The Heart of Oldra

by Georgina Makalani

  ‘You are so strong,’ he said. ‘I reached out for someone with greater gifts than mine, to bring them here.’

  ‘Why would you think I would give them up?’

  ‘Everyone gives up something when they think it will save others. Not me, of course, but I can.’

  ‘Teven’s mother wasn’t tricked into giving anything up.’

  ‘She gave up her child,’ Merik murmured.

  ‘But it didn’t benefit you. He was scarred, and you couldn’t use him. He was always stronger than you realised.’

  ‘He gave up his freedoms for his sister. And where would he go? They wouldn’t take him in.’

  ‘But he might have pushed you out.’

  Merik laughed then, a strange cackle, his spittle showering her neck. ‘He knows what I would have done to the others. He would have had nothing to be little chief of.’

  ‘And so you stayed as the little chief,’ she said. He swung her around then, the movement fast, and she almost fell as her feet tangled. There was solid ground beneath her, yet in the continued darkness she was sure they were somewhere within the shadows. She felt a little more scared now that she was alone with him. She wanted to search out the Ancients. As she thought of them, they appeared behind Merik, and she sucked in a deep breath.

  ‘You don’t know what skill I have,’ she said.

  ‘You hid your skills away, even from yourself, for so long. You are another living in the shadows. We could be strong together,’ Merik said, stepping forward. Cora tried to step back, but she couldn’t move.

  ‘He would not know how to use such a gift,’ the eldest of the Ancients said.

  Cora placed her hand quickly on Merik’s chest, searching his heart for who he truly was, but there was still nothing there.

  ‘Share it,’ Wyndha said, her grey braids bobbing as she bowed her head and smiled at Cora.

  Cora blinked back her surprise, unsure why Wyndha would say what she did or what it might mean. She had spent so long fearing what he would take, and now she was being told to hand it over willingly.

  Silphi appeared beside Wyndha. ‘Give him what he wants,’ she suggested.

  The two Ancients who had been with her nodded. And then others began appearing around her, until she was surrounded by red robes. She nodded once and then pushed the ability to talk with the Ancients into the gap that was his heart.

  She wasn’t sure how she managed to do it. She felt the strength in him, the skill and the confidence she had given him. He was exactly what he wanted to be. She stepped back and watched as he looked over his hands and then at those around them. Cora was confused that she could still see them, now that she had given the gift away.

  ‘I have it all,’ he murmured. ‘The ability to heal, the ability to see the past and a clearer future. All the gifts of all the Ancients are mine.’

  ‘Not quite,’ Cora said. ‘My gift is to talk with them. They can’t give me what they have.’

  ‘But they can,’ he said. ‘You just have to take it.’

  ‘I thought it had to be given?’

  ‘We shall give you what you want,’ said the Ancient man she had first seen. ‘I will give you all the pain and heartache that goes with it.’

  ‘I don’t care about the pain,’ Merik sneered.

  The old man bowed his head and held out his hand. Every other Ancient raised their hand in the same way, and Cora felt the push of the gifts of Essara as they flowed around her. She put her hand back on Merik’s chest and directed the gifts into the darkness.

  He grinned, turning his face upward and his arms out, and then his face fell. As Cora stepped back, he clutched at his chest and then ripped at his tunic. The mark of Oldra on his chest burned bright before it flickered and faded and then disappeared.

  ‘No,’ he murmured as the Ancients around them disappeared. Then the shadows lifted, and Cora blinked into the green light that filtered amongst the trees.

  Merik dropped to his knees, still clutching at his chest, his face pale. Artell ran through the trees towards Cora, and Merik disappeared into a shadow.

  Cora tried to focus on the man running towards her, but he was lost in the sea of Ancients who again surrounded her. ‘Will you take it back?’ she asked.

  ‘No,’ the whisper came, but she wasn’t sure who it came from. Then a woman in white stepped out from the sea of red.

  Cora focused on the woman before her and then dropped to her knees. The woman caught Cora by the hands and pulled her upright.

  ‘You don’t need to kneel before me,’ she said. ‘We have come all this way to find you.’

  ‘All of you?’ Cora asked.

  She bowed her head. ‘Bring your mate,’ she said.

  The crowd around her disappeared, and Cora focused on Artell standing before her looking unsure. She held out her hand, and he stepped forward and took it. And then the Ancients of old reappeared. He gasped and bowed his head to Essara.

  ‘It is rare that we need to start anew,’ Essara said. ‘You have your chief,’ Artell looked at Cora, but she looked towards Teven, standing off in the trees with Henda. Essara smiled. ‘And together you shall grow strong.’

  ‘I miss the snow,’ Cora said quickly.

  ‘You have found your cavern; you have found your place in the world. It may be that the sun disappears at times and you are able to enjoy the snow once more.’

  Cora smiled. She would like that.

  Then they were standing outside of the cavern. Artell gasped and turned slowly.

  ‘Welcome home, Tarranah,’ Essara said. ‘Before you settle, return to your previous clans. Talk to the people. Others will join you.’

  Artell bowed his head again.

  ‘Go and visit with your father,’ Essara said to Cora. Then she faded from view along with all the other Ancients. Wyndha was the last to go, and she smiled warmly and then winked at Cora before she too faded from existence once more.

  Chapter 30

  Cora hesitated at the cavern opening for the first time in her life. Serassa waited in the snow, and she was surprised by the silence that surrounded her. She was encased in her ice transition, Artell in his stone one, but it appeared to have the same effect. Her heart beat too fast in her chest. How long had she been gone? How would they respond?

  She sucked in a breath as Serassa took to the sky. Would you like to come in? Cora called after her.

  Not this time. You have others who would see you first.

  Artell took her hand in his and pulled her through the opening. ‘We have visited all the others. Your parents will wonder why you didn’t return to them first.’

  ‘I think my mother will understand better than you think.’

  ‘I like her. She’s sensible.’

  Cora looked at him for a moment. He grinned at her and then stopped. The wooden door stood closed, and Cora moved forward to run her hand over the scorch mark of the dragon that covered it. ‘Wait until you see the other side,’ she whispered as it creaked open.

  Silence greeted them on the other side, and for a moment she wondered if this was a dream. Then she focused on the people—so many people standing and looking at her—and she squeezed Artell’s hand tighter. No one moved as she stepped forward, except Artell stepping with her. They seemed to watch as though doubting she was really there. She wondered if she should have dressed more like the Penna, rather than in her long red leather tunic.

  Someone moved through the crowd that seemed to inch closer to them. Cora’s father broke the silent edge of the group and threw his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest. He felt bigger than life, and yet not as large as she remembered him. She sobbed against him.

  Then the noise started around the cavern. He held her out, grinned at her and then pulled her close again.

  ‘I told you,’ he whispered.

  ‘You told me I would be Chief,’ she said, her voice echoing in the cavern.

  He brushed her aside along with her words and looked over Artell, who seemed
like he might run as her father dropped heavy hands onto his shoulders.

  ‘The man who would connect to my favourite daughter,’ he said, his loud voice carrying through the cavern.

  ‘I’m your only daughter,’ Cora said, and a soft laugh broke out amongst the watching people.

  ‘You look young to be Ancient,’ he said.

  ‘Artell is...’

  ‘Don’t interrupt,’ her father murmured, still studying the man before him. He leaned forward, and Cora felt the need to push herself between them. ‘Does it still burn?’ he asked, grinning broadly. Cora felt her face burn.

  ‘Leave them alone,’ Arminel said, shuffling forward. ‘You should have more respect for your Ancients.’

  ‘Is he mine?’ Pira asked. ‘Or is your mother correct?’

  ‘She is always correct,’ Cora said as her mother appeared in the crowd behind her father, and then she was holding her close.

  ‘It was not long ago that you held me in your dreams,’ she whispered.

  Artell bowed his head. Cora’s mother stepped forward and took his hands in hers, and as she closed her eyes, the gentle murmuring of the crowd died away. He glanced at Cora, but she nodded once.

  ‘I just needed to be sure,’ Gerry whispered.

  ‘I am sorry that I could not return her,’ Artell said, and the crowd murmured again. ‘It is not what we are meant for.’

  Gerry nodded. Cora stepped back and took Artell’s hand. ‘Have you told them?’ she asked.

  Her mother shook her head. ‘It is for you to ask. Essara chose you.’

  ‘For what?’ her father asked.

  ‘We are to start a new cavern.’

  ‘You mean you have started a new cavern.’

  Cora bowed her head in agreement, and the cavern erupted. She stepped closer to Artell, and then Wyn was wrapped around her. He seemed even younger than he had appeared before she left, and yet she had told her mother to let him go. He smiled up at her, and she knew the advice was right.

  ‘I’m not coming with you,’ he said quickly. ‘I just wanted to say thanks.’

  She smiled down at him as he let her go and disappeared into the crowd. She looked up at the people moving in and locked eyes with Deen.

  ‘Can we ask to come?’ Junah asked. ‘Or do you choose?’

  ‘It is for you to decide if you want to come with us.’ Artell looked through the people, and the noise died down, but didn’t stop. ‘But I must warn you from the outset—there is no snow.’

  Cora laughed despite the tension.

  ‘Where is your bow?’ Tarn asked, accusation in his voice.

  ‘Teven has it,’ Cora said quickly.

  ‘Teven?’ her father asked.

  ‘He is our chief. I am afraid that I have not had the chance to use it.’

  ‘I hope you haven’t given it away.’

  She shook her head, and Larek pushed through the crowd. ‘Your mother is difficult,’ he grumbled. ‘But then I’m sure you could be equally so. If you can bear an old man, I would like to see a world with no snow.’

  Artell took his arm and bowed his head. ‘You are welcome to the Tarranah.’

  The old man smiled like Cora had never seen before, and she noted her mother wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye.

  ‘We have others who have joined us from the Nerrim cavern, and those of Teven’s people.’

  ‘Were you not going to come to us?’ a woman called out, and Cora turned to Re-Mah as she made her way into the cavern through the carved doors. ‘You look good in red,’ she noted as she pulled Cora into a tight hug. ‘You were gone too long. Visit more.’

  ‘I will,’ Cora promised, holding the woman just as tightly.

  ‘We have two who would go with you.’ She looked over the man beside Cora and then nodded. ‘He will do.’

  Artell coughed.

  ‘He is just what she needs,’ her mother said.

  In all, there were the two Keetar and five Penna ready for the new cavern. Her mother spent too long with her arms around Larek, and Cora knew that she would never see him again. They were quite some distance from each other. Although it was possible to visit, it was further than any of them had travelled before.

  ‘If there is no snow,’ her father asked, ‘what does it mean for your transition?’

  Cora looked at Artell with a grin and then transitioned. Her father’s eyes widened, and she grinned as she threw her arms around him. ‘Come and visit us in the sun.’

  ‘One day,’ he murmured, holding her close.

  The crowd moved as one outside the cavern. Cora smiled at the snow, feeling Essara in it. As Serassa landed, the people stepped forward.

  ‘She’s green,’ someone murmured.

  Then Dra and Ariandi landed beside her. Cora threw her arms around Dra and held tight, allowing her tears to flow. ‘I was so worried,’ she murmured.

  As was I. But I see you are where you need to be and with one who chose to be with you.

  ‘As you did,’ Cora said.

  His soft laughter rolled through her, and she stepped back, running her hand down his face. Then she moved to Ariandi and did the same.

  You are stronger together, Ariandi purred through Cora.

  ‘All of us, it seems.’

  The goddess has always looked for you.

  ‘Looked for me?’

  The dragon pushed her head against Cora and then stepped back. Her mother threw her arms around her one more time, then helped them onto the dragon. The others who had dragons climbed up and carried those who didn’t. They waved goodbye to the family and friends watching them go, hoping they would see each other again. Cora could visit with her mother and Arminel, even Re-Mah, but her father and brothers and the others were a longer journey away.

  As they landed in the green clearing by the cavern, those who had travelled with her were in awe of the world without snow. Cora wondered if they would get some snow as Essara had promised. In all, the Tarranah were about thirty, with one chief and two Ancients.

  Artell took Cora’s hand, and they led the way into the cavern. Teven had already started work on building hearths. As they arrived, he directed people to different tasks. Leaving him to it, Cora and Artell continued into the cavern of the Ancients.

  In the place Cora had thought would be perfect for their sleeping mats, she spread out a white blanket.

  ‘Where did that come from?’

  ‘My mother gave it to me.’

  Artell squatted down and ran a hand over it. ‘I hope we can have another. That seems nicer than the furs.’

  ‘Perhaps I can make some,’ Cora said. ‘If the snow brings the right animals.’

  ‘I am sure Essara will provide,’ Artell said, taking her in his arms.

  Despite all the work to be done, they headed out into the main cavern to watch their people mark out hearths. Junah marked out a space around Larek, who pointed where he thought it should go. Cora smiled as she watched over them, her arm through Artell’s.

  She sighed with contentment. She was right where she was meant to be. She was who she was meant to be.

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to the team at Deranged Doctor Designs (DDD) for facilitating absolutely brilliant cover design work and all the marketing extras. Thank you for your support and beautiful covers.

  TWG members: Melissa, Matthew J Morrison, John Hargreaves, Sue Larsen, Nicholas Jansen and Chantelle Griffith for listening and support in all things writing related. Special thanks to Yasmin for taking the time to read and comment on my stories.

  Allison E Wright for wonderful editing work. She smooths out my words and manages to keep my voice.

  My parents, Francine and Ken Smith. Amazing, supportive people who I don’t thank often enough. Thanks for keeping me grounded and being the best parents and grandparents ever.

  As always, Temwa for being my biggest supporter.

  About the Author

  Georgina Makalani survives life as a servant of the pu
blic by hiding in her office at lunch time with dragons, witches, a laptop and a little bit of magic.

  For more about Georgina and her books visit her website: www.theflowofink.com

  Also by Georgina Makalani

  Mark of Oldra Series:

  The Mark of Oldra

  The Heart of Oldra

  The Magics of Rei-Een:

  The Hidden Princess

  Hidden Promises

  The Hidden Phoenix

  The Raven Crown Series:

  Raven’s Dawn

  The Caged Raven

  Raven’s Edge

  The Legend of Iski Flare (Novella series):

  The Legend Begins

  Red Wolves

  The Riddle of Daralis

  The Last Child

  The Tree Maiden

  Reflections

  The Beast

  Short Stories:

  Stuffed Frogs and Spinning Teacups

  Searcher

  The Silence (in Glimpses)

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