The Blade of Dawn

Chapter 10

I lay awake for hours before sleep overcomes me. When I wake up, I am alone.

Sunlight is pouring into the cave. I wander out of the cave and I find Easton sitting around a fire with a tall, gangly girl and an elderly woman. They stop talking when I approach.

Easton and the girl both stand.

"This is my sister, Sara" Easton says, gesturing to the girl.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Sara smiles. Her freckles, crooked smile, and messily braided hair make her look young, but my best guess is that she is fifteen or sixteen.

Easton gestures to the old woman. "This is Rhea. The leader of the desert people."

The woman sits with perfect posture. Her movements are slow and regal.

"Good morning, my darling," Rhea says. She wears a long sleeved top, a long skirt, and her head is covered with a scarf. A small orange gemstone hangs from a thin gold chain around her neck. All of her clothing is the color of the desert sand. She melds the surrounding mountains and sand as if she is part of the desert.

"Good morning." I reply. Easton plays with a bronze medallion, tossing it into the air and catching it again. The sun glints off of the medallion and I remember my dagger.

"Where is Xander?" I ask.

"He wasn't here when I arrived. But he couldn't have gone far, his horse is still here." Easton says. "Why?"

I'm not sure how much to share. How well does Easton know Xander? Are they friends? Who is on my side?

"Just wondering," I say, shrugging.

The dagger couldn't have been easy to hunt down and procure. Xander would have had to get information from the guards about who brought me to the palace. Then, once Xander found the man that caught me in the streets, he would have had to pay the man something for the dagger. I imagine the man would have demanded a high price for it. Unless Xander stole it. But why bother going to all that trouble? Why did Xander want this particular dagger back so badly and why is he hiding it from me?

"Come, have a seat," Sarah's voice interrupts my thoughts. She waves me over to the rock she was sitting on before I arrived. As Sarah turns, I notice a quiver full of arrows is strapped to her back.

"Thanks." I sit facing Rhea. The sun has not yet reached it's peak in the sky and it is already getting hot.

A trail of ants marches past my feet. Rhea leans forward, lets an ant crawl onto her finger, and watches it as it travels across her skin.

"Did you know that desert ants can lift objects that are many times heavier than they are and they can withstand some of the strongest desert winds?" Rhea says.

I shake my head no, unsure what to say.

"Ants are small, seemingly insignificant. They are crushed by the feet, paws and hooves of other animals. Their homes are washed away when it rains, and yet they are strong. They work together, they rebuild over and over again. They are much more than they seem." Rhea places the ant back on the desert floor. The ant pauses for a moment, disoriented, then it rejoins the other ants in their forward march.

"To Kronos, we are insignificant ants." Rhea continues, "He takes joy in crushing us under his feet. But he underestimates our strength. As long as there is hope, the Resistance lives on, constantly rebuilding. But the last few years, the Resistance has weakened as the hope for a better future weakens. Kronos is becoming increasingly violent and brutal. Some say that he is going mad."

Rhea pulls her sleeve up to her elbow revealing a series of jagged scars all over her forearms. "All magic comes with a price. You pay a price every time you use magic. The stronger the magic, the higher the price. Kronos is becoming more and more like the predators he controls. He is becoming less connected with his humanity. I'd like to show you something. Give me your hands."

I hesitate for a moment but something inside of me drives me forward. I don't know this old woman but she has a calm, nurturing presence that reminds me of Aunt Joan. I walk around the fire, sit next to Rhea and hold out my hands.

The gemstone around Rhea's neck begins to glow. The desert disappears and I am standing in a small village watching children play. My vision is slightly hazy, as if I am in a dream.

"What is happening?" I say.

"I am showing you my memories," Rhea says. I hear her voice but I don't see her. I look down at my hands. My skin is dark and I am wearing a bright red dress with gold embroidery. These are Rhea's hands. I am seeing through Rhea's eyes.

A girl grabs my hand, she is talking excitedly and fussing with my dress and hair. Then I am standing by a fire surrounded by hundreds of people. I am holding the hand of a handsome man. People are singing and chanting. It is Rhea's wedding day.

Suddenly, masked figures in all black storm into the camp on horses. They swing their swords viciously, slicing through men, women, and children. Arrows rain down from the sky. Rhea's new husband tries valiantly to fight off the soldiers. He is strong and a good fighter but he is outnumbered. Within seconds he is dead. Screams of pain, terror, and sorrow fill the air. There is blood everywhere.

Then I am yanked from this memory and I find myself in a damp room with grey cobblestone floors. I am tied up. There are ten other prisoners there.

Rhea's knowledge flows through my mind. The other prisoners are fellow tribal leaders. Rhea was the head of her tribe.

A man with light skin, jet black hair and black eyes enters the room. The man is Kronos. He is young and arrogant. His lips curl into a cruel smile.

"Thank you for your attention." He begins. "I now own your lands and your people belong to me. You will do what I say from now on or you will die. Understood?"

A woman next to Rhea spits on floor next to Kronos' feet and says something in a language I don't understand.

"You weren't listening." The man says as if scolding a small child. I hear a soft hiss and a small snake uncoils from around Kronos' arm and slithers across the floor towards the woman.

The woman squirms and cries out just as the snake bites into her neck. The woman screams and begins to choke. Her face turns pale. Her body begins to violently convulse then a few seconds later she is still. The woman is dead.

The room falls silent. Kronos' pupils have turned to thin black slits and his eyes are deep green, just like the snake's eyes. When the snake returns and recoils around Kronos's arm, Kronos's eyes return to normal but something feral and dangerous remains, clinging to Kronos like smoke.

The memories start coming more quickly. I see Rhea's tribe enslaved. I see Rhea escape the city. I see her smuggle dozens of people out of the city. I see Rhea's hideouts and the soldiers, dragons, and sea monsters that patrol the land and sea.

I feel all of Rhea's raw emotions. I feel her hopes and dreams. I feel the love, the heartbreak, the pain, and the suffering.

I don't think I can endure the onslaught of emotion a second longer and I begin to panic.

Then I hear shouting. "Let go! Let go!" Easton is pulling me away from Rhea. I realize that I am gripping Rhea's hands so hard I am almost crushing them. When our hands break apart our connection breaks.

Several of the scars on Rhea's arms have burst open. Her blood drips and soaks into the desert sand.

"Your power is strong. I meant to show you only one memory but you continued into my mind. I couldn't let go." Rhea says breathlessly. Her orange gemstone lies in broken pieces in the sand.

"I'm sorry." My head is spinning. It's suffocatingly hot and hard to breathe.

I scramble to my feet and rush away from Rhea, Easton, and Sarah. I need space. I need to clear my head and think.

I don't know how to control my power.

I could have hurt Rhea. I would have hurt her if Easton and Sarah weren't there to pull us apart.

What else am I capable of?