Page 33 of Sea of Stars

I pressed my back against the wood and crouched low under the open window. I spread my hair out across my shoulders and tried to hear what was going on inside the house. There was only the silence that had accompanied me on my long walk to get there. I slowly stood up. The windows were not made so that divinares could easily look inside. I grabbed the bottom of the window and hoisted myself up until my belly was on the ledge. Balancing precariously, I peered into the small room.

A weak fire was flickering in the hearth. It looked like someone had tried to extinguish it, but failed. I was about to tumble into the room when I noticed two young children huddled by a bookshelf. I hadn’t heard them because they weren’t making any sound until they turned the page of the book they were reading. I remained perched on the windowsill, knowing their strange ears weren’t very good at hearing. The older child slammed the book shut.

“See,” he whispered to his companion. “They are filled with magic.” He dropped the book and they both ran over to an adjacent bookshelf.

Dozens of small bottles lined the shelves. I squinted my eyes and tried to make out the contents. The younger boy grabbed one of the jars and peered inside. “It looks like ashes to me,” he said with a frown.

“Well that’s because it is. That’s what the book said,” hissed the older boy.

“You turned the pages too quickly. I couldn’t read the whole thing,” said the younger boy. “Whose ashes are they?”

The taller boy sighed. “The divinares. They're the devil children of the Fuorster. Our ancestors burned their bodies to capture their magic.” He took the bottle from his companion and dusted it off with his shirt.

“Do you think it could cure Mama?” The younger boy questioned.

“Nothing else has worked,” he responded turning the jar over in his hands, studying it. “We’ve already lost the baby. I don’t want to lose Mama too.” He sounded so sad when he spoke. “I think it’s worth a try.”

“Does she have to eat the devil's ashes?” The little boy wondered out loud. “I don’t think she’ll do it.”

“That’s why we’re going to put it in her food. Now come on, let’s get out of here.” He picked up a few bottles and grabbed his little brother’s hand with his free hand. The younger brother followed slowly as if he was being pulled out of the room. A few moments later I heard the bang of the front door closing.

I held my breath, waiting to hear their footsteps fade. Soon the silence returned, but I was no longer comforted by it, knowing that maybe it was quiet because the town had lost some of its residents. I pushed m

y weight forwards, flipped over the ledge, and landed with a thud on the wooden planked floor. I ran over to the book on the floor and brought it over to the waning light in the fireplace. I touched the indented words on the front, stunned. “The Rise of the Fuorster.”

I sat down by the fire and opened the book. I knew humans believed that divinares possessed the only magic in these lands, but I didn’t realize they thought the magic was demonic. I looked at the first passage. The story of the Lights of the Lords was juxtaposed with a story called the Flames of the Fuorster:

"The world was once dark. The Fuorster had brought wars to the land and forced darkness into our hearts. But the Lights of the Lords were too bright. Fighting ceased because there was no longer darkness. Still the Fuorster would not give up. He waited until the whispers spread. The Lords went their separate ways at night because they did not care. The whispers grew like fire and the Fuorster began to rise from the flames below. Bedlam broke out as the darkness encroached upon us. A gift was sent to the world in the form of light. We believed it was a gift from above, lighting the way for our future. With the light by our side, peace once again filled the lands. But beware, flames sometimes burn brighter than stars."

Chills went up my back. I skimmed through the book, searching for the passage that the children had been reading. My eyes landed on the word “ash” and I read the small section that described the magic of the devil race. I gulped and tossed the book into the fire without thinking. The book was filled with lies. Sparks rose and the fire gained renewed life. The words couldn’t be true. Our race was created from the heavens, not the underworld.

I glanced at the rows of bottles lining the walls. With a stronger fire, the ashes looked almost white instead of gray. It didn’t matter what humans thought about divinares. No soul was meant to be trapped on these lands for eternity. I reached out my arm and pushed all the bottles on the first row onto the hard, wooden floor.

Glass shattered all around me. Each bottle breaking seemed to echo in the silence of the surrounding village. Quickly I pushed the other row of jars onto the ground. White ashes swirled around my ankles as I ran toward the window. When I climbed out of the house it almost seemed like the ashes were blowing out the window beside me, drifting into the sky. I wasn't sure whether the deceased would float back to the heavens or be absorbed into the earth and sink down to the hells below. Either way, I had a few questions for my grandparents.

I ran as fast as I could in the direction from which I had come. I stole a few glances back toward the village as I fled. As far as I could tell, I hadn’t awoken any humans. Eventually my run became a slow trot until it faded into a walk. I was physically exhausted from my days of training. And I was mentally exhausted by the idea that my whole race was a gift from the Fuorster rather than the Lords. No wonder humans tortured and killed us. Brutarians must think the same. I didn’t like my chances. Two votes to one that I was demon spawn.

The walk back to Achates seemed longer than the walk away from him because I was so eager to ask him about the humans' beliefs. When I finally arrived back at the small house, I heard Achates talking fervently to himself with a very strange, thick accent. I peered into the window and froze. I quickly caught my breath and grabbed the hilt of my sword, pulling it from the sheath that hung from my waist. Achates had trained me to fight and now I would need to use my new skills to save his life.

Slowly, I pushed the door open, grimacing at the slight creaking sound the hinges made. Neither man seemed to notice me as I tiptoed into the room and crouched down behind an old chair. Achates was clearly less stable than I thought if he had agreed to let the enemy into his home. I watched in horror as I realized that I knew the brutarian standing in the middle of the room. He was crouched over awkwardly because of the low ceiling. It made him look like he had a hunched back. Despite the heat, he was wearing a mountain dweller pelt. He had captured me in the mountains and now he had found me. My death would come sooner than I had anticipated. This brutarian must work for Mortwar, which would make my death still be by Mortwar’s hand.

But I wouldn’t go down without a fight. Hopefully my senile grandfather would stand by me, although he seemed to be enjoying the foul beast's company. I quietly began to stand up and then ran toward the brutarian as fast as I could with my sword raised. I was going to sink my sword into his slimy, gray skin if it was the last thing I did.

“Vellswar!” Augury screamed from behind me.

My hair twitched as glass crashed against the floor following her words. The brutarian turned just in time to counter my attack. His strike was so strong that my knees buckled beneath me, but I kept my arms raised. The man spat something at me in a different language and with our blades still locked he was able to push me backward onto my butt.

“Mahlia!” Augury's voice was closer now and she sounded upset with me. Her hands trembled as she placed them on my shoulders. “This is our guest, Mahlia! What are you doing?” Her voice was filled with worry. She was looking at me like I had completely lost my mind.

“That brutarian captured me in the mountains,” I retorted, pointing at Vellswar. My hand was still on my sword and my eyes were focused on his. "He was going to torture and kill me!"

“Drop your swords this instant!” Augury yelled, staring angrily at Vellswar and me. Both of us sheepishly lowered our blades. “Vellswar has already told me about that misunderstanding,” she added a little more calmly.

“Misunderstanding?” I replied. “He put me in a cage!”

Augury raised her hand in the air to make me stop talking. “I heard that you tried to attack him first,” she had one eyebrow raised as she looked at me with a slight smile on her face. “Much like you were doing today,” she added. “Regardless, he saw the symbols on your body and knew he had to bring you to us. You see, we’ve all been waiting for you for a long time.”

“Why would he be waiting for me?” I asked Augury, completely ignoring the fact that Vellswar could hear me.

---