The Song of Eloh Saga

by Megg Jensen

  I looked over, but she was still lying on the floor. Her chest rose and fell in soft breaths. At least she was alive. I shook my head. “What can I do to help?”

  Mark laughed, bitter and angry. “Nothing. Unless you know how to conjure a new hand.”

  His words were like a sword through my chest, sharp and deadly. “No,” I whispered.

  “If I move it, I’ll bleed to death. I need someone who can help me now. The wound needs to be cauterized.”

  I only held his wrist tighter, refusing to be afraid. “I can do it.”

  He laughed, totally surprising me. “You can’t do that.”

  “I can do it with my gift,” I insisted. “Let me try. I’m not going to let you bleed to death in this cave. Not when there’s a chance I can help you.”

  “I can’t let you see where my hand used to be.”

  “Mark,” I said, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at me. “How many times have you protected me with your steel and your gift? Let me do this. Don’t give up without letting me try. My gift is stronger now than it’s ever been. I know I can do this.”

  “Reychel...”

  “Stop arguing. Whether you like it or not I’m going to try. If you don’t move your arm away from your stomach, then I’ll burn that too. Damn it, Mark! Don’t give up so easily!”

  He looked down and nodded. I clapped my hands, holding the palms together tightly. I didn’t know what I was doing. It was almost as if I was being guided by something deep inside me, something that whispered in my mind and told me exactly how to save my beloved.

  Heat emanated from my hands, until I couldn’t stand to have them touch each other.

  “Now,” I said. Mark pulled his arm away from his shirt. A huge jagged circle of blood covered his shirt. I glanced down at the stump and covered it with my right hand. The heat from my body pushed through my hand and onto the fleshy, bloody stump where his hand used to be. I closed my eyes and let the love I felt for Mark course through me and exit through my hand. I gave over every piece of me that I had to save him.

  If I didn’t stop the gushing blood pouring over my hand and onto my dress, Mark would die. I would lose him because he believed in my schemes to save everyone else. I’d been so focused on preserving life and he’d risked his to save Johna’s. It was all my fault they were in this predicament. Every single injured or dead person in this cave was on my hands.

  I shivered, my body heat decreasing with every ounce of heat I passed to Mark. I didn’t care.

  Mark laid his head on my shoulder and I rested my cheek on his hair. We’d do this together, just like we did everything else. We’d be nowhere without each other, which made the decision I had to make even more important.

  A light flashed in the cave, so bright I had to close my eyes. I opened them a moment later and saw Krissin standing in the room, decked out in a blue silk organza gown, more appropriate for a dance floor than a battle, and surrounded by another army. The men leaped from her side and joined in fighting against the gifted women and men.

  I turned back to Mark, my hand still heating against his wrist where his hand used to be. I didn’t know how long I’d have to sit there with him, but I was willing to do anything to heal him. Krissin’s gown swished closer and I knew she’d be upon us within moments. I braced myself for her self-righteous comments, knowing I deserved every single one of them.

  I saw the hem of her gown and felt it slink against me as she sank to the floor. Her arms encircled both Mark and I, and she laid her cheek on my head.

  “I’m so sorry I left all of you behind. If I would have stayed, maybe none of this would have happened,” she said.

  My hair dampened as her tears flowed freely.

  “This is all my fault, Krissin. You know that as well as I do. Don’t blame yourself.”

  “This was my war, Reychel. A good warrior never leaves her men behind and that’s exactly what I did. Perhaps we both still have some growing up to do?” She lifted her head from mine and we looked at each other. A smile broke free on her face and I echoed it on mine.

  “I feel like I’ve aged a year in the last five minutes.” I nodded down toward Mark’s stump in my hand. Krissin gasped and reached her hand down, placing it on top of mine.

  “Let me see if I can help,” she whispered.

  My gift amplified as hers flowed into me. Mark’s stump heated up and the flow of blood stopped within moments. Alone it would have taken a long time, maybe too long to save him.

  “Thank you,” Mark said weakly. He lifted his head and smiled at both of us.

  “We make a good team,” I said. “Maybe we should always work together instead of against each other.”

  Krissin nodded and took her hand off of mine. She nodded at Alia, who had regained her senses and cowered within Nemison’s gifted web. “What about her?”

  I grabbed Mark’s elbow and helped him stand. Johna moaned and shook her head as she came around.

  “I’m going to get them back home,” I said, nodding at Mark and Johna. “You and Nemison can do whatever you want with Alia. She made her choice to come here.”

  Krissin’s eyes lit up and the blackness quickly overtook the whites of her eyes. Krissin’s gift was powerful, but whereas my talent was prophecy, hers was in killing. She could drain a person of their life with only a touch when her gift was fully activated. I’d given Alia every chance and she’d chosen to come here. I would be no part of whatever Krissin and Nemison wanted to do with her.

  I opened a portal to the Southern Kingdom. With one arm around Johna’s waist and one around Mark’s waist, I tried to ignore Alia’s screams as we stepped through to the other side.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Three days later, we’d severed the remainder of the gifted army. Either they died in the cave or were taken prisoner and ported to the Southern Kingdom for severing. Krissin, Nemison, and Ace arrived empty-handed. Alia was nowhere to be seen and they didn’t speak of her to me. I didn’t want to know. I’d given her every chance and she tied her own noose.

  The door opened and our final prisoner stepped over the threshold. Jada, Alia’s sister who’d spent years infiltrating the Southern Kingdom and gaining Krissin’s trust, stood with her chin in the air. Not everything about her was strong. Her hands rested gently on her hugely rounded stomach.

  “This won’t hurt my baby, will it?”

  I glanced at her eyes and saw the fear in them. She may have betrayed us all, but it was evident she loved the child she carried very much. Instinctively, my hand slipped to my stomach.

  Johna smiled and shook her head, wisps of her gray hair slid out of the long braid down her back. “No, it won’t. Your baby may have the gift and if it does, we’ll sever it at birth. That’s the same thing we’re doing with the women hidden away in that birthing camp you people set up. One of your people told us all about it before he was severed. The child in your womb will not feel a thing now, nor when the time comes to test it after it’s born.”

  Jada’s chin dropped and her eyes flooded with relief. “Then that’s all that matters. I want my child to be safe. I don’t care about my gift anymore. It’s given me nothing but pain. My mother and sister were warped beyond belief.”

  “Then why did you follow them to the cave instead of choosing to be severed in the first place?” I asked. “There’s a reason we gave everyone a choice. You didn’t have to do anything you didn’t want to do.”

  “I was worried about my baby,” Jada confessed. “I thought something would happen to her if I was severed. I had to protect her at any cost.”

  “You know it’s a girl?” Krissin asked. “How is that possible?”

  “I can connect with her. I feel her emotions and she feels mine. It’s the most intimate thing you could ever imagine.”

  Krissin shuddered. “Sounds creepy to me. Something living and growing inside of me and making me fat? No, thank you.”

  “And I do know she’s gifted,” Jada continued, ignoring K
rissin. “I can feel her gift. In fact, I’ve harnessed her gift once or twice when I need a boost.”

  I glanced down at my toes, not willing to meet her eyes, or anyone else’s.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I said. “Are you ready?”

  “One last question. I saw my mother’s body back in the cave, but where is my father?”

  “We’re looking for him,” Nemison said. “When we find him, he’ll be dealt with accordingly.”

  Jada nodded. “Will I remember anything afterward?”

  “We can’t say for sure,” Johna said. “It’s different for everyone. Nearly all of our prisoners have forgotten most of their lives. It’s been a blessing since they were manipulated for so long by your sister and mother. A few remember bits and pieces, but not enough to put together the full picture. In time they will all be told the truth of what happened today.”

  “What will you do with me?”

  “We’ll teach you a trade and set you up in a new home. I won’t lie,” I said. “You will be monitored, maybe until the day you die, to make sure you aren’t faking it or plotting against us.”

  “Fair enough,” Jada said with a nod of her head. “Let’s do this.”

  I joined hands with Johna, Nemison, and Krissin, forming a circle around Jada. We all closed our eyes and concentrated on sending our gifts into Nemison. He reached into Jada’s head with his mind and I could feel every second of it and see exactly how it looked in her mind. Her gift sparkled in the corner of her mind, like a diamond. Nemison’s gift reared back and struck her gift. It smashed into a million tiny glowing balls and then they dispersed.

  It was over that quickly. Jada’s eyelids opened and she looked around at us, no spark of recognition in her eyes. One of our guards walked over and took her by the elbow, helping her to stand.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m a bit confused. I don’t remember how I got here.”

  “It’s okay, child.” Johna patted her on the arm. “All will be explained. Why don’t you go with this nice man here, and he’ll get you back on track.”

  She nodded and then looked down at her stomach. She gasped and placed her hands on her swollen belly. “I’m pregnant?” She faltered, “I don’t remember.”

  “Yes, you are and you will be an amazing mother,” I told her. I meant it too. Jada had been kind to me when I’d first met her. I knew she had it in her to be loving and caring.

  Our eyes followed Jada out of the room and I let out a big sigh when the door closed behind her.

  “So we’re done,” Krissin said. “Finally. That was tedious. I want to go take a hot bath.”

  I placed a hand on her arm, stopping her from walking away.

  “Not yet,” I said. “There’s one more.”

  “No, Reychel,” Nemison said. “Jada was the last one.”

  I took a deep breath and stared at them, my closest friends. I glanced at Mark, sitting near the wall. He smiled at me and nodded his head. I shared my plan with him the night before. He didn’t argue with me once. As always, he trusted my judgment and let me choose my own path, even if there was a chance we could lose it all.

  “I want to be severed.”

  Johna gasped. “No!”

  “For Eloh’s sake, Reychel,” Krissin said. “Stop being so dramatic. It’s getting ridiculous. We both agreed it was time to do some growing up, remember? Let’s not make any hasty decisions.”

  “I’m not,” I said. “I swear it to you. I’ve been having disturbing visions that chronicle how I will go mad. Eloh confirmed this is a side effect of my gift. I fear the future and what my gift will do to me. I might hurt one of you. If my visions are to be believed, I will kill Mark and Chase.”

  “Chase? Who the hell is Chase?” Ace asked. He’d been sitting so quietly in the corner, I’d nearly forgotten he was there.

  My hands slipped down on my stomach. “Our son.”

  Krissin gasped. “You have one of those things growing inside you?”

  “Um, Krissin,” Nemison broke in. “You were once one of those things you know.”

  She waved her hand at her father. “Gross. Don’t make me think about it.”

  “Explain, child,” Johna said, matter-of-fact as always.

  Mark walked over, and wrapped his arms around me, his hand resting on my stomach. His injured arm draped across my chest. I turned and kissed him on the cheek.

  “It happened on our wedding night. The next day I was put to sleep and captured by Alia. I slept for weeks before awakening. I discovered my gift was far more powerful than what it had been previously, even though Alia claimed I’d been severed. Ivy -”

  Krissin sighed angrily. “Not that girl again. She’s dead. Let her go.”

  “Shush,” I said to Krissin with a smile on my face. “She told me that the severing had only been partially successful. She’d detected a small connection while I slept, but she didn’t tell anyone. That explains why my bond with Mark was cut, but I was still having visions. Then before she jumped, she whispered in my ear that I was pregnant.”

  “You knew during the whole battle? When did you tell Mark?” Krissin asked.

  “None of your business,” I said. “Anyway, that’s probably why Ivy insisted on being with me all the time. She really did want to help me. I think the new strength in my gift came from Chase. He’d been sharing his gift with me all along, just like Jada claimed she’d done with her daughter.”

  “Why on earth would you ask to be severed then? Be grateful for what you have left!” Krissin insisted. “You never make any sense.”

  “For one thing, everyone in Serenia believes I’m dead. I don’t need to be anyone’s prophet anymore. If I continue to be connected to my gift, I will go mad. I don’t want that and I’m willing to risk forgetting everything to protect everyone. Mark supports me. I hope all of you do too.”

  Nemison looked at Johna, whose mouth had flopped open in disbelief. Krissin crossed her arms across her chest. “I won’t do it,” she said.

  I reached out and took Krissin’s hands in mine. Mark let go of me and I pulled Krissin closer. “Please. You are the best friend I’ve ever had. I want you to be a part of this.”

  Krissin jerked her hands out of mine. “Fine. Whatever. Maybe you’ll lose that dramatic side of you that I hate so much.”

  “Me? Dramatic? Maybe you should be severed too.” I dissolved into laughter. I knew I should be more somber. In minutes I would lose my memories and possibly bits of my personality, but I couldn’t help it. I knew I was making the right choice.

  Krissin grabbed me and pulled me into her arms. “You are the best friend I’ve ever had too. I’m only telling you this because I know you’ll forget it,” she whispered in my ear. Then she pushed me away. “I’ll help.”

  Mark pulled me close again, circling his arms around me. Nemison, Johna, and Krissin joined hands in a circle. I closed my eyes and waited for the sensation of Nemison’s gift entering my mind. I’d felt it once before and I knew I could trust him.

  For a moment, everything went black. No memories. No sensation. I existed only in a void. Then a voice, a female voice I’d heard somewhere before but couldn’t place, whispered in my head.

  For all the sacrifices you’ve made. For all the love you’ve given. For fighting for what’s right even when everyone thinks you’re wrong. I will allow Chase’s request. Your son has a very powerful gift, just like his mother once did.

  My eyes opened and I looked at the people standing in a circle around me. A man’s arms encircled me and a movement in my stomach drew my eyes downward. I placed a hand on my stomach, but I knew soon it would grow much larger. Chase was in there. Chase saved me.

  I grabbed the arms of the man who held me and gently pulled them down. I turned around and gazed into his eyes.

  “My gift is gone,” I said, placing a hand on his stubbly cheek, “but I remember everything.”

  Mark took me in his arms and placed a kiss on my lips that I would never forg
et.

  -end-

  Sleepers

  Megg Jensen

  To Tim, you believed in Sleepers, and me, before anyone else.

  Chapter One

  I’d never seen the three men with their necks in nooses before today. Their long red hair, braided and beaded, whipped in the breeze like a wildfire and their faces held as still as the stone carvings on the battlements of the castle. Besides the two other adoptees living in the town, I’d never seen anyone who had features like mine. These men could have been my uncles — not that I would know.

  My heart pounded, my chest heaved with each deep breath, and I wondered when the execution would start. The horses nickered in the courtyard below, but their chatter was nothing compared to the low roar of the crowd. Their bloodthirsty cries twisted my stomach in knots. I didn’t know my homeland, had no reason to be loyal to it, but a small part of me felt something for those men. The resemblance between us was so strong. I wondered if they had my blue eyes too, but I couldn’t see that from so high up in the castle.

  “Draw the curtains,” the queen commanded me. I squinted, trying desperately to see if their eyes were blue. I willed one of them to look up at me, reaching deep inside me for some remnant of the magic my people once had. Not one of them glanced towards me.

  “Lianne....” I turned to her for only a moment. The queen’s face was drawn and her eyes downcast, staring at her infant son. I let the curtain swing back over the open window. My fingers grazed the sharp brick as I pulled my hands away from the ledge.

  “I just wanted to see them. I wasn’t going to watch the execution,” I said. “I don’t think I could stand seeing my countrymen hung.”

  “I know you’ve never seen anyone from your land other than Kellan and Bryden, but this isn’t the way to gain an impression,” she said.

  I glanced behind me, irritated with the musicians as they tuned their instruments. It wasn’t that I wanted to see them die, but I’d never seen, or heard, an execution before. As the queen’s maid, I was required to attend her and she refused to even acknowledge executions. She always arranged for musicians to play on execution days so she couldn’t hear anything beyond her chambers.