City of Gods [Book 3 of the Teadai Prophecies] Page 32

  Something gave, like a leather maker’s awl through animal hide, and the Energy belonged to Saldia again. She felt eyes on her and glanced at the Vedi. Ved’nuri gave her a quick nod of approval. She took strength from the crowned woman’s endorsement and leaned into LePon, who held most of her weight now.

  Ved’mana allowed everyone a few heartbeats to prepare for the third and final spell they would recite today. That’s when Saldia noticed the sun was already much lower in the sky. The servants around them looked tired and her legs and feet felt fatigued. Had they recited that long? It certainly hadn’t felt that way. She glanced at Haranda, who watched her now, and the woman raised questioning eyebrows. Saldia nodded her well-being to her former clan mother.

  Haranda gave her a tiny smile and turned her attention back to the Vedi.

  Saldia took in a deep, cleansing breath in preparation for the third spell and began on the Fetch’s fourth tap, along with her harnessing kin. This spell, even longer and more complicated than the first two, began without interruption. Whatever had slammed her off her feet didn’t try to separate her this time. Or so she thought. Not three lines in, the force came with a vengeance and she staggered, using LePon to balance herself. Spit and determination kept her from releasing the Energy. A wave of dizziness caused everything around her to spin for several heartbeats, not enough to make her wretch, thankfully, but enough to make her swallow hard. She forced her attention on the ancient words, and noticed two sets of women’s feet move closer.

  LePon held her with strong hands. He wouldn’t let her fall, so she relaxed into the rhythm again and the force receded. Fatigue built as this spell continued, but Saldia didn’t dare draw in more Energy. Instead, she called on inner strength, like she’d done many times as a tavern wench, and inhaled as she recited the words, a trick one of her cousins had taught her so long ago. The words came out in whispers but they came, and she did this thrice before her mind cleared enough to ignore the fatigue.

  At the fourteenth line, the force attempted to separate her from the Energy again, and she felt as though she held onto it with the edge of her fingernails, or perhaps her toenails in this case, since the Energy threatened to seep out her feet and back into the ground. Instinct caused her to curl her toes into the grass and recite through clenched teeth. LePon’s arms held her steady and she would have fallen to her knees long ago if not for him.

  She ignored pounding against her skull and blinked several times to clear the words in front of her. A woman’s hands steadied her own now. Had they been shaking again? Kin recited the next two lines and on to the seventeenth, only three more after that, and Saldia assured herself she would make it to the end of the recitation.

  Line eighteen of the third spell came and went before she even realized, but she had spoken it along with her kin. Nineteen seemed much tougher, like forcing words through a mouthful of cloth. Her throat felt dry and sore, as though she had swallowed sand, but she forced the words out. When they came to line twenty, the final, her legs gave out completely and she relied on LePon to keep her upright. A woman’s hands kept the scroll steady enough for her to read, and another set of hands held her flopping head in position.

  Sudden fire ripped through her chest and the Energy tried to escape again. She cried out and screamed the final word of the spell before blessed darkness closed about her.

  Chapter 25

  Thad stayed by Saldia’s side, sleeping in a nearby chair, and awakened just as the night meal bells rang. The fire still blazed in the hearth and three wall lanterns burned strong, which sent dancing shadows across the small cottage. He thought of putting out the lanterns to darken the room, but he preferred to see with his eyes as well as the Energy when tending a patient. Saldia still slept, curled on her side beneath the covers, breath deep and steady, and Thad relaxed. He simply watched her.

  Ved’mana had looked her over after her collapse and said that she was exhausted but otherwise healthy. Despite the cries Thad and the other kin had raced toward after they ended the third spell, no harm had come to Saldia. The sun had begun to set by then, something that still surprised him. He was tired from today’s efforts, as were many kin, but no one suffered as much as Saldia, not even Elder Siri, and the woman outranked everyone in both age and Energy.

  After the Vedi had Saldia brought to her cottage, Thad insisted on sitting with her. In fact, he checked her with his own healing Energy twice, only to find Ved’mana had been correct. Saldia simply slept off the fatigue. Not that he doubted the formidable leader but he needed to see for himself. This woman had once been like a sister to him, wrangled by Haranda.

  He watched her a long while then stood when the cottage door opened.

  Haranda stepped quietly inside and dipped her feet in the washbasin near the door. “You must get some food and rest, Thad. I’ll sit with her. Predula will be by later to check on her.” She made her way to Thad and led him by one arm to the door.

  Since there was nothing he could do for Saldia, he decided to take Haranda’s suggestion. Besides, the Gypsy would make it an order if he refused. So he nodded then chuckled when his stomach rumbled. “Yes, Haranda. That a fair suggestion.” She gave him a warm smile.

  He slipped quietly out the door and she closed it behind him. The cool night air seemed refreshing and he took in a long breath as he stretched weary muscles. He had stood from midday until the sun sat low in the sky, reciting spells. How that much of the day could slip by during such a short recitation, Thad still hadn’t figured out. The Vedi explained that dealing with elemental magic was much like being in the Means. The sun moved on, while those inside took no notice of how many days passed.

  Luckily, they hadn’t lost days. The servants saw the sun’s movement, even if those reciting didn’t.

  Thad let his eyes adjust to the dimmer light of the fire pits and torches as he gazed around. Cass sat at one of the tables with Kal, Adelsik and Henny, and he made his way toward them.

  “Evening lasses. Mind if I sit?”

  Henny smiled up at him. “We’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

  He thought her quite pretty with her blonde hair waving down her back. He’d never taken an interest in Henny, other than that of older brother, but she had changed since her long sleep. She seemed older, more self-assured. But she was still a youngling, off limits to any who took an interest in her.

  Just as Thad sat across from Cass, a servant set a plate and utensils in front of him and he thanked the woman. He dished what he wanted from the bowls and platters. “Quiet here tonight. That a fact?” He pushed a forkful of meat pie into his mouth.

  “Most have gone to their cottages,” Henny told him. “Especially those who’ve paired off.” She gave him a sly grin and raised a humorous brow.

  Adelsik clicked her tongue. “Henny Iven Jesik.” Henny turned to the slumberer with a patient look on her face, not the frantic snap of her head Thad remembered when anyone used her full name. “That’s not your concern, youngling.”

  “Oh, really, Adelsik. I’m just as much a woman as you, and I do have eyes.” She leaned toward Thad. “However much Mother Haranda wishes I didn’t.”

  He chuckled. Yes, this lass had definitely grown up.

  “How’s Saldia?”

  “Sleeping. Probably be up in the early morning. When hunger moves her gut.”

  Kal cocked her braid wrapped head. “I don’t doubt that. Those bloody spells made me famished.” She dropped more meat pie onto her plate and began to shovel it into her mouth.

  Adelsik gave her a suffering look. “Kal, you really should guard your tongue.”

  “The babe younglings are in bed.” Kal grinned. She meant those who’d recently grown to adulthood when they stepped into the Land of the Goddess, though their minds were still children. Kal turned her focus back on Thad. “Do the Vedi know why Saldia took the spells so hard?”

  “They didn’t say.”

  Henny gave him a worried look. “Will she be well by tomorrow’s reci
tation?” She bit into a roll.

  “I didn’t find anything wrong with her at my last check. She strong, that one. In body and Energy.” He grinned and balanced a forkful of meat pie. “Don’t think a power in this world could keep her from the recitations. That a fact.”

  Kal laughed and swiped a napkin across her mouth. “Saldia can be as stubborn as Taniras when she wants to.”

  Thad was a bit disappointed Cass hadn’t said anything, though she’d watched the exchanges as she ate. He studied her now as he pushed another forkful into his mouth.

  Soon the women finished and Adelsik nudged Henny. “We should get to the bath house. You coming, Kal?”

  “What?” Her braid-wrapped head flipped between Thad and Cass for an instant and she cocked her head. “Of course.”

  They took off in a flurry, much to Thad’s relief, and now he and Cass sat alone, torch light flickering all about.

  “Ebbi doing all right?” That anyone would use children in taverns boiled his blood.

  “She’s still a bit awkward in her new body but she enjoys being taller. The cooks have taken her in. Turns out she’s talented in the kitchen.”

  “That a strong little lass.”

  “Yes. Stubborn as any Elder.” A smile flicked across her lips.

  Thad’s heart jumped but he forced himself to keep patient. Cass’s root years had been tough on her. “This a very good meal.” He shoveled another forkful into his mouth.

  “Silby had her hand in it.” She smiled again and Thad’s heart hammered against his ribs.

  He ate a few more bites as Cass finished and served herself another plateful. Her low cut tunic revealed well-developed mounds as she reached over the table to the various dishes, and he didn’t hide his gaze. She wore her knives now, had ever since becoming new-oathed, but her hand didn’t drift to any. Thad especially liked how the curved handle of the bosom knife protruded through her cleavage.

  She sat and gazed at him. “Like what you see, Thad Macwinnough?” There was no anger in her voice.

  “I always enjoy looking at you, Cassbet Legrange.” The use of her full name was something that irritated her, so he raised a palm. “My apologies. Cass.”

  She grinned. “Accepted.” She glanced around. No one was near their table. “You wish to bed me.” Thad was taken aback by her bluntness and his loins heated. “I’m not upset. You’re different than the men I knew as a child. And I know you’d never try to harm me.”

  Of course she did. The woman was a truth-seeker with the ability to sense harmful intentions.

  “I would never hurt you, Cass. That the truth. And, yes, I’d like to bed you.” There, he had finally admitted that to her. Why had it taken so long to do so? He was a grown man, after all, four years beyond marriage age, and she a full-grown woman. “I also would like to have you for my wife.” His tongue seemed to go all on its own now.

  She cocked her head, much like Kal always did, and gave him a warm smile. One hand reached across and covered his. Her fingers were warm against the coolness of his own and he turned his palm up and gripped her hand in his.

  “Of all the men I’ve ever known, you would be my choice for a husband.”

  His heart leapt. But something in her eyes told him there was more. “That not all you have to say.”

  “Oh, Thad.” Her face screwed in misery now and she pulled her hand back. “I don’t intend to hurt you. But—”

  “What? You ill?”

  “No. Nothing like that. It’s just—I—I prefer a woman’s company.”

  Her words slammed into his gut like an anvil and he tried to hide the disappointment. “You certain?” That sounded idiotic once the words left his lips.

  She gave a rueful smile. “Yes. I always wondered why no man attracted me that way. Why I loved bantering with them, telling ludicrous jokes, but never bedding any. I thought it was because of my root father. What he’d done.”

  No malice colored her voice now. Cass’s root father had received the ultimate punishment any middling could possibly get from the Elder’s Council, death, and his body disposed of shortly afterwards. Cass hadn’t even wanted to attend the burning. In fact, no one was there, except for a few servants, who attended the pyre and buried the ash and charred bones afterwards.

  She shifted in her seat and brought Thad’s attention back. “You couldn’t give me a chance?” Did he sound desperate? He didn’t care. “I love you, Cass. Since the first day I saw you. That a fact.”

  “I know. Well, I didn’t suspect back then. But Henny has a way of letting people know when they miss things.”

  Despite his fallen heart, Thad smiled. That little lass was the most observant woman he had ever known. Even Taniras, with her infallible memory, didn’t see all that Henny noticed.

  “I’ve pushed away my true feelings long enough, Thad. Please, don’t hate me for this. I can’t change how I feel, anymore than you can. After my obsession with my father was over, well, I finally relaxed enough to admit someone into my life. I’m sorry I don’t feel the same for you. We would have made one formidable Gypsy couple, you and I.”

  “That a fact.” He fought to keep his face still and tears from his eyes.

  “You’ll always hold a special place with me.”

  She touched his hand again and his heart jumped. He turned a sob into a laugh and wiped his hand across his brow hard enough to force the tears back. “As will you, Cassbet Legrange.” He didn’t apologize for the use of her full name now and she didn’t seem to mind.

  “I know. And I love you for it. If this is too difficult for you, Wren can purge the feelings.”

  He nodded. Wren could do just that. He might visit her if he couldn’t quell the pain himself. But not just yet. “Thank you for telling me. That very honorable in a woman.”

  “I would’ve told you sooner but I was confused myself. Not knowing exactly what I felt or why.”

  New-oathed Adsagwen Becumarhod walked up, the silver bangles on her numerous braids tinkling together. The woman had been an assistant in many of Thad’s youngling classes.

  “Hello, Thad.” Her smile revealed a single crooked tooth among straight ones. He could see it even in the dim light.

  “Gwen.”

  Cass stood and he caught the knowing look between the two women. “Remember what I said about Wren, Thad. Be well.” She hooked an arm in Gwen’s and the two walked off into the shadows.

  Thad stared after them then back at his plate, which didn’t seem appetizing now, and he pushed it away. He rose and crossed to his cottage. Just before he went inside, a youngling woman with a very pretty face smiled at him. He forced a smile and stepped inside his door. As he dipped his feet into the water basin, tears spilled down his cheeks.

  Chapter 26

  The fourth spell was short, the ache that accompanied it tolerable, and the kin prepared to continue with the fifth spell. Haranda stood with the others outside the dome as she rolled her scroll to see the next recitation. The sun had moved low in the sky and she wondered whether the fifth spell could be completed before the great orb set.

  Wil’keive stood beside her, steadying her when the spells became intense, but no one felt pain and suffering like Saldia. The girl was near exhaustion and had cried out with pain that seemed to elude the rest of the kin. Saldia had slept most of the previous night while the healers took turns checking in on her. She ate like a famished beggar at morning meal. Predula had given her a once over and proclaimed her fit as a mule, yet something nagged at Haranda. She couldn’t put her senses on it, though.

  Something bothered Ved’nuri too, yet the crowned woman refused talk about it, even when she and Haranda took tea before midday meal. Ved’mana insisted Saldia had recovered and was in no immediate danger. Haranda had never questioned the Vedi like she had today, but she didn’t regret that action and planned to keep close watch on her little shade walker. The girl had been her clan daughter and she still felt responsible, despite Saldia’s current age and status among th
e kin.

  Tension pricked at her like a thousand biting ants and she studied the Vedi again. Neither looked at her, which seemed to be their habit of late. They stood just inside the doorway, as usual, so they could tap the Energy through the dome for added strength. There was a large, ball crystal somewhere behind, even though she couldn’t see it from here. Her gaze shifted back to the shade walker and she frowned.

  “You worry like a mother hen,” Wil’keive said into her ear. “LePon is a great man. He won’t allow Saldia to come to harm.”

  She gazed up into Wil’keive’s dark eyes and offered a tiny smile. “Yes, I know. But I still worry. She was my clan daughter.”

  “Yes. But she’s a woman. Now concentrate on the spells so we can be together again tonight.” His dry lips stretched into a grin.

  “Is that all you think about?”

  “Yes.”

  She chuckled. They had taken each other with fervor last night, and the feelings Haranda experienced left her wanting more. She took in the Energy, forcing the warmth from her womanhood. Awareness grew and she took comfort in the numerous heats from her kin.

  The Fetch began clapping the rock with his stick again, and Haranda focused her attention on the task and began the recitation along with her kin. Adelsik stood nearby with Henny, and she could hear the girls’ soft voices, along with Tsianina’s island lilt. No need to shout the spells, a simple whisper would do.

  Pressure built against her ears and she fought through the thickness to hear the Fetch’s rhythm. They moved on to the second and then third lines of this spell, the last recitation until tomorrow. Two more days left. Just when she thought they might get through this one without fanfare, Saldia screamed. Haranda fought to keep her eyes on the scroll when she heard the girl pitch to the ground in front of her. Soon the shade walker was on her feet again and her strained voice pushed through the thickness to Haranda’s ears. Thank the Goddess!