Batu did his best. Encumbered with two bodies upon his back, he flew as fast as he could, trying to stay as high as possible. Below, Chimaera crashed through the Hollows, moving faster than Batu could glide. Tuya’s silver eyes watched for the coming storm. Moments before the flash, she guided Batu’s movement, and he veered out of the way. Forked lightning blasted through the sky, missing his wing, and shooting toward the stars.
She shifted her head to the east. From this high, she could see the vast space between them and the ocean. It would take half the night to reach it, flying without rest. But, if they could make it, the Chimaera could not follow over the Endless Blue. She hoped. Until, then they just needed to dodge every lightning blast from the ram head, or hope Gurg relented. Tuya heard the crackling, shifted her focus, and anticipated. Batu slowed down and dove, letting the streak of hot white soar over his back.
It is too far, Batu projected, his eyes not even able to see the distant water.
Batu’s exhaustion blended with her own. He tried his best, but the giant eagle did not believe he could make it much further like this, let alone to a place he could not see.
One lapse and one of those lightning blasts would send them crashing down into the Hollows. Yaha would guide their descent, but Batu would not survive the free fall into the trees below. Then, it would be the two of them, armed with just their spears, against Chimaera. If a giant eagle could not flee a pursuing Chimaera, an exhausted, dehydrated girl could not hope to flee, especially if the Hollows was awake with tamers and their tamed beasts hunting.
Tuya thought of having Batu fly low, try to lose Chimaera in the forest and perch atop a tree with good cover. Alas, Gurg would be able to sense Yaha as long as she remained unlinked from Tuya. She refused to voice the thought, the foul contemplation coming from the part of her mind that cared only for survival, one honed by Yaha herself.
It might be the only way, Batu thought. Without her, I can go faster, or we could try to elude the monster in the trees.
No.
Tuya caught the crackling of the ram’s horns. Her eyes anticipated the path of the forked lightning and Batu managed to narrowly evade another deadly blast. This time they felt the heat of the lightning in the air as it passed. Another reminder of the inevitability.
Sister.
“This is doomed,” Yaha said, yelling over the sound of air rushing in their faces. “He will be struck eventually.”
“Then we jump,” Tuya said, the words rushing out of her as she refused to lose either of them, “I break my link with Batu and he flies to safety, ignored by Chimaera. Me and you link again, Yaha, and we hide. We move by night, avoiding Chimaera. We can all still get away.”
Batu’s doubt fueled her own. She did not want to go back to the plan that led to the horrible night. They were still in the Hollows, no matter if Celegana’s Spire was behind them. She remembered the hopeless feelings of that night, except, even then, they were better off, better rested, less exhausted, and, most importantly…
“Tuya,” Yaha said, embracing her from behind, “Gurgaldai will see us fall. He will be there before we touch the ground. You know how this must end.”
I am sorry, Batu projected. I wish I could do more.
Another flash of lightning and yet another narrow escape, the heat kissing them, the light blinding those without silver eyes, jolting them all with panic and dread.
Tuya stroked Batu’s neck feathers, infusing her touch with Celegana’s strength, willing him to be himself. You are doing your best. That is all I can ever ask of you, brother.
Batu pulsed with sorrowful appreciation, sending his love through the link, understanding the pain Tuya felt, wishing he could make things different, but knowing that he could not.
There was no making this pain smaller. Sometimes, pain had to be felt, and love could not take it away, because it was love that caused it. Tuya sobbed, struggling to keep her eyes on Chimaera as they filled with tears, as her body shook. “I cannot lose you, Yaha.”
Yaha sniffled, clung tighter to Tuya’s back. “If you have shown me anything today, it is that you can never lose me. The lessons I taught you, they have become yours. Everywhere you go, my child, you take me with you.”
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Tuya sobbed, unable to fight Yaha’s words this time, as she always had before. She wept, wishing she did not have to watch for more lightning. Wishing did not make a thing true. How she wished it could. “I promise, Yaha. I promise! I will drive him to his knees and tell him you sent me.”
Yaha kissed Tuya’s cheek and ran her hand through her hair, trying not to untangle the knots. Tuya knew that no matter where her blood came from, no matter what the woman who gave her life would have thought of this child born of her rapist, and likely, her killer, that she now felt the embrace of her mother, and her love knew no bounds and demanded no conditions. This was what she spent her life chasing, and now, she was going to lose it. Celegana! It hurts! It hurts so much!
Yaha’s tears fell on Tuya’s shoulder. “I will not leave you bound to my last request. You are free to be yourself. Free to choose who you want to be and how you spend your life. I trust nobody more than you to decide what is best for you. No promises, my little empagong.”
“Yaha…” Tuya’s voice broke and lightning crackled. She focused on it, through the sorrow and the love, helping Batu avoid yet another blast, this time dipping down sharply and letting it pass over them.
She exhaled, tried to gather her thoughts, tried to find words worthy of the love and the gratitude she felt. “Thank you for everything. Thank you for being who you are, for never giving up on me. I can never tell you how much you mean to me and be satisfied with the words.”
“You do not have to,” Yaha said, pressing her forehead into Tuya’s neck. “Without you, I would have given up that day on the beach and met the Fourteen in shame. The end of my tale would have been the dirge of the Sixty-Four and the failure of a foolish captain who led them to their deaths, or worse. Instead, I will meet the Fourteen knowing that I have done more good in this world than I could have ever dreamed. You were my light and because of you I found myself in the darkness. You do not need words to tell me how much I mean to you, my little empagong. I know already how much I mean to you,” Yaha paused, trying to dam the flow of sobs, to gather the strength to say what she felt, “for I feel the same about you.”
Yaha’s necklace fell against Tuya’s chest, Olono’s pearl finding its place beside Tuya’s rapidly beating, loving heart. “You carry my love with you, Tuya. Wherever you go, you will be a ray of light, making the world around you brighter. I hope, no, I know, you will find the place where you belong, and wherever you go, I will be proud of you.”
Yaha let go of her, seized her spear and crouched atop Batu, finding her balance as she prepared for the final leap.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, my little empagong.” Her dark eyes found Tuya’s one last time, full of tears. “Until next time.”
“Until next time,” Tuya mouthed, her throat raw.
Tuya broke her link with Batu, sending herself to Yaha, all of her love, all of her hope, all of her pain. In return, Yaha gave her all of her determination, all of her love, all of her hope, and, not least of all, her wholeness. Yaha’s eyes glowed silver, seeing far and true, light enveloping her form. With one last nod, Captain Yaha of Caleel, lover of Olono, mother of a girl unlike any other and exactly like every other, leapt into the night, falling like a spear from the stars.
Below, Chimaera crashed through trees, destroying arbors that had existed since Celegana departed the world. The ram head crackled, glowing white. Above it, descending from sky was a glowing ray of light, wielded by a mother, a hero who never gave up on the little girl she promised to teach. She was a falling star, carrying the hopes and dreams of every soul in this world who yearned for freedom and love, guided by a girl unlike any other. Lightning sparked from Chimaera’s horns, but it was met by a force far, far more powerful.
“YOU. WILL. NOT. HAVE. HER!” Yaha roared, Zafrir’s wind carrying her through the air one last time.
The silver light of stars collided with the white blast of lightning. Shockwaves of light and energy exploded, radiating in every direction, leveling hundreds of trees, sundering regions of the Hollows and throwing energy into the sky. Batu fought to keep steady as a tornado of light whirled around them. Then, as quick as it came, the light was gone, and Tuya of the Hollows let out a wail as Yaha’s consciousness faded from this world, but not before she proved herself wrong. She had been enough, as she always had been. Beneath the sky, in a land where the trees all had holes, a chimaera lay smote among the wreckage of a thousand hollow trees.
Tuya mourned, but, as Yaha taught her, she must go on. Her mind linked again with Batu. Thus, when the Great Ezen of the Celegan Hollows came with his consciousness, swirling through the skies above as an ugly gray mist, he could find no trace of the woman he coveted, nor her brother. Batu shifted directions, his wings carrying them far away from the ruin of Chimaera and the beloved woman who killed him.
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Flying away, in a world unlike any other and exactly like every other, there was a woman exactly like every other and unlike any other. Like every other, she knew what it meant to live, to die, to enjoy, to suffer, to love, to hate, to dream, and to dread. Unlike any other, she chose to find light from darkness, harmony from discord, and freedom from oppression.
Like every other, she did her best in an unfair world. Unlike any other, she did her best to use her power to change the lives of the helpless.
Like every other, seasons had passed, and she had grown older. If anyone cared, which some did, they would know that this chapter of her story ended during her sixteenth year. If anyone cared, which everyone would, they knew it was far from over.
Like every other, she had no control over how her story began. Unlike any other, she would control how this world’s story ended.
This woman, unlike any other and exactly like every other, flew away to the faraway lands, seeking the place where she belonged.
Her name was Tuya of the Hollows.