Mirage

by Jenn Reese

  “Hoku,” Aluna said. “You ready?” She carried the Flame Heart banner, her eyes dark like deep ocean in the fading light. Dash rode beside her, his chin high, his dark hair streaming behind him. No one wore head wraps to the Ceremony of Flames. They were to “meet and know their Equian kin, bonded by the heat of fire.”

  “We’re together again,” he said. “I’m ready for anything.”

  She smiled, a smile just for him.

  Drums echoed in the distance.

  “The call,” Dash said, sitting taller on his horse. “The drums call to all Equian warriors across the desert, asking them to come and give honor to the sun and moon and sand.”

  Ahead of them, Tayan raised her sword. “Flame Heart!”

  Hoku and the rest of the herd yelled, “Flame Heart!” in response, and they were off.

  Tayan kept their pace slow and stately, letting all the lingering herds take a good, long look. Most had never seen a living Serpenti, and none had ever seen a Kampii growing her tail. If only Calli were here with her glorious wings, Hoku thought. No one could see them and not want to fly.

  They wound their way through the campsites toward the arena. Hoku couldn’t speak. After so many months of travel and sweat and tears, his head and heart felt too full, too heavy, too amazed. Six months ago, he’d spent most of his days inside his cramped Kampii room tucked under a coral reef. Now he rode in the Thunder Trials, part of a newly awakened but ancient herd.

  The Sun Stadium had been dug out of the salty Ghostwater ground. In the middle of the vast arena, a huge bonfire blazed. It looked as if the Equians had trapped a piece of the sun itself.

  The herds arriving at the arena joined a line that wound down around the rim of the stadium. Once they reached the bottom, they bolted into a gallop. They circled the bonfire three times, once for each day of the Trials, once for the sun, the moon, and the sand. Then, amid the cheers of the other herds, they found their way to an empty space near the bonfire, making sure to leave enough room for the next herd.

  Hoku’s pulse quickened as Flame Heart edged its way into the stadium, waiting its turn. Some herds had brought hundreds of competitors and thousands of spectators. When Red Sky, the largest herd, entered the stadium, Hoku finally understood why the games were called the Thunder Trials. So many Equians pounding the ground as they ran shook the very sky.

  When Flame Heart’s turn finally came, Hoku found himself grinning. Tayan yelled and raced forward. He didn’t wait. He kicked Sunbeam, and the horse launched itself into the arena, following its leader. Aluna and Tal surged ahead, keeping just behind Tayan. Dash galloped at Tayan’s other side. Behind him, Hoku heard Rollin whooping and cheering on her horse, Cactus.

  But the Serpenti surprised him most. He’d expected them to make no noise except the quiet hiss of their snakeskin against the sandy ground. Instead, they spread out behind Tayan and the other horses in a triangle, holding their Human heads and torsos low, just a meter above the ground. Every few seconds, in time with the Equian drums, the Serpenti bobbed their bodies up and slammed them down, driving their fists into the earth.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  Hoku yelled and thrust his fist into the air.

  Aluna screamed, “Flame Heart!”

  Dash yelled, “For the honor of Chabi!”

  Hoku felt the heat of the giant fire on his cheeks, felt Sunbeam’s skin break into a sweat beneath him. He wanted to race in that circle forever, yelling with his friends, always on the verge of battle, but never actually entering it.

  Too soon, their laps were done, and Tayan led them to their spot in the circle, where they could watch the remaining herds enter the arena.

  Hoku’s breathing necklace pulsed bright as the sun slipped all the way behind the mountains and the last herd finished its run. When High Khan Onggur finally appeared on the high podium overlooking all the competitors, Hoku knew that he was ready. The drums had called them, and they had answered.

  Here we are. Flame Heart. Our hearts aflame.

  ONCE ALL THE HERDS were arrayed in the stadium, torches burst to life in the pavilion. High Khan Onggur, illuminated by the flickering fire, seemed even larger and more impressive than ever. A ring of Red Sky warriors stood around him, and Scorch, her red shirt now embroidered with orange-and-black flames, smiled easily at his side.

  Aluna studied her. She knew exactly how to get what she wanted from Onggur, and to make it seem like it was his idea. A whispered bit of advice here, a poke at something sensitive there. Scorch wasn’t the ruler of the desert by name or title, but she was something far more powerful. The hidden danger. The shadow controlling everything. Without Scorch, the desert herds would have united against Karl Strand. Instead, they were about to become his greatest weapon.

  Scorch. If Aluna had the chance, she’d have to kill her. If she could. The Scorch they’d encountered in Mirage had seemed indestructible — fast, strong, cruel. Great White with a lot more malice.

  Dash moved Sandwolf next to Tal and leaned in. The wind tossed his long hair against Aluna’s cheek. “You look angry,” he whispered.

  “I am,” she said. “But it’s a good thing. I need it.”

  He nodded and leaned back.

  “Do you think we have any chance of winning the Trials?” she asked him.

  Dash looked up at the night sky. The bonfire made the stars hard to see. When he turned back to her, his eyes glowed like embers.

  “No,” he said. “I want to say yes, but I cannot. We have no chance.”

  Aluna nodded. “Thank you for being honest.”

  The corner of his mouth twisted into a smile. “It is the best way I know to show respect.”

  Aluna watched Onggur speak and Scorch hover in the shadows.

  “We’re going to fight anyway,” she said. “With everything we’ve got. As if we do have a chance.”

  “Yes,” Dash said. “We are.”

  Aluna returned her attention to High Khan Onggur just as he held up his hand for silence. The crowd hushed until only the crackle of the bonfire filled the night. “You all know of our alliance with Karl Strand and his esteemed daughter, Sand Master Scorch,” Onggur said. Weak cheers echoed up from the stadium. “I am now proud to announce that our bond has grown even stronger.”

  “Where is he going with this?” Aluna whispered.

  Dash frowned. “Nowhere good.”

  High Khan Onggur unsheathed his sword and held it above his head. “Welcome Scorch, newest member of herd Red Sky!”

  Red Sky and their allies cheered.

  “You know what this means,” Dash said.

  Aluna swallowed, her pulse suddenly thick in her throat. “It means Scorch is going to compete in the Thunder Trials. It means Flame Heart has to beat her, too.”

  When the crowd quieted, the High Khan officially started the games. He yelled, “May we honor the sun!” and slashed his sword through the air. Thunder rolled through the night as more than a thousand Equians stomped the ground and cheered.

  Tayan raised her sword and led Flame Heart up the stadium’s edge, away from the bonfire. Aluna saw the other herds doing the same.

  “The word-weaver competition begins now,” Tayan said. “We will each perform one time each night. Stay if you wish, but I recommend you go back and sleep. Tomorrow the Trials begin. You will need your strength.”

  Aluna touched two fingers to her heart and bowed to her khan. “Wise words from a wise leader.”

  Tayan bowed in return and granted Aluna a rare smile.

  “It’s our fault about Scorch,” Aluna said. “What we did with Flame Heart, that gave High Khan Onggur the idea of adding Scorch to his herd.”

  “It gave Scorch the idea,” Dash said. “She is the one behind this.”

  “I agree,” Tayan said. “But no doubt he has alienated some of his Equian allies with this decision. Perhaps it will be to our advantage in the end.”

  “No one can beat her in fair combat,” Aluna said. “I think they’ve just won.”


  “You have not seen us fight,” Tayan countered easily. “Flame Heart’s warriors may not claim the Sun Disc, but there is still hope for Shining Moon. Both my father and my brother are highly skilled.”

  Aluna frowned. She didn’t like the fact that Flame Heart’s khan had more faith in another herd. But up until a few weeks ago, Tayan had been Shining Moon from the tip of her horsey tail to the top of her Human head. Tayan didn’t believe in Flame Heart yet, but Aluna would give her a reason to change her mind.

  Tal took her up the slope of the stadium, toward the Flame Heart campsite. Aluna desperately wanted to find open sand and run as far and as fast as she could. She’d done that all the time in the ocean, swimming off on grand explorations minutes before she was due to meet her father or finish a chore. She needed speed. And space. And time away from everything she knew.

  Tal huffed and pranced, sensing her mood. Tal wanted to run, too. The two of them were made for each other, a spirit of water and a spirit of sand.

  “Not tonight,” Aluna said, patting Tal’s neck. “If either of us got hurt tomorrow because we were too tired, I’d never forgive myself.”

  Tal snorted in disgust.

  “And besides, we have work to do,” Aluna said. “All this time, we’ve been training to fight Equians. Now we need to figure out how to beat Scorch.”

  The next morning, Aluna reported to the Path of Sun record keeper and was assigned Ring Three for her day’s bouts. Only the warriors with the most victories would continue to the elimination rounds on day two, and only the last two competitors would fight in the evening of day three for the coveted Sun Disc.

  Bouts all day! She shook her head and patted Tal. Equians and their stamina. How could anyone compete against a people built from horses? She turned to head up to Ring Three, but Scorch stood in her way. Up close, her resemblance to Karl Strand and Fathom was even more noticeable. If her eyes had the capacity for kindness, she’d look just like a female version of Karl from the photo they’d found. The one taken before his son had died and he’d apparently lost his mind.

  “What do you want?” Aluna said.

  Scorch laughed. “Why, to wish you well, of course. I hope you survive long enough to fight me.”

  Aluna smiled. “Oh, I will. I’ll survive long enough to beat you.”

  The humor disappeared from Scorch’s face. “Big talk from a fish who couldn’t even kill my brother when she had the chance.”

  Aluna flicked her wrists and felt the smooth silver capsules holding her talons drop into her palms.

  “Oh, yes, I’ve had time to hear all the news now,” Scorch said. “Trust me when I say you would never have left Mirage alive if I’d had my way.”

  “You want to fight right now?” Aluna popped open her talons. She sat on Tal, a good meter higher than Scorch’s Human body. But Scorch herself was far from Human. “I’m only here for you. To end you. To drive another harpoon deep into Karl Strand’s side. You want to fight right now? Then let’s go.”

  Scorch lifted a hand and pushed a lock of Karl Strand’s brown hair out of her eyes. A delaying tactic. Aluna’s suggestion had apparently taken her by surprise.

  The fake smile reappeared on Scorch’s face. “Fight? Now? Why, that’s not how we do things in the desert, little fish. It’s good to see that none of the Equians’ honor has rubbed off on you while you’ve been here.”

  “You are the last person in the world who has the right to lecture me about honor,” Aluna said quietly.

  “You’d prefer my father did it?” Scorch said. “I admit, Father has always had an interesting take on the concept. But, no,” she said. “You’ll never see Karl Strand or be part of his glorious vision of the future. You won’t make it past these trials. I guarantee it.”

  Aluna should have walked away. She had fights to prepare for, and Scorch was already in her head.

  “You remind me of someone,” Aluna said, pretending to think. “Oh, that’s right! You remind me of your brother Fathom, right before I drove him to his knees.”

  Scorch’s left eye twitched. Her fists clenched.

  There, Aluna thought. Now I’m in your head, too.

  She nudged Tal, and the two of them kept walking. So Scorch knew about Fathom and HydroTek, beyond what they’d told High Khan Onggur back in Mirage. Even if Flame Heart won the trials, there was no way Scorch would let her or Dash or Hoku or Calli leave the desert alive.

  Ring Three turned out to be a large circle of salty earth surrounded by a low wall of sandbags. Competitors prepared on one side of the ring while spectators stood on the other side, eating and drinking and placing bets. Clanking armor and the clop of hoofbeats filled the air. Aluna smelled horse and sweat, metal and oil. A few meters from the ring, Human and Equian vendors sold food to the waiting spectators, adding the scents of sizzling snake and grilled cactus to the air. She even spotted a few Upgraders mixed in with the crowd.

  The Equian running Ring Three took her name and gave her a sash to loop across her body, shoulder to hip. It was light blue and gold, with a large golden sun sewn in the middle. She was officially a Flame Heart on the Path of Sun.

  She scanned the crowd, looking for Master Sefu or Subira. They must have been assigned to different rings. Good. Then all three of them had a chance of making it to the finals. A Serpenti warrior named Okpara had been assigned to this ring, but no one considered his chances good — not even Okpara himself.

  “No killing blows,” the Ring Three fight master said to Aluna. She wore rainbow colors in her head wrap, a sign that for the tournament, she owed allegiance to all herds and to none. An impartial judge. “You are allowed your horse and whatever weapons you choose. Should you and your horse become separated during the fight, only one of you can continue.”

  Aluna nodded.

  The Equian smiled suddenly. “They’ll try to spook your horse,” she said. “No one has ever competed with one before. They’ll go for her first, to weaken you right away.”

  Tal snorted and reared her head back. Aluna put a hand on her neck to calm her. She needed them to think that Tal was just a dumb animal, not an animal with full Equian intelligence.

  “Thanks,” Aluna said. “But why are you helping me?”

  The woman shrugged. “I like a good fight. It honors the sun, and it honors us all.”

  Aluna touched two fingers to her heart. “I aim to give you one.”

  The woman laughed and shouted, “Next!”

  ONCE ALUNA AND TAL were off to the Path of Sun area, Hoku headed to Calli’s tent to work on his force shield and keep her company. Or maybe she was keeping him company. He pushed open the flap and almost smacked into Nathif. The snake-boy towered above Hoku and wore a wide grin on his face.

  “You’re so quiet with your slithering,” Hoku grumbled. “Would you consider wearing a bell, or a tiny piece of tech that beeps every few seconds?”

  “Keep joking, merman,” Nathif said, pushing a clump of blond hair away from his eyes. “After enough tries, you are bound to make a funny one.”

  Hoku searched for a witty comeback but decided he was too tired. He actually liked the way Nathif teased him. There was no malice to it, and Hoku enjoyed the verbal sparring. At least he did when he was more awake. “I’m saving my brainpower to get this shield working.”

  “Excellent,” Nathif said. “I hope your tech savvy exceeds your wit.”

  Hoku opened his mouth in the hopes that something brilliant would suddenly appear there, but a weak voice from the back of the tent saved him.

  “Hoku’s the smartest person I know.”

  “Calli!”

  Nathif’s grin grew even bigger as Hoku shoved past him. Calli sat propped up by pillows, her wings arrayed to each side, her eyes bright. He fell to his knees next to her.

  “You’re awake!”

  She giggled.

  “Yes, I know that’s obvious now that I’ve said it,” he said. He stared at her, at her pink cheeks, her small smile, her hands wrapp
ed around a piece of half-eaten fruit. “I have so much to tell you!”

  “I have already told her about Flame Heart and the Serpenti,” Nathif said. “I am afraid I was not the most . . . calming image for her to see when she first opened her eyes. I thought she might like to know why a half-snake stranger was changing the dressing on her wound.”

  “I wasn’t scared,” Calli said. “Well, not until Nathif started telling jokes.”

  “You’re awake,” Hoku said again. It seemed to be the only thought in his head. “I can’t believe it.”

  He heard Nathif chuckle. “I am an exceedingly good healer.”

  The tent flap opened again. “Good thing, because you make a terrible doorway,” Rollin said. “Move aside, you wiggly thing, before I screw on my hook. Taken care of more than a few snakes in my day.”

  “Hi, Rollin,” Calli said. Her voice rasped.

  “Good girl, waking up,” Rollin said. “Can you walk? Sign-up for the Path of Moon only goes till high sun.”

  “No,” Hoku said. “She needs her rest.”

  Calli’s eyebrow quirked up. “I can speak for myself.”

  “I . . . of course you can! It’s just that you’ve been so sick. . . .”

  “She is weak, but the poison is entirely gone,” Nathif said. “The sooner she is up using her muscles again, the better.

  “It’s okay, Hoku. Really,” Calli said. “I promise to drink lots of water and rest whenever I can.” She turned to Rollin. “Can you help me up? I think I can make it if I can lean on someone and if someone can carry the bow.”

  “I will go register at the textiles tent,” Nathif said. “Now that my more important work is done.”