Echoes

Chapter 20

Seventeen Guardsmen died that night. Another thirty-one were injured.

The only funeral I had ever attended was that of my parents in Alvion, so the idea of an Ekotian funeral was foreign to me. Not that I was looking forward to attending. Shae had informed me that it was customary to wear white, and had supplied me with a white blouse and long skirt. Pix and Gavie filled me in on how the seer would clean the bodies, then take them to the top of the mountain to burn them, where the they would say a blessing and ask Audral to protect them, but I was numb to it all. I couldn't get his face out of my head.

Sanus had to tell his wife. I wasn't with him, but I had heard she fainted.

Gavie had been on a ship with the Beasts attacked, only arriving in the port when the battle was over.

I had spent the night in the back room of the Cathedral on the couch. Shae kept me company, but neither of us spoke, his body torn and burned still fresh in our minds.

The funeral was the next day, before the bodies could decompose in the slightest. Shae helped me clean up, clipping my hair back. Her hair was down, the braids falling around the shoulders of her simple white gown.

"Are you going to be alright?" She asked gently.

I shrugged.

"Nisa," she started. "If you need to talk, tell me. I'll listen. I've seen this happen before."

She was so young, but so mature. I envied her. "I'm fine. Thank you." My throat was dry, my words flat.

"Nisa I know you're not. Please, just talk to me. Let me help you," Shae pleaded.

I stared at her, her dark eyes full of worry. I lunged forward and threw my arms around her. Shae gently wrapped her arms around me, rubbing her hand up and down my back. I buried my head in her shoulder and sobbed.

"It's alright, Nisa," Shae whispered, still rubbing my back. "It's alright."

We stood there until nothing more could come out of me. I let go of Shae, my eyes puffy, my face wet. Shae wiped her own tears and gave me a reassuring smile. We walked out of the room and left the Cathedral.

Outside, the piazza was mostly empty, save for the group of mourners and Guardsmen waiting for us. Sets of four Guardsmen carried a body each, under a sheet. It had stopped raining, but was still overcast. Sanus lead the group of over sixty Guardsmen, on horseback. He regarded me and Shae with a grim expression, as we fell into line behind him. The procession surged forward, winding our way through the city. Families watched through their windows and doorways, silent and somber.

Directly behind Sanus was another person on horseback. They wore a white robe similar to Shae's, but had a pair of flowing white pants underneath. Their curly brown hair reached to about their shoulders, but that was all I could make out from behind.

We continued through the city, eventually coming to the gates. They opened without a word. We walked through, continuing up the steady incline of the mountain. Up, up, up we went, my ears ringing. We arrived at the top, the same place where I had caused all this to happen. I caused all these deaths.

Right in the center, an enormous pile of kindling sat, organized in an intricate pattern. The person in white dismounted, turning to Shae.

She stepped forward. "Daine," She said, her voice tight.

Daine regarded her with steely green eyes, the color of grass frosted over. Their pale face was chiseled but soft, to the point where I couldn't tell if they were male or female. Shae approached them, engaging in a restrained conversation. I couldn't make out what they were say. I didn't want to. Shae returned to her spot at my side.