Page 15 of Rhaz’s Redemption (Shifters of Valo Prime #6)

Rhaz

Two weeks earlier

CW: Themes surrounding death and the afterlife, descriptions of drowning

My fingers twitched as I gained consciousness, on the other side.

The other side . The afterlife. I’d been here a few times before.

That was my real power, not my badger shifter form, but my ability to heal from any wound.

The first time I’d died was after a jagwa attacked me.

I was only fourteen seasons old and terrified of death. I’m not so afraid anymore.

Bright light seeped in from behind my closed eye, and sand brushed over me from the wind.

I sat up and rubbed my head where Gil had struck me.

There was no pain in the afterlife, but the memory of the wound still lingered, and habits are hard to break even after death.

The pain I’d feel after I wake up in the land of the living? That was a different story entirely.

Time worked differently here, I’d figured that much out from the times I’d visited.

I also knew I’d wake up in a desert and have to walk half a day’s journey through the sand toward the city of souls.

Almost no time would pass back on Valo Prime while I was here which had its benefits and drawbacks.

I groaned at the thought of waking up to see Dameron standing over me.

I’d still be tied up and at his mercy, but that would be a problem for later.

Right now I had an appointment with an angel who I knew would be waiting for me at the entrance to the city.

If there was one benefit to being dead, even briefly, it was seeing her.

I got to my feet and brushed the sand off my clothes.

The sun was high in the sky which meant if I started walking now, the it would be setting by the time I reached the city gate.

From here, I could see the spire of the tower that was located in the center of the city.

It looked so small from this distance but I knew the longer I walked the bigger it’d become.

“Time to get moving,” I said to no one but myself, or at least that’s what I thought.

“Where am I?” A child’s voice met my ears and I couldn’t stop the sinking feeling I felt in my gut. I’d always walked this journey alone. I knew others must also be journeying through these desert sands, but I never imagined I’d meet someone along the way.

I turned to see a young sirret male with dark blue skin, black curly hair, proud horns that sprouted from his forehead, and big brown eyes that were filled with worry as he surveyed his surroundings.

“Where’s the lake?” he asked, and I slowly walked toward the young boy with what I hoped was a warm smile on my face.

“I don’t un-un-understand,” he stammered as tears streamed down his face. “I was swimming at the lake. Momma told me not to go without her, but it was such a hot day. I figured it’d be alright if I went alone just this one time.”

He looked up at me with glossy eyes and asked, “D-do you think she’ll be mad at me when she finds out I went swimming alone?”

I got down on one knee in front of the boy and patted him on the shoulder. “No, I don’t think she’ll be mad. Are you a strong swimmer?”

The boy frowned and looked down at his bare feet. “No,” he confessed. “Papa is teaching me. I wanted to practice on my own and I was doing a good job of it until I accidentally swam too far from the shore.”

“What happened after that?” I found myself holding my breath even though I already knew how this story was going to end. He was in the afterlife and there’s only one way a person could get here.

“I tried to swim back but the current was too strong. Then my arms got tired and I kept slipping below the surface of the water.”

He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and asked, “Did you pull me out of the water?” He looked around at the desert sand again then asked. “Why did you carry me here?”

“What’s your name?” I avoided his question. I didn’t think he was ready to know the truth just yet and I had half a day to prepare him for the reality he was about to face.

“I’m Bhaz. What’s your name?”

I smiled down at young Bhaz, surprised that our names were so similar. “I’m Rhaz.”

“Ha!” Bhaz let out a chuckle. “Bhaz and Rhaz!”

His smile quickly faded however, when he took in the sight of the desert surrounding us once again.

“What’s that over there?” He asked, pointing to the spire.

“I don’t know,” I lied. “Should we find out together?”

The reassurance of not being left alone in this strange place seemed to lift Bhaz’s spirit and he beamed up at me with a smile.

“Like an adventure?”

“Yes, like an adventure,” I nodded.

I began our journey by taking the first step toward the tall building in the distance and Bhaz followed shortly after. It didn’t take long for the sietling to slide his hand into mine and I was surprised by the strange familiarity of it, as if I’d held this child’s hand a thousand times before.

“Is this okay?” He asked as he caught me staring down at our joined hands.

“I’ll allow it.” I kept my tone gruff to hide the emotion that was seeking to seep out into my voice.

The emotions I was feeling as I walked hand-in-hand with Bhaz were nearly overwhelming, but I couldn’t put a name to a single one. It was as if my soul knew him even though I did not, and my eyes burned to cry tears but I didn’t know why.

We walked for many miles like this, and eventually I was able to get my wayward emotions under control.

“Will my parents be waiting for me in the city?”

We’d walked long enough for the walls of the city to come into view.

“I’m afraid not,” I informed him as gently as I could.

Bhaz’s bottom lip began to tremble as he held back tears that threatened to spill onto his cheeks.

“Why did you carry me here?” he asked.

“I…” how do you tell someone that they’ve died? I remember how scared I’d felt the first time I came here. I didn’t know where I was or how I’d gotten here. I just knew I had to walk toward the one building I could see.

“I didn’t carry you here, Bhaz,” I confessed.

“Then how did I get here?” His brown eyes searched my face for answers I did not want to give.

I stopped walking and got down on one knee before the little sietling with dark blue skin, black curly hair, and big brown eyes that looked so familiar to me.

“Did your parents ever tell you the story of the ant and the butterfly?”

“Mmhmm,” Bhaz nodded as he wiped away a stray tear that had made its way down his face.

“It’s when our people believed that caterpillars died in their cocoons and came back to life as butterflies.”

“That’s right,” I nodded my encouragement. “And what did the ant ask the caterpillar?”

“The ant asked if she could ride on the caterpillars back to the afterlife.”

“And what happened next?”

“The caterpillar said yes, so the ant crawled onto the slug and they entered the cocoon together. Then they traveled through the sands of time to the city of souls where the ant saw an angel at the gate.”

“Then they were given a tour of the city. Do you remember that part?”

“Mmhmm,” Bhaz nodded his head.

“The city is a beautiful place where there’s no pain, plenty of food, and where all your ancestors are gathered to welcome you home.”

I took a deep breath to prepare myself for what I must say next.

“What if I told you our story is like that of the caterpillar and the ant? What if I said we were headed toward the city of souls?”

“They’re going to give us a tour and then send us back home?” Bhaz asked with hope in his eyes.

“No,” I shook my head. “That is where the stories differ. When we reach the city of souls you’ll be let in, but you’ll have to stay there for a while.”

“What about you? I don’t want to go without you.”

I was touched by the trust Bhaz had placed in me over such a short amount of time.

“I’ve never been allowed inside,” I explained. “I am like the butterfly. I only get to visit the gate and then I’m sent away to sprout my wings back in the land of the living.”

“That’s not fair!” he whined as he wiped more tears from his face.

“No, it’s not fair,” I agreed.

“Will you stay with me until we reach the gate?” Bhaz asked.

“Of course,” I smiled down at him. “I’ll stay with you for as long as I can.”

“Will you carry me the rest of the way? My legs are tired.”

I had to bite back a laugh. I knew for a fact his legs weren’t tired. There was no pain or even soreness in this realm, but even if his legs weren’t tired, I could tell that his heart was heavy.

“Sure,” I smiled. “Come here.” I held out my arms to Bhaz who looked to be no older than four or five. He wrapped his arms around my neck and rested his cheek on my shoulder.

Again I was struck by a strong sense of familiarity, but I pushed it aside to focus on the task at hand. The sun was beginning to set and the city was growing closer with each step. It wouldn’t be long now.

Bhaz had fallen asleep in my arms by the time the city gate came into view. The gates themselves were made of a shiny material I’d never seen before. They glowed yellow in the sunlight and were warm to the touch from the reflection of the sun.

It wasn’t just the gates that glowed but the bright blue wings of that very angel shimmered in the distance.

I shifted Bhaz’s weight to my other side and elongated my strides.

There was a sense of excited anticipation that resonated from this place that made me want to run toward the city, but I didn’t want to wake Bhaz.

He’d had an emotional day and some sleep would do him good.

“Hello son. It’s so nice to see you again.” My angel, my mother, greeted me with her arms open.

“Hello mom.” I wrapped my free arm around her and she hugged both Bhaz and myself. We held each other for a long moment before I stepped away.

“What was it that brought you here this time? Another jagwa attack?” Concern was written all over her face.

“I wish,” I sighed. “Dameron has a new beast to do his bidding, a shifter named Gil. He hit me with his fists and cracked my skull.”