Fire Walker

by Trudie Skies

  Vows meant nothing to Housemen, and likely less to Solaran princes, but Prince Rais was different. She rubbed the imprint of his lips from her hand. “Angering him isn’t going to help the Fire Walkers.” She turned and headed up the hill.

  Garr kept a leisurely pace by her side. “Nor is lying to him about his mother’s heirloom, Sword Dancer.”

  “I don’t appreciate you spying on me—”

  “Not spying. Acting in your best interest as your hired guard. Though, you’ve yet to actually pay me—”

  “I didn’t hire you, you mule. And I’ve given you coin!” Against her better judgment. She didn’t need an Ash Maker acting in her best interests, nor did she appreciate the casual way he joked with her. It didn’t feel right when she should have been walking and laughing with Alistar and Raj instead.

  “So you don’t want help finding your Prince’s necklace? I could track it, if you’d like. Assuming your acolyte sold it locally.”

  “You’re a thief now?”

  “I’m a man of many talents.”

  “Do any of your talents involve being quiet?”

  He grinned, but his expression fell as they neared the temple. Cyrus waited outside the doors. Another fool she didn’t wish to see.

  Garr growled beside her.

  She elbowed him. “Stay quiet and don’t start trouble. Let me handle him.”

  “As you say, Sword Dancer,” he whispered, and fell in line behind her.

  Cyrus sneered at her approach. “You and your dog made it back in one piece, then. Heard your Bosan might lose a leg, though. Bosan always find ways to get out of their commitments, even if it means hacking their own limbs off.”

  His words brought fire to her chest. She gripped her sword hilt. “What do you want?”

  “You’ve been summoned for a Council meeting at dawn, Priestess.” He spat her title with distaste. “Sounds like you made a right mess in Gaisland. All of our supplies burned? We’re dying to read your report.” He sauntered past her.

  “I could push him off the city walls,” Garr murmured. “Make it look like an accident.”

  She didn’t doubt it. The blood bond warmed as Jonan stepped out of the temple. He hadn’t changed much in the weeks she’d been gone, and she fought the urge to run up and grab him in one of Iman’s crushing hugs.

  Jonan smiled, but his irritation whipped through the bond as he locked eyes on Garr.

  Before she could say anything, Fez bounded out of the temple doors with a screech and ran circles around her legs.

  Mina chuckled. “I wasn’t gone that long.”

  Kamran stumbled out after him and scooped the squirming fox into his arms. “You’re back! You were gone for weeks! Did you fight raiders?”

  Garr ruffled the boy’s hair. “Oh, we fought hundreds of raiders and scary monsters made from fire. Come on, I’ll tell you all about it.” He glanced over his shoulder and winked.

  Jonan waited until Garr had guided Kamran inside before turning his flat stare to her. “He looks healthy. Alive, even.”

  Her cheeks warmed. “Alistar was injured. He and Raj are still in Grenai—”

  “I know. I saw what happened in my dreams.”

  Good. Then she didn’t need to relive Alistar’s screams in her mind. She’d once hated how the House bond violated her privacy and displayed her memories like some curiosity, but now she appreciated its advantages. “How are things in the temple? Cyrus was here—”

  “Yes. He’s been making frequent visits on behalf of our Sword of Solus. We are grateful for his protection.” His gaze moved to where a group of guards were standing nearby. “You look exhausted. You must rest from your long journey. I suggest you visit the Temple of Lune and bathe. Ask their Water Bearers to recommend oils that ease your muscles.”

  His words carried a hidden command through the bond. They were being watched.

  She stretched with an exaggerated yawn. “You’re right. My muscles are stiff and sore from riding.” She sniffed her armpits. “And I stink.”

  Jonan patted her shoulder in an awkward imitation of Talin. “That you do. Bathe, and we’ll speak soon.”

  Sooner rather than later. What trouble had befallen the temple whilst Mina had been away?

  41

  LUNE’S PRAYER

  City folk filled the Temple of Lune. It held a different atmosphere at night as men and women visited not for bathing or religious reasons, but to relax and… court, as Iman once described it. Mina had only entered the temple a handful of times to bathe, and never in the evening. Even setting foot inside the temple at night would set tongues waggling.

  Creeping heat prickled her skin, and not just from the saunas below. Giggling voices followed her into the main lobby. It was a pleasant, spacious room with white marble walls decorated in blue tile mosaics and lanterns that hung from the ceiling like stars. A generous number of loungers filled the space, and a fountain of Lune in all her glory drew attention to the center. Any reverence shown to the goddess was ruined by the half-naked city folk entering the mixed baths. A Solander girl leaned against the bath’s archway and fluttered thick eyelashes.

  Gods, Mina still wore her male garb. She could almost hear Garr’s condescension, What about your vows?

  One of the hooded Water Bearers approached, but this one carried a sword strapped to her waist. She pulled her hood down, revealing flowing black hair and two turquoise earrings in the shape of Lune’s crescent. “Lady Tamina. I’ve been expecting you.”

  “Lady Kasara,” Mina blurted out. She was the Solander girl from Prince Rais’s helbond ceremony—the one who’d asked her about joining the Academy. “You’re a Water Bearer?”

  “I guard the temple. It can become rowdy at night. If you’ll follow me?”

  Who was this woman? She spoke like a Houseman and walked with the casual grace of the noblewomen around the Keep, but none of them would volunteer to serve a temple. “I was told to ask for, uh, oil recommendations.”

  Lady Kasara glanced over her shoulder. “I know the oils you need.”

  Mina followed her down the steps to the private pools underneath the temple.

  Bronze Neu Bosan pipes ran along the ceiling and occasionally hissed with a puff of steam, though this was masked by laughter and the splash of water above them. Mina wafted the humid air. This was a damp heat, like Gaisland’s forest, but hidden in the heart of Solus. Lady Kasara stopped by an unusual tapestry of Lune hunting with a bow, which was not an image Mina had ever seen before. Hidden behind the tapestry was a marble door. Lady Kasara knocked on it three times and then pushed it open, beckoning Mina inside.

  Mina entered what appeared to be a storage space filled with crates and ceramic pots. Jonan stood waiting in front of a deep purple tapestry that stirred from a breeze, though where the breeze came from this far underground, Mina had no idea.

  How did he even get inside the temple?

  Jonan gestured to the wall to Mina’s right and only then did she realize they were not alone. Seated on separate loungers were two robed women—Yasmin, the High Priestess of Gai, and Lady Karina Sarabond, the High Priestess of Lune. The wife of Salasar rubbed her swollen belly. “High Priestess of Rahn. Come, sit with us and we’ll drink tea.”

  Mina stared at them. “What’s going on?”

  “This.” Jonan pulled the tapestry aside and a whoosh of warm air rushed over her.

  A dark, gaping tunnel had been dug out of the wall.

  He had been busy. “This connects to the Temple of Rahn? How did you manage to hide it from Samira?”

  Jonan huffed a laugh. “I didn’t have to. Fez kept her distracted. Someone kept leaving nuts in her bed, robes, and other strange places.” He shrugged. “It seems she’s allergic to fur.”

  Poor Samira. And poor Fez for being used against her.

  “But we have a problem,” Jonan continued. “Cyrus Fellbond and his men have been patrolling the canals, including the place wher
e our favorite tunnel has a most fortunate crack. That route is no longer safe. And so, we must resort to an alternative plan. The Temples of Gai and Lune are sympathetic to our cause.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. She’d sat beside both priestesses in the Council meetings without saying a word to either of them, and one was Salasar’s wife. Could they be trusted with this?

  Lady Kasara gestured to a chair and Mina sat, while Jonan dragged a wooden crate into the center to act as a makeshift table. The High Priestess of Gai poured green tea, offering the first cup to Lady Sarabond.

  Jonan declined the tea. “I’ve gathered you all because you understand the situation and have agreed to help. The call will come soon. Our Prince expects all Fire Walkers, including women, children, and those who are not physically able, to march to the front lines of war and contribute. We of House Arlbond reject this. As I speak, our stewardess is preparing our town, Arlent, to receive Fire Walkers from across Sandair. To hide them. We have long smuggled Fire Walkers out of the Temples of Rahn, and we were once assisted by you—the High Priestesses of Gai and Lune. We call upon your help once more.”

  Mina bit back her surprise. She had no idea that both priestesses had once helped Jonan and Talin smuggle Fire Walkers out.

  “The game is more deadly this time, Jonan,” the High Priestess of Gai said with a soothing voice. It was the first time Mina had ever heard her speak. “But for your father—for Jahan—we will do what we can.” Yasmin smiled and her old eyes gleamed with a gentleness. “Jahan was my mentor. He taught me the skills needed to be a Green Hand. I watched him being dragged away to the Temple of Rahn all those years ago, when I was barely an acolyte. Those of us in the Temple of Gai see Fire Walkers as our brothers and sisters, not our enemy. We’ll take the children. War creates orphans, so hiding them will not be a problem. But we’d prefer not to split them from mothers.”

  “The Temple of Lune supports women,” Lady Sarabond said. “All women. If that smarmy princeling wants to risk Lune’s anger by sending Fire Walker women to their deaths, then that’s where we get involved.”

  Mina openly stared. She’d never heard anyone insult Prince Ravel with such blatant disrespect.

  Jonan inclined his head. “Then at least we can provide a path to freedom for the women and children. House Arlent thanks you and is at your disposal. The Council has no idea how many Fire Walkers live in the temples. In this, their contempt of us works in our favor. As long as Leila kept the temple doors locked and the Fire Walkers docile, the Council was content to spend as little thought on us as possible.”

  “Thank Lune she’s not with us.” Lady Sarabond shuddered. “I never liked the woman. She’d be the first to run up the hill and rat on us whenever the temples did anything that wasn’t by the books. Contrary to popular belief, the temples don’t receive the funding they should. Not since the days of Princess Aniya. Seventeen years since her death have taken their toll on us, and I’m sick and tired of foolish Housemen dictating what we need as if we were children.” She smiled at Mina. “No offense meant.”

  Mina bowed her head. “None taken.”

  “We must act before the call to march comes,” Jonan said. “None of our plans leave this room. Assume you are being watched.”

  “What about Salasar?” Mina blurted out. “Are we keeping this from him?”

  Lady Sarabond smirked. “You think we can trust my foolish husband with something this delicate? What goes on in the temples stays in the temples. If he thought for one moment I was going behind the Council’s back, he’d march me to Saraani and force me to give birth there.” She flashed a wicked grin. “It’s what he did last time.”

  Lady Kasara choked on her tea.

  “Salasar would bow to pressure from the Prince and his House,” Jonan added. “We cannot trust anyone outside of this room, bar Nazim Grebond.”

  “Nazim’s injured,” Mina said. “When I was in Gaisland.”

  “Jonan told us about your journey,” Lady Sarabond said. “We are greatly relieved that you made it home safely and we offer prayers for the recovery of your sorran.” She gestured to Lady Kasara. “We have stepped up our security measures, especially around the water supply to your temple and certain Houses known to be… sympathetic to Fire Walkers. Isn’t that right, Kasara?”

  “All water is tested by taste and smell, and all Water Bearers to the Temple of Rahn are escorted by armed guard, as you commanded, Mother,” Lady Kasara said.

  “Very good. You should double the guard now that the High Priestess of Rahn has returned.”

  Lady Kasara bowed out of the room. She was Salasar’s daughter?

  “Gods, I hope this war fizzles out soon. I don’t think I can wait it out.” Lady Sarabond rubbed her belly. “My little one is ready to burst. Another girl.” She smiled. “I asked Lune to grant me daughters so I wouldn’t lose them to war, and then Kasara goes and takes after her father. Well. I best get back to my patrons before I’m missed.” She rose to her feet. Yasmin helped her up as she struggled. “If you ever need sanctuary, this temple will always be open to you. Lune’s luck to you, High Priestess of Rahn, and to us all.”

  The High Priestess of Lune waddled out of the room. Yasmin guided her by the arm and whispered soothing advice for the baby.

  Jonan lingered by the tunnel until they were gone, and then fixed Mina with a look he must have learned from Iman. “You used too much blood.”

  “I’m still standing, aren’t I?”

  “Barely. I can feel your exhaustion. Get some meat on your way back to the temple. As rare as possible.”

  “We have more important things to worry about than my stomach. That raider who attacked me—Emir—he had a brand on his forehead. The sigil of House Rhaesbond. That means he was a slave, right? From Neu Bosa?”

  “Sadly.” Jonan lifted his tunic, exposing his chest, and pointed to the red Fire Walker markings inked into his skin.

  A three-forked flame was mixed into swirls, subtle but unmistakable once it was pointed out. She hadn’t noticed it before, but he’d covered them up after the Solend.

  He rubbed a palm across the pattern. “The sigil of a House long dead. A reminder of who I am. And what I can never escape.”

  “Why would slaves have the same symbol?”

  “Because their masters are arrogant. They aspire to capture and breed those with the strongest blood fire, and who has stronger blood than a Rhaesbond? I know this from experience. A Neu Bosan slave master once tried to take me. When I lived on Solus’s streets as a child. First, he offered bribes of a better life. Then, he dangled knowledge of my Rhaesbond past. And when I still refused, he tried to take me by force. I barely escaped him. I learned later, when we established Arlent, that this was not rare. They prey on vulnerable Fire Walkers and take them to Neu Bosa. There are many in Arlent who we saved from that fate.”

  “My mother saved them.” Tira’s face appeared in a lantern on the wall and nodded. This was why Jonan disliked Neu Bosan. Did Alistar know what his people were doing? Did he even care? “Emir is our rogue Fire Walker. But why? We could help men like him!”

  “We don’t know his motives or where his loyalty lies. Which is why I’m speaking to you here, and not in the temple. There could be spies among our Fire Walkers. We must be careful what company we keep.” He gave her a pointed look.

  She crossed her arms. “Garr told me about the slaves.”

  “He’s a liability.”

  “He fought by my side. He could have run or attacked me at any point, but he didn’t—”

  “And think, why is that? What is he trying to gain?”

  “He wants to help the Fire Walkers, that’s all—”

  “Tira wasn’t this naïve.”

  She glanced to the lantern, and Tira rolled her eyes. “I haven’t told him anything he doesn’t need to know.”

  “Make sure it remains that way.” He rubbed his jaw. “What concerns me are the Hartnords. Do you have t
he vial?”

  She handed over her bottle of Lune’s Tears.

  Jonan popped the stopper and sniffed it. “No scent.” He allowed a single drop to spill on his tongue. His face scrunched and a violent shudder cracked through the bond. “Salty. Housemen have tried various methods to suppress blood fire, from leeches to castration. All on the false belief that Fire Walkers are feral and can be tamed. This is no different.” He shoved the bottle into his own pocket. “The Water Bearers already check our temple’s water for Rahn’s Breath. We’ll begin checking for this as well.”

  “Prince Wulfhart thinks it could stop war.”

  “Stop war or turn it in his favor? I’m not surprised the Bosan are involved. They don’t see Fire Walkers as people but as commodities. They want what any Houseman wants: control of our power because they lack their own. With this new Hartnord elixir, they may succeed.”

  Then Garr was right. Lune’s Tears would be used to control them, not free them. Fire Walkers would never be seen as ordinary men and women, no matter how successfully they suppressed their power. Even if they never summoned another flame again, the fear might be gone but the hatred would remain. It was too engrained in their culture. And if she convinced her people to surrender their power to that hatred, she would only strengthen their enemies and weaken her people.

  “I once warned you not to trust Myrbond,” Jonan said. “If his House is involved with the Hartnords, be cautious.”

  “Alistar’s my friend. He can be trusted.”

  “Can he? Your memories state otherwise.”

  The door opened and thankfully saved her from an awkward conversation. Lady Kasara entered. “Forgive me, High Priestess. You were seen entering our temple and should not disappear from view too long lest you raise suspicion.”

  Jonan tugged the tapestry open. “If you see anything or anyone suspicious, find me. Don’t go looking for trouble.” He raised an eyebrow in Mina’s direction. “And Mina? You really should bathe. You do stink.”

  She stuck out her tongue.

  He chuckled and entered the tunnel, merging with the darkness.