Read Darkness Risen (The Ava'Lonan Herstories Book 4) for Free Online Page A

head for emphasis, “-impractical. The High Queen will not wait
too much longer before making her response. We must be ready to meet her counter-challenge
and soften the blow to the Face.” Nods met her statement. A hint of a smile
issued from the First.
    “What if I have proof?” The Fifth asked quietly.
Four sets of hidden eyes settled heavily upon her, then twitched involuntarily
to the Sixth, the puppeteer.
    “What proof?” the First asked, just as quietly. The
smile hint vanished.
    The smile of the Fifth was tangible. “All in good
time, Sisters. First I must verify that what I have is indeed proof, and then
we may discuss ways to use it. But I agree that we should work to establish our
plans to rescind the challenge if what I have comes to naught. It was but a
thought to ponder upon. Merely a notion.” A seed. Planted, it would bear fruit.
But whether sweet or bitter remained to be seen.
    A sils followed, in which no other notions were put
forth. The meeting closed then, with the initial plans of action laid down.
Each then turned her cup upside-down to indicate her accord, and then, without
another word to each other, one by one they stood and left, in the order in
which they arrived. Last to leave was the Sixth. She sat and continued to stare
at the walls, some ripple of agitation or emotion shimmering over her as the
emptiness crept back to see if its place were still taken. Then she left to let
the emptiness do its jadine work.
     
     

 

 
    CHAPTER
III

     
    the light, watchful and wary, waited for
its stalker to show itself, but the stalker was too clever for that; it snuck
up from behind, and the light, startled, turned..
    Jeliya
struggled back up to consciousness, fighting off the cold darkness that pressed
in on her like the absence of Av and Av’s blessing. She opened her eyes. She
found herself staring up at a lead green sky smudged with grey clouds. Silent
trees, sentinels quietly disapproving, stared back down at her, shaking leafy
heads. She found that she lay in a bed of ice needles spread out in a
snow-flake pattern around her, a frozen princess in ice glory. The others lay
in a circle about her, all unconscious, all in their own little glory of ice. The
layer of frost coating them and everything around them made them sparkle, like
a powdering of diamond dust. The sparkle actually spread a ways beyond the
group the surrounding area, including a wooden structure that stood not far
away. Jeliya just lay where she was and shivered - that was all she could do. How
long have I been lying here? she wondered, while eve approached and dropped
over them in silken silence. She stared up at the motionless trees, unable to
move herself, unable to think, or find the will to act. She could not even
muster up the will to care. All she had was just enough strength and presence
of mind to set up the weakest of wards before her eyes closed again.
    The next time she opened them, it was to the sight
of wooden walls. Everyone she saw was wrapped in a desi and drinking from
steaming calabashes. A warru came over and lifted her up, helped her to drink
from one such bowl. She inhaled the soup, scalding her tongue and not caring,
for the warmth seemed to give life and strength back to her limbs. Wordlessly,
everyone sat and shivered and drank their soup in the grain barn, which was
what the wooden structure turned out to be. No preparations were made to
continue. Even the Katari, somewhat restless by nature and eager to travel, were
reluctant to move - they all lay on their lower stomachs, listlessly drinking
soup and munching preserved sweet grass, and not looking at anything in
particular. By mute, mutual agreement they stayed the eve in the barn, sleeping
where they sat, the kati’yori also sleeping with heads down, still saddled with
panquins and tack. Only one industrious servant seemed to have the energy to do
much, and she expended it in making the soup and wrapping the others in the
desi that she had