*
“Time for what exactly?” Katya asked.
“The Arrival.”
Katya stared blankly at him. She was dying to ask ‘the arrival of what?’, but the look in Lorcan’s eyes and the slight question in his answer told her that this was something she should already know so she kept quiet. The speakers at the dinner had kept referring to this strange event as well, but no one there had cared to fill her in on it either. Apparently that had already been explained in the summons. The fact that the grand feast that she had attended hadn’t all been prepared at a moment’s notice of her own arrival was comforting. She had been a bit nervous about the fact that all those mages had already been in attendance at the Chamber and an entire meal lain out within hours of her coming. Apparently, that had all been due to this Arrival, and not hers.
“So,” she began instead, “shouldn’t we be…”
“Getting to the Chamber?” Lorcan’s eyes lit up with excitement now. “Come on!” He grabbed her hand and nearly dragged her to the lower levels, making their way towards the large room Katya had spent time in earlier that day.
“It is too bad you don’t get to be in it,” Lorcan lamented, “That would be pretty neat. But you got here too late, and besides, my brother said-” he cut himself off as if realizing he had been about to mention something that he shouldn’t and she grilled him for more.
“He said what?”
Lorcan squirmed, obviously not wanting to tell her, but also feeling unable not to now that he had let it slip that there was something to tell. “He said that the Elders don’t really trust you,” he told her rushing to explain, “It’s just been so long since we’ve even had contact from your tribe, and I guess a lot of people are still upset about what happened. I just barely found out about the incident.” He looked embarrassed and looked away.
“We all make mistakes,” Katya said quietly, wishing she could ask what the incident was. “Hopefully I can earn their trust and still help accomplish the common goal.”
Lorcan’s mood lifted again and he nodded enthusiastically. “I’m sure you will. My brother says there will be lots to do!”
He pulled back the door she had gone through only hours before and held it open for her. She entered again and was surprised at the sudden change in the décor. Lights now illuminated the entire room, lighting up the rows upon rows of seating around the outside, which were filled almost to capacity.
Lorcan took her hand once more and darted through the crowd, getting several nasty looks from some of the older members of the tribes who he pushed aside in his hurry. Katya gave them apologetic looks as she was pulled past them.
He found them seats next to some of the other children, squeezing in next to a pretty girl with flame-red hair who gave Katya a sour look before positioning herself between her and Lorcan.
People stood in the middle of the chamber, arranged in a circle around a large symbol which had been drawn upon the floor. A gigantic sand time-piece stood in the rear of the room near where the opening to the adjacent rooms were and the last grains of sand were just rushing through the glass into the bottom of the container.
The magelights suddenly dimmed and the circle of people entwined hands. Katya could feel them all draw upon the power and was impressed with their combined strength. Four stones were laid out on the floor and Katya could see that the circle was using these to focus and meld their power. She watched curiously as they molded their talents together, using a technique Katya had never before seen performed. The power seemed to feed upon the link, growing exponentially stronger as each person added their own. When the shared power reached its peak, they focused their attention on the symbol that had been drawn on the floor. Katya could tell that it was some sort of transport spell, but this must be much more complicated than just that. When she, Gryffon, and Layna had performed one, all that had been required was a simple circle, this was much more detailed. They were doing something specific on the other end of the connection. Katya strained her magesight to see.
They sent a spell through, too quickly for Katya to dissect, but its aura felt aggressive. Whatever it had been, it was an offensive spell. Katya’s brow furrowed. Just what were they up to? Several tense seconds passed and despite the numerous onlookers in the room, the silence was deafening. All eyes were watching with rapt attention, Katya’s included.
All at once, there was an audible *pop* and a bright flash of light blinded her. As her eyes slowly adjusted, a baby’s wail filled the room, echoing off the round walls.
A wild cheer went up from the audience, and Katya glanced at the faces around her. All were ecstatic. Apparently the Arrival had been successful. She looked back down into the symbol and saw that a child had appeared in the middle of it, and was the source of the wailing. Having experienced such travel before, Katya was distinctly aware of the discomfort the poor thing was probably feeling right now and she felt for it. She felt the urge to rush forward and comfort it, and got a bad taste in her mouth when one of the women from the circle - Katya recognized her as the woman with braids who had performed her own ceremony - reached out and hugged the babe to her chest.
When the baby had quieted, the woman held it out to the crowd, spinning around so that everyone could see and triumphantly shouting, “We did it!”
The people around her cheered enthusiastically once more, Lorcan included, and Katya forced herself to smile and clap with the rest. Where did the baby come from? This had not been what she was expecting. Not that I had any idea of what to expect at all…but still, a baby?
Katya was dragged along behind Lorcan who seemed to be able to navigate through the throng effortlessly, a fact that she was grateful for as the crowd flowed out of the Chamber at a rate that Katya found suffocating. They were swept along with the swarm to the upper levels of the settlement.
If Katya had thought that the dinner earlier had been extravagant, it was nothing compared to the celebrations that had been planned for the culmination of this event. Apparently preparations had been being made for months and the people were more than excited to finally get to see them in play. Music burst forth from the trees and lights sprang to life, making the trees seem like a wonderland of dazzling jewels. The crowd started dancing, jumping up and down to the deep beat of the drums, and the platform beneath their feet throbbed with the weight.
Katya grabbed hold of the nearby railing in alarm. Lorcan’s laughter rang out above the din.
“It won’t collapse, I promise!” he shouted to her, “They’ve been magically reinforced so no matter how hard we stamp on it, it won’t break.”
Katya smiled meekly at him, but was not convinced by his reassurance. It still felt as though the weight of that many people jumping up and down on a thin layer of boards was sure to come crumbling down, sending them all to their deaths far, far below. Katya started to feel sick and she put her other hand on the rail as well, closing her eyes until the feelings passed. The feeling of total confidence she used to have while wearing the collar was one of the only things she did actually miss about that time.
“You look like you could use some wine,” said a voice in her ear, fairly shouting to be heard above all the noise.
Katya opened her eyes to find Lorcan’s brother, Slade, standing next to her and holding out a drink. She took it warily, never having been one to imbibe alcohol, preferring to remain sensible with her abilities intact. The unexpected fear of heights compounded by the bouncing frayed her nerves, however, and she took a sip with a small smile. The wine flowed easily down her throat, warming her and sending a tingling sensation throughout her.
She saw Lorcan give Slade a bitter look out of the corner of her eye. Katya had not failed to notice the interest that seemed to be growing in the young man for her, and she had no desire to fuel any such notions, especially in someone so much younger than herself. Though she had enjoyed his company and found his guidance to be extremely
useful, perhaps it was time to make it clear to him that her own interests ran more towards grown men.
“Thank you,” she said a tad flirtatiously, a feat she had mastered during her time with Karl when she had discovered that a pretty face could loosen many a tongue with the proper application of charm. Her seduction had sealed more than one man’s fate at the end of her blade or by Marak’s bite.
“What do you think of our celebration?” he asked, a new sparkle in his eye. His earlier unwelcoming tone seemed to have vanished. Perhaps she had imagined it. Or perhaps he had had a bit too much of the wine already himself.
Katya gulped. “It’s a bit overwhelming for me I’m afraid, especially being so high up in the air without solid stone below us,” Katya knew from Slade himself that the Dena’ina tribe were cave-dwellers, so being afraid of heights fit right in with her disguise.
He laughed, a deep rumbling, and Katya was surprised by the thrill it sent through her. She quickly attributed it to the wine. “I would imagine it’s probably quite a change from your usual accommodations”
“You could say that,” she agreed, and felt a twinge of regret at the hurt look upon Lorcan’s face. Knowing his relationship with his older brother, no doubt the pain was a double-shock. Katya felt immediately guilty, but reminded herself that it was better than letting him create more of a fantasy for himself.
She spied the redhead that had given her the dirty look for entering the Arrival with Lorcan and then sat between them, and waved the girl over. She had been hastily introduced by Lorcan and she wracked her brain for the girl’s name.
“Raina!” She shouted enthusiastically, waving at the girl, who raised an eyebrow at her.
Wearing a slightly skeptical and wary look, the girl made her way through the crowd to them, though her expression softened as she spied Lorcan with them.
“Sorry,” Katya pretended to apologize, putting on a girlish flightiness she had seen many a lady use to feign ignorance and get away with something, “but I know so few people here, I guess I get a little excited when I see people I know.” She gathered her into their little knot of people. “You and Lorcan are friends, right?”
The girl looked at Lorcan with a look of such admiration that Katya felt the urge to slap him upside the head for never having noticed it before. He thought that no one paid attention to him before the lion incident. Katya was sure that this girl had been pining away for him for some time.
“Uh, sure,” Lorcan said, and seemed to really look at the girl for the first time.
Soon they were immersed in conversation and Katya caught Slade watching her as the two of them moved off into the mass of people.
“That was nice of you,” he commented. “I thought you could use a hand getting him off of you, he’s been following you around like a lost puppy since you got here. But it looks like you had it under control.”
Katya gave him a thin-lipped smile. She may not be interested in Lorcan the way he thought he was in her, but he was still her friend. “He’s a good kid, you should cut him some slack.”
Slade looked ready to argue, but stopped himself, and smiled instead. “I suppose I can be a little hard on him sometimes. It’s hard to be the head of the Forest Guard and also have a little brother who’s constantly getting in trouble. I don’t want people thinking I’m playing favorites.”
“Hmm,” Katya agreed distractedly, taking another sip of wine and looking out across the walkways at all the people, swarming this way and that through the treetop village.
“So you weren’t involved in the Dena’ina incident?”
She glanced back at him quickly, nearly choking on the drink. “No, I’m a bit of a loner.”
He seemed to relax further. “I know the feeling,” Slade commiserated, “I’d rather be out on my patrols than back in the city most of the time. No one to bother you out there.”
Katya smiled, glad he was latching onto this aspect of that line of questioning rather than the more dangerous routes he could have taken with it. “Definitely, I’ve spent most of my life depending on no one but myself.”
“Pretty liberating,” Slade said. “Have you spent a lot of time on the Plains and the Barren Lands?”
“A fair amount in certain areas, yes. I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately. You?”
“Some, we spend most of our time in the forest here, but there are some things we need to collect and occasionally we’ll go out to use the magic.”
Katya was insanely curious why they would go into chaotic magic to use it when they obviously had tamed the magic and bound it into each of the buildings here. Why risk using unstable power when you had stores of solid magic at your fingertips? But she didn’t ask. Instead, she steered the conversation towards more ordinary topics and found herself spending the rest of the evening in Slade’s company. She surprised herself by actually enjoying it.
After several trips back to get more wine for himself, though Katya declined any more when her glass was empty, Slade leaned in close to her.
“Want to go take a look at the baby?” he whispered.
Katya was curious despite herself. “We can do that?”
“Well,” he drew out the word, “technically we can’t, but I can get us in.” He gave her a lop-sided grin.
The wine was beginning to go to her head, though she had only had the one glass of it and it further fueled her desire to go with him. Maybe she would get some answers out of him. She nodded. “Let’s go.”
He grabbed her hand and they wove through the people, suddenly exiting out onto an empty path. Katya’s ears rang from the noise of the party which dimmed slightly as more and more buildings appeared between them and it, blocking the worst of it.
Slade came to a doorway and reached into his pocket and withdrew a key. He held it up for her to see and smiled smugly. She humored him with a smile of her own.
He inserted the key into the lock and clicked it open, pushing the door inward and holding it for her to enter. She did so cautiously, looking around with interest. The room had been decorated with a childish theme, obviously meant as a nursery. Despite the created ambiance of childhood, Katya thought it possessed a feel that was not at all innocent.
She tip-toed to the cradle and looked inside. The tiny child lay sleeping peacefully, and Katya once again had the incredible urge to pick it up and hold it tightly to her. Above her right temple was a birthmark in the shape of a flame.
“Who’s there?” came a woman’s voice.
Katya hastily withdrew, slipping silently back into the shadows. She found Slade’s hand and he guided her back to the back door and they slipped out before the woman had a chance to turn on any lights and discover them. When they were safely out of the door and Slade had locked it behind them, they broke out into a run and Katya laughed. The baby had given her a rush of happiness that she couldn’t describe. Slade squeezed her hand and slowed his running, turning to face her. He drew her towards him and his lips found hers. Caught up in the moment, Katya kissed him back, drunk on the wine and the adrenaline.
Alarm bells suddenly went off inside her head and she ended the kiss abruptly. The Oracle’s words echoed once more in her head. Until she found her missing half, those closest to her were bound to suffer. Her first love had died. Until she could unlock her mysterious past and figure out what about it made those around her die, she couldn’t afford to care about anyone.
Chalking up the bad judgment to the curiously strong wine, she pushed away from him and nearly ran back to her guest quarters, closing the door behind her and not bothering to look to see if he had followed.
She collapsed onto the bed and threw an arm over her eyes. What had just happened?