1
Leader
T
here it is.”
Talea squinted against the sunlight to see the haliop nestled in the woods below them. It was almost identical to her home, back in Vissler. The haliop with its single door and a few windows, a shed, an outhouse. The standard dwelling of a lower class family in a laborer’s village. A year ago, she never imagined she’d be anywhere else…let alone the unbelievable places she’d been in the past month.
“Right.” She crossed an arm over her chest, toying with a strand of hair. “Remind me why it’s me that has to go talk to her first?”
Yhkon and Ahjul exchanged a glance. It was just the three of them, standing on a forested hilltop overlooking the haliop. The rest of the group was at a safer distance from the village. Uh oh, an exchange of looks. Generally a bad sign. Yhkon answered haltingly. “There’s multiple reasons…we’ll discuss it afterwards.”
She gave him a frown. And now you’re sending me in there already anxious about this coming discussion. “How evasive.” When all he did was shrug, she sighed and faced the haliop again. “Okay, so…how, again?”
Ahjul gave her a reassuring smile. Smiling was what he did best. “It’ll be a breeze. You’re just going to have a conversation with her, that’s it. And she’s a kind girl, I think she’ll take it well.”
Yeah, because everyone takes being told that they’re destined to lead a war well.
“She’s coming out. Best go.” Yhkon nodded his hooded head to indicate the figure that had just left the haliop, going into the shed. From that distance it was hard to see much, but she was tall, with long, straight hair.
“Alright.” Talea took a few tentative steps in that direction, before glancing back at them. They both wore their masks and hoods since Yhkon said it was best to keep their identities concealed when close to civilization. Each had a sword on his hip, Yhkon’s hand resting on the pommel as it often did. An assortment of other weaponry, the pauldron and gauntlets. When she thought about it, Yhkon looked downright scary. Ahjul not so much—he somehow managed to look both the part of the impressive warrior and the part of the kind, joyful young man beneath the armor and weapons. “Maybe take off the hoods and masks when I bring her back, though? You’re not too bad,” she grinned at Ahjul, then turned to Yhkon with raised eyebrows, “but you’re kind of terrifying.”
Since she was already walking down the hill, she didn’t get to see his reaction, but she did hear Ahjul’s muffled laugh.
Terindi Vegn. That was the name of the unsuspecting girl she approached. Ahjul’s ward. One of the Eight. Another teenager with a freakish ability like me, lucky her. How on Kameon am I supposed to tell her about all this, again? Stopping a few paces from the shed Terindi had disappeared into, Talea called softly to the open door. “Terindi?”
The girl stuck her head out, a slight pucker of confusion in her brow. Upon seeing Talea, the pucker deepened, and she stepped out of the shed. Up close, she clearly wasn’t fully Zentyren, having a cool tan complexion, small eyes, and a face that was softly contoured. Not to mention the coloring of her hair—it was dark brown, but with streaks of honey-blond. “Yes? Do we know each other?”
“Um, no, not exactly.” Come on. Not too blunt, not too cryptic…“But we have something in common. That’s why I’m here.” Yep. Definitely not cryptic.
Terindi just waited for her to explain.
“Is there anyone else around?” she asked, lowering her voice. At Terindi’s growing frown, Talea inwardly slapped herself. That doesn’t sound suspicious at all… “I mean, sorry, okay…I’m not sure how to say this, so…” She raised her hand, forming a sizzling sphere of electricity in her palm.
Those small, pale eyes widened briefly, then returned to normal. After studying the orb a moment, Terindi turned her attention back to Talea. When she spoke, her tone hadn’t changed pitch at all. “That’s certainly something in common.”
Don’t get excited easily, do you? “Yeah, I know.” She offered a smile and let the sphere die out. “So, obviously, that’s why I’m here.”
“Alright…” Terindi was chewing on her bottom lip. “Then do you know more about this whole thing than me, or are you here in hopes of finding out more?”
This had to be one of the more unusual conversations she’d had with a stranger. Then again…maybe not. She’d had some even more peculiar discussions with Wylan and Yhkon in the early days of knowing them. “Well, a few months ago I was found by one of the others—” Noticing a flare of puzzlement in Terindi’s pale green eyes, she backtracked. “There’s eight of us. You can’t see the others’ lightning pillars, they’re too far away, I couldn’t either. Anyway, one of them found me…and we…well we went and found two others who are twins, and…” Oh bother. How am I supposed to explain this? “It’s complicated.”
Terindi’s expression barely changed. It was almost as if she were missing some of the muscles necessary for facial contortions. “Okay, well, do you know why? Why we have the ability, I mean?”
Talea stifled a moan. This had to be the hardest part for her to explain. “Well we’re San Quawr, you know that, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, so all eight are…and there’s these guys that joined us, they’re called Wardens, they’re our guardians basically, and according to them…” She frowned. “Maybe I should just let them explain this to you.”
“They’re here?”
“Yeah, not far. Just on top of that hill.”
The girl was clearly wary, even if her demeanor remained calm. But when Talea started toward the hill, she followed.
As instructed, the Wardens removed their hoods and masks as the two girls neared. Ahjul was already smiling. He looked even more boyish when he smiled. Talea had liked him from their first meeting that night in Jalkiva, and in the month of traveling since, she’d only come to like him more. “Terindi, this is Ahjul. He’s your Warden. As in…uh, he’s the Warden assigned specifically to you.” Yhkon, remind me your reasons for why I had to be the one for this job? It clearly wasn’t that I was the best orator in the group. “And this is Yhkon, he’s the lead Warden.”
Yhkon greeted Terindi politely, Ahjul with more warmth and a sort of shy friendliness. Terindi seemed to have relaxed some. After the two Wardens had made their greetings, she turned back to Talea with a hesitant look. “And…what was your name?”
Talea’s cheeks flushed. “Talea.” I’m an idiot.
“You didn’t even introduce yourself?” Yhkon’s amused smirk only made her blush grow hotter.
From there on, the task of explaining their story to Terindi fell on the Wardens. That was fine by Talea—as far as she was concerned, having her be the first person to make an impression on Terindi had been one of Yhkon’s less-than-brilliant decisions. Besides, Ahjul was way better than she ever could be. He probably could have claimed to be a murderer on the run and ask for help on his next assassination, and still make it hard to refuse.