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

  Predula sat again. “Siri and Wren had only minor problems that we healed. They didn’t get as close to the void as you and Lyssinya. Ved’nuri’s condition is mild and Ved’mana is with her, remember? She’s a much stronger slumberer than any of you.”

  That made Adelsik feel better. Ved’mana was the strongest healer they had among the kin. “Has she slumbered since?”

  “Not yet,” Haranda said in a tone Adelsik new all too well from her youngling days. “And neither will you.”

  Adelsik could imagine those dark eyes narrowing. “I don’t think I could right now.”

  “See that you keep it that way.”

  She chuckled at her former clan mother. “I’m not a wayward youngling.”

  Haranda laughed. “She’s still her defiant, snippy little self, Lyssinya.”

  “So I hear.”

  “You two are going to cause me a headache of trouble,” Predula said. “Well, keep it up, both of you. A healthy attitude just might recover your sight sooner.”

  “Only two of us? Where’s Henny?” She hoped the youngling hadn’t gotten worse.

  “Henny’s fine,” Haranda assured her. “She’s upstairs in her sick bed.”

  “Oh.” So Adelsik had been put in the downstairs room. They must have finally cleaned out all the furniture that had been stored here. She touched her bandaged eyes. “Is Lyssinya bandaged too?”

  “She’s far better than you right now. Her sight wasn’t impaired nearly as much.”

  “You don’t have to speak of me as though I’m not present.”

  “My apologies, Lyssinya,” Haranda said in a strained voice. “You can tell her.”

  “Accepted. I can see well enough to send a few sparks to your hide, new-oathed.”

  Adelsik laughed so hard that her headache came back and she pressed one hand to her forehead. “Ow.” She snickered as the other women chuckled. “I see what you mean about attitude, Predula. Lyssinya will probably have perfect sight by tomorrow.” She realized she had no idea what part of day or night it was. “Is it light out?”

  “It’s morning.” Haranda’s voice.

  “How long have I been in this bed?”

  “Three days.”

  “What? Croferituus?”

  “We’ve seen nothing of her. Not since you captured her in the void. We think she’s trapped there permanently now. Possibly destroyed.”

  “I did that?”

  “Yes you did, my former clan daughter.” A cool hand caressed Adelsik’s forehead.

  Footfalls came into the room and close to the bed, and Adelsik smelled something wonderful that caused her stomach to rumble with hunger.

  “All right,” Predula announced. “No more questions now. My patients need to eat. I sent for some broth for you Adelsik.”

  “Mine had better be something to chew,” Lyssinya grumbled, causing everyone to chuckle again.

  The two ate their meals, while Adelsik asked for details of the last three days in between spoonfuls of delicious broth. She recognized Silbie’s touch on the food from the travels with her kin quest, but the cook had outdone herself. Either that, or Adelsik was so hungry even old shoe leather would have tasted good.

  “We’re still not certain,” Wren said, “exactly how you managed to gain access to the ring’s powers and push the void so far. Or at all, for that matter. You even managed to sever us from the star. It kept hold of you, though, until Lyssinya and Ved’nuri went after you.” She paused and Adelsik felt the mattress move.

  “The void had you in its grasp.” Adelsik turned her head toward Lyssinya’s voice. “Ved’nuri and I had quite a struggle pulling you free.”

  Something in her tone frightened Adelsik and she stopped eating. “How much of a struggle?”

  Someone exhaled loudly. “We almost lost you,” Wren said in a low voice.

  “You mean, I nearly died?” Her voice was barely audible even to herself.

  “Yes, girl,” Predula said. “And you would have died if not for the other slumberers.”

  Numbness set in and Adelsik suddenly wasn’t hungry. “My apologies.”

  “Gracious, child,” Predula said with surprise in her voice. “What in the name of the Goddess are you apologizing for? You pushed the void back far enough that it’s no longer an immediate threat.”

  “And I nearly took my kin with me.” Her eyes burned with tears that were soaked up by bandages.

  “Don’t weep. You’ll ruin my dressing.”

  She chuckled despite the harrowing thought that she could have taken all of them to their death. “Yes, healer.” It was a grand mimic of Lyssinya’s placating tone and she sniffed.

  The women chuckled.

  Predula patted Adelsik’s leg, a habit she often did with younglings and patients. “Good. Now, the important thing is that you’re not dead. You’re healing. And Lyssinya almost has her sight completely restored. You finish your broth and get some rest. I want to see if Payatt and Thad have delivered that babe, yet.”

  “What?” That took Adelsik by surprise until she remembered that two of the hamlet women were with child, one very large. “Oh.” The Elders would oath the woman as soon as she could get out of the childbed.

  “All right, Adelsik,” Haranda said. “You heard the healer. Eat.”

  Wren told Lyssinya much the same thing but the Sage didn’t respond with the usual brassiness she held for Haranda. Adelsik took in the spoonfuls of warm broth eagerly now and asked for more, but Taniras had come in, probably at Predula’s request, and informed her that one serving was enough. A cup was pressed to her lips.

  She recognized the sweet smell, so she pushed it away with her hand. “I need to visit the privy.”

  “Well, that’s a very good sign,” Taniras said with lightness Adelsik didn’t often hear in her voice. “Haranda, if you and Wren will lift her, I can get this bucket under her.”

  “Wha—no!” Heat filled her face. “Put it on the floor. Just guide me to it. I know how to use a night bucket.”

  “You’re not to get up from this bed, Adelsik Nunsey,” Taniras warned. “We’re all women here. There’s nothing to get embarrassed about. And I was a healer’s assistant in Maricar, remember? Let me perform my duties or Predula will have my hide as well as yours. When you’re well enough, of course.”

  She thought of protesting again but weariness began to set in just from this little exertion and she thought better of it. Part of her was glad she wore bandages over her eyes. No one had assisted her with a night bucket since she was a young child. She fought embarrassment as the women supported her body so she could relieve her bladder. Even at the realization that she wore no underbreeches, she kept quiet. She had been out for a while now. Someone must have had to clean her up. Despite her discomfiture, she was truly grateful to have her bodily fluids expelled and soon sipped at the sweet liquid that put her to sleep again.

  She awoke to someone removing her bandages.

  “Keep your eyes closed, Adelsik,” Predula said. “I need to wash them one last time.”

  She suffered the woman’s ministrations and was surprised not to have more bandages placed over her eyes.

  “Now, go slowly and open your eyes. The firelight will be uncomfortable at first but that’s expected.”

  Anxious to see again, Adelsik peeled open her eyes only to slam them shut when the light stabbed at her. “Oh.” She started to reach for her face but hands stopped her.

  “Don’t touch. Open them again.”

  “It hurts.”

  “I know. You need to allow them to adjust to light again.”

  She slowly opened them, first as tiny slits to let in what seemed to be a very bright light. Once that didn’t hurt any longer, she widened them until she could finally see shadowy figures and dancing firelight. “I can’t see clearly.”

  “You see shadows?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” Predula’s figure turned to a taller one that stood nearby. Haranda?

  Ade
lsik didn’t have to take in the Energy to feel the relief in the room. “You seem surprised.” No one spoke and she had a horrifying thought. “You thought I would be blind.”

  “It was a possibility,” Predula finally said.

  “But why didn’t you heal me?”

  “We did. As much as possible. The Energy blast you caused did quite a bit of damage to the inner portion of your eyes. By the time we figured out what had happened, we could only repair what hadn’t begun to scar and simply wait to see whether it worked.”

  “We?”

  “Yes.” Haranda’s tall figure moved to the right side of Adelsik’s bed. “The healers took turns with you and Lyssinya.”

  “But she got her sight back. So, why would mine surprise you?”

  Predula took her hand. “Her damage was much less severe than yours, an after-blast of what you created.”

  “But I didn’t create anything. At least, I don’t remember. I had the ring.”

  “You produced it all right, new-oathed.” Adelsik turned to see another figure sitting on a bed just paces from her. Lyssinya. “I would wager my sandals on it. Enough Energy to blast that bloody void to nearly nothing, ring or no.”

  “I felt the Energy surge within me after I drew in more, but I had no idea I did that.” Predula pushed a cup into her hands and she drank without protest. Fatigue overcame her from this long exertion and she lay back, resting her head on the feather pillow. But she didn’t fall asleep. “No sleep herbs?” She motioned to the shadowy outline of the cup that was now in Predula’s hand.

  “Just healing herbs this time. You get some rest. If you can’t sleep, I’ll give you something. We can discuss more about what happened later.”

  “I am tired.” Fatigue took her and she began to drift toward sleep.

  “Did you see her eyes?” Wren said.

  Adelsik wanted to say something but exhaustion took hold and the voices faded.

  Chapter 17

  Relief had come in spurts over the past four days as the younglings recovered, and Haranda now sat at Adelsik’s bedside and waited for the new-oathed girl to wake. Something had happened to her former clan daughter in more ways than the healers first imagined. Adelsik would see again, they had no doubt, but those large, brown orbs had turned a very light shade of lavender, almost transparent, and the healers didn’t know what that meant for the girl’s sight, only that she would recover in some capacity.

  Ved’nuri survived without complications. They certainly couldn’t afford something happening to one of the Vedi, and Haranda wasn’t ready to let go of Candelus, slight as her presence was these days. She longed to get back to the Land of the Goddess, ached for this entire conflict to end.

  The weather had warmed enough to melt the snow and allow the stream to flow freely again, a sign that left the kin with lifted spirits. The hamlet streets and grassy areas had flooded after the melt but only a few of the buildings had any water damage, and the problems were contained mainly to cellars. Whoever built the stone structures had enough knowledge to put the living areas well above street level. Every single building here sat atop a large porch, which acted as a buffer against rising water.

  The Bankari discovered crawl spaces beneath them, where dogs hid out from the frigid weather. Those with cellars, like Valda and Lacy’s place, had street level gutters to reroute water around the building and funnel it toward the stream. Some of the stones in the old building had become damaged over the numerous years and that’s where the problems occurred. A few new servant men had once been stonecutters, and Haranda would wager her boots the Bankari put them to work immediately, especially since they’d been oathed and now had no choice but to take orders.

  However, her greatest concern besides Henny and Adelsik was her own hide. Ever since the night they’d conquered the hamlet, her Energy had been completely drained by the unification crystals. She still couldn’t harness. Her sparking ability was the strongest among her kin, and many lent their strength to her that night, but it wasn’t enough. Without regard to her safety, she had pushed herself to defeat the hamlet fighters, and the crystal had pulled the Energy through her with a greater capacity than she had ever experienced.

  Settling her fears, she tried once again to harness the Energy she could feel stirring beneath her, but other than a tingling sensation in the soles of her feet, nothing. How would she ever tell the others? How could she be a Gypsy without her Energy? She’d done what she needed to save her kin, so why had the Goddess punished her? A sigh escaped her lips and Adelsik stirred. Haranda forced those disturbing thoughts from her mind and leaned close to the bed.

  The girl’s eyelids fluttered then opened. Beautiful, lavender orbs focused on her. Eyes that no longer looked as innocent as before. “Haranda?”

  “Yes.”

  “I still can’t see clearly.”

  “Predula said it could take a few days.” She helped her former clan daughter into a sitting position.

  “Still light out. I can see the window.”

  “Yes.” She followed Adelsik’s gaze to the short window. “Just after midday. You hungry?”

  That doll-like face lit up. “Famished.”

  Haranda moved to call for a tray but Adelsik held her arm with a strong grip that surprised her. “Please tell Silbie and the others that I want something normal to eat. No more broth. And one of those honeycakes if she has any.”

  “I’ll let her know.” Haranda kept a smile on her lips as she left the room and went to the front door. She gave orders to the nearest urchin and watched the young boy go down the porch steps and turn right toward the kitchen house. The day was cool but tolerable without a cloak and she sucked in a deep breath before returning to the sick room.

  The other bed beside Adelsik stood empty and she wondered how Lyssinya faired. Annoying as usual, no doubt. The Sage had her sight back now, could harness too, never lost that ability, something that rankled Haranda even more. Wren had mentioned the Sage just this morning after she’d slumbered with Ved’nuri. Thankfully, Haranda wasn’t invited. The slumberers located Tapnut and the others who were lost in the Means. With the void pushed so far away, thanks to Adelsik, Tapnut’s group would have little trouble sensing the doorway to the Land of the Goddess now.

  Seemed everyone had positive tales to tell except Haranda. Why should she lose the ability to harness when Lyssinya fought the bloody void and retained her Energies? She had to believe the Goddess had a greater plan for her, but right now all she wanted was to feel the Energy spread awareness through her. How she missed that!

  “You all right?” Adelsik studied her with those lavender eyes.

  She silently chided herself for fretting in front of her former clan daughter. “Don’t worry about me, Adelsik Nunsey. I didn’t fight the void.”

  The girl snickered. “Yes, Haranda. I guess I was a bit overzealous.”

  “Well.” She sat on her chair again. “I knew you’d be a good Gypsy one day.” She intercepted Adelsik’s reach for the water pitcher and poured some of the fresh liquid then gave the cup to the girl.

  “Has the snow melted?” Adelsik cradled her drink and took a long sip.

  “Yes. We salvaged what we could for laundry and cooking before the weather warmed. No sense wasting perfectly good snow. But the road is mud now. We have to wait before taking the wagons through.”

  Several heartbeats of silence fell between them as Adelsik drank again. When she gave the empty cup back to Haranda, she frowned. “Will I truly get my sight back? The way it was before, I mean?” How could she tell the girl what Predula and the others suspected? “Haranda? What’s wrong with my eyes?”

  “The healers aren’t certain what happened. From what they can tell, you should recover your sight. But—”

  “What? Tell me.” One hand went to twirling her white-blonde locks.

  Fear caught at Haranda’s gut, fear that sat in Adelsik’s lavender orbs just now. “Your eyes changed color. We don’t know why but suspect it has
to do with the amount of Energy you harnessed in the Netherworld. Whatever you did to affect the void altered you. We simply have to wait for the results.”

  Slender fingers went to Adelsik’s eyes and she touched her lids. “What color are they?” That small voice made Haranda want to cradle her like a young child.

  “Lavender.”

  “Pretty?”

  “Yes. Very.” She couldn’t help but smile.

  “I like lavender.” The girl’s disposition seemed cheery now despite the sadness her eyes had held ever since Maesa’s death. “I always complained about my brown eyes when I was a young girl, thought they were so plain. I even begged the gods for blue or green, promising I would stop eavesdropping.” She grinned.

  Haranda chuckled despite her worries. “Guess your wishes were answered.”

  A pensive look crossed those delicate features. “Not exactly the way I would have liked.”

  “The ways of the Goddess are not always understood,” Haranda said, partly for herself.

  A knock at the door gave them both a start and a servant entered with a food tray. Haranda took the tray and dismissed the servant, a newly oathed woman from the hamlet. She insisted on feeding Adelsik but the girl didn’t appreciate her concern.

  Those thin arms crossed Adelsik’s middle. “I’m not a child, Haranda. I can certainly feed myself.”

  “Not until Predula approves. So you can allow me to handle the utensils or you can go hungry.” Adelsik threw her head back and laughed, an action that caught Haranda off her guard, and she stared at her former youngling.

  “That’s the Mother Haranda I remember. Smells good.” She squinted toward the plate. “Do I at least get something besides broth and those mushy vegetables Predula’s been forcing down my gullet?”

  Haranda chucked. “Meat rolls and dried apricots. And one of Silbie’s honeycakes.”

  “Feed away.” Adelsik opened her mouth in the direction of the steaming food.

  “You continue to surprise me.” She chuckled again as she dipped a meat roll into the gravy and put it to Adelsik’s mouth.