Song of the Earth: Book Four of the Firebird's Daughter series

by Kyrja

  “Giya has told me she suspects there is a way for the Empress Deiserin to be released or replaced, but she doesn’t know the secret either. That’s why she spent so much of herself connecting with me, so I could seek out the answers to this terrible riddle. She knows she can’t escape Jikangai unless she is dead.”

  “And how is Chared going to help us? Do you think he will? He was an ally of Amphedia the last thing I knew,” Sakari spoke up.

  “He is the only one who can breach the Second Circle, so we need him. He has rejected the Storm Goddess now, and is coming into his own, using the magic of his Bila birthright. And,” he drew out the word, then sighed. “There’s still the matter of the poisoned water.”

  “I thought once Borja was restored, she would stop that,” Sakari offered.

  “Not if she’s the one who is poisoning it,” Zaria shook her head. “Maybe the Magami can help with that?” she asked, looking to Eruitt for an answer.

  “I think,” he emphasized the word, “it would be a good idea to get everyone to put water into barrels or something and do what you can to make sure it’s clean and stays that way.”

  “But?” Kraas asked, the frown she’d worn since the beginning of this meeting absent for the first time.

  “But Giya is getting weaker. She is dying, because Ozahm’s plan is working and he has slowed the tortoise. And that means that the water is being poisoned by Giya herself. She must release control of the seas to Jarles, but can’t unless he is nearby. At least that is her hope.”

  “And Borja has sworn to prevent her from releasing the seas,” Jahari added. “Now I understand why.”

  “So we also need to have Jarles with us in the Second Circle,” Eruitt told them.

  “I will order the water to be put in barrels,” Jahari said. “The three of you will go to Bila. I will tell Rajesh to expect you and ask for his help in collecting the Emperor.” The three women nodded their commitment to their task.

  “And I will go to the City by the Sea to get Chared,” Eruitt said. “He may know where Jarles is, or have a way to find him.”

  “Maybe he will know more about his father,” Zaria suggested.

  “Who will know more about his father, Jarles?” Sakari asked.

  “No, Chared. If his father was the husband of the Empress, doesn’t that mean that Chared is of some kind of royal lineage too?” she suggested.

  “Yes,” Eruitt replied, “that’s why Giya thinks Chared will be able to access the Second Circle, because of his father’s blood, or his role of Consort to the Empress.”

  “The mate of the Emperor or Empress in Bila is always called “Chi Tomo,” which means “blood mate,” because the mate is expected to die when the Emperor or Empress does,” Sakari explained.

  “And if they don’t do it themselves, the guards will do it for them,” Kraas added, shaking her head in disgust.

  “Huh,” Eruitt huffed, unimpressed. “Regardless of the cultural significance of Chared’s heritage, he has his father’s blood, and that’s probably all that matters.”

  “I’m not trying to be difficult,” Zaria interjected, “but even if we get Chared and the Emperor of Bila to the Second Circle …”

  “And Jarles too,” Sakari put in.

  “And Jarles, too,” Zaria agreed. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to be able to help Giya.”

  “You’re right,” Eruitt sighed. “But that’s all I know to do at this point, and I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Can you?” he asked, looking at the four faces in front of him. To his surprise, it was Kraas who stepped forward first.

  “No,” she said simply, raising her chin.

  “I guess we’re going to Bila sooner than we expected,” Sakari suddenly grinned, then turned to Zaria to ask, “Are you coming with us?”

  “You’re not getting away from me that easily,” she, too, smiled.

  “Go then,” Jahari told them. “With my blessings and gratitude. Gather your things and come back here quickly. I will send you once I’ve contacted Rajesh.” She watched them go, then turned to Eruitt. She stared at him closely, then asked, “What didn’t you tell them?”

  “I told the truth in everything I said,” he told her. He looked back at her calmly for a moment, then hung his head, shaking it. “P’onyem. The woman Giya made. Chared’s mother. When she died, it was Chared who killed her. He was a mad man then, but he has changed.”

  “You don’t trust him? You don’t think he will help?”

  “No, that’s not it,” he shook his head again, his fear palpable to Jahari. “It’s P’onyem. Giya has brought her back to life. Mostly. She isn’t really alive, not in her human form. But her spirit is. Giya is concerned P’onyem may seek revenge on her son, or may refuse to help him. Or she may even harm others who help him. She was devoted to Giya all her life, so she will probably cooperate, but there is no way of knowing what she will do. If she does anything. ”

  “Well then,” Jahari exhaled. “As you said, we won’t sit here and do nothing. Go, Eruitt, and thank you for your trust in these troubled times.”

  “My Lady, Giya speaks highly of you,” he told her with a lopsided grin. Then he bowed and left.

  Chapter Sixteen – The Beast Place

  With everything growing so quickly all around her, Denit found she was struggling to get through what she could only think of as the “massive” undergrowth. That wasn’t quite right either, she knew, because it wasn’t just the undergrowth that was growing out of control. Everything around her was growing at such a rapid rate it was bizarre. Trees were growing out of the ground as if they were already full grown and had simply decided to stand up. Even the animals were growing at an astonishing rate; she had watched a bird hatching as she walked near a grassy nest on the ground, and before she had even gotten out of view of the nest, it had already grown so quickly, it had left the nest. No doubt on its way to find something to eat! And flowers were blooming right before her very eyes!

  If she didn’t know better, she would have felt as though the land around her was rising up against her in order to prevent her from getting to Giya. The fact that she could actually feel time moving differently here was the strangest thing she had ever experienced; even more disconcerting than having her own body transformed into a giant Firebird. Even though it had been daylight since she’d first arrived, she could feel that days were passing in quick succession. How, she kept asking herself, could several days and nights be passing when she was fully aware that her sun had not yet made even one full rotation around the planet? Nor had the moon shown his face. She almost wished Raito was here so she could discuss it with him. She had a feeling he would have a unique point of view, given his own strange history.

  The incredible growth patterns of the plants had given her the first clue. It seemed to her as if they were caught somewhere between the rest of the world and whatever warping of time was happening here. They would suddenly start growing at an accelerated rate, and then stop, answering to the rhythm of some time table only they understood; their own version of growth and rest, usually in tempo with day and night cycles of light. Not here. Obviously.

  Pushing aside a particularly thick growth of some kind of grass that seemed more like thin, tough trees, Denit suddenly found herself in a clearing. To her utter surprise, there was a statue of some kind of beast she had never seen before standing there. She’d been startled at first, but after a moment realized it hadn’t moved. She smiled at herself then, almost laughing out loud. Even if it had been alive, it wasn’t likely to be able to hurt her. She was still acting more human than god-like, she knew, but old habits were hard to break and she’d been a human for hundreds of years.

  As she walked closer to it, she marveled at how life-like it was, even if she didn’t recognize what kind of animal it was. Its mouth was open, so its sharp teeth were easy to appreciate; certainly not a beast she would care to meet if it was alive! Sharp claws too. It was magnificent, its four legs spread proudly, and whomever ha
d carved this piece had added sleek lines intending to make it look as if it had been captured in a moment of time when it was in its prime. They had even carved bones to scatter at its feet to make it look as though it had only recently consumed its last meal. Very clever. It was as tall as her waist, even on all four legs, and muscular. The flowing hair surrounding it’s face almost looked as though it was matted, and it’s eyes were wide open. Cat-like in their shape. The ears too. She wondered what color the eyes might have been had it been real. The artist had an amazing skill; she realized she kept waiting for its ribs to move with its breath. The material it was made of didn’t really look like stone, though. And it seemed to be covered with a moss or some other kind of growth. She wondered who’d made it as she reached out a hand to determine its texture.

  “Don’t!” she heard a voice scream behind her. Pulling her hand back, she turned around to find the girl she’d seen when she’d first arrived. She’d said her name was Sina and not to be alarmed at Giya’s horrific condition. And then she had disappeared, but not before telling her this was the “wasting time.” Denit could tell the girl was truly terrified that she would touch the statue. She had stayed at the edge of the clearing, clearly afraid of something, if not the statue itself.

  “All right,” Denit agreed, letting her hand fall to her side, “but don’t you disappear again,” she warned. Softening both her stance and her voice, she said, “Talk to me. Tell me what this place is.”

  “You shouldn’t be here. Not now,” she said, her eyes wide, darting from one place to another.

  “What are you afraid of?” Denit asked gently, determined to get more information out of her this time.

  “This is the … I don’t know … I call it the “beast place,” because … well … as you can see, there are beasts here,” she said, her hand raised towards the statue.

  “But, it’s not alive, it’s just a statue. Why would you be afraid of it?” Denit asked, confused.

  “But it is alive!” she exclaimed. “It just isn’t right now, when it’s almost harvest time. You have to wait until after harvest time to come here. Then you can get fish and some of the underwater plants. But not now. We should leave. Right now. Please,” she added.

  “But this is the way to Giya,” Denit insisted.

  “If you go, you won’t live,” Sina warned her, looking like she was ready to run away any moment. “They can smell you even when they can’t see …. when they can’t … please! We have to go now. I’ll show you another way to Giya. Just … I will leave without you! I’m not going to be eaten just because you don’t understand things!” she shouted, as she turned away.

  Sighing, Denit ran after her. With all the noise she was making, it was easy to follow her through the towering grass. Wondering if the girl could read minds, she stopped as soon as she saw the grass had stopped swaying and Sina was no longer crashing headlong through the thick growth.

  “You said you would take me to Giya,” she called out.

  “Ssssh! They’ll hear you,” she whispered loudly. She sounded like she was very nearby. Denit listened carefully, taking two steps, then a third, towards the sound of heavy breathing.

  “Sina,” Denit whispered towards the sound, “I’m a god. I can protect you. Help me and I will help you.” She gasped when Sina suddenly appeared in front of her, squatting close to the ground.

  “I hope you’re not lying,” Sina told her, looking up at Denit. “Otherwise, we’re going to be very dead very shortly.

  “What do you mean?” Denit was truly getting tired of not understanding anything around her.

  “See the tops of the grass? They’re starting to turn yellow,” she pointed.

  “Yes,” she agreed, “but just barely.”

  Snorting in derision, Sina asked, “And just how long do you suppose it takes to go through the harvest cycle? You’ve seen how quickly everything grows.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Denit admitted.

  “Come on, follow me,” Sina told her, standing. “And keep quiet. I don’t want to have to find out if you’re really a god or not, or if that even matters here.”

  Denit followed her closely, but gave her enough space that she wouldn’t be likely to feel like she was breathing down her neck. She couldn’t help but to wonder how the young girl had come to this place. Her answer of “I do now,” when she’d asked her if she lived here was a pretty good indicator she hadn’t always lived here. And where were all the other people who should be living here? Surely she wasn’t the only person here. Then it struck her – if time moved as quickly as she thought it did, did it mean this “girl” was really much older than she appeared? She quickly dismissed the idea; she acted like she was younger than what she appeared to be, not older. She wondered how long Sina had been here, and if she even knew. How did anyone mark time in a place like this?

  Sina suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, frozen. Denit waited; it was obvious the girl was listening for something. She turned her face back towards Denit, fear consuming her, then shouted, “Run!” In the next moment, she disappeared again, but Denit was able to follow her by watching the grass part. It was effortless for her to run, but she knew Sina would soon tire at this pace, despite the fact she was obviously fueled by pure terror. Then she heard it, the low rumble. It was more of a vibration through the earth than a sound through the air, which meant it was feet. Or hooves. Or paws. Then she heard a sound she hoped to never hear again. It was an animal of some sort, maybe even one like the statue she’d seen. She could well imagine a living, breathing animal like that one making the bone-chilling roar behind them. Then she heard a terrified screech cut short. Whatever it was that had made the first sound had found its prey. But the ground was still vibrating beneath her feet, and the rumbling sound was getting louder now.

  “Sina!” Denit yelled loudly. “Stop! Come back to me! Now, so I can protect you!” She only waited a beat before yelling again. “I’m going to set the grass on fire! If you’re not standing by my side, you will be burned alive. Come here!”

  “I’m coming!” she heard the girl scream back, not far away. Turning her back on Sina’s voice, she held her hands out in front of her, igniting them, but not the rest of her body. She heard the grass rustling close by, then shouted, “Stand with your back to mine and move with me. No surprises, now, so you won’t get hurt,” she warned. “Just do what I tell you.” She felt Sina’s body thump against hers, then loosed the fire in front of her. Almost immediately, they heard the screams and cries of animals as they fled away from them.

  “Turn slowly to my left,” she announced. “To your right.” She paused a moment, then told her, “Now!” as she started moving slowly to her left, making sure she maintained a solid connection with the girl. The smell was overwhelming, and the smoke was making Sina cough. “Hang on just a little while longer,” she urged. “I’ll clear out the smoke in just a minute.” To her surprise, the grass didn’t so much catch fire as it disappeared in a flash of continuous fire as the flames spread outward, away from them in an effect which left them standing in the only unscorched plot of land for a long distance all around them.

  “Why did you do that?” Sina suddenly screamed at her, balling her fists. “I thought you were going to burn us alive! Fire doesn’t work like that – it doesn’t just disappear. You scared me to death!”

  “I didn’t have time to explain, now did I?” Denit replied, her own anger piqued. She immediately felt sorry, though, understanding why the girl was lashing out at her. She’d been terrified she was going to be eaten, and then convinced she was going to be burned alive. “Come on, show me where Giya is. Those beasts aren’t going to stay gone forever.” She paused then, considering, “Are they?”

  Frowning, Sina replied, “It’s about time you had enough sense to ask someone who knows how things work around here!” She huffed as she walked away from Denit, not looking back at her.

  Denit smiled to herself as she followed the girl. Maybe they would g
et somewhere now that she was talking to her. Sina walked across the ashes and debris without flinching, each of her footfalls crunching and crushing the crisped vegetation, even though Denit was certain it was still probably hot enough to make her uncomfortable. She’d had no doubt the girl was stubborn; it was becoming more and more apparent that she would have to be in order to survive here. And she was probably a lot more courageous than she gave herself credit for, too. She didn’t doubt any number of those “statue” animals she had encountered in the clearing were still roaming about, waiting to make a meal of them. It wasn’t going to happen, but she would prefer to reach Giya without any further delay.

  “What are you doing?” she shouted at Sina, who had started running at a leisurely pace in front of her.

  “There’s a beast up there,” she shouted ahead of her. “It’s still alive, but it’s hurt. Hurry up!”

  “Why are you running towards it!” she shouted, alarmed, then decided to just hurry up. Sina had run away from the other animals, but she was running towards this one. She had a feeling it was going to take her a long, long time to figure this place out. And the fact that time seemed to move faster here meant time itself was working against her.

  “Are you out of your mind?” she asked, when she saw Sina drop to her knees not far from the injured beast.

  * * * * * * * *

  Sina ignored the other woman – the god, as she called herself – making sure to keep herself far enough out of reach of the animal in front of her that it wouldn’t be able to get at her with its death throes. Stretching out her hands, she drained the life from its body, using its lifeforce to restore her own failing reserves. She would have offered to share with Denit, but she was beginning to believe her when she said she was a god, so she probably didn’t need any help. Feeling a shiver of ecstasy run up her spine, she closed her eyes, allowing the feeling to fill her.