Children of Chaos - Book 1

“On top of the world…I never felt more free.”

“You want me to do what?”

I looked up at the rusty red stone arcs in front of me. He had to be kidding. The one he was looking at was at least 130 feet high. He laughed and held out his hand to me.

“Come on.”

Now I was convinced, he’d gone mental. There was no way that I was climbing up there. I had never been rock climbing, and even with the proper gear, it would have freaked me out. And Khai didn't even have gear, just a pair of knives. This was crazy!

“I’m not climbing up there. That’s straight up! I’ll fall and then I’ll be a red spot on the ground. Not exactly how I wanna die.”

“You have a specific way in which you wish to die?”

“Yes! Not like this! Specific enough?”

He laughed and grabbed my hand, deep and full and I felt the corners of my mouth twitch upwards ever so slightly. Reluctantly I let him pull me along, as he headed towards the arch, dragging my feet through the hot sand. I figured even he would have a hard time pulling me all the way up there. Once we got closer I saw that behind one of the folds of the arch there were crude steps cut into the rock, leading all the way to the top. It was still steep, and definitely still dangerous, but not as suicidal as what I had thought he had been suggesting.

“See? You’re not gonna be a red spot on the ground. If anything, you’ll be a red spot on the steps.”

“Haha”, I said dryly, but couldn’t keep the smile from my lips.

Khai had insisted on bringing up the rear in case my foot slipped or I got tired. Either that or he really wanted to stare at my bum. I decided to assume it was the former reason. Still, I felt slightly self-conscious. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, but I felt like I was slowing him down. The steps boosted my confidence, but I still took my time, carefully placing each foot and making sure that I had a firm hold before I moved on.

Despite the steps, the climb was strenuous. The sun was high in the sky, and I could feel the heat get to me as I blinked the sweat out of my eyes. I wished, not for the first time, that my powers would make me immune to the blazing heat, but it was not meant to be. Still I had a little something I could do. The shadows were short on our side of the fold, but I bent them, making them fall in an unnatural direction, keeping the worst of the blaze away from us. Khai made an appreciative sound, but remained silent otherwise, letting us fall into a comfortable silence, giving me more than enough room to think.

Why were we here? I had been with the Shemsuddin for a good six months now. At first, Khai had simply been friendly, but without showing any particular interest in me. He’d shown me around camp, introduced me to some of his friends, and had casual conversations with me. But ever since that night at the fire things seemed to have changed. I thought back to that night. He’d asked me to get out of there, and I’d felt nervous and excited. It hadn’t been what I expected at all. I mean, we surfed tortoises! I was still having a bit of a hard time wrapping my mind around it.

Another thing I had a hard time wrapping my mind around was the feelings I was clearly beginning to develop, something I hadn’t expected at all. I was starting to like Khai. After what had happened with Aidan, I hadn’t expected to ever feel this way about anyone again, or at the very least not so soon. It was less than six months ago that I’d been in love with Aidan, although unwillingly so. But what did I feel for Khai? Well. He was definitely handsome. He wasn’t very tall, which I usually preferred in a guy, but I couldn’t help but notice that he had a very nice body. It came with the job, I supposed. But it wasn’t his body that made him so attractive, no, it was his eyes. Those deep blue eyes that always seemed to smile. Speaking of smiling! His smile was his second best feature. It wasn’t devilish handsome, like with Aidan, but there was something incredibly genuine about it. That was it. Khai was genuine.

“We’re almost there.”

Khai’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I blushed when I realized what I’d just been thinking about. It was a good thing that he couldn’t see my face. Sure enough, I could see the end of the steps and after a few more I pulled myself up onto the arch.

"Wow."

As inarticulate as it was, it was the only word I could come up with. The view in front of me took my breath away. Around us the pillars of the Ennedi Plateau, as the Shemsuddin called this place, rose out of the golden sand, and beyond that? Beyond that, for miles and miles, was nothing but sand and the deep blue sky. I looked over at Khai, a wide grin on my face.

“This is amazing!”

I walked up to the edge and spread my arms, feeling the wind blow around my hair and tunic. I laughed again, closing my eyes, enjoying the wind and the sun on my face. I felt Khai come up beside me and opened my eyes to look at him. My long dark hair had come out of its bun during the climb and was blowing around my face, and he, slowly, carefully reached out and tucked a loose strand behind my ear. I could feel my pulse race, but I wasn’t nervous at all. I felt exhilarated! Alive!

“You look radiant”, he said with a smile of his own.

I turned back towards the desert sand, looking out over the endless sea of gold.

“This place…is incredible.”

He nodded, but he wasn’t looking out over the sand. He was looking at me. A few days ago, maybe even a few minutes ago, that would have made me feel uncomfortable, nervous even, but now? Now it made me feel even more alive. I had never felt this way before. I felt as if I could do anything, as if every nerve in my body were crying out in joy, free from the world, free from fear. I turned around and looked at him. Looked into those azure blue eyes, and without even thinking about it I leaned over and kissed him. Just a soft, gentle peck on his lips, no more than a breeze.

I pulled back with a grin, my heart beating even faster than before, and looked at him. Now I was nervous. This was so unlike me. I was the careful type, always thinking too much. But as I looked into those eyes I realized that I had nothing to worry about. He was smiling at me, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Well, that was nice.”

I laughed and sat down at the edge, my legs dangling over the side, patting the ground beside me as I looked into the distance.

“I can’t believe I did that “, I said with a chuckle.

“Why?”

The smile slid off my face, almost in slow motion. Of course, that was the logical question to ask, and if I hadn’t had wanted to hear it I probably wouldn’t have said anything, still it made me nervous.

“Because I’m always afraid.”

He was silent after that and I closed my eyes and let the wind caress my face.

“But I’m not right now. I don’t know why, but this place makes me feel… free. Free from fear.”

“Do you know why I brought you here?”

I looked over at him. “No. Why?”

“The world knows this place as the Ennedi Plate, Sahara’s secret garden, but to us, this is known as the Garden of Surya, the sun palace. This was her domain.”

Surya’s, no Shinehah’s garden. Was that why I felt so free here?

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

He leaned over gently kissed my lips.

“You’re welcome.”

We sat there in silence for a long time, our fingertips brushing against each other ever so slightly. It was a strange sensation, the familiarity, and safety I felt up here. I’d only had one previous relationship and that had been hot and fierce, full of fire. This, although it was just the beginning, felt different. Deeper somehow. Like the pull of the river. Gentle, calm and yet not to be denied.

“So Kyra. What’s your story?”

The words broke the silence.

“What do you mean? I’ve told my story when I first got here.”

“That’s not what I mean. I mean what’s your story. The thing that marked you, made you. I can tell that you have one, I see it in your eyes.”

Suddenly I wasn’t feeling comfortable at all anymore and I pulled my hand away. I didn’t want to talk about my heartaches. Those were wounds that had barely scabbed and I was afraid that the slightest movement would tear them wide open. When I didn’t say anything he sighed and sat up straight, pulling one knee to his chest, while the other dangled over the edge.

“Maybe I should start by telling you mine.”