Starry Night

 

A shaft of sunlight crept up one wall of the clinic while she saw more patients. Always the same. Bodies broken by overwork, the crystalline blue eyes, and the passiveness of these prisoners. Most were young, of warrior age. Why weren’t any in musth? Where were the women and children? What were they digging? If Fallon and Alpen did not know, Bebe would have heard the stories of such a place as this.

The Fae babysitter handed Erthen to Alithea. He said some gibberish to her, then laid his head against her chest. She had been tired earlier in the day but seemed to have found a new energy in the afternoon. Holding Erthen in her arms, she was surprised how light he was. She got the attention of the Fae babysitter and motioned eating to her mouth, then to Erthen. The Fae nodded. Alithea remembered that she had not eaten. Why wasn’t she hungry?

Carrying Erthen, she followed the two Fae out the upper entry and into the tent that sat on the elephant’s back. Had it stood here all the time? Surely not. What had killed the elephant by the side of the road? She settled herself and Erthen and the elephant surprised her by backing up the hill a few dozen steps before it found a place to turn around. They were remarkable creatures. Where had they come from?

They moved along the road until they got to the edge of the large pit and the darkening sky and stars above the ocean was visible through the window. “Look, Erthen!” She pointed out the window and held him while he stood on a crate below the window. She felt as though she could reach out and touch the points of light as they reflected on the black water of the ocean. She wanted to be a fairy or better yet, the great winged Alsace bird that sped through the sky.

The people, the Fae, the Ibik and Sprint were all bound to the earth. Only the faeries and the birds could soar from the earth to the sky. And the spirit of her precious Alamea. Oh, baby girl, I wish you here with me and your brother, Erthen. You were taken too soon!

Erthen pointed out to the sky then said some gibberish to her. It was Alamea! She had not left. Her spirit had fled into Erthen and she was trying to speak to her mother! She held Erthen by both arms and looked through his eyes into the soul of her Alamea. “I hear you little girl. I will never let you go again!”

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Her instincts and training woke in her. Before each surgery, she tested her alertness by naming the bones of the foot, beginning with the four toes. It was the first piece of anatomy that she had learned from Altiss’ mother. “If you don’t have the presence of mind, you’ll do more harm than good with your doctoring.”

Erthen held her gaze, his jaw tight with fear. “Ma?” She had waited months for it, but the word sounded strange to her. He reached up and put a finger on her lips. She released her grip on his arms, kissed Erthen’s finger and held his gaze, seeing the flecks of pale blue in those eyes.

The tears flowed as the loss of Alamea surged inside of her. Always she had coped, putting aside her own emotions to be there for Erthen, for Fallon, and the rest of the group. They trusted her to stay calm in any emergency because she had been trained to do that since she was young. She turned to look out at the night sky, wary now of herself, her own perception.

Erthen repeated “Ma?” His voice was scared, and she opened her arms to gather him in, humming the lullaby tune that helped calm him and her. As the road tilted, she saw the wash of moonlight on the ocean. Were they not returning to the queen’s dwelling?

“Erthen, look!” The moon glistened off the swirl of dark bodies rising to the water’s surface, then disappearing. He repeated the word “look” and pointed, copying her gesture and she gave him a quick hug. “This marvelous place, my lovely boy. So beautiful and so dangerous.” They turned to the north and between the trees to the prisoner’s village.

When the elephant stopped, she looked out the window, recognizing the barracks across the street from them. She waited, holding Erthen close, expecting that they would lower them to the ground. She was surprised when the opening on the other side unfurled and the Fae warrior bid her to come. Holding Erthen, she stepped through a stone doorway. Ahead she saw two guards lit by several small fires.

She recognized the entry outside their sleeping barracks! One of the guards motioned her closer and from around the corner Fallon and Drindl appeared. The guards stepped aside as she rushed to Fallon, then handed Erthen to him. “Take him. There’s something wrong with me.”

She turned to Drindl. “What are the white squares they give the prisoners?” Fallon looked with concern as they turned toward the sleeping quarters. She leaned toward him, putting her hand on Erthen and Fallon.  

“The white squares?” Drindl asked.

“Like the ones you gave the guards when we buried our babies.”

“What prisoners?”

“There are prisoners in a big hole in the ground. They dig. They are exhausted, old before their time. I spent all day handing out white squares to them. I think I absorbed some of it.” The words rushed out of her too fast. Fallon shrank away from her with Erthen. She turned to Drindl again, then remembered and turned back to Fallon as they entered the sleeping quarters. “Alpen’s brother, Mellen, is here. I spoke to him.” In the dim light, Alpen and Bebe stood. She faced Alpen. “We need to get away from this place. There is something very bad here.”

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