Fireborn Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Book Details

  Dedication

  Fireborn

  About the Author

  Fireborn

  Talya Andor

  The Bestiary

  Thaniel has been chosen for the sacrifice that will renew the lands and bring sorely needed rain, and it is a duty he has always accepted. On his last day he ventures out to enjoy those things he loves and finds final resolve in all that he enjoys. But that resolve is tested in the moment when he must say goodbye to his dearest friend …

  Book Details

  Fireborn

  The Bestiary, Volume One

  By Talya Andor

  Published by Less Than Three Press LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.

  Edited by Leta Hutchins

  Cover designed by Megan Derr

  Internal Illustration by V. Rios

  This book is a work of fiction and as such all characters and situations are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.

  First Edition November 2012

  Copyright © 2012 by Talya Andor

  Printed in the United States of America

  ISBN 9781620040485

  All my thanks and love to becki, for your constant support

  To L and Kish for all the help, hand-holding, and believing in me

  And my sincere gratitude and affection to Tiff, for working with me to polish this up, and your enthusiasm and kindness

  Most especially, thank you to my readers, and I hope you enjoy this and more to come!

  Fireborn

  Sunlight fell around him in fiery swathes as Thaniel woke in bed and stretched. For long moments, lying warm in the beam of sunlight that fell across his bare skin, he considered the morning to be like any other until he remembered what day it was.

  "The day before the ceremony," he breathed, and turned to roll out of bed.

  Long, shaggy locks tumbled in his face, hair that had been growing since he was twelve, and Thaniel put them behind his shoulders with a quick, impatient movement. He cast about for clothing, knowing he would have to move swiftly if he were to escape before attendants descended to lay claim on his day.

  On this of all days, Thaniel intended to do as he liked, for as long as he could.

  During the four years since he'd been selected for the ceremony, Thaniel had to acknowledge he had been afforded a lot of freedoms. He lived like a young prince in a well-appointed suite adjunct to the central temple of the capital city of his kingdom, and his smallest whims were satisfied in exchange for a set of simple rules, three inviolable restrictions.

  Thaniel could not sate his fleshly desires with any partner.

  Thaniel could not love in the way that a man formed the bonds of love with a partner.

  Thaniel could not profane his body, because it was promised to the gods' chosen.

  A high, sweet call came from the window, and Thaniel turned his head to see a flash of crimson. A smile stretched his lips wide as he regarded the cardinal that had flown through the open window.

  "Good day to you, too," Thaniel greeted him, and the cardinal trilled his response.

  Holding his breath, he lifted an arm, fingers held stiffly. It didn't happen every time, but when the bird landed on the fingers that Thaniel set like a perch, he was certain it was a sign that he was truly blessed.

  Today of all days, he yearned for that feeling, a taste of the divine.

  The cardinal seemed to hesitate mid-air as though considering Thaniel's offered hand. It circled his room three times and drifted downward, landing onto his fingers with a jolt and the prick of clenched talons.

  "Gods' blessings," Thaniel murmured, tilting his head as the bird tipped his, and fixed him with a beady, dark eye. "Have you come to say goodbye?"

  The bird's talons squeezed down on his finger and the cardinal threw himself on the wing once more, flying straight out of Thaniel's window with a last, ear-piercing cry.

  Thaniel sighed and moved to stand before the mirror of his suite, considering the meaning of those dictates he'd agreed to live by, all those years ago. He was tall and reedy, his skin bronzed by the sun, a sign of leisure in a culture that valued industry. His hair was long and untouched by knife or scissors. There was no one in all the land that would dare. He'd taken to twisting it up in woolly locks in the far southern style, to keep it out of his face and give him nothing to brush. His face and skin were unblemished by tattoos or other decoration, and he'd never known the sensual touch of another man or woman.

  He never would.

  He leaned closer, baring his teeth for brief inspection. They were even and white without any cosmetic enhancement in a face that everyone from his parents to sexless temple acolytes had told him was graced with features of surpassing beauty. To Thaniel, the only thing that meant was it had been a factor in his being chosen so long ago. He had light brown hair and the blue eyes shared by many people of the southern part of the kingdom.

  Turning from the mirror with impatience, Thaniel found the nearest nondescript clothing to hand and walked out the open patio doors. He had to leave before his personal attendants came calling.

  This was his last day of freedom, and as such, he intended to enjoy it.

  Thaniel drew his hood up over his distinctive crest of twisted locks as he slipped out of the maze of greenery onto a side path that led him into the adjoining town. It wasn't uncommon for travelers or even busy men of wealth to have their hoods drawn on such a blistering hot day, protecting the face and eyes from the sun, and so he passed unremarked and without challenge.

  The ease with which he slipped free of his comfortable confinement recalled the day, four years gone, when he had first done the same, wanting to explore his new surroundings. It had been cool back then, the lands drinking greedily of the water that fell for days after the ceremony took place.

  He had ended up in a labyrinthine maze of hedges across from the temple grounds. Thaniel had eluded his attendants, and he'd been sure he would be lost for hours. Wandering and sore of foot, he'd rounded a corner and stood facing a tall stone fountain. Its waters splashed, plentiful and clear, and Thaniel had been lured by the abundance of water, the likes of which he hadn't seen in years.

  When he'd bent to look at the mirror-like surface, a face not his own had looked up at him. Thaniel had cried out and stumbled back when an entire head had popped out of the water, sleek and drenched.

  "S-Sylph!" Thaniel cried, flailing to point at the creature that had splashed him with the force of its emergence from the water.

  "I'm not a sylph!" a boyish voice emerged from a face graced with lean, angular features, too pretty to be a boy. Thaniel's first impression of loveliness was burst as the creature climbed from the fountain to perch, splay-legged, on the rim and shake auburn hair like a drenched dog. "I'm Blaise."

  Thaniel had stared for a moment. "You're a boy," he ventured.

  Blaise showed his teeth. "As much as you," he rejoined. He tipped his head to one side. "What are you doing here?"

  Thaniel admitted, "I'm lost."

  Blaise's smile widened, his eyes crinkling. "Let's make the path to getting found as fun as we can, shall we?" He'd hopped off the rim and dashed past Thaniel, swinging an arm in a broad 'come-on' gesture.

  Thaniel had followed, and the path from that moment on had been full of laughter, as well as plenty of fun.

  Today Thaniel walked his path on a scorching summer day, like the day before, and all the days preceding for as long as he could remember. The land cried out with its thirst, but there was nothing to slake it except for the ceremon
y that was slated for the following day.

  Thaniel had hoped, wistfully, for one cool and verdant day to enjoy his walk about the city before he was committed to the gods' chosen, but it was not to be.

  He threaded his way through the crowd, outpacing shorter people on their way to market as he sought out the heart of the city. The center square was filling up with a great throng of people even at the early hour—or perhaps because of it, since the sun was not yet so high in the sky that it hammered down and rendered everything flat, airless, and stifling.

  The prospect of the ceremony had swelled the city beyond capacity, Thaniel noted cynically. Everyone wanted a show.

  He sought out a familiar stall beside the south wall that circled the center square, often overlooked for its humble appearance. The squat, single-awning stall with its simple wooden front had a square, hand-lettered sign advertising 'Pastries' at a low price, but Thaniel knew very well that they were some of the best the city had to offer, and he walked around to the side on light feet, ducking around the long line that could wrap around like a snake and take an hour to wait through.

  He was after the flaky, many-layered constructions that were filled with almond paste and decorated with slivers of candied nuts. It was sweet upon sweet, but Thaniel had always had a dessert tooth.

  The stall attendant was busy with a customer, so Thaniel crept in from the side, fingers reaching out for the nearest metal tray. The scent of the cooling pastries, still warm from the oven, made his stomach gurgle in desperation.

  It betrayed him, or the attendant had some prescient sense that caused her to whirl and deliver a smart blow to Thaniel's fingers.

  "Marisha!" Thaniel complained, drawing back before she could strike him again.

  The stall attendant drew herself up. She was an older woman, her eyes framed with kindly smile lines, but her expression was stern now.

  "Thaniel!" she rejoined, sounding scandalized. "Stealing around the side again, rather than pay for a few pastries?"

  Thaniel gave her an amiable smirk, reaching up to tug sheepishly at a few locks of hair that had escaped his hood. "Didn't want to wait around in the hot sun," he mumbled.

  Marisha's expression altered. "I can see why you might not want to, given the day you have ahead of you …"

  Thaniel hastened to interject, "Yeah, preparation after boring preparation, dull enough to make me fall asleep in the middle of the traditional milk bath. What do they think I am, a cut of meat that needs to marinate?"

  Marisha barely cracked a smile. "Well, just this once, then," she murmured. Her kindly eyes turned sad, though her mouth continued to be thin and stern.

  "Oh, can I have two?" Thaniel spoke up, risking himself when she began to bundle up a single pastry into a napkin.

  Marisha cut another look at him but slipped a second pastry into the napkin without comment.

  "Thanks, and gods' blessings," Thaniel said, tucking his thumb against his fingers and kissing it in her direction before accepting the napkin with its tasty payload. "Best of the sun to you."

  "And to you," Marisha told him with a brief smile, strained around the edges.

  Thaniel nodded slowly. He didn't want to accept it on the basis of pity and suddenly regretted coming to the stall after all. He'd only wanted things to be normal, a day like any other, though the last of its kind that he'd enjoy before the ceremony.

  There was no going back.

  Napkin tucked at the hinge of an elbow, Thaniel hurried for the southern wall, seeking the place that provided the most shelter from the sun this time of day. There was an archway behind a row of shops; most wouldn't think to trespass, but Thaniel had become accustomed to roaming freely. He went where he liked, and there were few who could challenge him.

  As he turned to fit himself into the arch, he collided with something considerably softer than stone, but still angled enough to hurt.

  "Ouch!" a voice proclaimed sharply.

  Thaniel started, twisting around to look where he was going this time, before trying to settle himself onto the ledge against the wall that ran behind the archway.

  "Ah, Blaise!" he exclaimed, breaking into his first carefree smile of the day.

  Blaise poked his tousled, dark red head from around the shielded seclusion of the archway. "Oh, it's you," he said, and scooted back within the archway, patting the ledge beside him. "Thought I'd see you today somewhere around center square."

  Thaniel took the offered seat, laying the napkin open across his knee to expose the two pastries.

  "And I thought I'd see you," he replied contentedly, nudging one of the almond pastries closer to his friend.

  When Thaniel had been twelve years old, all the boys his age had been gathered at the central temple at the conclusion of the great drought. It was a cycle that repeated every four years, and it was unstoppable. Thaniel had been marked by the gods at that assemblage, and upon being chosen, he'd moved here, to the city of the central temple. His father and sister had been sent home with compensation for life, if managed well.

  Lonely in a large, bewildering city and struggling to answer the call of destiny, his friendship with Blaise had grounded him where the well-meaning lectures of attendants and priests had failed to reach him. Not long after the day he'd met Blaise in the hedge maze, Thaniel had been wandering through the market, had seen Blaise nicking pastries, and had eluded his attendant to help Blaise get away with his minor theft, serving as his alibi.

  There were so many who went hungry, even in a city as great as the capital. Thaniel had to do what he could to help, whether it was scattering coins or providing a distraction so someone else could get their belly fed.

  They might have become friends no matter what, but Thaniel was certain that moment of camaraderie had created an unbreakable bond.

  "It's good," Blaise said, and he could have been talking about the pastry or their chance encounter today, but either way when their eyes met, they both smiled. It made Thaniel sure that his friend meant he was pleased to see him.

  Tomorrow Thaniel would go willingly to meet the gods' chosen in order to end the great drought once more, so he was glad he got to see Blaise today.

  "Stolen?" Blaise wondered, reaching out for the nearest pastry and breaking off a flaky piece. He lifted it to his lips and made a happy noise.

  It made Thaniel's belly draw tight. Flustered, he picked up his own pastry and stuffed a great bite into his mouth.

  "Was going to nick a couple, but Marisha gave them to me," Thaniel replied.

  Blaise grunted. "Looking sorry for you, I'll bet," he said, and sniffed.

  Thaniel averted his eyes. "I shouldn't have gone," he replied.

  "I would have stolen you a couple," Blaise told him, nudging him in the ribs.

  "What if I didn't want stolen pastries?" Thaniel replied, nudging him back.

  Blaise rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's exactly why you went around the side," he said.

  "How did you—" Thaniel started, and sagged back against the wall behind him.

  "Saw you, before I came over here to wait," Blaise replied. He took another bite of pastry, his warm amber-brown eyes glinting over at Thaniel. It was an unusual combination, light brown eyes with red hair, even though Blaise's was dark enough to be considered auburn. Thaniel had asked several times where Blaise had come from, to which his friend had always replied evasively, Many places. "Thanks."

  "Mm," Thaniel replied, and settled back into place beside Blaise, their shoulders bumping.

  "The day's going to be a scorcher," Blaise offered, giving Thaniel what seemed an attempt at casual conversation.

  "Not for long," Thaniel replied, giving Blaise a brief, appreciative look before gazing off to the side where the stalls were casting their shadows on dusty ground. The white stones beyond the shade were giving off a shimmer that let Thaniel know how hot they were already, and it would likely get even hotter.

  "The best of the sun," Blaise murmured, sounding thoughtful.

  "Is it
?" Thaniel shot back, though he knew it was the other half of the traditional beneficence. Today of all days, there was an extra sting to the blessing.

  Blaise turned his head, but Thaniel kept his eyes steadfastly gazing forward though he could feel the scrutiny.

  "Let's go," Blaise said, elbowing him in the ribs.

  "What?" Thaniel said, sidling away. "Where? I'm still eating, here."

  "It's portable," Blaise pointed out.

  "What if I don't want to?" Thaniel challenged.

  Blaise shrugged, getting up from the ledge and squeezing out from the other side of the archway. "I can still go myself," he replied. He flashed an impish look over his shoulder at Thaniel. "But it'll be lonely without you."

  It only took a few steps for Thaniel's nerve to break.

  "All right," he exclaimed, getting up to follow. "Okay, I'll go along with you."

  Blaise smirked at him as though to say that was the outcome he knew they'd reach all along.

  As Thaniel hastened his steps to catch up with Blaise, he could admit that it had been a foregone conclusion after all. In so many ways, he was the follower to Blaise's leader.

  He tore a strip off his pastry and stuffed it in his mouth as he matched his stride to Blaise's. The sun seared down across the back of his outer garment and he drew the hood up again, protecting his head from the sun.

  The all-present sun—it blessed their land with light, but burned away the crops when the great drought returned all too soon after the last ceremony, and the one before, and the one prior to that. Their world demanded balance between sun and the clouds that brought rain, and for too long they'd gone without the latter.

  "Where are you taking me?" Thaniel wanted to know, regarding his last piece of almond paste stuffed pastry before nipping it from his fingers, and licking them for good measure.

  Blaise gave him a mysterious smile. "Don't you trust me, Thaniel?"

  The question made Thaniel want to give a flippant answer, but there was something, a gravity in his eyes, that compelled a serious response from him. "With my life," he blurted.