Authors: Kylie Griffin
“And Rahni, where’s he?” Lisella’s soft voice came from down low, as if the
Na’Chi
woman had crouched to be on eye level with the child, and drew Kymora’s attention back to the present.
“He’s gone to warn those gathering berries.”
Relief surged through Kymora with that news. The young
Na’Chi
teenager tended to act first and think later. For him to err on the side of caution meant a large number of men were making their way toward the village. She inhaled a steadying breath, frowned, and then drew in a deeper one. A faint acrid odor stung her nostrils.
“Lisella, do you smell smoke?” she asked. Lisella’s boots scuffed the ground as she moved farther away from the side of the house.
“
Mother of Mercy
, I can see it!” A tremor of anger threaded her voice. “They’re burning the crops! Evie, find Giron. He’s working in the crafters’ hut. Tell him to find Varian. He’s in the Sharvadan Forest training with the Light Blades.”
“Yes, Lisella.”
Kymora released the girl and listened to her run off into the village. A hot breeze caressed her face. The odor of smoke grew stronger.
“Lisella, the children.” Goose bumps lifted along her arms. Today there were more of them than adults in the village. Would there be enough time for them all to escape? “They’re going to take longer to get up the mountain path and to the caverns.”
Months of work were being destroyed by the flames, and not just with the crops. She’d been working for weeks to convince the more reluctant members of the
Na’Chi
that integration into human society would help each race accept one another. To establish that bond, she’d convinced crafters and Light Blade warriors to live with them and share their skills with one another.
With the ranks of Light Blade warriors at an all-time low, and the
Na’Reish
border raids for blood-slaves increasing, the
Na’Chi’s
expertise was needed. With their own limited numbers, they’d spent the last twenty years learning to hide and ambush the
Na’Reish
—techniques the Light Blades needed now. She knew her brother, Kalan, hoped that by having them learn these specialized skills, it’d prove an advantage in any future confrontation with the
Na’Reish
.
She grimaced. This attack would only reinforce the
Na’Chi’s
fears and misgivings now. The
Na’Reish
demons outnumbered them all two to one. Humans and
Na’Chi
needed each another if they were going to survive any conflict with them.
The breeze picked up strength. The scent of smoke saturated the air. It took very little to imagine the flames engulfing the houses.
Kymora tightened her grip on her staff. “We need to split up and warn everyone.”
“Kymora, your brother wouldn’t like you left unguarded.”
“The children should be seen to first.”
“As leader of the Temple, you can’t risk your safety.” A twinge of guilt raced through Kymora at Lisella’s gentle censure. The
Na’Chi’s
hand patted her shoulder. “Let’s warn people together. We need to move fast and you’ll do that better with someone beside you.”
Kymora gritted her teeth. She might be blind, and it would hamper the speed of her escape, but it didn’t mean she was helpless. Why was Lisella ignoring the fact that she could defend herself and had done so since her early teens? While she was a good friend, there were times Lisella was as overprotective as some of the other
Na’Chi
were disdainful of her disability. A trait inherited from their
Na’Reish
heritage.
“We don’t have time to argue. Nor will I need your help.” Kymora thumped the butt of her staff on the ground. “You know this isn’t just for decoration. Get everyone to the safety of the caverns. I’ll check the houses around here and follow with whomever I find.”
“You’re as stubborn as Varian.” While the woman grumbled, she could hear a tolerant smile in Lisella’s voice. “Be careful. You know what he’ll do if you come to harm.”
Duty and honor formed the backbone of the
Na’Chi
warrior-leader, something she’d realized from almost the first time they’d met in the
Lady’s
Temple and Varian had claimed sanctuary for his people from her. When it came to protecting those under his care, he was ruthless, and in the last few months, he’d informed her in no uncertain terms that she fell within those boundaries living with them in the rugged foothills overlooking Sacred Lake. She inhaled a steadying breath.
“I can take care of myself.” She made a shooing motion. “Go warn the others. I’ll start here. Go!”
Gathering her skirt in one hand, Kymora moved as swiftly as she could, calling out as she reached each house, warning those within so they could begin their escape. The scuff of boots along the pathway and the occasional curt instruction assured her the exodus was progressing.
The
Na’Chi
had spent all their lives hiding from patrols in
Na’Reish
territory. Escaping detection was their specialty, and achieving it was done in silence. While they’d enjoyed much more freedom inside human territory, they’d limited their contact with humans and now were forced to fall back on ingrained survival habits. Something they shouldn’t have to do. Her jaw tightened and her temper flared. It wasn’t right.
A soft sob caught the edge of her hearing. Kymora turned and felt her way along the wall of one house. “Is someone there?”
“
Temple Elect!
Everyone’s gone….”
Kymora tried to place the very young voice. “Why didn’t you go with them, Tovie?”
“I was on the necessary….” The six-year-old
Na’Chi
boy hiccupped. “Henna didn’t wait for me….”
“Search the houses! Kill any
Na’Chi
you find!”
The nearby shout drew a whimper from the child, and a chill coursed through Kymora. Who were these attackers? She pulled Tovie closer, her arm tightening around his shoulders, the danger to his life stark and immediate. He had to flee. Now.
Strangers’ voices, all men, called to one another. They hadn’t wasted any time, covering the distance between the crops and the village in just a few minutes.
From the hails and chatter, the search seemed methodical, organized, rather than haphazard and random. Not something expected of farmers or townsfolk, more like disciplined warriors. Light Blades.
Renegades. Kymora’s pulse leapt. Surely not. If they were Light Blade warriors, how could those sworn to serve the
Lady
do
something like this? It went against the tenet of protecting the
Lady’s
children, and
She
’
d
declared the
Na’Chi
as her children. Light Blades were supposed to stand against injustice not instigate it.
“The bad men will hurt me, won’t they?” the boy asked, his solemn question too worldly wise for his age.
“I won’t let them.” Kymora ran a reassuring hand over the side of his face. The wetness of tears coated her fingers.
Precious seconds bled away as she tilted her head. The warmth of sunlight hit her right cheek. At this time of day, Tovie needed to go right to find the uphill mountain path that would lead him to the others. She prayed the
Na’Chi
and everyone else had made it to safety without being seen.
“Tovie, you need to get to the forest, then make your way to the caverns. Keep behind this row of houses and use all the boulders along the edge of the gully to stay out of sight.”
“Like Rissa taught us in hidey-go-seek?”
Lady
bless the healers’ apprentice for teaching the
Na’Chi
children that game. Kymora smiled. “Yes, exactly like that. Ready?”
A small hand gripped hers. “But what about you?”
Her stomach knotted. As tempting as it was, she couldn’t risk his life by expecting him to help her. There was no way she was going to be able to keep up with the boy, not without both of them being spotted and caught.
Pottery shattered nearby; the violent sound seemed too deliberate to have been an accident. Wood splintered, the noise just as startling and shocking. Under her hand, Tovie flinched. She hugged the boy tightly.
Were the intruders looting or destroying the
Na’Chi’s
possessions? Belongings they’d made by hand with the crafters. Kymora regretted the loss. Hours of painstaking work destroyed in less than a heartbeat. Through the wattle and daub wall of the house next to them, someone uttered a curse.
“I’ll be all right. When you see Lisella, tell her I stayed behind. Go on now,” she whispered, mouth close to his ear. “Keep low and run!”
The child took off.
A small spurt of unease curled in her stomach at her decision to remain behind. Should she stay hidden or reveal herself? Surely the renegades would be less likely to harm a human than a
Na’Chi
? Regardless, Tovie needed time to make his escape.
Sweat prickled the sides of her face and under her arms as she fingered the amulet around her neck. The indented circle etched into the middle represented the sun and cycle of life, the wavy beams the symbols of strength, a gift of life the
Lady
bestowed upon them all.
“
Mother of Mercy
, help me stand against the ignorance of hatred,” she murmured, and made her way back to the main pathway running through the village.
“Faral, have you found any sign of the demons?”
Kymora tightened her grip on her staff. The man was no more than a stone’s throw away, the ripe odor of manure in the air indicating he was near the animal enclosure. The gravelly voice wasn’t one she recognized, but then there were thousands of Light Blade warriors and she didn’t know them all.
A muffled reply in the negative came from a distance. Taking a fortifying breath, she tapped her way from the cool shade of the house and used the heat and angle of the sun on her face to guide her down the pathway.
“The
Na’Chi
are all gone.” She mustered all her confidence to keep her voice raised and strong. “These people have been given sanctuary within human territory. You’re breaking the
Chosen’s
covenant. Who are you?”
A door hit the wall of the house as if someone had flung it open, and hasty footsteps scuffed the ground. “Veren?” Another male voice, higher pitched. Even without sensing his wavering aura, the tremor in it betrayed the man’s nervousness. “Is she one of them?”
“I’m Kymora, the
Temple Elect
.” Kymora held her ground as running footsteps converged from several directions.
Lady’s Breath
, how many of them were there? Surely her title as leader of their religious order would protect her? She swallowed against a throat suddenly gone dry. “The destruction you’ve caused is intolerable.”
“The
Lady’s
Handmaiden?” The nervous man’s sudden intake of breath came from her left. “Veren, we weren’t told there’d be any humans here… especially not her!”
“Who told you that, countryman?” Kymora asked.
“Hold your tongue, Faral,” snarled the gravelly voice. Stale sweat and the iron tang of blood wafted on the gentle breeze, becoming stronger with the nearing sound of footsteps. “I don’t care if she’s the
Temple Elect
or my mother. Anyone who supports those demons betrays us….”
The darkness in his tone made her shiver. Kymora opened her mouth to rebuke him. Something struck her in the face, hard enough to buckle her knees and send her to the ground. She lost her grip on her staff, heard it land at her feet.
Stunned, she sprawled there. Tears burned in her eyes. Small pebbles and debris pricked through the material of her dress, but the sting of them poking into her was nothing compared to the pain throbbing in her cheek. It radiated into her jaw, paralyzing the side of her face.
“Veren, you can’t do that! She’s the
Lady’s
Handmaiden!” Faral’s pulsing aura reflected Kymora’s shock. “What about the tenet of respect…? She deserves better than this!”
His reference to the
Lady’s
ideology consolidated her suspicion. There was a chance these were Light Blade warriors.
Fingers tangled in her hair and jerked her head upward. She cried out, one hand reaching up to relieve the pressure, the other clawing over hot dirt and rough-bladed grass, searching. She found the end of her staff, closed her fingers around it. With a cry, she swung hard.
It cracked against something soft and a howl of pain rent the air. She was released.
“Lady of Light!”
Veren’s hoarse curse shook with anger.
She scrambled away from him. Her boot caught on the hem of her dress, it tore, and she stumbled before righting herself.
“You dare attack a Handmaiden?” Adrenaline gave her strength even though she wasn’t able to disguise the quaver in her voice. She lifted a shaking hand to her aching jaw. “You swore to serve the
Lady
by protecting the innocent and those in need, to respect those who served
Her
in
Her
Temple. Everything you’ve done here today is wrong!”
“The only thing wrong is allowing those half-bloods to live among us!” another voice retorted behind her. She swung around. “Councilor Davyn warned us…”
“Shut up, Bennic….” Veren hissed.
So these men were supporters of Davyn? The ex-Councilor had manipulated others for years, driven insane by his need to avenge his daughter’s death at the hands of the
Na’Reish
. What twisted, venomous lies had he told them? Her brother and the Blade Council needed to know about this.
“Faral, does your family know you’re a part of this? Would they approve of you attacking defenseless children? Of killing those who’ve done you no harm?” she asked. Were they all fanatics or could she count on the support of some of them? “Are you willing to sacrifice your honor and bring shame to your family by defying the
Lady’s
will? The
Chosen’s
mandate? You’d risk having your rank revoked?”
“Where’s the honor in a leader and priestess who ally themselves with a race who will use us as blood-slaves,” the third man declared, his deep voice rich with righteous anger.