Children of a Broken Sky (Redemption Chronicle Book 1) Read online

  "Hey, what... what's all that?" Lyseira asked, pointing at a churning cloud of dust in the road.

  Seth peered ahead. His eyes lit up. "A fight!" he cried, and burst into a mad run, broken stick pumping as he tore down the road. Angbar gave chase at once, craning to get a good view; over the boy's bouncing shoulder he saw flailing punches and a head slamming into the dirt, caught flashes of red hair and freckles.

  Helix! A sudden surge of allegiance made him redouble his pace. No one would beat up his friend and get away with it! They'd be sorry, whoever they were, Seth would help for sure and maybe even Syntal, they'd outnumber him four to one and then he'd have to—

  Oh no. The strength went out of Angbar's stride as he made out Helix's rival: a tower of lanky muscle piled beneath a pair of broad shoulders, with a boar's jutting jaw and the sloped forehead of an ogre. Angbar could stand on Lyseira's shoulders and barely reach this monster's shaggy crown.

  Baler.

  His bravado bled away as fast as it had come on; his run dropped into a brisk trot that slowed to a walk. He was suddenly in no hurry to reach the fight. Baler? I mean, if it was anyone else... but Baler?

  Helix had somehow gotten the monster to his hands and knees and was now straddling him, smashing his fist repeatedly between the larger boy's shoulders. Unfazed, Baler rolled to the side, heaving Helix hard on to his back. Helix made a great whooping sound, as if all the air in Southlight had suddenly disappeared, and fumbled at the dirt as he fought for breath.

  Baler climbed to his feet, locked eyes on the smaller boy, reared back for a kick—and Seth was on him, letting out a great whoop of his own. He whacked his spear across Baler's back. The stick fairly exploded, hailing the older boy with splinters as he pitched into the road.

  The attack tripped something in Angbar—some sense of shame or loyalty—and he broke into another run, racing to help Helix to his feet while Baler was still down. Roaring, Seth hurled himself at the bully, but Baler jumped aside and caught the charge with his foot. Seth hurtled through the air like a tossed cat.

  More surprised than harmed, Baler regained his feet. He backed to the edge of the road to face all five of them at once, his sunken eyes flashing murder.

  "These your friends come to save you, Smith? A runt, a filthy nog, and some little girls?"

  Syntal licked her lips and took a few steps back as Lyseira marched up to the bully.

  "You're in lots of trouble!" Lyseira barked, jabbing an accusing finger upward. Like a mouse challenging a bulldog, Angbar winced. But Hel, it was more courage than he had. "I know you're not supposed to come here! I heard your mom say it!"

  Baler sneered. "Get out of my face."

  His defiance only enraged the girl. "I heard her! She said to stay away unless you were going to see one of your friends! And we aren't your friends! I'm gonna tell your mom you're here!"

  Baler snorted. "Go ahead, she don't care. Hel, she already knows I'm here."

  Lyseira's jaw dropped, scandalized at the older boy's casual curse. Then she drew herself up, eyes flickering with triumph. "Fine then," she snapped, "I'll tell my mom you're here." As Baler paled, she turned smartly and began running toward home, just across the road.

  "Lys, wait for me!" Syntal yelled, sprinting after her.

  "Let's see you take all three of us, Baler!" Seth challenged. He had clambered to his feet, his hands balled into fists.

  Helix's freckles were streaked with dirt and blood, and a nasty split bulged on his lip, but at Seth's words he nodded.

  Nuts. Both of them. Angbar wondered if he wouldn't have been better off at the church with Lyseira after all. Except that if The Abbot had decided to beat me up, I doubt Seth would've been there to help. He got a sudden image of Seth whacking the Abbot in the back with his stick, the old man flailing helplessly as he toppled forward, and chuckled despite himself.

  Baler glared. "Sumthin' funny, nog?"

  "Don't call him a nog!" Seth shouted.

  "Nothin'," Angbar said, shaking his head. He chuckled again, somewhat frantically. It was a bad habit, one that had annoyed his parents for years, but he couldn't help himself. It happened when he was nervous—and nobody made him more nervous than Ellic Baler.

  Baler glanced up and down the road, saw no one, and pulled a knife. Angbar's breath caught in his throat.

  "Sometime when you ain't lookin', nog," he leered, "I'll give you something to laugh about."

  "You have to get past us," Seth retorted, like he was acting a part in some drama play. Seth, hush! Angbar wanted to say. Can't you see he has a knife?

  "Ellic Baler!" Lyseira's mother burst out her front door, furiously drying her hands on her apron. "Your mother told you to stay away from here!" Syntal and Lyseira jogged along in her wake.

  The knife disappeared. "She said I could come see my friends, Missus Rulano," Baler yelled to her.

  Corla Rulano came to a halt. She was a petite woman, barely as tall as the boy, but her flashing eyes granted her stature beyond her frame. Those eyes darkened upon hearing Baler's words, and the woman gathered such an air of authority about her that she could have towered to the heavens.

  "Don't you give me that tripe, Ellic. After the stunts you've pulled, you've no friends in the Smith house."

  "That ain't true, Missus Rulano," Baler replied, suddenly a model of courtesy. "I came to see Beth. We was gonna take a walk in the woods."

  "'We were going to,'" she corrected him. Behind her, Lyseira glowed. "That girl has no interest in a bully like you. Kevric and Bella are good folk and raised a better daughter than that."

  "We gone out together before, Missus," Baler argued. From her safe position behind Lyseira's mother, Syntal rolled her eyes. Lyseira stuck out her tongue at Baler, triggering another round of nervous giggling from Angbar, which he wrestled down as if it were a thrashing bear.

  Lyseira's mom stared daggers, out of patience. "Enough. You must think me a fool. She's not even here; she's gone with her father up to Coram for supplies. But that doesn't matter. You've no call to come beating up on Helix here. You're twice his size."

  "He jumped me!" Helix shouted, but Corla snapped her head toward him and raised a finger, and he stopped.

  "Now I don't know why your mother hasn't got enough sense to keep you in your place," she said, turning back to Baler, "but if I catch you messing with these kids one more time, I'll take you to The Abbot myself. Now get gone or I'll think better of it and take you up there now."

  Angbar had to admit, the idea of returning to church to see Baler get censure was far more appealing than going there for his own.

  Baler met her stare, defiant, but it didn't last. "If she ain't home I don't want to be here anyhow," he muttered as he turned away and started down the road.

  Lyseira's mom shook her head and let out a sharp sigh, then turned to the children. Her eyes fixed on Helix at once. "Helix, you poor dear," she fussed, kneeling. "Let me see your face. Where is your mother?"

  "She's at Iggy's place, ma'am," Helix said as he tilted his face up.

  "Come on with me, then. Lyseira, run and pull some water for this cut. We may have to take you up to The Abbot," she said to Helix, wincing at the gash on his bottom lip. "Syntal, run down to the Ardenfell's farm and let Bella know you're here and what happened. Tell her Helix is at our house—"

  "OW!" Helix yelped.

  "On second thought, tell her we're heading up to the church first," Corla corrected. "Come along, Master Smith."

  iii. Helix

  The worst part of getting into the fight with Baler, Helix thought, was being forced to go to the temple afterward. Every Dawnday he came to this place with his family, kept his head low, and counted the minutes until he could get out.

  Now he sat on the altar's worn, velvet-covered steps in the rear of the little building. Silence stagnated in every inch of the room. Looming windows sliced into the walls, letting the light in only as towering panes of dancing dust. Between these obscure boundaries the endless rows of pews
languished in murk.

  Abbot Forthin knelt next to him, his dingy cleric's robe rustling as he applied a wet cloth to the cuts on Helix's lower lip. The old man's hand trembled and his unkempt white hair bobbed absurdly as he peered into Helix's eyes.

  "You say it was Ellic Baler that did this?" The Abbot asked Lyseira's mom in his grating, old man voice. It echoed dully off the stone walls, an intruder to the temple's punishing stillness that was quickly quelled.

  "It was!" Seth answered, jumping to his feet from the steps next to Helix. "He was—"

  "Hush, child!" the Abbot returned, his face sour. "I did not speak to you."

  "It was," Lyseira's mother answered. "Saw him myself, Father. That boy and his little gang of thugs are the worst bullies I've known since before I was married."

  The Abbot nodded, then put his hand on his knee and winced as he straightened up. Missus Rulano hurried over to give him a hand.

  "He will survive." As The Abbot gained his feet, Helix suppressed a sigh of relief. The old man's rheumy eyes and rotting breath made his skin crawl. "It's a nasty cut, but it will mend."

  "You're not going to... pray over it, father?"

  Forthin looked at Lyseira's mother. "Unless I'm mistaken, you don't need to be making any extra donations to the Church just at the moment, Corla. Surely you agree."

  Corla bit her lower lip and glanced at Helix. She caught him feeling at the cut with his tongue and wincing. "No," she said. "I suppose I don't."

  Abbot Forthin searched her eyes. "Then again," he murmured, "Bishop Jelhennar hasn't come by to check on the coffers in some time. The only one who would know would be Akir, and if you won't mention it to the bishop, I'm sure neither will He."

  Lyseira's mom gave him a tight smile. "I know the Smiths would appreciate it, Father."

  Forthin turned to Helix and held out his hand. "Come on, son. Stand here next to me."

  "You're gonna heal it?" Helix asked. He'd seen The Abbot work miracles of healing before—once, when he was little, Beth had broken her ankle—but had never been healed himself.

  The Abbot's expression soured, as if the question offended him. He nodded impatiently and beckoned with his trembling hand.

  That's all right, Helix was tempted to say. It doesn't hurt that bad. Anything, really, to avoid having to getting so close to the old man again. But he didn't want to talk back to Lyseira's mom, let alone the priest, so he drew a deep breath and braced himself. As he approached, the cleric took his chin and tilted his head up.

  "Do you have faith in Akir, child?" the Father asked. Helix nodded, looking past him at the wall, not wanting to look into those filmy eyes. The question was pointless, anyway; Helix knew there was only one acceptable answer. Things like this were exactly why church was so dull.

  The Abbot kept silent until Helix glanced at him. The old man caught and held his eyes, staring with the mild disdain of a scholar examining a bug. Helix tried to meet his gaze, but it made him feel small and guilty. Finally, he squirmed and looked away, and Forthin said, "I remember last week at congregation, you were throwing pebbles at Silla Tevington."

  Helix froze. He had thrown a few pebbles, but Silla had stuck her tongue out at him first—and besides, The Abbot hadn't even been in the chapel when it happened. How could he have known?

  "Do you believe Akir wants children acting that way in his holy house?"

  "No, sir," Helix offered, licking his good lip and fidgeting. What does he want from me? Can't we just get this over with? "I—I won't do it again, sir—Father," he finished.

  The Abbot, still gripping his chin, grimaced. "See that you do not, Master Smith."

  Then he spoke, his voice quiet but powerful, uttering alien words that Helix could only assume were of the First Tongue, the language of the Old Clerics. They slithered into his ears like long, dark worms, as if they were hearing him, rather than the other way around. He licked his cut again and tried to move his head, but the old cleric's eyes held him captive and the grip on his chin was unrelenting. Suddenly, he felt a burning sensation in his chin and lip, as if his wounds were being torn anew. He gasped and jerked backwards, raised his hand to his mouth — and found his bottom lip whole.

  The pain disappeared as quickly as it had come. The Abbot stopped speaking, his hand still hovering where it had clenched Helix's jaw a moment before. "Akir's patience for misbehavior is finite, my son," he said. "But today He saw fit to aid you. See that you avoid Ellic Baler in the future. It's been some time since I saw you for censure, as well. I expect that will change, yes?"

  His eyes wide and his hand over his lip, Helix nodded.

  iv. Syntal

  Syntal hurried up the path to the church, Lyseira at her heels. "Helix's mom was pretty mad, huh?" she said, and heard Lyseira harrumph behind her.

  "Of course! Baler's always getting into trouble! The only reason he gets away with everything is 'cause his mom never punishes him."

  Syntal didn't feel it was her place to comment on that, but she did know that Baler scared her. She only got to visit her cousins Helix and Beth a few times a year, and the summer visit was always her favorite—but during the past few visits, Baler had gotten steadily stronger and meaner. She loved visiting, but she didn't want to get beaten up.

  "Do you think she'll punish him this time?"

  Lyseira blew out a sigh that sounded just like one of her mother's. "Who knows? I hope so, but if she hasn't yet, why would she start now?"

  Syntal frowned, trying to think of something to say to this, when the boys emerged, blinking, from the church.

  "Did it hurt?" Angbar asked Helix in awe as they came down the front steps. "It looked like it could hurt."

  "Nah. What's to hurt about it? Look, my lip's all better."

  Seth grinned. "That's why the pazervers are so powerful. Even if you hurt them, a priest just heals them and then they come back for you. If you have a pazerver coming for you, you might as well just die! There's nothing you can do—no one can stop a pazerver!" He jumped down the last few steps and raised his fists at the approaching girls. "Wa-aaah!" he cried, battering an invisible opponent with punches before leveling an extravagant kick at nothing in particular.

  Syntal flinched. Seth could be fun to play with sometimes, but he could really get carried away. Ignoring his display as she jogged up, she dutifully delivered her message. "Helix, your mom said we're supposed to wait at home until she's done at Iggy's place."

  "Aw, why?" Helix whined. "That's fishguts! Baler ain't gonna come after me twice in one day!"

  Syntal shrugged. It hadn't been her idea. "I don't know, but that's just what she said."

  "Where is my mom?" Lyseira asked. "Is she still inside?"

  "Yeah," Helix answered. "She said to go on ahead, she has to talk to The Abbot some more."

  Lyseira's eyes widened as she saw his lip. "Helix, your cut's all better!" she squealed. "Did you get prayed on?"

  "Yeah." Helix grinned and stuck out his bottom lip. "See?" he mumbled.

  "I wish I could've been there!" Lyseira lamented, shielding her eyes from the sun to get a better look. "You can't even tell you got hit!"

  "Well, if you and Syn have to go home," Angbar said to Helix, "can we come with? We could play over there for awhile."

  "That would be fun," Syntal said. She liked Angbar. He was funny, and hardly ever teased her.

  "Yeah," Angbar said. "Otherwise I'm just gonna go out to the lake by myself. I don't feel like going home yet."

  "I'll come with to the lake," Seth said.

  Helix scoffed. "Forget all that. I ain't done with Baler yet."

  Syntal felt a spike of trepidation. Oh, Helix, come on... "Your mom sounded pretty serious. I don't think—"

  Her cousin waved her off. "No, no, listen. Before Baler caught me, I was hiding under—" He shook his head, started again. "I was hiding, and I heard him and Rake and Esiah talking. They have a tree fort, in Pinewood somewhere. Someplace by the lake."

  "Whoa," Angbar breathed. "Real
ly? A big one?"

  "I think so. They sounded pretty excited about it."

  "In Pinewood?" Seth asked, looking southeast. Syntal followed his gaze, but all she saw was the houses of the village against the distant backdrop of Thakhan Dar, its peak lost in the clouds. She'd played in the woods with Helix and his friends last summer when she came to visit, but couldn't remember how to get there.

  "We should go find it," Seth urged. "Right now."

  "Seth!" Lyseira said, scandalized. "What if Baler's out there, and Rake and Esiah too?"

  "But that's just it," Helix pressed. "They won't be. I heard 'em talking about how they were gonna go out there tonight. After sunset, like. And Baler said if either of the other two went out without him he'd kill 'em both."

  Syntal's frown deepened. Was that supposed to make her like the idea more?

  Helix looked at her. "What do you say, Syn?"

  "I don't know," she answered, shaking her head. "Your mom..."

  "Come on! If we go right now, we can probably get home before Mom even knows. She's gonna be at Iggy's all day, you know she is."

  "But... why not just leave it alone, Helix? I mean, maybe if we just leave him alone, he'll—"

  Seth spat. "Baler don't work that way. He probably wants to finish beating the piss out of Helix still."

  Again, this didn't make Syntal feel any better about the idea.

  "But if we go out to the tree fort first," Seth went on, "maybe we could... I don't know..."

  Get killed? Syn thought to say, but Angbar was quicker. "Break it?"

  An evil grin broke across Helix's face. "Yeah," he murmured.

  That wicked smirk was irresistible. It had suckered Syntal into misbehaving more than once, and despite herself, she felt an answering grin break across her own face. It would be nice to get back at Baler. She didn't get to visit often, and every time it was always Baler-this and Baler-that; it felt like she spent more time cowering from the bully than she did playing with her cousin and his friends, sometimes.

  If they could really get to the fort without running into Baler at all, and still get home before Aunt Bella...