The Twisted Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 3)

Chapter 20.1

The rest of the morning passed in a blur for Sabrina. She and Scotty didn't speak as they waited for what seemed an eternity until they were shown to a military flyer, one of several; there would be a dozen decoys, all headed to different destinations, to confuse any would-be assassins. But at last they were circling the broad sweep of the harbor town of Fibräaé, then coming in to land on a small, private pad inside the walls of the small estate that was now Sabrina's. The villa, sitting on a hill overlooking a stretch of pristine beach, glistened white in the distance, at the other end of a lush green lawn. 

They went into a sunken garden, shielded by tall hedges and shade trees. The gravesite was at its center, bordered by a circular hedge of its own. Eventually there would be a monument erected over the grave. It would be a lovely place to visit and meditate in, Sabrina thought, if she lived long enough to have the chance.

Only Miosch, Imari, Rassir, Mukryilla, and Darice had accompanied them, aside from the four officers serving as pallbearers. All of them had huge armfuls of the flowers and other things placed at the bier by mourners; they would be buried with Rayland as tradition dictated. Sabrina had chosen not to opaque the coffin lid before it was lowered into the ground. She wanted to have the chance to look at his face as long as possible, and watched it gradually disappear as they threw the flowers and other things gently down on top of the coffin. At least it spared her that wrenching moment she remembered so vividly from her parents' burial, the horribly final sound of dirt hitting the coffin. Here, the soil was cushioned by the layer of offerings and made hardly any sound at all. It was so much nicer to think of him buried under flowers, she thought. She wondered if she were in shock, she felt so calm. Or maybe just numb.

When the pallbearers had finished filling in the grave, she wanted to sit down beside it and rest, but settled for standing still as Miosch, Imari, and Rassir left silently. Mukryilla stood for a few moments gazing down at the grave, then looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and strode out of the garden. Scotty and Sabrina remained, with Darice keeping watch nearby.

Scotty cleared his throat, hesitated, then did it again. "I thought Mara might come," he said at last.

"She said she'd try. It must not have been possible," Sabrina murmured.

"Tirqwin probably didn't want her to go through it," Scotty said. "C'mon, Rina. It's not going to get any easier to walk away." He took her hand and pulled at it.

"I'm going to be buried here too," she said softly. "If I die on Praxatillus. You won't mind?"

"Well," he said, with a shrug that didn't quite manage to be casual, "I figure if they get you, they'll get me too, one way or another. So they can just bury us together."

Sabrina threw her arms around him. "Don't let them get you," she whispered thickly. "One of us has to go home."

"I'm not goin' anywhere without you," he whispered back.

They held on to each other for a few moments, until they heard a rustling nearby. Separating, they turned to see Mara and Tirqwin coming toward them, not from the house, but from the woods behind the garden. Mara let out a cry and ran the last few steps, throwing her arms around Sabrina, then Scotty. Tirqwin, who was carrying a covered plant in a pot, set it carefully down before hugging them both.

"You're late," Scotty said to Mara.

"No, I'm not," she replied. "I sneaked in last night to pay my respects, after the rehearsal. And then today, I didn't want to interrupt, so we watched from the woods."

"She means," Tirqwin said dryly, "that we did not want to have to deal with any of the others. We came to see you, so we were waiting until you were alone."

"Well, I'm glad you're here, however you chose to do it," Sabrina replied. "What's that, Tirqwin?"

He smiled and pulled away the cover. It was a Peace rosebush. "Mara wants to plant it on the grave. She thought you might like it."

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Sabrina said.

"Yeah, cool," Scotty agreed, picking up one of the shovels left nearby. "How deep?"

Mara knelt beside the rosebush and began reading the instructions on its identifying tag. Tirqwin pulled Sabrina aside a little. "And how are you, Sabrina? We watched the funeral from a nearby system. It seemed to go well."

"Yes, I think so." She watched Scotty and Mara working together to plant the rosebush, and smiled. "You'll look after them, won't you?"

Tirqwin took her chin in his hand and peered intently at her, frowning. "You have that look," he said finally.

"What look?"

"That look Mara refers to as 'the martyr' when she sees it on me. What is it, Sabrina?"

She sighed, and told him what she had learned about Reissian assassination protocol. Tirqwin shook his head. "It is probably true. But Praxatillian security can be formidable, and Subcommander—excuse me, Commander—Mukryilla is personally motivated to keep you safe, for the sake of Rayland's memory. I do not think your death is inevitable."

"Yes, it is," Sabrina said wryly. "If not sooner, then later."

"I meant your imminent demise," Tirqwin said testily. "Listen to me, Sabrina. People who do not think they are going to live very long have a way of making their expectation come true. You cannot afford that. Praxatillus cannot afford it. Mara cannot afford it. You are not finished, and you do not have the luxury of dying. Not yet."

She sighed. "I'll do my best. I'm not eager to die, Tirqwin. But...I want to be prepared."

"Death does not take preparation, Sabrina. Life does. Death will find you on its own, without any assistance from you whatsoever. It is your life that needs your attention." He put an arm around her shoulders. "It is nearly over, Sabrina—this mess, I mean. Just get us through this meeting with Homeworld, get them to sign a peace treaty, and Mara and I will come back and take this off your shoulders. You can retire here to this villa if you like and prepare yourself for death to your heart's content."

"Retire at twenty-two? An attractive prospect," Sabrina said.

Tirqwin chuckled. "Actually, my dear, you are twenty-three now. By Khediva's count, your birthday was several months ago."

"My God," Sabrina said. "We've missed one of Scotty's too, then. Oh, no! His twenty-first! He'll be so upset. We didn't even have a drink to commemorate it."

"You can celebrate later," Tirqwin said, amused.

Mara and Scotty joined them, dusting the soil off their hands. "We should go," Mara said. She hugged Scotty, then Sabrina. "Take care, both of you. I've had glimpses in the Crystal of us all together in our old age, and I don't want either of you doing anything to prevent it."

"Our old age!" Scotty grinned. "Mara, we'll have been dead a hundred years before you get to old age!"

"That is an exaggeration," she told him. "You'll live longer than you think, if you'll only use a little common sense."

"The oracle has spoken," Sabrina said. "I'm so glad you both came."

"We'll meet again soon," Mara said. "We will keep in touch with Haaron. He sends his best regards, by the way. And oh, I forgot! Éllina is pregnant."

Sabrina gave a little gasp. "How wonderful! I'll have to send them a silver spoon."

Scotty grinned again. "Haaron must be tearing his hair out. First the ambassador with Mission: Impossible, and now fatherhood! I'm gonna send him a barrel of ale."

"Not until after this meeting," Mara said. "Give my regards to everyone, and take care of yourselves."

"Remember what I said, Sabrina," Tirqwin added as they vanished.

"Well, c'mon," Scotty said, pulling at his sister's hand again. She went with him, only glancing over her shoulder once at the new grave, with the young rosebush sprouting from the mound of soil.