Twenty-Two #3
A pained look crossed Vahn’s ghostly face, and he closed his eyes. “I won’t apologize, Sparrow,” he whispered. “I might’ve wished for things between us to be different, but I still would have raised the king, even knowing what I had
to sacrifice. Even knowing that sacrifice was you. None of this would have changed. I’m sorry if you were hoping for something
different.
“But . . .” He opened his eyes again, gazing at me with an expression I had rarely seen on the Guildmaster of Kovass. “I will say this—I am proud of you. Even when Fate dictated that we must be enemies, even when I was doing my best to end
your life, I cannot deny that you have become an incredible young woman. Brave, resourceful, powerful . . . everything that
the Deathless King fears. I am proud to have called you a daughter, even for a short while.”
The tears that had been gathering behind my eyes finally spilled over. “I wanted to make you proud, once,” I whispered. “There
was a time when your approval was all I wished for. But now . . .” I raised my hand, gazing at the shining thread curled around
my palm. “I’ll be content that our war is finally over. That when I go to fight the Deathless King, I won’t have to face you
as well.”
“Sparrow . . .”
“Goodbye, Vahn,” I whispered, and opened my fingers, releasing the thread into the sky. It unwrapped from my palm and drifted up, catching the wind as it rose ever higher. “Fate smile on you, and may your next life be a happy one.”
Vahn’s outline shimmered, and he began to fray at the edges, unraveling like a cloth whose loose thread was being pulled.
But those dark eyes stayed locked on mine, a dozen unspoken emotions churning in his gaze. For a moment, he smiled, a real,
genuine smile, full of pride and regret and maybe a little forgiveness, right before he unraveled completely, frayed into
nothing, and disappeared.
I closed my eyes, letting the tears fall, uncaring of the wetness streaming down my face. That was twice now I’d had to kill
him. Twice where I’d had to say goodbye to the man who had raised me. But at least, this time, it would be the last. His soul
was finally free. It would return to the Weave to be woven into a new life, far from the grip of the Deathless King. I would
never see him again, and even if our paths crossed, we wouldn’t recognize each other. But that was the cycle of Fate. I would
be happy knowing that his thread was where it belonged at last.
I turned and met the gazes of my friends, those whose stories were tangled with mine. Halek and Kysa, standing in front of
the two rock beetles. Kysa’s bandaged arm was in a sling, and her face was still tight with pain, but she stood tall and proud
with her spear in her other hand. Halek stood next to her, very close, I noticed, and there was a protectiveness in his stance
that I hadn’t seen before. He met my gaze with one of his rakish grins, blue eyes sparkling, and the weight in my chest eased
just a little.
“Fateless.” Kysa stepped forward, drawing my attention.
She was breathing hard, her jaw clenched, but that the insect rider was able to move at all was testament to how tough she was.
“We saw the abomination fly in and knew we had to come help,” she said.
“Ratuk nearly went flying off without us. Nothing would stop him from going to you. However . . .” She faltered, her gaze going to where the abomination had collapsed and disappeared moments before.
“Am I correct in assuming you found the loom?”
I nodded, and the insect rider went slightly pale. “Then you truly have the power of the goddess,” she whispered. “You can
change the course of Fate.”
“Human!”
Meeka leaped onto my shoulder, butting the top of his head into my chin. “Dead thing gone,” he said, black eyes shining with
what could only be satisfaction. “Human has goddess loom. Meeka keep promise to Rememberers. Did good?”
I nodded. “You did,” I said as the tiny jair’oa puffed up with pride. “You were amazing, Meeka. But what will you do now?
Go back to your nest?”
“Meeka not know.” He sat back on his haunches, thinking. “But nest not need Meeka. Human need Meeka.” He gazed up at me, swiveling
his ears forward. “Meeka has magic again. Small magic. Not tasty.” He wrinkled his nose. “But . . . enough. If human wants
Meeka, Meeka will come. Help fight god king.”
“You’re always welcome with us,” I told him. “But are you sure you want to come, Meeka? We’re going to try to stop the Deathless
King. It’s going to be dangerous.”
“Meeka come.” He twitched his whiskers at me. “Not afraid.”
“No.” I scratched him between the ears. “Not you. You’re the bravest.”
I looked at the final member of our party, who stood quietly beside Ratuk, watching us. As our eyes met, he stepped forward,
closing the distance until we were right in front of each other. Meeka sniffed and leaped off my shoulder, but I barely felt
him go. I gazed into the eyes of the kahjai and caught glimpses of hesitancy and awe, as if he stood before a divine being
and was uncertain how to proceed. As if he was unworthy to touch a goddess.
I shook my head, unwilling to let that thought go any further, and stepped into him, pulling him close. He let out a breath and caught me in a tight embrace. Closing
my eyes, I hugged him as close as I could, listening to his heartbeat, feeling his warmth surround me, a shield from all the
fear and loss and uncertainty that still clawed at my mind. The hardest battle still loomed on the horizon; the confrontation
with the Deathless King was closer than ever now. But as long as I had my assassin beside me, I could find the courage to
face him.
“What do we do now, Raithe?” I asked as we pulled back. “Where do we go from here?”
“If you will allow it,” he began, “I think we should return to Irrikah. The queen will want to know that we were successful in finding the loom. She will aid us in the coming fight with the Deathless King. And . . .” He hesitated.
“She might be able to help you with your powers, Sparrow. If you are going to face the king, you need to know exactly what you’re capable of. ”
I shivered. I didn’t really want to go back to Irrikah, but Raithe was right. This power was entirely new to me. I could see
the threads in the Tapestry, and I could even untangle a bound soul and return it to the Weave, but how would that help me
with the Deathless King? Though the thought of standing before the queen again made my stomach clench, the idea of facing
the godlike destruction of the Deathless King without knowing what I could do was even worse.
I looked over at the others, particularly Kysa.
The insect rider stood stiffly a moment, then sighed. “Agreed,” she said, and I felt Raithe relax, very slightly. “We have
the means to face the Deathless King, but we are going to need every advantage if we are to have a chance of defeating him.
Even if that means accepting aid from another Deathless.”
Halek groaned. “Back to Irrikah, huh?” he said, and gave a slightly pained grin. “Not that I’m complaining about returning
to paradise again, but Weaver’s mercy, it’s going to be such a long trip.”
I was about to agree, when Raithe suddenly stiffened and stepped back from me. A strange look crossed his face, and one hand
went to his temple. Alarmed, I watched him stagger away, his face tight with confusion and pain. A shudder racked his body,
and he fell to his knees in the sand.
“Raithe!”
“Get back, Sparrow,” he rasped as I lunged beside him. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes, hands curling painfully in the sand. Helpless, I could only watch as his shoulders hunched, trembling, and he bowed his head. “Stay away,” he gritted out. “I don’t know what she will—”
Light erupted from him. Wincing, I half turned, shielding my eyes, as the brilliant luminance swallowed the hunched form kneeling
in the sand. Unwilling to leave him, I squinted through tears, as the form of light grew, changed, and turned into something
else.
The brilliant glow faded, and the figure in the sand stood up, rising to its full, intimidating height. Depthless black eyes
peered down at me, silver hair flowing around her like water, and her full, perfect lips curled into a smile.
“Hello, Fateless,” the Deathless queen said. “Now that you have succeeded in finding the loom, I believe we need to have a
chat, goddess to goddess.”