Maliuth: The Reborn Read online

  “It was nothing…” the Oracle was not used to the attention and was turning red. “I am sure…”

  “Ori?” Alea was wiggling to be put down. When her feet touched the ground, she hugged her friend. “Thank you. I know how hard it must have been going against The Elder to help me.”

  Maliuth was not normally the jealous type, and Alea was hugging an Oracle for crying out loud, but he still felt his ire rising at her contact with another male. Before he could get overly worked up, she was leaning into his side.

  Placing her hand in his she sighed, “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alea hurried out the door of her tree home and smoothed the skirt of her dress one last time. Her gown had a high-neck with a drop waist and full skirt with a slit to the mid-thigh. The midnight blue color went well with her pale skin and black hair. She had taken the time to gel her hair and put it up off her shoulders. Since the dress was sleeveless, her tattoo was shown off perfectly. She knew that a tattoo like the one on her shoulder wouldn’t have been her style in her previous life. Shrugging her shoulder, she admired the tattoo for a moment longer, and then continued on her way. She didn’t care what would have been proper in her old life, that was gone and she was living this life now.

  She took the bridges and platforms to the new Healing Tree. Ori had been assigned to help train her in the healing arts of Abondiel so she got to spend a lot of time with him. She couldn’t believe how helpful he was in teaching her the ways of meditation and relaxation. She was getting better every day when it came to being able to stabilize a wounded person, or drawing out a poison.

  She was glad Ori wasn’t the new Elder. When she asked him one day about why he wasn’t chosen, he had blushed and hurried to explain. Before her arrival, he had heard a voice telling him to help the next Reborn female in any way he could. Which is why he had allowed her and Maliuth to begin the mating process and tried to stall The Elder. Even though it hadn’t worked out as he had planned. Then after her arrival, he had heard the same voice in his dreams asking him if he wanted to be the next Elder. Since he hadn’t any desire for that role in the Temple, he had declined. The voice had told him that he would serve an even greater purpose and that Jerr would make a great Elder. Then the events had played out in the council, The Elder had gone mad, and she had been poisoned. Everything had happened like the voice had said it would. Alea wasn’t surprised since she had a feeling she knew who the “voice” belonged to. Flaura…or maybe even a higher power than her “Universally Appointed Afterlife Social Worker”.

  Today Alea was meeting with Sartya and Elisven. The last time she had talked with them was at the celebration dance. It had lasted for days, and Alea had marveled at how welcoming and friendly everyone had been. She blushed again when she recalled the females asking what kissing was and why it had the males acting strangely. Alea still couldn’t believe that nobody in Abondiel had ever kissed or used their mouths in a sexual way before, and that it had such a huge impact on the population. It seems she had unwittingly caused a sexual revolution. None of the couples was waiting for their year to engage with each other anymore.

  “Alea.” She heard Ori’s voice as she came across the bridge to the Healing Tree and wondered at the nervousness she heard. He was usually so unflappable. “You have company waiting for you in the back room.” He gestured behind him. “It is the Queen.” He whispered conspiratorially.

  Alea bit back her smile, “Thank you Ori.” Making her way into the back room she saw the Queen and Sartya sitting across from one another.

  “Alea.” Elisven saw her first, “You have made it.” She rose gracefully from her spot and waited for her to join them. “Sartya and I were just talking about Galan. He has been summoned by The Elder.” Her excitement at the news was obvious. Her face radiated happiness and her normal serene demeanor was gone, replaced with bubbling energy.

  Alea looked from Elisven to Sartya, “Galan is in the Oracle Temple? He is trying for a mate?” Alea wondered why Maliuth hadn’t told her, then Sartya spoke and she knew why.

  “He was just summoned a few minutes ago. We rushed over here as soon as we could get away.” Sartya nodded excitedly. “Malendroch and the King were in talks with the council when the Oracle came for Galan. Elisven and I were coming to see you already, so we hurried to get here. Maliuth can tell you more, but I’m sure he will be asked to attend the Rebirth.”

  “I am sure of it also. Galan would have no other than Maliuth by his side.” Elisven stated emphatically. “Those two are as close as brothers.” Taking Sartya into a big hug, she let go and turned to Alea. “We have not been summoned, but Folmar and I will be going to the temple as well. You never know how long a Rebirth is going to take, and Galan may be able to get his mate through the shadow quickly.” She laughed nervously. “I will let you know the second anything happens.” She looked over her shoulder at the doorway, “Though with Ori as such a good friend, you might know before I do.” Laughing softly the Queen hurried away.

  Sartya smiled as her friend hurried out the door. “I wish I could be there for her. The rules of only family and one friend are very hard to comply with.”

  Alea made to sit and motioned for Sartya to do the same. “I’m sure there is a reason to limit how many people are there. It is such a traumatic experience. Which brings me to something I wanted to ask you.” Alea paused and Sartya looked at her questioningly.

  “You can ask me anything.” Sartya leaned forward, “What is troubling you?”

  Alea took a deep breath, “Do you remember anything from before you were Reborn?” She had been slowly forgetting things about the life she had left behind. She wanted to make sure it was normal.

  “Before the Rebirth?” Sartya thought long and hard, “I think I used to talk about where I came from and my life from before, but I do not remember anything about that time now. It has been one hundred cycles, so I can blame my forgetting on such a long time passing.”

  Alea’s mouth dropped open, “One hundred cycles?” She couldn’t help that her voice rose. “How much time is that exactly?” For all she knew that could be months and time was accelerated here on Prion.

  “Well, let me see. A cycle is about three hundred units. A unit is the rise of the sun to the next rise.”

  “So you are telling me that you have been here on Prion for one hundred cycles?!” Alea couldn’t believe she was getting this correct. Sartya looked to be in her forties at the oldest, not one hundred!

  “Yes.” Sartya looked at her with concern, “Are you okay? You seem pale.”

  “I’m fine.” Alea muttered then thought to ask, “How many cycles is the average life span?”

  “For the women the life span is about one hundred and sixty cycles. The males are slightly less. Though only because of the damage they take in battle.”

  That made Alea laugh, “I have never known such peaceful surroundings but you are talking about battle and Maliuth is the First Prime of the guard. Who or what exactly do they fight against?”

  Sartya looked at her intently and Alea’s laughter died. Her mother-in-law settled back into her seat, “The telling goes that a very long time ago there was a split in the evolution of the main humanoid life form on Prion. You see, there was constant warring and raiding of each other’s camps. None of the leaders would agree to and stick to peaceful resolution of conflicts. Deciding that retreating into the trees was their only hope, a group was led up into the canopy by their King.” She gestured around, “Here they were able to live in peace and they continued their evolution to what you see today.” With a shudder she explained, “On the ground is the other evolution. They are primitive, violent, irrational and impossible to deal with diplomatically. Every few cycles they try to raid the trees, or burn us out, or some such nonsense. They are never successful, but we are forced to defend ourselves. The women are taught self-defense in case of emergencies, but almost always the fighting is done solely by our males.”

  Alea
sat there taking it what Sartya was saying. There were Elves on the ground that were the enemies of the people in the trees. How did they find mates if they didn’t have The Elder hearing their names or did they have a Reborn ritual? If not, why hadn’t they just gone extinct? Then it dawned on her, if their evolution was different from the people in the trees…perhaps they could bear female children. Before she could ask if Sartya knew, she was standing to leave.

  “I am going to find Malendroch.” She smiled at Alea and gave her a hug goodbye. “He may have heard something from the temple. I will see you later at dinner. You did agree to come to our home this time and Malendroch has been preparing his signature dish for you.” Sartya reminded her as she went toward the doorway.

  “I wouldn’t miss it.” Alea called out, “We will see you for dinner. I’m sure Maliuth will want to fortify himself for the long wait in the temple with a good meal.”

  With a final wave, Sartya was gone and Alea knew who she needed to ask about the ground Elves. Ori might be able to answer any questions she had.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Finding Ori in the outer room of the Healing Tree she hurried to ask him to sit with her. He agreed without hesitation and Alea jumped right in with her question.

  “Ori. Do you know how the ground Elves are able to sustain a population?”

  Ori looked taken aback for one second then he was silent. Alea didn’t interfere with his concentration he was obviously thinking about what she had asked. Then he seemed to come back to himself and looked at her. “I would have to guess that they are able to have female offspring. They wouldn’t be able to do a Rebirth ceremony.” Before she could ask how he knew that he continued, “Thousands of years ago, when the couples in the trees became unable to have female children any longer, The Elder at the time was shown a vision. In the Oracle Tree, there would be a light that he needed to capture. The voice called this new place the Oracle Temple. The Elder was told how to build the chrysalis pods and when to expect a Reborn female. Even that the name of the male to call to the temple would be ‘heard’ by The Elder. The voice warned that a male had three units to try to convince a female to travel through the shadows.” He saw that she was listening intently so finished, “The Elder even wrote that the voice warned him this was the only opening on Prion. If we failed to guard the new Oracle Temple, we would not have another chance.”

  Alea considered what he had said. Building a chrysalis pod around the light seemed pretty scientific, but that wasn’t her strong suit so she moved on to what might be her area of expertise. “Was it ever discovered why the women stopped having female offspring?”

  Ori didn’t hesitate before answering, “There wasn’t a big push to find the reason. It had been accepted that the females would come from the Rebirthing Ceremony. Nobody has questioned the process, so it continues.”

  “Would it be a good thing to find a way for a pregnancy to result in females?” Alea was curious to see what Ori would say.

  “I honestly don’t know Alea.” He answered. “The Reborn females of Abondiel begin their female time about one month after the Rebirth. Their fertility only lasts for about ten cycles. In addition to that, they are only able to conceive once a year. It was decided, since all births were male, that pregnancies would be limited. If there was a chance to increase the population by having female offspring and the potential for those females to be mates for more males…I would think that would be a good thing.”

  Alea did some math and figured if they were able to have female offspring, maybe the population would increase, but if the council decided, they could limit the pregnancies if they didn’t want a population boom. Having females born instead of Reborn would be a major shock to the current social structure. She wasn’t sure that the council or the people of Abondiel would be ready for that kind of change.

  “Alea.” She started when Maliuth called her name from the front room. “I moved our dinner with my parents to lunch instead. If you do not mind.” He came into the room with her and Ori and she stood to give him a kiss.

  “I heard that Galan was called to the Oracle Temple. I don’t mind making it a luncheon. I know you will want to hurry to the temple to be with your friend.” Thinking for a second, she turned to Ori, “Would you like to join us for lunch?”

  When Ori hesitated, Maliuth was quick to agree, “Yes Ori. You have been a great help in setting up the Healing Tree and training Alea. You should join us.”

  “Thank you for the offer, but I must get to the temple. I am still the head Oracle when it comes to the Reborn females.” He smiled warmly then followed them from the tree. At the platform, Maliuth pulled her to the left and Ori went right.

  “I know I might not see you for a few days.” She called from the bridge. “I hope this Rebirthing goes okay!”

  Ori waved at her and yelled. “The Elder was told that it will go smoothly…at least more smoothly than yours.”

  “Well that tells us that the female will not start someone on fire at least.” Maliuth teased as they walked along the bridge to his parents. Her fingers entwined with his. “I hope for Galan’s sake that she comes through the shadows quickly. He is a nervous wreck.”

  Alea laughed, “Aren’t all men waiting for their mates nervous wrecks?” She moved to wrap her arm around his waist, “We can eat fast and then you can return to wait at the temple.” She didn’t want Maliuth to miss anything so hurried him along the path. For once, he was rushing to keep up with her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alea was running on the bridges, being chased by a male in fur coverings. The ground Elves were attacking Abondiel. If not for the fact that they were trying to kill her, Alea might be sympathetic to their plight. They were covered in dirt and face paint. Their weapons might be crude, but when the male smashed his club into the railing to her left, they were still deadly. When she chanced a glance behind her, she barely saw his wild eyes flashing through his unkempt hair. His evil smile showed cracked and blackened teeth.

  “Yech.” She muttered. Stumbling slightly she put her attention back on the bridge. When she felt his hand brushing against her arm she shrieked louder. “Arrkkk.” It was no use. She felt his fingers grip tightly around her arm. She was spun around and pulled against the males larger frame. Her nose was instantly assailed with his stench, her gag reflex kicked in and she choked down her bile. He smelled worse than he looked! How was that even possible?

  As she struggled against the male, instead of her panic building she felt her sense of anger taking over. She could feel the familiar burning in her blood at being threatened. She grabbed his arms with her hands…

  “Alea!” That was Maliuth. She turned her head to find him in the panicked crowd. “Alea!” Where was he? Her assailant let out a scream as her fingers dug hotter into his skin. “Alea…wake up!”

  With a start, Alea sat straight up in bed taking gasping breaths.

  “It is a good thing the material of our bedding is flame retardant and will not catch fire.” Maliuth teased her and drew the smoking blanket off the bed.

  “Maliuth.” She was disoriented at seeing him. It had been threes day and he was supposed to be at the Oracle Temple with Galan. “You are back? How is Galan? Is his mate here?” Alea was wringing her hands in worry that something might have gone wrong.

  Maliuth grabbed her to stop the movement and smiled lovingly, “That is why I am here. I need you to come to the temple with me.” He was reaching into the chest for a dress. “The Elder needs your assistance with Galan and Emily.”

  “Did you say Emily?” That sounded like an Earth name. She wondered if the newly Reborn female was from there too.

  “Yes.” He replied absently placing the dress on the bed at her feet. “The Reborn female’s name is Emily.” Yawning hugely, he pulled gently at the blanket she was tucked into. “We need to hurry. You will see when you get there the urgency.”

  Sighing guiltily, he had said that The Elder needed her, which meant someone must be hur
t. She hurried to pull the dress on and held out her hand to Maliuth. “I’m ready.”

  As they hurried along the bridges to the temple, Alea thought to ask, “Maliuth can I talk with you about something?”

  “I hope you can talk with me about everything.” He rubbed his hands along her arm.

  “You know I have been working with Ori.” She began then snorted, “Of course you know that.” She began again breathing slightly heavy at the pace he was setting, “What I mean is…I think I might know of a way to find out what is causing the lack of female babies. Do you think the Council, and people of Abondiel would want to know the reason?” she finished in a rushed whisper.

  Maliuth’s fingers had stiffened and Alea worried that he was angry with her for even suggesting it. Maybe the males liked the idea of females being exclusively brought through the Oracle Temple. “You think you can find the reason?”

  Alea kept her fingers laced with his as she ran, “If it is a medical reason I think I can find it…and maybe fix it.”

  They had reached the temple and Maliuth paused at the doors. She chewed her lip fretfully, and then looked into his face. His shocked expression changed at her nervous look to one of happiness. “I think the people of Abondiel would be happy to have females born into the community again. It would be a miracle.” His voice was husky with emotion.

  Alea sighed with relief and hugged him fiercely. She had been worried that Maliuth would think it was a horrible idea. When she felt his fingers under her chin, she looked up again.

  “You are a miracle.” He kissed her softly on the lips. “How do you think you can help after all of these years?”

  Alea couldn’t resist kissing him back. With no small amount of teasing in her voice she said, “I am a healer.” Kissing his dimples when he smiled at her boast she added, “but not only that…I am more.” She threw the words that he had said at the Council meeting back at him.