The Root

by Na'amen Tilahun

  No one was dressed up but the way they sat screamed formal. He was suddenly very uncomfortable. He didn’t do well with formality. He was too blunt, unable to navigate false humility and smugness at these kinds of things. Back in Hollywood, Daniel had always been able to calm him down and make sure he had fun instead of being uncomfortable all night. Even though they’d been forced to attend as “friends” and nothing more.

  Thinking of Daniel was not helping Erik relax, and he wanted nothing more now than to go back in time and refuse dinner. He had assumed when Patrah invited him that it would be a much more casual affair, but everyone with the exception of himself and Melinda looked solemn. As he carefully sat between Elliot and Matthias, Erik caught Melinda’s eyes, tight and nervous. She could feel the tension in the air as well as anyone. He smiled at her.

  As soon as Patrah circled the table and sat, the lights dimmed, not enough to make visibility difficult, but it still made Erik jumpy.

  “We gather in secret—” Hu began.

  “—where once we danced in the light,” Luka continued.

  “We protect the world in silence—”

  “—where once we sang openly.”

  “We stand against the dark alone—”

  “—abandoned by those we once called sibling.”

  “We shall not be stopped—”

  “—though faced with odds innumerable.”

  “We are the children of the sky—”

  “—and the earth,”

  “—the day—”

  “—and the night—”

  “—the love—”

  “—and the indifference.”

  “We stand as—”

  “—the light, the hope, the everything. We are the Blooded and we shall not falter.”

  Everyone around the table aside from Erik and Melinda had their heads bowed. They were so still that he was unsure they were still breathing. Then it ended; they all inhaled in unison and looked up. Melinda looked at him with crossed eyes but there was no true worry in her face.

  Erik was wary of organized religion of any kind, and had been his whole life. It was worse during the trial when every talking head with some vague connection to religion had commented on him, or worse, tried to contact him so they could save his soul.

  It was the uniformity of their prayer that unnerved him the most.

  Prayer . . . poem . . . whatever. The fact that Matthias, who agreed on nothing with these people, would join in was extremely disconcerting.

  Dishes floated out through a portal that appeared in the wall and landed in front of them. The covers disappeared and Erik was confronted with his favorite meal. Roast duck with farfalle and asparagus. He was tentative with the first bite. It didn’t taste off at all. In fact, the duck was perfectly crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. Around him everyone else was digging into the different foods that had appeared before them. As he cleaned his plate, another one floated from the portal and landed in front of him, revealing the same meal again.

  Conversations started around the table and Tae turned to him, talking over Elliot, who was sharing a joke with his translucent sister.

  “How are you feeling, Errikos?”

  Erik started a bit. Only his mom used his full first name and he was sure he hadn’t mentioned it. It was a shock to hear someone else wrap their voice around it.

  “Call me Erik.” Tae smiled like it was a gesture of friendship and Erik didn’t have the energy to correct him. “I’m fine, I was just tired. A nap took care of it.”

  Tae nodded and looked at him expectantly and Erik finally took the hint.

  “And yourself?”

  “I’m finding the third form of Rav-Selet to be very difficult. Especially when training with people who’ve been doing it for years. Would you be up for sparring? After dinner perhaps?” Tae answered, looking down and taking a bite of what looked like some sort of seafood pasta.

  “Why me? I don’t even know the forms.”

  Matthias had stopped stuffing his face with what looked like shepherd’s pie and sat still. The others who had heard the exchange, Hu and Elliot, had also stopped to listen.

  “But you do.”

  “Huh?” He looked at Matthias in confusion.

  Matthias sighed and faced him. “While in your power you were using bits and pieces of the different levels of Rav-Selet.”

  “Advanced forms.”

  Matthias shot a look at the young man. “Yes, thank you, Tae.”

  Tae seemed immune to the censure in his gaze. Erik was beginning to think that the dislike and animosity between the Organization and independents was more than he was lead to believe. The friendship between Daya, Elliot, Elana, Patrah, and Matthias might be the exception rather than the rule.

  “We all assumed your mother had been training you in the forms?” Tae continued.

  Hu and Elliot nodded. Did that mean that they had been thinking the same thing or were they saying that they had all spoken about him when he was absent?

  “Was that not the case?” Hu asked.

  Erik began to shake his head and then nodded and finally just paused. He realized she had in fact been teaching him, all of the meditation exercises, the forms she had made him move his body into. All of it had been for this. Yeah, he had a lot of questions for his mom and he didn’t want to give away anything until he had a chance to talk to her. Erik settled on shrugging his shoulders and directed his gaze down into his dinner plate, shoveling mouthfuls of duck between his lips. From the corner of his eye he could see Matthias begin to eat again as well. They were going to have to have a talk about secrets in the near future.

  Tae broke the silence. “In any case, sparring after dinner? It would help our food digest.”

  Erik turned to look at the boy. There was something in his eyes, some spark of mischief. Was he deliberately baiting Erik or was it something else? Either way, Erik shook his head.

  “Not this weekend, perhaps next when I am more settled.”

  “Of course.” Tae’s smile was a bit disappointed but he simply went back to his food and did not try to press his point, which Erik appreciated.

  The rest of dinner was mostly quiet. Hu and Luka occasionally brought up details about the Organization and current missions. Matthias mostly chimed in with a sarcastic comment here and there, most of which were ignored. Erik listened. A lot of the details went over his head and he wasn’t able to learn anything he hadn’t already been able to infer.

  Erik’s exhaustion crept up on him again and he excused himself to go to bed. If his early departure offended anyone, either they didn’t show it or he was just too tired to parse it. He wandered back to his room and fell asleep above the covers, clothes still on.

  That night he dreamed.

  He was fighting something he could not see. In fact, he could see nothing at all but he could feel it, the pervasive nagging shoulder itch of being watched, the grief of knowing that he could not win, the choking fear that someone he loved was dead. He brushed up against other fighting forms in the darkness and smelled the fresh, salty sea scent of Matthias, the crisp metal of Tae, the combination of smoky incense and child that made up Melinda’s scent. Then others; people he didn’t know. The scent of fresh blood and the smell of icy wind; a smell that reminded him of corruption and rotting compost heaps.

  Slowly the scents were taken away until he was all alone. He was bloody and tired but he was alone now and he could not stop fighting. To stop fighting was to let everything and everyone die.

  He had to keep fighting.

  For the world.

  ZEBUB

  LIL

  Lil woke up in a strange place. The room didn’t smell of life and of sweat and blood like her family’s building did; neither did it carry Kandake’s scent of old wood and sandstone. Her eyes snapped open and she took in the dark black stone of the roof. The only thing that stopped her from jerking upright was the two smaller bodies curled up against her. She could smell the still al
most-baby scent of Davi and the musk of Min, who was in a non-bathing stage.

  She lay still, allowing the awareness of everything that had happened last night to sink in. Tears welled up but she managed to quell them. Her parents were dead and they were all in danger. She could not afford to break down. She had already failed two young boys. She would not fail her sibs as well.

  A knock on the door stopped her from wallowing in the thought of Wade and Antny. She managed to slide out of her sibs’ grip, though they searched for her form and only calmed once they held onto each other.

  She still wore her Apprentice tunic and pants from yesterday. They smelled of night and terror and blood but would have to do.

  Mayer was outside the bedroom door, in the general living area with dozens of large cushions scattered around to sit upon. There was a full tea set steaming in the middle of the room. Mayer moved back and Lil stepped into the room, leaving the door open in case Min or Davi called for her. Before she could reach for the teapot, Holder Mayer grabbed it and poured for them both.

  Lil froze.

  “I apologize for sending you home last night, Apprentice.”

  She had no idea how to respond, but tried anyway. “There is no need for apologies, Holder.” She slipped into more formal language to try and find grounding she knew. “If you had not sent me home there is no telling if my sibs would be alive right now.” She paused. “What was it that attacked last night, Holder?”

  Mayer gave her a shrewd look, aware of her attempt at distraction.

  “It is not only Zebub that has been attacked.”

  Lil sat up straighter.

  “The reason that Chayyliel wished to meet last night was due to reports that our allies were sending from across Corpiliu. Many places have been attacked in the last moon. Only now that they have failed to defeat it are they letting others know of the attacks.”

  “All the cities?”

  “Not all, but enough. There is no correlation between places targeted. It seems random. The attacks are small as of yet but the only thing that seems to have any effect, albeit temporarily, is Babel. So we are safe here. Any building with Babel in its bones seems sacrosanct for now.”

  Lil’s emotions flared at these attacks being called small. Many ’dants had lost their lives last night, perhaps across Corpiliu. Her parents had been lost. But that was it, ’dants did not matter to the Ruling Courts or to Mayer, apparently.

  Mayer continued talking. “As for what it was, that’s the reason we were brought here. There are mentions in the oldest of the records inside Kandake of the creeping dark, but mentions are all we have. The Ruling Courts have decided to allow us into the Ossuary so that we may find a way to stop it. Chayyliel has graciously allowed us to stay within the Hive of its Court.”

  Lil’s eyes went wide though she was able to keep the rest of her face controlled. No one entered the Ossuary. Had not since the Traitor Court had been destroyed millennia ago. Rumor said that the Ossuary had been destroyed alongside them. Lil knew from Holder Mayer that before they were all killed, the Traitor Court had managed to seal the Ossuary completely against entrance by Antes. Since none of them could enter, no one was allowed to. After all, what ’dants would they trust?

  They must be worried.

  “But why would they think there was something in the Ossuary involving this creeping dark? Why not have us search the Athenaeums for more information? The attack only happened last night. Unless . . .”

  She looked up at Mayer, his face blank, head tilted in interest.

  “They have a clue what the creeping dark is and are sure there will be no information in any of Athenaeums,” she guessed.

  Mayer nodded.

  “Except. You said we were safe because this building has Babel in its bones?”

  Mayer nodded, but slowly, as if he saw the direction her thoughts went in.

  “Yet, this Hive is the newest, is it not?”

  He nodded again.

  “So how does it have Babel in its bones?” There was only one answer but she hoped for something else, anything else.

  “I laid the protections myself, in the foundation.”

  She studied the man who had for all intents bought her and trained her and raised her for the past twelve cycles. He was simply meeting her gaze casually, not angry at being caught out in a lie. He had always said he was never summoned to the Ruling Courts, but now she wondered. How often were her evenings away used for business he simply never shared with her?

  His face dared her to venture further. She was still his Apprentice, she had no power. She nodded and took a sip of tea, hoping it hid her anger. He continued as if their exchange had never occurred.

  “Do you understand now? Not only must we find out what the dark is, but the Ruling Courts will be wary of what we may learn and our fellow Holders will be looking for anything to give them leverage.”

  She looked back at her sibs worriedly.

  “Yes.”

  Her head whipped back to Mayer as he spoke.

  “You see the trouble. You cannot focus on our work and watch them at all times. Luckily, a solution has provided itself. The two members of Chayyliel’s Court who escorted them last night have offered to act as guardians while we are in the Ossuary and for the duration of our stay.”

  Lil stood up and turned her back on him.

  “Holder, are you serious? You say that we are all under threat from Antes while we stay here, yet you want me to leave my sibs in the care of the two Antes who brought us the horrible news.”

  She turned back and Mayer watched her with a focused stare of disappointment. She tried to calm herself and sat back down. She did her best to school her expression but knew some of her anger shone through.

  “I know you have no reason to trust Chayyliel or its Court, but they argued to bring us in long before the other Ruling Courts wanted. They saw the signs and worried about the coming of the darkness. I truly believe Queen Chayyliel wishes to stop the creeping dark. Arel and Jagi are its vassals in charge of the Hive. If either wished to do us harm, they could do so easily.”

  Lil acknowledged the truth but was still not happy. Holder Mayer seemed to sense this and his voice grew harder, less cajoling, and his expression grew cold.

  “And what other choice do you have, really? Would you leave them unguarded in the Hive, take them into the danger that is the Ossuary, or repudiate your obligations to me?”

  Lil met his eyes for a long moment before she nodded, pretending any of this was her choice.

  “I would still speak with them.”

  The coldness left his face so quickly anyone who did not know him as well as Lil might doubt they had seen it at all. She knew better.

  Mayer smiled and nodded as he rose to his feet. “I’ll get them.”

  He left and she hurried back into the bedroom.

  There was a second door in the corner of the bedroom, which she discovered led to a small washroom. She cleaned up a little, scrubbing her face and trying to wash some of the filth from her hair in the sink. When she felt somewhat clean, she returned to the bed and gently shook Minnie and Davi awake. Usually they would be slow to rise, knuckling sleep from their eyes as they tossed aside the heavy mantle of their drowsiness. This morning they came up instantly, eyes wide and scared.

  “Hey, it’s okay, I’m here.”

  They were both tense but slowly relaxed under her petting hands and soothing murmurs.

  When they were both awake and their attention was on her, she spoke.

  “Okay, I need to ask you guys to be brave. Do you know where we are?”

  “The Hives of the Ruling Courts.” Minnie’s voice wavered but her gaze was steady.

  “Right. They brought us here so I could do some work for them but I don’t want to leave you guys alone.” They both shook their heads emphatically, Davi’s small hands tightening painfully on her arm. “So I was wondering, what would you think of Arel and Jagi taking care of you while I’m busy?”


  Both children went still and Davi transferred one of his hands to Minnie. Lil could not tell what they were feeling, the stiffness making it difficult to read their bodies or expressions.

  “If you don’t like them or they scare you, you can say so.”

  Slowly Minnie shook her head. “No, they were nice, just weird. They kept calling us ‘little pups’ but they gave us a lot of food.”

  Lil did not ask what kind of food because she did not want to know. The Antes were said to eat all kinds of specialties from the wastes and other, darker, harder-to-reach places. Other worlds and lands that her readings only hinted at. Things that most ’dants barely heard whisper of, but whispers were enough. They both seemed okay and that would have to be enough for her. She rose from the bed as she heard the door in the other room open.

  “Stay here. I will be back soon,” she murmured to her sibs and left the bedroom to face Mayer, Arel, and Jagi. She closed the bedroom door behind her. She needed to talk to Arel and Jagi, but she didn’t want Mayer or her sibs standing there for what she was about to do.

  “I am sorry, Holder, but this is not about Athenaeum business. This is personal, and I would like some privacy to speak with those you want me to entrust the care of my sibs to.” Lil said it without thinking. She was still angry about the lies she had discovered, but she was not wrong. This was not Mayer’s business and as such he had no place here unless she allowed it.

  Mayer frowned but bowed his head.

  “I will await you outside.”

  “Thank you.”

  He left without another word, but Lil fancied she could see the resentment in the stiffness of his walk. When the door had closed loudly behind him, she turned to face the two Antes. In the light streaming through the tinted windows she could see more of their forms than she had previously in the dim light of nightfall.

  Only last night.

  Her life had changed so much in such a short span of time.