Warrior's Soul (Book 3 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 44

Dearest La-La,

As you might have guessed, Raphael was not impressed when he found out I ventured into the No Lands. He said I will have caused you worry with my selfishness which is just ridiculous. Seeing me would have obviously cheered you, am I not right?

Leyla raised a brow at the paper, the sound of an unladylike snort echoing in her cold hut. As much as she loved seeing Michael, Raphael was right: knowing he was in danger because of her was harder than missing him.

Anyway, my brother decided to punish me by putting Lady Delphine in charge of my daily activities. Of all the people he could have chosen... never mind. To be honest, I don't have the heart to get angry at Raphael for anything these days.

Upon my return from the No Lands, he told me about Gabriel. 

I've known all along that the Leader was not a particularly warm father, but that he was capable of leaving his own son in the No Lands... Perhaps the disgust I feel stems from living with you for so long, La-La. Not only have you been looking out for me for years, but I've watched you protect every innocent that you ever crossed paths with. You risked your life for me within minutes of our encounter and the Leader...

I know I'm letting my disappointment get the better of me, but I so wish you were here at right now. Raphael pretends to be alright and to everyone else he may look more in control than ever, but I know he must be suffering. The preparations for the ceremony to make him the new Leader are underway, yet he has been making one excuse after another to avoid meeting alone with the Teacher. I can only guess that he hasn't found a way to break the news to her.

Leyla's lips were pressed tight as she turned the page. She could almost hear Michael's worry in the black marks on the paper and could only imagine the weight on Raphael's shoulders as he tried to find a way to tell his mother what the Leader had done...that Gabriel was alive.

I am sorry La-La, I got waylaid by my worries and have yet to tell you what spurred this letter. Yesterday, Raphael found some personal papers of his father's that even my mother had never seen. He gave them to me with the instruction to study them and learn what I can.

I have yet to finish the task, but La-La, you should know, that these papers, they are about your father.

Glancing away to the tips of her boots, Leyla swallowed hard. Her father? She had been searching for him all her life, only to find out that he was dead. Since that moment, Leyla had tried hard not to think about her parents; about her Light Lander mother who died at the hands of Bone Eaters and her Aschian father who withered away in a Light prison. But she was curious...so very curious about them.

Your fathers name was Syrus. From what I can glean from the notes, he turned up in front the Dome one day, as if out of thin air. When asked where he had come from and why, he simply answered that he had come from Asch because that was 'what had to be'.

The Leader does not seem to have been too concerned with the whys or hows of Syrus's appearance, because he soon realised that your father was very powerful. He had enormous strength, impossibly keen senses and there is a part where the Leader wrote about seeing Syrus bringing a wilted flower back to life...

La-La, it's impossible to say, but from the hints in these notes and my research on Asch...

I think your father was a Ghost King.

Leyla re-read the last sentence several times before the meaning of the words would sink in. A Ghost King? The pale, powerful beings in glimmering robes who ruled over Asch and saved Raphael's life...what had the Ghost King said to her that day? She was so exhausted back then and all she could think about was getting to the portal before it closed, but something she heard had felt strange even then. What were his words? 'For your sake, he was saved.' Yes, the Ghost King had said that they saved Raphael for her. But why? Could her father really have been one of them?

Her eyes moved down to her hands and in an instant the Heat rushed through her fingertips and flowed into her palms. It didn't hurt anymore to call it. When had that happened? Since she broke out of the cell in Ghost Mountain? Was this all because of her father? Leyla's heart raced as she turned back to the letter.

This must be a lot to take in, La-La, trust me, I'm also baffled. And my theory about Ghost Kings is just that, a theory. I need to look into it more, however, this much is true - while treating Syrus like an honoured guest, the Leader conducted experiments and found that copper weakened the Aschian. Later, when your father declared that he had fallen in love with the daughter of the Minister of Health, the Leader worried Syrus would stay on Gaia and become a threat to his power.

The prison that he prepared for your father was made with copper.

There was also copper in the eternity bracelet the Leader had made for you.

Leyla's lips parted in surprise at just how thoroughly the Leader had manipulated them all. From the very start, he must have known who she was and from the start, he never meant to let her leave. When her parents didn't go along with his plans, they died. When Gabriel was deemed an extra, he too was left to die.

The Leader was a merciless man and she had underestimated him completely.

A horrible feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as Leyla thought of the events that led to the attack on Gabriel's life. Raphael developed a strange life-threatening fever right when the Leader was gone...and somehow, once Gabriel left for the No Lands, that fever disappeared. Could the Leader have behind the strange illness too? And what of Michael falling into the portal - the accident that led to her coming to the Land of Light?

La-La, I wish I could tell you more about Syrus, or your mother, Selene, but the notes I've been given are a jumble of almost patternless thoughts. I am sure I will know more soon, and I will write you again soon. Raphael has commanded that you not be kept in the dark about anything concerning your parents, no matter how trivial, so the Face Changers are on standby to deliver my letters.

So don't hate the Face Changers too much, alright? They are my connection to you. At least, until you decide to come back to us.

I love you La-La. Please, don't get hurt.

Your brother,

Michael.

Leyla rubbed her thumb over the name at the end of the letter, then sighed. There was much to think about. Selene. Syrus. She wanted to learn more about her mother and father. And for the first time she wanted to know more about the Heat.

Leyla had always viewed the strange power as a curse. Already an outcast, she had thought of the ability as just another thing that could get her in trouble, even killed. Plus, using it was so very painful that she had always chosen to pretend it didn't exist.

But if it was a power that was passed down to her by Syrus...perhaps it was more a gift than a curse?

"Protector?" Tai's voice came through the hut door, reminding her of where she was. Folding the letter gently, she tucked it under her pillow. "Protector, everyone is waiting."

Yes, there were things she wanted to do. But the things she had to do would take precedence. Crossing the hut, Leyla opened the door.

Surprise flitted over Tai's face as he took in the flowers the Water children had woven into her hair earlier in the day.

"Pretty," he said, then looked away with embarrassment. "I meant, the flowers."

"Since you like it, I'll ask the Water children to put some in your hair too," she said. Then, grinning at his look of outrage, Leyla nodded ahead. "Come on then, let's go."