The Threshold Child (50 page)

Aleron stared at them incredulously. “I thought the Shimat were
old wives’ tales.”

Adesina shook her head sadly. “No, they are very real.”

He struggled to swallow. “Can they do all the things the stories
say?”

She gave him a questioning look. “I do not know what the stories
say.”

Her friend from the High City hugged his knees as he briefly told
of the tales that haunted every small child’s nightmares. “They say that the
Shimat are demons—shadows that periodically take form. They steal small
children from their beds and turn them into slaves. It is said that those who
lead wicked lives have their souls taken by the Shimat when they lay dying.”

Adesina would have laughed if she had known less truth about the
real Shimat. “The truth is not so bad, and yet it is much worse. They are a
secret organization whose sole purpose is to gain power. They use blackmail,
corruption and fear to invisibly gain control over the nations.”

He stared at her, his eyes wide with disbelief. “And you are one
of them?”

Her expression became stony. “I was raised as one, yes.”

E’nes stepped in. “Most young Shimat do not know the true purpose
of the order, Aleron. Adesina has since discovered this truth and chosen to not
follow their path.”

Aleron was relieved to hear this. “Forgive me for doubting you,
Adrie. After what happened in the High City…”

They waited for him to go on, but he fell silent, staring into the
fire with an anguished look on his face.

After a few moments, L’iam asked gently, “What happened to the
High City, Aleron?”

He exhaled loudly, wiping some tears from his eyes. “I do not even
know where to begin.”

“Start from when I left,” Adesina urged.

He nodded, taking a deep breath and collecting his thoughts. “Your
disappearance caused quite an uproar. We searched for weeks through the city
and the surrounding area. Every Outsider that had come to the High City was
detained and questioned. The Governors were frantic.”

Adesina couldn’t understand why such a fuss had been made. “Why?”

Aleron made a helpless gesture. “You were the second magic user to
go missing from our city. I know you always claimed to be from the Northern
Tribes, but the important thing was that you
looked
like a magic user.
As long as you were around, they could pretend that they were on excellent
terms with the race. That is why they were all so anxious to be on your good
side. If you appeared to support one of the Governors, the High City citizens
would think that that Governor had the support of your whole race.”

She gave him an appraising look. “You seem to know a lot about
political maneuvering.”

He shrugged. “What else is there to do in the High City?”

Adesina couldn’t argue with that. “What happened then?”

“Well, you were the second magic user to disappear,” he repeated,
“and the whole city was terrified that a massive army of magic users would come
marching in to destroy us all.”

“Did they?” asked L’iam.

Adesina looked at him in surprise. He knew very well that the
L’avan had done no such thing. Why would he ask otherwise?

Aleron shook his head sadly. “I do not know. It all happened so
fast.”

“Tell us what happened,” urged L’iam gently.

He rested his curly head in his hands, speaking in a low voice.
“For weeks after you disappeared nothing happened. Our searches always turned
up empty, and there was no sign of retaliation. People started to relax,
thinking that everything would be fine in the end.” He took another deep
breath, trying to calm himself. “Then one night I woke up to the sound of
screams.”

There was a breathless pause. Adesina leaned in and repeated
softly, “Aleron, what happened?”

His voice was almost a whisper. “The city was on fire! People were
running everywhere, animals were on the loose…and there were dark shadows…”

L’era frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Aleron’s eyes were haunted. “There were shadows everywhere. They
were the ones setting the fires and killing the animals and…”

His words fell before Adesina, ringing with condemnation. She knew
exactly how this story would end, and she knew who had caused it to begin. She
desperately wanted to be wrong, but deep down she knew she wasn’t.

“And what?” she asked woodenly.

“I saw them bar up the doors of houses before setting them on
fire. The women and children screamed and screamed, but they could not escape.
People on the street were massacred without hesitation, without mercy. There
was blood everywhere!”

There were tears running down L’era’s face. “How did you survive?”

Aleron shrugged hopelessly. “I was trying to find my mother. She
had gone down to the streets to help one of our neighbors, and she was lost in
a mob. As I was searching for her, I was hit on the head and knocked
unconscious. When I woke up, it was morning and the High City was in ruins.
Some people believe that the magic users summoned the shadows to revenge
themselves upon us.”

Adesina felt sick to her stomach. She clenched her jaw, fighting
the anger and horror she felt. “Are those in the camp all who survived?”

Aleron nodded with hesitation. “I believe so.”

E’nes looked at his sister fearfully. “Adesina, you do not know-”

She cut him off. “I
do
know. I know exactly who did this.
What I cannot understand is
why
.”

Ravi gazed at her sadly. “Can you not?”

Adesina shook her head. “No! The High City bore no strategic
importance, it had no enemies, bore no threat. There is nothing to be gained by
destroying it so thoroughly.”

“Adesina,” L’iam said quietly, “it was attacked because they knew
the L’avan would be blamed.”

The wrath Adesina felt was amplified as she felt the truth of the
statement. Aleron looked around the group uncertainly, trying to understand
what they were saying.

“Who are these L’avan you have mentioned?”

Adesina was too upset to answer, leaving it to E’nes.

“We are the L’avan. It is the name of our race.”

The young man still didn’t understand. “If your people did not
attack the High City, then who did?”

Her voice was cold and biting. “The Shimat.”

Aleron frowned in confusion. “Why? Why would they want you
blamed?”

“The Shimat are our mortal enemies,” L’iam explained. “They have
been for hundreds of years. They would go to great lengths to fuel hatred
directed towards our people. If that includes destroying a city and murdering
thousands of people, so much the better. It is a perfect show of their power
and skill in staying undetected.”

Although Adesina was afraid of the answer, she had to ask, “What
of Hass and his family? Did they survive? What about Gainor and Deasa and
Rina?”

Aleron looked at her sadly. “They are not in our camp.” He hurried
to continue, “But there may have been other survivors in other camps.”

She shook her head blindly and got to her feet, walking away from
the fire. It was too much to be borne. The people of the High City may have had
their faults, but there was no way that they had deserved such a fate. The heat
of fury burned in her chest, contrasting strangely with the tears smarting in
her eyes.

Her
vyala
flared up in
response to these emotions, strengthening them and being strengthened by them.
She struggled to subdue the power swirling around her body, reprimanding
herself for losing control.

Adesina stood with her back to her companions, staring at the
refugee camps in the distance. As she fought her internal battle with her
emotions and her
vyala
, something on
the outskirts of her enhanced awareness caught her attention.

Something was wrong.

She instantly became more alert, scanning the scene in front of
her. She let her
vyala
go free,
tinting her vision dark green.

Hidden in the darkness were several men on horseback, quietly
advancing on the refugee camps. Adesina switched her
vyala
to a light green and immediately felt their murderous intent.
She tried to look deeper, discover who they were, but she could tell that time
was short and she had to hurry.

She whipped around and sprinted back to the L’avan camp. “We have
to get out of here now!” she said in a low, urgent voice.

Everyone stared at her without comprehension. L’iam was the first
to respond.

“Why?”

Adesina was throwing saddles on horses and stamping out the fire.
“The refugee camp is about to be attacked, and we will be as well if we do not
leave as quickly as possible.”

The others began helping Adesina in her rushed packing of the
camp, asking questions as they worked.

“By whom?”

She shook her head. “I am not sure.”

“Why would anyone attack a camp of refugees?”

“I do not know,” she replied impatiently. “They could be marauders
looking for an easy target, Shimat returned to finish a job, someone who has a
grudge against the citizens of the High City…”

Aleron grabbed her arm. “We have to help them!”

At first she was startled by this declaration. “What?”

He repeated himself. “We have to help them.”

Adesina gave him a scathing look. This was no time for naive
heroics. “How could we possibly help them?”

He struggled to find the words fast enough. “Protect them! Fight
for them! Anything!”

She looked him directly in the eye as she spoke with finality. “We
cannot.”

Stunned disbelief filled his eyes. “What! Why?”

Adesina gestured towards the camp and spoke in a voice as if it
were obvious. “We are completely outnumbered, Aleron. There is no way our help
would be enough. All we would do is alert the Shimat to our presence, and then
our entire mission would be for naught.”

He set his jaw stubbornly. “You said you did not know if they were
Shimat or not.”

She let out an annoyed breath. “It does not matter
who
they
are! If we get involved, the Shimat will hear about it!”

L’iam put a sympathetic hand on Aleron’s shoulder. “She is right. We
do not stand a chance against them.”

Aleron sputtered. “So, we are just to leave them to die?”

“It is that, or die ourselves.” Adesina said harshly.

In the distance they heard the shouts of chaos begin. Shadows
could be seen darting past the campfires, the sounds of horses being charged
were coupled with angry yells. Every eye in the L’avan camp turned towards the
refugees, searching desperately for some way to assist the helpless people.

Adesina wanted to urge their immediate departure, but was surprised
to find that she could not turn away. In the Shimat mind, self-preservation was
only outweighed by the protection of the order; yet, she could not leave these
people to fight for themselves.

She had a mission to fulfill. One of the utmost importance—one
that could not afford to be jeopardized by any sort of deviant action. Still, the
sounds of screams rang in her ears, and she knew she could not walk away.

Did such sentiment make her weak?

“Mount your horses,” she commanded curtly.

There was a moment of shocked silence before they realized her
intention and did what they were told. Adesina reconnected to her
vyala
as she settled into her saddle.
Her vision swirled red and light green as she projected her power further than
she had ever attempted before.

It was a struggle to direct the power to the camps without taking
in any unnecessary space, juggle two kinds of
vyala
, and keep it strong enough to reach far enough and have
enough effect. It took every ounce of willpower Adesina had, but she was absolutely
set on succeeding.

The shouts of the refugees were joined by cries of dismay from the
attackers. Adesina was picking out all those with murderous hearts and covered
their eyes with terrifying visions.

“What is going on?” asked Aleron frantically.

Sa’jan’s voice was full of reverence and respect. “She is helping
them.”

Adesina felt the energy rapidly draining from her body. She knew
she had to keep going, but she wasn’t sure how long she would last. L’iam
sensed her distress and summoned his own
vyala
to lend her aid. He gave her all the energy he could spare, which was only just
enough to keep her going.

It felt like an eternity to Adesina before she heard Sa’jan say,
“They have escaped to the forest!”

She withdrew her
vyala
and barely had enough strength to wheel her horse around. “Go!”

They all rode away from the camp at top speed. L’iam led the way,
taking them through the thick undergrowth of the woods. Adesina brought up the
rear with Ravi and Aleron. Ravi, because he refused to leave her side at a time
like this, and Aleron, because his plow horse had a hard time keeping up with
the war horses.