by K R Schultz
Aibhera sat alone in the dark beside the embers of the dying fire. Guilt etched and burned her soul like acid and left the bitter taste of bile in her mouth. The moon and stars, Aibhera’s only companions, seemed farther away than usual. I’m so arrogant and naïve, the Nethera deceived me. I’ll never be free of the stain on my soul. I killed Eideron as surely as if I sucked the life from him myself. Perhaps Simea is dead too. How can I go on?
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Return
I have been so stupid—spent my entire life doing the right thing. I was the dutiful daughter. Kyonna is the rebel, but Kyonna wouldn’t—I took pride in my virtue, but today I discovered how shallow my integrity runs. I’m doomed to die alone in the darkness, and I deserve my fate. Aibhera, lost in recrimination and flushed with shame, wrapped herself in her bedroll, too exhausted to feed the fire.
After what seemed like moments of fitful slumber, she awoke to a hand on her shoulder and the sound of Simea’s voice. Surely wishful thinking. Aibhera bolted upright, momentarily blinded by the sun in her eyes, and stared at a silhouette formed against the bright sky. The broken black surface of the lava plain already shimmered with the sun’s heat, creating a gleaming ocean of wavering light. “Is…that you, Sim? Am I dreaming?”
Simea touched her again. “I’m as real as you are. Where’s Eideron?”
“You are real.’ Aibhera leaped to her feet and threw her arms around him. “I feared I would die alone out here. “Thank you, Shel’gharim. Thank you, Creator,” Aibhera wept into Simea’s shoulder in a tangled muddle of joy and sorrow. She soaked Simea’s shirt-front with the flood of grief she had held at bay all night.
Once her sobbing subsided, Simea pushed her away, holding her by the shoulders. “Where’s Eideron?”
Aibhera crumpled to the ground. She howled and moaned like she had at her father’s death long ago. “Simea… I… killed Eideron!” Simea towered over her. His shadow fell across her face as she looked up at him through her tears. “Please don’t hate me.”
Simea stiffened and said nothing for a moment. “How? What happened?”
“When you didn’t return, I got scared. I went into the Aether to look…and when I couldn't find you…I panicked and pulled Eideron up there with—” Aibhera’s voice broke.
Simea sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. “Eideron wasn’t strong enough.” The boy gouged a groove in the gravel with his heel.
“No. It’s worse than that.” Aibhera leaned forward, hid her face with her hands, and shook her head.
Simea pulled her toward him. “Aibby. It’s my fault—if I hadn’t gotten lost, you wouldn’t have taken Eideron into the Aether with you. I played the hero…tried to travel too far. I should have known…I’m such a useless failure.” He let go of Aibhera. Head hanging, he scuffed the gravel with his boot heel again. “I wanted to get supplies from Abalon, but once inside the Aether, I got distracted by the colors, the music, and the power flowing through me. Then I couldn’t find Abalon, and I couldn’t find my way back either. His voice broke, and tears ran down his cheek. “I’m stupid, arrogant, and weak, just like my mother says.”
Simea’s shoulders heaved as he drew breath between sobs while he told the rest of his story. “I saw the black barrier, and the darkness drew me toward it. Although I resisted, I couldn’t move. The evil beyond that wall paralyzed me with fear.” He sniffled, wiped his nose on his sleeve, and turned toward Aibhera. “If Shel’gharim hadn’t found me, I would have died frozen in fear, either burned to a cinder by the Aether or consumed by the evil that lurks in the darkness. Shel’gharim called it the Nether.”
“You saw it, but it got inside me.” I know what lives on the other side of that wall of darkness.” She wailed and hammered her thighs with her fists to emphasize her words and her guilt. “I threw Eideron into the darkness. I killed him!”
Simea’s jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. “You didn’t—”
She glared at Simea and raised her voice. “I did it! I was stupid, and because of my pride and stupidity, the darkness overpowered me. I tell you, I killed him!” Aibby pulled her legs into the fetal position, then dissolved into wracking sobs, her arms wrapped tight around her knees with her head resting on them.
Simea wept beside her until his grief subsided. He rose first and pulled Aibhera to her feet. “We can’t stay here. Let’s pack up our gear and move.” Neither of them spoke while they packed up Eideron’s things. As they broke camp, a folded parchment and a scroll tumbled out of his bedroll. The folded paper bore their names in Eideron’s flowing script. Shaking hands unfolded the letter, followed by fresh tears, which stained the paper while they read:
To Simea and Aibhera:
It is time for your Synod initiation. I feel a mixture of sorrow and pride for you. If you are reading this, it means I cannot carry out a ceremony, ancient before the Time of Sorrows. Our people practiced it before the Sundering when all the species of humankind lived together in peace. I had looked forward to this day, but now I shall never see you take your rightful place in the Synod.
Tradition requires that the master perform the ceremony with the apprentice in front of the entire Sokai Synod. Once complete, the Synod should welcome the initiates into their fellowship and honor the apprentices with a banquet. It is heartbreaking when one old man and two children are the only Sokai available for your solemn and sacred rite of passage. I regret we are incapable of so small a recognition for you. Even in this barren place, I had planned to complete the ceremony, minus the banquet in your honor. Since my stomach grumbles as I write this message, I confess I miss the feast more than the ritual.
You are the best and bravest of our species. Farewell. Be strong and courageous when you face adversity. Trust the Creator and trust each other. You have accomplished more in your short lives than I dreamed possible, and I am beyond proud of you.
I knew I would not survive this mission. I hope I ended well and with dignity. Think well of a feeble old man. I loved you both like I would my own children.
Use your abilities to protect yourselves and contact the Aethera if possible. Find the Aetheriad. I pray that you discover how to receive the Creator’s power to fight the Nethera, and I hope you find the scroll useful.
With pride,
Eideron
I have included the map of the route to Baradon. I hope it guides you better than I did.
Simea refolded the note, and a torrent of tears burst open the floodgates of their grief. “I can’t read anymore. We’ll read Eideron’s scroll, later, okay, Aibby?”
Aibhera’s sobs indicated her assent.
They packed up the rest of their gear and began another march across the bleak plain, picking their way across the ancient lava flow in the direction Eideron had chosen. They plodded forward, their eyes fixed on the ground at their feet itched and burned, parched as the dusty plain around them. Their canteens felt perilously light., but they had encountered none of the dangerous creatures of Sokai legend. Other than scrubby plants, they were the only life forms braving the stinging dust and blistering heat of the wasteland, but then an enormous shadow passed over them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Rescue
When the shadow of a large airborne object sped past them, Simea ducked and cowered in a crater behind a large rock, pulling Aibhera down with him. They had seen no wildlife other than insects since they entered the desert, so his first thoughts ran to the ancient stories of predatory creatures in the lava field.
Aibhera jumped up, waving and shouting, “It’s a Windrider, Sim. It’s one of the big freight gliders. We are saved. Hey! Down here, we’re down here!”
Simea pulled Aibby down behind the boulder again. “Are you insane? It might be a Synod scout. Remember Eideron’s warning. He said they would pursue and capture us if they figured out where we went.”
“That’s no Synod scout,” she said. “It’s Ky. Kyonna followed us. Don’t you recognize the style? The way she shifts her
body when she banks to maintain lift through the turn.”
The glider circled and swooped lower, and now Simea recognized the pilot. The wind blew through Kyonna’s hair, and a satisfied smile lit her face. Kyonna banked once more to lose airspeed before she turned for her final approach with the big supply-laden glider. She swooped low over them, pushed the control bar forward, and caused the craft to stall with her feet just inches from the ground.
“Ky always times that move just right in any wind condition. I’d wager she could land on a branch like a songbird.” Aibhera raced toward her sister’s landing spot. “Ky, I’m so glad you’re here.” Aibhera and Simea swarmed the younger girl and attempted to hug her while Kyonna removed her harness.
“Get off me. Let me get out of my gear before you properly and humbly thank me for rescuing your sorry tails. Where’s the old man? Won’t Eideron want to thank me too?” Simea and Aibhera’s faces fell at the mention of Eideron. “Something bad happened, am I right?”
“Eideron is dead,” Simea said. He had no strength left for tact or diplomacy.
Kyonna studied them both before she spoke. “I am sorry I never got to meet him,” Kyonna continued unloading the glider. “The wasteland appears too harsh for an old man, but your expressions tell me, there’s more to this story. We don’t have time to listen right now.” Kyonna embraced them once she was free of her harness.
“I brought supplies, but I didn’t know how long I had to stay aloft to find you, so I brought less than I wanted to carry. I saw a canyon farther west, and water gleamed at its bottom. If we make it there, water should be no problem, unless you want to turn back. Let me tell you, that’s not the best idea. I’d rather face the unknown than what waits for you in Abalon if you ever return.”
“I guess the Synod Council is upset,” Simea said.
“The council members are so far beyond upset…even enraged is too mild a word for it. But we need to get moving. So, my daring darlings, I suggest we grab as much as we can carry, then hustle our backsides into that canyon as fast as our feet can take us. The next glider will carry presents you won’t want. I’ll explain later.”
Kyonna unhooked packages from the glider, then turned and looked at Simea and her sister. “Did I forget to mention the time constraints? Why are you both standing still? Move it, people!” Her shout shook Aibhera and Simea out of their daze, and they helped unload the supplies Kyonna brought. “Come help me strip the glider down to its frame. If searchers spot the glider, they will figure out which way we went, and that’s a bad thing.” Kyonna disassembled the frame and stowed the pieces in crevices in the ancient lava flow, but stuffed the fabric of the wings into a sack. “We can use the cloth to shade us from the sun. I’m already sweating like a lava-raker.”
With the glider frame concealed, Kyonna loaded supplies into Eideron’s pack and slid the harness over her own shoulders. Once they hid everything they could not carry and did not need, they set a brisk pace toward the gorge.
“I hope Eideron’s map is right,” Simea said.
Kyonna chattered like a small bird while she led the way across the rubble field. “I wish we could have stayed longer and had a feast with all the extra food I brought. It’s a shame we had to leave so much behind.” Simea and Aibhera, too heartbroken to carry on a coherent conversation, stumbled along in her wake while Kyonna filled the silence with enough words for them all. “Without Eideron to help carry it—well—we’ve got enough to last for several more days anyway.” Aibhera and Simea too numb to care or listen, regardless of how comforting Kyonna might have believed her prattle was, cast an occasional look at each other.
Before long, Kyonna found a gully that looked like it might lead into the canyon, and grateful for the limited shade it offered, they descended into it. Exhaustion brought them to a halt in the ravine long before they reached the chasm Kyonna had seen from the air.
“We shouldn’t light a fire. Windriders might spot it.” Ky took off her pack and set it on the broken stone of the ravine’s floor. “Windriders rarely fly at night, but the full moon and the sky full of stars make night flying possible. Besides, there’s no spiderweb of big ugly cables to dodge out here in the wasteland like we have in Abalon.”
They made camp for the night using a tent made from the glider’s fabric in a vain attempt to stay warm. As they sat wrapped in blankets, shivering in the dark, Kyonna shared news of home. “Abalon is like an anthill someone kicked over. The Synod has everyone scurrying around looking for you, and Herron has incited the entire population of the valley against you. They arrested poor Councilor Himish. His wife Leela languishes in the widows’ barracks, but no one knows where they are holding Himish prisoner.
“They hauled our parents in for interrogation several times.” The only reason Mom and Leoned aren’t imprisoned with Himish is that they need Leoned’s expertise to keep the trams operating. Leoned refused to work if they detained him and Mom. He kept Simea’s mother out of prison with that threat too.” She nodded to Simea. “Our stepdad has a backbone of steel, and I’m so proud of him. They suspended me from duty, but I have friends in high places.” Kyonna grinned at the pun and punched the air with her fist.
“Spies watch our house day and night. Synod guards have turned Abalon upside down and inside out in their search for you, and Synod Council was desperate enough to send Windriders out over the wasteland after you. That was their mistake since Rais snuck me up to fly in his place.
“The council is terrified you’ll reveal our location to the Nethera. They’ve stopped denying the Dark Ones exist. Call it progress if you wish, but it’s propaganda to whip up more fear and exercise more control over our people. If you return, they will hang, draw, and quarter you, then feed you to the crows, but only after they have pissed on you, both figuratively and literally. It’s not my idea of a proper welcome home party. They won’t give me any medals either since I borrowed their best freight glider to hunt for you.”
Aibhera raised an eyebrow. “If they suspended you from duty, how did you wrangle the big glider to bring us those supplies?”
Kyonna giggled. “Like I said, I have friends in high places. Rais made it happen. He smuggled me into the hangar before work early this morning. Windriders hate to be told what to do, and we stick together. Aiyo, Loran, and a couple of others stashed the supplies ahead of time. My friend Boon,” she paused, searching for the word. “The dispatcher has always tried to catch her eye.” A broad grin displayed her amusement. “Let’s just say he was somewhat distracted while I loaded, strapped in, and launched Rais’s glider.” She threw off her blanket and rummaged through a bundle. “Let’s get some of this food into our bellies. Is it always this cold at night?”
“No. Sometimes it’s even colder, but then we’ve built a fire.” Simea put a hand on the rock behind them. “Thankfully, the ravine’s walls are still warm. If we huddle together against them, we should be fine.”
Kyonna winked at her sister. “Cuddling, just the thing for a chilly night.”
Simea glared at her, his eyes glistening in the moonlight. “I’d like to Shift to somewhere warmer that’s for certain.”
“What’s he talking about, Sis?
“We’ll explain it tomorrow,” Aibhera tore a portion from a loaf of bread. “Eideron taught us about Quickenings before he died. I’m too tired and hungry to explain it now.” She bit off a chunk of the loaf and chewed in silence.
“Fine, till tomorrow.” Ky unwrapped a round of cheese, cut three sections with her belt knife, and passed them to her sister and Simea. “You’d better fill me in though. You’ve kept me in the dark long enough.”
After they had shared their meager meal, they huddled together with Aibhera between her and Simea and slept fitfully.
Once the sun crested the horizon, and the three young Sokai shook off the torpor of a cold night, they were on the move again by midmorning. They continued along the gully’s gravel-strewn bottom.
Aibhera stopped to take a drink and
passed her canteen to Simea. “Water eroded this defile to create this gravelly bottom. It makes walking simpler than the lava plain. We don’t have to watch every step for fear of twisting an ankle.”
Kyonna took the canteen from Simea’s hand after he finished drinking. “Even more important, it will lead us into the canyon where we’ll find shade and water.” She took a few swallows and passed the container back to her sister.
Until the sun reached its zenith, the walls of the gully provided shade and shelter from the blistering heat; however, at noon, the ravine became a furnace. Heat shimmered and radiated off the rock walls, which became too hot to touch. Sweat poured off the youngsters, dripping into their eyes and soaking their clothes.
Aibhera said, “We've got to get out of this crevice before the heat kills us.”
“How? The walls are too hot and too steep. Ky, you led us into a death trap,” Simea wiped the perspiration from his face with a shirtsleeve already soaked with sweat.
“Right, it's all my fault as usual,” Kyonna snapped.
“Stop fighting. No one is to blame, but we have to find a place to take shelter, or we’ll char like loaves left too long in the oven.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The Book of Songs
Nearly blinded by the blazing heat, they followed the twists and turns of the dry wash, slipping and stumbling across the black-pebbled streambed. The sun had sunk in the sky, but the heat had not abated. They rounded a bend, and Kyonna, who led the way, spotted an inky shadow ahead. “Look. There’s shade ahead. Not much farther to go,” she panted. She led the way forward and discovered a place where water had eroded part of the gully wall, leaving a large outcrop of stone overhanging the ravine. The recess penetrated deep enough to provide a cool place to rest and recover. “Saved your ass again, didn’t I, Simea?”