The Priest

by Rowan McAllister

  “No! No. The wizard has done nothing to either of us. He helped me destroy the Spawn that was terrorizing the village. Brynthalon carried the head back to the village as proof. The wizard and his familiar both hunt Spawn, the same as us. May Moc strike me down where I stand if I do not speak true. Please, let us talk calmly together and I will explain.”

  Tas had no idea exactly what he was going to explain. He just needed to stop this situation from escalating. Hopefully the gods would take pity on him and the rest of it would come to him when the time was right.

  “Tell us where Tasnerek is,” Brother Saldus demanded shakily, his wizened face an alarming shade of gray.

  Of course the Inner Circle would be more concerned with the loss of a sacred stone than the brother who wielded it. Tas could be replaced all too easily. It was definitely not righteous or godly of him, but Tas very much wanted to punch his brother right in his wrinkled, sour face.

  “The sacred stone is safe. That is some of what I would talk to you about, if you would only come down and listen.”

  “Give us the stone and we will listen,” Brother Saldus replied.

  “You really don’t want that,” Lyuc said unhelpfully.

  Brother Saldus squared his bony shoulders and glared at Lyuc from the back of his horse as some of the color returned to his face. “You are a stranger here. We are the Brotherhood of Harot, the servants and mouthpieces of the gods. Do not dare to tell us our business, wizard!”

  Tas winced and glanced at Lyuc, but now that the assault on Bryn was over, the man seemed mildly amused and a little bored. That was good. Tas would rather that than an angry lesser god, or whatever he was.

  Chytel, how do I make them listen to reason?

  “I have decided to make it my business,” Lyuc said, taking the decision out of Tas’s hands. “Recently I have discovered something about your sacred stones. Now, if you don’t want every village from here to the capital knowing what that is, I suggest you either send these people on their way or come down off your bloody high horses and have a civilized conversation with us by the fire out of their earshot. The decision is yours, but I would firmly recommend you follow my suggestion.”

  With that lofty declaration, Lyuc let his shield fall, turned his back on the mounted party invading his campsite, and strolled to the far side of the fire ring. Pine branches burned quickly, and the fire had died without anyone to tend it, but Lyuc waved a hand and flames erupted from the smoldering embers in the pit, without any new fuel to feed them.

  A memory of Yan muttering “show-off” around that very same fire only a short time ago almost made Tas smile, but the pulsing headache in his temples chased it away before it could bloom. Lyuc was a man, not a god. He made mistakes. He was one of Three who’d made the biggest mistake in the history of the world. Tas had to remember that and not let him take control of this conversation without putting up a fight.

  “Brother Tasnerek, explain yourself,” Brother Saldus hissed as soon as Lyuc had moved away.

  “I’m trying,” Tas complained. “I will explain everything, but the wizard is right. It would be better if those outside the Brotherhood were not privy to what we have to discuss.”

  Tas glanced meaningfully at the four nervous villagers behind his brothers, and Brother Saldus scowled.

  “Honestly, Brother,” Tas continued, “you’ve seen a little of what he can do. What good will four shepherds, farmers, and woodsmen do against that?”

  “I think he may be right.” Brother Lijen spoke up for the first time, casting a worried glance at her flock.

  Her care and concern gave Tas hope that the Brotherhood would survive what was to come. There were only thirty-six true weapons in the Brotherhood’s arsenal. There were hundreds of brothers who nurtured and guided their flocks without the aid of sacred stones.

  The other three brothers looked at her as if they’d forgotten she was there, and Tas frowned.

  “Perhaps you should go with them, Brother Lijen,” Brother Saldus replied acidly. “See to their safety, by all means.”

  She looked stricken for a second before her face went blank and she jutted her chin out. “Yes, Brother, if I am not needed.”

  “I will take Brother Tasnerek at his word that they should not overhear what is discussed, but remain close by, in case you are needed,” Brother Saldus ordered dismissively.

  She nudged her horse around, without meeting the gazes of any of her fellow brothers. The four villagers followed her a short distance away, back into the shadows between the tree trunks.

  “Thank you, Brother Saldus,” Tas said with some relief.

  Brother Saldus scowled at him. “Do not thank me,” he hissed, bending low on the back of his horse so their faces were closer together. “Does the wizard have Tasnerek?”

  Tas blinked. Brother Saldus asked the question as if he already knew the answer. “Uh—”

  “You will get me that stone,” Brother Saldus continued in an angry whisper.

  Tas froze and gaped at the man. He cast a nervous glance at Lyuc, but the wizard stood calmly by his fire, simply watching them.

  “How did you know the wizard has it?” Tas asked stupidly.

  “The precious Thirty-Six are not the only brothers with talent,” Brother Saldus hissed with a sneer. “The wizard and Spawn are flooding the clearing with energy, but there is a dead spot somewhere in his robes. I assume blackstone?”

  “You’re a Finder?” Tas yelped.

  A quick glance at the other two brothers showed their surprise as well.

  Brother Saldus’s pinched lips curled in a mockery of a smile. “Keep your voice down. And who else would the Inner Circle send out with a wayward stone bearer? I sensed a change in Tasnerek immediately after your pathetic attempt at the ritual. I sent for these two that day, by means that the Inner Circle chooses not to share with outsiders. I had hoped you would save us all a great deal of trouble and die out here fighting the Spawn. Then the other brothers could finish the job and we could retrieve the stone and see what could be done about cleansing it of whatever taint your doubts, stupidity, and activities had polluted it with. But things have obviously escalated beyond my original plans.”

  “We will get the stone if the wizard has it, Brother,” Brother Sanerku murmured, eyeing Lyuc determinedly.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Brother Saldus snapped disgustedly. “The two of you might be able to take the Spawn, but are your senses so dulled by your own self-importance that you can’t feel the power that man wields? This is no crystal-and-potion-toting mage from the Scholomagie, no shaman from the mountain tribes, or even the Battlewitch himself. You are no match for him, even fully charged.”

  Tas had still been struggling to get over his surprise at Brother Saldus’s revelation, when the brother’s last words slapped him across the face.

  Fully charged.

  He felt sick.

  What village had they “charged” their stones in? Who else had suffered because of him?

  “As you seem to have developed a relationship of sorts with the wizard,” Saldus continued, pulling Tas up short with a cold glare. “You will get the stone from him. If he hands it over freely, he may say whatever he wishes to say, and then he will leave our kingdom and not return, or he will have to face the full might of the Brotherhood and the Thirty-Six come to hunt him down. Tell him this.”

  Tas blanched. This was not going at all well. The Inner Circle never left the capital, so Tas didn’t have to worry about them. But if a large number of the Thirty-Six gathered all in one place, it would do most of Lyuc’s work for him.

  “Brother, you must understand,” Tas whispered urgently. “Keeping the stone locked in blackstone is necessary. You yourself said you sensed a change in it. You don’t know the half of it. Tasnerek is awake. He has spoken to me.”

  “He?” Brother Saldus leaned back a little, and his heavy gray brows drew even closer together.

  “Yes. The stones aren’t what we thought. They’re
alive… or at least they have a consciousness of their own.” Tas cast a worried glance at Lyuc, but the wizard was frowning in the direction that Yan, Girik, and Bayor had disappeared.

  Quanna, please let them be patient. All of them. Give me a few more minutes to convince him.

  Tas gripped Brother Saldus’s sleeve. “We can’t let Tasnerek out near the other stones. The results could be catastrophic. Tasnerek can charge himself now, without a ritual, and he is no longer under my control.”

  Brother Saldus paled. “What have you done?”

  “There’s more. There’s another stone. The wizard said it came from traders in Gorazhan. The two stones are in communication. They can talk to each other in a language I do not understand. Now you see why I had to give it to him. I needed him to take it far from here, far from the others.”

  “The wizard knows all of this?” Brother Saldus asked after a few moments’ silence.

  “Yes,” Tas replied, hanging his head.

  “The wizard has your trust?”

  Tas’s head snapped up, and he studied his brother warily.

  “To some extent.”

  With a nod, Brother Saldus bent forward and climbed down off his horse. Without warning, he stepped close to Tas and hugged him.

  “Is the wizard watching?” Brother Saldus whispered close to Tas’s ear.

  “Yes,” Tas croaked in shock.

  “Good.”

  Before Tas knew what was happening, something cold and heavy was placed in his hand. Without missing a beat, Brother Saldus pulled back and placed his hands on Tas’s shoulders.

  “Where does your duty lie, Brother Tasnerek?” he asked, staring at Tas intently, his back to Lyuc so the wizard could not see his face. “Who are your sworn brothers and the flock you have pledged to protect? You were chosen by the gods to protect Rassa from all threats. You have strayed recently, but that does not mean you could not be redeemed and welcomed back into the fold if you do what must be done.”

  Holding brother Saldus’s steely gaze, Tas felt a sudden cold wash over him.

  “Hide the blade. The wizard trusts you enough to allow you close. The weakness of most magic users is their hubris. You no longer have Tasnerek, so he will not see you as a threat. Do what damage you can and retrieve the stones and all will be forgiven.”

  “But the stones…. Did you not hear what I said?” Tas managed over the pounding of his heart.

  “We cannot leave here without the stones. The Inner Circle will know what to do. Trust it, Brother. Trust in your family and the gods.”

  Brother Saldus turned and started walking toward the fire ring. As he passed Brothers Sanerku and Yeresun, he murmured under his breath, “Be ready for the Spawn.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  THE SMALL thin knife was heavy in his palm as Tas stared at Brother Saldus’s retreating back.

  Quanna, he can’t be serious. He’d have me stab a man in cold blood?

  “Wizard,” Brother Saldus called as he walked. “Forgive us our poor welcome, but you must understand magic users are forbidden entry into Rassa by every treaty we have signed with our neighbors. The fact that you travel with Spawn, a creature we have sworn to destroy, also does not count in your favor. But our brother promises us you mean no harm. If you are willing to send the Spawn away to prove that, we would be willing to hear what you have to say so that you may also be on your way.”

  Brother Saldus stopped on the far side of the campfire, a safe distance from Lyuc, and shot a glance over his shoulder at Tas. Tas’s feet were leaden as he approached the two men. Movement in the woods caught Tas’s eyes while he desperately fought an inner battle. A glimpse of tousled wheat-colored hair made him close his eyes and swallow.

  If he did as his brother demanded, Rassa might be safe from the catastrophe Lyuc threatened to unleash. The children of Rassa might be safe from civil war and even worse. The wizard had been kind enough to offer the Brotherhood and Rassa time to adapt, but how much time? And would it be enough? He barely knew anything about Lyuc other than stories that were a thousand years old. Could a knife kill a god, or even a thousand-year-old wizard?

  If it could, was one man’s life and Tas’s soul worth it to protect thousands of innocents?

  Girik would never forgive him. Tas knew him well enough to believe that. But Girik didn’t fully understand all of the factors Tas had to take into account. And if Tas could go back to Blagos Keep, he’d never see Girik again anyway. Tas could go home, Girik could return to his mother and his village, and they all might be safe too. Maybe.

  Girik would have a better, safer life without Tas screwing it up. Girik wasn’t a fighter. All Tas could offer was a life on the run away from everyone and everything he’d ever known.

  Wise Chytel, please, give me a sign. Tell me what to do.

  After a quick questioning glance at Tas, Lyuc murmured something to Bryn. The stallion snorted, and to amazed gasps from all of the onlookers, turned into a great black crow that took to the air and disappeared into the trees beyond their little clearing.

  Tas’s stomach plummeted as he watched Bryn go. The wizard was alone now. Yan and Bryn, and even Girik and Bayor, were too far away to stop Tas before he could strike.

  When Tas was a few feet from the wizard, he held out the hand that wasn’t carrying the blade, while the other stayed hidden behind the folds of his robe.

  “Will you give me back the box, please?” Tas asked.

  “Do they know?” Lyuc asked.

  “Yes. I told them.”

  “And what will they do with stones they can’t control?” Lyuc prodded, glancing between Tas and Brother Saldus.

  “They are our sacred stones,” Brother Saldus intoned, “revered as gifts from the gods. We will treasure them, of course, whether or not they can be used. Perhaps we may learn from them.”

  Lyuc eyed him for a moment before he sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. You have your stones that are still asleep, and you may keep them for the time being. But these two are awake now. It would be the height of cruelty to leave them enslaved or trapped inside a blackstone prison after all they’ve done for us. I can’t do that. I’m sorry.”

  Brother Saldus’s lips tightened as he cast a meaningful glance at Tas. This was it. Lyuc would know something was up if Tas didn’t do something right now. He’d lose his chance.

  Bile rose in his throat as he fingered the cold blade in his palm.

  I don’t want to fail my people or my brothers again, but how can I do this thing? Quanna, Moc, and Chytel, is this really what you would have of me? Don’t make me do this. Don’t make me choose between one man and thousands of innocents.

  Tas tried, but he couldn’t force his legs to take those final steps. He stood frozen a couple of feet away from Lyuc, desperately wracking his brain for some other way.

  At first, Tas thought the buzzing in his ears meant he was going to pass out and save himself the agony of making a choice. But then he caught sight of a strange wave traveling down the mountains beyond Lyuc’s shoulders. By the time the wave reached them, the buzzing had become a roar as a great gust of wind rolled across the clearing, rattling tree branches and kicking up pine needles, dust, and woodsmoke. Tas threw his arm up to protect his eyes while his heavy robes flapped around him. Horses whinnied and men shouted as they fought with their mounts.

  When it seemed as if the initial onslaught of debris had slackened, Tas lowered his arm and squinted through the blast in time to see a streak of gray fur coming right at him but too late to do anything about it. He didn’t have time for more than a yelp before Bayor barreled into both him and Lyuc, sending them crashing to the hard ground.

  The knife went flying out of his hand as he registered Girik’s shout of alarm, but the strange, joyful harmony and blinding light of Singer and his companion stone soon stole all of Tas’s attention. Lyuc had apparently dropped the box when Bayor hit them, and now the stones lay on the ground a few feet away, shining brighte
r than the midday sun.

  Once the shock wore off, Tas cried out in dismay and scrambled for the box, but even as he fought with his robes and crawled toward them, he had a sick feeling it was too late. Two strangled cries from behind him confirmed that thought only a moment later.

  With dread, Tas turned toward his brothers. Brothers Sanerku and Yeresun were still astride their balking horses, but both men had their hands clapped over their ears and were crying out in apparent pain as the stones on their chests glowed brightly against their russet robes. A shock of pure energy radiated up Tas’s arm as he snatched the stones off the ground and crammed them back in the box. A great black shadow fell over him, and he lifted his head skyward in time to see Bryn descend, carrying a sword in its talons. She changed shape even before she hit the ground and stood next to Lyuc in the form of a naked woman brandishing that sword. Although she looked ready for battle, her red eyes blazing, Tas could see the fear etched into her features as she faced the glowing white stones on the brothers’ necks.

  Tas groaned as Girik and Yan came running out of the woods too. Bayor’s tongue lolled and he trotted over to his master, seemingly unfazed by all the chaos he had caused. Tas had a moment to wonder if Girik had sent the hound crashing into them, but a flurry of cries from the other side of the clearing distracted him. Brothers Sanerku’s and Yeresun’s horses turned and bolted, with the brothers still clinging to their backs.

  “Oh, Brother,” Lyuc called archly.

  Brother Saldus turned wide eyes to the wizard.

  “I’d recommend you go after them and salvage what you can, since your other plan doesn’t seem to have worked.”

  Lyuc caught Tas’s eye before casting a meaningful glance at the blade gleaming dully in the dirt, and Tas flinched and looked away, but not before he caught a glimpse of Bryn’s glowing red eyes and elongated canines as the woman-thing hissed loudly.