Prophecy's Promise (Prophecy of the Edges Book 1) (25 page)

On the day of my party, most of the Council members and leaders of the priesthood crowded into Desha’s house. Everyone brought a colored paper lantern inscribed with a wish for my baby. We strung them up, one by one outside the house before each person entered. The street seemed to blossom with wish-lanterns.

“Desha!” Ripping through the happy ambiance, a young man’s voice called out. “Desha!” he called again, floating to the ground before us. “The Empire approaches. You are needed at the gates.”

Vasani dropped her plate, figs and winter flowers raining to the ground. She grabbed Bahlym by his shirt and pulled him from the house. She hurled him against the fence, crushing a purple wish-lantern. “Tell us what they want,” she demanded.

“Vasani,” Rcanian said calmly from the threshold. “You and Bahlym are beyond this. He’s not of the Empire anymore and hasn’t had any contact with them.”

Vasani’s lip curled, but she released Bahlym. “You say that because you’ve been tainted by that one.” She nodded to Adara. “At least put them under custody for their own protection while we sort this out.”

“I will do nothing of the sort,” Desha said. “They have done nothing wrong. They are under Mitanni protection.”

“And you might need a translator,” Bahlym pointed out.

“I’m coming, too,” I announced.

Vasani shrugged. “I’ve no problem with the Promise.”

“You weren’t asked,” Desha replied dryly.

Adara decided to stay with Yammin and the children, but most of the guests accompanied us across town to the militia sergeant who waited for us at the gate. “They are still a long ways off,” the sergeant informed us, pointing to the Empire’s envoy approaching on foot.

“Abandoning their flying monstrosities is a gesture of good will,” Desha pronounced.

“It’s a gesture of ‘please don’t kill us,’” Vasani retorted.

“Mayhap a little of both,” Desha agreed.

“They’ve realized that they cannot replace the Promise and have come to figure out how to regain some control of the situation,” Kirta announced.

“I think it is time to go forth and meet them. I don’t want to wait for them to hike up the path,” Desha said. “The militia should come. The Promise, too. Someone can carry you through the air. Vasani, I leave you in control.”

Vasani nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“You need a translator,” Bahlym insisted.

“I trust they had the prudence to bring their own translator. You’ll stay here,” Desha said.

The sergeant began handing out the same purple capes the militia had worn the day I’d first come to the mountains. The men and women of the mountains tied the cloaks around their necks, whispering prayers as they did so. I was not given a cloak. Rcanian scooped me up and took to the sky with the rest of the militia.

When I’d flown in hovercrafts, I had been blocked from the rushing air. The ground had only been visible through panes of glass. Now the cold air surrounded me, and the only solid force I could feel was Rcanian. The Mist that wrapped around us felt as solid as a cloud, but we remained in the air. I tried to focus on the tapestry that Rcanian wove with the Mist as I clung to him. The cottages and fields spread out below us like a patchwork quilt.

As we approached the throng of Empirites, they stopped. We were low enough to the ground to see the expressions of fear and wonder stamped on the men’s faces. General Kadir spurred his horse forward. He held his golden diadem over his head, and it shook slightly in his grasp.

“He is the leader of the Empire,” I whispered to Desha, who floated to Rcanian’s left.

Kadir threw his diadem on the ground beneath us. “Promise, we have come to seek your aid,” he said in Cuneiform.

“My aid?” I shouted down to him. “What of my husband? Isn’t he your new Promise?”

“Drahwan tried, but something happened. He walked up to the place that you had walked through. As he got closer, our Edge started to glow bright red. He stepped into our Edge and it… exploded… Azabin devoured all of those within leagues. The event was televised. Azabin’s power was so great that when the recording devices were absorbed, all televisions tuned to the event exploded. Tens of thousands are dead. It seems as if the Mist power of those who were at our Edge has been… absorbed into Azabin, and he is now… hungry. That Edge grows at an alarming rate and it is possible that the other Edges are doing the same. If it continues, our scientists believe that the outskirts of the city will be destroyed within the month.”

“So what you are trying to say is that you need our help,” Desha said. “But we are of the mountains. It doesn’t matter what happens outside of them.”

“Desha, both the Empire and the Mitanni need our help,” Kirta said calmly. “Or more correctly, we all need Hailey’s help. If absorbing people makes it accelerate, the number of souls in that city could cause it to detonate. That Edge and the eastern Edge will rush to meet each other, destroying the whole world, including the mountains.”

“Our calculations, while light on data points, suggest that could occur before summer fully ascends upon us,” said Kadir.

Less than two months, and our entire world would be destroyed. But, if the rate of growth was on both sides of Gryshelm’s Edge. My old town of River’s End, my father, and everyone I knew in my recently remembered childhood, had maybe a week until they would be dissolved into nothingness.

“So, that’s bad, obviously, but what can the Mitanni do? The Promise is the only one who can help,” Desha stated.

“True,” I said, hesitantly, trying to collect my words so that they would come out correctly. “I don’t fully understand, but I think I know enough. I have to get back to my Slice. It’s only from that side that I can heal The Edges and destroy Azabin. But, there is a page missing from the book.”

Kirta’s eyes rolled back in her head. “Your aunt,” she said. “She has the missing page. She won’t give it up without a fight. And with a fight, there will be horrendous bloodshed.”

Rcanian frowned. “It will be Hailey against a nation. Maybe against a full Slice. How could there be a battle of this magnitude.”

“Because I don’t have to return to my Slice alone,” I responded. “There is weak spot. I could take others, but obviously, it will dangerous.”

Kadir stepped forward. “Promise, we will send an army with you.”

“Really?” I asked dryly. “Things didn’t go so well last time I turned to you for help.”

“Promise, we’ve been waiting for you for a millennium. I’m sorry we didn’t recognize you when you stood before us. Don’t punish the world for our shortcomings.”

A politician’s speech.

But true nonetheless. And, despite the fact that I had no idea how to cleanse the evil energy, I needed to do it. Even if it killed me.

“Your Slice has lived in a tenuous peace for generations. Can you really fight?” I asked.

“I am your vassal, if you will have me,” Kadir vowed.

“Drahwan’s titles are mine again, correct?” I asked and Kadir nodded assent. “Then I give them all to Adara Zayad. Do you agree?”

“A woman?” Kadir snarled.

“I am a woman,” I said, “and you pledged loyalty, do you recant?”

Kadir pursed his lips, and then said recklessly, “Fine, Councilwoman Adara Zayad will receive all Drahwan Dehdarad’s titles.”

“Deal struck. I’ll go. But I need help.” I turned to Desha and the Mitanni. “Who is coming with me?
”

The winter wind had grown angry. It nibbled against my nose and fingers, but since only Council members could enter the building and Desha wanted both Kadir and me to witness the proceedings, we convened in the Plaza outside the Council building. Words tumbled from the crowd as the Mitanni jostled to be heard.

“The Promise is going, with or without our help.”

“The mountains are doomed either way. Should we not do our part?”

“This is not our battle.”

Desha stood up and the crowd went silent. “Maybe the Empire wants our city defenseless,” she declared.

“Do you doubt what my grandmother’s has Foretold?” Rcanian demanded.

“No, child,” Kirta said. “She is scared.”

“I am nothing of the sort!” Desha proclaimed.

“We are all scared. It is nothing to be ashamed of,” Kirta said.

“The Promise was exactly that, a Promise, not a Guarantee,” Desha pointed out. “What if she fails? What then?”

Vasani walked forward; a purple cap obscured her fire-colored hair. “Hailey is meant to save the world, not the mountains. We could lose ourselves in this tidal wave of cultures. We cannot risk that.  I would rather that The Edges destroy the mountains than see our children grow up in a world where they are at risk of being pulled from their heritage.” A roar of approval ripped through the crowd.

“We cannot react from a place of fear, nor from a place of totality,” Rcanian spoke up. “Everyone of age must have a say.”

Desha clenched her fists, but acquiesced. “Ring the bell. Gather the People.”

Rcanian nodded and solemnly walked to a large bell in the center of the plaza. He lifted the mallet that laid on the ground below it, striking the bell three times. “It has been done.”

While we waited the half hour required to allow the People who wished to vote to gather outside the Council, Kirta explained the tradition to us. The People would gather. Desha as the leader would present the question, and then all those in the Council would have the opportunity to speak. After they finished, all those present would cast a vote. This had only been done a half dozen times through their history. The last time had been to discuss Krineem, another runaway bride.

Desha floated above the crowd. “My People,” her voice bellowed, amplified by the Mist, “we face a question of greater importance than the Mitanni have faced before. The Promise, who has been living among us, must begin her journey. But she needs help. This I ask you: have we already done our duty by sheltering her or should we send a delegation past the Empire, past our Slice, to another world to assist her?”

Kirta floated up to Desha. “What I have Foretold did not clarify all the tangle of possibilities that stretch before us. But it is certain that The Edges will destroy us faster than the Empire ever could. If the Promise does not succeed, we will all be dead before three months have passed.”

Esden was next. “I agree with the Grandmother. If the Promise does not succeed, then we will die. But I do not understand how that should concern the Mitanni. We thrive because we do not bother ourselves with the problems of those outside our borders. If we go forward, we will lose that part of our identity. We may never be the same again. Isn’t that the same as being dead?” A large cheer went throughout the crowd. Vasani and several other younger members of the Council joined Esden stating similar thoughts.

I wondered what was written on the wish lanterns. Wishes for Sara Heather to be born on her own Slice? Wishes for her to be Mitanni?

Finally, Rcanian floated up to the center of the crowd. “My People, you all know my initial hesitation around bringing in the Empirites. Had it been my choice, we would have brought in the Promise and cast those from the Empire back into the mountains. I’ve come to change my mind about one of the Empirites in particular.” A nervous giggle ran through the crowd. “But that is because I’ve come to know Adara Zayad. I’ve come to understand the why Danue fell in love with Krineem. Their cost was too high, but their choice was pure and good. We are part of a larger world, and we must do our part to help. Otherwise, Azabin will destroy the Mitanni. I will not sit idly by and wait for that to happen. I want to fight.”

We waited many long moments to see if any other Council members would throw in their words, but no one else floated toward them. Then, Kirta spoke. “It is not our Way, but I request that the Promise come speak.”

I had not tried to self-levitate before, but I could see how the People were doing it. I tried to replicate the pattern as best I could. I felt the threads of the Mist lock beneath my feet and hoist me up. I slipped a stitch and my right foot slammed into the ground.

“She’s like a toddler taking her first steps!” someone from the crowd shouted, and many others laughed, but I restarted the weaving, and floated toward the sky, eventually settling near Rcanian and Kirta.

“Some of you know my story and some of you do not. I was once like you. As a Scholar, I lived apart from the world, focusing on my studies. When I was told that I had to leave the Keep, I was so angry. I wondered why I had to make the sacrifices asked of me. I was not afraid of change; I just didn’t want it.

“Esden is right. This choice will change you, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I never would have believed that leaving the Keep could bring anything except trouble. Don’t get me wrong. It’s brought plenty of that. But it’s brought so much more. I’ve found friends.” I smiled down at Bahlym and Adara. “And I found myself, my
true
self. I don’t know what will be waiting for me on my Slice. All I know is that I need help. I don’t trust the Empire, either, and that’s why I need you. I need the Mitanni to stand with me.”

Desha floated higher above the members of the Council who had spoken. “Yes, we shall send a delegation forth with the Promise.” She pointed to her right. “Or no, we shall remain separated from the Slices.” She pointed to her left.

Sparks of blue, purple, pink, and green shot from the crowd below. Many sparks settled to Desha’s left, but far more settled to her right.

“The People have spoken!” Desha shouted. “On the morrow, we will set forth a delegation to help the Promise save our mountains by saving our world.”