Niri eyed Zhao a moment. “You do not intend to go back at all, do you? Even after the Temple.”
Zhao flicked a glance up at her face then looked back down to the fire. “No, I left the books the elders gave me for the others. Gagee is to see they are given to them. I know your way does not lead back to Xiazhing and I would go with you. There is nothing for me back there.”
“There was once,” Darag said from where he sat, Lavinia held in his arms.
Zhao nodded, swallowing with difficulty. “Yes,” he said poking the fire with a stick. “There was a girl I loved for a long time. But the elders would not change the law. I convinced them to allow Yihn to marry, but they forbid me.”
“What became of her?” Lavinia asked.
Zhao sighed, the ache duller than it had been. “When I realized we could never be together, I told her to marry someone else.”
“She did?” Ria asked, her eyebrows jumping in disbelief.
“Not at first, but a year later she did. After I shopped seeing or talking to her. She married a boy from another village down the coast. I don’t go there anymore.”
“I didn’t mean . . . ,” Ria’s voice was contrite.
“It is okay. It is not a choice everyone would understand.”
“We are glad to have you,” Darag told Zhao after a moment of only the sound of the river and the fire.
Morning brought rain and slate gray skies. It wasn’t an effort for any of the Elementals to keep the rain from soaking the gear of the boats, but Zhao and Gagee eyed the river cautiously.
“If it rains hard enough, it will rise quickly.”
“We’ll watch it,” Niri said with a glance to Darag.
The rain let up, but left the day choked in mist. The rapids became steeper. The short sections of flat water ran between high cliffs of stone. Gagee kept them going until he fund a pool where a large stream hurtled down a cliff to join the waters of the Dhazoh. Opposite the waterfall, a sandy bank stretched before a low wall of bedrock with the forest above. It was where they made camp for the second night.
“It is the other branch of the Dhazoh,” Gagee said, nodding towards the waterfall. “I can take you another day.”
It was a quieter night than the first. The darkness was thick with damp. The day had been long and difficult, even compared to the first.
The third day was a series of portages one after the other until Ria wondered aloud why they bothered with the boats. But finally just before noon, the narrow river leveled out. They floated on still water for hours before the stream churned to froth again over boulders.
They were in the mountains now. Their heights towered in the distance, snowcapped monsters visible far to the north. The air felt cooler and thinner, carrying the smell of pines and damp ground. They managed a few more portages before the light faded. The Dhazoh was smaller this far into the mountains, more a large stream than a river. The boats, even with the aid of Niri and Darag, scraped the bottom of the stream channel. They pulled up along the bank as the sun set. Ahead the stream fell in thin sheets from a series of rock ledges. They had gone as far as they could by the boats. The mountains rose around them. Somewhere on the tallest to their west was the Temple of Winds.
CHAPTER 39
THE TEMPLE OF THE WINDS
“Please tell me this is an illusion,” Ria whispered to Zhao as she sank to her knees.
Zhao looked down at her, his jaw slack and silver eyes wide. Ria did not need him to say anything to know that what she saw was the same for him. The wide rocky flatness of the mountaintop held only a stone wall with the remains of one lofty arched window. All else was empty.
Anger and frustration flooded through Ria filling her eyes with hot tears. “This can’t be everything,” she shouted to the cool evening air. “Everything” echoed off the lower peaks beneath them filling the voids with sound. “No!”
Ria leapt to her feet and raced past Zhao as he grabbed for her. She was in the center of what should have been the Temple before she thought to care if the ground around her was real. Rising sobs cut off her breath. Ria fell to her knees, body and spirit spent.
The hike inland had been another four days, all of it climbing upwards. Forested slopes had led up foothills until they ascended from a ravine to meet the wind blasted heights of a ridge. Under their feet the soft litter of needles had become rock. The humid pine scented air changed to cold thin breezes. It had taken two days of wandering to find the first steps carved in the rock and two more to climb up them.
It could only have taken one. But early on the first day of the old path to the Temple, Zhao had grabbed Ria roughly. She had led the way, impatient to see this last Temple where her hope to find answers to free herself lay.
“What are you doing? The path is this way.”
Ria had wrenched out of Zhao’s grip. “Very funny, Zhao. That is just a rock wall.”
He had darted forward and grabbed her again as she took another step. Ria had struggled against his grasp much as she had against the Fire Elemental in Rah Hahsessah.
“Stop it. Are you crazy? There is a cliff there. Can’t you see it? Nothing but . . . air.” Zhao had let out his breath with the word, falling still just as Ria did. Both had looked at the other with pale faces.
“What do you see, Zhao?” Niri had asked, one hand against the mountain as she caught her breath from the climb.
“There is a cliff to the right, where Ria was about to step. The path goes to the left between a narrow gap in the rock wall.”
Ty had shook his head. “I see the path hugging the mountain to the right. It is just a rock wall to the left.”
“Illusion, a trick of air . . . did you know of such things, Zhao?” Darag had asked softly.
Zhao had shook his head, Ria now holding on to him rather than struggling. “Which way do you think is right?” He had asked softly.
“It is the Temple of the Winds made by Air Elementals. I’ve never heard of them using illusion when I was at Solaire, but . . . there seems to be as much the Church knows as it doesn’t. What you see is real, Zhao. We will follow you.”
“But you can control air,” Zhao had argued.
“It doesn’t make up for having it as a birthright.”
Zhao had waited another moment before pulling away from Ria. He had kept her hand as he walked to the left, disappearing from view when he met the rock wall. Ria had followed, closing her eyes as she stepped through. But when she opened them, the trail had been in front of her again and behind her she had been able to see the sober and tired faces of Lavinia, Darag, Ty, and Niri.
Relief had flooded her, but once they were all through and had started off again Ria had doubts. She had no longer believed what she saw around her. Zhao had led the way, but she had worried that if he had walked too far ahead Zhao would step across another illusion and be lost from view. It had left her on edge and added to the strain of hiking and climbing in the cold air. As the fourth day since leaving the Dhazoh had dawned, conversation had died and the only sound had been footfalls and the wind.
Until they had rounded a corner and the mountaintop had come into view.
Niri came and put a warm hand against Ria’s back, Lavinia wrapping her arms around her as well. Sobs shook Ria, wrenching her so that she shook. Dimly, she couldn’t understand where the forceful tears came from. As they dwindled, Ria was left feeling hollow as if she might blow away in the sweeping winds off the mountain and be lost forever.
Ria stirred and dried her eyes with the heel of her hand. As her vision cleared, Ria saw Zhao slumped with his head in his hands while his elbows rested on his knees where he leaned against the lee side of the only wall. Ty sat next to him, gathering bits of moss, twigs, anything he could find that would burn. The sun set an hour later this high and it was close to dark now. As she breathed out, Ria could see her breath.
Darag walked alone across the mountain top, scanning the ground. Lavinia stood up, letting Ria go and walked over to join Darag with a f
rown on her face. He looked up at the last second to catch the slap that Lavinia sent at his chest. There were tears in Lavinia’s eyes as he caught her and pulled her against him, his brows drawn with concern.
“You don’t know what is an illusion. You shouldn’t walk around like that.” Lavinia’s voice was high and strained.
“I can feel the ground, heart of mine. I know when it is real.”
Darag held Lavinia, looking as if it were only his arms that kept her upright.
“You should have said,” Lavinia said, her voice shaky and muffled from where she pressed her cheek against him. Ria felt a few last tears slide down her cheeks.
“What are we going to do?” Ria asked emptily. Niri ran a hand across her face and stood slowly. She helped Ria to her feet and kept an arm around her as they walked back toward the tiny fire and the shelter of the wall.
“We are going to eat and we are going to sleep. Tomorrow we will decide what to do.”
The fire and some soup helped. Niri could find water or conjure it anywhere it seemed to Ria. She was so tired that she only felt the slightest tinge of envy. Ria was contemplating her bed roll, wondering how close she could get to the fire and how long the scant flames would last when Darag broke the silence.
“I don’t think this was done in a battle.”
Darag leaned back against the wall, Lavinia held to his chest with a blanket around both of them. He kept one hand against Lavinia’s waist while the other helped support their combined weight. If it were anyone else, Ria would have worried about the solitary wall collapsing. She guessed Darag would have fused it solid and anchored it to the mountain itself before he allowed Lavinia to sit in its shadow.
“It isn’t like what I saw at the Temple of Ice. The stones don’t show fire or water damage on them. There is no sign of an earthquake. It is like the Temple was blown apart and the pieces scattered.”
“They knew they were going to lose. The Air Elementals destroyed the Temple rather than let it fall.” Zhao’s face was downcast as he looked into the flames. He frowned. “I don’t know why the elders forbid us to come to this place. There is nothing here.”
“We don’t know what came to pass here,” Niri said, her gaze jumping between Zhao and Ria. “There are Air Elementals in the Church now and there is you and three others who are free. Who knows what else there may be.”
Zhao met Niri’s eye for a moment. When he looked away, he sat up a little straighter. Ria sighed and pulled open her blankets. Ria lay and listened to the wind howling along the ridge top and scrapping the stones over the one remaining wall. Sparks from the fire drifted into the air slowly to be whisked upwards by the higher drafts, their light joining the stars. Ria wished to reach out and touch the bits of fire, use it the way she had learned. She wished it would feel natural if she did. The stars wavered in her vision. Ria fell asleep with cold tears on her cheeks.
When she opened her eyes, Niri, Ty, and Darag were already awake. The fire burned hot even though there was scant fuel. Heat radiated from the stones of the wall. Ria guessed that was due to Darag. There was something else though that picked at her senses. The look on Ty’s, Niri’s, and Darag’s faces were somber and a little strained. Niri frowned, a line between her brows. Ty sat near her, but leaned back on his arms. His face was pale and tight. Darag’s expression was hard to read. He sat with Lavinia’s head in his lap, his hands brushing her hair as she slept. But the air around him was thick with the potential of a brewing storm. It was as if they had already made a decision. One that was not popular. Ria sat up.
Nothing was said until Zhao and Lavinia woke a few minutes later. Zhao looked forlornly around the scant remains of the Temple, his Temple. Zhao didn’t seem to feel the change, but Lavinia did. As soon as she sat up, her eyes darted from Darag to Niri and to her brother. She bit her lip, frowning. Darag put his arm around her.
“I think there is only one thing we can do,” Niri said softly as they sat around the fire burning on nothing more than moss and twigs. “We will call the Curse and fight it here.”
Ria started to tremble. Zhao looked at Niri with curious eyes. Lavinia stiffened, pulling away from Darag.
“No,” Lavinia exhaled. She turned to face Darag, putting a hand on his chest. “You don’t know what it can do. You haven’t seen it.”
“Dear heart, I saw the boat. I know.”
Lavinia bent her neck, putting her forehead against Darag’s shoulder. Her hair slid forward to hide her face. Ria looked away to find Niri’s eyes on her.
“I . . . I don’t know. I’m not sure I could fight it. My power won’t let me kill anything. I don’t know what I could do.”
Niri’s gaze didn’t waiver. “It is used to hunting down Spirit Elementals when they first use their gift, children. Not an Elemental who can fight back, must less one that can use the other four elements. And you are not alone. I was able to bind it for days the last time I fought it. Together, we can find a way to defeat it and free you.”
Ria felt like she was going to throw up. She looked away from Niri, her breath coming fast and shallow so that the world spun and she couldn’t think. Darag’s voice cut through her frantic thoughts.
“You will have me as well.”
Lavinia gave a muffled noise and pulled herself upright. There were tears in her eyes that flashed with anger. “If you are going to stand and fight, I will as well,” she said to Darag. “I will help you Ria.”
Darag gathered his wife back in his arms, a tender smile at her fight and anger on his face. “I never expected anything less.”
Lavinia smiled at that. The fear and rage left her as she leaned against him, her temple resting on his cheek.
Zhao stirred. His gaze was unfocused on the fire. “And you have me,” he said, coming back to himself. He looked over at Ria. “It is my fight now too.”
There was no one but her who looked afraid. Not one other person had voiced an opposition to a plan that would surely lead to their deaths. Ria looked around her friends for some sign they were joking. Her gaze landed on Ty.
“Ty?” Ria’s voice was a croak.
His downcast gaze flicked upwards, tracing across Ria’s face to land on Niri’s.
“Not here.”
Niri blinked in surprise, her steady resolve melting from her face and shoulders. Ty smiled fondly at Niri, reaching to brush a lock of her hair away from her face. Niri said nothing, waiting for Ty to speak, trust in her lavender eyes.
“There is no water here. What will you do, make it rain?” He teased her halfheartedly. “And Ria, uses the essence of life. What will she draw on, rocks? We will go back down to a place near the stream, someplace where we will have the advantage.”
Niri smiled with pleased pride and love towards Ty. She leaned forward and kissed him.
Ria’s last hope faded, tasting of ashes in her mouth and cold mud in the pit of her stomach. Ria knew she was going to die.
CHAPTER 40
FIGHTING THE CURSE
High above, a dark speck circled in the light of the midday sun. Zhao had felt it first as the Curse moved through the air as a giant eagle.
“It’s coming,” Zhao had warned them.
Ria looked up, trembling in fear, in anticipation, in hope.
The climb down from the Temple of Winds had gone quickly. The illusions only worked in one direction so they had not hampered the descent. But it had still taken two long days to reach the river and another to choose a spot. Darag, Ty, and Niri had decided on a wide pool below a small waterfall. The forest pulled back enough to give them room to move, but was close enough to provide shelter.
As they set up camp, every time Ria had looked up Niri was watching her. It got so that Ria’s skin had tingled even when she wasn’t sure if Niri was looking at her. It had felt like Niri was waiting for Ria to go ahead and summon the Curse. Ria’s hands had shook.
“Let’s wait two days so that we have a chance to recover,” Niri had said that night to Ria’s surprise
. Relief had flooded through her, replacing the dread.
For the next two days, Niri and Darag had drilled Ria and Zhao on using their skills and calling the other elements. Darag showed Zhao how to call Earth so that he would know what it was like. Zhao only managed to make a stone roll a few inches before he fell over. He was sick for several hours. Ria empathized. She remembered what it had felt like to touch death.
They had also fought each other. Ria had tried harder than ever fighting against Zhao. In their final stand off, she had thrown a fireball at him that blazed like a star, bright enough to blind. Instead of defending himself, Zhao had caught it and tugged the power to form it out of Ria’s grasp. Ria had gasped as Zhao made the flames swirl with heat as they had reached back for her. She had doused it with mist from the river, then had looked for Zhao to launch another attack. He had not been there.
Ria had searched the stream bank, jumping with one foot sliding into the river when Zhao had tapped her arm. He had appeared beside her with a grin on his face.
“I figured out how the illusions work!”
Ria had rocked the boulder under his feet, sending Zhao tumbling into the stream. It had not diminished his delight in the least.
Then on the morning of the third day, Ria had walked alone to the center of the clearing surrounding the stream. Her heart had fluttered in her chest as she stood watching the water a moment, tasting the air with its pine scent and watching carefree clouds dance across the blue sky. With barely restrained tears, she had reached out her spirit and touched a group of flame colored flowers which edged the shallow pool. The plants had bowed as if caught in a breeze. Then the flowers had burst from the dangling stems rising in the updrafts. Ria had changed them into crimson butterflies. After that, her knees had given out.
Now the black dot overhead hovered so that it was lost to the sky. Out of the sun blindness, it dropped like a stone, coming so fast Ria could not see what form it took. The Curse plunged to the ground striking where Ria stood. Or where it thought Ria stood.
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