His woman. He smiled to himself even as Dasa moved over him, touching and tasting and teasing him almost past bearing. It had ever been thus between them: opponents—even at times enemies—during the day, and at night, the most passionate of lovers. And when she arched over him, her body tightening around him, he relished the knowledge that she chose him over the other men who had filled her life. Separate, they were formidable foes, but together…Israel smiled into her hair when she collapsed down on him, his body limp and sated, while for the moment, at least, his soul was at peace.
“I missed that,” Dasa said some time later, pushing herself off his still-heaving chest. She bent back down to press a kiss to his lips, her mouth lingering on his with a sweetness that never failed to touch him. Dasa was a warrior first, a proud queen, a brilliant leader, but not someone who valued softness and romance. “It’s been…three years? Four?”
“Four, I believe. We met at Kelos to talk about ways to deceive Racin. That’s when you insisted that it would be more effective for you to appear to side with him, welcoming him to Starfall City rather than fighting his force.” Israel tried to keep the bitter notes from his voice, but he suspected Dasa heard them nonetheless, for when she slid off his body, she rubbed a finger over his lower lip.
“And I was right to do so. He would have decimated the Starborn. Our army had suffered massive losses until that point, and when Racin himself suggested joining forces, I knew he would simply destroy us all if I said no.”
“My army was at your service. I told you that you would not fight him alone,” he couldn’t help but remind her.
She made a face, and rolled onto her side, stroking a hand down his damp chest. “We didn’t have the time it would have taken your forces to get to Genora, let alone Starfall. I made the only reasonable choice possible.”
“And now?” He allowed his hands to do a little stroking of their own, the soft silkiness of her skin filling his mind with a hundred erotic thoughts.
Her hand stilled for a moment, then continued to trace an intricate design on his pectorals. “Now I adapt as best I can. I won’t say it didn’t almost ruin everything when you allowed Deo to go through the portal—”
“I assure you, I had nothing to do with that. The blasted arcanist had me trapped, and I couldn’t stop Deo from his foolish act.”
“—but I managed to convince Racin that it would be the purest folly to destroy our foolish son on the spot.” She hesitated again, saying in a less sharp-edged tone, “What happened to Deo? When I saw him at Starfall, it appeared he was wielding the same chaos magic that Racin and his Harborym used. But when he came through the portal, he almost destroyed half of Racin’s keep. The magic was…different. Far more destructive and seemed to be almost out of his control.”
“I believe that has something to do with the destruction of the master portal that the monster used to return to Aryia. Allegria the priest channeled Kiriah Sunbringer herself in order to destroy it…that act must have affected Deo, as well.”
“Kiriah? Yes, only the magic of a goddess would be able to do so. Interesting.” Absently, Dasa tapped her fingertips on his breastbone, clearly considering this information. “That would explain much about why Deo seemed to be struggling with the magic…and why Racin can’t duplicate it.”
Israel allowed his eyebrows to rise in a silent question while he drew a few protective runes on Dasa’s smooth back.
She sighed and gave a little roll of her eyes. “When Deo blasted half the keep to nothing in mere moments, Racin immediately wanted to know what he’d done to the chaos power to forge it into such a powerful state. And Deo was unwilling—or what’s more likely, unable—to tell him, so at my urging, Racin imprisoned Deo while he experimented with changing chaos power into the type that Deo wields.”
“He won’t be able to do so,” Israel replied with a wry twist of his lips. “Not without Kiriah’s goodwill, and I doubt if he will manage that.”
Dasa was silent for a moment. “That might not be as—”
“My lord!”
The urgency in Marston’s voice had them both stiffening. “Yes?” Israel asked, reaching for the sword that was always nearby.
“Riders are leaving the city. They appear to be a search party.”
Dasa swore under her breath, leaping to her feet and hurriedly pulling on her clothing. “Bellias blast that new maidservant. She must have reported to Racin that I slipped out of my rooms.”
Israel was likewise donning his garments, quickly strapping on his sword as well as tucking the totem made of bone and feather into his belt. “You let a maid see you leave?” It was unlike Dasa to do anything so foolish, and as soon as he spoke the words, Israel knew she would take umbrage with them.
“Of course I did. I marched loudly through the halls proclaiming to everyone who would listen that I was going to see my lover, whose body I have not felt next to mine in many years.” The look she shot him was filled with silver-tinted scorn. “I have a new maidservant. She claimed she was lost, without family, and needed protection, so foolishly, I took her in. She saw me when I was climbing out the window. I told her I simply wished to stroll the garden by myself and to say nothing, but clearly she reported me missing. And may Bellias singe her toes, for now we haven’t time to discuss what is to be done about Racin.”
Israel placed a hand on Dasa’s arm to stop her from rushing out of the tent. “If you are in danger, then you should not return to the beast who uses your body. I have a small company, but Hallow and Allegria should be on Eris by now, and together with Deo, we will be able to remove the threat to the future of Alba.”
Dasa was shaking her head even as he was talking, her long black hair sweeping across her back like spilled silk. She smiled quickly, leaned in to kiss him with enough passion that he pulled her hard against him, reveling in the feel and taste of her. “There is no time for that, Israel. If Racin has troops sweeping the area for me, he is already in a furious state. I will return by a secret path and calm his fury.”
“I dislike the idea of you returning to that monster’s arms,” he growled.
“There is nothing he can do to me. I’ve convinced him he needs me to control Deo, and when he returns to Genora, I am to be hostage for the good behavior of the Starborn. Let me go, Israel. The sooner I get back, the easier it will be to appease his temper.”
“If he harms you—” Israel warned.
She smiled and kissed him again, this time with a fleeting touch to his lips. “He’ll concoct a little minor punishment, but it won’t be anything that bothers me.” Her smile turned grim. “It will certainly be nothing like what I will mete out to Idril for telling him that I’d left the keep. Farewell, my lord. Stay safe, and do not attack.”
She was gone before he could register the words she’d spoken.
Idril? Idril was her maidservant? What madness was this? He shook his head. In the end it made no difference to his plans…unless she was responsible for bringing down Racin’s wrath on Dasa’s head.
Then he’d have a few things to say to his former wife.
Chapter 17
It took me the entirety of the night to shake off the effects of the magic the red hand priests had placed upon me, and even then, my steps were not as steady as I would have liked. I clutched Buttercup’s bridle as I tried to adopt a confident expression, but Mayam looked less than impressed with me when I came to a halt in front of the spot where she squatted before a fire. “I want to find Hallow. You have to take off these ankle shackles.”
The man who knelt next to her, her brother Jena, stopped speaking and slid me a look that was part hostility and part curiosity. “The arcanist who you said ran off? Why would you want such a one as he?”
“For one thing, he’s my husband, and I love him more than anything on Alba. For another, he didn’t run off. Mayam said his horse was spooked when your men attacked us, not
that I believe such a thing was possible. Penn is the very best of horses, and never so much as bobbles his ears at attacks. And finally, I wasn’t speaking to you.” The last words were rude enough that I immediately felt guilty, and hastily sketched another unsuccessful benevolence ward over him.
Jena rose to his full height, which I assumed he was trying to use to intimidate me, but coming as I do from hearty peasant stock, I was not of a small, delicate make. “It would seem to me that prisoners who speak so unguardedly don’t remain prisoners for long.” He leaned closer to clarify, just in case I missed the warning in his voice. “They don’t remain alive.”
“I thought we had all this out earlier,” I told him, pulling Buttercup’s head back from where she was trying to nip his behind. “I don’t know how you could have missed it since Mayam was shouting loud enough to rattle the birds in the trees, but evidently you did. She has stopped threatening to kill me, and I have ceased attempting to part her from her head. We understand each other. We are in agreement about all things except one—the need to find Hallow.” I turned from Jena, who was making sputtering noises of protest, to where Mayam stared into the fire, absently poking it with a stick. “When you told me that you were working with Deo, I agreed to help you however possible, but I must find Hallow first, and I can’t do that with these shackles on.”
“You are a prisoner,” Jena said stiffly. “You’re lucky that you have been given the freedom to move and are not bound hand and foot.”
“Take off the shackles,” Mayam said without glancing toward us.
Jena turned an outraged face on his sister. “You are mad! You know nothing about her. Just because she is not Shadowborn does not mean she is not from Skystead.”
I didn’t even have to protest that. Mayam waved a hand toward me and simply repeated her request.
With a lot of muttering of things I felt it better to pretend not to have heard, Jena finally knelt and with an odd sort of cross-shaped device, unlocked the shackles that connected my feet. The shackles had allowed me to move at a shuffling pace, but not run or ride. I wiggled my ankles as each shackle fell away. “Thank you. Now, about some men to help me find Hallow—”
“Oh, this is ridiculous!” Jena threw away the shackles in disgust. “First she wants the freedom to attack us again, now she wants men to help her chase after a cowardly arcanist. Next she’ll be asking for her weapons back.”
“Well, actually, that was going to be my next request,” I started to say, but at Jena’s profane exclamation, I thought about allowing Buttercup to do her worst to him.
Luckily, I didn’t need to.
“Cease, Jena,” Mayam said, glancing up at her brother as he stormed around the fire, his hands gesticulating while he described how foolish it was to allow me freedom. “Get her weapons. No, do not argue with me. I know what I am about. The woman has the right of it. We have made our peace.”
It took another two minutes of argument between the two of them, but at last Jena snorted very rude things under his breath and stomped off to gather my swords and bow.
“He spoke of you, you know,” Mayam said, her gaze on the smoldering coals that were all that remained of the fire.
“Jena?”
“No. Lord Deo. When he was in a delirium, he would speak to people who were not there, holding long conversations with them. Most of the time he argued with a man who seemed to want to keep him from doing what he desired, but there were a few times he spoke to a priestess, one who both amused and annoyed him.”
I made a little face, and admitted, “That sounds about right.”
“He had much admiration for her. For you. It is why I agreed to accept your help. Jena doesn’t understand because he does not understand Lord Deo. He doesn’t know just how…powerful…Lord Deo is. Or how tortured.” Her gaze lifted to mine at last, and I could see that she had eyes almost as black as the night. “But you do.”
“Yes,” I said quietly, remembering the scars Deo bore upon his back. “I know how he has struggled, both before he changed, and after.”
“Who is…” She hesitated a moment, her expression clouding. “Idril?”
“That is a complicated question, one which I don’t really have the time to go into fully if I want to start hunting for Hallow before much of the daylight is lost, but she is the woman to whom Deo once gave his heart. She betrayed that gift…or at least, I thought she did.” I remembered the fire in Idril’s eyes when she spoke of Deo and decided that it was quite likely I’d been mistaken about her feelings.
“So he is not heart-bound to her?” Mayam asked quickly.
I chose my words carefully, realizing that Mayam was harboring feelings of a tender nature for my old friend. I had a suspicion such emotions would not be reciprocated, but I didn’t want to point that out lest she retaliate in anger. “So far as I know, they are not bound to each other. When they were last together, Deo ordered her from his presence.”
“Ah,” she said on a long sigh and looked pleased.
Now was clearly the time to press her. “Mayam, I understand that you feel it necessary to gather men for Deo—”
“Not just men,” she interrupted, still poking the embers of the fire. “Shadowborn who haven’t been taken by Lord Racin. So many people have gone to Skystead, never to be seen again; not many remain who meet Lord Deo’s criteria. He said only a very particular type of person can fill his ranks.”
“As I well know, having belonged to those ranks.”
Mayam looked up at that, her eyes narrowed, and I realized with a start that she was jealous. “So you say, and I’m willing to admit that your bear his mark, which is the only reason you are alive now, but until I hear from Deo himself that you are who you say you are, you will remain with us.”
“A prisoner still?” I asked, annoyed.
“One who has her freedom and weapons is not a prisoner. Consider yourself…our guest,” she finished lamely, rising. “We have many miles to travel today before we rest. Are you ready to ride?”
“Yes,” I said, considering my options. I could strike out on my own to find Hallow, but I had no idea where I was, let alone in what direction he had gone. Without assistance from those who knew the area, I was helpless. “Yes, I’m ready.”
“Good. We are likely to meet with some Harborym while we travel. A scout returned during the night saying they, too, are scouring the villages in search of victims to take to Skystead.”
I was still a bit confused about exactly why Racin wanted Shadowborn men and women rounded up, but it really didn’t matter to me now. What did matter was reaching Deo. He, I was certain, would not refuse to help me find Hallow.
The first two villages we came upon were much like the one that Hallow and I first visited—burned and charred, with only one or two survivors clinging to once familiar landmarks. Mayam spoke with the clearly fearful individuals, returning to our party with a grim expression.
After the second such visit, I overheard her telling Jena, “The old woman said that the Harborym are now taking children.”
“What madness is this?” Jena looked as if she’d struck him. “What use would they have for children? Harborym do not take prisoners.”
“The rumors must be true. Racin is gathering young Shadowborn in hopes that they are resilient enough to survive his heinous experiments.” Mayam mounted her horse, looking lost. “Are we too late, Jena? How can Lord Deo rescue us if we cannot raise more than a handful of priests?”
Jena bristled defensively. “My priests are worth an entire army of soldiers.”
“Rescue us?” I said softly to myself, eyeing Mayam. When we’d worked out an accord, she had said simply that Deo had sent her out to find Shadowborn who would be willing to become new Banes of Eris…but what if her vision of Deo’s goals was not the same as his? Or had he promised her that he would rid all of Eris of Racin and the Harborym? Even if De
o, Hallow and I were at our full powers, I wasn’t sure if we would have the strength to do that, and with Kiriah shunning me, and Deo in who-knew-what sort of a state…the hard nut of worry in my belly grew larger.
We reached a village a few hours after that which hadn’t been destroyed, although there were few enough people to see. Mayam and Jena met with the headman while I stretched my legs and allowed Buttercup a turn at the water trough next to a well in the center of a dusty square.
“I come from the savior of Genora and Aryia,” Mayam said in a piercing voice, climbing onto the lip of the well before turning to face the few people who stood half-hidden inside doorways. “Lord Deo, bringer of the Fourth Age, was taken prisoner by the evil one, but he has escaped, and seeks worthy men and women to join his force to free Eris. Who amongst you has the bravery to fight to free your family from the destruction that has rained down upon us since the coming of the Speaker?”
There was a murmur of voices, but no one came forward.
“Are you content to cower in your shelters? Or will you protect that which you value!” she shouted, her voice echoing off the handful of buildings that dotted the square. “Other villagers have hidden away, and their homes and lives were destroyed because they would not stand up to fight. Is that what you want?”
“What you ask is impossible! We cannot win against the Harborym,” one young man called out, stepping forward a few feet from a doorway. He looked around nervously, but no one else emerged to stand with him, either figuratively or literally. He licked his lips, then said in a less antagonistic tone, “They have come to our village before, and taken away the strongest of our kin. You speak of a savior of other lands, but what has he to do with us?”
“He has come to liberate Eris, just as he liberated the lands of the other born.” She gestured toward me. “This is one of his kind, a Fireborn who traveled here with the Savior. See the marks upon her brow? Those came from the battles she fought at the side of Lord Deo, earned by the deaths of thousands of Harborym.”
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