Vetica

“I’d always known this day would come. That one day I’d have to confront her,” Vetica whispered to herself.

Sister had escorted Charlie and Merlin to the location of the fight. Now Vetica waited alone with her thoughts. Soon someone would come and get her.

Soon she’d fight Lilica.

She still remembered the day she realized what Lilica really was.

Her sister returned to their room late one night. Vetica rolled over, rubbed her eyes, and asked where Lilica had gone in the middle of the night.

Lilica sat on the end of her bed, obscured by the darkness of the room. “Do you remember John?” she asked.

The mention of his name sent a chill running through Vetica’s body. “The one our teacher made you…”

Lilica’s silhouette nodded. “Yeah. The man I killed to protect you. He said something that was bothering me. He said his family depended on him. I thought about how sad they must be without him. So, I went and visited them. Their names were Grace and Henry.”

Vetica sat up. “What do you mean? You met them?” she asked.

Lilica nodded again. “Mhm. They aren’t sad anymore! I helped them.” She giggled.

Vetica swallowed. “Helped them how?” she asked. She wondered if Lilica had a strange dream or something. It was the only thing she could think of to explain what her sister was saying. But unless Lilica was sleepwalking for the first time, a dream wouldn’t really explain why Lilica would leave their room. Vetica reached over and fumbled for the curtain. She wrenched it toward her to create an opening in the center of the window. Moonlight flooded into the room.

Vetica covered her mouth with a hand.

Lilica was covered in blood. Vetica knew what her sister meant at that moment.

Lilica had killed John’s family.

“You killed them…” Vetica said, slowly blinking as if the blood would disappear and prove itself a trick of her mind.

Lilica shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I helped them.” Her sister reached toward her, but Vetica scooted back. She jumped off the bed and grabbed the knife she kept on her bedside table. Slowly, she held her arm out towards Lilica and moved toward the door.

“Stay away from me. You’re a monster!” Vetica said.

The pain in her sister’s eyes was seared into Vetica’s mind just as much today as it was then.

***

“Hey, you ready?” someone asked from behind the door. The man knocked when she didn’t respond, and the door opened a moment later. “Mistress Vetica—” Brother, the male palli, stopped when he saw her.

Vetica looked up. She’d allowed herself to get distracted. She couldn’t worry about the past now. Not when her future was at risk. “Oh, sorry. Is it time?” she asked him.

Brother nodded. He was always quiet, but doubly so now. She tilted her head at him. “What is it?”

He hesitantly pointed toward her face. “You’re…uh, crying,” he said.

Her fingers shot to her face. She felt the wetness on her cheek. She hadn’t noticed until he’d pointed it out. Vetica wiped her sleeve against her face, and the gentle tear trails disappeared. She cleared her throat. “We should get going,” she said.

Brother nodded. He was smart enough to know it was best to not to pry. She didn’t want to talk about it, and he’d know better than to tell anyone what he’d seen. She was glad Brother was the one who’d come to get her. Vetica always liked the pallis, despite their association with her father. It wasn’t their fault, after all. They were as much a victim of her family as she was.

She wasn’t surprised about where he was leading her. Almost every Rawlin outpost had a place for sparring. The space here had probably never actually been used for a duel. She’d expected this would be the location as soon as a duel was suggested. But while she had already guessed correctly where the fight would take place, she could never have guessed who would be waiting for her outside the room.

“Father?” she said, tilting her head. He leaned against the hallway wall. The doors leading into the sparring room were pulled shut. Brother excused himself and doubled back the way he’d led her. He knew better than to stick around when Vedic clearly wanted a moment alone with his daughter. He’d probably go around and enter the room from a different entrance.

Vedic turned to look at her. “Daughter,” he said.

“Father,” she responded in kind.

“You seem calm for someone about to face death. Have you forgotten to fear it?” he asked her.

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She nodded. “Of course not. But I’m not going to die.”

He smirked. “Good. You better not lose, Vetica.” His tone was serious. It was always serious. But there was something else in his voice that she couldn’t quite place.

His words were as surprising as his sudden appearance. “What? You’re choosing my side?” she asked. It didn’t make sense. She already knew that Vedic had spent time training Lilica. Why would he do that just to support Vetica now?

Her father chuckled. “I’m taking a chance. Neither of you have showed any sign of developing the power. Ideally, I would keep both of you alive until I knew for sure who would inherit it. But that’s no longer possible without wiping out everyone in this outpost, my advisors included. I considered it. I heavily considered it. But there are events in Aysela occurring that we need to be ready for. I can’t afford to replace all the Rawlin leadership now. So, I have to make a choice.” He paused. “I’m starting to wonder if I have another child I don’t know about.”

“I highly doubt that. You’re…meticulous. So, you think that I’ll be the one to inherit the power?” Vetica asked.

“I don’t know enough about it to predict something like that. But I do know my daughters. I had a conversation recently that made me think. I contemplated what my legacy will be once I’m gone.” Vedic stared at his palm as he talked.

Vetica knew it was risky, but she had to know if her theory was correct. “A conversation with Hosuyo?” she asked.

Vedic’s head snapped toward her. “How did you know?”

“The tips of Hosuyo’s fingers were dipped in black when I spoke with him the day before. If you killed him, you wouldn’t have taken the time to wash his fingers. You cut the flesh from his face and stitched it to another. That’s where the blood came from. I’ve seen you do it before, so I had a feeling that’s what happened. I don’t know why you spared him. But I know he’s still alive,” she said.

Vedic nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. “The fingers.” He shook his head. “You’re perceptive, as always. You noticed something like that while on trial for your life. That technique is a secret, so no one else should catch on. But if you noticed, Alona may have thought something was off as well. Damn.”

Vetica swallowed. Her father rarely made mistakes. But he was clearly impressed with her. She would press that advantage for all it was worth. She wanted information, and he was rarely talkative today. Perhaps because it might be the last conversation they ever had. Perhaps because he knew Vetica was the only person in the world who wasn’t after what he had. He knew because she had proved that to him recently. “So, this conversation you had, you came to a realization?” she asked.

He nodded. “I realized I need to think more carefully about my heir. I wanted the power at all costs, but now I realize it would be wasted in Lilica’s hands. She’s not capable of leading the Rawlins.”

Vetica twisted her head. “And you think I am?” she asked.

“We may not see eye to eye, daughter. But I know you know the value of the Rawlins. I know that of the two paths forward, my legacy would suffer under Lilica’s. I will not bring about the destruction of this family. So, even if we disagree, I will shape you into the perfect leader. Just as I shaped you into the perfect weapon. I will do so even if the power dies with Lilica.”

“And if I lose?” she asked.

“Then I failed a long time ago.” Vedic turned to open the doors to the sparring room.

Vetica held a hand out. “Wait,” she said.

Vedic paused and looked over his shoulder.

She took a moment to compose herself. “I’m not interested in leading the Rawlins. I don’t want your power or your resources. I have my own path to walk.” She clenched a fist. “That was the choice I made when I warned you about Hosuyo’s scheme.”

Vedic laughed. It made her angry. How could he laugh in the face of a declaration that was so hard for her to make? “If you win, your future is yours. But we both know you will return to the Rawlins. This is your family. This is your destiny. And we both know that destiny isn’t something that can be avoided.”

It hit her then. Why he’d talked about his legacy with Hosuyo, his closest adviser. It made so much sense why he was suddenly concerned about the future. “You had a dream again? The fortuneteller came to you, didn’t she?” she asked. She swallowed. Had she been a part of the vision this time? Was he speaking so surely because he’d seen her future? “What did she show you?” she asked, taking a step forward. Willingly getting closer to the man who terrified her more than anyone wasn’t like her. But if he had seen something about her future, she had to know.

“I did. This was the third time. She said it would be the last as well. The future she showed me was glorious. The Rawlins will be greater than ever before. Soon. So soon, daughter. But she told me about something else as well. Something even I thought would never come to pass. She told me about my own death.”

She gasped. “You’re going to die?” She almost didn’t believe it herself. She’d always thought he was invincible. That he would outlive all of them. “How? When?” she asked.

Vedic sighed. “The threat is not imminent. I have time. Enough time to accomplish everything that I want to. But her words were a reminder that I need to prepare for the future. I need to ensure the plan that our ancestors set in motion comes to fruition. I am positive now that it will happen within my, or your, generation.”

“Then you already know the outcome of this battle,” she whispered.

Vedic shook his head. “I do not. The fortuneteller was more vaguer. She wouldn’t show me the fate of those around me. Only a promise of our prosperity, and an omen of my demise. I know enough. But not that. Whether it will be you or Lilica to lead the Rawlins after me, I don’t know. But enough of this. If you die, I’ll have wasted my breath. I shouldn’t waste anymore. If you wish to speak after, seek me out.”

Vetica nodded. The doors opened, and then she saw the crowd rise to their feet ahead of him. He didn’t hold the door open. It slammed shut after he’d entered. Whether or not it was intentional, she didn’t know. But she was grateful for a moment alone.

She wondered if her plan would come to fruition. She wondered if she’d made the right call. For now, she could only hope everything went as planned. She stood at the door, gathered her composure, and then pushed it open. All eyes were on her. She scanned the room until she saw Charlie and Merlin. Merlin offered a simple, yet supportive, nod. Charlie pumped a baby fist into the air and smiled. The faintest hint of a couple teeth just breaking through his gum line on full display. The palli siblings, Brother, and Sister, stood along the wall. Each of them offered a slight bow.

And then there was her sister, Lilica. She waited in the center of the duelist circle with a blade in one hand and a carved wooden figure in the other. Her brow quirked when she saw Vetica standing in the doorway, and then she perked up.

“Vetica!” Lilica gasped in excitement. “I’m so glad you made it. I can’t wait to have fun together. I’ve been waiting so long to kill you!”

Vetica stared at Lilica. She’d always known this day would come. That she’d have to confront the monster her sister had become. So, why did she feel like this?

Why was Vetica so sad?