The sun broke through the clouds, setting Irikah's shadow before her as she began winding her way home from school. Her bag was heavy with papers, swinging against her legs as she left her empty classroom behind.
Sunsets on Kahje were a precious thing. She hadn't seen a proper one in two years, and this was one was showing signs of lasting until the sun dipped beneath the skyline, offering a rare glimpse of the stars.
The opportunity was too good to miss.
Irikah slowed her pace, and decided to join the crowd milling in the square beneath the blossom trees. The scent of the larni trees filled the air, spice with a hint of sweetness that brought a memory tumbling back.
Spiralling blossom petals, hands outstretched to catch them, the laughter of children hidden somewhere just out of reach.
That had been the last time she'd been living at home during blossom season, something that her family took very seriously. They would all be sitting there now, amidst the carpet of petals, yet here she was. Free at last.
The memory faded and Irikah took a deep breath, inhaling the sweetness as she sat down one of the low walls that surrounded the trees.
Usually the square was emptying at this time as everyone rushed home after a day at work, but the sunshine seemed to have infected everyone with a lazy sense of joy. Laughter filled the air, and for the first time since leaving home Irikah felt the sense of community that she hadn't realised she'd been missing.
Nobody spoke to her, but it was enough to simply sit amongst them, snatching fragments of conversation from those around her.
A man to her left was boasting about his children and Irikah couldn't help listening in, glancing up at him. Whoever he was, he stood with his back to her, his formal outfit dusted with petals, and a bright red dot trembling on his shoulder.
At first Irikah assumed it was a fallen fire bug shaken from the tree as it shed its snowy weight. Then the dot shivered, and gave an unnatural swoop up to the back of the man's head in a motion that instantly revealed its true nature.
Whoever he was, this man with his boasts about his children, he was about to be cast down before her. His blood would stain the fallen flowers, mingling with the bright blossoms, and the peace of the evening would be shattered, forever tainting her memory with death.
Irikah was not willing to let that happen. She moved and caught the light on her own skin, staring through the dying rays of the sun towards the invisible killer.
"How dare you! How dare you!"
The light trembled and dropped, dancing across her shoulder, and Irikah sucked in her breath as the dot came to a halt on her chest. Images of her family rushed into her mind, their faces upturned to hers as they sat beneath the trees, and regret washed through her heart. She felt the petals touch her skin, waiting for the shot.
Then the light blinked out, and it was as if nothing had happened.
Voices rang out around her, and Irikah released the breath she'd been holding. The man behind her started laughing and in the distance she heard the familiar sound of the overland transport. The only sign that anything was amiss was the rapid beat of her heart as she struggled to regain control.
The magic of the evening had been lost. Irikah turned and the man stumbled into her, catching sight of her eyes and reacting how people always did.
"Ah, what a pretty one. Could I?" he asked, grinning and reaching his thumb out toward the star on her head.
Irikah jerked away, scooped her bag up then walked as fast as she could out of the square. People always wanted to do that and it drove her crazy, this insistence on touching her for luck as though she were nothing more than a stone or a shell.
Her irritation ebbed away, only to be replaced the cold grasp of fear at what had just taken place. She had risked her life to save a stranger, and as that light flickered on her chest she had thought only of what was important to her. She longed to hear the voice of her mother, to soothe away the fear.
Irikah quickened her pace, resolving to contact her mother as soon as she got home.
She yanked her bag back up onto her shoulder and glanced down the shadowed path, catching sight of a figure walking towards her. Irikah put her head down and altered her direction, hoping to avoid drawing any more attention.
A shadow fell across her feet, and she realised with irritation that the stranger had changed his path to meet hers. Irikah swerved to one side, bag slipping from her arm as she found herself face to face with him.
He stood taller than her, his green and black scales catching the last rays of the light that painted him with a burnished gleam. His eyes were black, green streaking through the pupils that remained fixed on her as he fell to his knees at her feet.
"Please, I must humbly beg for your forgiveness."
Irikah stared at him in shock, then with dawning suspicion she looked around to see if anybody was watching her. If this was another one of her brother's jokes she was going to have some words for him.
The path remained empty, and with a slight thrill of fear she looked back at the stranger, at his face tilted up towards hers.
"My forgiveness? For what? You must have the wrong person. May the day find you well," she said stiffly, moving to walk around him.
His hand flashed out and took her wrist, his skin green against the purple of her own.
"Laser dot trembles on the skull, spice on the spring wind. Sunset eyes defiant in the scope."
His words, his memory, it was her. That made him the wielder of the light, the one who had been about to spill blood across the sunlit floor of the square, and if he had no qualms about doing that, then he would have no problem finishing her there on the empty path.
"You….that was you. I have no wish to talk to you," she said, the pitch of her voice rising.
"I mean you no harm, that was…business. This is…"
She had no idea what this was, and she had no wish to find out despite his assurances. His hand still held hers and the contact was jarring, the warmth of a stranger whom she believed capable of killing her right there.
"I would appreciate it if you took your hand from me, please," she said, her eyes not leaving his.
He acquiesced, eyes fluttering. "Please, I beg your pardon, I… I must have your forgiveness."
The note of uncertainty in his voice was what reached her, the desperation apparent on his face. He wanted something from her, and she was the one with the power to grant that, as he had been the one ready to grant death.
She looked around, and then wrapped her arms about herself, staring down at him.
"You may not have it. I will not grant you forgiveness, you do not deserve it. I make no apologies to you, I do not beg your leave and I offer no wishes for your well-being."
Irikah fumbled to grab her bag, knocking it over then scooping it into her arms as she fled through the lengthening shadows and away from the stranger.
She didn't dare look back until she reached the end of the path, could only focus on the task of putting one foot in front of the other as her words replayed themselves over and over. The look on his face as she dismissed him bothered her more than it ought to, and she rubbed at her wrist as though she might scrub it clean of his touch.
When she turned he was still there as she'd left him, reaching out to pick something up off the ground where she had been standing.
Someone walked past her and Irikah jumped, holding her bag close as she fled, knowing there would be no escaping him now. His face was etched in her memory, his touch would always be warm on her skin.