That's All Llew

The future lay before Llew in the form of dead Turhmosian soldiers, and she was in the unenviable position of having to choose whether to step into it. Could she afford to?

She glanced at the Ajnai that had given its life to save Ard’s. It was dull, dried, and remained barely two feet tall. The other trees had shot up to around two to three times as tall as she was and their canopies spread nearly as wide. Their trunks, however, remained less than a foot around, nothing like the ancient Ajnai that had been more broad than she and Jonas sitting side-by-side. What did these trees have left to give?

And then there was the tree that had allowed her to save Anya. It was as tall and broad as the others, and she understood she hadn’t killed it, but it was damaged. She couldn’t call on it again any time soon.

She looked back at the sprawled bodies, to Jonas, still taking a moment to savor his renewed energy, at Anya wrapped in Gaemil’s arms. The soldiers had come because Turhmos told them to. That didn’t make them bad people. And, surely, giving them their lives back would win their favor.

“Please,” she waved a hand to draw the nearest of Gaemil’s guard’s attention. “Bring that one to me.” She pointed to the nearest body.

The guard glanced at Gaemil who, despite still clasping Anya to him, tuned into Llew’s intent, and nodded. Yes, he’d said he couldn’t afford Turhmos witnesses, but if this worked they would gain allies.

Once the body was in reach, Llew clasped the cooling hand and kept her other on the tree behind her. It didn’t surprise her when she felt nothing for several full seconds. She tuned her full attention to the sensation of skin-on-skin, as unsettling as that cool touch was, and became aware of the familiar vibration beginning from little more than imagination and growing, filling Llew’s body with hot and cold and a general restlessness. She dug her fingers into a crevice in the tree bark and clasped the warming hand tight.

The soldier gasped, his breathing settled into a rhythm and, eventually, he opened his eyes, looked from Llew to Anya, Gaemil, and the Brurun guards standing over him, and panicked, trying to wrest his hand free of Llew’s clasp.

“You’re not fully healed yet,” Llew murmured, hoping her words would reassure him, rather than panic him more.

His gaze met hers as he processed her words, his expression shifting from a wild fear to a leery understanding.

As soon as the flow of ghi eased, Llew instructed, “Next”.

Once fully healed, the Turhmos soldier stood. He looked warily at his enemies surrounding him, and flinched as Rowan, Alvaro, and Karlani returned but, once it was evident no one intended to attack him, he simply joined the others in watching Llew as she accepted the hand of the second soldier. Again, it took time for the flow of ghi to begin, but begin it did, and soon a second Turhmos soldier returned from the dead, and Llew called for the next, her audience watching on in awed silence. But as the moments ticked past with the third soldier’s cold hand in her grasp, she had to admit defeat and, with a panicked tinge to her voice, she pleaded for the warmest bodies to be brought to her first. She had to get to the most likely to be saved, or she might save no more. A part of her thought making such a call should feel more painful, but those first two soldiers alive and breathing were nearly enough.

Soon after gasping the first breath of his new life, the fourth soldier reached for a knife and was grappled by Turhmos soldier and Brurun guard alike, and pulled away while Llew got on with healing the next. From then on, one of the Turhmos soldiers ensured hers was the first face her compatriots saw when they returned to life and things went more smoothly, until eight Turhmos soldiers stood, marveling at their second chance, while the following thirteen remained lifeless.

After holding the final cold hand for a few minutes, Llew let it drop, rested her arms on her knees, and sat in her mixed feelings.

***

The living Turhmos soldiers compared notes on their experience and lifted shirts and sleeves, eying wounds and scars that had now disappeared.

Jonas watched them, remembering the first time Llew had brought him back to life, at the foot of the ancient Ajnai, scarless, and in peak condition. And once Jonas drew their attention to him, they’d realize he wasn’t. As grateful as they may be to Llew, they had no need to be loyal to Jonas.

He sat a few moments more, watching Llew. What a miracle she was. But, despite everyone around her sparing her frequent glances, mostly filled with wonder, she remained lost in her own thoughts.

Jonas signaled Rowan to help him stand. Once up, he dusted himself off, deliberately not looking up to see the reactions from the Turhmosians. That could wait. His trousers covered his prosthetic, but Rowan’s aid would not go unnoticed. Still, it was better than struggling in front of these soldiers, showing them exactly how weak he was. Mentally prepared, he raised his chin, and met each of the eight sets of wary eyes calmly and, he hoped, with his usual air of confidence. Rowan gave him the moment, collecting Jonas’s crutches, but not handing either to him until Jonas signaled his want of one. Then Jonas went to converse with Gaemil, who kept a protective arm around Anya’s shoulders. Rowan shadowed him, seemingly aware of Jonas’s vulnerability, taking on the role of bodyguard. Jonas hated it, but shook that off. Someone had to take control until Llew was ready, and it made sense for that to be him, even if he wasn’t the most unifying figure present. He was Llew’s second.

“What’s your plan from here?” Jonas asked.

“I’m sorry,” Gaemil said. “But that was … What even was that?” He waved a hand between the tree where Jonas had been seated and Jonas himself.

“That’s how Aenuks can heal Kara. Or how Kara can heal themselves using Aenuk magic. It’s … It’s what Braph does.”

Not unexpectedly, Gaemil let all his disgust show. “I don’t wish offense, but the fewer dealings I have with Aenuks or Kara, the better. I don’t envy the choices you face. As for my plan? You know I can’t stay. I came for Anya. As much as I wish you well in your endeavors, I have no jurisdiction here. I must return to Brurun and converse with Turhmos and Quaver from there. If you’re right about Turhmos working with Braph, Phyos could be in for a period of great unrest. I need to stand with my people.”

“Understood.” Jonas glanced at Anya. She still seemed traumatized, staring at nothing, or possibly Llew, and appearing not to be listening. Gaemil squeezed her shoulders, and she spared him a performative smile and slipped back into herself. “You’ll allow Llew and Anya the chance to say goodbye?”

"Of course.”

Jonas checked the time by the angle of the sun – his empty stomach confirmed lunch time slipping by – then drew Gaemil’s attention to the Turhmos soldiers with his gaze. “Stay for lunch, at least. We’ve either acquired extra hands or a problem. We could use your neutrality to bring them in, and we’ll do our part in counterin’ whatever Braph is settin’ in motion, help settle whatever’s simmerin’ in Phyos.”

“Your brother killed Aris, didn’t he?”

The urge to deny the relationship was strong, but of little value here, so Jonas kept it in. Yes, Braph had killed an Immortal, while Jonas was weak and broken. The difference between them was more stark than ever, and Jonas was on the wrong side of the equation.

“Another problem I’m pleased not to have on my plate.”

“Hmm.” Jonas saw little value in responding. He stepped back from Gaemil, glanced over at Llew. She still had her knees drawn up and chin resting on arms, but she met his gaze. He went to her and, with some difficulty, sat beside her, facing her, placed a hand to her shoulder.

“I don’t think I ever want to get used to it.” She lifted her chin enough to indicate a body. “Not being able to save everyone.”

Jonas squeezed her shoulder. “You were brilliant. You are . Those eight soldiers standin’ wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you. You gotta take that win. The loss of the rest? That’s not on you. That’s a problem bigger than us. That’s Turhmos and Quaver, and those are mountains we ain’t shiftin’ today. But we made a start.”

One of the Turhmos soldiers approached, his attention fixed on the tree. He reached out to it. “What is this?”

“You’re Aenuk?” Llew asked and stood, brushed herself off, and held out a hand to help Jonas up.

“Yes, but … What is this tree?” The soldier kept his hand pressed to the bark, seeming to feel something in that touch.

“It’s an Ajnai, like the rest.” Llew indicated the row.

One of the other Turhmos soldiers came to stand by the Aenuk, arms folded, posture staunch, and hostile gaze locked on Jonas.

Llew also drew herself taller. “Jonas is with me. You have a problem with him, you can leave.”

The soldier met her gaze for a few moments before relenting and easing his stance, just a little.

“Seems Quavens learn more about Aenuks than Aenuks themselves.” Jonas tried for a light tone to put the soldiers more at ease. A sense of loss swept through him. He’d never had to consider what others thought about him. He’d just been Jonas, the Syakaran. Anyone took offense, he’d lay them out. Now their opinion of him could get him killed. The fear settled in his gut and manifested as anger simmering just beneath the surface. Impotent as it may be.

“Know your enemy, I suppose,” Llew murmured. Louder, she said, “Ajnais allow Aenuks to heal without killing.”

“Did the tree do this?” The Aenuk indicated himself. “Could I do that?”

Jonas shook his head. “That’s all Llew.”

“The tree just lets me do it without killing anything else.”

“That’s what the Sy means,” Jonas said. “She’s Syaenuk.”

Smirking, and with arms still crossed defensively, the hostile soldier looked Jonas up and down. “Still can’t heal Kara, huh?”

“Not by touch, no,” Llew conceded. “And you’re going the right way to make me regret bringing you back. Buck up or bugger off.”

The soldier snorted at that, not derisively, though. There was humor in it and he stepped back a few strides before turning to re-join the other soldiers. A win.

Anya peeled herself from Gaemil and approached Llew, Gaemil shadowing her with an arm braced, ready to catch her. She threw herself into Llew’s arms, holding tight.

Jonas took this as a sign it was time for him to address the Turhmosians. They watched him warily. Some hands went to where knives had been worn, but Gaemil’s men had removed them, and their stances and expressions eased as it became clear he relied on the crutch.

“You all have a decision to make. You can remain loyal to Turhmos and leave, or you can stay, help us with the clean up, and be a part of the future.” He drew their attention to Llew. “You know what she is. You’ve seen what those trees let her do, how they can allow any Aenuk—” he nodded to the one that had identified himself at the tree, “—to heal without killin’. Quaver is to blame for the current fate of Aenuks and, as a representative of Quaver, I will own that, here and now. We made a mistake and locked Aenuks into havin’ to make impossible choices, and captivity. But we have these Ajnais now, plus one in Quaver, and one in Brurun.” The Aenuk soldier listened intently. Jonas had little doubt he wouldn’t return to captivity, not with freedom staring him in the face. “I don’t know about you lot, but the future I see looks brighter. You can step into it, or you can try to hold it back. But I think that gets a whole lot harder as more people learn what we’re doin’ here. If you stay, you’re helpin’, and you’re doin’ whatever Llew tells you, and sometimes that might come via me. If you can’t abide that, now’s the time to leave.”

The soldiers’ hostility had eased and they glanced among themselves, the Aenuk fixing each with a determined look – he would not be going back – before one answered. “We’ll stay.”

Llew came to stand beside Jonas, lightly gripping his arm, clearly signaling their unity.

“We need to find more food,” she said. “We need to …” She looked at the bodies littering the ground. She swallowed the next bit, so Jonas filled in.

“Tidy up.” They were Turhmos soldiers, just like countless others he’d seen off over the years. Llew still saw them as people, maybe even her people, even more so if their compatriots signed up to her cause.

“I can buy food in Hinden if the stores here are low,” Gaemil said. “It’s not quite on my way, but I have credit I can access. Pick a few people you can trust and I’ll load them up and send them back.”

“That’d sure be appreciated,” Jonas said. “The farm ain’t stocked for this many people at this end of winter.”

"We’ll need to leave after lunch, then, not diminish your supplies any further, or leave you waiting.” He squeezed Anya affectionately.

Anya, usually so eager to fight her case, seemed too sunk into herself to rally against the early departure. Llew squeezed Jonas’s hand and went to Anya, murmuring thank yous and are-you-really-alrights and Jonas instructed everyone else to get on with shifting bodies and locating enough food for a lunch. Anya’s skill at taking charge in such situations would’ve been helpful. Without her ability to ascertain each person’s natural role, Jonas had to trust that everyone would figure out their place in the process and get it done. He lacked the energy to do more.