Another scream sounded, high pitched and unending, as of some soldier horribly disfigured. Heart pounding in her chest, Erika turned to Cara. Somehow, they had to escape this cage. She didn’t want to be trapped here when the Old One finally came.
“Cara, she’s here, isn’t she? The Old One?”
The young Goddess did not stir, only sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, eyes on the steel floor of the cage. Erika swallowed, then gently reached out and clutched Cara’s shoulder.
“Cara, come on, I need you. We have to find a way out of here.”
Still Cara did not stir and Erika feared she’d lost her friend to madness. But then the Anahera’s head lifted, her amber eyes meeting Erika’s. A tear streaked her cheek as she blinked and began to shake.
“I never gave up,” she croaked. “Never stopped hoping she was out there somewhere. That one day I’d be flying over the plains, and she would find me.”
Another tremor shook the Goddess. The tears were flowing freely now. Grief contorted her face and Erika felt her friend was about to shatter, to crumble beneath the weight of her pain. But Erika said nothing, only crouched beside her, waiting.
“After all these years of searching…” Cara’s voice broke as words gave way to sobs.
Despite their danger, despite the screams of dying men from above, Erika hugged her friend tight. What else could she do? At the end of her strength, Erika could no more will the cage away than she could defeat the queen in single combat.
Amina, the queen of Flumeer. And Cara’s half-sister.
“She abandoned me.” It was a moment before Erika heard the words in Cara’s sobs. Suddenly the Goddess stilled. “Left me all alone with him. All so she could be with one of you.” She looked up then, and Erika could see the rage in her eyes now, fed by the depth of her grief. “And what did it get her in the end? Only more pain, only death. Maybe my father was right to hate your kind.”
Erika swallowed, but she could find no words to reply, no argument for the grieving young woman beside her. It was difficult sometimes, to recall that Cara was in fact fifty years of age. Due to the slow development of the Anahera, she appeared no older than a teenager. Human blood from Amina’s father must have aged the queen faster than her sister, yet looking at the Goddess now, Erika finally saw the similarities—the sharp cheekbones and scarlet shades of their hair, the large eyes that seemed to pierce you to the soul.
“I don’t know what to say, Cara,” Erika said at least, her own vision blurring, though she kept the tears from falling. “It’s a cruel place, this world our ancestors left for us. Humanity is what the fires of the Fall made us—harsh and merciless. I know it cannot bring your mother back, but I am sorry for what we did to her.”
The Goddess looked away at that, though every so often a tremor would shake her wings, the feathers standing on end. The sounds of battle were growing louder now, fiercer. Erika glanced at Cara, but there was no signs of life in the Goddess. The anger had died from her eyes, leaving only despair, only the darkness of the defeated.
She clenched her fist, wishing for the strength to summon the magic. She only achieved another bout of dizziness. A gasp slipped from her lips as she slid sideways, slumping against the bars. Cara frowned as she watched her, seeming confused.
“Why are you still fighting?” she said, her voice almost angry, as though Erika’s lack of despair were an insult to her. “It’s over, Erika. The Old One and her Tangata are here, some of my people too. I can hear their Voices--they’re all around us. Not even my bitch-sister can fight them. It’s over. Maya has won.”
“No,” Erika hissed, forcing herself to sit up. “No, I won’t let them.” She gripped Cara by the shoulder and forced the Goddess to look at her. “I’m sorry about your mother, Cara. I know what it feels to lose a parent to evil. But you’re not alone.”
“Of course I’m alone,” Cara snapped, tearing herself from Erika. “My brother, my mother, my father, they’re all dead now. My own people bow to the darkness of the Old One. I’m the only one left.”
“No,” Erika hissed. Gently she cupped Cara by the cheek. “No,” she repeated, softly this time, looking into Cara’s amber eyes. “You still have me, Cara, always. We’re family now, you and I.” Gently she pressed her forehead to the Goddess’s. “I won’t let her hurt you anymore. I won’t let them take you.”
She thought Cara would pull away, but after a moment the Goddess’s eyes slid closed and a sob tore from the young girl. Silently she shook her head, fingers pulling at her torn leggings.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, Erika,” she croaked. “It’s all wrong, all of this, what Father did for me, what happened to Hugo…there was so much blood.” She was sobbing now, hugging Erika tight, clutching at her back. “I should have done something else, should have been able to save him. He was so young…never had a life…and now mother…I can’t…” Her words became unintelligible as she tumbled from one loss to another.
Erika squeezed her tight then drew back, carefully wiping the tears from the Goddess’s cheeks. Cara fell silent, blinking at Erika in the gloom of the cabin, amber eyes reflecting the fading candlelight.
“You did your best, Cara,” she said softly, “but no one could have saved Hugo. You said so yourself—he was under Maya’s control. She’s too strong for any one of your people. And your father chose to save you, to do right by his daughter. You cannot blame yourself for the choices of others. All you can do is honour their sacrifice.”
The tears still slid down
