The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) (40 page)

Tempani
opened her eyes, her hand still clutching Chennai’s. She heard the sobs of
Darby as he realized that she was gone. Dahlia wept freely as she tried to
comfort him. Nic, Madoc, Chae and Rando all had tears swimming in their eyes.
Only Otto and Bhatia remained stoic. Teddy moaned in pain. She still smelt the
burning flesh of her former sisters.

It
was senseless. First the tribe and now this. Hallam was behind the decision. Of
that she was sure. But why attack the most sacred place in the kingdom? The
people here were harmless. They devoted their lives to the very God he
worshipped. She would kill him. She would make him pay. He would know nothing
but pain in the last moments of his life, and he would regret the day he was
born.

The
anger bubbled in the pit of her stomach. She felt its strength as it grew. It
forced all memories of happier times from her until all she saw was darkness -
a darkness so consuming that her eyes darkened until they were almost as black
as her hair. It ran through her veins with such ferocity that she trembled.

She
had lost her ability to calm herself, to control the flow of her emotions, and
they needed a release. She opened her mouth and released a scream so powerful
that around her, people covered their ears. The earth under their feet shook.
Gently at first and then with such vigor that the buildings, already damaged by
the fire, began to crumble. Her friends screamed as the ground rolled
underneath them.
Thara
fell to her knees, covering
the baby’s body with her own. Nika threw his body over the two of them.

Nic
tried to grab her arm, but it was so hot that he yelped at its touch. Otto’s
eyes moved frantically, searching for something he could use on Tempani that
would stop her but wouldn’t hurt her. They screamed her name, begging her to
stop, but she couldn’t hear them. All she heard were the mutterings of Mother Chennai,
the whimpering of Teddy. There was nothing beyond that.

Bhatia
struggled to her feet and was hit by a falling tree branch, knocking her back
down. Madoc staggered over to her. Blood gushed from her forehead so he ripped
the sleeve from his shirt and held it to her head. She pushed him away and
crawled over to Tempani. She didn’t know if it would work, but she had to try.

She
grabbed Tempani’s hands in hers, screaming as the searing heat scalded her
palms. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain. Someone tried to pull her
away, but she struggled against their grip. She opened her mind up and in doing
so allowed herself to connect with Tempani’s. She saw the pain in her, and she
wanted to cower from it. Break their bond. But she couldn’t. The anger coursing
through Tempani moved into Bhatia. She felt it crawl into her being and try to
take over her mind. Its darkness was crushing and threatened to suffocate her.
Her back arched as she tried to fight it. It was pushing every good thought
from her mind. She forced it back, trying to focus on a moment of pure joy so
it wouldn’t consume her the way it had Tempani. Slowly she got the anger under
control. It was still there, but its power had dulled.

She
fell backwards, panting as she broke free of Tempani’s hands. The ground had
stopped shaking. Tempani lay in a heap, her face drawn, her body trembling. Nic
rushed to his wife’s side and swept her up in his arms, weeping as he checked
her pulse. She was alive. But she had almost allowed herself to be drained of
her entire life force.

Madoc
was beside Bhatia now. He brought his flask to her lips, and she gulped at the
water until it was empty. Dahlia limped over to check Bhatia’s injury.

“She
is strong,” Bhatia croaked, her throat roared with the effort to speak.

“
You
are strong,” Dahlia told her. “You saved her.”

She
shook her head. “Her feelings… they are… they take control. She must be
fighting them every moment. I had no idea.”

“What
did you do?” Madoc asked.

Dahlia
looked up at him, her eyes filled with an awe that unnerved Bhatia. “She
shouldered some of her anger. Took it from her so she could break free of the
hold it had on her.”

“She’d
lost control,” Bhatia muttered. “I had to do something or we’d all die.”

She
clambered to her feet. They were all watching her, and she didn’t like what she
saw on their faces. It was the same look Dahlia had. She shook her head and
winced at the pain. She’d only done what she had to do. If Dahlia had thought
of it first, she would have done the same thing. Any of them would.

Nic
looked up at her. “If we win this, whatever you want will be yours. I am
forever in your debt.”

She
felt a warm hand on her arm. “She needs to rest,” Madoc told them.

A
wave of gratitude washed over her as she allowed him to lead her away from adoring
eyes. She only managed a few steps before she tripped over her feet, too tired
to lift them off the ground. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to
the chapel, the only building that lay untouched. The soulless cowards who had
done this had not wanted to slight the Gods by burning the temple that housed
their statues. Yet they had no problem destroying the lives of those who
pledged their lives to worshiping them. He tried to calm his anger as he lay
her down in one of the pews, resting her head in his lap.

“How
did you do it? She could have killed you.”

“I
just focused on the first time I met her. The first time I ever felt safe.” She
closed her eyes.

It
was the only time he’d seen her face at peace.

—

Tempani
slept for two days. Otto stayed by her side, along with her
niski
and
niska
, the older woman putting aside her hatred
of the man who had stolen her daughter. Nic spent half of his time by her side
and the other half with his brother.

The
Kalaowins had not known the members of the convent, but they had travelled
there and buried each and every one of them. They had left the damaged
buildings as they were, to remain as a constant reminder of the inhumane act
that took place on such innocent lives.

When
she awoke on the third morning since the earthquake, it was to find everyone
grieving. The mood at the
Ikra’s
camp was somber, and
it made no sense to her. They should be angry. Thirsty for action. For revenge.
The Kalaowins had lost a tribe, and the Kamaris had lost their spiritual home.

Nic
rushed over to her the moment she stepped out of her tent. He wrapped his arms
around her and kissed the top of her head. “How are you?”

“Why
are people just sitting around?” She asked. “We should be training.”

“Tempani,”
Nic started, but she cut him off.

“Madoc!”
She called out. “Madoc!”

He
came rushing over, panic on his face. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

“I
want training sessions twice a day,” she said. “Where’s
Keer
?
And Nika? I want them working with you.”

Nic
turned her back to face him. “You need to take it easy. What you’ve been
through is going to take time to recover from. You need time to grieve.”

“There’s
no time to grieve. We’re at war.”

“Tempani,
you need to rest.”

She
brushed him off and spotted her
niska
. She trotted
over to her. “I’m sending a call out to the women. If they have the Power, they
will feel me and they will come. Will you help me train them?”

Her
wise eyes assessed the younger girl and after a moment she nodded. “Of course.”

“Tempani.”
Nic joined them. “Please listen to me. You need to grieve. You’re not thinking
clearly.”

“My
mind has never been clearer,” she said. “You promised to not stand in my path.
I know how to lead this.”

He
sighed. “At least come and see Teddy. He could do with a friend.”

She
baulked at his suggestion. “I need to find
Keer
and
Nika. I have to check the perimeter and enhance the enchantments on this camp.”

“Please.”

She
shook her head. “Maybe later. I really need to go.”

He
frowned as she stalked off. She needed to deal with her grief before anything
else. If she didn’t, it would consume her, and she would be headed for a
certain death. There was only so many times he could tell her. He also had
Teddy to focus on.

Nic
tried to hold back his tears as he entered the tent. His brother’s body was so
small and fragile as he lay under the blankets. The room was dark, with only a
small candle beside his bed.

He
sat beside him and gripped his hand between his. Teddy’s eyes, once so full of life,
were now just a blank stare. His lips were pressed together firmly as he turned
away from his brother.

“How
are you feeling?”

There
was no response.

“Can
I get you anything? Do you want me to try and send word to mother?”

“No,
she can’t see me like this,” he snapped.

“She
loves you Teddy. Nothing will change that.”

Teddy’s
body shook as he cried.

“Teddy,”
he whispered.

“No.”

Nic
reach out his hand and patted Teddy’s hair in the way he’d seen his mother do
it many times before.

“She
should have let me die,” he muttered. “I did nothing to help as they… What they
did, it was horrible. And I have to see that for the rest of my life. He made
sure that was the last thing I ever saw.”

“I
wish there was something I could do. I wish I could take the images from you
and bear them myself.”

“And
I wish I was dead.”

“Please
don’t say that,” he urged. “Please.”

“I
deserve it.”

“No.”

“I’m
being punished for father. I knew,” he wept. “I knew he was planning to kill
him, and I did nothing. Nothing!”

“This
was an act of sorcery not the hand of our God.”

“They
should have killed me. I deserve to die.”

“Teddy,”
he pleaded.

“Leave
me,” he whispered.

Nic
leaned across and pressed his lips to Teddy’s forehead. With a sigh he rose and
left the tent. His heart ached for his brother. He had been carrying this guilt
with him and had no one to turn to. He thought back to that night he had begged
Teddy to let him help. He shouldn’t have taken no for an answer. He should have
stayed until Teddy confessed what he knew. He had failed him as a brother but
that would stop now. 

He
squinted against the bright sun as he glanced around the campsite in search of
his wife. Surely she’d finished checking the perimeter now. He knew she was
probably the only person who could comfort Teddy.

“She’s
training,” Chae said when Nic approached him.

Nic
shook his head.

“Give
her time.”

—

Tempani
stood in the entrance to Teddy’s tent and watched him sleep. He was restless.
He tossed and turned as he muttered to himself. She flinched when he called out
Chennai’s name. And Lord
Ricton’s
.

She
walked away, letting the flap close behind her, and felt the anger bubbling
again. Lord Ricton did it. Hallam had sat in the palace and sent his sorcerer to
do his dirty work. He had blinded Teddy. He had allowed the daughters of the
Gods to be raped. Tortured. Murdered. She couldn’t understand how a human being
could be capable of such atrocities. How did people have that much hatred
inside them that they could do that?

She
would make them pay. Each person that was there that day would feel what it was
like to be tortured. And she would be the one to do it. Hallam and Ricton were
top of her list. They would meet the most gruesome of ends.

She
saw Nic watching her. He wanted her to grieve. To cry over the pointless
deaths. She didn’t have time to grieve. Now was the time to act and lead this
rebellion. She needed this anger to fuel her. If she let herself start grieving
now she didn’t think she’d be able to stop. Why couldn’t he see that?

He
wanted her to talk to Teddy, but she couldn’t. How could she face a man who was
like a brother to her and tell him that she had failed him? She hadn’t been
there to protect him. Teddy, who had the purest heart she knew, was now blind.
He was attacked and forced to watch as all around him people died. How could
she apologize for not being there to stop that? She was off being happy,
meeting her family and getting married while people suffered. She would never
forgive herself. Every day until her death she would hate herself for failing
them. She did not deserve happiness anymore, and she definitely didn’t deserve
Teddy as a friend. He would be better off without her. Knowing her had brought
nothing but pain and despair.

—

 “They’re
blaming the Kalaowins,” Otto said. “They have told everyone that it was the
Uhli
tribe that attacked the convent.”

Eriluz
hissed and spat on the ground.