The Lightning's Claim

by K. M. Fahy

  “I can’t,” Kitieri whispered, swallowing against the sobs that shook her shoulders.

  Catarva’s faint smile twitched again. “You must.”

  Smile still on her lips, Catarva’s breath left her body, and she went limp in Kitieri’s arms. Haldin bent forward, shaking with silent sobs as he held her hand in his, and Kitieri turned away with one fist pressed to her mouth. All the air had fled from her lungs, and she could not seem to replace it as the unbearable pain blocked off her throat.

  “She was right.”

  Kitieri gasped and started at Histan’s voice just behind her, twisting to look up at him. As gently as possible, she transferred Catarva’s limp body into Haldin’s arms, standing shakily on untrustworthy legs. The god’s blue eyes registered nothing but pain and remorse as he bowed his head.

  “I am sorry,” he said. “The gods were meant to guide and teach the people of their bonded worlds, and protect them from harm. In these pursuits, I could not have failed more spectacularly. I see the pain and destruction here, and I know it is our fault. My fault.”

  Kitieri blinked the tears from her eyes, watching Histan carefully.

  “I won’t ask forgiveness,” he continued. “But I see now that gods have only ever harmed this place. With only one god, the destruction and death will continue…” Histan drew in a deep breath, lifting his head. “I will accept the consequences of my failure, and take my leave.”

  He pulled the golden brooch from his chest, offering it out to Kitieri in the palm of his hand.

  “I relinquish my bond to this world, and accept my banishment from the mortal realms.”

  He pressed the warm metal into Kitieri’s hand, lingering only an instant before stepping away. Before Histan’s foot could hit the stone, his human form was gone.

  A cool, clean breeze stirred across the Square, and Kitieri lifted her head to breathe it in. The relentless heat and pain bled from her body, her element receding until she could feel no trace of the pulsing she’d always carried with her like a second heartbeat. She curled her fingers, calling her lightning back to no answer.

  “Haldin,” she whispered. “Can you use your element?” She waited for his answer, staring down at her hands.

  “N… no,” he said.

  Kitieri released her pent-up air in a loud rush, tears springing once again to her eyes.

  “It’s over,” she said, curling a fist around Histan’s crest. “The elements are gone. The gods’ power is gone. It’s… really over.”

  A tear streaked down her cheek as Kitieri turned to the Square below. Hundreds of people stared up at her, wide-eyed and uncertain, and stark realization dawned. Thousands more would look to her in that same way in the days, months, and years to come. They would look for a leader.

  Catarva’s final words sounded in her mind.

  You must.

  Kitieri nodded, summoning her strength as Haldin stepped up beside her. Her gaze moved from his soft, pale eyes to Lara and the officers at the pillar, to Bat and Eriat at the wagon, to Taff and Jera with little Vina in her arms, and Kitieri smiled through her tears.

  She would do what she must, but she didn’t have to do it alone. With the Blue Killer gone and the Churches destroyed, the city of Shirasette would finally taste freedom.

  And, for the first time since she’d discovered her element, Kitieri found the will to look forward to tomorrow.

  Epilogue

  Kitieri stood at the great window on the top floor of the Council Hall, overlooking the wide courtyard below. A large crowd was beginning to congregate around a veiled central monument, murmuring in hushed, excited tones.

  Footsteps on the stairs behind her pulled Kitieri from the window, and she turned to see Bat reach the top of the stairs.

  “Oh, don’t tell me that’s what you’re wearing,” Bat said, scanning Kitieri’s appearance with a dubious look. The past ten years had deepened her wrinkles and brought the wisps of gray in her hair to the forefront, covering almost her entire head in silver.

  Kitieri grinned, looking down at her mother’s black leather jacket, marred and stitched with repairs. Kitieri found it a miracle the thing had survived at all. It didn’t see near the use it once had, but on this particular day, she longed for the closeness of those long gone. The soft, worn leather felt like their touch on her shoulders, guiding her.

  “I like it.” Kitieri shrugged.

  “It’s a special occasion,” Bat whined.

  “Exactly.”

  Kitieri walked past Bat, running her hand along the wide, smooth banister as she descended the stairs, and the woman followed with a quiet sigh.

  “Loosen up,” Kitieri laughed, nudging her arm. “It’s not like everyone’s eyes are on me, alone, anymore.”

  Bat shot her a quick side smile. “You know that’s not true,” she said. “Today may be our official fresh start, but you’re the one who got us here.”

  “That’s completely unfair. I didn’t do any of this alone.”

  “‘Tear down the pillar! Level the Churches! Shut down the mines!’” Bat raised a fist with her mock shouting. “Sound familiar?”

  Kitieri raised an annoyed eyebrow.

  “Point is,” Bat said, “they will follow you until you die, equal Council or not.”

  “I’m still wearing my jacket.”

  Bat chuckled through her nose. “I know.”

  Eriat awaited them at the foot of the stairs, dressed in a smart tailored doublet. He twitched a white eyebrow at her attire, and Kitieri held up a hand.

  “I don’t want to hear it,” she said, and felt the two exchange a look behind her back.

  “All right, Eriat, can you tell me now?” Bat begged for the fortieth time.

  “No, woman,” Eriat barked good-naturedly. “What would be the point of enduring all your nagging on the subject if I told you ten minutes before the unveiling?”

  “It’s bullshit that Kitieri knows and I don’t.”

  “Well, it was Kitieri’s idea,” Eriat said. “I’m just the artist.”

  Kitieri grinned as Bat released a huffy sigh. Kitieri pulled open the Council Hall’s front door, and the sea of smiling faces turned to her with a swell of murmurs. As they resumed their conversations, Kitieri paused at the top of the Hall steps.

  “What’s wrong?” Bat asked.

  “Nothing.” Kitieri smiled. “I’m just… proud of them.”

  Bat nodded, looking out over the crowd. “Took them a long time to stop the cheering thing, didn’t it?”

  “Way longer than I expected.”

  A tall figure in a sleek gray jacket approached the base of the stairs, and Kitieri descended at a quick trot. “Well, Taff, don’t you clean up nice?”

  Though Kitieri stood on the bottom step, her brother still towered over her. Despite the burn scars down the side of his face and the milky white eye where Stil’s fire had forever taken his vision, Taff was a dashing young man. Brilliant beyond his twenty-one years, he had easily secured a seat among the twenty Councilors in Shirasette’s first city-wide election.

  “I figured at least one of us should look the part,” Taff said, laughing at the dark grin Kitieri gave him.

  “Where’s Jera?” she asked, scanning the crowd. She could pick out the other Councilors and their families, and watched Haldin gently stop a child from tugging on the veil that covered Eriat’s mysterious creation. His co-chief of the Civil Force, Lara, stood nearby in her matching blue uniform, and flashed Kitieri a bright smile as their eyes met.

  “Late, as usual,” Taff replied.

  “Come on,” Bat said, “it’s almost time.”

  As Kitieri followed Bat into the crowd, a high squeak caught her attention. “Councilor Kitieri!”

  Kitieri turned to see Tira pushing through the masses, followed by a line of giggling children.

  “Tira, you came!” Kitieri stooped to hug the squat woman.

  “Well,” Tira panted, fanning herself, “rounding up the young ones can be quite a
chore some days, but I wouldn’t have missed this for the world!”

  She turned, smiling fondly at the group as Minna waved emphatically from the rear of the line.

  “Wow, they’ve all grown so much,” Kitieri muttered, mostly to herself.

  “Ten years now.” Tira nodded, planting her hands on her hips. “Can you believe it? I remember when every one of them was just a tiny little baby, all wrapped in brown.” A shudder shook Tira’s shoulders, and she waved her hand. “Thank goodness those days are over.”

  Kitieri squeezed her arm with a warm smile. She could not agree more with that sentiment.

  The sound of clattering hooves cut off Kitieri’s response, and she turned to find herself face to face with a dappled gray horse. Ashes stuck her dark muzzle out, velvety nostrils flaring as she demanded the standard piece of carrot Kitieri always brought with her to the stables.

  “Sorry, Ashes!” she laughed, running a hand down the mare’s face. “I don’t have anything this time. I didn’t realize you’d be coming.”

  With the last word, Kitieri threw Ashes’ rider an irritated look. Jera grinned down at her, her long, windswept ponytail catching the late morning sun as she jumped from the saddle.

  “Sorry we’re late,” she said, “there was a situation at the stable.”

  Coming around the horse, Kitieri saw the mud splattered across her sister’s loose white shirt, even flecking her face and unruly bits of hair.

  “I can see that.” Kitieri folded her arms.

  “It’s not like you have room to judge appearances here, Kitieri,” Taff said from beside her.

  Before Kitieri could fire back at her brother, a short bay gelding stopped on Ashes’ other side, and a mop of wild dark curls came bouncing around the horse.

  “Vina!” Kitieri dropped to one knee as Vina ran to her, and she was met with the scents of mud and horse manure as the girl’s body hit hers. “Oof, you smell.”

  Vina stepped back with a huge grin.

  “One of the studs got out of his stall, and he was trying to get in with the mares,” she announced. “Me and Jera had to round them all up, and—”

  “‘Jera and I,’” Taff mumbled.

  “Oh, leave her alone, Taff,” Jera said, waving a hand at him as she crossed to stand beside Vina. “She’s turning into a badass little rider, Kitieri, you should see her!”

  Kitieri shifted her weight to one leg, planting a hand on her hip. “I’m starting to think you’re a bad influence on her, Jera.”

  Jera slapped a hand to her chest, feigning offense.

  “She’s not!” Vina piped up. “I love the stable. And the cats. I want to have a shelter for sad, homeless animals when I grow up, too!”

  Kitieri smiled down at her.

  “You’d be great at that,” she said, smoothing the windswept curls atop her head. “But you know what every good shelter owner needs?”

  “What?”

  “A good education. Starting tomorrow, you’re going to spend more time at school than you do at the stable, okay?”

  Vina moaned, throwing her head back.

  “And Jera is going to make sure you do that. Aren’t you, Jera?”

  Jera rolled her eyes, flipping her hand up in the air. “Yeah, yeah, all right. Hi, Haldin!”

  Kitieri looked over her shoulder to see Haldin approaching with Lara behind him, and smiled.

  “Are we about ready?” he asked, glancing to the cloth cover billowing in the breeze.

  “Yes, yes, it’s time!” Eriat clapped his hands with a loud pop. “Kitieri? The honors?”

  Hands suddenly tingling with nerves, Kitieri drew in a deep breath. She allowed Haldin to help her up onto the big stone dais surrounding the veiled monument, and a hush fell over the crowd. Kitieri’s heart pounded as she looked out over the people, every eye turned to her. She’d practiced this. She could do this… but unexpected emotion clogged her airway as she was struck with the parallels to that day on the steps of the Church of Histan ten years ago. The same expectant people watched her now, craving leadership. Craving stability. And at long last, that was something she finally felt prepared to give.

  She swallowed the lump, clearing her throat.

  “People of Shirasette,” she called, voice echoing back off the Council Hall. “This is the day we’ve long awaited—the day our loved ones gave their very lives for us to see. This is the day we’ve worked for, cried for, bled for. This is the day we finally take our government and our lives into our own hands, and the Councilors elected by our own people take their official seats in office.”

  Cheering broke out, and Kitieri took the brief pause to swallow another wave of fresh emotion.

  “In honor of this day,” she continued, quieting the people once more, “Councilor Eriat has created something truly marvelous. To represent the fallen—all those who lost their lives to the lightning, and those who sacrificed for the ones they loved—we honor the woman who truly made this day possible. The woman who made the ultimate sacrifice to free our world of its bonded gods.”

  Clenching her jaw against the rising emotion, Kitieri grasped a handful of the heavy cloth and pulled down hard. The veil slipped from the top, fluttering to the ground as a collective gasp rose up from the people.

  Pale cintra glinted in the sunlight, sparkling in thousands of little crystals brought together to form the tall, proud sculpture.

  Kitieri uttered the name, unable to tear her eyes from the beautiful, elegant face. “Catarva Tihnerin.”

  The roaring cheer that erupted throughout the wide courtyard shook the ground, and Kitieri stepped back off the dais.

  “Great job,” Bat whispered in her ear, squeezing her shoulder. “Eriat, it’s fucking brilliant. I love the cintra.”

  “Well, it is my specialty…”

  As the two continued, Kitieri turned to Haldin. The man’s jaw worked back and forth, tears shining in his blue eyes as he stared up at Catarva’s immortalized form.

  “She was… really something,” he managed.

  Kitieri nodded, moving to stand closer. “She really was.”

  Haldin lowered his gaze, turning a sad smile on Kitieri. “You’re really something, too,” he said. “I’m proud of you, Kitieri.”

  With that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Kitieri with a sad smile of her own.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Kitieri turned around, finding Lara on her other side, and her smile widened. In the ten years she’d gotten to know her former Commander, they’d become close friends. Lara’s easy smile and genuine nature made her a joy to be around.

  “Yeah. It is,” she agreed.

  “Hey, uh…” Lara looked down at her feet. “I don’t want to be too forward, but… there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

  “What’s that?”

  After a short hesitation, Lara leaned closer to Kitieri. “How inappropriate would it be for a civil chief to ask a Councilor on a date?”

  Warmth rushed to Kitieri’s cheeks, and an unexpected laugh burst from her lips.

  “I don’t think there’s any law against it,” she replied. “Yet.”

  Lara’s white smile was blinding as she laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners. “All right, good,” she said. “Tomorrow?”

  Kitieri nodded, smiling back. “I’d like that.”

  With a tiny bow of her head, Lara turned away as Jera threw a long, lanky arm around Kitieri’s shoulders.

  “All right, can we go get something to eat now?” she asked. “I’m starving.”

  Kitieri and Taff exchanged glances, and Vina giggled.

  “What?” Jera demanded, throwing out her upturned palms, and Kitieri laughed—fully, genuinely laughed.

  “Yeah, let’s get something to eat,” she replied, turning from the shimmering statue with a final glance.

  “You know what I just thought of?” Jera asked with a grin.

  “What?”

  Jera’s eyes sparkled as s
he looked at Kitieri. “The Manons survived, after all.”

  About the Author

  K. M. Fahy is an American author with a deep love of all things creative. When she's not lost in her fantasy worlds, Fahy performs professionally on the clarinet, teaches a private woodwind studio, and has had the honor of hanging multiple art shows featuring her original acrylic paintings.

  Fahy grew up in the rolling hills of southern Illinois, running her horse through the deep woods, learning archery on her dad's recurve bow, and cultivating a love of adventure that would later find its way into the unique worlds of her fantasy novels. Now an avid backpacker in the Rocky Mountains, Fahy draws inspiration from real-life experience to create the deep and relatable characters she always loved to read about as a girl.

  “The Lightning’s Claim” is Fahy’s debut novel, and she is thrilled to embark on this journey with much more to come! Follow her on social media or her website for frequent updates.

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  https://www.kmfahyauthor.com