Chapter 8 Mah’Keht

A wife and a new kid in one day. I really am no better than Deh’Mi at this point. Never in my wildest fantasies did I think that love would cause me to lose myself in this manner. But what’s done is done. Now I’m left floating through the inner halls of Momma Gai’Ah’s home on the Sun, hoping that my father is still out guarding Tu’Lehri. I doubt Lord Bai’Yah would find my latest actions suitable to his impossible standards and I’m not in the mood for a lecture. Not that his opinion can control me. But his blessing would be nice for once instead of that familiar scowl of disappointment.

Heh’Kaet bounces around the golden walls in a fit of giggles, her smokey form now refined into a small toddler. She phases between forms until we reach the main doors of Gai’Ah’s greenhouse – the most sacred section of her home.

“Alright, reel in those flames, firecracker,” I call to Heh’Kaet.

Those vibrant blue galaxies seem to warm up as she flies over to me, and hangs off my horn.

“Da,” she cheers.

“Someone’s attached,” Dai’Ahnah chuckles, removing Heh’Kaet’s nibbling mouth from my horns.

“Feral little thing, ain’t she?”

We both spin around as Momma Gai’Ah floats behind us. The planet at the center of her green afro is clear, a few stratus clouds circling the outer edges of her voluptuous emerald frame. Her presence is overwhelming. A reminder that she could always wipe us out of existence if we don’t behave. The wrath she showed during the war was unmatched and unnerved everyone in the Universe. Even Momma Fae bows to her big sister’s will. Now the grand entertainer of the Universe hovers before us in denim overalls and a curious gaze locked on Heh’Kaet.

“We were looking for you, Your Grace,” Dai’Ahnah bows.

“And you’ve found me,” Gai’Ah smiles. “Good for you two. Or should I say three?”

“We wish to report a new divine Kri’Aeshon, Your Grace,” I bow. “Among other things.”

“Well, this sounds more like a conversation for the garden, doncha think?”

Gai’Ah claps her hands and the hall transforms into the sitting room of her garden. Clear panels reflect the core of the Sun, filtering in warm rays of light. The air sparkling with sundust as we take our seats. Heh’Kaet becomes fixated on the abundance of colorful plants and flowers surrounding us. She begins to float out of Dai’Ahnah’s grasp and I pinch her small horn with a frown.

“You burn those flowers and I’m snuffing you out,” I scold her.

“Mah’Keht!” Dai’Ahnah yells.

“What? Kids’ gotta learn now before she burns the place down.”

Gai’Ah’s laughter startles the three of us and Heh’Kaet flies out of my grasp to hide in my flames.

“I see you two have gotten better acquainted. When did this happen?”

“Quite recently, Your Grace,” Dai’Ahnah blushes.

Momma Gai’Ah’s eyes fall to my hand. “I never pegged you as an immortal who favored jewelry, Mah’Keht.”

“Only when it attaches me to the one I love, Your Grace.”

“Love?” Gai’Ah’s laughter shakes the greenhouse. “You and Dai?”

“It’s true, Your Grace,” Dai insists. “I know it’s sudden and out of character.”

“Out of character? Dai’Ahnah, just the other day, I watched you making one of those little star pictures and you just looked so lonely. Broke my heart to bits.”

“Well, if I may off a solution to that, Your Grace,” I interject. “I’d like to free Dai’Ahnah from her duties on the Dark Moon.”

Gai’Ah’s easy-going smile falters, those wisps of white clouds billowing from the planet at the center of her green afro. “Oh?”

“What I mean is, I’m willing to offer half of my being to balance the Dark Moon in her absence. I could even make another being to-”

“Dai’Ahnah’s duties are hers and hers alone,” Momma Gai’Ah booms. Her aura seeps from her in tendrils of green that cause Heh’Kaet to dart further into my flames with a whimper.

“With all due respect, Your Grace,” Dai’Ahnah says through a grimace. “I’ve done everything ever asked of me from the moment I was made.”

“A rare thing to find in this Rehlm,” Gai’Ah observes her with a frown. “Are you not happy there, Dai’Ahnah?”

“My home is among the stars of Eh’Fi. But there is only so much entertainment that Mor’Tahls on the surface can bring me. Deh’Mi and his brothers have already moved on. Even my sister has a Master to learn from. Am I the only one of my generation who must stay behind and wither?”

“The Mithri lines are your responsibility,” Gai’Ah says. “How will you control them if you’re flitting about the Universe?”

“I don’t plan to shy away from my duties as a protector of this Rehlm. But  the opportunity to see beyond the stars calls to me.” Dai’Ahnah interlaces her fingers with mine. “To be by my husband’s side while we raise Heh’Kaet is what I desire more than existence, Your Grace. Please.”

Momma Gai’Ah holds up a hand, her aura retreating as she purses her lips. Her stormy blue eyes observe me before glancing up at Heh’Kaet playing with the smoke of my horns.

“Love is a force this Rehlm seem to suffer from more often,” she sighs. “Frankly, it’s exhausting. But usually, the most entertaining things leave us all drained in the end, now don’t they?”

Dai’Ahnah’s aura ripples with discomfort beside me and my soul freefalls as I watch her collapse to the ground. I tried to reach out to catch her but an invisible force prevents me from moving. Momma Gai’Ah crosses her legs as she floats in the air, her short fingers drumming against her thigh with slight boredom. Her powers seep out of her palms towards Dai’s lifeless body.

“What did you do to her?” I bellow.

Momma Gai’Ah’s aura grips me by the throat. “You do best to remember who you’re talking to, little flame. Best not forget who helped make Skah’L in the first place. It would be a shame to snuff it out with your sister still inside, wouldn’t it?”

“My apologies, Your Grace,” I gasp. “I acted out of turn. It’s just- I’d do anything for Da’Ahnah. Ever since the wars, she’s become more than a fellow Di’Ehti I fought beside. Without her, I might as well not exist.”

Gai’Ah’s grip on me loosens, her aura calming as she floats closer. The storm in her eyes erupts in a flash of light and I manage to shield Heh’Kaet with my wings before Gai’Ah shatters Dai’Ahnah’s body into stardust. My core screams in anguish but my body doesn’t make a sound as I watch everything I love evaporate. I’m too stunned to even blink. One false move and I may face the same fate. Or Heh’Kaet.

Gai’Ah looks back at me with a dimmed expression. “Oh, honestly. Did you think that the process would be glamorous? Dai’Ahnah’s consciousness should be reviving on the Dark Moon soon. When she reforms, her being will be able to leave the Rehlm without a problem.”

“What?” I rasp, swallowing down the lava threatening to spew from my shaken body.

“I’ve freed Dai’Ahnah from her restrictions like you requested. I used the powers from that ring to strengthen your connection, so she’ll be able to siphon your energy the further you get from Eh’Fi.”

Dai’Ahnah’s free? Just like that? There has to be a catch. “How do I ever repay you, Your Grace?”

“Take care of that little firecracker hanging off your horns and show Dai’Ahnah everything this Universe has to offer. No more. No less. She deserves that much.”

That hostile feeling has evaporated from the air, but I refuse to move. This has to be a trap. A few flowers bloom by my feet, and Gai’Ah weaves a crown of lotus flowers before clapping them into a spray of petals. I feel my core jitter as the petals touch my flames.

“I’ll be taking a bit of your essence to stabilize the Dark Moon’s orbit,” Gai’Ah says as the room sways around me. “Your brilliance will enhance the main defense system tenfold.”

My grip on Heh’Kaet loosens as I feel myself teeter to the ground. Heh’Kaet’s tiny frame leaps into Gai’Ah’s green arms before the weight of her powers overwhelms me, and I’m lulled into an unfamiliar darkness.

***

The water of a nearby stream glitters with the sunset as I wander around a foggy field of wildflowers. The Drim’Skaep. I’ve been here once before. Back when my body leveled up from training in Seh’Fahrait and my powers exploded beyond reason. Momma Fae never understood why the three of us could access the Drim’Skaep spontaneously, but I’d like to think it's because we’ve been cast aside as defects of our Rehlms. A woman with white hair floats nearby, her white cloak catching my eye.

“Excuse me,” I call.

She turns to look at me. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“I tend to end up here when my spirit undergoes maintenance,” I say. “Are you by chance the sister of Dai’Ahnah?”

Her eyes grow wide but she only shrugs with pursed lips. “And if I am?”

“I wanted to introduce myself,” I bow. “See, I’ve recently married your sister and-”

“Dai got married without me?” Her white aura flares. “And after I made her those protection earrings.”

I hold up my hands in surrender. “It was an unofficial marriage and kind of a long story. But we plan to hold a proper ceremony in my Rehlm. Is there a way you can attend?”

“Does your Rehlm have a mirror?” she asks.

“I’m sure I can conjure one up.”

“Tap a mirror three times and whisper my name. You may not see me, but I’ll be able to see you once I tune in. Think of it as a one-way portal from here to there.”

“And where is here, exactly?”

“A Rehlm divided from the rest, unfortunately,” she sighs. “I’m Lu’Nah by the way.”

“Mah’Keht,” I nod. “I hope we can grow more acquainted over time.”

“We have all of eternity for formalities.” Lu”Nah waves a hand between us. “Now wake up already. Dai’Ahnah’s getting anxious.”

“What?”

Lu’Nah claps her hands and I gasp, sitting up beneath the familiar constellation of Deh’Mi and Kah’Muae. Dai’s face hovers above me with a mask of concern.

“Hi, my love,” I smile, grazing my knuckles against her cheek.

“Don’t scare me like that.” She grips my hand. “After Momma Gai’Ah brought you and Heh’Kaet here, I feared the worst.”

“I was having a chat with your sister.”

Dai’Ahnah’s eyes widen. “With Lu’Nah? But how?”

“A conversation for a different day, apparently,” I shrug, kissing her forehead. “But she promises to attend our official ceremony when the moment comes.”

“Honestly, what am I to do with her?” she mumbles.

I sit up fully and look around. “Where’s-”

“Mama,” a young girl chimes behind me. “I finished blessing the Mithri lines.”

How long was I knocked out? The feral toddler who was just swinging on my horns is now a young lady with a beauty and grace like her mother's. Skin a smoky black with two horns tinged orange. Her blue galaxies have evolved into orange flames that glitter with stardust, her lanky form now covered in sacred robes.

“Heh’Kaet?” I choke.

“Dad! Finally, you’re awake.” She zooms over to me and wraps her large sleeves around my torso. “Mama’s been forcing me to tend to the planet’s Mithri lines without rest.”

“How do you expect to grow into a proper Di’Ehti if you never use your powers?” Dai’Ahnah runs a hand through Heh’Kaet’s flames before looking at me. “You should’ve seen her, Mah’Keht. Her talent for Mithri is brilliant.”

“But, Momma, I’ve grown bored” Heh’Kaet wines. “Can’t we leave now?”

I float to a stand, wrapping each of their tender hands in mine with a nervous smile. I doubt Momma Gai’Ah lied, but I must see the truth myself.  “Come. Let’s go home.”