CHAPTER ELEVEN

From atop a commanding hill overlooking a broad flat area just north of the village, Kelia beheld the sea of Ixtrayu faces looking curiously up at her. Over two hundred of her sisters, whom she’d yet to inform about all the recent strange goings-on, had gathered to hear her speak.

The Council, draped in their ceremonial white robes, flanked her on one side while Maeve and Davin stood directly behind her. Maeve was clad in the same simple black sleeveless top and brown pants she wore on the day they met. Several of her intricate bird tattoos shone in the morning sun against her pale skin, and her brilliant purple hair looked majestic as it blew in the light breeze. Davin, wearing the white shirt and dark blue pants he had arrived in, looked more nervous than Kelia had ever seen him.

She’d spent the morning carefully preparing the speech she would give her people. She had not addressed them as a group since Susarra was removed from the Council and confined to her home. She’d allayed their fears that Vaxi would not be welcomed back should she return, and that a successful birth would be a sign that Arantha wanted the Sojourns to resume.

And then, mere hours later, Davin materialized out of nowhere, carrying an unconscious Maeve in his arms. Visitors from the Above, there for all the tribe to see.

It had been difficult to gauge her sisters’ temperaments since that moment, but thus far they had obeyed her commands and let their visitors be. However, she could not keep her people in the dark any longer about the amazing, inexplicable chain of events that Arantha had set in motion, nor the danger that lay ahead.

It took several tense hours’ deliberation between her and the Council, but they finally decided the tribe had to be informed about what had happened and, more important, what was going to happen.

Kelia stepped forward, raising her arms and calling for quiet, then she laid out the entire story. She explained the vision that had sent her to the western outcropping where she saw Maeve’s spaceship land, and then proceeded with her journey to the Kaberian Mountains, her meeting with Maeve, their subsequent Sharing, and the discovery of a second Stone. This part was met with mute shock. When Kelia announced that the Stone also gave Maeve the power to Wield, the assembled Ixtrayu erupted into chaos.

Kelia held up her hands to calm the crowd, but to no avail. Their voices combined into a terrible clamor, and she wondered if a full-scale riot was imminent.

She locked eyes with Maeve, who nodded. They had anticipated this reaction, and they had the perfect remedy.

With her eyes closed, Kelia held her arms in front of her, pointing them skyward. Her Wielding manifested as flames shot forth from her fingertips, creating a string of fire that rose into the sky with a whoosh and a crackle that rent the air. A moment later, Maeve raised her hands, holding them palms-forward in Kelia’s direction.

The plume of fire grew in size, length, and intensity, combining into a gigantic fireball that threatened to set the Above ablaze. All in the crowd had to shield their faces from the searing heat that emanated from the conflagration but, as quickly as it came, the fire was snuffed out.

Struck dumb by this magnified display of Wielding, the crowd’s combined voice subsided to a gentle murmur, and then silence reigned once again.

“My sisters! Please! I will not have this gathering disrupted in such a manner again!” Kelia gestured to Maeve to join her front and center. “This woman, though she is not of our world, has the heart of an Ixtrayu. I have seen it. Through our Sharing, we have discovered remarkable things. Not only can she, and her son,” she pointed at Davin, who blushed at the attention, “understand our language, but as you just saw, she can augment the power of any other Wielder. She has not come as an enemy but as an ally. She was sent by Arantha herself, and they shall both be treated as her emissaries.”

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Kelia placed a hand on Maeve’s shoulder, and they exchanged nods. Maeve took over, her colorful, delightfully incongruous accent ringing out.

“I am Major Maeve Cromack. I come from Earth, a world so distant you cannot see its sun in your night sky. I know I look different from you, and you have no reason to trust me or my son.” She caught Davin out the corner of her eyes endeavoring to look as small as possible under the scrutiny of so many women. Striking a conciliatory tone, she continued, “Many centuries ago, my people lived as you do now. But over the years, our desire to learn and grow brought us technology and a greater understanding of what lay beyond our world. We conquered disease and hunger, and in time, we learned how to travel from one end of the Above to the other.”

A haggard look played over her face. “And then ... we were invaded. A more powerful race came and stole our world from under us.”

Kelia looked over the faces of her people, who seemed to have lost their earlier fervor. This day would go down in Ixtrayu history, of that she had no doubt.

“My son and I came here to save our world,” Maeve continued. “But it would appear that Arantha had other plans for us.”

Several Ixtrayu wore wary expressions, but no one responded. Maeve seemed to be winning them over.

“Though I am not of Elystra, I have come to feel its beating heart inside me. When I felt my soul drifting into despair, the energy the Stone gave me, the energy that courses through my veins, anchored me to this world. Were it not for Kelia’s wisdom and compassion, I would not have found that center.”

Maeve flashed a gracious smile at Kelia, who returned it. Facing the crowd again, Kelia resumed speaking. “Since the beginning, the path Arantha put us on has remained unchanged—to stay hidden, far away from those who would destroy us.” She cast a sidelong glance at Maeve. “Very recently, I was asked: how long can it last? How long can the Ixtrayu remain, in this one place, before we are discovered? All it would take is one scout, one soldier, one bandit or raider to spread the word of our existence to all of Elystra. What would we do if the armies of men came for us?”

“You would destroy them, Protectress!” came a voice from the crowd. “No mere soldier could stand against you!” A babble of words rose up in agreement.

Kelia raised her hands in a silencing gesture. “If an army came to destroy us, I would bring every ounce of power I had to bear on them. But our enemies could number in the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands. There are but two hundred of us. We have been content to live in secret since the beginning. If that no longer becomes possible, then is war to the death our only option? How many men would I, would we, have to kill before they declare us victorious? Would they respect us as a people, or would they come at us until we were all annihilated? How many Ixtrayu would die to achieve that victory, if it even were possible? Is it worth the loss of so much life just to protect our own?”

Kelia bowed her head. Her next words were at a much lower volume, but they seemed to carry all the way to the horizon. “To invite war is to invite our own extinction. I have seen it.”

Several voices rose up in protest. “What are you saying, Protectress?” said the loudest.

Kelia felt a grim resolve creep through her as she laid her soul bare. “I have had several visions since my return. Arantha has shown me the future of the Ixtrayu.”

A hushed silence fell over the crowd.

“She has shown me our destruction.”

And then, once again, pandemonium.

Many women sobbed into their hands. Others raised their fists, their faces twisted in fury. The rest stared blankly ahead, unable to process her words. Kelia raised her arms, and let loose another stream of fire from her hands that quickly subdued the crowd once again.

“Arantha has not abandoned us!” Kelia cried out, her voice resonant and strong. “She has not forsaken us! By showing us our end, she has given us the means to save ourselves!”

“We do not know the nature of the threat,” Maeve added, “but whatever it is that threatens this tribe, they will find not one but two Wielders waiting. They will find a tribe of women who are prepared to fight for their freedom. As an expert in the arts of war and combat, I will gladly pass on my knowledge to you. Together, we will turn the tide in our favor.”

“And if we can’t?” said a voice from the crowd.

“That’s not going to happen.”

“But –”

Kelia jumped in. “My sisters! If we are to have any hope of fighting whatever seeks to end us, we can no longer afford to squabble amongst ourselves. We must be unified if we are to survive.

“Over the coming days, you are all to resume your normal duties unless told otherwise. And you are all instructed to give our honored guests the respect they deserve. Their presence is a gift from Arantha, and to oppose them is to oppose her. As of this moment, Maeve and Davin Cromack are Ixtrayu. Is that understood?”

All in attendance grudgingly nodded their assent.

With an exhausted sigh, Kelia turned to Maeve. “Let’s get to work.”