“While I appreciate we all have doubts, this is not how we treat each other,” Erick said. “Will you do the same to keep the rest of us in line should we win?”
“I came here to help. If you don’t want my aid, say so and I’ll leave.” She glanced at Miceral and Klissmor’s images. “King Miceral will withdraw his troops. Once I speak to Lady Marisa and Prince Cendreth, they will stand down as well.”
“So now you threaten us to consent to something we find unacceptable?” Orinth’s question drew nods from Yudres, Aldor, and Erick.
“As merchants you recognize that everything has a price,” Miceral said. “If the terms for our aid offend you, reject the offer. But your sense of decorum will not cause us to ignore an obvious threat to our safety.”
“I’ve been fighting Meglar longer than anyone,” Zenora said. “He does not follow our rules of engagement. I suggest you leave the practice fields and council-room discussions behind. This is war. Someone needs to make the hard decisions.”
“If you’re truly on our side, why does this matter?” Uthus asked.
“What?” Saulmon stared at Uthus and withered under the older man’s glare.
“I agree with Queen Zenora and Prince Klissmor. I don’t trust you.” Uthus pointed around the group until he’d made eye contact with everyone. “If the rest of you were honest, you’d say the same.”
No one spoke up to deny his claim. Uthus scanned the group again before moving to stand in front of Zenora. “Place the same spell on me that you put on Saulmon. Garreth took everything from me. I’ll not beg meager scraps from the dog. I pledged myself and what’s left of Hamble’s resources to help the rest of you avoid my fate. Your spell will not be the cause of my death.”
Zenora didn’t want to place the spell on Uthus. She searched for a way around doing it, but Wilhelm spoke before she found her answer.
“Thank you for reminding us of our true enemy.” He put a hand on Uthus’s shoulder. “You can place the same spell on me as well.”
Each of the other princes stood behind Uthus, all except Saulmon. Klissmor hadn’t moved until Zenora pretended to put the same spell on the others. It looked the same as what she had done to Saulmon, but once the energy seeped into their bodies, it vanished. When it was over, Klissmor and Miceral approached the others.
“Look for us by nightfall,” Miceral said. “The dwarves want to begin erecting defenses.”
The images winked out, and Zenora caught Wilhelm’s eye. “Can we get there in time?”
“We’re a couple of hours closer to Jarian than Miceral,” Wilhelm said. “We’ll beat them there if we leave now.”
“Let’s go.” Zenora prayed they were doing the right thing. She didn’t want to think about the consequences if they were wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Farrell stepped into the darkness of night in Agloth. The light from the Door’s frame illuminated the wide avenue. He sent the water from his lungs back to Rastoria and closed the portal. Hopping around Nendor left him unable to remember what time it was where he needed to go. Being under the sea added to his confusion.
Hopefully the temple guards knew only he could use this Door. He had no means of sending Jolella a message. Rastoria didn’t have a temple to Seritia, and Agloth didn’t have temples to any of the other gods. He heard the guards before he saw them. Leap of faith, he told himself.
Two soldiers in the rose uniforms of Seritia’s guards rounded the corner. A second later a company of Ze’arderian soldiers appeared from his left.
“Chosen,” one of Seritia’s guards said, and the pair bowed. The soldiers to the left followed their example. “How may we assist you?”
“Am I correct that Mother Jolella will know of my arrival?”
“I can’t speak to what she knows or doesn’t know. But I’ll send a message to her staff if you need help.”
He didn’t want to wake her, but he had no choice. If he understood Nerti’s message correctly, he couldn’t wait for her to wake up. “Please do so and send my apology to the Holy Mother. I wouldn’t ask to wake her if my need wasn’t urgent.”
“No need to apologize,” Jolella said from behind the Ze’arderian guards. “Seritia woke me a bit ago to let me know you were coming.”
Farrell raised an eyebrow. How that wasn’t involvement he’d never understand. “Blessed be Seritia for Her help.”
“It must be a pressing matter for you to come at this hour.” She gestured for him to follow her. “Shall I wake Randgar?”
“I think it would be prudent. This is about the rescue efforts on Ardus. I’m told Cendreth is with the relief force.”
“Are they in danger?”
“In war there is always danger, but nothing more than the usual risks of a looming battle.” They entered a side door, and Farrell paused at the entrance. “Can you dismiss the guards? I know it’s unusual, but as Chosen of Seritia, I give you my word there is no threat to you.”
Jolella studied him before she spoke to the officer of the guards. “Go find Amelt Randgar. Let him know the Chosen has come with news of the war on Ardus that cannot wait until morning. Ask him to join us with all speed.”
“At once, Holy Mother.” The officer bowed and shut the door, leaving just the two of them.
“This must be vitally important. I’ve never seen you like this.” Jolella led him into the temple. “You smell like the ocean. Have you been to Rastoria?”
“I just came from there.”
“Did you get what you needed?” She chatted as if they discussed the heat in Agloth.
“Arritisa gave me permission to collect Her Gift.”
“Collect?” She glanced over her shoulder. “She didn’t give it to you?”
“No. It wasn’t in Rastoria.”
“Did She tell you where you could find it?” They stopped in front of a door no different than all the others they’d passed, but Jolella pushed it opened. “We can talk here.”
“Arritisa didn’t directly tell me where it was, but She had Mother Burcia give me a book.” Farrell pulled it from his endless pocket and showed it to her.
“Another book?”
Farrell offered it to her. “Exactly, but this one gave me a clear answer.”
She examined the pages for a moment and her brow furrowed. “This is gibberish. How does this help you?”
“I can read it.”
“You can?” She held the book so the pages face him. “You know what that says?”
He reached over and turned it around. “It was upside down. Another side effect from Her kiss, I guess.”
“What does it say?”
He felt guilty for what he was about to do next. “Her Gift is in the trunk under Mother Ganz’s robe.”
She didn’t answer immediately, and Farrell wondered if she guessed why he’d shown up in the middle of the night. “Is that why you’ve come?”
“Yes.” He avoided her gaze.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you.” She handed him back the book. “We haven’t found any information about what happened.”
“I didn’t think you had.”
“So then why are you in Agloth?”
“I want you to come with me to Trellham and help me get the chest.”
“How are you going to get it?”
“I’m not.” He looked up and they locked eyes. “You are.”
“Me?” She stared at him, but he didn’t respond. “You need to explain this, because I’m not following your logic.”
The perfect words had eluded him each time he tried to rehearse what he’d say. “I believe only you can retrieve what’s there. You need to get the robe and once you have that, you can pick up the chest.”
She pointed to the book in Farrell’s hand. “Is that what it says?”
“Not those words.” He thumbed through the thin tome. “‘Only one whose heart knows only love may touch what My sister hid for Me in Her temple.’”
“That could mean anything.”
“Farrell—”
He held up his hand to stop what he knew she’d say. “It’s not what you think. It’s not just me. No one’s heart is pure enough.”
“And you think mine is?” She laughed. “You don’t know me very well.”
“If Seritia said climb to the highest spire in Agloth and jump off, would you do it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“If She asked you, would do you it, or would you ask questions?”
“I’d do whatever She asked of me.”
“Why?”
She looked offended. “You have to ask?”
“I know why, but I need you to say it.”
She cocked her head and looked at him as if he’d gone mad. Maybe he had. She sat back a bit. “I’d do it because She asked.”
“More specifically, you’d do it because you love Her with all your heart. If Seritia asked for your life, you’d give it to Her without a thought. I wouldn’t. I’d want to know why first.” He waited for her to tell him he was wrong. “Mother Ganz was the same as you. Seritia told her to go to that temple with that chest and sacrifice herself. She did it for the same reason you would.”
A tired-looking novice entered from a side door carrying a tray with cups and a pitcher. Jolella waved her off without looking over. The startled teen muttered an apology and backed out.
“There’s more. Lenore is taking an active hand in the war. She told me to join the army in Ardus by tomorrow at noon. Having bounced around the world, I have no idea when exactly that is until I get my bearings. She also told the army where to meet the enemy.”
“That’s unprecedented.”
“I need the Blood because I need Rastoria’s army. Arlefors can only survive out of water for about thirty minutes. Arritisa’s Gift will allow them to move freely between worlds, for a time at least.”
“For a time?” She shook her head. “You can be frustrating at times. You start down a road, then stop before we reach our destination.”
“I’m sorry.” He wanted to say he was tired, but he didn’t want to lie to her. “A being touched by the Blood may move from land to sea or sea to land. The effect will last until they return to their natural place. So an Arlefor may remain on land as long as they don’t return to the sea. There are logistical issues, such as how to feed and hydrate them, but Mother Burcia, King Clayden, and Master Teberus are working on that right now.”
“In anticipation of your bringing back Arritisa’s Gift.”
Farrell nodded. “Arlefors are fierce warriors. They’re not as fast or agile as Muchari, but they are stronger and more aggressive.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
He didn’t need her to specify what he might be wrong about. “I don’t know. At the least we’d be unable to retrieve the chest. The worst would be you’d end up encased in stone.”
The silence that followed suited him. He’d asked a lot of her and wouldn’t press her to decide.
“If I say no, what will you do?”
“I’ll try to get it myself.”
“You just said you aren’t the right person to get it.”
How stupid and selfish had his visit been? Guilt was a terrible thing to use to get someone to do what you wanted, yet that was what he’d done. “I shouldn’t have come. It was wrong of me to ask you. There has to be another way that doesn’t put anyone else at risk. I should have considered other options first. “I’ll go now.” He stood and reached out his hands. “Forgive me for waking you.”
Jolella accepted the offer to help her up and stood. “You’re a terrible liar, Farrell.”
“What?”
“As much as you regret asking for my help, we both know there isn’t another way.” She tightened her grip when he pulled back. “There is little time, so I’ll speak plainly. You need to stop worrying when you ask someone else for help. This is not just your task. Yes, you are Their Champion, but all who serve the Six stand ready to help.”
“Help, yes, but risk your life based on my guess? No. I can’t allow that.”
“It is not your decision, Farrell.”
“If I don’t go, neither can you.”
“Setting aside your mistake that I can’t get to Trellham without you, you told me you need it. Why would you willingly fail?”
“Better I sacrifice myself than ask you to do the same.”
She let go of his hands and shook her head. “I expected better from you.”
The admonishment struck him like a slap. “Why are you mad? I’m trying to protect you.”
“If you fail, how does that protect me? Or anyone?” She pointed a finger at him. “Everything you do must be for the good of everyone, not a specific person or persons.”
“If I don’t succeed, another will take my place. It is the way of this war.”
“The next Champion might take three thousand years or more to arrive. No one person, not even me, is worth dooming the world to thirty centuries of suffering.”
“But—”
She held up her hand. “You’re not asking me, I’m telling you that I’m going with you. Seritia woke me to let me know you were coming. Why do that if I’m not meant to help you?”
“To save another from waking you.”
“Even you don’t believe that. The Blessed Mother can’t give us the answers we need, but She can nudge us where we need to go. You came here to enlist my help. Her waking me is as much as She can do to tell me I need to go with you.”
“That’s quite a leap to make.”
She raised an eyebrow. “More than telling me the robe is meant for me because you’re not drawn to it?”
“No, but . . . I mean . . .”
“Is it a bigger leap than coming in the middle of the night to suggest that passage in your book refers to me?”
“No.”
“There aren’t many things that are clear in this situation. One thing I know is the Six mean for one of us to retrieve that chest. Only a handful of people know it’s under the rubble. Of those, only you and I can retrieve it. Earlier you said of the two of us, only I meet the criteria. Still think it was ‘quite a leap’ for me to make?”
Farrell frowned at her. “After this I’m going to keep quiet around you.”
“Now that you agree with me, give me a few minutes to dress appropriately and we can leave.”
He’d come for Jolella’s help, so why didn’t he feel good that she agreed? Everything she’d said was true, but if they’d miscalculated, Jolella would—He stopped himself from going down that path. They weren’t wrong and he didn’t want to jinx them by thinking what would happen if they were.
Farrell held Jolella’s left hand and kept them steady two feet over the robe and chest. The sensation of floating among so many overlapping objects was disconcerting.
“You should move outside the affected area,” Jolella said. “If we’re wrong, we’ll both die.”
“The other Gifts are safe, and I have nothing the next Champion will need if we end up encased in stone.” He no longer cared.
“Farrell.” Jolella shook her head.
“We’ve been over this. Without the Blood, I’ll lose. If this fails, I have no idea how to get it and no time left to figure it out. Either way I’ll be dead.” He wasn’t going abandon her to die alone. “If the Six have an issue with that, it’s Their own fault. They’re the ones who made it so hard to figure out what I’m supposed to do.”
“The Six didn’t make this hard on purpose. You know that.”
He didn’t know that, but it would do no good to argue with her. “We need to do this together. Since I have no guidance otherwise, that is my plan. I believe we’ll only get one chance. I can’t hang back and if it doesn’t work then try another way. This is it.”
Jolella scrunched her lips and nodd
ed. “I agree this is the only try we’ll get, but it still doesn’t sit right putting you at risk. The things we don’t know outweigh those we do.”
“True, but we know what’s in the chest and we know I need it and need it now.” She didn’t answer him. Given their limited information, this was their best option. “Ready?”
She nodded rather than voice her disagreement. It was too late for that. Slowly he lowered her until she leaned forward and reached for the robe with her free hand. He almost lost his grip when her fingers passed through.
Twice more she tried, approaching it from different angles. Each attempt caused Farrell’s stomach to tighten more.
“Put me down,” she said.
“What?”
“I need to stand on the ground.”
“But—”
“I know what you’re going to say, but it doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand and it passed through the stones around them. “We’re already surrounded by rocks that might turn solid at any minute. What does it matter if we’re on the ground when it happens?”
It didn’t, but it took a moment for his brain to process that fact. “You’re right.”
He lowered them until they stood on the hard stone. He still didn’t understand how the floor was solid but nothing else was. Or how their feet passed through everything else, but not the stone beneath them. Knowing why might save their lives, but he didn’t have time to find his answers.
“You should go now.”
“Why? Nothing has changed from a moment ago. Either you get it or I’m going to lose.”
“Yes, but now that I’m on the ground, you don’t need to be in contact with me.”
“That’s incorrect. More than ever I need to hold your hand.” He saw her get ready to argue. “If you succeed and everything turns solid except you, how do I get you out? I can’t get down there and you can’t get up. The only way we can be sure I can reach you is if we remain connected.”
“If that happens, remove the stones and come get me.” She reached over and touched his cheek. “Farrell, this is where you need to trust me. I’m as sure you need to go as I am you are right that I need to do this.”
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