Of Fire and Fury (Book 1: Light-Born Series)

Chapter 15 - Khaya

Khaya awoke from a deep sleep, sweat soaking through the soft cloth of her blankets. She sat up sharply, adrenaline coursing through her as her heart pounded in her chest. She looked around, the light of the full moon was flooding through the thin curtains that blocked her balcony. Glancing quickly around the room, she realized that everything was undisturbed. It was all exactly where it had been when she fell asleep hours before.

Despite the apparent normalcy of her surroundings, Khaya felt a cold and tingling sensation gripping her limbs. Even as she spoke to herself of the peace around her, the sensation did not leave. Instead, with every moment she remained in her bed, the feeling grew. She felt it clawing at her, as if unseen hands were willing her from her bed. So, she followed the feeling. On instinct, she was led by invisible hands out onto the balcony, sliding through the sheer curtains that softly billowed in the midnight breeze. She glanced around at the world below her, placing her hands on the cool stone ledge. The valley below was quiet, the soft rustling below her was entirely safe. She eyed the hills that rolled beyond it, but there were no flickers of torches or pale bodies moving toward the trees.

The gripping hands pulled at her again, leading her to the side of the door. She pressed her back against the stone out of sight from the open doorway. Counting her breaths, she waited for the feeling to release her from where she felt pinned against the cold rock. Khaya knew she could fight it, if she wanted to. It wasn’t so strong that she was forced against the wall, but she felt this was no ordinary fear of the darkness or the fading grip of a nightmare. She could feel the warning of danger hanging thick in the air around her. If the spirits were protecting her from something, she would be a fool to ignore them.

So, Khaya remained pressed against the wall until she began to shiver. Still, she did not dare to move. It felt like hours had passed, though she knew it was not so long as that. Just as she was ready to give in to her body’s pleading to return to the soft bed, she heard a soft thump. Her body froze, she pressed her eyes closed and strained to listen. There was the soft padding of footsteps, so quiet they were nearly drowned out by the soft wind blowing her hair.

Anger began to well up inside her, the familiar thrumming of Ravener rage sparking behind her eyes. The cool hands that had clasped at her disintegrated, and she knew that their purpose had been served. She was awake to hear whatever intruders were bold enough to sneak into her home. The thought of her daughter, sleeping only a few doors down, awakened a monster inside her. Stepping silently into the doorway, she could see four bodies crouched around her bed. When they saw she was not in it, they looked quickly between each other.

The fury rose quickly, and Khaya leaned into it. Her heart rate increased, blood pouring to her limbs, giving her the strength she would need for victory. Her vision was tinted red as she felt the hot grip of the Ravener around her heart, stifling all feeling and emotion except for the distinct, ravenous, hunger for blood. This she gave in to. 

Slipping silently through the open curtains, she snatched a curved blade from a table along the nearest wall. Her movement caused the intruders to turn. When they saw her, they each stood quickly with their own blades in their hands, bending slightly, their blades outstretched and glinting in the moonlight. Khaya’s stance matched theirs, ready. The two closest moved at her together, expertly diving to avoid her blade as their own flashed toward her. She spun to avoid one, blocking the other with a sharp clang. Their movements were as perfect as the best warriors of Minaloa: these were no amateurs. But Khaya had the power.

The Ravener inside her gave her strength, the blood red tint of her vision pulled all her focus onto one thing: survive. She spun, jabbed, parried, moved with a fluid grace that was far beyond her meager battle training. The blood-lust clung to her limbs, sending them out in front of her to block another attempted slice. It pulled her hand forward and thrust her knife into one of her assailant’s sides. It told her to duck before she saw the body who lunged, with knife outstretched, from behind.

Her knife caught another blade, locking them together at the curved hilt. She strained against the man’s strength, sweat beading against her forehead as she held her stance. The clanging of weapons brought guards bursting through the oak doors to her bedchamber, charging in from the hall. With a yell, one of the guards shoved one of the last standing intruder to the ground, a second guard dispatching his head from his body with a sword.

Khaya was still locked blade to blade, both shuffling slightly on the floor, seeking a foothold that would give them an edge. Khaya caught her foot against a raised stone in floor. Using it to counter her bodyweight she leaned in, kicking the inside of the man’s leg and forcing him to stumble. With her weak hand, she pulled a blade from the intruder’s belt and lodged it into his stomach. The man fell to his knees, coughing and spluttering blood, and finally fell to the ground.

Khaya knelt over the man, unwrapping the black cloth from his face. He had the tan skin and dark eyes of the forest clans, but she had never seen his face before. Blood from her knife wound was spilling from his stomach and covering the floor, and he grimaced in pain.

“Who sent you.” Khaya snarled, grabbing the back of his head and forcing him to meet her eyes. Fear reflected back at her, but he narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, saying nothing.

Khaya lifted her free hand, letting waves of cool green light flow between her fingers like the waves in the ocean.

“I can heal you, if you tell me who sent you to kill me.” She spoke again, softer. But the man simply closed his eyes and stayed silent.

“Well, then. If you won’t be agreeable. I could stab you a hundred times and keep you from dying.” She grinned, maniacally, a dark glint in her eyes as the cool green light flickered over her palm and the back of the hand. The man swallowed, but still said nothing. Khaya dropped his head against the cool rock floor. She cursed silently to herself as the man’s wheezing breath finally fell silent. She wasn’t a tyrant, and she had no taste for torture. But she also didn’t enjoy the blood ceremony as a means to gather information. Sighing heavily, she grabbed a glass vial from her nightstand. Pouring the few drops of perfume out onto the floor, she knelt and placed the vial under the man’s wound, letting it fill with blood. When it was sufficiently full, she stood and capped the bottle.

“Clean them up.” Khaya said, waving to the guards, suddenly exhausted as the last of the Ravener energy left her limbs. She leaned to steady herself on her bed. The young guard who had been first in the room moved to stand before her, eyes wide under his dirty blonde hair.

“My queen, I’m so sorry… I don’t… I don’t know how they…” he stammered, his face as pale as her bed sheets. She pushed past him and rushed out into the hall. Within a few strides, she was standing outside Frea’s bedroom. Throwing open the doors, she stepped inside, guards following closely behind. Frea woke with a start, her tiny eyes wide with fear.

“Em?” she said, blinking sleepily. Khaya sat down on her bed and pulled her daughter into her lap, the feeling of her tiny body calming her heartrate.

“It’s okay, sweetie. We just wanted to check for monsters.”

“Monsters?” Frea said, a tinge of fear in her voice.

“Yes, but they will never get you, not while I’m here. And I’m going to bring in more guards too, okay?”

Frea nodded against Khaya’s shoulder. Khaya pulled her away and set her back down in bed. Tucking her back in.

“Don’t be scared.” Khaya whispered, kissing Frea’s forehead.

“Will you sleep wif me?” Frea said, her big eyes tearing up.

“Em has to do some work, but I’ll come back. How does that sound?” Khaya said. Frea smiled and nodded. Then she grabbed a soft toy from the far side of the bed, tucking the animal under Frea’s arm. “Here, Bear will keep you safe.”

Once Frea was tucked back in bed, and the guards had swept the entire room, Khaya stepped outside. Captain Taerek appeared before her, six more gaurds behind him.

“My Queen, I am so sorry. These guards will be punished.” he said, nodding his head once and motioning to the gaurds behind him.

“No.” Khaya said, stopping him. “Thank you Captain, but they weren’t sleeping on the job. These assassins are trained very well. I don’t know how they got in, but it wasn’t through the door.”

Her eyes fell on the gaurds that had been standing outside her door, who looked at her with guilt-ridden faces.

“Triple the guards in my daughter’s room, and I want them standing around her bed.” 

The Captain nodded quickly, motioning to the gaurds around him, who quickly filed into Frea’s room.

Khaya walked down the hallway and stepped inside her own rooms. She watched at more gaurds were carrying the first of the bodies out of her room.

“Look at them.” she said to Captain Taerik. He stepped inside and knelt by one of the bodies.

“Our people?” Captian Taerik said, confused. Khaya glanced over their attire. 

“They look to be Omari.”

“Who would have ordered this?” Khaya asked, a shudder running through her. It was completely black and devoid of clues. It was a well made cloth, thick enough in places to block knives and even arrows from fatally piercing the skin. Over the entire torso were thick pockets and narrow sheaths for all sorts of knives. A belt was around the waste, with seemingly endless sheaths as well. It was nothing like she had seen before, and though the man was clearly from one of the clans, it was nothing like the skins that the Omari and Napua wore. The only thing left uncovered by this thick black cloth were his hands.

“These assassins are no paid thugs.” Captain Taerik said. “Look at their clothes, and their hands.” he pulling one’s wrist up to examine it more closely, and let Khaya see as well. Khaya glanced at the other bodies around her, and found that they each were identical. The soft brown skin of their hands had been stained a deep, crimson, blood red.

“They look like soldiers. But… of what army?” he asked.

A shudder ran through Khaya at the thought.

“I don’t know. But it seems we have more than one traitor among us.” she whispered, her heart suddenly feeling as though it were going to pound out of her chest.