by Jayne Faith
What was happening?
The Priestess gathered up her robes and quickly climbed the steps to Lord Toric. It seemed an effort for him to unlock his eyes from mine as he turned to the Priestess, who was speaking frantically. I couldn’t hear her over the noise of the crowd.
Lord Toric’s posture went rigid as something caught his eye. He pointed, and she stopped talking and followed his gaze.
They were both looking open-mouthed at the main entrance into the throne room. The double doors had been thrown open, and a woman stood there. Two women, actually, but the younger of the two stood a bit behind and seemed to fade into the background in the presence of the older.
The older woman was stately, tall even for a Calistan. Her white-streaked hair and creased skin indicated she was at least Iris’s age. The woman wore a thin strip of fabric tied around her face, a blindfold obscuring her eyes. But despite this, her presence was commanding.
Even as the strange light continued to blaze through the windows, the Earthens and Calistans in the throne room quieted as they noticed the woman in the doorway.
When the room was nearly silent, the stately woman strode forward with the younger woman at her side. A pang of homesickness arrowed straight through my heart as I remembered guiding my blind twin sister the way the young woman guided the stately older Calistan.
They were walking straight toward me and the other Obligates who were gathered in a jumble with Akantha in the middle of the throne room floor. We scattered to either side, making way for the blindfolded stranger.
I moved more slowly than the others, clumsy on my rubbery legs. Orion kept me from falling, half-dragging me out of the way.
But just as the blindfolded woman was about to pass me, she slowed and turned her head. I couldn’t see her eyes of course, but I felt her attention trained on me as clearly as if she’d pinned me with a wide-eyed stare.
“May the stars above and Mother Earth below watch over you,” she said. Her voice was so soft, it was almost as if I heard it in my mind rather than with my ears.
My chin dropped, and I gaped as she continued on. Had the woman really offered me a prayer? Blinking rapidly several times, I glanced up at Orion, wondering if he’d heard what she’d said.
As I watched the woman’s progress toward the throne, I happened to glance at Akantha. The Mistress of Tournament’s face—ashen and drawn—barely resembled the horrid woman I’d come to hate. She looked . . . scared, I realized with more than a little surprise.
The Priestess descended to the floor to meet the mysterious woman and helped her up the stairs, treating her with obvious deference and even some amount of affection in the way she held the woman’s elbow and went slowly despite the roomful of eyes trained on them.
Lord Toric went to the throne but sat with his upper body leaning forward and an undisguised look of intent anticipation on his face.
The Priestess took the blindfolded woman to a spot two steps below the throne and a bit off to one side so they weren’t obscuring Lord Toric.
The blindfolded woman seemed to survey the audience for a moment, and then she drew a sharp breath in through her nose.
“Lord Toric,” she said, acknowledging him with a slight turn of her head. “And members of the royal family, nobility, and servitude. The Third Sign of the Return is upon us.”
The entire audience seemed to gasp in unison.
She held up both hands and the exclamations died down. “The light from the explosion of Targia, Calisto’s distant semi-sun, is a heavenly sign, an undeniable marker along the path back to Earthenfell.”
I looked sharply into the audience as several people shouted. At first I thought they were upset, but I quickly realized they were shouting prayers. Some Calistans were weeping openly.
The Priestess moved to the woman’s side.
“The Oracle’s pronouncement marks the beginning of seven days of prayer and fasting. By the decree of the Temple of the Mother Earth, all non-essential business and social and political functions will cease immediately,” the Priestess said, her voice authoritative and clear.
She stepped aside and half-turned to look up at Lord Toric. He stared blankly at her for a moment and then lifted his chin. “I command you to return to your homes to begin your spiritual observance,” he said in a thundering voice.
I looked around in confusion as royals, nobles, and Earthen servants began streaming from the tiered seats.
“What are we supposed to do?” I muttered at Orion, barely moving my lips.
I needn’t have bothered being so cautious. Akantha still looked stunned and almost as disoriented as I felt. For once, her mind clearly was not on punishing Obligates.
Orion shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure. But I don’t think any Obligates will have to die today.”
I inhaled a sharp breath and looked up at him. Could he be right? Would the Tournament be suspended because of the exploding semi-sun?
Akantha’s face hardened, and she faced us. “Back to your dressing rooms.” She pointed at the small doorway through which we’d entered the throne room and then began flipping her hands at us in shooing motions.
Her usual contempt pulled at the corners of her mouth, but there was something new, too: apprehension. Perhaps even fear? She narrowed her eyes at me, but her gaze skirted quickly away. Had she heard what the Oracle had whispered to me as she’d passed?
My eyes locked with Orion’s again, and a slow smile of disbelief began to form on my face.
I waited until Akantha’s back was turned and then glanced up at the throne. Lord Toric had stood, and his eyes followed my movement across the floor. His chest rose and fell as if he were slightly out of breath. Just before I went through the alcove, his lips parted and his face softened into relief.
As soon as we cleared the throne room, one of the male Obligates—Samir—whirled around. I stumbled, rushing to get out of his path as he stormed toward me.
His eyes were distant and glassy.
“Imposters!” he roared. He nearly caught me across the cheek as he swung his arms in wild gestures. “The Oracle and the High Priestess are frauds! They will be our undoing! The Pirros will return! They will extinguish us from the universe!”
Orion and Amet lunged at Samir, pulling him back and trying to restrain him, but there was no need. In a terrible replay of what I’d witnessed when Iris had tried to tell me something, Samir’s back arched and he howled in pain. Kalindi screamed and then clapped her hands over her mouth, and others cried out.
“Let him go.” Akantha commanded, and Orion and Amet stepped away from the writhing boy.
I watched with horrified fascination as Samir resumed his ranting, despite the obvious excruciating pain he was in. The words he said made no sense to me, but Akantha was growing more agitated by the second. She bent over Samir, reaching to steady him with one hand and brandishing the short silver wand in the other—the device she’d used to punish Larisa when we’d first arrived on Calisto—but he was writhing too wildly.
Akantha twisted around, and spotting the guard who had been stationed outside my dressing room, she jabbed her index finger at him. “You, restrain him!”
The guard hesitated for a split second before he went to Samir and flipped him to his stomach with one smooth move. The guard pressed his knee into the middle of Samir’s back.
“What are you gawking at? Get into your rooms!” Akantha screamed at us.
I turned and raced through the doorway to my dressing room. Just before I slammed the door behind me, I caught sight of half a dozen Monitors rushing in. My knees trembled with exhaustion and shock as I pressed my ear to the door, trying to catch more of Samir’s words and praying that Akantha wasn’t torturing him with her little silver wand.
I remained locked in my dressing room for more than an hour, during which I anxiously stared at the door, half-expecting Akantha to appear and force me out for the challenge.
It wasn’t until after two of Lord Toric’s guards c
ame for me and took me back to my bedroom that I allowed myself a few tears of relief.
Still wearing my form-fitting black Tournament clothes, I curled up in my bed and sank into sleep.
*
My mind sprang to consciousness and my heart raced as I looked wildly around my dark room. There’d been a noise. I was sure that a sound had interrupted my sleep.
Something glowed softly on the floor at the foot of the door.
I slipped my feet to the cold floor and tiptoed toward the light. It was a small message tablet. I pressed my thumb to the screen and text appeared.
I wanted to make sure you know that I was chasing down Akantha and that’s why I couldn’t come to you. I’ve yet to discover why she dishonored our agreement, but by the grace of the stars, you’re safe and that’s what matters. I have every intention of keeping our sunset appointment. I’ll send for you tomorrow afternoon.
-T
I read the message again, my heart fluttering with pleasure. I glanced at the clock. I’d slept through daylight, and it was evening. My stomach growled, but the evening meal wouldn’t arrive for another hour.
I drew a bath and then sat in the steaming tub, very still, just enjoying the immediate sensations. I was alive, with seven days to get my strength back.
And Lord Toric wanted me to accompany him to watch the sunset.
My pulse accelerated with anticipation, and I marveled at the lightness within me.
I knew that great peril still awaited me in the Tournament. But for the moment, I felt something I’d never expected to feel alone on Calisto: it was very near happiness.
9
High Priestess Lunaria
I FOUGHT TO keep my composure as unnaturally bright light streamed through the high windows of the throne room. In a daze, I turned like a curious child to peer at the patterns the light made on the wall behind the throne.
One shaft centered over two of the tiles in the Offered ranks of favor, illuminating the faces of the two top-ranked women: Kalindi and Maya. Another shone like a spotlight on the Lord’s Seal directly above the throne. And two more, one each upon the Temple emblem and the symbol for Earthenfell.
The windows of the throne room had been designed so that outside light fell in specific places on the wall, of course, but I couldn’t help gazing in wonder. The light on the Offered tiles kept drawing my attention, and I turned to the window, squinting as my eyes teared in defense of the painful brightness.
The designers of this room could not have known that the tiles of two Offered would be illuminated by one of the windows . . . could they? Not that I doubted the importance of Maya, but if it were a heavenly sign, why was the other Earthen woman’s face also illuminated?
The royal family had already departed, and the nobles were filing out next. Nearly everyone in the throne room—Calistan and Earthen alike—wore expressions of awe mixed with alarm. Several recited prayers aloud, and more than a few faces were streaked with tears of veneration.
I angled myself away from the thinning audience to face the Oracle and glanced at Lord Toric as well.
Before I could speak, Terrina said, “How was that for a dramatic entrance?” Her lips twitched with barely-suppressed amusement.
To my surprise, a girlish laugh escaped my lips. “Very well done, my friend.”
My pulse still jogged along and adrenaline still streamed through me. I’d allowed myself a moment to bask in the wondrous light, but it was time to focus on work.
Lord Toric descended to where we stood.
He and I would need to meet in private very soon. I gave him a significant look, and he answered with a barely perceptible dip of his chin.
“The High Priestess told me of your vision,” he said to Terrina in a low voice.
She let out a short bark of a laugh. “Not much help, eh, my Lord? Sometimes I wonder whether those things really do us any good.”
I nearly grinned, amused by her irreverence.
One corner of his mouth twitched wider in a wry half-smile. “Well, it came to you for a reason,” he said, his expression sobering. “It is a grave warning, but we have the power to act on it. To steer the fate of our people so that we stay on the path that will take us back to Earthenfell.”
She reached out to place her hand on his arm, her face also serious. “My Lord, visions aside, I’ve always believed that the Return could happen only under the rule of a worthy Lord. It is no accident that the signs are coming during your reign. You are worthy.”
Sudden emotion softened Lord Toric’s eyes as his defenses seemed to fall away. I felt an unexpected thickness in my throat. It wasn’t due just to the fact that we were in a miraculously historic moment in time. I knew enough about his childhood and his family to suspect that he’d never heard such encouragement from anyone. I certainly couldn’t imagine such nurturing words falling from his mother’s lips.
He cleared his throat, composing himself. “Thank you for your confidence in me,” he said simply. “And please know that I’m available to you any time, regardless of the hour.”
“Thank you, I will keep that in mind, my Lord,” Terrina said. “But having left my hidey hole twice now in the span of two days, I don’t expect I’ll be traipsing about.”
“Then know I’m happy to come to you, too,” he said.
She nodded, and all at once her frame seemed to droop slightly, and she drew a heavy breath. As if by unspoken cue, her young assistant began climbing the stairs to us.
“My Lord. Your Holiness.” She inclined her head and lowered her eyelids for a beat. “With your leave, I will take the Oracle back to her quarters.”
“Of course,” I said. I gently squeezed Terrina’s shoulder, and she patted my hand.
Lord Toric and I watched the two women descend the stairs and beeline to the wide double doors.
Less than half an hour had elapsed since the Oracle had arrived in the throne room, but it somehow seemed like a new day.
I turned to Lord Toric, intending to invite him back to my office, when my earpiece chimed. I touched my ear.
“Your Holiness,” came Celestia’s voice. “There has been an alarm. There’s a man here, the one in charge of the Earthen monitoring system. The Mistress of Tournament is here as well. I think it was one of the Offered that set it off.” She said the last part at a whisper.
My pulse jolted. One of the Earthen Offered had tripped the system with a traitorous thought. What could such an event have to do with the Temple?
“Thank you, Celesita,” I said. “I’ll be there right away.”
Lord Toric searched my face. “Something bad?”
“The monitoring system. Apparently one of the Offered triggered an alarm.”
“Not Maya,” he said, his eyes tensed in alarm.
“Who is the Offered?” I asked Celestia.
There was a pause, and then she said. “Samir, a young man.”
“It was Samir.” I gathered the fabric of my robes so I could descend the steps without tripping. “I’m sorry, I must go. I will contact you as soon as I’m able.”
I hurried from the throne room, my mind a jumble.
All of the Earthen Offered received implants upon their arrival to Calisto, but the implants were largely a formality for the Tournament participants. Traitorous thoughts and actions were such a low risk while they were still in the Tournament—the Earthens were isolated in their rooms and hadn’t sufficient freedom to do something treacherous.
It wasn’t until the Tournament winners entered into service in the palace and became privy to Calistan politics and moved about more freely in the palace that any sort of real risk arose. Sure, every so often during the Tournament an Offered grew angry or resentful and wished to take revenge on the Lord or on Calistans in general, but that level of offense triggered the implant to issue an intensely painful but ultimately harmless punishment. One or two of those were usually enough to persuade a vengeful Offered to refocus his or her thoughts.
The Offered
weren’t allowed to wander around, but recently there had been some idle time in the Tournament schedule. Perhaps one of them had begun to stew.
Celestia’s summons made me think this was something much more grave, though I couldn’t imagine what could have happened that would warrant my involvement.
When I finally arrived back at the Temple offices, I had to fight to keep a serene expression when I spotted Akantha. The Mistress of Tournament had broken her promise to Lord Toric about delaying the next challenge, and although I could not get in the middle of their power struggle, I couldn’t help my deep disapproval of the relentless young woman.
I gave her a curt nod and turned my attention to the other guest, a man not much older than Akantha. “You’re the man in charge of implant monitoring, I presume?” I said.
He stood and bowed his head. “Yes, Your Holiness. I work under the Master of Security. My official title is First Assistant in Charge of Foreigner Security. Please call me Peter.”
I liked the young man immediately—he was polite and to-the-point. And his title reminded me that the Earthens weren’t the only foreigners on Calisto. I never had dealings with the refugees and other non-Calistans, but they all had one thing in common with the Earthen Offered: it was a requirement of entry to Calisto that all foreigners receive implants. We had too many enemies to trust anyone who came from another nation. For that reason, not many foreigners sought to come to Calisto.
Terrina’s vision flashed through my mind, reminding me with some irony that not all of our enemies were foreign.
I beckoned to both of my guests, and they followed me into my office. Peter let Akantha take the guest chair that was already positioned in front of my desk, and he pulled over a spare chair from the wall.
I sat and settled my robes around me. “I hear this involves one of the Offered?”
“This is actually the second incident today,” Peters said. “This morning, one of the guides caused an alarm. She’s now in custody.”