"Where is the front now?" Aemon asked, almost dreading to hear the answer.
"I cannot tell you much, I am sure you understand."
Aemon nodded. Royce pointed at the map. "The enemy has pushed us back to the tunnel junction near Celestial Rest that leads to Echo Hollow and Rylore Bellholes. On the other front are the Flowstone Gates, which are all that stand between the enemy and Sapphire Sinkhole, the Path of Exile and more importantly, the Power Station."
The news was grim, but not unexpected. If anything, Aemon had thought things could be far worse. After what had happened at both Deep Cave and Celestial Rest, he was surprised the army had managed to hold back the Firstborn at all. "What about Deep Cave? Are the enemies trying to get through Radashan Crevice or the Limestone Caves?"
"There has been no sign of them in either of those locations. The Limestone Caves remains a no-go zone since Deep Cave fell."
Aemon studied the map on the table and noticed a red cross over the two fallen cities and several minor settlements around them. "I witnessed what happened at Roryur's Sacred City." A tear came to his eyes. "I saw Lord Laython perish in the flames of the enemy."
Royce raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing there? My subordinate told me you went into the Great Dark."
Nerves made Aemon's guts turn to lead. "We passed through the city on our way out there." He chose his words carefully. "I was on a secret mission, so I had to lie to the officer who brought me here."
The captain's eyes narrowed, but he waited for Aemon to continue. "This must stay between the three of us," Aemon said.
Royce nodded once, and his silent aide left them. "Start talking, young lord. Tell me everything; tell me why you brought a blind woman out into the Great Dark. Because of your family's legacy, I shall hold my judgment of you until I have heard your tale."
So Aemon told him how they had gone in search of aid for the war and how they discovered the Life Infused Children who would help them fight the enemy. Never once did Aemon venture to explain who had made the Secondborn, nor of what they once were. He also never mentioned his beloved Kara or the Prophecy of Ibilirith.
When he was done, he licked his lips. "As to my blind wife..." That he had no answer for.
Luckily, Imogen did. "My dear old husband brought me because I am the brains of the family. I might be blind, but I can see better than most with my other senses." She gave Royce Kara's smile. The one she'd stolen! "I was the one who found the children. I am the one they listen to."
Aemon curled his toes in his boots. Did Imogen have to always sound so condescending?
Knowing he had to end their lie on a high note, Aemon added, "Now we have returned from the Great Dark with the aid we need, my wife and I must head to the Temple of Sacred Lights to report to Patriarch Lucien. He will know what to do with the children."
Royce was silent for a long time, as he took it all in. Then he took a sip of shroom tea. "Let me see these children you brought with you and then, if I am happy with what I see, I will escort you to the temple."
CHAPTER 15
SEMIRA
Semira paused outside the door. Her father's shade was in there. He had come back from the dead to haunt her for her sins.
Aisha watched her, the features of her semi-transparent face impossible to make out. An electrical light buzzed overhead and somewhere down one of the side corridors, air hissed from a broken pipe. Semira took a deep breath. "Before I enter, I want you to go in and see if the half-blood is still there. If she is, I want you to tell her to leave. I don't want her to be there... when I see my father."
It would be hard enough dealing with him without the half-blood around to snicker at Semira and belittle her if she cried. Just like all the other scions had done. They loved to see her cry when they called her names or hurt her, so Semira had long ago learned to never show weakness in front of other people. Crying was something shameful. But this meeting was going to take all her resolve not to break down. I have the strength. Everything I did was to save the human race.
The woman nodded and disappeared, presumably not needing to open the door to enter the room. Leading Semira back here by foot had been nothing but a formality for Aisha, to give Semira time to prepare. Semira took another longer, deeper breath, and quelled the shaking of her legs by pacing back and forth and going through what she would say once she met her father. She would start with asking how he came to be here, and then she would explain how Dwaycar was in her and how the things she'd done were all in an attempt to save humanity from the Scion of the Prophecy.
It wasn't her fault the scion had ended up being the half-blood and not one of them.
But she would not apologize for killing her people, not after what they'd put her through her whole life. She'd done the right thing, even if it had all amounted to failure. To think otherwise...
The door swung open and the half-blood sauntered out, her milk-white eyes running over Semira. Was that contempt on her face? Semira scowled. "Are you leaving? I want to see my father."
"He's waiting for you." The half-blood gave her a fake smile. "Though you have hurt him and the ones he loved, he may forgive you if you ask it of him."
Semira bared her teeth. "Go away, you vile husk. I don't need the likes of you to tell me what to do. This is between me and Father, not his bastard daughter he fathered on some filthy tavern whore."
One of the half-blood's hands went to something hidden under her disgustingly revealing courtesan gown. Was she reaching for a weapon? Semira readied herself for combat, but the half-blood's hand quickly withdrew. "I forgive you your unkind words, sister," the half-blood said. "This time."
Semira stood as tall as she could, still an inch below the other woman's full height. "Was that a threat?"
The half-blood shook her head, walked past Semira and disappeared into one of the doors further down the corridor. Sasha's shrill voice could be heard calling out to Kara before the door slammed shut. With an irritatingly painful lump in her throat and an assortment of other uncomfortable feelings and sensations she'd rather not have to deal with right then, Semira entered the room to confront her father. He stood under the tree, holding a white flower to his nose, and seemed to be smelling it.
He wasn't looking at her. Not yet.
Her legs started to shake and she felt an urgent need to empty her bladder. Afraid of wetting herself, she stopped several feet inside the door so she could run back out to relieve herself if she needed to. Finally her father lowered the flower and their eyes met. Semira barely noticed the door close behind her as the torrent of emotions and memories almost struck her senseless. Her legs gave out and she withered under his gaze. She knew what she planned to say, but found she couldn't open her mouth to speak.
On her knees, she discovered she could no longer meet his gaze, so turned her head to the side and studied the floor. The cold gray concrete gave her no solace.
"Daughter." His voice was devoid of emotion.
Semira shuddered. A long silence followed, one in which the slightest of sounds would seem unnaturally loud. It felt wrong to break it, but one of them had to. She swiveled her head to study his feet, not yet able to bring herself to look up at his face. Unlike Aisha, he appeared real, as if he was truly there. She struggled to swallow. "What are you doing here?"
The flower he'd been holding landed on the ground in front of her. Its white petals were perfectly formed, it's lush green stem covered in thorns. Was it meant to mean something to her? Did he want her to pick it up?
"It's called a rose. Pick it up and sniff it; the smell is intoxicating."
Her father seemed to wait for her to do as he instructed, for he didn't answer her question. Carefully grasping the flower stem, she brought it to her nose and sniffed. The smell was rich and pure, unlike that of the lymdee flowers that had grown in the gardens of her home. In comparison to the rose, their scent was that of acrid rot.
"I was lost in this place, pulled along by forces beyond sight and touch," he fina
lly said. "The power that beats at the heart of this world snatched me from the currents and anchored me to this garden. I don't understand it, but that rose is part of me now, as is the tree and the bulbs taking root in the dirt."
To stop herself from sobbing, Semira closed her hand around the thorns on the stem. She drew comfort from the stinging pain. It gave her something to focus on.
His voice became sad. "This is where I live now, for if I ever leave the shadow of this tree, the currents swirling around me will sweep me away."
It's my fault you're stuck here. Lost Sun, help me. It's my fault.
No! She wasn't sorry for what she'd done. He'd deserved to die, for he and Liana had found the artifact that would lead to the end of humankind. And the rest of her people... She squeezed the thorns with all her might, her warm blood dripping to the floor. They got what they deserved.
"I never expected to see you again," he said, then took a step toward her.
She shrank from him. "Stay away. I don't want you near me."
He retreated back under the shadow of the tree. Finally, she raised her head to look at him and dropped the flower in shock. Her father appeared a pale shadow of his former self. No longer tall and proud, but stooped, eyes sunken into his cheeks. He looked ravaged, a light-forsaken husk. "What... What happened to you? Are you dead or are you alive?"
"I don't know what I am. Much like you and your sister feel, I wager. Are we dead or are we just someplace else? Maybe we are in the world of the visiondream as Kara believes." He studied her, then glanced up into the branches of the tree. "I never thought I would see you again. In fact, I thought I'd be alone here with Aisha and Sasha forever. It feels like years have gone by, and yet you have barely changed." He paused. "At least on the outside."
Semira recovered her composure, feeling guilt claw at her like a sump rat grasping for prey. Give in to me, the guilt seemed to say. It will lessen the crushing weight you carry upon your soul. Tell him you're sorry.
Never!
She tried to hide the turmoil raging in her mind, but he knew her too well. "I see the pain in your eyes." He inched closer. "I was never blind to it back at Sunholm, but I was always too busy with my duties of protecting our home." He buried his face in his hands. "I should have dealt with those who spoke ill of you. I should have been there for you, let you cry on my shoulder, held you tight." He took a heavy breath. "Instead, I always had other people to council and protect. Then Liana and I had the visiondreams of the artifact—and the hunt for it went on to consume us both."
The mention of her sister made Semira's eyes moisten and the lump in her throat ache all the more. I murdered her. She died by my hand.
Her father lowered himself to his knees, his withered face still hidden in his hands. "People looked to me to lead them. They saw me as a great man who could do no wrong." He lowered his hands, his eyes haunted with memories. "Oh, I did wrong. I did plenty wrong. So much, it forever stains me."
One of the tree branches creaked as it bent down to brush against his shoulder, as if trying to comfort him. Semira thought she heard a woman's voice whispering, but couldn't make out what it said. Then it was gone.
"My lust almost tore apart my family and broke one of our sacred oaths," her father continued. "My addiction to being leader made me put my family's needs behind those of our community. It was easy, for there was always so much to do." He gave her a pained grin. "Yes, deep down, I loved feeling needed by those around me. I exalted in knowing they saw me as a great man—a man they'd do anything for. A hero blessed of the Lost Sun."
"Why wouldn't you like the feel of being loved?" Semira shook her head, her long hair swishing from side to side. "All I ever wanted was to feel loved."
"But you were loved," he sobbed. "Even through all my failings—I always loved you. You held a special place in my heart, for you were my firstborn."
"Then why didn't you stop them from hurting me?" Semira's anger drove her to her feet until she loomed over him, the branch withdrawing as if in terror. "Why did you let mother do all the horrible things she did to me?"
Now he withered under her gaze. "Because I was a weak, vain man. I should never have let Meridia do what she did. No one should have to endure what you have."
Her blood pounded in her ears. "It's all your fault. You were never there; you were never—" She spat at his feet. "I wish I was never born!"
His wasted frame was wracked by sobbing. "Don't say that."
"Why?"
"There was good in your life. When you were a child we used to—"
"I don't remember being a child."
"What about Wrynric?" His voice spluttered. "He was always there for you."
Semira's resolve began to crumple. "Wry—Wrynric..."
A memory of his kindly old face came to her. She remembered the old man's smile as he pulled her down onto his knee and told her a story about how great her father was and that she'd grow up to be just like him. She'd buried her face into his chest and fallen asleep in his arms. It was not long after that she'd gotten sick and acquired the strange scar on her lower back. Then the voice in her head had come and everything had changed.
Semira felt for the toy Wrynric had given her and clasped it in trembling hands. "Were you the one who slew him?" her father asked in a soft voice.
She couldn't answer him.
Falling into a heap, she cried like she had never cried before. Years of rage, hurt, anger and grief came out all at once. Lost Sun, it hurts. The only way to make it stop was to apologize to her father for everything she'd done—no matter her intentions—and tell him everything.
So she did. At first it was hard, as she broke down into fits of sobbing or inconsolable tears. But the more she got out, the easier it became.
By the end of Semira's tale, her father had wrapped her in his arms. "I'm sorry." He kissed her forehead. "I should have known something was up with you. I noticed a change in you after you got sick and nearly died. I just never would've believed you had... Dwaycar in you. My vision of my own death, in which I saw you kill me, never showed me what was inside you." He shook his head, his whiskers prickling her cheek. "I don't understand how two of my girls became hosts to the twin divines."
"The woman who lives here." Semira sniffed. "She knows more than she lets on. I'm sure of it."
He continued to hold her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. "We will speak to Aisha later. For now, let's make up for the time we've lost."
CHAPTER 16
KARA
Kara couldn't stop it from happening.
She writhed, twisted and screamed. But still Imogen dug her nails into Aemon's arm. Kara watched it through eyes once her own. Imogen sat beside Aemon, somewhere in Stelemia, and she was hurting him. Digging her nails into his flesh while blaming him for what she was doing.
Aemon. The pain he must be feeling. Not just because Imogen was hurting him, but that the hands inflicting the torment once belonged to the woman he loved. It was Kara's face watching him, her eyes glaring into his. But it was not Kara in control.
I'm sorry, Aemon. I will find a way back and make it stop. Just hold on. Please hold on.
Then the horrible nightmare was over. Kara jolted awake in her covering of blankets, startling Sasha who was snuggled up against her. The boy sat up. "What is it? Have the servants come to get Mother?"
"No..." Kara ran her hands through her hair, trying to make sense of what she'd just experienced. Was it real or was it only a dream? It felt real.
The small boy studied her. "You look scared."
She forced herself to calm down. "I'm alright. I had a bad dream."
"A dream? What are they?"
"You don't know what a dream is?" He shook his head, watching her. "Sometimes people have them when they sleep. They see things or experience things that aren't real." I hope it wasn't real. Poor Aemon. I need to find a way to help him.
"I wish I had dreams." Sasha sighed wistfully. "They sound wonderful."
H
is boyish enthusiasm lightened her mood. "They can be."
"Mother says I am different from other people." His face became long. "Unlike you, I was born in this world and can never leave it."
Kara was suddenly interested. "Is Aisha your birth mother?" He nodded. "Then who's your father?"
Sasha shrugged nonchalantly. "He left when I was young. Mother only once told me his name."
That reminded Kara of her own upbringing. "And what was his name?"
"Mommy said my father's name was Dressen."
Kara put a hand over her mouth. Sasha's father was Dwaycar! "Where is your mother? I must speak with her."
Sasha grimaced, then climbed off the bed and led her from the room. They walked down a concrete corridor until they came to a metal door. Opening it, the boy ushered Kara inside.
Kara entered a room lit by a circle of candles that glowed so bright, she had to squint her eyes. Aisha materialized within the circle. "I rest, bathed in light. Too long did I stare from the darkness at the sunlight outside, my face pressed against the frosty glass, longing to bask in the light's warmth."
Kara had no idea what the ghost woman was talking about. "I am here for answers."
"Then ask away." Aisha faded in and out of view, the candles visible through her.
"You should have told me Dwaycar was here. When did he leave? Will he be coming back?" She had to know. If Dwaycar could return to the visiondream, then perhaps she was in more danger than she'd first thought. Could he come back and stop her from leaving?
Did he even care about her anymore? Or was he too preoccupied with his war against his sister?
Aisha glanced at Sasha. "I told you not to speak of your father to her."
Sasha started twiddling his fingers, muttering an apology. Kara glowered at Aisha. "Is he coming back?"
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