Page 47 of Requiem of Silence

Mooriah stopped walking; Kyara realized they had reached the entrance to the Cavefolk meeting place. Just like the last time she was here, she sensed five beings, their Nether as abundant and fresh as those newly dead. Bright as stars, they shone in the field of black with the strange light of death energy. But this time, a sixth light shined in her other sight. The Cavefolk were hundreds of years old, which is why they had amassed so much Nether, but this last light was from a Nethersinger—Tana.

Mooriah paused at the entrance to the cave. “Their appearance is shocking, but they will not harm you.” Kyara sincerely hoped the woman spoke true. She didn’t believe that Murmur would hurt the children, but he could try to use Ella for some purpose the way he’d used Darvyn. She would have to make sure that didn’t happen.

Once duly warned, they all stepped through the entryway. The five Cavefolk sat around a fire. Their bodies were colorless, with sagging translucent skin showing the veins and muscle beneath.Kyara had known what to expect and still had a hard time facing them.

During the short journey, Mooriah had told them the five remaining Cavefolk were Murmur’s family group—his wives and husbands, a vestige of a former age when many of the Folk were polyamorous. They spent most of their time in communion and meditation with the Mother. They ate only every few weeks and slowed the processes of their body with blood magic. That was how they’d managed to survive for so long.

Tana sat on a low rock just behind the oldest, most colorless man. “Mama!” She launched herself up and ran around the circle to greet her mother. Ella welcomed her child with open arms.

“I’m so sorry, Mama. I know you were worried when I left, I know I shouldn’t have gone without telling you, but look, I’ve already begun to learn.” She spoke at a rapid clip and tugged Ella’s hand closer to the circle. “Watch.” Without letting go of her mother, she pulled a patch of moss out of the pocket of her dress.

“Tana, no!” Mooriah warned, but the dark green fuzzy texture of the moss was already turning black in the girl’s palm. Ella gave a pained cry and wrenched away to hold her stomach with both arms.

“Mama?” Tana looked down as her mother collapsed onto the ground.

“You must never touch someone while using your power child.” Mooriah’s voice was censorious but soft.

Ulani dropped to Ella’s side and clutched her arm. Tears welled in the girl’s eyes. “I can’t use my Song.” Her voice was hushed with terror. “I can’t heal her.”

Kyara’s jaw tightened. She looked to the Cavefolk, whose eerie translucent eyelids revealed the pale orbs beneath. She sank into her other sight and witnessed the Nether growing within Ella’sbody. It started at her hand, where it had been joined with Tana’s and shot straight to her heart.

Kyara pulled the Nether from the woman rapidly, drawing it out, but without Earthsong to heal her, there was little more a Nethersinger could do. The Void took the place of the Nethersong, but Void was neither life nor death, it was simply the space between. Opening her eyes to the cave again, she spoke to Mooriah. “We need to get her out of here. Outside the mountain so Darvyn or Ulani can help her.”

But Mooriah simply knelt, calm as the raindrops, and plucked something from her pocket. It was a sliver of white, long as her forefinger with a pointed, sharp edge. She pricked her palm and used the blood to draw a mark on Ella’s hand. The squiggly line was a symbol, Kyara didn’t know of what, but once the blood touched her skin, Ella’s moans quieted.

Mooriah whispered a string of words too low to hear, and Ella’s body softened. Kyara’s other sight revealed the static of the Void steadily receding and, surprisingly, the darkness of Earthsong overtaking Ella’s body.

Mooriah casually wiped the blood off the little sliver with her skirt, then replaced it in her pocket. Everyone monitored Ella until the woman fluttered her lids before opening her eyes. She took several deep breaths before sitting up. “What happened?”

Tana was frozen in place, having not moved during the entire ordeal. Ulani wrapped her mother in a tight hug and thrust her face into her neck. Ella patted the girl’s head. “I’m all right,uli.It’s okay.”

Tana crossed her arms protectively in front of her and backed away toward the far wall, looking at her mother and sister with dread.

Kyara turned to the Cavefolk, gaze honed in on their leader, Murmur. “You taught her this trick, but not its consequences?”

“I’m all right, Tana,” Ella repeated, reassuringly. She beckoned the girl toward her, but Tana remained motionless. Finally, Ella dropped her arms, her expression an excruciating mix of pain and comprehension.

“Is this how the training works?” Kyara spat out. “Done halfway without any precautions?”

“Tana has been with us less than a day. She is eager to learn.” Murmur’s voice was surprisingly strong given his advanced age and appearance. The other Cavefolk never moved or said a word.

“This was why I didn’t want to come. Your methods are suspect at best, dangerous at worst.” She turned to Tana. “Do you know who I am?”

Tana tore her gaze away from her mother and looked at Kyara fully for the first time. “The Poison Flame?”

“Yes. I brought your mother and sister here and we’re going to take you home again.” She shot a glare at Mooriah.

“I can’t go home,” the girl whispered, shaking her head. “Look what I did. What I will do again. It’s why I came in the first place. I felt… Something is happening to me and I can’t control it.”

Kyara inhaled deeply. She didn’t trust the Cavefolk or Mooriah, but something needed to be done about Tana and her Song. She wished she was able to train the girl effectively.

“I need to learn,” Tana said, echoing her thoughts. “I want to be like you.” Kyara startled.

“Why would you want to be like her?” Murmur asked gently.

“Because she is strong and fierce. She’s afraid of nothing. She stands up to those who do harm and she saves others. She’s a hero.”

Kyara’s jaw dropped; her throat began to thicken. Hearingthose words from Tana’s lips cracked her heart open. She couldn’t bear to let the girl continue thinking her someone she wasn’t.

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