Pawns (The Wielders of Arantha Book 1)

by Patrick Hodges

  Kelia stared at Maeve as if she'd witnessed a miracle. “You wield the power of Arantha.”

  Maeve waited for her to say something else, but Kelia obviously thought this cryptic statement was self-explanatory. “Arantha? You mentioned that name before. What is it?”

  “Arantha created all things. She watches over all of the Creation. She is our guide, from the moment of our birth until the day we journey to the Great Veil.”

  Davin retrieved the med-kit from where he'd dropped it and moved over to Kelia. Removing a small aerosol can from the satchel, he said, “So, Arantha is your god.”

  Kelia regarded his kind, inquisitive face. “Yes. Do the people on your world not believe in a godly being?”

  “Yes,” Maeve said. “They give Him many names. Some on my world call Him 'Allah', others call him 'Jehovah'. We,” she indicated herself and Davin, “just call Him 'God'.”

  Kelia considered this, then nodded. “It makes sense that in all of Creation, she would have many names. It is not unusual that you refer to Arantha as 'Him'. Though Arantha is beyond such trappings as gender, the Ixtrayu prefer to think of Arantha as a female, for it is she that helped free my ancestors from the tyranny of men.”

  Davin led them over to the table next to the purifier and synthesizer, where they all sat down. “This is going to sting a little.” Davin said, spraying the salve onto Kelia's wounded shoulder. She winced and gritted her teeth, but did not cry out.

  A short distance away, Fex clambered to her feet and lumbered forward. She didn't break into a run this time, but rather, walked right past their table to the water's edge, lowering her massive head for a drink.

  “Would you like something to eat?” Maeve asked as Davin applied a small bandage to Kelia's wound. “I'm not familiar with the delicacies of Castelan VI, but I'm sure we can find something you'd like.”

  Kelia gave her a puzzled look. “Castelan VI?”

  Davin put the finishing touches on the bandage. “That's what we call this world. What do you call it?”

  Kelia looked at his handiwork, running a finger over the bandage. “We call our world Elystra.” She smiled at him. “Thank you, that feels much better. You are most kind.”

  His eyebrows knitted together. “You sound surprised.”

  “In my experience, men do not tend to treat strangers, especially women, with kindness. For the most part, women are treated as inferior beings. It has always been thus.” She smiled at Maeve. “You said you were a commander?”

  “That's right.”

  “And there were men under your command?”

  “Yes. Twelve men and women that I went through hell and back with.”

  A regretful look crossed Kelia's face. “In the kingdoms of men, Elystran women are not permitted to fight. In fact, in some countries, they are not even allowed to learn how to read or write.”

  “It was like that on our world too. Many, many centuries ago,” Maeve said. “But now, women may perform any task men can.”

  “It would be wonderful to live on such a world,” Kelia said.

  Maeve stood up, walked over to the synthesizer, and entered her passcode. Then she opened a compartment on the top, grabbed a handful of nutra-pellets and fed them into the aperture. Selecting something simple for their dinner, she tapped the screen a few times, and thirty seconds later, the door popped open on the side, revealing three steaming bowls of pinkish-red soup on top of a tray. Davin removed the tray and placed one bowl in front of Kelia.

  Kelia sniffed at the unfamiliar aroma, and a smile broke out on her face. “It smells amazing. What is it called?”

  “Lobster bisque,” said Maeve, grabbing three spoons from another compartment and handing them out.

  Kelia took it, turning it over in her hand, unsure what to do with it.

  “It's a spoon,” Davin said, using his to scoop a small amount of soup and bring it to his mouth. “Oh wait, you're not allergic to shellfish are you?”

  Kelia knitted her eyebrows together, “I'm sorry, allergic to what?”

  Davin smiled and shook his head. “Never mind.” He picked up his spoon and showed her how to hold it properly, and before long, Kelia had mastered its use. After swallowing her first mouthful of bisque, she gave a satisfied sigh. “This is delicious. What is it made from?”

  “On Earth, there are creatures that live in the sea called lobsters,” said Davin. “Their meat is very tasty. You chop them up along with some vegetables, add some broth, heat it up, and …” he pointed at the bowl in front of her, “there you go.”

  Kelia stared blankly at him. “I did not see you chop anything.”

  Davin looked at Maeve, who smiled. “That would take a little longer to explain.”

  Maeve poured three cups of water and handed them out. Kelia took a cautious sip, but did not comment on it. Maeve's eyes went to Kelia's other hand, which had moved up to touch a small, lump of metal hanging from a thick leather string around her neck.

  “What is that?” she asked, gesturing at the lump. “Is that a symbol for your tribe or something?”

  Kelia looked at her quizzically, as if wondering what she was talking about. She looked down, and instantly discerned what Maeve was asking about. She smiled. “No, nothing of the sort. It was a gift from my daughter Nyla. When she was very young, she loved crafting things with her hands. With nothing but a leather string, a handful of beads, and this token of farewell my mother gave me before she died, Nyla gave me the best gift a mother could receive. A gift of love.”

  “What kind of metal is it?” Davin asked.

  “I do not know. My tribe does not have much in the way of metal. The only metal objects we have are what we brought back from centuries of Sojourns.”

  “I see,” said Maeve. “I would love to hear more about the Ixtrayu.”

  Over the next hour, Kelia relayed the entire history of the Ixtrayu, from the days of Soraya up to the present. She told them of the Stone and the Wielding abilities it gave certain members of the tribe. She also spoke of the Sojourns, and how her mother had, without explanation, called a halt to them.

  While she spoke, Fex chose a spot at the lake's edge to lie down. She hit the ground with a loud flump and quickly dozed off, its deep-throated snore resounding through the night air.

  Maeve hung on Kelia's every word, so much so that it took the entire hour to finish their soup. “Wow,” Davin said. “You actually had a vision about us coming here?”

  “In a way,” Kelia replied. “Arantha showed me where to go, and I went. Two days later, I saw a light streak across the sky. I did not know what it was at the time, of course, but further visions led me here.” She smiled at Maeve. “I am gratified that my instincts about you were correct. Though one of the Council feared you may be hostile, I know now that you are not.”

  Maeve was about to respond when Kelia reached across the table and grasped her hand. “During the Sharing … I saw into your mind. I was overwhelmed by much of what I saw, but …” she trailed off, her face becoming sad. “I grieve for your loss, Maeve. Your presence here is a wondrous thing that I cannot even begin to understand, but I regret the circumstances that brought you to Elystra.”

  Maeve was taken aback by the show of tenderness. She suddenly thought of Richard, and of all her friends that hadn't been able to fulfill this mission with her. “Thank you, Kelia,” she said, her voice choked with unwanted sobs. “I–I saw things, too. Much of it was a blur, but what I remember clearly was beautiful. You lead a simple life, off the land, and the bonds you share with your family is as strong as ours. Thank you for letting me experience it.”

  Kelia bowed her head.

  In a typical Davin moment, he let out an obnoxious belch, causing Kelia to retract her hand and Maeve to look at him with a maternal glare.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Mom, if it's all right with you, I'd like to take another turn on the excavator. I meant to tell you when I came up last time, I think we're getting close to finding the energy source. I assu
me you'll be up for a while?”

  “Yeah, Dav, go ahead,” Maeve said. “How's your head?”

  “It's all right. It was spinning for a while, but now it doesn't even hurt anymore.”

  “What about this dream you said you had? Do you want to talk about it?”

  He thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Nah. It's already starting to fade, like most of my dreams.”

  “That's good. You got the coveralls?”

  “Uh huh. They're in the cab.” He pointed at the mouth of the cave.

  “Okay,” Maeve said. “Let us know if you find anything.”

  “I will.” He and Kelia exchanged nods, and then he walked away from them, disappearing into the cave. A minute later, the noise of the excavator resumed, but it wasn't as loud or raucous as before. If they were close to a breakthrough, Davin was likely only using one-half power to proceed.

  Kelia turned to face Maeve again. “The way you stopped Fex—-how did you know you could do that?”

  Maeve shrugged. “I don't know. I just knew. It worked last night with the wolf-creatures, so I thought it would work with your chava.”

  “Wolf-creatures?”

  “Yes. Huge, four-legged animals with gray fur, long fangs, pointy ears and yellow eyes. Not as big as Fex, but darn close.”

  Kelia's mouth fell open slightly. “Lyraxes.”

  “Is that what they're called?”

  “Yes. They generally live in mountainous regions, feasting on smaller animals. How many did you see?”

  Maeve recounted the events of the previous night, when the three lyraxes had her pinned and helpless yet spared her life. She also explained the mental bond she'd formed with the creature, as well as the mysterious disappearance of twenty years' worth of scars.

  Kelia was amazed. “You can heal? That is another Wielding ability. There are few in my tribe's history who possess this power. It is a rare and precious gift that is generally handed down from mother to daughter.”

  “That's what I don't understand. How did I just suddenly get these abilities? What I can do, what I've done, it's like … magic. Such things do not exist on my world, nor on any other world I've ever been to.”

  Kelia placed her palms in her lap and lowered her eyes. “Arantha chose you. Or God, as you call her. Of that I have no doubt. You were brought to Elystra for a reason.”

  Maeve tore her eyes away, and her voice began to quaver. “I came here to find a way to free my species from the Jegg.”

  “This is the race that enslaved your people?”

  “Yes.”

  Maeve once again met Kelia's confident brown eyes. “If that is your future, Major Maeve Cromack, then Arantha will see you through it. But I think the true reason you've come to our world is only beginning to emerge.”

  Without warning, the image of Richard's face forced itself into Maeve's mind, and she had to avert her gaze. It had been ten days since they escaped Earth; ten days since Richard and the rest of her friends died. She'd tried to put his death out of her mind. She had a mission to complete: come to Castelan VI, no, Elystra, find the energy source, and return with it. The chances of succeeding were infinitesimal, but she came anyway, out of duty and desperation.

  The enormity of it all crashed down on her like a tidal wave. All the death she'd seen and experienced over the last five years flooded over her at once. Her husband's handsome, beautiful face, the way his stubble scratched her when they kissed, the way his hand felt on the small of her back. She would never see him, never experience those things again. She was taught to be tough, to conquer emotion, to ignore pain. But this was too much to ask of anyone.

  Unable to dampen her roiling emotions, Maeve stood up and walked a few paces away. Her shoulders slumped as the weight of her situation pressed down on them. Her lungs heaved as they struggled to push air out.

  “Maeve?” came Kelia's concerned voice behind her. “I know this must be overwhelming to you –”

  “You don't understand!” Maeve cried. “I'm not trained for any of this! I'm not a savior! I'm just a soldier! A soldier and a mother! I keep telling Davin we can still win, we can somehow get home and beat the Jegg and free humanity, but …” Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she was powerless to hold them back. “I'm not even sure I believe it anymore. My husband was the brilliant one, not me. I was just trained to fight, to defend Earth, and I couldn't do that. They're all dead, and I couldn't save them. I couldn't …”

  Bitter tears spilled out of Maeve, and she felt her knees give way. She expected to hit the ground, but two strong hands held her up. Hands that twirled her around, and she found herself facing Kelia's beautiful, wise, regal face. A tear trickled down her cheek as well, and Maeve realized that through the Sharing, Kelia had experienced the same pain, the same loss.

  “Kelia …” Maeve sobbed.

  Kelia brought Maeve into a warm embrace, folding loving arms around her.

  Maeve returned the hug, placing her hands between Kelia's long brown tresses and her tunic, as she let it all pour out of her. All the grief she'd been holding in came out in an avalanche of tears.

  Had she been in a calmer state, she would have realized the peculiarity of her situation: here she was, standing on a dry riverbed on another world, a hundred years from home, sobbing onto the shoulder of an alien woman she'd only known for a few hours.

  No. Not an alien. A mother. A daughter. A leader.

  A friend.

  “I feel your pain, Maeve,” Kelia's soothing voice whispered in her ear. “But you can Wield. Heal yourself.”

  Kelia was right, Maeve realized: though her physical scars were healed, the scars she bore internally ran far deeper. The soldier part of her told her to persevere, but that part was giving way to the part that wanted to fall into a dreamless sleep and never wake up. To join her husband in death.

  She hadn't realized until that moment just how broken she was inside. She'd put on a brave face for Davin, creating a shell of false bravado and snarky humor, but it was all a lie. Two days ago, when he lost control, she'd wanted to lose control with him, but she couldn't. She didn't want him giving into the despair that haunted her sleep and plagued her waking mind.

  Maeve felt a surge of incredible warmth come from Kelia, cocooning her in invisible filaments of power. She gasped as the energy seeped into every pore, every molecule of her body.

  “Yes, Maeve,” Kelia whispered, tightening her hold. “Let it in. Embrace it.”

  Maeve closed her eyes, and her last stubborn defenses crumbled. She gave in to the wave of energy, letting it suffuse her, permeate her. It calmed her roiling thoughts, repaired the cracks in her heart. Whether this energy, this sense of peace, came from within her, or from Kelia, or Arantha, or God, or the Universe, Maeve didn't care.

  I am human. I am Terran. I am a wife, a mother, a pilot, a warrior, a resistance fighter, a survivor. I have survived. I will survive. I will not give in to despair ever again.

  With every beat of her heart, Maeve's sobs faded away and her breathing returned to normal. Finally composed, she withdrew her arms and took a step back.

  Sniffling, Maeve wiped the remnants of her tears with her hand. Regarding Kelia, she said shakily, “Kelia … I don't know what to say.”

  Kelia bowed her head. “When I set out from my village to find you, I had no idea what you would be like. You are, after all, from the Above.”

  Maeve sniffed again. “Based on what little we knew of your world, I thought you would all be, well, savages.” She gave a sad smile. “Not the first mistake I've made.”

  Kelia smiled as well, putting a comforting hand on Maeve's shoulder. “I guess we both farked up, then.”

  Maeve felt a peal of laughter coming, and she couldn't stop it even if she wanted to. She laughed like she hadn't laughed in … well, maybe ever. Kelia joined in. Together, their laughter echoed off the walls of the basin, drowning out even the noise of the excavator.

  Their laughter had barely died down when the excavato
r's motor abruptly shut off. Only the faint hum given off by the floodlights provided audible noise. Within moments, however, the sound of Davin's rapid footsteps echoed up to the surface.

  Hearing the urgency in his footfalls, Maeve strode in that direction, with Kelia right behind her.

  Davin burst from the opening and ran over to them. His face was flushed, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. “Mom!” he panted, bending over to catch his breath.

  “What is it, Dav?”

  Davin took a few deep breaths, then straightened again. “The energy source—-I think I found it.”

  Maeve looked over at Kelia, whose face remained impassive. “Show me,” Maeve said.

  Davin led the women down the gently sloping tunnel at a brisk pace, anticipation building within Maeve. Finally, the ground leveled out and the excavator came into view. Beyond that, where the lights fastened to the tunnel walls began to dim, something else was providing illumination, bathing this part of the tunnel in a distinctly yellowish hue.

  Maeve watched as Kelia sidestepped the excavator, eying it warily as if it was a sleeping beast. A few paces later, they both laid eyes on what Davin had found.

  Embedded in the rock wall, about four feet off the ground, was a chunk of mineral unlike any Maeve had ever seen. It was incongruous with the rock that surrounded it, the rock that had presumably been its home for untold millennia. Though its surface was opaque, it looked almost crystalline in nature. Threads of yellow light danced upon its surface, back and forth, like small fish swimming in a tiny pond. The sudden rush of blood in her own ears made Maeve wonder if it was alive, and had actually registered their presence.

  Kelia fell to her knees, crossing her arms over her chest and bowing her head in reverence. Maeve and Davin tore their eyes away from the stone to watch Kelia as she began to chant under her breath. “I bask in your divine presence, O Arantha, for I am your humble servant.” She repeated this phrase again, and then again.

  Maeve turned her attention back to the Stone, wondering if Kelia's litany would provoke a response. None came. It continued to pulsate as it did its luminous dance.