She had lived as a fisherman plying the seas in search of fish and discussing the best areas to find a particular species with the other fisherman. She had been a net-mender, chartist, historian, and even a priest. Always she knew exactly what to do and how to act. She saw the civilization through the eyes of the people.
Tonight’s dream was different though. There had been no Omungan invasion, no creation of the Wound of Kaltara, no bloody assassinations of the previous Stars, only blackness. But the blackness was alive with scents and sounds and Lyra struggled to make sense of them all. The scents came at her in a rush, sweet, pungent, moldy, and musty, all mixed together. The sounds were detached from the scents and made no sense at all, yet she perked her ears to listen to them all. They were not the noises of man or creatures, but rather the sounds of raw force, the sounds of power. Pinpoints of light penetrated the inky blackness and began to swirl and her focus blurred as she tried to watch.
She shook her head to clear her vision. The noise intensified dramatically and sounded like a roar, a roar of the earth tearing itself apart. She felt a great pressure building around her, from within her, and mentally tied the roar to the building pressure. The noise was her own. The building pressure was her soul and it yearned for release. She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of the forces gathering around her, pushing outward, seeking freedom. The blood pulsed in her veins and rushed about seeking an exit from her body.
The roar burst into a thunderclap and her eyes snapped opened to see the tiny pinpricks of twirling light exploding outward, growing larger. A sense of escape fled through her as she watched the light of the sun spray over her and the cascading rock surrounding her. The sky appeared above her, bright and blue, as tremendous slabs of rock blew outward away from her. She stared in amazement as the mountain that was her, exploded and rained down the slope towards the valley far below.
The roar died and was replaced with the sound of giant chunks of rock falling down the mountainside and Lyra gazed at the world around her. She stood perched atop a tall mountain, its peak disintegrated to expose her previous prison. No longer incased in the solid rock prison of the mountain, Lyra inhaled the sweet air deeply and stretched her arms. Feeling a presence nearby, she turned swiftly and stood facing Kaltara.
“You have done well, my Star,” Kaltara stated with a smile. “You have thrown off the shackles of your earthly life. You are Sakovan now. No, more than Sakovan, you are Sakova. You are my child and I give my people into your care.”
Lyra’s eyes narrowed at the image of Kaltara as his words turned into the hoot of an owl. Her brow wrinkled with puzzlement as the hooting continued, but from more than one direction now. Suddenly, Kaltara faded and she felt a great weight on her legs as if the mountain was trying to reclaim her. She brushed absently at her legs and her hand felt a sticky, moist substance. Shouts filled the air now and she tried desperately to move her legs but they would not obey her. In frustration she screamed.
Lyra sat up abruptly and opened her eyes. She recognized the clearing where the party had made camp for the night. All around her people were running and shouting. She threw off her blanket, but it was stuck by her legs and she looked down to see a man’s body draped over her legs. The man’s head was bleeding profusely where a Sakovan star had penetrated his throat.
Lyra kicked the body away as she caught sight of Goral swinging his massive maul at the dark shape of a man. The maul connected with the man’s head and the attacker’s body went flying off into the trees. Not far from Goral, MistyTrail separated from the darkness to swing her sword into the legs of another dark shape. The shape fell to the ground and MistyTrail plunged the sword into the man’s chest.
Looking in the other direction, Lyra saw StormSong facing off against three attackers. She tried to rise to go to the proud warrior’s aid, but MistyTrail was by her side before she could get up.
“Stay down,” MistyTrail ordered. “They are using bows as well.”
Lyra started to object and rise, but MistyTrail swiftly swept her legs out from under her and the Star of Sakova crashed to the ground. She felt the weight of a body being thrown on top of her and caught sight of StormSong taking out two of the attackers with a vicious figure eight.
“Stay down or I will make sure that you do,” ordered MistyTrail.
Lyra watched as StormSong decapitated the third attacker and then the campsite turned silent. She felt MistyTrail’s presence behind her and then the feeling of the body being lifted off of her.
“I am sorry, Lyra,” MistyTrail apologized. “I had to keep you down. It was you they were after.”
Lyra picked herself up as Temiker, StarWind, and SunChaser entered the clearing. Lyra turned and saw StormSong and Goral before speaking. “Where is HawkShadow?” she asked, fearing that the Sakovan assassin may not have survived.
“He is checking the bodies,” StarWind reported. “He will be back shortly.”
“Are these the twenty assassins that were missing?” Lyra questioned.
StarWind nodded, “Yes, but not all of them. I think three of them got away. HawkShadow will know for sure. We will be able to track them so they will not get far.”
“Not unless they are headed towards Okata,” the Star shook her head. “I must get to Okata before Malafar.”
“That is the direction they fled,” HawkShadow declared as he entered the clearing. “If we still had the chokas they wouldn’t stand a chance. I will go on ahead. They will need to sleep sometime.”
“So will you,” Lyra objected. “Forget them for now. Let’s all get some sleep.”
The Sakovans nodded and started clearing the bodies out of the campsite while Lyra disappeared under her blanket. She lay awake for a long time pondering the attack and the strange dream, but what kept her awake was the frustration of not knowing what to do once they caught up with Master Malafar. She could not fathom killing her own father, and yet there appeared to be no alternative. She was the only who could stand up to Malafar’s power, if she could even do it again. He had been confused the last time they battled. What if he was stronger than she was? What if he wasn’t? It was not fair that one of them must die, she thought bitterly. Eventually Lyra cried herself to sleep.
Chapter 38
Needle in a Haystack
“Second floor facing the Palace,” Temiker reported as he strode down the stairs of the carriage platform at the side of the Palace Arms.
“Do you know if there are vacancies in the adjoining rooms?” Lyra asked.
“They are practically empty,” Temiker stated. “The city gates have only been open for a couple of days now. It will take a while for word to spread.”
“The merchants stay in the Merchant District,” interjected SunChaser. “The inns will be full down there pretty soon, but mostly visiting dignitaries stay here. Are you sure you don’t want to stay at my mansion? There is plenty of room to put everyone up.”
“No,” answered the Star of Sakova. “I do not want to compromise your cover in Okata, besides, Malafar may remember your mansion and I do not want him to know we are here.”
“I will get the next room,” offered HawkShadow.
“Let’s split up into pairs,” suggested StarWind. “We make too noticeable a group standing together. I will take Goral and get a room right after HawkShadow is done.”
“Good idea,” mused Lyra. “I will get a room for StormSong and MistyTrail. Either of them would be memorable to the clerk.”
“There is no reason why we cannot wait in the lobby if we are split up,” Temiker pointed out.
“True,” responded StarWind, “but let’s keep some distance between us.”
“I see no reason why I cannot go in with you, StarWind,” Lyra declared. “I do not want to risk getting rooms on different floors and two rooms for two women travelling together would not appear strange.”