Chapter Three
Tim’ha stared at the readouts and the sudden, shocking trajectory that his sister’s pod had taken. When the tumbling changed into a direct line toward the northern dead zone, he got up from his station and ran for the palace.
The courtiers scattered as he thudded along the elaborate mosaics into the audience chamber. His mother grabbed his arm to keep him from making a scene. “What is it, Tim’ha?”
He bent his head and murmured his concern. His mother nodded and walked gracefully toward his father. She pressed two fingers to the inside of her wrist, and he got to his feet, excusing himself and dismissing those who waited.
Tim’ha waited until his parents passed him, and then, he followed closely.
“Where did she disappear?” His mother’s tone was brisk.
“At the edge of the dead zone. Her pod changed direction, and the wind pushed it into that space.”
His father’s shoulders tightened, and as soon as they were in the family quarters, he gestured and displayed Minya’s path from the atmospheric entry until her disappearance.
“What grabbed her?”
“I don’t know, Father. It was strong enough to bend the weather to its will.”
Master Elite D’hai Bosun turned toward him. “Did you feel any efforts from her to change position?”
Master Elite Healer Myka Michaels placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “She can’t do that. She hadn’t touched down on soil that would nurture her.”
He nodded. “Right. Call the others. We are going to get her.”
Tim’ha nodded and swallowed. “How?”
“We will transport to the last place on her trajectory, load up with supplies, and enter the dead zone.”
Myka nodded. “I will get the cold-weather clothing and supplies arranged. It has been a while since I walked a distance on my own feet, but I would walk around the world to get my daughter back.”
Tim’ha watched his father hug his mother, and then, he crafted the summoning glyph that would bring his two brothers and sister to them.
The Bosun family was filled in, and they all agreed to the journey.
Myka raised her hand. “Myetta, stay here. With us gone, a midwife needs to remain on duty.”
“Mother, you are by far the better choice.”
Myka raised her hand and stroked the hair back from Myetta’s forehead. “One of my babies is in danger. I have to go. We will be back with Minya as quickly as we can.”
Tim’ha watched his mother and sister in their gentle tableau.
Myka waited until her daughter nodded in agreement before she gave her a hug and finished the supply preparations.
Myetta sniffed slightly and nodded. “I will keep the supplies in place for you. The moment you are out of the zone, you can summon them.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Now, Mom, I want you to bring my little sister home. It is nearly the longest night, and we need her here to start the fire. It is her turn.”
Myka chuckled. “We will bring her home.”
Tim’ha watched his father squeeze his mother’s shoulders in commiseration. “We will bring her home.”
Minya had been missing for two hours when they transported to the edge of the dead zone. The cold lashed at Tim’ha, and he was relieved when his father transported in the cold-weather gear.
Packs were handed out, and Myka used the last accessible energy to point the way to her child. With a silent nod, their family walked out across the icy wasteland that the planet had seen fit not to grace with the building blocks of magic.
* * * *
Minya was toasty warm when she heard a familiar sound from what seemed miles away. She fought her way out of her furry cocoon and swayed on her feet.
“You should rest more.”
“I heard a woman scream.”
“You are not to concern yourself. Those who come here seek a life without complications. Interference in these matters is one of those complications.”
She didn’t listen; she headed down the tunnel, past the food that was laid out for her, and into the space occupied by the colonists.
Blank blue faces stared at her as she stood and waited. It took two more minutes before another scream rent the air, and she followed the sound of a woman in labour as quickly as she could.
The guards at the door lunged toward her, but she ducked, kicked, and twisted and made it to the inner sanctum.
The woman was on her back and writhing against the pulsing of her abdomen. The air was scented with fear and sweat.
Finding a pitcher of water, Minya washed her hands.
“Hello, I am Midwife Minya, and I will be bringing your baby into the world today.” Minya smiled as she got to use her Dremarai again.
The woman struggled up to her elbows. “You can speak?”
“Of course, but since they were going to help me as a stranger, it would be stupid to tell them that I was born here. Now, if you allow me to examine you, we can get you comfortable, and you can enjoy the process of giving birth.”
“I am Ema.”
Minya put on a friendly expression. “Pleased to meet you, Ema. Now, part your legs and think of the open sky.”
It started an ordeal of hours, but after Ema had done her best, Minya eased Ema’s tiny daughter into the world and coaxed her to breathe.
Ema cried as her daughter was placed on her chest. The afterbirth came in its own time, and Minya put it aside with the folded sheets that had caught the blood and fluids.
“Right. Well, now that this little one is blue instead of purple, what are you going to name her?”
Ema smiled. “My husband will name her, and then, he will take his next wife.”
Minya stared. “What?”
“We can only have one child. I will die soon, and my husband will choose another.”
“Why will you die?”
“We die in childbirth. The men then leave the community and walk to the edge, returning with their new wife.”
“What if you don’t die?”
Ema seemed shocked. “What?”
“You are not going to die in childbirth. Your body is contracting, and there is no unusual bleeding. You will live.”
Ema blinked. “Are you sure?”
“I am sure. I have overseen thirty births here on Dremarai and many more in the stars. You are fine and getting better by the minute.” Minya grinned and stroked the little girl’s chubby cheek. “Did you want me to tell him?”
“What?”
“Did you want me to tell your husband that you are alive and healthy?”
Ema blinked slowly. “Yes, please. His name is Hawdi.”
Minya straightened, rubbed her back around the sash, and she headed out of the guarded door.
Not wanting to waste time, she yelled, “Hawdi!”
A huge man rose out of the communal mass of men hunkered near the fire. Hawdi’s eyes were bloodshot, and his skin was flushed purple from crying.
“Are you Hawdi?”
He nodded. “I am.”
She could hear the murmurs of surprise now that the folk were actually listening to her.
“Your wife is alive, she is going to remain alive, and will probably be able to have more children if someone is willing to attend her.”
Minya smiled slightly. “You have a little girl by the way, and Ema will live to see her grow up.”
He swallowed. “Can I see her?”
“You can. Go on through.”
Hawdi nearly knocked her over in his urgency to see his wife. The happy cries were what she was looking for. It was a relief to find two people who wanted to be together.
She looked through the doorway to see Hawdi crying and looking at his daughter. She closed the door, and when she straightened, a man with rank marks etched into his features was glowering down at her.
“Who are you to interfere?”
Minya put her hands on her hips and was inhaling when a familiar voice rang out.
“She is my child, and she is the most obnoxious busybody that you can imagine, but she does what is right.”
Myka stepped out of the shadows, and the assembled men and women gasped.
Minya grinned when her mother snapped, “Oh, get over it.”
She ran over to her mother and hugged her. Her father stepped out of the shadows a moment later and picked them both up in his embrace.
The muttering of folks who hadn’t seen a High Prefect in their lifetime became a roar. The headman who had been confronting her came over while she was hugging the rest of her family.
“How dare you come to our lands, High Prefect?” The man crossed his arms over his chest.
“I am able to travel anywhere on this world to seek my children.”
“She isn’t yours.”
Minya felt her father’s hands flex on her shoulders.
“She is my youngest. My sixth child. My third daughter.” Her father was smug about that.
Dremarai had a high mortality rate for childbirth. Even with highly trained midwives, only two in five mothers had an uncomplicated delivery. This was the reason that Myka had travelled through the stars and the reason she had gotten an assignment as one of the first aliens on Dremarai in recent memory. She was a midwife with a complete focus on her patient. She had taught Minya to bring the children into the world with the mother, not for them. It was a different experience that meant the chance of life was much higher. Of course, outside of the dead zone, she had the ability to heal by touch. That helped a lot, and since so many women died, having daughters was a sign of virility.
Minya was surrounded by her brothers and parents. The headman had the backing of his people.
“We live a pure life here without interference.”
Minya elbowed her way past her brothers. “There is nothing purer than women helping women. No magic, no science, just knowledge of what is happening and the ability to share that information with the woman struggling.”
Hawdi came into the space with a beaming grin on his face. His arms held his little, squalling baby. “I don’t care what she is. Ema is smiling, the little one has had her first meal, and my wife is discussing bringing my daughter a brother in a year or so. This is a miracle fit for the shortest days of the year.”
The headman scowled and looked back at Minya. “You were here to tempt the sleeper. As you have failed, you will have to die.”
Myka growled behind Minya, but it wasn’t necessary.
“She did wake me.” There was a clear voice from the tunnel where they had stuck Minya, but the speaker was in shadow.
The reaction of the colony was instant. Everyone bowed, and a few even knelt.
The headman murmured, “Master Yuul, you have woken.”
“I have. Your stranger was the correct one. Now that I am awake, she may go, as can her people.” He didn’t move out of the shadows, but he inclined his head.
Myka grabbed her wrist. “Come on, Minya. Before anyone changes their minds.”
Minya looked toward the shadows, and the owner of the voice waved farewell.
She grabbed her parents, and they all rushed out of the caverns and into the icy air.
Minya welcomed the wrap of the heavy cloak that her mother flung over her shoulders. With her family protecting her, she walked across the ice and snow until Tim’ha called out. As she watched, he shifted into his crimson eagle, and the rest of them rushed to catch up.
One moment she was surrounded by ice and snow, and the next, she was in the comfort of her family home. Home, safe, and low on calories, Minya let herself faint.
She could find out how long she was gone when she woke up.