The Broken Kingdom (6 page)

‘Yes! We were outside the mountains, we were
safe. Aerlid and nine others are with me.’

Her eyes widened. ‘Aerlid?’ she said. ‘Hmm.
Yes. Take me there.’

‘Of course, Master. Are you alright?’ He
started walking, happier on the ground than he had ever been
before. Hope bloomed for something more than just surviving.

‘I suppose. All things considered.’

When Karesh brought the Master to the caves
Aerlid jumped to his feet.

‘Seta!’ he cried.

For a moment she was stiff and still. And
then she smiled slowly. ‘Yes.’ Then her smile snapped off. ‘I am
not so pleased to see you, Aerlid. Not at all.’

‘No. I suppose not. But I can explain, I’ve
waited so long…’ pathetic relief lit his features.

Karesh looked from one to the other.
‘Master?’ he said, confused. He had expected nothing but elation
from Aerlid. The Master was
alive
! He could leave the burden
of leading the survivors to her. The mountain, the other losses…
somehow, she would take care of it all. Everything would be alright
now that she was back.

Aerlid and the Master both looked at
him.

‘Ah, I’m sorry Karesh.’ Aerlid began. ‘Riley
has clearly been through a lot. I’m afraid her memory is not so
good.’

The Master said nothing, and neither did
Karesh.

‘Let her rest, then you may speak with
her.’

Karesh nodded. He began to offer her some
food but Aerlid cut him off.

‘Riley, would you join me outside? It’s much
too cramped in here.’

‘Really? Cramped, Aerlid?’ she said too
sweetly. ‘What would you know about cramped?’

But despite her apparent tiredness she
followed him through the hole to the surface.

It was night by the time they returned.
Aerlid scraped through the hole. As he did, Karesh and the other
gemengs eagerly stood. They were almost as relieved to see the
Master as Karesh.

And then the Master slid through the
hole.

Karesh’s smile faded.

She wore a modest dress. The details were
difficult to make out. It shone, shone like moonlight.

‘We’ll find somewhere more suited to you
soon, Seta.’ Aerlid said in an aside to her.

Karesh had a feeling he wasn’t meant to hear
that.

‘Hmph.’ The Master responded.

‘And a new body.’

Or perhaps they just didn’t care.

‘What’s wrong with this one?’

‘It’s not good, it won’t last long. Riley is
half valkar, half human. I’ll find you a better one, I promise.’
Aerlid hesitated for a moment.

The Master and Aerlid stood at the back of
the cave. There was some distance between them and the gemengs. Not
so much that Karesh couldn’t hear their whispered conversation. Not
so much that they couldn’t guess that.

‘Where is Riley, by the way?’ Aerlid
asked.

‘She thinks she’s dead.’ The Master said
bluntly.

‘Ah. I suppose that’s for the best.’

‘I think so.’

Chapter 8

A
few days passed. The
Master was different in many ways. She rarely interacted with them.
When she did her mouth twisted in something close to distaste. She
still wore the dress of moonlight. Maybe it was that dress that
made her look so different. He hadn’t noticed while she had been
dirty and dressed in rags, but her black hair was flat and
lifeless. Her skin was white, but a normal white. A white much like
his own skin. Her movements were oddly stiff. But no, that wasn’t
it. She was just… normal. The grace that only wild animals
possessed was gone. But perhaps it was merely the trauma of having
a mountain fall on her head.

Aerlid spent most of his time with her and
very little with them. Occasionally though, he still made time to
check Karesh’s wings.

While the Master was curled up in the driest
spot in the cave sleeping, Karesh quietly left the cave. Outside,
in the cold night air, was Aerlid. The sky was large here. How the
sky could be larger in one place than another Karesh did not know.
But it was. Stars stood out brightly. The moon was out tonight. The
night was alive with the sounds of birds and small animals, the
sound of the ocean. If you had the patience to listen.

Karesh listened.

Aerlid was singing softly, his back to
Karesh. As Karesh walked around to face him he saw a formless cloud
of light hovering before him.

‘What is that?’ Karesh asked in his cautious
way.

‘Oh, nothing. Just something Riley
wants.’

‘Aerlid, what is wrong with the Master?’

‘Hm? Oh, nothing Karesh. She’ll be fine.
It’ll take a little while, but she’ll be fine.’

‘Aerlid,’ Karesh hesitated, torn.

‘Karesh, I fixed your wings. Don’t you think
I can take care of Riley too?’

And yet things were clearly not right.

The Master frequently touched Aerlid, his
arm, his shoulder, his face. She stood closer to him than she ever
had before. Karesh frowned but said nothing. The gemengs looked to
him for leadership, but they were unhappy too.

When she got too close one night Aerlid
said, ‘No, not yet, dear. She would be very upset if that happened
with her body.’

‘It’s not her body.’ she said icily. ‘Though
she seems to disagree. She’s pretty damn sure she’s not dead
anymore. Aerlid, I want her out. She gives me no respite. She’s
always pushing, pushing, trying to take over.’

‘I’m working on making you a new body.’

‘You’ve been saying that for days now. Just
use the gem.’

‘I fear I couldn’t. You were… you were much
weaker when I put you there. She would fight me. No, I need to move
you to a new body.’

‘Haven’t you made me suffer enough?’

‘I’m so sorry. I’ll fix it, Seta, I
promise.’

When the storm came the Master was upset.
They had vacated the cave hours ago and gathered above. Below, the
cave was filling with water.

Rain pelted down, but Aerlid sang. A
glittering shield protected them from the water. The Master had her
arms crossed over her chest and looked almost sulky.

Aerlid was profusely apologizing. He had
been all night.

‘It’s not the damn rain!’ she finally
screamed at him. ‘I want her out of my head!’

‘I’m sorry, Seta, I’m trying. I’m not as
strong as I used to be.’

As always, Karesh and the gemengs sat in a
group some distance from Aerlid and the Master.

‘I can see that! Why didn’t you remove her
soul from this body when you put me here in the first place?!’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘I’m sick of hearing that. You know, for
someone who loves me you sure don’t act like it.’

‘I’m so sorry, Seta. Of course I love you.
I’ll get rid of her. I’ll do something. I promise.’

‘Well hurry up. She’s driving me mad.’

Chapter 9

W
hen they climbed back
into the cave after it finally drained they found a surprise
waiting for them.

A fish person was flapping around in their
cave, its tail badly cut.

‘What about that?’ the Master said. ‘Put her
there.’

Aerlid said nothing. He carefully approached
the fish person. Outside, Karesh saw, a whole troop of fish people
were bobbing around looking concerned.

‘Calm down.’ Aerlid said. ‘I’ll fix that for
you.’

It seemed to work. The flapping slowed down,
stopped.

And then the wound began to heal. Soon it
was no more than a scar with blood smeared over it.

Aerlid straightened. ‘Karesh,’ he said, ‘we
should get him back into the water.’

He nodded.

‘Wait.’ The Master, resplendent in her gown
strode over.

‘Seta-’

‘No, Aerlid. Are you going to make me suffer
more because of what you did?’

‘I-’

‘Help me, or I will do it myself. It is
your
fault I must suffer like this.’