Songbird (31 page)

This time her opponent charged her, attacking with malevolent energy that caught her off-guard. Her small form was no match for the larger Destroyer, but she had the advantage of speed and stealth. She dodged the gaping maw and outstretched claws, leaving burning marks of her own across its back.

It snapped at her and she darted between outstretched feathers, skimming under its belly. She dodged the raking claws by an inch and dove to the other side. When she came about the Destroyer followed with open beak and deafening roar. Her sharp trill repelled the attack, but it flew back in a gliding sweep straight at her.

Teya sang with a burst of magic that pushed the attack aside, but not in time to dodge the outstretched talons. They clipped her wing and sent her spinning toward the ground. She managed to slow her descent, but could not stop her fall.

She hit the ground and rolled to a stop, resting in a dazed heap on the rocky soil. The stink of decay and death warned her of the Destroyer’s approach. She hobbled to her feet, her broken wing hanging crookedly at her side. The power still coursed through her, but she didn’t know what to do. The Destroyer was death, and it seemed too big for her to conquer alone.

As she faced this ancient foe, the power shimmered through her body with a rush, changing her back to her true form. She instinctively cradled her arm, and her hand brushed against the tiny bulge in her jacket. The seed. Her heart pounded with new hope, and she tore the lining, catching the small seed in her palm.

The Destroyer approached in the lopsided form of a man. The ragged edges of darkness lost shape, then reformed in patchy decay. The fight had weakened it, and she knew if she sang the tones, it would flee. But she needed to bind it. Send it back to the darkness, and seal it away forever.

In the distance came the sound of approaching hoof beats. The Destroyer backed away, and she knew the time had come. She couldn’t miss this chance to banish it. With a deep breath she walked toward the Destroyer. She closed her mind to the darkness that awaited her, concentrating instead on the seed.

The Destroyer smelled the life pulsing in her and rose in height until it overshadowed her. With an unearthly cry of victory, it enclosed her in a suffocating grip. Held tightly, she knew there was no way out, and without air, she couldn’t sing. The thick darkness permeated through her skin and into her soul. Then it began to solidify. The pain shocked her. She hadn’t expected it to hurt. Not this much.

Doubt rocked her. What was she thinking? No one could survive this. She was lost to the darkness now, never to return. Pain and panic crashed into her soul in waves, leaving little room for thought. She had to do something. But what? There was nothing she could do. It was over.

All at once a thread of awareness shattered the panic. A small flame of strength flowed into her and lessened the pain. She latched onto this light with the little strength she had left and the pain lifted. Then it left her entirely. Someone else bore the pain for her. Bran.

With her thoughts clear again, she remembered what it was she had to do. She opened her hand and poured magic into the seed. At first, the melody was hardly a whisper, but soon her breath came more easily and the tone brightened.

The solid mass around her lost shape. Her melody stirred the seed to life, imbuing it with pulsing light. The light sparked, then surged into a thousand tiny rays. As she sang, the rays grew, pulsing through her hand and cutting into the Destroyer. She strengthened her tones, singing with all the power she possessed. The light grew stronger and brighter, pushing into the dark like razor-sharp knives.

Suddenly, the darkness shattered into a million pieces. With a deafening roar, the severed darkness flew high into the air, then rained down on the earth, floating to the ground as white ash that disappeared on the breeze. Teya’s song ended and she gasped before collapsing. Spots clouded her vision, and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

Her hand holding the seed now burned in agony, and her broken arm thudded with pain. Someone carefully lifted her head and cradled her in his arms. She opened her eyes and found Bran. He was here. She hadn’t imagined him after all. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a moan.

“Don’t try to talk,” Bran said. “Someone’s bringing water.”

She couldn’t see him very well, then realized tears blurred her vision. “Oh, Bran,” she whispered. “You saved me.”

He pulled her close and gently kissed her, then held her tight. His pale face and haunted eyes caught at her heart. With shaking fingers, he brushed her hair back and swallowed. “I thought I’d lost you. When you walked into the Destroyer like that, I couldn’t imagine what you were thinking.”

“It hurt,” she whispered. “I didn’t think it would hurt so much. But you took it from me. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Bran had taken the unbearable pain so she could end it. She searched his face for signs of his sacrifice. Sweat beaded his brow, and white lines of stress etched deeply into his forehead and around his mouth.

Someone handed Bran a waterbag, and he held it to her lips. She sipped it slowly, grateful to ease the dryness in her throat. When she was done, he raised it to his lips and drank deeply, then lowered the bag with shaking hands.

“Will you be all right?” she asked.

“I’m just shaken up. I’ll be fine.”

“A fine pair we are,” she said, trying to lighten the moment. Bran smiled, but it turned into a grimace. Her throat constricted and she fought back tears. She didn’t want to cry now. It wasn’t over yet, and she needed to be strong. She took a deep breath and steadied her composure.

Several people gathered around them, but it was Hewson that knelt beside her. “Teya?” His tender concern brought the tears back. “Songbird, that’s what you really are. It’s not just a title is it?”

His declaration and the look of adulation in his eyes cleared her head. “I don’t know what happened. It was the magic.”

“How did you do it?” he asked. “The Destroyer... it’s gone. Bran got here before the rest of us, but I saw you walk into it... almost like you were embracing death. I never thought I’d see you again. Then Bran doubled over in pain, and I thought it was because you were gone. But it was deeper than that, like he shared your burden. Then the darkness gathered in on you, like a solid mass of death, before it suddenly exploded, and there you were... alive!”

It was a miracle, she realized, although she didn’t quite understand it herself. “It was the seed. When Bran and I came to the grove, Grandmother gave me a seed from the tree. Until the end, I didn’t realize that using the seed was the only way to banish the Destroyer. The seed contained the miracle of life.”

Hewson nodded in understanding. “I want to hear all of it when you’re feeling better. For now, let’s take a look at that arm and your hand.”

Teya nodded gratefully. Besides getting all teary-eyed again, her arm and hand throbbed with pain. They brought blankets and Bran eased her off his lap. Iris helped Hewson set the broken bones into place and she nearly passed out from the pain. The soothing tones of their healing voices brought gradual relief, and eventually, she dozed off into a relaxed state of peace.

She woke to hushed voices, surprised that she’d slept. Lying inside a hastily constructed lean-to, the late afternoon sun cast long, stretching shadows. She sat up, careful of her arm. She flexed her hand, relieved that it didn’t hurt. Her arm felt a bit tender, and someone had wrapped it in bandages.

At that moment, the voices rose in volume and Teya tried to catch what the arguing was about. Her brows rose as she recognized Jesse’s tone of anger. She climbed to her feet, grateful there was no dizziness and hurried to where they stood. With her appearance, the conversation stopped.

“Teya,” Hewson said. “We didn’t mean to wake you. How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thank you,” she said, quickly glancing around.

The Kalorians were all there, some with bandages, most waiting patiently. As she caught their gazes, many gave the old Kalorian greeting of hand to heart and lips in an outward gesture of obeisance. It caught her off-guard and spots of color rose to her cheeks. “You should have woken me sooner.”

“You needed the rest.”

Her heart constricted. The one person she wanted to see most wasn’t there. “Where’s Bran?”

Hewson’s lips turned down in a frown. “He rode back. He was concerned about his friend, Jax.  We’re not far from the border. In fact, you can make out the trees from here, but I thought they’d be back by now.”

Teya could see the tiny trees on the horizon. “Is it safe? What about Korban’s men?”

“Bran came with Turner. It was Turner’s idea to come after Korban. From what we could see, there aren’t many of Korban’s men left, and Bran wanted to make sure they would leave the rest of us alone.”

“Did anyone go with him?” She fought the whisper of fear that curdled her stomach.

“Iris. I should have gone, but I didn’t want to leave you. She went because of her healing powers. Without the
kundar
there is a lot of good she can do.”

With shock, Teya realized that all of the Kalorians were free from the collars they had worn for so long. Because of Bran. Now he was gone again. She contemplated reaching out to him through the bond, but stopped when Jesse turned to her. The abject misery etched on his golden features caught at her heart.

“What’s wrong?” She remembered he’d been arguing with Hewson.

His gaze dropped, as if it hurt to look at her. “I’m concerned about my father. He went on to the grove.” Jesse raised his guilt-stricken gaze. “I want to go after him, but Hewson has a problem with that.”

Teya understood that look. Jesse thought he’d failed her. “Can you excuse us Hewson? I’d like to talk to Jesse alone for a minute.” She gathered her thoughts while Hewson withdrew. How could she convince Jesse that he hadn’t failed? He wouldn’t accept sympathy. He had too much pride for that.

“I’m worried too. Korban is in the grove by now.” She measured her words carefully. “But I don’t want you to go after him alone. He’s too dangerous.” He stiffened, and she realized she’d said the wrong thing.

“You don’t think I can handle him?” Anger tightened Jesse’s mouth. “I saw you change shape, and witnessed your battle with the Destroyer. I don’t know what that makes you, but we have the same Kalorian blood in our veins. Korban is my responsibility.”

“No, not just yours, it’s mine too.”

“You think you’re the only one who can stop him, but that’s not true. I need to do this to prove my worth. Don’t you understand? I helped him. Now I need to stop him because of my part in all this. For years I helped him enslave our people... and it was wrong. Somewhere deep inside I knew that, but I didn’t try to stop him.”

“Yes, but...”

“Don’t. You have to let me do this. I want to prove to you, and to them, that I’m worthy.” He lowered his head. “I’m going. Please don’t stop me.”

“I get that, but I also have no doubt that Korban will try to kill you. Jesse... you left him. You chose to follow me. He won’t forgive that.” She paused to let her words sink in. “I can’t stop you from going after him. I can only ask that you wait for the rest of us. If he has somehow regained his powers…then maybe I am the only one who can stop him. You could die.”

“What does that matter?” he said bitterly. “I chose to follow you and now I’ve lost you…to someone else.”

“You never had me Jesse. I was never yours... you know that.”

He took a deep breath. “Yes, you’re right. I failed. Bran got the
kundar
off of you when I couldn’t. I’ve always been on the wrong side. But I don’t belong with the Kalorians either. They don’t trust me. How could they when I’m the one who hunted them down like animals and captured them? I took their blood to make
sym
. They hate me Teya. Maybe... just maybe if I stop my father, they won’t see me as such a monster.”

“You brought me to them when Korban went on to the grove,” Teya said. “I’m sure they know that. It may take some time, but they’ll see that you’ve changed.”

“You always want to give people the benefit of the doubt, but for once you’re wrong. The whole time you were asleep, they were uncomfortable with me here. You didn’t see how they glanced at me, with dark suspicion in their eyes, especially your brother. I thought I could be a true Kalorian, but unless I prove it to them and stop my father, it won’t happen.”

“They will accept you if I do. Then it will only be a matter of time before they accept you on your own merit. You don’t have to risk your life to prove anything.”

His face hardened with resolve. “You don’t understand. If I don’t stop him, I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to face their hatred every day. It’s the only way I can make up for my past. I’ve done too much.”

“You once told me that the grove called to you. Does it still?” she asked.

He thought about it for a moment, and she knew he would answer truthfully. “I thought at first it was only the lure of immortality and all of Korban’s talk. But there were times when my mother spoke of the grove. Her face changed. She got all dreamy and soft. Then she’d sing things that I’ve never heard since. Beautiful things. It must be a sacred place. She quit singing when all it did was make her cry, and she died soon after that.”

Teya felt the familiar pang of losing her own mother and understood his yearning for something lost to him. “My memories of the grove were a child’s until I went back.” It seemed ages ago now. “Being there changed me. I felt like I’d finally come home. It will be the same for you. I don’t want you to throw your life away. The grove is worth living for.”