I stop at the stall Vidia and Vahn stole from and look at the prices. I deliberate for a moment before tapping the counter, getting the boy’s attention. I smile and hand him fifty cher. “For your troubles,” I say.
He cocks his head to the side in confusion, but before he can say anything, the warden catches the twins by the scruff of their necks lifting them off the ground. He growls, “And what do we have here?” Vahn juggles the goods in his hands, trying not to drop any of the merchandise. “What are you doing with this?”
“We were going to eat it, obviously,” Vidia mutters. Her feet dangle an inch from the ground while Vahn’s toes scrape the stone. The boy stares at them for a moment before looking back to his stock, realizing just how much they got away with. I leave another ten cher before weaving through the crowd that begins to form around them.
“Not this time, Vidia.” He says her name like a curse, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. Warden Manish has been trying to get them arrested for months now but to no avail. It’s not just my intervention that kept them from behind bars, but most of the time their shenanigans weren’t anything to write home about. “This time your precious teacher isn’t here to save you.”
“She’s not ‘our precious teacher’, warden,” Vidia says, her voice high as she mocks him. “I can’t stand her.”
I move away from the people standing in front of me and eyeball the distance between us.
“Vidia,” Vahn says, adjusting the food in his hands. “Now’s not the time.”
Digging into my bag, I take position, aiming for their heads.
“Oh, now’s not the time?” Vidia kicks her leg, trying desperately to hit him. “And what about when I said, go right? Was that not the time?”
I take aim and throw them up, watching their trajectory arc. It’s going to be a clean hit.
“I tried,” he mutters. “How about you run with your arms full of shit and see how well you can make sharp turns.”
“Enough!” Manish says, shaking them. “I’m done listening to you whine about—” The two rotten tomatoes finish their arc over the crowd, landing squarely on Vidia and Vahn’s head. Manish starts, his grip on them loosening, letting them fall to the ground. I let out a loud gasp and start elbowing my way through the crowd.
“Oh, my stars,” I say, covering my mouth as I see them. Somehow, Vahn is still holding the baked goods. “What happened to the two of you? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Oh, well, we were just—”
“They were just on their way to the Elders’ Building,” Manish says, cutting off Vahn. “They’ve been caught stealing.”
“Really?” I ask. “I told them to get a few things for the service this morning. I’ve paid the vendor for the food.”
His face turns red as the crowd starts to murmur. “We-Well,” he sputters. “They ran away from me. If they weren’t guilty, they’d have no reason to run. And everyone knows that you always clean up after them.”
“True, but I did pay the vendor, and I did tell them to get food for the meeting. They probably ran because you’re always harassing them. Besides,” I say, holding out my hands for them to grab. “They’re absolutely filthy. They need to be cleaned up.”
They lift themselves from the ground, glaring at Manish. “I told you we weren’t doing anything,” Vidia says.
“One day,” Manish says, looking down on me, “you won’t be here to defend them. You won’t be here to pull them out of their crimes.”
I smile. “As far as I know, they haven’t committed any crimes. Unless being cute is a crime.” I sling my arms around their shoulders and start walking away. “I’ll see you later at the Elders’ Building, Manish.”
The crowd breaks apart as we start walking. Vidia starts to pull away, but I tighten my grip on her shoulder as we walk. “He’s right,” I say once we’re out of earshot. “I won’t always be here.”
“Yes you will,” Vahn says, shifting the boxes in his hands. “Nzam loves you too much.”
I laugh. As much as my devotion to Nzam shows through the light that runs through me, I know the gods are as capricious as can be. As much as they need us to remain as powerful as they are, we need them far more. Nzam may like me enough to drink with me during his festival days and talk with me when I reach out, but I was as replaceable as his favorite bangle. Unfortunate, perhaps, but nothing he couldn’t deal with. “Maybe. We’ll see what the future holds.”
Slowly the market shifts to residential and we move past houses and parks, people training and people napping. Most of the time Vidia and Vahn would be here, in the largest park in the city. Being the youngest in the city, they avoid the training areas like the plague. It’s not that they’ll be turned away from the mats or that the blacksmith won’t make them a weapon. Hell, our head trainer Priya would be thrilled to have them in her classes for fresh faces and nimble bodies to kick the ass of. They’re welcome everywhere in a city that bans minors, but it’s because they’re at least ten years younger than everyone here that they stay away from it. Everyone would like a chance to fight them.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
It’s only when the houses, parks, and schools fade away that I loosen my grip and Vidia pulls away, rushing to the river that cuts through the forest and behind the temple. Without stopping, she jumps into the water. Vahn laughs, offloading the food to me and following her lead.
Inside, I set the food on the tables that had already been set out. This morning more Hunters and Trackers will be sent out to the Valley. Under normal circumstances, almost none of them would bother to come to the temple, Dad among them.
“Finally.” I turn to see Farah coming towards me as the door to the inner sanctum slams shut. She’s not in her robes yet, only a long dressing gown that sweeps the floor as she moves to me. Her hair is pulled up in a bun with three golden hairpins sticking out and her eyes are surrounded by glittering makeup. She stops at the table, flipping open the box of muffins and taking one out. “I thought I was going to starve waiting for your little urchins to get back.”
“They ran into some trouble.”
“Wow,” she says through bits of the muffin, rolling her eyes. “I’m so shocked.”
“They meant well,” I say. “And I did know that something like this may happen. I was prepared”
“Then you should have given them the money to leave behind.” She takes two more muffins and starts back. “We may need you soon. If they can’t get their act together, it’ll be hard on the rest of us. I don’t want to have to send them back to Niawen.”
I straighten, irritation settling in my chest. “We’ll see what the Elders have to say. Besides, we don’t know that I’ll be needed.”
Farah looks at me over her shoulder, eyes narrowing. “How’s your shoulder?”
I click my teeth and start spreading out the food. I’d been doing such a good job ignoring the pain, but today was a bad day. The scars are red with pain, claw marks that remind me of the monster that did it to me daily. I’d hoped that the chill would help, but it doesn’t matter now. I’m annoyed and there’s nothing I can do about the pain that’s now in the front of my mind.
A year ago, when Vidia and Vahn’s parents went missing in the Valley and were declared legally dead, no one could convince them to move back with their aunt to Niawen so I took them in.
I placed a hand on their shoulders and told them that no matter what, they could lean on me, and I would ask for nothing in return. Grief-stricken with nowhere else they wanted to go, they agreed. Without much protest, they moved into the temple with me, and I helped them grieve.
I knew that they’d try to go into the Valley. It was almost impossible for them to want anything else since their parents could have still been alive. I wanted to take them myself when the grief wasn’t so all consuming, but I was too late.
In the early morning, a week after their parents were declared dead, they snuck out with their weapons and went into the Valley. If I’d noticed any later, they’d be dead.
I jumped from the lift before Eamon finished lowering me down. I’d picked the right shoes even in a hurry, I thought as I slid down the harsh slope. Vidia was on the ground, a hand pressed to her ribs and Vahn stood above her, sword at the ready as he stared down the bear. No, it wasn’t a bear. Not anymore. Having been exposed to the Valley’s aura, it had transmuted into something altogether different. A Valley Beast driven only by hunger and rage and violence.
“Get down!” I yelled, releasing my volley of arrows. All of them froze for a moment, but Vahn had enough wherewithal to duck, barely dodging my arrows. One stuck in the monster’s eye and another in its throat. I jumped, pressing a button on my bow. Blades shot out along the front side of the limb, and I swung, my feet landing on its chest. I meant to take its head off, but it wasn’t as injured as I’d hoped. I glanced at them, blood and sweat matting their hair as they stared in fear. “Run. Now!”
Vahn scrambled to get Vidia off the ground, and the monster lunged. It was fast. Too fast for them to get out of the way without taking the brunt of the damage. Jumping in front of them, I shone brightly. Bright enough to blind the monster, but it was already swinging. It lost its balance enough that my injury wasn’t as bad as it could have been. If not for the adrenaline coursing through me, though, what I did next would have killed me.
Taking advantage of its blindness, I grabbed Vahn’s sword and jumped, jamming his sword into its mouth and down its throat. I jumped away, abandoned the sword, and picked up my bow, aiming it at the monster, waiting. After a moment, it fell with enough weight to shake the ground. It wasn’t dead, but that would have to do.
Priya was the only one impressed by their gumption. Given my position, it would have been devastating to lose me with no preparation. It was decided while I was in surgery that they would return to their aunt.
It’s not often that I use my rank. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times I have. As hard as I’ve worked to rise, we’re still a community. We can’t rely on and truly care about each other if we’re lording over one another. However, when it came to whether they’d be sent back, I put my foot down.
“Yvanna,” Elder Reggie said looking wary. She was on my side almost always, but even she seemed to waver. The sweat beading my brow and the bandaged already soaking through with blood from the stitches I’d ripped rushing over didn’t help. “I have to voice my concerns. Vidia and Vahn could have died due to their actions. This is why we don’t have minors in the city.”
“They also didn’t die due to their actions. Priya can attest that anyone else their age would have died long before I arrived. With more training they can become stronger.”
“Even still,” Elder Artur said, his voice gruff as he eyed my shoulder. “I don’t believe they are responsible enough to stay. In a few years, they can come back.”
“A month ago, I took responsibility for these two. All of their actions fall upon me, and I will take any punishment you believe best for endangering minors. However, I must remind you all that it isn’t just me who wants them to stay.” They all sucked in a breath or clicked their teeth, irritated at the reminder. “Vidia and Vahn have such a strong connection to Nzam that even without taking an oath, they glow while praying. As Nkam’s head priest, it’s my job to train and take under my wing those with an affinity to him. I will not allow them to leave.”
Elder Artur looked annoyed, his eyes narrowing. “I still cannot approve of this.”
“Whether you approve doesn’t matter. Nkam approves and that’s all the permission I need.”
“Fine,” he sighed. “You will need a punishment. All those in favor of not recruiting a witch to heal Yvanna, raise your hand.” Of the nine elders, seven raised their hands. Elder Reggie and Elder Obdulia were the only ones to keep their hands down. “Then it’s decided. You will go back to their infirmary and rest until you are fit enough to continue your role as priest. And when you are healed, you will take on full responsibility for every action Vidia and Vahn Nervetti. Understand?”
“Of course,” I said, then fainted.