by Jayne Faith
“Rand!” I held my hands up higher and waved them. “Rand, you must stop!”
I backpedaled, moving back through the fire to position myself at the edge of the large platform where Lord Toric and Jelique stood behind me.
The mob had slowed as some of the men hesitated on the other side of the line of blue flames.
The passion of battle was alight in Rand’s eyes. “Maya,” he said, his voice quiet but still carrying easily to my ears. “I told you we would be together. I will not let him take possession of you.”
He hefted the ax in his hand and his gaze raised to Lord Toric.
“No, you can’t do this,” I said. Rand’s eyes lowered to meet mine. “If you slaughter him, you’ll have to kill me too.”
He tilted his head, as if he didn’t quite understand. “You’re with them?” His face reddened and contorted with the beginnings of outrage.
“My position is irrelevant,” I said, shaking my head impatiently. “You can’t defeat the Calistans. Even if you kill their leader, they will destroy you. All of you. Is that what you want?”
He gripped his ax tighter. “Better that then be forced from our homes or slaughtered in them once the overlords take Earthenfell.”
The men behind him shouted their agreement, and the crowd pressed forward. I was nearly sure they would be able to pass through the flames unharmed if they tried. Rand was so close he should have felt the searing heat. But they were obviously wary of trying to cross the fire.
“You will not lose your homes.” Lord Toric’s voice from behind me was calm but carried a commanding authority.
I glanced over my shoulder to see he’d moved to the edge of the platform.
Beyond Lord Toric, the flames had flared again. The High Priestess was trying to get to us, but every time she tried to approach the fire licked at her, forcing her back. Her lips moved furiously, but I couldn’t hear the words she said.
Rand’s eyes widened and he swallowed but kept his feet planted. “Don’t lie to us,” he said. “We know you plan to eliminate the Earthen race. It’s part of your religious edicts. We know this to be fact. Your own people confirmed it.”
Rand spoke with a conviction that gave me pause. I half-turned to look up at Lord Toric.
“Is this true?” I asked him. “Is that what your sacred texts command?”
My gaze lowered to the books in his arms, and he looked down at them, too.
“It’s true.” A beat passed before he looked up at me.
My mouth dropped open. How could he have betrayed me all this time? I wanted to speak, but couldn’t seem to force any air up my throat.
“The sacred texts command the annihilation of all natives living on Earthenfell at the time of the Return,” Lord Toric said. “If we followed them you would be safe, Maya, as would any other Earthens accompanying us back to the homeland.”
My arms clamped to my sides, my hands tightening into fists. I looked at him in horror. “How could you do that?” I whispered.
“I’m not going to,” he said. He looked past me to Rand. “I took these books because I intend to destroy them as soon as I step foot on Earthenfell. As the Guardian Lord of Calisto and Earthenfell, I swear to you that I will not allow harm to come to your people. At the moment the Sequence of the Return is complete, I will cease following the commands of these texts. The time has come to put cruelty and death behind us. It’s time for a new age of peace.”
Rand scoffed. “Your words don’t mean anything.” His knuckles whitened around the ax handle.
Lord Toric stepped off the platform, strode past me, and walked through the fire. He stood fearlessly among the hundred or more men gripping their weapons, facing Rand. His head towered above the mob.
“Take these.” Lord Toric offered the stack of books to Rand. “They hold the commands our people have followed for millennia and the commands for our actions once we reach the homeland. Take them back to Earthenfell. Together, we will burn them.”
Rand looked at the books dismissively. “These are just symbols. Destroying them doesn’t guarantee what you will or won’t do.”
“Rand.” I stepped forward but didn’t go through the line of flame. “The destruction of the books is more than symbolic. The Calistans have obeyed their commands for longer than our Earthen minds can imagine. Nothing in their world is more sacred. The fact that Lord Toric is even willing to let you touch them shows the sincerity of his intention. You can trust his promise.”
Rand looked at me for a long moment with conflicting emotions passing over his face. I knew he still loved me, and I could see he was on the verge of accepting what I said. But I also saw the pain of betrayal in his eyes, for I couldn’t hide my feelings when speaking of Lord Toric.
“Take the books,” I urged.
Just as Rand looked ready to comply, a high scream of protest cut through the air. I twisted around to see a flaming form striding toward us.
Lord Toric shoved the books at Rand. He lunged for Jelique, yanking her by the wrist and then simultaneously stepping between me and the fire-engulfed figure and shoving me and Jelique behind him. He held his arms out in a protective gesture.
I peered around his shoulder and slapped both hands over my mouth to stifle a horrified scream.
The flames were rising up from opalescent robes but without burning them. High Priestess Lunaria had transformed into a flaming effigy in the center of the platform but somehow seemed unharmed.
Through the fire, I caught sight of her face. Her eyes were bright with madness.
15
Toric
I WATCHED WITH horrified fascination as the High Priestess strode toward us, engulfed in flame.
Her arm rose, and she pointed at the sacred texts that were now in the hands of the Earthen man.
“BLASPHEMY!” she thundered. Her voice was like a punch, and I wondered how she could even take a breath with the flames licking over her face.
My mind raced. The fire surrounded her but didn’t burn. What sign from the stars was this?
“Stop where you are,” I commanded, and winced internally as an answering crack of thunder shook the ceremonial ring.
The noise seemed to momentarily startle Lunaria from her raving.
She took a step forward, but Jelique darted out from behind me. She moved with catlike grace to stand in Lunaria’s way. The Pirro woman reached into the folds of her dress and drew out a dagger. She didn’t threaten Lunaria with it but held it in plain sight. The High Priestess eyed the weapon warily and stayed where she was.
“You stole the sacred texts, and now you’ve soiled them,” she said, her voice lowered to a hiss. “The fires will burn you for your blasphemy.”
“I will destroy the sacred texts to mark the start of a new age.” I saw no point in trying to argue with her but hoped she might see through her own fanaticism enough to understand that she wasn’t going to win.
“You do not have such authority!” she screeched.
“I am precisely the one who has such authority,” I said. “I’m the Lord of this world and the other. I am the change agent of the stars.”
“You can’t complete the Sequence without me.” She clenched her hands into fists at her sides, and I half expected her to stomp her foot like an angry child. “The Return requires the High Priestess.”
I flicked a look beyond Lunaria, back to where the other priestesses waited along with the harem women. Novia was there at the front of the group, and she gave me a grave nod.
“I can complete the Sequence without you. We are players, reading our lines and walking through our roles. If you will not cooperate, another will take your place.” I spoke rapidly, knowing I couldn’t stall much longer. I could almost see the rage bubbling up through her. “You are no longer in charge, Lunaria.”
My pronouncement seemed to send her over the edge, and she lunged forward, screaming. Jelique blocked the way again, but didn’t use her dagger.
“This is your last chance,” I sho
uted over Lunaria’s raving. “Stand down and join me or sacrifice yourself.”
Lunaria tried to fight past Jelique, but the Pirro woman easily held her.
I couldn’t wait any longer. “Jelique, move away.”
The Pirro woman shoved Lunaria off, and as Jelique sprang into a run toward me I began chanting again. The words raced from my lips. Just as Jelique jumped off the dais, an intense golden light appeared above Lunaria’s head.
The point of light grew into a disc, and in a blink, it broadened into a ring.
Just before the lower edge of the portal sliced down and through her, Lunaria’s eyes widened as a split second of lucidity seemed to cut through the fog of her madness.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
I turned my head away as the golden light grew unbearable.
16
Maya
THE BLINDING LIGHT of the portal forced me to close my eyes. I did so willingly as I realized it was going to cleave the High Priestess in half. I had no desire to watch her perish.
I half-turned against the light and I saw Rand behind us, still holding the books.
“That was the highest ranking religious figure on Calisto. Do you believe, now?” I asked him.
His lips parted, but he didn’t answer.
“Take the books back to Earthenfell,” I said. “Tell our people they have nothing to fear.”
Finally he nodded. He turned and his men followed him. They moved slowly at first but then sped up, jogging back to the Obligate portal.
Akantha was still there, and she watched the men with confusion. When she realized they had no intention of killing Lord Toric, she grabbed the nearest Earthen man, trying to pull him out of the mob. He jerked away, and she reached out for a fistful of the shirt of the next man who passed. They exchanged a few words and anger bloomed across her face when he pushed her hand away and followed Rand.
She stormed a few steps toward us, her eyes flashing. I grabbed Lord Toric’s hand to get his attention. His lips were still moving. I pointed at Akantha. When his eyes met hers, she stopped, turned, and ran after the last of the men. She disappeared through the portal.
I gasped. Surely she shouldn’t be the first Calistan to step foot on Earthenfell. My head whipped around so I could see Lord Toric’s reaction. His face hardened, but he continued chanting the words I couldn’t hear.
I turned again and watched the Obligate portal shrink and then wink out.
Lord Toric was tugging at my hand, urging me to move with him.
With me at his left and Jelique at his right, the three of us moved to the center of the platform. The golden portal was at least thirty feet in diameter.
There was no trace of the High Priestess. I sent out a silent prayer for her. She’d lost her way in the end, but I couldn’t forget that she’d treated me well and helped to protect me for much of my time on Calisto.
Portals were opening on the other circular platforms, and more people had begun to enter the ring of columns. My breath caught when I spotted my twin among the harem women, who were led by Novia. When I saw that Clarisse’s hand rested lightly on Lana’s shoulder, grateful tears sprang to my eyes.
Clarisse’s gaze lifted and found me, and I gave her a nod. I trusted that she and the other harem women had witnessed what had happened with the Earthen men. Due to the women’s implants, they couldn’t instigate any uprising of their own, but I hoped they were reassured by what they’d seen and understood there was no need for violent rebellion.
“It is time,” Lord Toric said, his voice echoing like the rumble of a distant storm.
I saw he’d taken Jelique’s hand, too. The three of us stood before the portal, the ring of gold like sunlight itself. Through the portal wavered an image of green hills, blue sky above, and rich brown soil below.
Home.
Tears spilled down my cheeks as we walked in unison toward the portal and then into the shimmering, shifting circular plane that separated two worlds.
*
Time stood still. Or perhaps it raced. For some unknown span, I was aware of only darkness and the faint pressure of Lord Toric’s left hand grasping my right.
It was as if I slept or floated in the void of space. I didn’t know if my eyes were open or closed, and somehow it didn’t matter.
When the tingle of my senses began to return, at first I resisted. I wanted to remain in the dark without thought, or pain, or worry.
The first thing to hit me was the smell of the land. Even without opening my eyes I would have recognized the scents of spring in the air. The delicious smell of moist earth. The clean scent of dew on tender greenery. The mineral freshness of a spring-swollen stream nearby.
My eyelids raised slowly, like curtains unveiling the scene before me.
As my ability to process my surroundings sharpened, I could only stare. We stood on a wide sandstone mesa. Spread out below was a miniature faraway version of the place that was dearest to my heart.
It looked like a piece of art, painted in the bright, hopeful colors of spring and bathed in the golden light of the afternoon sun.
There was the orchard where I’d worked. The ceremony pavilion at the base of the hills where I’d been Selected. The trail leading to the ravine where I’d left Earthenfell as Clan Terra’s Obligate. And the winding streets, neighborhood parks, and houses.
My lungs spasmed as I sucked in a sudden, desperate breath.
Mother.
My feet began to move as if they had minds of their own, and my hand tore free of Lord Toric’s. I heard him calling after me, but I didn’t even look back.
I was dimly aware of noise and movement behind me as I raced down the steep slope of the mesa. Deep echoing crashes and great groaning scrapes rang out. Flares of impossibly bright light made my shadow appear and disappear before me.
As I slipped and slid down the steep trail, I lost my shoes. But still, I kept on, hurrying as best as I could. When I got to the base of the mesa, I grabbed fistfuls of my dress and lifted it so I could run faster.
My feet pounded over new grass, slopped through a muddy stream, and sped down the dirt road that led into my neighborhood.
People had come out of their homes and places of work to stare up at whatever was happening behind me. Some recognized me as I ran by, but I didn’t pause, I didn’t stop until I reached my house.
With my lungs searing and my heart ready to burst from my chest, I threw open the front door.
The smell of home filled my nose, and I reeled a little. Grabbing the door frame for support, I took a couple of steadying breaths.
“Mother?” I took a few tentative steps into the tiny living room. “It’s me, Maya.”
The little kitchen was in perfect order. I turned to the two doorways that led to the bedrooms—one that was Mother’s and the other that belonged to me and Lana.
The house felt too still.
I crept to Mother’s door and pushed it open with my fingertips. The bed was neatly made. Her reading glasses sat upon the bedside table.
“Maya?” a voice called behind me.
My heart lifted for a split second, as I thought it was my mother’s voice, but my mind quickly registered that the voice was unfamiliar.
With my chest clenching like a fist, I took heavy steps back the way I’d come.
A woman stood just inside the open front door.
“Maya, is it really you?” she asked.
I stared for a moment, unable to place her.
“Oh! You’re Orion’s mother,” I said, but still my chest tightened as if my lungs were a hand curled around my heart, squeezing it.
She nodded. “Yes, I’m Sarah.” Her eyes were somber.
I looked around the empty house. “Where is she?” I whispered.
Sarah took two steps toward me. “Maya, I’m so sorry.”
Everything wobbled, and I started shaking my head. “No.” I squeezed my eyes closed and pushed the heels of my hands against my temples. Pressure began to b
uild up behind my forehead.
I felt Sarah’s arm around my shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “Your mother passed two days ago.”
A cry tore from my throat as a tidal wave of grief crashed over me. The pressure in my chest and head burst out in shuddering sobs.
Sarah caught me under the arms when my knees buckled and moved me to the threadbare sofa.
I sagged forward with my face in my hands. My heart seemed to crack in half.
“But I survived,” I sobbed. “I made it back. I was going to take care of her.”
Sarah stroked my hair and my back and made soothing noises.
Eventually my grief died down to quiet shudders and tears. I wiped my wet cheeks with the sleeve of my dress.
“Lana,” I said. “I need to find my sister.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my poor dear,” she said. “Your sister . . . no one has seen her for days.” Her face crumpled as she clearly expected a fresh wave of sobbing from me.
“No, she’s okay.” I tried to give her a reassuring look. “She was brought to Calisto, and she’s returning here with the others.”
I rose. I needed to get out of the house, or I would collapse again under the weight of loss. I needed to focus elsewhere. There would be time to mourn properly later.
I inhaled slowly, and then I turned to Sarah. “I know you took care of Mother.” I had to stop when my voice broke. I pressed my lips together for a long moment before I could continue. “You were a friend to her, and I know you were here for her. And your son . . . your son saved my life. I owe you a debt I can never hope to properly repay. But I want to say thank you, from the depths of my being.”
A few fresh tears leaked from my eyes, and Sarah’s eyes welled, too.
She clutched my arm and gave it a squeeze. “Let’s find your sister and bring her home.”
I nodded and gave her a trembling smile.
When we emerged from my home, the breeze kissed my cheeks and dried the remnants of my tears. The tender ache in the center of my chest felt like a deep fresh wound, but I did my best to breathe around it.
