Page 38 of Glass Wings
“She is a child!” Her mother ran up to them, grabbing the girl and bending into a deep bow before Djoser. “She doesn’t yet know.”
“Know what?” Djoser asked with nothing but kindness and concern in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak this language?—”
“We can get to know the villagers later if you wish,” Amis cut him off. “But right now, we need to introduce you to the council.”
Djoser nodded and gave the toddler and her mother a smile as he turned to follow. Amis led Arryn, Reign, and Djoser past the open communal area, walking around a small stage. As he passed, Djoser, again, couldn’t shake the stench of death. It was so fresh and so brutal. Could this be from fossilized trees? He doubted so but, instinctually, fell a few more steps behind to put more distance between himself and Amis.
The dirt path continued on the other side until it became a three-way junction. The left side went up a small hill that led to a buildingsimilar in style to the huts Djoser passed as they entered the village. The difference was its size and its grandeur. This building had significance here, higher in elevation than the rest of the village, sitting on the top of the forest, overseeing all.
The sun seemed to set perfectly aligned with the small point of the roof, a balance of the forest and sky.
“What do you think? Of everything I have built so far?” Amis slowed so he could walk by Djoser.
“There does seem to be a perfect sort of harmony here, though I expect nothing less from you, dear friend,” Djoser said, looking genuinely at the other Kinnari who, like him, had outcast himself from their clan. Everyone left to live their own lives, but Amis and Djoser left when they were little more than children.
“Let’s go in,” Amis said, slapping Djoser on the back as they followed Reign and Arryn through the doorless entrance.
The room was naturally dark, with only a skylight in the ceiling to let in small amounts of natural light. Smoke from a centered fire billowed upwards as a semi-circle of Waihema villagers sat cross-legged on a carpet over the dirt floor.
“A new child has arrived,” said a woman, the light from the fire illuminating her withered skin. A long silver braid came down over her shoulder and the way that the rest of the seated semi-circle averted their eyes from their new visitors suggested that she was the leader here.
“Dear Mother of Waihema,” Amis began, “I brought you visitors from the skies. The first-ever visit from the ones that are like me.”
Hushed whispers broke out from the rest of the seated tribespeople. Djoser counted eight of them, all women. Djoser opened his mouth, unsure if what he saw was odd.
“Are they all . . . “
“Pregnant,” Reign said breathlessly, nodding her head.
The old woman stood up with the support of the young mothers on each side of her, jumping to pull her up to her feet despite the heaviness protruding from their abdomens. They looked like teenagers.
“These eight-woman,” Amis directed at his visitors, “have all borne children with the Kinnari mark before. They are honored here as breeders.”
“Did you come here for our dead? Were you hoping to claim our protectors as your warriors?” the old woman asked as she hobbled towards them, her eyes fiercely focused on Amis.
Amis turned, his back now towards the circle.
“Take me to the child, Mother Waihema,” he called towards the elder and walked right back out of the large ceremonial hut.
Reign and Arryn moved to keep up while Djoser stood frozen on the floor. He watched as the pregnant women struggled to get up and assist the old mother, following the Kinnari male leading the way.
Djoser walked behind the group, the last to make his way back down onto the dirt pathway. His steps echoed those in front of him as they turned not back toward the huts that the civilians lived in but walked in the opposite direction, where the path split into three directions.
He weaved through more trees as the path continued into a denser forest. The hairs on his arms stood straight up when suddenly he heard a brutal scream.
Djoser broke into a run, catching up with the pregnant woman that was in front of him as they entered into a clearing. Another scream filled the forest, followed by panting that was previously muted by distance.
“This is what you disturbed by inserting your presence here,” Mother Waihema said to Djoser while he walked past her, the expression on his face holding concern and aggression.
“What is this place?” he asked.
The old woman laughed behind him as Djoser walked towards the screams. He approached a woman lying down in the grass in the middle of the clearing,, the lower half of her tunic covered in red blood.
“She’s giving birth,” Reign said, grabbing Djoser’s hand and pulling him towards where she stood with the others, watching.
The woman on the ground was in agony, panting savagely, rattlingthe trees. Djoser felt sick, the smell of death more prominent than ever. He had been in wars, killed with his own hands, killed with his magic, and never smelled anything like this before.
“There is so much life here,” Arryn turned to Djoser, smiling. “So much creation and peace. I feel powerful, renewed. I get it, I get what Amis is trying to do here.”
