by N. I. Snow
Jonah nodded and gave the Tazalians one last look before heading down the east roadway. They wandered around the city for a while longer before they started back to the military base, where Jonah had been given permission to stay. When they reached the gates, they looked up to see a convoy of dropships fly overhead and land in the base's courtyard. Scores of soldiers climbed out of each ship, some helping their wounded comrades out. They were all tired, some to the point of collapsing; but they still stood tall and proud. The war was over. Earth was free from the threat of tyranny.
They were the real heroes, Jonah thought. For nearly a year they kept fighting while he was out trying to save his sister. Despite the scars on his face and body, despite killing an Elder, Jonah did not feel like a hero, not like them.
Another week passed and Lieutenant Connell was true to his word. Jonah walked silently alongside a coffin carried by uniformed men and women. An empty coffin, Jonah bitterly reminded himself. Emma's body was never recovered. The young man looked grimly over at a platformed kiln built from blackened rocks. When the procession reached the kiln the soldiers carefully set the coffin on the kiln’s grate. Jonah stepped to the side of the kiln and gazed numbly at the casket as one of the soldiers ignited the kiln. A fire began burning beneath the coffin. Slowly flames began to climb the sides of the casket. As thick smoke filled the air, a group of soldiers with plasma rifles fired several shots into the air.
Jonah clenched his teeth to hold back the tears that filled his eyes. Then, at that moment the sunlight seemed to brighten. A warm feeling flooded Jonah's body and he looked up into the blue sky. In the shimmering sunlight he imagined he saw Emma’s smiling face and he too smiled. Somewhere deep in his spirit, he heard his sister's voice telling him everything was all right now. The galaxy was in balance at last.
The gray specter-like figure walked silently through the cavernous halls of Xempor. It was an hour before sunrise and most of the Tazalian citizens were still asleep in their homes. He could not sleep in though. He had to carry on a tradition Lutianist had left behind. Zaharak would watch Tazal's golden sun rise into the azure sky. Even if he could not see it, he could still feel its warmth on his scales.
Navigating the tunnels of Tazal's capital city was not difficult for the blind Seeker. When he first returned to his home planet, he had made sure Valkyrie landed the ship in the hangar the Elders had used to send all of Tazal a strong message. He then spent the next few days navigating by memory from the ship to the entrances of the individual tunnels leading to the Elders' rooms. He could imagine the looks of curiosity on the snouts of watchful Tazalian citizens when he had set explosives at the entrances of the first tunnel, Shadonel's tunnel, Zaharak reminded himself. He was not sure what led him to seal off Shadonel's tunnel first. Had it been out of spite for the mother who, instead of protecting her cub, willingly turned him into a monster? Or, was it pity for the Tazalian who in her dying moment only wished she could feel the warmth of a real smile on her snout?
It did not matter now, Zaharak thought as he walked blindly up the winding staircase that would take him to the surface. Her stories and memories were buried now behind a pile of rubble, as were the stories of the other Elders. One by one, Zaharak went to each cavern. One by one he erased the Elders' histories in a burst of fire and rock. Save for one.
When Zaharak reached the hall leading to Lutianist's study, he faltered. He recalled what he had learned about the Elder, his father. The old Tazalian had not wanted his son to become a Seeker. He wanted Zaharak to live a normal life, but he knew that it would not be possible for the cub to survive Salianos's wrath had the High Elder ever found out about his existence. Lutianist knew that the only hope Zaharak had was to become a Seeker, and so the ancient Tazalian was forced to watch his innocent cub become a cold-hearted killer.
Zaharak claimed Lutianist's room as his own. He left everything arranged as the old Tazalian had kept it except for one thing. The blind Seeker had a Tazalian artist carve a new image on the wall of the tunnel. When the artist finished, Zaharak had traced a claw along the small image of two mates holding their hatchling between them. A happy family. A forbidden family. The family Lutianist wished that he, Shadonel, and Zaharak could have been.
Zaharak felt a slight, cool breeze brush against his body as he stepped out of the underground tunnel. He inhaled a deep breath of the sweet smelling canyon air and listened to the sounds of nearby vendors readying their stalls for the day. How lucky they are, Zaharak thought as he walked past them, to live their lives peacefully within the safe canyon walls. They had not been forced to become loyal servants to the demented minds of the Elders. They were born free to choose what they wanted for their lives. They believed that it was the Seekers who lived privileged lives; but in truth it was they, the normal Tazalian citizens.
Zaharak frowned as he listened to the fearful whispering that crept from one Tazalian to another as he passed them. They did not see him as a leader or even as a hero. To the Tazalians, he was still the Death Shadow. It pained him that they could not see just how much he had changed. How long would it take them to forget the title. Months? Years? Never?
The blind Tazalian let out a sigh as he made his way up the dirt pathway that led to the top of the canyon. He longed dearly for Emma to be alive. He wished for nothing more each day than to hear her voice, to listen to her soft laugh. He wanted her to teach him how to truly smile. He wanted her to reassure him that it had not been his blade that had pierced her body, that it had not been his hand that took her life.
Zaharak crossed the flat plateau until his booted feet kicked a large boulder. The Seeker shuffled around the rock before resting his body on its well-worn surface. His blind eyes gazed blankly towards the rising sun. As the first soft rays rose above the horizon, he could feel their gentle touch. The warmth of the sun began to fill each of his gray scales. In that wondrous moment he could almost see Emma's beautiful face smiling through his darkness and Zaharak began to sob.
Tears flowed from the Seeker's blind, yellow eyes, and coursed along the pale scars and onto the grainy boulder where he sat. Zaharak's breath caught in his throat making it difficult for him to breath. He hardly heard the soft footsteps behind him through the intense sorrow in his heart, yet being a Seeker, he did.
Choking back more tears Zaharak inhaled a deep breath and listened closely to the footsteps. They were light and timid, that of a cub, perhaps one only four standard years old. What was a young one doing out here?
Zaharak allowed the cub to come closer before acknowledging it, “A bit early for a hatchling to be up, isn't it?” He heard the cub stop in its tracks, most likely frozen with fear. Zaharak tried to make his husky voice as soothing as possible, “Don't be afraid, little one. Tell me. Why are you out here alone?”
The cub inched carefully towards him. It spoke in a squeaky, timid, female voice, “I heard you crying, sir. Why are you sad?”
Zaharak turned his head towards the female cub as she inched closer to his right side. He heard her let out a tiny gasp when she saw that he was blind. His gruff voice kept its soft tone, “I miss my…my friend.” The word was almost impossible for him to say.
“Oh,” the cub said quietly, “where is he?”
“She,” Zaharak corrected the hatchling. “She is gone.”
“Where did she go?” The cub asked innocently.
Zaharak felt a sad smile cross his snout. “Somewhere where I cannot find her.”
“Oh,” the cub said again; then she spoke with a sweet determination, “Maybe I can help you look for her.”
Zaharak let out a soft chuckle, “I am afraid my friend is in a place no one can find, and besides wouldn't your parents miss you?”
He could hear the cub shuffling her feet as she replied, “Well, I don't really have any parents.”
Zaharak froze. “You are an orphan?” Emma had been orphaned when she was much younger than this cub.
He imagined she was nodding by the sounds she made as sh
e spoke quietly, “Yes. I don't know who my mommy and daddy are. They left me when I was still in my egg.”
Zaharak could tell by her voice that the hatchling was on the verge of crying. Before he could comfort her, she threw her tiny form against him. She buried her snout in his jacket and, indeed, began crying. “Why did they leave me? Didn't they want me?”
The blind Seeker found himself at a loss for words. He folded his arms around her tiny body and held her close. His keen hearing could perceive her tears landing softly against the leather of his jacket. It made his heart break. Had he been able to live a normal life, this was how he would have reacted as well, knowing his parents abandoned him. Where would that reaction have led then? To a relentless search to learn who he belonged to and what then? Salianos learning of his existence and having him executed? Lutianist's and Shadonel's decision was both indeed a curse and a blessing.
Zaharak thought of the carving of the forbidden family, two mates and the infant, on the wall leading to Lutianist's study. Room still remained to add a new carving next to it. He held the cub out in front of him and imagined her looking at his blind features. He spoke gently to her. “How would you like to become my daughter?”
The little Tazalian cub let out a squeal of delight, “Really?”
Zaharak nodded, “Yes.”
She let out another cry and threw open her arms to him, which he accepted, once more drawing her close. She hugged him tightly, “Thank you, sir!” She started giggling, “I have a daddy now!”
Zaharak again felt a warm smile cross his snout, one that truly meant he was happy. He would give this child the life his own father wanted his son to have—a happy life without darkness.
“Have you had your nameday yet, little one?” Zaharak asked her.
She shook her head, “Nope.”
Zaharak pondered for a moment, “Tell me what color are your scales.”
“Blue and green.”
Zaharak tilted his head with interest. Blue and green, like Kahluna's scales. “And your eyes.”
“Gray like your scales,” She giggled.
The blind Seeker paused. Gray eyes like Emma's. Tears began to fill his damaged orbs. The cub noticed. “Why are you crying again?”
Zaharak shook the tears away “It's nothing, little one; but I believe I have a name for you.” Emma and Kahluna. Two souls whose lives had been destroyed by Salianos. Two radiant creatures who deserved new beginnings.
“Emluna,” Zaharak spoke softly, nearly whispered the name.
“Emluna?” the little Tazalian asked. “What does it mean?”
Zaharak fell silent. All Tazalian names had a meaning. Some, like his own, were the actual word for that meaning. Emluna, however, was a word he had made up; it had no meaning. Not yet.
Zaharak held the cub out in front of him again. His thoughts were on Emma once more. She had been his guide through the darkness of his own soul. She had banished the shadows in his heart. He could sense that this small cub would become his guide should the shadows and darkness try to return. The meaning for her name was clear, “Seeker's Light. That is what your name means.”
“Seeker's Light,” the cub's tiny voice trailed off as she thought over the meaning of her new name. “I like it.” She grabbed hold of one of Zaharak’s clawed hands with both of her tiny ones. “I'm Emluna, nice to meet you.”
Zaharak chuckled, “I am glad to meet you, too, Emluna. I am Zaharak.”
“Zaharak?” Emluna asked curiously. “Why is your name ‘No One’?”
Zaharak let out a hum. “It is a long story; perhaps when you are older, I will tell it to you.”
“I'd like that.” Emluna said happily as she sat down beside Zaharak.
The happy pair sat there in the morning sunlight. The warm rays mirrored the radiant joy that filled their souls. From that moment on Zaharak was father to the young cub, but Emluna was more than a daughter for him. She would become his entire universe.
When the time came for them to return to the city, Zaharak was more than glad to allow her to take a hold of his hand and guide him. After that no matter where they went, her tiny hand always had a hold on his, leading him along in the darkness. As the days, passed the Tazalian citizens forgot their original fear of Zaharak when they watched the grinning child towing the smiling blind Seeker in her wake. Though there was still some hesitancy, they all greeted father and daughter with kind welcoming words.
As the years passed, Zaharak the Blind became the most well-respected leader in Tazalian history. He pulled the Tazalian forces from Earth and the other planets the Elders had conquered. No longer would the innocent fear losing their homes or loved ones. The planets that had been ravished by Salianos's greed Zaharak helped repair. He kept their economies and monetary systems merged with Tazal's to provide them with stability, but instead of military forces occupying the planets, Tazalian ambassadors were sent to act as links between each planet and Tazal. No longer were the Tazalians feared throughout the universe.
As the years passed, Emluna grew, as did Zaharak's love for his little cub. He would do anything for her including looking for her real parents. However, after countless DNA scans and database searches, Zaharak could not find any Tazalians that matched her and he found no records of her hatching. He even tried matching her to the Elders in case she had been another forbidden child. Nothing. It was as though she simply appeared from nowhere, a gift from the galaxy to the blind Seeker.
Far away within the gentle clouds of the galaxy's center shone a wondrous white light. Drifting in the depths of the light, the Gaia hummed her song, content. The galaxy was in balance once more. No longer would her creations fear their creator. Jonah and Zaharak were happy and the Ancients were at peace. True, wars were still inevitable, but they would never be for her power; and despite whatever challenges the galaxy would face in the future, the scales of balance would never be broken.
About the Author
* * *
Born in May 1990, N.I. Snow grew up in the small town in Nevada. As a child she was always coming up with stories that she enjoyed telling to friends. She now lives in Northern Utah where she continues work on the Tazalian series.
The Tazalian Series
Coming Soon:
Seeker’s Redemption
