Chapter 15 The Sun Temple, Royal Island, Kingdom of Oru #2
L’?r? tried to calm her heart and reach for something within her that she wouldn’t recognize.
Something boiled inside her. A mix of desperation and fury.
She screamed to let it out. A wave of energy tossed her to the ground.
L’?r? groaned as she tried to lift herself, but her back spasmed and ached with every move.
Just then, she felt someone’s hands lift her, and she didn’t have to look to know Alawani had returned and saved her yet again.
In lieu of agbára, he had been her secret weapon, always showing up just when she needed him.
‘You weren’t supposed to come back,’ she said, her voice weak and hoarse.
‘Looked like you could use the help,’ Alawani said, his face lit by the agbára in his hands.
L’?r? turned to see the maiden that had been attacking her sprawled on the ground. She held on to Alawani and tried to balance on her own feet.
‘That’s what I planned to do,’ she groaned, and smiled at Alawani.
‘I know,’ he said, and smiled back at her, panting.
L’?r? was glad for Alawani’s help, but the dread that had formed inside her only sank deeper into her bones.
She used to tell herself that the reason her agbára had never materialized was that she hadn’t pushed herself far enough or wanted it deeply enough.
Now, as she felt the heat in the aftermath of Alawani’s agbára, she knew that even when her life depended on it, the power wasn’t in her.
Never had been and never would be. And this was why, among many other reasons, she despised the gods of the sun and sands.
L’?r? and Alawani both helped Máywá to his feet. Unable to stand on his own, they hung his arms around their shoulders and dragged him through the grounds, heading for the maze.
Suddenly, there was a whistle and a thunk – then blood splattered to the ground in front of them. L’?r?’s eyes widened in horror and confusion, finding the sharp edge of the arrow stuck through Máywá’s stomach. Máywá’s hands went slack on her shoulders as he slumped.
‘Máywá!’ Alawani shouted, holding on tightly to his friend.
L’?r? spun towards the temple doors. On the stairs were half a dozen temple maidens in red on one side – and on the other side, half a dozen maidens in white, with arrows in bows, ready to release on command. In the middle was none other than àlùfáà-àgbà – Alawani’s grandfather.
L’?r?’s wet eyes returned to Máywá. She’d never seen fear more real than in the eyes of the boy whom she’d forced to join her mission that night.
She looked back at what seemed like an army waiting for them at the temple stairs.
Then back to Alawani, who was frantically trying to stop the blood from pouring out of his friend’s stomach, using his waning agbára to cauterize the wound.
The stench of blood and burning flesh ignited something deep in L’?r?’s body.
As the world dimmed around her and her breaths grew shallow, something inside her snapped.
L’?r?’s hands trembled, and her fingers grew cold and numb.
Her heart was beating loud but not fast, like a slow but mighty thump propelling her forward.
The icy feeling in L’?r?’s veins cooled the boiling heat that roared in her core and sent shivers through her spine.
Something was fighting inside her, clawing its way out, overcoming her.
She coughed, and gulps of water poured out of her mouth.
Her rage dulled out the pain that tore at her insides.
Her eyes burned, her vision grew dimmer, and the world around her turned a dark shade of grey, yet she could see clearly.
With every exhale, a burst of dark mist shot out of her nostrils and mouth.
L’?r? felt like she was watching someone else control her body, and she was just there to see how much damage they could do.
When she clenched her fist, she couldn’t feel her hands.
Yet she could feel the hairs on her body stand at attention.
Feeling the slightest breeze brush against them, the chill energized her, making her feel more alive than she’d ever felt before.
The world stopped. She could tell because even though the maidens moved, they moved so slowly, she could wait for a thousand heartbeats and they still wouldn’t reach her.
L’?r? wanted them to reach her. She wanted nothing more than to burn the temple to the ground with all of them in it.
The archers released a volley of arrows, and L’?r? stretched forth her hands and screamed with all her strength, until she could no more, and when she opened her eyes, she couldn’t believe the sight before her.
There it was, standing between her and the entire force that had stood against them – a mountain of ice with black mist oozing from it.
Enormous shards of ice had formed like crystals layered upon each other, their sharp edges pointing to the sky.
The archers’ arrows had got stuck in the middle of it.
Through the clear ice, she could see their faces.
They all looked at her like she had transformed into something otherworldly. But it was her. She had done that.
L’?r? fell to the floor, too stunned to speak, just staring at her hands.
What was happening to her? This wasn’t agbára oru.
This wasn’t anything she knew or could recognize.
Her hands trembled before her as streaks of black veins crawled up her arms. Why was this happening?
From the other side of the ice barrier, she could see àlùfáà-àgbà’s rage as he shouted at the maidens who were trapped near the entrance of the temple.
L’?r? flinched when Alawani’s fingers touched hers but she allowed him to pull her further back as àlùfáà-àgbà formed a fireball in his hands and threw it at the ice.
They both cowered, expecting ice fragments to rain down on them, but the crystals remained unscathed.
àlùfáà-àgbà’s old magic did nothing to break the structure she’d created, but within its crystals, a black mist hovered like a wild, angry beast trying to escape its prison.
The ground shook, and the loose stones danced as the deafening cry of an animal filled the air.
Behind them, L’?r? turned to find Kyà mounted on a battle rhino racing towards them from the maze.
Battle rhinos were like small mountains on the move, usually ridden only by warrior maidens.
She’d never seen one before. Nearly three times her height and the size of two fat oxen, it had a giant horn sharpened to a point and adorned in gold to match its thick armour – which she was sure was impenetrable.
This wasn’t the horses she’d asked for. How in the world had Kyà got a battle rhino to let him ride it?
‘We need to go now!’ Kyà screamed from atop the mighty beast.
‘We can’t leave Máywá,’ Alawani said, tears in his eyes.
Kyà looked at Máywá. ‘He is as good as dead. There is nothing more we can do for him.’
L’?r? moved to hold Máywá. He flinched when she touched him as his skin pinched together, and blackened from her touch.
Little pricks of ice grew on top of it. L’?r? quickly removed her hands from him.
The dread inside her grew with every passing moment.
What was she turning into? What was happening to her?
On the other side of the ice, àlùfáà-àgbà was still throwing fireballs, screaming incantations and summoning the old gods.
The ice crystals still weren’t budging. The maidens started using agbára oru, and after a few tries, L’?r? saw the faintest crack, and the black mist inside it spun like sand caught in a storm.
On the ground, Máywá’s mouth was still spouting blood.
She knew Kyà was right. He wouldn’t make it.
It was all her fault. He didn’t deserve to be caught up in her mess.
When he’d asked to leave, she should’ve let him go, and for that she would never forgive herself.
She turned to Alawani and shook her head. Never in their decade-long friendship had she ever seen him look so broken. His empty eyes stared at Máywá’s body for a moment, then he turned away to climb the rhino’s ladder to the top.
Hot tears filled L’?r?’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks. ‘I’m so sorry, Máywá. You shouldn’t have been a part of this. Forgive me.’
‘L’?r?! Climb now! Whatever that is, it looks like it’s coming down soon!’ Kyà shouted.
Máywá’s eyes closed and opened slowly.
‘Kíni à?íríì r?? Tell me your à?írí – give me your secrets,’ L’?r? whispered. ‘Let me do this for you, please.’
Another crack in the wall.
‘L’?r?, let’s go!’ Alawani shouted, ‘It’s breaking!’
‘I’m coming!’ L’?r? screamed back. ‘Máywá, please!’
Máywá smiled softly in L’?r?’s arms. ‘I … I have none. Ju … just tell m … my parents I … I died on the Red Stone a … an … and not trying t … to escape.’
‘Are you sure, Máywá? Think about it. Take nothing of this world to the one beyond. Let me bear your burden.’
‘I have no burden to give you,’ and with his last breath, he whispered a few words into her ears.
L’?r? closed Máywá’s eyes, whimpering, and rushed to climb the battle rhino, holding on tightly to Alawani as Kyà led the animal through the maze.
It crashed through stone and cleared a path right across the rubble with its horn.
She huddled behind Alawani, trying to avoid the debris that splattered around her as the beast raged through the temple gates, stomping over those who tried to stop them.
They rode over the bridge, moving so fast that L’?r? was sure the bridge would collapse and she’d find herself at the bottom of the golden river, but somehow the bridge held.
Once off the island, they sped through ìlú-?ba as fast as the beast would go.
L’?r? kept looking back at the temple, unable to take her mind off the young boy who lay dead on its grounds.
Her eyes poured out hot tears, and she’d never wished for anything the way she wished she’d never laid eyes on Máywá, the chosen àlùfáà of ìlú-p?.
In the quiet of her heart, she said the words she’d thought she’d never say.
‘May your heart burn like the sun, bright, hot, and undying.’