Gared blinked. “Li’l Sikvah? That can’t be right.”
“Believe it,” Wonda said. “Got in her way that night. Put me down like she was spankin’ a toddler.”
“Good riddance.” Renna spat on the floor, and Leesha bit her tongue.
“Sorry for missin’ the service,” Arlen said. “Leesha says it was somethin’ to see.”
“Whole Hollow came out,” Wonda said. “Tens o’ thousands, singin’ Rojer’s songs and beggin’ the Creator’s blessings for him in Heaven.”
“We came to the Hollow right in the middle of it,” Ragen said.
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” Elissa added.
Arlen swallowed a lump in his throat. “Least I had family there, then.” He and Ragen started to put hands out, then thought better of it and had a brief hug, slapping each other on the back.
Men. Leesha fought the urge to roll her eyes.
Elissa put her arms out, and Arlen fell into them. He shuddered, and everyone’s eyes dropped, allowing them a moment’s privacy. Renna spied her bubbled spit on the floor and sketched a ward with her finger, evaporating it.
When at last they drew apart, Elissa produced a silk kerchief, gently wiping Arlen’s eyes. It was hard to imagine the Arlen Leesha knew letting anyone do that, but he just sniffed until Elissa finished and gave him a kiss.
Arlen turned to extend an arm to Renna. “This is my wife, Renna Bales.”
Renna took a step forward but kept her eyes down. Shame flared in her aura as images flickered around her. A proper dress. A bathtub. A memory of herself from before she cut her hair with a knife to keep it out of the way as she fought.
Creator, she’s changed so much in the last year. Leesha gave her head a tiny shake. Night, we all have.
Renna’s feelings were understandable, especially in the presence of Mother Elissa, who wore nobility like a robe. But there was no sign in aura or expression that it mattered a whit to the woman. She held her arms open to Renna just as she had to Arlen, and pulled the reluctant young woman in tight.
“Have you been taking care of my boy?” Elissa asked quietly.
Renna sniffed and nodded. “Doin’ my best.” She pulled back, and their eyes met at last. “I was there when Arlen lost his mam. Told me how you and Ragen were there for him, even when he din’t know he needed you. Thank you for that.”
And then it was Elissa who teared, and they held each other again.
Derek stepped forward next, staring at Arlen, trying to see past the tattoos on his face. Images flashed above him—Arlen as a young man, sandy-haired and smooth-cheeked, not a ward on his skin. He was beautiful, and Leesha’s heart ached at the sight.
Derek put out a hand. “Been a long time.”
Arlen slapped it aside, pulling the man into a rough hug. “Too long. And you a Messenger, now! Who’d have thought?”
Derek grinned. “Just needed a kick out the door. Still be rotting up in Brayan’s Gold, but for you.”
Arlen waved the thought away. “How are Stasy and Jef?”
“Well enough, when I get to see them,” Derek said. “Count Brayan’s got ’em locked up in his keep, and after a fortnight’s visit I outstay my welcome.”
“Get your own house, then,” Arlen said.
“Easier said than done,” Derek said. “Stasy and Jef got royal blood, and I ent. I can’t give them a life like Count Brayan can, if he’d even let them go. All I can do is keep workin’, maybe one day earn enough to get them back for real.”
Arlen clicked his tongue. “Core with ‘one day.’ Sortin’ this right now. Din’t risk our necks getting you to Miln so Brayan could snub you. Worth ten o’ him.” He looked to Leesha. “Mind if I use your desk?”
Leesha nodded, and Arlen took a seat and fresh parchment, dipping the pen with a practiced hand. He looked to Ragen. “What was it Cob left me in his will again?”
“Fifty-one percent of the warding business,” Ragen said. “And two of the five seats on the Ward Exchange, yours and his. We’ve been renting them. You’re worth millions of suns, if you ever come claim it.”
Arlen nodded, bending and writing across the top of the page in his beautiful, flowing script.
“Cob’s seat will go to you and Elissa,” Arlen told Ragen, “along with thirty of my fifty-one percent.” He looked to Derek. “My seat, and twenty-one percent of the business, will go to you.”
Derek’s eyes grew wide, and his aura turned white with shock. “You can’t be serious.”
“Serious as nightfall,” Arlen said. “You left the wards to find me when you thought I needed help. Now you need help, and I’m happy to give it.”
“Ay,” Derek sputtered, “but millions of suns? What if you need it one day?”
“Ent likely, where I’m goin’,” Arlen said. “Sides, got gold aplenty stashed all over Thesa.”
“It’s true,” Gared said. “Seen the barrels.”
“You keep it in barrels?!” Derek gaped.
“Can’t just leave it on the floor, can I?” Arlen asked. He finished writing, blowing on the ink to dry it. “Needs witnesses. Leesha? Gar?”
Leesha took the pen, signing her name, and handed it to Gared. He furrowed his brow, hand shaking a bit, but managed to write his name. Rosal’s lessons were progressing well.
“There,” Arlen said, blotting the paper and rolling it up. “Let’s see Brayan try and keep you down now.”
“But you ent dead,” Derek said.
“Far as the world knows, I am,” Arlen said. “Ent got to look over your shoulder, Derek. It’s yours, now.”
“I…” Derek shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you,” Elissa suggested.
Derek pulled Arlen into another hug. “Thank you.”
“Congratulations, partner!” Ragen slapped Derek on the back. “Lucky to have you!”
It was a few minutes more before Leesha had everyone seated for tea. She made a point of putting the sugar pot in everyone’s reach.
Arlen produced a letter, handing it to Ragen. “For Tender Ronnell. He’s another one got this Deliverer business stuck in his head, but it means he’ll listen where Euchor might not.”
Ragen took the letter. “Do you want us to tell him you’re alive?”
“No one outside this room needs to know that.” Arlen’s eyes drifted to meet those of everyone in the room as he spoke. “You and Elissa left Miln not long after I disappeared. Easy enough to say you picked that and my will up when you first passed through the Hollow, and been carryin’ ’em ever since.”
“We’ve exchanged many messages with Miln in recent months,” Elissa noted.
Arlen shrugged. “Tell him Rojer gave it to you, with instructions not to trust it to anyone else.”
“A secret message sent just before your mysterious disappearance?” Elissa asked. “That won’t do much to dispel his belief that you’re the Deliverer.”
“Don’t think anything will,” Arlen said. “Belief is stubborn as a rock demon.”
“Ay,” Elissa agreed. “Like your belief that you’re not.”
Arlen rolled his eyes. “Night, not you, too.”
“There’s no test to know if someone is the Deliverer or not,” Ragen pointed out.
Arlen looked at him, incredulous. “Taught me yourself Deliverers don’t exist.”
“I taught no such thing,” Ragen said. “I said when humanity needed them, great generals rose to lead us. Their existence is documented, Arlen. It’s a fact. The Creator didn’t come down from Heaven to confirm it then, and I don’t expect He will now, but that doesn’t change the fact that our whole world has shifted because Arlen Bales had a stubborn streak.”
“Corespawned right,” Gared said, and even Leesha could not help but feel the power of the argument. Was Arlen Bales the Deliverer? Was Ahmann? Did divine blessing matter, if they were to walk that path?
“Can’t have people waiting for me to save them,” Arlen argued.
“Or me,” Gared put in.
“Or most of the Hollow,” Leesha added. Arlen frowned at her, turning to Renna.
“What’s it matter?” his wife asked. “Doesn’t change what anyone’s got to do.”
Something softened in Arlen’s aura at that, a stubborn streak turned contemplative. “Belief of Ronnell and the other Tenders might be all that saves Miln in time. Trouble’s comin’, and fast. Euchor’s put all his faith in his flamework weapons, but they ent gonna be enough by a long sight. Holy Houses are going to be the safest places in Miln once the demons breach the walls.”
Ragen and Elissa looked at each other, paling.
“Do you think it will get that far?” Ragen asked.
“Miln’s walls hold because they’ve never really been tested,” Arlen said. “If One Arm could breach them, the minds’ll have no problem. Church wards are stronger, but still no match for rock demons with stones to throw. Hiding ent gonna be enough. Folk need to be ready to fight.”
Quickly, he relayed much of what he had told Leesha—the capture of the demon king, the coming swarm, and his plan to attack the hive.
Gared got to his feet at that. “Goin’ with you.”
“No, you ent,” Arlen said.
Wonda stood as well. “Can’t let the two of you go down there alone.”
“Ent alone,” Renna said. “Jardir and Shanvah are comin’, and they know their way around a fight. Two a’ you can do more up here than you can down there.”
Gared shook his head. “Bad enough, what happened to Rojer—”
“Gonna happen to Hollow County, they don’t have Gared and Wonda Cutter around when new moon comes again,” Arlen cut in. “Means the world to us you’re willing to go, but Renna’s right. Ent your fight.”
“Could use your help with Promise, though,” Renna said. “Don’t reckon I want to take her down into the dark with us.”
“Course,” Wonda said.
“Promise needs a firm hand,” Renna’s voice tightened, like a parent giving up a child, “but she won’t shy from a fight.”
“Take good care of her,” Wonda said. “Swear by the sun.”
“Gonna need all the help you can get,” Arlen said. “Minds are coming in hard. You’ll need to fight smart and take every advantage. Keep the Hollow safe, but find the hive ground and take it out if you can. It’ll be somewhere with surface access to an underground cavern. Close enough for them to direct the drones attacking the Hollow, but far enough you won’t find it by accident.”
“I’ll send out survey teams first thing tomorrow,” Leesha said.
“Be better if you still had Amanvah and her dice,” Arlen said.
“Amanvah’s returned to Krasia, but she’s promised to send another dama’ting to liaise with us,” Leesha said.
“Barely trusted Amanvah, but at least she was married to Rojer,” Gared said. “Now we’re gonna put our faith in some priestess with no stake in the Hollow?”
“Know how you feel, Gar,” Arlen said. “Honest word. But we gotta start trustin’ sometime. Ent got time to fight among ourselves anymore. If there’s a demon prince out there, it’s the last thing any good Evejan would lie about.”
“Next new moon is in less’n a week,” Renna said. “She gonna be here by then?”
Leesha shook her head. “In the meantime, Amanvah taught me something of reading dice, and I’ve been making a set of my own. Perhaps I can help point the way.”
“You know what you’re doing?” Arlen asked her.
Leesha smiled. “Do you?”
Gared and Wonda seemed scandalized at the question, but Arlen laughed. “Fair and true.”
“That’s well enough for the Hollow,” Ragen said, “but there are a thousand caves in Miln for a mind demon to hide from the sun.”
“Miln doesn’t have a Deliverer…yet.” Arlen winked. “Minds are going to underestimate you. Might be fool enough to show themselves.”
“And if not?” Elissa asked.
“Leave me a vial of your blood,” Leesha suggested. “Perhaps I can cast the dice, or persuade the dama’ting to do it for you.”
Arlen nodded. “Good thinkin’. I’ll have a word with Jardir before he heads back to Krasia. See if he can get you some help on that front.”
“What about Angiers?” Leesha asked. “And Lakton?”
“Lakton’s in less danger,” Arlen said. “At least the city proper. Water ent a good conductor for magic, and minds can’t control drones all the way out on the lake from shore. Krasians will have to do for any in their inland territory. As for Angiers…” He shrugged. “Can’t say I know much of anything about Duke Pether, and I doubt he’ll be inclined to listen if I skate into his office like I did yours.”
“You’re right about that,” Leesha said. “He sees you as a threat and is actively inciting his Council of Tenders against you.”
Arlen blew out a breath, looking to Ragen. “You spent more time there than anyone. Know any who’ll listen?”
“Most of my business was with Rhinebeck and Janson,” Ragen said. “I’ve been hunting a few times with the royal brothers, but each had his own entourage, and Pether was the one I knew least. He’d remember me well enough to secure an audience, but I doubt I can sway him with unprovable portents of doom. We’ve done a lot to line the pockets of the Warders’ Guildmaster, but the Tenders have their own Warders, and with Pether on the throne, the guild is out of favor.”
Leesha looked to Elissa. “You’ll need to meet with Araine.”
“The Duchess Mum?” Arlen asked. “How’s that dim old bird going to help?”
“Mum ent dim.” Wonda’s measured tone was respectful, but Leesha could see fierce loyalty in her aura, and knew Arlen must, as well. “Done nothin’ but right by the Hollow.”
“Cannier’n she looks,” Gared agreed, “but she ent gonna be much help in a war.”
Leesha sighed. If things were as dire as Arlen was saying, there was no point in keeping secrets anymore. “Up until Rhinebeck was murdered and Sikvah killed Janson, Duchess Araine was the real power in Angiers.”
Arlen blinked. “How’s that?”
“You always said the royals couldn’t tie their shoes without Janson,” Leesha said. “It was truer than you know. What you and everyone else were in the dark about was that Janson reported directly to Araine.”
Arlen’s eyes were on her, reading her aura, and she knew he could see the truth in her words. “When I ‘disappeared’ for your audience with the duke, it was to meet with her and negotiate terms for the Hollow. Everything that happened in your meeting was orchestrated by Araine. Rhinebeck had as much say in where things went as a Messenger’s horse deciding where to ride.”
“Huh,” Arlen said. “And now that Rhinebeck and Janson are dead?”
“I don’t know,” Leesha admitted. “Duchess Lorain was on the rise when we left, and Pether convinced the Creator put him on the throne.”
“Will she be any more inclined to believe us without evidence?” Elissa asked.
“I’ll pen letters,” Leesha said. “My old teacher Jizell is Royal Gatherer now. She’s been to the Hollow and seen what we’re up against. She’ll listen, I hope.”
“Night,” Arlen said. “Ent got time for politics and whispers. Need every ally we can get.”
“We could use your help with allies closer to home,” Leesha said. “I need you to speak to the Warded Children.”
Arlen shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
“You said we need every ally,” Leesha pressed. “Every advantage. They’re strong, Arlen, and they worship you. You’re the only one who can guide them.”
Arlen shook his head again. “Didn’t fake my own death and hide out in a tower all these months to go and parade around in front of a mob. More people know I’m alive, more we risk everything. This is your mess, Leesha. Need
to clean it up yourself.”
“What’s all this?” Renna asked.
Arlen turned to her. “Leesha took it on herself to paint blackstem wards on a bunch of kids. They got crazed and stopped listening to sense.”
“Dun’t sound so bad,” Renna said.
“Then one night they ate a demon’s heart on a dare,” Arlen said.
“Night,” Renna muttered.
Gared looked green. “Ent that poison?”
Arlen blew out a breath. “That’s what I wanted everyone to think. Ever wonder why Ren and I got powers in the day? Why Evin’s hound Shadow grew big as a nightwolf?”
“Arlen…” Elissa began.
Arlen met her eyes, and pain lanced across his aura. “Didn’t have a choice. Krasians left me to die in the desert. Nothing else to eat. I thought, They take so much from us, why not take something back?”
“Think I’m gonna slosh,” Wonda said.
“Hush,” Leesha told her.
“It’s all right,” Arlen said. “Don’t blame you, Won. But you’ve felt what warding your skin is like.”
“Makes you crazed,” Wonda agreed. “Ent in your right mind.”
Arlen nodded. “I’d just discovered the fighting wards. Right or wrong, wasn’t thinkin’ about anything ’cept living long enough to bring them back to the world.”
“But if you think wards on your skin make you crazed, ent nothing compared with eatin’ demon,” Renna said. “Started doing it to keep up with Arlen, just ’fore we came to the Hollow. Remember what I was like then?”
“Scary.” Gared shrank back as Renna turned to him. “No offense.”
Renna smiled at him. “Scared myself. Still do, sometimes. New struggle, every day. But I had Arlen Bales to pull me through it.”
“Stela and the others need you, too,” Leesha told Arlen.
“Can’t hold everyone’s hand,” Arlen said. “Far as the world knows, I’m dead. Needs to stay that way.”
“Stela’s in the dungeon right now,” Leesha said. “Sooner or later, the others are going to come for her, and we’ll have civil war, right when we most need to unite.”
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