by Lara Morgan
‘Shaan,’ he hugged her and sat beside her, ‘How are you?’
Unexpected tears of relief welled in her eyes. She’d been worried about him and she blinked them back before he could see. ‘I’m all right. What did you find?’
Alterin hesitated, her eyes darting beyond her toward the village. ‘Many things. Last night, when he made you search for the Stone, did you nearly draw it out?’
Shaan hesitated to answer. ‘Yes . . . I felt it.’
She nodded. ‘It’s very powerful this Stone, but I think there are some who can help us if we can reach them.’
‘Some?’
Alterin paused and stared ahead at the swiftly flowing river. ‘I went to the lost city,’ she said. ‘It is a place of many memories. Have you heard of the Four Lost Gods?’
‘Yes,’ Shaan said. ‘They are revered in Salmut as our saviours, but they lost their own lives in the process of saving ours.’
‘Almost,’ Alterin said. ‘It is not so easy to kill a god; they are not dead.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘At the beginning of our world there were five gods. Azoth is the youngest; he had also two brothers and two sisters – The Four. And each of them had a part of the Birthstone, their own part.’
‘Azoth stole the others’ stones,’ Shaan guessed.
‘Yes and that diminished the others. He reformed all the parts into one and hid the Stone from them. He became very powerful. Without the power of their stones, the others faded. Azoth used the Stone to meld humans with serpents, creating the Alhanti and turning all other humans into his slaves. It was only through the bravery of the Mother slave, Amora, and her resurrection of the Four, that we were saved.’
‘What happened to the Stone?’ Jared said.
‘Azoth managed to hide it. When they banished him and destroyed the city, the Stone disappeared with him. Losing the Stone stole the Four’s powers. But they were not destroyed, they only became diminished. They lost the certainty of who they were when the Stone was taken from them. They know they are not mortal, but they cannot entirely remember what their purpose is.’
‘That’s not what our histories say,’ Shaan said. ‘We are told the Four died. How did you find this out?’
‘I . . . feel things when I visit the city,’ Alterin said slowly. ‘What happened there was so strong – so painful – it is embedded in the air, in the stones. The world is changed, but in that place much lingers in the space between.’
‘So then where are they?’ Shaan said. ‘How do we find them?’
‘I don’t know,’ Alterin said tersely. ‘I am hoping that Azoth’s return may help to wake them, help us to find them.
She hoped? Shaan shook her head. ‘That’s a lot to hope for. And what of why he needs me to find the Stone?’
Alterin looked pained. ‘Yes. I looked into the Place Between and saw what he did. Before he was banished he joined the soul of his yet unborn child to the Stone so that they would be forever tied.’
‘His unborn child?’ Shaan echoed. ‘How?’
Alterin bit her lip. ‘He forced the foetus – while it was still in its mother’s womb – to touch the Stone.’
Shaan felt ill. She didn’t want to imagine how he had done that. ‘And that has joined us, his descendants, to it?’ she said.
‘Yes. To touch the Stone of making is to be bound to it – such is its power. Truthfully, I think the mother only survived because she was carrying the child of a god.’ Alterin placed a hand on her arm. ‘You have been reaching the Stone, haven’t you?’
Shaan nodded, her insides contracting. ‘But there must have been other descendants before me. Why am I the one, did you find that out?’
‘No, I’m sorry.’ Alterin shook her head. ‘Perhaps thousands of years were needed for him to break free of his prison and it is just coincidence that he is here in your lifetime.’ She eyed her. ‘But I do not think that is so. Twins are a powerful omen.’
‘But Azoth doesn’t know about Tallis.’
‘Not yet.’ Alterin glanced at Jared. ‘And he doesn’t seem drawn to the Stone as you are. But there are other powers in the world. Older than the Five, older than the mountains. They dwell in the sands of the dead lands where you were born and where Tallis grew to manhood. Perhaps they have chosen to interfere.’
‘The Guides?’ Jared said.
‘Yes,’ Alterin answered. ‘Perhaps they seek to balance what Azoth seeks to destroy. There must always be a balance. Night and day, light and shadow.’
‘Evil and good,’ Shaan said, her stomach turning. ‘Do you mean Tallis is the good because he may have the power to stand against Azoth, and I am the evil because I can find that which will make him stronger?’
‘Or you were born to bring him out so your brother could defeat him. Nothing is certain,’ Alterin said. ‘But I have hope. Last night I experienced a vivid Void dream. I was in a vast sea on a wooden boat and below me, on the bottom of the great water, I saw four fish swimming; but as I looked I saw that it was not the bottom of the great water, but a land near there. A land of green grass and high mountains, and the Four were not fish, but beings walking together, marching toward a huge village,’ she paused. ‘I think the First will wake and begin to search for their brother.’
Shaan sat very still. ‘How do we know they will not be the same as Azoth?’ she said. ‘What if they want the Stone for themselves?’
‘We don’t know. But it was the Four who sent him into the abyss and destroyed the Alhanti. They must be able to help us.’
‘What are their names?’ Jared said.
‘Epherin, Paretim, Fortuse and Vail,’ Shaan’s skin prickled as she spoke them. Four more gods wandering the earth.
Like Azoth, their powers must be tied to the Birthstone. But what would they do if they had hold of it? What would happen if gods that had been nothing more than myth, were suddenly again whole in the world? And how would she find them?
‘Come.’ Alterin got to her feet. ‘I must gather some food for the journey.’
Shaan stared up at her. ‘What?’
‘Alterin thinks she should go alone to find them,’ Jared said, standing and casting the small woman a dark look. ‘She will not listen to reason.’
Shaan got to her feet. ‘No, you can’t. Azoth will kill you if he finds out. You’re needed here Alterin.’ And too many people have already died because of me, she thought. ‘I’ll go alone. I can get back to Salmut and find protection there.’
‘It’s a long way to the great salt water,’ Alterin said. ‘And how will you escape? Your blood sings to him, he will find you.’
Jared said darkly, ‘Neither of you should contemplate going on your own. Shaan, I cannot let the sister of my earth brother face danger on her own. I will go with you and Alterin, you will stay here.’
‘You do not know the way,’ Alterin protested. ‘You will get lost. You will starve.’
Jared gave a laugh. ‘Starve? Woman, there is more food and water in these wetlands than I could find in a month in the desert! And I will not get lost.’
Alterin glared at him and was about to speak, but Shaan put a hand on her arm. ‘Please.’ Shaan stared from her to Jared. ‘I cannot let either of you put yourself in danger for me.’
‘We are already in danger,’ Alterin said. ‘The Fallen is here, if he regains his full strength, who will save us? No,’ she shook her head and gave them both a hard look. ‘I must go and on my own. I will leave tomorrow. It is decided.’ She stepped back. ‘And now I must go to Anyu, we have an audience with the Fallen at sunset.’ And with another look at them both she left, heading back to the village, leaving Jared staring after her with a look of intense frustration on his face.
‘She is worse than my sister!’ he said, blowing out a long breath and rubbing a hand across his eyes.
Shaan met his look, but was at a loss at what to say. She couldn’t agree with Alterin, but she did not want Jared to go either. Neither one should be putting themselves in danger for h
er. Not anymore. Jared shook his head and paced down to the edge of the water, staring out across the rippling brown surface. The afternoon sun was hot and insects danced in clouds like motes of light across the water.
Silence settled between them and Shaan stared unseeing at Jared’s broad back as she thought about what to do. She was almost certain Azoth was not as aware of her as he claimed, despite what Alterin had said. Something told her that, unlike the bond she shared with Tallis, Azoth’s awareness of her did not stretch to discerning her exact location, no matter what he might say. He hadn’t been able to find her in Salmut as easily as Tallis had. He’d had to resort to using nightmares, driving her to Morfessa’s home to seek help.
He wasn’t as strong as he thought he was. He might feel her in his being, as he claimed, but tracking her down was another thing. At least she hoped it would be, and if that were the case there was a chance she could make it – but it had to be on her own. With her thoughts thick with possibility, she wandered down to stand next to Jared, looking at the river. The water had risen higher with all the rain and small logs bobbed along in the current.
‘There is so much water here,’ Jared said quietly, glancing at her. ‘In the desert, rain is a myth, a story, it is so rarely seen, but here . . . it’s as common as sand.’ With a wry smile he shook his head.
‘Where do you get water to drink if you don’t have rain?’ Shaan said.
‘We have springs deep in the caves, water that comes up from the earth. Most of it’s hot, but there is some that is cold and clear and sweet.’
Shaan thought about that; water that came up hot from the ground. What had their lives been like, living in a place where the heat was so dry that you did not sweat at all? It could have been my life, she thought, and was filled with a sudden savage burst of anger at what had been taken away from her: her family, her home.
‘I’m sorry you cannot go back,’ she said and Jared turned to her, his handsome face dark and serious.
‘And I am sorry, little sand sister, that you have not seen it. You would have hunted well.’ He held her gaze until something caught in Shaan’s throat and she had to look away. ‘I have to go back to the village,’ he said and softness came into his voice. ‘I have a woman’s mind to change.’ He kissed the top of her head. ‘I will see you in the morning, sand sister,’ he said and, turning, went back to the village.
No, you won’t, Shaan thought and had to wrap her arms around herself to contain the ache inside. Be safe, she sent to him as she listened to the tread of his footsteps fade. Knowing Azoth would be busy with Anyu and Alterin, Shaan waited until sunset to execute her plan. Azoth had been keeping less of a close eye on her of late and he thought little of her wandering down to the river before the evening meal. She had taken to doing it often, returning as darkness fell and tonight would be no different – except she would not be coming back.
As Alterin and Anyu ascended the ladder to the hut, she was already walking across the soft grass to the river. Her heart beating hard and fast, she wandered casually through a patch of small, scratchy palms and out onto a vaguely defined track, out of the sight of the tree hut. Only when she was sure she could not be seen, did she start to pick up her pace, following the track as it wound along the banks of the river, the brown water obscured by trees and tangled creepers.
A short way along, she stopped and pulled out the small pack of food and water flask she’d hidden in the tree. It wasn’t much, but she’d also managed to steal a change of clothes from Alterin’s hut. Pulling off her ruined dress, she quickly changed into the short, simple tunic. Made from a soft brown fabric, it was sleeveless and fell to mid-thigh with a strip of leather serving as a waist tie. Fastening it tightly, she felt a momentary twinge of guilt at stealing it, but reasoned it was better Alterin lost her clothes than her life. Shoving the remains of her dress under some plants, she continued along the path.
It led quickly into thicker jungle. The air was hot and thick and hard to breathe and had trees like none Shaan had ever seen. Some of the trunks were as wide as Jared was tall, and their long twisted roots forked out from the base above the ground, before disappearing into the dark wet earth. In between them grew slender, pale saplings and twisting creepers that snaked across the ground thick with decaying leaves. Around her the jungle rustled with unseen life and the light was filtered and dim. Sweat stuck her tunic to her back and made her face itch, and minute insects buzzed incessantly around any exposed skin.
Every sound made her flinch, and she expected at any moment to feel Azoth’s hand on her arm, his deep voice in her ear. But all was quiet and she tried to concentrate on keeping him out of her mind. All she had to do was just move forward.
After a while it began to rain. The ground became muddy and she was forced to take off her sandals, flinging them as far as she could into the jungle. It was easier to walk without them. It was almost dark when the sound of heavy flapping wings passed overhead. For a moment Shaan froze, then slid under a bushy palm, pressing down in the mud, and barely breathing. Would the serpent be able to scry her out with his mind? Her lips pressed thin as she waited and she tried to keep a tight wrap on her mind. But if it was Nuathin, the serpent didn’t find her. The flapping faded and after a while she forced herself back out onto the track and kept on walking.
Shaan was hollow with anxiety. It kept raining and what light there was was replaced by shadow as the sun went down. She kept moving, stumbling in the dark, feeling her way. She was sure she was headed in the right direction; if she could just keep heading west, she thought, she could find her way home.
The track headed back toward the river and, exhausted, Shaan followed it, emerging from the trees with an intense shot of relief as she looked up and could once again see sky. Even though it was thick with darkening grey clouds, it was enough to ease the sense of suffocation.
The riverbank was higher above the water than it had been near the village. Essentially a muddy incline, the bank was held together by tree roots and rose steeply up from the swift flowing currents to form a narrow ledge, edged by jungle. She stumbled along it until it began to rain. Heavy fat drops fell from the sky soaking her and making the muddy bank too treacherous to navigate in the dark. Giving up she felt her way to an enormous leafed palm and with some effort wove several leaves together to form a shelter. Huddling underneath, she chewed on some slivers of dried fish and stared out at the water that fell without pause from the sky. It was very dark, and she sat silent and afraid, staring at the dark river moving like a restless animal below.
It was a long uncomfortable night and she barely slept. Every shuffle of leaf, every sound, made her tense. The blackness of the jungle night was so complete she could barely see her hand in front of her face, and the roots dug into her back as she tried to find a comfortable position. A keen sense of utter loneliness filled her and she clung to thoughts of home, of the ocean, of hot skies. She fell asleep and her dreams shifted and broke over her like a wave. Balkis was running, Tuon screaming and Azoth, his violet eyes beckoning, was chasing her, forever chasing, his hand outstretched and under it all ran a constant, cold whisper.
She woke in the grey light of dawn to the screeching cries of a pack of small monkeys, bouncing in the treetops near the river. It had stopped raining. Her neck ached, she was damp, and her legs were black with mud. After relieving herself she chewed on a chunk of sapodilla root then moved back into the jungle.
The track petered out a few hours after sunrise, and she struggled to clear a path to follow along the river. It was slow going. She would have given anything for a knife to cut at the thick plants, and the cloud cover from the day before had blown away, the hot sun beat down, creating a suffocating, steaming atmosphere beneath the canopy. Silent and slick with sweat, Shaan could not stop wondering if Alterin and Jared were all right. Had Azoth harmed them? He would be furious when he discovered her gone.
All the day she walked, stopping only to rest for a moment in the afternoon, taking
sips from the leather water containers. Late in the afternoon she came to a place where the river split into two, diverging across her path. An old hanging bridge had been built to cross the wide torrents and it creaked under her weight as she shuffled across. The water swirled away around a corner heading deeper into the jungle.
For a reason she couldn’t fathom, Shaan’s nervousness doubled in that place and she didn’t want to spend the night anywhere near it; but the sun was dropping fast and she was forced to make camp less than a mile from it. As night fell, the jungle went quiet. There were not even any of the small stinging insects bothering her. She tried to rest, laying on a bed of leaves, her eyes staring into the dark. But in the middle of the night she shot upright, her heart pounding, staring into the darkness.
Did you think you could hide from me my love? Azoth’s voice caressed her mind.
Shaking, she rose to her knees as she heard a whumping, flapping sound come from above. The sky was clear and the thin moonlight that dappled the ground shadowed as something huge sailed above the treetops.
‘He’s here,’ Shaan whispered to herself. Her fingers grew cold as all the blood shrank from her limbs.
Run! She stood for a moment, shocked, then slipped into the thick shadows of the trees, pushing blindly through the undergrowth. It was black and damp and anger made her grunt as she pushed forward. She should throw herself into the river, drown herself. But she kept moving, keeping as quiet as she could, straining to hear what was happening behind her.
She couldn’t hear anything but her own harsh breathing, and the sound of the damp foliage slapping at her thighs. Then a high shriek sounded and she stopped, her heart in her throat. Was that Nuathin? Choking back a sob, she kept pushing through the thick plant growth. And then suddenly she thought: Azoth wasn’t stupid, of course he would think she would be following the river!
She was an idiot. She had to get away from such an obvious trail. But if she went into the jungle she would be lost. Could she hide in the water? Not stopping to think, she veered right and pushed through to the bank. It was still high above the water here and she hesitated. The current was very swift, the cloudless night sheeted moonlight across the water. If she kept to the bank though, she would still be in shadow. Looking back upriver she could see no sign of Nuathin or Azoth.