Between Starfalls

by S Kaeth

  The first man scoffed. “This is Taunos we’re talking about. He will be back with both Kaemada and Eian, and likely before sundown.”

  Taunos left the three, arguing about his timing, behind him. Barely had he gone five paces before another of his mother’s cousins assailed him. After dodging her, he ran into his former betrothed, the healer Uma’arei. A short but excruciatingly awkward conversation later, and he finally managed to get free.

  He sigh with relief when at last he heard Maeren’s voice and dove into the tent, knocking the top of his head against the frame when he failed to duck low enough. He rubbed his head with a wince. It was just another welcome home for him, being in the land of low doorways. Still, it was good to be out from under the eye of the kaetalyn. His people raised him up to a height where all he could do was fall short of expectations. Sometimes he felt it would be better to start again from the bottom and work his way up in respect. And yet, he enjoyed the adoration, even if they put more faith in him than any man should have.

  “Taunos!” Ra’ael exclaimed.

  “You’re here!” Takiyah cried at almost the same time.

  They stood side-by-side, both wearing belligerent expressions with their long, straight hair—one red, one black—tied back and their packs in hand. Takiyah’s bulged at odd angles, and he smiled, wondering how many of her tools she had packed in there.

  “Wildling. Tinker.” He couldn’t help but use the pet names he’d given them long ago. Ra’ael rewarded him with a scowl.

  Maeren gave him a tired smile. “Taunos, good.”

  “My sister went on ahead?” Taunos said, raking a hand through his hair.

  Maeren nodded. “Ra’ael and Takiyah want to go find her. They say she caused the sleep.”

  Taunos suppressed a shudder, remembering his sister’s scream as he awoke. He didn’t know how she’d done it, forcing so many to sleep unnaturally, but he was certain she had. He’d already been delayed too long.

  “It was. Let’s go.” Taunos turned toward the tent’s opening.

  “Taunos, wait. Think.” Maeren sighed, rubbing her eyes. She looked old, her expression worn and tired, and Taunos’s chest tightened. “If you three go after them, it makes this a rescue.”

  Rescues were never sent because search parties never returned. But someone going ahead alone, aside from scouts, was simply not done, either. Maeren would be weighing the effects of increased scrutiny from other leaders against the chances of success, however strange the circumstances.

  Well, worrying about the kaetal could wait. Most pressing was ensuring the safety of his family.

  “Right now, only you three and I know the sleep was Kaemada’s doing.” Maeren shivered. “Who would have thought she had that power?”

  “Many think the spirits caused the sleep,” Ra’ael said.

  “And if you leave and return with a psion?” Maeren asked. “Two psions leaving together? Three of Galod’s students?”

  “We will figure that out after we find them.” Taunos passed a hand over his face, looking up at the tent’s cloth ceiling. “But they will know it was her. Even if they do not weave the pieces together, she will give it away at the first confrontation.”

  Maeren nodded.

  He saw it then. The thin line Talaera had mentioned. This was one set of unusual doings after another, and it would certainly attract the ire of the Elders. Maeren was pitting Galod’s students against tradition, and relying on their success, even with the accusations Talaera had mentioned.

  Taunos would have his status as a hero among his people as a shield from politics. His sister did not.

  “As long as we stay on the trail, we should be reasonably safe.” He looked at Takiyah and Ra’ael, warning them. “We will have to face the Elders on our return.”

  Takiyah and Ra’ael’s matching glares screamed defiance.

  Closing her eyes, Maeren sighed. “Eloí, spirits high and low, preserve us from needing heroes. Go, go now. Zeroun and I will see what we can do to limit the damage. But be sure to come back and not to leave the path. The kaetal cannot stand to lose you as well.”

  Taunos kept his breath to a steady rhythm as he ran along the trail, shadowed by Takiyah and Ra’ael. They’d told him of the attack on the kaetal, and his anger provided fuel to keep his tired muscles going. They had to cover as much ground as possible to find Kaemada and Eian before the sun went down. The last thing he wanted was to leave them out in the wilderness for another night.

  Every so often, he caught sight of wolf tracks, confirming they hadn’t overshot. An afternoon breeze swept past him, fresh with autumn’s chill. Behind him, Ra’ael and Takiyah’s breaths came in regular puffs. The woody scent of the scraggly bushes that grew in the area filled the air, and the occasional bird song came from the shelter of the scrub. The trail sloped upward before him, and he increased speed to meet it, ducking under a rocky outcropping.

  Tannevar stood in the path, his head lowered, panting heavily. Beyond the wolf, discarded bags and his old cloak lined the trail. Farther on, where the path curved again, his sister lay crumpled in a heap of long, dark honey curls.

  Panic crushed him and he staggered to a halt.

  The wolf wobbled as he snarled at them, hackles raised. He moved clumsily, stumbling often, his eyes unfocused. Taunos’s heart stuttered. Any injury one took, the other mirrored, which meant Kaemada was at least as wounded as Tannevar. And where was Eian?

  “Eian!” His voice echoed off the desolate landscape. His sister did not react to her son’s name.

  He sidled toward the bristling wolf. “Easy, boy. I wouldn’t taste good.”

  “Tannevar! Let us through!” Ra’ael stalked forward.

  Tannevar lunged, biting her thigh, and she shouted, kicking Tannevar reflexively. Beyond them, Kaemada jerked inward as if the blow had landed on her. Anger at Ra’ael warred with relief within Taunos. She was still alive. They just needed to find Eian—the boy excelled at hiding—and bring them home.

  “Eian!” he shouted again. “Come on out, little man. This isn’t a game!”

  Ra’ael stood in his way, rubbing her leg and glaring at Tannevar. Taunos shoved her between himself and the wolf so he could pass. If the wolf bit her again, it would serve her right—she knew how deeply Tannevar and Kaemada were connected. As soon as he was past, he sprinted to his sister’s side.

  Taunos put a hand to her forehead, wincing at how cold her skin was, then gently opened her eyelids. Her summer blue eyes stared out unseeing, her pupils of different sizes, just like Tannevar’s. Her fingertips were battered, the nails chipped and broken as if she’d been clawing at something. Taunos tried to relax, reminding himself that her heart was beating and she was breathing.

  “Eian!” Ra’ael shouted. “Where are you?”

  Takiyah threw him a blanket, and Taunos wrapped Kaemada in it. Moving aside the wooden hunter figurine lying nearby, he gathered her in his arms to warm her. The bruises marring her face—likely from the attack on the kaetal—turned his stomach. “I should have killed Tikatae long ago.”

  “We… did not know… he was lost… then.” Kaemada’s voice was weak, the words slurred until they were nearly unrecognizable, and one side of her face remained slack, but still, a rush of hope filled him. The wolf limped over and flopped down beside them, panting heavily.

  He squeezed her gently. “How are you feeling, little sister?”

  “Too tight.”

  He laughed in relief, loosening his hold.

  Kaemada lurched upward, nearly slamming her head into his, half of her face rigid with terror. “Eian!” Wobbling, she pressed her hands against the stone.

  “Where is he?” Taunos asked.

  Kaemada shook her head, swaying with the motion. She fumbled, picking up the hunter doll and clutching it close as she mumbled something. Taunos glanced at Ra’ael and Takiyah, but their brows knit, apparently as puzzled as he was.

  “Use your mind.” Taunos glared at Ra’ael in case the priestess de
cided to fuss about the law. “No one needs to know.”

  Gripping his arm, Kaemada stared at him with desperation clear on the one side of her face. The slackness on the other side frightened him, though he’d never let on. He waited a moment, and then prompted, “Cha’atanahn, you’re not sending anything.”

  She trembled and he put a steadying arm around her. Any telepath should be able to send to a willing recipient within touch, and Kaemada was a strong telepath. Tannevar whined, the high-pitched noise unnerving. She looked at him again, her breath hitching, but no thoughts bloomed in his head. Somehow, she’d lost her telepathy.

  He squeezed her gently. “Telekinesis?”

  Her hand trembled as she lifted it, then she shook her head, shoulders slumping.

  Forcing confidence, he said, “I’m sure it will come back to you with rest.”

  Kaemada took a deep breath and placed a hand on the mountain face, speaking with exaggerated care. “Eian, inside.”

  “It’s a rock, Kaemada,” Ra’ael said. “What happened? Is Eian hiding?”

  Kaemada bared her teeth. “Inside!”

  She wasn’t thinking straight. Taunos glanced down the trail for hiding places they may have passed.

  “Oh, move!” Takiyah shoved her way forward and began a detailed inspection of the rock face. Taunos smiled at her. If it kept his sister calm, he’d be glad of it.

  “No. Eian, inside. Not strong… enough.” Kaemada sagged against his arm.

  Taunos guided his sister to a rock, seating her there before stepping back, looking along the trail again. The need to move made him jittery.

  “I will be back in a moment.” He handed her a roll and his water pouch from his pack. “Eat. Drink.”

  Ra’ael crossed her arms in front of Kaemada. “No one leaves the path. It’s against all our most sacred teachings. It’s against the law and it’s dangerous.”

  “She’s on the path though, technically,” Takiyah said, stomping her foot on the trail.

  Their voices faded to murmurs behind him as he followed the trail ahead, calling out for Eian. Inspecting the ground, he finally backtracked to the pile of supplies. Kaemada looked exhausted, angry, and lost, while Ra’ael ranted at her as he passed.

  There were no hiding places for the boy, but he found a partially obscured print near the supplies. It was about the size of Eian’s feet and parallel with the path. He should have looked here more closely, but he’d been so intent on reaching his sister. He crept forward, scanning the ground. Before long, he was back with Ra’ael, Takiyah, and Kaemada, who had buried her head in her hands.

  Taunos crouched beside Takiyah, still peering at the rockface. A series of scratches marked the stone. He glanced at his sister’s battered nails, and then to her wolf who, sure enough, also had broken some nails and worn the others down to bleeding nubs.

  Kaemada took a shuddering breath. “I woke. Eian gone. Tracked him… there. I tried… to move stones… Could not.”

  “And then you screamed in our minds,” Ra’ael snapped.

  “What?” Kaemada sat back as if she’d been struck, and Taunos reached out to steady her.

  “The scouting party and all the psions got it. Some lost consciousness.”

  “What? No. No…” Horror and guilt twisted her features. Tannevar growled low in his throat.

  “I have never heard of such a thing being possible,” Takiyah said.

  “Neither have I,” Taunos said. “I would have said it was impossible, had I not been a recipient.”

  Kaemada buried her face in her hands, mumbling apologies through her fingers.

  Ra’ael continued in a more even tone. “We need to return to talk with the Elders.”

  “No!” Kaemada clutched the doll closer.

  “Go ahead,” Taunos said. “I will find Eian.”

  “You cannot leave the path, Taunos. You know that. It’s certain death, even for the hero of Torkae.” Ra’ael took a deep breath. “It’s bad enough, three psions and the daughter of the Saimahkae colluding in the mountains.”

  “That’s nonsense,” Taunos started.

  “That’s what those against us would say! We need to ask the Elders for direction. There are some who would use this against all of Torkae, which is already in a precarious position.”

  Taunos frowned. He really needed to find out what had been going on while he was away. Later. “We have to think of Eian.”

  “I am thinking of him!” Ra’ael shouted. “He has already been missing for a day. We have to salvage what we can.”

  “Only since this morning!” Kaemada leaned forward, burying her face in Tannevar’s fur.

  “Where could he be? Not through the rocks—that’s a fever dream!” Ra’ael gestured around at the bleak landscape, talking over Kaemada. “We need to bring Kaemada back. At best, we recover Eian’s body—” Ra’ael faltered and she looked down, swallowing hard.

  “It took us a while to find you,” Taunos explained.

  “They slept for a full day. That means it’s been nearly two.” Takiyah said, turning to face them. “If you’re all done arguing, you might be interested to know we can probably break through these rocks. There may be a cave on the other side.”

  “What?” Hope flickered in Ra’ael’s eyes.

  “Let’s go!” Kaemada scrambled clumsily to her feet, doll still in hand. Of course—the doll must be Eian’s.

  “Hold on, it’s not so easy as that. See here?” Takiyah pointed out a thin crack in the rock face, barely visible, that separated the wall into two parts. She shoved at it, then jammed a rod of metal from her pack into the crack and pulled on it like a lever. It didn’t budge.

  “Is no one else wondering how a little boy got through here?” Ra’ael asked.

  Tannevar growled, bristling.

  “Does Eian have telekinesis?” Taunos asked Kaemada. She shook her head. He frowned at the crack in the rocks. Ra’ael was right; if Eian had gone through there, he’d been taken, or at the very least, someone had created a passage for him and then blocked it up again.

  A chill ran down his spine. Fae sometimes came this far out, and Eian might have been a fae changeling. He’d been found alone in the forest in Heartwood, and no family had claimed him at the Feasts after. Taunos’s hands curled into fists. If the fae had taken him, their fearsome reputation wouldn’t save them. Eian was his now. His family. He wasn’t giving up on him so easily.

  But he needed to be careful not to jump to conclusions. Otherwise, he’d miss things. Taunos extended his fingers, stretching out his fists, then relaxed his hands.

  He turned to Kaemada. “Can you make it?”

  She glared up at him. “He’s… my son.”

  He hefted his water pouch and fixed Kaemada with a stern look, handing it back. “You’re dehydrated. Drink.”

  “Did.”

  “Drink more. You were unconscious for days. You need water.”

  She grabbed the pouch, glaring at him again as she fumbled with it and made a show of drinking. He crossed his arms, exasperated. Kaemada was impossible to reprimand, either ignoring him or completely agreeing with him. She never fought him. It was infuriating.

  Taunos indicated the rocks with a nod of his head as he took the water pouch back and offered his sister a hand up. “It could be dangerous. You need your strength. Did you eat that roll or feed the birds?”

  His sister shook her head, holding on to his arm as she swayed. “My son.”

  Fondness for her warmed his heart, sharpening his concern. Stubborn, foolish sister, but he loved her. He could have lost her, and he never would have known until it was too late. The thought awakened panic, and he forced a deep breath. He had to be calm to keep them calm. “Come on, cha’atanahn. Let’s find your son.”

  He placed his hands on the rock wall, then looked at Ra’ael. “I could use some help.”

  “For Eian.” Ra’ael nodded, walking over to stand beside him. She placed one hand on the other side of the crack in the rocks and th
e other on top of his.

  Kaemada leaned against him, Eian’s doll cradled to her chest, her wolf wavering beside her. Taunos shut his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pushed, straining to separate the two halves of the rock. Ra’ael smashed his hand beneath hers as she did the same. The rock was solid beneath his hands, and his arms shook as he demanded more strength. Small rocks tumbled down around them.

  And then the rock moved.

  His eyes flew open in shock. Grinning, he pushed harder as Takiyah shoved makeshift levers into the widening crack, pulling against them. Slowly, slowly, the crack widened, revealing some sort of cave. As soon as the opening was wide enough, Kaemada and Tannevar stumbled forward, and Takiyah flashed fire into the tunnel-like space. Taunos turned to get a better angle to shove at the rocks, and Takiyah moved around his feet, wedging open the crack.

  He waited, muscles trembling, as Takiyah tapped in blocks of metal to keep the crack widened. The rocks pushed against him unnaturally, and he was grateful for her foresight. She grabbed their packs and flashed fire again, illuminating Kaemada and Tannevar frozen and panting a few paces into the cave. Ra’ael squeezed past him, and then Takiyah, before Taunos eased away from the opening, braced for the rocks to crash down on them. The metal Takiyah had placed groaned but held.

  Two steps in and Taunos took his sister gently by the shoulders. Ra’ael hadn’t gotten much farther before she’d halted, panting in fear. “We’re off the trail. We’re going backward,” Ra’ael muttered. “We should not be underground!”

  “Oh, it’s not so tight.” Takiyah sauntered past them.

  His mind rebelled against her calm. Taunos forced himself to take deep breaths. They would not be buried alive. The walls were not closing in. There was enough air. No Rinaryn liked closed spaces, and his sister hated them more than most. Her face was a mask of terror, and Tannevar’s eerie high-pitched whining filled the space, unnerving him. Takiyah slipped around them easily, flashing fire to light their way, and a bit of jealousy rose in him.

  The rocks behind them slammed shut with a crash, and Kaemada cried out, her broken nails digging into his arm. His own heart thudded in his ears as he tightened his grip on her, thankful for Takiyah’s flames sporadically lighting the tunnel.