Chapter 2: CHAPTER 2

Jalice gazed at the glittering stars while she quickly whispered the names of the constellations. Her perch from the tower window provided a safe location without fear of interruption. Only the cool air could touch her, and all the soft breeze dared to do was brush the loose strands of her red hair. Still, goosebumps trailed across her skin as she clung tightly to her linen nightgown. On any other night, she would have found the chill comforting. But not tonight.

Despite the tranquil atmosphere, Jalice fidgeted with the vow ring on her finger. The sea of lights in the night sky presented an endless string of information to study. The intricate patterns of the celestial bodies provided both revelations and ominous mysteries. Her heartbeat quickened at the overwhelming panorama.

With the departure of Thrive Season, various sets of stars and planets had begun to shift. She’d spent months noting the arrival of these new constellations as they ushered in Wither Season. The orchestra of drifting stars and planets promised potential wisdom or warning—a rich mine of knowledge for the trained eye.

Unlike Jalice, few people studied the celestial drifts anymore. Stargazing had been a popular pastime during Jalice’s childhood, promising clarity and insight into life’s mysteries. But the art form was now deemed a waste of time, and the new era had left little room for meditation of any sort. Survival had taken precedence over luxuries. Jalice, however, hadn’t abandoned these practices. She remained faithful to the celestial deity Sahruum. Part of that loyalty included a diligent watch of the night sky.

Change. The stardrift, with each solar system set against another, exuded this dominating theme. Every star and its distance from the next spoke to a massive change. When she first interpreted it hours ago, part of her was thrilled at the message, wondering if it would impact her in some drastic manner. Perhaps the foretold Star Alignment was imminent. Sahruum’s return might renew peace and resolve the troubled times the Vekuuv and Ikaul tribes faced.

Yet another part of her remained discomforted by the message. Change was often painful. Anxiety around this thought kept her awake. Sleep eluded her restless mind. She’d gone back to the window for comfort only to find the same message cast across the sky.

Change.

The door to her bedchamber opened, and Jalice startled. No one should enter her chambers this late, especially without knocking. She squinted against the light coming from the hallway. Moonlight mixed with the candlelight, and the darkness receded in her palatial room. A feather mattress, layered with thick wool blankets and animal furs, occupied most of the generous space, along with a finely carved dresser. Kittlenut earrings, ornate headdresses, and colorful feathers inhabited the open cubbyholes, along with a variety of folded garments.

Two silhouettes stood in the doorway. Jalice opened her mouth to scream until one stepped into the room.

“Tecalica, there’s been an attack on the Sachem,” said her cousin’s voice. “We must move you—now.”

“I don’t understand, Delilee.” Jalice’s eyes darted to the other figure. “Who’s that with you?”

“Annilasia came to safely escort us out,” replied Delilee.

Jalice’s mind raced with the implications. She hadn’t seen Annilasia in years, not since her induction as tillishu. Her suspicion rose, yet Jalice was unable to determine what bothered her about this situation.

“Why wasn’t an alarm sounded?” asked Jalice. “I’ve heard no commotion below.”

“It was a quiet attempt by an assassin,” Annilasia chimed in. “There may be another intending to harm you as well. We must go.”

“Was the Sachem harmed?” Jalice sprang to her feet. “Is he alive?”

“We don’t know his status,” said Annilasia. A strange bitterness eroded her words as she gestured towards the hallway. “We don’t have time for hesitation. If you want to live to see him again, we must go.”

Suspicion clawed its way higher within Jalice. “I need to see him. We have to let him know we’re leaving—”

“We must leave this instant!” shouted Annilasia, startling Jalice.

Someone out of sight shouted, and Annilasia looked down the hallway. Before Jalice could inquire who had made the noise, Delilee rushed forward.

“Tecalica, you must ready yourself,” she said. “Put on your traveling skirts. We don’t have much time.”

Jalice hesitated. She focused on her cousin’s face, illuminated by the moonlight. There was something different about it. Her oval face appeared to have changed shape, and her eyes glinted strangely. Jalice dismissed it as a trick of the shadows or the result of the barrage of questions seizing her mind. Still, she remained in place, unable to overlook the terror in her decoy’s eyes.

“Delilee, what’s going on?” Jalice asked in a hushed tone. “What happened to the Sachem?”

Her cousin didn’t answer and instead dashed for the nearby dresser. She frantically searched through the cubbies and tossed aside clothes and jewelry as Jalice watched in bewilderment.

“Delilee,” Jalice repeated. “Tell me what is—” She stopped short at the sound of muffled shouts and clanging metal in the hallway. Annilasia had vanished. “What’s happening out there?”

Delilee thrust a bundle of garments at Jalice—a drab shirt and long-skirt that matched Delilee’s.

“Put these on,” Delilee said. “Please.”

Jalice eyed the travel garb. Before she could protest, Annilasia reappeared in the doorway.

“What happened?” asked Jalice. She moved past Delilee to confront the tillishu. “Who was out there?”

“Get her dressed, Delilee,” commanded Annilasia. “You have two minutes.” Ignoring Jalice’s questions, she slammed the door shut and left the two other women alone in the dark.

“On. Now,” said Delilee as she pushed the animal-hide suit at Jalice again.

“No,” Jalice said firmly. “Not until you tell me what’s truly going on.” Her cousin seemed uncomfortable, further provoking Jalice’s suspicions. “What troubles you? Why won’t you tell me?” She groaned impatiently at Delilee’s continued silence. “Tell me, or I’m not going with you.”

“Jalice, you’ve known me your entire life,” said Delilee. “I’m your kin. I’ve served as your decoy, but more importantly, I’ve always been your friend.” She stepped closer and took Jalice’s hands in hers. “Please trust me. We must leave. There’s danger here.”

Jalice stared blankly, taken aback. Not once during her time as decoy had Delilee called Jalice by her name. She always addressed her as Tecalica—her royal title among the Unified Tribes. The sincerity in her cousin’s voice put Jalice at ease, but her suspicion refused to dissipate. Even as Jalice removed her nightgown and changed, she continued with her questions.

“Why didn’t my private guard wake me?” she asked as she laced the skirt together. “Why are you and Annilasia here?”

“Annilasia saw the attack on the Sachem,” said Delilee. She knelt to apply leather wraps around Jalice’s legs. “She was the first to reach your chamber. She happened across me as I was returning from the baths.”

Jalice quietly considered this, stepping into the moccasins Delilee laid at her feet. “Why were you at the baths so late?”

Whatever answer Delilee may have given was lost as the door flew back open. Annilasia strode into the room with a long knife in hand. An uneasy sourness gripped Jalice’s insides at the sight of the warrior. She flinched when Annilasia’s harsh gaze fell on her.

“She’d better be ready,” said Annilasia, shutting the door behind her. “Because we’re leaving.”

“Where are we going?” Jalice gasped, short of breath at the idea of leaving.

“We’re going to a safe haven outside the Fortress. We’ll return once the threat has passed.”

Jalice stared wide-eyed at Annilasia. A new wave of shock swept away all other questions, replacing them with a crippling disbelief. Leaving the Fortress seemed an impossible concept. Jalice rarely set foot outside the wall. Beyond it, the world had turned into chaos and violence. The Sachem had fortified his tribe within the Fortress to keep them safe—to keep her safe.

She found her voice, scrambling to form a sentence from her jumbled thoughts. “Would—wouldn’t it be safer to keep me here inside the bedchamber?” she asked. “Why move me when the assassin hasn’t been caught?” She backed away towards the window. “This feels wrong. I’m not sure I can do this.”

Annilasia marched across the room into the moonlight that beamed through the window. When the two women made eye contact, Jalice recoiled and pressed up against the wall. She no longer recognized the girl she had grown up with.

It wasn’t just the jaded edge in Annilasia’s voice. Everything about Annilasia had changed. Accentuated muscles, a brash reminder of her rigid training as an assassin, riddled her once delicate brown skin. Even her raven hair offended; cut short at the neckline, it could no longer be properly weaved.

“This is happening, and you don’t get to refuse,” said Annilasia. “I’m taking you to safety whether you like it or not.”

“We’ll be killed,” said Jalice as she pushed off the wall. The stench of Annilasia’s sweat made her cringe. “If you take me from this tower, we’re doomed. The whole reason I’m here is for my protection. No one can get to me. They’d have to get past hordes of warriors and beasts and aether wards—”

“I’m saving us,” Annilasia interrupted as she pointed at Jalice. “Even if your muddled mind can’t see that, it won’t stop this from happening.”

“No!” Jalice darted back to the window and peered at the sky. “There’s got to be a sign. This is wrong. We can’t do this.” She frantically scanned the starry expanse. Please, show me a sign. Don’t let this be the message of change from the stardrift.

Annilasia pulled Jalice from the window and swung her around. “When we leave this room, there’s no turning back. Any hesitation from this point on could get you killed. Do exactly as I say.”

Jalice gaped in horror, her eyes briefly flickering to Delilee. Her cousin simply gave an empathetic look and moved forward to give Jalice’s arm a squeeze.

“We’ll be all right,” said Delilee softly. “Just follow Annilasia.” She turned and grabbed a garment she’d thrown on the bed earlier. “Put this on,” she said as she handed Jalice a wool capote.

Jalice glanced nervously between the two women, still hoping one of them would offer the chance to refuse. But when neither of them did, she finally nodded though her mind continued to swarm with disagreeing thoughts.

“What about my face?” Jalice asked incredulously. “I need some sort of disguise, or at least paint. And Delilee is my decoy—she’d have to don some too. It’s the whole point of having a decoy in situations like this.”

Annilasia shook her head. “We don’t have time, and we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves with bright markings.” She fixed her eyes on Jalice. “Do not make a sound. Don’t stop for anything. Follow me, and do as I say. Watch for my signals.” She glanced at Delilee. “You’ll bring up the rear. Make sure Jalice doesn’t lag behind.” She waited for Delilee to nod before turning away and striding back to the door.

Delilee nudged Jalice. “Put the capote on. Hurry. We need to keep up with her.”

Jalice’s throat constricted as she pulled the open hole of the capote over her head and tugged it tight across her shoulders.

The air became heavy, like a foreign substance her lungs could no longer tolerate. She inhaled loudly and struggled to exhale. The walls of the room twisted around her. Shadows and lights convulsed as she inhaled sharply and failed again to breath out.

Annilasia gestured at Delilee. “Get her over here.”

“Just breathe, Jalice,” said Delilee. “We’re going to be all right. Concentrate on Annilasia. She’s going to get us out of the Fortress.” When Jalice still didn’t move, Delilee prodded her towards the door.

Jalice was too distracted by the weight in her lungs. She was hardly aware of Delilee’s soothing words or guiding hands. Her heart pounded violently against her chest. She couldn’t do this nor did she want to leave. Dried bones, why is it so hard to breathe? She brought a hand to her throat, convinced a snake was coiling around it.

Ahead of her, Annilasia opened the door and darted out. Jalice did not move to follow.

“This is insanity,” she mumbled to no one in particular. “I’m going to die if I leave. I’m safe here.”

Jalice stared at the door as Delilee guided her forward. She hoped Delilee, and maybe Annilasia, too, would keep her safe. If she could survive this attack, then she’d find the Sachem again. He’d protect her. Jalice walked through the doorway and squinted in the dim candlelight.

The corridor was fewer than a dozen strides across. A wool rug, boasting an elaborate design of checkered boxes and stripes, ran the length of the hall and ended at the open passageway that led to the staircase. Jalice noticed two strange piles at the base of the passageway. Both were similar—a mess of twisting garments wrapped around fragmented objects. The dim lighting skewed further detail.

Ignoring Delilee’s urgent pleas to keep up with Annilasia, Jalice froze, unable to take her eyes off the mounds. Knots in her stomach tightened with each step. There were always two guards posted at the staircase.

Jalice’s breath caught in her chest. Her hands trembled and her legs threatened to give way beneath her. She wanted to look away and unsee the contorted bodies. Details previously masked now sprang out in vicious clarity. She could trace the distorted outline of their figures—sprawled out limbs and dark pools of blood that amassed around the motionless bodies.

Jalice tore her eyes away to look at Annilasia, who stood between the felled guards as if they weren’t there. Realization dawned. Annilasia had killed them.

Bolting past Delilee, Jalice retreated with hurried steps towards her room. Annilasia shouted something, but Jalice didn’t hear, too focused on reaching the door of her bedchamber.

A wave of renewed panic shot through her when she tripped and landed with a thud. Her arms and legs flailed as she scrambled to get up, but she managed only to rise to one knee. A force from above knocked her flat on her stomach. She grunted as air left her lungs. Pain burned inside her chest. As she tried to catch her breath, a sweaty odor invaded her nostrils. The smell of sweat and the aroma of Jalice’s skin cremes combined to create a foul new stench.

Jalice continued to squirm even though she knew it was no use. Annilasia had her trapped.

“You will not stop this,” Annilasia whispered into her ear. The tillishu added more pressure to Jalice’s back. “I’m taking you out of this Fortress tonight, but it’s up to you if you’re dead or alive.”