Chapter 14

14

D joser | New Zealand | Late 1900s

The mother sat there in the clearing, tears streaming down her face while holding a purple-tinted newborn with healthy lungs. The child's screams put an edge in the air, quiet but filled with distress.

Djoser stood there among Arryn, Amis, and Reign, still surrounded by the old woman and her council of pregnant women. All eyes of the council nervously shifted between the infant and Amis, some of the ladies anxiously fidgeting with their clothing.

"You're not often here when there is a birth. The mother should have more time with the infant," Mother Waihema said, putting her hand to her own heart and nodding her head towards Amis respectfully.

"More time for what?" Reign asked.

Amis put his hand on Mother Waihema's shoulder before walking towards the clearing, the woman who had given birth now very aware of his proximity. Fear filled her eyes as she brought her infant to her chest, kissing its head and shushing, rocking. More tears streamed freely down her face as her visible fight to control her shaking was lost.

"Please," she panted as Amis reached her, kneeling to bring his body leveled with theirs.

"This is tradition," Mother Waihema said, her eyes meeting Reign's.

Djoser watched as Amis took the infant from its mother's hands, the woman losing the battle to control her sobs. He turned the baby around, noting the unmarked skin on its back. He then took the baby's finger into his mouth, and the infant began to panic. Amis's face was that of disappointment as he spit the finger back out.

"This child is human," he announced, letting his head hang.

"No, no, you can't. He's my child, you can't take him from me!" The new mother shakily stood, screaming and clawing in attempts to take the rattled infant back from Amis's arms.

Amis stood strong. His eyes were stone cold as he turned away from the new mother's pleas and began to walk toward Djoser and the others.

"Her last child was a full protector," one of the pregnant council women whispered to the group. "This experience will be new and painful for her."

"What experience?" Djoser asked.

"Do you not know?" the councilwoman asked in surprise. "We are bred to foster magic. If the child is human, then our tribe is out of balance. It can grow into adulthood, breed and dilute the magical bloodlines even more within our tribe as well. The only solution is to let the child be taken by death."

The new mother continued to cry, falling to all fours and crawling behind Amis. Djoser caught eyes with Amis and watched in horror as his hand moved up to the child's head.

"No—" Djoser shouted, his hands outstretched to intervene but too slow as Amis snapped the infant's neck. The child went limp and lifeless in Amis' arms, its hands dangling, heavy.

The new mother screamed as if someone had stabbed her, and the council of women rushed towards her to comfort and restrain her.

"You're a monster. You're a murderer," she shouted out before the group gagged her out of respect for their leader, their god. Their faces were horrified, apologetic and pleading as they waited for Amis's reaction to the words of disrespect. Amis only stood staring, his eyes hard, fists by his side.

Djoser felt sick. His entire existence had been based on hating himself, hating that he had the power to take away life, to disassemble atoms. He had convinced himself that he was awful, and the murders he committed at command of the gods, the Life Gifter, laid heavily on his conscience. He knew that the orders were given to create a better world, to improve mankind, but he had never, never killed a child, not directly. His bare hands had never stolen a last breath in the same way, with skin to skin contact. It felt so personal.

"Mother," Amis said, holding out the corpse towards Mother Waihema. She walked up and accepted the body, taking it into her arms.

"We will prepare the burial," she assured the group and turned to walk back down the path that brought them all here alone.

"I can't accept this. I don't understand," Djoser mustered out. Reign and Arryn stood rooted to their spots beside him, unable to meet his eyes.

"Come, family," Amis said, pushing on the backs of Arryn and Reign, leaving Djoser to follow. "Let us discuss this in the communal area, away from the grieving behind us."

Once they'd obliged and were sitting on long tree trunks cut horizontally in half in the common area, Djoser let his head hang low, taking deep breaths as the stench of death consumed him.

He was a monster and was learning that Amis was, too. How many children have died here?

The sound of youthful laughter filled Djoser's ears. He looked up, Amis standing right before him with Arryn and Reign behind him in support.

"Those children that you hear playing," Amis said, pointing towards the huts where village children played tag, oblivious to the tragedy less than half a mile away from them. "Those children are the reason for Waihema. They carry varying amounts of Kinnari blood. Some of them even bear the Kinnari mark and, though not immortal, will grow wings around their twentieth birthdays. The tribe calls these children their protectors."

"I can't accept what you did," Djoser said, standing. He towered over Amis, whose body looked frail in comparison.

"I believe you are here because you need what I breed," Amis said, amused, turning to face Arryn.

"Yes," Arryn confirmed. "We need numbers to stand before the Life Gifter. The gods will call for the lives of Reign and Allienna. We need to protect them."

Amis smiled mischievously, tapping his fingers together before considering his next words.

"The thing about balance is that it's delicate. There is so little needed to tip a scale." Amis began to pace back and forth. Djoser noticed an unnerved expression on Arryn's face as he slowly began to inch in front of Reign protectively.

"I will always help to protect my family. The Kinnari are ultimately part of that family," Amis decided. "But I cannot provide you with what you need."

"Why is that?" Arryn asked forcefully.

"Less than a year ago, my dear Arryn, the Vrae came into Waihema and killed all of our winged villagers, and many more unwinged."

Djoser suddenly understood the stench that had been plaguing him, the smell that no one else seemed to notice. He could see the pool of blood where he was standing. He could hear the screams. Women, children, men and the elderly were all slaughtered right where he stood. Their souls were still here, suffocating him. Their atoms were never pulled apart fully. He felt the urge to weep with the ghosts that were stuck here, with the infants that were murdered frequently. This was a death camp.

Reign started convulsing at his side, suddenly falling to the ground with only the whites of her eyes showing. Arryn jumped back as Djoser rushed to her, cradling her light, violently convulsing body.

"What is happening to her?" Amis asked, his voice showing more curiosity than concern. The villagers and children in the distance also noticed the commotion and watched, gathered from the base of the huts.

Reign had been in a seizure for at least ten seconds now. Djoser placed his free hand on her jaw, putting pressure under her ears using two fingers, hoping to prevent her from biting off her tongue. His eyes fixated on hers.

The world around him went eerily quiet, causing him to look up, feeling like he had fallen into her eyes with only eternal white surrounding him. Hushed voices caught his attention as he jerked his head behind him, where he saw Regin standing very still, conscious, speaking to someone behind her.

"Now we have a witness," he heard the voice of a young boy. Reign whipped her head around to turn and face Djoser, stepping to the side to reveal a boy with curly brown hair and haunting green eyes. The boy nodded at him, and Djoser opened his mouth, not bothering to hide his shock.

"It can't be," he muttered. Djoser closed the gap between himself and the other two in the vast expanse of pure nothingness, his hands out and ready to grab the boy. He reached and closed his arms around him before falling right through, stumbling around like he missed a step walking down the stairs.

"Tristan called upon me," Reign said, pointing to the long-dead Kinnari child who stood before them, smug as ever.

"I felt you pulling me," she added, "so I let you in."

"The Life Gifter is using me as a messenger here," Tristan said, stepping forward. "The war, the battle you are preparing for, comes off as a joke."

"It doesn't matter," Djoser cut him off, "its purpose is to save lives."

"Lives that have not officially been condemned," Tristan added, crossing his arms. "What are you guys doing? You are going to risk the entire fate of the world, of humanity, by putting your lives on the line? Even if Reign here were condemned, anything connected to Arryn would disappear. What will that leave this realm with? The moon, the tides, a balancing act from Amis?"

"Why am I not yet condemned? I broke a rule of the governing realm, something that should have had me in forever darkness. I've been waiting, anticipating, every day for hundreds of years." Reign said, dropping to her knees as her anxiety fueled the conversation further. Tristan stood over her, positively smiling with delight.

"Everything that is in motion is as it's supposed to be," he said, walking away, his footsteps sounding surprisingly heavy. "Yes, this is real," he yelled back as Djoser began to open his mouth.

At that instant, Djoser felt like he was pushed off a cliff, falling for eternity and an instant until he was back in Waihema with Reign in his arms, staring at him like she smelled something putrid.

"Please put me down," she requested. "You're making a scene."

Djoser chuckled and stood up, placing Reign back down on her feet. He noticed everyone surrounding them, looks of astonishment and fear on all of their faces.

"You both had seizures," Arryn said, noticing Djoser's raised eyebrows. Amis stood distant, his arms crossed across his body.

"Why are we battling the gods?" Djoser snapped at Arryn. "If no one has been condemned?"

"Reign and Allienna will be the law, the contract between our existences. We must prepare to confront the gods in their honor. I will not allow my child to be slaughtered before it is born," Arryn said, anger and heat building in his voice, a tinge of atoms pooling under his hands from the aggression.

"Your child?" Amis asked in shock. "Allienna is pregnant?"

Amis's beautifully tanned skin suddenly paled.

"Don't tell me that you're about to have a seizure, too, Amis," Reign mocked.

"It wasn't a seizure," Djoser cut in. "It was a vision. Reign pulled me into a conversation she was having with Tristan. "

A silence fell among the group, Amis and Arryn staring at Djoser as if he were a circus animal.

"Tristan appeared in your tandem visions?" Arryn asked. Djoser nodded and looked to Reign in support, who only looked bored, flicking her nails.

"To summarize, we have no Waihema support because everyone's already dead. There is no actual war to fight because no one has been condemned by the gods. I'm ready to get back home, then."

"Tristan didn't say that we wouldn't get summoned, Reign," Djoser interjected. "He said that everything may be happening exactly as it should."

"We only need twenty years," Amis stepped back into the conversation. "I can breed a humble army. We can ensure that we have more warriors to fight. These villagers are raised knowing that they are here to balance the magic. Even the meek would stand up and perform their duty. We are their deities. They serve Kinnari."

"How many more infant deaths would that cause?" Arryn asked defensively.

"If you want warriors, this is the way," Amis said matter-of-factly. "You invited yourselves here and have no idea what we all sacrificed to ensure even your own personal survival. Anything other than gratitude from you will not be tolerated."

Arryn stood in silence, ignoring the tension being thrown his way. He darted his eyes up. A sadness lingered for the smallest moment before being masked by determination.

"I will not risk my child. We return to the temple and go to Mrilyosis immediately and demand an audience with the Life Gifter. I can't and won't take any chances. I must keep Allienna safe. If her baby were to get taken from her, I don't know what she would do."

Reign cleared her throat.

"Reign, too," Arryn added, "of course, we need to keep Reign safe, too."

"Thank you for your consideration, my lord." She rolled her eyes and turned her back on the group, taking steps towards the dirt path that they entered the village through. The villagers watching scattered as a few stray children stayed, eyeing the woman with no shame. She smiled at them and continued onward.

"Amis, you will come," Reign demanded.

"Now? I need to prepare," Amis said. His back muscles lifted him upright, to attention, as his body betrayed his mouth at her command.

"There is nothing to prepare. We will go now."