Family Debts 8
Family Debts
By Janime
Part Eight
"This is
taking too long," said Cale as he paced back and forth.
"We're not
happy about the length of time either, Cale." Dayus said. He looked at
Altyno. "Can you take us to wherever they went?"
"No," Altyno
shook her head. "I can only go to where I have already been. Parz never
took me to the Ahkrushian Realm."
"Then we
wait," said Kayura.
"I'll go
make some tea." Mia said and left the room.
Later on,
Chadih walked into Altyno's room. "What's wrong, Chadih?" she asked the
young girl.
"I wish
Daddy would come home soon." Chadih said quietly.
Altyno held
her arms out. "Come here." Chadih walked over to Altyno and was lifted
to the woman's lap. "Don't worry about your father. He'll be back."
Chadih looked
up at her. "Can I see your face?"
Altyno smiled
behind the mask. "Of course." She pulled the mask off. Chadih's eyes widened
and she hugged Altyno as both of them started to giggle. "Just don't tell
your father. I want to tell him." Altyno put the mask back on. Chadih nodded
and snuggled against her.
Morning had
come and Sekhmet, Essah, and Parz hadn't returned. Everyone was worried.
Not even the other Snake-gods who appeared at the house knew anything,
for they had come to them for the same reason.
Dayus found
Chadih looking out the living room window just after breakfast. He walked
up behind her and patted her head. "He'll come back, manadeshi," said Dayus.
"He will."
"I know,"
said Chadih solemnly.
Dayus looked
sadly at her, his thoughts went to his children from centuries before.
It was bad enough that he had lost both, but growing up without your-
"DADDY!"
Chadih shrieked happily.
Dayus looked
out the window and smiled broadly as Sekhmet, Essah, and Parz walked across
the lawn.
Chadih took
off like a lightning bolt while Dayus called for everyone. Chadih ran outside
and straight into her father's open arms. He lifted her up and she hugged
him tightly.
The rest
of the house members ran outside as well. Cale ran to Parz and she hugged
him. "Are you all right?" he asked. "What happened?"
"We'll tell
you inside." Parz said. She looked and sounded very tired.
"And you're
not going to believe some of the things we have to tell you." Sekhmet said.
Once inside
and settled onto the couches, the three arrivals explained all that happened.
"You two
are related?" Mia asked the unbelievable answered question again.
"Yes," Parz
and Sekhmet answered together. "If I have to answer that one more time…"
Sekhmet grumbled and then laughed. "I forgot about Rowen."
"That's
right," said Parz. "I'm his cousin as well."
"At least
you're not his uncle," said Dayus and Sekhmet looked at him.
"Are you
my cousin?" Chadih asked.
"Yes, Chadih."
Parz smiled at her. "I'm your cousin, too."
"What was
that symbol you drew on the seal before you started chanting?" Sekhmet
asked.
"A circle
with an arrow pointing outwards," Parz said. "In astrology, it represents
Mars. Today it's also used to represent the male gender. The spell was
designed to kill all Ahkrushians within the seal, but drawing that symbol
on the blank area would only kill the gender it represents. The eleven
males' bodies were destroyed. But Jinmin was half-human, that's why his
body remained."
"So what
happened to Jinmin?" Kayura asked.
"We buried
him with Kiyaa in the Ahkrushian Realm," Essah said. "They loved each other,
no doubt there. How and why is just a different subject."
"A unique
relationship it was." Parz said quietly.
Everyone
understood her sadness. Jinmin may have done some rotten things and Parz
hated him for that, but he was her brother nonetheless.
Cale took
her hand and smiled at her. Parz rested her head against his shoulder.
Sadness washed through her, from Jinmin's death and knowing that she could
never be with Cale.
"I think
it's time for a little celebration." Sekhmet got to his feet. "Come on,
Chadih. Let's make a party."
"Can we
have ice-cream?" she asked, eyes bright with hope.
"Your favorite
flavor. How's that sound?" As father and daughter went to the kitchen,
Mia and Kayura decided to go into town and pick up a few things, dragging
Dayus along with them.
"I'll go
set the table," Cale said. He didn't want to leave Parz for a moment. In
truth, Cale was hoping that Altyno and Essah would do like the others and
leave, but the servant girl and the Snake-god remained. Cale smiled at
Parz as he left the room.
The party
had gone on long into the night. Chadih had fallen asleep at the table
and was carried to her room by her father. Sekhmet was about to get ready
for bed when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. He opened it and saw
Parz and Altyno.
"May we
come in?" Parz asked.
"Sure,"
Sekhmet moved aside letting the two women pass and shut the door. "What
can I do for you two?"
"It's not
what you can do for us," said Parz. "I have something for you, Sekhmet.
You've lived without something very important to you since you were seventeen.
You would do just about anything to get it back, wouldn't you?"
"Yes," Sekhmet
answered. She couldn't be talking about… his thoughts trailed off.
Parz looked
at Altyno and the servant girl pulled her mask off. Sekhmet's heart skipped
a beat as he looked at her face, the medium length brown hair, and the
green eyes.
"It's me,
Sekhmet."
Sekhmet
stared at her for the longest time. "…Lyonta…" he whispered.
"I brought
her back to life." Parz said and smiled. "I'll leave you two alone. I believe
that you have a lot to talk about." Among other things, she didn't
say out loud and left the room.
Lyonta walked
over to Sekhmet. He reached out and touched her face. "It is you," he said.
Altyno.
Lyonta. The same name only it was switched around a little to hide her
identity.
"Parz saved
me," said Lyonta. "I'm immortal, now. I'm not going to leave you again."
Sekhmet
couldn't believe it. "I'm dreaming…" he said.
Lyonta shook
her head, smiling. "No, you're not." She stepped closer and kissed the
man she loved.
Parz looked
at the small ball of light in her hands. "And now, my boy," she whispered
to it, "you will be loved by good parents and an older sister. They will
always be there for you, and you be there for them. Go, be born and live
a happy life with your family."
She lightly
blew the sphere out of her hands and it went through the closed door, no
doubt that it would land in Lyonta's womb. They would have a son.
Parz walked
downstairs to the living room and sat on the couch.
"Is there
a reason why you put your nephew to be born as Sekhmet and Lyonta's child?"
"People
today say that the way you act is from the way you're brought up." Parz
looked at Essah. "Others say it's the blood in your veins. I don't know
how he would have turned out if he'd stayed with Kiyaa and Jinmin. This
way he has a better life. I can see him and know that he'll be loved by
his parents." Parz stood and put on her hooded cloak and picked up her
swords. "I'd love to stay…"
"I know,"
said Essah. He walked over to her. "How long will you be gone?"
"About a
year."
"You'll
come back, won't you?"
"I will."
Parz sighed. "You'll tell them for me?"
"Yes." Essah
hugged Parz. "You be careful."
Parz nodded
and left the house.
"What do
you mean she left?" Cale exclaimed, upon hearing the news after breakfast.
"She's mourning
Jinmin." Essah said. "He may not have been the greatest brother-"
"But still,"
Sekhmet cut in. "She didn't even say goodbye."
"Sometimes
it's better without goodbyes." Essah looked out the window.
"Poor manadeshi,"
said Dayus. "She'll be upset when she finds out."
Chadih
and Lyonta, Sekhmet thought. They had gone out with Mia and Kayura
to buy modern clothes for Lyonta. His wife and daughter would be very upset
when they heard that Parz had taken off without warning.
Sekhmet
looked at Essah. "I think it's time that you explain a few things - about
Parz and that child you mentioned that would have bridged that Snake-gods
and the Ahkrushians."
"I suppose
that you should know." Essah sat at the table with the three Warlords.
"Long before the war that nearly wiped out our people, the Snake-gods and
the Ahkrushians lived in peace with each other. We had friends among the
other race, but that was all. Goshiem was my friend. If he were alive today,
he'd be the same age as me.
"There was
one Ahkrushian female who didn't have a Match. The same with one Snake-god.
The two of them were childhood friends and they confided in each other
many times. They found solace with each other because neither one of them
had a Match among their own kind."
"And they
became lovers," guessed Sekhmet.
"They did,"
Essah nodded, "and she conceived. No one had ever thought of the possibility
of a child born from both races. We embraced it. So did most of the Ahkrushians."
"Except
for the eleven males," Dayus said.
"Correct,"
Essah said. "When the Ahkrushians found out she was pregnant, they were
confused because she didn't have a Match. One day the eleven males followed
her and that's how they found out that she was carrying a Snake-god's child.
It disgusted them. They brought her to the Queen Mother, but the Queen
Mother was happy about the baby. Here would be a child that would be the
beginning of a union between both races."
"But the
eleven males didn't see that." Cale said.
"Right again.
They set a trap for the expecting couple and attacked them. The ripped
the child from its mother's womb and killed them both, to make an example
of what would happen to those who wanted to try breeding outside their
own kind." Essah sighed. "There are only a few of us left who still remember.
We always wanted to see that child be born. Especially me. That Snake-god
was my older brother. That child would have been your cousin, Sekhmet.
And it would have Parz's, too. The Ahkrushian female was Goshiem's sister.
You would have been related to her through that child as well."
Sekhmet
couldn't believe what he was hearing. Only because of the child's father,
they killed it, he thought. No different from the humans that killed
the children that were like me.
"After they
were killed," Essah continued, "the Queen Mother decided that the Ahkrushian
race could no longer exist. The eleven males were the Chosen for the new
generation. The Queen Mother couldn't kill them, so she imprisoned them
onto the seal. The rest of the Ahkrushians committed suicide."
"Goshiem
was the only one that wasn't there, was he?" Dayus asked.
"I helped
him hide. We were only children. We didn't know what was going on." Essah
sighed. "But he returned to his realm a few years later and saw that the
eleven were still alive. They tricked him into believing that it was the
Snake-gods who imprisoned them and killed the other Ahkrushians. He wouldn't
listen to me after that. Then Goshiem raped the fifty human women, killing
them all except for the last one."
"Because
she was pregnant with Parz." Cale said.
"They told
Goshiem they needed a female. All he had to do after a female was born
was bring her to them, use his own blood to make her full Ahkrushian, and
then kill himself on the seal to free them. But Parz killed Goshiem and
now the Ahkrushian race is gone. Parz is the only one that carries the
blood." Essah stood. "I believe I've answered quite a few questions. Good
day." He walked out of the house.
>>Father,
wait. Sekhmet got to his feet. "I'll be right back," he said
to the other Warlords and followed Essah. He found his father waiting for
him outside on the patio. "There's something I have to ask you about Parz."
"Go ahead."
"What kind
of bond do you have with her?"
Essah sighed.
"When I found the woman who was carrying Goshiem's children, I thought
that killing her would be best. But as I thought about the babies, they
didn't ask to be who they were. No more than the ones like you and Chadih.
And if I did kill them, Goshiem would try again. So I didn't and waited.
The day I had to cut them from their mother and held the baby girl in my
arms, I knew that she had to live. I always went to see them when they
were growing up." He smiled. "Parz always ran out to greet me. I guess
you could say that I was the paternal role in her life. Jinmin seemed to
care less; he always worried me.
"When
they were eight-years-old, Goshiem came for Parz. He nearly destroyed the
village. Jinmin saw him and was happy to see that his father had come for
them. Parz was very afraid and ran off into the forest. Goshiem went after
her. I was there and tried to get him to listen to me, but he didn't and
we started fighting."
Essah paused.
"I don't know where she got the sword from, but Parz climbed into a tree
and jumped down on Goshiem, stabbing the sword right through him. Goshiem
couldn't believe that his own daughter had killed him. Maybe Parz knew
what would happen to her if he did bring her to the eleven males. Goshiem
died and I pulled the sword from him."
Eight-years-old,
Sekhmet thought. Four years younger than I was when I killed Viraz.
"That's why Jinmin believed you killed him," he surmised.
"Yes," Essah
nodded. "I took Parz away and brought her to a safe place. I went back
to look for Jinmin but he was gone. I kept watch over Parz and she grew
up. She married a man from a village not far from her home. Jinmin found
out and killed him. About twenty years later, Parz found the half-Snake-god
boy and raised him as her son."
"She told
me about him." Sekhmet said. "Hunters killed him when he was Chadih's age."
"I didn't
know that she raised him until I saw them the day he was killed." Essah
shook his head. "I'll never forget the look on her face while she held
him in her arms. Kaos was there with me. I had brought him to meet Parz
because maybe she could have helped him find wearers for the Armors. She
can see the future a lot better than the Snake-gods. Parz told me to never
have a child with a human, especially a son. She said what Kaos had made,
my blood would wear and imprison me." He shrugged. "And it happened."
"Parz wanted
to take me away when I was a baby?"
"She did
and tried several times, but I stopped her. I thought that she was going
to replace her son with you. I never would have thought that you two were
cousins from your human side. She also said that she would even take any
other children that Rielvia had. I kept you two apart. Parz knew where
you were, but I wouldn't let her near you. I thought it was best that you
two stayed away from each other. I love both of you. You're my children.
I just hope you can forgive me for being more of a father to Parz than
I was to you."
"What do
you want me to say?" Sekhmet asked. "I'm mad that you did, but I'm glad
that you didn't. If Parz had taken me away, I would have lived a better
childhood and be a big brother to Jynavy. But I wouldn't have made friends
with Daita or fell in love with Lyonta. Never would've had Chadih or seen
all the things that I have." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Maybe
it did turn out better this way."
"Perhaps,"
Essah said. "I was afraid when Talpa found you when you were twelve, he
would find Parz and Jinmin. Somehow they eluded the Seers' visions. I thank
the Old Ones that day never happened."
"Me too,"
said Sekhmet. "When will Parz be coming back?"
"A year
she told me." Essah smiled. "I hate to see Chadih's face…"
"You're
not the one who has to tell her." Sekhmet grinned.
"True. Good
luck." Essah disappeared.
Autumn had
come and the Ronin Warriors returned home, telling their stories. The Warlords
shared theirs as well, but kept quiet about Parz being related to Sekhmet
and Rowen, deciding to save it for another time.
Sekhmet
and Lyonta were lying in bed in the Dynasty; Sekhmet on his back and Lyonta
was next to him on her side, lightly running her fingertips over his chest.
Chadih was sleeping peacefully in her own room.
"When did
Essah say that Parz would come back?" Lyonta asked.
"Sometime
next summer," her husband answered.
"I hope
so. I want her to meet someone."
"Who?"
Lyonta walked
her fingers from Sekhmet's naval to his chin. "I said this once before,
and I hope I get a better response from you this time."
"What?"
Sekhmet looked at her.
She smiled
and said, "I'm with child."
Sekhmet
stared at her. Slowly a smile crossed his face and he said, "What? How?"
"You!" Lyonta
playfully slapped his arm and Sekhmet lightly grabbed her wrists, pulling
her arms away from him, and then hugged her, both of them laughing softly.
"I can't
believe it," Sekhmet whispered, placing his hand over Lyonta's stomach.
This time he would not be robbed of the nervous joy of waiting for his
child to born. This time he would feel the baby kick and see his child
come into the world. "Have you thought of a name?"
"Not yet."
"I have
a couple. If it's a boy, Daita. He'll be the namesake of the only friend
that I had in our village."
"And if
it's a girl?"
"Altyno
has grown on me."
Lyonta started
to laugh. "I really hope it's a boy this time," she said quietly.