“Then why did I find them abandoned and in ruins?” These men sounded like squawking washerwomen. Someone needed to get a hold on them.
“We can’t control the cataclysm. It strikes where it will.”
“And where did my sisters go?”
“To Azaradi, to seek aid from the High Tazmin, of course. Where else would they go? They were his daughters!” Nur was flushed. His skin looked twice as strained when it was stained wine-red.
“Were?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
How would Amandera talk to them? She was the one with courtly graces. She would know how to put these Tazmins in their place and then win them over. She’d be calm and collected like she always was.
Around me, several of the Tazmins and Tazmineras looked at the ground as if they weren’t able to meet my gaze. All of this would be easier if I hadn’t been cloistered with my sisters all those years before I set off on the race to find the Teeth of the Gods. It would be easier if I’d met more than a handful of these people before. What were they hiding from me?
“Are any of you my siblings by blood?” I asked coolly. No one spoke, but the shuffling and awkward expressions increased. “By marriage?”
Still nothing. I pointed at a woman in a gold sarette. Her heartstone matched her sarette and her dark brows were drawn down just like the corners of her mouth.
“Step forward.” I pointed to a place before me.
She obeyed.
“What happened to my siblings, Tazminera?” I let my voice be quiet and deadly as I knew Amandera would if she were here.
“Dead,” the Tazminera whispered.
“All?”
“They were in Azaradi for the festival, as the High Tazmin had instructed.” Her voice was so quiet that I barely made out her words, but they hit me like a hammer. All of my sisters who had escaped the cataclysm had been slain by Catane – every other person I’d known except Rusk and Amandera. Ice filled my veins. I glanced at Evanessa’s pale face before letting my gaze swivel to the Tazminera again. “The wives of the High Tazmin?”
“Slain by Catane’s hand.” Her limbs were trembling.
I barely kept the thunderclap out of my words. “All?”
“All but the High Tazminera Evanessa who stands before us,” High Tazminera Cadram said, slipping in behind the Tazminera in the golden sarette and gently guiding her back to her ancestor. “The line of the High Tazmin had been extinguished.”
“Not entirely,” I said.
“And that is a problem.” Lesser Tazmin Nur said. His tone was ugly. “The High Tazmin did nothing to prevent this. He should have killed his thirteenth son when he had the chance.”
I clenched the muscle in my jaw. What I wanted to do was yell at them that they were all fools and then begin making demands. The scintellex pulsed in my pocket and I brought it out, toying with the rings while I composed myself. What I needed to do now was win them with reason. Too bad sweet reason had never been what I was best at.
“The realm is in chaos. The High Tazmin dead,” I said.
“We know that. We came here out of respect for him, but we owe no allegiance to you,” Lesser Tazmin Nur said. There were nods from around the circle and I felt my expression tighten.
I pulled the High Tazmin’s heartstone out of my pocket and held it above my head.
“I am Tylira Nyota, marked as heir of the High Tazmin and holding his heartstone. I have the authority to call on you to defend our nation and rally against our common enemy.”
Several Tazmins and Tazmineras fidgeted. No one would meet my eye.
“Why do none of you answer?” I asked, still holding the flashing heartstone high. “Have you forgotten your oaths?”
“You’re nothing but a girl,” Lesser Tazmin Nur said, and from the way the others shifted, I could tell he spoke for them all. This was too important for them to be looking at my age and gender. Couldn’t they see that?
I strode forward and seized Nur by the front of his festive garments. Even in the spirit world, where I could not harm him, he started in surprise.
I wanted so badly to drag him through to Ra’shara and show him who was in charge - make him dance to my lightnings. But no, it was this kind of headstrong nonsense that brought Catane here. It was this thinking that made me flee my duties. Perhaps, if I had stayed they would trust me now.
“I’m a girl with an army, a general to lead them, and the gift it will take to defeat Catane and fix the cataclysm that is destroying this world. So, yes, I’m only a girl, but I’m what you all need and I demand that you stop cowering and face up to your duty to protect your people.”
“And then what?” Lesser Tazmin Cadram asked from behind Nur. “Then you rule us with twice the iron fist of your father?”
“No,” I said, stepping back and letting Nur get himself under control.
I glanced behind me to see Rusk fold his arms over his chest. Evanessa stood shoulder to shoulder with him, looking proud and strong. Good. That would help.
“That’s what every would-be ruler says before they take power, and then they are corrupted by the lure of telling men what to do.”
“I will not rule you when this battle is over,” I said, “although I will demand that you obey my commands until then – as it is written in the scrolls you marked when you were chosen as heads of your households. No, I will not rise to take the High Tazmin’s place.”
“Then who are you suggesting?” Cadram asked, with a glint in his eye. “One of us?”
“Wrong again.” These greedy sharks would be worse than I would. “I will turn over my authority to Evanessa Hawkwing, consort to the deceased High Tazmin.”
The gasps warmed me to the very heart. There! They didn’t expect that, did they?
“Gather your forces,” I said, with a smile. “Bring them to outskirts of Al’Karida. We will not allow Catane to take Canderabai from us.”
I’d expected objections and anger, but I’d never expected the looks of approval in their eyes.
“I never intended this place to remain as it always has been. We are bound by tradition, not by virtue. It bends us so that we can not reach too high.” I shook the chain between Rusk and I. “What kind of animals chain humans one to another?” I pointed to the brand on my shoulder. “Or brand another with a destiny no one else even wants for them?” I gestured to Evanessa. “Or take vulnerable young women as brides? It’s time this ended. I choose Evanessa to take this land when we have freed it. She can replace our traditions with virtue and our superstitions with honesty.”
There were murmurs of approval. I hoped I was making the right choice. Her mind was damaged by the High Tazmin, but if she was anything like her brother she could bring all of that and more - and I had confidence that she would heal.
“If you agree with me, cross over this line,” I said, tracing a line in the spectral dust with my foot and stepping back to stand shoulder to shoulder with Rusk. He looked imposing with his arms crossed over his chest.
They stood unmoving and I almost sighed. So much for approval. Well, I would find another way. I always did in the end. But what would I do with them? I couldn’t exactly punish them for this, but I’d have to deal with their lack of loyalty somehow. I would –
The first Lesser Tazmin to step over the line was Lesser Tazmin Cadram, followed by a sighing Nur, and then all the shadow forms of the Lesser Tazmins and Tazmineras were rushing to join them.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and glanced over at the horizon. Kjexx was standing there. He gave me one of his ridiculous fist-to-chest salutes. Hopefully, Rusk didn’t see it. He was jealous enough without realizing who had plotted with me to help his sister to power. I might be an unweaver in the Common, but when it came to life I wove tangles so tight that the finest toothed comb couldn’t separate them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Why me?” Evanessa asked.
We were alone on the Cliffs of Canderabai, back in the real world. Rusk was
strangely silent, scratching at his chin and watching me carefully like I might sprout another head. We’d lit a fire and were sitting around it, but we’d brought nothing with us, not even blankets, and it was a poor place to camp.
“It should be you,” I said. Did I look as young as she did? She was probably about my age, but she looked too young for what I’d thrust on her. Her huge eyes were full of confusion. “You will protect the people of the Kosad plains, right?”
“Of course I will,” she said, and Rusk smiled, slipping an arm around her companionably.
“And you will protect the Eaglekin, who Rusk has made promises to.”
“I’ll honor any promises my brother has made,” she agreed. What made this perfect girl fall in love with my old father? In every other respect, she seemed perfectly reasonable - well, except for her irrational hatred of me, but that seemed to be passing.
“And the people we brought with us – the Black Talon. They have no home. Will you give them one? On the Kosad Plains?”
She looked at Rusk and he nodded.
“Yes.”
“And the people of Canderabai? Will you be cruel to them after all they did to you?”
“They are my husband’s people.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I’ll give them all the honor I can no longer give him.”
“That is why I chose you. You will be a good ruler. And I think that perhaps it is time to see Canderabai ruled by someone other than a Nyota. Catane and I are both unweavers. We’re cut from the same headstrong, ambitious cloth. We shouldn’t rule these lands, you should. You’ll be fair and compassionate. Promise me that you will.”
“I promise,” she said, with her eyes shining in the rising moon.
I smiled and reached out to take her hand in the seal of promise. I was not even dead yet, and I had a successor. I hadn’t slipped the scintellex back into my pocket yet. Not even when we were building the fire. Something about the way it sat in my grip made me feel more confident, like I was doing something right.
“Here,” I said, passing her the High Tazmin’s heartstone. “It’s yours.”
She gasped, clutching the heartstone to her chest, tears welling up in her eyes. I was still confused about why she would love the High Tazmin, but I felt a smile flicker in the corners of my mouth. At least I could give this one thing to her.
I let Evanessa’s hand go and looked to Rusk, he straightened by the fire, opened his mouth to speak, but then a sound like a wind whipping up filled the air. Somewhere in the falling night, a bird was taking off … no, it was right overhead … no …
And then there were two great rocs alighting on the cliffs, their massive wings stretched out, and their talons reaching forward until they snatched a firm footing. As they folded their wings, they crept towards the fire and sank into a nesting position.
My mouth hung open, and Evanessa’s mirrored mine, but Rusk just shrugged with a boyish grin.
“I’ve been talking to them all day, and they were cold. They wanted to share the fire.”
“By all means,” I said, shifting so that I wasn’t blocking any of the fire from the rocs. They crept forward until their great bodies were nestled against each other.
“I thought that they may want to meet the Eaglekin. You know, to establish a treaty or whatever they like. We could use their help in saving the world. They’re as worried about the rips in the sky as we are, and well, we lost our Tooth…” His voice wandered off, and I got up and gave him a hug.
“Thank you,” I said, as my face pressed against his chest.
“Sometimes they make more sense to me than people do.”
“I hope that’s not a statement about me,” I said, snuggling in closer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evanessa walking towards the rocs.
“Of course not!” Rusk sounded almost believable.
Evanessa sat down beside the roc and lay her head on his wing. His huge beak glistened in the firelight.
“Is that safe?’ I whispered. I had just promised everything I had to her – everything except Rusk and my own life.
“Safer than any of the things you do,” he said.
Evanessa’s eyes closed. Was she really going to sleep against a roc? Was the great bird going to allow it? Maybe it made sense that she fell in love with the High Tazmin if she took risks like this. I’d need to keep her away from Catane or who knew what she might do?
“You’re planning to die,” Rusk said, like he’d been holding it in until Evanessa was asleep.
“Do you think you can lead an army made up of so many different groups?” I asked, refusing to answer his bald question. “It will take a deft hand.”
“Yes, it will take a person a lot better at handling people than you are at deflecting my questions,” Rusk said. His voice shook with emotion, and his heart sped under my cheek. “You named my sister as the next leader. You think you are going to die.”
I paused. I didn’t want to admit that, and it wasn’t the full reason.
“You’ve seen me. Everything I touch falls apart. I feel like I need to do what I can and then get out of the way and let someone … better … lead.”
He leaned back so he could look me in the eyes. “You’d be great at it. You shouldn’t sell yourself short.”
“Look at my family, Rusk. Look what we’ve done. You’ve been there to see what I’ve done when I think I’m helping. It’s better to take myself out of the chain of power where I can’t cause trouble.”
“I don’t like that attitude. Your fierceness just won over the Tazmins. It was your grit and your refusal to hear ‘no’ from them that won them over. When you channel your strengths like that, they work for good.”
I took his hand and looked up into his eyes.
“That’s what I’m planning, Rusk. I’m planning to do all this for good, and to do it with you.”
“Because you think you’re going to die.”
“Because I think that if I live through this I want to be a new person – a person who gives instead of takes and who wants what’s best for everyone – not just herself.”
“I love you, Tylira Nyota, daughter of the stars.”
“And I love you, Rusk Hawkwing. You don’t brag at all, do you? You just made a peace treaty with Rocs and you act like it’s nothing. You recruited us an army of Eaglekin as if it was not even worth mentioning, and you stand beside me in all of this acting like I’m the one leading this charge when I’d be nowhere without you. I’m so proud of you.”
“Just promise me that you’ll try to live through this, too. Be that selfish, still.” His eyes were red-rimmed and I could tell by the tremor in his voice that he was holding back a torrent of emotion.
“I promise to love you forever – long past this life.” And that, at least, was true. Because I was turning my back on my freedom and my prestige for the sake of love. I was doing it for him – so he could have a safe sister and a free people. I’d do anything for him. I’d die if I had to, and I just didn’t dare to promise otherwise.
“Me, too.” His embrace was so warm and safe. If this was all I had in this life, it was enough.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“EXPLAIN IT AGAIN,” EVANESSA SAID. “You think I could weave the holes in the sky closed? I’m not that strong.”
“I think you are – but I also think that the scintellex will amplify what you do, and guide you.” I passed the ivory cylinder to her. We sat with our legs folded and our knees almost touching on the bare rock of the cliffs. With the dawn creeping over the horizon everything was black and gold.
“It looks strange. You said it’s an ancient artifact? I don’t think we could produce it in Canderabai.”
Rusk’s eyebrows rose at the word ‘we.’ His sister’s adoption of our country got a reaction from him every time.
“It’s ancient but very advanced. There were people who came before us-”
“Our ancestors. Mine is Alice. She doesn’t talk about anything othe
r than weaving.”
The gold outlined her black hair and face, making her look absolutely regal.
“Well, let’s hope she trained you well. I’m betting that with your strength we’ll have what it takes to heal the effects of the cataclysm.”
“It covers the whole planet,” she stared off into the distance as if she could see it all. “The High Tazmin had reports coming from all four corners of the map detailing the same things. Earthquakes, cracks in the sky and in the ground, all springing up out of nowhere.”
“We’ll go to where it began. The islands west of Al’Toan, the Ring of the Heavens.”
Rusk’s head tilted to the side. “The Rocs will take us.”
“Please thank them for their service to this world,” I said, gravely.
“When the cataclysm is healed I need to take them to the Eaglekin. They have much to discuss.”
And then we’d take our armies and drive Catane out. I couldn’t allow him to take over this place and do the things he’d done in Veen to my lands and people. The thought brought me up short. Did I feel responsible now for the people of Canderabai? I did. And I wouldn’t disappoint them.
“Of course,” I said, smiling.
Rusk’s smile lit my heart every time it met mine. He rolled the muscles in his shoulders, as he readied himself for what came next.
“You ladies can do what you need to heal our world, but you’ll need to listen to me where the Rocs are concerned. You understand?”
We nodded.
“I love you both,” he said, looking from me to Evanessa and back, “but I know you are headstrong, so I need your promise on this one.”
“I promise,” I said, compressing my lips at his words. We were both headstrong? I blinked back my surprise when Evanessa said the same thing.
Rusk nodded and tilted his head the other direction and the two Rocs rose from where they had slept, extending their wings and preening at their feathers.
Thunder Rattles High (Unweaving Chronicles Book 3) Page 8
