The Broken Kingdom (11 page)

‘Gone.’ Riley grated. ‘When I… was forced…
here. He is gone.’

And Vann heard grief in her voice.

Adila closed her eyes again. Then she opened
them. ‘I should get back to work. Please, be patient. I will make
sure you are returned to your body.’

‘Wait.’ Vann called. ‘She keeps… we have to
keep talking to her, otherwise she just… it’s hard to make her
respond. I don’t think she can stay here much longer. She hasn’t
slept in days.’

‘That’s not surprising.’ Adila replied,
turning back to them, ‘to go into another body is traumatic enough.
But a body so different from hers, and against her will? She is
losing her hold on it.’ She looked at Riley. ‘You may sleep. I will
bring you back if I feel you drifting away.’

And she turned away again.

Vann and Zap Zap shared a look.

Riley said nothing, but Vann could see she
wasn’t exactly happy. But what else could they do?

He set up the charger for the SIGPEW,
somewhere where it wouldn’t get wet or fall over. Then he settled
down to wait with Riley.

She did not sleep.

Sometime later Karesh flew over to the
beach. He did this often. He had not spoken to Adila, but he
watched.

Vann looked up as Karesh approached. Karesh
looked over and landed near them.

He said something in Plains speech, but what
little Vann had known he had lost with disuse.

Adila stretched from what she was doing, she
looked over.

And then Vann could understand.

‘Fishman has returned?’ Karesh asked.

Vann wasn’t quite sure what to say to him.
But Zap Zap responded.

‘I Zap Zap! Strong Swimmer of Harsh Wave
returned! He injured here. Now he strange, broken. Says he is
Riley. You know her?’

‘Master?’ Karesh exclaimed.

‘Your Master?’

‘Riley is Master. She has been acting
strangely.’

‘Yes. Strong Swimmer act strange too. Says
he is Riley. Shiny lady agrees.’

Riley now looked up.

‘K-karesh…’ she grated. ‘A-arlid… he… stole
my… body. Have you… seen it?’

Karesh nearly jumped. ‘Is it you,
Master?’

‘Ye-es…’

Karesh stilled. He looked towards the cave,
his eyes narrowed. ‘I have seen it, Master. It has been acting
unlike you. Aerlid tells me everything will be fine.’

‘He.. did this!’

‘What would you have me do, Master?’

Riley fell silent.

Adila came over then. She looked tired.
‘Please, there is nothing any of you can do. Just wait. The body
will be finished, and Riley will soon have hers back. Karesh, I ask
you to keep this from Aerlid. I don’t want him coming out here. He
might… panic.’

‘Is this your wish, Master?’ Karesh asked
Riley.

‘Very.. well…’

‘I will keep Aerlid away then.’ And he
jumped into the air and flew back to the cave.

When night came Riley became agitated. Adila
had to come and calm her down again. She suggested she sleep.

Finally, Riley acquiesced. She lay down in
the surf, her mouth and nose free of the water.

And eventually, she slept. Vann saw Adila
approach Riley and wave her staff periodically, about four times an
hour.

And then he too slept.

The next day dawned. Adila worked.

Zap Zap brought them some fish. Vann turned
to offer some to Adila but Riley shook her head at him.

While they ate the Sunsinger seemed to be
ignoring them, though it was hard to say, considering she was
working.

After they finished eating, she came and sat
near them. Her light was not so strong as usual. From the pouches
tied to her clothes she pulled a small bowl and a leaf and a berry.
She put them in the bowl and sung.

Vann watched, slowly the bowl filled with
more berries and leaves.

Tiredly, she began eating.

Vann caught her eye.

‘Yes?’ she asked.

‘That’s very impressive.’ he replied.

‘Not to my kind.’

They lapsed into silence. Zap Zap was trying
to get Riley to swim. There was an awful lot of splashing going
on.

A little later, when Adila was nearly done
eating, Zap Zap and Riley returned to the shore.

‘How much… longer?’ Riley asked.

‘I’m going as fast as I can.’ Adila replied.
‘I am sorry.’

Riley said nothing.

‘Adila, what’s going on?’ Vann asked.

She finished her food and replaced the bowl
in one of her pouches. It was a small bowl, Vann couldn’t see how a
bowl that size full of anything could fill anyone up. But Adila
looked much refreshed.

Vann glanced towards Riley. She did not seem
much interested, but she was near, and could hear.

‘If you don’t mind knowing.’ Vann added, to
her.

‘Doesn’t… matter.’ Riley replied. ‘He…
stole… my body…’

‘A long time ago, before the humans betrayed
us and were then decimated by the last ehlkrid incursion, Andalla
and his kind took part in the world.’ Adila began. ‘They were all
very thoughtless of anyone and anything other than themselves. One
of them though was much worse, she was named Onsa. Mostly, the
others of her kind did not care what she did. But then one of her…
experiments… interfered with Andalla’s plans. And so he wished her
gone. But Onsa was perhaps the strongest, the most knowledgeable,
of all of them. So killing her… it was never going to be easy.
Around the same time, Aerlid and Seta fell in love.’ She smiled
bittersweetly, and for a moment Vann wondered what Adila had
thought about that at the time.

Adila continued speaking, ‘Seta was one of
them, but she was the youngest. Andalla came to Aerlid and told him
his plan. He and the others would kill Onsa’s body, but it was
likely she would escape and her soul would live on. They would
capture it, they said. And that is what they did. Andalla asked
Aerlid to put Onsa’s soul in Seta’s body, and then kill her. If
Onsa felt the death of a body twice, Andalla said, she would not
survive.’

There was the sound of splashing. Adila
broke off her story and looked over at Riley who was making the
noise.

They shared a look, one Vann didn’t
understand. Adila seemed surprised. Then she said, ‘Aerlid never
thought he would be killing Seta. And Onsa, well, by the time
Andalla told Aerlid the plan they had already killed her. What was
left shouldn’t have been there, so finishing her off, the idea
would not have been so hard for Aerlid.’

Adila looked at Riley a moment longer. When
she saw that she was satisfied she continued. ‘The new body, it had
to be one of their kind. The death of a human or valkar would not
have been enough to kill Onsa. Andalla told Aerlid he would be able
to heal Seta after, and that Andalla would lend him his strength to
do so. With Aerlid’s skill and his love, and Andalla’s power,
Aerlid believed it would work. Further, Andalla told him they chose
Seta because she was the strongest, she would be better able to
withstand Onsa’s invasion. They asked him to put Onsa within her
because Seta trusted him, and he would be careful. Seta had agreed,
they said, but it must be a surprise. Onsa’s soul needed to bond
entirely with Seta’s body, otherwise the death of her body would
not harm her. If Seta knew it was happening, even if she agreed,
she would hold back and defend herself and it would not work.’

Adila fell silent. ‘I don’t know why Aerlid
believed him.’ she sighed. ‘Pride I suppose, in himself and Seta,
and everyone wished Onsa gone forever. But he did it. Only Seta had
not agreed and Andalla did not offer Aerlid his power. I thought… I
thought that was the end of it.’ She closed her eyes a moment. ‘I
know he tried and failed to heal her. But it seems… he must have
tried to rescue Seta’s soul from her dying body. And,’ she looked
at Riley, ‘it seems he’s been trying to bring her back ever since.
And I fear… you are not the first he has tried this with.’

The only sound was the lapping of the
waves.

‘Adila,’ Vann broke the silence. ‘Why didn’t
he just make her a body like you’re doing? Why did he need Riley’s
body?’

She sighed. ‘Perhaps I make it look easy,
but it is in fact very difficult. But it’s a fair question. At one
time, Aerlid should have been able to do something similar.’ Adila
reached out and picked up a shell lying on the beach. ‘If I were to
try and put your soul in this, do you think it would work?’

Vann gazed at the shell sceptically.

‘Unless you had a tremendous amount of power
and were very focussed on possessing this shell, you would not even
connect with it. The body I am making is like this shell. It’s made
from wood and seaweed and sunlight. It is not the same as a real
body, not at all. It can’t be moved in the same way, it can’t get
energy the same way. Everything, in every way, is different. There
are no muscles, no heart, no brain. Creating something like this
for a person is a last resort. Onsa or Seta… whoever, she has the
knowledge and the will to be able to use it now. But when she first
died… Aerlid may have tried, but I think she would have experienced
something close to madness. She would not have had the focus to be
able to use something like this. Only a real body would have
worked, the closer to her own the better.’

Adila fell silent. She gazed at the shell in
her hands.

Nothing more was said.

Karesh kept Aerlid away. And then finally,
days later, Adila finished the new body. It had a strong smell of
the ocean and seaweed, and was only vaguely human shaped. But Adila
said it was finished.

And so she sent Karesh to tell Aerlid and
Seta that it was done.