City of Gods [Book 3 of the Teadai Prophecies]
Page 12
“Try again.” She pointed a long arm to the next rock.
Two of the newly oathed servants, Brak and LePon, had graciously lined up several for him. Bankari servants walked by on their way to chores, many with weary looks from all that had gone on the past few days. So many had been oathed this morning. Others, some who had already sworn allegiance, said they wanted the rest of the day to think on what they considered such a generous offer. The Elders had agreed without contest. And now, those same Elders sat in one of the stone buildings with a warm fire, deciding the fate of the hamlet.
Thad had seen enough death along the Tandiar River to last a lifetime. He honestly hoped the villagers gave up without a fight. Although, he still longed to find the raiders who had killed those innocent families. He had no sympathy for whoever murdered his uncle or Dom Wilambrooges and the man’s wife and children and would gladly see their heads on posts. Maesa’s image filled his mind and he pushed away a wave of sorrow. Croferituus would pay too. And the Goddess help her if Thad got to her first. No matter what Adelsik or the others said, he still believed the yellow-eyed woman was involved with the Tandiar murders.
The youngling, Henny, had slipped into a deep sleep just three nights ago. He and the other healers could do nothing for her. The slumberers, Ved’nuri included, couldn’t rouse her from the Netherworld. Ryder still kept Death at bay, the best he could do under the circumstances.
Henny still lives. That be enough for now. He pushed down the anger and grief at those memories and concentrated on his exercises again. The next rock split with three passes of his sparking Energy. How could he stop that idiotic sputter?
Cass, Saldia, Taniras and Adelsik walked by and he studied them a heartbeat. They seemed disappointed their plan had been usurped by Ved’nuri’s orders to invade the hamlet. Thad was pleased, though. He had initially agreed with it, since they had intended to get the Gypsies’ approval. In fact, every new-oathed and servant had agreed something needed to be done to get the Elders off their backsides and into action, but confronting the villagers together made more sense than letting Saldia sneak around the hamlet.
Surprisingly, Adelsik didn’t receive punishment for putting Henny in danger. Ved’nuri had agreed Henny was the best choice as bait for Croferituus, and since the youngling was so close to death, saw no need to coddle her. But the lass got a moon phase of laundry chores for not consulting with the other slumberers first. She looked more dejected now than the others in her group.
Ved’nuri had also ordered the slumberers to try and lure Croferituus again. The yellow-eyed woman wouldn’t fall for Henny twice, so Thad became the prime choice as bait. He had just enough slumbering Energy to keep from panicking and enough control to call out for help should Croferituus manage to get into his dreams before Adelsik and the others snagged her.
He gave a weary smile to Cass and she nodded just before Haranda called him back to practice. How he longed to get close to that woman. He split the last three rocks with similar jagged cuts as before.
“Enough, Thad.” Haranda’s dark eyes studied him. Since taking his oaths, he no longer felt stripped to his bones whenever a Gypsy looked at him. “Get some food and rest. If the Elders are still in their meeting after midday meal, we’ll continue.”
“Yes, Haranda.” Grateful for the respite, he let the Energy seep back into the ground and rolled his shoulders.
The Gypsy pulled her cloak around her body and walked toward Wren, who was busy talking with Adelsik now. From the white-haired Gypsy’s mannerisms, she was probably giving the lass another lecture.
The stream had begun to freeze over but he decided to see whether he could catch a few fish to add to the staple meals of flatbread, dried fruit and salted horsemeat. He shook his head as he made his way to his sleeping tent for his pole. Never in his life had he stooped to eating horse. Things had certainly changed from the luxuries in the Land of the Goddess to the meager supplies they had now. And there were so many to feed. Not that he wanted to change their numbers, not in the least, but the mounts wouldn’t last forever. And they would have to acquire more to get to Maricar.
He caught sight of Taniras and stepped quickly to catch up. The fool woman didn’t have her hood up. “Singer.” He touched her on the shoulder. She turned and squinted at him with black eyes that seemed to reflect his image like tiny obsidian mirrors. “Care to go fishing?” He gave her a smirk.
She laughed. “I’m afraid my urging abilities don’t work on fish.” She tapped one finger against her temple. “Brains are too tiny. But Snowy needs something to do.” The hunter headed their way. “That man will be my undoing if I don’t get some occasions alone with the wolves soon.”
Thad winked. “That not a problem. Leave him to me.” He whistled a tune he’d heard Elder Finlor whistle on numerous occasions and headed Snowy off.
The man seemed genuinely pleased to fish and took few heartbeats getting his hands on a pole. The two found a good spot along the stream and punched a hole in the thin, icy layer. The cold water flowed freely beneath.
As they sat on rocks with lines in the cold water, Thad eyed the other man. “How you like being married?”
Snowy chuckled. “I like it just fine. I especially like the warmer bed.” He eyed Thad a heartbeat. “You got a woman on your mind?”
“Cass.” Confessing felt good and he smiled. “That one a difficult woman to snag.”
“You like your women with spit do you?” Snowy laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “If any man can get that breast knife away from her, it’ll be you, my friend.”
They spent until midday meal without catching a single fish. The only ones Thad even saw were barely large enough to serve as bait. He wished for a river like the Tandiar or the ocean where he and Nym had fished. He wondered how the lad was getting along in the Land of the Goddess. Had Nym finally merged so that his mind matched the age of his body? Ved’nuri hadn’t reported anything recently.
He tossed his pole over his shoulder and shuttered as he stood. “Bloody cold out here. That a fact.” He pulled his fur-lined cloak tighter. He longed for a hot cup of cider wine to warm his bones.
“You got that bloody right, my friend.” Snowy clapped him on the back and the two headed to camp.
They hauled firewood to the pits with several other men then sat for midday meal. The Elders and quest leaders came from the stone building to join them. So, the Elders finally made a decision did they?
Thad’s suspicions proved correct when the Elders called an assembly with everyone just after the meal, and he stood next to Cass in the stone building where Henny lay asleep. The healers hoped activity around the girl might reach her when everything else had failed. Cass nodded to him and offered a greeting that was just less than formal. He wanted to groan. Would the woman never show an interest? He fought the urge to grab her and kiss her and his eyes drifted to the knife tucked in her bosom.
Patience.
Someone gave him a sharp jab in the back and he turned to see Snowy grinning like a fool. The man stood next to his wife but the singer had a distant look in her eyes. Probably communing with her wolves again.
Thad’s attention was drawn away from the couple when Elder Finlor stepped up on a wooden crate at the far wall. Everyone who could possibly fit had crammed into the building, careful not to tread on the ill youngling, and the smell of dirty bodies began to fill the fire-heated room. Thad hadn’t bathed in several days. In fact, Eletha had been one of the last to dip in the water. He smiled as he remembered the naked treewalker and Brak’s admonitions. Those two were in here somewhere but the Bankari men and women were so large he couldn’t see over them. The only ones not present were several guards appointed to The Big Iron and a few servants attending to fires. A runner stood just outside the doorway to relay the Elders’ messages to them.
Finlor leaned down from his box, but only slightly, to confer with Siri. Now that the large woman’s cloak was open, Thad saw the Azure Amulet at her breast.
Another outburst, louder than the first. The Elder waited until the noise subsided. “We can’t have any resistance in this. Not now. The Vedi have made that quite clear. If thieves and rapists fear us, then all the better.” That got nods and comments of agreement, much to Thad’s surprise.
“We will enter the hamlet this evening before dusk. All Gypsies and Sages will report to their original quest leaders for assignments. We may need to use the unification crystals.” Another outburst and Finlor raised his hands again. “We need several volunteers to stay behind and take care of things here.” He focused on the Bankari herb mistress, who had sworn oaths to them. “The healers would like you to watch after Henny. Ved’nuri and her son will take care of protecting her from the Netherworld.”
Thad couldn’t see the woman’s face but her back straightened and she nodded. “Yes, Elder.”
Finlor gave her a sad smile then looked out among the crowd again. “We’ll need every weapon readied and visible. These middlings must understand that we’re not bluffing. We need to establish housing and food for everyone here. And stables for the remaining horses.”
Those tiny eyes moved about the room and Thad waited breathlessly for his next words. “Those of you who haven’t been oathed need to make that decision after the meeting. We need kin now. The Goddess needs us. And we, the Elders, want that LaNar girl oathed as well.” Protests filled the room, including Thad’s but the Elder waved them quiet. “She has begged to be forgiven. Once she takes the servant oaths, she’ll be accepted or punished by the Goddess. Either way, she won’t be able to harm any of us again. New-oathed Eletha Lavine has agreed to this, as is her Gypsy right since she was the one poisoned.”
Soft murmers filled the room. The man was correct. The Goddess punished traitors. And if the Goddess let her live, the lass would be punished in traditional Gypsy fashion for her transgressions against Eletha, probably a public whipping and nasty chores for several moons under the direction of very formidable servants. Either way, she would pay for her misdeeds.
The stout Elder took in a visible breath. “Errant prisoners will also be given the chance to take the oaths.”
Before he even finished, protests rounded the room again. Thad even heard some from outside. He kept quiet but gave a worried look to Cass. She frowned and they both turned to Taniras and Snowy, who looked stunned. Most new-oathed and middlings stood dumbfounded while the Gypsies and servants raised their voices in obvious disgust and outrage. The Elders gathered around Finlor and all raised their arms for silence that didn’t come for quite a while.
Finally, above hisses and mumbles, Siri spoke. “This is an era when all who harness the Energy must join as one.” Silence. “Let the Goddess judge those She deems worthy for Her service and smite those who would dare turn against us.”
Voices joined in choruses of approval over that.
Finlor had the determined look of a man ready for battle. “As many of you know, the oaths aren’t mere words we spout to gain the trust of each other. The unworthy are punished. Any who pass the oaths but later turns against the kin experience pain and suffering at the hands of the Goddess Herself.”
Several middling faces held shock. Even some servants who’d been recently oathed hadn’t realized the seriousness of those vows. Of course, the Elders broke tradition now by revealing this. Tradition stated that no one, not even younglings, were told anything about the oaths beforehand. They were simply escorted to ceremony and asked whether they accepted the rules. Thad had never heard of a youngling ready for new-oathed status refusing. Examples didn’t exist even in the new-oathed handbook. Errants, on the other hand, didn’t live long once they refused to obey Goddess laws. Perhaps the same was true for the unworthy young.
Siri raised her voice this time. “Gypsies, Sages, servants. We are all kin.” Thad cheered along with the others at the pride in the Elder’s voice. “These misfit middlings sleep in warm buildings while Gypsy kinfolk brave the harsh elements.” One hand gestured to the wall, where Henny lay, though Thad couldn’t see her through all the bodies. “Our young are in danger. This is wrong!”
Another cheer rose up and Thad found himself wholeheartedly caught up in the speech.
Finlor nodded and when the noise died down again, he said, “We must not let anyone get in the way of saving our world, our ways, and our Goddess!”
Shouts of approval in the confines of the stone building rang Thad’s ears. He raised his fist in the air along with his kin. Taniras shouted something above the noise and he turned to her.
The room became silent again as Finlor focused on the wolf singer. When all eyes moved to Taniras, she stiffened.
“You have something to add, singer,” Finlor said.
Taniras pulled her body straight and raised her voice. “Yes, Elder. The wolves. They’ve been chanting about war. I didn’t realize what they meant until now. I thought they meant the fight against Croferituus. But now, I think they refer to this. The fight against destruction, against the annihilation of our world.” Those black eyes narrowed. “These happenings are more dangerous than you’ve led us to believe, Elder.” Her voice took on an accusatory tone.
Thad expected Finlor to call her down but he simply nodded. “Yes, new-oathed. At the request of the Vedi, we have kept the severity quiet.”
“Then the singer is right?” someone called. “This is war?”
“I’m afraid so. The Energy void and the imbalanced weather are just the beginnings. We’ve also been instructed to raise Cholqhuin ourselves, using the combined knowledge of Gypsies, Sages and elemental magic.”
Spurts of surprised conversation rose and fell.
Do we know even how to do that?
“But, Elder,” Kal said over the noise, her braid-wrapped head cocked to one side. “I thought that knowledge was lost.”
Siri placed a hand on Finlor’s arm and he deferred to her. Those hair bangles tinkled as she moved her head. “It was until now.”
Quite a commotion rang throughout the room. After Finlor got an approving nod from Siri, he waited for quiet again, his tiny eyes scrutinizing everyone. “The Vedi have translated more of the information we sent to them. One of those texts contains several elemental magic spells that have been lost for generations. The Vedi have been translating them, but they need all who can harness for the spells to work to our benefit. And we must do them in the Land of the Goddess.”
“Will the Goddess allow that, Elder?” Raith’s voice. Thad couldn’t see the stocky, red-haired man over the many Bankari in the building. “Elemental magic in Her land, Her home?”
“The Vedi said we have no choice. There are only two signs left of Cholqhuin’s coming. We must raise the god or nothing else will matter.”
Thad’s heart hammered against his ribs. They had discussed the god’s raising when Sureyah attempted it. Ved’nuri had even ordered them to assist her. But things didn’t seem so desperate then. He lifted his chin and sucked air into his lungs then bellowed, “How long do we have, Elder?”
By the silence that suddenly filled the room, the others must have been thinking the same thing, yet were afraid to ask.
Finlor frowned. “We don’t know for certain, Thad. But if the imbalance continues, which the Vedi believe will, we have to raise the old god before the lands are destroyed and we’re wiped
out.”
Stunned and shocked faces glanced around.
“That’s it!” Saldia barked in the near silent room. Several people, including Thad, flinched. “I’ve been mulling something around in my head for a while. Something that didn’t make complete sense until now. This war that Taniras’s wolves speak of, it is about Croferituus.” Murmurs began but the shade walker spoke over them. “Everything we’ve been dealing with—” Finlor beckoned Saldia to the front. She spoke to those she passed on her way. “I believe everything is more connected than we realized.”
Her hood hung down the back of her cloak and her brown hair reflected lantern light as she moved. Someone must have put another crate down for her because she stepped up to be seen above the tallest in the room. The short Elder nodded for her to continue. “Not only do we need to raise Cholqhuin and rid the Energy of the void, but we need to locate Croferituus and Lombreeth. And I believe we must attend to all of them before we get any results.”
That got everyone talking and it took a while for the Elders to quiet them.
“There’s more.” Saldia gave them a look of disgust. “I think we’re supposed to offer the oaths to Croferituus again, let the Goddess decide whether to restore her essence.”
Outbursts that hurt Thad’s ears rose up all around and he found himself calling out in protest. Saldia didn’t even flinch. Instead, her eyes moved over the entire room.
“Wait! Wait!” Finlor yelled, and he held arms high until the noise died. “What makes you think this, Saldia?”
The shade walker fidgeted with the scarf that bound her hair then quickly straightened. “It was something Adelsik said.”
Eyes and bodies turned to search for the young slumberer, who stood four people away from Thad, next to Haranda. She stared at Saldia with mouth dropped and innocent eyes as wide as saucers.
The shade walker studied Adelsik then Elder Finlor. “Maesa, Goddess bless her essence, told Adelsik that Croferituus could be found ‘where the light is dimmest’.” Several confirmed that orally or with nods. “Adelsik and Lyssinya believe she meant the void, which we now think is true. But I also think Maesa meant this as a clue to us that Croferituus is connected to the void more than we thought. That she has caused it, not by herself, but as part of a whole string of events.”