Legacy of Orïsha, #1
Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi
Contents
Chapter Seventy-Eight: Zélie
Overview
Disguised as guards, Zélie’s group infiltrates the island temple under divine-seeming fog while Roën’s team diverts soldiers. Inside the ritual chamber, an ambush springs: Saran and Inan reveal themselves. Inan’s betrayal shatters Zélie’s hope, and the captors present a hostage—Zélie’s father—escalating the stakes at the moment of the ritual.
Summary
Zélie, Roën, Amari, Tzain, and their disguised crew land on the hidden island and pass through a massive perimeter of soldiers by posing as Orïshan guards. The island thrums with spiritual energy; the fog and bent air suggest divine presence aiding their approach.
After slipping past the perimeter, a dense, chilling mist cloaks their advance into a forest of blackened trees. Roën sends Rehema’s team to stage a diversion at the southern shoreline. A rising plume of smoke and a horn draw large numbers of guards away from the temple.
The group ascends the golden pyramid and enters a jewel-studded temple honoring the gods, then discovers a stairwell descending to a ritual chamber. Zélie prays for her lost magic as they move underground.
In a vast dome lined with towering golden statues of eleven deities, a ten-pointed star and a central plinth await the sunstone. Amari gives Zélie the scroll and sunstone, and readies the bone dagger for the ritual.
An ambush explodes from the shadows: hidden soldiers surround them. Saran steps forward, satisfied, with Inan beside him wielding a majacite blade. Zélie reels at Inan’s betrayal. The trap deepens when captors reveal their hostage—Zélie’s father—shocking her as the confrontation begins.
Who Appears
- ZélieLeads the infiltration, senses divine energy, prepares the ritual, and is devastated by Inan’s betrayal and her father’s capture.
- AmariCarries the sunstone and scroll, steadies Zélie, recalls Binta as her reason for trust, readies the bone dagger.
- RoënGuides the team in stolen commander’s armor; orders Rehema’s diversion enabling entry to the temple.
- InanArrives with Saran for the ambush, wielding a majacite blade, breaking his promise to Zélie.
- SaranOrchestrates the temple ambush with hidden soldiers; reveals their leverage over Zélie.
- TzainCarries the bone dagger until the ritual; stays alert during the infiltration and ambush.
- BabaZélie’s father; brought forth by the ambushers as a hostage, shocking and destabilizing Zélie.
- RehemaLeads a southern shoreline diversion, drawing guards from the temple through smoke and commotion.
- KenyonAmazed by the ritual chamber’s grandeur; accompanies the group into the ambush.