by R. M Garino
They reached the border several minutes before they were expected.
Thesius was waiting for them. She was not like any Elc’atar they had met so far. She shared some traits with her peers: she was not impressed with how prompt they all were, nor with their prior accomplishments, and she carried herself with the same dangerous grace. Her movements, however, were more animalistic, more present. She wore no weapons on her person, and her simple pants and tunic were more suited to a Suixander. Her soft, slanted features declared her to belong to House Mer’Chien. The rain had increased, but she did not seem to mind.
“Welcome to the A’gist,” she said, her voice carrying a slight accent, as if she was more accustomed to a faster speech. “This morning’s introductions will be simple. You will all cross the border, through the rounded moon gate. You will proceed to the stone pedestals, and you will each mount one.”
“What then?” Ossian said, trying to peek over the Elc’atar’s shoulder into the A’gist. The land appeared no different from where they stood. The valley was ringed with a deep forest that led down to thick, lush pastures. A circular stone archway was set in amongst the trees, and the trails they stood upon led to it.
“You wait. We will see what happens,” Thesius said. “I will give you three pieces of advice before you proceed. First, do not move until I tell you. If you do, you will be seen as prey. Second, do not dawdle; proceed straight to the pedestals. This is as much a test as any you have faced to date. Third, and most important, do not approach the lo’el. If they deem you worthy, they will approach you. If they do not, they will ignore you. If the pack does not approve of you, I will escort you back to the border and you will report to your House resident. Any questions?”
“What do we do if they approve of us?” Nessah said, her nervousness apparent even as she fought to control it.
“Whatever you would like,” Thesius said in response. Her tone made her doubt clear that anyone present would be able to do so. “You are assigned to the A’gist for the remainder of your tour, provided you pass. Today we will make introductions. Tomorrow you will begin training. Now, away with you. Single file through the arch. Do not rush, and try to remain calm. The more at peace you are, the more likely it is that you will be found worthy.”
“Find the Ri’en, I guess?” Thomlin said as he passed her. Angus chuckled at the comment.
Thesius appraised them. “If you can, youngling. I doubt you will, but by all means try.”
The group filed passed the Elc’atar and one by one they went through the moon gate and crossed the boundary of the A’gist. There was a slight resistance as they walked between the stones of the rounded arch, as if they had to push against the air itself. A strange sensation, almost like diving into cold water, slid across them, but it lasted only long enough to register it. In a moment it was gone, leaving each member feeling revitalized and cleaner. The air here was fresh and crisp, and the rain fell softer. Heeding Thesius’ warnings, no one stopped to stare, as tempting as the prospect was. Grazing animals had shorn the grass close to the earth, save around the pedestals, which rose a foot from the moist, rich ground. Here, tufts of vegetation protruded around each base, sticking up in gaudy displays of how successful they were in reaching for the sun. There was an air of great age around the stone circle as a result, and the Pride fell into a respectful silence.
They took their places, and they waited.
Arielle concentrated on her breathing, focusing her mind to stillness as Trenton and Angus had been teaching her. It was not easy, even after all of these months.
To her right, Angus drew a deep breath the moment his feet were on the stone, raising his arms so as to open his lungs and fill them. She envied him his extensive training, and how he moved through the physical and mental disciplines with such little effort. His sin’del spread out around him, and he faded from view.
She sought his mind, and was relieved to feel him right next to her as if they shared the same rock.
Same old trick, he whispered in her mind. Just a little deeper than I usually go. She did tell us to seek the Ri’en. I’ll show you later. Relax, and remember why we’re here.
Further down the line, she saw that Nessah, Enid, Ti’vol and Ossian had vanished as well. She needed to relax, to clear her mind, or she’d be sent home. She tried to still her breathing.
Thoughts of Shane’s lo’el, Brix, floated into her mind, and she chased the thought. She remembered peeping over the balcony as Shane returned to the Vaults, not long after he faced the Sur. He rode upon a large animal, what appeared to be an enormous wolf. But it had not been like any wolf she’d ever seen. As tall as Shane was, he’d appeared small and insignificant astride the beast’s back. Its paws alone were as large as his head.
A figure appeared at the tree line, a dark four-legged shape that clung to the shadows. It scented the air, and a low growl rose on the wind. The growl was picked up and repeated by many others. With slow, menacing steps, the beasts stalked from the shadows and into the light of the grasses. Closer the lo’el ghosted, their muzzles lowered before them scenting the wind, and their hackles raised. Thesius’ warning must have stayed with all of them, for none stirred from their pedestals. With exaggerated slowness the pack moved closer, fanning out to either side of the intruders.
Nessah, Gwen, Enid, Ossian, and Darien were the first the beasts approached. They sniffed around them, then lifted a hind leg and shot a short stream of urine on their boots. Some they took their time with, going back over a scent again and again before making a decision. Nessah and Ossian waited a long time before the lo’el made up their minds. Gwen received almost a cursory sniff before she was sprayed. Nessah, Enid, and Ossian all reappeared once they were marked. The animals then proceeded to the next. The five graduates glanced at each other, unsure of whether they were accepted or not.
Thomlin, Demona, Denuelle, Caradoc, and Hironata were the next to be approached. The same scene was repeated, with Thomlin, Demona, and Denuelle receiving a single sniff before they were urinated on. Caradoc and Hironata had to endure several passes before they too were marked. Arielle, Angus, Ba’ril, and Ti’vol were the last to be screened. Ba’ril had a relatively short time of it, though not so quick as some of the others. They didn’t even approach Ti’vol. As soon as the animals caught her scent, they growled and backed away, tails low and hackles high.
Arielle was unsure what any of it meant, but she waited her turn, willing herself to patience. A lo’el approached her, its hackles still raised from the encounter with Ti’vol. It kept track of her from the corner of its eye. Catching Arielle’s scent, it jerked its head around, unexpectedly forgetting about the other girl. It stared at her, and a low whine left its throat. Mouth opened, its tongue lolled out. It lowered itself to the floor before her, its tail wagging with sudden little jerks. Inching toward her, it gazed up at her with a bright, expectant expression. Arielle was transfixed by the exhibition. She heard another low whine from beside her, as another lo’el came to join its peer. A third approached, the large black one that had first entered the clearing. It too caught Arielle’s scent and let out a low whine. It approached closer than the others, however, and lifted a timid leg before shooting a short stream of urine on her boots. Then it too lay down with its head between its paws.
“Ti’vol, come,” Thesius said from behind them. Arielle watched the Elc’atar place a protective arm around the girl. Thesius stopped and examined each pedestal.
“Thirteen all accepted at once.” She harrumphed. “I guess it is true what they say about you all. Where’s the other Kal’Parev?” she said, a note of alarm rising in her voice.
Arielle could still feel Angus beside her, almost touching her. Two lo’el had sprayed him and now lay before his pedestal in similar positions as those before her. They gazed with expectant expressions at where he should be standing, as if they could see him clearly.
Angus, Arielle sent. Show yourself. The lo’el around them all perked up their pointed
ears, and cocked their heads as if listening. Angus’ sin’del contracted, and she felt his nearness slip away. His form revealed itself in an instant: one moment invisible, and the next he was there.
“You found the Ri’en. Damned fine trick,” Thesius said shaking her head. “Didn’t fool them, though. You all can step down now. You have all been marked, and can enter the A’gist at will.”
“Ti wasn’t marked,” Nessah said.
Thesius smiled a sad smile and hugged Ti’vol closer. For her part, the girl resisted the hug.
“No she was not. That is why I am escorting her to the border. She will be safe in my company.”
“Does she need to go alone?” Darien said. “I can walk her.”
Thesius shook her head. Ti’vol gave him a brave smile before hanging her head low as Thesius ushered her away. She chanced brief glimpses over her shoulder back at her Pride. They watched her go, unsure of what this unusual separation heralded.
The lead lo’el raised its head and sang out a long, deep howl. From the forest eight more approached. They were smaller in stature, but even then they were as big as the tallest Lethen’al present. Around the feet of the females scurried at least two dozen pups, their faces and muzzles not yet fully formed. Now that the graduates had been accepted into the A’gist, the pups were brought out to greet them.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
Herself, Alone
The late spring rain fell heavy and oppressive, a persistent clinging chill enfolding the world. The occasional set of eyes watching from the shadows of the trees glittered in the gloom. Well before they reached the border, Ti’vol was certain that the arm around her shoulders was more for her protection than the comfort she drew from it. A growl rolled out from the woods, low and threatening, as if warning her not to return.
Don’t worry, she thought, I won’t come back to bother you and yours. The growl cut off abruptly. They’d heard her, and accepted her vow.
They continued on in silence, though the lo’el’ continued the vigil until she stepped through the rounded gate.
“This is as far as I will take you, child,” Thesius said. “I trust you know the way back.”
Ti’vol regarded the water logged ground between her feet. Thesius placed a finger beneath her chin and with a gentle pressure convinced her to raise her face.
“Do not be disappointed,” she said, smiling as if to offer what comfort she could. “Not everyone is accepted. Very few are. It is nothing against you. They just sense a different path for you to walk, that’s all.”
Ti’vol forced a smile. “I am not terribly disappointed,” she lied. “I understand. I will head back now and report to the resident. Thank you for your kindness, Elc’atar.”
Thesius watched her, seeming unsure of the girl’s sincerity. Ti’vol, however, continued her act and awaited the dismissal. She had just met the woman. She did not want her to see how deep the rejection hurt. This charade was pointless. Nothing could be done to change the situation. Thesius had said so herself. If anything, all it did was delay the instruction her friends needed. Ti’vol pushed her impatience down. She was very good at waiting. She sometimes felt as though that was all she ever did.
At last, Ti’vol was shown some real kindness, and was released.
“That is good,” Thesius said as she parted. “Do not tarry. Hasten along your path, and do not waver.”
Ti’vol waited a moment longer, until the woman had passed back through the gate, back to where her friends waited. The woman disappeared from view as soon as she entered the gateway.
Her steps were weighted as she shuffled, retracing the mountain pass back to the complex. She should not be surprised, she thought, wiping away the water that coursed down her face. She had never harbored any real hope of becoming an Elc’atar. The reaction of the lo’el only confirmed what she’d always suspected. She was not strong enough, not fast enough, not coordinated enough. Not for that life. Now she could let the fantasy die and release it. At least now she could stop pretending. She could stop trying to measure up to those around her. It was a relief to be finally free.
But now she was alone again. She stopped and shifted her gaze to the gray expanse of heaven that peeked through the arching branches above, blinking against the fall of water. Everything would change. Everyone else was on a different path now. There was no longer a place for her among their number. She wrapped her arms around her middle to press against the growing ache that filled her. With a whimper, she shut out the world to fight against the onrush of sorrow. The sodden earth pulled her to her knees, and she did not resist. They were the only real friends she’d ever had. They had accepted her, her weakness, her shyness, her odd ways. None of it had mattered to them. They’d welcomed her, called her one of their own.
Enid was a patient sister. She lent help without being asked. Demona was a confidant who shared her secret desires with her. They trusted each other with those parts of themselves they kept hidden from the others. Hironata was a brother, always ready to pick her up, adding her own weight to his without a thought. Ossian made her laugh. The sadder she was, the harder he tried to make her smile. Thomlin sought her opinion. The value he placed on it was genuine and sincere. And Angus . . . He understood her better than the others, understood the violent fluctuations of her emotions, and provided her with the stability to ground herself as the tides raged against her. She was still just beginning to get to know the new members of the Pride, but they had already become a part of her. Nessah and Denuelle laughed at her jokes. Gwen and Ba’ril listened to her. Caradoc was even stranger than she was, and was unapologetic about it. He appreciated her proclivities, especially the courtesy she showed others. Darien protected her. He made her feel good about herself. Arielle was everything she wanted to be, and did not resent her admiration.
They were all lost to her now.
The shadows deepened and bent in new directions. The rain had ceased, but a fog had risen, creeping between the trees and obscuring the path. How long had she knelt there? The inchoate feeling of dread that had dogged her for months now absorbed her attention. Something bad was reaching for them.
Angus and Arielle.
She had dismissed her initial disquiet as jealousy. He was happier than she’d ever known him to be. She was envious of their bond, the way their sin’dels reached for one another from the start. She’d longed for such a connection, a oneness with another. But this wasn’t jealousy: she was afraid for them. Their happiness could not last. The universe abhorred perfection of that sort, and found dispirit ways to crush contentment. A tidal wave of grief hung above them, her dread of it now a constant presence. She had tried to stay close to them, hoping to prevent the wave before it crushed them.
How could she protect them now? She was sundered from their number.
“There is a consciousness that guides all things, child,” a rasping voice behind her said.
Ti’vol scrambled to her feet, overcoming the numbness in her legs, and gripped her sword. A black-clad, hooded figure stood within the mist, just feet from the path. His arms hung limp, and his shoulders hunched beneath the weight of the heavy fabric that draped him. Sores peeked out from beneath the shadows of his cowl. She stared at him as he drifted closer to the trail. Unlike her own, his clothes were dry, save for a spattering where droplets had landed against his shoulders.
“There’s no need for that, child,” he said as she fumbled to draw her weapon. “I am not a threat.”
“Who are you?” Her voice betrayed her distress.
“I am McLeod,” he said, offering her a slight bow of his head, touching his skeletal hand to his forehead and then his emaciated chest, as if that was all he was capable of. “I sensed your distress, and came to offer succor.”
“I’m fine,” Ti’vol said. “Thank you, but I must report to the Gates. The resident is expecting me.”
She continued back to Brodhi.
“You will find nothing that way, child,” McLeod said as she walked aw
ay. “You know this. There is no defense you can offer your friends with what they will teach you there.”
Ti’vol stopped. She faced him, her movements slow. He had not moved any closer. His breathing was labored, as if from the effort of speaking.
“What do you know of my friends?” she said. Her apprehension was shifting to rage. She let the emotion push aside her timidity. Enid would strike. Demona would demand answers. She followed their examples and stood defiant before him.
“I know that you fret for them,” McLeod said. “I know that you sense pain ahead of them, and that you are desperate to help avoid what is coming.”
She said. “How could . . . you know that?”
She felt the heat draining from her temper. Her hands shook as she heard her dread repeated to her. She’d never before given voice to her worry.
“I am a seer,” McLeod said as he floated a step closer. A smell drifted ahead of him. It was musty, and dry, like a thing kept too long out of the sun. She took a step back. The mists had thickened around them, and swirled with her step.
She knew who he was. She knew where she had seen him before. He was Fiftanu.
“Your senses do not lie to you,” McLeod said. His thin lips spread in a smile, revealing yellowed and blackened teeth. “You are not imagining things. The danger they face is real, and even I am not sure that they can weather what is to come.”
“What is coming? Tell me!”
His head moved from side to side in a slow, cumbersome movement. “I cannot,” he said. “My words are a poor vehicle for what may be. They would be . . . misleading at best.”
