City of Gods [Book 3 of the Teadai Prophecies] Read online

  Valda’s eyes lit and she grinned.

  Wren tasted hers and told the woman much the same thing. “Valda? I know you told us last night how you saved some of the children, but how did you and Lacy get away from the taverns? I mean, you’re both still young and you’ve obviously been here a few years. Why did Lombreeth leave you alone?”

  Valda glanced at Lacy, who was feeding one of the babes in a chair near the wall. Lacy nodded and Valda took in a deep breath. “There was an old, herb woman who once lived in the hamlet. Lombreeth kept her around to deliver babes and tend the sick. She hated him. Even tried to poison him once. But he caught her and beat her for it, lamed her into obedience.” She clicked her tongue in disgust. “One night, Lacy and I brought a girl to her for birthing. It was the first chance we had to speak with her alone. We told her how some of the girls would gladly give their babes up to save them from whoring, if she could pretend they died and hide them or send them away to be raised in Brev. She admitted she was too old and crippled to care for children but agreed it was worth a try for us, since we were young. So she gave us a potion rub that made us appear diseased.”

  “What kind of disease?” Adelsik said. The new-oathed slumberer had finished her meal and sat between Lyssinya and Saldia nursing her cider wine.

  Valda chuckled. “Nice to see innocence among girls again.”

  Xiath and many of the others snickered.

  Adelsik gave them a puzzled look until Saldia whispered something into her ear. Then those innocent brown eyes widened and she blushed. “Oh.”

  Valda gave her an amused look before turning back to Wren. “Anyway, the old woman told Lombreeth we were no good in the taverns, but she could teach us to deliver babes and tend the sick, since the disease couldn’t spread that way, and we could take over her duties after she died.”

  “He seemed so determined to find out who had given the disease to us, that he didn’t even challenge the old woman’s story. We were instructed to pick one of the empty buildings, so naturally, we chose Lacy’s grandsire’s place. The next morning three men hung from a tree just behind one of the taverns.”

  Lacy sniffed. “They were bad ones, so no one minded.” She had a heavier accent than Valda. In fact, several here had an accent similar to Lacy’s. A bit heavier than those in Brev.

  Valda clicked her tongue. “They were more than bad. Those men were murderers. Though no one could actually prove it. But I know they killed Shadirem after they raped her. I could smell her lilac oil on them, nasty wormsuckers.”

  With that, Lacy gave the babe to another woman and went to comfort her bedfriend. “They got what they deserved, Valda. Shadirem wouldn’t want us to be sad for her.”

  “I know. But she didn’t deserve what they did to her.”

  “No, she didn’t. But she would be proud of us. Of what we’ve accomplished. The children we’ve saved.”

  Xiath felt as though he had walked in on something very private between the two, but before he could feel too uncomfortable, they separated and finished serving the meal.

  Valda gave a lean smile to her guests. “Now, we have enough for one serving each. If you want more, you’ll have to go out and find it. Lacy and I stored plenty for our family but we need to ration to feed this many.”

  “Don’t worry, Mistress Valda,” Finlor said. The Elder looked much more relaxed than the previous day. In fact, he had found an unusual puzzle made of several brass loops and stems and he fidgeted with it now. “We have horsemeat. And I’m certain there must be food stores somewhere in this hamlet, especially for the taverns.”

  Valda let out a belly laugh. “By Goddess, you’re right, Elder. I’ve lived here so long I forgot all about the tavern stashes.” Her brown eyes gleamed. “Lombreeth leaves us alone but he’s not one for sharing goods with a couple of useless whores.” She winked and the Elder laughed.

  Suddenly, the wolves outside gave a pitiful howl and someone upstairs cried out. Xiath and the others raced from the table, nearly knocking Valda over in the process. He latched onto Wren’s arm and practically dragged her up the winding, stone stairs behind him.

  “Who screamed?” Wren demanded of a hamlet girl once they reached the second floor.

  The girl backed against the wall and pointed a dark arm toward Valda and Lacy’s room.

  Wren led Xiath inside, past several gawking middlings. Taniras lay in a heap on the four-post bed with Haranda beside her, stroking her hair. The singer wept openly, while tears streamed down Haranda’s cheeks. Henny. The youngling looked paler than Xiath remembered. His heart sank.

  “No.” Wren went to comfort the sobbing wolf singer.

  Snowy flew into the room and took Taniras from Wren, the couple holding tightly to one another as they wept. Adelsik pushed her way past Xiath but Haranda caught her when she reached the bed. The young slumberer stayed in her former clan mother’s arms as they both sat next to the lifeless youngling. Soon, many kin joined in mourning, and Xiath wiped angrily at tears that swept down his cheeks.

  Finlor cursed and left the room. Out in the hall, he told tell someone to prepare a pyre.

  “She’s too young,” Adelsik said between sobs. “Why didn’t the Goddess spare her? She already took Maesa.”

  “Shh.” Wren stroked Adelsik’s back.

  But the girl didn’t seem to want comfort and pulled away. Those innocent, brown eyes turned cold as they focused behind Xiath. “You!” She pointed an accusatory finger, and Xiath turned to see Ryder leaning on his cane just outside the door. “You knew Death was here. Why didn’t you stop him?”

  Before Xiath knew what happened, Adelsik was running toward Ryder with her arms outstretched. He managed to snag the girl about her waist and bring her up short of throttling the old man.

  “Let me go! You puss ridden, son of a stinger bush!” If Xiath hadn’t known better, he would have wagered Eletha fought his grip instead of Adelsik. The girl certainly didn’t use a civil tongue with him, which wasn’t like her at all. “Let go!” She pulled unsuccessfully toward Ryder. “I’ll thrash you, you old fodderbrain!”

  Xiath held the girl, despite her attempts to dent his shins with her boots. She was too far gone for Wren’s calming, and Taniras was in no condition to help with her ancient lullaby, if that would even work now.

  That’s when Lyssinya stepped in. “Use the urging on her, Wren.”

  Wren shook her head. “She’s too distraught.”

  Adelsik cursed again. In an attempt to kick Xiath’s shins, she banged her chin on his thick arm and cried out with pain followed by fury.

  He turned the struggling girl so he could look over her to his bedfriend. “Do what Lyssinya says, Wren, before she hurts herself.” He caught those gray eyes with his own and nodded. Using the urging on someone in this state only delayed the violent reactions and kept the person stewing, a dangerous thing, since it quickened the heart and life pulse and could cause heart failure. But they had to do something.

  Wren concentrated and her eyes grew distant. “Be still. Calm yourself.” Adelsik fought like a wild cat for several heartbeats and Xiath wondered whether Wren’s urging would be successful. They couldn’t chance killing the girl. “Be still, Adelsik. You don’t want to fight.”

  She suddenly went stiff in Xiath’s arms. His breath and heart were both labored despite the size advantage he had over her.

  Wren then stroked the girl’s back. “You don’t wish to fight. Calm yourself, Adelsik.”

  Xiath studied his bedfriend. “Careful, Wren. Not too much.”

  Using multiple Energies at once drained a Gypsy much quicker than a single Energy, and the woman had recently recovered from the unification crystals. She couldn’t keep this up for very long.

  Chapter 12

  Thad heard the commotion from the street where he was tending chores and bolted into the house. Something had happened to Henny. He just knew that, somehow. When he got to the next level, Ryder sat on the hall floor, eyes closed and sweat running down his te
mples. His body jerked as though he wrestled with something. No one else seemed to notice. All eyes peered into the large bedroom where someone was yelling. Adelsik. Thad crouched and pushed healing Energy into the old man.

  At first, he could find nothing wrong. Then he saw something he had never witnessed before. An iridescent tether reached out from the man’s head. When he followed it, a faint image of Ryder fought at the other end with something Thad couldn’t see, but he would wager it was Death. That gave him an idea.

  Payatt Koi bounded up the stone staircase and Thad waved to him. “Watch him, Payatt. But don’t interfere.” The dark man narrowed eyes. Sage kin especially didn’t like underlings ordering them about. “I’ll explain later. Please.”

  Payatt nodded and Thad stepped into the room to find Adelsik in a fierce struggle with Xiath. He pushed past them as Wren calmed the girl and sat on the large bed where Henny lay. He took Henny’s wrist in his fingers and placed his other hand on her forehead. The Energy filled him and he pushed his healing power into the frail body. He wound the Energy around her still life particles and pushed up to her head to check the function of her brain. At first, she appeared dead and it took several heartbeats to visualize what he seeked in his mind. Finally, just as he began to sweat, he found it.

  An iridescent tether reached out from Henny’s head, so faint that any healer not specifically looking for it would have missed it completely. No kin had ever mentioned such a thing so he doubted any had ever discovered it. It looked fragile, frayed, as though it were about to sever, and was incredibly long. Not at all a strong thread like Ryder’s tether. He couldn’t see the other end of it. It just seemed to disappear into nothingness. His guess was that it held Henny’s essence someplace the slumberers couldn’t see from the Netherworld and healers couldn’t find from this one. But he knew about the tether now and was determined to get to the youngling.

  He pulled his Energy back and snapped his head to Wren. “Let Adelsik go!”

  “What?” The white-haired Gypsy gawked at him.

  “Let her go. I need her.”

  Wren, Xiath, Haranda, Taniras and others who had gathered stared blankly at him but he couldn’t wait much longer. He cursed. “If you want Henny to live, let the lass go!”

  That got them into action and Adelsik came out of her urged induced stupor.

  Before she could do or say anything in her sudden renewed fury, Thad ordered her to his side. “Get to the Netherworld, Adelsik.” He ignored the tear-stained cheeks and fire in those large eyes. “When you find Henny, shove her back here if you have to. You’ll know when.”

  “Wha—“

  “Just do it!”

  The lass immediately lay on the bed as Thad concentrated on Henny and pushed the healing Energy up to her head. He wrapped Energy around the tether to strengthen it, pushing more and more of his might into this task. All the while, he could feel something struggling at the other end. As they pulled back and forth, like a child’s game of rope tug, he followed the tether with the Energy, healing chafed sections by quickening life particles within. It fluctuated as he worked, until the faint, iridescent color shone steady. He could feel himself fading, losing strength, and he took in more Energy. The tether began to mend, at least, what he could see of it, but something still tugged from the other end.

  Don’t die on me, Henny, lass. I won’t let you die. That a fact. He used his Energy and grabbed onto the tether like a drowning man to a rope. He could wait no longer. They would both die if he remained in this state. Now Adelsik! Having no idea if she was even in place, he yanked with all his might, praying to the Goddess that some fragile part beyond his reach didn’t snap.

  Something slammed into his senses and he was knocked back from the bed onto the hard floor. Adelsik woke as Thad scrambled back to the bed, where Wren and Predula now fussed over Henny. He placed a hand on the youngling’s chest to feel her breath become stronger. He tried to push his healing Energy into her again but his efforts seemed to sputter with exhaustion.

  “She’s alive,” Predula said with awe. “I don’t know what you two did but she’s getting stronger. Her pulse is quickening and her heart beats steady and strong.”

  Payatt rushed to Henny’s bed and Thad gave him a questioning glance. The Sage shook his head and frowned. “Ryder’s dead.”

  Thad moved to go to the old man but collapsed to his knees with weakness. The last thing he saw was the floor headed straight for him.

  * * * *

  Xiath moved quickly when Thad collapsed but he barely caught the boy. Brak joined him and the two lowered Thad to the floor. So many kin crammed the room now and low conversations hummed in the air.

  Payatt stepped close and looked the boy over. After several heartbeats, he glanced at Xiath. “He’ll be all right. Just exhaustion.” He turned to two burly servants. “Get him on that mat.” One hand pointed to a straw mat against the wall where some of the very small children usually slept.

  Adelsik was on her feet but she put a hand to her head. “I don’t feel right.”

  Wren caught the girl as she fainted and Xiath helped his bedfriend.

  “Get her upstairs,” Wren said after she had Payatt check the girl over. “Put her on one of the nursery beds.” She turned back toward Henny. “Haranda? Haranda, look at me.” The younger Gypsy peeled her eyes from her youngling. “You and Taniras go with Adelsik. Find out what happened if you can. Lyssinya, accompany them.”

  Xiath started out with Adelsik cradled in his arms. He waited for two servants, who carried Ryder’s body between them. They headed downstairs and Xiath moved to maneuver the narrow stairs toward the uppermost floor. Once in the nursery, Lyssinya shooed out the middling children, and Xiath placed Adelsik on one of the undersized beds.

  Kin bedding from the night before was piled along the walls and Taniras snagged a blanket to put over Adelsik. She then sat on the bed. “Hush, little sister,” she crooned when the girl began to stir. She placed a hand on Adelsik’s forehead.

  “Henny?” Adelsik tried to sit.

  The singer put a hand on her shoulder. “Henny’s getting stronger. Thanks to you and Thad.”

  “Is Thad all right?”

  Haranda took a seat on the other side of the bed. “He’s resting.”

  Xiath glanced to the door where Snowy stood observing then turned his attention back to Adelsik. “Just what did you do?”

  Those innocent eyes narrowed in thought. “I’m not certain, Xiath. I went to the Netherworld, like Thad told me, and tried to enter Henny’s dream bubble. Nothing happened for a long while and then suddenly I found I could force myself into her dream. Her otherself was faint at first. When she began to look solid again, I grabbed onto her and shoved her toward her body using my slumbering Energy. The way you taught me, Lyssinya. It was no easy task, I must say. Something seemed to have a hold on her and she resisted me, put up quite a struggle. I haven’t used that much Energy before. When I came to, I felt weak and disoriented.

  Haranda studied the girl. “How do you feel now?” She glanced at Lyssinya, who stood at the foot of the undersized bed with arms crossed.

  “Tired. Exhausted really. Are you certain Henny will survive?”

  Lyssinya nodded. “Yes, she’ll live.”

  “Did I hear something about Ryder?”

  “Ryder died. Was he helping you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’m certain he was,” Xiath told them. “I heard Thad tell Payatt to watch him but not to interfere. The old man looked as though he struggled with some invisible foe.”

  “Death.” Adelsik’s eyes widened, making her look like a rich girl’s doll.

  “That would be my guess.” The mere thought of a struggle like that made Xiath want to shed his own skin.

  Lyssinya moved to the side of the bed. “I want to know exactly what you and Thad did. And how he knew he could save Henny.”

  Xiath shook his head as he studied the red-haired Sage. “He might not have known fo
r certain. He runs on instinct. That boy spent several years without guidance after the calling took him.” He’d survived somehow without going mad. Though the lines on his face were a testament to that harsh life.

  Lyssinya nodded. “One of my teachers came from a similar background. He managed things we never thought about.” For her to admit Sages weren’t the be all and end all impressed Xiath. Perhaps the woman could be humbled.

  “I want to see Henny.” Adelsik started to get up but Taniras seemed to put her down with ease.

  “You need rest.” The wolf singer held concerned eyes on the girl. “Henny’s in good hands now.”

  Adelsik’s eyes flashed. “I wish to see her, Taniras Ei’sele Nee’cher. She was my clan sister.”

  “Mine, also, Adelsik Nunsey. As were you. I won’t allow you to tire yourself further. I’ll check on Henny. You stay put.” She leaned over Adelsik like a wolf over her prey. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Taniras. You’ll let me know how she’s doing?”

  “Of course. Now rest.” She turned to the small group gathered in the room. “I’ll be back.” Snowy met her at the door and the two left.

  Xiath couldn’t help the grin that formed on his lips. Taniras had a way of cowering just about anyone. She would make a formidable clan mother someday. In her absence, he and the others tried to work out what Thad had done to save Henny, without much success.

  “I really want to get my hands on that boy,” Lyssinya said. “He might just be more valuable than mere bait for Croferituus.”

  Thad had turned out to be a priceless asset for the kin and Xiath was glad Haranda had found the boy. Or that the boy had found Haranda. Either way, he silently thanked the Goddess for bringing them together.

  Taniras returned and all eyes fell on her. “Henny will recover.” After the mumbles of relief faded, her dark face grew somber. “Ryder’s body will be put to pyre at sundown.”