Infinite Magic

1. A New Day-1

Kinza watched the hundreds of flowers float up on the wind, rising high above the smoke of the pyre.

Many of the blooms she recognized, but many she did not. It seemed a rather apt representation of her time in Rhapta. Many things were familiar, like the path the sun takes or a mother’s love. But many were not, like the Anunnaki she watched now as they coaxed the fire higher and the smoke and wind away from the eyes of the dancing crowd with nothing more than magic.

She supposed she could add funerals to the list of things that were different for her. She remembered attending her own parents’ funeral, and it was a somber affair, with the usual black clothing and tears. Anunnaki reacted differently, though, when their loved ones passed. She had discovered this over the last two days as this city mourned the loss of their kin in the attack. Today’s funeral was the largest; thousands of people made their way out of the city, past the outskirts, into the field beyond—still within the barrier, though.

Instead of the dark mourning clothes she was used to, they wore bright patterns, painted their faces, and wore beads and feathers in their hair and on their arms. Ekaja had helped Kinza this morning to dress appropriately. She gave her a bright orange dress that clasped over one shoulder and braided part of her curls back, adding tiny lapis beads in the design. Her face was painted simply with marks of red and yellow, and a feathered cuff added to her bare arm.

Looking at the mass of people now, dancing and chanting through their tears, she thought that this might’ve been what they needed. They had cried enough over the past few days, over their destroyed city and lost loved ones. Zaid had translated some of the chanting for her, explaining that they were celebrating the life of the dead, and the bigger the celebrations, the better the life they had.

Hakim must have had one heck of a life, Kinza thought to herself. They had come out at dawn, temporarily setting aside their work rebuilding to celebrate the passing of their Grand Elder. He had died peacefully in his sleep the night after Tahir’s attack on Rhapta. Even the magical healing from Kinza’s newfound Aura had not been enough to stop the slow marching of time. Anunnaki didn’t live forever, and Hakim’s time had come.

Hakim must have had one heck of a life, Kinza watched the dancing, mesmerized by the rhythm and the sound of the beads, until a woman danced over and pressed a cup into her palm. She smiled and urged her to drink before dancing off. Kinza looked at the suspicious brown liquid, but it smelled sweet, so she took a sip. It was surprisingly bitter and had her puckering her face.

Zaid’s chuckle rumbled next to her. “It’s a type of mango beer,” he said, looking at the cup like it was a worthy adversary. “Careful. It’s stronger than you think.”

“I think I’ll continue to get my daily fruits and vegetables the old-fashioned way,” she said, setting it down.

“That’s probably best,” he said, turning back to watch the dancing. He looked regal standing there next to her, his clothing as vibrant as hers. It had felt like the moon had fallen out of the sky when he showed up to walk her to the funeral that morning. Instead of his usual black attire, he wore a pair of flowing bright orange and yellow pants, and instead of a shirt, his chest was painted in a series of intricate designs in red, yellow, and black paint, making his tattoo stand out. She wasn’t ashamed to say she liked it. The bright colors, the hundreds of flowers in the wind, the dancing. It made death seem less scary and more like a part of the natural cycle of life, something worth celebrating.

True to his word, Zaid had hardly left her side in the last two days. They had entered into a different kind of chaos, one of rebuilding and restructuring, and Kinza was at the center of it, but somehow still an outsider. She and many others didn’t know where she would fit into the puzzle that was the new Rhapta. A few of the Elders had left with Tahir and still had not been found, leaving a gaping hole where leadership had been in many parts of the city. Not to mention, Hakim had dropped two bombs on them. The first, when he revealed Kinza was the descendant of Rhapta’s long-lost prince, and, therefore, the current heir. And the second when he passed, leaving an empty seat where the Grand Elder had sat and guided his people for nearly two hundred years.

Needless to say, everything was in shambles.

Zaid had done his best to explain things where her knowledge of the Anunnaki was lacking, but he was honestly most helpful when he was just present. It was nice to have someone to stand next to when the weight of the Anunnaki’s eyes were getting to be too much. Slowly, word had spread about who Kinza was. First, she had been the outsider from the prophecy, then she was their enemy, but now she was their princess?

She wasn’t surprised by the mixed looks she got or the telepathic whispers as she went by. It was just so tiring. Some came up to her, begging for a blessing or just to touch her face or her hands, smiling through tears of relief. Others shot her scathing glances and moved away when she came near, cursing her footsteps. And others were just innocently curious, asking where she was from, what her abilities were, and if it truly had been her who had caused the Aurastones to light up like they did. She didn’t know where she would fit into all of this, but Zaid had stayed beside her.

tiringIt couldn’t go on forever, though.

Zaid looked up at the sun that sat high and bright above them, signaling midday. “I have to go now. Savar will be angry if I’m late,” he said.

He had been putting off meeting with the leader of the venari, hoping to avoid another assignment at a time like this. Apparently, the attack on Rhapta did nothing to slow the ubir that ran free out in the world, harming humans and causing destruction. A few venari had returned over the last few days to a shocking discovery, but had merely been sent out on another assignment. The only reason Zaid hadn’t been sent yet was that he had flat out just avoided Savar, but a message had come that morning—given to Zaid by a young boy who demanded money and ran off—that included a time Zaid was to meet with Savar. He couldn’t avoid his responsibilities anymore, and Kinza didn’t have the authority to stop it.

She nodded reluctantly. “Okay, I’ll see you later then, hopefully?” She desperately hoped he wasn’t sent out immediately.

“Hope so,” he said and was gone, his tall form striding back through the grass to the city walls.

Kinza sighed. And now I’m alone. She continued to watch the dancing and smiled at those who looked friendly, but she quickly felt out of place. Looking down at the cup of mango beer on the ground, she debated picking it up and wondered if it would help the feeling in her chest. But before she could really think about it, someone filled the empty spot in the grass next to her.

And now I’m alone. “Feeling overwhelmed yet?” Mikah asked, giving her a teasing smile.

“You have no idea,” she said. “Will they do this all day then?” she asked, gesturing to the funeral.

“Some will stay all night as well, but most will leave fairly soon. It’s usually when the guakal wine runs out,” he said with a wink.

His clothing wasn’t terribly different from hers. He had a long bright red wrap that wound around his body and was thrown over one shoulder and a cuff on his bare arm. He didn’t have any face paint, though, allowing his handsome face to bask in the sun as he watched the festivities. Kinza had the distinct impression of a preening peacock—albeit a good-looking peacock.

They watched for a few more minutes before he turned to her. “Would you like me to walk you back to the city?” he asked. She was about to say no when he held out his elbow to her, a playful smile on his face.

She chuckled and took it, and they started making their way back among a few others. The path they took wound through the outskirts, which had been hit the hardest the first night of the attack. Some of the ramshackle homes were now leveled or burned to the ground. Many of the poorer inhabitants were picking through the ashes and trying to collect scraps of wood and other materials to rebuild.

The fact that she, an outsider, had been clothed and fed regardless of whether she was a princess or an enemy, but these people lived in such conditions, appalled her. But she also didn’t know what to do for them either. She didn’t have any say as to what resources went where.

She turned her face away and tried to pay attention to what Mikah was saying.

“—and that street would be the best path in autumn for the fieldworkers to carry supplies out, just not back in,” he was saying. She honestly had no idea what he was talking about but nodded politely.

She laughed a little. “Mikah, are you giving me a rundown of a travelers’ guide to Rhapta?” she asked.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Has no one given you a tour yet?”

“Of course not. We’ve been a little busy,” she said before realizing he was partially teasing again.

“Well then, it’s my duty as—as, well... I don’t know what my position is anymore now that my mentor turned out to be an enemy of the state, but I would be glad to give you a tour of Rhapta. That is if Her Highness isn’t too busy?”

She rolled her eyes, still uncomfortable with the moniker. “Lead the way. I dub you official tour guide of Rhapta.”

He grinned and led her through the open gate into the city. “This is the grand eastern entrance of the city,” he said as they walked past a pile of rubble, “that has stood for thousands of years... well, it did. If you look to your right, you’ll see the old residential district”—he swept an arm to the right—“and just a few plazas up that way, you’ll find the Consort’s Plaza where the wives of old Rhaptan kings used to live and spend their time away from their boring husbands.”

didKinza laughed. “They didn’t like their husbands?”

Mikah shrugged. “Apparently, the monarchy had a lot of tedious duties with minimal time for fun.”

“Hmm.” She hummed. They walked on for a little while, Mikah telling her seemingly random facts about each district of the city. As she listened to him talk, she realized she was feeling a bit better.

Throughout the day, people went back to work repairing the broken pieces of the city. Rubble was slowly swept away, repairs were made, and people hauled goods back and forth. While the Anunnaki didn’t need to eat very often, they couldn’t go forever without food. Food production and distribution had stopped during the attacks, but people quickly worked together to tend to the fields and harvest the ever-growing crops.