The Icon Unbound

Chapter Twenty-Three, Part A - Rigel

Only one full arc left!! There are Twenty-Eight Chapters, all told. We are winding down these final hours. I few minor fixes here for, clarity. As always, your comments and votes are appreciated. --Elizabeth, UPDATED 07/07/2017

After the others went away to bed, Rigel sat down to pour tea for his mother. Meissa rolled up on the couch nearby, apparently dozing or eavesdropping. Honor accepted the cup that Rigel handed her and took a sip. How long ago it seemed that he had poured tea in Waterwall.

He set the pot down and regarded his mother. "Why did you run?"

Honor shrugged one shoulder and shook her head. "It was easy. In the end, anyway. When I was a small child, younger than you, I felt guilty for being afraid of my mother. I rarely saw her, but I would be uneasy for hours after every meeting. It wasn't until I was older that I began to realize why." Honor took a deep breath. "Simply put, my mother believes that we should be walking the heavens; that during the dark flood, our family should have ascended in a ship and left this world."

Rigel let his cup clatter back into its saucer.

Honor gave him a rueful glance. "It's embarrassing, which is why I never liked to talk about it. No one talks about it. There are a few academics who believe that the lost technology might be recovered. A few Chosen believe that they could even get it into the sky...but there is no one who believes that they could sustain a blood magic once we left. We would be powerless...adrift in the stars."

Every hair on his neck stood on end.

"One of my first memories is of watching my mother cut herself. Slicing her arms from elbow to wrist, and I remember how she looked when she did it. 'The people need strong blood,' she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She was...obsessed. The rituals of the Chosen were especially attractive to her. When I turned thirteen, she showed me her favorite hall. One that was lined from end to end with the bones of the creatures she'd sacrificed. Bones are the only thing that can't be used in ritual, and she had them preserved like trophies. She wanted to make a bone palace for herself. When she named herself the Queen, she took me aside and showed me how she planned to...to dig. To go to the city that resides under the ground and find a ship. I know where to look for the evidence we need. We just need her to believe we'll go along with her long enough..."

"Mother. You know it won't end there. Without her, the city will fall into the hands of the Chosen. A sect much too accustomed to being paid for their service. So, even if we do manage to stop Ru'a, it won't end neatly." Too many threads would be broken. Rigel rubbed his temples, trying to massage away the headache that had plagued him since they arrived at the city. Screwing up his resolve, he forced himself to look out his window. Every second he looked was a red hot poker between his eyes, but he kept at it, looking for a pattern that fit. "Besides, if she has won a drakys to her side, she could have access..."

"I know my son. But I had to do it. I couldn't stay here. You boys were on the way already, and I was so frightened. Of her power, of her plans, of this city...please tell me I did the right thing."

"If you hadn't run, I wouldn't have met Era. I don't blame you for leaving. But if you had prepared us...if you hadn't kept everything a secret...we'll never know. That's what Saiph will have to forgive you for." It seemed unnecessarily cruel to include himself in that. He glanced at Meissa. She would have to bear the consequences of those secrets too. She didn't seem to regret anything now...later, perhaps.