“I—I’ve come all this way.”
“My daughter, your journey was nothing compared to the distance you must travel to reach your own heart.”
“Please,” and the next words felt like pressing hot cinders against her flesh, “Lord Danato, I need your help.”
The orange teardrop stared down at her. “Over there. You will find Caio’s body.” Lord Danato stretched out his arm and pointed into the pitch-black bowels of the cave.
You won’t even light the way?
Coals burned red in a nearby pit, but they gave off almost no light. A steamy blackness hung before her.
“Is it safe for me to go in there?”
“Of course, dear Lucia.”
I will not trust you. But I’ll go.
“Caio?” she called.
Step by timid step, she inched into the cave with fear suffocating her spirit. “Caio?”
The darkness surrounded her as she stepped forward and committed to discovering whatever lay there. She heard Ysa’s voice inside her head: Lower yourself. Crawl.
Lucia dropped to the dank floor. The clammy dirt stuck to her fingers and knees as she clawed forward.
A hand grabbed her forearm.
She pulled back.
Lucia and Caio shouted each other’s names.
“Thank the gods you’re alive,” she said.
He crawled closer and embraced her. His wet body felt warm.
She yelled back to Danato, “You said he was dead.”
“I said, what if he was?”
“And why would you do that to me? Why?”
“Ah, dear Lucia. You ask your Lord exactly the right question. What did you feel when you thought Caio might be dead?”
“I hated you.”
“That is why you must go deeper. When you do, you will know the answer to your question. Go back to the root.”
Lucia locked one arm with Caio and stood, pulling him through the darkness. As they shuffled toward the red coals, Lucia pulled ahead of her brother and crossed her arms over her chest. She sat far away from the dim light. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Caio sitting by the pit, wearing his cremos robe and sweating.
“Lord Danato,” Caio began, “we seek your aid. We want to end the war. We want to heal our people of this plague.”
A howling gust extinguished the torches. Lucia could only see by the bare light of the burning coals.
Danato remained standing at the edge of the cave, staring off into the darkness. “And you would accept my assistance?”
“Yes, my Lord,” Caio said. “The truth is that we can find no other way.”
“Truth,” Danato held the sound at the end of the word, as if contemplating it.
“Lord Danato,” Caio added, “If I may make another request. I beg you, please give my sister release from her suffering. She is innocent—”
“Innocence has no part in it,” Danato interrupted. “Someone must pay the price.”
Caio walked closer to Danato and prostrated before the black god. “Whatever it is, I will pay the price for her. Punish me, please, but give her absolution.”
The god took two steps away from him to the edge of the cliff and looked away into the steamy blackness.
“Caio, stop it,” Lucia said, not wanting to move any closer to Danato.
“You sense the truth, boy Haizzem. About absolution.”
Lucia’s voice erupted, “You’re punishing me for something I had nothing to do with?”
“Misdeeds have consequences. Fairness is a lofty concept, Lucia. It will give you no benefit. But healing, that is something else.”
“You speak of healing when you don’t even let me fall asleep peacefully? I’ve been scared to get into my bed most of my life. Even now you come to me in nightmares and soak my sheets in blood.”
“Lucia, I do speak of healing. There are many things that gods cannot speak of without invitation. We wait patiently for you to speak to us.”
“You play with us,” she said. “What can we say to you?”
“I do what I must. I swore to Ysa to help you.”
“Nonsense!”
“Perhaps you will need time to consider your fears. Do you wish to find out the truth, Lucia? Caio?”
“Yes,” Caio said right away.
Lucia hesitated deliberately. “Yes.”
“Do you also wish to make matters right?”
Caio and Lucia agreed just as before.
“I’m proud of you, Lucia.” Danato turned to face them. “So it will be done. I ask one thing of you, royal daughter and son. You will receive news soon from Pawelon. I am sure you will do the right thing. Tonight, I suggest you enjoy your time together. Ride all the way until you reach the lake. The moon will be bright and you will remember it forever.”
Then came the silence, the black, and rest.
Ilario’s handsome face greeted Lucia as she opened her eyes. He seemed unable to find words equal to the moment.
Lucia’s hands went to her body, finding her cremos robe covering her and her arms still covered by her long gloves. She wondered how unappealing her face appeared after enduring Danato’s trials. She only nodded, trying to say, “It’s done.”
Caio’s glorious eyes made her smile a little and gave her some hope they had done the right thing.
“Whenever you are ready,” Ilario said, “a message has arrived from Pawelon. Their sage-prince has challenged you to a duel, Caio. He has proposed total victory in the war to the winner of the single combat.”
Caio examined his body with a look of shock, touching his chest and shoulders. “All my wounds have been healed.” His brow quivered as he seemed to accept the reality. “Lord Danato healed me.”
Chapter 41: Rites of Succession
VIERI WAITED FOR HIS SON at the highest lookout within the Rezzian camp, listening to the gentle wind. A white canopy provided shade for as many as a score, but Vieri paced the sunny western edge of the plateau alone, looking up from the ground now and then in anticipation of Caio’s arrival—perhaps Lucia’s as well—while weighing Prince Rao’s proposition.
Vieri stared at the western horizon. He blew up his cheeks and released the air. Pawelon’s citadel looked tiny and unimpressive, a false image created by the distance.
He removed his sandals and felt the desert floor with his hardened feet. Tiny stones rustled beneath him. Even the most jagged rocks couldn’t penetrate his calluses.
Contemplating the prince’s proposal gave him new hope, despite Rezzia’s bitter defeats the day before. After years of winless strategy, he wondered if his decision to surrender Dux Spiritus would finally tip the scales of history in his favor.
All your tests and tribulations, Lord Galeazzo, have they occurred to bring me to this moment? His heart ached to believe it was true. I am still full of faith. Yet uncertainty clawed at him from the recesses of his soul.
The soldiers far below came fully to attention, then knelt and prostrated. Caio passed between them and climbed the hill using the rocky makeshift stairs. He wore a long tunic down to his sandaled feet and a smile. Vieri waited, admiring his son’s easy gait.
“Thank you for coming alone,” Vieri said, posture erect.
Caio smelled of sweet orange and lemon. “It was difficult to persuade Lucia to stay away.”
“I can imagine.” Vieri led Caio to the smooth table beneath the canopy and they sat across from one another. Caio’s attentive eyes gleamed. “Do you understand what they have proposed?” Vieri asked.
“Yes. Their citadel if I defeat him, plus Duilio.” Caio untied the long scarf from his head and placed it on the table. “If I fail, Rezzia must flee the valley and accept an end to the conflict.”
“And if we decline their offer, Duilio will be hung.” The troubled creases on Caio’s face indicated he had not been told this. “Word has already spread among our men about their proposal. I assume their messengers told more than just our diplomats. As more of our soldiers find out, it becomes harder
for us to say no. The pigs know that.”
“The decision is even easier then. The only difficulty is that Lucia won’t accept it.”
Vieri admired his son, wondering how much longer he’d be able to gaze upon his well-formed face. He saw a young man with a pure heart, someone with so much left to experience, someone with the charisma to achieve anything on Gallea. His son was ready to make a glorious impact on history.
Vieri scratched his scalp near his hairline. “I’ve spoken with our leaders and they were almost unanimous in their support should you decide to fight him. I find myself hopeful that you would bring resolution to us all, but what great deception might they have planned? Tell me, how can I sanction an event that offers your life to their trust?”
“Father, Pawelon is desperate. They must think a fair battle between their prince and me would give them their best chance of survival.”
Vieri looked down to avoid his son’s gentle gaze. “If they are so desperate, Caio, it must be because they believe they cannot hold out forever. One would think that capturing our Strategos would give them the confidence to fight on. Instead, they are afraid to wage war.”
“Maybe they can hold out against us,” Caio said. “Father, after yesterday’s events, I have to question if our gods even want us to conquer Pawelon.”
“Of course they do! The gods test our resolve with setbacks. By overcoming these obstacles, we prove our greatness to them. No victory can be magnificent in the eyes of Lux Lucis unless the hero is constantly tempted by thoughts of surrender—especially just before he reaches his goal. You will see, throughout your life, just before you reach any summit, the gods will make the final leg difficult. That is when you must grit your teeth, set your mind to your purpose, and forge ahead. You are not a weak-minded man, Caio. You are my son.”
“I am not used to the gods testing me in this way. Perhaps you understand them more than I do.”
“I am quite familiar with their trials, Son. I also know that you will win this war, whether after this duel or after a glorious siege.”
“Then let it be with this duel.”
Vieri saw his son again, a man too kind for his own good, a man afraid to fight, even in self-defense. The young man was incapable of guile and far too trusting. He could never have wielded his power and influence if the gods had not favored him as their Haizzem.
“Are you prepared to kill a dangerous man? You cannot feel any sympathy or doubt. You must focus yourself completely on the task, shut out all feelings of compassion, be as merciless as an animal. You must harden your heart to his pain, his screams, his begging for life. None of that can touch any part of you. He must be like an object, a pig to be slaughtered. Can you fight like a man?”
“I can defeat him. Whether I live or die will be up to Oderigo and Mya.” Caio glanced to his right at the citadel in the distance, then turned back. “But I must ask you to hear me when I say this. After this combat, my wish is for no more blood to be shed. The fighting must end with me. Please hear my longing, Father. This is my prayer.”
Vieri groaned inwardly as he took a difficult breath. “If you control your emotions, you will not lose. Don’t consider any other outcome. The gods did not bring you to me so you could die a young man. You were sent to conquer Pawelon and to raise up all mankind. After you kill their prince, we will see if Pawelon’s promises have honor. They may not, but if you humiliate them they will never recover. You must choke the life from the rajah’s son and leave him with no heir.”
Caio leaned back in his chair with a sad look. “Lucia believes he wields a dark magic we cannot defend against.”
“That scum has assaulted your sister twice now. Don’t give him another chance to hurt her. You understand?”
“Yes. But I’m concerned she might interfere. If she tries to help me, Pawelon would be justified with any response.”
“You make a good point.” Vieri searched his mind for a solution. “I will keep Lucia close to me. Any interference from her would render your victory foul and disgrace us. If the war is to end here, no one else can have a hand in this fight.”
Caio’s eyes seemed to grow even larger, more sensitive, more dazzling.
Vieri looked into them and felt a wave of divine energy, losing himself in sadness and love. What are you doing to me?
Vieri looked away and covered his eyes with one hand. Guilt won’t even allow me to look into my own son’s eyes. He suddenly longed to clutch his son to his chest as he used to do when Caio was a motherless baby.
Caio stretched his left hand across the table and turned up his palm to receive his father.
Vieri considered it, but stood instead with his hands face down at the table’s edge.
“You will live, Caio. Later we will have time for celebration and emotions—after you fulfill your duty.”
“I respect you, Father.”
Vieri’s throat knotted as he swallowed and tried to hold Caio’s gaze. “And I you.” He fled down the stairs, choking back his buried feelings and memories, confounded by whatever Caio had done to him.
Chapter 42: Into the Night
RAO, AAYU, AND NARAYANI heard the news together. The Pawelon messenger spoke a flawless, high dialect of Pawelon as he read from the majestic scroll:
“I, the Dux Spiritus and Haizzem of Rezzia, address Rajah Devak, Prince Rao, General Indrajit, and the people of Pawelon. I accept your proposal for a duel with your prince. In three days as the sun reaches its zenith, I will meet Prince Rao in the center of the canyon, due east of your citadel. No man or woman from either nation may join us there, and only one of us will return from our single combat. Both nations’ armies shall be permitted to march close enough to observe the bout, under the condition that no other warpriest, sage, or soldier will influence the combat. Anyone found impinging on the contest will be turned over to their enemy to be put to death. Any nation resorting to such interference would surely be disgraced by their actions.
“Should Pawelon’s prince emerge as the victor, Rezzia will relocate its armies away from this canyon and away from Pawelon’s territories and interests, furthermore agreeing to a truce of no less than ten years between our nations.
“Should I be the victor, Pawelon will have three days to vacate its citadel and will return Strategos Duilio unharmed to the Kingdom of Rezzia. I will then relate to you our terms for your surrender.
“I look forward to a fair combat, one which I hope will lead to the end of the bloody struggle between our nations.”
The messenger tied up the scroll again and handed it to Rao. “The rajah and his general have already been apprised of Rezzia’s agreement.”
“Very well then.” Rao raised his fist in salute and the soldier bowed before exiting the chamber.
This is really happening, he thought.
Without having another moment for the situation to sink in, Narayani raced past Rao, dropping a note at his feet. She picked up both of her bags. “I’m going to stay with my father.”
Rao stared, speechless, but Aayu followed Narayani and grabbed one of her forearms, holding her under the archway. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t be here with him!” she said as her voice nearly broke with despair.
“Narayani—” Rao began as Aayu cut him off.
“Where are you going, Cousin?”
“My father will take care of me.”
“You’d better not—” Aayu began.
“Not what?” she said.
“If you go to your father, stay with him. Do we agree?” Aayu asked.
“Of course I will.”
Rao approached them with his arms open. “Narayani, you don’t have to go.”
“I do,” she said as Aayu released her. “Maybe I will see you tomorrow.”
“I love you,” Rao said.
Narayani turned away and raced down the stairs. Rao entered the stairwell and commanded his men, “Make sure she goes to her father. Follow her.”
Aayu looked down the
curving stairs and rotated his jaw in frustration.
“Let her go.” Rao waved his friend in as he reentered his chamber.
“Leave me alone.” Aayu clenched his jaw and two dour creases ran up his forehead as his eyebrows lowered over his eyes.
Rao thought better of trying him again. He picked up Narayani’s note from the dusty floor.
My sweet Rao,
Know that if you go through with this fight, it will be too much for me to bear. I do not know what I will do. I feel capable of anything. If you are reading this, then I have already left you and gone to be with my father. He will take care of me if you will not. If you want to speak to me again, you must talk to him first.
I don’t understand why no one ever seems to think about how their actions will affect me. You are yet another in a long line of such people that I have known. Is this my lot? It’s becoming too much for me.
If this letter should be the last time I communicate with you, know that I would have gone to the ends of Gallea for you. All I want for my life is to be with you, loving you, supporting you, being the only woman for everything you need. Ask anything of me, and I will do it. I ask of you just one thing.
Do not fight their Haizzem. Please, Rao.
Your love,
Narayani
Rao exhaled a defeated breath and sent his thoughts to her, hoping they would register on some level: Narayani, I’m sorry you don’t understand, but I am doing this for us. Wait three more days and you’ll see.
“Let’s get out of here.” Aayu walked up to Rao, still looking unusually frustrated. “You’ve got to clear your mind and stay focused. If we stay around here, Narayani’s going to keep you on this emotional ride.” Aayu put a firm grip on Rao’s shoulder. “Give her a day. Now, you can do anything you want. You’ve got three days of total freedom. What will it be?”
“Hm,” Rao tried to distract himself and change his mood for the better. There was no use flogging himself about Narayani, even though he knew she was miserable. He didn’t want to leave her alone, but at this point she wasn’t going to understand. “Let’s go to Lake Parishana. I’d like to see it.”
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