Desert Rising (22 page)

“You're telling me.” Lasha sighed. “Alta brought a fresh-­killed chicken to midmeal yesterday and dropped it at my feet. When I told her I didn't want it, she crunched on it the whole time I tried to eat. And, of course, I'd decided to eat at the hall between Ivanha's and Voras's altars that day. Alta managed to clear the entire table of acolytes and got blood all over my boots. I kept expecting a farmer to come charging in after him.”

Sulis yawned, and Alannah patted her on the knee. “When you're done, just leave the dishes by the stairs; the cook's helper said she'd check in on you. Get some sleep. I'm afraid the next few weeks are going to be intense.”

 

Chapter 13

K
ADAR SWAM IN
dreams and old memories. His father picked him up and tossed him in the air. His mother's smile flashed in her dusky face, long black hair caught in the wind as she ran to meet his father after the caravan returned. His father standing with his eyes closed, swaying, his face furled with grief when he returned to find his wife gone. Sulis with her fists clenched, her eyes angry, blaming everyone for their mother's leaving.

“Here, Kadar,” Farrah's soft voice said from a distance.

A spoon in his mouth. Warm liquid. His body swallowed. Kadar fought to control his body—­spit the food out, smile, do anything. But he was trapped in this cage with his memories and could only lie there as his body worked on its own.

“Can you speak to me, Kadar?” Farrah said coaxingly, bending and moving his arms and legs. “I'm right here beside you.”

He felt her breath against his ear, her whisper. “What if I tell you I'm pregnant? From our time in the warehouse. Will you come back to me then? I'm having our child. Will you not wake up?”

Kadar struggled with his bonds, gave a great heave, and felt something give—­but not enough. He was still trapped, and Farrah went away, leaving him in his memories.

T
HE
C
RONE PACED
her room, hands behind her back, as the Templar looked on. He'd just informed her of the latest scolding his soldiers had gotten from the Counselor of the One. While the Crone cursed him for attempting to interfere with the desert girl again, she was beginning to see a glimmer of a plan that would turn the mess between the deities to Ivanha's advantage—­and, consequently, to Voras's advantage.

“Is it not strange,” she asked the Templar, “that of all the pledges, Ivanha believes she will gain only one, in spite of the fact that she usually takes at least half of the female pledge class? When this class first pledged, Ivanha was expecting to take three of the five women. And the prospects also look grim for Voras.”

“It's that desert witch,” the Templar said, leaning forward. “We need to find a way to be rid of her.”

The Crone wagged a finger coyly at him. “Not so hasty, my dear. Think on this a little. Where have the pledges been meeting in secret?”

“Parasu's courtyard,” the Templar answered impatiently.

“Yes. Who did these sudden talents benefit at the barn last week?” the Crone goaded.

“Aryn. It was her stables the girl cleared of horses.”

“Yes, and Aryn's healer also interfered with your speaking to the girl when she came back to the Temple, did she not?” The Crone neglected to mention that it was really the Counselor who'd had the last word on it. She could see the wheels turning in the man's head and didn't want to slow the process down any further. “And Parasu is also denying you the right to punish these robbers and thieves, out of spite.” Here, fishy, fishy, the Crone thought smugly.

The Templar stood suddenly and paced away from her. He turned back. “You think that they're meddling with the pledge class,” he said. “That for all their yelling and protesting about us, they are actually turning the pledge class to themselves.” He thought a moment. “Do you have any actual proof?” he asked.

The Crone smiled serenely and sat at her desk. “Not yet. But the healers are dying to figure out what the girl did to save her brother—­who is still not waking. And I have someone in the pledge class who is already willing to serve Ivanha in any way she can.”

The Templar slumped into his seat. “But what will that do for us?” he asked with a laugh. “We can complain all we want, but there's nothing we can
do
about it. That's the reason Aryn and Parasu have ignored our meddling so long. All the deities are equally powerful—­no single Voice can overpower another. “

“We can refuse the Ceremony of Initiation,” the Crone said, steepling her fingers in front of her. “In order for the pledges to be taken by the deities, all Voices must be present or the Ceremony will not take place. It is in the Temple laws.”

The Templar stared at her, his eyes wide at the thought of such sacrilege. “But what would that get us? You can't force a pledge to accept a deity—­that's in the Temple laws as well.”

“Think a moment, man! If we interrupt the Ceremony for what is the other deities' most promising pledge class, we retain the greater numbers that we have amassed the past decade. They'll realize the strength of our numbers. They need these pledges, and the future ones, more than we do. Once they understand our advantage, we can bargain for what we want. With a human witness and at least some evidence of collusion on the others' part, the One will not interfere.”

“War with the desert,” the Templar breathed. “They'll have to support an invasion against the infidels.”

“And the increased tithes and taxes we've put in place. Our coffers will be full. Before the Great War, we had temples dedicated only to Ivanha and Voras, used to, teach followers how they need to live their lives to truly worship our deities, away from the interference of Aryn and Parasu. We could have that power once again.”

“How do you plan to get evidence that they are meddling with the pledges?” the Templar asked.

“Patience, my dear. Patience and watchfulness will always bear fruit.” The Crone smiled placidly.

“
Y
OU
ARE A
pest, Sulis, honestly,” Aggie told her, making shooing motions with her hands. “I don't know anything about Kadar, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you. This is between the healers and him. Let it be. “

Sulis growled something obscene under her breath. The healers wouldn't answer her questions about Kadar, so she'd made the long trek out to the stables to talk to Aggie even though she wasn't supposed to be riding yet. She'd used the excuse of accompanying Lasha to her lessons and wanting to see the progress on the new stable. The large center barn was nearly built, twice as large as the old one and with an indoor arena for lessons in poor weather. Some of the lesson horses had moved back in, but the majority of the messengers' horses were still stabled at Sulis's uncle's barn. The Hasifels had transferred their personal horses to the mules' stable. Aaron and the caravan had returned from the South and were now traveling to their Northern halls with the goods from that trip, leaving the stables empty. The Hasifels were being paid handsomely to care for Aryn's horses. Even better, that meant the messengers' horses were just a stone's throw from her brother's bed if she could ever get someone to take her there.

“But no one will tell me anything,” Sulis complained. “He may not be a pledge, but he is my twin! I thought Aryn respected that bond.”

Aggie's grim expression softened, and she patted Sulis on the back. “I'll talk to the healers and see what they say. Now stay out of the way while I torture Lasha.”

Lasha grimaced at Sulis and rode into the ring. Sulis sat on the edge of the fence and tried to ignore the sword practice behind her, knowing that Kadar should have been there with that group. She let her mind drift while Aggie gave orders to Lasha. Again, Sulis drifted to the city, finding her brother's body lying on his bed. Again she tried to touch his spirit, to find the life in him. And again she failed, as she had at every attempt in the past week. It was like there was a barrier there, some cage holding him from the rest of the world. And somehow she felt as though she'd put that cage there. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't get through it or dissolve it—­not at this distance.

This time she felt something else as well, some other connection to her brother. A string that led from him to a person beside him who felt female, but—­Sulis frowned and concentrated harder. It was to something inside that person, to another being! A baby.

Sulis didn't realize she'd fallen off the fence until she hit the ground with a thump.

“Sulis!”

Sulis sat up in time to see Lasha tumble off her horse and run toward her. Aggie looked around in surprise and followed her student.

“What happened? Are you okay? Good grief, you just fell off like you'd been arrow-­shot,” Lasha said, trying to make certain Sulis wasn't hurt and help her up at the same time.

“I'm fine,” she muttered, embarrassed. “It's just Kadar . . .”

“You little idiot,” Aggie snapped. “Quit using up your energy and leave him alone. You pledges have enough to do without bothering with things that no longer concern you. Lasha, take Sulis back to the Temple and leave her there. I've only got a few more weeks to make you a decent horsewoman, and you certainly don't need her as a distraction.”

She grabbed the reins of Lasha's horse and stomped off in the direction of the stables. Sulis and Lasha watched after her with wide eyes.

“Wow, she was mad,” Sulis said breathlessly. “Why are the teachers so tense about lessons these days? We'll still be here to learn after we're taken.”

“Sometimes a pledge won't be taken because he or she hasn't learned enough, and the deities don't want someone half-­trained,” Lasha said. “The teachers get blamed if that happens, and sometimes reassigned. Sulis, what happened?”

“Kadar has a baby,” Sulis hissed. “With Farrah. I couldn't reach him, but there was a lifeline from him to the fetus. I could feel a baby in her womb!”

“You still couldn't reach him, though?” Lasha asked. Then she looked up, and her expression changed. “Is there something we can do for you?” she asked, voice unfriendly.

Sulis looked up at her tone to find the viceroy's son standing over them.

“I just wanted to make certain Sulis was feeling well, Mistress Lasha,” Severin said politely. “And to see if there was any word of her brother.”

Sulis scrambled to her feet, ignoring the hand the man proffered. “Your guess is as good as mine,” she said. “They don't tell me anything.”

“And it is Pledge Lasha, not Mistress,” Lasha said bluntly. “I'm pledged to the Temple now.”

“I'm not likely to forget that, am I?” Severin said quietly, and bowed to Sulis. “Forgive the intrusion. Please accept my fond hopes for your and your brother's recovery.”

Sulis stared at his stiff receding back, then at Lasha. Red tinged the other girl's fair skin.

“Let's get back to the Temple,” Lasha muttered, and started off at a fast pace.

“Wait,” Sulis protested, as they weaved their way through the crowds. Lasha slowed, and Sulis caught up and walked beside her in silence a moment.

“You and Severin are both from first-­circle families, aren't you?” Sulis asked.

“Yes,” Lasha said in a clipped voice that left no room for further conversation. They parted ways at the entrance to Ivanha's altar—­Sulis to go off and rest, and Lasha to meet Jonas to review before a geography exam. The judicature was over, so the class was meeting again, and the teacher was stuffing double the amount of information into pledges, to make up for lost time. Hostilities among the acolytes seemed to be dying down, but the pledges still tried to travel in groups whenever possible. There was still a lot of rage simmering underneath the calm of the Temple air.

Sulis found Alannah studying on her bed at the dormitory, twisting her long blond hair around a finger as she read. Sulis plopped on the bed beside her and told her about the strange meeting between Severin and Lasha.

“Well,” Alannah hesitated, then lowered her voice. “They were handfasted—­they'd been contracted to be married as small children. It suited Severin fine; he really seemed to like her, but I don't think Lasha's ever wanted to settle and have babies. She took me with her when she went to get Ivanha's blessing before the engagement ceremony. She insisted we go first to the Temple of the One. I don't know if she had a feeling or if it was just wishful thinking, but we were each paired, and here we are. She seemed disappointed when Alta paired with her; I think she was hoping for a great snow
feli
like Tori's—­something that would assure her of travel and new things.”

“Severin must have been very disappointed,” Sulis commented, thinking of Ashraf.

“Yeah. But not even the viceroy's son can deny the One. Now go away. You may have visited all the places on the test, but I haven't. Go memorize the words of the ritual or something.”

Sulis went over to her bed and pulled her study book out of her trunk, trying to focus on the words of the ritual. It was hard for her to memorize. She usually chanted things out loud to get the feel of the words, but they weren't permitted to actually speak the words until the Ceremony of Initiation, when they were alone at the altar with the Counselor of the One and the Voices of the deities.

“Is it some sort of spell? Is that why we can't say it out loud?” Sulis asked Alannah.

“I don't know, Sulis,” Alannah said, irritation coloring her voice. “That's just the way it's done.”

Sulis took the hint and shut up, so the other girl could study. Her mind wasn't on the words of the ritual, though. She suddenly wondered if Severin had heard her comments to Lasha about Kadar's baby. She knew it was forbidden to marry a Forsaken, but she wasn't sure if it was forbidden or just frowned upon to have relations with one.

She couldn't warn Farrah and Kadar about Severin, though. Everywhere she and the other pledges went, acolytes of different deities were lurking, spying on what they were doing. They hadn't been able to meet as a group since the fire. The pledges very quietly went on with what they had been doing: Lasha meeting with the healers, Luella helping with the blacksmith, Shane going with Jonas to sit in on judgments. But they stayed in groups and tried to look obedient and humble. It was driving Sulis crazy. She wasn't able to get any news from the Temple of her brother's condition, or about Ashraf and the reason he had returned from the desert so quickly. And now there was this revelation—­Kadar with a baby.