Giya's Betrayal: Book Three of the Firebird's Daughter series Read online

  Pausing for a moment, she allowed herself to relax further. To make sure she was in the right frame of mind – not fearful, not panicked. Just relaxed. Still nothing but the blank... wall. Fine. She would try Honsa. The same feeling of kind of bouncing off of some unseen block. Nor was she able to connect with Ceirat. Maybe there was something wrong with her? She pinched herself to make sure she was well and truly awake, and not still dreaming, or caught up in some kind of gees. No, she quickly decided, she was awake – and the moon was still on fire. Did Lumas have something to do with this? She shook her head. That just didn’t make any sense. Fighting against the panic she felt welling up inside of her, she decided to go inside and have something to eat. She would get some rest and try again in the morning. If she was still unable to connect with any of them, then she would just have to start walking until she found them. Frowning, she stood up, determined to get things ready in case she had to find them.

  * * * * * * * *

  Afdal smiled as he watched the young woman walk into her house. He wasn’t too late after all. In fact, he was right on time and in exactly the right place. She would lead him to the crystal and he would claim to be the Tadashi child. How simple was that?

  Chapter Six – Unpleasant Accident

  “I think it’s past time we remove ourselves from this terrible place,” Sahil’s voice boomed above the chaos. He waited while every eye turned towards Giya, knowing not a soul would move without her say so. He, too, turned his attention to the Earth Goddess, grateful for her nod of agreement.

  “With your permission, Giya, I would like to suggest that Vray take charge of the other Fire Tenders in order to avoid any unpleasant accidents,” he continued. The last thing any of them needed at this delicate juncture was to have one of the Fire Tenders touch, and kill – intentionally or otherwise – any of the others. At her nod, he drew the symbol for release, chanted four words, and the shackles holding all of the Fire Tenders cowering against the far wall were released. Other than rubbing their wrists, and getting to their feet, not one of them made any noise. They had all had enough excitement for one night, and the possibility of the Kasais guards bursting through the door at any moment was always a very real threat. While any of the assembled people among them, Vray included, would probably be able to dispatch them without much effort, he doubted Giya was ready to proclaim herself as ruler of Nohoyo at this moment in time in order to protect them. Nor did he think she wanted to begin some kind of war against those who lived here. Especially one in which the Kasais would use the people against their will. There was much to be done in very short order, but the first thing they should do is get themselves out of a room with no more than one exit. Not to mention that this was the very worst place any of them could have chosen to have been. Hundreds of years’ worth of murder had taken place in this very room and it made his skin crawl to be here yet again.

  He had been here more times than he would have liked to have to admit, even to himself. And yet, never frequently enough. He’d started coming here many years ago in an effort to find weaknesses he might be able to exploit in getting people out, or even some way to bargain with anyone who would listen, or could be bribed. He’d tried it all. He’d only been mildly successful, but he’d kept coming back as often as he could to buy people back from the Kasais. On more than one occasion, he had resorted to threatening the family members of a few of the guards with certain death if they refused to release some of the prisoners. But no matter how many people he had been able to save, it was never enough. It couldn’t possibly ever be enough until this terrible place was closed down forever. He’d come perilously close to having been detained himself on several occasions, finding it necessary to stay away for an extended period of time to avoid capture. He’d never shown his true face while he was here though. Until today. All those visits had paid off, though, because now he had a rudimentary knowledge of where they might go in order to avoid detection, at least for a short time, while they decided how they would go forward in destroying this place. That, of course, was assuming the entire planet wouldn’t be destroyed by Sov beforehand.

  Calling Vray over, Sahil told him to make sure that the others knew the strangers here were all friends, and that nobody should take any their life forces. He also wanted to make sure that they all knew how important it was to stay together, to not go back to their homes, and to not wander off on their own. If any of them were seen by the Kasais, chances are that a lot of people would die, and nobody here wanted any more killing. That was the most-important part – no more killing.

  * * * * * * * *

  Like the rest of the others gathered together in the Shield Room, Hadia had watched with utter fascination as the chanting song had brought to life a scene they could all see with their own eyes. She wasn’t sure, though, whether the man called Kaya, who had done the chanting, had been able to see it like the rest of them had, since he’d had his eyes closed the whole time. Perhaps he had seen the same thing they had, in his mind’s eye?

  There was obviously some kind of magic involved she’d never seen before, although she noticed that not everyone had been surprised, so perhaps this kind of visual magic was something that was used frequently in Bila. She had very clearly seen a gathering of children passing some object around in a circle while another child stood in the middle, watching as the “seed,” as they called it, was passed from hand to hand during the chanting. It was amazing to be able to see the scene so clearly. Even though everything was more transparent than solid, she was able to see the shoes the children wore, as well as their faces, the gestures they were making with their hands and arms to go along with the “story” of the song, and even some of the background where they were gathered. Some wore smiles, while others were more solemn, or at least had less-enthusiastic expressions than some of their counterparts did. A question tickled the back of her mind, wondering why some of them seemed so happy and some of the others did not, but she realized she didn’t know enough at this point to even ask the right questions.

  What was most fascinating of all was the child in the middle – Hadia was uncertain whether it was a girl or boy even though the child’s hair was long, because so many of the children who obviously were boys in the circle also had long hair. And this child’s hair was braided in a way that made her think more of the fact that they were in desert where it was always hot, than any kind of declaration of gender or fashion statement. That child wore a mask over their eyes, that had been painted or dyed a bright red, and was obviously meant to be “Death.” As the chant wound down, the “Death” child reached out to the child who was holding the seed at the end of the song, took the seed, and broke it, raining down some kind of glittering material – probably infused with magic – on the child, in this case, a girl, who had been holding it. That girl spread her arms wide, as if she was flying, and raced around the remaining circle of children before claiming the red mask from the child in the middle. The scene had faded as Kaya had finished chanting the song, leaving Hadia wondering how the children decided the game – or ritual? – was over. Did each of them get a chance to be the “Sun Child” in the song? Did each one get a chance to be “Death?” And what was the point of what they were doing? She was left wishing she could watch it all over again.

  It was apparent that most of the others in the Shield Room with her wished the same thing, given the level of noise all around her. “Oh!” she said, startled, when Eruitt approached her with a bow, then held out his arm for her.

  “My Lady Hadia, we must leave. May I escort you?”

  Taken aback by his charm in this hideous situation, Hadia felt herself almost blushing as she accepted his outstretched hand, allowing him to tuck her own hand into his elbow. It had been a very long time since she had seen anyone bother with manners or niceties, and this felt good. Of course, they may still have to run for their lives at any minute, but for this moment, it was nice to have someone treat her with courtesy. She couldn’t help but to think of her husba
nd and wonder if she would get to see him before she died. He was always unfailingly kind too. And gentle. As always, when she thought of him, she closed her eyes for a brief moment, sending her love and a kiss. Then she smiled and turned to Eruitt.

  “What did you think of the... well... I don’t know what to call it. The scene that happened when Kaya did that song?”

  “I’ve seen it before,” he replied with a shrug. When Hadia suddenly stopped, pulling on his arm, startled, he added, “Not that particular scene, but it looked like the same kind of magic.” Looking pointedly at Sahil, he said, “from Bila.”

  “You don’t like him very much do you?” Hadia asked, nodding towards Sahil.

  “What? Oh, well...” Eruitt stammered. “Let’s just say I think he keeps a lot of secrets, so it’s hard to trust him.” He tried smiling at Hadia, but knew his effort had fallen short. He felt terribly uncomfortable that his feelings towards Sahil were so obvious.

  “You know,” she smiled at him, “sometimes it’s better not to have to know everything,” she turned to go, pulling lightly on his arm.

  “Why is that?” he asked, genuinely curious. “Don’t you want to know everything that’s going on around you?”

  “There is a burden in knowing too much, Eruitt,” Hadia told him, not looking at him. “Given that Giya has chosen you as her heir, I suspect you will understand this much sooner than you would like.”

  “Giya asked me to come to Nohoyo to help destroy the shields,” he told her, noticing his voice wasn’t as full of confidence as he would have liked. Considering how to do such a thing when he hadn’t yet seen the size of the shields was entirely different than understanding how to do it, now that he’d seen them with his own eyes.

  Releasing her hold on Eruitt’s arm, she stopped and turned to look directly at him, saying, “Do you understand what these shields do?”

  “Maybe not exactly,” he replied, feeling inexplicably embarrassed. “They transfer the life force of the people killed to Sov, which makes him stronger. I don’t know how they do that, but what I understand is that if we don’t destroy them, they will continue to help make Sov stronger.”

  “And the Fire Tenders?” she asked, holding her face perfectly still.

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Eruitt told her, turning to walk away, but holding out his hand to her, so she would understand he wasn’t walking away from her. He could tell he had surprised her, as she had to lunge to take his hand, but then quickly caught up with him.

  “Just because they have been killing their own people for centuries to feed the Sun God, doesn’t mean they are the only way for Sov to get the energy he needs. If we take them all away, or...” he paused, drawing a deep breath, “or... if we kill them all, that doesn’t mean that someone won’t find a way to feed the shields anyway.”

  “Really?” Hadia asked, a note of incredulity in her voice.

  “If you’re burning wood and you run out, you can always find other things to feed into the fire, right?” Eruitt asked her, then continued. “The same thing here – if we take away the Fire Tenders, the guards or Kasais, or whoever is in charge around here, will just find other ways to kill the people in order to feed Sov. Or Denit, if she takes Sov’s place. Is that what we really want to do?”

  “I see your point,” Hadia answered slowly.

  “Who is in charge around here anyway?” he asked.

  “It’s a council of religious leaders,” she replied, picking up the hem of her skirt to step over a branch. They had been staying in the shadow of the building as they’d walked, but now they were moving into a wooded area where Sahil thought they might go undetected for a long enough time to decide what to do. Since Giya hadn’t disagreed, they were following some of the others to the temporary hiding place.

  “Religious leaders?” Eruitt couldn’t believe his ears.

  “What else did you expect in a land completely dedicated to the Sun God?” Eruitt could hear the smile in Hadia’s voice at his naivety.

  “We have to destroy the shields now, Hadia,” Eruitt told her, stopping again, then turning around to look back at the building they’d just left. “We can’t wait.”

  “And what about Denit?” she asked quietly.

  “What about her?” he asked, clearly not following her line of reasoning. “You don’t think she would want people to be killed to feed her, do you? Because if you think that...” he didn’t know what else to say that wouldn’t sound like a threat.

  “She must come back, Eruitt,” Hadia explained quietly. “She cannot take Sov’s place until the crystal is shattered.”

  “What if she shatters it herself?” Eruitt thought he might lose his mind. Was he the only one who understood how important it was that the shields be dismantled? Did everyone else – including Giya – think that he was just going to stand by while they killed the Fire Tenders?

  “The story, Eruitt, did you not hear it? Only the one with red eyes can shatter the crystal!” He was surprised to hear Hadia raise her voice.

  “You mean Vray?” He was sure if it wasn’t so dark out, Hadia would have been able to see the look of understanding as it spread across his face.

  “She must come back, or she will never become the Sun Child,” Hadia reached out and shook his arm for emphasis. “And there is only one place she knows to come back to!”

  * * * * * * * *

  “I don’t need your help,” Vray hissed at Sakari.

  “I can see that,” she replied, breathing deeply to keep her temper in check. “But I think I need your help.”

  “What? Why?” he asked, the sneer on his face evidence he didn’t believe her. “No,” he continued, “you just say that so you can keep an eye on me. I know you don’t trust me.”

  “Vray, if there is one thing I know about you, it’s that you want to keep your people safe,” she returned.

  “But you are afraid I will not do as Sahil says. Be truthful now,” he said, turning to look at her. Of course, she may not tell the truth no matter what.

  “I could have just followed you to make sure you were doing as you were asked, instead of putting myself at risk,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “Risk?”

  “You could easily kill me, and you know it,” she said, the fear she was feeling was coming out as anger, but it was hard to make it stop when she was standing in a group of people who could kill her just by touching her. “And so could any of them,” she said, her hands gesturing to take in the group of people following them. The group of lethal Fire Tenders following them, she corrected herself.

  “Then what kind of help do you need from me?” he asked her. “You know I am already very busy, keeping these people safe.”

  “But what about the others? The other Fire Tenders? The ones who are sleeping now? What will happen to them when the sun comes up and the Kasais find out these people have escaped?”

  Vray immediately stopped walking and hung his head. He heard everyone behind him come to a standstill as well, knowing they had all heard Sakari’s question. A moment later, he raised his face to her, saying, “They will be killed.”

  “So how do we stop that from happening?” Sakari asked him, watching his chest rise and fall as he considered her question. “We can’t let that happen, can we?”

  “I think you are just trying to stir up trouble,” Vray responded, feeling frustration rearing inside of him. “I have no reason to trust any of you, but I know you are a troublemaker and must have your own way. If I try to do anything at all, if we” – he said pointing at the other Fire Tenders – “try to do anything at all, then these people may also be killed. These, I can keep safe. If we give her a chance, that goddess in there may have a plan. A good plan, instead of one that includes my people dying.”

  “Fine,” Sakari responded, turning her back on him, “I’ll do it myself then.” She took three steps before she felt the energy surging towards her – exactly as she had known would happen. She’d already had the Uchawi
symbols ready. She knew she was taking a terrible risk, and later, everyone would blame her for what was about to happen, but she was prepared to accept that responsibility, as long as they saved as many people as possible. The others may be prepared to follow a self-proclaimed goddess, but she was not. She had known and practiced magic all her life, and she would do as she had always done – protect those who needed her help.

  The night exploded in an outburst of green light and sound when Vray’s magic slammed into hers, the concussion shoving all of them to the ground. Sakari recovered first. As she got back on her feet, she shouted to Vray behind her, “Save as many as you can! Take out the Kasais!” Then she was swallowed by the night.

  * * * * * * * *

  “By the gods!” Aidena swore as the ground rocked beneath her a moment or two after the quiet night erupted with an ear-splitting explosion. She lifted herself into the air as Kaya and Than fell to the floor, then reached out her hand to help Kaya to his feet. Even Than begrudgingly allowed her to help him up, but she saw him wipe his hand on his pants a moment later. She couldn’t help but to grin at his phobia of “outsiders.” She knew he really couldn’t help it, given his culture, but it was still something she found somewhere between amusing and offensive. If it wasn’t so comical, she supposed she would be more offended, but the man truly didn’t know any better. He’d been raised – and trained – to despise all outsiders as a threat to his emperor, and if Than was nothing else, he was most-certainly loyal. Given the chance, he would already be running back to Bila and his emperor. He probably wouldn’t draw an easy breath until he was kneeling before the man who completely ruled his life. Aidena shrugged to herself. So be it. She hoped he would learn to loosen up though, now that the border between their worlds no longer existed. Then again, she considered, perhaps it was only the boundary around Nohoyo which had been destroyed when Denit flew away. She was sure they would all find out soon enough. In the meantime, she was certain their position was about to be overrun with guards or whatever they were called here. She only wished she knew what it was Giya wanted any of them to do about this unexpected development.