Giya's Betrayal: Book Three of the Firebird's Daughter series Page 22

  And yet … she could clearly see the face of her only child just moments before he drew his last breath, as if she was some kind of hidden observer, an interloper to his every thought. His eyes were opened, looking steadfastly at the woman he loved more than life itself. There was no room for anyone or anything except his devotion to her. Only the smallest of spaces in his consciousness was even reserved for the child he knew had been created between them, and then only because he knew the child would bring great joy to Drena. If only he had known how terribly everything had gone awry …

  “No!” she screamed. She would not allow this to happen. Not ever again. She was a god now. She had always been a god, and she was going to do something about it. Spreading her wings to slow her descent, she ripped at her abdomen with her talons, determined to get the crystal out of her. She was going to change history. She ripped and slashed, screaming at the burning pain until she could no longer feel her talons tearing into her flesh. She could feel herself spinning out of control, but none of it mattered. Nothing mattered except bringing Jonath back. There! She felt it! It was hard and slippery, but she could feel it in her left talon. Frantically now, she used her beak to peck and drill and chip at it, feeling each time she missed, gouging into her own skin.

  You’re just like your father Denit, she heard Giya’s voice gently chiding her. Then she lost consciousness as she spun out of control into the atmosphere of the planet.

  * * * * * * * *

  He hadn’t been entirely certain it would go as exactly as planned, but it had turned out to be easier than he had even thought, Than chuckled to himself. Looking down at the five Fire Tenders he had all wrapped up with Uchawi symbols, he smiled at them. “Go ahead and struggle all you like. There’s no way you can break those bonds.”

  Four men and one woman. He’d been surprised by the woman, actually. For some reason, he’d thought the women would have all been housed separately, instead of together with the men. But since that isn’t the way it was, he’d inadvertently captured a woman, along with the four men. Since he couldn’t let her go, he decided to take her too.

  He had watched just long enough to determine where the latrines for the buildings where many of the Fire Tenders were being held, then a little longer to figure out which one was the best to use for his purpose. With dozens of Fire Tenders all being held in one of the buildings, and the Kasais being held in several others, it hadn’t taken long to get a handful of the Fire Tenders. Not long at all. Unlike the Kasais, who were unable to visit the latrines unescorted, the Fire Tenders were allowed to come and go as they pleased to the latrines. Not exactly the way he would have handled the situation, Than knew, but it had certainly made his task that much easier.

  Life is good, Than thought to himself, starting the Uchawi symbols needed to transport his precious cargo to Bila with him. And it was about to get a whole lot better once the emperor got ahold of these five. He didn’t doubt that once they adjusted to the fact they were never coming back, they would learn to appreciate when he’d done for them too.

  * * * * * * * *

  From the moment she had set eyes on the man she had since learned was named Afdal, she had known in every fiber of her being that he was a danger to Denit and to the crystal, which meant he was a danger to every person on the planet. She wasn’t willing to give him the benefit of the doubt whether he knew exactly what would happen if he interfered with the crystal or not, but she wasn’t about to let him anywhere near the crystal nor Denit.

  While Tyran had been recounting her experiences, she had quietly sent out messages to Jahari, Borja, Ozahm, and Rajesh. This would be their defining moment to demonstrate their willingness to be her allies, or not. Jahari had already been on her way, burdened with a massive load of individuals whom she was transporting – a fact which had truly surprised her. Who would she be bringing, and why? Soldiers from Bila? Had she already betrayed their alliance? No, Giya had admonished herself. Jahari had been the first to have taken a vow to stand by her through all time, and had been there when she’d taken her first breath on this planet. Whomever she was bringing with her would be allies too. Or potential ones at the very least.

  Ozahm had also responded quickly. She’d felt him lingering beneath the ground, awaiting her signal. Borja, though, had only reluctantly responded, which had caused her some small distress. She would prove to be a valuable ally – if she chose to remain at all. And she would need allies in the waters of the world now that she had taken control of them from Amphedia.

  Rajesh … was on his way, but would be too late to help her address this particular problem. Still, he would come, and that pleased her. Perhaps, if she could drag out the interview …

  “And why are you here?” Giya turned, looking at Afdal.

  “The Tadashi child,” Tyran started.

  “Please,” Giya told her, holding up a hand. “Let him tell me,” she said, nodding at Afdal.

  “I saw the same thing,” he responded, standing up a little taller. “All of the children in a circle, with the crystal seed, and they were all chanting. Like her,” he nodded at Tyran, “I started reciting the chant as well. It unlocked memories I didn’t know I had. Or maybe,” he conceded, “they were memories of a dream. I don’t know,” he shook his head. “But I could feel everyone else who was affected by the vision too, so I found her, and we decided to come here. Together.”

  “And do you know the missing verse?” Giya asked, raising one eyebrow.

  “No,” he confessed. “But I am hoping that by touching the crystal, or maybe just seeing it, I will … remember? Or maybe it will tell me what to do. Maybe that’s part of the magic,” he shrugged. “All I know is that I had to come. There was just no choice. I just want to help.”

  “I see,” Giya replied, her face neutral. “Well it’s not here.”

  “What?” Afdal asked, confused. “But I was sure it had to be!”

  “Then Sov will kill us all,” Tyran bowed her head, defeated. She had wanted to badly for Afdal to be right.

  “No!” Afdal shouted. “We can’t just give up. We have to find it!”

  “Find what?” Eruitt asked, coming around the corner, with Oculis and the Fire Tenders on his heels.

  Too soon, Giya knew. Rajesh wasn’t here yet. The others would have to be enough.

  “Afdal!” Oculis cried a heartbeat later, as he saw who was with Giya. “Stop him!” But it was too late, Afdal had vanished in a flurry of Uchawi symbols, causing a bright flash of light to momentarily blind them all.

  He’d had nowhere to go. Not even in-between realms, nor between heartbeats. The earth was hers, Nohoyo was Jahari’s, the water in his body belonged to Borja, and time belonged to Ozahm. Afdal was on his knees, panting, with his arms spread, his head bowed, and Uchawi symbols still ignited in his hands. She could feel his shock and his anger. And his efforts to break the hold they had on him. He was a dangerous man. A very dangerous man – one who had been well trained and was a natural adept to the magic he had mastered. But he was, after all, only a man, and not a god – although the power he wielded undoubtedly often made him feel as though he may as well be one. The problem had not been how to hold him once he’d been captured, but having captured him in the first place. He hadn’t expect her to have such an arsenal of allies at her command, and so he been taken without incident.

  “Afdal! What are you doing here?” Giya heard Sahil’s voice as he made his way, pushing and shoving through the throng that now surrounded him.

  “He thought to pass himself off as the Tadashi child,” she responded, “so he could take the crystal as his own.” She watched as Sahil seemed to collapse in on himself.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I am so sorry. I had hoped he would … well, do better for himself, I suppose,” Sahil ended, still shaking his head. “How did he know to come here?”

  “I brought him,” Tyran volunteered, still standing near Giya. “We both saw the same visions and I thought … well, he said t
he vision of the children with the seed had magic embedded within it that caused him to remember things he hadn’t known he knew.”

  “But where did you come from?” Sahil asked her, confused.

  “She came from Midbar,” Oculis volunteered.

  “You!” Sahil exclaimed. “You were supposed to keep him from getting it!”

  “He got there before I did, but I didn’t find out where he was until it was too late. I came here to stop him,” Oculis added.

  “So you say,” Eruitt couldn’t help but to interject.

  “The only way I could find him was to submit to Siri Ventus,” Oculis told him, sharply. “I allowed her to use my eyes again in exchange for his location.”

  “Is she with us now?” Giya asked, her eyes narrowing.

  “No,” Oculis shook his head. “Something happened, but I don’t know what it was. She screamed, and left me. I … I fell from the sky and broke my arm.”

  Without warning, Rajesh materialized in front of Giya, several bodies tumbling to the ground beside him, as he reached out, adding his magic to those who were holding Afdal in place. In the next moment, Kaya appeared with a woman beside him, along with Than, who was obviously tightly secured with Uchawi symbols. Kaya put a hand on Than’s shoulder, forcing him to his knees.

  “Hold!” Giya’s voice rang out, freezing everyone in place between one heartbeat and the next. She turned to Rajesh saying, “the four of you,” nodding also at Jahari, Borja, and Ozahm, “take our friends Afdal and Than into the Shield Room. Guard them closely. No matter what else happens, they must be kept secured.” As they started to move in unison, she sighed deeply, then thanked them for coming when she had called them.

  “Sahil,” she watched him blink when she called his name. “There is something you wanted to tell me. Do it now, and quickly, I must release the others.”

  “The Tadashi child,” he replied. “I haven’t heard that name in a very long time. Is it important?”

  “She,” nodding at Tyran “says she, too, saw the vision of the children’s ritual, but that in a dream before the vision, a dark-haired boy spoke to her, saying to seek out the Tadashi child for the missing verse.”

  “Kaya,” he told her, turning to look at him. “Kaya is the Tadashi child. He’s descended from the first empress.”

  “He saw the vision at the same time the rest of us did, but said nothing,” she reminded him.

  “Afdal got that part right,” he sighed. “There is magic embedded in the chant, so that when all the … parts, for lack of a better word, are together. Then he will remember the missing verse, but not until then.”

  “The crystal, then,” she nodded.

  “And Vray too,” he reminded her. “’With death’s red eyes’. Vray, the crystal, and Kaya.”

  “And Denit,” she said, closing her eyes.

  “And Denit,” he agreed.

  “Breathe!” Giya shouted, wishing she had more time to sort everything out. Too many voices, she thought, as everyone started talking as soon as she freed them from the gees. Ignoring them all, she looked around, paying particular attention to those further back, whom she hadn’t seen come in – the ones Jahari had brought with her. She froze in place for a moment when she saw Jarles, knowing a confrontation with him was inevitable, but also relieved to see that he appeared unharmed by what she had done. And Chared beside him – another sight she was pleased to see. Savaar and Sabbah in the same place not engaged in killing each other? Perhaps because of Jarles. Savaar couldn’t very well kill Jarles’ grandfather in front of him. And many of those with them were those Amphedia had called from the sea.

  “Denit!” Oculis suddenly called out above the din, silencing every voice. With his yellow predator eyes opened wider than she’d ever seen them before, he stared at Giya. “Siri – she is here,” he said, tapping the sides of his head repeatedly in rapid motion. “Denit is falling. She can’t save herself. Sov knows and is following her to get the crystal!”

  The ground beneath them shook harder than it had before, sending some of them, amid shouts and screams, to their knees, or falling over entirely.

  “Amphedia will be right behind him,” Savaar warned. “They’re too close!”

  “We can help,” Honsa said, moving through the crowd to get closer to Giya. “The four of us. We don’t have to be close to her to help,” he explained.

  “We know her,” Ordan put in. “She’s our friend.”

  “Stop talking about it,” Ceirat demanded, looking at the others. “Let’s do it.”

  “Quickly!” Tyran added. “Honsa, you start, you’re the best at directing it.” She held out her hands to her bondmates, closing her eyes as Honsa started the tuneless chant he so often used when leading them in their unique kind of magic.

  “Everyone else move back!” Savaar shouted.

  “Give them room!” Chared agreed, stepping back three paces himself.

  Vray took the opportunity to run over to the Fire Tenders who had been captured by Than and returned by Kaya, telling them to fetch the healers.

  “But she is a god, isn’t she?” Kaya asked.

  “Yes,” Giya answered quietly, “created from Sov – who can make her a part of himself again.”

  “And the crystal too,” Sahil added, a feeling of dread causing him to shiver.

  Chapter Twenty–One – Death’s Sure Touch

  The moment Sov broke off his fight with Amphedia, Serat knew exactly what was happening. He was going after Denit. Now that she was unconscious, she was no longer a threat to him, and he would easily be able to defeat her. But why would he do that? He would still have to defeat Amphedia.

  ::No,:: Lumas’ voice told him. ::If he can get to Denit, he can absorb her into himself, along with the crystal, and then he won’t die.::

  “No!” Serat shouted, turning back towards the planet.

  ::Isn’t that what you want though, Serat? If Sov lives, then you won’t have to take my place. I will remain here as long as he lives.::

  “I … I … I don’t even know what I want any more,” he confessed. “Of course I want to remain who I am! But at what price?”

  ::You were perfectly willing to let Hadia die, and, in fact, all of the people on the planet, if that meant you could leave with your sister. What has changed now?::

  Serat thought for a moment, feeling each second drag by, knowing Denit was still falling and Sov was still chasing her. “Knowledge,” he finally replied. “And understanding. I always wanted to be something other than what I was, but now I understand better who I am.”

  ::Because now you know that I created you,:: she prompted.

  “That helped a great deal, yes,” he replied, feeling more confident now. “But it was more than that. I will be honest and tell you that I am not thrilled about becoming a moon – a thing – instead of an entity with free will and the ability to move through space and time at will. My life will be limited by the reality of … of what my body will become … but I have always lived by my own choices, and even now I know I could leave and there would be nothing you could do about it. But this is what I choose,” he finished, feeling the statement resonate as truth within him.

  ::There may be hope for you yet,:: he could feel Lumas chuckle inside his mind. ::If you want to help, then you must take my place now. You cannot stop Sov, but I can.::

  “Tell me what to do,” he replied, feeling his whole being tremble. As he voiced the words, the flames engulfing the moon suddenly all went out at once, and it was obvious Lumas had suffered no harm because of the inferno.

  ::There cannot be two moons, or else the planet will suffer, so I will absorb you and help you to grow large enough to take my place. Once you are of the right size, I will release you. But we must do this quickly; there is very little time left before Sov will catch up with Denit, and the closer he gets to the planet, the worse it will be for everyone, including the planet itself. Already there are earthquakes, floods, and dangerous temperatures. Remain still,:: she
admonished.

  Serat felt every molecule being sucked into the interior of Lumas’ body, only momentarily losing consciousness. He was surprised, and so very relieved, to discover there was no pain involved at all. In fact, if he felt anything, it was a kind of detached bliss. He could feel what might be called his “body” expanding, although he only ever had such a thing when he purposefully chose to. More often than not, he had spent his life in one human form or another, out of the pleasure it gave him to interact with humans in a form they felt comfortable with. But bones, blood, hair, and even flesh were nothing more than dressing for his true self. Still, the mass of what he felt was his physical form was definitely increasing, as was his size. It was truly the most-bizarre experience of his entire existence, and he could feel Lumas’ size contracting as his own expanded until the only thing left of her was a thin “coating” or “shell,” encompassing all of his surface. Serat could feel she was still very much a part of him and he was of her.

  “Perhaps, one day, I will return to check on you,” she told him, and he could hear a small tenderness in her voice.

  ::I will be here,:: he told her, feeling as though he was smiling. Then she detached herself from him, and was nothing more than what looked to be a flimsy film, which quickly dissolved into a kind of shimmering mist that he thought was achingly beautiful. He watched her gather herself, then speed away, towards the planet below. And Serat was left behind, alone.

  * * * * * * * *

  Although neither of them was winning or losing, Amphedia knew that by not winning, she really was losing. Sov was, without a doubt, more powerful than she was, but he was slow and clumsy, unable to hurt her with any significance. Her own efforts were obviously wearing him down, and it helped her cause that he had already been substantially weakened by the slow march of time, along with the utter fact of his impending death. He knew he was going to die. She knew he was going to die. No matter who may win this fight between them, he would die. While her true purpose may be to kill him, it would be enough to keep him engaged long enough for his life to run out. And he was obviously hurting, as he was no longer able to maintain his flaming mantle throughout the whole of his body. There were patches of his skin that were blackened and peeling. Some even looked as though they might be made of stone; she wasn’t sure what to make of that. Perhaps he’d been too long in one shape and had lost the memory of his natural form.