Ott squinted, then sighed just a bit. There was recognition in his eyes, just as Ren had hoped. He seemed to recognize the disfigurement.
“We share more than just our father’s blood, don’t we?” Ren asked. He was already rewrapping the glistening hand. It glowed faintly beneath the cloth.
Ott appeared to be lost in thought, or possibly at a loss for words. Ren went ahead and prompted him. “Your arm?” he asked. “The shriveled arm you conceal—does it look like this hand?”
Ott shot him a reluctant glance.
“Will you show it to me?” Ren asked.
“I’ve never really … I…” Ott stuttered a bit.
“It’s all right,” said Ren. “I simply want to see it. I need to understand what’s become of me.”
Reluctantly, Ott pulled back his sleeve. He removed the leather wraps and the padding. The process was slow, but the boy needed only reveal a bit of the arm, and that’s what he did. It was all Ren needed to see. For there, on Ott’s withered arm, Ren saw the same flesh that was not flesh, the same shining, starlike glimmer.
“How?” asked Ren. “I was told you were born a cripple.”
“A cripple?” asked Ott. “What a strange way to describe me. No, I was never a cripple. This arm is a miracle or something like one.”
“Can you explain it?”
Ott shrugged. “I’ll never know for certain, but I’ve made guesses. Perhaps, during my birth, my life was in jeopardy. I had not yet been born, but I must have had instincts. Maybe I made use of the power that lay dormant in my blood. I survived death, but I paid a price.” He nodded toward his withered limb. “It’s all just guesses. The arm was hidden at birth and I’ve kept it covered ever since.”
“Surely some have seen it.”
“Why do you think Sarra fled Harwen? When I was younger, I feared the thing. I dreaded what it might do to me. Would it overcome me, would this flesh that was not flesh consume my whole body? What would I become? I still have questions. It moves and grows; it flickers with the same life I saw in the statues of the Soleri. I’m not crippled. There’s power within the thing, within me.”
“I know. I’m a bastard twice over. Son of Arko, child of the gods. We hold some bit of their blood—but what does that mean? And why did my flesh change? Is it growing or withering? Are we meant to be men or gods? And what does that word, god, mean? I don’t know. I wish we hadn’t lost Noll in the Hollows.”
“He may yet live.”
“Then we’ll find him.”
“Perhaps. The twelve you set free—where did they go?” Ott asked. “I saw them dissolve into light, just as the gods were said to do when they passed. They’ve returned to Atum?”
“Don’t know. They could be anywhere. And what about the twelve in the temple?” Ren asked.
“It’s destroyed. My priests spent the day sifting through the ruins, looking for signs of life, pieces of black statues. They found nothing.”
“You won’t find them,” said Ren. “I feel it. You won’t set eyes on those statues and you won’t find Merit, either, not yet. My sister has found some other calling. I sense it. Her reign is done for now, and I’m going home, leaving at dawn so we can reach Harwen by nightfall.”
Ott looked at him askance. Perhaps he wondered how Ren was certain of such things, but he didn’t ask and Ren made no effort to provide an answer. In truth, he had none. In that brief span, when he’d made contact with the twelve children of Pyras, he’d seen all sorts of things, the past, the present, and things that had not yet come to pass. It was as if the writing on a thousand scrolls was read to him at once. There was simply too much information in his head, but the memories came to him now and then, in pieces, slowly providing answers when he least expected them.
Ott cleared his throat. “Off to Harwen?”
“Posthaste.”
“Well, at least you have somewhere to go. This place is destroyed and I’m finished with Desouk. Too many memories.”
“Of your mother?”
Ott bowed his head. “They never found her body, but more than one man said they saw her torn to pieces. Others claim she survived. They once called her Twice Blessed, and I fear she’s done it again, blessed once more by the gods. They found no body.”
“She’s alive?” Ren asked.
“Sarra once told me that she never entered a room unless she knew two ways to get out of it, preferably three. I doubt she met her end in that tower. She escaped Mered. It’s hard to believe that some pesky mob put an end to my mother. Every priest in Solus is searching for her, but we’ve found no trace.”
“Never met the woman—not my mother, and you know my thoughts on the subject. It’s no time to repeat them.”
“Fear not, I’m done being a priest.”
“Good. They’re a boring lot.” Ren moved to pat Ott on the back, but he recalled that Ott did not like to be touched. Words would have to suffice.
“Come with me to Harwen. While the world is at peace, for as long as it lasts, I want to eat and drink. I want my freedom and the kingdom I fought to rule. Come. We’re both strangers in Harkana. Let’s ride there together and see the King’s Hall. Let the sons of Arko share in the joy of our return. You fled the kingdom and I was stolen from it.
“I was a stranger when you met me, but you showed me more kindness than any soul I’ve met. I claim the title you own, but you’ve given it to me and granted me your friendship as well. I cannot know your mind or even understand it, but the crown is yours as much as it is mine. Let us walk jointly into the Great Hall and stand before the Horned Throne. I will be king and you will be my counsel in all matters, but we will be brothers first.” He moved to embrace Ott, and for once the boy allowed it. Ott reached out with his good arm and gripped Ren’s back, eyes stinging.
78
There was darkness, but there was no longer death.
Merit had died. She knew that. She’d passed from this world and into some other one, but the gods had brought her here. It was a gift, an exchange.
One life for twelve. A good enough bargain.
The polished walls of the chamber revealed her face and arms. She was whole again and beautiful, voluptuous even.
The white priest’s eyes widened in astonishment. “You rise at last,” he said.
“At last?”
“Yes, you’ve been out for a week,” said Noll. “I nursed you as best I could.”
“‘Out’? What do you mean, and where is the temple, the statues?”
“We’re in the catacomb beneath the temple. We sheltered here when the storm took Solus. I’m afraid those statues are gone, stolen by looters or destroyed like everything else in this city.”
“Destroyed? Stolen? How could they be stolen? The Soleri moved … they walked. I saw it.”
“If only,” said Noll. “No, you tried but failed. They’re gone.”
“Yes, you’ve said that,” said Merit. She was still looking herself up and down in the brightly polished stone, still moving her chin this way and that, searching for scars. There were none. No scrapes. No bruises. No broken bones. All the damage she’d suffered—from the beating in Harwen to the ravages of the mob—was gone. She was whole again. In fact, she was better than whole, she was renewed. She had the body of a girl half her age and twice her strength.
And the priest lied.
The Soleri had restored Merit; there could be no other explanation.
This boy was a terrible liar. She’d seen the statues walk. She’d held the horn and called the twelve Soleri back to this world just as they had in turn called to her after she’d left it. Merit had seen them walk. For better or worse, the Soleri had returned, and so had the firstborn of Mithra, the Pyraethi. The gods walked the earth once more. Whether they would find their peace and return to Atum or build some new empire she knew not, she cared not.
Merit lifted herself up from the pallet. She saw a stair, a distant shaft of sunlight shining from the top of it.
“Where’re you g
oing?” asked Noll.
She guessed there was no harm in giving the boy an answer. He’d lied to Merit. He’d used her to bring back his gods and then deceived her about it. Clearly, he had his reasons. Merit simply shrugged. She wanted no part of his gods, not today. She’d lost her life, her family, and her husband. She’d even lost her kingdom. She knew that. She’d lost it all. Yet she was not bothered. In fact, she felt nothing but joy. She was born again, and young. A maiden, too. All her burdens were lifted.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve just come back from the dead,” she said. “Since I don’t recall anyone ever pulling that one off, I think I ought to take advantage of my position.” She grinned faintly. “I’m going to start all over again.”
THE SUN’S FATE
High in the Denna Hills, Noll stood atop a barren and rocky outcropping, the ruins of Solus still smoldering in the distance. He was not certain how he had come to this place or when he had arrived. The hour was indeterminate, the sky gray.
The twelve Soleri gathered around him in their shimmering robes of gold.
“What now?” he asked, plain-faced and curious. “I did what you asked.” Noll looked to the twelve for some answer, but was instead distracted by the absence of two of the children. In fact, when he counted there were only eight Soleri, and a moment later he was almost certain that only six remained.
Then there were four.
The Soleri were vanishing all around him.
Four, then two.
Sekhem Den and his wife, Sakkara, stood before Noll, faces concealed by eyeless masks of gold, cowls drawn low, golden robes shimmering despite the gloom. Den lifted a gloved hand and removed his mask. Golden eyes stared at Noll, but no light shone from them.
To stand before the Soleri is to stand before the sun, and no man can survive that light. Those were the words written in the Book of the Last Day of the Year, the sacred mantra of the Soleri, words inked before time itself, an image that had struck fear into the hearts of endless foes.
“Lies.” Noll blurted out the word. “If all those stories, if every word in the book is as false as the ones I’ve just recited in my head, it’s all just … lies. So … what are you? Don’t you owe me that? Just one answer. If not gods, then … what?”
Noll shivered as he held the gaze of Sekhem Den, but he was not reduced to ash, nor was he changed in any way. The book had lied, but it was not a complete falsehood. Noll had seen the destruction of Solus; the power of Mithra’s children was undeniable.
“Please, tell me this … what are you?” he asked again, his mind awash in curiosity.
Were these creatures possessed of some as-yet-undiscovered knowledge, some discipline that enabled them to accomplish what could only be described as divinity, or did they hail from some other place, some uncharted realm? He lusted for answers, but Sekhem Den gave no reply. His wife had vanished, and when Noll glanced back to meet the gaze of the last emperor, he was gone as well.
GLOSSARY
Adad, Enger: a young Harkan general, commander of the outer legion of the Harkan Army.
Alehkar, the: the elite soldiers of the Protector’s Army of Solus.
amaranth, the: the sacred crop, raised in the highland Oasis of Desouk and tended only by the Mithra cult, a gift from the gods themselves, the leaves of the plant form a thick paste that makes the dry soil of Solus fertile. The amaranth supply is exhausted, and the existing plants no longer bear seeds.
amber: ale, made from ground millet and emmer.
Amber Throne, the: the throne of the Soleri emperor, located behind the Shroud Wall of the Empyreal Domain in a palace hidden beneath the ground.
Amunet, Sarra: the onetime wife of Arko Hark-Wadi who fled the Harkan kingdom with her son, Ott, and joined the Mithra cult. She is the former ceremonial wife of Mithra-Sol and Mother Priestess of the cult and current First Ray of the Sun.
Antechamber, the: the seat of office of the First Ray of the Sun, destroyed by fire.
Anu, Ined: Father Protector of the armies of Solus at the time of the War of the Four, the man who drove the Harkans out of Solus, the first to call himself the First Ray of the Sun.
Anu, Suten: former First Ray of the Sun, deceased.
Asar: an island in the Wyrre, birthplace of Sarra Amunet.
Ata’Sol: located beneath the Temple of Mithra at Solus, home of the Mithra cult in the capital of Sola.
Atourin: sister of Arko Hark-Wadi, married to a Rachin lord.
Atum: home of Mithra-Sol and his children, from the time before the making of the world.
badgir: a windcatcher, used to cool Harkan homes.
Barca, Haren: former captain of the Outer Guard of Sola who led a revolt and murdered the commander of the guard. He commands a vast army of outlanders, mercenaries, and former Soleri soldiers.
Basin of Amen: the low desert flatland that separates the kingdoms of Harkana and Sola.
Battered Wall, the: also the Ruined Wall, a section of Harwen’s fortifications, damaged during the War of the Four and preserved as a war memorial.
Book of the Last Day of the Year: one of several holy texts used by the Mithra cult, the tome that contains the prayers read during the Devouring.
Caer Rifka: located in Rifka, capital of the kingdom of Feren, it is the Feren citadel and high seat of Feren power, home to the Chathair.
Cannet, Tomen: a Harkan general.
Catal: a desert stronghold, the ancient seat of Feren power.
Chathair, the: an ancient ironwood stool, the throne of the Feren king or queen, also refers to the room in which the throne resides.
Children’s War: the war led by Koren Hark-Wadi, the father of Arko, fought against the empire of the Soleri to prevent Arko from serving in the priory. After two days of conflict, the fight was settled by mutual agreement of the Father Protector Raden Saad and Koren, the king of the Harkans. The treaty allowed Arko Hark-Wadi to be raised in Harwen, the Harkan capital, forestalling but not removing Arko’s obligatory service to the empire as agreed upon after the War of the Four.
Chime Gate, the: the gate at Caer Rifka, made from suspended wooden logs.
Coin: a common board game.
crescent: a coin carved from the ancient metals of the Soleri Middle Kingdom, resembles a crescent moon, the common coin of the Soleri Empire.
Cressel Sea, the: a large sea located along southern borders of both Sola and Harkana, home to the Wyrre.
Dawn Chorus, the: the singing of birds before dawn; in Feren, the hymn of the kite, sung in the Blackthorn Chathair for the crowning of the Kitelord.
Den: in the time of the Children’s War, the surname of the emperors of the Soleri.
Den, Sekhem: last in the line of Den, former emperor of the Soleri during the War of the Four, two hundred years ago.
Denna Hills: the highlands, south of Solus, home to the Desouk priesthood and the Amaranth fields.
Desouk: in the Denna Hills, the city of priests and scholars, home to the Mithra cult, the fallow fields of amaranth, and Repository at Desouk.
Devouring, the: the high festival of the Mithra cult, the solemn rite of the Soleri, the time each year when the moon eclipses the sun and Mithra-Sol blesses the emperor and his servants.
Dromus, the: built during the Middle Kingdom, a high circular wall, running astride the border of the kingdom of Sola, separating Sola from the lower kingdoms.
Eilina: sister of Arko, married to a Rachin lord.
eld: a many-horned, four-legged species, similar in appearance to a deer, but larger, and some say, a god.
Elden Hunt, the: Harkana’s sacred rite, the right of kings, every king of the Harkans since Ulfer has taken an eld horn and fashioned a sword from it as a symbol of his kinghood.
Empyreal Domain, the: guarded by the Shroud Wall, the sacred precinct of the Soleri, home to the gardens, temples, and the underground palace of the Soleri. Only the First Ray of the Sun may pass in and out of the ward. The grounds are maintained by a service cult known as th
e Kiltet.
Eye of the Sun, the: a golden citrine worn by the First Ray of the Sun, a signifier of his power and position. A relic forged by the first of the Soleri, Re.
Fahran, Adin: the son and only heir of Barrin Fahran, a friend of Ren.
Fahran, Barrin: Barrin the Black, the Worm King of the Gray Wood, the former king of Feren, father of Adin, deposed by Dagrun Finner, deceased.
Feren: a woodland kingdom, north of Sola, ruled by the new queen, Kepi Hark-Wadi, and known for its plentiful resources. One of the four lower kingdoms of the Soleri Empire.
Feren Rift valley: a steep-sided gorge that runs along the southern border of Feren, protecting the kingdom from its neighbors to the south.
Finner, Dagrun: the former king of the Ferens and husband of Kepi Hark-Wadi, a merchant who purchased a mercenary army and took the Feren throne by force, deceased.
First Ray of the Sun, the: the right hand of the emperor, the eyes and ears of the Soleri, the only man or woman permitted to pass through the Shroud Wall and into the Empyreal Domain.
Garah, Seth: Kepi’s former lover, a former servant of the Hark-Wadi family, and a rebel and traitor who murdered the king of the Ferens, Dagrun Finner.
Gate of Coronel: The southern gate of the Dromus, the sea gate, located along the southern coast of Sola, on the black-sand beach, three days’ ride from Solus.
Golden Hall, the: built during the Middle Kingdom of the Soleri, the formal and public seat of Soleri power, the place where the First Ray of the Sun observes the Devouring each year.
Gray Wood, the: the blackthorn forest of Feren.
Hacal, Asher: the captain of the Harkan kingsguard.
Hall of Histories, the: located beyond the Shadow Gate, along the path that leads to the Empyreal Domain, this corridor contains large-scale carvings depicting the history of the Soleri Empire.
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