Queens of Tristaine

by Cate Culpepper

  “But we weren’t all born to Tristaine, lady.” Kyla touched the older woman and nodded at Dana and Brenna. “Many of our adanin came to us as adults. Will their few years under Tristaine’s healthier sun be enough to protect them?”

  “Those years will offer a welcome edge.” Shann paused a moment, then regarded all her women soberly. “But don’t mistake me, sisters. Barring some miracle, we’re going to lose precious lives before this is over. The very old and the very young among us are most at risk. All we can do is move heaven and earth to keep our losses few.”

  Jess reached for Brenna’s hand and held it, their fingers twining.

  “And we have good hope for that.” Shann spoke with assurance again. “Tristaine has a rich, varied stock of natural remedies, and a talented guild of healers to help me find stronger ones. We may not be able to cure this pestilence, but we can slow its progress.”

  “We’ll make all possible speed, Shann.” Jess pointed to a spot on the map. “We should come out here, in the hills northeast of the City’s downtown district. We can pasture the horses by this creek. How far from this position to the Clinic, Bren?”

  “Far enough.” Brenna bent over the table and tapped its wood surface, an inch from the edge of the parchment. “Somewhere here.”

  “That’s a long way for six Amazons to walk City streets without rousing suspicion.” Shann frowned thoughtfully. “You’ll need help getting close to the Clinic, Jess.”

  “Aye, lady.” Jess raised an eyebrow at Brenna. “We’ll call on an old friend.”

  “Jodoch?” Kyla smiled with genuine pleasure. “Damn, Jess, I’d love to see our sweet bear of a brother again!”

  Dana frowned. “We’ve got a brother bear in the City?”

  “Remember the guy who helped Jess and me escape from the Clinic, Dana?” Brenna took Jess’s hand. She frowned and chaffed her still-cold fingers. “That was Jode.”

  “Oh, yeah, Jode. He’s an Amazon’s son.” Dana nodded. “His mother was Jocelyn?”

  “My old friend raised a strong and loving man.” Shann’s tone was touched with sadness, and Jess shared her sense of loss. Jocelyn had been like a grandmother to her. “Jode is Tristaine’s true friend. Go to him, Jess, but protect him and Pamela from exposure to our enemies as best you can.”

  “We will, lady.” Jess sheathed the dagger in her belt. “Vicar and Hakan can shelter with Jode and move on the Clinic if our first attempt fails. You’re sure you can get us into this Civilian Unit, Bren?”

  “I know how to find someone who can get us in. If she will.” Brenna drew in a slow breath. “She’s our best bet, Jess.”

  “As with all our missions, some spontaneous changes to our plan may be necessary.” Shann put one arm around Kyla and the other around Dana. “Luckily, Amazons are nothing if not creative.” She smiled at them, and Jess felt a warm tendril of reassurance ease the tension in her gut. “Trust in each other, adanin. The four of you have faced great danger together before and seen Tristaine safely through the night. The fate of our clan could not rest in more capable or courageous hands.”

  Jess met Shann’s gaze and saw her queen’s faith in her shining as tangibly as a nimbus of warm light. She swallowed.

  “And now, you will all find your beds.” Shann hugged Kyla and Dana, then released them. “Sleep and replenish your energies, sisters. The sun rises soon.”

  Chapter Three

  Brenna stopped short, smiling in spite of her weariness.

  The thought of a praying queen conjured the image of an ethereal, devout woman appealing to the heavens with upraised eyes and clasped hands. Tristaine’s queen was devout, but hardly ethereal, and her arms were waving in agitated circles as she paced in one of the clan’s beautiful gardens.

  It was how Shann prayed. Loudly, when she thought it necessary. She was having an earnest discussion with one or more of her Mothers, and Brenna waited respectfully until she had finished.

  Shann’s voice softened to a friendlier tone as she bid farewell to her guides, and then she turned and smiled at Brenna. She stepped out of the garden and through the dew-soaked grass, pulling her light shawl around her. The pre-dawn air held a mild chill.

  “We’re almost ready, lady.” Brenna walked beside Shann toward the village square. The clan was beginning to stir. She saw women emerging from their lodges, preparing for the day’s work. It was an oddly quiet dawn, though, bereft of the cheerful greetings and singing that usually hailed summer mornings in Tristaine. Even the sparse birdsong seemed faint and tentative.

  “It will be a dangerous ride, little sister.” Shann slipped her arm around Brenna’s waist, and she was glad for its warmth. “You have treacherous ground to cover, and you must travel swiftly. Are you sure it’s wise to ride your new horse?”

  “I’m sure.” Brenna nodded. “Hakan had her half-trained before we culled her, and Jess and Bracken will help keep her in line.”

  “Did you sleep at all?” Brenna felt Shann’s appraising gaze. “Even if your mount has a sure step, you’ll bruise just as easily toppling off her asleep.”

  “Speaking of sleep.” Brenna cleared her throat. “I’ve had a visitor.”

  She told Shann about the veiled apparition’s first appearance, relaying all the detail and nuance she could remember. “And she came again last night.”

  “What did this woman say?” There was an element of awe in Shann’s tone. She had no second sight, and Brenna knew she was fascinated by these glimpses into other realms. “Tell me everything, adanin.”

  Brenna waited until the drifting remnants of her vision swam clear again in her mind.

  She found it unnerving, these sudden transitions from deep sleep to acute awareness. Brenna still didn’t understand why other-worldly beings had to wake her up to talk to her, and she wasn’t sure she would have signed on for the job had she known this. What was wrong with a simple prophetic dream—

  “Greetings, j’heika.”

  The veiled woman faced Brenna again in a timeless circle of light that seemed suspended between reality and illusion.

  “Hello again.” Brenna surveyed her mysterious emissary. She still wore a plain white robe, and the silver fabric draping her features shimmered with a soft glow. The girl’s body was supple and strong, and her stance held an almost regal confidence. “Did you ever tell me your name?”

  “My name is unimportant, Brenna.” Light sparkled around the woman’s shrouded head. “You begin your quest today. You and your adonai ride with Tristaine’s finest, and our home will be left vulnerable. I will be your lifeline to our clan. Tell your queen I will clear her path.”

  “What—wait!” Brenna reached toward her as the light around them began to fade. “Hey! Don’t you dare shimmer out on me again, ma’am, come back here!”

  The woman shifted, as if startled, and the illumination rose again.

  “Want to clarify all that, please?” Brenna asked. “Start with the lifeline reference.”

  “Forgive me, j’heika.” The specter spoke with genuine respect. “But you’ll understand soon. You must focus on reaching the City with all speed.”

  “All right. I can live with that.” Brenna relented. This apparition was obviously on Tristaine’s side, and she appreciated her help, whoever she was. And while the energy coursing from her aura was urgent, it held a certain benevolence that Brenna trusted. “I do need to know what to call you, though. Withholding your name for no reason is a little rude.”

  The veil dipped as the woman inclined her head. “I’m called Elise.”

  “And that was all?” Shann asked.

  “That’s all she said.” Brenna looked at Shann curiously. “What is it, lady?

  “My grandmother’s name was Elise.” Shann studied the awakening sky. “Your great-grandmother. I never knew her. She lived and died fairly young, in the City. But she was of our line, Brenna. If this is our Elise, she might well be able to clear a path between our worlds.”

  “But why would she want to?
” Brenna wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer. “What are you supposed to do with this cleared path, if you get one?”

  “I have no idea, dear one.”

  Brenna shivered, and Shann stroked her back comfortingly.

  It was fully light now, and Brenna stood beside Shann on a small rise and drank in the beauty of their village below. She would travel far and face great danger before seeing her home again.

  “I’m afraid I have to burden you further, Blades,” Shann said quietly.

  “No, you don’t have to. That’s okay.” Brenna turned to meet Shann’s knowing smile and sighed. “All right, I guess you have to. What burden?”

  “I want you to find out if your niece is alive.”

  Brenna stared at Shann and her throat went dry.

  Samantha was told her infant daughter died at birth in the City Prison. But the woman bearing that news had been Caster, the Clinic scientist who hated Tristaine beyond all imagining. Caster had tortured Jess in the City Clinic. The Amazons had had to destroy their first village to keep it out of her grasp. She had been killed in the flood that drowned their former home.

  Shann had long believed Caster might have lied about Sammy’s baby.

  Brenna had seen what losing her husband and child had done to Samantha. The younger sister Brenna had grown up protecting had been an exuberant spirit who, even motherless, found delight in the simplest of life’s pleasures. The Sammy they knew today was a wan shadow of that girl. Still loving, still warm, Sammy had remained quiet and withdrawn in her two years with the Amazons. Brenna could only imagine the joy of returning a living daughter to her arms.

  “But, lady,” Brenna whispered. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “Just find out what you can. When you can.” Shann folded Brenna’s arm in hers. “If Samantha’s child lived, what would have happened to her?”

  Brenna had to swallow hard past the angry knot in her throat. “She would have been placed in a City Youth Home.”

  “As you and Sammy were, when you were taken from me.” Shann looked out over their village, the shadow of an old pain drifting across her features. “Start there, Blades.”

  They continued, arm in arm toward the village square as the sun inched over the eastern ridge. Brenna could see several horses assembled in the square, and Jess among the Amazons preparing them for travel.

  “This quest for my granddaughter,” Shann said. “You know I ask it as queen as well as the child’s blood-kin.”

  “I guess I’m not seeing the difference, right now.”

  Shann stopped and faced her. “What did Artemis promise Tristaine, Brenna?”

  “Which time?” Brenna rubbed her temples. “She promised Tristaine a lot of things. Her protection, for one.”

  “Yes. And what form will Her protection take?”

  Brenna tried to concentrate. She wanted to see Sammy. She wanted to be with Jess. She wanted to get going before her nerve failed. She remembered the passage in their ancient scrolls. “‘In the time of Tristaine’s deepest travail, she will be led by three generations of blood-bonded queens.’ That’s the first part of Her prophecy, at least.”

  “If Samantha’s daughter lives,” Shann said calmly, “She might be fated to rule this clan after you and I are dust.”

  “You mean after your reign.” Brenna drew in a long breath. “And mine?”

  “So I believe, yes.”

  “Still?” Brenna couldn’t speak for a moment. “Are we back to this? Lady, you’ve heard me deny Tristaine’s crown, time and again.”

  Shann said nothing. Brenna grit her teeth, refusing to soften at the compassion in her mother’s gaze. “What about the second part of Artemis’s prophesy, Shann? Why didn’t you ask me to quote that?”

  Shann nodded. “‘Of these three blood-bonded queens,” she recited, “One will be blessed with great powers. The final destiny of Amazon Nation lies in her hands. She will prove Tristaine’s salvation, or her destruction, for all time.’”

  “And what if these so-called ‘great powers’ refer to my second sight?” Brenna felt tears threaten, and she blinked them away angrily. She knew she sounded like a petulant child, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. “You realize that means a time might come when the lives of all our sisters will rely on me. The fate of our entire clan. And it’s just as likely that I would destroy Tristaine as save it!”

  Shann studied her for a moment. “I see how this prophecy has haunted you, daughter. You fear failing Tristaine when she needs you most. But tell me, what queen who has ever ruled Amazons escaped such a fear?” Shann’s smile was rueful. “I’ve shared it myself, Brenna, more times than I care to recount. May Gaia save Tristaine from ever crowning a queen too arrogant to imagine failure.”

  “But lady, Shann...” Brenna was desperate to make her understand. “You’re a real queen. Okay? You’re the most amazing leader I’ve ever seen. You brought six hundred women and children through a mountain range and founded a new village. You outwitted a deranged scientist and destroyed a shrieking demon. And that’s just since I came to Tristaine! I’m a medic, Shann.”

  “Yes, Blades, you’re a fine healer, and much more.” Shann appraised her keenly. “I’ve seen her in you, this young queen you won’t recognize. At times you’ve seemed filled with the power to lead and inspire. All of us have seen this gift, and so have our Mothers. Haven’t you wondered at the wording of the queen’s summons, Brenna? J’heika, rise. You’re called to awaken. These voices you hear know that this queen is already within you—”

  “Didn’t those voices see me drop a full haunch of venison into the cooking fire?” Brenna broke in. “And last winter, I might have poisoned Adik with a remedy she was allergic to if you hadn’t stopped me. I’m the one who tripped Oisin in the training drill when she broke her wrist. Shann, I’ve got all I can do just trying to make myself a half-decent Amazon, much less lead a whole tribe of them!”

  “Brenna, one of a queen’s most important tasks is to accept her humanity.” Shann looked stern now. She cupped Brenna’s chin. “Yes, you might stumble, and badly. You might make the wrong choice at a crucial time. But the same is true for every woman who walks beneath the Goddess’ sun. You can’t allow the fear of failure to absolve you of your obligation to your clan.”

  Brenna’s head was pounding. She couldn’t think about this anymore. “You’re asking too much, lady.”

  “I’m not asking anything, dear one. I’m not one of the Mothers you need to convince. You must argue your future with your spirit guides.” Shann took Brenna’s shoulders. “But for now and always, Brenna, you are an Amazon of Tristaine. Whether or not you ever serve as her queen, you owe your sisters the very best of your powers. The best of your courage. In every way you can offer them.”

  They stared at each other, mother and daughter, queen and seer, City-born both and Amazons to their last breath. Strength seeped back into Brenna’s legs, and she straightened.

  “Besides.” Shann’s eyes warmed again. “Why assume you are the most powerful queen?” She kissed Brenna’s forehead fondly. “Go see Sammy. She wants to say goodbye.”

  *

  Brenna opened the outer window that stood above Sammy’s bed in the healing lodge. Her horse’s twitching nose pushed its way through the bead curtain, questing for the apple Brenna had placed on the sill. There were a few muted chuckles from the other women in the room who shared Samantha’s exile.

  “She’s beautiful!” Samantha was slightly hoarse, but her delight was obvious. She slid up against the furs folded behind her to stroke the mustang’s cheek. “What’s her name?”

  “Hippo.”

  Sammy looked at Brenna. She was pale except for the pinpoints of color the fever brought to her cheeks, but a smile dawned on her lips. “You’re naming your first horse after my beloved Hippo?”

  “I am.” Brenna grinned as the horse chomped on the apple contentedly, her long ears twitching. “That name carries good juju in our family.”r />
  Hippo had been a small stuffed toy, the only one allowed Samantha in their early years in the Youth Home. As a toddler, Sammy rarely let it out of her sight.

  “And hippo is an old Amazon word for horse,” Brenna added. “So our clan approves as well.”

  The mare had had enough of beads tickling her neck, and she shook her massive head with a snort and backed delicately out of the window.

  “I’ve got her, Bren.” Jess’s rich alto sounded outside, and Brenna waved her thanks.

  “Our clan,” Sammy repeated.

  “Hmm?”

  Samantha’s glassy eyes focused on the colorful glyph at the base of Brenna’s throat, and she touched it with one finger. “Your clan’s been very good to me, Bree.”

  “Hey, it can be your clan too, kid.” Brenna registered the chill in her sister’s fingers, and she folded them gently into her hand. “You know you can choose a glyph of your own, whenever you feel ready.”

  Samantha just smiled at her with a look of such sad sweetness Brenna felt tears threaten again. They both knew Samantha wouldn’t be choosing a glyph. She wasn’t an Amazon.

  Blood relation had nothing to do with it. Either the long, harrowing history of Amazon Nation resonated in your bones, or it didn’t. In Sammy, it never had. She loved many of the women she met in Tristaine and was loved by them in return. She took to riding horses as naturally as Brenna breathed. As the daughter of their queen, the clan had welcomed Samantha with affection and respect. But by her own choice—out of grief for the loved ones she’d lost, or through the simple lack of some vital bond more spiritual than genetic, Samantha remained a visitor among them.

  “We’re ready, lass.” Jess swept aside the curtain of beads and rested her elbows on the windowsill. She smiled down at Samantha and brushed the backs of her fingers against her cheek. “How’s my ornery little sister?”