Chapter Six
Parting Ways
The ceremony that had been taking place inside the big building must have been ending. Several members of the tribe came out carrying large feathers that they were using to sweep the ground. The motion created a path from the hut to the lake. Their skin was a pale and creamy white color and their hair was fine and blonde. So blonde that it almost appeared white. She could not help but notice the similarity to Evangeline.
Maybe all spirit users or mystic healers had hair that color. They took no notice of Ryhan, but she did not want to be in the way so she moved farther back and observed from a distance. A few moments later, the rest of the villagers came out standing in line on either side of the newly created path. It was difficult to see through the wall of bodies, but she caught a glimpse of a young girl making her way to the lake slowly. Three elderly women followed the girl.
Surprised by the young girls nakedness as she emerged from behind the villagers, Ryhan observed the old women lift her onto their shoulders and throw her into the lake. The women, who Ryhan could see much more clearly, looked very bizarre. They shaved their hair completely off except for small strands around their faces, and there was some sort of circular disk inserted in their bottom lip so that it looked like a large plate stuck out from their mouths.
The only exception was a woman who appeared to be the eldest. It was obvious that she had a disk in her lip at some point, but where the object should have been was a loose hole big enough for her to stick her hand through. The girl did not fight them submerging her into the water. It was only when the women held her under and stopped her from resurfacing that Ryhan became concerned.
She started to move towards the lake. A firm hand grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. Turning around quickly she saw a large man tower over her by nearly two feet. He said nothing, only shook his head. Ryhan did not need him to speak to understand that she was not to interfere.
Nervously she looked back at the water to see if the girl had come up yet. She had not. What was going on? The girl started to move, but the women held her under firmly. It was at that point that the girl started thrashing around, clearly in a panic. Without thinking about it, Ryhan started to head for the water and the man behind her stopped her again.
“LET GO OF ME!” She screamed at him as she pounded her fists on his chest. He held her tightly around her waist. Ryhan yelled at the group of people observing the women who were drowning the girl, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? SOMEONE HELP HER!”
Ryhan felt herself losing control of her emotions. She tried hard to calm the fire raging inside her, but it was too late. Pain erupted behind her eyes, and the sparks shooting down her spine crippled her. She slumped into the man’s arms.
Fighting to stay awake and not lose consciousness she said, “I’m sorry, I tried.”
Gavin’s worried face was the last thing she remembered seeing. Evangeline’s delicate voice assured her everything would be ok.
She was running as fast as she could. Her lungs felt as if they might burst. Her legs were on fire. She needed to keep moving and willed herself to go faster. A menacing laugh surrounded her. She could not get away from it.
“Ryhan…” The voice teased. “There is no use in fighting me. This is where you belong. The others will never accept you. Not like I will. Come to me Ryhan.” The ruby-eyed man emerged before her suddenly and she managed to stop only a few inches out of his reach.
He held his arms wide open for her and smiled, “Come to me.” His voice was seductive and she could smell him. His smell was intoxicating. Sweet and smoky, like flowers on fire. She could not think clearly. Her thoughts hazy, she took a step towards him. He grabbed a hold of her hard and let out a shrieking laugh of victory.
His face close enough to hers that she could feel his breath on her cheek, he said, “That’s my girl, no one will stop us now.”
Fear flooded her senses, she could not see or think, when she opened her mouth to scream nothing, but silence came out. Flames appeared at their feet, and quickly grew up to their waist. She was in hell, and she had willingly went into the arms of the devil.
“Ryhan!” Another voice called out.
No, there was no one who could save her.
“Ryhan, open your eyes.” The voice said. It was familiar and a sense of longing settled in the pit of her stomach.
“Follow my voice Ryhan, come now, and open your eyes.” It was Gavin.
She tried to do as he asked, to come out of her nightmare, but it would not let her go. It held her there and threatened to pull her down into its darkness again when she felt his soft lips against her own. When she awoke, the only thing she could see was his violet eyes staring back in to hers.
As hard as she tried, she could not fight the tears that were falling. Gavin held her in his arms. She appreciated the silent comfort, as she did not want to relive the nightmare she had just endured. It was not until she saw movement out of the corner of her eye that she realized they were on the ground outside Evangeline’s hut.
The smell of burnt hair clung in the air. It was heavy and thick. She felt as though she was choking on the smell. Ryhan noticed several villagers stood with their backs to them. Evangeline exited the hut with two large bags and a satchel over her shoulder, looking sullen and worried.
She knelt next to Ryhan and asked, “Do you think that you have the strength to walk?”
The tone in her voice suggested that Ryhan didn’t really have a choice. She nodded to Evangeline and Gavin helped her up. Her head swam with dizziness and she took a moment to steady herself and then walked forward with them. Evangeline led the way, always several steps ahead of them. It was difficult to keep up with her and Ryhan was confused.
“Where are we going, and why are we going so fast?” She asked nearly out of breath.
Evangeline did not answer, just quickened her pace. When the mountains were in the distance behind them and after almost an hour of virtually running Ryhan halted unable to keep up with her and yelled, “STOP!”
Evangeline turned and looked around cautiously. She dropped the bags she was carrying and sat down on the ground.
“I think it’s safe to rest for a bit.” She said out of breath.
“What is happening? Are we running because of me?” Ryhan asked nervously.
She watched Gavin and Evangeline exchange worried looks, but no one said anything.
“I need to understand what is going on. What happened back there? Did that girl drown?” She asked.
Evangeline pulled a large waterskin out of a bag and motioned for Ryhan to sit next to her. She hesitated, unsure of what was about to be revealed to her. Gavin took her hand and she allowed him to guide her to a seated position on his lap. Glad for the chance to be close to him, she took a long drink of water and waited, rather impatiently, for an explanation.
“Ryhan, I know what that must have looked like to you, but it was a very important ritual taking place. They couldn’t let you interfere.” Evangeline said.
“They were killing her and everyo--” Ryhan started furiously.
Evangeline held up her hand and stopped her.
“You don’t understand,” She said gravely pleading with Ryhan to listen, “The three women you saw with her were sages. They are like the elders of the tribe, wise and powerful. The eldest sage was dying, and they need someone to replace her.”
“I don’t understand. If they need her, then why were they trying to kill her?” Ryhan asked confused.
“It’s not that simple. Sages do not come along every day. Only girls born with exceptional power are offered to become a Sage, and then only if they choose to do so.” Evangeline said.
“Why would anyone choose to be drowned?” Ryhan asked angrily.
Evangeline sighed and continued, “There are only ever three sages, always women. The tribe has not had a new sage in almost forty years. The eldest would have probably died any day. When a girl decides to become a sage, they are taken
into the lake and submerged in the water.
“It represents the womb and birth, and they are held under until they are on the brink of death and then allowed to reemerge, born again in their new position. She is then clean, washed of her past and can begin her celibate life as a sage.”
“Celibate?” Gavin asked surprised.
Evangeline replied seriously, “Their commitment to learning and protecting the tribe is far greater than that of becoming mothers. They remain virginal until they die. They believe it keeps their power pure.”
Ryhan wasn’t sure what to think, “So, she was never in any danger?”
“Not really. There have been accidental deaths in the past, but it is very rare.” Evangeline said.
“So then why did we leave like that?” Ryhan swallowed hard.
The look on their faces was enough to tell her what she already knew, “You said the eldest sage PROBABLY would have died any day. Meaning, she is dead already?”
Gavin stroked her hair and Evangeline only nodded before looking at the ground.
“How?” She asked.
Unsure if she really wanted to know the answer. Her eyes locked with Evangeline’s and instantly she saw flashes of the elderly woman screaming, covered in flames. She closed her eyes hard and stood up quickly.
“NO! No no no no no no no…please no.” She cried.
Gavin stood next to her and she was distinctly aware of his uncertainty of how to comfort her.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen.” She sobbed.
Evangeline looked as though she would cry too. Ryhan cried until there were no tears left. Then she knelt there, grief stricken, guilty for what she had done. How could she have let something like that happen?
She did not move, she just stared straight ahead, as the sun shifted over her and night began to fall. Barely noticing Gavin and Evangeline start a fire and make camp, she continued to stare off into the night. There was no undoing what had happened. Yet she prayed silently for it to be undone.
She had thought she had control over herself and had been so certain nothing like that would ever happen again. Yet it did. What kind of monster was she?
There was destruction all around her and it only seemed to be getting worse. How could she atone for the fact that her ‘gift’ cost innocent people their lives? Tears came again and she shut her eyes and squeezed them out. Inhaling she listened to her heartbeat. She exhaled and felt the release of her breath from her lungs. Focusing on her breathing helped to calm her.
Soft whispers caught her attention.
“It must be done, you promised me.” Evangeline said in a firm breathy voice.
Gavin quickly replied, “I know that. How can I leave her like this? Look at her. She hasn’t moved in hours.”
“Gavin, you know that I will let no harm come to her. You being here will only confuse and distract her. There is so much she doesn’t know, so much she needs to figure out.” She pleaded.
“This isn’t fair, to send me away like this.” He said anger rising in his voice.
She scoffed, “You’re being selfish.”
They continued to argue for several minutes at which point Gavin threw his hands in the air and walked off. Ryhan felt defeated. She did not know if she wanted to go on without Gavin, but from the sounds of things, he would be leaving any time. Maybe Evangeline was right, maybe he was a distraction.
No, she thought to herself, he had been there helping her and keeping her calm since they met. She was in no position to argue for him to stay. In fact, she was in no position to demand anything for herself. She would go along with it because it is what Evangeline wanted, for whatever reason, and Ryhan trusted her.
One thing she would not agree to was using her power again. Never again would she let herself hurt someone like that. Taking a deep breath, she stood and shook out her aching legs. As she approached Evangeline, Gavin was walking toward her from the opposite direction. He started to speak, but she stopped him.
“I have something to say to the both of you.” She said.
“I am truly sorry for what happened. To that woman and to the people on that ship. I will continue to work on my control and so that I do not hurt anyone else. But I will never…ever use my powers again.” She explained seriously, and then sat down by the fire, not caring what they had to say about it.
“Ryhan…” Evangeline started, but Ryhan stopped her.
Evangeline nodded and accepted what she had said, although something told Ryhan it would not be the last she heard about it. Gavin said nothing and just held out his hand to her. She took it and followed him as they walked leisurely in no particular direction. They stopped far enough from the fire that all they could see was a big sky full of stars.
Gavin laid down on the ground and she followed never letting go of his hand. He had let his guard down again, and she could feel everything he was feeling. Sadness, anxiety, fears and heartbreakingly…love. He loved her, she could feel it radiating out of him, settling over her and reassuring her that what they felt was real. The fact that he loved her only made her heart ache more.
“How am I supposed to do this without you?” She asked him.
He reached out and stroked her cheek.
“Don’t pretend like you can’t.” He said sadly.
Could she go on without him and do what she needed to do? She felt broken and unsure if that damaged part of her would ever mend. Remembering that her mission was bigger than she was, she decided she could.
“That doesn’t make it any easier.” She said, trying to swallow the huge knot forming in her throat.
He did not respond, just nodded in agreement.
Like usual, he was right. Of course, she would go on without him. One of her greatest abilities was to push away the pain and move forward. She would do it with the people she hurt and she would do it with him as well. Laying her head on his chest, she listened to his heartbeat. It reminded her of her own.
They laid there for most of the night, until it became too cold for even their body heat to keep each other warm. They retreated to the warmth of the fire. Exhaustion finally taking over, Ryhan closed her eyes hoping that she would not dream before sleep finally won.
Part Two
Evangeline