The Living Blood by Tananarive Due

Author:Tananarive Due [Due, Tananarive]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Published: 2014-01-21T00:00:00+00:00

25

Dawit loathed his feeling of helplessness. But, above all, he loathed his fear.

The large mirrored wall in his chamber was usually hidden behind a curtain, a mirror he reserved for observing his sword stances and the fluidity of his dancelike combat movements. His motions were a breathtaking lethal poetry when he perfected them, even to his own eyes. He had prepared for countless matches with the guidance of his mirrored motion, his blades glinting in the reflection.

Yet, now he stood before his own mummified image as if he were facing a stranger. His posture was tentative, his eyes were red for lack of sleep, and he could almost see his fear in every sinew of his body despite the healing cloths. What had become of him?

It was bad enough he could do nothing for Jessica, at least nothing she craved. He could explain nothing about the origin of their child’s strange powers; he had heard of no child like her, and he suspected there had never been one. Fana was a bright, lovely girl—sweet in the way many children were at her tender, trusting age—but she baffled him. And even though he could not name what she was, he knew full well that the fault for her condition lay with him. He had damaged this child in the womb, and now he might not be able to control her.

She had created rain? She’d nearly sent a child to his death with her mere thoughts? Even Khaldun, to his knowledge, had never performed such miraculous feats. If Khaldun had such power, he mused, Kaleb would never have escaped from the colony after his heinous acts. Khaldun would already have made an example of him; instead, Khaldun had dispatched the Searchers to root him from his hiding place in the world above. But how could Khaldun expect the Searchers to maintain their loyalty now? Kaleb was one of their own.

What might Fana have done in retribution, given a chance? Jessica, despite her courage in coming to the colony, still seemed unwilling to examine the most obvious element of Fana’s existence: This girl could do whatever she liked. Therefore, as loving as she seemed, she was a threat to anyone who encountered her. Even to him.

“What are you afraid of?” he said aloud to his reflection. “A child?” The derision in his voice forced him to laugh.

But the answer, regardless, was yes. And pretend as he might in her presence, the child was sure to know his fear. He did not have the power to mask his thoughts like Khaldun and his Higher Brothers, who hid themselves behind impenetrable veils. He might mask a few thoughts, but not all of them. His only real weapon, ironically, was to love her. Could he do that, despite his fear? He must try, at least. That was what Jessica wanted from him, and that was what he owed both mother and child. And that was only the beginning of his penance.

Dawit searched his dark eyes in the reflection, looking for traces of himself.

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