Read Compis: Five Tribes Online

Authors: Kate Copeseeley

Tags: #griffin, #young adult fantasy, #dystopian fiction, #magical girl, #kate copeseeley, #young adult romance, #compis

Compis: Five Tribes (3 page)

BOOK: Compis: Five Tribes
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He felt his face heat and was just about to turn away from the booth in shame, when he heard her voice.

“He's with me, but since you're so quick to decide who can buy your wares, good merchant, I'll move on to a better booth. I saw one further down the road that seemed more apt to treat its customers kindly.”

She left the woman sputtering behind her and turned back when she noticed him standing behind her, mouth agape.

“Well?” she asked.

He walked forward to catch up. The marketplace was crowded with booths and different tribal merchants hawking their wares. Already dusty, the path from the plaza square was almost unbearable in the warm sun, kicked up by the steps of many feet. For the hundredth time, he wished they would pave it with stone, as the plaza was.

“So tell me, Ignis, what is the real story here?” she looked up at him.

“My name is Zyander. Alea calls me Zyan, if you prefer it,” he said.

“I'm Nikka, but I have a feeling you know that already. Were you following me?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” he said, “I didn't expect to run into you, but I was hoping for it.”

She laughed. “An honest man. I appreciate that. You were hoping for it? Why?”

“The honest answer? I saw you this morning and I can't stop thinking about you.”

“Oh, please!” she said, smiling again. “Come on, I did see a booth over here.”

She took his hand and led him toward the other booth.

He went along feeling foolish. If only he wasn't too poor to buy her something. If only he didn't feel like an idiot in his threadbare clothes, even though they were the best he had. If only he could believe that Nikka had a chance at being Ignis. This was the height of folly. Yet he went along anyway, enjoying the feeling of her small hand clasped in his.

She stopped at the booth in question, looking over the fruits the merchant was offering.

“What do you think of this manaka?” she asked, holding it out for him smell.

He leaned in, smelling the delicious scent of fruit mingled with her skin.

“Smells ripe to me. But didn't you want some of the berries?” he asked, pointing to them.

“Yes, vendor, I'll have a pound of those and another of these,” she said, holding out the fruit.

While she waited for him bag up her produce, she said, “So, Zyan, have you seen all the market has to offer? I think I've walked it twice so far, but I still haven't seen everything.”

“It seems the same as it was last year. Nothing new under the sun.”

She frowned, looking sharply into his eyes. “Why would you say that? It's as though you hold yourself apart from it.”

He shrugged. “Wouldn't you? In my place.”

She shook her head. “I don't know. But seeing it in you is disappointing, I must admit.”

He struggled to release the bitterness that he had dwelt in for so long, but ultimately lost the battle. Life was too unfair to forget it, even for a minute. He could make a small concession, though.

“How would you like to see something only a few people in the Five Tribes have ever seen?” he asked.

“Hmmm... and just what would that be? I can't imagine anything that would be that secretive.”

He smiled and took her woven bags from the vendor, leading her by the arm down the path toward the Ignis tent.

“I can't tell you, you have to see it for yourself,” he said.

 

Nikka

 

Nikka couldn't say what it was about this man that drew her, but she knew that she wanted to go with him to wherever this mysterious place was that he was so keen to have her see. She didn't know what to make of him. He was dark and brooding, too lost in his own suffering to see the world around him. She wondered how it was to live a life like that—filled with the pain of realizing your tribe is failing.

She didn't know what had happened so long ago to his tribe, no one did. She only knew that soon they were dying out, and becoming smaller in numbers, not to mention watching their powers dwindle down to only a small percent of what they once were. She looked at him, knowing that he'd probably lost at least one family member, maybe more. That was a good reason in itself for his attitude.

His hand was still on her arm, it felt warm and comforting and she had a hard time keeping herself from leaning into him. He was so tall and good looking. She felt the urge to laugh with glee. Instead, she enjoyed the sunlight on her face, the sounds of the people around her, and the colors of the booths and costumes everyone was wearing.

It was then she noticed the stares she was receiving from the people around her. People were looking at her and him, mostly at him. They passed a woman who looked at her, then at Zyan, then back at her. Nikka looked at Zyan, at the color of his clothes, clearly marking his tribal affiliation. She saw that his clothes were also worn, marking the poverty of his tribe.

Everyone knew what he was, but maybe they looked at him because there were so few Ignis left. Maybe people were uncertain when they would see another such as him in the coming years. It was possible that the reason people stared was because he was so special. He was unique, like the thing he promised her she would be excited to see, whatever that was.

He stopped outside what was without question the most beautiful Tribal display tent in the Five Tribes. It stood a good half a tent higher than the others, including the Aeris, who were known for their building acumen.
At least our tent is more graceful
, she thought. The tent was similar to Alea's robe, delicately embroidered with a thousand, no a million different scenes -tribe members creating, fighting, dancing, kissing, holding a million babies in their arms. The figures almost appeared to be moving, they looked so alive. She felt tears at the corners of her eyes, as she realized she was viewing the Ignis that was and would never be again. It was heartbreaking.

He appeared not to notice. “Here we are,” he said, holding up the flap that led to the inner sanctum.

She followed him in, letting her eyes adjust to the soft glow of the lamps in the multi-chambered tent. The front room was a sort of living area, with soft chairs, some tables for eating, all the appearances of affluence. There was a tall lean man standing on one side of the room, talking to some of the Aquis tribe—based on their clothing color. He gestured and smiled while they conversed, leading her to believe that he seemed an easy man to get along with. He had no frown lines.

Zyan set her fruit on an end table and let his hand slide down along her arm to clasp hers. The hairs on her arm stood up. He led her over toward the man and waited patiently for him to finish up his conversation. It was soon over and then he turned and smiled.

“Zyander! And who is this beautiful young woman?” he asked.

“Father, this is Nikka, formerly of the Aeris, but now an Initiate,” Zyan said. “Nikka, this is my father, Adjudah. Father, I'd like to show Nikka the back room, if that's alright.”

His father looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “Of course, of course. Enjoy. Let me know if you need anything. I'm supposed to be in another meeting, but that's an hour away.”

They moved past the couches, chairs, and tables and toward a doorway with two curtains tied back—one on each side of it. As they moved through it, the glowing lamps intensified and Nikka gasped.

The room was twice the size of the room that they'd just vacated, and it was filled with every wondrous artifact in the Five Tribes.

Zyan led her to a stand on the left side of the room, it held a statue of a woman with her hands over her head as though she was embracing the sky.

“My great grandmother made this; it's been in my parent's sitting room for ages, for as long as I can remember.”

“It's wonderful,” Nikka said. “May I touch it?”

“Wait, watch this,” he said, and waved his hand in front of the figurine. A shower of golden sparks shot from the fingertips of the woman and swirled above her head.

“Oh my!” Nikka clapped her hands, and grabbed his arm in excitement.

He smiled down at her and moved to the next item, a sword sheathed.

“This was made by the legendary Alcon. It's nameless, one of the very few that has never tasted blood. And since we will likely not see war in the near future, it might remain nameless. That makes it valuable to certain collectors, because as we all know, a sword's largest burst of power is during its first kill.”

He slid it from the sheath and she looked down at the ice blue whorls and dips etched along the sharp edge. There was a phrase of intent along the mid-line, “
Let all who seek power remember that death comes inevitably.

After that, he led her around the room, pointing out tapestries and busts of famous tribesmembers. He played her a tune on a hival made by Lucia herself, and lastly, led her to a table near the back of the room. On it stood a rune stone of flat green jade, marked in a series of glyphs that she couldn't read.

“What is it?” she asked.

“We're not sure,” he replied. “We found it recently, in one of many abandoned buildings. We aren't even sure who the building belonged to. We think it's something about the Five, see how it's circular and marks the five spots? But it doesn't seem to indicate any particular tribe.”

“Is it old?”

“Well, in Ignis terms it isn't. We brought a Terris here to look at it, you know how good they are at sniffing the age out. Said it was beyond the age of any artifact he'd ever seen. We were hoping that someone could tell us what it was, but no one has been able to yet. Of course, none of the Sanguis have made an appearance yet. They usually wait until the last few days before they come to have a look. Hoping we'll be more desperate, I'm sure.” He laughed, but it wasn't a good sound to hear.

“So what do you do with all these?” she asked.

He shrugged. “We sell them, of course. Just enough to feed the tribe for another year. We have to ration.”

“Because these are all...” her words drifted off as she realized what she was about to say.

“These are all there are, yes,” he said.

The magnitude of that statement left her silent.
They have nothing left, nothing to bring as all the other tribes do. How is it that no one knows this? How is it that no one talks about the fact that the Ignis are years away from being penniless?

She had idly speculated what it would be like to be the first person in hundreds of years to be initiated into the Ignis tribe from a different birth tribe. Now, however, she realized that it might be a death sentence. Though the sickness that had killed or weakened thousands of Ignis had vanished a 100 years ago, death was still haunting them with its angry grasping hands.

“What will you do when...” again she trailed off. “Can't anyone in your tribe make something... Can't you work together and share power?”

He moved away from the rune stone and she followed, wondering if he was going to answer her questions.

“We don't know,” he said. “Even sharing power requires more power than we have. You can't tell anyone I told you this. No one in my tribe has made anything worth displaying, since the sickness left us.”

She felt bad knowing that only a short time ago she'd told him she was disappointed in him for feeling bitter.
He has every right to be bitter, knowing he has no future.

“Thank you for showing me all of this. You have my promise, I won't tell anyone what I saw here today.”

He led her back through the main meeting room, which was now empty. His shoulders were hunched, his face dark and incomprehensible. He held the tent door open for her, but she could tell that he didn't intend to follow her through it.

“I hope you enjoyed seeing everything. There are only a few people in the Five Tribes who have ever seen that room. It will become an even more rare sight in the years that follow. If you don't mind, I have some things to do for my father later this afternoon, so I have to say goodbye.”

He didn't look at her.

“Zyan,” she began, placing her hand on his shoulder as he stood next to her, facing the open doorway. He shrugged her hand away and held the flap open higher. She could see the people walking by outside.

She didn't know what made her do it, but looking up at him, she felt the weight of his sadness. She slipped her hand up against his cheek, turning him to face her, and leaning up on her toes, she pressed a soft kiss against his lips. Then she whispered goodbye and stepped out of the tent, leaving him silent behind her.

 

Zyander

 

Zyander touched his fingertips to his lips, standing in place like a statue. He heard a sound behind him and turned to see his father standing there. His hand dropped.

“Zyan, what is it you think you're doing?” Adjudah looked irritated, and sad. He gestured to the chair opposite of where he was standing and took the one closest to him.

Zyander sat down, dreading the coming conversation. He cut off the lecture before it could be delivered.

“I know, you don't have to say it. I know that nothing will ever come of it. I know that she's not going to be Ignis, ever, and I wouldn't even want her to. I know that after this week I will never see her again. I know all of that.” He put his face in his hands.

“Zyan, normally I wouldn't have said something. Every teenager has a gathering dalliance at one point in their life, I did myself. But, I've seen that look on your face before, son. There is heartbreak coming.”

Zyander pushed to his feet, angry. “That's ridiculous!” He turned to walk away.

“It was the same look you had when you found out your mother was dying,” his father said in a quiet voice.

Zyander's shoulders slumped and he walked out of the tent and behind it, to the small area where the Ignis sleeping tents stood. He ducked inside and threw himself on the cot. Laying with his hands behind his head, he stared up at the ceiling, thinking of his mother.

~~~~~

He was almost too young to remember when his parents told him that he was going to be an older brother. They were ecstatic, the whole tribe was. For a woman to have one child was unheard of, but two was a miracle. No one noticed for the longest time that his mother started looking more tired than usual. Pregnancy was hard on the healthiest woman, but it soon became evident that this pregnancy was harder than others.

BOOK: Compis: Five Tribes
6.39Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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