Stars' Light, page 27
Ivana frowned.
Sarannya got up and walked from the Silk Stocking, and Atlas was waiting for her for their nightly ride to the library. On her way up the pass, through the many layers of the city, she caught a cold feeling from the east of the city. She paused, looking that way, her hand moving to the hilt of her sword.
Atlas pulled against the reigns, trying to get her to move on. He was anxious to get to the library and some more apples. He could feel the enemy not far away, but it was not time for his young rider to engage them. He remembered what his mistress had asked of him, and he had agreed. He pulled again against the reins and began walking up the pass towards the library.
“Okay, okay!” Sarannya leaned forward, patting Atlas on the neck. She was alert, though. It was a feeling she had never had before. As she continued up the rough and broken streets, she settled down. Men with pikes and polearms patrolled along the main avenues. Archers mixed in with them, their bows slung over their shoulders and quivers hanging from their waists. Bosc City had become an armed city in only a few days, and it had done it with the practiced ease of experience. These were a hardy and hard people that bowed to no one, and made their own way in the world.
The patrols eyed the girl riding up the pass, but noticed that she was carrying an Exirian. They had already heard of the General’s new student, and the Colonel had prepared them to expect a girl.
Sarannya was nearing the roughest part of the upper tiers. The buildings were burnt out or had fallen down. Rubble was everywhere. It appeared that a battle had happened, and the city had never rebuilt here, abandoning this section of the city for the lower levels.
She felt it slightly before it happened, and Atlas jumped as the arrow grazed her ribs, a warmth and sting blooming in her side. She grunted, turning to see three men rushing forward. The first had his hands out to grab the reins, but Atlas punched him with his front hooves. There was a wet thud as the body hit the ground. Atlas did a turn, sensing men coming from another direction, but it was too late.
Sarannya fumbled with her sword; she was panicking. She was tracking Atlas and trying to stay on his back when a group of hands grabbed her. She hit the ground hard, her breath knocked from her, and she groaned, wheezing. She was trying to focus, but everything was happening so fast. They started to drag her away as she was kicking and trying get her sword out, but it was locked in the sheath by her body weight. It was hard to breath, not only from the cut where the arrows grazed her, but she felt like her ribs on her other side were probably broken.
Atlas screamed out and charged the first group of men. They positioned themselves with their spears to stop the charge, but suddenly they felt their bodies grow heavy, to the point where they could no longer move. Atlas’s eyes had gone silver, and the darkness grew a shade darker, light gathering around the Tellurean horse.
The bandits watched, horror painted across their faces as Atlas ran them down, spears useless in their defense. He turned and looked back at the three men that had Sarannya. She was on the ground, struggling, so he was preparing to attack when he stopped.
Sarannya felt the Essences. Right! She called upon the earth. It grabbed her, making it so they could no longer drag her. Chunks of rock floated up into the air and reshaped into dagger points. She hurled them at the man holding her with everything she had. A cracking sound erupted above her, and then a mist reined down on her. She was free.
Sarannya rolled to her knees like she had been taught, drawing her sword to clear the threat from her space. The blade caught the wan light of the moon, but there was no body to cut. It had already toppled and was lying near her. She blinked in shock at the headless corpse, and then brought her attention to the remaining two men that faced her.
They took a step back. This girl’s eyes had gone silver, and it looked like she was drawing moonlight into her. The first one set his spear. The second just stood, staring with his mouth open in shock.
Sarannya could feel the Mara waiting to explode from her, but something held on to it. “Your thoughts are bare to me. It was a mistake for you to think you could win. That you could have your way with me.” Her husky voice sounded different, intoning from the very air itself. The area reverberated with it. It was her voice, but it did not sound like her.
The first man panicked and charged, his spear stabbing out. If he could not enjoy this girl’s body and benefit from her possessions, then he would kill her.
Sarannya stepped to the side, the spear just missing her. Her sword came up as she moved past him.
The bandit’s eyes opened wide as he missed. He tried to stop his body momentum, but he could not correct in time. He literally ran through her blade. His spear dropped as his natural reaction was to grab his throat.
Sarannya frowned, looking down at her sword. She looked back over her shoulder, and noticed the bandit had not been burned to ash, but was stumbling and gurgling. He was trying to hold his blood in as it pumped out though his fingers. He fell to his knees and then toppled into the dirt, between tufts of grass, and the broken stones of the road.
The last man aimed his spear at this girl. No! She was demon. He would kill her, rape her corpse, and cu…
Sarannya turned, picking the last man up with the wind and slamming him down onto the ground, his head striking first. There was almost no sound to his death. He only had time to gasp before it was over.
“I told you that your thoughts were laid bare to me. You apparently did not listen,” Sarannya told the corpse. Her voice still did not sound like her own.
The pounding of hooves echoed up the road. Kiril was riding hard. He could see her facing the last of what looked like six men. “The General is going to kill me! I am supposed to protect her!”
He jumped off his horse, drawing his swords. He cushioned his landing with the Essences, and rushed forward. A slight breeze tugged at his cloak when he felt a sudden welling of Mara, and then the bandit was in the air and crushed, lying twisted on the ground.
The air intoned around him. “I told you that your thoughts were laid bare to me. You apparently did not listen.” Kiril stopped his forward run, Sarannya’s silver eyes coming to rest on him. A shiver ran through him. She was seeing him for who he truly was.
“I have come back to you, Aeneas. We must finish what we started. We cannot become lost, like before,” Sarannya said. Her eyes began to fade, the light leaving her. She sucked in a ragged breath, her sword falling from her hand. She stumbled and then fell. She landed on a cushion of air and came to rest softly on the ground.
She looked up, seeing Kiril’s face. “I hope the general won’t be mad.” She gave a tremulous smile. “I failed in everything that he taught me.” A tear ran down her face, and her voice wavered.
“Shhh…don’t talk. Just rest. Everything will be okay now,” Kiril whispered to her, cradling her head in his lap. One thought repeated in his head. Who the hell is Aeneas, and what was she talking about?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Sarannya awoke in an amazing amount of pain, and in a haze. She was disoriented, not quite knowing where she was, looking through barely open eyes. It took a moment for her to realize she was lying in her bed at the Silk Stocking. Her ribs on both sides were stiff, tight, and painful. On one side, she could feel stitches where the arrows had grazed her. The other was bruised, and her entire chest was wrapped. Her eyes fluttered fully open.
“Atlas,” she whispered, trying to sit up in bed. Her room was shadowed, the curtains were drawn, but there was a bit of light seeping in through the edges.
A strong hand pushed her back down. “Atlas is fine. Not a scratch on him,” the General said.
Sarannya laid back down, wincing with the pain. She could barely see him with so much shadow around him. Then she realized he was healing her. She just lay there, feeling the warmth of the light as it coursed through her body.
“When you use light to heal, you use five main Essences. It’s a complicated experience, and I will teach you more about it as you improve.”
“I’m sorry,” Sarannya whispered. She could feel him pause.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. You did just fine. In fact, you did better than fine.” The General’s voice was soft and caring. “Do you remember anything?”
Sarannya’s brows came together as she thought. “Yes. I remember getting hit with the arrow, being pulled from Atlas and understanding that those men…” She swallowed, trying to keep her emotions under control. She really did not want to cry, but the tears came anyway. “Those men wanted to rape me. I could see what they were going to do to me. I could see it in my mind. I tried to draw my sword, but it was stuck in the sheath because I was lying on it as they were dragging me away.” The tears came faster, and her voice wavered, then broke, going a bit high pitched as she began to cry.
She continued, “I felt the Essences break around me, and I noticed that Atlas had run down two of the men after he kicked the first that was trying to grab his reins. I was on the ground by then. I remember looking at him, and his eyes had gone silver like yours did when you killed the men who had come to our camp. I felt a great warmth enter my body. The pain from the arrow wound on my right side faded, as did the pain from landing on my hand guard. Then everything becomes a bit fuzzy…” She exhaled, a great anger entering her heart. “Oh my gods! I killed those men. I killed them!” She was trying to get up again, but the General’s strong hand kept her down.
“Relax.” The General commanded. Light flooded into her, and her body relaxed. “You did what you were supposed to do. Killing is a part of being a warrior, but the true meaning of being a warrior is to stop fighting. You must stop fighting with yourself. They deserved what they got. Maybe in the next life, they will choose a better path. I am pleased that you did what you did. Now, we must work on letting these things go, and moving on with life. How to stop the dreams that will come, and the possible depression. There are also warriors who crave the killing. They become like dogs; uncontrollable, and then real warriors must come and put them down.” He sighed. He could feel her shock, but she did not feel guilty about it, which was good.
“You defeated three men from ambush. Not a feat to be taken lightly. You have done much better than I could have possibly thought, and you removed six men who would have been wolves amongst our sheep during the invasion and the evacuation. You have done us a great service. Be at peace.” The General complimented her. He was very proud.
“Can you use the Essences to give me peace, to help take away the dreams?” Sarannya weakly asked.
“No. Only you can give yourself peace. Now sleep. When you wake, you will feel much better, and be ready for some food. I’ll have Ivana come and wake you when it’s ready.” The General stood beside her.
She felt like she could get up right now and was about to say that when a sudden bout of fatigue and drowsiness set in.
Jorian touched her mind and put her to sleep. He looked around inside her memories, but he found nothing that would explain what she had said to Kiril. He felt a bit bad about seeing her most intimate thoughts, but these would be thoughts he would never disclose. He looked down upon her peaceful face, and listened to her deep breathing. He frowned with seeing that she had partially enjoyed the combat and killing those men.
“If I don’t teach you how to control yourself, you are going to become a terror.”
He pulled up her blanket and tucked it around her. He also turned and poured water into her glass, so she would have a full glass when she woke up. He smiled to himself and closed the door softly behind him.
Kiril sat with Masamiria, thumbing his empty glass. Girls bustled by, cleaning and prepping for another night of business. Men were coming in by the droves for a last fling before the fighting was to start and the evacuation was to begin. It was believed they would be able to start moving civilians out in another week or so, which was good news, as the enemy was still several weeks away. The tunnel was almost done.
Asenath entered the Silk Stocking and several eyes turned towards her. She smiled, walking towards Masamiria and Kiril. She wore an Exirian on her hip. Her divided pants were made from thick hemp and moved well around her legs. She had on a layered top that was crossed left over right. Her hair was done up in a braid that gave her a regal look. She wore little to no makeup.
“Morning, boys.” She smiled, sitting down. She turned towards Maarika and smiled as Maarika set a cup of coffee down.
“Lady Seffora, I would very much like to thank you for all the business you have been sending my way.” Maarika placed a cup of cream down at the table. Cream was expensive. This was a sign of friendship.
“The boys need to be taken care of, and as you know, many of my girls are busy with other work.” She turned and saw Sarannya coming down the stairs. Her clothes were cleaned and pressed, Jorian’s Exirian was hanging from her hip. She looked tired and worn out. She was also moving a bit slowly. Her healing must not be completely done. With a body like hers, the things I could teach her, Asenath thought. I have other things to teach her, like how to walk, and how to connect with her body. This girl is holding a lot of stress. A good orgas…I cannot think that way. I must think differently.
Sarannya noticed a fairly tall woman of ravishing looks sitting at Kiril’s table. There was a slight shock to her heart, seeing Kiril next to her. He did not appear to be noticing her, but it was still disconcerting. Sarannya panicked a bit, seeing this woman get up from her chair and move towards her. There was a grace to her that Sarannya envied.
“I am pleased that you are on the mend. You gave us quite a scare.” Asenath smiled, and bowed slightly. She could tell this woman was not of normal stock. There was something different about her.
“Thank you. It is very kind of you to be concerned for me. And, you are?” Sarannya kept walking towards the table. She was so hungry and tired. Her body was sore everywhere, and she had tried to sleep, but her dreams made it feel like she had not slept a wink.
Asenath blushed in embarrassment. “My name is Asenath Seffora. I will be helping to teach and instruct you in how best to defend against and fight the enemy.” Her voice was light, and she was very excited to actually be a part of something.
Sarannya stopped, and looked at Asenath. Her eyes narrowed, seeing the darkness and the stain that Asenath was. She could see light disappearing into the stain. “What are you?” Sarannya backed away, her hand dropping to her sword.
Asenath’s eyes flashed, her own hand already resting on her sword. She was confused, but she would not allow herself to be attacked.
Kiril was out of his chair in a moment. “Stop,” he said calmly to Sarannya.
“She’s one of them, isn’t she? She’s one of the Fallen. So, this is what the black stain looks and feels like.” Sarannya’s hands were shaking.
“All of you, sit down. Asenath, sit down please. Sarannya, take your hand off your sword and take a seat. Lady Seffora is not here to harm us, but to help us. She is our ally now.” Jorian came across the room to stand by Asenath. He frowned at Sarannya and waited for her to comply. When she did not comply, Jorian’s green eyes flashed. “Sit down, and remove your hand from your sword. Now.” His voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the seriousness of his command.
Sarannya nodded and sat, placing her hands on the table. She was still a bit shaken from the previous evening.
Jorian waited for everyone to be seated. “As you all now know, Lady Seffora is one of the Fallen. She has taken the pledge for redemption. She is our ally. She will be teaching you and working with you to hone your skills against the enemy, an enemy that will fight like us in every capacity.” He stopped for a moment, thinking. Now was not the time. He would give them their swords this evening. It would be better to get them started with Asenath, and then begin their training with the Rimerians.
Jorian continued. “You will train this afternoon with Lady Seffora and then in the evening, you will study in the library. She, Masamiria, and I shall meet you there for something special.”
Asenath tried to not let her excitement show. She was finally going to see the fabled library, and she was going to witness the passing of Rimerians to their bearers. This was going to be an amazing evening.
Jorian stood with Masamiria, watching Sarannya and Kiril leave with Asenath. “I don’t know if this was such a good idea.”
“I do. You can’t do it all. You need to start letting others help.” He was also watching them leave with a smile on his face.
“You mean like in the old days?” Jorian turned to look at his friend.
“No. Unlike the old days. You need to let them walk their own paths, as you have. You need to let them experience the way you did.” He turned to his old friend, a serious expression on his face. “They can only learn and improve by failing. You can’t save them from that, and if you did, you would stop their growth.”
Jorian nodded. “Have you thought about what she said to Kiril?”
“I have.”
Jorian waited. “And?”
“I don’t want to say.” Masamiria shook his head. He was looking down into his coffee cup. “I don’t want to think about the meaning of it.”
“So you agree. It could be re-embodiment.”
“I have never heard of it before. And, if that was the case, how did she come through Sarannya?” Masamiria was clearly nervous. “How can we not know what is happening? We were made as we are. We were made with knowing about this information, but this has never happened. If only we could see the potentials our father sees, then we would know.” He grimaced as his friend just stared at him. “But we can’t, so here we are.”
Brusquely, he stood. “Well, I’m off to work on the armor. Should be done just before the enemy gets here. You ready to infuse it?” He waited for a response, but Jorian was still staring at him.
