Starburner

by Claire Luana

  The group stood, chests heaving at their near-miss. Rika turned to the others and saw Bahti, red threads streaming from him into the Earth, looking at her with a newfound respect in his two open eyes. “These ones must have been turned by another leech,” Bahti growled.

  “What do we do with them?” Ajij asked. “Tie them up?”

  As Rika looked at the men struggling against their captors, her third eye revealed something she hadn’t noticed before. A tether running from these men into the depth of the woods—faint, but very real. She stepped forward, examining it. It glowed the evil green of the soul-eaters’ power, throbbing and vibrating with unnatural movement.

  Kemala stepped up beside her. “You see the thread of their compulsion, tying them to their masters,” she said. “I have tried but have never been able to affect it.”

  “Do you think…maybe I could do something? It could backfire, though,” Rika said.

  “Try it,” Bahti said. “They are dead to us anyway as they are.”

  Rika looked to Vikal with a questioning gaze, unsure if he would be so cavalier about the men’s lives. He gave a resigned nod.

  She called to the star that had attacked the soul-eater, for it still hovered, waiting for instructions. She gestured at it with her fingers, willing the star to slice through the connection, severing it as it had destroyed the soul-eater. And it did. The man convulsed before her, but then fell still, the green light slowly draining from his eyes. “Dewa,” he sobbed when the fog of compulsion had fully burned away. “Thank you.”

  Rika quickly willed the star to sever the other two men’s’ tethers. When it was done she thanked it for its assistance and released it back into the sky. When she closed her third eye, the world was quiet and still. Almost disappointingly normal.

  “HOW LONG CAN the gates to the inner city hold?” Kai asked, squinting at the task at hand.

  “Maybe twenty-four hours,” Emi said quietly, though her tone said otherwise.

  “Hand me those scissors?” Kai asked, pulling the needle through the man’s flesh, the last in a series of neat stitches. Quitsu sat at her side, his black nose twitching.

  Emi complied, and Kai tied off her thread, unrolling a patch of gauze to cover the wound. She tried to ignore the cries and groans of those in the hospital ward still waiting for care. So many. Too many. The room was bursting at the seams, the bedsides of patients crowded with family members. Normally, she’d shoo them away, but they had nowhere to go. The inner city was overwhelmed with the citizens they’d managed to evacuate from the lower city before the walls had fallen. So many, but still not enough. So many left behind. Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours until all these people were sucked dry by the soul-eaters.

  Emi watched silently while Kai finished dressing the man’s wound. Kai stood and stretched, her knees popping. She nodded to Emi and they walked silently through the throngs of people to the washbasin, where Kai rinsed the blood from her hands.

  “There has to be a way to get these people out of here,” Kai said, her voice low.

  “They’re surrounding the inner city. The time for evacuation has passed.”

  Kai hissed, wiping her hair from her eyes with her forearm. “You’ve sent burners to the seishen elder to ask for any aid it can give us? To the gods?”

  “Yes. I already told you. They left yesterday.”

  “Of course.” Kai closed her eyes for a moment. “I forgot.”

  “Kai, you need to rest. You’re no good to us if you collapse of exhaustion.”

  “Thank you,” Quitsu said. “I’ve been trying to tell her for days. You know when I’m feeling tired, things have gone far enough.”

  Kai looked at Quitsu crossly. He did look ragged, his silver fur gray and dull. “I have a few more injured to see,” she said. “Then I’ll rest for a few hours. I promise.”

  Emi crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow. “I’ve heard that before.”

  Kai huffed. “That was before they blasted through the sea gate, and hundreds were crushed in the panic. I can’t very well tell my city I’m headed to bed when they’re dying around me.”

  “No one doubts your dedication. But the people need to see you strong. Sure. If we’re going to hold these walls, we need every man and woman filled to the brim with bravery and patriotism.”

  Exhaustion surged through Kai, and she put a hand on the wall to steady herself. “Hold these walls for what?” she whispered to Emi. The words that had been dancing in the back of her mind, refusing to be banished. Words that she hardly would allow herself to think.

  “Reinforcements. If the seishen elder, or the gods can send someone to help…”

  “You and I both know there will be no reinforcements. Even if they send aid, how could it be enough? I look over these walls and I see an endless sea of black. They just keep coming. Even the light of the lunar and solar crowns wasn’t enough to kill one of them.” Kai pushed from her mind that foolhardy experiment. They had hoped that the light from a moon and sunburner together would be enough to kill one of the creatures. Instead it had killed one of Daarco’s best burners. The creatures’ armor seemed impenetrable, even to the most powerful burning.

  Emi took Kai’s hand in hers and gripped it. “The prophecy said that Rika’s powers would fight the great shadow. Even if it seems impossible, we have to have hope.”

  “I’m losing hope,” Kai said, tears glistening in her eyes. She was so tired. How many days had it been since she had slept? Four? Five? How many days had this siege been continuing? It seemed like it was all she had ever known.

  “There’s always hope,” Emi said fiercely.

  “Maybe if Hiro were still here…and Rika…” Gods, she missed her husband. If he were here, he would have taken some of this burden. She didn’t realize how heavy it felt until she bore it alone. And Rika…she couldn’t process that her daughter was gone. She couldn’t face it. Wouldn’t face it. It didn’t feel real.

  “Hiro wasn’t what made you strong, or brave. Hiro didn’t make you foolhardy enough to take on the queen of a nation when you were eighteen, untrained, and powerless.”

  Kai let out a little laugh at that.

  Quitsu piped in. “She’s right. Hiro didn’t banish the tengu from our world when they threatened to rip it apart.”

  “I had the Creator’s help with that,” Kai said.

  “But the Creator knew only you were worthy to wield his power,” Emi said. “I miss Hiro too. But you have always been enough. Just you. We need you to be enough now.”

  Kai nodded, though she knew it was a lie. How could she be in this world when her husband and daughter were gone? All these people depending on her…

  “For Koji,” Quitsu said, knowing in that seishen way what her heart needed. “We hold the walls for your son.”

  Emi nodded. “And my daughter.”

  A surge of weary determination swept through Kai, and she nodded. “We hold the walls. And pray for a miracle.”

  “And if the time comes,” Emi said. “We’ll go out fighting. Together.”

  Kai pulled her friend into a tight embrace. “Together.”

  ENERGY THRUMMED IN Rika’s veins. She was done waiting, done convalescing, done worrying about her and Vikal and her feelings. She wanted to fight, to storm the castle, to end these creatures, and then ride home on a star to save her people. She briefly imagined her mother’s face as she blasted the soul-eaters from the walls of Yoshai—love, awe, relief. She had disappointed her family—herself—for so long. It was time to change that. “Vikal, I know you wanted to rely on the element of surprise. But our position’s been compromised. We should attack now.”

  Vikal frowned, rubbing the dark stubble covering his jaw. “The leeches are a hive. Information travels between soul-eaters, and between those they hold in their thrall. They know we are here. They know we are coming.”

  “It is unfortunate,” Kemala said, “but we must retake Nuanita. We have little choice.”

  “I do not like it,
” Vikal said, shaking his head.

  “What is to like?” Ajij asked. “Our world has been invaded by hostile soul-eating monsters. But we finally have a chance to hit back. We should attack.”

  Vikal held up his hands, as if he needed quiet to think. “I know, I know. Something just…seems off. Did they just happen upon us?”

  “They must have found our soldiers, who led them back to us. The island is crawling with leeches. There’s no time to wait, bak,” Bahti said.

  Vikal closed his eyes, as if working on a complex problem.

  Ajij tried again. “They know we are coming, but they do not know how. The tunnels to Nuanita are secret. I am the only one who can access them. We will be under their noses before they know what hit them.”

  Cayono chimed in. “We could send some men to advance towards the palace walls, to distract them, draw their attention while the rest are sneaking in the tunnels.”

  Bahti nodded. “That sounds like fun. I will go with Cayono.”

  Vikal shook his head. “It is a good idea, but I will not send you in undefended. Bahti, you are powerful, but Rika is our only true weapon against them. If you walked up to the front gate, you would be eaten or compelled in seconds.”

  Rika looked at the sky, her power thrumming. She had an idea. Perhaps a crazy idea, but she needed to bear it out. To see how deep her powers lay. “What if… What if they weren’t undefended?” she asked.

  They looked at her quizzically.

  “Just…let me try something.” Rika opened her third eye, eager to feel the power fill her again, to see the threads tying her to the heavens. She squinted into the blue, following the silver filaments past the daylight to the stars beyond. The twinkling lights spread across the cosmos, but some clustered, bonded together in a form that Rika could just make out. The constellations. Like Cygna. If she could send Cygna all the way to Yoshai, perhaps she could instruct a few constellations to attack the front gate while they snuck in through the tunnels. She called to a constellation in the form of a roaring lion, its forepaw raised to strike. Then a strange water buffalo with fierce twinkling horns and a hump on its neck. Their threads in her hand, she willed these great beasts to come to her aid, to take form and descend to Earth.

  Rika shivered with excitement as she felt the answering vibration through the tethers. They were coming.

  The constellations landed with a shuddering crash upon the seashore, talons and sharp hooves tumbling sparkling furrows. They were fierce, wild and untamed, utterly unlike Cygna. They towered above her—as tall as two men. Powerful muscles rippled under coats that shimmered like diamonds in the sunlight, and when the lion roared, Rika could swear she saw the darkness of a black hole within its maw. Doubt flickered through Rika, but she cast it down, stepping up to the constellations with far more confidence than she felt. With her third eye open, the shimmering threads ran from her hand to the constellations’ hearts. Liliam’s voice flickered through her memory. All she needed was within her. They were hers. She was theirs. She needed only the boldness to claim them.

  “My allies. My friends.” She addressed each one with a deferential bow of her head. “Travel with these men.” She pointed to Bahti and Cayono. “Protect them. Destroy any who try to harm them.”

  The lion let out a great roar that reminded her painfully of Ryu. The buffalo tossed its horns, snorting and pawing the ground. They would comply. They had no other choice. No—that wasn’t true. They wished to obey her. Because she had their respect. She needed to be careful to earn it. To keep it.

  She turned to Bahti. “Treat them with respect. And they will clear your path.”

  Bahti nodded, backing away slightly. Awe softened his hard features. “I will do as you say, goddess. Do not let them eat me.”

  “Better be nice,” Rika said with a wicked grin.

  Cayono and Bahti took half the men, whose ranks had swelled with the thralls Rika had freed from the soul-eater’s compulsion. Vikal, Rika, Ajij, and Kemala took the others, picking a path down to the beach and along the surf.

  “How are we so sure that the soul-eaters haven’t discovered these paths?” Rika asked Kemala in a low voice.

  “Because they do not have Ajij,” Kemala replied.

  “I don’t understand.” Rika said, unable to disguise the hint of annoyance in her voice.

  Ajij, who was leading the group, stopped at the sea’s edge. Nuanita castle stood in the distance, its golden roofs glinting in the sunlight. It was like a palace from a dream, perched on dark rock above an aquamarine sea. Its pale walls, bleached by the light of the tropical sun, rose in four graceful tiers of balconies and wide verandas. “This is as far as we should go on the beach. We are close.”

  Rika pressed her lips together in confusion. On the beach? What did he mean? Where was this godsforsaken tunnel?

  Ajij raised his hands and his fingers undulated in an intricate motion. He was moving the tethers of the sea. Masterfully—pulling together many moving parts in a complex pattern. The waves began to shudder, white foam tumbling as the surf swept apart. At their passage, they left a sandy path leading into the ocean, water hovering on either side as if held back by invisible walls.

  Kemala grinned at Rika. “The leeches do not know about the tunnel because it is normally underwater.”

  “Stay close,” Ajij said. No one required additional encouragement. The group huddled around the god of the deep sea. The waters closed behind them as they began to move forward. Their little circle of wet sand grew darker as the walls around them grew higher. An enormous shape flickered in the water to Rika’s left, her steps slowing as she searched for it, trying to catch sight of it in the gloom. Was it a fish? A shark?

  Vikal’s hand closed around hers and she looked up, surprised, to see that the group was now a few steps ahead of them. “Incredible, is it not?” he said. “Easy to get distracted.”

  She merely nodded, her body flushing hot and prickling cold, the heat of his hand contrasting the misty coolness around them. “Have you done this before?”

  “We would sneak out of the castle to come to the beach some nights,” Vikal said. “Ajij stepped on a sea urchin once and almost killed us both. He was so surprised, he let the walls go and it all came crashing down on us.”

  Rika’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up to the spot of blue in the distance above them. If the weight of this water fell upon them, they’d be crushed.

  “We were not so deep as we are now,” Vikal admitted. He was still holding her hand. He hadn’t let go, and she didn’t want him to. She wanted…she banished the thoughts. What did it matter what she wanted? All that mattered was what was before her. Get her totem, kill the leeches, find an astrolabe, and get back to Kitina before her family was sucked dry.

  A set of cracked stone pillars covered with rosy coral appeared like a specter before them out of the ombré water. “We are close,” Vikal said. “The pillars, then the upside-down man, then we are at the doorway.”

  “The upside-down man?” Rika asked. But she saw what he meant as they passed the pillars. A giant stone head appeared before them—its hair buried in the sand. It looked like it had toppled off a statute many eons ago.

  “We were not very creative at naming when we were young.”

  “Some things don’t change,” Rika muttered, and Vikal flashed a grin. That grin. Gods. It lit up his whole face. This must have been the Vikal that Sarya had known. Bright and joyful and alive. Sneaking out of a palace to play with his friends. How much of that person was left after the leeches had had their way with Vikal?

  Rika’s foot bumped against a step, and Vikal steadied her. A slimy stone staircase ascended before them, its edges rough with barnacles and coral. As they walked up the stairs, the waters receded until they found themselves in a sort of cavern with an elaborate doorway carved into the far wall.

  Vikal helped Rika up onto the ledge that bordered the cave, and once the remaining soldiers stepped onto the ledge, Ajij let the waters f
all, closing his third eye. The ocean was no more than a gentle pool lapping at their feet.

  “Amazing,” Rika breathed. “You’d never know it’s here.”

  “When the tide is low, you can see some of the steps. But no one but Ajij can get in and out.” Kemala said.

  Vikal released Rika’s hand and she tried not to mourn its absence. “We are two floors under the main level. The floor above us holds the treasury, which should have Rika’s totem. Be careful. Silent. We could encounter anything out there.”

  Kemala took the lead, followed by Rika and Vikal. If they ran into any unsuspecting soldiers, Kemala would confuse their emotions and fill them with fear long enough for the group to slip by. Rika freeing them was a last resort. Vikal had explained that the leeches might know when they lost control of a thrall and would be alerted to their presence.

  They encountered no one as they ascended to the next floor of the Nuan royal castle—Nuanita. Here, Rika caught her first glimpses of the life that Vikal used to live—bright woven mats dampened their footsteps while elaborate carved mirrors reflected their silent progress. She caught a glimpse of herself and started. Between the Nuan clothing, the gaunt planes of her hungry cheeks, the tattoo crowning her forehead, and the glittering silver of her irises, she hardly recognized herself. She looked fierce. Nuan. Not like a burner of Kitina. Not like herself at all. She wasn’t sure how it made her feel. She glanced at Vikal, but his face was set in stone, intent upon their mission. He must have his own ghosts to face, coming back here.

  Kemala took a right turn and slowed as they reached a set of double doors with handles of brass carved like a sinuous dragon. “Do you think it has stayed locked?” Kemala asked in hushed tones.

  “Only one way to find out,” Vikal replied, brushing past Rika to push open one of the doors. It swung open on silent hinges. The room inside was dark. Vikal stood aside and motioned for the group to slip inside, out of the exposed hallway. Rika was the last one through, followed by Vikal, who latched the door behind them, plunging the room into darkness.