“I think we should try the ritual,” Lyric said, looking at Runa. “If there’s a chance we can stop the Taint we have to risk it. Laenadara’s right, even if we’re able to end the war and mediate peace, none of it will matter if the world rots beneath us.”
“It seems somewhat blasphemous, doesn’t it?” Runa asked quietly. “Compelling the Old Ones to attend us? Asking them to clean up something we created?”
“Not us,” Lyric said.
“Will that matter?” Runa asked. She leaned her head close, her voice barely a whisper by Lyric’s ear. “Why push so hard for this, Ly? We don’t know anyone here, not really. How can we trust that the information we’re being given is not a careful manipulation? Mother lied to us, and she loved us. We can’t say the same for anyone here.”
“I don’t see another option,” Lyric said. “We can choose to do nothing, but that feels wrong to me. I think she’s right, that we’re running out of time. Remember Mr. Ilion? Who died from blood rot?” She chewed on her lip. “Maybe we can wait for Mama, ask what she thinks before we decide.”
“I want to see my brother,” Eleden said abruptly.
Lyric looked up. Laenadara was staring at her, her face unreadable. “I want to see him too,” Lyric said. “I want to see what happened.”
“Of course.” Laenadara inclined her head. “I must warn you that Egan is not the man he once was. It won’t be easy to look upon him.”
“We’re discussing performing the same ritual that altered him,” Runa said. “We will see him.”
“Of course.” Laenadara stood, with a smooth, graceful motion, and clasped her hands in front of her. She waited for the others to rise, then led them to the door.
“Kell?” Lyric asked as she followed behind the High Priestess. “Will you tell him where we are?”
“Yes. I’ll have him brought to you after you see your father,” Laenadara said.
Worry knotted Lyric’s stomach as the memory of Kell’s bleeding nose replayed inside her head. He would be fine, wouldn’t he?
Returning to the forest outside the structure’s door, the two guards at the entrance fell into step behind them. Laerdi shifted between walking by Eleden’s side and at the back of the group to keep an eye on the guards.
As they walked away from the village, Lyric realized that she hadn’t felt Gandara’s presence since stepping on Ayanaran soil. Why hadn’t she chimed in during their discussion with the High Priestess? Lyric would have asked her about the ritual or if she had any useful knowledge about the Ayanarans.
Gandara? Lyric asked.
She received no answer.
This connection would be more useful if Gandara were available when I need her, Lyric thought. “Has Elenora talked with you since we arrived?” she asked Runa in a low voice. She didn’t want Laenadara to overhear and ask for an explanation.
“No,” her sister said curtly.
Lyric frowned at her, but Runa stared straight ahead. Sighing, she returned her attention to their walk.
They climbed a short hill, then trailed down the other side into a valley. Lyric gasped, feeling a sense of awe as they walked between two large, moss-covered stones. The valley was long and deep, rock formations towering on either side, visible between the trees. It was quiet, the air warm, and Lyric was grateful she’d left her skirts tied up in mimic of the Sireni’s trousers.
I’ll have to borrow some of Hali’s clothes, Lyric thought as sweat trickled down her back. Her dress stuck to her skin.
Someone screamed.
Lyric stopped short, snapping a hand around Runa’s wrist. “What was that?” she asked, staring at the trees.
“Egan,” Laenadara said softly.
Anxiety lodged like a rock inside Lyric’s throat, and she didn’t let go of her sister as they climbed another small rise. The path twisted and opened into a clearing. Tall trees grew around its edge, their branches arching over the sky and blocking Lyric’s view of the clouds.
In the center of the clearing was a pit. Two green-clad women, their hair braided back from their faces, sat near its edge. One was holding a bow, loose but ready, and the other had a knife sheathed at her waist.
Another scream split the air; it’s sound primal and raw, more animal than human. Lyric’s skin prickled, and her heart shuddered inside her chest. Her stomach filled with dread as the scream weakened into a rasping whimper.
“You have Egan in a pit?” Eleden asked furiously. He strode past Laenadara to the pit’s edge with Laerdi on his heels. Together they leaned over, looking down. Laerdi recoiled, and Eleden rocked back on his heels as if something had struck him. His hands clenched against his legs, his fists tight enough that Lyric heard his knuckles pop from the strain.
“It’s him?” Lyric asked, taking a tentative step forward.
“No!” Eleden said, whirling around and holding up a hand. “No, Lyric. This shouldn’t be the first glimpse you have of your father.” His face was pale, his eyes wild and round.
“We don’t need to be protected,” Runa growled. She strode forward, unconsciously towing Lyric along.
Drawn to the edge by her sister, Lyric swallowed and looked down into the pit. It wasn’t dark like she’d imagined but softly lit by glowing lights high on the earthen walls. There was a blanket, shredded and soiled in one corner, and an earthen pot tipped on its side that’d perhaps once held water. In the center of the pit stood a man head bowed and back hunched. He was naked from the waist up, and his linen trousers were stained and torn. His feet were bare; his toes curled in the gashed dirt.
As Lyric stared down at their father, her fingers clenched around Runa’s arm, Egan’s head snapped up. Matted, silver hair flew back from his eyes. They were green, like Eleden’s and Lyric’s own, but they were wild, unfocused, and shone with unnatural light. He was handsome or had been, the square face drawn, the cheeks sunken. A scraggly beard covered his cheeks, matted and thin in places as though he’d torn parts free with his fingers.
Long, bloody lines crossed his chest as if he’d tried to scratch away the skin on his abdomen. Egan’s ribs stuck out visibly, his belly hollowed. Wrapping both his arms from elbow to armpit, were seven, tattooed rings of mage blue. There was no recognition in his eyes, and he inhaled, scenting the air like a dog. Fury darkened his eyes to a deep, unsettling green, almost black, and he howled, running towards the wall beneath their feet.
Lyric yelped, grabbing Runa, as their father’s body slammed into the wall. Egan scrabbled vainly, trying to climb, to reach them, but he slid back to the pit’s bottom with every attempt. Howling again, he stalked back and forth, watching them, and muttering something unintelligible.
Tears filled Lyric’s eyes, and she looked back at Laenadara. “This is our father?” she asked, voice breaking. She could hear Runa breathing raggedly beside her, and she slipped her arm around her sister’s waist.
“Can’t you do anything for him?” Lyric asked.
“Nothing we’ve tried works,” Laenadara said. “He’s beyond our abilities. However …”
“However?” Runa asked. Her voice was rough and angry. “Don’t toy with us,” she spat. “Say what you’re thinking!”
The High Priestess folded her hands together. “If the Taint is burned from the world, it’s possible the creatures poisoned by it will be cleansed. Your father’s illness is from the Taint’s corruption. I believe there’s a chance he can be saved.”
“You’re manipulating them!” Eleden said accusingly. He glowered at Laenadara, causing one of the green-clad guards to step closer to the High Priestess.
“That’s not my intent,” Laenadara said. “I don’t wish to force you to do anything. I only want you to make an informed decision.”
“We have to do it,” Lyric whispered to Runa. “We have to try. I can’t walk away, not now.”
Egan screamed, scrambling at the wall of the pit, and both Lyric and Runa jumped.
“What else can we do?” Lyric asked. She could not give up on h
im or leave him here. She would not walk away.
Runa gritted her teeth. Her eyes were dark with pain and worry. “I don’t know, Ly,” she whispered. “It’s all falling apart around us.”
“To the end and beyond?” Lyric asked. Are you with me? she thought.
Runa smiled, a sad, bitter twist of her lips. “To the end,” she said, “but I think you’re right, and we should wait for Mother. She’ll be here soon. Maybe she knows something about the ritual.”
Lyric nodded and together, they turned back to Laenadara. To the side, Eleden and Laerdi stared at them, their faces strained, caught between worry and anger.
“We want to help,” Lyric said, “but we need to speak to our Mother first. She’s on her way.”
Annoyance flashed across Laenadara’s face, the look gone so quickly Lyric wondered if she’d imagined it. “I understand, but you need to make your choice soon. The ritual must be performed within the next two days while the Veil is thin. The moons are aligned above us, ensuring a successful summoning. We cannot miss it, or we’ll be forced to wait another year. By then ...” She gestured, her eyes sad. “The Taint will have consumed Erith.”
Lyric gasped, feeling cold. She studied the High Priestess’ face, her confidence faltering.
“Why didn’t you mention this before?” Runa asked, frowning.
“I did not want to rush your decision,” Laenadara said. “I hoped we would —”
“High Priestess!” A green-clad woman rushed towards them from the trees, her bow held over one shoulder.
Laenadara turned, lips tightening. “Yes, Elwin. What is it?”
“There’s an airship approaching from the east with blue sails.”
“Kaia!” Eleden swore, staring up into the sky.
Lyric followed his gaze but saw nothing but branches stretching overhead.
“I’ll speak to her,” Laenadara said, looking at Lyric and Runa. “I’ll tell her you’re under our protection. That is, if I may speak on your behalf?”
Lyric and Runa glanced at each other. “Yes, thank you,” Lyric said. “You can tell Kaia we’ll meet with her once she agrees to your terms of conduct.” She eyed Runa, who nodded.
“We need to speak to the Gale anyway,” Runa said, “to discuss the war’s cessation.”
The High Priestess opened her mouth, perhaps to press the deadline she’d given them.
“We understand the urgency,” Lyric said, “and will make our decision, but given the gravity of this undertaking, we want to wait for our mother to arrive. We need her counsel. You said we have at least two days?”
Laenadara inclined her head, the skin tight around her eyes and mouth. “I’ll take you somewhere to rest, where you can confer in private. I’ll have Kell brought to you, and Kaia, if you wish, once we have officially greeted her.”
“Thank you,” Lyric said.
Runa gave a curt nod, glancing back at the pit.
“I’ll come with you,” Eleden said, his eyes on Laenadara. “Kaia can be damnably cunning when she wishes. I’ll ensure her compliance.”
26
Runa
Runa paced, her hand trailing sparks along the interlacing branches of the wall.
“Careful!” Lyric called from across the room. “What if you set fire to the tree?”
“I’m not going to set fire to it,” Runa said. She murmured the rune for fire again beneath her breath and felt a surge of satisfaction as the wood scorched beneath her fingers.
They were back in the village in a small, pod-like structure that Laenadara’s people had furnished with blankets and cushions. The Ayanarans had brought water and food then left them alone. Eleden and Laerdi had gone with Laenadara and had yet to return, and Kell was still with the healers.
Don’t be a child, Elenora hissed inside her head. You can’t ignore me forever.
Runa pivoted on her heel and walked the other way, glancing sideways at Lyric who was picking at a plate of fresh vegetables and dip made from mashed beans and spices. Her sister’s eyes kept drifting to the doorway, as though expecting Kell to walk through at any moment.
Your sister trusts too easily, Elenora said. Her voice was sour with displeasure.
Runa gritted her teeth and tried to focus on the sensation of the branches beneath her fingers.
She’ll weaken you. She’s holding you back. Did you see how quickly your sister sided with these outlanders over you? She chooses others over blood. Who do you think she’ll side with when an agreement is made? Not Raendashar.
Go away, Runa thought, rubbing her temples.
What do you think the Sireni will do when we’re no longer regulating their movements? Do you think they’ll forget their supposed claim to our land? No, they are devious. They’ll sneak into the Scorched Court through your sister’s tainted blood.
“Enough!” Runa hissed. “You forget we’re the same!”
“Did you say something?” Lyric asked, looking up from the plate in her hands.
“Nothing,” Runa said. She forced herself to walk over to her sister and sit down.
Lyric offered her a long yellow pepper spear and Runa took it, absently ripping off a chunk with her teeth.
“I still can’t wrap my head around this,” Lyric said. “Can the fate of the world, of life itself, truly hinge on our decision to participate in the ritual?”
“Laenadara could find someone else,” Runa said recalling what the High Priestess had said. “I doubt our father’s the only god-child in the world. She’s likely exaggerating our importance so we’ll agree to help because she doesn’t have the time or desire to find someone else.”
“Maybe,” Lyric said. “But if it were a simple thing, then why wouldn’t she have tried the ritual with someone else?”
“We didn’t ask if she has,” Runa said. She narrowed her eyes at the pepper. They should have thought to ask her. What if Laenadara had already tried it and failed? Even if the ritual could only be performed a specific time of the year, she’d had twelve years to try.
“But if she has performed the ritual,” Lyric said, “and it failed like Grandfather’s, we would know, wouldn’t we?”
“If the effect was the same,” Runa said. “Maybe she tried, and nothing bad occurred. Maybe nothing happened at all. If our consent determines whether the ritual works or not, then all Laenadara would need is someone to agree.”
“Maybe …” Lyric said, her voice trailing off. “I don’t get the sense that Laenadara is hiding anything from us. If she performed the ritual before she’d have told us. I understand why she didn’t mention the deadline right away.”
Foolish, Elenora hissed.
“It should work, shouldn’t it?” Lyric asked. “The only reason Grandfather’s spell failed was because Father fought against it. As long as we don’t fight …”
“And if Laenadara is wrong?” Runa asked. “What if the ritual requires our death? What if that’s what Father was fighting against? Do you still want to go through with it if the cost is our lives?”
Lyric’s eyes were thoughtful. She was actually considering Runa’s question.
“You’d die to summon the dragons?” Runa asked. Her cheeks heated. The truth was, she was afraid. But why? She’d almost died once already. She knew how it felt. What was one more brush with death? But this, this would be agreeing to it beforehand. No accidental spell pushing her out of her body. Was this better or worse?
“If this is the only way to save Erith,” Lyric said, “to save everyone … how can we not?” She was tormented, it was clear on her face, but she’d still do it. She’d sacrifice herself.
“It’s not your job to save everyone,” Runa said. Her voice came out fiercer than she intended, but Lyric just smiled sadly.
“We’ve fought so hard to save Mama,” Lyric said. “We’ve traveled across the world. How can we give up now? I’m surprised by you, Ru. You’ve always been the risk taker.”
“And you’ve always been the cautious one,” Runa said. She sm
iled suddenly, her lips moving as if they had a mind of their own. “What’s happened to us, Ly?”
“Forced maturity?”
They grinned at each other, and for a moment it felt like they were home again. Runa clung to the feeling. In that moment, she wanted to go back. She wanted to go home and shut the door against the world until it was just her and Lyric again. Life hadn’t been simple and uncomplicated in Elae’s Hollow, it’d been hard and challenging, but Runa had understood it. She’d known who and what to trust.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think we need to die for the ritual to succeed,” Lyric said. “If the Old Ones stayed behind so they could return if we need them, why would they require someone’s death to do so?”
“Unless they didn’t create the ritual themselves,” Runa said. “What if the spell’s purpose is to force the dragons to obey the summoner? Who, if I’m not mistaken, will be Laenadara?”
Lyric shook her head, setting aside the half-eaten plate of food. “The Ayanarans’ entire society is based on the sanctity of life. They seek to protect it.”
“There’s a problem in that,” Runa said. “Protection is subjective. Mother, for instance, thought she was protecting us when she abandoned us as children. Obviously, we disagree with her choice. In our eyes, she wasn’t protecting us.”
Lyric sighed and rubbed her fingers over her face. “I feel like we could discuss this for hours and still have doubts. We have to choose whether to trust Laenadara or not, and if we trust Eleden’s judgment in bringing us here.” Lyric sighed again and dropped her chin into her hands. “He was angry with her, though. Accused her of manipulating us. Did he know about the ritual? I wish Mama would arrive so we can ask what she thinks about it.”
“You heard Eleden,” Runa said. “She didn’t want us to come here at all.”
“To keep us out of the war,” Lyric said. “I don’t think she knew about the ritual. If she knew the Taint was spreading and that we could eliminate it —”
“Lyric?” a man’s voice called from outside. “Are you there?”
Daughters of Fire & Sea Page 32
