Erosan's Tears

by Jason Scott Gleason

  And in that moment Raelyn knew: I am forgiven.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The first thing that he realized was how thirsty he was. He tried licking his lips, but his mouth felt like it was full of sand. “Water,” he croaked, to nobody in particular. He opened his eyes.

  Teldra was there, looking at him in wonder. Her hair was unkempt, her tunic stained, and her eyes had bags under them. Tears were floating there, threatening to spill over. He smiled, and his lips felt like they were cracking. “Hi, Teldra,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper. “You look like shit.”

  The tears spilled over then, and she laughed in surprise and relief. He was surprised when she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, resting her hand on his head. It was a terribly intimate gesture for her. “Welcome back,” she said, smiling. He didn’t know what was going on.

  He started to sit up, and the smile was immediately gone. “No, you lay down!” she snapped, but he pushed his way up to a sitting position. “You need to lay back and rest!” she was saying. “Damn it, Raelyn, you’re going to kill yourself!” His muscles felt tight and he felt a little weak. “Erosan’s tears, Raelyn, what is it going to take to get you to listen to me?”

  Raelyn stretched, cracking his back. He looked at Teldra. “I have something very important to tell you, Teldra.” His voice was scratchy.

  Teldra glared at him. “What?” The question came out more like a statement.

  “If I don’t get water soon, I’m going to stand up, walk out of this temple, and throw myself into the Alewine. And if I don’t drown myself, I may drink it dry.”

  Teldra looked at him for a moment. “I’m going to get you water, but if I find out that you’ve stood up out of this bed, I’ll drown you in the Alewine myself, vows be damned!” She turned and stalked out of the room.

  Raelyn chuckled, and pushed himself back in the bed so that he was sitting up against the wall. He actually felt good, except that he was terribly thirsty—and now that he had a chance to think about it, ravenously hungry as well. He felt like he hadn’t eaten in days. He wondered for a moment what he had done to land himself in the temple this time. He remembered a fight, something with Elotarn and Perinor. And Astal, who he suddenly remembered was Gray. Then the details started coming back to him.

  Raelyn looked down at his chest, where Illia had stabbed him. There was no wound, not even a scar. As if it never happened, he thought in amazement. Am I just imagining it?

  He looked down at his left shoulder, lifted his left arm. Where acid had eaten away flesh to the bone there was smooth, unbroken skin. He looked at the hand that he had expected to lose, flexed his fingers. For a moment he thought he had imagined all of it, but he realized with a start that he was burned on his chest, where his amulet of Thelorin had seared his skin. He touched it gingerly, and it stung.

  Teldra walked back in, a large, clay pitcher in her hands. She handed it to Raelyn, and he drank deeply. The water was cold and sweet, and immediately he started to feel better.

  “Slow down,” Teldra said, putting her hand on his arm. “If you drink too fast, you’re going to make yourself sick. Not that you’d vomit up anything but water. It’s been a while since you’ve eaten anything.”

  Raelyn set the pitcher in his lap. “How long have I been out?” he asked.

  “Three days,” Teldra told him. “That’s why you’re so thirsty.”

  Three days, Raelyn thought, giving himself a moment to let it sink in. “That explains why I’m so hungry, too,” he said, “but I don’t know if I can eat anything right now. I’d kill for broiled monkfish right now, but I’m kind of afraid to try eating anything—I don’t know what I’d keep down.”

  Teldra looked at him skeptically. “You run off to kill the assassin that’s been terrorizing the city while you’re already mortally wounded, and a little fish scares you?” She shook her head. “I’ll send for some bread. You should be able to keep that in your stomach. You’ve lost some weight, so you probably ought to eat.”

  “Lost weight? What did I miss for the past few days?”

  “Oh, nothing more interesting than a miracle,” Teldra scoffed. “For the past three days I’ve watched you heal from wounds that no man could heal. You were delirious when you got back here, and you had a fever like none I’ve ever seen. I expected you to die within hours of your arrival, and we brought in a priestess of Aletharin to see to your rites. But then we noticed that your wounds were healing. I watched the skin knit before my eyes, wounds that would kill anyone. You’ve had Erosan’s blessing, no doubt about that. Everything healed on your body except for the burn on your chest.”

  “That was where Perinor’s tormentor burned me with the amulet,” Raelyn mused, looking down for a moment. “I wonder what it means that everything else healed, but Thelorin’s mark wouldn’t.”

  “The will of the gods is mysterious,” Teldra replied with a shrug.

  Raelyn looked up suddenly. “How is Genevar?” he asked. Teldra’s face darkened.

  “Not well,” she said. “She may not survive. She was badly burned, and has taken a fever. The demons are in her now, and if she survives the fever she may still die from infection. Even if infection doesn’t kill her, her skin may never heal.”

  “I’d like to see her,” Raelyn said, and took another swallow of water.

  Teldra shook her head. “No chance. I’m not letting you out of this bed until I’m satisfied you’ve recovered.”

  “I just spent the past three days recovering,” Raelyn said, incredulous. “You think Erosan’s going to heal me from massive acid burns, a punctured lung, and only the gods know what else, just to let me collapse and die in his temple?” He set the pitcher on the table next to the bed and pushed back the blankets.

  “Erosan doesn’t give his blessings lightly,” Teldra growled. “You don’t want to take them for granted.” He ignored her and stood up out of bed. His legs buckled immediately, and he went down to his hands and knees. A cold sweat started to prickle up on his skin.

  He was light headed and dizzy, and took a moment to recover. Teldra was standing over him, saying, “Do you have any idea of how damned stubborn you are? You’re the biggest pain in my ass of any patient I’ve ever had. I don’t even know why I bother patching you up, not to mention why Erosan would waste his effort healing you when you’re only going to go off and do some damn fool thing and get yourself sliced and stabbed and gods only know what else.” Raelyn realized how ridiculous he must look, naked and panting with a Woman of Erosan chastising him for standing up. He rolled over to a sitting position and started to laugh.

  “You think it’s funny now, do you?” She asked him, her hands on her hips. Her anger just made him laugh harder. “You’re the most damned fool person I’ve met, Raelyn.” He saw her crack a smile, then start to laugh with him, shaking her head. “Nobody but you, Raelyn. Nobody but you.”

  He took a moment, then said, “Okay, I’m going to try standing again. I might need some help, though. Would you mind helping me find my feet? It’s been a few days.”

  He slowly stood, his right hand on the bed and Teldra on his left, helping stabilize him. Dizziness hit him again, but he closed his eyes and waited for a moment for it to pass. He opened his eyes again, and looked at Teldra. Her lips were set in a thin line. He could tell that she disapproved, but she had given up arguing with him.

  He took a tentative step, and then another. “I feel pretty steady,” he told her, which wasn’t a complete lie. “But I probably shouldn’t walk around the temple without any clothes on. If any of the initiates see me naked, they may die of fright.”

  “I’ll get you some clothes,” Teldra told him, and looked at him critically. “And a cane. You’ll need one, for at least a little while. But I don’t want you going anywhere while I’m gone,” she added. “Sit down and rest. It will be a lot easier to walk around once you have something to lean on.”

  Raelyn sat on the bed and Teldra left to get him some clo
thes. As soon as she was gone, he stood back up, taking tentative steps, careful not to step away from the bed. After only a half dozen or so steps, his legs were already shaking. “She’s right,” he said to himself. “I have lost weight. Even my legs look thinner. I look like someone who’s been bedridden for weeks, not days.” He sat back down, wishing he had a looking glass.

  Teldra returned after a few minutes with a shirt and a pair of breeches, as well as a cane. “These should fit you,” she told him. She had to help him dress.

  “I feel like a child,” he told her, and she scoffed.

  “You’re acting like one. Now stop fighting with me and do what you’re told.”

  Raelyn grinned, but he let her help him dress. “It’s a shame you’re married to Erosan,” he quipped. “You’d make a good wife.” That earned him a glare, which only made him grin wider.

  She handed him the cane. “You want to see Genevar?” she asked him, breaking the sense of levity. “Follow me. But you’re going to have to be quiet when we go into her room. She needs as much rest as she can get.”

  “I won’t bother her, I promise.” She must really be bad off, Raelyn thought, preparing for the worst.

  They walked out of the room and into the hall, taking slow, tentative steps. Neither of them spoke. Raelyn was soon fatigued with the effort of walking, and he was glad when they came to the door to Genevar’s room.

  Teldra opened the door and ushered Raelyn in. Two candles were burning, and it was so dark that Raelyn had trouble making out the form on the bed. One of the sisters was attending, carefully dabbing a wet rag on her forehead. Raelyn approached the bed.

  Genevar was laying under a sweat soaked sheet. One side of her body was exposed, where she had been burned the worst. Her one eye was closed tight, her face contorted unconsciously in pain. Gauze covered the pit where the other eye had been, and Raelyn could see a white salve smeared on her skin at the edges of the dressings. She was burning up with fever.

  He looked back at Teldra, whose lips were still drawn in a tight line. “Is there anything you can do for her?” he asked, but he knew the answer. They were doing all they could. It was in Erosan’s hands.

  “Raelyn?” he heard Genevar ask, and he looked back down at her. Her eye was open, but it was unfocused. He managed a smile, and then saw a tear start to run down her cheek. She hissed in pain, her eye closing tightly.

  “Shh,” Raelyn said, stroking her hair. “Yeah, it’s me, Genevar. It’s okay.” He heard her whimper.

  “Don’t look at me,” she said, her voice fragile. “I’m a monster. They’ve destroyed me.” Her body convulsed in a silent sob.

  “That’s not true,” Raelyn said, still petting her hair. “You’re hurt, beat up real bad, but you’re going to be okay. You’ll see, in a few months you’ll be just fine.” He didn’t know what else to say.

  “You’re a terrible liar, Raelyn,” she said, her lip quivering. “I’m not going to be fine, ever again. What that man did to me—“ her voice choked off into a sob.

  “He’s dead, Genevar,” he said, trying to soothe her with his voice. “He’s never going to do anything like that to you again. Not to you, not to anybody.”

  She nodded her head, sucking in air. “I know,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Rae.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry for,” he said, but she shook her head.

  “I should have listened to you,” she continued. “I made it to the temple, but when Trevan’s men came in, I got scared and ran. I should have stayed, asked for sanctuary. Then they wouldn’t have gotten me, wouldn’t have gotten you. I’m so sorry.” She started sobbing again.

  “It’s okay, Genevar,” he told her. “If I hadn’t come to save you, I never would have figured out who the killer was. But it’s over. The killer is dead, and it’s thanks to you.”

  Genevar shook her head. “I never talked though. I never talked. No matter what they did to me, I never told them anything.” Her eye was still closed, and her voice was beginning to fade.

  Raelyn felt Teldra’s hand on his arm, silently urging him to go. He leaned forward and kissed Genevar’s forehead tenderly. “I know, Genevar. Thank you. I will forever be in your debt.” The creases in her brow started to relax, and she seemed to fade into a fitful sleep.

  He turned and followed Teldra out of the room. After she closed the door, she turned and looked at him. “She feels guilty that they tortured you,” she said. “Whenever she’s awake, she tells us that.”

  “She doesn’t realize how much the city owes her. She doesn’t realize how much I owe her.”

  Teldra nodded sympathetically. “We can only pray that her eyes will be opened,” she said, then cringed a bit at her choice of words.

  “That’s very true,” Raelyn replied, ignoring her slip. “I pray she recovers—physically and mentally.”

  “Yes,” Teldra agreed. “Would you like to come to the kitchens and find something to eat?” she asked, changing the subject, and Raelyn suddenly remembered how hungry he was.

  They walked out through the main hall and into the kitchens, where the ladies were busy preparing the evening meal. Laina cast a bashful glance at him, and Raelyn realized that he was probably the only man who had been in these kitchens in years. Supper wasn’t ready, but she brought cold chicken from the night before and bread baked just that morning, and Teldra left him at a small table in the corner to eat. Raelyn devoured it with gusto, relishing the flavor.

  Once he was done, Raelyn relaxed for a few minutes. He was tired, as if he had not been sleeping for the past three days. He could hear the choir of Aeltharin singing in the square, and realized that the sun must be ready to set. He looked up at the high ceiling of the kitchens, to the small windows above, and could see light filtering through. Raelyn stood and, with the help of his cane, walked back into the great hall.

  When he stepped through the door he saw Teoryn, who seemed to be waiting for him to emerge. But he was a faint presence compared to Jethu, whose face lit up when he saw Raelyn. “Raelyn, you’re alive!” he shouted, pushing past Teldra and scooping him up in a bear hug, lifting him off of his feet. Raelyn struggled to breathe.

  “Careful, Jethu,” he managed to say, remembering Teldra’s earlier words. “Erosan doesn’t give his blessings lightly. I don’t want to take them for granted.” He glanced over at Teldra as Jethu set him down and saw her roll her eyes in disgust.

  “Gods, Rae, you have no idea how worried we were! We were told to plan your funeral, and six hours later they started telling us about the miracle! Is it true? Are you all better?” Jethu’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Raelyn couldn’t help but smile.

  “Yeah, just about,” he replied. “At least, the worst of it’s all better. I just feel like I was in bed for a month, instead of just a few days. I’m weak, and I’m real tired.”

  Jethu nodded his head. “I’ll bet you are! You’ve been through a lot the past few days! You’ve missed a lot, too!”

  “What happened?” Raelyn asked.

  “Honestly, not much,” Jethu said with a chuckle. “The rain’s driven everybody indoors, but everybody’s heard about what happened. They’re all calling you the Hero of Galavan’s Port! Even the Coscans in the city are calling you a hero, though we’ll see if they go back to the fighting now that the rain’s stopped.”

  “Wait, what?” Raelyn was confused. “Everybody knows what? And has it been raining the entire time I’ve been asleep?”

  Jethu scoffed. “Asleep isn’t the word I’d have used. More like in a coma! But yeah, a tempest blew in that morning, and it just stopped raining an hour ago. The people are saying it’s Erosan’s Tears, come to cleanse the city. It’s all part of the miracle of your recovery!”

  “Woman speak,” Raelyn said dismissively, but he wasn’t sure. People don’t recover from what happened to me, he thought. Jethu just laughed at him.

  “Be that as it may, many people are convinced,” Lord Teoryn said, looking intently at Raelyn. “I ha
ve informed the Council of Lords that you uncovered the plot between Restol Fethan and Katest Illia, and that you were aided by the rogue Gray. I explained to them how you confronted Lord Elotarn with the evidence and sent Gray to make sure I bore witness to the exchange. And they have heard how, even injured, you were able to kill Illia, although not before she murdered my father. The Watch is searching for Fethan now.”

  Raelyn looked at Lord Teoryn, astonished. “They know how… Illia killed your father?”

  Teoryn nodded, and fixed him with a level gaze. “I explained everything to them. Fethan’s treachery is all the people are talking about now. Who knows how many more would have died if you and Gray had not exposed their treason.”

  This is unbelievable, Raelyn thought. I killed your father, and now you’re lying to protect me? And Gray as well? Of course, your story preserves your father’s name and your family honor, and you will become a High Lord of the City from all of this.

  “Both of you have been exonerated,” Teoryn continued. “Your accusers have withdrawn their claims, and the Council of Lords has moved to have you knighted and granted with a title and a stipend from the city. They have put before a measure to the Chamber of Freemen. If you are truly blessed by Tuva,” he added with a wry smile, “it may pass by this winter’s festival.”