She quickly looked at the clock hanging over the fireplace. Even though she wasn’t very good a telling the time, there were certain times that she did recognize, and she saw that she had almost been too late. She curtsied to Ghalatea and gasped, “What can I do for you, Ancilla Princeps?”
Ghalatea laughed. “Did you have a late one last night? I’d wanted to take you with me when I left, but you were having such a good time with that young man that I decided to leave on my own.”
Lilith blushed.
The Ancilla Princeps continued, “You can go scrub the Great Hall. I’ll send some of the other maids to help you in a little while. We have all morning, because the hall is closed to the public.”
Lilith walked to a corner to get the things she needed. She put a tub on a cart and filled it with hot water. Then she grabbed a broom and a cloth and left the kitchen.
After Lilith had removed all the cushions from the alcoves, she threw buckets of water on the floor. She started scrubbing with her broom. The other maids came in, but they didn’t show any intention of getting to work. They were still full of stories about last night’s party. Then Lilith heard footsteps. Without looking up she knew it was Aida, she could always sense it when she was on her way.
“And what about you, Lilith, did you have a nice time as well?”
Before Lilith could answer, everybody started to laugh. In mocked surprise, Aida held her hand to her mouth. “Oh, how silly of me. Of course you couldn’t go. I’m so sorry.”
Lilith straightened her back and ignored Aida’s remark. “Yes, I had a wonderful night, thank you.”
“With the dishes, I’m sure,” someone sneered.
“No, in the arms of the most handsome man at the party.” That was how Lilith had heard the others talk about their dancing partners. “Unlike Aida, I was able to dance. It was wonderful.”
Just as Lilith had hoped, Aida was astonished.
“You’re lying,” she hissed.
Lilith shook her head and went back to work. She felt the smile on her lips and that made her even merrier.
She was busy changing the covers of the dirty cushions when Chrys walked in. Lilith was flattered because she realized that he had come especially for her.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked him.
“Splendidly, I dreamed of you.”
Her cheeks turned crimson. Then she saw Aida coming towards them. She was putting a surprising amount of weight on her left leg. Lilith had already been wondering why the maidservant had been limping the past few days. She was pretty sure that she hadn’t hit her left leg. Apparently Aida had been putting up an act after all.
Lilith knew exactly what Aida was going to say when she opened her mouth. Before she could actually utter the words, though, somebody else called out, “Aida, look at you being up and about again. Do you think you can resume your work soon?” Ghalatea entered the hall.
The maidservant immediately started limping again. “It really does still hurt very much, Ancilla Princeps. She beat me up badly.”
To Lilith’s great relief Chrys had his back to Aida, so he didn’t see the maid pointing at her.
“In that case you should really take a rest. Come, let me bring you to your room.”
Ghalatea carefully put her arm around Aida’s shoulders and escorted her out of the hall. Lilith heaved a sigh of relief as she threw a cover into the laundry basket and turned a clean one inside out.
“Are you busy today?” Chrys asked.
“I have to finish this. And I was to stop by lord Ferhdessar this afternoon, but he just sent me a message that he won’t have time for me.”
Chrys looked surprised, but Lilith decided to not give an explanation if he didn’t ask for it. The less she told him, the better. She pulled the fabric over a cushion and beat it against her knees a few times to fluff it up. Then she tossed the cushion into an alcove.
“I’ll ask the Ancilla Princeps if I can take the afternoon off,” Lilith said as she got ready to put the laundry basket on the cart. Chrys, however, beat her to it and she smiled gratefully.
“Will you wait outside for me? I’ll drop this off and then I’ll come out to tell you if I can be excused.”
Chrys nodded and walked out of the hall with big strides.
Not much later, Lilith walked outside. Chrys was waiting a bit farther down. “I have no more obligations for today,” she said as she joined him.
“Great, it’s nice to be able to spend some more time with you. I’ll have to return to the south pretty soon.” He pulled her cape closed. Then he gave her a penetrating gaze. “You are so special. I keep worrying that I’ll wake up to discover that it was all just a dream.”
Lilith averted her head in embarrassment. Nevertheless, she enjoyed hearing him say things like that to her. He had done so last night as well, when they were dancing. It seemed as if he meant what he said.
“What are we going to do?” she asked him. She hadn’t been out of the palace since she had tried to escape.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
She nodded, and he wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulders. They walked past the cage with the dead servus. His body was starting to smell already. Lilith glimpsed at it, but even now she found the creature intimidating. Chrys made a few remarks about the attempt on the king’s life, but Lilith didn’t respond.
They strolled around the city until they reached a small inn. The scent of freshly baked apple pie came drifting out an open window. Lilith stopped.
“That smells delicious.”
“Perhaps we should find out whether it tastes just as good.”
Chrys turned around and pushed the door open.
“I don’t have any money,” she objected.
“I’m inviting you, aren’t I?”
The inn consisted of a small room, causing the tables and chairs to stand close to each other. The walls were painted orange-red. Lilith looked around while Chrys ordered for them both. There were a few groups of other customers, but it wasn’t very crowded. On the far side of the room, a man and woman were whispering to one another. They were holding hands and their tea was growing cold. Lilith smiled and let her gaze wander through the room. All furniture was made of wood, there were tiles on the floor, and in front of the windows stood plants with big leaves and white flowers. The inn had a modest interior, but the delicious scent emanating from the oven gave it a homely feel. The oven was situated in one of the corners of the room. The pies were cooling down on the shelves over the oven.
“You used to work at an inn, didn’t you? Did it resemble this one?” Chrys asked, pulling up a chair.
Lilith shook her head. This was one of the few subjects she had been truthful about, so she gratefully elaborated.
“It was bigger and less cosy. But I did enjoy my time there.”
There was a brief silence when the tea and pies were served. Lilith took a bite of her apple pie. Her eyes started to gleam with delight.
“This is truly delicious!”
That made Chrys laugh.
“So, why did you leave?”
Lilith flinched. What was she going to say? One day her master had walked into the inn. She had known instantly that her carefree existence was over. She had reluctantly served him, and when he had paid her he had grabbed her hand and had ordered her to leave. Lilith had argued with him, because she had felt safe in that trading town where she didn’t stand out. Kasimirh, however, had made it clear to her that it was an order, not a request. That same night, she had told the landlord and his wife that she was leaving.
“Is there something wrong?” Chrys asked when she didn’t answer his question.
Lilith shrugged and looked at the pair of lovers behind them. They were still holding hands. Lilith did the same. “It was time to leave.”
“Time to move on.”
She nodded smilingly. It wasn’t exactly the way Chrys thought, but it wasn’t a lie either. He was caressing her hands now, but when his fingers moved in
the direction of her wrists, she pulled her hands away and started eating again.
“Working at that inn, I’m sure you met quite a few attractive men.”
“Never, I’ve never even met so much as one attractive man.” She averted her head but kept looking at him. “Except for you, of course.”
His eyes started to shine and his cheeks turned red. There was a wide smile on his lips. Lilith enjoyed being able to cause such a reaction in him. And it really wasn’t all that difficult.
“Then I guess that I should consider myself lucky for ensnaring this demanding woman,” he said earnestly.
Lilith swallowed the last bite of her apple pie and, disappointed, pushed the plate away. Chrys cut a piece off his pie and held it out to her. When she wanted to grab it, he pulled it away. He apparently thought this was very funny, but his laughter made Lilith angry. He held the piece out to her again. As soon as she opened her mouth to ask him what he was playing at, he shoved the pie between her teeth. His fingers softly touched her lips. Abashed, she put her hand to her mouth.
As if nothing had happened, he said, “I’ll ask my superior if I can take you with me next time. Then we can also visit Kandar. It must have been a long time since you saw your family last.”
Lilith stared into the distance without seeing anything. She wished he wouldn’t keep bringing up these subjects, but she couldn’t tell him that. He was much too curious and would surely ask why she didn’t want to talk about it.
“You’ll be able to see Myar again.”
Lilith bowed her head in sorrow when Chrys said his name.
“Do you miss your little brother so badly?”
She nodded. Chrys got up and sat down next to her. He put his arm around her.
“I’m sure he’s missing you too. Come with me, so you can spend some time with him again.”
“I’ll see if I can get some time off,” Lilith answered weakly. All of a sudden the inn felt oppressive. “Shall we get going?”
Chrys chucked some coins on the table and draped her cape around her shoulders. “Come, I know a beautiful place. If you’re up for a little more history, that is.”
Lilith laughed. She knew that he wouldn’t ask her questions if he could tell her stories. But she also simply was curious.
They crossed a narrow bridge, decorated with metal flower vines. Chrys stood still at the rail and looked hundreds of yards down. “Is this what it’s like when you’re flying?”
“The view is the same of course, but there’s also the feeling of floating.”
Lilith closed her eyes and felt the wind brush along her cheeks. She could tell by the smell of the air that it was going to rain later on.
“It must be wonderful to be able to fly,” he said.
She shrugged. Flying had never been a pleasant experience for her. “You act as if it’s extremely special that I’m a dragon.” She turned around and walked on. Only when Chrys grabbed her arm, did she stop.
He looked at her. “But it is, isn’t it?”
Lilith shook her head. “What’s the use? If I were to change now, people would panic and run away from me. And that would actually be a good thing, because there’s also a chance they’ll attack me.”
She could tell by the look on his face that he realized that this was true.
“Sometimes people are much too narrow-minded,” he grumbled.
Lilith laughed but she didn’t agree with him. She couldn’t blame the humans for thinking that way about her species.
The rock peak they were now climbing was uninhabited. The branches of the mighty trees were creaking in the wind. There weren’t many leaves left on them. A narrow track, which wasn’t much more than a strip of flattened grass, indicated that someone had been here not too long ago. But that person had been the first visitor in a long time.
A bit farther down stood the remains of a temple. The ravaged columns were overgrown with climbing plants, but through the overgrowth Lilith saw strange symbols that wound their way up the column. She traced the relief with her fingers. Chrys explained that this was the script used by the first shapeshifters to pass on messages to each other. In later times, they had used the symbols to embellish buildings.
“I’d love to remove all these plants to decipher what’s written here,” he mused.
“Can you read it?”
“A little, but it’s hard because these symbols are so weather-beaten. It would be so great to restore this temple to its former glory.”
They walked across cracked tiles until they reached a low pillar. Water seeped over the edges into narrow drains and flowed out of the temple, quickly swelling into wider streams. Lilith put her hands in the ice-cold water and took a sip.
Meanwhile, Chrys had found a nice spot in the sun, and she went to sit beside him. He pulled her against him and before Lilith knew what was happening she felt his lips on her mouth. What was going on? His arms were holding her tightly, but she nevertheless managed to turn her head away. He whispered that he was sorry. Lilith shrugged and looked up at him. Then she closed her eyes and brought her mouth back to his.
Lilith was relieved when he let go of her, but she could tell from Chrys’s eyes that he had enjoyed this strange business, which was nice.
He made a wide gesture at the nature surrounding them. “It’s beautiful out here, don’t you think?”
“It’s gorgeous.”
Lilith looked at the fountain again. Her eyes followed a stream that disappeared between the trees a bit farther down. She licked her lips. They still tasted a bit of Chrys. It wasn’t disgusting, but she nevertheless rubbed her mouth as inconspicuously as possible.
“This is the Fountain of Origin,” he said.
“The place where the world was created,” Lilith responded.
She knew that name from the stories her master had told her. Jakob had let a fountain spring from His hands. When the water trickled down His fingers, the world had been formed. It had grown bigger and bigger, because wherever the water went, land had been created alongside it. This place was named after that fountain.
Chrys looked at her in amazement. “Only very few people know this story. Who told you about it?”
“My, er, father.” She had a lump in her throat. Something inside her fought against calling Kasimirh her father, but she didn’t see any other way out.
There was a prolonged silence. Lilith closed her eyes and felt the sun on her face. Birds were singing and the few remaining leaves were rustling. Lilith started to pray. The more words she directed at Jakob, the more she felt as if something warm was wrapping itself around her. The feeling didn’t disappear when she opened her eyes. Lilith felt even more connected to Jakob than she ever had during a service. When she said this out loud, Chrys nodded.
“That could be right. In this place you’re literally in God’s Hands.”
“What?” Lilith shook her head. “No, that’s impossible. What do you mean?”
He started to explain: “Nadesh was built on ten rock peaks. Look, like this.” He held his hands up as though he was holding a sphere. Then he extended his fingers. Lilith looked on in growing dismay.
“You mean that Nadesh looks as if it was built on fingers.”
Chrys nodded.
“God’s Hands,” Lilith murmured. Then she jumped up and clasped her hands to her mouth. It all reminded her of something her master had often said.
“What’s wrong?” Chrys asked. He had gotten up as well.
Lilith shook her head. “I can’t explain, but I need to talk to Ferhdessar.” She was already running and she shouted the last words over her shoulder. Chrys yelled for her to wait, but she didn’t stop.
At the palace she almost bumped into Ghalatea. “Where’s Ferhdessar? I must speak to him,” she panted.
“He’s with the king.”
Lilith immediately turned around.
“You can’t just go there,” the Ancilla Princeps called after her.
Lilith didn’t listen. This was
too important.
On her way to Yvar’s chambers, Lilith encountered several soldiers. Yvar’s room was guarded by two members of the Royal Guard as well. Lilith threw herself between them and wanted to jerk the door open. One of the men grabbed her by the collar.
“I must speak with Ferhdessar,” Lilith stammered. She tried to pull free, but the man tightened his grip.
“You’re going to have to wait. Lord Yvar has indicated that he doesn’t wish to receive anyone.”
“It’s highly important, why won’t you understand that!”
A struggle ensued. Lilith kicked and hit everything around her. In the meantime she desperately shouted at the soldier to let her go.
Suddenly she felt cold steel against her throat.
“Stop moving,” the soldier who was holding the sword ordered.
Lilith stepped back and the man stepped forwards. Then the door was pulled open.
“What’s going on here?”
Lilith grabbed Ferhdessar’s arm. “I know what Kasimirh wants.”
Ferhdessar looked surprised. Then he motioned at the guards that it was all right. Lilith followed him inside. She caught sight of the king and quickly curtsied. “Kasimirh… Nadesh is the centre. The fountain in God’s Hands.”
The king gave her an uncomprehending look. “What’s going on?”
Lilith vainly tried to explain again. Yvar admonished her to calm down.
Ferhdessar pushed a glass of water into her hands. “First take a few deep breaths. This is about Kasimirh, that much I understand. But I’m sure it isn’t so urgent that you have to throw it out all at once.”
“It’s extremely important,” Lilith protested.
“We understand, but just drink your water first,” the king ordered.
Lilith tried to do as she was told, but because she was so upset, she couldn’t drink fast. With every sip, however, she calmed down a bit more. Ferhdessar took the empty glass from her and nodded, “Now you can calmly tell us what happened.”
Lilith explained how Chrys had taken her with him and what he had told her. “My master often said something. It always sounded cryptic to me, but now I understand. In God’s Hands lies the Fountain of Origin. The place where it all began will be the centre of the world once more.”
The Lilith Trilogy Box Set Page 19
