Overture

by K R Schultz

  Aibhera’s reaction to their treatment was poles apart from Kyonna’s response. Kyonna acted out, while Aibhera became a model of propriety and purity. Kyonna, impetuous and flirtatious, provoked, and alienated Abalon’s elders, while Aibhera, careful and demure, attempted to boost the family’s honor. Aibhera’s organizational skills won her a low-level job in the library and saved her from sharing her mother’s banishment to the fields.

  Riessa never complained. She adapted and made the most of her life and her lack of status. Riessa often told her daughters that living without the weight of expectations that burdened upper-class women had its benefits. She could do as she pleased, while those women must keep up appearances.

  Despite their differences, both girls had their mother’s strong will and determination to succeed and rise above adversity. Aibhera felt the burden most keenly since she bore that load for the entire family. Young men circled Kyonna like bees around flowers while Aibhera had few close friends, and none of them were male. The lone exception to this rule was Simea, Master Eideron’s apprentice.

  “Simea is my friend too,” Kyonna protested, reluctant to accept Aibhera’s refusal.

  “Master Eideron invited Sim and me, not you. I doubt if Eideron even knows you exist.” Aibhera cocked her head and held out her hands to her sister. “I’m sure he didn’t know I existed either until Simea mentioned me to him this morning.” She pursed her lips and looked past Kyonna. “Besides, I’m not even sure I want to go. According to Simea, Eideron is more than a little scary.”

  “Nonsense, Aibby, he looks like a nice man. If I meet him, I can show him how wonderful I am.”

  Kyonna produced her most delightful grin, made even more charming by the flash of her violet eyes. Her smile, despite her slightly crooked teeth, enhanced rather than detracted from her charisma. Her grin was like a secret sunrise. With a coy tilt of her head, she curtsied, her black ringlets framing her attractive face and blazing eyes. Kyonna waited for her sister’s reply.

  Aibhera pondered an appropriate response. Could I trust her not to cause a stir if she joined us? I suppose Ky’s ability to adapt makes her such a great Windrider. It takes guts and quick reflexes to ride the thermals back-and-forth across the valley. Ky would be grubbing in the dirt, beside our mother, if not for her exceptional ability with the gliders. No. Ky is pure trouble; if she weren’t so attractive and charming, someone would have throttled her long ago. There are days when I want to choke Ky myself…today, for example.

  “Eideron is not one of your love-crazed beaus, Ky. Eideron’s an old man and a Synod Councilor, for heaven’s sake. I doubt that your flirting will turn his head. Besides, someone must stay and help Ma with the young ones when they get back from the crèche.”

  “But if he could just see me.” Ky turned her head to hide the tears welling in her eyes.

  She’s withholding the real reason she wants to join us, but Ky is too impulsive to attend this meeting. Liable to say or do something that causes more problems for us. It is dangerous for our family members to attract the ruling elite’s attention. While Kyonna escapes notice, she lives without interference.

  Once the Synod scrutinizes anyone’s life, hell breaks loose. After our father died, our mother lost her position because of the council’s animosity. I often wonder what made them hate us so much. Kyonna mustn’t jeopardize her status as a Windrider. Losing that job would destroy her.

  Tired of Kyonna’s protests, Aibhera said, “Enough! Eideron did not invite you. It would be impolite to arrive without an invitation, and that’s final! I don’t understand why you are interested in this meeting. Why do you want to come anyway?”

  Aibhera scowled at her sister, who pouted back at her. Despite her words, Aibhera thought she understood Ky’s wish to join them. It’s not every day someone from our family gets an invitation to the house of a notable person like Master Eideron. In fact, it’s not every day that someone from the Liara family gets invited anywhere nowadays.

  “I don’t know, Aibby.” Kyonna seemed to soften her stance on the issue. “I want to come with you because it will involve politics, and you may need protection.”

  “You never wanted political involvement. Why the sudden interest in politics?”

  Kyonna said, “Because politics has never involved a member of my family.”

  “That’s not true.” Aibhera glared at Kyonna. “Politics affect our family every day of our lives.

  “Before father died, we held a much higher place in Sokai society. Mother was the head archivist, but after he passed, our status changed.” Aibhera stopped long enough to draw a breath. “Have you forgotten how the Synod stripped Mother of her position and forced us to live down here with the field hands? Our mother, the smartest woman in this valley—no longer fit to research materials and catalog records.” Tears welled up in Aibhera’s eyes. “Now she breaks her back, grubbing in the dirt, planting, and harvesting. It’s drudge work, but it’s the only job they allow. How can you say politics never affected us till now?”

  “Have I forgotten? What a stupid question. I miss tending our little sisters. According to the mothers who leave their children at the crèche, we aren’t pure enough to care for the kids. According to them, we might pollute their little darlings by our mere presence. They sent our sisters there because Lissa and Lara’s attendance mitigates the damage from our immoral influence. Have I forgotten? Please!” Kyonna poked her sister in the chest. “How could I forget when the stench of the manure from the fields outside makes me gag?” She raised her voice. “How could I forget when Mother returns home every night, her hands cracked and bleeding and stinking of it?” Kyonna scoffed, pushed Aibhera aside, and stomped out, leaving Aibhera to her pacing.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Upward

  At seventeen, Aibhera had ample freedom from her parents’ control, but her thoughts tumbled over one another while she prepared to leave. Simea should arrive any moment to escort me to Eideron’s quarters, high up the west wall of the valley. I hope he comes before my parents get home, so I won’t have to explain my absence to Mother. I can leave the explanation to Kyonna, once she stops sulking.

  This invitation to the upper levels should have me soaring like a Windrider. Ky once flew me across the valley on one of the freight gliders. It left me breathless, free of the problems that face us in the jumble of fields and homes on the crater floor. But all I can think of is, what are we going to tell Eideron, and what will he think of me?

  Simea called out to her from their front door and interrupted her contemplation.

  “Aibby! Hurry. We must leave. It’s a long climb to Master Eideron’s home, and I still must prepare the meal.”

  Aibby rearranged her dark ringlets one last time in the small mirror by the door of their quarters. She straightened up, threw back her shoulders, and glanced at her reflection before she answered him. “I’m coming!” Aibhera hurried to the door where Simea waited. “Sim, I hope we’re not making a mistake. Maybe you shouldn’t have mentioned our dreams to him.”

  Simea quivered with nervous energy, bouncing on his toes as if he were about to take flight, “I had to tell him. I can’t deal with these nightmares any longer. I’m so tired that I can hardly think.”

  Aibhera nodded. “I suppose so,” she said. “If nothing else, I hope we can get a good night’s sleep once we turn this problem over to your master.”

  “I hope so too. We don’t want to keep Eideron waiting for his dinner.” They walked side by side as they started the long climb to the upper levels.

  Aibhera grinned and nudged Simea. “I can help you with the meal prep, and I’ll break less of his crockery.”

  “I’ll never tell you anything again!” Simea protested. When stressed, his voice squeaked and quavered since puberty played tricks with his vocal cords. “I’m nervous around him.”

  Aibhera said, “I fear I won’t know how to act around him either. You are with him every day. Why haven’t you gotten used to Eideron?”r />
  Simea looked at the ground, his shoulders sagged, and his voice caught. “I sometimes think Eideron makes me uncomfortable on purpose. It’s like he’s trying to make me quit.”

  “Now why would anyone want to rid themselves of the smartest, handsomest young man in the entire valley?” She batted her eyelashes at him and tilted her head in a parody of her younger sister’s mannerisms.

  “You do that well,” Simea gave her a playful shove. “But you’ll never match Ky.”

  “I wouldn’t want to. I love Ky to death, but sometimes she is just so—”

  “So Kyonna,” Simea finished her sentence. “There are no adequate words, and I love her too. I wish she didn’t flounce about the way she does. She behaves so vulgarly.” He looked down and kicked a pebble with the toe of his shoe.

  “That’s the look she aims for.” Aibhera put her hand on her friend’s shoulder.

  Simea stopped walking and looked up at her touch. “But why does Ky act up? Is she determined to prove herself every bit the hoyden that people think she is? I hear so many awful stories about her. I’ve begun to wonder if they are true. That’s not her true nature, is it?”

  “No, it’s not. Don’t be silly; I’ve heard the lies and the gossip too. I’m her sister, and I know they aren’t true. Ky has a big, tender heart. She’s so strong, and she sees deeper into people’s hearts than anyone in Abalon. It’s her way of fighting back. Ky doesn’t want them to see how deeply people’s disapproval of our family hurts her.”

  The conversation fell away as the exertion of the climb up the stairs and ramps to the upper levels claimed their breath. They could have taken the elevators, but the Synod frowned on lower-class people using them. Instead of the exquisite view of Abalon from the lifts, the bustle of life on the streets surrounded them. As they climbed higher, the traffic on the ramps and stairs decreased, and the aroma of cooking meals mingled with the perfume of flowers that grew outside the homes.

  Simea occasionally stopped for Aibhera to catch her breath and enjoy the view of the gigantic caldera they called home. A spring-fed lake in the crater’s center, Lake Seletan, provided their drinking water. It glimmered like a blue-gray jewel in the fading light. The small island in the lake’s center, preserved as a nature park, appeared like a dark spot on the lake’s luminous oval. The trees and plants that grew on the island had once covered the entire floor of the caldera. Those plants were the last remnants of the crater’s original vegetation. Over the centuries of occupation, the Sokai transformed the rest of the caldera into gardens and fields to supply food for their growing population.

  Gigantic hydraulic elevators lifted the crops from the valley floor to the storage caverns and storehouses carved into and out of the cliff faces. When the Sokai had first arrived in Abalon, they converted barren caves that had pockmarked the cliff faces into homes and storehouses, leaving the fertile valley floor free for food production. Over the centuries, the Sokai excavated more living quarters in the basalt walls of the caldera to accommodate their increasing numbers. In recent years, the council converted some of the lower dwellings into terraced areas, which created more land for crops.

  Aibhera’s family lived among the terraces at the base of the slope, displaying the Liara family’s lowest-of-the-low social status. Simea’s family lived only one level above, yet the Synod chose him to train as Master Eideron’s apprentice. Many people thought Simea’s selection was a concession to the lower classes, a sop for the ordinary folk, to convince them that their sons or daughters could gain higher status someday. Aibhera knew it was because her friend was brilliant and spiritually sensitive. Simea’s abilities alone won him his position. He had scored top marks in the tests for prospective apprentices.

  Aibhera and Simea had been friends since birth. Simea’s mother and father remained friends with Riessa and stood by her when she took Leoned as a lover and gave birth to twin girls before they married. Despite social pressure to disown Riessa, Simea’s parents remained loyal friends until his father died, and it cost them their social status. No barriers stood between her and Simea, and Aibhera was confident they would be friends for life.

  Simea and Aibhera had borne the burden of their dreams for months now. Tonight, they carried them to Eideron’s house to unload their weight on Simea’s master. In their minds, once they told Master Eideron, he and the Synod would take the proper action, and once they shared their story, their lives would return to normal. At least that was their hope.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Choices

  As Rehaak pondered his options and waited for Dreynar’s reply to his question, they drew near the outskirts of Dun Dale. Has the Creator sent Dreynar to end Laakea and Isil’s foolhardy commitment to me? If I join Drey, I may complete my search for the Aetheriad without risk to Isil and Laakea. Dreynar presents a fresh alternative, but if he is Narragan bound, it means trouble for me.

  Dreynar interrupted Rehaak’s thoughts. He smiled and said, “In answer to your question, I am headed to Aeron Suul to meet my master, who voyages to Baradon on business. Once I have overseen his interests in this region, I shall journey southward along the coast to the port. I shall miss my scheduled appointment with my master because of my encounter with brigands on the road here. Though it is late in the season, I will seek passage to Baradon on another vessel and meet him there later. I sense your reluctance. This is no doubt a difficult decision for you. Perhaps you have friends you are reluctant to abandon.”

  “No, I have no attachments here,” Rehaak lied for the third time since he met Drey. He calculated the risks and benefits of joining Dreynar. Laakea has sworn a Sword Oath, and he will protect me even at the cost of his own life. He risked his life when he fought five brigands to rescue me and nearly died when he forged his ehlbringa weapons. My continued presence in Isil’s and Laakea’s lives makes them a target for the assassins dogging my path.

  Laakea is young, and his death is more than my conscience can bear. No one knows the time frame of the Nethera attack. Both Isil and Laakea might live long, productive lives before the Nethera threat becomes a reality. If they follow me, their lives might end swiftly and brutally, but if I disappear, I free them from the quest. They can have safe, anonymous lives without me. But can I trust this man? I suppose time will reveal the answer to that question.

  Rehaak offered his hand to Dreynar. “That sounds excellent. I accept your offer of companionship.” Rehaak pretended confidence, but doubts still lingered about Drey and his mysterious master. I can always disappear later if I discover I can’t trust Drey. Rehaak discounted his pangs of conscience for deserting his friends and masked his uneasiness with jokes and banter until he and Drey reached the village.

  Once they reached Dun Dale, the pair separated, and Rehaak went to visit the village’s tannery. He planned to buy the leather Laakea asked for and send it back to the boy by messenger. The tanner and his wife had left to visit their premises in New Hope, leaving their daughter Ebrill to watch over the business.

  Local gossip mentioned that the girl had fallen into a tanning vat as a child. But when he met Ebrill, the stories about her strange appearance proved true. Despite her childhood mishap, Ebrill was still a strikingly beautiful young woman. The caustic liquid had burned away the webbing of her hands and changed her skin color to an odd shade of greenish-orange. Her eyes, lighter in color than most Abrhaani, were almost amber instead of the black or dark brown of typical Abrhaani eyes. Her eyes so fascinated Rehaak he almost forgot why he was visiting the business.

  When he recovered his wits, he asked, “Do you have any leather straps precut. They would need to be at least two thumbs wide and an arms-length long.”

  “How many would you need?”

  “A half dozen should suffice.”

  “I don’t have any that width, but if you wait, I can have them ready by this afternoon.”

  “I suppose that will do. Shall I pay you now or when I return? How much will they cost?” Rehaak forced himself to loo
k away from her amber eyes. “I’m sorry for staring, but your eyes—are unusual—and quite lovely.”

  Ebrill blushed and turned away. “You are Rehaak, the healer, are you not?”

  “Yes. That is what people hereabouts call me.”

  “Pay me when you return, if my work is acceptable.”

  Rehaak stood a while and watched Ebrill at work, then wandered the streets alone until he reached the log structure of the Dancing Dog Inn, where he ordered a pint of beer and a meal. Aert, the innkeeper at the bar, and his wife, at work in the kitchen, were the only people present except for two patrons seated near the door. Rehaak always picked a table in the dark corner far from the entrance, which allowed him to stay inconspicuous but observant when in town.

  A fragrant blend of beer, spices, and wood smoke hung in the air. Aert returned moments later, placed a mug of brew, and a bowl of spiced roasted vegetables in a thick sauce, on the table’s rough planks. While Rehaak enjoyed his meal and his beer, the inn’s door swung open. Sunlight streamed into the dining hall and illuminated the dust motes floating in the air beneath the timbered ceiling beams. Rehaak mulled over his encounter with the young woman at the tannery while he sipped his ale.

  Four men filed into the room and settled onto the benches around a table opposite Rehaak. Each of them wore cloaks and hoods, despite the midday heat. A sinister aura surrounded the fellows across the room. Rehaak fidgeted and became uneasy as the men ordered food and drink. He shrank into the shadows, away from the window and door. In hindsight, I wish I had picked a spot nearer the door, so I might slip unnoticed from the inn, but that ship sailed and left me stranded on the shore.