“It seemed to be going well,”
continued L’iam, “but then something happened.”
“What happened?” asked Sitara with
an intent expression on her face.
L’iam gave a helpless shrug. “We do
not know, exactly. A change seemed to come over the forest. Except for the area
you rode through to get here, the woods are now like that forest in the
south—unnaturally dark and full of whispers. I have only been able to
communicate with the spirits briefly, but they informed me that they were the
same who granted us the boon six years ago.”
“Describe these spirits,” insisted
Ruon.
Adesina and L’iam exchanged
glances.
“Most of the time they are nothing
but whispers,” answered Adesina.
L’iam went on. “We found that when
we are connected to our
vyala
the whispers take the forms of all sorts
of fantastical creatures. Creatures of myth.”
Sitara and Ruon shared a rare
smile.
“How extraordinary,” murmured Ruon.
“We know what these spirits are,”
declared Sitara with tears in her eyes.
Silence fell over the tent as the
listeners waited for the Serraf to explain.
“They are the souls of the
Immortals who have passed beyond this life.”
Rajan shook his graying head. “How
is that possible?”
“We are not called Immortals
capriciously,” Sitara said. “Very few things can bring an end to our lives.
Even then, death is not a natural state for us. If our bodies are destroyed,
our souls remain in a sort of limbo.”
“We were uncertain what had
happened to all of the Immortals who perished during the Great Wars,” expounded
Ruon. “So many were lost.”
“Now we know,” said Sitara happily.
“And now that we know, we may be able to find a way to restore them.”
Adesina took a deep breath. “At the
very least, it is enough to know that we are not as vulnerable as we feared.”
Adesina and L’iam lay on a padded
mat that served as the bedding in their tent. Her head rested on his chest and
their arms were wrapped around each other. It had been a long time since either
of them had felt so blissfully content.
The lights were out and they should
have been sleeping. The feast to celebrate Adesina’s return had begun just
after the meeting in the tent and had gone well into the night. Music and
dancing had continued long after the food had been cleared away.
Adesina’s reunion with her family
and friends had been a joyful one. Her father and brother had been eager to see
her, and one glance at Wren’na, Adesina’s sister-in-law, had told her that she
was soon to be an aunt again.
Adesina was tired from her long journey
and her eventful night. Even so, sleep was far from her mind. Instead, she and
her husband spoke to each other in lowered voices.
All of the questions that had gone
unanswered before were now being addressed.
“When I woke up I found I was in
some sort of cave,” said L’iam, concluding his tale of being abducted by Basha.
I found my way to the entrance where Than’os was waiting. He was gravely
injured, but he was conscious. He explained to me where you had gone with the
others, and I went to go see if I could find you.”
“Did you have trouble with the
obstacles?” asked Adesina.
L’iam shrugged gently. “Not
terribly so. When you sealed the Threshold all of the magic that kept the
barriers alive was cut off as well. It was a tiring hike, but only because my
body was weakened from the ordeal with Basha.”
“And you found the others,”
prompted Adesina.
Her husband nodded. “Yes, I found
them and told them what I had witnessed. Kendan wanted to search for you, even
though I told him that I did not believe you were there anymore. We scoured the
Threshold chamber and the path that led to the peak, but to no avail. When I
finally convinced Kendan that you were gone, we all made our way back to where
Than’os and Maizah were waiting.”
“What did you do then?” asked Adesina.
“We went home,” L’iam answered
simply. “Savir led us back to Jame, where we gained passage back to Sehar. We
were all convinced that you were still alive and that there was much to do to
prepare for your return. We knew that the demon would not be idle, so we could
not be either. Even Savir returned to Sehar with us to join the fight.”
Adesina smiled fondly, remembering
the desert-dweller who had become her friend. “Savir is here?”
“He is in the southern lands. His
ability to transform into a hawk is invaluable as a spy on the Shimat army. He
watches them and reports the progress to our network.”
The young queen nodded. He came
from a tribe known as the Henka, and all of them bore the ability to change
shape into a specific animal.
“Are Kendan and Maizah still here?”
Adesina asked in a quiet voice.
Her relationship with her former
teacher was complicated, especially after his decision to turn his back on the
Shimat order and help Adesina recover her husband. She knew that Kendan still
had feelings for her, and even though she did not feel the same she still felt
uncertain how to discuss him with L’iam. She did not want her husband to feel
threatened in any way.
L’iam’s tone was calm and
unburdened as he replied. “They were with us for a while, but then they left.
Kendan said that he had some unfinished business that required his attention,
and Maizah refused to leave his side. We could have used the extra help, but I
have a feeling that he will be back.”
Adesina pondered L’iam’s words for
several moments in silence. After a while L’iam hugged her closer and said, “I
have been told by Than’os and Mar’sal about your journey to Daemon Mount in
Zonne. Would you tell me what happened after you crossed over the Threshold?”
Adesina took a deep breath and let
it out in a rush. Then she began her tale, leaving nothing out. L’iam listened
without interruption until she came to the end. The silence that followed was
much heavier than before.
“So…you are a Serraf now.”
Adesina could hear the strain in
his voice. He was keeping his emotions tightly in check.
“Yes, I suppose I am.”
Adesina waited for him to say more,
the anxiety of the moment building up inside her until she was certain she’d
burst.
Was he upset? Was he excited? Was
he confused?
The dim light made it impossible
for Adesina to read L’iam’s expression with any accuracy.
Finally, he spoke. “What does this
mean for…us?”
Adesina was both surprised and
strangely relieved by his question. Of all the things he could potentially be
worried about, he was most concerned with their marriage.
She reached up and stroked his
cheek. “It means that I will love you beyond mortal bounds.”
L’iam exhaled, half laughing. “You
already did that, my love. I just was not sure how it would affect our union.
L’avan legends say that the Serraf who married the sons of L’avan were required
to give up their immortality. What if the opposite is true, too? What if you
have to give up our marriage to gain immortality?”
Adesina frowned. “I do not think it
works that way. If it does, then I shall politely decline.”
L’iam’s laugh became more natural.
“You would politely decline limitless life and power?”
“Of course!”
“Before you make that decision, we
should probably make sure that you would not also be giving up our only chance
at winning this war.”
Adesina’s smile slowly faded from
her lips. “L’iam,” she said slowly, “there is something that may change how
you
feel about our marriage.”
“I doubt that,” he replied
comfortably.
Adesina raised herself up onto one
elbow and looked through the dark to her husband’s eyes.
“As an Immortal…I…I cannot have
children.”
His eyebrows shot up in a startled
expression. He took a moment before responding carefully. “I did not know that
you were interested in having children.”
Unexpected emotion surged up in
Adesina, and she found that her eyes were filling with tears. “I did not…I was
not…that is, I had not really considered…”
She sat up and turned away, ashamed
for losing control of her emotions.
Adesina felt L’iam put his arm
around her shoulders, bringing her back to his embrace.
“Oh, my love,” he whispered gently.
“Nothing could change the way I feel about you.”
“But you are king,” she insisted,
wiping away her tears angrily. “You must have an heir. As an Immortal I cannot
bear you one, and there is no knowing how long it will be before my tasks as
the Threshold Child will come to an end. What if they never do?”
“It is possible,” L’iam said
slowly, “that you will be required to be the Threshold Child for longer than we
hoped. It is also possible that it is necessary for you to remain Immortal in
order to complete your purpose.”
Adesina lifted her hands with an
expression on her face that indicated he was proving her point.
“I will not deny that I have always
wanted children, even before it became necessary to produce an heir to the
throne.” L’iam tipped her chin up and kissed her tenderly. “However, I would
never even consider giving you up. You have a great work ahead of you, and I am
not so selfish as to wish it otherwise. We will have to make sacrifices, and there
will be uncertainty in how long we will have to work until we are finished.”
He looked intently into her eyes.
“Just know that I will never leave you alone as long as I draw breath. I will
be your help and your support in whatever you need to do, for as long as it
takes. As for the succession, we can worry about that later.”
Adesina nodded, allowing herself to
be comforted by his words. After all, there was more than enough to be thinking
about with the upcoming war with Cha-sak. As long as L’iam continued to love
her, Adesina felt certain that the rest would work out.
***
Sitara quietly slipped through the
moonlight alone. Even her companion, Riel, had known not to follow. It wasn’t
that the Serraf was doing anything secret. She just wanted to do this on her
own.
She made her way south of the camp,
to the edge of the Thieves’ Forest. She paused at the tree line, silently
wondering what awaited her.
As soon as Sitara stepped into the
forest, an unnatural darkness covered her eyes. The moonlight had been bright,
but no trace of it filtered down through the trees. Disembodied whispers
brushed the fringe of her hearing, but it was as if a halo of protection kept
them from drawing any nearer.
Sitara called forth her
vyala
,
letting the power flow through her body.
Her eyes glowed with an inner
light, and the darkness of the forest fled. She could see clearly now, and she
saw that dozens of white silhouettes stood before her at a small distance. The
luminescent figures were all shapes and sizes, each recognizable to the former
leader of the Serraf.
“Sister,” cried one of the figures,
“you have come at last.”
Tears filled Sitara’s eyes. “Yes,
my brothers and sisters. I am here.”
The silhouettes all drew nearer.
“Is the war won?” asked the form of
a deceased Gaiana.
All of the spirits seemed eager for
an answer.
Sitara sadly shook her head. “We
are still fighting it.”
A Qetza fluttered its wings in
agitation. “Sssssssurely not! There hasss been sssssilence for centuriesss.”
“We have counted long years,”
mourned the rock-like silhouette of a Petre.
An Aurym raised all four of its
hands in a beseeching gesture. “Relate to us all that hath happened, sister.
Why doth silence and solitude persist so long?”
Sitara told them of the Great Wars,
keeping her story as concise as possible. The spirits had many questions, and
there were many years of history to cover. As the Serraf spoke, other
silhouettes gathered around until she was surrounded by hundreds.
When she concluded, a profound
silence followed.
“Ssssso,” said a Qetza sadly, “our
brothersss and ssssssisssterss are trapped beyond the Thressshold.”
“Just as we are trapped in this
cursed state,” rumbled a Petre.
“The Threshold Child will save us,”
assured the spirit of a Serraf. “The prophecy promises us that.”
Sitara wished she could see the
face of the deceased Serraf and call her by name.
The form of a Rashad nodded in
agreement. “We need only be patient a little longer.”
“What if this Threshold Child
cannot save us?” asked a Gaiana. “What if nothing can?”
Sitara stared at the white
silhouette coldly. “You doubt the words of the Creator?”
“Of course not,” muttered the
Gaiana, “but we are dead. Who has the power to restore life to the dead?”
“If there was no hope for you, why
are you still here?” pointed out Sitara. “Your spirits would have journeyed on
to the realm of the dead if you were truly gone.”
An Aurym nodded. “Lose not thy
faith, brothers and sisters! The Ancients knew all when we Immortals were born.
Our purpose doth remain.”
“Our fight with Cha-sak continues,”
cautioned Sitara. “It may be a long time before this conflict comes to an end,
and we need as many allies as possible. Are you willing to join us in this war
against Darkness?”
Several of the white figures
shifted restlessly.
“Our hearts are willing,” said the
silhouette of a Serraf, “but we are limited in this form.”
The outline of a Petre nodded. “We
cannot roam with the freedom of those who have physical bodies. We are
restricted to places where the old
vyala
exists.”
“The descendants of thy sisters
revived this forest,” explained an Aurym. “Hence, we traveled hither.”
“So you can only provide defense
for this forest,” concluded Sitara, feeling slightly disappointed.
The Aurym figure spread its arms in
a gesture of apology. “All here assembled wish to do more. Alas, it cannot be.”
Sitara nodded. “It is enough. We
did not anticipate such a gift, and we are grateful for the security you
provide.”
The Aurym inched closer. “Thou
didst say that a Laithur accompanied thee hence from the Threshold.”
“Yes,” acknowledged Sitara.
“It hath been centuries since any
of demonkind hath taken any action for good. Dost thou think that the Laithur
might return to the Light?”
Sitara’s brow furrowed
thoughtfully. “It is hard to know that for certain. Ruon is proud and stubborn.
He embarked on this journey reluctantly. He does not currently believe that
Adesina is the one appointed to lead us.”
“Did he not swear allegiance?”
asked a small figure sitting on the shoulder of a Petre.
“He did,” answered Sitara, “but with
much doubt in his heart. Even now he resists us at every turn.”
“I would not be surprised if he
betrays you and allies himself with Cha-sak,” said a tall, thin silhouette with
a bitter voice. “Demons cannot be trusted.”
Sitara could not truthfully say
that she didn’t have reservations. She considered her words carefully for a
moment.
“It is said that the Threshold
Child will return us to our true purpose,” Sitara reasoned, “and I believe
Adesina to be the Threshold Child. If anyone can gain the confidence of a
demon, she can.”
“We hope you are right,” a Petre
said gravely. “If the Laithur joins Cha-sak, this war will be over before it
begins.”