Will had graduated number one in his class from Shey. It had not been because of his lineage either. If anything, Tamron’s influence had made Will’s life twice as hard on that island than any other trainee’s. Tamron knew this because he would check in with Will’s superior officers and suggest added details for his son. He wanted no hint of favoritism. Reports of Will’s quiet determination and leadership had come back to Tamron early, despite the increased pressure.
Tamron smiled a little to himself as he considered the ridiculous plan his son had hatched at the rendezvous point in Argentina. He would never admit it, but modifying that field to protect Preda against the ambush had been a stroke of crazy brilliance. However, his son’s persistent need to be on the front lines angered him.
Looking at Will now, he felt a surge of pride. Will had ordered Jim to run a perimeter and was quietly calculating distances without any prompting. He moved with an athleticism Tamron knew came from him. His easygoing attitude was a front for the calculating machine just under the surface.
Tamron sighed and thought about how his son seemed constantly aware of Preda’s location. It was as if Will was a spinning arrow in a compass that always returned to point north. Preda was true north. He had not wanted this life for his son, but it seemed inevitable.
Preda suddenly slipped on a patch of ice. In an instant Will was behind her. He deftly caught her before her head could hit the ground. Al stopped walking, and they watched Will make sure she was steady on her feet before letting her go.
“We have got to work on her balance and defense training as soon as possible,” Tamron muttered under his breath.
“Not if your son is always going to be around to catch her.” Al smiled and winked at Tamron.
Tamron growled at his friend. “Let’s keep moving!” he yelled to the rest.
Despite Preda’s stab wound, the group made good time across the island. It wasn’t long before they came up to a ridge where a well-camouflaged lookout waved them forward. When they came around the other side of the ridge, the caldera was in sight. To Tamron’s surprise, a group of twenty men and women were standing in straight lines on either side of the hill that hid the city’s entrance. At his signal Tamron and his people fell back slowly behind Preda so that she walked in front of them. She tried to fall back with them, but they remained a step behind her as a symbolic gesture.
Preda looked back at Foxy with a questioning glance, and he said, “You lead us. Not the other way around.”
In a show of vulnerability, she asked, “Am I really the right one?”
Tamron nodded sternly in response, and she turned around in resignation. As they approached the Vakans waiting at the entrance, Preda straightened her back and held her head higher. Using her voice as much as she had was already changing her outward appearance, whether she recognized it or not. Her eyes were starting to glow green in certain lights, and her cheekbones were slightly more prominent. She had already come a long way in the past few days from the girl who used to hide her face behind her hair.
Preda started to hum the lullaby she had supposedly made up in her head as they walked forward. She wasn’t even aware she was doing it. Tamron would have to tell her as soon as he got the chance that this was the melody of the coronation song that the Vozia had sung since the birth of their lineage.
Though she did not know the words, she projected the melody with barely audible humming. Tamron and the others could feel it in the soles of their feet every time they stepped on the ground. He looked around as they approached the entrance leading to the stairs and could see tears in the eyes of the people around her.
He knew this one would be more powerful than any Vozia who had come before her.
25
Preda felt as if she was walking in a dream. These people, whom she had never met before, looked at her with expressions of love. It was an unusual feeling, and she felt a fierce and sudden need to protect them. For someone who had avoided people her entire life, it was a foreign concept.
When she reached the dark stairwell leading below, Preda realized she had been humming. Her toes were tingling again. It was as if she didn’t control her own voice anymore. The thought should have alarmed her, but it didn’t.
Jim came up beside her and said, “Me first.”
She followed him into the dark, damp stairwell with Will, Tamron, and Al following on her heels. Preda was impressed with herself for slipping on the damp stairs only once, and she had caught herself with her hands behind her. It was less embarrassing than almost cracking her head open on the ice outside. At least no one had to catch her this time.
They reached the bottom of the stairwell, and Jim stepped aside, opening the door for her at the same time. The light was almost blinding, and Preda had to blink several times for her vision to clear. As she stepped out and put her hands on the waist-high rail, her breath caught in her throat. The view below was otherworldly.
The light was coming from all around her. After examining the walls, she saw it was emanating from a type of stone that seemed strategically placed in cubbyholes carved out of the cavern walls. The stones were everywhere, and they lit the immense chamber as though it was daytime—only greener.
Preda saw one of the stones in the wall next to her, and she reached out to touch it. The colors inside the light were swirling hues of green. As her fingers came closer, the light danced to meet them, and a warm sensation filled her fingertips. She was mesmerized.
Will came up next to her. “That’s a light stone from Vaka. It responds to you.”
Preda reluctantly withdrew her hand and looked out beyond the walls. This place really was an underground city. There were intricately curved streets and buildings designed for commerce. The back rows of buildings looked like houses. Next to the houses, Preda could see paths leading off into what could only be other parts of the cave system.
What really amazed her, though, was the sheer number of people. There were hundreds, it seemed. Most had gone silent since she had entered, and they were looking up at her. Everyone was still and expectant. Preda didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She looked back at Foxy anxiously and sought some guidance.
He nodded and quietly said, “They’re here for you, Preda.”
She turned around and looked out again. Her hands tightly gripped the railing before her. The weight of his words felt heavy on her chest. She considered what had happened on the Ryndam when she spoke to the crew of people loading the ship. It was as if sometimes she could speak to Vakans and nothing happened—at least nothing she was aware of. Then other times, in moments like these, she would lose control over her own voice. She decided the tingling in her feet that crawled up her legs was a warning.
After a moment Preda cleared her throat, and all movement below seemed to cease. She could feel her legs growing weak, but she closed her eyes and made herself pretend she was speaking to one person only. When she opened her eyes, Will was standing next to her in silent support. Without thinking about it, she concentrated on his face, and the weakness in her legs receded. She still felt the tingling, but it was just in her feet. She felt as if she could almost make it radiate out into the ground she was standing on.
“My name,” she said and paused before continuing, “is Preda Vozia.”
She felt as if she had spoken only to Will, but her voice had carried and was reverberating off the cavern walls like a tidal wave. The people closest to her started to kneel, and it spread back through the crowd below until they were all on their knees. She hadn’t known what to say, but she felt as if she had to introduce herself in some way.
Looking down on this underground city, Preda was overcome with emotion. She turned back to Foxy and Al, and almost staggered when she saw they were also kneeling behind her. Will and Jim followed suit, and she was suddenly the only one standing.
“Please stand,” she whispered.
Th
e four around her stood gracefully, and Will smiled an encouraging, crooked smile at her. With them standing beside her, she felt as if she could breathe again. The crowd below followed suit and stood. Preda smiled back at Will in relief, and suddenly the hundreds below started cheering and clapping. Before long the noise was a deafening cacophony that reverberated and amplified off the cavern walls.
Preda and her group soon made their way down a spiraling ledge that ran around the large cavern. It looked like a natural formation, but she knew Vakans must have handcrafted it.
By the time she made it to the bottom of the cavern, the cheering had stopped. People started to crowd around to meet her. Preda listened carefully to introductions and was careful not to speak too much. She felt unsteady on her feet as it was.
A blond, curly-haired girl about her age approached with her parents behind her, and all three bowed in synchrony.
“Preda, this is the head of the Ceren family. I would like to introduce you to Karn, his wife, Alis, and his daughter. It’s Laney, right?” Foxy addressed the girl directly.
Laney looked like a deer caught in headlights, and Preda smiled at the girl encouragingly. Laney’s return smile lit up her entire face, and she became even more beautiful than she had been before. She nodded at Foxy in response.
“Nice to meet you,” Preda murmured, and she found she meant it.
This family seemed to radiate support for her. Karn smiled and said, “Nice to meet you too, Madam Vozia. We are here to be by your side in any way you best see fit.”
She knew the statement was meant as a gesture and didn’t require an immediate request, but Preda looked around her and noted the four men she had been traveling with. In a stroke of inspiration, she said, “Would you mind terribly if Laney joined me for the rest of the evening?”
Laney’s face lit up in response, and she was practically bouncing on her toes in eagerness. Her mother looked pleased and said, “If it’s all right with her.”
“Yes,” she squeaked and quickly sprang over to the group to stand on Preda’s left side.
It felt right.
26
Laney Ceren could not believe her luck. As badly as she had wanted to meet Preda, she could not have imagined being asked to join the group of Kait surrounding the Vozia. It was an incredible honor and one she would not soon forget. She felt as though she was walking in a dream.
Preda moved from group to group and made sure she did not leave anyone out. Laney noticed she favored her left side as though it pained her to lift her arm. Will Kait was always close, and he moved like a trained soldier. Jim Landi was with him and had grown since Laney had last seen him arrive with Will. She had never been brave enough to talk to either of them.
Tamron Fox stayed by Preda’s ear and would occasionally say something quietly while they moved through the cavern’s streets. Preda seemed careful to listen to everything he said to her. She was meeting people with a humility and grace that was in sharp contrast to her age. It was hard to believe she was only seventeen—just a little older than Laney herself.
The Vozia’s apparent modesty surprised Laney. She carried herself as though she was not worthy of the attention she was receiving—as if it was making her uncomfortable. In Laney’s mind this made Preda all the more worthy of her respect.
Al Kait excused himself early on. He had a cat carrier in his arms, and he claimed he needed to get that cat to bed. It was absurd that this contingent had traveled halfway across the Earth over the past couple of days to get here and had somehow managed to bring along a cat. Laney shook her head in amazement.
Laney had grown up watching the Kait travel to and from Deception Island. Tamron and Al were famous for their exploits—even those before Preda was born. Since then the two had been the unofficial leaders of the Vakans on Earth as well as on their home planet. She could not believe she had been asked to join this group, if only for an afternoon.
Preda’s voice broke Laney out of her reverie. “Where do you live, Laney? How long have you been on this island?”
Preda seemed genuinely interested in Laney’s answers, and her voice conveyed as much. Laney looked at her feet when she responded. “I’ve been on this island my whole life. I live in a house in one of the back tunnels. It’s just over there.” She pointed to the area behind the back row of houses in the main cavern.
Preda smiled. “I’d love to see the back tunnels.”
Laney was surprised. “I could show you around. It’s enormous. We haven’t even occupied all the tunnels, and in some caverns there are underground lakes and huge rock formations. There isn’t enough light stone to illuminate all the tunnels, so we would have to bring our own stones.”
Laney stopped talking abruptly. She realized she had started rambling. It had been presumptuous of her to think she would be the one to show Preda the caves.
Preda’s face had lit up while Laney was talking. “That sounds amazing!” She looked up at Tamron. “Will there be time for some exploration?”
Tamron looked at the two girls and sighed. “Yes. We will be here for a few days before departing.”
Laney didn’t know what the time line would be, but she had overheard her parents talking about all the ships and Vakans that would be coming to the island over the next few days. They would finally be leaving this place and going home. It was incredibly exciting for the Ceren girl, who had spent her entire life on an island. Preda, however, seemed visibly relieved when Tamron indicated they would not be leaving immediately.
Laney smiled. She was already thinking about which caverns she would take Preda to. After what seemed like hours, the group had met what Laney thought must be every single Vakan on the island. Al had rejoined them and offered to take Preda to where they would be staying. Laney imagined it would be the house the Kait always stayed in when they were there. Preda seemed relieved, but before leaving she turned to Laney and smiled. “Bye, Laney. It was nice meeting you.”
It was such a normal thing for her to say, and it somehow made the afternoon seem much more surreal. Laney waved awkwardly as the Kait and Preda turned to go. Laney made her way back to her own small house in the back tunnels. When she passed other people, she overheard snippets of conversation throughout the cavern.
“Didn’t expect her to be so…ordinary,” her neighbor Jann Ceren was saying to her husband.
Laney scoffed to herself as she walked by the two. She thought Preda Vozia couldn’t be any less ordinary if she tried. Laney practically skipped into her house, where her parents were already setting the table for dinner. She bounded into the dining room with a huge grin on her face and started helping her mother arrange the silverware on the table.
Alis Ceren smiled knowingly at her daughter. “Now you know how I felt working for the Vozias.”
“Alis,” Karn interrupted, “it’s not the same thing. That girl is not a Vozia yet. She’s barely grown. She’s not ready to lead. You saw her. She was barely able to contain that voice of hers.”
“I can’t imagine what it must have been like to grow up as a human being and not know anything about yourself,” Laney’s mother said to herself.
“Maybe she just needs some help, Dad,” Laney said.
Karn looked sternly at his daughter for a moment. “You be careful, Laney. She is dangerous until she knows how to control herself. Don’t get me wrong. I am ever her faithful servant and adviser, if she so chooses. I am just worried for you.”
“I think she needs a friend,” her mother murmured as the three of them sat down to eat.
It was unclear to Laney whether her mother was referring to Preda Vozia or to her.
27
Preda almost cried in relief when she was led into a normal house that looked like any other one in the back row. More light stone lit the inside, and it seemed to get brighter as she walked by it. The furniture was sparse, but it looked comfortable.
> Preda sat down in the first armchair she saw. Fiver ran around the corner from the hallway, vaulted himself into her lap, and purred. His breath smelled like fish, and she knew Al must have fed him already. Preda curled around the cat and made herself into a compact ball around him on the chair. It felt wonderful.
Will, Jim, Tamron, and Al had followed her into the house, and soon dispersed, going down the hall and into their respective rooms. It was clear they had all been here before. A thought overcame Preda. While she had been struggling to stay under the radar her entire life, she had been an unwitting focal point in these people’s lives.
She once again felt an overwhelming desire to protect them as much as possible. Preda laughed after considering that thought. She was, after all, a short, clumsy girl who couldn’t even protect herself. How could she even begin to get involved in this fight against the Soundless? She shuddered as she thought about the vacant, smiling expressions on those people in the streets of Buenos Aires.
Before long, Preda had fallen asleep curled up on the chair. She woke before she opened her eyes, and heard a voice in the next room. Her face was buried in cat fur, and she vaguely recalled where she was. She was in a house she had never been in before with a group of men she had, for all intents and purposes, known for less than a week—except for Will. He was the one talking now with Jim and another person whose voice she didn’t recognize.
“You make sure Tamron gets the message,” said the man Preda didn’t know. He was older and sounded angry.
“I’ll be sure the general hears your concerns,” Will replied tersely.
Soon afterward, footsteps could be heard retreating down the hallway, and the front door opened and closed again.
“Man, I am glad I’m not you or your father,” said Jim.
Preda's Voice (Guardians of Vaka Book 1) Page 11