Book 4
Siha: Rise of Rakhana
Part II
Almond eyes look after him as he gazes at her through the skyrunner's darkly-tinted rear window pane of bulletproof glass, Kasumi alone with Quoyle and Borhaus in the front of the skyrunner. She shrugs and waves, though it is dark and he cannot see her…Tetonbaum nods once—I will be back—and continues on the path paved towards the entrance of the Soterios-Shepard-Tan'nanshul cottus.
Braith answers the door immediately upon his arriving at the threshold.
Tetonbaum pauses, wary of the morthwyl parasite inside her, the desire to proliferate, knowing not what she has told Casnar and Ylyssus…Even had he known, Tetonbaum would still not wholly trust in it…
He remembers the conditions by which she fled the Ni S'pri with Casnar and Ylyssus, the near drowning of Miranda Lawson, Thane Krios almost crushed by the throw she made of him across the fields that night long ago.
Tetonbaum looks at her, and he too remembers her drinking his venom, and blood, from the cut in his wrist…
The morthwyl knows, he thinks…Is that hunger in her eyes, or simple recognition of that kindness, familiarity with my blood?
Tetonbaum stiffens when she touches his arm, the fingers like metal on his bicep through the sleeve of his uniform, "…Where's Kasumi?" she asks.
Tetonbaum bends his eyeridges, "…You know where she is."
She looks round his big frame—to the armored dark skyrunner parked among two more in the idle lane outside the cottus, "…Tetonbaum," she blinks up at him in the light of a lamp, "…She'll be fine…"
Pulling him inside, she closes the door and locks it.
She leaves him to head into the kitchen from the common room, where Tetonbaum senses the place with his power…He can feel the twins' heartbeats, faster than the adults' but quieter, the presence of Braith's deep and intense energy—watching him from the hold of her inner mind…
It coils and studies his own, both ready to snap and strike—for one does not trust the other and biotic power is an animal itself, with the desire to defend the hosting body and mind it shares with it…
He can also feel the presence of his brother and Ylyssus.
With alarm, he senses something else…Tetonbaum walks slowly over the floor and through the room, heading deeper in to meet the frame of the kitchen entry arch and ducking his wavy crests, he peers carefully into the kitchen's interiors…
He sees Casnar—seated in a chair with his crests bowed, smooth in the golden taper against a muscular nape.
Ylyssus, in silk pajamas, kneels beside him. Casnar, himself, is wearing a shortsleeved shirt, loose pants with the hems open over his slippered feet.
They appear to be concentrating, or half-asleep…Not what Tetonbaum would say was awake.
Their fists are clasped together on the table as if they were arm-wrestling though, the fingers and palms united as one…Braith emerges from the doorway to the cotovatre behind which he knows the twins lay, "…Twins are all right..."
She moves on bare feet to stand between her husbands.
"There is something else in this place," Tetonbaum says, "…Can you feel it?…"
Braith nods—a quick jerk of her chin. Long bangs fall forward, until she tucks these behind her ear.
Tetonbaum remembers—it is a gesture Kasumi uses when her own hair is not braided-up…
Hair makes humans share certain tendencies…
Braith looks at him. Her pale face sharper, starker and fetchingly so with her freckles, snow-gray eyes, the soft lips that invite terrible thoughts…Tetonbaum is disconcerted by her magnetic draw…
She is something else…Something different, something the same…A paradox…She cannot exist and yet Musaphat would have this abomination come from his own creation…She is morthwyl—both enemy and not…
Tetonbaum appears to be struggling with the power in himself, wishing to defend his brother and the twins against her…entity…
Braith can sense it, too, his struggle, "…I'm not going to try and sleep with you, Tetonbaum," she says all of a sudden, "…I chose my mates."
"That does not mean the parasite has made its final decision," he remarks calmly back, "…We have had few opportunities to speak alone, what since our incarcerations on this world…Tell me what has happened..."
"We've been raising the children," Braith replies, her power up but no evidence physically in sight—such as light, or a smokey lightning from her eyes to indicate it, "…Had the annual meeting today and I…I had a vision—from the others, my kindred on Rakhana…" The energy from her starts to intensify and Tetonbaum can see she is agitated, already wounded…
…That is why it is so strong, he thinks, …Maybe that is why I feel something else here…She's connecting to her parasitical race in Bangal'roux, but—
"My race is being eliminated, Tetonbaum," she interrupts his thoughts, "…Something has come from the rakha and burned them all to ashes!…I saw it through what they experienced…I never told you about the prothean beacons, but it's…"
She steps over to him from her husbands, and Tetonbaum feels his power rear and flare out like a cobra's hood, warning hers off as it does the same to his…
"…I don't expect you to understand," she accuses hostilely, "…You think I'm a parasite—a virus feeding off a host to live, to survive on, but what are you," she accosts him, "…What are drell, human, all the other races?…" She sweeps her hand away from them, "…We're not different from each other, Tetonbaum," her incense is beautiful, riveting, "…I'm not going to rape you," she sneers, "…please stop acting like that…" Her eyes squint with the fluster of her deducement…It bothers her and it bothers him. "I know your blood and your venom…I did not take it by force, you gave it to me, remember?"
"I do."
"…I love Casnar, and Ylyssus, our children," she says, "…I won't breed with anyone else, nor can I…The act is done. The future of my kindred's race is in that room," she nods towards the cotovatre, "…And I with them are all that are left."
He focuses on her words, not the hidden threats, hers and whatever else he senses in there…It could be simply the biotic energy reacting in the presence of a lethal companion—they are one and the same, but individual, "…What did you mean, you said something came from the rakha—"
"The Great Enmity…That's what they called it before their voices went out…A fiery presence…It burns like blue fires of Hekelah," she turns in her robe, "…come to consume the living world…What destroyed my morthwyls," her eyes shine with wetness, "…What drove my husband—my kylah," her voice near whines, "…to kill himself on his own blades!—to protect my whereabouts with Jenner and Jaspin!…"
Her lips quiver, and Tetonbaum pities her…
"…It is a tool, I have thought about it while waiting for them to come…" Her hand gestures to Casnar and Ylyssus at the table, heads bent as if in prayer, "…out of what they hold in their hands…Thank the gods Ylyssus is a steward of the Eye of S'syalahe…Casnar almost could not handle the pull of the shard in his grip…He was shaking, it was so strong…He said…" She pauses, thinking back, "…He said something before Ylyssus came in to help, to help him ease into the pathways?…He said, '…It's inside the shard…'" She stares at Tetonbaum, "…I don't know what they are seeing or experiencing, Tetonbaum…Outwardly they seem better handling it together, but I don't know when they'll come out of it…Ylyssus suspected it would take a while…He told me to call you..."
"How long has it been," he asks.
"Since before I called?…I'm unsure, Casnar was left alone while I was with Ylyssus…We were in the bedroom and shower for a while," her cheeks redden at admitting in so many words their preceding activities, and Tetonbaum keeps his expression placid to mollify her embarrassment, "…Casnar may have been using all that while—fighting it, fighting the pull on his own," she blinks, perhaps feeling guilt or fret over Casnar suffering with the shard while she and Ylyssus were in throes and enjoying one and other, "…No more than three hours at least, Tetonbaum, I suppose no more than that…" Tetonbaum nods and sends his power about the place again, allowing it to weave outwards and search for the origin of the stranger source…
He can feel Braith's own power coiling, tensing in preparation—to attack his own if in case he should try to breach her—its—comfort zone, "…There is something else here, not your emotional heightened state—At ease with your power, Braith…" Tetonbaum looks at the figures of Casnar and Ylyssus.
She steps back to her husbands' sides. ( I'm worried, ) she says softly in Rakhïken, ( …I am worried they are meeting with what we have seen. )
The morthwyls and she…Tetonbaum understands. "I have received no word about any significants events occurring on Rakhana, particularly with regard to the situation in Bangal'roux—no changes from what it has been," Tetonbaum steps closer, but warily, towards the table, his half-brother, Ylyssus, "…but Kasumi and I, we have been at a wedding reception for some colleagues from the Primacy…"
"Did that Quoyle drell force you to ride with them?"
A delicate shrug, he replies with, "…It was to be…"
Tetonbaum has by now determined the source of the foreign power in that room…It is indeed coming from Ylyssus and Casnar, set together like organic statues…They are very still, but breathing…Confirmation of his power's sniffing out the source, so to speak, comes as he feels Braith's own biotic power intensify near the pair, "…The drells outside," he shares, "…are holding Kasumi—collateral against me…to ensure I help them gain access inside the cottus, so as to check on you and the twins…allegedly…" He looks long at the two fists clasped together on the table between Ylyssus and Casnar…
"I'll handle them," Braith looks up from her husbands to Tetonbaum, "…I'll make sure Kasumi is not mistreated…What's your plan…" Tetonbaum reaches experimentally for the hands, and his power warns him to back down…Braith stares, eyes wider. "You're a steward as well?"
"All Soterios are," Tetonbaum confirms.
Braith glances between Casnar and him, "…Ylyssus says he is of the kindred—a Kiross name…Eufemiusz…Eufemiusz Kiross..."
Tetonbaum glances at her, "…Yes," he murmurs, "…That name is well-known…He was a monster among drellkind…A th'ane killer…"
He hears her ask—through the sharp resonance of his power buzzing by hers, and what comes from the object in both drells' grips, "…How long ago…Cemal knew of him, and I can gather there was something to their relationship…And understanding of sorts…but that…that would have been centuries ago," she mumbles to herself thoughtfully, "…Can the stewardship survive that long and be passed so far down?…Cemal believes Eufemiusz never truly died…"
She is talking about him as if he is still alive…"Legends abound on Rakhana, and here on Kahje too," the sapphires rise to her face, "…Are you certain the morthwyls have been wiped-out in Bangal'roux?…Perhaps you received some sort of false…feed, if I may suggest, what with how little I understand of your morthwyl bond…I am not certain of your connection with the race, nor this…this kylah of yours…Cemal…But perhaps…perhaps you were deceived by a dream of sorts?…What you think happened in Bangal'roux, may not have come to pass in truth..."
He hears the anger, the pain in her voice, as she speaks through clenched, puffing cheeks:
"…They're dead, Tetonbaum…Every one of them was burned to ashes…Roots and all…I threw up blood when it happened…Scared everyone…" She closes her eyes, "…My own children…"
He does not doubt her words, but he tries to remain skeptical...The force rising up from the shard, it would seem, is far stronger now—as if mentioning talk about it is as to call someone's name aloud…and as Braith talks more about the attack, the head of whatever it is turns upwards in search…
Braith touches her husbands' shoulders with a hand on both, and Tetonbaum can feel the sudden raise of energy…She withdraws her hands, rubbing her fingers together as if to ease some sort of discomforting burn, "…I'm almost certain it's in there, waiting for me…Like Casnar warned me it was…He warned me not to touch it."
"The shard," Tetonbaum glances to the pile of petrified morthwyl petals on the table, exposed out of the small pouch of leather, "…or Casnar himself?"
"The shards…" She looks to him beseechingly, "…How do I get them out?"
He gazes back, "…You can't." Tetonbaum's sapphires return to Casnar's and Ylyssus's bowed crests, locked in some unknown wrestling-match with whatever is inside that shard—or those shards—but the one in particular among their grips…Something that is hunting about, perhaps indeed sniffing for Braith and the twins too…
Braith covers her brow with a hand. A wood ring on the finger, and another he recognizes from Casnar's own craftsmanship. "I need to get them out," she murmurs, "…I'm scared it will kill them, and then come after us, myself and the babies…I can't—" She covers her mouth, but through her fingers' muffle, "…I can't lose any of them…"
Braith looks between Casnar and Ylyssus.
"…It thinks we're abominations…It called Cemal such a name," her words ring in Tetonbaum's head…
It is what he called her as well.
She extends her hand towards Ylyssus, hesitates to then reach her fingertips towards Casnar next...Tetonbaum senses her power bracing itself…Like a deep breath before the plunge...She changes her hand's direction again to go for their fists, but then she aims for a shard on the table among the pouch's contents…
"No," Tetonbaum contacts her wrist—and repels the violent surge of energy as her power snarls at his interference…For the first time, Tetonbaum experiences sweat among his skin, at his joints, among his tebral folds…He looks back at her pink glowing eyes with his own power surging upwards from its melding fast to his mind—countering her as he must…For Casnar, for Ylyssus, for the shard, for the twins…for her sake…
…And Kasumi's and his own…
"…I am not your enemy, though I do not trust you—Supriya," he hisses through his teeth, her power so formidable—Miranda's was strong, but Braith's…He is surprised he is able to withstand it—barely...She seems to be holding back…The power in her, frictioning against his own like fire fighting fire, velvet rubbing opposite each other's grains…He licks his lips and swallows, "…Promise you will take care of Kasumi…Don't let them inside, only Kasumi alone…I will go into the shards' pathways, and I will find them…Bring them out to you…You must keep those drells outside the cottus…Don't let them interfere…" His words seems to have an effect and thankfully, gratefully, her power lessens and stops swelling around him, threatening him—ready to crush him to protect Braith…
His hand lowers her arm to her side...He sees her acquiescing nod, "…Be careful, Tetonbaum," she warns, "…Whatever it is, this Great Enmity, it is only a tool…There is a hand wielding it…"
"I appreciate the warning..." Reaching for his brother's and Ylyssus's fists, Tetonbaum redirects and plucks up a petal from among the pile, "…Cover these, and conceal them well from little hands, as well as bigger ones…" He feels his power blaze at the sudden pull of the teardrop petal in his fingertips, and through his glow of power, the shard becomes transparent—what reflected nothing before nor shown a gloss, now reveals two tiny silhouettes of morthwyl fetuses within, and these may be seen by his biotic power's light, "…I will come from the flank—or behind," he tilts his wavy crests towards the common room, the pull of the the pathways drawing him into darkness, slowly for his power is belaying him downwards so cautiously, and from a distance he hears his own last words command Braith, "…Go tend to those meddlers in the skyrunners…"
He hopes she is successful at keeping Quoyle and the others, Borhaus especially, out…Forgive me, my Little Meile…Darkness, and yet the transparency of millions of stars pull him like distant blackholes, sucking him towards a speeding highway of winding branches...Futures all dark, grim, some brighter than others…Voices, whispers, screams…
His power tells him, forming collectively like a wall of a ship to carry him towards the strongest source—hopefully Casnar and Ylyssus—or this Great Enmity lurking among one of those pathways…One particular pathway among the trillions…We won't be coming out of this—Not the same way we go in…We must go through and follow it all the way, to get out the other end…
…Then that is how we will do this…
And he is in.