Song of the Earth: Book Four of the Firebird's Daughter series

by Kyrja

  “Ironically enough, it was magic in the Chi Tomo – the blood bond – which lead me back here, to where Deiserin really is. But I’m not really here, or there, whichever you want to call it – and you are only here because your mother brought you here. You won’t be able to come back on your own, most likely.”

  “Unless I figure out how to move through time too,” Chared suggested.

  “You might be able to, but time has returned to “normal” inside the Second Circle, so I’m not sure how that would work. And you have no blood bond to tie you to this time, so it’s possible that you could get lost in another pocket in time. You felt the difference in the grid lines, didn’t you? They feel different no matter which time you are in. Which is why,” he paused, shaking his head,” I can only get back to your time if the barrier around Deiserin’s circle is released. It’s a complicated mess,” he sighed.

  “So you are real after all,” Chared marveled. “And you are my father.” He smiled. Then remembered, “I have children. Lots of them. And some of them have children too,” he smiled again. “And,” he emphasized the word, “some of them can move through time!”

  “What?” Zemer gasped.

  “It’s true. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Some of them were with me. We were all on the way to Jikangai to help Giya, the Earth Goddess. She’s trapped there.” He smirked. “Another complicated mess, if ever there was one.”

  “But how …?”

  “I have no idea. P’onyem came to me and said I must help Giya, and so I came, but I don’t know how to help her, because I haven’t been there yet.”

  “Oh Chared!” Zemer cried out, a look of excitement lighting up his face.

  “I know! Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could get both of you back? Imagine!” Chared grinned. Then his face fell as he saw the image of his father starting to fade. “Father!” he cried out, throwing himself across the table. “No!”

  “Tell her I love her …” then he was gone, as Chared felt himself fall through the table that was no longer there. Standing up, he brushed himself off, only to find he was no longer in the forest, but standing among his sons and daughters in the Second Circle of Jikangai.

  * * * * * * * *

  Nieva had no idea what to expect when she had taken Eruitt’s hand. Probably, if she would have had to guess, she would have thought she would be looking at the sea one moment and whatever Jikangai looked like the next. Probably grass and trees. She wasn’t even sure if there were buildings there, or streets. If she would have stopped to think about it, she would have asked Eruitt before she was whisked away from the sand and beach. But she hadn’t thought to ask. She was focused on helping Giya, not on what it would be like traveling from one place to the other. He had warned her to close her eyes, or she might get sick, but he hadn’t mention feeling confused or dizzy. Maybe that’s what he thought might make her feel like throwing up.

  It suddenly occurred to her that the last time she had done any kind of traveling using magic, that she had been the cause of Ordan’s death. She had been with Honsa, Ordan, and Ceirat and they had used their bond to travel from the desert near Midbar to the border of Nohoyo in order to find Denit. Their magic had triggered her own, without her conscious choice. She had turned into a windstorm, knocking them all out of the flow of time and space. They had all fallen from a great height and Ordan had died. It was only because Batal had been there, and had used her Tear of Amphedia on Ordan that he had lived. The ripples of that accident, and Batal’s “cure,” had caused many unintended consequences. Nieva felt herself tremble, fearful of having her magic turned against her – and against Jarles. She wouldn’t be able to stand it if something bad happened to him. She felt a special bond with him. He was her true friend.

  She wanted desperately to look at him, to make sure he was all right, but everything was out of focus. Like everything around her was fuzzy. It wasn’t dark, but it wasn’t light either. She thought maybe they were moving so fast that her eyes weren’t able to focus on anything, and Eruitt was right, looking at all of the swirling colors and shapes that made no sense were making her sick. It seemed like it was taking a long time to get there. Especially since she had expected to just close her eyes and open them again to be there. Wait! What was that sound?

  Suddenly she felt even dizzier, but she knew she had stopped moving. Keeping her eyes closed to fight off the feeling that she might fall down, she held out her arms, palms towards the ground, with her knees bent just a little bit so she could move quickly if she needed to. She breathed a little deeper now. The dizziness was starting to go away. But … what was that sound? Water?! Waves! Her eyes flew open and she found herself right back where they had started. Jarles and Eruitt were gone! But their footprints were right there! Right next to each other, where they had been holding hands with her. With her heart beating faster, she didn’t know whether to feel angry that they’d left her behind, or worried that something had happened to them. She knew Jarles would never have tried to trick her, but he might have been swept away by Eruitt, or something else might have happened altogether. She shook her head as another wave of dizziness washed through her. At least this one wasn’t as bad as the last one had been. Feeling herself sway, she took a step back, then decided it might be safer to fly. At least she wouldn’t fall down that way.

  As Nieva started the process to transform into her owl form, she heard a sudden rush of sound. Discordant. Ripping. Tearing. Frightening. It was too late to stop her transformation. She felt the sound – was it supposed to be music? – slash through her, making her feel as though she had been physically assaulted. Shredded. She thought she may have screamed, but the dizziness was washing through her again. She felt herself falling, unable to spread her wings. Was she turning into a storm again? At the same time, she felt herself kneeling on the sand. She could feel the wetness against her skin. Distantly, she knew her thoughts immediately registered that the tide must be higher than what it had been when she’d been walking on the beach with Jarles, because the sand shouldn’t have been wet …

  Nieva snapped back to consciousness in midflight, gasping. It took her less than a moment to turn herself upright and to smooth out her flight path. But she was confused again. The sea was gone! There was a forest in front of her. And Oculis?! What was her grandfather doing here? He was in his owl form, sitting on the shoulder of a man she’d never seen before. She knew she would recognize her grandfather no matter how many owls she saw, even if there were a hundred of them gathered together. She would always be able to pick him out. The man though … there was something familiar about him too. All that mattered right now was that her grandfather was here. Relieved to have something familiar in sight, she flew straight towards him. She heard shouting and other noises, but ignored all of it – her grandfather would help her.

  * * * * * * * *

  “The first thing I want to do is find Deiserin and … I don’t know … “ Raito paused. Oculis smiled to himself; the man sounded absolutely smitten. It made his heart feel good, no matter what the outcome might be – Serat was happy. That wasn’t something he’d seen in a very long time.

  “Say hello?” Oculis suggested.

  “Yes,” Raito agreed. “Yes. Yes. That sounds perfect.”

  “Do you have any idea where she might be at this time of … “ Oculis paused , considering. “Day? Almost night?” He frowned. “How long does a day or night last here anyway?”

  “I don’t know,” Raito replied, shrugging. “keeping track of time really isn’t something I do any more.”

  “But … would you know …” Oculis stopped talking abruptly. Nieva! He could feel her. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew with no error for doubt – she was here! No! She can’t be! He turned his head, looking frantically. And there she was, flying straight for him. She was still a good distance away, and was flying erratically. She must have just arrived. He sucked in a frightened breath. She knew nothing about the barrier. Would she be harmed? Or even killed if sh
e tried to fly through it? Knowing she would just think he was waving her on if he transformed into his human form and tried to frantically wave his arms in the air to stop her, he stood rooted to the spot, unable to watch, and unable to turn away.

  * * * * * * * *

  Nieva pushed herself harder. She had to hurry up and get to her grandfather. She was more frightened than she had ever been before. Something strange had just happened, and she didn’t have any idea how to make the experience make sense. He would know. He always did. Even when she didn’t like his answers. Why was he frowning though, and just standing there? Was he still mad at her? Couldn’t he see her?

  She felt it when the first tendrils of the barrier’s energy touched her. She suddenly felt weak, as if her own energy was being drained from her. She felt sleepy, and started feeling like she was losing control. And cold. Her bones felt like they were made of stone. Stiff and heavy. That’s when she saw the man whose shoulder Oculis had been perched on racing towards her, with his hand stretched out towards her. What was he doing? It looked like he was running on air. His feet were moving – or were they? Was he flying? He didn’t have wings. Did he? Nieva found she couldn’t keep her eyes open and felt it when her wings stopped moving. She could feel the air whipping against the feathers of her face as her body started falling back towards the earth. And there was that strange noise pretending to be music again. She saw the light coming for her, but Nieva could do nothing to stop it from engulfing her.

  * * * * * * * *

  Raito was surprised to find just how easy it was for him to be standing in one place in one moment, and some place quite distant in the next. Reaching with one hand through the barrier, he felt the strength of the magic of the long-standing boundary between the inner- and outer-circles of Jikangai as it surrounded his arm – and passed completely through it, leaving him unharmed. He caught the little owl in one hand, then passed his other arm through the barrier too – all while “standing” far above the ground – in order to completely cover her small body. He could feel how the magic worked. He almost chuckled to himself. Of course he could. It was Lumas who had created the barrier so many eons ago. He’d seen it when he was still a boy and blind, and could feel the intention with which she had created it in the first place. To welcome others from many different realms. How very, very odd. He never would have guessed her purpose if he hadn’t felt it for himself. Especially given the horrible use to which she had employed it since.

  Pulling the little owl closer to him, he brought her through the barrier to the inner circle of Jikangai safely. Looking up to scan the crowd of people who had gathered on the other side of the barrier, Raito could feel who was needed for this task. There were so many who had come to help free Giya! He felt his heart fill with gladness. Pointing at one man, he merely said, “Come,” and the man obeyed, detaching himself from the crowd.

  * * * * * * * *

  Feeling as though he was in some kind of trance, Chared moved through and around the people standing near him to answer the invitation the Moon God had issued. As he neared the barrier, he felt the death grip effects reaching out for him, but was unconcerned. He would survive this encounter, even as he had survived the encounter with the panther in the other realm where he’d met his father. He would be a little worse for wear, but … weaving the Uchawi symbols he knew were needed, he passed them through the barrier and watched with delight as the little owl hiccupped, then opened her eyes. She, too, would survive, but would be changed by the experience. Bowing once to the Moon God, Chared stepped back again, returning to his place among his sons and daughters. Nor was he displeased to find most of them reach for him. To touch him. To hug him. To claim him as their own.

  * * * * * * * *

  Nieva laughed out loud when the dolphin splashed her. She hadn’t expected it to come so close to shore. What a wonderful day it was turning out to be! The only way it could get any better is if Jarles came by while she was here too. She really liked him. Probably a little too much, but that didn’t really matter. One day he would marry a fine lady and she would … well … who knows what she would do? For now, he was her special friend and made her feel good even when she was sad. As long as he kept being her special friend, then nobody had to get hurt. She was sure he would make sure that his “special lady” knew that too. Whenever he met her.

  Nieva frowned when the dolphin stopped playing with her, heading back into deeper waters. “Come back!” she called out. “Come back, I said!” she used her “mean” voice, even though she knew her Grandmother the Goddess was watching. And why shouldn’t she? Isn’t that what Siri Ventus wanted her to learn? “Stupid dolphin,” she said, frowning. Hard. It wasn’t supposed to make her feel mad. Didn’t it know better than to do that? Sighing at having to teach it a lesson, Nieva transformed herself into a storm. Just a small one. Lifting up over the shallow waters, she drilled herself into the water where the dolphin was. When she sensed it was bleeding, she lifted herself back up into the air, transforming back into an owl just as she reached the surface so it would look like an owl was playing at being a dolphin. She giggled again, pleased with herself, then looked towards the shore where she knew her Grandmother the Goddess was watching. When she started clapping, Nieva smiled, then headed back towards the sand.

  “So?” Amphedia turned to Siri Ventus saying, “Are we agreed?”

  “Yes. You will stay here, in this realm, with this … version of my granddaughter and I will return to normal time. As long as you hold my granddaughter hostage, I will leave you alone and you will not return to our realm. If he is able to, Jarles will take control of the seas and you will hinder us no longer.”

  “And if our valiant heroes fail to save Giya, then this “version” of your granddaughter will survive,” Amphedia agreed.

  They both nodded at each other, then Siri Ventus vanished. Amphedia felt her cheek rise at the thought of all the amazing possibilities she could take advantage of here, in this new realm. Siri had really been quite clever in having taken advantage of the accident which had split Nieva into two time frames. But then, she had always been clever. Time alone would tell whether she had been clever enough.

  * * * * * * * *

  Sina thought her heart might come out of her chest, and was having trouble just sitting still to watch what the strangers were doing. The last time strangers came to where she was living – to her home in Nohoyo – they killed her mother and changed everything. This time, she knew, it was going to be different. These people had come to save Giya. But where was Ozahm? She didn’t know what to do. She was supposed to meet him right here. He wasn’t late yet, but it was getting close to harvest time, so he should be here any time now. Would he make her kill the people who were inside the barrier? She wasn’t sure she could do that. But he had almost killed her the last time she wasn’t where he had told her to be.

  Obviously at least one of them was a god – but being a god hadn’t helped Denit to get free, so maybe this one wouldn’t be able to either. But he just did something she didn’t think could be done. He helped an owl get through the barrier! How was that possible? Then the owl had turned into a girl and the other owl had turned into a man.

  She startled when she heard a noise behind her, then relaxed again when she saw it was just Youni in her rooster form. Picking her up, Sina held the rooster close to her, breathing a little deeper, glad she was no longer alone. Ozahm must not be close by if Youni was here. She never showed up when the Lord of Death was nearby.

  “You must go get Giya,” Sina heard the rooster clearly.

  “Do I have to?” she asked, already knowing the answer. “Only if you come with me.” Sina hugged the rooster one more time, then put her down on the ground. Giya wasn’t that far away. Maybe she would be back in time if Ozahm showed up.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine – Not Yet Time

  With her eyes shining brightly, Sangeet looked at Gaku. “Do you trust me?”

  Gaku felt his face fall. He immediately looked at
the ground, sighing deeply. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his wife squarely, saying, “I trust you to always love me, yes.” He hated to disappoint her, and hated it more when he saw her own expression shift as he knew it must. It wasn’t what she was expecting, he knew, but it was all he had to offer.

  “You’ve missed me,” she said, her voice so beautiful. Like so much music to his tattered soul.

  Again, Gaku lowered his face. It was too much to ask, that he stand here like this. With her. Here and not here. All that she was, was here. Her face and body. Her essence. The turn of her head he remembered so well. Her voice. Her love. Her. But not here in physical form. He couldn’t reach out and touch her. She had held out her hand to him while he was on one knee, drowning in misery and he had taken it. It had felt as real as any other hand, but that must have been his grief playing tricks on him. In the next moment, he was standing in front of her, here, in this … place. If she hadn’t told him that it wasn’t yet his time to enter the Song, he might have believed he had surrendered and no longer possessed a physical body. In that, though, he most-certainly trusted her. She would never trick him. Not ever. She had always been brutally honest. But she had left him behind when she had entered the Song. No, when she had surrendered to the Song. He could not trust her to choose him over the Song. And so he had to pay the price of seeing the delight in her eyes falter and fail.

  “I have missed you more than I …” he paused, unable to continue without bursting into tears. No. I can do this. “Yes, Sangeet, I have missed you. So very much.” He tried to smile. His hands betrayed him as they reached out to hold hers. Balling his hands into fists, he stopped short of touching her. He would not ask if she missed him, because Singers didn’t think like humans once they surrendered. He knew that. None of the things that made them human mattered any more. People were no longer something they thought about at all.