“There are lots of animals on Terra,” Krishani replied. He looked distracted, almost at a loss of what to do. Kaliel watched him intently. He was skinnier than he used to be. He had faint outlines of bruises on his torso, stitches in his right shoulder. She ran her fingers along the little sutures. He glanced at her, his eyes telling her that she should be cautious.
“When did you get this?” She finished with the bread and liquid. On Avristar she was used to tea or sparkling water from springs. Nobody ever drank anything that came from animals.
Krishani covered her fingers with his and moved her hand away from his scar. He stretched his neck out and she watched his throat bounce when he swallowed. “In a fight with the Daed,” he answered; his eyes were serious and lethal.
“Oh.”
Silence hung between them.
Kaliel took in a deep breath, bunching her hands in her lap. “I feel like nothing good happened when I was …”
Krishani inched forward, cupping her face with one hand and forcing her to look at him. His eyes were melancholy and dangerous which Kaliel couldn’t get used to. “You were in my dreams.”
She formed a wan smile which dropped into a frown. “But you woke to …”
Krishani pressed his forehead against hers, his breathing uneven. “Don’t—I can’t talk about it. It’s over and you’re here.”
“I’m not—” He opened his eyes and she was shocked by the up close view of his pupils. Fleck of deeper blue and green circled the irises, and Kaliel was sure that without her Krishani was barely surviving.
“You’re you. You’re not like the others.”
“The others?”
“Flames. You’re not like them.”
Kaliel almost recoiled but his hand was caressing her neck, his lips so close to hers she could almost taste them but she didn’t lean forward. Krishani knew her kin better than she did. All she had were night terrors of them, and it wasn’t enough. It bothered her—not being able to remember the First Era, not knowing Klavotesi when she saw him, it was discomforting. She tensed. “I don’t know what I’m like.”
Krishani let out a breath that sounded like a laugh. “You shine. When things are dark—you make everything bad seem—okay I can’t explain it, but it’s just something about you. You’re like your own star.”
Kaliel blinked, her hands covering his and taking them away from his face. He was staring at her intently, gauging her reaction until she finally laughed. “I don’t think I’m any different than anyone else.”
Krishani rolled his eyes and let out a huff. “You’re impossible to compliment.” Krishani put the empty plate and mug on the desk after draining the contents.
Kaliel looked at the floor, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t think being different is a good thing.”
He shot her a look, his eyes darkening. “The other Flames are weapons. I’m glad you’re different.” He said it under his breath but Kaliel heard it, refusing to comment. She averted her eyes as he picked through the pile of folded clothes and got dressed. He slid the shin high boots over his feet last and took her hand in his, pulling her off the bed. “Come on,” he said, dragging her to the door.
“Where are we going?” She followed him down the stairs and landed on the dry, cracked soil. Nothing was as vibrant as it was on Avristar. A large tree rose a few feet from the stairs. It had a modest trunk and large limbs that twisted into the sky and hung over the top of the watchtower. It wasn’t nearly as tall or wide as the red cedars she was used to. Its leaves were a type she’d never seen before, all kinds of green, but some of them had holes chewed through them. She scratched her arms through the long sleeves as Krishani kept her hand in his and pulled her towards the trail.
“I thought we could explore the village,” Krishani said.
Kaliel laughed. This was a different side of Krishani she wasn’t used to. He was usually the type to tuck himself away in some cave and stay to his thoughts. He wasn’t even wearing the cloak. He wasn’t concealing himself and he was tracing patterns on the inside of her palm like he didn’t care who caught them together. She didn’t deny that what she had seen the night before intrigued her, but she wasn’t sure there was a lot for her to discover in a place like this.
“Are we allowed to do that?” she asked, shrugging her hand out of his. He walked ahead and in the afternoon sunlight his black hair glowed at the tips, fine locks brushing along the nape of his neck, pushed back behind his elongated ears. He looked at her, a shadow falling over half of his face, his blue and green eyes intensified by the contrasting light. She never noticed those features before–the curve of his full lips, defined cheekbones, faint traces of dark eyebrows and eyelashes that framed his eyes. He didn’t look like any of the villagers by a long shot.
He began walking backwards, seeming carefree in his beige tunic and black breeches, a belt at his waist and familiar boots on his feet. He spread his hands out to either side of himself and glanced at the sky. “I’m the Ferryman remember? This is supposed to be my home.”
Kaliel cringed at the word home. He didn’t grow up here, and he wasn’t even proud to be a Son of Marlow Tavesin. She skipped a little to catch up as he passed rows and rows of cabins and came on the main road. The barn sat in the center of town. It was almost as tall as the castle, with big wooden paneled siding and a curved roof. She wondered what kinds of animals they kept inside. Her eyes followed the fences. Brown feathered chickens clucked, plucking away at seeds on the ground. She didn’t say anything as Krishani grabbed her hand and lead her towards the stables. She stopped, staring at a small hut in front of the barn. It was smaller than the other cabins, with narrow stairs to the tiny door and triangular roof. There was a lot of noise coming from it. A moment later Pux emerged looking disheveled and tired. There was squawking behind him and he brushed it away with his hand as the door slammed shut. In his other hand he had a basket of eggs. Her eyes lit up and she waved.
“Pux!” she cried, breaking from Krishani. She stopped short at the fences … they weren’t very effective—more like large hollow squares. She quickly ducked under a beam, dodging grains and chickens as she caught up to him. “What are you doing?” she asked, fascinated by his early morning chores.
He shrugged and gestured to the basket of eggs. “Nobody really likes going in the chicken house. These are for dinner tonight.”
“Is there another feast?” she asked.
Pux smiled. “There’s a feast every night, although tonight it’ll be in the mess hall, not the Tavesin Hall.”
She knocked her shoulder against his playfully. Eating together felt more like home. “Will there be music?”
Pux smiled wistfully. “And dancing.”
Her mouth watered. “Is it like a Fire Festival every night?” When moons went by in the Elmare Castle, Kaliel ate in the mess hall with Hernadette and the other servants. Orlondir was lonely without Fire Festivals.
Pux shrugged. “Something like that.” He stopped and faced her, his expression serious. “Have the witches left yet?”
Kaliel felt a brief sear of panic in her chest. She shook her head slowly. “I don’t know.”
Pux made a harrumph sound. “It’ll be easier when they leave. People want to get back to normal around here.” They reached the gate. Kaliel didn’t say anything. It was so weird for Pux to talk about being normal and acting like an integral part of the village. It was great that the villagers didn’t think he was an invalid.
Kaliel glanced at Krishani who waited on the other side of the fence as Pux opened the latch and swung the gate open. He nodded to Krishani, and Kaliel watched them curiously. They had a secret unspoken language between them that she couldn’t understand. She began to follow Pux when Krishani edged towards her, his fingers wrapping around her upper arm.
“I need to check on something if we’re going to go to Avristar,” he whispered in her ear. He pulled away and let his eyes linger over her for a moment before sliding his hand out of hers, swift
ly heading towards the castle.
Pux grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m never going to understand him.”
Kaliel looped her arm through his and continued up the road. “I wouldn’t worry about it.” She was happy to be alive and with both Krishani and her best friend. Whatever miniscule imperfections existed didn’t matter. She’d get used to life on Terra, even if it wasn’t anything like Avristar. Pux became silent again, counting eggs in the basket and leading her to the backside of the castle. They passed the stables and the smithy and headed towards an area dominated by bushes and more trees.
“What does everyone do here?” she asked.
Pux neared a small wooden door down a half flight of stone stairs indented in the land. She waited at the top while he knocked. A heavyset woman opened the door a second later. She had a babushka on her head, an apron, and a handmaid wool dress underneath. Sweat slicked her round face and ran across her rosy cheeks. It seemed like she had been working for hours. She took the basket without a word, mumbled something about the pigs, and closed the door again. Pux joined Kaliel and they began walking through the short grass in the spaces between the unkempt hedges of bushes.
“They work. There are a lot of things to do because they don’t have any magic or elders to do it for them,” Pux explained gently. They neared a tree and Kaliel pressed her back against it thoughtfully. Terra was a peculiar place.
“When is Beltane?” She glanced at the green leaves above her and frowned. Wind rustled the trees but it was too strong and it whipped her hair into a frenzy. She pressed her hands behind her back and against the tree, which was comforting, but she couldn’t feel its voice at all. That was something else that unnerved her. She couldn’t feel the beating pulse of the land. On Avristar a heartbeat coursed through everything.
Pux sat and hunched his knees to his chest. “They don’t celebrate it, but summer solstice is almost here.”
Kaliel’s eyes widened and she slunk down the tree, copying Pux. “What do you mean?”
“I asked Elwen about it. They celebrate the summer and winter solstices, and the spring and fall equinoxes, whatever those are. No Beltane or Samhain. And then there’s something called Lammas where all the men go out to hunt down the stag.”
Kaliel brightened at the mention of the stag. “At least they hunt the stag.”
Pux shot her a reproving glare. “They eat it afterwards.”
Kaliel felt faint. She pushed her arms over her knees and turned her head sideways. All she could see were the bushes. “I want to go home.” She closed her eyes and sat straighter, aligning her spine with the trunk of the tree. There had to be a pulse in the land. She felt with her mind and put her hand on the base of the tree trunk, pressing in, sharing her energy with it. The Flame inside of her burst but when she opened her eyes nothing happened. No little purple flower sprouted at the tree’s feet. There was nothing. The tree didn’t speak, like it wasn’t born with a voice.
Pux sighed. “There’s no point in trying, Kaliel.”
She huffed and stood, turning to face the tree. She crossed her arms and glared at it. Pux pulled at her arms. “Come on. There are some people I want you to meet,” he pleaded.
She let him pull her back past the spaced out trees, the stables, and the smithy. He led her back into the barn. The smell of manure and animal made her choke. She waited in the middle while Pux ducked into one of the stalls and startled a woman working on what Kaliel assumed was a goat. She didn’t want to know how liquid came from goats and why they thought it was a proper drink. The aftertaste of it coated her throat. Once the woman emerged she was joined by a boy and a man. The woman wore a colorless tunic to her ankles and an apron tied around her waist. She too had a babushka around her head. She was short for a human, with worn hands, a tanned thin face, and brown beady eyes. The tall, stocky man had a blaze of orange hair and a paunch of a stomach, wearing a matching tunic and breeches. His feet were clad in leather sandals that didn’t look comfortable. His son was dressed in a similar manner with the same shock of orange hair and a crooked smile on his face. The woman curtsied to Kaliel, and Kaliel frowned, running her hands down her dress, feeling dressed improperly.
“I want you to meet Bethula, Hyatt, and Jack,” Pux said. He pointed to the woman when he said Bethula, the man when he said Hyatt, and the boy when he said Jack. Kaliel followed, even though they stared at her with curious faces.
“Jack’s really good at coaxing the chickens to stay in the fences and not go wandering around the village,” Pux explained, beaming when he looked at Jack. Kaliel shifted foot-to-foot, not sure what to say. “You have to introduce yourself,” Pux muttered, his mouth close to her ear.
Kaliel shrugged. “I’m Kaliel of Evennses,” she said and then clapped hands over her mouth. She didn’t mean to say that, especially after Krishani warned her. Bethula and Hyatt exchanged a look while Jack bounced towards her and gave her a hug.
“I like it when the Children of Avristar come to our village,” he said, letting go. He seemed a couple summers younger than Pux, with the innocence of a child only a few summers old. She ruffled his hair and he beamed. “Can you do things?” he asked eagerly, glancing at Pux who was cupping the back of his neck.
Kaliel smacked his chest with the back of her hand. “You didn’t tell him about Avristar, did you?” She almost shrieked.
“I only told him a few things,” Pux said sheepishly. Bethula nodded and turned back to the stall without saying anything. Hyatt drifted towards another stall. He tapped Jack’s shoulder as if to tell him to follow but Jack stayed put, still staring at Kaliel and Pux.
Kaliel tried to hide her smile, but it was so peculiar to see humans reacting to her this way. She never thought of her abilities as anything spectacular, but Jack looked at her and Pux like they were his heroes. She tilted her head to the side. “We used to be able to do things back home, but we can’t do that stuff here,” she explained.
Jack’s face fell and his shoulders hunched with the rest of his scrawny body. He was about a foot shorter than Pux, and even though he had some muscle, he was small and bird-like. “I should get back to work,” he said. “Pux, were you going to take the hay to the stables?” Pux gave Kaliel an apologetic look and followed Jack to the ladder in the middle of the barn. Kaliel’s eyes followed the ladder to a loft with bales of hay perched on the ledge.
“I’ll come find you later, okay?” Pux said, glancing over his shoulder.
Kaliel nodded. “Don’t forget our lesson with Klavotesi.” Her voice sounded hollow. She tried not to feel left out but she didn’t know how she could be useful to them. She left the barn, hoping she could find Krishani. Maybe he found a way for them to go home. Every part of her ached with longing to return.
* * *
12 - A Way Home
More dancing happened after sunset fell, and this time it was louder and wilder and it involved a lot more clapping. Krishani sat at a wooden table on the far side of the mess hall near the door. Really, it was just a big barn with a high roof and a bunch of tables stretched out along either side. The musicians set up in the corner with their flutes, drums, and a harp that seemed hard to move around. Krishani didn’t care to ask where the strings came from. It was no secret that some of the Children of Avristar came to Terra bearing gifts from the island.
Kaliel was busy jigging with some of the villagers after moving her food around. Krishani glanced at his own plate, a slab of wood, and poked at the berries. It wasn’t the like the feasts Elwen brought: yellow and orange vegetables, chicken, and swine. This evening it was all sorts of blue, red, and black berries, helpings of some kind of soupy mush, and slabs of leftover meat. He didn’t try the meat because it was thick with gristle and sopping with grease. The berries were sour and the mush was tasteless. He ate as much of it as he could, but he missed apple sauce and sparkling water, ripe fruit and slim pheasants.
He got up and sauntered towards the dancers. There hadn’t been a lot of activity
that day. He avoided Elwen, caught the witches taking a swim in the lake behind the castle, and showed Kaliel around the village. They seemed to like her. She spun and her green eyes met his, leaving him flustered. She had a white flower nestled in her black locks, making her glow. Everyone seemed so happy, peaceful, barricaded from the horrendous lands on the other side of the village walls.
Kaliel flounced towards him, glancing at something behind him. There were no doors to the mess hall, just a big, empty space creating a rigid archway on either side. Light trickled in from outside, faded sunset light that shaded her pale face with a tinge of orange. She tilted her head up to his and like a siren’s song he was lured, dropping his head to meet her eyes. “I think I found a way,” he whispered, twining his hands with hers. He pulled back only to see her beam with excitement and satisfaction. She bounced on the balls of her feet and wrung her hands out, unable to stay still.
“When can we go?” she asked.
Krishani smiled. This was the girl he missed–the girl eager to meet him at the waterfall, the girl who swam with merfolk and talked to trees. He glanced at the hoards of villagers and noticed Pux jigging with young boys and girls. Klavotesi and Clamose sat on the sidelines, and the witches were nowhere to be seen. He led Kaliel out of the mess hall and through the gaps in the trees and low cut grass. He glanced at the sky only to see it nestled in shades of orange and light blue, growing deeper and darker as night enveloped the sky.
“We need to leave before nightfall,” he said quietly. He searched her face for any hint that she would change her mind, but she didn’t. Determination flickered across her expression, and she took her hand out of his, hiked up her dress, and started stalking across the village to their watchtower. Before she had gone a few steps he caught her by the arm and pulled her back. She had that look on her face that said not to mess with her, and he sighed. “Are you sure you want to go?”
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