Sun's Heart

Chapter 19.2 - Haliculir

Tona was impossible.

Gale contained her impatience as best she could while they strolled through the lower levels of Haliculir. Sani followed close. Tribesmen wearing colored or beaded or embroidered fabrics with jewelry and tattoos and all manner of weapons paused and bowed to the chief, whereupon he introduced her by name before continuing. The lower they moved in the city, the less people they saw, until it was only the three of them wandering through the winding alleys and roads. Her skin itched from sweat, but her airy garments kept her legs cool and her body covered from the sun.

She stuck out like a sore thumb. Wherever she looked, there wasn't a spot of white cloth to be seen. Not one.

When she asked, Tona said, "You have no tribe."

As if that was any answer. The closest to an explanation she could find was one she arrived at herself. Sasuri weren't nearly as common as Kunnafedib had made them seem. And Bahittsami were apparently unique in their preference for beige-colored clothing. Other people had beaded bands around their wrists, some had colored leather braided in their hair. Yet others had tied dyed sashes around their waists. Their tattoos shared some similarities, though, like the repetition of circles.

She took the chance to break the silence with curiosity. "Why are there circles everywhere?"

"Circles mean light," Tona explained. He stared ahead, steps unfaltering. "They are the symbol of the Voran. The moon," he held up one hand, "and sun," he held up the other, "are a crown of light," and he joined his fingers in a circle. "Together, as one people, we Elahn rule beneath it."

The gesture echoed with familiarity. She frowned. "Would this have anything to do with how the barrier is made?"

He looked at her. "The priestess makes the barrier."

"How is the barrier standing if the priestess is gone, though?"

"You said she is in the Rift. The Rift is in the desert."

She raised her eyebrows. "The Rift is everywhere. That means there's no way her power is...isolated in this one place."

"She is very powerful."

"But she's only powerful enough to protect the desert, isn't she?" Only powerful enough to put a barrier around the entire southern half of the Sarcen continent, with more in reserve.

His eye narrowed. "Why?"

"Because in order to understand how to fix this barrier, I need to understand how it works." Impatience sizzled in her words.

But he stopped and leaned toward her so the shadows across his face loomed. His words were but whispers. "Why do you care about fixing the barrier? Elahn could free her, bring her back, and fix the barrier. You are not necessary."

She cleared her throat, tried to regain control. A threat, like when Elah had asked a similar question. "We were attacked by hellravens. In Hildor." He smelled of sweat and sand. She met his eye. "A flock of them. We got rid of as many as we could, but I'm sure a few got away. I think they're more dangerous to the people outside the desert than inside. We haven't spent generations fighting these things like you have. That barrier is the only thing keeping Sarcen, and the rest of Ketsa, safe from them." It pained her to admit privately that she hadn't been thinking about the threat to Sarcen as much as she'd been focused on finding the answers to the mystery of the Light barrier.

He leaned back, a hand on his hip while the other grabbed his sasuri from the crook of his elbow. He stared out across the city. Tightened his lips. "I see." Against the sky, he struck a troubled profile. "Does Beryl also want to subjugate us?"