The First Ancestor: Ranger of the Titan Wilds, Book 2 by J.D.L. Rosell

Author:J.D.L. Rosell [Rosell, J.D.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rune & Requiem Press
Published: 2023-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

Afterward, sweaty and leaden-limbed, Leiyn made her way to Xepi's hut and was glad to sense the shaman inside.

"Show me how to access it," Leiyn said as soon as she strode through the door and sat at the table. "Zuma's spark. I'm ready to reach for it."

Xepi sat across from her. She looked up from the mortar and pestle in her hands and raised her eyebrows. "So you are still in Qasaar."

"Did you think I'd leave?"

"Your companions did."

When Leiyn didn't immediately respond, the shaman continued her grinding.

"I'm here, Xepi." Leiyn spoke with a low, measured tone. "I'm committed. Win or lose, live or die, I'm fighting this war. It's our war. And I'll do anything I must."

Xepi nodded, not looking up. "Good."

Leiyn tried not to feel annoyed as the shaman only continued to mash away. She crossed her arms and waited but couldn't hold her tongue for long.

"So?"

The shaman set down the pestle, picked up a wooden cup, and tapped the contents of the bowl into it. Then she lifted a beaten copper kettle, which had been simmering behind her, and poured hot water in. She set the steaming cup on Leiyn's side of the table.

"It will steep for a few minutes, then you will drink it."

Leiyn drew the tumbler toward her and sniffed. "Smells savory. Like… mushrooms."

"It is, in part. Dried nacatl, a mushroom that grows only in the caves along the foothills of these mountains. There is also the crown of the peyotl cactus. Both of these affect the ilis, opening it. You will feel the borders of yourself fade and Tlalli meld with you. Be wary; do not drift too far. You must remain concentrated on your task."

She didn't like the sound of the toadstool tea's effect, but she didn't protest. Just one more thing to grin and bear.

"Accessing Zuma's memories. That's what this is for, isn't it?"

Xepi nodded. "If you succeed, you will feel a part of his presence. Do not fear this; it will bring you no harm."

"I never feared Zuma before. I don't plan on starting now."

It wasn't quite true. She'd feared Zuma a great deal before she came to know him. But once she'd opened herself to the aged shaman and recognized all he'd done for her, admiration had replaced any terror.

"You must not stop at sensing him but press into his memories. Identify his lifemark and follow it through his past. There, we will unlock the secrets you must know."

Doubts flitted through Leiyn's mind like crows over carrion. Xepi was no longer cautioning her, but urging her on, though she'd expressed doubts as to her readiness so recently.

Why doesn't she tell me these secrets?

Leiyn shook her head. She wouldn't let doubts stop her. They never had before.

After a few more moments, Xepi prompted her to drink the tea. Leiyn cradled the cup before her nose, steam pouring around her face. While musty from the mushrooms, the tea also had a scent bitter enough to nearly scald her nostrils. Hints of licorice root softened the stench.

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