The Dove (Prophecy Series) (2 page)

His body was bathed in sweat and the constant impact of foot to ground was a continuous reminder to go faster.

Tyhen’s safety came first.

He lengthened his stride.

****

Coyopa was running on a drug-induced high, locked into the vision of the girl he’d seen in his dreams. He was following the pull of her heartbeat, and the closer they got, the stronger it became.

He was so focused on the prize he forgot to watch where they were going. When they emerged into what he thought was a clearing, it was soon apparent they had come to the edge of a cliff.

Coyopa stopped abruptly. He had not seen this! Why had he not seen this?

“Look there! A bridge!” one of his warriors cried, and his shock receded. That was why he hadn’t known because it was not an issue after all.

“We go!” he yelled and was the first man to start across.

The moment he stepped on it, it began to swing. His gut knotted. In the dark, they could not tell how far it was to the other side. It also occurred to him that it might not be strong enough to hold them all, but it was too late to stop, and the warriors were right behind him. By the time the last warrior hit the bridge, it was swaying precariously.

Coyopa held the torch up over his head and looked down, but couldn’t see the bottom. He stopped and turned around, shouting for them to slow down. But the void over which they stood swallowed his voice, and the men kept coming without heeding his warning.

****

Yuma heard voices and what sounded like echoes. He knew that when he left the cover of the trees, they would see his torch.

Then he heard Tyhen’s voice in his ear and almost stumbled.

Put it out. Put it out and hurry. They are on the bridge.

He didn’t hesitate as he jammed it into the damp undergrowth and leaped forward. Within moments, he began seeing flickers of light. She was right. They were already on the bridge and he was there on the other side, watching them in the dark.

He could barely see their bodies from the fire they carried, but they were many and there was no time to waste. Without hesitation, he swung the machete, chopping at the massive braids of vines that formed the bridge hacking at first one side and then the other. All he had to do was weaken them enough to give way.

****

Coyopa sensed their danger, even though he could not see what lay ahead or below, but his warriors were in a panic and wouldn’t listen as the bridge continued to sway.

Furious, he thrust his torch above his head and screamed. The sound was so loud that all forty of his men froze, which exacerbated the creaking of the bridge within the silence. But it was the steady
chop, chop, chop
they were hearing that shocked them most.

Coyopa keyed in on the sound and closed his eyes. In his mind, he saw the warrior at the end of the bridge hacking at the ropes. He wondered how they’d known he was coming, but didn’t have time to pursue the answer. He had two options. He could stop and chant a spell and hope it wasn’t already too late, or they could run.

Chop, chop, chop.

His heartbeat pounded in rhythm to the sound.

Chop, chop, chop.

He thrust his torch high into the air and screamed.

“Run!”

****

Yuma wouldn’t look up. He couldn’t get caught up in the fear of what was in front of him because there wasn’t any time. One strand of the massive braid that formed the bridge’s handrails was already cut through on both sides, and he was working on the second when he heard the scream.

He began to swing harder, and when the second strand broke, he gritted his teeth and shifted his stance.

Chop, chop, chop.

The bridge was swinging violently. They were so close now that the glow from their torches was bright enough he could see their faces.

Chop, chop, chop.

Another strand gave way.

He felt, rather than saw, when the bridge began to sag. The only thing holding it up was a single strand of braided vine and even as he swung the machete, it gave way.

It made a snapping sound when it broke, and when the right side of the bridge suddenly dipped, he heard screams and looked up. Men were dropping head over heels into the gorge, still holding the burning torches to light their way to the rocks below.

Less than fifty yards away and still holding the handrail, the priest pointed a finger at Yuma as the last side broke.

Yuma felt the rage as he watched the bald head and painted face disappear from sight as the bridge fell out from under him.

Yuma dropped to his knees as their death screams faded away, the muscles in his shoulders jerking from exhaustion.

You saved me.

Yuma closed his eyes as his chest began to tighten.

“You belong to me. I will protect you with my life, and you will love me forever,” he whispered.

Forever.

He was still kneeling when Cayetano and his warriors came out of the jungle.

At first, Cayetano feared Yuma had been wounded. But then the young warrior slowly stood and turned around.

“It is done,” Yuma said softly.

Cayetano came forward, holding his torch above his head. The look in Yuma’s eyes was haunting.

“What happened? Did you see him?”

“Yes, and he saw me.”

“What do you mean?” Cayetano asked.

“He was pointing at me and shouting as he fell.” The invisible grip around Yuma’s heart grew tighter. “I have been cursed.”

Cayetano’s heartbeat skipped. “No. You cannot know that.”

Yuma put a hand on his chest and shuddered.

“But I do,” he said.

His eyes rolled back in his head as he fell.

****

Back in the palace, Tyhen suddenly threw her head back and screamed.

Singing Bird’s heart nearly stopped as she grabbed at her daughter.

“What’s wrong? What happened? What did you see?”

Adam and Evan knew. They saw Yuma on the ground. They could feel the life leaving their brother’s body as surely as if it was their own.

Acat didn’t know what was happening, but it was all too much. She began to cry, which only added to the chaos.

Tyhen jumped to her feet and began issuing orders.

“Yuma is dying. Adam, Evan, pick two guards and come with me. We don’t have much time.”

Singing Bird reached for her daughter, but Tyhen slipped out of her grasp.

“No, Mother, no! This is not for you. This is for me. If I don’t go, he’ll die.”

Singing Bird was scared. “But this is dark magic. What if—?”

Tyhen gave her mother a strange look. “Mother, did you forget? Windwalkers cannot die.”

Singing Bird reeled. Not once had it ever occurred to her that Tyhen could have inherited any part of that. When she saw Niyol’s expression on her daughter’s face, she said no more.

Tyhen ran out of the room with the twins at her heels. They stopped long enough to pick two guards to go with them, but she ran on without them. They caught up with her at the jungle’s edge.

Adam grabbed her by the arm. “Stop, Tyhen. Let one of the guards go first with a torch. You can’t see where you’re going!”

Tyhen could feel the life draining out of Yuma’s body and reacted in anger as she pulled away.

“You’re wrong. I see everything! You are the ones who need light. Run fast or I’ll leave you all behind.”

Cayetano was frantic. He had no power against curses, and his priests and the twins were too far away to help. He could feel Yuma’s heartbeat but it was too slow. Yuma was the son he would never have and the thought of losing him was frightening. If Yuma had only waited, this wouldn’t have happened.

But the moment that went through his head, he let it go. If Yuma had waited, they would have been too late. The dark priest and his warriors would have already crossed the bridge and all would have been lost. Yuma had been willing to sacrifice himself to save her, and now they had to try and save him.

Cayetano leaped up, pointing at his warriors.

“Pick him up! We go back to Naaki Chava now!”

The men gathered up their fallen friend, moving as quickly in the darkness as they could safely go.

****

Yuma felt like he was floating. Even though the pressure on his heart was excruciating, the weight of his body seemed to have lessened. He tried desperately to focus. He needed to get a message to Tyhen. She had to know he would never leave her, not even if he walked in the spirit world, but he couldn’t focus so much as a thought.

I am coming, Yuma. Wait for me! Promise you will wait for me!

His soul quickened. Tyhen! He should have realized she would know. He wanted to assure her that he’d heard, but he couldn’t promise what she asked. He couldn’t bear for his last promise to be a lie. All he could do was let go, saving whatever strength he had left for the journey ahead.

****

Tyhen’s legs were long, but it was fear that lent speed to her stride. Despite her warning that she didn’t need light, one of the guards had run ahead of her anyway with a torch held high above his head, and when it was necessary, he cleared their path with his machete.

Adam and Evan ran behind her. In many ways this felt like the night they’d made their escape from Bazat, the man who’d held them prisoner in the next city over when they were children.

They also knew Yuma was dying. They had already keyed in on the curse that felled him, but they were not healers. They could not save Yuma’s life no matter how fast they ran. It was the worst night of their lives.

Tyhen was running without thought, moving as fast as she could without heed for the sharp leaves slicing at her face or the blood-sucking insects sticking to her skin. None of it mattered as long as she got to Yuma in time.

While she was not old enough to begin the journey for which she’d been born, she understood the way of a man with his woman. She knew the emotion of physical pleasures from her dreams, and that she would never be whole without him. It was what kept her running. She had no idea how long they’d been in the jungle when all of a sudden his life force became so faint she could no longer feel it. The panic that swept through her was blinding.

No, Yuma, no. Don’t go! Wait for me! Do you hear me? I can save you. Windwalkers do not die!

The muscles in her legs shook and her lungs burned, but the silence horrified her.

“Please, my ancestors... help me,” she whispered, and then put down her head and lengthened her stride.

She ran past the guard with the torch, then she outran the light, moving blindly through the jungle toward the man who held her heart. When she began hearing drums and then singing, she knew the Old Ones had heard her cry. Now all she had to do was follow the sounds.

****

Cayetano’s only focus was getting Yuma back to Naaki Chava, and the last thing he expected to see was Tyhen coming out of the darkness, screaming Yuma’s name.

He caught her on the run.

“Daughter! Have you lost your mind? Why have you come?”

She pushed out of his arms. “Where is he?”

“Here! He is here!” the warriors cried as they lay Yuma down.

She grabbed the knife from Cayetano’s belt, ran to Yuma, then dropped to her knees. There was no time to explain anything to anybody.

“Bring the light!” she cried and was instantly surrounded by the men carrying torches.

She ran the knife across her wrist so fast that they didn’t see what she had done until the blood began to run.

Cayetano dropped to his knees beside her and grabbed her arm to stop the flow, thinking she was trying to take her own life.

“No! Don’t!” she screamed and yanked her hand away. She parted Yuma’s lips and let her blood flow into his mouth.

Cayetano was shocked by what she’d done, and at the same time in awe. This night was a turning point. No matter what happened to Yuma, it was evident the girl he claimed as his daughter was a child no more.

Tyhen leaned down until her mouth was only inches away from his ear, then she began to whisper.

Yuma heard the voice before he understood the words. He could feel her breath against his cheek. It was Tyhen! Was he dreaming? Was he already dead? Swallow? Did she tell him to swallow? He wanted to ask, but the words were not there.

Tyhen didn’t know she was crying or that the blood from the cuts and scratches on her skin were dripping onto his face. All of her focus was on his throat, watching for a sign that he had heard her and was swallowing the only thing that would save his life.

She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

“Please, Yuma, please. Swallow what is in your mouth. You are my heart. You are my life. I cannot do what I have to do without you in it.”

But when he didn’t move, she fell forward on his chest, sobbing. If he died, she would die with him and fate could do what it wanted with her people. She would have no part of this battle of good and evil without him.

****

When Yuma finally felt the liquid in his mouth, he automatically swallowed. The taste was slightly salty, metallic. He swallowed again and again until his mouth was empty, then waited to die, but it didn’t happen.

Something was changing. The fist around his heart began to ease. He was no longer floating, and the weight of his body felt almost crushing. It took him a few more moments to realize something was on his chest, something he needed to move.

When Yuma suddenly raised his arm, Cayetano let out a war cry that made Tyhen jump. She looked up just as Yuma’s fingers ran through her hair, and when he opened his eyes, she took a breath. If he wasn’t going to die, then neither was she.

Yuma saw the bloody scratches on her face and her tear-swollen eyes and thought she had never been more beautiful.

“Are you real?” he whispered.

Her lips were trembling, but her voice was strong. “Yes, I am real, and you are going to live.”