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

  With a mental cry that resounded inside his head, he yanked his Energy back as hard as he could manage, shrieking at the pain that slashed again and again at his hands and wrists. Taniras’s otherself suddenly gave it and both slammed back into their bodies with a speed that hurt his head. His hands and wrists throbbed and ran free with blood. He prepared to turn the Energy on himself to heal his wounds, when Taniras bolted up and bared her teeth. He barely managed to move out of her reach before she threw her head toward his neck in an attempt to sever his life vein.

  Snowy and the others grabbed the singer’s flailing limbs and forced her back onto the mattress. The noise that came from her throat sounded so animal-like that chills found Thad’s neck and he shivered. Wren didn’t even attempt to calm her. She was too far gone for that now. He shoved his way back to the fighting woman, ignoring Ved’mana’s attempts to restrain him, and pushed his healing Energy into her again.

  He found the life cord but something had wound around it, something older than he could imagine, primal and wild. He used his Energy and knocked at the thing, which smelled of strong musk. It bit back and he felt teeth sink into his right forearm. He cried out and the Energy blazed within him. Without hesitation, he sent his Energy out to slam into his attacker, so hard that he almost lost his grip on Taniras, who still thrashed and fought like a wild animal beneath his hands. In his mind, he heard an anguished howl and the primal beast receded. It was only after he pulled his Energy from Taniras that he realized the howling had also come from the two of them. His throat ached along with his arms.

  The singer lay spent on the mattress, no longer lashing out at any who got near, but her breath came in raspy tones.

  Ved’mana held Snowy back long enough to check Taniras over. Then he took Thad’s head in his hands. “You saved her, new-oathed. She’s weak but she’ll recover.”

  Thad nodded. He tried to stand but the room spun around him and he fell hard onto his knees. The last thing he remembered was someone calling out his name just as darkness folded about him.

  * * * *

  When he came to, a fire burned nearby and the windows were dark. He started to turn his head when the room spun.

  “Go slowly, Thad,” Xiath said.

  A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He took that advice from his former clan father and managed to finally sit without too much spinning. Just as his stomach started to protest the movement, the room became still and he swallowed back the bile that had threatened to come up. He was in his own cottage now.

  Xiath sat in a chair next to his bed. “Ved’mana says you need a few days’ rest.”

  “And nutrition.” Predula stood near the doorway and waved a servant inside and the man placed a tray with a steaming bowl onto Thad’s side table.

  Part of his nausea was from hunger and he stared longingly at the bowl until Xiath reached for it. Though Thad was a grown man, Xiath obviously wasn’t going to allow him to feed himself, much to his dismay, but hunger and weakness kept any protests under control. Faint, jagged pink scars snaked across his hands and wrists where his injuries had been healed. Two long, jagged scars meandered along his right forearm, one arc above the other. So, he hadn’t imagined the bites.

  “Taniras? The lass all right?”

  Predula smiled. “She’s awake. And very much appreciates what you did. In fact, just after you passed out, she began babbling in the language of the ancient texts. That mixed with Dumari.” She gave him a thoughtful gaze. “Which we really should begin teaching again.” A dismissive hand waved in the air and she smiled again. Thad thought it a warm smile, as Predula so often displayed, but she seemed a bit distracted. “The Vedi have had scribes engaged all evening to get her words down.”

  He relaxed and took a spoonful of stew from Xiath. He had to tell himself to chew as hunger seemed to grow with every swallow. Xiath continued to feed and Thad ate something that tasted like lamb.

  Predula beamed at him like a proud mother. “Looks like someone else has an appetite this evening.”

  Thad nodded. “Elemental magic spells. That what I think.”

  Xiath gave a grunt. “That’s what the Elders think too. Elemental magic was prevalent in the beginning of our world, used by the gods themselves. Seems Taniras witnessed the birth of the world and Cholqhuin’s capture through the wolf memories. Or rather, those of the ancestor packs.”

  “Yes. I felt that ferocity when I tried to wrench her free. Very—wild.” No other explanation seemed needed at this point, and he continued to drain the bowl then ask for seconds, which pleased Predula so much he thought her face would split in two with the grin she gave him.

  After he’d eaten his fill, weariness covered him like a thick blanket and he lay back on the pillow. Predula patted his leg, a habit she often had with patients. “You get some rest. We have quite a fight coming once the Vedi decipher those spells.”

  He nodded and a shiver found his bones despite the warmth in the room. Xiath gave him a sympathetic look and blessed sleep took him. However, nightmares seized him too, and he found himself running after Taniras and the ancient wolf pack, pleading for them to stop. Taniras, her teeth bared, turned and lunged at his throat.

  Chapter 24

  Every kin who could harness, and many who couldn’t, stood in the gardens facing the white dome that reached up like a giant half ball into the blue sky, and Saldia fought the urge to count them. Wren had offered to purge the need for counts, but Saldia chose to do this herself. With most events out of her control, she’d become increasingly agitated of late, which made her count even more. Kin, trees, birds, anything her eyes fell upon, she began to tally, and her concentration had suffered. She had until the next Solstice to quell her desire or Wren would use mind-healing Energy on her, which made her even more agitated, since she didn’t even know whether any of them would live to see next Solstice.

  Counting had been a way to pass many days of hard labor in the taverns, sweating in kitchens or over laundry tubs for as long as she could remember. Had this been any normal day, she would have concentrated on lessons and writing handbooks for future new-oathed kin, but this was no ordinary day. Today, with Taniras’s spells finally deciphered and the wolf singer recovered, they had only four days left to complete the raising. Four sunrises to win or lose the world. The kin would attempt to take any possible control of Cholqhuin from those idiot middlings, wherever they were. Right now, this very heartbeat, kin waited for Ved’mana’s signal to begin.

  Saldia couldn’t help the frantic pace her heart kept or the full feeling in her bladder, though she’d relieved herself only a short while ago. Tension pricked at her like hundreds of biting insects, all from her harnessing kin. Adelsik and Haranda stood either side of her with Cass and Pim directly behind. There was no need for any kind of link between kin. They simply needed to harness the Energy and recite the ancient spells together, those of forbidden elemental magic. Chants older than Saldia could fathom had been written on scrolls for each kin to recite. Those who couldn’t harness were to remain nearby and quiet during the raising. The Elders’ main worry came from whoever was already attempting to take Cholqhuin under their control. All but one of the seven signs had appeared.

  Taniras hadn’t gathered any more information on the Stone Troll so they had no idea whether it had thawed or not, whatever in blazes that meant. Saldia couldn’t imagine any icy statue remained in the temperate weather that had replaced the ice and snow, so she guessed the riddle had some obscure meaning, like most ancient prophecies. With the void still a tiny vacancy in the Energy now, thanks to Adelsik, the world had gone back to summer, or at least, every part of the world that been mapped. Only the Goddess knew what lay across the great oceans and beyond Impassable Mountains that stretched across the northernmost region as far as the eye could see. Perhaps the philosophers were right and only the end of the world existed beyond the great waters. Saldia shivered at that thought.

  Ved’mana stepped from the dome’s arched doorway wit
h Ved’nuri at his side. He motioned their son, Ved’emir, to take the steps below. The kin genuflected but Saldia’s eyes kept moving back to Ved’emir. He seemed older now, perhaps even older than she, and handsome in a strong, yet gentle manner, much like his father. When he glanced at her, she nodded in respect, which got a warm smile from him. Her heart picked up its pace and she let her hand drift to her belt. She still kept LePon’s carved bird in her purse and she glanced back at the large man. No one had ever given her such a grand gift and she still couldn’t part with it. LePon smiled and she relaxed a bit.

  Ved’mana raised his hand for attention. “Kin, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. Does everyone have a scribed copy of the spells?” Everyone acknowledged except the servants and the crowned man smiled. “Good. We’ll begin when the sun is at zenith.”

  He waited and Saldia’s eyes flickered between the sky and Ved’emir. Those black eyes stood out against the golden curls that hung to his shoulders. His dark body rippled with muscles of a man fully grown and in his prime, several years beyond marriage age. She shifted her weight and glanced at the sky again when Haranda studied her. The woman probably thought she acted a tavern wench again, but she didn’t. Something had changed with Ved’emir, something Saldia felt but couldn’t explain even to herself. She was drawn to him. But then, perhaps so were other women kin. The men certainly enjoyed Ved’nuri’s attention whenever she gazed at them. After all, the crowned woman was beautiful, and it was no sin to look, even at one of the Vedi. At least, Saldia hoped the Goddess didn’t mind.

  The sun was almost overhead now and someone touched her arm.

  Haranda smiled and leaned close to her ear. “He is a handsome man. Like his father.”

  “Haranda Banwidden. You shouldn’t say such things.”

  “I only tell the truth. You think Ved’emir won’t take a bride one day? Vedi or no, he’s still a man of flesh.”

  Saldia hadn’t thought of that. “Who will he choose?” She wondered which of the strong, kin women would become his mate. Probably Adelsik, who’d already been altered by the Goddess. Or Zarenia, who had learned to lead from a very young age. Or perhaps one who wasn’t yet among them. Gypsies lived very long lives and there were sure to be many more younglings in their future.

  “Only the Goddess knows.” Haranda glanced off to one side.

  Saldia followed her gaze and noticed Wil’keive staring at her former clan mother. Bel’keive stood near him, twisting the small, gold hoop in her nose as she watched the sky. The two were cousins it turned out and Wil’keive seemed protective of the new-oathed girl. He still wore two rings in his nose, one of his own and the other to honor the Hunter they’d lost.

  Haranda’s eyes met Saldia’s again. “Everyone needs a bedfriend at some point. Even former tavern girls.”

  She flushed, something she still did when Haranda teased her, though she didn’t know why. Grown men hadn’t made her blush in the taverns and they were a bawdy lot. But Haranda seemed very sincere. The woman had changed since becoming Wil’keive’s bedfriend. She didn’t agitate as easily, even when Lyssinya taunted her, and Saldia thought the Hunter good for her.

  “When this is over, Saldia, you should choose someone.”

  Perhaps her former clan mother might just find her a bedfriend if she didn’t do that herself. “I have someone in mind.” Master LePon had always taken a liking to her. And he was a gentle man, despite his mountainous frame. Saldia had heard Bankari men knew how to satisfy a woman, especially in bed. And if they married in Bankari fashion, she could take two husbands, since Gypsy law didn’t forbid that. She fought a grin at that thought and turned her attention back to the sky just as Ved’mana announced that they were about to begin. I’m not ready for this. I’m too inexperienced.

  The tension grew around her and she glanced behind at LePon, whom she could still see above Cass and Pim’s heads. His large hand waved assurances at her and she forced a smile for him before turning back. Perhaps a bedfriend might be a good thing. She caressed the little wooden bird in her purse.

  Ved’mana gave the signal and Saldia harnessed the Energy, reveling in the awareness that filled her. She didn’t feel as alone now with numerous heats pressing against her senses. The little Fetch tapped a rhythm on a stone just as they had rehearsed. The spells had to be recited together for best results. Even younglings and those weak in the Energy participated. They had only four days left to complete all seven spells, no chance for error.

  It took some effort for her to steady her hands, and her heart pounded against her ribs as she recited the translated words of the first spell along with her kin. Something in the Energy stirred as she spoke and she fought the urge to fall into it, to take in more than was safe. Though the Land of the Goddess was a safe place to harness, the use of elemental magic made the Energy unstable. The Vedi had warned them of this, but she found it more difficult to resist than she’d imagined. And she hadn’t expected it to happen right away. The stronger the Gypsy or Sage, the stronger the pull, yet the reality took her by surprise with every word that fell from her lips.

  Kin voices resonated all around and sounded as though they came to her ears through a thick blanket. The Energy thickened as well, something she felt but couldn’t explain, even to herself. After a while, her lips seemed to take on a life of their own. Her eyes stayed on the scroll in her hands but the words blurred and she blinked them into focus. The Fetch’s rhythm caught in her ears and she used those counts to keep her attention on the task. She recited each line of the spell in order then rolled the heavy paper on its spindles to see the next section of recitations, still part of the first spell.

  Before she could take in another breath, something sharp and hot touched her through the Energy and she yelped. Others around her made similar sounds.

  “Middling spells,” Ved’mana said in a breathless tone. “Abominations! Hold on! Keep reciting!”

  The pain receded a bit when Saldia took in an extra, insignificant amount of the Energy, and she could concentrate on her scroll again. She picked up her place with the others as she ignored what felt like bloodsuckers on her skin. The blanket feeling around her ears seemed to thicken until she could barely make out what the others said. She kept the rhythm, though, following along with the Fetch’s muted taps and kept eyes on the words.

  As they completed the first spell, another sharp, hot pain scrambled through the Energy to assault Saldia’s entire being, and she pinched her lips together but a scream found its way out. Her body began to sweat heavily and her clothes felt sticky. She fought the pain and glanced at her former clan mother. Haranda gave her a worried look. Saldia nodded then sucked in several breaths to ease the pain and continued reciting with the others, some of whom sounded strained to her ears. That’s when she noticed their voices were clearer, not as muffled as before, and hope renewed her with strength and determination.

  The second spell was longer and more complicated than the previous, and Saldia prepared her mind for the hot pain that was sure to follow. But as they recited this spell, she experienced something pushing at her, some force within the Energy. No, this came from outside, as though it tried to wrench her away from the Energy, separate her from it. The Vedi hadn’t spoken of such a thing and she gave a quick glance to Ved’nuri, whose shoulder touched her husband’s as they recited, neither looking up.

  Panic threatened until Saldia scolded herself and moved her eyes back to the scroll. The force grew stronger and her voice became strained with effort of holding onto the Energy and her continued recitation. Again, she glanced at the Vedi but they didn’t respond.

  Perhaps the feeling was in her mind, created out of fear. With each word, the force grew until she could barely hold the Energy. She feared it would seep out of her body and into the earth below. In a panic, she took in more, enough to strengthen her hold, and continued to recite the ancient words with her kin.

  Again, something tried to separate her from the Energy, and she felt as though she
were being torn apart from the inside out. She screamed in pain and frustration and took in even more Energy. Awareness spread like wildfire until she could sense the Means. It taunted her, pulled at her, and she longed to disappear through its doorway. If she hadn’t been surrounded by kin, she might have headed for the Means.

  Concentrate, New-oathed Saldia Trich! Your kin need you. The world needs you.

  When she glanced around, everything blurred and she couldn’t tell one kin from another. She held onto the Energy, barely, and sucked in long breaths to calm her racing mind and put panic at a controllable level. The urge to count was overwhelming at first, and she forced concentration on the Energy. It worked and soon her eyes cleared enough to make out Ved’nuri. The crowned woman’s worried gaze studied her now as those lips moved with recitation. Saldia glanced at her kin again, and realized that Henny had a hand on her shoulder. The girl must have helped pull her back just by her touch. Henny squeezed when Saldia nodded. The girl’s weaker Energy protected her now, just like when they were in the Means.

  Saldia forced eyes onto her scroll until she found where her kin were in the recitation and she joined in again. With so much Energy surging through her now, the pressure to separate her from it seemed a distance annoyance, and she relaxed into the rhythm of the spell, using the Fetch’s taps in place of counts, the rhythm soothing her mind.

  The words flowed from her as they approached the end of the second spell, but when she began the last line, something knocked her on her backside and the Energy threatened to retreat. She held on, barely. Someone helped her up.

  Once on her feet again, fear and anger swelled until her hands shook and she could no longer hold the scroll steady. Large, male hands steadied her grip. LePon stood next to her. She didn’t attempt to speak to him, only concentrated on the end of the recitation. As she read the last word with her kin, the same force slammed into her, knocking her into LePon’s thick body. He didn’t budge, but rage welled in Saldia and she felt the direction of the force, coming through the Means. Instinctively, she shoved back with her Energy, using anger, frustration and every other emotion to fuel her strength.