Ashes to Embers

by Michelle Schad

  The man in the cell directly across from the tirsai held a duende thief-taker that wore a bored smirk on his dark face. His hair was tied back with a leather thong, dreadlocks spilling down his back and underside of his head shaved as was customary for the duende. He had gin blossoms on his face and scars along his neck and arms along with a perfectly formed circular welt over his right eye like one might expect to see of a common bar crawler.

  “You know this man, Master Roe?” Noelani began knowing the man’s name from Tondra’s report.

  “Wha’ of it?” the man drawled back. “Useless bard.”

  “Bard?” Noelani repeated, looking to Kalelako. “That was not what you told my general.”

  “Cunt,” the duende spat. Noelani refrained from castigating him for his language in the presence of two members of the amaterasu. “Wouldn’t mattah anyway, luv. Royalty ain’t no better than anyone else.”

  Noelani blinked, jaw dropping as she realized the man heard her thoughts. Kalelako frowned, stepping in front of Noelani as the brash idiot grinned. They were getting nowhere.

  ***

  Kaleo snarled as he stormed through the halls of the palace. The ivory bracelets itched, made his arms feel cold, and robbed him of what made him him. A tiny thing chased after him, nipping at his ankles. It squealed when he kicked at it, making him look down to see an itty, bitty boar with brown fur following after him. Little, his sister’s pet.

  “Not now, Little,” he said to the tiny creature. It would never grow bigger than what it was, a thing born after a Hex Storm. Out in the wild it would already be dead, eaten by something bigger, but L’nae would not hear of it, demanding that she be allowed to keep it. No one could tell the young amatess "no", so the thing remained. It oinked at Kaleo, following until he finally relented and scooped the ridiculous thing into his arms. It had blue eyes and tiny, useless horns that it rubbed on the furniture, but it was cute, after a fashion; fitting for L’nae.

  Kaleo went straight for the high gardens unable to stand the four walls all around him. L’nae was there, turning sharply when she heard him.

  “Little was looking for you,” he said, handing the little boar to his sister. At five short years, she was small even for one of mixed breed with dark gray wings and hair but hazel blue eyes like their father’s. Kaleo was told he had the same eyes but did not see it. Perhaps because his coloring was different from hers and his eye-color did not stand out as much.

  “Mommy’s mad at you, isn’t she?” L’nae said, holding Little by the middle so that the poor thing dangled over her thin arms. Kaleo made a face and sighed, squatting to her level.

  “Everyone’s mad at me right now, L’nae. Don’t worry about it, alright? Take Little inside. It’s going to rain soon.”

  The clouds began forming earlier in the day, changing the scent on the air and cooling the temperature considerably. He watched L’nae pout as she walked back toward the palace before stopping to face him again. She was so innocent, so small and so easily influenced. He made a vow to protect her, to make sure she did not suffer like he did or become like Noelani. He could not do that from Mahala but made the vow all the same.

  “The man in the dungeon,” she said. “Mommy was talking about him. I heard her and Kal… You left. You said you were going to find daddy. Did you?”

  Again Kaleo sighed but shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I found someone better and Noela - - mum is angry about that, at the man in the dungeon because I’d rather stay there than here.”

  “Well good! It sucks here!”

  Kaleo whirled at the sound of the new voice, jaw dropping when he saw not one but two familiar faces.

  Rielle grinned at him and Eila stood with hands on hips. “Too wet,” Eila said. “I think I like that hideous manse better. Easier to get to.”

  “Oh, definitely easier to get to,” Rielle agreed.

  “What are you doing here?” Kaleo interrupted.

  “Saving you, stupid,” they said in unison. L’nae giggled behind him, bitting her thumb while still holding on to Little. The little snitch, he could kiss her. He dropped to her level again and took her by the shoulders.

  “Not a word to mum, ok? Promise?” he asked. She nodded and he kissed her brow, running to his cousins, each one taking a hand as they ran out of the garden, vaulting out into the lush tree line beyond and out several yards before stopping. He panted, leaning over on his knees before rising again to give them both a tight hug.

  “You said that this would be hard,” another voice said. Kaleo looked up and felt his heart soar. Lara. He ran to her, wrapping her up in a fierce hug that she returned in kind. He’d never been so happy to see another mortal soul in all his life.

  “Please do something about these,” he said, turning his wrists over to Lara. She looked at them, the twins moving in to inspect the bracelets.

  “You cannot?” Lara asked. Kaleo shook his head.

  “They have to be removed at the same time or else it doesn’t work,” he explained. The girls looked appreciatively at them while Lara studied their structure, placed two slender fingers on each bracelet in just the right spot and squeezed. The bracelets popped off, allowing a rush of Power to fill his veins so quickly he felt dizzy. He let it, reveling in the feel of it, the warmth and reached out to his audeas.

  Fionn!

  Kaleo! Child, where are you!

  Safe. I’m coming to you.

  He was close by, something that made Kaleo frown and look at the girls who studied the bracelets closely. They were so weird.

  “Who else is here with you?” he dared to ask.

  “Fionn,” Rielle said absently. “Interesting construction. Simple, but… not.”

  “There’s two others, women,” Eila added, studying her bracelet with equal curiosity. “Serai and Ajana - look, it’s not actually ivory, it just looks that way. Quartz maybe?”

  “It’d have to be an element to stop the flow of Power like it did,” Rielle agreed.

  “Study later, leave now,” Kaleo pointed out. “We still need to get Reven - Noe’s got him in the dungeon.”

  He took Lara by the hand, leading her and the girls further into the trees and down the cliff side. Halfway down, they met up with the others.

  ***

  Kalelako Anao sat carefully inside the cell where the so-called bard lay. He was not unconscious, not entirely, but he was also not in any way coherent or capable of doing more than groaning, and that was being kind. Tol shal was a vile poison that sent shivers down his spine.

  Are you well, my love? Kal's audeas asked. He assured her that he was and went back to the tirsai man on the ground. Gannon Oenel was familiar to him, as much a fixture among the amaterasu as Noelani. The union between Noelani and Gannon was unprecedented, the first of its kind and celebrated by both nations. It was a mistake they would never make again, but that did not change how Noelani felt about her lost husband. Kalelako could only imagine what it would feel like if he lost her, let alone in the manner she lost Gannon. It would crush him. But, she was strong and resilient, squatting beside him with narrowed eyes. She studied a scarred tattoo on his chest, the remnants of what might have been a tribal phoenix, a symbol of the Empire’s nobility. He saw the pain in Noelani’s face, the hope and equal amount of trepidation. Everything would change if the man at their feet turned out to be who Kaleo said he was.

  “Are you sure you want me to do this?” Kalelako asked, looking at Noelani. He would do anything she asked, but this seemed… wrong, somehow.

  “I have to know, Kal,” she said, making him sigh. The thief-taker behind him snorted, shifting enough to make the shackles he wore jingle. Kalelako ignored him, laying his hand on the bard’s brow. It was warm to the touch, sweat beading on the skin - an effect of the poison.

  Show me what you know… he commanded, giving a strong mental push that forced all of the bard's memories and thoughts to the surface. It was difficult to do because of the poison and something only a Speaker could accomplish be
cause of the added Power to force the spell to work. Still, he did not like it, listening to the man whimper and groan beneath his touch.

  Kalelako started from the most recent thoughts and memories, and worked backwards. What he saw did not help what they already knew. He saw Kaleo, the boy smiling and happy with the bard and a woman with stunning cerulean eyes and red hair; human. He saw their lives, felt pride during a performance, or concern for Kaleo; love for the human and intimate moments with her that made the avian Speaker flush. He saw another woman, half-olven, with copper skin and the duende thief-taker behind him in various misadventures through lands Kalelako could only imagine. There was love there too, among the three, and intimacy that was neither lustful nor familial but something in between. They watched out for each other, worked as a team. The thoughts revolving around the thief-taker were sometimes volatile, and tinged with betrayal while the thoughts of the copper-skinned woman were of… salvation. Then… nothing.

  Kalelako removed his hand, straightening slightly with a frown on his face.

  “Well? What’s wrong?” Noelani asked. He did not answer. “Kal?”

  “I… don’t know,” he finally admitted, looking at her from where he crouched. He looked at the bard again, the man’s face contorted in near pain. It hurt Kalelako to know he’d caused that.

  “How can that be? Is it him or not?”

  “I don’t know, Noelani,” Kalelako said. “I saw his life, his thoughts but then it just - stops. There’s nothing there before meeting Master Roe and a cantari woman, half-olven.”

  “That’s not possible,” Noelani said before sucking in breath. Kalelako froze, feeling a sharp pinprick at his neck that forced his muscles to go stiff and his breath to catch.

  “There’s a lot of things that aren’t possible, Amatessa,” Kaleo growled from above him. “Sleep.”

  The Power in Kaleo's voice dropped Noelani to the ground in a heap. Were it not for the sharp needle at his neck, Kalelako would have made movement to help her. As it was, any movement at all would press the needle in further and fill him, no doubt, with the same poison that currently cursed the bard.

  “I’m sorry, Kal, I really am. I actually rather like you. But I already lost him once. I won’t lose him again. Take care of her - she’s not that vile when she’s not insane. Tell L’nae I’ll come back for her.”

  Kalelako opened his mouth to speak but hissed instead, feeling the needle bury itself in his flesh. He felt heavy, dizzy, and knew the floor rushed up to greet him before the poison finished hitting his system.

  Kaleo looked down at the avian Speaker and sighed. Lara and Fionn were behind him. He turned his attention on Reven, checking the bard’s pulse before heaving him onto Fionn’s back with Lara holding him up right.

  “Oi!” Liam barked. “C’mon, mate.”

  Kaleo glared at the thief-taker. He looked to Lara who nodded, taking Fionn and Reven out through narrow passages at the bottom of the cliff in the same manner they came in. Kaleo moved close to the bars, crouching low to look at Liam.

  “You’re not worth the air you breathe,” Kaleo said softly. “You know that, don’t you?”

  “I was just tryin’ t’protect ‘im,” Liam argued. Kaleo grinned.

  “Like you were trying to protect him by not telling him who he is, Zorian? Tribal name, isn’t it? Tria’ael, if I’m not mistaken. Hunters of the Wind. When did they banish you?”

  To his credit, Liam merely swallowed hard and sat back, head hanging low. He was from Asphondel where Kaleo’s grandfather once lived with the Avi’ael tribe in the northern forests. Of course the cursed thief-taker knew who Reven was - anyone within the bounds of the Empire and their allied nations knew who Gannon Oenel was, especially members of the duende tribes. It was because of Gannon that relations between the tirsai and duende grew strong. Kaleo wanted to hit Liam for his lies.

  “The gods will decide his judgment,” Ajana said from behind Kaleo. “Let him go. He can find his own way.”

  Kaleo rose to his feet, glaring down at Liam but did as the dancer commanded. The lock on the cell snapped open and the chains holding Liam to the slick wall fell to the floor just as the first roll of thunder clattered across the sky.

  Chapter Twenty

  Kaleo hovered inside the manse with the girls and Lara staring at him. His wings twitched nervously. Serai brought them all home - Liam included, unfortunately - even with the tol shal still coursing through Reven’s veins. The poison not only rendered the caster unconscious - or worse - but also prevented magic from being cast upon them. The woman was an enigma, capable of more than most gave her credit for including stealing the bard’s heart. Ajana and Liam spoke outside, their voices rising and falling in pitch as they remembered that others were still nearby. It was not a pleasant conversation from what Kaleo could hear.

  “They’re hand-fasted,” Lara said, jerking her head toward the cracked window. Kaleo frowned, the term unfamiliar to him. “Uhm… united?”

  “Married?” he corrected but shook his head. “I don’t think so, no. They act like it don’t they?”

  Lara nodded, glancing at the window then over to where Serai sat with Reven. The fever was gone and there were signs of life beginning to return. The girls sighed, making faces at each other as if wanting to ask questions or start a conversation without knowing how. Navid instructed them to stay in Mahala, so they sat, waiting like Kaleo.

  “Reven?” they heard, Serai hovering a little closer. Azure was in the manse with them, everyone gathered in the grand foyer or the open space that would be the dining hall. Malek and Fionn loitered nearby, though not together as the two beasts did not seem to favor one another.

  “Is he alright?” Kaleo asked, rising to his knees.

  Serai waved him down, repeating the bard’s name in soothing tones or stroking his hair until Reven leapt off the floor and across the room as if bitten. It was so sudden Serai squeaked and fell back onto her rear, flinching from a backlash of Power that stirred the air inside the grand foyer. The girls blinked and Lara rose to her feet right along with Kaleo. It was unsettling to watch the bard behave in such a manner, disoriented and frightened, cowering from everyone. Kaleo realized that Eila and Rielle were the calmest ones in the room. They’d seen this reaction before.

  “Reven, it is alright,” Serai soothed, rising back to her feet. “You are safe. Listen. Shhh. You are safe.”

  She repeated the mantra a few times until Reven groaned, releasing a breath he’d been holding that sank him back to the floor. Tears rolled down his face as he palmed his temples or eyes, trying to clear the last of the poison from his system. He frowned at the floor or at Serai until finally focusing on her face to actually see her. She smiled, squeezing his hand.

  “Kaleo…” he said, the fear returning to his eyes.

  “I’m here,” the young avian said, moving carefully to the bard’s side. “I’m fine. Are you ok?”

  “Ugh…” Reven groaned, making a sour face. “I think I may vomit. Gods, what happened?”

  “Liam,” Kaleo snipped. “After a fashion. It’s a long story, not worth telling right now. How do you feel?”

  “Awful.”

  Awful was better than unconscious. Kaleo was about to say so as well when Fionn’s mental voice ripped through his mind.

  Kaleo! There is a problem! the chimera cried so loudly that Kaleo brought his hands to his semi-pointed ears. He frowned as he jogged out of the manse to the front yard. The chimera met him there hovering near a snow-owl gryphon; Aisling. He knew the Kormandi king’s audeas, having met her when he and his father went to Kormaine before the Fall. She carried two very still forms on her back. Two girls sobbed as they stumbled into the yard behind the gryphon, one dark of skin and one fair. Nadya and Kendall - the princess and queen of Kormaine.

  “Nadya?” he breathed out, rushing to her side. She collapsed in his arms, chest heaving and tears streaming like rivers down her dirty face. She was frantic, filthy, covered in ash, blood, and
bruises. Kendall was equally filthy and injured, and at a point of panic to be nearly catatonic. “It’s alright, you’re safe. What happened?”

  “Aeron!” Nadya finally sobbed, looking at the gryphon. Kaleo’s heart dropped into his stomach. It was Aeron draped on Aisling’s back. The young man beside him looked eerily similar to Nadya - Demyan, the Kormandi king.

  “Oh gods…” Kaleo breathed out. He moved without thinking, carefully taking Aeron down while Nadya helped Kendall pull Demyan down, cradling him in their arms. The two were inconsolable. Liam and Ajana watched helplessly. Eila and Rielle came out, the color draining from their faces when they saw what pulled Kaleo from the manse.

  “No…” Eila said.

  “Aeron?” Rielle added.

  “No…”

  “Navid! Where is he?” Rielle finished, her voice growing in pitch as she spoke.

  “Shut up!” Kaleo said, unable to focus clearly with all the sobbing and screaming. He put all of his effort on Aeron first. The tirsai prince bled from too many places and had a wicked gash that went from shoulder all the way up to the base of his right ear. The wounds were festering, black veins starting to spread outward across his torso. “Serai!!”

  Kaleo’s voice cracked as he hollered for the woman with the stunning eyes. Everyone stared, frozen with uncertainty and concern. Serai pushed through the small crowd with Reven stumbling along at her heels. Kaleo looked at her, tears welling in his eyes, a silent plea to help his cousin. She dropped to her knees, looking Aeron over as Kaleo slowly stood.

  “This is my fault,” he said, tears spilling over his cheeks. “I knew where he was and… and I followed Azure instead…”

  “Kaleo,” Rielle cried. “Navid… he’s still there. We sent him to get Aeron! He’s not here!”

  Kaleo felt his stomach knot as he searched for a solution, looking first at the ground and then at everyone around him. The world tilted, spinning radically out of his control until he finally growled and shook his head.