overhead, and she waved to him and blew him a kiss, which set people to whispering. Let them whisper, she thought. He flew almost straight down at his first sight of her, and people had to shield their eyes from the dust kicked up by his powerful wings. She ran to him, held his head between her hands, and nuzzled his face with hers. What had begun as whispers had now escalated to a vibrant hum.
Aodh and Siusan floated upward and stood upon the remains of the Great Tree. All talk of Siusan and the dragon ended abruptly as people congregated around their former leaders, waiting to see what they would say. Aodh took a small step back, and it became clear that Aesri would be the first to speak.
“Brothers and sisters, the council is broken once more. You have all been under a terrible amount of strain, but we must remember who we are. We are the children of Rah. We are His servants. We have forgotten that. We have gone our own way. Now, we must put away our feelings and focus on what we can do for one another in service to Him.”
She had their attention. Not that they were all won over with her few, opening lines, but they were listening.
“We must remember that all of this, all of this, was ordained by Rah. It is His plan. It has always been our way to wait in patience and in love, and to do His will, but now, everything is in confusion. The Great Tree has fallen. Etrafarian has gone against Etrafarian, which has not happened since the days of Auriel and Cifera, but stop, take comfort, and consider. Do we not always say that when we take the wrong path, Rah, in His love for us, always gives us another chance, a chance to make right our wrongs?”
There were some murmurs of agreement. Some stood stony-faced, reserving judgment, but others were already nodding.
“We waited a thousand years to make Minxa’s mistake right, and Rah was faithful and gave us our chance. Will you doubt Him now? Is it so hard to believe this is our time to correct our first fall from grace?”
“What shall we do, Aesri?” a lone voice called out. Siusan did not see who it was, but she mentally blessed them for asking the
question.
“The first thing is to appoint a new council,” she started, but another voice, a less friendly voice, interrupted her.
“And who will lead this new council? You?”
“No,” Aesri answered, forcefully. “My time on the council is over. I am being called by Rah on a different path, but I do not know yet where that will lead. I suggest that a new council be voted on by everyone.”
“Even Trina and her people?” another voice asked in a clear voice.
“Yes! Do you not see? We are one people. As it was long ago, when Minxa made her choice, did we place all the blame on her? Did we cast her out? No, I say! We are one, and when one of us stumbles, we all fall. Can the tree survive if the roots wither and die?”
That saying, or one like it, was ingrained in their culture. It was almost the definition of who they were, and Siusan saw some of those who had been standing stiffly relax their stance, and in a few cases, look down in shame.
“It is time for us to forgive one another, to begin to heal. We will elect a council of four, one from each element, so there will be equal representation. From among the four, you will vote one to lead the council. In this way, the council can guide us, but since there are only four, if they cannot agree, if they are split, they will come to the people, and put the question to all Etrafa. That way, they will never again be tempted by their own power, for the power will rest with all of us, and through us, Rah, as it should be.”
“What if Trina and her people try to take over again? We are still vulnerable. This new way will take some time to adjust to.”
This was a voice that Siusan recognized, and she looked for the face that went with it. Nona, one of Trina’s first prisoners, was standing before Aesri, her face dirty and scratched from her flight into the forest. She must have only recently returned. Siusan gave the woman credit. It was a fair question, and had not been asked with bitterness, but with concern.
“Nona asks an excellent question. If my brothers and sisters will allow it, Lady Dearra of Maj has brought some men and women sent by King Jaymes of Mirin Tor. They will stay, for a while, to support the changes we are making here today. They will act in accordance with the wishes of the council, and they will go when we bid them do so.”
That was a tricky piece of the puzzle. Siusan was not sure how they would feel about having strangers on Etrafa, let alone being there to keep the peace, but no one openly argued, and Aesri moved on quickly, perhaps to prevent any troublemakers from speaking out.
“Lady Dearra also says they will help clear away the Great Tree. There is more work here than we can do alone, and though the tree deserves our respect, it is time to make way for the future Rah has in store for us. To do that, we must let go of the dead. The time for mourning has passed, now comes the time of healing.”
“But, Aesri,” came the voice of a pleasant girl who had only joined the ranks of the adults last season. “What if we make mistakes? What if we think we are doing as Rah wishes, but we are not?”
“Then we shall figure it out together, and we will try again…together.”
***
Siusan was still in a state of shock. The elections had been held immediately after Aesri finished her speech. With the aid of the Mirin Tor, Trina and all those who had been under house arrest were brought forth, allowed to speak as to their position, and join in the voting. Not everyone was happy about it, but they agreed to go along with the majority. That was not the part that had her head spinning—the part that had her shut up inside her home with the windows closed and the door barred was the moment she was elected to lead the council.
When Nona nominated her, she had laughed, actually laughed aloud, certain that it was Nona’s idea of a joke, but it received a hearty cheer of support. There was a vocal uproar from Trina and her followers, calling Siusan all sorts of vile names. For a moment, Siusan was worried that the fragile peace was already in danger of collapsing, but Aodh called everyone to order and said that a decision of such import deserved to have all sides heard. He granted Trina the right to speak first. Trina had been pretty convincing, once she'd calmed down and turned on the charm. She had not been chosen to join the previous council for no reason. She could be well spoken, thoughtful, and brought a new dimension of insight to the group.
Trina’s words were about what Siusan would have expected from her, but wrapped in a pretty package to make them more palatable, but it was what Nona said that floored her. Brin, she said, had been sent by Rah, not as a new protector—those days were gone—but as a sort of ambassador. At that point, Brin had protested, saying he was no such thing. His loyalty was to Tolah, and whatever had been between Tolah and Rah was their business, and had nothing to do with him. His protestations might as well have been shouted to an empty cave for all the good they did. Even Trina’s people did not believe what he was saying. So, Nona had argued, if Brin was an agent of Rah, and Brin had chosen Siusan as his companion, could there be any doubt she was also chosen of Rah?
That was where Siusan’s head first started to feel as though it might completely come undone. What could Nona be thinking? She was mad! But the Etrafarians, or at least most of them, did not look as though they thought Nona was mad, they looked as though she had shined a light on a dark place that they had heretofore been ignorant of. Now they looked at Siusan with something akin to wonder. The next thing she knew, they were calling a vote. The dissenters had been drowned out by those in favor of electing her to lead the council and that, as they say, was that.
There were a lot of congratulations and hugs, but most of the words were lost to her. She saw their mouths moving, but all she heard was a strange ringing sound in her ears. She tried to smile, but the most she could manage was an awkward sort of half smile, half grimace, as she eased herself away from all of them. Fortunately for her, the three others who had been elected to serve were less overwhelmed. They were eager to talk about the next steps to be taken, and gradually, Siusan had been able to extricate herself from her throngs of admirers. Through it all, Brin stood silently, watching her. When she slipped away, he let her go, perhaps sensing her need for solitude.
It had been hours since the vote, and Siusan still felt as though a tree had landed on her, but at least she no longer heard the ringing in her ears, and the feeling had mostly returned to her fingers and toes.
She heard a scraping noise at the window and forced herself to stand and open the shutter. “Brin? What is it?”
“I came to make sure you were all right. You have been in here a long time. People are starting to worry.”
“I…I needed some time.”
“Yes, I would imagine.”
“Oh, Brin! How did this happen? I cannot lead! I must have been crazy not to put an end to the whole notion immediately. I could have stopped it if I would have only spoken up. I should go to them now and tell them there has been a terrible mistake.”
“They will not listen. In their minds, you are chosen. Chosen of the great and wise dragon, Brin’du Drak’Tir, and chosen of Rah. I must admit, I like that first part. I am rather magnificent.”
“How can you joke? This is a disaster! I have no experience with leadership. I will make a mess of everything. Now, more than ever, we need our leaders to be thoughtful and patient, willing to sacrifice everything of their personal selves to serve the people.”
“Come for a ride with me.”
“What? Now? Brin, I don’t understand you; this is serious.”
“I know, Siusan, believe me, I know. Come for a ride with me. You know you love it, and I don’t mind so much myself, as long as you promise not to wriggle around. Wait, forget I said that. Go ahead and wriggle.”
“You are impossible!”
“Maybe a little,” he agreed with a grin. “But you know you love me.”
Siusan sighed heavily. “Brin, I cannot just go flying off with you. Everyone will see. Dearra will see,” she added to make him understand the folly of his request.”
Br
in paused and seemed to consider before speaking. “Dearra will have to get over it. As for the others, it will only make you even more remarkable in their eyes, and why shouldn’t they know what I discovered long ago?”
A ride really did sound wonderful. The first time it had been terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure. They had gone so high, higher than she had ever floated, and the speed! When Brin flew with her, it was like she was chasing the wind.
“Do you think I really could? Go for a ride with you, that is?”
“Who will stop us? Come with me, Siusan. Please,” he added in his most charming voice.
“All right,” she agreed.
“Wonderful! Get your cloak. I don’t want you catching a cold.”
“Oh, Brin, I will be fine. I like the feel of the air against my skin.”
“No cloak, no ride.”
“Stubborn dragon.” Siusan grabbed her cloak from its hook by the door and ran to where he stood waiting for her. She floated her way up to his back and slid into her place at the base of his neck. She was so delighted that she gave him a little extra wriggle in appreciation and giggled as he growled low in his throat.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” she answered in a breathy whisper.
“Hold on!”
She leaned forward, threw her arms around his neck as far as she was able, and in a shot, Brin propelled her upward. They were almost completely vertical, and she slid backwards a little until her legs hit the place where his wings met his body. She laughed with almost childish delight as she looked down at the stunned faces below her. Brin spun in circles, tucked his wings in, and dove back toward the ground, pulling out of his dive at the last moment to unfurl his wings as they glided over the bemused spectators.
Prophecy (The Destiny Series Book 4) Page 26