Chapter 49: Return
The day Seraphina came back, the guard on duty at Water City's north gate nearly didn't recognize her. She rode a gray horned horse. Her golden hair was braided and draped over her chest. Her gray dress was caked with mud. Her face had been darkened a full shade by the sun. Behind her followed three horses. On the first was Cassian. His dark brown hair had grown to his shoulders. Deep black marks lay beneath his gray-blue eyes. His hide robe was torn through in two places, revealing a wound on his left shoulder, the stitches still in. He was thinner. But his spine was straighter than when he had left.
The second horse carried someone else. The first time Violet saw him, she thought he carried a weapon. A black rod rested on his shoulder. One end was fitted with an iron ring. Only when he drew closer did she realize it was not a rod. It was a tail. He sat on horseback, his upper body human. Below the waist, dark green scales covered him. He was at least two and a half meters tall. His upper body alone rose far above an ordinary person. His skin was snow-white. Corpse-like. A long diagonal scar ran down his arm. His eyes were slit-pupiled. Pale green. Like two cold pieces of jade.
The man on the third horse was shorter. But his shoulders were astonishingly broad. He wore dark red leather armor. A collar of black fur turned up at the neck. His hair was ginger-colored. Cropped very short. Two round ears showed at the top of his head. Not wolf ears. Tiger ears. He looked at the people on the city wall. His gaze swept over them. The corner of his mouth turned downward slightly. Not disdain. The absolute certainty of one who believes none of you are qualified.
Violet stood at the city gate. Gray Ear was at her feet. His ears stood up, but he didn't bark. Moon Silver lay in her palm. Its small silver-gray head poked out from between her fingers. Its deep blue eyes fixed on the two unfamiliar horses.
Seraphina dismounted and walked up to Violet. She looked her up and down. "You've gotten thinner."
"You've gotten darker."
"The northern sun." Seraphina's gaze fell on Moon Silver in Violet's palm. Paused. "Its eyes opened?"
"They opened."
"Who does it look like?"
"You. And him." Violet glanced at Cassian. Cassian had dismounted. He stood several paces away. Didn't come closer.
Seraphina reached out a finger and touched Moon Silver's head. Moon Silver shrank back a little. Sniffed her finger. Then opened its mouth and held her fingertip.
"It's biting me."
"No teeth. Just holding."
Seraphina's eyes reddened. She didn't cry. She pulled her finger back and turned around. Pointed at the two men behind her. "This is Vogel. Snake Clan." The man over two and a half meters tall nodded once. His pale green slit pupils swept from Violet's face to the city wall. To Gray Ear. To the water carts at the gate. He said nothing. But he looked at everything.
"This is Reg. Tiger Clan." The ginger-haired man sat on his horse. Didn't dismount. He looked at Violet. The corner of his mouth moved. Not a smile. Confirmation. "You're that woman who gives away water?"
"I am."
"You don't look like someone who can fight."
"You don't look like someone who can sit steady on a horse."
Reg's tiger ears twitched. He wasn't angry. He dismounted. His movements were fast. His landing made no sound. He was a head taller than Violet. He looked down at her. "My name is Reg. Young lord of the Tiger Clan."
"A young lord who doesn't stay in his own territory. What are you doing here?"
"Come to see if you're worth helping."
Violet glanced at Seraphina. Seraphina shrugged. "Picked him up on the road. Not my invitation."
"I came on my own." Reg tossed his horse's reins to a nearby guard and strode through the city gate. His strides were large. Each one as if measured. Gray Ear followed at his heels and sniffed. Reg glanced down once. Ignored him.
Violet turned to the Snake Clan man. "And you? Came on your own too?"
Vogel shook his head. His voice was very low. Like stones rolling on a riverbed. "Seraphina saved me. She told me to come. I came."
"You're hurt?"
"Healed."
Violet saw the bandage wrapped around his left arm. Beneath the bandage, a small patch of dark red had seeped through. She didn't press.
---
Night. Beside the fire.
Violet sat on the steps outside her small house. Moon Silver was asleep in her palm. Gray Ear lay at her feet. Seraphina sat on the ground beside her. Cross-legged. A bowl of wine in her hand.
"Where did you pick up those two?" Violet asked.
"The North. Farther north. Past the Ice Wolf Clan's territory." Seraphina drank a mouthful of wine. "Reg I ran into. He was chasing a white bear. Chased it seven days and seven nights. Didn't catch the bear. Caught my camp instead. Thought I was the bear. Nearly tore my tent down."
"Could you beat him?"
"Couldn't. But Cassian was there." Seraphina glanced at Cassian, who sat at the base of the city wall. He leaned against the stone. Eyes closed. Impossible to tell if he was asleep or listening. "Cassian talked with him all night. I don't know what they talked about. Next morning, Reg said, 'I'm coming with you.'"
"And Vogel?"
"Vogel I found." Seraphina's voice lowered a little. "I went north because the system detected anomalous energy fluctuations. I searched a long time. Found it. But someone had gotten there first. Not people. Snake Clan. Vogel's people."
"What were they doing?"
"Killing him."
Violet's fingers tightened for an instant.
"He wasn't driven out. He was hunted out." Seraphina looked at Vogel at the base of the city wall. "Do you know the Atavistic Giant Python bloodline? The oldest branch of the Snake Clan. Bloodline throwback. Can transform into a true giant python. But the atavistic bloodline only appears once every few hundred years. Vogel is that one. His clansmen called him a cursed mutant spawn. Wanted to sacrifice him."
"You saved him?"
"I set a fire. Took advantage of the chaos and ran with him." Seraphina's tone was casual. As if saying how many weeds she had pulled from the vegetable plot today. "He owes me a life. I told him to come to Water City. He came."
Violet was silent for a moment. "Those two. Do you know them well?"
"Reg I don't know well. He talks a lot but his mouth is tight. Vogel doesn't talk, but he sees everything." Seraphina drained the wine from her bowl. "Are you afraid of them?"
"Not afraid. But this is my city. I need to know who's moving in."
"Ask them slowly. They're not leaving."
In the distance, Cassian opened his eyes. He looked at Violet. Stood. Walked over.
"Little sister."
Violet raised her head and looked at him. She was Cecilia. Cecilia was his little sister. But she was not Cecilia.
"I'm not your sister."
"I know. But she is." Cassian crouched down. Looked at Moon Silver in her palm. "This is my child with Seraphina. You've helped us raise it. Thank you."
Violet nodded.
"Seraphina says she's taking the child and leaving." Cassian's voice was very low. "Come with us."
Violet was silent.
"Anywhere. South. West. To the sea. Leave this place."
Violet remained silent.
Cassian glanced at Seraphina. Seraphina set down her bowl. Wiped her mouth. "Let me."
She stood and walked before Violet. Crouched down. Met her eye to eye.
"This trip north, I didn't just search for anomalous energy. I traveled many places. Saw many people. Heard many stories." Seraphina's voice had changed. Not the light, smiling voice from before. Something heavy. Something weighted. "The beast tide is not the end. The beast tide is only the beginning."
Violet stared at her.
"After the beast tide, there will be a great rainstorm." Seraphina spoke each word deliberately. "Not an ordinary heavy rain. A storm from the north. Lasting many days without end. From what I've gathered from many traveling merchants—the rivers will rise. The lowlands will all flood. Many people will die."
Violet's fingers clenched.
"After the rainstorm, there will be an even greater disaster. I don't know what it is. But I am certain it will be ten times worse than the flood." Seraphina's voice grew soft. "That's why I'm taking the child and leaving. I can't let it die here."
Violet looked down at Moon Silver in her palm. It was asleep. Its silver-gray fur rising and falling faintly with each breath.
"Come with us." Cassian spoke again. "Your brother won't abandon you again."
Violet raised her head and looked at him. Gray-blue eyes. Exactly like in her dreams. But the young man in the dream had grown up. A scar on his face. Handsome dark marks beneath his eyes.
"I can't go." She said.
"Why?"
"Water City is mine to build. I led the digging of the wells. I spent days and nights thinking over the maps before planning the walls. I found the other tribes. I can't abandon them."
"They'll die."
"That's exactly why I can't leave."
Cassian stared at her for a long time. He stood. Stepped back half a pace.
"You're very like her."
"Who?"
"Cecilia. She was the same. Once she set her mind on something, no one could talk her out of it."
Violet said nothing.
Seraphina stood and brushed the dust from her robe. "I'm leaving tomorrow."
"So soon?"
"The sooner the better. Time is running out."
Violet stood. Held Moon Silver out to her. "Your child. Returning it."
Seraphina didn't take it.
"Keep raising it for me. If I take it, the road is unsafe. Once I'm settled, I'll come get it."
"Aren't you afraid it won't recognize you?"
"It recognizes you. But you're the foster mother. I'm the birth mother. Not the same."
Seraphina turned and walked away. Cassian followed. After a few steps, he stopped. Didn't look back.
"Little sister."
"I'm not your sister."
"I know. But she told me to tell you. Thank you."
He left.
Violet stood in the doorway of her small house. Gray Ear lay at her feet. Her palm was empty. Old Egan had carried Moon Silver away. He had said, "Tonight I'll watch it for you. You get a good night's sleep." But she couldn't sleep.
She sat on the steps and watched the fire. Reg and Vogel sat on the other side of the fire. Reg was polishing his blade. Vogel had his eyes closed. After dismounting, his lower body had transformed into a serpent's tail. The tail coiled beneath him.
"Reg." She called.
Reg's tiger ears swiveled.
"Why did you come to Water City?"
"Because there are battles to fight here."
"You're a young lord of the Tiger Clan. You don't lack battles."
"Tiger Clan battles are for territory, water sources, women. Boring." Reg sheathed his blade and looked at her. "Your battles here are different. You're fighting to stay alive. For other people's lives."
"Aren't you afraid of dying?"
"I am. But dying in a place worth dying for—then I'm not afraid."
Violet said nothing. She looked at Vogel.
"And you?"
Vogel opened his eyes. His pale green slit pupils were like two cold pieces of jade in the firelight.
"Seraphina saved me. My life is hers. She told me to come. I came. She tells me to die. I die."
"She doesn't want you to die. She wants you to live."
The corner of Vogel's mouth moved. Not a smile. Something fainter. "Living is harder than dying."
Violet stood and walked into her small house. She closed the door. Lay on the bed. Without Moon Silver, her palm was empty. She clenched her fingers into a fist.
The rune on the back of her hand glowed with dark light in the darkness. Steady pulse. The same rhythm as her heartbeat.
She turned over.
Outside the window, moonlight streamed in. Patrols moved on the city wall. Torchlight flickered across the stones.
Seraphina had left. Cassian had left. Moon Silver would leave too.
She closed her eyes.
Tomorrow, the final preparations before the beast tide.
---
End of Chapter Forty-Nine
Seraphina returned. Brought Cassian. Brought the Tiger Clan's young lord. Brought the Snake Clan's atavistic giant python. She said the beast tide is only the beginning. After it, a great rainstorm. After that, an even greater disaster. "That's why I'm taking our child and leaving." Cassian said, "Your brother won't abandon you again." Violet said, "I can't go." Old Egan carried Moon Silver away. Her palm is empty. She can't sleep. Tomorrow, there is still much to do.