by Aderyn Wood
“Yes. You’re amazing, Iluna. I’ve never seen such magic! Better than any evenfire tale.”
Iluna frowned, the pain was easing slowly. “What happened to me?”
“It was that dark wizard, Gudmund. He tried to slay you with a spear. It pierced your leg. You’ve lost a lot of blood, but I managed to bind it and staunch the flow. I carried you back to this cave. Well, after I woke. It was strange, everyone had gone. I found some mallowroot and I’ve bathed the wound with that to try and stop any infection. But alza would be better. I should return to camp to get some. Or even better, Amak.”
Iluna reached out a shaking arm. “Hold my hand.”
Anton’s palm was warm and his essence calmed her – almost in the way her raven did. “My raven, where is he?”
“Outside somewhere. I think he is keeping a lookout. He followed us up the mountain.”
“Is it night or day?”
“It is night now. Imbrit, Atoll and Goda are all in the sky.”
Anton’s thumb caressed her hand as he held it, the type of thing lovers did. Iluna closed her eyes and drew a little of his energy. He was a strong hunter and seemed to have endless essence. She focused on her leg, healing the muscle and flesh and dimming the pain, just a little. She breathed more easily and opened her eyes.
“Thank you.” She sat up.
“Iluna, no, you’re not ready yet.”
“It’s all right, Anton.”
He frowned. “You’re not in pain?”
“It’s eased, must have been the paleheart flowers.”
Anton smiled.
She looked at her wound. Anton had wrapped it with reeds; tight. Blood had dried in small clumps all over her leg.
“Could I have the water skin please?” She was so thirsty she could almost finish the skin.
“Well, should I return to the camp? Tell the others we are all safe now?”
A chill swept through the cave and Iluna shivered. “No. We are not yet safe. There is still Xaroth and – your brother.”
“Oh.” Anton picked up a stick to poke the fire.
“Is there anything to eat?” Iluna was suddenly as hungry as a wolf in winter.
Anton smiled and peeled an orange fruit before handing it to her. They ate for a while. The orange fruit tasted sweeter than any other.
“About Yuli,” Anton said. “What’s this ceremony Izhur spoke of?”
Iluna wiped juice off her chin. “I’m not supposed to tell you. It is meant to be a secret only Soragans share. I’m not supposed to know it myself, but Cypra and Izhur, they’ve told me all the secrets, or I’ve learned them myself. Could I have some of the hazelnuts now?”
Anton reached out and took her hand, it was warm and soft. He grabbed a handful of the peeled nuts and placed them in her small palm, closing her fingers around them and smiling into her eyes.
She shook her head, but a warm glow bloomed somewhere inside. She smiled back and popped a hazelnut into her mouth.
“But, it seems to me that the Grand Soragan and Yuli have had their own secrets. Surely I can know this secret. Yuli is my brother.”
Iluna finished her mouthful and looked at him. “It is called a binding ceremony. It has not been done in many summers. Not since Cypra was young. They will bind Yuli with his totem.”
“What does that mean?”
Iluna pursed her lips. “Are you sure you want to know this? It is kept secret for a reason. You may not believe it if I tell it to you.”
“Tell me.”
“When he binds with his totem he becomes that animal, physically changed.”
Anton’s mouth fell open. “You’re not jesting with me?”
Iluna shook her head. “I rarely jest.”
“You mean, he turns into an animal? Like in some evenfire tale?”
“Yes, but his mind will remain unchanged, providing he has the strength to control it.”
“Will he be that way forever? Until he passes to the Otherworld?”
“No, he will be able to change back, as long as he succeeds the first time he will be able to control the shift at will, though it will expend much energy.”
“There is a chance he will not succeed? What does that mean?”
“It means he could die.”
Anton swallowed; his amber eyes suddenly sad. “Well, what should we do now? Should I fetch Amak? I’m worried about your leg.”
Iluna took a breath. Her leg would be fine. She would heal it properly when she was stronger, later. “No, not Amak. But Izhur and Cypra. I enchanted them before they left here. I had to make them forget everything or Izhur was likely to do something stupid and face the Grand Soragan himself, in front of the other Soragans, too, no doubt. But by dawn the enchantment will have worn off. I need you to find them and bring them back here. Together we will work to face Xaroth and Yuli.”
Anton nodded. “Dawn isn’t far off. I should leave.”
“Yes.”
“Is there anything you need? I’ll leave my satchel. It has more orange fruit and hazelnuts. None of your favourites though.”
Iluna raised an eyebrow. “And what do you suppose is my favourite?”
“The moonberries, of course.” His grin showed all his beautiful teeth.
“You are observant.”
“I am a hunter.”
He stopped smiling then and Iluna watched his lips, the line of his jaw, his eyes – amber and beautiful. She brought a hand to her brow. It must be the palehearts, finally taking their effect. “I’ll be fine here. But please, help me outside. I want to see my raven.”
Anton frowned. “I don’t think that’s wise. I don’t think you should leave the cave.”
Iluna flicked her hand. “I’ll be quite all right. Just for a little while I want to see my raven. Then I’ll come straight back in and get some more sleep.”
Anton took a deep breath. “All right. But, please, not for too long.”
He helped her up. Iluna felt weightless as he wrapped an arm around her and helped her to stand. A wave of dizziness circled through her head, but Anton held her tight and her leg only pulsed dimly. She took a step and with the hunter beside her she slowly made it outside.
“Thank you. I’ll summon him when you go.”
Anton still held his hand around her waist. He looked down on her. The golden highlights of his hair where the daysun had lightened it shone almost white in the moonrays.
“I don’t want to go now.” He put his other hand around her waist, too. It was warm. Iluna felt safe, happy, but it was a luxury she couldn’t waste time on.
“You must. We need Izhur and Cypra.”
Anton nodded and swallowed. “I know. I just don’t want to. I don’t want to leave you.”
Iluna put a hand on his chest. It felt like warm carved rock, but she could feel his heart beating and she pulled away and stepped back out of his embrace. “Please let go. Let’s get it all over with.”
Anton frowned, looking down at his feet. “I will be quick,” he said and turned to go.
“Anton, wait.”
“Yes?” His eyes lit up.
“The thing you wanted to tell me? What was it?” She’d remembered his promise to tell her, and her curiosity flared.
He smiled. “Let’s meet again when you are well. I will tell you then.” And he left, without making another noise.
Yuli
Yuli ran through the forest, the rabbit’s blood still firing his veins. Goda’s nightsun had descended out of sight now. Soon the eastern sky would brighten. He had sensed his brother much earlier in the night, and then promptly lost him. Anton’s essence had blinked out like a late night oil pot, but now it burned close, and there was someone with him – Iluna.
Her essence was weaker than usual. A smile twitched Yuli’s lips. Perhaps she was injured. It would make sense. Gudmund and the other mages were more powerful than any Soragan. No one could attack the Nordesans and remain unscathed.
Yuli crested a rise and came to the mountain’
s peak. Up here he could see everything. To his left, way down in the middle of Ona’s Valley, the evenfire flickered small, like a distant star. To the right was darkness, only the red glow in the west lit the sky, the remnants of Goda’s nightsun. Or Thardun, as the Nordesan’s referred to it – their god of war. Yes, their gods were better, too. Yuli’s people didn’t even have a war god. That is why they could never protect themselves.
Voices sounded close as he descended the other side of the mountain. Yuli pulled his essence around him like a warm cloak and snuck through the trees, being careful with his footing so as to not alert them to his presence. He had done this many times when spying on Iluna and it was easy enough to hide from her, especially when she was always so focused on summoning that stupid bird.
He glimpsed them now, and crept forward on all fours, like a wolf, shrubs and bushes camouflaging him. But Anton was gone. When Yuli reached out he sensed his brother running down the mountain, returning to camp no doubt.
Yuli paused. Had she detected his presence? A quick rush of panic distracted him. He’d seen the dead she’d left behind at the Nordesan’s camp. There had been much bloodshed. Many had died of gruesome injuries. Some had their eyes plucked out, other’s their throats, and others still had been torn in half. Yuli frowned. How had she done it?
He stilled his breathing and dissolved the panic, taking control of his senses. He would be just as powerful soon. The Grand Soragan had promised. He peered through the bushes to where Iluna now stood. She was studying the bird, in some sort of trance. The bird, perched on a low limb of the tree, was looking around. Yuli hoped it didn’t sense him, like last time.
But then it squawked.
“Spurn it!” he muttered. Iluna spotted him and her eyes widened.
She fears me. Good. It gave him a boost and Yuli stepped forward. That was when he saw the cave behind Iluna. It distracted him momentarily. He’d not known there’d been a cave here.
“What do you want, Yuli?”
He kept his body relaxed, and forced a friendly smile as he bent to pick up a rock half the size of his hand. “I’ve been walking this night. I wanted to visit some new friends I’d made, but when I came upon their camp, they were all gone.”
Iluna was breathing hard. She stumbled as though unbalanced and looked behind her toward the cave.
Yuli frowned. Something was wrong with her. Her essence was weak. Good. He smiled. “I don’t suppose you know what happened to my friends? I wanted to introduce them to my mother.”
Iluna’s nostrils flared. “You don’t scare me, Yuli. You know I am more powerful than you. You’ve seen the proof of it now. Just leave. Run back to your twisted master. Spill your blood and practise your evil magics. It will do you no good. Your new friends are no longer a threat, and I will tell the other Soragans about you and Xaroth, and undo the spells he has woven over our people – spells that have blinded and ensnared them.” She stuck her chin up. “You and Xaroth are finished.”
Yuli smoothed a snarl on his face, relaxing his muscles. He needed to resist anger. He must remain in control. “I’m curious about the bird.” He nodded toward the black demon as he lobbed the rock in the air in front of his chest, catching it again with his hand.
Iluna squinted. Her eyes darted back and forth between the raven and Yuli.
She didn’t trust him. And well she shouldn’t. Witch. He sent out his essence to the rock until it thrummed in his hand.
“He is your totem, no?”
Iluna’s eyes widened.
Yuli laughed. He knew her secret – a dangerous thing for an enemy to know. “What a suitable creature for a tamatu. You’ll always be our tamatu, Iluna.”
His essence continued to fill the rock that now buzzed with magic.
Iluna stumbled again and her hand went to her head. She took a step back, toward the cave. “Just go, Yuli. Leave me alone.”
“Very well. Your wish is my command.” He took a low bow and when he came back up his arm rose behind his head. “I’ll leave you quite alone.” He threw the rock. The raven squawked and took flight, too late.
“No!” Iluna screamed.
But the rock met its target. Of course it did. He had embedded it with enough essence to kill an entire family of people let alone one bird.
The thunk of rock meeting bone greeted his ears with satisfaction. Feathers shot up and floated down in circles. Yuli watched with a smile as the bird fell from the sky and landed with a thud on the ground; blood pouring from its impacted head. He laughed, and then turned to Iluna only to see that she also lay on the ground, as though dead.
He watched her chest, but it did not rise or fall. He smiled. That task was easier than he thought it would be. So much for all of her power.
Izhur
Izhur walked past the evenfire pit. The cooks were busy stacking dry wood, and getting ready to fan the coals. Above, the sky transitioned slowly from blue to pink, and soon to purple. Dusk was nigh. People milled about the encampment getting ready for the festivities. It was the second-last night of Agria – the night of the long dance.
He avoided others as best he could, but being a Soragan, this was proving difficult. Many wanted to greet him, to wish him well or to ask for good omens.
“Will you be dancing tonight, Soragan Izhur?“ Old Gelda of the Ox asked. Her cheeks shone like red summer plums when she smiled.
Izhur pursed his lips. “No, Aunty, excuse me.” Dancing was the last thing on his mind.
Finally, after evading the bulk of the tents, he came to the old dead tree that marked the outskirts of the wolf encampment, and just beyond it stood the small weathered tent shared by Iluna and Cypra.
Izhur paused and took a breath. Anton had brought the news early that morning. The knowledge of the enemy clan, and Xaroth and Yuli’s part in it, all came back to him through a fog in his memory. Iluna had told them – him and Cypra at the cave, before she took the knowledge from them and sent them back down the mountain, ignorant. He shook his head trying to shake off anger and frustration. He understood why she’d done it, but he still wished she hadn’t. Izhur had an ill feeling that Iluna’s troubles were far from over.
Anton had led Izhur and Cypra back to the cave atop the mountain that morning, and they’d found her lying on the ground at the cave’s entrance – her raven dead beside her. Something had killed it.
At first they’d been afraid that she was dead also. But both her pulse and her breathing were present, though slow. Anton had scooped her up in his strong hunter arms and carried her down to the camp.
Cypra and Izhur had tried everything to wake her, in this world and the Other, but Iluna remained out of reach, in a trance. She had defeated the enemy clan, Anton told them. But now she slept, and no amount of shaking or tugging at her essence would wake her. And she was wounded. Amak had bathed her leg with alza and mallowroot as soon as they’d returned to camp, but there was no assurance it wouldn’t fester. She needed medicine, Amak told him.
The gossips had been whispering all day, casting sidelong glances at Iluna’s tent. Some held their hands, four fingertips touching, and took a wide berth as they walked past. Izhur had no care for what they thought. All would be revealed soon enough, and then Iluna would have all the love she deserved. She was their saviour, and finally everyone would see it.
Izhur opened the tent flap, stepped inside and took a sharp breath. A woman sat by Iluna’s side, bathing the girl’s forehead with a wet sponge.
“Ida.”
She looked up. Dark rings lined her eyes. These days her silk hair was streaked with grey, but her beauty still took his breath.
“Tell me she’ll be well again, Izhur.” Ida’s voice wavered.
“I wish I could. But I don’t know if I can believe it myself. She is in a deep trance and I am unable to bring her out of it.”
Ida sponged her forehead again. “She has a fever.”
“Yes, but there is little we can do for that either, not unless she wakes and Amak can g
ive her medicine.”
“How did it happen, Izhur?”
Izhur thought of the raven, dead by Iluna’s side. “I don’t know. I think someone may have – done this to her.”
Ida nodded. She put the sponge back in a clay pot filled with water and rose petals, then stood and faced Izhur. “Yuli has gone again. I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”
Izhur swallowed. “You’re worried.”
Ida looked back at Iluna. “Yes. I don’t know my son now. Not since his hermitage. He is not the Yuli we sent away.”
“I’m sorry, Ida. I have failed you.”
Ida took a deep shuddering breath. “Don’t blame yourself, Izhur. Some great evil has befallen my son. I know it. There is nothing we can do about it.” She nodded toward Iluna. “Look after her, please. Don’t leave her alone. She needs protection.”
Izhur nodded. “Cypra and I have been watching her.”
“And my eldest son, I hear.”
Izhur looked to the ground. “Yes. Anton. He’s been a great help.”
Ida nodded. “But when this is over he must return to his wife. You must tell him, Izhur. He’ll listen to you.”
Then she opened the flap of the tent and left.
∞
Izhur was the last to enter the Soragan’s tent. Inside, smoke from burning sage and cinnamon made a thick haze. Red coals from the fire pit in the tent’s center added to the smoke. The air was already hot and humid. It was to be their second last meeting, and bound to be a long one. They were still to reach an agreement regarding the celebration for the following night – Agria’s last. It was tradition for the Soragans to use the energy of the eight clans to enact a powerful chant – one that would bring good fortune for a group, or an individual.
Xaroth had been pushing for Yuli to undergo the binding ceremony, but now everything had changed, surely. As soon as Iluna woke she’d be able to break the control Xaroth had over the other Soragans and together they could tell them about this enemy clan. Nordesans they called themselves; Anton had told him that.
