Part Four: Child of Darkness, Child of Light
The forest was dark, peaceful but not quiet. Even at
midday the canopy of branches and leaves overhead blocked out the light,
but still life thrived here, despite the stories of the clan. The sound of
birds, small rodents that jumped from limb to limb, predators, prey: all
these lived here contentedly in the night.
One other lived in the Dark Sister now, one who hunted
those who had been there before, one who lived in a rough shelter in a clearing
next to the river. Sekhmet stood on a branch in the top of a tree, leaning
back against its trunk, looking out over the forest, stretching far to the
east and west. As he glanced to the north he could see smoke from the fires
of the clan, and sighed.
The wind blew fiercely at this height, whipping the
ends of his hair into his face. He brushed them away in annoyance and continued
to look around. Off to the east he thought he could see the most activity,
and decided that there would be where he would hunt that day. Sekhmet climbed
out of the tree, swinging down to the ground.
His clearing was not far away, and when he got there
he started a fire, setting it to burn slowly, with little heat. He pulled
a kettle out from just inside the doorway of his shelter, a structure that
looked as if it would fall over any second. But it was enough for him, and
filling the kettle with water from the river he set it to hang over the fire.
He'd stolen the kettle from someone in the clan who
had foolishly left it outdoors, as he had most of the things he couldn't
make in the forest. He disliked going back there, sneaking around in the
night. Hopefully I won't have to go back there any more. Well, that should
do it. The water will have boiled by the time I get back.
He wore his sword, as always, and his knife in his belt.
He got a bow and arrows from inside his house, more things he'd taken, and
headed eastward, ready for the hunt. As he walked he found that his thoughts
kept turning to Lyonta, as they had more and more recently. He kept telling
himself that she had gone on and was living her life, and after all this
time he should have been able to make himself believe it.
It wasn't working. He concentrated on looking for signs
of animals, anything he could kill and eat. Animals had been scarce lately,
and he was getting so tired of fish, especially since there was nothing else
to eat with it. I wonder if I'll be reduced to eating grass like the deer
soon, he mused, trying to walk softly so he wouldn't surprise any potential
dinner.
There was a faint rustling, and slowly he loaded the
bow, glancing around. Another noise, soft, and definitely made by something
living. The leaves of a bush not far away began to move, and he aimed at
it. It looks large... a deer? he thought hopefully. A figure appeared
above the bush, coming out from inside it, and he let the arrow fly.
"Hey!" Lyonta cried out, standing there with a look
of extreme surprise. The arrow stuck out of the trunk of the tree right behind
her, and Sekhmet let the bow drop from his fingers, rushing over to her.
"Lyonta! What are you doing here? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. You really should work on your aim." She
glanced wryly at the arrow and then pulled it out, handing it to him. "On
second thought, maybe not." She pushed through the bushes to stand next to
him, picking up his bow and handing it to him as well. He took it and slung
it over his shoulder without really noticing.
"But, what are you doing here?"
"Here? The hem of my robe got caught on a stupid bush,
and I sat down to get it off, and then I stood up and you tried to shoot
me." She grinned, brushing wisps of brown hair back against her head, and
they continually fell forward. She didn't really seem to care. "Please don't
do that again."
"No, I mean here in the forest," he clarified, blinking
at her.
"Oh, that. I was trying to find that clearing, you know,
where I took you that night. I thought you might be there. This forest really
isn't so bad in the daytime at all. But I got lost," she added cheerfully,
"and you found me anyway, so it doesn't really matter. What were you doing?"
she said curiously, and it took a moment before he could collect enough of
his wits to respond.
"I was hunting," he said. "But I can hardly find anything.
Everything hides in this forest."
"Everything hides in every forest," she said. "So where
are you living?"
"Off to the west. But I really need food, and I think
there's something the other way."
"Oh, food? Here." Lyonta pulled a sack from her sash
and tossed it to him. It was heavy and bloodstained. "This'll do for now."
He looked inside and saw the carcasses of a small rabbit and three squirrels.
Suddenly he noticed the bow on her back, the arrows at her side.
"You hunt?"
"Yes," she replied as they began to walk back. "My mother
died giving birth to me, and father raised me the best way he knew how. Like
a boy. I hunt, and I fight, and the other girls just hate me. But the boys
aren't too happy about me either. So I hunt by myself in the light forest,
where everyone else hunts. Lots of animals there."
"Not much here," Sekhmet muttered, swinging the sack
back and forth.
"Does your father visit often?" she asked abruptly,
looking up at him. He shrugged.
"Sometimes. Not recently, though. He's always busy with
something." Busy with the Dynasty, and still he warns me not to join it!
I wish he'd tell me what's going on...
"He's very intriguing. Can you do anything like that?
Healing, I mean."
"No, not really. He's the one with real powers, not
me. I just scare people." He pushed away an overhanging branch, revealing
the small path to the clearing. She preceded him down the trail.
"That's just because they're idiots." Lyonta declared,
entering the area. She stopped short, staring around, hands on her hips.
"Is this it?" He nodded. "Oh, boy. Do you need help!" She made a clucking
sound with her tongue. "This is truly primitive. It would have been primitive
five hundred years ago!"
Sekhmet was about to get defensive when he realized
she was just teasing. "Well, I do have running water," he stated, gesturing
in the direction of the river.
"If it was in the house I'd be impressed." She wandered
over to his shelter, peering inside.
"You try building a house in a river." Sekhmet went
over to the fire. The kettle was heating up, but the water wasn't very warm
yet. He added more sticks to the fire and sat down, taking his knife and
opening the sack.
She sat next to him and pulled out her own knife, holding
out her hand. He pulled a squirrel out by the tail and gave it to her. They
started skinning the carcasses, and then, for no reason, Lyonta began to
chuckle. "So that's where it went."
"What's so funny?" he said, peeling the fur away.
"That kettle. It disappeared from outside Rui's house,
and she actually blamed me for stealing it!" Lyonta pitched her voice higher,
making it screech. "Now, Lyonta, I know you've had your eye on my kettle
for some time now, and if you give it back now there won't be any trouble!"
He burst out laughing, and with an impish smile she
returned to her own voice. "Why, no, Rui, I couldn't care less about your
stupid old kettle! Actually, I've had my eye on your husband, but everyone
knows that dogs are so loyal to their masters. I wouldn't have a chance!"
They laughed, and she grabbed another squirrel.
He stood up and got a skin full of grasses and leaves
from inside, along with a scarred wooden spoon. He dumped some of the leaves
into the water, as well as a few bones from the squirrels. Lyonta speared
chunks of meat on a stick and browned them in the flames before tossing them
into the pot.
"Let's let that cook," she announced. "There's a lot
of work to do here! This place is adequate, but you need more than walls
to make a house. Let me see what I can do."
"That's very nice," he said dubiously, "but I don't
think there is much you can do."
"Of course there is. You haven't seen me when I have
an important task to do." She turned around and surveyed the surroundings,
biting her lip.
"But I'm going to, right?"
"Of course. I'm coming back here, you know. This isn't
over yet!" She turned to face him, eyes getting wide and sad. "Unless you
don't want me to come."
Sekhmet smiled at her. "Of course I do!" Somehow, he
felt at ease around her. She wasn't afraid of him at all, and that was a
pleasant change.
She shoved him lightly. "I knew you'd say that. I don't
suppose you have bowls, do you? That stew is starting to smell really good.
I don't care if it hasn't all cooked together yet. We can start after we
eat."
"Well, no. I just kind of eat out of the pot."
"Male," she snorted. "Oh, well, make do with what you've
got. And my father thinks I'm out hunting, since I do every day, so I can
come here with no problem."
Sekhmet gave her a puzzled expression, slowly realizing
what she was talking about. She sure does change the subject a lot!
"Ah. Well, that's a good thing. They'd be mad."
"Yeah, I know," she chuckled. "But's what's life without
risks? Eat, you fool, before I have it all!"
And so Lyonta invited herself into his life. She came
to the forest almost every day, bringing him things for his shelter. And
sometime, when, he was wasn't exactly sure, it stopped being just a shelter
and became a house. He didn't know if he'd even been this happy, and he looked
forward to the times when she'd suddenly appear, always somehow making him
laugh.
A few times, she'd brought Datai, and he wasn't so happy
about that. For some reason he seemed to see him as an intruder, but he didn't
come often, being busy with the war. And even Essah visited once in a while.
And so he was happy, for the first time in his life.
He didn't want it to end, ever, but a nagging feeling
told him that it would. He had that feeling often, but was growing good at
ignoring it. And so he did, again and again, until he forgot about it altogether.
They were on a low hill, looking out at the forest below.
The sun beat down warmly on them, brightening an otherwise plain late summer
day. The trees were few and sparse here, the hill rather like a bald head.
Lyonta sighed and leaned back on her hands. "It really looks different in
the daytime. You'd never think that this was the Dark Sister, the forest
that supposedly eats little children when they're naughty."
"Yes, it's not so bad, once you get used to it," he
responded. She glanced over at him.
"That's true about other things, as well," she said
softly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, comfortable
with teasing her now. In fact, they teased each other all the time. For some
reason she always made him feel like laughing.
She sat up straight, raising her hands in a protesting
gesture. "Nothing. Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all."
"Yeah, right," Sekhmet said derisively, grinning. She
pouted.
"Do you doubt me? Are you trying to start something?"
She wore a mock-serious look, and then suddenly knocked him over onto his
back, placing a knee on his chest. "Is this a good day to die?" He could
only laugh at her, and she put her hands on her hips. "He laughs! Well, are
you going to be sorry..." She grabbed onto his neck threateningly.
"Gods, Lyonta," he gasped through his laughter, "where
did you learn that?"
She shrugged, fingers still curled loosely around his
neck. "When I was little... could beat any boy in town. Never had a chance
to see about you, though. Want to try me, huh? Come on, try." She looked
haughtily at him. "Bet you can't. You can't! Hah!"
He chuckled and suddenly flipped over, pinning her down.
He pushed out of his mind the thought that they were so close, so close...
pushed it safely away where it wouldn't get in the way of their fun. She
shrieked.
"I can too." he said slowly, and she struggled, tightening
her grasp on his neck. It was hardly life-threatening, but still uncomfortable,
so Sekhmet pried her hands away and held them above her head.
"No fair!" Lyonta cried. "That's no fair! You're bigger
than me!"
"Say you give up."
"No, never!" She shrieked again, and then suddenly began
to laugh. "No, I don't give up!" She tried to yank her wrists out of his
grasp. "Come on!"
"No, not until you say you give up!" She nudged him
in the rib with her knee. "Quit that. Come on, say it!"
"No! I'd rather die first, you fiend!"
"Fiend?" He looked down at her, smiling widely. "All
right, you've lost it now. You'd better be locked up. No one will trust you
with the children anymore. Better give up."
"They don't trust me with the children as it is!" He
poked her in the side and she laughed breathlessly, twisting to get away.
"Stop that! Stop it! All right, damn you, I give up!" Lyonta giggled almost
insanely. "You've won! Stop rubbing it in my face!" He laughed and let her
up. She glared at him. "Oh, you are so mean. I'm not speaking to you anymore."
She stuck her tongue out at him and turned away for about three seconds before
looking back. "You've got grass in your hair."
"So do you."
"Ah, but you see, I can pull it off as high fashion.
You, on the other hand, just look like a fool."
"Fashion!" Sekhmet exclaimed. "You look like you were
rolling around in the grass. You were rolling around in the grass."
"Nobody understands." she sniffed. "See, I'd look just
like one of those maidens sleeping in the fields, dreaming of her lover returning
from war. You," she raised her eyebrow, looking at him closely, "were sleeping
in a haystack."
"Oh, so you're poetry and I'm a haystack. How does one
get to be poetry?" He began picking pieces of grass out of her hair.
"Ah, but if I told you that I'd have to kill you." She
laughed, returning the gesture. "So, what exactly were we doing?"
"Hunting, I think," he replied, inwardly wondering what
exactly had just gone on.
"Well then, we'd better do that." Lyonta sprang to her
feet, snatching up her bow. "I bet I'll make the first kill."
Sekhmet stood as well. "You will not!"
"Will too!"
They walked silently, so as not to disturb their prey.
The light was making its way through the thick leaves in places, rays of
sun glittering down onto the path. Lyonta stood in one of the patches and
held her kill up by its long ears for him to see. "I said I would make the
first kill," she announced proudly.
"It was just luck," he argued, crossing his arms. "I
would have gotten it if you hadn't bumped my arm. Hey," he realized, "that's
not fair!" She put the rabbit in a sack and laughed at him.
"That's the way it goes, Sekhmet," she responded, crossing
her own arms. "Just face it. I'm better than you."
"Hah." He felt a strange flicker of something in his
mind, but it left quickly, and he forgot about it. "If you didn't cheat,
then you wouldn't win all the time!"
"I do not cheat!" It was his turn to laugh, and she
stuck out her lower lip, pouting. "I do not. Say I don't, or I'll cry!"
"No, you can't pull that on me! I know you too well,
Lyonta! It doesn't work--" A sudden crash of pain rushed through his mind,
and he fell to his knees, clutching his head. He faintly heard Lyonta call
out to him, and then Essah's voice pounded in his ears.
>>I regret the pain, my son, but it was necessary
to get your attention. You must beware! Talpa is sending soldiers after you,
and I can neither come to help you nor detain them. You must fight them,
Sekhmet! They cannot win!<< With an abrupt rush of nothingness,
the world returned to him, spinning in circles.
"Sekhmet!" she exclaimed, kneeling next to him, holding
his hand. "Please, what's wrong? Are you all right?"
He pointed off down the trail, searching for the words.
"Watch out!" was all he could manage before there was a sudden darkness from
the sky above, and a flash of lightning, and then there were immense Dynasty
soldiers standing in front of them.
Lyonta gasped, "What are they?" as she and Sekhmet stood
to face them.
He pulled out his sword, answering, "Dynasty soldiers.
We have to fight them!" Lyonta nodded. Almost everyone had heard about Talpa
and the Dynasty, the stories being passed down over almost five hundred years.
She loaded her bow, aimed, and fired in one fluid motion. The arrow bounced
harmlessly off the soldier's metal carapace.
"Oh, shit," she whispered. Their four opponents charged
at them, and Sekhmet swept with his sword as the first one drew near, aiming
for its legs. It evaded clumsily. Thankfully, he noticed that they were all
coming at him and not attacking Lyonta. She had her knife out but it wasn't
doing much good.
Suddenly one of the armored things got the idea to use
her as a hostage. It swung at her with its chain just as Sekhmet disposed
of another, slashing it through. She dodged away, and when he glanced at
her another soldier hit the sword out of his hand with a vicious strike from
its spear. He fell to the ground, his breath knocked out of him.
The blade clattered away to land near Lyonta, and she
picked it up swiftly and lunged. The soldier went down, and the remaining
one grabbed for her, catching her robe in its fingers. It hoisted her into
the air by her shoulders as she struggled. Sekhmet tried to get to his feet,
tried to help her, but she was too far away.
An arc of light raced from the soldier's eyes and hit
Lyonta, surrounding her with the glow. She screamed, and his sword dropped
from her fingers as her body went limp. Sekhmet cried out to her as the soldier
lifted and threw her hard against a huge tree. She fell to the ground and
didn't move.
"You bastard!" he snarled, getting his sword and swinging
it with all his might. The soldier laughed and parried with a spear. Furious,
he pushed forward and overwhelmed it, destroying the thing with a well-timed
blow. The smoke rushed out of the broken body as he shoved the sword back
in his belt and ran over to where Lyonta lay, bleeding from a gash on her
forehead.
"No," he said softly, bending over her, feeling her
neck for the pulse. She still lived, and even as he watched she took a shallow,
shuddering breath. He sighed in relief and carefully gathered her up into
his arms, walking slowly back to his house, glancing around for signs of
any more soldiers. Sekhmet reached it without incident and went inside, laying
her on the bed.
He washed the wound and bandaged it, ignoring his own,
and then sat next to her, bending close. "Please, Lyonta, be all right,"
he said. "You've helped me so many times. I couldn't stand it if I couldn't
help you!" She didn't move, didn't respond, and he jumped to his feet angrily.
"Damn it, don't do this to me!" he shouted, wanting to hit something, destroy
something in his anger. He settled on pacing around the house.
It was a while before she began to stir, waking very
slowly. She muttered to herself, saying things Sekhmet couldn't make out.
Suddenly she sat upright and her eyes flew open, filled with horror, and
she began to scream again, loud and unceasing. He rushed to her side and
tried to calm her, but to no avail. Finally he just took her in his arms
and held her as she thrashed and struggled, and then her screams died down
and she ended up sobbing into the front of his robe.
"No, he's going to take over the world! You have to
stop him, please, I saw you there, you have to stop him! You can, you have
to! He's going to kill us all!" she wailed.
"Who?" he asked softly, stroking her hair.
Lyonta choked back the tears and replied, calming down,
"It's Talpa, I saw him, and I saw you, and the whole world was dead and he
was laughing... that laugh..." She shuddered and pressed her cheek against
him, sighing. "It was horrible, but it was just a dream, you weren't there,
and I'm all right now, I'm all right..."
"No, I won't be there, I won't join Talpa, I promise."
he told her, and she pulled away slightly, frowning up at him.
"Join Talpa?" she inquired, and he began to try and
explain, try and tell her everything he knew, and then suddenly, with a smile,
she kissed him, stopping all his explanations instantly. She laughed at his
look of surprise and stood up. "I have to go," she said softly, glancing
out the open doorway and the sun setting. "My father will be waiting for
his dinner. I'll come back and see you tomorrow."
He nodded, slack-jawed, and she laughed again, a little
shakily, before leaving him to stare after her in shock.
Sekhmet sat staring at the berries on the bush, looking
for the ripest ones. He picked a few and ate them, piling some of the others
on the ground to bring home and save. It couldn't hurt to have food stored
for later, he thought, eating another. A faint rustling sound came to
his ears, but he continued what he was doing, staring at the bush. He couldn't
stop the smile spreading across his face, however, as the person came closer.
"Hello, Lyonta," he said, not turning around. He heard
her stamp her foot and make a frustrated noise.
"How did you know it was me?" she asked as she sat down,
flipping her loose hair back off her shoulders. He shrugged and handed her
a berry.
"Who else would it be?" he replied, self-consciously
wiping some of the juice off his face. She grinned at him and ate another,
staining her lips. He found himself thinking about how nice it would be if
he could kiss her, but almost as soon as he became aware of the thought he
put it away. She was his friend, but nothing else ever could or would happen
between them, and thinking about it wouldn't help anything. What had happened
before was nothing. She had been delirious, in shock, she hadn't been in
control of herself. She was only his friend. No matter how much he wished
it otherwise...
Sekhmet looked away quickly. "Are you sure no one followed
you?" She sighed and nodded. "I would hate to think what would happen if
they found out you were coming here," he added. She nodded again, and, strangely,
he felt a little awkward. Lyonta was lost in her thoughts, and he yanked
a few more berries from the bush before pushing the whole pile onto a piece
of old cloth.
Suddenly he felt her eyes on him and glanced back over
at her. She had the oddest look on her face. "What's wrong?" He frowned with
concern, and reached out to touch her shoulder. She took his other hand in
hers and decided on a smile.
"I'm all right," Lyonta announced hastily. "It's just
that, well, I'm not exactly sure, but, I think I'm falling in love with you."
His eyes opened wide, and his hand dropped away from her shoulder. "I mean,
well, yes, I am." She gazed at him and grinned, and he had the feeling that
maybe he should wipe the stupid look off his face, as well as the berry juice.
"Lyonta," he managed to say. His throat had gone tight,
and he could hardly form the words. "Why?" He suddenly remembered to blink.
"I don't know," she replied. "Some things just are."
He suddenly felt like crying, but that would hardly be the right thing to
do. I have to learn to put a better control on my emotions. Sekhmet
reached out and pulled her to him, leaning his face into her hair. She wrapped
her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I think I knew when I saw you there on the battlefield.
I felt connected to you somehow... I couldn't let you die, no matter what
the others said about you. And I was right, of course. You're no demon at
all. You're just as human as I am, more than most of them are... the damn
fools."
She trailed off, and he closed his eyes. Perhaps
I'm dreaming. That must be it... this can't be really happening. What do
I know about love? Maybe she is mistaken. I don't know what to do... But
it wasn't a dream, he knew that as soon as he opened his eyes again. It was
real, and he should have been happy, wanted to be happy, but a nagging thought
in the back of his mind prevented him from feeling anything but dread.
"No, no," he said suddenly, pushing her away. "Nothing
good can come of this, it's wrong, you'll get hurt, I know it, so go away,
please, just go away..." He leapt to his feet and backed away. "I'm
a curse, and you'll get hurt, so leave, just leave!" Sekhmet hardly knew
what he was saying, turning away from the shattered expression that washed
across her features.
"No!" she exclaimed somewhere behind him. "You aren't!
Listen to me, that's just their lies, they don't know you! Please, turn around,
listen to me! You know it, don't you dare lie to me! I know who you are!"
Lyonta tugged briefly on his shoulder, but he didn't move, fighting back
the helpless tears, fighting away the weakness. She came around to stand
in front of him, staring up into his eyes.
He slowly reached for the knife in his belt and drew
it out. Not taking his eyes off her, he ripped his palm open with one angry
slash. Blood welled out in a stream of red, and he lifted it up to show her,
ignoring the pain. The blood trickled down his arm, staining his sleeve.
"This is why I was cast out," he said in a low tone.
"My blood is poison, I'm poison, and I'll hurt you if you stay here. I can't
love you, I don't know how to, and I'll poison you, too. I already have.
Why else would you be here and help me? Why else?" he added almost to himself.
She shook her head mutely and took the knife from his
hand. She slowly placed the edge against her palm, drawing it downward swiftly.
He stared in shock, and she winced a little. She took his bleeding hand in
hers, and he half-heartedly tried to pull away. "No. If your blood is poison,
then it is mine now, and I take it. It's my choice, mine. You can't make
me go away, Sekhmet! I'm not leaving."
"Lyonta," he murmured painfully, "I love you. But for
your sake, I can't. I... can't."
"Love me for your sake," she replied. "For your sake,
and for mine. For both of us. Damn it, you know you want to, so do it. Forget
them. Forget them all." She stepped closer to him, and he held her, kissing
her softly. She leaned against him, their bleeding hands still entwined together.
He touched her face, streaking blood everywhere, and neither of them could
care less, lost in strange emotions, forgetting everything except the now.
He could feel the gash on his hand throb pain, and that
too was insignificant compared to the other pain, the pain that came with
the knowledge that happiness in his life could never last, and that this
time as well would be lost. But that thought was easily misplaced as Lyonta
gasped against his lips, reaching up to run her hands into his hair.
"There's grass in your hair," she mumbled. The knife
fell to the forest floor.
Sekhmet stood in the doorway, waiting anxiously for
Lyonta's arrival. Summer had passed into autumn, and autumn now was turning
to winter, the air chilling. The wind was blowing almost continuously, and
dead leaves flew through the air past the bare branches of the trees. That
was a good thing about the weather. At least the forest wasn't so bleak.
One could get so tired of the darkness sometimes.
Lyonta showed up at the other end of the clearing and
rushed over to him, her cloak whipping around behind her, and hugged him,
shivering exaggeratedly. They shared a kiss before retreating inside to the
fire, settling next to it, her hand in his. She had a secret smile on her
face, and he wondered what had caused it.
It was strange how it seemed so right when she was here,
how the whole place seemed more right. He though of her as his wife, wished
she was, but back in 'reality' Herke was trying to arrange a marriage for
her, and he knew undoubtedly that he wasn't the one her father would think
of.
"Has he found anyone yet?" Sekhmet asked, frowning.
She shook her head with a sigh.
"Thankfully, no. He's always said that he couldn't pay
anyone to marry me. I'm too defiant, too much like a boy for them. I've always
been a handful."
"That you have," he murmured, and she punched him playfully
on the arm.
"Be nice," she responded with a grin. "I have some important
news to tell you, and I won't if you're so mean."
"Tell me," he urged, and that smile crept back across
her face.
"I'm with child," she announced, squeezing his hand.
"I'm sure about it now. I'm so excited!"
He simply stared at her. "What? How?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "You know how. You see--"
"No," he cut her off. "Your father, what is he going
to do? He won't let us marry, and if he's anything like Faimbril was about
me..." he let the thought trail off, and she glanced away for a moment, biting
her lip unconsiously. "We have to decide."
"You're right. But I was so happy... what should we
do?" Lyonta touched her stomach lightly, glancing down, and he held her,
trying to reassure her.
"Are you willing to leave the clan and live in the forest
the rest of your life?"
"Of course," she replied immediately, hugging him. "I
can leave in the spring, when it's warm enough to travel. I can hide myself
till then. Run away... perhaps they'll write a song about me."
"A song." Sekhmet echoed, sighing. "I'd sure like to
hear that." And he thought about the singer, Cirian. Maybe they could find
her, later, show her their child... he had promised he would return
to her when Viraz was dead. "Perhaps you'll get your song," he said, smiling
for her sake.
"Of course I will," she said, tossing her head. "How
can you doubt it? I'm the kind the person they always write songs about."
She grew quiet, looking at him searchingly.
"I can't believe it," he began with wonder in his voice,
and she reached out, guiding his hand to her stomach.
"Soon you'll be able to feel it kicking," she whispered.
"I hope it's a boy."
"Anything," he replied softly. And it will be happy,
I will make sure it's happy, and never wants at all. There was no dread
here, no worry, nothing but wonder and joy and hope as he sat and looked
into Lyonta's eyes and saw the promise there, the promise of freedom from
the hate he'd borne all his life.
"Everything will be all right," she told him, and he
nodded, kissing her.
"I believe you," he answered, and he did.