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

Chapter 23 - Katshi

Katshi wondered, for what must be the thousandth time, why he was listening to Moru. Now, as they huddled in their dark cloaks, skulking through the village streets, the thought came again, loudly interrupting his attempts at becoming invisible. Once, he had been a man of honor, he remembered that. He even had loved his queen at some point. But now, though he reached deep into those memories for something to hold on to that would bring him back to his old self, all he could feel was the fear. The shame was nothing in comparison to it. 

Together Moru and he had lost so many. More than just Willow, Moru had lost so many Omari brothers. Even within the walls of Reannihom, where the healing power was strongest, they could not heal everyone. If all the gifted were gone during battle or at the castle, and someone fell ill, the people were powerless. He thought of his own son, Raven: his frail body barely surviving the sickness of the frost that winter when he had been gone, fighting for the queen. That moment had reached deep inside him and latched on. The fear of losing Raven had changed him. Though he wanted to, he could never go back to who he was before it. He wasn’t strong enough.

It was this fear that drove him now, through the nearly empty streets of Numia and to the darkness of an abandoned storehouse, hopefully the end of a long journey of bread crumbs and stories from strangers. Here, they hoped, would be the source for the power they both sought: the power to kill Khaya and share her gifts with the world. No matter what it took, he would do anything to protect those he loved. Even if it ripped the kingdom apart. If more people had the power, than less people would die. If he had all the power, Raven was safe. That’s just how it was.

Ahead of him, Moru threw up a hand, and the two men stopped. 

“This is the place.” he whispered. There was a wide street before them with no buildings to hide behind. Across the street was the storehouse, standing alone against the dark. The moon was full and bright, and clearly lit up the street. Katshi wasn’t even sure why they were skulking in the dark, when the only people who would be out were sneaks and cutpurses, and wouldn’t recognize two foreigners in the dark. 

“Are you sure about this, Moru?” Katshi whispered, grabbing Moru’s arm before he stepped out of the shadows. Moru spun, his eyes spearing Katshi.

“Losing your nerve? When we’re so close?” Moru hissed.

“No.” Katshi said defensively. “Just… are you sure this is a good idea, tracking down a giant?”

Moru’s eyes rolled and he let out a heavy breath.

“He will want what we offer.” Moru responded.

“And what if he kills us and sucks the marrow from our bones?” Kasthi said, the thought sending a chill through him. Moru laughed slightly.

“Then I’ll be put out of misery.”

Without another word, Moru slunk quickly across the bright street and stopped at the doors to the storehouse. Katshi followed closely behind, anxiety like a knot in his stomach. Moru glancing back at Katshi nervously, nodding as if to reassure him. But then remained frozen with one hand on the door.

“What is it?” Katshi whispered, his voice sounding even more intrusive to the quiet of the night now that someone could be close enough to hear. Moru looked stricken, conflicted, his dark eyes reflecting the moonlight back at Katshi. He blinked several times and shook his head. 

“Nothing.” he said, and his eyes were hard again. He flipped a latch on the door, and the aging wood swung open.

Once inside, the men braced themselves, but no one was inside. Katshi glanced around, looking for men hiding in the dark, but he only saw an empty shed. It was wide, stretching several hundred paces inward and to each side of them. On the floor ahead, they could see a thick dust that covered broken workbenches. Katshi stepped forward, a loud clang rang out as he kicked a piece of metal across the floor. 

“There’s nothing here.” he whispered, unable to speak normally though he rationally knew there was no one around to hear. Moru held up a hand to silence him. He took a few steps forward until he reached the center of the shed. Katshi glanced around nervously, then followed. Behind them, the door swung closed with a soft thud, and in an instant the shed began to transform.

The dust and darkness faded, and the walls around them seemed to have expanded three times. Moru and Katshi glanced around wildly as the dilapidated illusion vanished. The cracked and feeble walls were replaced by thick stone. The roof raised itself until it was pointed high above them, with thick wooden rafters. Dozens of men appeared around them as the shadows disappeared. They were clad completely in black, and holding a knife in their red painted hands. 

Most disturbing of all was that Moru and Katshi found themselves standing before a large throne. It was thick and wooden, intricately carved with runes in a language neither of them could read. The wood was gilded in gold, and wide enough that a very large or very fat man could sit comfortably. Seated in it, clad entirely in shining black metal, was a man who’s very presence made fear fill them to the brim and then overflow.

The man was larger than anyone Katshi had ever seen before, and built well, he had a strong jaw and broad shoulders that hinted at a muscular physique. His skin was smooth, without wrinkle or blemish, but something about the way he carried himself made Katshi think he was much older than he looked. His hands, larger than Katshi’s head, rested calmly on the arm rests of the giant seat, his head c****d slightly to the side, his short black hair was perfectly combed and oiled away from his face. It was not his stature that was frightening, or the pure black metal he wore as armor. Instead, it was the midnight blue of his eyes that speared the men. Eyes like an animal: without the whites that now seemed so comforting in human eyes. Inside the dark blue, his eyes were dotted with lights that looked like the stars of swirling galaxies.

“Well.” Moru bowed low, somehow finding his voice. “You’ve certainly lived up to the rumors, my lord.” 

Katshi bowed next to him, his body trembling slightly.

“Tell me why you’ve come.” the man said, his voice hit like a blade.

“My lord,” Katshi said slowly, with all the reverence he could muster. “We need your help, to dismantle the current regime of Minaloa and spread the powers evenly.”

Low chuckling left the throne above them and floated over them like waves. Katshi forced himself to keep his eyes on the floor.

“Do not feign to be so diplomatic. You just want to kill her and take her power for yourself.” he said. “And stop staring at the floor, as if it would keep me from killing you.” 

Katshi swallowed hard as he and Moru rose, taking in the man before them.

“I would avenge my wife, lord.” Moru said, stepping forward boldly.

“Avenge? Avenge her from what? What you see as unfair I see as the natural order.” the man said, and with his words Moru seemed to shrink back into a shell.

But the man before them did not continue, instead his eyes seemed to swirl as he paused, thinking. A half smile came to his lips as he made a decision.

“I will not help you.” he reveled for a moment in the stricken look on both the men’s faces, before he continued. “My own assassins could not kill her, what makes you think that you can?”

Katshi took a step back as if struck.

“You tried to kill her, and failed?” he said, quietly. He felt the only hope he had beginning to dwindle. The giant shrugged, seeming to be indifferent.

“The Original gave her those powers. My men, unfortunately, are only mortal men. And they seem to have underestimated her.” the lord rolled his eyes slightly. “So you see, I cannot help you.”

“But surely you must know something.” Moru pressed, unwilling to let everything they had done to get here be in vain. He could not back down, not when they were so close to having her power. The man smiled again, this time revealing his perfectly white teeth that somehow reminded Katshi of fangs.

“I do.” he was toying with them, Moru saw it now, and it infuriated him. Before Katshi could calm him, he said,

“Tell me!” raising his voice a little too high. Before the words had even finished, a knife had been launched into the back of his shoulder from one of the soldiers lining the hall. Moru gasped, slightly. The deep blue eyes above them had turned as dark as the ocean at night as he glared down at the two men.

“I could end your lives in a moment, in this place you didn’t even know existed. I wonder, would the world be better for it?” the dark eyes faded to pale blue, they were swirling again, watching some invisible scene play out. He shook his head slightly.

“Luckily, you seem to serve a purpose, yet.” he said, his lip curling up in disgust. The man tilted his head, studying the two mortals before him as though watching two pups play on the floor, and finding it utterly irritating.

Katshi, finding boldness in the apparent necessity of their lives, pulled the short knife from Moru’s shoulder, letting green streams of healing power flow from his fingers and bind the bleeding wound. He tossed the knife on the ground with a clatter.

“Please, lord, just tell us what we came for.” Katshi said, his eyes instinctively returning to the floor.

“You need the blood of someone you love.” the black haired lord said, eyes glinting as he smiled another wicked smile.

“We can use Willow’s.” Katshi responded, thinking back to the body that Moru had refused to burn, refused to mourn. It was still wrapped in his teepee deep in the forest of Omarihom.

“Power requires sacrifice.” the man said, cutting off his thoughts. “You’ll need fresh blood.”

“What would we do with it?” Moru said, his eyes burning. Katshi looked at his friend, wondering if he could really go through with such a thing.

“Not you. Him.” the man said, pointing back to Katshi. “It has to be him.”

Moru looked stricken, looking at Katshi with pain in his eyes.

“Me?” Katshi said, swallowing hard and glancing around. Katshi’s mind was reeling, thinking over all the people he cared for. Who could he ask to pay this price? His son? His sister? The only reason he had wanted this power was to protect them in the first place. No. He couldn’t do this. He wouldn’t do this.

“Raveners are consumed by power, they don’t control it. But you? You healers hold it within you and point it where you will. Only this kind of control can wield blood magic, otherwise it would eat you alive.” the lord said. His smile widened slightly. Katshi didn’t like the glint he saw in those hard blue eyes. The man on the throne waved a hand, and one of his men handed a scroll to Katshi. Beside him, Moru gritted his teeth. The man hated being toyed with.

The rolled paper in Katshi’s hand felt like dead weight. Katshi stared at it, tracking the uneven edges of the paper with his eyes. For some reason, it felt like his own death had been written out and placed in his hand.

“Why couldn’t your own men perform such a ritual, and gain this power?” Katshi said, hoping he wasn’t condemning them with his burning curiosity. 

The giant’s eyes flicked quickly to Katshi, who felt like he would melt beneath them.

“Their frail bodies can’t handle it, unfortunately.” he said, rolling his eyes once more. “But you, you’re used to housing power.”

Katshi’s mouth suddenly went dry as the giant leaned toward him, eyes back to the dark blue. He looked him up and down slowly, as if every second he spent staring helped him see deeper into Katshi’s soul. Finally, he sat back.

“You decide what to do with it.” he said, he studied his fingernails as if he had become bored with the entire interaction. Katshi held the parchment before him, his hand shaking slightly as he offered it back.

“I can’t…” 

“I suspect you won’t disappoint me.” the giant cut him off, waving his hand again.

In an instant, the hall had vanished, the lights went black, and Moru and Katshi found themselves standing in the darkness of the dilapidated storehouse. Katshi stood blinking in the dusty dark, breathing heavily. His whole body shook in fear and dread. This must be a dream, he thought to himself. He could have convinced himself that it was all a dream: gone back to his life, left Moru to grieve alone. He would have tried, if not for the small piece of parchment still clutched between his fingers.