Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (44 page)

Flames
spewed high into the air from the massive teepee of branches built in the
center of ceremonial grounds.

Thousands of
men and women dressed in traditional snakeskin garb surrounded the flames,
their hands held high in both supplication and honor to the most Sacred Night
of the Ten Full Moons.

The occasion
occurred only once every seventeen full seasons. In tribal lore, it meant the
dawning of a new era and the birth of the next generation.

It was a
time of change, and of fear of change.

Adalginza
sat alone on a log that had been cleanly severed on both ends to make a seat
for the fireside. As she peered upward, sparks of fire drifted endlessly into
the brilliantly lit night sky.

She was
dressed in an ornate, ceremonial wedding robe crafted from finely woven, soft
fibers of the henniera plant grown by the Tribe of Rivers in the far eastern frontier
province.

Colorful, intricately
beaded patterns were woven into the fabric to create detailed scenes from the
lives of twelve other women Of The Blood privileged to have worn the robe on
their wedding nights. Of course, these women were long dead.

One image showed
a thin, frail woman using a stone to grind grain. Another woman from a
different era danced a ceremonial dance in firelight. Another played the lute.
And yet another sat astride a sturmon, while the tenth crescent moon hovered
overhead.

The woman on
the sturmon was Adalginza's real mother. The woman she had never known.

A tear
rolled down Adalginza's cheek as she reached down to finger the fabric. Then
she gazed up at the Tenth Moon that that looked so odd in its full glory.

The orb was
so much more distant and smaller than the rest, hanging back in the sky and all
alone as if showing disdain for its brother and sister moons.

"Auntie?
Are you all right?"

Calasta had melted,
unnoticed, from the night to stand directly beside her. Adalginza quickly
reached up to wipe the moisture from her cheek.

"Of
course. How are you doing, child?"

Calasta
reached down to squeeze her aunt's hand in sympathy.

"I
tried again to talk to my father tonight. To tell him the truth of what
happened to me at the Place of the Circles before I lost my memories. He refused
to listen to my words. He said you had tampered with my mind while I was with
you on the Prime Continent."

Adalginza
swallowed hard, and nodded. "Benfaaro never forgave me for taking you
away. And for allowing him to believe you were dead."

Calasta assumed
a somber expression that now made her appear more woman than child.

"You
should be the one to rule after my father is gone. Not Talan. He is a power
hungry, cruel man. Many in the tribes believe this as well. I overhear them
talking."

Adalginza
glanced around nervously.

"Say nothing
of this sort in front of others, especially following the wedding. Talan will be
granted the power Of The Blood by Benfaaro's decree. He will be obeyed. And I
fear even more for your safety if you speak too boldly."

"I fear
for
you
r safety, Auntie. You know Talan will abuse you. He will shame
you, because Father will allow it."

"It
matters not."

"But it
does matter! When I reach eighteen, I shall take over rule immediately. I will
release you from your wedding vows. And you shall be free."

Adalginza
studied the child's determined face, wondering if after all this time Calasta truly
understood the implications of what was at stake.

If this
child died without growing up to produce an heir, there would be no more future
leaders Of The Blood to maintain peace among the tribes. All would be lost.

And so it
was that enduring Talan's cruelty was the only way Adalginza could remain in
the village to watch over Benfaaro's child. At least she wasn't alone in her
task. She had the help of Umbrea and other loyal followers.

Adalginza also
knew many ways to spy on Talan and Bruna to learn their secrets. She was, after
all, an expert in such matters.

"Do not
fret," Adalginza said. "Benfaaro believes he is protecting me — and
all people of the tribes — by uniting me with the strength of Talan."

Calasta sat
down beside Adalginza. She propped her head on her chin, looking now like the
child she was.

"Father
would have given you the power Of The Blood if only you had not released the
prisoners on Faradera Island last season."

"Do you
think I was wrong?"

She sighed. "Since
that time, your Captain Kalos has taken many lives with his horrible weapons."

"You
did not answer my question."

Calasta
sighed again, even more heavily. Her dark brows furrowed in deep thought before
she answered.

"After
living at the abodes of Captain Kalos and Lady Swiala, I have learned to know those
of the Crescent Houses as — well — people."

"Do you
not think this is the answer for peace?"

"We are
far apart, those people and ours. Not only in distance. But in ways. This makes
us enemies."

Adalginza watched
the hypnotic writhing of her tribesmen, dancing around the ceremonial bonfire
to the accompaniment of distant, hollow drums.

She smiled
sadly at Calasta. "Captain Kalos kept you safe, even knowing you were
Benfaaro's daughter. Is this the act of an enemy?"

Calasta,
too, watched the dancers.

"I
remember Luzicos, the Crescent knight who saved me. He was very concerned when
he found me bleeding. And yet I was a stranger."

"You know
what happened to Luzicos at the Mountain of Treasures?"

"Yes. Father
told me. I tried to tell him that Luzicos saved my life, but he would not
believe me."

"So who
is your friend? And who is your enemy?"

"I am
very confused." Calasta gave Adalginza an almost tortured look. "I
guess this is why Father told me never to talk to you."

Calasta then
quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching them.

"Is
this why you have avoided me all this time?" Adalginza asked gently.

"You
were already in trouble with Father. I did not want to cause you even more
trouble." Calasta frowned. "Auntie Adalginza, I have something I need
to ask you. Did Mother poison Father?"

"No. He
is genuinely ill."

"I will
miss him when he is gone."

Calasta then
gazed up at Adalginza with wide, tearful eyes.

"I keep
seeing Mother's face, the way she looked before she struck me at the Place of
the Crosses. If only she had known. I would have given her anything she wanted
— even all the power — if she could have just loved me."

Adalginza
took Calasta into her arms, holding close the child whose small body now heaved
with sobs.

***

By
tradition, those Of The Blood were always married on a night when the Tenth
Moon was full.

That the
other nine moons also beamed bright and fully swollen in the sky was seen as an
omen, indicating that the gods approved of the union of Adalginza to the great
and fearless warrior, Talan.

Many among
her people now accepted that Talan's ferocity coupled with the power Of The
Blood was needed to fend off the relentless assaults of Captain Kalos, who kept
pushing farther and farther into the frontier — sometimes, wiping out entire
villages.

Adalginza
stood waiting on the upraised wooden platform, her silhouette barely visible in
the flickering light of red coals left by the bonfire.

By her side
was the pale ghost of Benfaaro, wearing the ceremonial sword of the Tribe of the
Circles. In his thinness, he looked these days more like a corpse than a living
man. On the other side of Benfaaro was Bruna, whose expression of triumph was
unmistakable.

Dawn was
about to break, and the first feeble rays of a newborn sun struggled to
outshine the last of the stars. The remaining full moons still left in the sky
began to dim.

Only the
leaders of the tribes were present for the final ceremony, considered too
sacred for the masses to witness.

At one time,
thirteen chiefs would have formed a semicircle in front of the platform. Now,
there were only six. Two had been unable to travel, preoccupied as they were
with skirmishes with the Crescent knights in their own home provinces.

Five of the missing
chiefs had been killed, along with many of their people. Though some had tried
to surrender, the Crescent knights had given them no opportunity to do so.

On either
side of the war, no one spoke of a truce or peace.

When the
Crescent knights attacked a tribal village, revenge was immediately taken upon
a Crescent House settlement or coastal cities of the Prime Continent itself.

Bruna
herself often was behind orders, sent in the name of Benfaaro, that escalated
atrocities committed during the acts of aggression.

As Adalginza
had predicted at the Prime Congress so long ago, one of the weapons created by
the High Command of the Crescent Houses was eventually captured. After much study,
the savages were able to duplicate the acid formula and create their own
launchers.

Each assault
led to another and yet another, until the frontier and portions of the Prime
Continent and Crescent House Islands were smeared with blood and gore.

No one on
either side could now live without looking in terror over a shoulder.

The Crescent
knights made deep inroads into the frontier. But Benfaaro's armada on the seas grew
in both size and stealth — attacking the islands, and gaining footholds on the
edges of the Prime Continent.

It was
difficult at times to know who was winning, for — at least in Adalginza's view
— all people of both the Crescent Houses and the frontier tribes were on the
verge of total annihilation.

If Kalos now
chose to release the plague as a last desperate act, she knew all would die.
One verse of The Prophecy had, in fact, foretold these events:

Fools who
had no ears to hear believed that death could win the world.

"Step
forward, beloved sister."

Benfaaro's
voice held true affection as he held out his hand.

 Adalginza
realized with a start it was the first time he had spoken kindly to her since
she had first arrived at the village a season ago, right after she released the
prisoners.

She lifted
her head and took her brother's hand. They both took a few steps forward. And
then Benfaaro left her side to walk a few more steps to the front.

She had no
mother or father to give her away, so Adalginza must now stand alone.

This was the
fate of one who betrays love. And it was her punishment to marry Talan.

At that
moment, a small part of her felt an alarmed flurry from the minds of the beasts
of the surrounding wilderness that were awakening with the dawn.

But she paid
them no attention.

She needed
all of her strength and concentration to get through the rest of the ceremony.

 Talan now stood
below the platform, looking up at her ravenously.

Adalginza
had once held the faint hope that, with Talan and Bruna already sharing a bed,
her new husband would ignore her following the union.

But by the
carnal look on his face, she realized she would not be spared. His attentions,
too, would have to be endured.

She tried to
keep from shuddering openly.

Benfaaro regarded
her with a look of pity, before turning to address the small gathering.

"No one
will ever know the full extent of the sacrifices made by Adalginza, Of The
Blood, for her people. For this, she will be honored forever and by all
generations to come. Adalginza, of the indigo eyes. Adalginza, Of The Blood."

As those
present took up the chant, Adalginza looked into her brother's face. And that's
when she realized that Benfaaro understood how much she had loved and still
loved Captain Kalos.