"But will you be able to walk away after you do?"
"Only one way to know." Vedhe stepped forward and the Lady opened the door, escorting her inside.
K'lrsa was so nervous she couldn't breathe, but she followed after.
Her people needed her.
She had to find something to save them, no matter how dangerous it was.
Chapter 84
The room was small with just a handful of artifacts on each of the floor-to-ceiling shelves that lined the walls, but K'lrsa had the impression that the space was much more vast than she could see.
The Lady stepped into the center of the room, drawing her attention away from a nearby shelf where a hand mirror lay facedown. "K'lrsa dan V'na of the White Horse tribe and Vedhe Kanaatanva, congratulations. You have conquered the labyrinth. And for this you have earned a reward." She gestured at the objects on the shelves. "You may each take one object from this place to use during your lifetime. Be wise in your choice because each of the objects in this room is an object of tremendous power."
K'lrsa frowned. "Why let us take them then?"
The Lady smiled. "Our hope is that the knowledge you gain by coming here will help you to make a wise choice and that only those who truly need one of these objects will take one from here."
K'lrsa scanned the shelves. "So we can choose one item?"
The Lady nodded.
"Or none," Vedhe added.
"Or none," the Lady agreed, "which is the most common choice. Often the knowledge gained by conquering the labyrinth is enough."
"Not for me." K'lrsa looked around, wondering where to start. "How do I know what each one does?"
"You can search your memories. Or ask me."
Vedhe picked up the hand mirror and turned it over. She gasped in surprise, touching her face as she stared into it. A small tear trickled down her cheek and her hand shook.
K'lrsa peered over Vedhe's shoulder.
She saw Vedhe and herself. Vedhe's skin was flawlessly smooth and pale as milk, her hair brilliant in it whiteness, her lips a perfect shade of pink. K'lrsa's skin was a warm, burnished honey, her hair as black as the blackest night, her eyes the green of a mossy bank.
They were the two most beautiful women K'lrsa had ever seen. More beautiful even than the Lady. K'lrsa stared at herself, enraptured, lost in how beautiful they both were.
She tore her gaze from the mirror. "Put that thing back. It's deadly."
Vedhe's hand shook. She continued to stare into its depths, unable to wrest herself free. K'lrsa covered the mirror's surface with her hand. Vedhe hissed and slammed the mirror facedown on the shelf.
Vedhe backed away, shaking. "I never cared before," she whispered, running her fingers over the scars on her face.
K'lrsa hugged her as she continued to stare at the mirror.
The Lady nodded. "There are some who would've taken that mirror and spent the rest of their days staring into its depths. Others would've never even left this place so caught up in what they saw."
K'lrsa studied her with narrowed eyes.
Had the mirror been a trap? A ploy by the gods to distract them from ever leaving this place?
But, no. The knowledge of the labyrinth reminded her that this place presented what each individual desired, even if that was something too dangerous for them to handle. Of course there would be objects not only fatal to others but to the user as well.
K'lrsa nodded at it. "So what was it? Why does it exist?"
The Lady ran a finger along the embossed handle. "Once there was a very powerful woman who coveted the beauty of the gods and demanded that we give it to her. So we did."
"Why do that? Why not tell her no?
"It was easier to give her what she wanted than fight her directly."
"What would've happened if you had fought her?"
"She would've turned her people against us and made it illegal to worship us." She shrugged. "Not all would've followed, but many would have."
"And? What do you care if people don't worship you?"
She walked away, running her hands along the shelves.
"Who gave her the mirror?"
"My son, the Trickster, of course." There was a sharpness to her smile as she turned to face K'lrsa once more. "She had her wish."
"And you had yours." K'lrsa glanced at the mirror again, remembering how tempted she'd been by it. "How long did she last after you gave it to her?"
"A month or so. She refused to eat or drink, too enthralled with herself to do more than stare."
"Why didn't someone take it away from her? Like I did for Vedhe?"
The Lady smiled. "She was their ruler. None dared stand against her."
"Even to save her life?"
The Lady nodded.
K'lrsa shivered to think how the woman had died surrounded by those who could've saved her if only they'd dared do so.
She ran her fingers along a smooth wooden walking stick leaning against the wall and it vibrated under her fingers as if alive. "What does this one do?"
K'lrsa fought the urge to hold it, certain that if she succumbed she wouldn't be able to put it back.
"Many things." The Lady watched her closely, tensed as if she wanted to snatch the staff away.
"Such as?" She stroked its smooth surface again, feeling an answering response.
The Lady shook her head. "It's not for you. Choose something else."
"But it is for me. It's here after all. What does it do?"
The Lady grimaced. "It was created to allow its user to draw water from the ground."
A useful tool in the desert. But it didn't explain her fear. "What else can it do?"
She pressed her lips together, clearly unwilling to speak of the staff's powers. "The last user used it to empty a sea of water so he could walk across it. The one before him used it to collapse the earth and create a great chasm that none could cross."
"Really?" K'lrsa stroked the wood with her fingers, wondering whether she could use it to create a barrier between the tribes and the Daliphana.
If she did, would her people forgive her for isolating them from their source of trade? Did she care? At least they'd still be alive to hate her.
Vedhe picked up a small golden orb. Even from across the room the sight of it made K'lrsa shiver. "Vedhe? What do you have there?"
Vedhe startled and set it back down, stepping back. "The sun."
"The sun?" She laughed.
"The sun. It has the power of the sun."
The Lady nodded. "It was a gift from my husband. It allows the user to start a fire no matter the conditions or to light the way no matter how dark."
"But it could be used to raze an entire kingdom." K'lrsa took a step closer to Vedhe, ready to block her from grasping the orb once more.
Vedhe stared at the orb, her hands twitching slightly.
"Vedhe, you can't do it. Too many innocents would die."
Vedhe turned away. She touched a small round stone and then picked up a wooden box that sat next to it, but it was clear her mind was still on the sun orb.
K'lrsa sighed.
If Vedhe chose the orb, she'd use it to destroy the Daliphana first. But what if she turned it on K'lrsa's people next. K'lrsa would have to stand against her. But how?
She turned to the Lady, speaking quietly so Vedhe wouldn't hear. "If she chooses the orb, is there an object here that can counter it?"
The Lady led her to a small bowl filled with silver liquid. "This. If you place the orb in the liquid, it will extinguish its fire."
"Thank you."
K'lrsa paced the room, looking at the other objects, wondering what other options she had to save her people. But all the while she was watching Vedhe, waiting to see what choice she'd make.
Chapter 85
K'lrsa found herself returning to the wooden staff over and over again, picturing how she could use it to flood the barren lands so none could cross them.
"K'lrsa." The Lady's voice was sharp with anger. "
I told you that one is dangerous."
"Everything in this room is dangerous. Why this one more so than any other?"
"Because you can't reorder the world like that without consequence."
The knowledge of the labyrinth filled her. K'lrsa could see the effects. Droughts and floods that would last for years. Once prosperous lands now barren. Others gone, buried or abandoned. A wall of water so high it could reach the top of any mountain, slamming down on the coastline.
She shuddered and stepped away.
There had to be a better choice.
She walked the room, looking at each and every object. Some repelled her so much she could barely be near them, weapons of such extreme destruction they stank of evil.
They must be for Vedhe, weapons drawn to the dark anger inside her.
She sighed as she watched Vedhe handle each one, knowing she'd have to be the one that stood against her.
She didn't need a new enemy. Not with the ones she had already.
K'lrsa ran her fingers over the embossed surface of a copper cuff, green with the patina of age, and knew that if she wore this cuff there wasn't a man who could resist her. With it on her wrist, any man would do as she willed. She could ask him to kill himself and he would, gladly, smiling as he plunged a knife through his heart.
Any man would betray everything he was for her. The allure of attraction magnified to the point of lethality.
She could use it to save the tribes.
If she stood before the Daliph's troops and ordered them to kill themselves, they would. To the last man.
And that's the only way she could use it.
Because the cuff only worked while the victim was present. If she ordered the troops home, they'd return as soon as they were free of the sight of her. It was either order them to die or be chained to them forever.
She drew her hand back, disturbed by how easy it would be to destroy so many.
There had to be another choice. There had to be something she could use to save her people that wasn't evil or twisted beyond reason. But what?
Chapter 86
K'lrsa didn't know how long they'd been in the room, but she knew it was time to decide. Even if time did flow differently in the labyrinth, it still flowed forward.
In the far corner, on the bottom shelf, was a small silver necklace coiled on a pouch of silk. She knelt down, cautiously touching the silver chain with her fingertips. The necklace had a pendant, wrought in the shape of a double loop, weaving back in upon itself.
"What is this? What does it do?" she asked.
"It can transport the user and those the user chooses across any distance."
"So I could use it to return to the tribes immediately?"
"Yes."
"And I could move the tribes to a place of safety?" She thought about the shelter of the Tall Bluff Tribes. Maybe if she took everyone there, the Daliph's troops would give up and go home.
The Black Horse Tribe had already lost the vote. Surely there was no reason to stay on other than spite?
And if they didn't, she could just move them again, forever keep them out of reach. Or move the Daliph's troops back to the Daliphate.
The Lady shook her head. "No. It's not that simple. The more people you try to move at one time, the more damage you do to them. If you were to move the tribes, not all would survive."
K'lrsa frowned. "How many would die?"
"Hard to say. It depends on the distance and the size of those you move. And what objects stand between where you are and where they go. At least some would die."
K'lrsa sighed and stood back up.
She walked over to the wooden staff and ran her fingers down its length. Of all the objects in the room, this was the one that called to her.
Vedhe had returned to the golden orb. She stroked its shiny surface, mesmerized by its brilliance.
K'lrsa tensed. "Vedhe."
"Yes?" She didn't take her eyes from the orb.
"Do your people have metal? If we didn't have access to the Daliphana, could the tribes trade with you for pots and pans and needles? And fabrics?"
Vedhe nodded. "The metals, yes. The fabrics we trade for, but we could trade those with you, too. They come from the east."
K'lrsa nodded. "Good. So I could raise a barrier between my people and the Daliphana. We'd be safe from them. Your people and mine could trade for what we need."
Vedhe turned to study K'lrsa, still holding the orb. "But what would you give us?"
"What?"
"What would you give us in return for these things you want?"
"I don’t know. We…" She frowned. The Daliphana had wanted their trade route, but if she closed access to the Daliphana then the tribes had nothing to offer.
Vedhe stroked the orb's golden surface, her eyes unfocused.
"Vedhe? Please tell me you aren't going to choose that."
"Why?"
"You said it yourself. You're not sure you'd stop with the Daliphana. I can't let you use that. It's…It's too much."
Vedhe glare at her. "Who are you to say?"
K'lrsa stepped forward. "I killed the man who killed my father. And it felt good. For a moment. But it didn't bring my father back. And it didn't change anything. That feeling didn't last. I still feel just as empty now as I did before."
Vedhe raised her chin. "That man you killed will never hurt anyone else ever again. Who knows how many you saved when you killed him."
K'lrsa shook her head. "That thing would kill everyone, Vedhe. The innocent and the guilty. It isn't right to make them all suffer for the sins of the few."
"The innocents of today are the tyrants of tomorrow."
"But they're still innocents. You can't do this. Please. Don't."
Vedhe studied the golden orb. The light that seeped through the cracks in its surface played across the scars on her face, making her look inhuman.
"Please don't, Vedhe."
Vedhe turned away, the orb gripped in her hand as she stepped towards the door.
K'lrsa held her breath, waiting. If Vedhe chose the orb, K'lrsa's hopes and the hopes of the tribes were ruined.
She couldn't let that kind of destruction happen.
Even if it saved the lives of everyone she loved. She couldn't let Vedhe use it.
Vedhe paused in the doorway and turned to look at her.
"Please, Vedhe," she pleaded.
Vedhe turned away.
Chapter 87
K'lrsa called after Vedhe as she moved to leave the room, the sun orb in her hand. "Vedhe. Don't do this. I know how much you want to hurt them. I…I saw what was done to you. I understand."
"No you don't! You saw me go into that tent every night, but you weren't there. You didn't feel it." Tears ran down her cheeks. "You will never understand what that was like. Never!" She came back towards K'lrsa, the orb clenched in her fist. "And that was after they killed my entire family."
The Lady stepped forward, placing her hands over Vedhe's. "Child, you are allowed to take anything from this room that you want. Those are the rules of this place. But do you really want this? Do you want to become like them. They killed your little sister. Would you in turn kill all of their children? Think about those little girls and boys, all dead because they had the misfortune to be born in that place."
Vedhe shook, her whole body trembling with suppressed emotion. Rage, fear, sorrow. Each flitted across her face.
K'lrsa didn't want to move, scared that the slightest distraction would break the impasse and Vedhe would leave with the orb.
"Vedhe, child. Here. Did you see this artifact?" The Lady reached up to the top shelf next to the door and pulled down a circular tube made of onyx stone with glass on each end.
"What is it?"
"It allows you to see the true heart of a person. Whether they are good or bad. You could, if you wanted revenge, you could take this. You could use it to see the truth of people. You could use it to eliminate those who are evil. Just those who are evil."
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br /> Vedhe's grip on the sun orb loosened. She set it aside on a nearby shelf and took the black tube from the Lady's hand.
She held it to her eye and turned it on K'lrsa.
K'lrsa trembled under her gaze.
She was a good person, but she wasn't perfect. She was impetuous and selfish and she'd hurt those she loved the most.
"Well?" she asked softly. "Do I pass? Am I good enough to live?"
Vedhe lowed the glass from her eye. "Yes. Just barely." She winked.
K'lrsa laughed and all the tension left the room. "So is that what you're going to take?"
Vedhe nodded.
As K'lrsa hesitated, Vedhe laughed. "You want me to leave with it now? So you know?"
K'lrsa nodded. "Sorry."
"That's okay. I'll wait for you outside." Vedhe walked through the doorway, the onyx tube in her hand, the sun orb still on the shelf by the entrance where she'd left it.
K'lrsa studied the orb for a long moment. It was the easiest way to destroy the Daliph's troops. But that kind of power…
It needed to stay here.
She turned to survey the room. Her eyes lingered for a long, long time on the wooden staff.
And then on the copper cuff.
Both would work. She knew how she could use them to defeat the Daliph's troops.
But both were too dangerous.
Eventually she stooped down and took the silver necklace. She could use it to move the Daliph's troops back to Toreem. And every time they returned, she could move them back to where they belonged.
The Lady nodded, a small smile on her face. K'lrsa didn't miss the fact that she'd placed herself in the path of the wooden staff.
They stepped out of the room and back into the hallway.
It was time.
Time to save the tribes.
Chapter 88
The Lady stopped them in the hallway. "K'lrsa dan V'na of the White Horse tribe and Vedhe Kanaatanva, you have chosen your reward for conquering the labyrinth. Now I must tell you that there are conditions on your use of the objects you have chosen."
Rider's Rescue (The Rider's Revenge Trilogy Book 2) Page 27