The Lost Voice

Chapter One-1-2

“What is expected of you?”

Caia swallowed hard. Her throat was beginning to itch with thirst. “To keep balance.”

“By doing what?”

Words came with great difficulty at the question. For years, she was taught exactly what Archai was asking her about, but her reply simply would not form. “By making sure...” she paused, thinking twice on her words.

“By keeping watch,” Archai interjected. “By making sure the wars are kept to a minimum. By aiding the inhabitants of Jaydür with their struggles. Emotional. Physical. Spiritual. You will be a mediator between the people. But you also have a new task—something the first Voices did not do. You are going to walk amongst the people and bring back their belief in the Voices. Darkness overcomes the hearts of people without hope, and you will soon see proof of this. People have changed without the Voices.”

With her heart in her throat, Caia kept her focus before them. They were nearing Nov’Eit, a village less than a mile from her own that ran along the Seven Mile River. Blue flags marked Nov’Eit as a fishing village and helped travelers decide whether or not it would be their next best stop. It was a wonder the village flew such a flag—Nov’Eit was known to like its privacy.

Children screamed jovially as they splashed at the edge of the water and their mothers smiled at them. How simple life seemed for these people. No one had expectations of them like she had. No one feared what was to come. No one even knew the Voices were dead. And according to what she had just heard, some people in Jaydür no longer even believed in their existence. It wasn’t a difficult concept to grasp, considering Caia’s personal ties to the deities—and the obvious existence of the Sapient man walking alongside her. But there they were, passing home after home in a village full of people who were too busy to notice an immortal man among them.

“There.” Archai gestured to a small mud-patched hut past all the rest.

Caia nodded and made her way to the home. It was a distance away from the majority of the homes, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Yes, Archai was a Sapient, but he was also the man who rendered her fiancé unconscious, and now brought her to an isolated place.

“Why are we coming here?” she finally asked. “Dy’Mün knows this place?”

Archai’s hand gripped the hilt of the sword at his side. Caia noticed its silver pommel and matching blade, the grip wrapped in a blue leather cloth beneath a gold cross guard. The weapon stood out against the black clothing he wore. “It is one of Dy’Mün’s many homes. I chose the most populated of them all, so if Glim’Ruk comes looking, he will have to go through the village to get to you.”

Archai’s words stung, overwhelming the surprise that Dy’Mün held ownership over multiple homes that she did not know about, let alone one so close to her own village. “You mean we would sacrifice this village for me?”

Archai nodded and held his gaze firmly outside the window above a small table with two chairs. “You sound shocked.”

Caia rubbed her arm and looked down at her feet. “No, not shocked. But afraid. These are good people.”

“Even good people sometimes have to make sacrifices.”

“Making a sacrifice is not the same as being the sacrifice. Especially when they don’t know they’re being put up as one.”

Archai’s brow wrinkled just slightly as he stared at Caia as if searching her eyes for something. Holding his fixed stare was uncomfortable for her, as she was never the one on the receiving side of a probing gaze. She crossed her arms and asked, “Well, what are we doing now then?”

“Preparing you for Descent,” he replied. “You cannot remain in Jaydür.”

Caia snapped to attention. “What do you mean? Jaydür is the world. How can I not be in the world?”

“There are other worlds,” Archai replied. “Worlds that can better hide you than we can. Your very skin reeks of the Voice’s blood. We need to remove you to a realm lower than ours—somewhere magic is scarce and difficult to detect.”

The room turned into a confusing blur as Caia thought about his words. The Sapient sounded like a madman. “What other worlds?”

Archai gripped her upper arm and gently pulled her down to the seat by the window. “I think it would be best to wait for Dy’Mün before we discuss details.” He looked over her head into the village once again.

Caia followed his gaze, her mind reeling. A dirt road led away from the hut, through the village, and down into the woods where Caia and Archai had come from. Solin would be coming from the same road, if he was looking for her. Caia wondered how he was doing. If he had opted to find Dy’Mün the way Archai told him to, the professor would have surely calmed his nerves by now. She really was in no danger; Caia knew that now. But still, that didn’t remove the overall fear and confusion of all that was happening.

“Another world,” she spoke under her breath. “I suppose I’m not that surprised.”

“And you shouldn’t be,” Archai replied monotonously. “You were raised knowing where you come from, were you not? The concept of other realms is nothing unusual.”

Caia sucked in a deep breath as Solin came into view on the dirt road. He rode on his horse, Sam, with the injured shoulder slumped and his elbow leaned onto the saddle. Dy’Mün was close behind, looking even more harried than usual. She stood and wiped her damp hands on her leggings. “But Solin,” she started as she looked nervously to Archai, “he doesn’t know anything of the sort. This won’t be easy for him.”

Of all the things Archai could have responded with to make her feel better, he chose to shrug instead. That alone made Caia’s stomach sink. This man couldn’t care less about Solin.

Solin’s voice called in the distance, and Caia saw Dy’Mün’s mouth moving through his bushy gray beard and mustache, the telltale sign of his familiar muttering. Caia couldn’t even smile at the memory of jokes she and Solin had made about the professor, saying he would breathe in so much of his hair while speaking that he would opt to chew on his tufts rather than finish what he had to say.

The door flew open, crashing against the back wall as Solin hurried in. “Caia!” he exclaimed at the sight of her. He ran toward her, but Archai stepped between them. “You have no part in this. You can go.”

“What?” Caia said in surprise.

Solin straightened his back and forced his shoulders back with a slight cringe. “I told you, I’m not leaving her.”

“Sapient,” Dy’Mün cut in with a slight croak in his voice, “I truly hoped we would not be meeting in person.”

“I am elated to see you, too, Elder Dy’Mün,” Archai retorted with a smile he clearly attempted to restrain. “I've come to understand, though, that your students are completely unaware of why I am here. Seeing as you're all on the verge of being murdered in your sleep, this comes as a surprise to me.”

Solin’s hands clenched into fists at his side. “We know why you’re here. The Voices are dead.”

Archai looked down his nose at Solin when Dy’Mün huffed and passed by them into the home. “Sapient,” The professor said, “Leave them be. Solin is free to stay for now.”

Archai’s nose wrinkled into a light snarl as Solin pushed past him into Caia’s arms. She rested her head on his unwounded shoulder when he asked, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She looked up, noticing the purple bruise forming on the side of his head from the hilt of Archai’s sword. “How are you? I’m so sorry. I tried to stay with you, but...”

Solin’s eyes flicked to Archai, who still stood by the window with Dy’Mün, his arms crossed, and his face relaxed as if he had no cares in the world. “It’s all right. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Caia shook her head. “Not at all.” Her voice lowered and she drew Solin in for a tighter embrace, whispering into his ear, “He’s nothing like I imagined a Sapient would be.” She looked to Archai again.

“And he’s really Archai? The man from the books?”

Caia nodded. “So it seems.” With a shift of her gaze, she found Professor Dy’Mün tugging at his beard with sad eyes on her. There was something behind the green eyes highlighted by those thick gray eyebrows—as if he held information or understanding of something to come. The old man straightened his back and walked briskly to the other side of the hut where a chest was pushed up against the wall. A tattered gray tapestry was draped over the dark wood, which Dy’Mün grabbed and carelessly tossed onto the ground. “The Voices of Jaydür have been dead for longer than you know,” he said, fumbling through the chest. A deep clanking came from whatever he was doing, and Caia was surprised to see her professor pull out clay cups and a kettle. His movements were rapid as he spoke, as if he was having difficulty keeping up with his own thoughts. “We were able to keep it under control, as the southeastern realms did not realize what happened. But now, the sinstarians are out to tip the scales.” Dy’Mün made his way to the fireplace where a tube poked out of the wall, the opening clogged with a round cork. “Which they can do if they get hold of any of the young Voices.”

“But even without having a Voice in their grasp, Jaydür has weakened,” Archai said, watching with curiosity as Dy’Mün popped out the cork. Water splashed out of the tube, filling the kettle Dy’Mün had taken from the chest. Archai went on, though his words were spoken more slowly and broken. “The world is...already suffering as...balance is... interrupted.” Archai finally stopped and gestured to the kettle. “I’m sorry, but Dy’Mün, what are you doing?”

“I’m making some damned tea,” Dy’Mün replied through his teeth with clear restraint. “What does it look like I’m doing? We cannot leave until the others get here, and we have a long journey ahead of us.”

“So sit and relax yourself,” Archai suggested.

Ignoring the Sapient, Dy’Mün looked back to Caia and continued. “The new Voices of D’Irdda and Mae’Ehr are older than you and Naoni and spent many years preparing themselves for this day, though we hoped it would never come. But they are still only two of the four. We need all four for true balance.”

At the mention of her friend’s name, Caia stepped away from Solin with fresh panic. Naoni Arduun was a folcavian descendent of the Voice of Folc and first choice to become the new Voice, even though her elder sister also bore the eled’hwen, or, the elven light. When Dy’Mün first disclosed their ancestry some years back, Naoni’s sister grew frightened and disappeared the next night.

“Where is Naoni, anyway?” Caia asked. “Is she safe?”

Dy’Mün nodded, moving the kettle to the fireplace, where he conjured an orange spark from his palm to start a fire in the firebox. He so rarely used magic that Caia was always astonished to see it. “She is making her way here with your father. They’re gathering a few essentials to bring while I rode here ahead of them. Naoni has not drawn the eyes of Glim’Ruk the way you have, so she is not being hunted. I’m not even entirely sure why he caught sight of you in the first place. Regardless, we have a short time to discuss our plan. Mae’Ehr and D’Irdda cannot hold the realms together themselves, so they are in hiding while we Elders are working to keep what balance we can. If you and Naoni do not unite with your sister Voices, all of Jaydür will be a wasteland.”

A breath of relief flowed from Caia’s lips at the thought of Naoni’s safety. Solin stepped up beside her and took her hand in his before asking, “So what’s the plan, then?”

Archai’s attention was quickly on her hand in Solin’s. There was a glimmer of something in his eyes—something she didn’t quite expect. He seemed threatened.

“The first step is to lessen the load,” Archai replied, snapping his gaze up to meet Solin’s. “The boy remains with Caia’s father as we move forward.” His words came cold and swift, like a winter’s gust blowing out a small warm fire.

Solin cast glances at Archai and Dy’Mün, as if expecting the professor to counter the Sapient’s words. “What is he saying?” he asked Dy’Mün. “I’m staying with Caia. Tell him I’m staying.”

Dy’Mün turned back to the chest and took a small tin canister from which he removed five thick cuts of what Caia recognized as dafne roots. “We have a long way to travel, and I am fine with you accompanying her for the next few days, but where Caia is going afterwards, you cannot follow.”