“You’re not from here, are you?” the monk asked suspiciously, and his hand drifted to the hilt of his sword.
“No. I just flew in from another temple. Winds were terribly slow. I’m so late,” she said despairingly.
The guards didn’t bat an eye about her ‘flying in,’ confirming her suspicions about travel by airship.
“This way, priestess,” one of the guards sighed and guided her down the hallway.
She thanked him profusely as he left her at a nondescript door, which she entered as unobtrusively as she could. The High Priestess was in the middle of her talk, so no one noticed Kala slip to the back of the audience.
“Soren’s forces advance southward, laying waste to everything in their path,” the Priestess continued. “He’s playing his role perfectly, although maybe a little too perfectly. It won’t be many more years before his armies reach every corner of the continent and set it aflame.”
“Should we begin evacuating to the Wastes, Priestess,” a matronly-looking woman sitting at the head table asked her.
“Not yet, but soon, yes. I think it will be two years before Soren is at the gates of Bayre and two moons more for him to sack it. He’s already disrupting trade by air. Communities are going to collapse for that reason alone, if he doesn’t put them to the sword first.”
Kala was reminded of her village’s dependence for its survival on the contents of the airships. Worse, Skye’s village was entirely dependent on supply from outside. If the ships stopped coming, how many would starve?
“And where is our champion?” the elderly woman asked impatiently.
“She’s currently unaccounted for – although I’ve heard reports that she’s here in Bayre.”
Murmuring filled the room.
“The Ancients have faith in her,” the Priestess reassured them. “She will rally forces to her and push back. The world will be decimated, and balance will be restored for another millennium.”
“With all due respect to you and your sister oracles, the Ancients’ thinking can be difficult to infer, and you and they do not always agree with your interpretation.”
“In this, I can assure you that we agree,” the Priestess defended, hiding the annoyance she felt at being doubted.
“So, we do not need to take matters into our own hands?” the old woman pressed.
“Not at this time, no, but we must remain ready in case the girl fails.”
It struck Kala like a blow that the ‘girl’ they were speaking of was her. She reeled, and the priestess beside her looked at her worriedly. “Breakfast isn’t agreeing with me,” she told her, and she did genuinely look green. Priestesses moved out of her way as she made for the exit. The room had become a sea of raised hands and urgent questions, and Kala was able to slip out unnoticed. She felt a tightening in her chest.
She stood in the hall, trying desperately to catch her breath. The world was going to burn. It was burning already. What could she do to stop it? She was one girl. She had no allies, no army. People she cared about were going to die. She couldn’t breathe. She swooned as a guard approached. “Infirmary,” was all she could manage to say before passing out.
She woke sometime later to find a kindly woman peering down at her. It took her a moment to figure out that she was lying on a bed in the infirmary.
“Feeling better, dear?” she asked Kala.
The juxtaposition of her concern and the Priestess’s cold recounting of the end of the world made Kala feel nauseated again. The woman handed her a bucket and patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll be outside if you need me,” she said and stepped out of the room. Kala threw up before the door had even closed.
Kala slowly regained control over herself. She had to make it back to Lily, Cera, Calix, and her grandfather. The world was going to hell, and despite the Ancients’ misplaced faith in her, there wasn’t a gods-damn thing she could do about it. If she could at least save the ones she loved, then her small life wouldn’t be in vain. She wiped her mouth and spat out the bitter taste. She got out of bed and rushed out the door. The kindly nurse tried to stop her, but Kala pushed past her with a string of apologies and thanks.
She made her way out of the gates of the temple without recalling how she’d accomplished the feat and stumbled back to Celeste’s sanctuary. She burst in, looking like death. Skye raced to her side.
She raised a hand to forestall his questions. “We need to get home now,” she said breathlessly.
“Yes, of course,” he soothed her.
It had the opposite effect. “We need to leave. NOW!” Kala shouted. “The Church has airships – I’m sure of it, and we’re going to steal one.”
Dhara
Dhara and her sisters Zara and Kaia, and Kaia’s daughter Nina, paddled north with the current of the slow-moving, muddy river. They stayed close enough to the shore to keep an eye out for game, but they’d move farther out at the tell-tale splash of an alligator sliding into the water. They were the devil to kill on land, and even more formidable in the water.
Zara did her best to help look after Nina as her way of making up for not having tried to stop their mother from sending Kaia away in an airship. Kaia didn’t need her sister to prove her love, but Zara was hounded by guilt. Had Dhara not saved their sister, Zara was sure that the guilt would have consumed her. She thanked the Goddess for Dhara’s brashness. Somewhere along the way, in serving their tyrant mother, Zara had lost sight of that fundamental truth – family above all.
They canoed in silence, each wrapped in thought. The river narrowed and became swifter, allowing them to make good progress with the aid of the stronger current. They were aware of the risks posed by rapids and stayed nearer to shore. They had to portage around unsafe waters several times and, with no familiarity with the terrain, it was an uncertain business lugging the canoes over the rocky shoreline, especially with little Nina in tow.
None of them was a particularly good swimmer, if they could swim at all. Near their village, the river was too dangerous to swim in. If you were unskilled enough in a canoe to find yourself needing to swim, then you either figured it out quickly or you drowned – that’s it, that’s all. They hadn’t yet needed to test their swimming ability, but there’s a first time for everything.
They were progressing along near shore when an enormous alligator slid into the water near Zara. She steered rapidly away from it but had the misfortune of doing so just as the current picked up, and it carried her swiftly toward churning water. It pulled her in faster than she could escape it.
Kaia glanced at Dhara, only to see her paddling like hell into the raging water after Zara. Damn it, Kaia thought. “Hold on tight,” she commanded Nina, steeled her nerves, and steered away from shore.
Zara held on for dear life and tried to stay low in her canoe while it spun about. Dhara paddled straight for her, fighting the current’s attempts to pull her off course. Kaia paddled as hard as she could downriver, hoping to outrace them, but trying to avoid the worst of the turbulence.
Zara’s canoe hit a submerged boulder, and she was pitched into the frothing water. Dhara bore down on her and yelled for her to grab hold of her canoe. Dhara just about sailed over top of her before Zara spotted her and grabbed hold. She fought to hang on while the submerged rocks battered her legs. Dhara struggled to counterbalance Zara’s weight and keep the canoe from overturning. The current swept them toward a tree that had fallen into the river. Dhara tried to duck under it, but couldn’t quite manage to do so and counterbalance Zara at the same time, and her canoe flipped.
They both had their grips torn from the canoe, and it sped downstream without them. They struggled to keep their heads above water and fought for breath every time they surfaced.
Kaia had gotten ahead of them, dug in, and spun her canoe around. She steadied it and steered to intersect her sisters, yelling to them over the roar of the water. Dhara heard her and reached for the canoe, angry at herself for needing to be rescued. Zara only discovered the canoe by s
mashing into the side of it and grabbing onto it just before she was pulled past. Kaia balanced the canoe with a sister holding onto each side as they drifted backward downstream and out of the worst of the rapids. The water gradually calmed.
Kaia steered them toward the shore, where Dhara and Zara dragged themselves onto the grass and nursed their scrapes and bruises.
“That was fun!” Nina exclaimed. “Can we do it again?”
“Let’s not,” Zara replied.
Kaia left them lying there and went off in search of the capsized canoes. She found both eventually and towed each of them back. Kaia still had her pack, and Dhara was able to recover hers because she’d tied it to her canoe, but they’d lost Zara’s pack and paddles, as well as Dhara’s paddles. They camped on the shore that night and fashioned crude paddles from branches of nearby trees.
Zara sulked for days for getting them into this mess. Dhara was the brave one who had saved her life when she’d fallen in. Kaia was the smart one who had saved both of them. What was she?
“Cheer up, sis,” Kaia told her, but Zara continued to brood.
The jungle slowly thinned out, and the ground around the river began to undulate. Eventually, the river wound its way into a wide canyon. They were nervous about the prospect of encountering rapids in the canyon, whose walls hemmed them in and made portaging impractical, but they had yet to see any place that enticed them to stop, so they decided to take their chances. The Goddess favors the bold, Dhara thought.
The river flowed placidly through the canyon, and their fears appeared to have been unfounded. The sun glinted off the vibrant blue that the river had become, and they soaked up its beauty. Nina dragged a finger in the water and watched the ripples recede. Kaia pointed out caves set high on the cliff faces. Before she could conclude that they had the look of dwellings, an arrow whizzed past her into the water.
“Stay low!” she shouted to Nina, and they all lay flat in their canoes.
More arrows rained down, and one landed a hair’s breadth from Dhara’s head. “It’s not good enough, they’ve got too much height on us – flip over!” she yelled to her sisters and rolled her canoe over. She popped up in the cavity of air under it, and the sunlight filtering through the water was sufficient for her to see that her sisters had followed her lead and overturned their canoes as well. Kaia held Nina around the waist and struggled to help her stay afloat.
Dhara steered her canoe toward Kaia’s, and when she came alongside, ducked underwater and resurfaced under it, pulling her canoe snug against Kaia’s. The thudding of arrows continued above her head. She used her free hand to help Kaia hold Nina and peeked underwater for a sign of Zara. She made out the faint outline of her legs and did her best to steer them toward her. She popped up under Zara’s canoe. “Come join us,” she told her and returned to her position under Kaia’s canoe. Zara joined them, and the sound of arrows stopped.
“Well, that was fun,” Zara said sarcastically.
There was a deafening crash as Zara’s canoe was shattered by a boulder heaved down on them from high up the cliff. Zara let go of the remains of her canoe, and they floated away.
“Perfectly good rocks… and they’re just throwing them away,” Kaia joked.
Dhara cast her a withering glance.
“Might have been a good idea to have learned to swim before now,” Zara pointed out.
“Really, Zara?” Kaia replied.
Rocks splashed all around them, and one glanced off their canoe, sounding thunderously loud beneath it. They hung on with their ears ringing until a rock shattered the front end of Kaia’s canoe.
“Switch!” Dhara shouted, and they dove underwater and popped up again under Dhara’s canoe. They released Kaia’s mangled canoe, and it drifted away. Rocks continued to splash into the river to their left.
“Push right!” Kaia commanded, and they flailed their legs to shove the canoe out of range of the rocks.
Zara was struck on the leg by a rock, although the worst of its impact was absorbed by the water. “Damn, that hurt,” she grimaced.
The splashing of rocks eventually subsided, and they drifted until it had been quiet for a while.
“Want to flip the canoe back over?” Kaia asked.
“Might as well,” Dhara replied. Zara just grunted.
Dhara and Zara gripped one side, and hefted it up into the air and over, while Kaia held on to Nina, barely keeping both their heads above the surface. Zara shifted to the opposite side of the canoe and surfaced. They all grabbed the side of the canoe, careful not to flip it again. They looked back up the canyon but didn’t see their attackers.
“Damn savages,” Zara complained, her leg still smarting.
Dhara stared at the caves in the cliff face as they receded, judging the cave dwellers inferior even to ground dwellers as they chose to live in the ground. Dhara shuddered at the thought.
“Swim for shore?” Kaia suggested. Everyone nodded, and they began kicking the legs to push them toward the far shore. They dragged themselves out of the water, Zara favoring her good leg, and they lay staring up at the sky, exhausted.
“That was scary,” Nina observed.
Kaia nodded and pushed the wet hair out of her daughter’s face.
“Anyone want to rub my leg?” Zara joked.
Kaia laughed, and Dhara punched Zara’s uninjured leg. “Now you’re even.”
Zara rolled onto her, and she and Dhara wrestled, laughing.
“Done yet?” Kaia asked, although she was amused by their rough-housing.
They took stock of their condition. “Down another pack,” Kaia said, stating what they already knew.
“We’ve still got mine, luckily,” Dhara pointed out.
“Thank the Goddess for small kindnesses,” Zara said.
“No point in carrying on by river now,” Kaia observed.
“Yup, we’re on foot now,” Zara agreed unhappily.
“I hate walking,” Dhara said, expressing what they were all thinking. She looked around at the grasslands stretching out before them. “Is anyone else creeped out by open spaces?” she asked.
Kaia and Zara raised their hands.
“Good,” Dhara said. “I’d hate to be alone in that.” She grabbed her soaking pack, and they started off on foot parallel to the river.
“There’s nothing to eat in this Goddess-forsaken place,” Dhara complained, her stomach rumbling. They’d walked for days, and struggled to hunt on the wide-open plains. The few animals they spotted either hid in their burrows or seemed to be possessed of unnatural speed and reflexes.
They dug up earthworms and fried them on rocks beside their nightly fire. Dhara chewed on what felt like her millionth worm and began to despair that they’d never eat real food again. At least we have ample water, she thought, gazing over the river when she saw five large canoes heading upriver.
“Look at that,” she said, pointing them out. “Turns out we’re not alone in the world.”
A man in the lead canoe spotted them and waved.
Kaia waved back tentatively. “What do they want?” she asked her sisters, who merely shrugged in response.
The canoes altered course and headed for them. Dhara placed her knife in her belt behind her back, and Kaia and Zara both grabbed rocks that they put within easy reach.
“Stay back,” Kaia cautioned Nina.
“Hello,” the man from the lead canoe hailed them as it neared shore.
“Hello,” Kaia replied uncertainly.
The man jumped into the water and started pulling the canoe to shore. The people in his party followed suit and soon, all five canoes were secured to the shore. The leader turned back around to face the sisters.
“Sorry about that,” he said.
Dhara was confused. “Sorry about what?”
“My lack of manners. Had to attend to the canoes first – don’t want them floating away,” he replied.
“Of course,” Dhara replied.
“I’m Kieran,” he said, h
olding out his hand.
“Dhara,” she replied, staring at his hand, then taking it in hers while bracing herself to prevent being thrown off balance.
He shook her hand instead and turned to introduce the rest of his party. He rhymed off their names, and each of them waved in turn. Kaia and Zara introduced themselves.
“I hope we’re not intruding,” Kieran said.
Dhara felt a pang of shame, remembering that he’d interrupted them eating worms. She looked over her shoulder at the fire to see if any evidence remained. Her stomach rumbled loud enough for him to hear, and she cursed it.
“We were just thinking of stopping for the night. Mind if we join you?” he asked.
Dhara looked around at the infinite expanse that surrounded them and wondered why he felt the need to share their little corner of it. “We won’t stop you,” she replied.
Kieran thought her response hilarious and motioned for a young man to bring up some food to cook. “Can we use your fire?” he asked, then quickly added, “We’ll share our dinner in exchange. We have more than enough.”
Dhara’s pride said, “Hell no,” but her stomach said, “Hell yes,” so she grudgingly accepted his offer. The cook got busy, and soon, the air was filled with flavorful smells. Dhara had to fight not to drool, and she cursed her weakness. Kaia visited with the cook, while Nina ran around, Zara keeping a watchful eye on her. Dhara studied the cooking, puzzling over how they would arrange to poison them if the food was being prepared communally. They’re an artful troop of assassins, she surmised and maintained her vigilance.
The time came for dinner, and everyone grabbed a dish and queued up to have the cook ladle out what he’d prepared. Dhara, Zara, Kaia, and Nina hung back, but Kieran refused to line up before them, and the stalemate was only broken when Kaia relented, and she and Nina joined the queue. Dhara couldn’t figure out how she’d be poisoned, so she accepted her meal and returned to sit down by her sisters. They waited until everyone else was well into their meals before they hazarded the food themselves. After days without proper food, the simple fare felt like the richest they’d ever had. Dhara thought to herself that if she were murdered at some point that evening, at least she would die happy with a full stomach.
Death's Angel Page 5
