Chapter Sixty Ris
chapter sixty
ris
I never thought I would be tending Salvacion’s wounds, applying salve to her busted lip and a cold compress to her black eye.
There’s no revelling in her pain like I thought there might be.
I survey the tinctures on the counter and Biba, Finlyr, and Isagani raiding the remaining unopened cupboards, unstoppering bottles and sniffing their contents.
‘Ryla, Kopiro, and Vullis did this for me after the last time we spoke.’
Salvacion looks at me and winces, only half from the pain. ‘You know I didn’t like to do it.’
‘Let me see your side,’ I insist and we labour to lift her uniform jacket, to examine the skin. It’s bruised an angry red and deep plum, but there is no wound. ‘I can’t see an injury, but you may be bleeding internally.’
She runs her free hand through her short hair, grown shaggy in the months since I last saw her.
‘So you rode the bird?’ Salvacion asks, face incredulous.
‘Adarna,’ Isagani says. ‘It was in the cave in the Maelstrom.’
‘The queen, that’s what she wanted recovered?’
I nod grimly.
Biba puts down the tonic she’s been identifying. ‘Let me try to see.’ She places her hand on Salvacion’s side and looks pensive, eyebrows furrowing and mouth pursing. ‘You have thick blood. It’s good for now.’
Salvacion brushes Biba’s hair from her face. My daughter looks uncertain for a moment and examines Salvacion, studying her features.
‘You look so much like him,’ Salvacion says. Her voice is thin and her eyes begin to water. ‘Fuck!’ she yells, jumping back. Biba startles in alarm. ‘Sorry, it stings to cry.’
I watch her laughing through the tears, smiling at her niece, trying to reassure her that it will be all right. She deserves to know.
‘Salvacion, I saw him,’ I say slowly. She looks up, and her face drops. ‘I saw Larkin. He made it into the Maelstrom.’
She begins to stand. ‘What do you mean? He’s alive?’
I shake my head and place a hand on her shoulder. ‘No, it . . . changed him.’
‘What changed him? What happened?’
‘It takes from you, kills you slowly,’ Finlyr says, looking grim. ‘Turns your flesh to stone.’
Hanan appears in the doorway, looking gaunt and pale. ‘How are you, Salvacion?’ she asks.
‘Holding up.’ She shrugs. ‘Did you speak to them?’
Hanan nods, stepping reluctantly into the kitchen. ‘Some of them understand the magnitude of what could happen. The ruin any more power in the queen’s hands could bring.’
‘But not all?’ Salvacion asks, her voice resigned.
‘No. They will pray for us and try to mend the Tree, but none of them will commit regicide.’
‘Oh yes, regicide! Nice to have a new crime on my blotter,’ Finlyr says, exasperated.
‘She’s going through those Temple Sisters fast, Hanan,’ Salvacion interrupts. ‘I’ve seen what it was like with you. This is different.’
‘The queen is weak, vulnerable,’ Hanan says. ‘She’s killing them fast, but then she will have nothing to sustain her. This is the best time to strike.’
‘This is akin to a death sentence – you realise that?’ Finlyr retorts, pacing the kitchen.
‘If you have a better future lined up for yourself, feel free to take it,’ Hanan cuts back.
I watch them arguing. What future had I imagined for us? I wanted to believe fulfilling the queen’s quest might curry favour, buy us time. But that would just be for Biba. I look at the Temple of Aistra, a ruin of its former glory. A pile of rocks and scared girls.
I had been prepared to be selfish as long as it wasn’t my child.
But now I’ve seen the object of the queen’s desires.
It’s a weapon. If what Hanan says is true, then becoming a fugitive forever is a drop in the ocean of horrors awaiting us.
If I don’t try to stop the queen from harnessing this, I’m complicit in the destruction she will cause.
If I don’t have a future, so be it. But I won’t condemn anyone else to that fate.
‘I won’t take Biba there. It’s too dangerous.’
The others turn and look at me. Biba recoils from my words and stands up. ‘I want to go.’
‘No, Biba. I’d be bringing you straight to the queen. She wants your gift.’ I turn to Salvacion. ‘Take her to the Spring Isle. It’s the safest option. Find Kopiro, Vullis, and Ryla at my farm.’
‘I’ll take her,’ Salvacion confirms.
‘What about you, kid?’ Finlyr turns to Isagani, who has been quietly observant since we arrived at Aistra.
‘What do you mean?’ Isagani returns.
‘Well, you wanted to get off Paranish and I ended up bringing you right back. If you want out, this is the time.’
‘Why do you keep trying to get rid of me?’ Isagani asks, trying and failing to hide their pain under levity.
‘I’m not,’ Finlyr protests. ‘I just want what’s best for you. You’re my responsibility.’
I’m not sure if it’s Isagani or Finlyr who begins to cry first. The two are hugging and slapping each other on the back.
‘What about Raina?’ Biba says, looking over at Hanan with her sling.
‘Raina stays with me,’ she insists.
I pause, examining Hanan’s face. ‘Would it be better if she stayed with the Temple Sisters?’
‘No,’ she snaps. ‘She has to stay with me.’
I catch Hanan’s expression, a caged bird frantically beating its wings.
‘You mean to use her as bait,’ I say, unable to hide the revulsion in my voice.
‘The princess is the queen’s weakness,’ Hanan says calmly. ‘We have to exploit it.’
‘What is your plan, Hanan?’ I ask, folding my arms.
‘Lure the queen. Kill the queen.’
‘As simple as that?’ Salvacion asks, laughing mirthlessly. ‘Even without me she’ll have the rest of the royal Seaguardians surrounding her. She’s weak, yes, but she’s paranoid now.’
‘We’ll have the three things she wants most desperately in the world,’ Hanan says, patting Raina. She stares out of the window at Adarna, who is lying on the ground, staring at Sinigang.
‘What if it doesn’t work?’ I ask her.
She turns back from the window, her eyes clear and focused. ‘Then we cause as much chaos and destruction as we can on the way down.’
‘How long do we have?’
‘A few hours to rest. We’ll have to rotate watch on Adarna. I think Sinigang’s got it in some kind of trance, but who knows how long that will last. I’m sure the bird attracted some attention. We don’t want to wait too long. Salvacion and Biba should leave now.’
I look to Biba, and she gives me a reassuring smile. ‘It’s all right, Mama.’
I hold her tight. ‘You are not the parent, Biba. I’m supposed to take care of you.’
‘When I lost you in the cave, I thought I was falling,’ she says, voice quavering.
‘Aunt Salvacion will be here for you. She’ll take you home now.’
‘You promise you’ll come back?’ she asks, light glinting in her eyes.
I can’t lie to her. My throat is stopped with tears. I kiss her fluttering eyelids and then Salvacion takes her. I go with them to the dock and watch them board, rowing one of the boats away through the aqueduct.
There are many empty chambers in the temple, and we have our pick. I find a hairbrush when I pull back the sheets and break down in tears. Finlyr appears in the doorway and knocks gently on the open door.
‘Can I come in?’
I nod silently, smoothing the sheets.
‘How are you holding up?’ he asks tentatively.
I say nothing but walk up to him and nuzzle his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me and strokes my hair.
‘What do you need from me right now? How can I help?’
‘Just stay with me,’ I say, crying straight into him.
He begins to sing, half-whispering:
‘Remember as you cry for me
One with the earth evermore
Your waves will always reach my shore
As the moon loves the sea.’