Page 123 of Ashes of Gold
Clank.
The door in the ground opens and an army of fur-lined Ghizoni carrying curved lead blades piles out. “No,” I want to say, but they form up beside me before I can get a word out. My magic is a wall between us and the enemy. “When this barrier buckles, we’ll have seconds to fight them off.”
The Beerchi nod and the barrier shudders, flickering, as a gust of fire explodes against it.
“So, it’s shield down, strike, shield up,” I say. “And we’ll push forward as much as we can. Got it?”
“Shield down, strike, shield up, got it.”
“I’ll put up another as fast as I can. Ready?”
“Aim!” The Chancellor must read my mind because his men aim their arms up this time, blowing my plan to smithereens. “Fire,” he commands. Magic streams from their hands, arcs in the air, and plummets from the sky, up and over my barrier.
“Mwa!” The Beerchis hook their lead blades overhead with a clang, tucking me, all of us, beneath. The streams of magic raining from the sky graze the shield above us and evaporate like steam. A Beerchi breaks from the formation. Stepping out, he swipes, and a whole line of Patrol fall.
“That’s what I’m talking ’bout!” I go to slap his hand but he just grins.
“See, you do not have to think of everything yourself, Jelani. The beauty of unity, eh?”
My smile widens.
“Let me,” Kai says.
With Patrol in heaps on the ground, Kai steps forward. Jhamal stepsbeside her. I glare at him, but he’s the one who looks away this time.
“They won’t follow you, Kai, no matter how pure your blood is. Because your heart is rotten. And I know my people. We tired of the bullshit.”
She hisses and swipes her javelin. I jump, stumbling back as I land.
“Argh,” a Beerchi brother screams, ready to charge, but I halt him with a hand.
“No, if my sister wants to square up, I’ma be the one to beat some sense into her ass.”
She stabs and I jump aside, dodging. She twirls her rod across her back, over her shoulder, and brings it down overhead. I sidestep. Her metal cries, scraping against my cuffs. I study her the way Zora taught me. She’s fighting from fear, not love. That’s the vulnerability I have to exploit.
“Zora told me everything she knows, everythingyoutaught her,” I say, her blade whooshing past my cheek. My breath rattles in my chest and I keep my arms moving to stay loose. She’s quick and not fucking playing around. But if she still has a heart in there somewhere, I’m going to prick it. She thrusts again, her armor catching a glint of sunlight and I’m blind. I stumble, slamming the ground, and pinching pain shoots up my spine. She jabs.
“Yo lis.”
The tip of her javelin burns in the flames on my fingers. The heat climbs up the rod and she winces, dropping it like a hot potato. I’m up on my feet. She scoops her blade back up and I let her. I don’t want to kill her. I don’t even really want to hurt her.
We circle.
“She told me no one held the Mother in more reverence. No one prayed to the Ancestors with more diligence, no one trained harder….”
“Shut up!” She flips backward and swipes.
I pivot sideways and catch the end of her rod. I yank and she stumbles forward, the crown on her head slipping. I clench her weapon in my hands and her eyes widen. I hold her there, glaring into her. A spell tiptoes through my mind, magic rushing into my hands. But the curve of her cheeks, the strength in her jaw, the tilt of her chin, even now, in this moment where I could end her, morphs into an image of the Ancestors.
They choseme.
Formyreason.
Formyway of doing things.
I can smell her, a mix of fear and desperation warring with each other. I look for her bare shoulder but realize there isn’t one.
I place a hand on my right shoulder, remembering Zora’s words about fighting from love versus fear. I don’t want to die out here, but that’s not what’s keeping me on my feet. I don’t fear failing my people anymore. I’m doing the best that I can. Being me. And being me is enough. I’m not standing here from fear or pride or some need to prove I can do this.
