The Boys of Fire and Ash (13 page)

I nodded.

“And don't mention my name. It won't make you any friends in that place.”

“Were you one of them?”

Blaze laughed and pulled aside his shirt, revealing the blue mark, the whole of it for me to see. It was raised and bubbly, the blue had been seared into his flesh. “See this?” I stared. The symbol was one I'd seen before, three circles like ripples on water. I'd seen it on the forehead of the girl in
the stones, the girl called Belphoebe. But this was different. A line ran through the whole of it.

“It means I'm not anything. Not to them.”

It had to mean something. “One decision,” Blaze added, scratching his neck. “Make sure it's the right one.”

At that he turned and walked away into the Baublenotts, leaving us to get Cubby back on our own.

I stood trembling on the banks of the angry river, my Brothers on either side of me. Av and Fiver looked confident and ready like the great hunters they were—Av tall and lean, broad shouldered, Fiver thick and muscular, eager to attack the water.

I wasn't strong like them, or fast. I was useless. I breathed deeply, trying to get a hold of the terror that was overwhelming me. I'd come this far for Cubby only to drown and be thrown over the biggest waterfall that I suspected had ever existed.

Before I could muster my courage, Fiver dove in. The raging torrent swallowed him up, and I closed my eyes. I couldn't handle the death of another Brother, not now.

I heard Av laugh beside me. “Look at him, Urgs!”

I opened my eyes and saw Fiver fighting against the water that struggled to throw him, to carry him away, but he kept swimming. He was swallowed in a flood of white, then reappeared, forging ahead. He was doing it.

Emboldened by Fiver's success, Av leaped in.

“No, wait!” I yelled. I wasn't ready. I couldn't do this.

Av's head appeared above the racing flood, sputtering and coughing, but he was fighting with all his strength, following Fiver.

A Tunrar atop the Temple let out a loud shriek and my stomach knotted. I saw it standing at the edge of the roof, its head bobbing up and down as it watched Av and Fiver eagerly, excited to witness their deaths.

I saw Cubby in my mind, then the gummy mouth of the Tunrar that had beaten me senseless in Nikpartok. I felt a swell of rage and plunged into the waters too.

The force of the water was crushing and I kicked and pulled furiously at it, fighting to reach the surface. My body was thrown forward, then pulled back, the racing current unable to decide if I should live or die.

My head surfaced and I gasped for air. Water crashed down on me, and my body spiraled and turned, dragging me closer to the falls.

I surfaced again and gulped for air. Water ambushed my mouth and lungs, and I coughed and sputtered, kicking and clawing for the Temple. In that moment I was all alone, desperate to stay alive. I couldn't see anything but white, and the occasional deep blue and greens of the Temple.

I was so close, I had to do this. I lashed out at the water, forcing my way through. White engulfed me again, this time slamming my injured leg against the riverbed. I felt the water carry me farther down, closer to the falls, and I refused to go, kicking through the pain. I'd deal with it later; I couldn't let myself feel it now.

In front of me I could just make out the wood of the docks crashing against the Temple. I reached for it and missed, the current dragging me farther away. With the last bit of effort in me I went for it, and my arms wrapped
around the wooden railing. I tried to catch my breath, lungs bursting, as the water rushed over me and the dock. My leg was throbbing, but I was alive.

“Look at you, Useless!” Fiver clung to the front of the second dock, not far from me. “I thought you'd be a goner for sure!”

I glared at him, but he was grinning ear to ear. My scowl broke and the two of us laughed.

“Where's Av?” I called.

Fiver looked around him, and I did the same. Suddenly frightened, I looked at the water behind me that was pouring over the edge of the falls and scanned for any sign of him.

“Wanna give it another go?” There was Av, standing on the stone of the Temple. He was sopping wet and smiling.

Relieved, I hauled myself onto the wooden dock that was being jostled by the current. I reached for Av, who gave me his hand as I climbed over the railing and set my first foot on the wet white marble floor of the Beginners' Temple.

The water tirelessly swamped our feet, rushing over the marble and beating at the massive golden doors before us.

Av and I clung to each other for balance, the strength of the current pushing at our ankles, threatening to knock us over.

“Mother seeker!” Fiver cursed over the thunder of the rushing water as he fell over and his body was slammed up against the doors.

Av and I scrambled to help him to his feet as one of the golden doors opened slightly. A voice growled at us in words we didn't understand from somewhere behind it.

Av looked at me, his hand on his dagger securely fastened to his Larmy skin, and nodded. He was with me. Cubby was inside. Whatever waited for us behind those doors, Cubby was inside. I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the door, pushing it open wider.

As soon as I did, the door flew open and two large Tunrar pounced, landing on Fiver and Av, holding them down in the pounding water. Av cried out, the scream quickly
fading into a gurgle as the Tunrar shrieked and gave his head another slam.

A hard metal point pressed at my chest and in front of me stood a large, broad man. He was slightly melty, not as extreme as the Abish women, but still, his face was worn. His long white hair was braided and wrapped around his neck several times and he was snarling. My mind reeled when I saw his forehead, the familiar blue mark staring back at me. He pressed his shiny blade harder into my skin and spoke with a calm voice that didn't match his hard expression. I trembled when I couldn't understand what he'd said.

“Gorpok Juga!” I blurted out, suddenly remembering Blaze's instructions. “Get me Gorpok Juga!”

The man raised an amused eyebrow. “Ikkuma?”

“Yes! Yes!”

The man smirked and snapped a command at the Tunrar. They released Av and Fiver with a violent shove and disappeared behind the man back into the Temple.

Av and Fiver got to their feet beside me, Av rubbing the back of his head, Fiver wiping blood from his nose. I saw him reach for his knife, ready to chase after the Tunrar and get his revenge, but I stomped on his ankle. He growled and glared at me, but I couldn't let him ruin my one chance to get Cubby back.

The man opened the door, motioning at us to enter. Cautiously, I stepped over the threshold, Av and Fiver behind me.

The door closed with a deafening bang, and the sound of the rushing water quieted to a constant trickling. A thin layer calmly flowed over the floor, tickling my toes.

I scanned the large room, desperately hoping to see
Cubby, but it was empty save for several Tunrar sniffing each other in a dark corner. The whole place was dark, with only little patches of natural light from the open windows. The walls were made up of vibrant stone—blues, reds, greens, and black.

Av had his neck cranked upwards to the immensely high ceiling; he was lost in the pictures that decorated it. He swayed a bit, and I steadied him. He grabbed the back of his head, and when he removed his hand I saw it was stained with blood.

Fiver hadn't noticed any of it. His eyes were on the Tunrar in the corner—dark, angry eyes that burned for what had been done to little Wasted. I quickly glanced at the large man, hoping he hadn't noticed, but he had. He was watching Fiver, his finger running along the edge of his spear.

A voice echoed through the room and a short, extremely melted woman entered from a dark corridor, escorted by the two Tunrar that had leaped on Fiver and Av. Her hair was in the same braid as the man's, wrapped around her neck.

The man spoke to her, and I thought I caught him saying “Ikkuma.”

The woman's pink eyes lit up and her mouth hung open. On her forehead was the blue mark, just like the one I'd seen on Belphoebe's forehead. But Blaze, his had a line running through it. It was different.
I'm not anything
….

“Ikkuma boys?” she breathed.

I nodded.

“So young?” she said with a knotted brow. “So young. How you come here?”

“I'm here for my Brother,” I told her in a voice that I hoped sounded something like Digger's leader voice.

“Brother?” she looked to the man, and he shrugged. She studied the three of us, and her eyes filled with pity. We were drenched to the bone; Fiver was bloodied and Av was swaying. She studied Av a moment, then shot the large man an angry look. Again, he shrugged.

Then she turned her attention to Fiver. While carefully looking him over, she briefly turned her head and spoke to me. “You swim?”

She spoke funny, and her accent was strange.

“Yeah,” growled Fiver, answering before I could even open my mouth. “So give us what we came for.”

“You know me?” she said, still staring at me.

“Gorpok Juga?” I asked.

She nodded. “How you know me?”

Blaze's warning turned over in my mind, short answers.

“A friend,” I said. “Please, my Brother? He's Ikkuman.”

She shook her head. “Brother I no know.”

“He's little,” I said, stepping closer to her, my heart pounding. “And really skinny. He has blond, blond hair. He coughs a lot at night, and he's missing these three teeth.” I shoved my fingers in my mouth to make sure she knew which ones I meant.

She spoke to the large man. She pointed to her hair, then her teeth, interpreting what I'd said for him. He was stroking the bald head of one of the Tunrar, and nodded. My stomach leaped.

“You know him?” I asked.

“No, no, no,” she said. “I no know.”

“Liar,” growled Fiver.

Her pink eyes flashed to him and he shifted, looking down awkwardly.

Turning her attention back to me, she smiled.

“Ikkuma boys swim river.” She smiled wider and let out a laugh. “Ikkuma boys swim river! Very brave boys!”

Av stumbled forward a moment and I grabbed him, he was in bad shape. She watched me warmly, and my body flooded with hope.

“I help you.” She motioned to the corridor. “Come! Aju Krepin. He find brother if brother here.”

This was it. Cubby was as good as mine.

She turned and walked into the dark corridor, a Tunrar following behind.

The large man nodded at me to follow and I hurried after her. Av struggled to do the same but tripped over his own feet and Fiver caught him before he fell.

“Av?” I asked.

He slurred something I didn't understand while Fiver inspected his head. Fiver held up his hand to me. It was stained crimson with Av's blood and I was stuck. Gorpok Juga was moving farther away, my chance to get Cubby back moving away with her, but Av needed help.

Fiver was staring at me and I felt myself hating him. What did he want me to do?

“Are you coming?” I demanded.

At that, Av struggled to follow me, forcing Fiver to help him along.

“Come, Ikkuma boys!” Gorpok Juga called.

The splash of the water under our feet echoed in the dark corridor and I could hear several Tunrar following beside us, keeping to the walls.

One of them slinked in close to me, hissing. I could feel its hot breath on my forearm and smell its stink.

Gorpok Juga whipped around at the sound of the hissing Tunrar.

She yelled something at it and then brought down a fist repeatedly on its shoulder. It let out a yelp so helpless and pitiful I couldn't believe it came from the Tunrar. Gorpok Juga was yelling at it, and the large man who'd been following behind us suddenly ran up, brandishing his large blade. I cried out as he came towards me, but he grabbed the Tunrar by the shoulder and sliced at its back with his sword.

The Tunrar backed away into the shadows, whimpering.

“Tunrar Goblins,” said Gorpok Juga. “Impressive killers but must stay in place.”

“What place?” I asked, trying to slow my pounding heartbeat.

“Shame,” she said, rounding the corner and leading us outside onto a red marble walkway. The raging river poured through the railings and it took me a moment to figure out how to keep my balance. My leg hurt where the belt kept the gash together, fighting me as I tried to keep myself steady against the force of the water. Gorpok Juga didn't seem to be bothered. “Tunrar Goblins offend Beginning long time ago. Must forever pay, serve for forgiveness.”

She stroked the head of the bald Tunrar at her side.

We came to another set of golden doors and Gorpok Juga pushed them open with ease.

“In here, Aju Krepin.”

I looked back to make sure my Brothers were with me. Fiver was now practically carrying a drowsy Av across the walkway. He needed help, to rest. I wanted to tell him to stop, to tell Fiver to take Av back, but I knew Av wouldn't leave me.

“You come?” Gorpok Juga asked.

I nodded, swallowing my fear for Av, and walked through the door.

The room was bigger than the first, brighter and more colorful. The perfume of a thousand different types of flowers drenched the air. People sat in groups all over the place, the Beginners, all with hair like Gorpok Juga, the blue mark on all their foreheads. Statues, small and large, adorned the walls, the mark chiseled into all their faces.

In the center of the room stood a large altar raised above the floor, the only dry place in the Temple, I suspected.

Tunrar sat around it, lazily, while still more people sat all over it. On a large blue stone at the top sat a young man with a golden braid and draped in robes of lapis. He sat up when we entered and addressed Gorpok Juga, his deep, smooth voice echoing off the stone walls.

She answered him, the heads of all the people in the room turning to face us.