The Moonburner Cycle

by Claire Luana

  Rika nodded. “It’s extraordinary!”

  “I miss my totem,” Vikal said wistfully.

  “We will get it back from these leeches,” Kemala said.

  “Try it out,” Ajij said eagerly.

  “Okay. Back up. I don’t want to kill anyone by accident.” Everyone backed against the sides of the treasury, leaving Rika free in the middle. A powerful connection pulsed between her and the totem, down her arm and into the weapon. She thought that if she threw it, she could likely use this tether to tug it back.

  “Here goes nothing,” she said, and she tossed the blade in a spinning arc at a suit of armor at the far end of the room. It flew across the room and stuck, quivering, in the breastplate. Kemala clapped politely and a few of the men whistled their approval. Now came the hard part. Rika tugged on the tether and the weapon flew back towards her, its point outstretched towards her heart. Every fiber in her being told her to dive out of the way, but she held her ground, her hand out with far more steadiness she felt. At the last moment, the blade rotated vertically and the handle landed in her outstretched hand, tight as a glove.

  Rika let out a laugh of disbelief, turning to Vikal. He was wearing his smile—the broad one she so rarely saw. Pride. With this power, she had a chance of saving Yoshai.

  “Can we finally kick some soul-eater ass?” Ajij asked. The comment was met by nods and grunts of determination. He turned to lead the way out the door, but Kemala doubled over, her head in her hands. “Bahti,” she groaned.

  “What is wrong?” Vikal was at her side in a flash, helping to hold her up.

  She straightened slowly, wincing. “He tried to send me a message. He is not known for his subtlety.”

  “What was the message?”

  “They are under attack.”

  Vikal led the way through the halls of the castle, pausing to look around corners to be sure they weren’t walking into an ambush. The castle seemed deserted. They entered the main courtyard through a side door, keeping to the shadows under the wraparound balcony. Green vines trailed down from above, lending further cover. The gates were open, and the sound of fighting resounded from outside the castle walls.

  “How many?” Vikal asked.

  “Twenty men. I cannot sense the leeches, so I am not sure.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Rika hissed. “Let’s go. I’ll kill them all.”

  “Easy,” Vikal said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “I know the totem makes you feel invincible, but you are not. No need to rush into a trap.”

  “They could be dying!”

  “I will investigate. Everyone stay here until I signal.” Vikal trotted along the stones of the outer courtyard as he began to make his way through the gate underneath the massive walls of the castle, disappearing from sight.

  Rika huffed, narrowing her eyes at his retreating form.

  “He is not wrong,” Kemala said. “No need to take unnecessary risks.”

  “I don’t see saving your husband as an unnecessary risk.”

  “Worried about Bahti now?” Kemala arched an eyebrow. “He is tougher than he looks. But I am worried about Cayono and the others. At least they are alive. For now.”

  Vikal reappeared around the corner and held up six fingers. He motioned them to follow. Rika’s blood sang with anticipation. Urgency called her forward. She needed to finish these leeches so she could go home. Her mother’s face flashed before her eyes. Were they holding on, or was it too much?

  Their group surged across the courtyard, their sandaled feet sending up silent swirls of dust. As she moved, the battle came into view. Six soul-eaters and their thralls, crowding around Bahti and Cayono and the other men. The two constellations were the only thing keeping the men at bay. The soul-eaters were keeping their distance—away from the threat posed by the starlight. Well, it was time to end that.

  Rika opened her third eye, readier this time for the overwhelming sensations that poured into her sight. She summoned six stars—strong, powerful light forces that now hurdled towards the Earth. One to destroy each soul-eater. They crashed to the ground in an explosion that blinded her with its terrible power. The men and gods threw their hands up, shielding their eyes.

  In the fading after-glow of the starlight, the scene became clear. All six soul-eaters were dead—no more than smoking piles of armor littering the ground. Rika stumbled on her feet as she released the star-threads, releasing her celestial allies back into the sky. A wave of vertigo swept over her.

  “You’re bleeding.” Vikal appeared at her side, his hand hovering by her face.

  She touched her upper lip and her finger came away red with blood. “It’s nothing,” she said, wiping it on her sleeve.

  “That was a lot of power to use at one time. You have to be careful not to overdo it.”

  “I’m fine,” Rika snapped. She had just saved their sorry asses. She wasn’t in the mood for a lecture. “Shouldn’t we go kill the rest so I can get home?”

  Vikal turned back to the castle gate, which yawned above them. “Yes. But where are the other soul-eaters? The castle should be swarming with them. Why does it feel…?”

  “Deserted?” Ajij said. “You are right. What are they up to?”

  “Kemala,” Vikal said. “Can you sense where the soul-eater’s forces are marshaled? I do not want to walk into a trap.”

  “I do not sense other humans close by,” she said. “Give me a moment.” She closed her eyes and opened her third eye. It glowed as black as obsidian, glittering brighter than the gems at her throat.

  Rika examined her totem as they waited. The delicate stitching on the leather handle, the sheen of the blades, quicksilver and deadly. It felt right in her hand. With this, she had a fighting chance against the leeches. Even if using her power made her bleed. She shoved the worry away. She would drain every ounce of life from herself if it meant defending Yoshai and defeating the leeches once and for all. Her soul itched within her, desperate to fly, to go, to live her purpose. To save her people. It was what the prophecy had said.

  Kemala let out a hissing breath. “I found them.”

  “Where are they?” Vikal asked. “Have they laid an ambush?”

  She shook her head, her arching brows knotted together in horror. “They took advantage of our absence. I do not know how they knew, but… there is no mistaking it.”

  Bahti put his arm around Kemala, steadying her. “What are you saying, my love?”

  Her voice shook. “They have found Goa Awan. They are going to kill everyone.”

  CHAPTER 28

  SHOCK HUNG SILENT and heavy in the humid air. “How did they find it?” Bahti whispered.

  Ajij shook his head. “We always knew that it would only take one enthralled Nuan to give the secret away, whether they wanted to or not.”

  “They must have decided to move after they found our camp this morning,” Vikal said. “They enthralled two soldiers who were with us. Gods!” He spun away from them, muscles tensing, hands balled into fists. “Idiot! I should have realized the moment it happened!”

  “It does not matter. We have to go, now,” Bahti said. “What are we standing around waiting for? We have to stop them.”

  “We might already be too late,” Kemala said, her hands tightening on Bahti’s arm. “Tamar…”

  “We have to try,” Vikal said, turning back. “We go now—we travel as swiftly as we can. Bahti, can you collapse the tunnels, keep them from getting in?”

  He nodded. “Consider it done. But I cannot bring down too much rock, or it could jeopardize the whole cavern system. At best, it will buy them an hour or two.”

  “It will have to be enough. Let us move.”

  Rika’s feet seemed glued to where she stood. Goa Awan…all those people. Tamar, Sarnak, everyone who had laid a flower or bracelet at her feet, who had feasted on tana root with joy and thanksgiving, like it was a roast pheasant glazed with the richest sauce. She cared for them, worried for them…but there was another people who needed h
er more. Her own. She could delay no longer.

  “I’m not going,” Rika said quietly.

  Every face turned to her, expressions of surprise and betrayal chipping away at her resolve.

  “What?” Vikal asked, stalking back towards her like a predator.

  “Cygna…my people had just hours before the leeches broke through the palace walls. If I go back to help in the caverns…I’ll be too late.”

  “These are your people,” Bahti said.

  “Oh, now I’m one of you?” Rika shot back. “When it serves you?”

  Vikal held up his hands in a placating gesture. “If you do not come, we will not be able to defeat them. Everyone on this island will die.”

  “If I don’t go, thousands of my people will die. I was their princess first. My mother is there. My brother. You promised me, Vikal. You promised me you would get me home.”

  “You promised you would help us defeat the leeches here. That job is not done.”

  Tears pricked at Rika’s eyes. “Can’t you see what an impossible position you put me in? Either way, thousands will die. I care about the Nuans; of course I do. But I can’t abandon my people. Would you do that for me?”

  A storm of emotion crossed Vikal’s face. He didn’t answer.

  “I didn’t think so,” she said. He had his duties, and she had hers. Whatever the fates had planned in other lifetimes, this god of green things and goddess of bright light weren’t destined for each other. There was too much distance between them.

  “This is insanity!” Bahti said. “Every minute we wait is another minute the leeches are tunneling through the rocks I just dropped. Take her with us.” He stepped towards her and Rika pulled her totem from her belt, facing him down. “I’d like to see you try.”

  “Bahti,” Vikal said with exasperation. “You are not helping. Rika, please. Do not abandon Nua. We need you.”

  “So does Kitina! I can’t save both.”

  “What if you could?” Ajij asked, stroking his beard. “You were able to send constellations with Bahti and Cayono, though you were not with them. Lend them, if you will.”

  “So?” Rika said.

  “Now that you have your totem which links you to Nua, do you think you could lend them over longer distances?”

  “Send constellations with you…while I’m in Kitina?” she asked. “I don’t know. It’s a long way.” And I need all the firepower I can get to defeat the horde at my mother’s door, she thought. But as she took in their pleading, desperate faces, she knew she would not be able to refuse Ajij’s suggestion.

  She sighed. “I’ll try. How many do you need?”

  “All of them,” Bahti said.

  Rika rolled her eyes. “I don’t think me killing myself by overusing my power will serve anyone. How many leeches are there?”

  “I believe two dozen were left on the island to manage things here. The queen has moved most of her forces to your world,” Cayono said.

  “So if I leave a half a dozen constellations? We already killed nine here today,” Rika said, her mind reeling at the thought.

  “Can you summon that many? You will be significantly weakened for defense of Yoshai,” Vikal said.

  “If you all end the fight here before I have to face the leeches in Kitina, it should be fine. My power will be freed up to summon more constellations.”

  “And if we do not finish it in time?” Vikal asked, concern written on his face.

  “Just—finish it. Now. You promised to show me how to use the astrolabe. Let’s go.”

  “You are not coming with us?” Bahti asked Vikal accusingly.

  “Let me see Rika off. I will catch up.” A silent exchange passed between the two gods—clenched jaws and flashing eyes and balled fists. “I promised,” Vikal said softly.

  It seemed to be enough. Bahti looked away first, with a sharp nod of his head.

  With one hand on her totem, Rika began to summon constellations. The lion and the water buffalo stood silently watching, and she looked for the fiercest among the stars to join them—the eagle, the scorpion, the tiger, and the centaur with its bow and arrows. As she pulled their silver tethers, the inhabitants of the sky met her call, glowing hooves and paws and talons crashing into the soft earth. Wings stretched, roars bellowed. When her celestial army had been summoned, even her feet threatened to shy away, intimidated by the huge glowing beasts that towered over the other gods and men, ready to rend black armor and unnatural flesh. But she held her ground, hoping that they understood, that they would obey. “You are under Kemala’s command. Your task is to destroy the soul-eaters on this island and to save the people of Nua. When this task is complete, with my thanks, you may return to the sky.” They acknowledged with roars and cries and hisses.

  Kemala nodded at Rika, and in a rush, the woman ran to her, pulling her into an embrace. “Thank you,” Kemala whispered.

  “Go save Tamar.” Rika gave Kemala a little shove. “Go.”

  The others looked at her with thanks and waves before turning, disappearing into the skeleton forest. Ajij was last, giving her a little salute with his trident. “You are worthy of the mantle, goddess of bright light.” And then he was gone.

  “Let’s go,” Rika said, movement hiding the lump in her throat, the tears in her eyes.

  She followed Vikal through the empty castle. The carved walls and twisting staircases felt familiar somehow. Ajij, Kemala, Sarnak, even infuriating Bahti, their souls felt familiar as well, though she had known them for only days. And Vikal. As much as she wanted to feel nothing more than cold indifference—believe that their relationship was a mutually-beneficial business arrangement—her treacherous heart kept telling her otherwise. It didn’t matter, she told herself. Even if she felt one way, there could be no future for them. They were from different worlds, loyal to different lands. And Vikal was married to a ghost.

  The doors of the castle opened onto a majestic stone patio leading down to the sea. A half-dozen black ships bobbed beyond the surf, their charcoal hulls staining the crystal waters of the idyllic turquoise bay.

  “Come on.” Vikal jogged down onto the soft white sand, shoving a rowboat towards the sea. She took the other side and together they pushed the little boat into the surf before hopping in. Vikal took the oars and with powerful strokes rowed them towards the nearest of the soul-eater vessels.

  “How do you feel?” he asked. “Stretched thin?”

  She nodded. It was an apt description. The power she was using to maintain the constellations here on Nua pulled at her, stretching her back towards the island. It was as if part of her soul was fighting her, wanting to be there—fighting beside them. How bad would she feel once she traveled thousands of miles from Nua? A world away? Would her power be ripped from her like a babe from the womb? She ran her fingers along the stitching on the handle of her blade. Please be enough to tether me here, she prayed.

  “Do you think you will be able to hold the constellations when you get to Kitina? To have anything left to fight with?”

  Why did he have to ask these questions? The questions that burned in her own mind. What if the only thing she accomplished with this foolish division of her powers was to doom both lands to destruction? By not choosing, would she fail them both? “I’ll have to,” was all she finally managed to say.

  The rowboat bumped against the hull of one of the ships. Rika grabbed the ladder. She climbed up over the rail, followed closely by Vikal. He tied the rowboat to the rail and took the cover off the astrolabe. It looked the same as the others, glowing sickly green. “It draws its power from the leeches,” he said. His handsome face twisted with regret.

  “Okay.” She shrugged, unsure of his meaning. Until it hit her. “If you kill the leeches here on Nua—these will be useless. You couldn’t get to Kitina, even if you wanted to.” And if I succeed in killing the leeches in Kitina…I will never be able to return to Nua, she realized. This was the end. Her and Vikal’s end.

  He nodded. “I promised to go b
ack and help you defeat them. To free your land. I have to break that promise.”

  Rika pursed her lips. So she was truly on her own. She didn’t know why she had thought that Vikal would come to save her once he defeated the leeches that threatened Goa Awan. But part of her had. Part of her had hoped. That she wouldn’t have to do this alone. She forced a smile. “I suppose I broke my promise too. I said I would help you rid your land of the leeches before going home. But I couldn’t do that.”

  “You are doing that,” he said softly, turning the dials of the astrolabe in some unknowable pattern, tuning it back to her home.

  As he finished, he met her gaze—unspoken words charging the air between them. She was sick of words unspoken. “Do you wish she had been goddess of bright light?” Her. Sarya. His wife. The memory that seemed to hover over him, clouding the destiny that they might have shared.

  He shook his head. “It was always supposed to be you.”

  She nodded. Say something, she thought, wanting to shout it at him. Say something, she shouted at herself. Say something, do something, don’t let the last time you ever see each other be an awkward goodbye. She opened her mouth, unsure what would come out, but he beat her to it.

  “Good luck, Princess Rika. Goddess of bright light. I am honored to have known you, and to have called you friend.” He bowed low before her, his dark hair shining in the sun.

  She nodded, swallowing her disappointment. So that’s how it would be. She cleared her throat. “Thank you for all you did for me. For my people.”

  “Likewise. You will free Kitina from the soul-eaters. I know it.”

  “I better get to it then,” she said. “You too. You don’t want Bahti to take all the good action.”

  He grinned that brilliant smile, and this time it pierced her heart through as surely as an arrow. It was gone just as quickly as it appeared. “You can manage the sails?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Her voice was thicker than she wanted it to be.

  “The astrolabe will transport you when you get far enough away from shore,” he said, turning. He walked to the rail where the rowboat was tied, his steps jerky. He looked back at her, and the whole world seemed to pause for a moment. Would he say something? A true goodbye? But no. The world sped up again as he threw his leg over the rail and began descending the ladder.