Part 14 (1/2)

”Then you shouldn't have attacked us,” said Gerin. ”We're not your enemies.”

For the first time since her capture, Gerin saw tears in Nyene's eyes. ”That fool Loar has ruined everything,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

”I'll tell you this,” said Gerin. ”Our mission will benefit every nation in Osseria, not just Khedesh. If you truly love Threndellen, then you won't try to thwart us.”

”I still do not believe you,” she said. The tears were gone, her expression hard. ”The truth will come out.”

”Yes, it will. And if you are present to witness it, you'll be quite surprised.”

The One G.o.d's messenger was staring at the sunset and the pink-splashed sky surrounding it. ”It is beautiful, is it not?”

”Yes, very,” said Gerin.

”That will change if the Adversary achieves his goals.”

”That's why we're going to the Watchtowers. So we can find the Words of Making.” A sudden thought occurred to Gerin. ”Wait! Do you know where they are?”

”I do not. There are many things hidden from me, and many others I am forbidden to speak of.”

Gerin's excitement drained away. He doubted now that Zaephos would prove to be much help at all.

”I have another question for you.” Gerin described the attack by the Vanil that killed his father. ”We know little about them. How could one appear now, after so many thousands of years? And why did it kneel to me?”

Zaephos scowled, and that alone sent a s.h.i.+ver down Gerin's back. He'd never seen the messenger show displeasure before.

”Many of the Vanil were servants of the Adversary,” he said. ”They warred violently with one another, until those who followed the Adversary were victorious. The defeated Vanil left this world through doors now long shut. The victors worked to help their master enter the world, but when they realized that he would not emerge for tens of thousands of years, many of them followed their brethren and left this world for others.

”But a few remained behind, unwilling to forsake their goals. They fas.h.i.+oned barrows where they could sleep until the Adversary finally arose.”

”So that's what awoke it?” asked Gerin. ”The Adversary achieving physical form in this world?”

”Perhaps. But I also said your sword's creation helped the Adversary. It may be that the Vanil who appeared to you was drawn by the power of your sword and believed that you, too, were a servant of its master. Or it may have wished to acknowledge you for awakening it.”

Gerin felt light-headed. ”So I'm the one who awoke it?”

”I cannot say for sure, but I think it likely.”

He turned away from Zaephos, his chest tight. Hollin and Abaru had proposed this very idea to him, but he had not been convinced by their argument, and the interruption of the akesh drove it from his thoughts.

But now Zaephos confirmed that his sword had drawn the Vanil.

He felt cursed, that every choice he made was doomed to turn against him. First Reshel, now his father. I'm responsible for his death. G.o.ds above, what other tragedies will I inflict upon my family? He wondered if those who believed he called the demon to kill the king were so wrong after all.

”What is it?” asked Elaysen, who saw him walking past. ”You don't look well, my lord.” Gerin had commanded everyone not to refer to him as ”Your Majesty” or make other references to his station because of Nyene. Regardless of her feelings toward her Threndish rulers, he did not want her to know that she traveled with the King of Khedesh.

Gerin opened his mouth but could not speak. How could he make her understand the magnitude of what he had done? It was unimaginable. It was too much; words failed him. He shook his head and walked on, his heart drumming in his chest like something broken, the image of his father's dead body seared into his mind like an accusation.

Gerin was quiet and withdrawn as they crossed the wide plains of central Threndellen, heading north toward the Hollow. Elaysen repeatedly tried to get him to talk about whatever was bothering him, but he refused. Finally, in frustration, she asked Zaephos to tell her what he had said to the king, but the messenger would not say. ”If he will not speak of it, neither will I.”

The plains gave way to more rugged lands in the north, the steeply sloped hills capped with copses of dark-needled pine. They wound their way through the gullies that twisted through the hills, hemmed in on both sides by walls of exposed rock.

Gerin and Elaysen managed to spend a few evenings together talking, but they did not speak of dalar-aelom. It was too strange to talk about religious practices when a divine being of the G.o.d being wors.h.i.+pped was a few feet away. Zaephos remained steadfast in his refusal to discuss or sanction the practices of dalar-aelom. It left Elaysen feeling frustrated and unsettled, doubting her beliefs.

”Why not a.s.sume since he hasn't criticized any of your father's teachings that they're right?” said Gerin.

”Because he hasn't criticized Aidrel, either!” she snapped. ”I'm sorry, my lord. I know it's not your fault. But my father and Aidrel both can't be right. If he's silent about both, what am I supposed to think?”

”You have to remember that he's a different order of being. He's not like us. He may seem human, and his body may be human, but his mind certainly is not. His point of view is vastly different from our own. He is frustrating, I readily admit that. But I don't think it's purposeful on his part. It's simply part of his divine nature.”

”You people are mad,” said Nyene. ”You travel to an empty land for no reason and claim that the servant of a G.o.d walks among you.” She pointed at Zaephos. ”That is no G.o.d, or creature of a G.o.d. I've spoken to him. He's suffered too many blows to his skull. He speaks nonsense.”

”We have a very good reason for going where we are,” said Gerin.

”Which you will not tell me.”

”I've told you what I can. What would you do if our situations were reversed?”

She laughed. ”I would have killed you rather than take you with me, so in that regard I'm glad you are not me. Perhaps you are a fool, but at least it is to my benefit.”

”I'll release you when we come within sight of our destination,” said Gerin. ”I hope you return to your lands and make no attempt to thwart our return.”

”What will you do?” asked Elaysen. ”Where is your family?”

Nyene's face twisted with anger. ”They are not your concern. You will not speak of them again.”

The hills ended at a tree-speckled plain that stretched to the southern tip of the Ozul Mountains. ”Is that where we're going, my lord?” asked Balandrick, pointing toward the peaks on the far side of the plain.

”Yes,” said Gerin. He'd been studying maps the night before and was certain it was the Ozuls across the plain. ”We'll be there soon.”

When they reached the foothills of the mountains that afternoon, Gerin said, ”Nyene, you may go. Keep the horse as a reward for honoring your word.”

”I would go with you a bit farther,” she said. ”I would see where this mad quest of yours is to end. Do you really intend to go into the Hollow?” She gestured toward the flatlands on the western side of the range.

”Yes. Our destination lies within it.” He considered her request. ”If you still wish to accompany us, I won't forbid it.”

”Why do you hide your powers from me?” Nyene asked.

”What do you mean?”

”The two who bind me with spells each night have bleached skin and green eyes. It is a mark of their magic, obviously. You look the same, yet you perform no spells. Why? Who are you that you do not wish to reveal such things to me?”

Before Gerin could reply, a Taeraten outrider galloped toward them from the east. ”My lords, an army is coming this way!”

16.

How far off are they?” asked Gerin.