Page 44 of Firstborn of the Sun
L’?r? jumped off her, screaming and pulling out the glass that stuck to the side of her face. The maiden got to her feet, spat blood onto the sand and smiled as she poured sand from one glowing hand and watched it turn into glass shards before reaching the other.
L’?r?’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re going to lose those hands.’
The maiden smiled, a knowing tilt to her lips. L’?r? felt her stomach drop. The maiden had noticed how L’?r? hadn’t used her agbára without her blades. Or had she heard her shout earlier? The image of the executions days before flashed in L’?r?’s mind and her heart dropped.
I warned you!Command’s voice echoed in her head.
The maiden’s eyes glowed like the sun as she formed a glowing orb of energy so visibly chaotic that it looked like fireflies caught in a storm, and as L’?r? watched it slowly grow wilder and bigger, a sense of dread overcame her. Her trembling fingers instinctively raced for her necklace, but they met bare skin. She checked for it in her pocket, just to feel its smooth, cool surface as she usually did, but it wasn’t there. She could feel the panic rise in her, but this wasn’t the time. She turned her focus to the only thing that could save her in this moment – agbára oru.
L’?r? ran towards Máywá, but as soon as she held him, he slumped into her arms. His breathing was shallow andweak. He couldn’t help her. She scanned the ground for her blades. They were several feet away. She wished she could call out to them, and they’d find their way to her hands, but that was just desperation talking. The maiden’s devouring gaze and wry smile made L’?r?’s heart beat even faster as she crossed the grounds in slow strides, as if knowing her prey had nowhere to run.
If ever there was a time for her agbára to show up, surely it would be now. It was as good a time as any for one last try.
Don’t be foolish, Command’s voice rang in her mind.
But she had no choice. She closed her eyes and imagined all the times she had seen Alawani or Kyà use their powers. She just needed to try.
L’?r? tried to calm her heart and reach for something within her that she wouldn’t recognize. Something boiled inside her. A mix of desperation and fury. She screamed to let it out. A wave of energy tossed her to the ground. L’?r? groaned as she tried to lift herself, but her back spasmed and ached with every move. Just then, she felt someone’s hands lift her, and she didn’t have to look to know Alawani had returned and saved her yet again. In lieu of agbára, he had been her secret weapon, always showing up just when she needed him.
‘You weren’t supposed to come back,’ she said, her voice weak and hoarse.
‘Looked like you could use the help,’ Alawani said, his face lit by the agbára in his hands.
L’?r? turned to see the maiden that had been attacking her sprawled on the ground. She held on to Alawani and tried to balance on her own feet.
‘That’s what I planned to do,’ she groaned, and smiled at Alawani.
‘I know,’ he said, and smiled back at her, panting.
L’?r? was glad for Alawani’s help, but the dread that had formed inside her only sank deeper into her bones. She used to tell herself that the reason her agbára had never materialized was that she hadn’t pushed herself far enough or wanted it deeply enough. Now, as she felt the heat in the aftermath of Alawani’s agbára, she knew that even when her life depended on it, the power wasn’t in her. Never had been and never would be. And this was why, among many other reasons, she despised the gods of the sun and sands.
L’?r? and Alawani both helped Máywá to his feet. Unable to stand on his own, they hung his arms around their shoulders and dragged him through the grounds, heading for the maze.
Suddenly, there was a whistle and a thunk – then blood splattered to the ground in front of them. L’?r?’s eyes widened in horror and confusion, finding the sharp edge of the arrow stuck through Máywá’s stomach. Máywá’s hands went slack on her shoulders as he slumped.
‘Máywá!’ Alawani shouted, holding on tightly to his friend.
L’?r? spun towards the temple doors. On the stairs were half a dozen temple maidens in red on one side – and on the other side, half a dozen maidens in white, with arrows in bows, ready to release on command. In the middle was none other than Àlùfáà-Àgbà – Alawani’s grandfather.
L’?r?’s wet eyes returned to Máywá. She’d never seen fear more real than in the eyes of the boy whom she’d forced to join her mission that night. She looked back at what seemed like an army waiting for them at the temple stairs. Then back to Alawani, who was frantically trying to stop the blood from pouring out of his friend’s stomach, using his waning agbára to cauterize the wound. The stench of blood and burning flesh ignited something deep in L’?r?’s body. As the worlddimmed around her and her breaths grew shallow, something inside her snapped.
L’?r?’s hands trembled, and her fingers grew cold and numb. Her heart was beating loud but not fast, like a slow but mighty thump propelling her forward. The icy feeling in L’?r?’s veins cooled the boiling heat that roared in her core and sent shivers through her spine. Something was fighting inside her, clawing its way out, overcoming her. She coughed, and gulps of water poured out of her mouth. Her rage dulled out the pain that tore at her insides. Her eyes burned, her vision grew dimmer, and the world around her turned a dark shade of grey, yet she could see clearly. With every exhale, a burst of dark mist shot out of her nostrils and mouth.
L’?r? felt like she was watching someone else control her body, and she was just there to see how much damage they could do. When she clenched her fist, she couldn’t feel her hands. Yet she could feel the hairs on her body stand at attention. Feeling the slightest breeze brush against them, the chill energized her, making her feel more alive than she’d ever felt before. The world stopped. She could tell because even though the maidens moved, they moved so slowly, she could wait for a thousand heartbeats and they still wouldn’t reach her. L’?r? wanted them to reach her. She wanted nothing more than to burn the temple to the ground with all of them in it.
The archers released a volley of arrows, and L’?r? stretched forth her hands and screamed with all her strength, until she could no more, and when she opened her eyes, she couldn’t believe the sight before her.
There it was, standing between her and the entire force that had stood against them – a mountain of ice with black mist oozing from it. Enormous shards of ice had formed like crystals layered upon each other, their sharp edges pointingto the sky. The archers’ arrows had got stuck in the middle of it. Through the clear ice, she could see their faces. They all looked at her like she had transformed into something otherworldly. But it was her. She had done that.
L’?r? fell to the floor, too stunned to speak, just staring at her hands. What was happening to her? This wasn’t agbára oru. This wasn’t anything she knew or could recognize. Her hands trembled before her as streaks of black veins crawled up her arms. Why was this happening? From the other side of the ice barrier, she could see Àlùfáà-Àgbà’s rage as he shouted at the maidens who were trapped near the entrance of the temple.
L’?r? flinched when Alawani’s fingers touched hers but she allowed him to pull her further back as Àlùfáà-Àgbà formed a fireball in his hands and threw it at the ice. They both cowered, expecting ice fragments to rain down on them, but the crystals remained unscathed. Àlùfáà-Àgbà’s old magic did nothing to break the structure she’d created, but within its crystals, a black mist hovered like a wild, angry beast trying to escape its prison.
The ground shook, and the loose stones danced as the deafening cry of an animal filled the air. Behind them, L’?r? turned to find Kyà mounted on a battle rhino racing towards them from the maze. Battle rhinos were like small mountains on the move, usually ridden only by warrior maidens. She’d never seen one before. Nearly three times her height and the size of two fat oxen, it had a giant horn sharpened to a point and adorned in gold to match its thick armour – which she was sure was impenetrable. This wasn’t the horses she’d asked for. How in the world had Kyà got a battle rhino to let him ride it?
‘We need to go now!’ Kyà screamed from atop the mighty beast.
‘We can’t leave Máywá,’ Alawani said, tears in his eyes.
