A Deliverer Comes

by Jill Williamson

  Halfway up the stairs he thought better of it. What if Shanek had stayed in the Veil, following Kal and waiting to be led to the king? Kal’s next idea was to find Grayson, but he was in Sarikar with Mielle and Kal did not have the ability to mind-speak.

  He returned to Jhorn’s office. He and Oli were, thankfully, still there.

  “Your Grace,” Kal said, “would you voice the king and ask him to speak to my mind?”

  “Whatever for?” Oli asked.

  “I cannot explain, but it’s an emergency,” Kal said.

  “Very well.”

  As the duke went silent, Kal paced the length of the room and back, trying not to worry.

  “What has happened, Sir Kalenek?” Jhorn asked.

  “I will explain in time,” he said. “First I must speak with the—”

  “Sir Kalenek?” King Trevn voiced.

  “Yes, thank you, Your Highness. I have dire news.” Kal told him what had transpired with Shanek. “He could be with me now, waiting for me to lead him to you. Or he might be exploring the castle, seeking you out. You should leave at once. Hide until a way to keep you safe can be determined.”

  “I will not go into hiding,” Trevn said. “My place is here.”

  “But Shanek means to give you to Rogedoth.”

  “Then he and I can finally have it out. Besides, Grayson can always carry me back.”

  Sometimes King Trevn was a little too confident. “Shanek would not have come for you if he didn’t have a way to keep you or defeat you.”

  “Your concerns are noted, Sir Kalenek. And I thank you for the warning. Be assured that I will have Mielle remain in Sarikar until it’s safe to return, but I will not leave the castle.”

  “At least dress to conceal yourself. Don’t wear a crown or eat in the great hall.”

  “Good ideas, Sir Kalenek. I thank you. Now I must voice Mielle.”

  Kal’s mind grew quiet. He took a deep breath and looked up, met Duke Canden’s eyes, then Jhorn’s. “The king is in danger,” he said. “And I fear it’s my fault.”

  Gozan

  I shouldn’t have sent Sir Kalenek away.” Charlon sat her throne, slumped to one side, chin perched on her fist. Forlorn. Despondent.

  You didn’t, Gozan said. He left of his own choice.

  “I drove him away. With my compulsions. I thought if he was with me . . . I thought he would stay. Always.”

  Gozan grew weary of Charlon’s moping. The thrill of her misery had worn off, and now she was simply tiring. He had chosen the woman for her power and ambition, but she was chained by human emotion. Craved companionship as she had once craved ahvenrood. He no longer believed she would lead him to a seat of power. It might be time for him to leave.

  Humans never seem to learn that love cannot be forced, he said.

  “I regret nothing. If I had acted otherwise, I would not have this child.” She palmed her belly, looking upon it with a dreamy expression.

  Then you must focus on the child and forget the man.

  “I can’t! I love him. So help me . . . I am a fool. Mreegan tried to warn me about men. She was right. They use us. Then leave.”

  Amusing how she had made herself the victim. Did not you use him? Gozan asked.

  She scowled. “He was my One. My ears and eyes where I could not be. My voice of reason. Without him . . . How can I hold on to Magosia? Kateen no longer respects my power. Roya seeks to take my place. Amala has taken Shanek. There is no one I can trust!”

  You can trust me, lady.

  She hummed, as if considering this, but Gozan saw the wariness in her eyes. No, she did not trust him, no matter what she might say or do.

  Take ahvenrood and show your people the power you wield.

  “Not until my baby is born.”

  A bit of ahvenrood here and there will not create a child like Shanek. His was an extreme case. Look at Empress Jazlyn’s daughter. Princess Jahleeah’s skin marks her as a root child, but she is not growing like Shanek did.

  Charlon’s brow creased. Was she considering his idea? If she agreed to take even a taste of ahvenrood, he might be able to find where she had hidden the rest.

  “Make me a seer,” she said.

  The request surprised him. Why?

  “So I would know who seeks to betray me.”

  She was afraid of Empress Jazlyn and Barthel Rogedoth, as well she should be. I can see shadir, lady, and I tell you I am the only one here at present.

  “I want to see for myself. Make me a seer. I’ll take enough ahvenrood for the spell.”

  It was tempting, but her insults had wounded his pride. You don’t trust me.

  “I trust myself. I am the only one. Who will not betray me.”

  You betrayed yourself time and again. You compelled Sir Kalenek. You stopped taking ahvenrood when you conceived. You allowed Miss Amala to stay, then fed her ahvenrood. You taught Shanek your new magic when he had no need of it. And long before any of that, you cast a spell to force away your fear of human touch. You smothered your pain rather than face it.

  She sat up straight. “How do you know that?”

  Shadir talk, lady.

  “You prove my point. I can’t even trust my swarm. There is no one. No one.” She began to rock forward and back on her throne, hands clutching her knees.

  She was going mad. Gozan didn’t want to leave until he found her ahvenrood stash. Forgive my kind, lady. We have lived thousands of years. How can I make amends?

  She looked for him, fixing a serious glare on nothing. She could no longer see into the Veil, so her attempt at intimidation was comical. “Make me a seer.”

  Anything but that. With all respect and admiration, lady, I cannot.

  She narrowed her eyes to slits. “Cannot or will not?”

  I have never made a seer. That is one spell I will not do.

  She slid off the throne and took two steps forward. “You have never outright refused me before,” she said. “Yet you want me to trust you?”

  I never make permanent spells.

  “Rubbish,” Charlon said, folding her arms. “Shadir make permanent spells all the time. They make seers too. Qoatch the eunuch is one.”

  High Queen Tahmina and her great made many seers, but I have not.

  “You’ve healed people. That is permanent.”

  That is different. Healing repairs the body. Puts it back to its original state. Making a seer imparts permanent magic to a human. Our master does not appreciate such . . . generosity.

  “Master? What master?”

  Gâzar.

  Arms fell to her sides. “God of the Lowerworld?”

  The very one.

  She wandered back to her throne and sat. “How stupid I’ve been. All this time. I thought I had power. That I was special. Chosen. But I’m not, am I? You use me. Without you, I’m only human.”

  He did not deny her, nor did he set her straight. It was true that humans had no power without shadir, but it was also true that some humans were predisposed to magic and had a natural ability to wield it. Jazlyn had been one. Charlon another. Not just any human could do with evenroot what those women could. But Gozan did not want Charlon to know that. He must keep the upper hand with her if he was going to find her ahvenrood supply. Perhaps a threat?

  You are special, Charlon. I choose my bonds carefully. I need someone intelligent. Ambitious. But I cannot wait months for your child to arrive. Unless you take ahvenrood, I will have to bond with another.

  “There are no others.”

  There are, he said. Empress Jazlyn, for one.

  Her eyes blazed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  I was her shadir for years. Now that she has found ahvenrood again, I am sure she would appreciate a great over her common.

  “You were hers?” Charlon looked pale, but her emotions were anything but.

  Gozan basked in her growing outrage.

  “There must be another way for you to remain here. With me.”

  Ungrateful woman. The
re is. It is called Dominion.

  At the mention of that word, she completely shut down. “Leave me,” she said, walking toward her bed. “I must rest.”

  Very well, lady.

  He wanted her to believe he’d gone, but her anger and sorrow pleased him. He stayed behind as she tossed and turned in her bed. He soaked in her rage, depression, fear. These emotions would be his only pleasure until he made new plans.

  Rurek the Great.

  He was being summoned by a human. He ignored the brazen fool.

  If Charlon continued to refuse ahvenrood, Gozan would lose access to the Solid until her child came. Unless he found another human. This brought him back to the problem of talent and ahvenrood supply. He was not desperate enough to go groveling back to Jazlyn. And King Barthel had Dendron. There were truly no more options outside of Dominion.

  Charlon eventually fell asleep, so Gozan left her tent and floated through the Magosian camp. He passed a flock of gowzals and felt the shadir inside them. There was mild pleasure in possessing the birds—it was one way to enter the Solid without ahvenrood—but it did not compare to the thrill of feeding off a human’s spells and their worship and loyalty and purging, in using their power to enter the physical realm where his own skin could feel—

  Rurek the Great.

  Twice this stranger dared summon him? He concentrated on the source, let himself grow to his most intimidating height, and appeared beside the human.

  It was Miss Amala. What did she want?

  “Thank you for coming.” Her voice trembled slightly. Gozan noticed that her eyes were light gray. She had taken a fresh dose of ahvenrood recently. His desire thrummed at the very idea of sponging off this girl.

  Why do you summon me?

  “I want to bond with you, great one,” she said.

  The audacity of such a request stunned him. Never in all his days had a human so recklessly tried to steal him from his bonded. Why would I bond with you?

  “Because Chieftess Charlon is useless. She should lead her people instead of wallowing in her bad fortune. You deserve someone better.”

  What do you know of Charlon Sonber’s life? Gozan asked. She has done magic greater than you could imagine. If she knew you were trying to steal me away, she would kill you.

  The girl narrowed her eyes, and they glinted in the candlelight. “I’m not afraid of her. My fear is for Shanek. He has gone to Armania to fight for his throne, but King Barthel told him to leave me behind. I don’t trust the king, and I cannot help Shanek on my own.”

  What do you wish to do for Shanek? Gozan asked.

  “I want to make sure he’s not being used for King Barthel’s gain.”

  Of course he was, and Gozan had no desire to go up against a man bonded with Dendron.

  “I know where the Chieftess has hidden her root stash,” Amala said. “If you won’t bond with me, I’ll be forced to choose a lesser shadir.”

  Gozan fought the urge to smile. The one thing he wanted, second only to Dominion, and this fool girl was willing to hand it to him. How do I know you are gifted enough to handle a great shadir?

  “Try me and find out,” she said.

  This time he did smile. Show me the ahvenrood and we have a deal.

  She shook her head. “Not until you bond with me.”

  The girl was smarter than he thought. Very well, he said.

  “Rurek, ata yakhol bara hay ecâr rakas yahda shelno nehfesh,” she said, her ancient speech choppy.

  Gozan accepted her vow and forged a bond between them. She wasn’t the strongest human he’d bonded, but she was far from weak. She had reserves inside her too. Gozan drew from them greedily, as if he’d been starved and was finally eating again.

  The ahvenrood, then? he asked.

  She extended her hand. “Carry me there.”

  Transport will weaken you in a hurry, Gozan said.

  “Then I will purge and take more root.”

  It seemed almost wasteful, as rare as ahvenrood was these days, but Gozan did not deny himself a chance to enter the Solid. He transformed into his true self, complete with wings. Amala’s eyes widened as he towered over her, a hideous beast to her human eyes. Her outstretched hand began to tremble.

  Buoyed by her fear, he drew upon her magic to enter the Solid. The cold prickled his skin and made his coarse body hair stand on end. Her eyes grew even wider, and as he grabbed her around the waist, she yelped.

  Show me the way, Miss Amala.

  Breathing hard, she managed to point east. Gozan tipped his wings and soared that direction. She was like a child in his leathery arms.

  They landed not all that far from the camp. Amala disentangled herself and set out at a good pace. Gozan took flight, blissful at the feel of air against his wings.

  Amala stopped near a pile of dirty snow, frowning. “Someone has been here.” She pointed at the pile. “We must dig.”

  I must dig, you mean?

  “Yes.”

  If it meant a hoard of ahvenrood, Gozan didn’t mind soiling his hands. He let his fingers grow longer, thick with claws, then scooped away piles of snowy dirt. He dug and dug, but found nothing. Soon the hole was so deep, he would have to crawl into it to continue.

  How much deeper? He looked at his bond.

  Tears streaked the girl’s face. “We should have found it by now. Someone has taken it.”

  Gozan’s hope shattered. Amala buried her face in her hands and wept.

  While Gozan enjoyed her agony, he did not like being manipulated. Had the girl lied in order to trap him into a bond? If so, she would soon discover the folly of such a plan.

  “I cannot keep up with Shanek if I am not a mantic,” Amala said through her tears. “He’s so much more powerful than me. If he becomes king, he will leave me behind, I know it.”

  Gozan wouldn’t blame the boy for that. This girl was as emotional as Charlon.

  She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Charming. Her eyes lit with an idea and shifted to meet his. “Unless . . .”

  You have a plan, Miss Amala?

  “You could take Dominion inside me.”

  Gozan didn’t mean to, but he gasped. You dare jest about such a thing?

  “I do not jest. Dominion is a way for you to share your power with me, isn’t it?”

  Oh, the delightful, foolish girl! It is . . . he said slowly, as if considering the idea carefully.

  “Then I want it, if you think it will accomplish my goals.”

  I don’t see why it wouldn’t. Not that Gozan would promise the girl anything.

  Miss Amala took a deep breath. “I don’t know the ancient words for Dominion.”

  The Kinsman tongue will work well enough, Gozan said, trying not to appear eager.

  She cleared her throat. “Come into me, Rurek, great shadir of the Five Realms. I give you Dominion over my body so that we might make magic together.”

  Rurek wasted no time, lest the girl have a sudden change of mind. He flapped his wings, hopped, and soared to her side. He picked her up in both hands and thrilled as he felt her body tense in his arms. Despite her fear, he felt no barrier between them, so he pulled her close and dissolved through her skin until he was fully inside her.

  She was a great deal smaller than expected, but such warmth! He had never felt so alive! Not only could he feel the Solid on her skin, he felt whole inside this body.

  Human.

  No wonder Master Gâzar sought control of each precious soul. So much power in a human life. So much potential.

  “Now I am just like Shanek,” Amala said, somewhat giddy. Her voice sounded different from inside her head. “We are both bonded to greats.”

  A prickle of fear tangled Gozan’s thoughts. What do you mean?

  “Shanek has given Dominion to Dendron, the great that once served King Barthel. And now I have given Dominion to you. I like this plan better.”

  After all Gozan had done to keep his distance from Dendron, he was now bonded to the fem
ale companion of Dendron’s human host. What to do? Now that he felt the ecstasy of Dominion, he would not give it up. The power he felt inside this body . . . it made him feel invincible. Dendron, however . . . Shanek had Dominion over shadir, so Dendron would be a slave to the boy’s whims. The thought amused Gozan. Trapped inside that reckless young man, Dendron’s power would be diminished. Not that Amala was vastly superior, but at least Gozan had the upper hand with the girl. He was her master. Shanek was Dendron’s.

  Gozan would just have to wait and see what happened when Miss Amala and Sâr Shanek came face to face.

  “I cannot wait to tell Shanek I’ve bonded with a great shadir. He will be so surprised!”

  Gozan snapped out of his stupor. He must put a stop to that line of thinking right away. You must not tell Sâr Shanek that truth yet.

  “Why not?” she asked.

  Because Dendron will see me as a threat. And you mustn’t upset the future king at so perilous a time. He needs to focus on his plan.

  “But we could help him,” Amala said. “Two great shadir are more powerful than one.”

  Great shadir do not work together. One must rule over the other, and neither Dendron nor I will give up our freedom. No, Amala. We must help Shanek in secret for now.

  He felt her reluctance. “I will think about it.”

  Amusing, how the fool girl didn’t yet realize the truth. When she had accepted Dominion, she had given Gozan full power over her actions and speech, if he wanted to make use of them. She would do what Gozan wanted her to do. He doubted she would be pleased to learn this.

  He couldn’t wait.

  Hinck

  Hinck’s day had been long and arduous. Trevn thought he had problems with the nobles in Armania. That was nothing compared to the daily condescension and ridicule Saria suffered. The council members seemed to like Hinck just fine—all except Finnel Wallington, who never passed up an opportunity to insult him and predict his ultimate doom.

  Evening was upon them again, however, and Hinck was thankful for a private dinner with friends. Queen Mielle and her staff were still here. Trevn had sent her as his ambassador and to continue her investigation, but now that Shanek was looking for them, she would remain a while longer.