Fall of Sky City (A Steampunk Fantasy Sci-Fi Adventure Novel) (Devices of War) Read Free Page B

he held open for her. He glanced up and muttered.
    She waved him off.
    Oki knelt next to her, peering at the book. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned in with keen interest.
    Mother pushed the book toward her daughter and said something I couldn’t hear.
    Oki gathered the book, rising with it. She pecked a kiss on my cheek on her way out.
    Mother sat quietly for some time.
    The others in the hut stared at us.
    “We will leave now, Ino Nami,” one of the elders said. “But we must convene soon.”
    “Gather the circle. We will convene now.” She waited until the tent was emptied.
    I grimaced a smile at a few of the elders who walked past us. As soon as I could get out of there, I was going to.
    “Kadar.” A warm whisper of a smile settled onto Mother’s round face as she looked up at my father. She placed both hands on the table and pushed herself to her feet.
    Father made no move to help her, but he gave her a smile, barely seen through his salt peppered beard. “Nami.”
    Saqr took flight, landing on a perch set up near the entrance.
    Mother stopped in front of my father and raised her hands to his face.
    He bowed, taking her head in his hands.
    She gripped his head, bringing his forehead to hers. “It is good to see you,” she said in our language.
    “And you,” he said in hers.
    “The ice is getting harder and harder to bear.” She turned from him and faced me, her expression hardening. “Synn.”
    Great. It begins. I bowed my head. “ Okaasan .”
    “Still no Mark?”
    My father shook his head, a quick flame of shame filling his eyes before he banished it. “No.”
    To bear the Mark of power was a great honor, but it wasn’t something someone gave you. It was something you had to earn, something that had to surge its way through you from your very soul, to Mark your skin, telling the world what your power source was. I had no idea if I would even be Marked, and if I were, would I bear the Mark of storm as my father, or of fire, as my mother? Their Marks were hidden under thick layers of clothing, but I’d seen them. Everyone had.
    Both Father and Mother were very powerful. They expected each of their children to follow. It was understandable since the line was so strong, so pure. Each of my siblings had gained their Marks. Everyone except me.
    Sometimes people were Marked late in life. I still had time, but even I was starting to worry.
    “He has not yet gained his spitfyre falcon?”
    “He will this spring.” Father’s voice rang with confidence. “As well as a ship.”
    She took in a deep breath and looked up at my father. “Then in your eyes, he has become a man.”
    He let out a smiling snort. “Trust me, hana , he still has much to learn, but yes. In the eyes of the El’Asim, he is a man.”
    My mother smiled. “We are heading into council.” She met my gaze. “You will sit in it, but you will have no voice. If you speak, you will not be heard.” She turned back to Father. “We have much to discuss.”
    My father looked up to the ceiling. “Yes.” He let out a large sigh. “Indeed.”

CHAPTER 2

    DO NOT LOOK BACK
    People shuffled in. Pillows were thrown onto the bearskin floor. My mother directed us to sit beside her and the circle of elders was formed. Each of them wore the letharan pendant that denoted their elder status. The longer they’d been an elder, the more strings of silver wire trailed from their jeweled medusas. Some wore their talisman as a necklace, others as a pin. Mother’s was in her hair at the end of a stick protruding from the bun at the top of her head.
    My oldest brother, Ryo, sat on the other side of Mother. His jet black hair was pulled into a tight topknot. He grinned. “Synn, it is good to see you.”
    I grinned back. “And you. How have you been?”
    Mother raised an eyebrow, but didn’t pay any direct attention to either of us.
    Ryo sat back, still smiling. “We will talk later, little brother. I want to hear what terrible mischief you have been up