Page 74 of Ashes of Gold
“Repeat after me,” I say. “Yoi kimza ya nochka.”
“Y-yoi kimza ya nochka,” Taavi says, her chest rising and falling so hard, I half expect to hear her heartbeat in my ears.
“With this blood I vow,” Zora translates, and whispers erupt from the crowd.
“Mwas stafa lo yeeze ya Macazi li kis,” I say.
“Mwas stafa lo yeeze ya Macazi li kis,” she echoes, darting a glance around.
“To honor my word that I and the Macazi will fight with you.”
“Mish Deolekkis m’joma a Macazi a meh.”
“Mish Deolekkis m’joma a Macazi a meh.”
“I welcome the Ancestors’ judgment upon me.”
“Ya lis.”
“Ya lis.”
“For life.”
“O’nah vez.”
“O’nah vez.”
“Only broken in death.”
“Iz naya mo’lo’neesh a grazka.”
I squeeze her hand and a string of red streams out of our grip, coiling around our arms, like a bloody rope. Once, twice, three times, it wraps, stinging my skin. Taavi is silent.
“I seal this promise with my blood,” Zora translates. “You must say the last part!”
Taavi chews her lip then shoves the words out. “I-Iz naya mo’lo’neesh a grazka.”
The stream of blood swirling around our arms flickers gold and tightens its coil like a snake.
“Ah!” Taavi winces.
The gold snaps, dissolving into dust. We untangle our arms and Bri tucks the book away. But I gesture for her to give it to me.
“Is it done?” Taavi asks, rubbing her arm, which is now covered in cuts where the blood coil touched.
“It is,” I say, rubbing my arm. There are no scrapes on my arm or scratches on my metal.
“It only scars the person held by the oath,” Zora says.
Ah. Okay.
“Good,” Taavi says. “So we’re on the same page now. Make the Chancellor answer for all the ill he’s done.”
Oh, he’s going to more than answer.“Something like that,” I say. “I’m going to go over the plan with everyone. Then you’ll take me back down so I can deposit the protection spell.”
“Thank you.” Taavi smooths something from under her eye. “Really, thank you so much, Rue.” She gestures for her people to form up, and a hundred bodies, maybe more, shuffle to their feet. I review the route we’re going to take. The truth of this world, how hidden it was, shudders through me. Every time I went to Totsi’s, sitting there reading for hours, helping Totsi put away her books at the end of a long day… and there was this entireworlddown below. So many haven’t even seen the outside.
“We’ll leave at dark. The cover of night can only help.”
