Exiles & Empire

by Cheryl S Mackey

  “That scream. I heard it even while in my sleep. Where did it come from?” she asked.

  “It came from the west,” Gabaran grimaced. He turned to face in that direction, his words now muffled by the heavy snowfall and wind. “It came from the same direction the others went.”

  “Can you see anything?” Ivo asked her when she remained silent, a thoughtful look marring her brow.

  She squinted, but shook her head. “My energy is barely holding on. I’m surprised that scream was powerful enough to wake me.”

  “Have you had to do that often? Pull energy from the sun?” Ivo asked. He’d never seen it before in all the years they’d been together.

  “Not as much after I met you and Jaeger. Once we got to The Unknown City it was like the energy was almost force fed to me and I didn’t need to.”

  “Why would it feed you energy?” Gabaran asked, his gaze still scanning in the direction of the scream.

  “The city is made of a gold metal that absorbs energy and reflects it. It was useful with so many other Immortals around.” Ivo explained.

  “A gold metal? I’ve never heard of this. An entire city of gold?”

  “Yes,” Emaranthe whispered. “It was both amazing and terrifying to behold, wasn’t it, Ivo?”

  “Why?” Gabaran turned in time to see them trade panicked glances, ones of remembrance that were both of stark fear and love.

  “Because,” Emaranthe said slowly, her lips pursed as she struggled to form the words. “We had avoided our destiny there, for so many years, that it had become–”

  “Become everything that we despised about our fates as Immortals,” Ivo said. His voice was soft, but his gaze had taken on a look of anguish. “Yet we could no longer ignore it.”

  “Meeting Jadeth was merely the beginning of the end, wasn’t it, Ivo?” Emaranthe exhaled and turned to look at the blues and grays of the twilight sky above. “It’s getting dark, we must wait for morning now.”

  Gabaran sank to the ground and waited for the other two to join him.

  “The beginning of the end? Of what? The Unknown City? I wondered about you often, Emaranthe. If you had sought protection there.” he said when they were settled. The darkness fell fast, as if his words had called it, but a tiny curl of fire popped up in the small space between the three of them. The scant glow highlighted the wince of pain at the corners of Emaranthe’s eyes as she let the little fire dance in the air just above the rock.

  He glared at Ivo when he turned to scold her for the little flame and waited for the warrior to settle back, his rebuke unspoken. Ivo reached for her hand and held it in his large one very gently, as if she were made of glass.

  Gabaran frowned, puzzled. He realized that he had heard very little of his little sister’s years in the wilds. It was time to know.

  “Well?” he asked. “We have all night for a good story, Emaranthe.”

  She closed her eyes and sighed, nodded. Lines of stress and anxiety wrinkled her still very youthful face. The story would be painful to tell, but it was time.

  “It was still a handful years after we met Jadeth that we gathered the courage to journey to the nearest portal that could take us to The Unknown City. We had wandered the wilds in search of peaceful places to live. They were few and far between, and every year that went on they grew harder to find.”

  Gabaran nodded. He’d known as much, seen it during his travels as a Hunter looking for Light.

  “What happened to make you change your mind?” he asked.

  Ivo flinched, his gaze now lost in an inner horror. Guilt and regret had etched lines at the corners of his eyes.

  Haunted brown eyes met Gabaran’s over the flame.

  “Pain.”

  South Fork of the Avan-ii River, Two hundred nine years ago

  “I say we go south.” Jaeger tossed the small flat pebble into the wide, slow current of the Avan-ii River. This far south from the main body of water near Old Wood, the river had gone from narrow and rocky, to wide, deep, and relaxing almost overnight.

  He watched it skip three times before vanishing with a plunk and turned to see what the others were doing.

  “The way south is desert.” Jadeth’s arm popped up from a thicket of wild roses on the bank. Her hand waved lazily as she made her point before letting it drop again. Jaeger hid a chuckle. She was nearly invisible sprawled out in the hip deep tangle of harmless weeds and flowers.

  “So?” he continued. “We’ve been to the west. The fighting is spreading there more and more. And the east is still a hotbed with the mortal militia.”

  “I say we head back into Old Wood.” Ivo appeared over the rise of the riverbank, Emaranthe in tow behind. The deep grasses were as tall as the petite Mage. “We still owe Emaranthe an ale.”

  “No, that’s okay, Ivo,” Emaranthe muttered from behind him. All but hidden, she had to hop and walk at the same time to see over the grass to where Jaeger stood at the edge of the water. “I really don’t think I can go back there.”

  She had not been welcomed in the only village large enough to be called the hub of mortality.

  Jaeger shot Ivo a sharp look and his brother dropped the subject as they emerged onto the sandy shoreline. The silky rush of water melded with the wind in the grasses, giving the sense of peace and quiet.

  An illusion, Jaeger knew. Ever vigilant since stumbling into the band of rebels six years before, he continued to scan their surroundings with wary blue eyes. The little bits of laughter he could find were rare, however, and to be cherished with his new family.

  Well, hardly new. He and Ivo, his elder brother, had died and been resurrected as immortals together. They were opposites, yet the same. Emaranthe had become the smiles and hope they had longed for during their lonely days wandering Ein-Aral in search of peace. Jadeth had rescued them six years before from the militia on the Western Road and became their beacon of common sense and justice.

  She sat up now, her face just visible in the tangle of wild flowers, and stared all three of them down.

  “We need to decide. We are running out of places to run.”

  Ivo and Jaeger found the river intriguing, but Emaranthe held Jadeth’s gaze for a long moment, her lips pursed in consideration.

  “She’s right,” she said finally. “We’ve avoided this for six years now. We are out of time. There is no peace to be had anywhere anymore.”

  “You’re wrong, Emaranthe.” Jaeger frowned at the river, not really seeing it, instead seeing the dark water that had murdered his wife and child and stolen his very life. To go to The Unknown City, to become one of The Unknown Sun, was to give in to the very thing that had destroyed them. “I can’t do that.”

  Hurt brown eyes flicked between Ivo and Jaeger at his words. Ivo remained silent, his shoulders hunched as if her sadness could physically wound him.

  “Where will we go then? There is no place left that is free anymore,” she said.

  “Old Wood, back west. Curse The Four, we can head north!” Jaeger spat. His eyes frosted into chips of ice colder than the mountains could ever create. Frost crept from beneath his boots and spread until it just touched the water.

  Emaranthe frowned at his words. He’d never before seemed so bitter or angry.

  “We can’t go north.” She swallowed, looking down to where the frost continued to creep. The temperature dropped noticeably, turning the pleasant, sunlit air cold and clammy.

  “Why not?” His hand clenched around the rock he still held. Ice glazed over it. He chucked it at the river and watched it skip and bounce, leaving patches of ice behind as it went.

  Emaranthe struggled to breathe around the knot in her throat as she watched the frozen rock skip along. Every time it struck the water and turned it to ice with a sharp crack, her heart skipped painfully with it. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes.

  “I just can’t,” she muttered, her gaze on the river.

  “That makes no sense.” Jaeger spun to face her, his voice loud and cold. �
�Why not?”

  “Jaeger, stop.” Ivo frowned at his brother. The icy rage had been Jaeger’s struggle to contain in the many years since their fall. It came to the fore at unexpected times, fueled by his grief, guilt, and pain. But not like this. Not directed at someone else. “We have no right to her story, you go too far.”

  Jaeger rounded on his brother, his gaze dark and icy.

  “Go too far? What are we, brother? What are we now if we have no free will, no choice, no say in our own destinies? I did not choose this life! Is that not too far!?” he snarled. The air temperature dropped further. The ice spread in tinkling sheets to cover the river like smooth clear glass.

  “Jaeger, please.” Emaranthe gasped. The cold air burned her throat and made breathing nearly impossible. He didn’t hear her over the crackling glass or the sudden howl of wind as Ivo gave him a shove.

  “What Ivo? You wanted this life? You wanted us to be the only people left of the Saro-Shir?” Jaeger shoved Ivo back. Ice crunched beneath their feet as they both stumbled and slipped.

  “I can’t go back!” Emaranthe cried out over their growls and grunts as they wrestled on the frozen sand. “I can’t go back because I don’t know who I am! I am afraid!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  They didn’t hear her.

  Ivo tackled Jaeger to the ground, his punch made wild by the gust of wind he threw with it. Jaeger dodged the blow and shoved his brother with a knee to the gut.

  “Emaranthe, get back, they are such Earthlander men!” Jadeth called from her perch on the bank. “Let them get it out of their system.”

  “What?” Emaranthe turned at the sound of Jadeth’s voice. The howls and curses being made by the males fighting on the shore made hearing her elven friend impossible.

  A clatter snagged her attention over the muffled cursing and fleshy thumps. Jaeger’s axe skipped and slid along the rapidly freezing river, leaving chunks of bobbing ice as it moved. She hurried after it, worried that it could disappear beneath the water. She slipped and skid onto the ice, swearing softly.

  The axe dug into a chunk of ice at the center of the mostly frozen river and stuck, giving her time to kneel and creep to it. Her hands closed over it just as she remembered that it was god forged. It faded away and her fingers grasped only air. She swore, and turned back, feeling foolish. Over the sounds of the brawl a loud crackling and popping tuned them out. The ice gave beneath her and she plunged into the water. The heavy indigo wool cloak instantly sucked her down.

  The sudden shock of Jaeger’s supernatural cold burned through her skin, flesh, and bones so ruthlessly, that the soul burning at the center of her heart reacted just as violently in response.

  The fire burned hot and wild within her in an unconscious battle of self preservation against the invasive magical ice surrounding her.

  The two opposing magics collided, sending a surge of fire and ice throughout her thrashing body as they battled. Ice shards stabbed and fire licked and burned. Seizures shook her, sent her plunging deeper into the river with shocks of pain so debilitating that she couldn’t fight it. Lightheaded, she twitched and flailed as she sank deeper.

  The river churned and roiled, tossing her relentlessly. Unable to control her power or swim, she closed her eyes and let it go. Darkness called, a feeling vaguely familiar crawling at the edges of her battered mind.

  Maybe this was peace?

  The water drained away and light replaced the dark. Shouts and cursing replaced the peace. Someone was crying somewhere. It sounded far away.

  Then a warmth came. It crept through her limbs first. A gentle burn that was a little more comfortable than the icy cold seemed to push away the pain a little at a time. The light moved, turned shades of green behind her numbed eyelids.

  The pain evaporated. It felt like her body was melting.

  The light became glaringly bright green before fading.

  The voices came and went. Sobs came and went. Then motion. It was much more peaceful and warm this time.

  The Present

  Emaranthe fell silent, her gaze on the tiny flame hovering between them. She waited for Gabaran to explode, to understand.

  “You nearly died. Again.”

  She hunched deeper into the cloak, the very same one that she had been wearing when given to him, dying, all those years ago. Beside her, Ivo buried his face in his hands, his own grief and guilt a terrible sight.

  “I did. I’ve nearly died many times and will do so again if it means they live.”

  “It nearly killed you.” His voice had grown thin and angry. Twin flares of white burned the night, highlighting the growing wrath on his lined and age worn face. His ears laid back against his dark hair.

  “It was an accident. None of us knew that our elemental powers would battle each other. Fire and ice–” Emaranthe lifted her head and stared those eyes down, her lips pinched and white. “And it was what opened our eyes to the truth.”

  “Truth? What truth?”

  “That we were out of control. That we were dangerous. Too dangerous,” Ivo croaked. “We needed to learn and the only place to do so was at The Unknown City.”

  Gabaran’s growls didn’t cease.

  “Please, it was an unfortunate wake up call. I do not blame Jaeger or Ivo.” Emaranthe rushed to say.

  “I blame them,” he grunted.

  “I realized that I loved her, that day, Gabaran.” Ivo turned and looked Gabaran in the eyes without flinching. “I realized that I was not worthy of her, too.”

  “No, Ivo.” Emaranthe twisted to face him, aghast. “You can’t say that. I refuse to believe you are unworthy of me.”

  Gabaran ran a shaking hand along his jaw as the fight drained out of him. The anger remained, simmering, however, in his glare he trained on Ivo.

  “What happened next?” he asked finally, his voice devoid of emotion. “I’m assuming you joined The Unknown Sun soon after?”

  Ivo reached for a strand of Emaranthe’s shoulder length hair and sifted it through his fingers like pale water. He keenly felt the lack of the ghostly flames just then.

  He exhaled and summarized. “When Emaranthe had healed enough and we had all realized what must be done, yes, we joined. It was not easy. I know Jaeger and I wanted to be punished, wanted the pain of learning to control and accept our abilities.”

  Emaranthe smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her pale cheek against Ivo’s uplifted hand as he combed his fingers through her hair.

  Ivo continued, his gaze now on Emaranthe. “They tried to separate us.”

  Gabaran’s eyes widened. “I gather that didn’t go over well.”

  Emaranthe’s smile widened, but the corners of her full lips remained sad.

  “Oh, definitely. It took Jadeth keeping an entire battalion prisoner for half a day to get them to see reason,” she chuckled.

  Gabaran smiled wryly and stretched out on the rock. The sky was now pitch black and dotted with stars. He studied them, saw the vague patterns and wondered if he too would find his place in the world.

  ***

  Jaeger sat before the spires of rock that made up the portal. And waited.

  Darkness had fallen fast, cold, and hard, and he’d taken guard duty while the others sat around the small fire. Since three were elves and nearly immune to cold, immortal or not, and he bore the soul of ice, the fire was just for light. He used the flickering light to study the stones and avoid conversation with Ishelene and Sesti.

  He sometimes caught Jadeth’s frown turned his way, but pretended not to see. He was still upset by the screech. With what it had done to them, especially Sesti. That had shaken him. He did not like unknowns at all. They made him anxious and wary.

  He stood and walked around the stones, looking for anything that could give him a clue about their purpose. Most portals only led to The Unknown City, but they did not look like this. Those were carved statues, much like the ones in the library. The starstone used in these unassuming boulders was nowhere to be found. Wh
y?

  “What is it you look for, Jaeger?” Sesti appeared as he rounded the boulders for a third time.

  “I don’t know. Something,” he said. He continued to circle the pair of stones. “I can’t see any Starstone embedded within. The only physical portals I’ve ever seen had veins of the ore throughout.”

  “Those were also statues, were they not?” Sesti joined him for another lap around the rocks. Their boots carved a visible groove in the snow.

  “Yes, from pure Starstone, I imagine,” he replied. “Mostly figures of people. Elves, Earthlanders, Windwalkers. Perhaps the leaders of old. I don’t know.”

  “Why do you think that horrible sound came from the portal?” she asked, halting between the stones. He halted a step later and frowned at her.

  “Jadeth thinks it must be some sort of alarm to warn us off.”

  “But why? It doesn’t make sense.” She had to look far above to see the top of the stones. They were easily twenty meters high each. “Nothing about this makes sense.”

  Jaeger shook his head. “I don’t know, either. Your mother mentioned being worried about Rodon being able to operate it.”

  Sesti kept her gaze trained on the sky and stones above her. “She’s not telling us something, Jaeger. I can tell.”

  “I feel it too,” he whispered. He turned to face the darkened expanse beyond their small perch seemingly at the top of the world.

  “How old was your daughter?”

  Jaeger flinched, ran a shaking hand down his face. He sank to the ground before his knees could give out. She sat next to him in the wet snow.

  “She was six summers,” he said, his voice dull with pain. Dark blue eyes, similar yet so different from his, trained on his face in the darkness. The flickering fire behind them cast long dancing shadows. “I should have never left.”

  “What was her name?” Sesti asked, her gaze now on the twitching shadows hugging the snow until they vanished off the cliff.