The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) (29 page)

He
shook his head. “It is not a place for me,” he whispered.

She
swallowed and followed the others inside.

“You
bow,” the man barked.

They
obeyed and followed the Kalaowin ritual of crossing their arms against their
chests and bending over as low as they could, while the man retreated into the
corner and planted his spear at his side.

A
deep, croaky voice spoke slowly in Kalaowin. Tempani whipped her head around
trying to locate the woman, but she saw nothing beyond her own outstretched
hand. She glanced at Chae, but he showed no sign of panic. Nor did Madoc. She
blinked her eyes a few times, but it changed nothing. The room in front of her
was still shrouded in darkness. She felt a tickle in her head, like there was
something snaking across her mind. She shook her head and felt herself forcing
it out.

There
was a cackle and then the darkness faded, and she found herself staring into
the black, beetle like, eyes of the Shiasa. “Your magic is great, young one.”

“That
was you,” Tempani whispered. “In my mind.”

She
cackled again. “Your intentions here are blocked from me. Protected. Why?”

Tempani’s
throat was dry. She tried to swallow but to no avail.
Just speak the truth.
Mother Chennai had yet to steer her wrong.

“I
mean you no harm,” she stuttered. “I come to seek your help to unite our
people.”

“My
people are united.”

Tempani
shook her head, trying to find the right words. “Our kingdom needs to stand as
one. No more bloodshed.”

“Then
tell your king to stop hunting my people.”

“Our
people. I belong to you too.”

The
black eyes, almost lost in the folds of her wrinkled skin, hardened as they
glared at Tempani. The Shiasa rose from her spot on the ground and hobbled over
to her. Tempani was surprised to see how small the powerful woman was, her
hunched shoulders making her even shorter. Her hair was pulled back in a braid
and coiled around her head like a crown.

Standing
two feet behind her was an old man, his long gray hair falling to his waist.
His eyes remained on Tempani as he moved in unison with the Shiasa. She held
his gaze, and the realization hit her, like a punch to the gut, when she saw
the markings just below his right eye.

The
old woman stopped in front of Tempani and spat on the ground.
Tilaw
growled and bared his teeth. Tempani hadn’t realized
he’d followed them in. She lowered her hand and rested it on his head.
Calm
down,
she thought to him.
I don’t want to make her angrier.

The
Shiasa watched this exchange with curious eyes. “You speak to your dog.”

Tempani
bowed her head, blushing because she knew it seemed silly that she did, but she
felt that
Tilaw
understood her.

The
Shiasa flicked her eyes to the man who’d brought them in and gave the slightest
nod of her head. He stepped forward and ushered them out. They joined the rest
of their group and were led back through the crowd.

“What
happened?” Darby muttered to her as he was pushed along.

“I
don’t know.”

“Maybe
we’re being sent off to the slaughter now,” Madoc whispered.

“We’re
not dying,” she snapped and stopped walking. She ignored their protests and
stepped out of the line, shaking off Madoc’s grip on her arm.

The
man who led them shouted at her to get back in line. To keep walking.

“No,”
she said.

He
advanced on her, his spear raised. She knew that if he wanted to he could take
her down in a heartbeat, but he wouldn’t.

“Tempani!”
Dahlia pleaded.

“He
won’t kill me, will you?” She asked the man.

He
stepped closer to her. His wiry muscles tensed as he swung his spear at her.
She sidestepped it. He swung again but this time she ducked and brought her leg
around to kick him on the back of his knees. He hadn’t been expecting it and
fell to the ground. She knew it had been a lucky hit and that if he’d thought
she would try to fight he would have protected himself. She stood over him and
lifted his chin up so their faces met.

“Tell
the old woman it’s not polite to spit at her granddaughter’s feet.”

The
Shiasa cackled. The old man stood behind her. “You’re not as stupid as you
look.”

Tempani
glared at her briefly before looking at the old man. “
Niski
,”
she breathed and walked slowly towards him. She reached her fingers out and
traced the tattoo under his eye. Hamalia. He grinned and pulled Tempani into
his embrace, crying softly as he patted her hair.

“Pala,”
he said repeatedly. My love in Kalaowin.

“
Niski
?” She heard Colbert ask behind them.

“It
means grandfather,” Chae said slowly as he walked over to them. “They’re our
grandparents.”

Their
niski
offered his arm to Chae and he stepped into the
embrace. He held them firm for a few moments, kissing each of their heads
repeatedly. When he released them he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“You’ve
come home,” he croaked.

The
Shiasa hobbled away barking orders at people as she did. “Find them tents,” she
yelled.

“Your
niska
is happy to see you,” he said. “Even if she
doesn’t show it.”

Tempani
rolled her eyes. “She spat at me.”

“Losing
Hamalia was tough on her,” he explained.

“It
was tough on all of us,” Chae said.

“Yes,
but your
niska
lost her twice. When she chose your
father she was lost to us. Shut out by the tribe.”

“Because
she fell in love?” Tempani asked incredulously.

“She
chose him over her duty to our people,” he sighed. “I am old. I must rest.”

They
were given tents as far from the Shiasa’s tent as possible, on the edge of the
camp. They each went about their own tasks soundlessly but sticking close
together.
Thara
stayed hidden in her tent, and
Tempani felt bad for the woman. It must be hard for her being surrounded by all
the men in the group and now the tribe. And on top of that they were all being
watched. They felt the eyes following their every move. Word had spread quickly
that they were the Shiasa’s grandchildren but what Tempani found even more
unsettling was that they didn’t stare at Chae. They stared at her. And very
openly.

She
grabbed Mincha’s reins and led her down to the river. She settled herself
against Mincha’s leg as the mare helped herself to a drink. She had often
thought about her mother’s family. How they must have felt when she married
Otto. But to think that she was completely disowned by them, shunned by her
tribe, was heartbreaking.

Hamalia
had taught her children the language and ways of their people and had spoken so
fondly of her father,
Yapa
. But she hadn’t mentioned
her mother,
Eriluz
much. It was
Yapa
who looked after her and her brother,
Helio
.

And
to think this entire time her grandmother was the Shiasa. This idea that Tempani
had fabricated in her mind of a strong, kind leader had dissipated the moment
she had met the cranky old woman. She felt cheated. She had wanted to think of
her mother’s people as being able to do no wrong. A child’s fantasy perhaps,
but one she’d held onto. But the Shiasa’s refusal to help, to even acknowledge
that she was herself a Kalaowin, was like a knife in the heart.

How
was she going to convince a woman so set in her ways that she couldn’t see
beyond her own prejudices?

“Of
course,” she said aloud.

She
heard a soft chuckle behind her. “I wondered if you would work it out on your
own,” Darby said and sat beside her. “By all rights you are the next leader of
your people.”

“So
I just have to wait for the old witch to croak?”

“I
wish it were that simple,” he said. “When Hamalia was disowned, she was also
disinherited. Stripped of her right to the leadership, which means her daughter
also has no right.”

“So
who is next in line?”

“Kalaowin
law dictates that with no daughter to succeed her, a vote is made by the elders
to instate a new Shiasa. Your grandmother’s line ends with her so a new family
will be voted in.”

“I
have to get voted in. If I am Shiasa, I can unite this kingdom,” she said and
grabbed Darby’s hands. “Any idea how to do that?”

“You
have to belong to a tribe first,” Zadi spoke as she joined them. “If you were a
man, you would be able to marry into one.”

“Well,
clearly I’m not a man. Anything else?”

 “There
is one way. Come on.” She rushed off, yelling at them to follow.

Tempani
smiled. It seemed Zadi had come alive now that she was back among her people.

They
all stood in Tempani’s tent and stared as Zadi explained her plan. Tempani
frowned, watching Chae as the news sunk in.

“So
the only way she can join a tribe is if I marry into one?” Chae shook his head,
his eyes meeting Dahlia’s. “Surely there’s another way.”

Zadi
shrugged. “There’s not.”

Tempani
bristled. She did not like the way Zadi was treating the matter. Like it wasn’t
an issue that Chae had to marry against his desire.

“We’ll
find another way,” Tempani assured him. “There must be a sacrifice I can make.
A ritual I could go through.”

“Can
she marry me?” Madoc asked. “Don’t I belong to a tribe?”

“Only
a male can marry into a tribe,” she said. “Besides your mother never rightfully
claimed you as her own. You are not of our people.”

Madoc
turned on Zadi, his tall frame looming over her. Tempani gave the girl credit.
She didn’t cower when most others would. “Don’t tell me I’m not Kalaowin,” he
hissed. “It’s that thinking that helped divide this kingdom. You lot are as bad
as the Kamaris.”

Madoc
yelped as a bright spark flew through the air and landed at his feet.

The
Shiasa stood in the entrance, her face clouded with fury. She cursed at him and
sent another spark his way.

Tempani
spun around and aimed a ball of fire at the ground before the old lady. “Don’t
attack my friends,” she snapped at her grandmother. “He has a point.”

Her
grandmother spat on the ground and hurled an insult at her.

“If
you keep spitting old lady, you’ll soon run out of saliva and shrivel up before
they’ve found a new Shiasa.”

“It
won’t be you,” she hissed. “Your mother didn’t have the heart and neither do
you.”

Tempani
growled at her. “Do. Not. Speak. Of. My. Mother,” she said through clenched
teeth. The anger coursed through her veins, and she wanted to unleash it on
this woman standing before her.

And
then she saw the small smile of satisfaction on her grandmother’s face, and Tempani
knew she was being tested. And failing. She closed her eyes and tried to calm
her breathing. She would not let her
niska
defeat
her.

When
her anger had faded she opened her eyes and stared back into the cold, black
ones. A triumphant smile on her face. Tempani had won this challenge. She just
wondered how many more there would be.

—

Dahlia
yawned. Her eyes heavy from not sleeping and raw from crying. She had been so
stupid. Had allowed herself to get swept up in the love she felt for Chae, and
now it was being ripped from her. Against her will. Against his.

And
she was angry about it. Why did she have to give up the person she loved for
this cause? It wasn’t fair. She swallowed and scolded herself for being
selfish. It was all for the greater good, was it not? Tempani had been able to
give up Nic. Why was she not strong enough to part from Chae?

But
the thought of not being with him ever again left her feeling such a sense of
loss that she saw nothing beyond that. She knew she could not continue on without
him. Without his smiles that he kept solely for her. His short laugh that
sounded like a bark. His sharp mind that entertained her for hours with
stories. His lips that always knew how to extract even the slightest ounce of
pleasure from her.

But
Tempani was her friend. She would be her savior. And here she was, standing in
her way. Dahlia would be the reason this all fell apart.

She
rolled over when she heard him enter. She didn’t want him to see her tear
stained face. See that she wasn’t as strong as he was.

He
sat beside her and tried to take her hand, but she pulled it from his reach.
“Dahlia,” he breathed. “Please.”

“I
don’t want to hear it,” she whimpered. “I can’t hear you say you’re marrying
someone else.”

He
sighed. “And I can’t bear to say those words.”

She
stifled a sob. “Have they chosen someone?”