The Ever Cruel Kingdom

by Rin Chupeco

  “Never held one before,” Noelle said calmly, “but we’re quick learners.”

  “Get me close enough,” Lan added darkly, “and I won’t be needing one.”

  “But she’s the goddess!” I heard the Dorca clan leader, Giorme, shout. “Salla, you cannot possibly allow her to fall into those men’s—”

  I silenced him by generating Air and Earth, throwing the concoction of patterns as far as I could. A huge cloud of sand exploded underneath the wheels of one of the cannibals’ rigs. The vehicle careened wildly, the momentum flipping it sideways.

  “I have to get closer!” The farther out my target was, the more taxing it was to cast. I’d learned that the hard way when I tried to fight Sonfei and his Liangzhu.

  “Sounds like the goddess can handle herself well enough, Giorme!” Arjun slammed a foot onto the pedal. “Brace yourselves!” he yelled, and the rig charged forward to meet the approaching vehicles.

  I didn’t know if the cannibals thrived on impossible odds, or if they believed their numbers were enough to repel us, or if their hunger superseded everything else, but they showed no signs of letting up the chase. From the back seat, Noelle rose, took careful aim with one of the javelins she carried, and threw, hard. It caught one of the cannibals right through his chest. He slumped over the wheel, while his partner fought to gain control of the jeep.

  “Are you a ranger like Lan?” I asked, amazed. The throw had been nothing short of spectacular.

  “No,” she said primly, settling back into her seat. “My mother was a lady’s maid.”

  With his only hand still clinging to the wheel, Arjun took aim with his other arm, and fired. The next-closest cannibals’ rig exploded, but the other cars deftly detoured around the burning wreckage.

  Four of the five Addax jeeps shot past ours, and so the cannibals were forced to turn their attention on us instead. Only one Addax vehicle remained between us and the Hellmakers; it had lagged behind to delay the brutes, which I thought was a brave thing to do, given what would happen if they were overcome. Inside, a girl with short ash-colored hair was firing back at the cannibals with a Howler of her own, though I saw it was an older make and not as powerful as the cannibals’ weapons.

  The instant we drew up to one of the Hellmaker rigs Lan leaped from her seat, landing easily on the hood of the cannibals’ buggy. Before the men could react, her sword had skewered the driver in place. When his passenger brought up a gun in response, she dispatched him just as easily, kicking him out of the rig with a boot to the face.

  The air was saturated with fire patterns as every Howler in view trained on Lan. I pushed out with my arms, and a large wave of dust rose to deflect their shots, raining a heavy sandstorm down on them. I copied the movements of the Sand Sea that I’d observed during my long trek to the Abyss with Arjun; the way the sand there flowed and ebbed like water, the way the large, frightening creatures that lurked within would send cascades of fine grit over us—an effective defense. The cannibals struggled, their rigs slowing to a stop as dust poured into their engines.

  But one of the rigs refused to surrender. Its occupant, a wild-looking man with an ugly scar on his face, stood with his Howler still trained on Lan. I realized with a start that I recognized him. He was the leader who had tried to ambush us as we attempted to cross the Sand Sea.

  Arjun had the leader in his sights. But before he could fire a shot, a howling wind lanced across the desert and knocked the other man out of the car, the sudden gale sweeping him a few hundred feet away.

  It wasn’t my doing.

  Odessa was exactly where I had left her. She was too far away for me to see her features clearly, but I saw the rigid set of her shoulders and the way her hands were clenched.

  She was at least four hundred paces away. The immense power it required to channel winds over such a distance would have sapped my strength. The last time I’d tried, I’d fainted and taken days to recover.

  I watched, stunned, as she did it again, and all the Hellmakers felt her wrath. I watched them rise into the air, gasping and choking, and I saw thick globs of sand being forced down their throats. She was suffocating them.

  “Odessa!” Lan screamed. “Odessa, no!”

  I reached out for Odessa on instinct—a ridiculous action, considering the distance between us—but somehow I found her all the same, the breath leaving my lungs as my mind slammed into focus alongside hers.

  I could feel her fury, and her desperation. In her zeal she’d expended too much energy, and it was a hard fight trying to reel it back under her control. The extent of her abilities frightened me. I could never wield so much strength. I knew this was the result of the galla’s gifts she’d been talking about, but that didn’t stop me from feeling awed, and fearful at the thought of the other things my sister could be capable of.

  And envious. Oh, the things I could do, the people I could have helped, had I even half of what she had . . . !

  But I pushed back those thoughts, angry that I could even think them.

  If Odessa sensed any of it she gave no indication; instead, she welcomed me in. We pooled our focus together, and it was enough to dissipate the energies in the air, forcing the patterns to unravel. The winds disappeared without warning, and the cannibals dropped back down to the ground, heaving out grit, a few vomiting violently. Odessa’s face was buried in her hands, and she was swaying back and forth.

  Lan was already tearing through the desert, back to my sister.

  “Will she be all right?” I asked Noelle, shaken. So this was the consequence of those radiances. Odessa had been gifted a greater strength in the incanta, and the ability to spin patterns in ways I’d never thought of. But there was a cost. Odessa had told me as much. It was enough to dampen my fleeting wish to have what she had.

  The redhead’s face was troubled. “She hasn’t been herself these last few weeks, milady.” I’d noticed that Noelle had a penchant for understating the obvious, but this was putting it far too mildly. “But she’s trying.”

  The rest of the clans had caught up, their rigs pulling up beside ours. “Secure them,” Tamera barked at her subordinates. “They’ve plagued these dunes long enough. Justice for their crimes is a long time coming.”

  “From what I could tell,” murmured Lars, the softspoken leader of the Gila, “one of the young goddesses was well on her way to addressing that.”

  Lan had reached Odessa’s side and was holding my sister close. Odessa’s eyes were closed, but she was leaning gratefully into Lan, looking far less distressed than she had minutes before.

  “Not like this,” I found myself saying. “Charge them and bring them to your courts if you must, but I cannot condone cold-blooded murder on my watch.”

  Tamera laughed mirthlessly. “These are not your glittering Golden City tribunals, Your Holiness. Unlike the elite that make up your circles, our brand of justice does not rely on the wealth and influence of the accused.”

  “Nonetheless,” Mother Salla said, “Haidee is a goddess of Aeon whether we wish it or not, and she shall deliver the final judgment. Chain them along the outskirts of camp, and make sure to change guard every three hours.”

  “Pardon me, Lisette,” Giorme said politely, stroking his long, gray-streaked beard. “But where did the Hellmakers first attack you and your siblings?”

  “Five, six miles from where you first spotted us.”

  “Interesting. We should be far from Hellmaker territory here. Their numbers have diminished considerably since we delivered our reprisals on behalf of your oasis. They may be fools, but not even fools would have risked charging at us here, given that these grounds border both my clan’s and Gila territory. I’ve kept eyes on them since Salla told us about their attempt to muscle in on your whale meat. They’ve retreated out into the desert along the Sand Sea coastline ever since, living off lizards and scorpions.”

  I nodded in agreement. The Sand Sea had been where Arjun and I had encountered them last.

  “What woul
d drive them back here, then? They would risk the wrath of three clans alone, even without our treaty.”

  “A question we should ask them.” The Fennec clan mistress frowned and turned to me. “You will forgive me,” she said, “if I don’t fall to my knees, impressive as you and your sister are. I have little reason to trust you still, but I trust Salla. If this is a trick . . .”

  “It’s not,” I was quick to say. “I don’t want to rule a broken world. I’m not even sure I want to rule at all. I just want peace. I want to bring Aeon back to what it could be.”

  Mistress Tamera studied me. “You seem sincere enough. Much more sincere than your mother ever was. I will believe you—for now.”

  “Please excuse her manners,” Lars said as the older woman walked away. “I am not fond of your mother, but if Salla vouches for you, then I will at least be cordial. I believe I speak for Giorme as well.”

  “You do,” the other man confirmed.

  “Arjun!” The girl from the last rig, the one who had been valiantly defending the rest of the Addax clan from the cannibals, had climbed out of her vehicle. Laughing, she flew toward Arjun.

  “That’s three times you’ve saved my ass,” she chortled, and kissed him.

  I heard a startled “Oh!” from Noelle, and something that sounded like “He’s in big trouble now” from Faraji. Suddenly I wasn’t quite as willing to show mercy to the girl and Arjun as I had to the cannibals.

  Arjun’s reaction would have been comical, had it been anyone else. He jumped away from the girl and held her at arm’s length when she, startled by his unexpected retreat, attempted to move closer. “Lisette,” he said hurriedly. “It’s good to see you again.” He shot an aghast look my way, clearing his throat. “Haidee, this is Lisette, from Clan Addax,” he said, every word a plea.

  Lisette. He’d mentioned her before, when we were driving toward the Great Abyss with little idea of what we’d discover there. He’d said she was an old lover of his, that they had broken off long ago.

  From the way she’d kissed him, it didn’t seem like he’d told her that, though.

  “Haidee?” The girl studied me. She was pretty, I noticed with some dismay. Her hair was even shorter than mine, cropped close to her neck. It accentuated her clear brown eyes and oval face, her light brown skin a pretty compliment to the yellows of her hair. She appeared puzzled for a moment, until her eyes stole over my colorful locks. She stood up straighter, the look of alarm on her face settling into shock and then unconcealed interest.

  “You’re the Sun Goddess!” she blurted out, amazed. “Arjun, she’s the Sun Goddess.”

  “Yes,” he said hastily, taking a small step away to avoid her outstretched hand. “This is Haidee, and she’s my—well, she’s a . . .”

  “I’m Haidee,” I said smoothly, giving her a light curtsy. “Arjun mentioned you to me,” I continued, proud of how I was keeping my emotions firmly in check. “It’s good to meet you.”

  Lisette was quick on the uptake, quick to process what Arjun was stumbling to say. She withdrew her arm, eyeing me in the careful way one might if they stumbled across a snake on the ground, unsure yet if its venom was of the poisonous variety. She came to a speedy decision, and sank into a curtsy even lower than mine was. “It’s been a long time since I last saw Arjun, so I’m afraid I know very little about you beyond the stories the elders like to scare us with.” Lisette hadn’t been raised as royalty like I was, but recognizing jealousy transcended culture, I suppose. Not that I was really jealous. “I owe you both my life. I’m Lisette, mistress of Clan Addax.” Her eyes twinkled. “Only friends call me Lissie, and I hope you will, too.”

  I relaxed, glad that we’d come to an understanding of sorts. No one bothered to tell Arjun, who continued to fidget.

  “Mistress of Clan Addax?” Mother Salla echoed. “Lisette, what happened to Jassen?”

  Lisette’s face fell. “He died a few months ago, from the heat sickness. Barden and Esme died with him.”

  “Barden and Esme?” Arjun looked stricken. “I’m sorry, Lissie.”

  “Things have been harder since the last time the Hellmakers attacked our camp.” Lisette’s smile was both grim and vicious. “Should you even bother with a trial, I hope you’ll let me take part—as judge, jury, or executioner. I’m particularly good at the executing part.”

  “Did someone invite the cannibals to this gathering of clans?” Noelle asked.

  “Not all of the clans have been equally fortunate since our alliance began,” Mother Salla said. “These cannibals used to belong to the Saiga clan, led by a man named Galon. He died only a few months after the Breaking. Without his leadership, the Saiga fared poorly, and turned to cannibalism to survive. Possibly some of its members still remember the signals, the old reminders to strike for this place after any drastic changes in the weather. There will be time enough to question them. Lisette, it is best that you and your family head to the tents we’ve set up on your behalf. You’ve traveled a long way, and you all need some much-deserved rest.”

  “That is very kind of you, Mother Salla, but I think there are some loose ends to tie up first.” Lisette bent down and slid a knife out from the top of her boot.

  “No,” Mother Salla said.

  “You know the Addax’s history with these cannibals, Mother. They destroyed our oasis. They have killed many brothers and sisters of mine. I demand blood on their behalf.”

  “Vengeance must wait. Slit their throats now, and they will provide no useful information. The world is changing, Lisette. We need every scrap we can pull out of them.”

  “Not while my siblings’ bones still lie out in the desert.”

  “I am invoking the old laws of our treaty, Lisette.”

  Lisette glared at Arjun. “And you agree with her? You were even thirstier for their blood than I was, once.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I lost family to them, too. But Mother Salla is right. Things have changed.”

  “I gathered as much.” The girl took a deep breath, calmer now, and slipped her knife back into its place. “We owe you and the Oryx. We’ll follow your rules, just as Jassen would have wanted. But once their usefulness is done, I will ask for satisfaction.” To my surprise, she clasped my hands, actually lifted one to kiss. “I’ve never met a goddess before, and you seem nicer than the stories claim, if you don’t mind my saying so. I hope to make more of your acquaintance. For now, I have my family to see to. Clan Addax will always be grateful, Mother Salla.”

  “She seems friendly,” I said mildly, watching them walk toward the tents. Arjun was scowling after her, a complete change from his nervousness earlier. “And what’s wrong with you?”

  “I wasn’t encouraging her,” he said immediately. “I didn’t expect her to—”

  I smothered a laugh. I would have been angrier, I suppose, if I’d seen him take any pleasure in the exchange. I wasn’t used to competition; I was used to being the prize, as arrogant as that sounded. Mother often played one noble family against the other, dangling me as a potential reward for their sons. “Don’t be mad at her. She didn’t know about us.”

  “That’s not the reason I’m angry with her now,” he muttered. “She lost interest in me as soon as she saw you.”

  “Well, it’s because she’s honorable enough not to chase after you, knowing that I was—” I stilled. “Wait. I don’t understand what you mean.”

  “She was flirting with you.” He turned to me, still clearly huffy. “She’s been involved with both men and women before. I know her well enough to see if she’s interested in someone.” He glowered. “And she better not be.”

  I hadn’t expected Arjun to switch from nervously trying to explain his old flame, to being just as possessive as I had been. And it couldn’t have helped when I burst into laughter, either.

  Interrogating the cannibals took time. Odessa displayed another of those strange galla-given abilities by taking away the Hellmakers’ gates, preventing them from using incanta. It ha
d caused a stir among the other clans, and their leaders eyed us with even more misgivings. But the peace of the neutral ground held—for now.

  I’m not sure I could blame them. After Odessa’s handling of the ruined Saiga clan, I would have been suspicious as well. Arjun had often accused me of being too idealistic—like that was a failing!—and he certainly thought I was too trusting, especially with my twin. But from the very first instant we fell into each other’s arms at the Great Abyss, discovering a connection between us that was strong enough to send the world spinning again, I knew I would protect her. No galla’s gift or curse could overcome that.

  Mother Salla led the inquisition, the other elders interjecting when they had their own questions. Now that they were bound and deprived of their gates, the cannibals had lost their courage, blubbering and pleading for mercy. They were clearly afraid of something, but many weren’t coherent enough to offer a straight answer. Their leader, the man with the scar, continued to taunt us.

  “Why do I have to answer the meat?” he snarled, baring jagged, broken teeth. “That’s what you all are. All meat, all the time. You’re too stringy to eat, you old hag, but you’d make good jerky. Now this one,” he said, and leered at Odessa. “Good bones, all around. You’d be delicious enough to—”

  Lan backhanded him across the face. The cannibal’s head swung to one side, spittle flying, and Lan slapped him again. “When did they die?” she asked.

  The man stared at her. “Who died? You’re all going to die. My boys and I gonna feast—”

  Lan swatted him again. “When did they die?” she repeated.

  “Let her,” Odessa said softly when Mother Salla looked ready to intervene.

  “Is this wise?” Tamera wanted to know.

  “Does the Catseye have experience in such techniques?” Lars asked, his nose wrinkled in distaste.

  “Certainly far more than we do,” Salla said with a sigh. “Let her continue. And keep Lisette and her knives away.”

  Every slap seemed to knock more of the fight out of him. Uncertainty bled through the arrogance, and I watched him grow doubtful, then frantic, then fearful, like every hit made him consider Lan’s question with more gravity.