Oathtaker

by Patricia Reding

  “Prophecy?” Jules asked.

  “Indeed.”

  “Are you a prophet?”

  “Oh, dear me, no. Simply a scholar.”

  “So, what do you know of the girls?” Mara asked.

  “Well now,” the old man said, “prophecy can be a difficult thing.”

  “How is that?”

  He looked out across sanctuary grounds. “Before today I spent years studying prophecy, including that which tells of a seventh seventh ‘and she who is but is not.’ But not until the moment I saw the girls did I realize what it all meant.”

  “How is it that you knew when you saw them?”

  He held the Oathtaker’s gaze. “I saw that everything about them was alike and yet . . . different. I knew in that moment that they were twins. And suddenly, it all just . . . fit.”

  “Leala, Fidel,” Mara said, looking to each in turn, “I have so many questions. Sometimes I feel I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Perhaps at the beginning would be best,” the old woman said.

  “I often find the beginning to be the best place, yes,” Fidel agreed.

  Mara chuckled. “Good advice. I’ve been known to give it myself on occasion.”

  “So, what are your questions?” Leala asked.

  “I guess when you get down to it, my questions are in three main areas. First, what is my position as Oathtaker to not one, but to two, of the Select, particularly given that they are infants and far from being able to take on the missions for which they are meant. And . . . what about the dangers of having both of them as my charge? Or is it, ‘charges?’ Either way,” she said with a wave of her hand. “For example, what if my acting on behalf of one puts the other in danger? Sometimes I can’t sleep at night considering these issues.”

  “I never thought of that,” Jules said.

  “Second, what of the crown, the sword and the scepter? Are they for just one of the girls? For both? Am I to keep them safe myself? Or are they better off left where they are? And what if they land in the hands of—”

  “Whoa! Whoa!” Fidel interrupted. “That’s a mouthful there.”

  “Yes, and there’s more.”

  “That’s not enough?” Nina asked.

  The Oathtaker grinned. “No, there’s more. Third, how do I keep the girls safe? May I leave them at any time in the care of others? Does it matter if it’s someone who’s sworn to protect them? Is there anywhere in Oosa safe for them?”

  She turned to Jules, directing her next questions to him. “And what of Lucy? What about—”

  “Lucy!” Leala exclaimed. “How do you know her?”

  “You know Lucy?”

  “Sure!”

  “You too?” Mara asked Fidel.

  “But of course.”

  Leala chimed in. “We’re Lucy’s eyes and ears here. Well, that is, I’m Lucy’s eyes since nothing escapes my attention. Junior here,” she said, her eyes rolling Fidel’s way, “acts as her ears—when he’s not too busy worshipping the sound of his own voice.”

  The old man frowned as the others laughed lightly.

  “I don’t understand,” Jules said. “What’s your connection to Lucy?”

  “We’ve known her for a very long time,” Leala said. “We met her here at sanctuary. She said she was waiting for a seventh seventh, working behind the scenes to help ensure that Oosa would have such a one some day. When she heard that we awaited the child as well, that the Good One had assured us we would meet her one day . . . Well, we all decided we’d keep one another informed.”

  “So if we’d said nothing more, you would have reported this information to Lucy?” Mara asked.

  “Truth is, there was a time I might have,” Leala said. “However, having given an oath to protect the twins, and having witnessed Ehyeh’s confirmation of that oath, I feel it’s outside my authority to take any action with respect to them.”

  “Well put, Leala,” Fidel chimed in.

  “You don’t trust Lucy?” Jules asked.

  “Oh no,” the old woman said, “that’s not it at all. I just appreciate that Mara must make these decisions. I’m no Oathtaker.”

  “I agree,” Fidel said.

  “So what now?” Nina asked Mara.

  “That’s just it. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know where to begin. Maybe I’ve come to depend on Dixon too much. I don’t know.”

  “Did you say Dixon?” Leala asked. “Dixon Townsend?”

  Mara eyed the old folks carefully. “Yes.”

  “What’s he got to do with this?” Fidel asked.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “We’ve heard troubling things,” Leala said.

  “And?”

  The old woman slapped the table. “And it just doesn’t make sense. From all I’ve ever heard, there is not a more committed, more honorable, more honest and worthy man, than Dixon. And then we hear that he’s some kind of traitor!”

  “He’s no traitor.”

  “But Lilith—”

  “Lilith has turned to the dark side.”

  Fidel’s head jerked up. “What’s that you say?”

  Mara explained the role Lilith had played to date.

  “But of course, the girls are Rowena’s.”

  “Yes.”

  “So that makes four categories of questions,” he said.

  “What’s the fourth? You think I don’t have enough on my plate already?”

  He shook his head. “Oh, you have enough all right. But if what you say is true, there is much to determine about Lilith and about how to deal with her.”

  “Tell us something we don’t know,” Adele said, finally having something to add to the conversation.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Mara called a meeting so that she could bring everyone up to date. She sent a note via a housemaid to Ezra. Would he be free to join them for the evening? He assured her he would be happy to assist in any way possible. He offered the group a back room, but requested they dine first, as he could not attend until later. Then Mara sent messengers to Leala and Fidel to ask if they would join her. Within the hour, the couriers returned with acceptances from them both.

  When the two oldtimers arrived at the inn, Celestine ushered them into the room. Upon meeting Dixon, they offered their sympathies on the loss of Rowena. Mara thanked them for coming. As she did, she couldn’t help but notice, out of the corner of her eye, Dixon lost in conversation with, his rapt attention upon, Celestine.

  After dinner Mara surveyed the group before her, pleased it had grown. Even so, she had to face reality. Missing only Ted and Faith, everyone who knew of the girls and wanted to assist with keeping them safe, sat before her. Thus, her assistants included Dixon, Basha, and Therese, two “would be” Oathtakers, one cripple, one lactating woman who was hard to keep adequately fed and who was always slowed by the need to feed the infants, one very old woman, and one very, very old man. They all visited quietly, awaiting Ezra’s arrival. Oh yes, and one spy, she added to her count.

  A bustle came at the door. Mara, Dixon, and Basha, all jumped up at the same time.

  “In there. Get him in there! Stop. Watch out!” Ezra shouted.

  Mara reached for Spira. Her eyes darted to Dixon, who held his blade, Verity, and then to Basha who held her blade, Honora. Behind her, her friends pushed their chairs from the table. She surmised that Samuel and Jules prepared to jump into battle.

  The innkeeper burst into the room. With Nancy’s assistance, he held up a man. Behind him, two of his aids, Arne and Connell, dragged another man forward.

  Having sheathed Verity, Dixon jumped toward them.

  Nancy and Ezra placed the man they held into a nearby chair. He looked near death. Blood spotted his clothing. When he swayed to the side, nearly falling over, the barmaid aided him.

  Ezra turned to Arne and Connell. Tattoos of flames covered the arms of the man they led in. When he tensed and contracted his biceps, the flames appeared to devour his flesh. He opened his dark eyes at half
-mast and peeked out over his hooked nose, surveying the room menacingly.

  Arne and Connell flanked their prisoner, holding him tightly, though they had bound him earlier with rope. Ezra stood before them, while Dixon remained to one side crouched to strike.

  “Who are you?” the innkeeper asked.

  The man lifted his chin and raised his brow. His eyes traveled down Ezra, then back up, as though sizing him up for battle. His sneer intensified, then he looked away.

  “I asked, ‘who are you?’”

  The man took a deep breath in, then exhaled slowly as he rolled his eyes.

  “He’s coming to!” Nancy exclaimed.

  Ezra shifted his attention to the man in the other chair. “Dooley!” he cried, placing his hand under the man’s chin and lifting his head.

  Dooley’s eyes opened slowly, then closed again.

  “Dooley, can you hear me?”

  “He needs rest,” Nancy said.

  “We’ll get him down shortly.” The innkeeper turned his attention back to the stranger. “Are you going to speak or do we have to drag it out of you?”

  “Where’d he come from?” Dixon asked.

  “I stationed Arne and Connell near the city gates. They saw him following Dooley. They caught up with him shortly afterward, but by then he’d done his worst.”

  “Dooley doesn’t look good.”

  “No, he doesn’t. What did you want from him?” Ezra then asked the stranger. “Were you intending to rob him?”

  The man refused to look at his questioner.

  “He was not going to rob him,” Mara said. “He planned to kill him.”

  For the first time, the dark man’s gaze settled on Mara. She stepped forward. As she reached Dixon’s side, he held an arm out to hold her back. She moved it away, then advanced.

  “Tell me when I get off course,” she said, contempt in her voice. “You came from the Polesk area where you were with the group that accompanied Lilith there.”

  The stranger’s glare intensified. One eye squinted almost imperceptibly.

  “And your errand was to keep Dooley from reaching his destination. So I assume you think he has information that Lilith doesn’t want out.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  After a pause, Ezra spoke. “You know what to do,” he said to his hired muscle. “Take him down. We’ll question him later.”

  “I’ll question him,” Mara said.

  “Ma’am, it may not be safe. He’s bound, to be sure, but very dangerous.”

  “Where is it you intend to take him? And what measures do you intend to use?”

  The innkeeper looked about uneasily. He stepped closer. “I’d rather not say,” he responded quietly as he leaned in.

  She nodded. “Ezra, you may have to use strong methods to gain the information from him that we need.” She looked about as though defying anyone to argue with her, or as though challenging the others to offer convincing argument to the contrary. “I understand under most circumstances, that force—or whatever other means you may have in mind—is not the preferred method for getting truthful information. Moreover, in general, it goes against what we believe.”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but Mara motioned to him with an upraised hand to say nothing. “However,” she continued, “we have to consider what is at stake. Timing is everything. If we get the information we need, but we get it too late, it will of no value to us. This man knows something, and what he knows is information we need quickly. We can’t afford to stall. If we don’t use the most—”

  “Indeed,” Ezra interrupted. “I understand completely.”

  “Very well then.” She turned away, then stopped in her tracks and looked back to the innkeeper. “Stop at nothing,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. She looked to the stranger, satisfied when a flash of fear crossed his eyes.

  Arne and Connell shuffled out with the dark man in tow.

  “I’ll be there shortly,” Ezra called after them.

  The tension in the room released. Everyone seemed to take in a simultaneous breath.

  “I don’t know when we’ll get anything from Dooley,” Ezra said. “The truth is, he looks pretty bad. Still, you should know that I think you’re right. He was stationed in Polesk. From what Lance told me, he expected Dooley back here some time ago.” He glanced at his spy. “I can’t tell the extent of his injuries. He’s taken a beating and has been at the mercy of the elements for some time.”

  “I could help with the healing,” Mara offered.

  “No, thank you, I’ve got this one. Save your energy. We may need it yet.”

  “Just make it quick, Ezra. We need answers.”

  Basha stepped forward. “Mara, Ezra,” she said looking from one to the other, “I can help with the questioning.”

  Mara’s eyes narrowed. “You’re an interrogator?”

  “An excellent one,” Dixon said. “She’s well known for her skills.”

  Mara was pleased to learn of Basha’s abilities. She still had so much to learn about the powers of those around her. “Questioning the stranger could prove difficult,” she said.

  “I’ve no scruples about doing what must be done to keep the twins safe.” Basha placed her hand on Mara’s arm. “You were right. Gaining the information we need too late would be as bad as not gaining it at all.”

  “Do as you please then.”

  “Very well.” Basha turned to the innkeeper. “Can someone show me the way to where the prisoner was taken?”

  “I’ll show you myself as soon as we get Dooley to a room.”

  Dixon approached Mara’s side. He wore a puzzled expression. He pointed to the door. “How did you know where he was from?” he asked her.

  “I dreamed last night that a stranger came our way. He was from the army that accompanies Lilith. That’s all I remember, and I didn’t remember that much until I saw that man right here before us.”

  “Excuse me, ma’am?”

  Mara turned to the voice. “Yes, Adele? What is it?”

  “I ahhh . . . I had the same dream.”

  “Me too,” Nina offered.

  “And me,” said Basha.

  “Count me in,” Therese quipped.

  “Yes,” Samuel and Jules added, in unison.

  Mara’s gaze rested on Dixon. He closed his eyes and nodded.

  Ezra, exhausted from his efforts to heal Dooley, and from overseeing the questioning of the stranger, jumped as a knock came at the door. When Connell opened it, its squeaking hinges sounded eerily into the room.

  “How is it going with Dooley?” Dixon asked as he stepped inside.

  “He’s resting.”

  “That’s probably what you should be doing.”

  “Yes.”

  “Any information yet?”

  “No, but I’m still hoping he’ll have something for us when he awakens.”

  Dixon watched his friend closely. “Really, you should get some sleep. You look awful.”

  “Thanks. How’s the questioning going?”

  Dixon sat next to his friend. “We keep thinking he’s breaking, but then . . . nothing.”

  “Nothing at all?”

  “No. Hopefully soon. Mara insists Basha turn up the heat. It’s difficult, but she’s rising to the occasion. Therese is helping.”

  “How’s Mara holding up?”

  Dixon looked away. “I’m not sure. She’s been . . . distant. Probably just feeling overwhelmed. I remember those early days. You?”

  The innkeeper chuckled. “Yes, but maybe you should just tell her the truth about Celestine. I see the way she looks at her.”

  Dixon shook his head. “Don’t read anything into it, Ezra. She’s just feeling she’s in over her head. Leala and Fidel are inundating her with information and resources. It’s amazing how the education of Oathtakers has changed so quickly over just the past few years. I didn’t realize how much they were no longer teaching. Besides, it’s not like we—” He stopped short. “It’s not like s
he could acknowledge . . . Well, she’s committed. She’s under oath. Even if . . .” He paused and drummed a beat upon his thigh. “Even if, as you seem to be implying, there was any interest on her part, it would probably be best to keep obstacles in the way.”

  Ezra watched his friend closely. “I can’t say that I disagree with you. Even so, the two of you might be getting along better. We’re all feeling the tension.”

  Dixon’s brow rose.

  Just then another knock came at the door. Once again, Connell answered it. Once again, its squeaking hinges sang their eerie tune. There stood Mara, looking wan and tired.

  “We were just talking about you,” Ezra said.

  Her gaze shifted quickly from him to Dixon. “All good things, I hope.”

  “Most certainly. We were discussing how hard you’ve been studying.”

  “I feel my head’s about to burst.”

  He motioned to a chair. “What’s the news?”

  “Basha just sent a message. She thinks he might talk soon.”

  “But she’s gotten nothing yet?” Dixon asked.

  “No, nothing yet.” Mara brushed her hair from her face. “Well, that is, he gave Basha his name. It’s Udaye. And he confirmed he was with the army in Polesk.”

  “Nothing about what they were doing there?”

  “No.” Mara turned to Ezra. “Have any more of your men made it back from that area?”

  He shook his head. “No. I finally sent a few more that direction. They left last night. I arranged for them to put out false information about your whereabouts along the way.”

  “Good,” Dixon said. “Where are they going to say we were seen?”

  “I figured the farther away from here the better, so they’ll say they’ve seen you in various villages in the highlands. That should make it sound like you’re on the move.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Ezra, are you sure your people can be trusted?” Mara asked. “I mean—”

  “I understand your concerns, Mara, but short of requiring a life oath from each of them, all I can do is tell you that I chose each of them because of their skills and their personal histories. I trust them.”

  She sighed. “It just makes me wonder if we should move on. It seems to be getting harder and harder to keep the girls’ existence a secret.”