Speechless in Achten Tan: Book 1 of The Sands of Achten Tan, page 27
We both freeze.
"Mother said I'd find you up here.” Kamal's voice booms out of the bushes around us. The rustling increases, the bushes parting to reveal Kamal and D'or on Bobbin's back. The young G'ant is already fully grown at two months old.
I splash down into the water. Geb turns towards them, allowing me to wrap my arms around him and plaster my front to his back.
"How did you get up here?" Geb asks, serving as my human shield while I wonder how to get to my clothes without my brother and his boyfriend noticing.
"G'ants can climb anything, my friend. Bobbin walked us up the cliff face as if it was the desert floor." Kamal is smiling, his grin wide and calm, but D'or's dark complexion is considerably paler than usual.
"Yes," D'or agrees, shoving a shaky hand through his curls, "even thousand-length cliffs."
They slide off of Bobbin, tying the G'ant's reins to a nearby tree.
"Mother will be delighted to see you both," I say as Kamal tugs off his sweaty bone armor, dusty from the desert travel. "She'll probably make a huge feast. She keeps bragging about how often you visit, and how well both of you have taken to cavern cuisine."
"Tell me about it," D'or laughs. "I'm the only half elf in the world who glows."
Kamal finishes undressing down to his undershorts and launches himself into the pool, splashing us with a spray of water.
"Come in," he beckons. “D'or, the water is great."
D'or eyes us inquisitively. Now that his fright is receding, his color is gradually returning to normal. He lifts an eyebrow, noting our peculiar stance. "I don't want to interrupt anything," he says with a soft grin.
"Nonsense, it’s a public pool," Kamal scoffs, ducking under the water and swimming a few lengths over to the edge. "Don't be shy."
Geb nods, because we can't exactly tell them to go away.
"While they're preoccupied, we can make a grab for our clothes," I sign, hopefully out of D'or's sight.
D'or sheds most of his attire, but as he heads towards the water, he "accidentally" kicks the pile of our clothes closer to where I'm hiding behind Geb.
Geb bobs his head. "Thank you," I mouth.
D'or smiles and cannonballs into the pool, sending up a tidal wave of water. He swims over to Kamal, tugging my brother into a wet kiss. I pull my tunic over my head, while Geb scoops up his undershorts. The wet tunic sticks to my body, but at least all the important parts are covered.
"Do you remember this place?" D'or asks Kamal, propping his arms up on the edge. The pool runs over the side, the water making the terrifying drop into the spray far below. Even after my sky-high adventures in Achten Tan, I'm keeping well away from the edge. I will never be a fan of heights.
Kamal shakes his head. He places his hands on the edge, turning his back to the drop, and hops up on the rocky wall that curbs the pool. I make a small sound of fear. Geb grasps my shoulders to steady me.
"This is where I fell from, isn't it?" Kamal aims the question at us. Geb swallows and nods. The old wound is healing, but the ache is still tender.
Kamal grins at my pale face and leans back, keeping a grip on the rock.
"Kamal, stop it. That isn't funny," I beg, taking a few steps closer to him.
Kamal rocks back again, crying out, "Woah," and sending my heart thudding into my throat.
"Kamal!" I slap the water in frustration.
Even D'or joins in, palms up, beseeching Kamal to stop playing around. "Okay, come down from there now."
I let out a breath of relief as Kamal nods agreement, but instead of sliding from a sitting position back into the pool, he stands up. I whimper in fear.
"Catch me?" he asks D'or, spreading his legs into a wide stance to leap.
"Sure," D'or opens his arms. Kamal pushes off the ledge, crying out as his back foot slips off the slippery rock. I cover my eyes because I'm sure he's teasing again, but Geb grabs my hand off my eyes, squeezing it painfully as Kamal teeters on the edge. He windmills his arms, and with a cry falls backwards off the Everfalls. D'or gasps, his green eyes wide with panic. Geb shouts.
I only have time to think, Not again, before my cry rings out.
"STOP."
Everyone freezes. Sound stills. The water stops flowing over the falls. Geb and D'or stand motionless in the water. Fighting my fear of heights, I push through the water to the edge of the pool, till I can look down into the spray. Kamal is suspended midair, his eyes and mouth open wide, arms spread out as if about to fly. I think of saying FLY, but he'll probably enjoy it too much. I don't want to encourage him.
Instead, I say "FLOAT," and "START."
The world comes rushing back, sound resuming as Geb and D'or hurry to my side, watching as I guide Kamal back up the falls with a gentle PULL spell. When he's hovering above us, pale yet grinning, I release my spell, dropping him with a splat into the shallow end of the pool, as far away from the drop as possible.
A moment later, I'm on him, grabbing his shoulder. "Don’t. You. Ever. Do. That. To. Me. Again."
He turns in the water, shaking drops from his hair, apology on his lips, but then his eyes widen.
"Um, Mila? I can see your…" He waves his hand at chest level, his eyes pointedly avoiding my tunic, which is exposing far too much for brotherly eyes.
"Ugh," I drop into the water again. Thankfully, Geb steps in a moment later to shield me.
Kamal takes a few shaky steps towards D'or, whose tan skin is pale again.
"Are you trying to kill me?" D'or whispers, grasping Kamal's neck in one hand, and his cheek in the other. "Because next time I'll jump off after you."
"There will be no next time," Kamal promises. D'or exhales a huge breath and pulls Kamal in for a kiss.
We exit the pool, splitting up behind different bushes as we get dressed. At least I hope that's what they're up to, rustling in the bushes to our left. When everyone emerges, clothed and decent, I tap Kamal on the shoulder.
"How's Kaii doing?" I ask as nonchalantly as I can. Geb meets my eyes and pops up an eyebrow.
"You don't need to pretend you don't care about him. I know you do and it doesn't bother me… much." He pulls me into a tight hug, my face against his firm chest, then tips my face up to look into his. "I'm the one who gets to spend my life with you, and that's all that matters."
I run my hand up Geb's arm to the new purple tattoo circling his bicep. I have a matching one on my wrist: the word 'Forever', woven in an endless loop, with both our names incorporated. A promise and a commitment for all to see. We've vowed to spend our lives together.
I tip up on my toes to place a soft kiss on his lips.
Kamal and D'or exchange glances. "Kaii is… good." I wonder what they aren't telling me. "You know Achten Tan, it's still one catastrophe after another. He's alive and healthy. Really, it's all you can hope for in that town."
"Come on, D’or." Geb nods. "We'll show you the route we take to get back down to the caverns. No thousand length drops included."
"Fine, I'll race you down," Kamal calls, sprinting for Bobbin. Geb pulls me under his arm as we walk towards the entrance to the underground caverns.
"Do you ever miss Achten Tan?" D'or asks.
I exchange glances with Geb.
“No." I shake my head forcefully. "I wouldn't go back there for all the ribs in the world."
Thanks for Reading
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And if you’d like read more about Achten Tan, download the book that started it all—Achten Tan: Land of Dust & Bone.
Preview of The Bone Master
Mia and Kaii’s adventures will continue in the The Bone Master, the second book in the Sands of Achten Tan trilogy, coming soon from Skullgate Media! Read on for a preview of the first three chapters, and look for The Bone Master in the next year wherever books are sold.
The Bone Master Chapter 1 - Kaii
It's cold beneath the bones.
I can feel them now, all around me.
When I first got my magic back, it overwhelmed me, this awareness. Sensing the ancient leviathan bones the city is carved into, and the bones of its occupants. It took me a while to discern the living, breathing residents from the structures surrounding us. These fleeting specks of existence, celebrating life today and reduced to dust tomorrow.
Morbid, Kaii. Really morbid. Gast me. I'm turning into my dad.
I stride through the Undercity, feeling the vertebrae around me. Up ahead, I sense two (probably live) bodies before I see them, and one more, further away, the target of my visit.
"Who goes there?"
Long wooden staffs bar my way into the Undercity. Which is really gasting rude, all things considered. The tall, sharp-faced elf who spoke is obviously one of Aislinn's people, the Svaalti elves who moved into the Undercity the day after the cavern gnomes left. The two elves—one male, one female—regard me with haughty expressions. Sporting long pale hair, braided in intricate patterns, their robes a fine silk rarely seen in Achten Tan. I'm relieved they haven't replaced the bone weapons my father confiscated the day they arrived, seeking refuge after the destruction of Satama.
"Kaii Haku, to visit Opu Haku." I state. Not that it's any of their business. The elves nod and move aside, their expressions still just on the wrong side of respectful. Aislinn and her people have taken control of the Undercity like a rot growing into the marrow. They'll need to be dealt with eventually, but it's not my responsibility to do so. At least not yet.
Today I'm here to see my father, though I don't know why I bother. I can already feel him up ahead. My ability to sense bones doesn’t tell me if he’s dead or alive, but as I enter the passageway below the Undercity, I feel an almost palpable wave of animosity floating my way.
Opu Haku hasn't taken well to his imprisonment. The rock cage at the end of the tunnel is lit only by a flickering torch. The hunched figure in the shadows doesn't get up as I approach, but I sense a subtle testing of my wards, searching for an opening. If he finds it, he could break my bones, hurl me across the tunnel, try to kill me. Again.
"Still can't throw me down the hall." I aim for glib, but my tone misses its mark, sliding off his hunched shoulders to land in a splat at his feet. He can’t attack me with bone magic. I'm shielded by the protection runes tattooed into my skin, so instead he hurls sharp words, seeking to make a mark.
"Why are you here?" he snarls.
"The usual." I approach the stone bars and slide the package of food through the narrow gap. Drizko engineered a device that provides a trickle of water. It flows through his cell, washing away waste, and enables him to drink. The smell down here is foul. Body odor and refuse with a side of dirt and despair. Does he even bother to bathe himself anymore? He’s sunk so low, figuratively and literally. From the top of Chief's Rib to the deepest hole in the Undercity.
"Any plans of getting me out of here?"
His voice is close. I look up to discover he's right up against the bars. Gray eyes the same color as my own stare me down, and for an instant I think I see vulnerability in his granite gaze, but I blink and it's gone.
"No. Nobody misses you, old man."
Okay. That was cruel, but the guy tried to kill me, more than once. All my warm fuzzy feelings for him are long gone.
"Then why bother feeding me?" He hurls the package I just passed through at the bars, the loaves of algae bread and dried meat strips scattering on the dirty cell floor. "Why prolong my suffering?"
"Maybe I won't come back, then." I turn and leave, his eyes stabbing my back like knives.
I don't mean it. I won't let my own father starve to death, even if the bastard deserves it. He blames me for his imprisonment, for my part in the destruction of his bone staff, even though both resulted from his own actions. But I'm not the one who decided to leave him down here. That was the town council's decision. Even his toady, Rapaccio Pallor, couldn't sway them.
As I exit the Undercity, my feet turn right towards Jezebone's. That's where I always end up lately. It's better than going back to my empty rooms.
I'm nursing my second or third drink when my view of the bar is blocked by a wide smile and an An'cher uniform.
"What are you drinking?" Kamal swings his large blond frame down onto the bench opposite me, patting the bench at his side for D'or to join him. D'or hesitates a moment, his green eyes swinging from me to Kamal.
"Do you want company?" D'or asks, shoving back his mess of dark curls.
I wave my hand vaguely at his already seated boyfriend. "Sure." I love being surrounded by couples sickeningly in love. Nothing better.
"Should you two even be in here?" I toss back the rest of my xenthalor venom and motion to the barmaid to hit me again. Hopefully not literally this time.
Kamal scrunches up his pale eyebrows like a confused dasu pup.
"First of all, I'm almost seventeen now and I have An'cher privileges… And D'or... Do you get a Tar-tule rider discount?"
I'm just messing with him, anyway. I seriously doubt Jezebone's gives a gast about minimum ages for drinking or for use of their other services.
"Where have you two been?" I mumble into my empty cup. They exchange a look.
"Oh, we were out of Achten Tan for a few days… Visiting my parents at the caverns."
He's sweet, trying to spare my feelings, but I force the issue, relishing the prickle of discomfort. "Mila and Geb's ceremony?"
"Yeah."
I'm not bitter. They invited me. I wanted to go. I was just too busy with my 'drinking myself stupid' schedule… I'd built up a rhythm and couldn't take a break for things like forever ceremonies, especially when it's the girl who was supposed to be my future.
Kamal and D'or exchange another look.
"Can you two still read each other's minds? Or mine?" I ask.
I really should have had them sign a non-disclosure agreement before I invited six people into my brain. They know too much. I'd make them disappear, but I kinda like the two brats.
"We can't read your mind," D'or says, his green eyes glinting with mischief. "And we still have enough material to work through from the one time we could."
"That was a long list," Kamal smirks. The two boys nudge each other, practically giggling. It's disgusting, in a cute, nauseatingly sweet kinda way.
The barmaid slams my drink down in front of me, sloshing some of the green liquid out of the glass to splash on my hand. I miss Kiva. How was I to know the new girl only tends bar and doesn't offer those services? I mean, it's a pleasure house, for gast's sake.
I study my wet hand for a moment before lifting my eyes to her furious black ones and licking my fingers off slowly, one at a time. For a moment it looks like she's going to hit me again, but then she huffs, throwing her dark tresses over her shoulder and stamping off towards the bar again.
"Actually, we wanted to order a drink…" Kamal calls after her.
D'or sighs and slides out of his seat. "I'll get it. Your usual, babe?"
Kamal nods and unashamedly watches his boyfriend's backside as he moves towards the bar. Not that I blame him. I'd watch too, if I wasn't worried about Kamal thumping me for ogling his boyfriend. Not that I care about being hit, but they are friends, sort of. I don't do it with friends. I don't think about doing it with friends. I made that mistake before and I've learned my lesson.
But as my eyes follow D’or towards the bar, I spot a girl who most certainly is not a friend. In fact, I’ve never seen her before. She’s leaning on the wall by the bar, holding a tankard the size of a pumble and wearing a frown that promises to burn this town to the ground. She’s definitely not from around here. Not to brag, but I’ve slept with every unattached, reasonably young, warm body around these parts, who ISN’T a friend. I'd love to add her to my list.
Her clothes are distinctly foreign… and I use the term clothes lightly. First of all, she seems to think knives are a fashion accessory. I’ve counted five from this angle alone and I can only see one side of her. She’s not so much wearing a shirt as a type of leather halter with room for more knives, but it affords a very enticing view of her breasts. Before I think too hard about it, I'm out of my seat and crossing the bar in her direction.
I’m not quite into weaving territory yet, which is good, because this girl looks like she’ll require the use of at least part of my brain, not to mention other parts of me. Is her tongue is as sharp as her knives? I manage to walk a pretty straight line over to the bar, my fresh drink only slightly sloshing over my hand.
She watches me, locking her dark eyes with mine, a smirk lifting one side of her full lips. Challenge accepted. I make it across the room to her side, planting one hand on the wall by her head. Mostly for effect, but also a bit for support.
The girl turns towards me, wiping her luscious lips with the back of her hand, and slaps her tankard back onto the bar.
“Can I get you another?” I ask, though I don’t know how she finished the first one.
“I’ll pass.” Her voice is deep and raspy. “It tastes like whale piss.” She scrapes a hand through her hair, pushing the short dark strands back behind her ear. One side is shaved short, while the other brushes her bare tattooed shoulder. Mmmmm, tattoos. No wait. Tattoos are bad. I’m not into tattoos... anymore. Oh, gast, who am I kidding?
“Well, if you hate the taste, why did you finish the first one?” Am I imagining it, or is she shifting closer?
She shrugs. “I was thirsty.” Yup, she’s definitely moving closer. Running her hand up my arm, she gives my bicep a squeeze. “But now I’m hungry for something else.” Then she licks those pink lips, my eyes following the motion with fascination.
