Birth of Innocence: The Innocence Cycle, Book 4 Read online

  “What consequences have been meted out to the three who confessed?” Tobil asked.

  “They have been required to meet individually with an Elrodanar healer who specializes in healings of the mind. This is a daily task. They will not be allowed to socialize with the others involved in perpetrating the incident until the healer believes they pose no further threat. Two of them have made significant progress.” Qalam rubbed the back of his neck. “The other one seems to have ... devolved. At times, he collapses and curls into a ball, and no one is able to reach him. Other times, he lashes out violently. He has broken several bones in his hands from punching stone walls.”

  Mikaelin cringed. Qalam glanced at him and changed the subject again. “I suppose you are also here to talk about training the children in self-defense?”

  “Yes,” Tobil replied. “We’d like to do daily drills with the children, by age groups. Would that be possible?”

  Qalam looked at Dorrick, who shrugged and nodded. “I think that will work all right.”

  “Charaq asked that we begin with the youngest ones,” Keymar said.

  Qalam scratched his beard as his gaze swept over the children. “We have almost forty that look to be younger than five. They would be the most vulnerable.”

  Mikaelin shook his head. “How is it that forty little ones ended up in those camps and no one reported them missing?”

  Qalam visibly paled. “Through our interviews with the children, we’ve learned that many—perhaps most—of them have been either in the camps or in some sort of primitive cave structure since as early as they can remember. The Elrodanar think that they may have been bred there.”

  Heat rushed through Mikaelin’s body, and his stomach contents rose and threatened to spew. He swallowed convulsively and wiped the sweat that beaded on his brow. “How can this be? How can we not have noticed?”

  Keymar gripped his shoulder. “I remember when we discovered the Farak villages, bereft of children, silent and sullen. When we found that all of the children—all of them—had been taken to the caves, I didn’t want to believe it. But the evidence was all around us.”

  Qalam cleared his throat. “Worse yet, the healers have found evidence that the younger teenage girls have already given birth, but the girls don’t know what happened to the children.”

  Dorrick stepped in close and spoke in a low voice. “They have been breeding the children with each other. Though all the children have been sold and misused by men, they have also been forcing them to couple with other child captives.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the ground. “They watch them. Like we might when breeding sheep or cattle, to make sure the process is completed. If it doesn’t work, they try again.”

  Mikaelin wanted to punch something, but they weren’t near anything solid. Instead, he kicked a rock, launching it a good distance outside the compound perimeter.

  “Wh-why? Why br-breed children w-with children?” Braiden asked.

  “In an attempt to duplicate and enhance their gifts. The abilities strengthen with each succeeding generation,” Qalam replied. “At least that’s what the Elrodanar healers tell us.”

  Tobil straightened and gripped his sword belt. “I’ve heard enough.” The growl in his voice made Mikaelin tremble. “So when do we begin teaching them to fight?”

  ~

  Keymar studied his trainees with an exasperated sigh. Whose brilliant idea had it been to teach these little ones to fight? His, of course. Not his most lucid moment. When he, Tobil, and Mikaelin split up the children into three groups, Keymar somehow ended up with the youngest, ones who didn’t have much strength or control over their bodies, and who had no concept of a line or how to listen without being distracted by butterflies or bees.

  The children’s guardians stood in a half-ring at the back of the practice area, laughing hysterically. They hugged their sides and stuffed fists in their mouths to keep the children from hearing.

  As Keymar handed out the wooden practice swords from Marach, he noticed they were almost as big as the children. Upon seeing the weapons, some immediately squealed and went to hide behind their guardians, quaking with fear. Keymar got them back in line with the help of many assurances from their guardians. Some of the children had apparently never held a sword before and had no clue which end to take up. So the first thing Keymar did was introduce them to the parts of their weapons.

  After a frustrating half-hour, Keymar finally had them all in a line, weapons in hand—gripping wooden the hilts, not blades this time. He showed them the first position, which was the starting point for any practice bout: Swords held in front of them, arms straight but relaxed, the weapon at a forty-five degree angle. How do you explain that to ones so small? All of them needed both hands just to hold the weapons steady. Most of the swords sagged toward the ground, and their guardians were laughing again.

  Keymar pressed on. He had them swing the swords from side to side so they could get a feel for their weight and movement. Screams split the air as overly exuberant children hit their nearest neighbors. On the end, a fight broke out between a boy and girl.

  “You did that on purpose,” the boy shouted.

  “Did not,” the girl replied.

  “Did too. So there,” the boy said before he walloped her on the head with the flat of his sword.

  The girl dropped to the ground without a sound. Keymar’s heart stopped as he raced toward her, praying she would move. She did, and when she looked up, her eyes blazed with vengeance. She held up a hand toward the boy—who was shuffling toward her, looking chagrined—and pushed the air. The boy flew backward and hit the ground with a solid thud. Their guardians were on their feet and running toward their wards before any more damage could be done. Both children were carried from the practice yard amid wails and tears.

  Not a successful first day. Keymar sighed and wondered if Tobil or Mikaelin had fared better.

  He called the other children to lay their weapons on the ground and come sit by him as he knelt in the grass. “What just occurred will not happen again.” He used his sternest voice. “We are training you to protect yourselves, but we are also training you to protect each other. If it should ever happen that an enemy enters this place, we want you to be able to work as a team and fight back.” A couple of the children glanced over their shoulders and curled into themselves. Keymar frowned. He didn’t want to scare the children, but he wanted them to take their training seriously.

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen, and you have Guardians to protect you as well. But it is best to be prepared.” A thought occurred to him. “You all know Mishon.” Heads nodded all around him. “He has trained since he was smaller than you. So when the enemy attacked near Alsimion, he moved into action and saved many children. He used his head and came up with a plan. He didn’t even have to use his sword, but he knew how.” Wide-eyed faces bobbed. “We prepare and train and hope we never have to use our weapons, but if we do, we’ll have the skills. Okay?”

  More nods.

  Chapter 42

  “She’s so little,” Mishon said as he touched Karaelena’s tiny fist. Terzhel peeked from behind Mishon, his eyes wide with wonder.

  Charaq had brought the boys to meet the baby for the first time. It had been a day since her birth, but Elena was feeling strong and Karaelena was feeding well and appeared content. At the moment, she seemed like any other infant. No light pulsed or glowed under her flesh. It was just normal baby skin, soft and smooth. Charaq and Silvandir stood off to the side while the boys approached Elena’s bed.

  “Can I call her Kara?” Mishon asked. “Her whole name is too long ’cause it’s her name and your name all in one. And I never use your name, just Lady, but now I suppose I shouldn’t call you Lady anymore, but I’m not sure what to call you.” Mishon tipped his head and shrugged. “And the baby’s name might be kinda tough for Zell to say. Did you know I call him Zell now? I like it. Since I can’t use the other name.” He put up his hand, leaned in, and
whispered, “You know, the mean one.” Then he pulled back and gave a quick shrug. “I wanted a name that was just for me, but maybe you guys can use it too.”

  Elena laughed. Mishon was full of energy this morning. It was good to see him so happy. “Yes, you may call her Kara, and I like Zell. What do you think, Terzhel?”

  He shrugged. “Zhelth’s, okay.” He blushed at his mispronunciation. “And I like Karwa.”

  “Ka-ra,” Mishon said. “R not w. Kara.”

  Terzhel’s blush deepened, but he tried again. “Ka-ra.”

  “Good,” Elena said. “Your tongue just has to relearn how to work, Terzhel. You’re getting better every day. The boy grinned, and his eyes lit up. “Would you like to come closer and touch her? I think she’s pretty excited about meeting her brothers.”

  Elena patted the bed beside her, and surprisingly Terzhel climbed up. He held out his finger and gingerly touched Karaelena’s forearm. Immediately, the area around his finger started to glow, and the light traveled up Terzhel’s arm and into his chest. The boy yelped and recoiled, hugging his hand to his belly, but his face was filled with awe not fear. The light went out.

  “What was that?” Mishon asked. “What’d you do, Zell?”

  The boy shrugged and stared at his finger as if he’d never seen it before.

  “Did that hurt you?” Elena asked.

  Terzhel shook his head. “No, but it felth funny. Tinglth.”

  Karaelena seemed unaffected. “Did you hear anything?” Elena asked, curious as to the connection between her two children.

  Terzhel met Elena’s gaze then looked away. No words. But I saw a picture. The little boy frowned.

  Of what? Elena asked.

  I’m not sure. I saw this ... big black hole, and a girl, and and a big ’splosion.

  Elena’s brows went up. She tried to keep the panic from her internal voice. Did you recognize the girl?

  Terzhel shook his head.

  Was she little like you?

  Terzhel nodded then tipped his head. Do you think it’s her? He pointed at Karaelena.

  Elena gasped and tamped down her panic. What makes you think that?

  Terzhel shrugged again and wouldn’t look at her.

  “Hey, are you two talking without me,” Mishon said, glaring at them. “That’s not nice.”

  “Sorry, Mishon.” Elena patted his crossed arms as she tried to quiet her heart, which pounded in her chest. “We didn’t mean to leave you out. Terzhel was trying to explain something difficult for him to say aloud.”

  “Sowry.” Terzhel wrapped his arm around Mishon, and the older boy softened.

  “Are you talking ‘bout what happened when you touched Karaelena?”

  This boy was so astute for his age, Elena thought. “Yes, we were. Terzhel was telling me that he didn’t hear anything, but he did see something he didn’t understand.”

  “Was it something about Kara?” Mishon asked, his eyes big now.

  Terzhel shrugged, which seemed to be his favorite response.

  “Do it again? Maybe you’ll see more, and it’ll make sense,” Mishon said, pushing Terzhel’s hand toward the baby.

  The younger boy looked up at Elena, his brows raised in question.

  “Only if you want to, Terzhel.”

  The boy reached toward Karaelena then hesitated. Silvandir moved around the bed and sat on the other side of Elena, his muscles rigid, as if ready to intervene if the connection hurt Terzhel or the baby.

  Elena heard Terzhel speaking to the baby with his mind. I’m gonna touch you real gentle. Don’t be ascared. I’m your big brother, Terzhel. And I like you a lot. Someday we’ll be good friends. His words warmed Elena’s heart and evoked tears.

  Terzhel pressed his finger to Karaelena’s arm, oh so carefully. And again, her arm lit up, but this time the illumination moved throughout her little frame and pulsed strongly, even through the layers of clothing and blanket. At the same time, the light climbed Terzhel’s arm, filled his chest, and lit his whole body. The boy didn’t pull away, nor did he look distressed. Instead, a smile spread across his face.

  “Wow!” Mishon exclaimed. “Will it work for me too?” He didn’t hesitate but put his finger next to Terzhel’s. “Whoa! Look at me.” His hand immediately glowed, and he let out a laugh as the illumination climbed his arm and engulfed his body. “She likes us.”

  Terzhel’s smile shifted to a deep scowl, and Silvandir stepped in. “All right, I think that’s enough.” His voice had a tremor to it as he pulled the boys’ hands away from the baby, but he covered it well. “She’s still pretty little.”

  “I saw all kinds of pictures in my head,” Mishon said. “Happy pictures: running in fields, swimming, laughing. Me and Zell and, and ... her, I think, when she’s bigger.” He looked at Terzhel. “Is that what you saw?”

  Terzhel nodded then looked directly at Elena. And I saw the ’splosion again.

  ~

  “I couldn’t get any more information out of him. A black void and an explosion, possibly involving Karaelena, when she’s older. What could it mean?” Elena asked Elbrion.

  After Charaq took the boys home, Elena sent for Celdorn and Elbrion to join her and Silvandir to discuss what had happened with the boys.

  “It could be Karaelena in the vision. It could be your other daughter. Or it might be neither of them, but some other random child,” Elbrion replied.

  “Some child who explodes in a black void,” Silvandir said as he paced at the end of the bed, his hands clenching and unclenching. “Does that give anyone else chills? Remind you of any other event?” He sounded angry, but Elena knew that it was fear that propelled his sharp tongue.

  “No doubt they were visions, but why would Karaelena share them with Terzhel and Mishon and not you?” Celdorn asked Elena.

  “I wondered the same thing myself.”

  “Perhaps the sharing is not volitional at all,” Elbrion said. “If the vision is indeed about Karaelena, then perhaps it was shared with the boys because it involves them. Perhaps it is an event that links all of them together.”

  “But not me ...” Elena’s stomach tightened like a fist.

  “Well, thank Qho’el for that,” Silvandir said. “It’s not bad enough that it involves all three of them. You want to join them as well?” The stomp of his boots as he pace grew more intense.

  “No. I don’t want to join them, but do you know how difficult it is to hear that three of your children are going to have an encounter with a black hole and an explosion, but you can’t prevent it or aren’t going to be there to help them?”

  Silvandir came to a halt and fixed a stony gaze on Elena. “I think I can understand that, perhaps better than you. It’s a horrible, helpless feeling. One I’d hoped never to have again.”

  His words were like a splash of cold water to Elena’s face, pulling her out of her own selfish thoughts. “I’m sorry, dear heart. I wasn’t thinking when I spoke. Come sit with me.” She patted the bed.

  Silvandir reluctantly gave up his restless pacing and settled on the bed next to her. He put his arm around her and pulled her and Karaelena into his chest. His hand trembled against her shoulder and his heart pounded in her ear. She knew his tears were not far behind.

  “What do we do?” Elena asked Elbrion.

  Her ada sighed. “There is nothing to do. If it is indeed a vision, we can know that the event will happen, but perhaps not quite as Terzhel saw. If the girl in the vision is Karaelena then it will be years before it comes to pass.” Elbrion sat on the end of the bed and grabbed hold of Elena’s blanketed foot. “Our fretting about it will change nothing. It may be that more will be revealed as the time draws near.” He squeezed her foot. “You survived the void, and I believe they will too. The Jhadhela is at work in this.”

  “Oh to have your faith, Ada,” Elena said as she leaned her head back against Silvandir’s shoulder.

  Elbrion laughed. “Sheyshon, look at the wonders surrounding you. You battled with Anakh in
the void and again in the meadow, and you won. Your gifted son was returned to you. Your daughter, who was born only yesterday, has displayed powerful gifts. Even Mishon has discovered a healing power he did not know he had.” Her ada’s smile broadened. “Just as your life strengthens the gifts in those around you, apparently so do your children’s. I can only imagine what we will see in the near future with so many gifted ones within the confines of Queyon.”

  Chapter 43

  By the end of the week, Keymar was more hopeful. Having the Guardians participate in the weaponry training had helped immensely. Not only were the children taking it more seriously, but so were the men.

  The men got on their knees, to make the practice bouts a bit more equal, and taught their wards to block attacks and jab with strength. There were several girls, including the one who had shoved a boy with a flick of her hand, who progressed more rapidly, as if they had an innate sense for the movement of sword fighting.

  Keymar was intrigued. The girl who engaged with Mordad, her guardian, glowed as she progressed through the drills. The more Mordad pressed her the brighter her illumination grew until she shone brilliantly.

  A boom filled the air and a thrust of energy knocked Keymar flat on his back. He lay there, stunned. What happened? He struggled to his knees, head pounding and ears ringing. Mordad’s four-year-old opponent stood alone on the practice field. Mordad and the other Guardians were on the ground along with the other children. Slowly they rose and gaped at the tiny vessel who held such power. The girl looked almost as startled as the rest. Suddenly her lip quivered and pulled into a full pout. She dropped her practice sword and charged toward Mordad with a wail. The big man took a knee and opened his arms. The girl buried her face in his chest as his body closed around her. He swayed rhythmically as he stroked her hair and whispered in her ear.

  Wide-eyed spectators gathered around the edge of their practice area. Mikaelin and Tobil approached Keymar.