by Ania Bo
Dwade was not offended. King Raiju was more than kind. Dwade felt sorry for the things his people did to the Hikar race. Besides, they were undertaking this journey together, and Shasta needed something to protect herself since she didn’t have an affinity for any of the weapons Kajleh had offered. Dwade was a well-trained hunter and had enough strength to protect himself. He nodded once to Shasta. She returned his smile then put on the neckband, surprised at his generosity.
“All you have to do is connect your mind with the diamond,” Raiju explained. “The only difference being you won’t decode it, but it will decode you. It will receive your orders. Close your eyes. Let it take over your energy, and then move your right hand down slowly.”
Shasta’s excitement lit up her eyes. She closed her eyes and moved her hand slowly. A knife suddenly appeared in her palm. She opened her eyes, staring at it in astonishment. How had it appeared in her hand?
Raiju continued with the training. “Now, throw it against the wall and lower your hand again.”
Shasta threw the knife and it sunk deep into the wall. When she lowered her hand again, another knife appeared. She threw that one too, hitting her mark.
Raiju instructed her excitedly. “Now bend your arm down then up quickly.”
Shasta did as she was told and found herself holding a double-edged sword like that of the soldiers. Everyone watched Shasta in wonder as the shy woman confidently held the glowing blade.
Raiju smiled. “Now we must show you how to use it without hurting yourself.” He went to the middle of the room, bent his arm down then up, and started turning his own sword masterfully without letting it touch his body. “It is very simple.” The others almost laughed at his statement as they watched him twirl the sword around his body inches away from his fragile skin. It looked anything but simple. “While using the sword, never bring your arm close to your body, always keep it extended. Do you see?” he asked Shasta. “You should turn the sword using your wrist, and your shoulder should match the same movement. Your heels should not touch the ground but float as you balance on your toes, always ready to move.” He sped up and started spinning around. “As your steps become faster, hold your arm to the side. Outstep your enemy, and the sword will find its own balance and strike its target. Don’t forget there is a mental connection between you and the sword. It is a part of you; it will feel what you intend to do.” Saying this, he threw his sword up in the air. It went around the room, rotating around itself and settled back in his hand.
Watching Raiju, Shasta felt like a warrior for the first time, no longer the fragile teacher who couldn’t protect herself. She followed Raiju’s instructions carefully. She was bolder and faster than even she expected herself to be. Her sword began to swing of its own accord. At first, she tried to keep the sword well away from herself, but as she grew cocky, the sword cut a strand of her hair.
Violen closed her eyes. Dwade and Han both cringed, clearly afraid Shasta would harm herself.
“Don’t hesitate,” Raiju warned when he sensed her doing just that. “Never focus on anything but your target.”
Shasta tried to concentrate more, and as she grew less tense, the sword started dancing elegantly in her hand as if she had been doing it for years. She had become enthralled with the weapon and turned her eyes toward the chandelier which hung from the ceiling. Fixing her mark on one of the crystals, she carefully thrust her sword. All the others grew wide-eyed and instinctively covered their faces. The sword flew rapidly, climbing into the air, and pierced through a single stone on the chandelier. Then the sword returned to her, settling back in her palm.
Now even Raiju was impressed with Shasta’s natural skill.
Shasta instantly looked at Han and Dwade for their approval and she got it. The young soldier looked at Shasta as if spellbound.
“Well, it looks like I came all this way for nothing. Shasta seems to be the actual warrior. At this rate, she will protect the Regenerator, and I had better start seeing visions,” Dwade said as he beamed at Shasta, and the others laughed at his joke.
As Shasta pranced about, not ready to believe this was happening to her, the door opened, and a Hikar soldier with an air of authority entered the throne room. Shasta lost her focus, and the sword disappeared from her hand, but not before the soldier noticed. He stared at the neckband Shasta wore, and his face contorted with a look of disgust. He looked questioningly at Raiju, but the King’s stern look made him keep his silence. While the soldier was clearly disturbed, he did not pursue the matter.
“The Hikar units are finishing their preparations, but we need additional diamonds. We seek your permission to gather them,” he said.
Raiju listened intently. “How many do you need?”
“Three hundred new neckbands.” The soldier gave a sideways glance at the neckband Shasta wore.
Shasta’s delight from just moments ago faded into a sense of shame. They were in a war, their soldiers didn’t have enough neckbands, yet she was granted one.
“Fine, collect the diamonds. But I don’t want any neckbands to go missing during the battle.”
“Of course, my lord.” The soldier left with a salute, ignoring the unwanted guests.
Shasta realized how precious and controversial this gift was, and she started to grow fearful. What if the other Hikar react the same way?
Raiju was aware of the weird situation. Maybe he was putting the Visionary Reader in danger while trying to help her. “Perhaps you should wear a shawl over your neckband when you are not in battle. These diamonds are a coveted item. It will bring trouble to you in any of the twelve lands.” He ascended the stairs to sit on his throne. Skoll and Hati joined him, resting their large heads at his feet. The scene made him appear even more frightening and dangerous. “You cannot stay in our land for long, but if you wish to rest and continue on when you are less weary, we have rooms prepared for you. What do the Protector and the Visionary Reader wish to do?”
Dwade looked at his fellow companions, but especially Shasta whose eyes were red from obvious exhaustion. “We will rest here before we continue,” he decided.
Violen was not very happy with his choice, but it wasn’t hers to make, and she wouldn’t argue with him before a king. Dwade might be a simple villager, but he was the Protector. In the universe that existed thanks to the Balance, there was no one who had a higher rank than Dwade for now, except the Creators. She glanced to Han, but all he did was shrug.
Dwade would’ve been fine going on, but he knew Shasta needed a bit of time to adjust. She had a rough day, and although she was better now, there was still a hint of fear in her eyes.
Raiju smiled. “A wise choice. You will surely need your strength.” He called out for a soldier who waited outside the doors. “Jalek! Show our guests to their rooms.” A Hikar entered the throne room, and its hair was twisted in a series of braids where strands of different colored silk were weaved in-between.
Shasta assumed this was what separated the females from the males.
Jalek saluted the guests before she held the door open for them. She was trying hard not to look at the guests as if wanting to avoid seeing something she wouldn’t like.
Raiju addressed the woman. “Jalek, could you please provide this Reader a cover for her neckband. I don’t wish it to draw any unwanted attention.”
Jalek’s eyes showed her surprise at Shasta’s diamond, but she only replied, “Yes, my lord.”
As they left the room and advanced through the icy blue corridors—with Shasta now sporting a white scarf around her neck—through the window, Shasta saw a strange sight. Instead of the lightning hitting designated landing spots as they saw in the city, here two lightning bolts struck each other creating a small ball of light. The others noticed too and stopped to peer out the window.
“What’s this?” Shasta asked Jalek. “What are those small balls of light they’re creating?”
“Those? Those are baby Hikar.” The four of them turned to look at her with dubiou
s looks. She attempted to explain. “A male and female Hikar take to the skies and strike the ground at the same time to create a child. Once their bolts meet, a baby Hikar is formed as a small light. The baby is then taken to our nursery where it stays for about a month before it begins to resemble a young Hikar.”
“That’s so easy,” Han interjected. “The Hikar could overpopulate the earth within days.”
Jalek shook her head. “A single Hikar may only reproduce every five years. Though swift, the reproduction process takes a tremendous amount of energy. This way, the Balance ensures our population is kept in check.”
As the others focused on this new information, Dwade’s mind went somewhere else entirely. He was concerned about the war and the new neckband for Shasta and so many other things that he asked without thinking, “How do you die? Or do you even die?”
Jalek nervously smiled as Violen and Han both shook their heads at Dwade, and Shasta even frowned at him. That was not a question to ask at the time of war, but as a matter of courtesy, Jalek answered. “Of course we die, every living thing dies or transforms into something else. That’s how the universe keeps its energy fresh. As time goes by, our energy levels decrease, our beings can’t reproduce enough power to keep us alive. Like everything else in the universe, we spread energy, in other words, we all consume ourselves, Protector. Nothing else but ourselves.”
Dwade hung his head, cheeks burning. He knew he asked the wrong question, but he honestly didn’t care. He was just unhappy; he didn’t get the answer he sought.
Jalek respectfully bowed her head and kept walking. The Readers were silent and followed her. Dwade was still looking through the window. He knew nobody could be trusted in a war. Even in hunting his people could leave one another behind. Everybody would try to cover his own ass. This was war, and Dwade had to be strong to overcome anything. He ran after Han with the hope that he might know how to kill a Hikar if it was needed. They were nice to them, but he couldn’t ignore their unsettling looks toward Shasta just because she had a diamond. He touched Han’s arm. Han looked at him with wondering eyes.
“Do you know how to kill a Hikar?” Dwade silently asked.
Han rolled his eyes as he didn’t want to answer. But Dwade’s brows rose as if to say he would keep asking. He took a deep breath and whispered, “If you can cut them in the middle, from right to left,” he showed the move to Dwade and continued, “then they would die. Their life source is in their belly. That’s how they become a lightning ball. Their energy spreads from there.”
Dwade nodded, appreciative of the information. Now he knew how to kill a Hikar, although he had no idea how he’d manage to fight any of them. They all seemed so highly trained. He just hoped he would never need to do so. The others realized Han and Dwade were left behind and stopped to wait. The two men walked fast to catch up.
At the end of a long corridor, Jalek stopped before four rooms. “Choose whichever room you like. They’re all the same. The sun is rising, and I must leave you now.” Without opening the doors or allowing them to ask any questions, she left as she mumbled something under her breath.
Dwade shrugged his shoulders at the others and opened the door closest to him. He walked into the room with his feet dragging. He was ready to sleep on just about anything when his eyes fell on the carved stone bed before him. “You’ve got to be kidding,” he muttered. There was a pillow on the bed that looked to be stuffed with a type of grass, but other than that, the bed was just a large slab of stone. He was no stranger to sleeping on hard surfaces, but tonight he wished he could sleep on the cloud-like bed back in Atlantis. Unable to change his current situation, he picked up the light blanket that lay on a wooden rocking chair and curled up on the boulder, hoping sleep would be able to find him.
In the adjacent room, Shasta slept fitfully. She tossed and turned, eventually kicking her blanket on the floor. Beads of sweat formed on her face and chest, and she started to make a strained cry as if she were in pain. A knock on the door jolted her awake, and she sat upright staring at the door, gasping for air.
“Shasta? It’s Dwade.”
Shasta worried that something bad happened. She quickly scooted off the stone bed and picked her blanket off the floor to wrap over her shoulders then turned the doorknob and there stood Dwade, his face full of concern.
“Hi,” he said awkwardly, not sure how to begin. When Shasta didn’t answer, he sucked in a deep breath and rambled, “I felt something. Like you were in pain. I just came to check on you, you know, doing my job and all.” He flashed her a grin hoping the joke would break the ice, but Shasta looked at the ground and pulled the blanket tighter around her.
“It was a nightmare.” Her voice cracked, tears threatened to spill onto her cheeks.
“Come here,” he said, pulling her into a hug.
She went to him willingly, burying her head against his bare chest and taking in his sweet scent.
“I know it’s tough being the Visionary Reader, but all of this will be over soon. We’re going to find this Regenerator and end the war. Then the dreams will stop, and you can be at peace. We all can be at peace.” She lifted her head to look at him. “Just a little longer, Shasta. Be strong for just a little longer.”
Shasta only nodded. She knew Dwade would be her only real friend in the days to come. They were destined to become one for one fatal aim.
Dwade started to let go of her so they could both return to their beds, but Shasta clung to him. “Please…can you…” She stopped speaking but Dwade had already heard her thoughts, and his face turned as red as a cherry. “Can you sleep with me? I mean, not sleep with me.” Her eyes shone with embarrassment. “I mean can you stay with me in my room? I can’t bear to be alone after what I saw.” Her eyes searched him imploringly, hoping he understood.
There was something about Dwade. Ever since he showed up in Atlantis, she felt strangely drawn to him. The feeling was so strong she couldn’t imagine being without him. In her heart, she knew there was no one else to protect her from the painful images that plagued her every night. Then her thoughts turned to Han, confusing her even more.
Dwade, however, didn’t mind at all. His little sister always asked the same when he’d been home, coming to him whenever she had a nightmare. He was like a dream catcher. He would be happy to catch Shasta’s dreams, too.
“Yes, I can stay,” he said with a sincere smile. “I usually sleep with my little sister when she has nightmares” he explained.
Shasta was surprised to hear that. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
A sad smile formed on his face. “She is the loveliest girl in the world.”
Shasta read the sadness in him from his face, from his tone. She just didn’t know how to console a human, so she stayed quiet.
They both made their way back to Shasta’s stone bed, and Dwade lay down on his side while Shasta curled up, her head just below his chin. He stroked her hair as he attempted to comfort her, and the whole scene seemed so familiar to him as if he had done it a thousand times before. Then the nights he had spent just like this with Lillian, brushing her hair just as he now did with Shasta swam before his eyes.
“Ge shema hıranin marjek oken,” he whispered to her. Shasta’s breathing finally began to slow, and Dwade could tell that she was at peace. He yawned and closed his eyes. He was ready to face whatever challenges blocked their path with his purpose laying in his arms.
***
There was a loud knock at the door that woke Shasta and Dwade.
“Shasta? Shasta are you awake?”
Shasta nearly screamed at the sound of Han’s voice, and her eyes grew wide with fright as she looked at the shirtless Dwade next to her.
Dwade didn’t need to read her thoughts to know what she was thinking or what Han would believe.
“Shasta, wake up! Oh, my Balance she sleeps like a rock. Shasta!” He pounded on the door again.
Shasta slid out of bed and crept toward the door, trying to formulate a be
lievable explanation of why Dwade was half naked in her room. She reached for the door handle and pulled it open.
“There you are. We better be off. It’s already midafternoon, and I can’t find—” Through the crack in the door, Han spotted Dwade, naked chest and all. He blinked several times then cleared his throat roughly. “Sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you,” he said, his tone sharp.
“No, you don’t disturb us, Han. We were just—”
He put up his hand to stop her and spoke with a controlled voice. “There’s no need. You are the Visionary Reader, and he is the Protector. You know better than us. You are the chosen ones.”
“Han, that’s not—” But Han had already started walking briskly away from her.
Shasta went to chase after him, but Dwade caught her by the shoulder. “Leave him be for a minute. He’s too busy jumping to conclusions and won’t listen to anything you have to say.”
Shasta knew Dwade was right, but she couldn’t understand Han’s reaction. She just wished she had told him how much she cared about him before. “I don’t understand why he reacted like that. It was a bit out of a Reader’s character.”
“Don’t worry about Han. He’ll soon see just how much he means to you. A blind man can see that.” He gave her a loving smile which she returned.
“Thank you, Dwade.” She looked down the empty hall and added, “We’d better hurry. We’re supposed to meet Raiju before we leave.”
Dwade nodded, and they both made ready to leave. Shasta tied her shawl around her neckband to keep it hidden. The two of them knocked on Violen’s door, but she wasn’t in her room, so they headed down to the front of the castle. They found Raiju waiting there along with Violen and a stone-faced Han.
