The Voice of Prophecy (Dual Magics Book 2)

by Meredith Mansfield

  Vatar seethed inside. Temple Guards. After the High Council had sworn his family would be safe.

  Lancera slapped her hand against the wall. “Thank the Lords of Creation that Arus had a fever this morning. I kept them inside, out of the damp air. I told Cestus something like this would happen! He wouldn’t listen to me.”

  Elaria started at the sound of Lancera’s hand striking the wall.

  Arcas tightened his arms around her. “Calm down, Lancera. Which way did they go?”

  Lancera went back to wringing her hands. “They went east.”

  Arcas looked at Vatar. “Where could they be going to the east? There’s nothing that way until you reach Zeda.”

  Vatar shook his head, eyes narrowed. “It doesn’t make any sense.” He looked out toward the road. “Unless they circled back by a different road to avoid us. They have to have gone to the Temple. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “What can we do?” Arcas asked.

  “Get them back. I’ll be able to find Zavar, wherever they’ve taken him.” He paced across the room. “But we can’t do it alone. We need allies. Orleus and Quetza are on their way back, but that’s still not enough.” Vatar forced enough calm to reach out with Far Speech again. “Father!”

  “Yes?”

  “I need your help. They’ve taken my children. And Theklan.”

  “Who has?” Veleus’s concentration was now sharp; all his focus was on Vatar.

  “The Temple Guard.”

  Veleus radiated disbelief. “The Council would never authorize it.”

  Vatar pounded his fist into his hand. “It was the Temple Guard. Elaria and Lancera both saw them. Someone must have authorized it. It would help to know who.”

  Veleus nodded. “There are people who often give me information about what happens in the Palace and the Temple. I’ll have them start asking questions immediately. We’ll find them for you.”

  Vatar shook his head. “I can find them myself, Father. I just need to know what I’m going to be up against.”

  “I’ll be at the farm as quickly as I can. Try not to worry, Vatar. They won’t harm the twins. Or Theklan, either.”

  Vatar stopped his pacing. “They’ve taken my children, Father. And I won’t rest until I have them back.”

  Vatar blew out a long breath. Every fiber of his body wanted to run back down to the Temple and find Zavar and Savara. But that would be foolish. He needed help and he needed more information. How could he make any kind of a plan without that? Orleus would be back soon. He’d give Father at least that much time. But he had to do something.

  Vatar went back to the bedroom he and Thekila shared. He fastened the belt with his Dardani long knife around his waist and grabbed his spear from where it rested in the corner behind the door. The shaft was ridiculously long on foot. After the incident with the bear, he’d put a new, longer shaft on it, for use on horseback. That was easy enough to fix. Vatar headed for his workshop to cut the shaft down. He could always fit a new one for mounted use later. One quick blow of the axe would be enough. It’d feel good to strike something, too.

  Arcas and Elaria followed him outside. As soon as he set foot in the courtyard, Tiger whined. Vatar leaned his spear up against the trunk of the apple tree and then knelt down to check on the dog. Vatar gently pulled him out and laid him on top of the bench. “We’ll need to bandage his wounds, but I think he’ll recover.” He looked back toward the gate. “Copper won’t be so lucky.”

  He loosened his knife in its sheath as he walked to the gate. He knelt down again and gently stroked Copper’s head. “Good girl, Copper. You did your best.” While he talked soothingly to her, Vatar quietly drew his Dardani long knife from his belt.

  Elaria squeaked in alarm. “What are you going to do?”

  Vatar sighed. “She’s very badly wounded, Elaria. I’m going to end her pain.”

  “But she tried to protect Zavar and Savara!” Elaria protested.

  Vatar looked up to meet her eyes. “I know. She doesn’t deserve to linger in pain. There’s no other way I can help her.”

  “Maybe I can. Let me see what I can do for her, Vatar,” said a voice from the other side of the smashed gate. Boreala came through the gate, followed by Thekila. “I’ll do what I can for her. If I can’t help her, I’ll ease her passing.”

  Vatar nodded. As he stood up, Orleus and Quetza rode up, leaping from their lathered horses. Seeker and Arrow threw themselves to the ground, panting. Orleus took in the dead and wounded dogs.

  “What happened here?” he asked.

  “The Temple Guard took Zavar and Savara,” Vatar answered. He pulled Thekila into his arms. “And Theklan. Theklan is probably unconscious. The dogs tried to protect them.”

  Quetza’s brows drew down. “What are we going to do about it?”

  One side of Vatar’s mouth quirked up at the instant support. “Get them back. Father is trying to get some information for me. In the meantime, I’m going to find them.” He strode back to take up his spear. “Then I’m going to cut this spear down to a manageable length for close work.”

  Vatar drew in a deep breath and let it out, to assist his focus. He found Zavar easily and saw the boy’s head turn as he sensed his father. Vatar expanded his Far Sight to see where Zavar was. It was a luxuriously furnished room. There was a large window behind Zavar. Vatar shifted his view to look out the window. He saw a panoramic view of the city. Vatar had seen something like that vista twice before. It was the view of Caere from the Fasallon Palace. But the Palace was huge. Vatar expanded his view again to see what else was in the room. There were several men in the uniform of the Temple Guards and one woman. Gerusa! Vatar shifted to Far Speech. It was a long shot, but he thought his son would be able to hear him.

  “Zavar?” he asked gently.

  “Papa?” Zavar’s mental voice sounded desperate, panicky.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you coming to get us?” The little boy’s mental voice quavered.

  Vatar tried to radiate calm. “Just as soon as I can. Are you and Savara all right?”

  “I am. Savara bit the man who grabbed her. He hit her and now she won’t wake up.”

  Vatar’s jaw clenched. “He’ll pay for that when I catch him.”

  “I’m scared, Papa.” Zavar’s mental voice was almost a wail.

  Vatar forced himself to greater calm. “Of course you are. Is Theklan with you?”

  The little boy shook his head. “No. They took him away before they put us in the boat.”

  The lockup of the Temple Guard, then. Well, that would be on the way. “I’ll be there soon. If anything happens, call to me with your mind.”

  “Yes, Papa.”

  Vatar looked up at the clatter of hooves. Father rode up on one of the fast messenger horses kept just outside the gate.

  “They’re in the Palace,” Vatar said. “Gerusa has them. Theklan is in the lockups. We’ll collect him on the way.”

  “Mother!” Orleus spat.

  “How do you know?” Father asked.

  “I just bespoke Zavar. And one of those . . . .” Words temporarily failed him. “One of them hit Savara. She’s unconscious.”

  “Give us a minute to get armed. Then we’ll go with you,” Orleus said as he and Quetza ran toward the guest house.

  Chapter 45: Bound

  Vatar marched off to cut down his spear. If he was going to be fighting inside the Palace, he’d want a much shorter shaft.

  Father followed him. “I understand your desperation, Vatar. But I’d advise you to wait just a little longer. Let me get you some help.”

  Vatar swung the axe once and three feet of spear shaft flew away. “I’ll tear the Palace apart stone by stone if I have to, but I will get my children back.”

  Father shook his head. “Son, you can’t do that.”

  Thekila stepped up to Vatar’s side. “Maybe he can’t. But I can.” Behind her in the smithy, Vatar’s anvil rose steadily to hover five feet above th
e ground.

  Father blinked and swallowed hard before turning his eyes to Thekila.

  Vatar shut his eyes. He put an arm around her. He appreciated her offer, but there was no way he was going to let her be part of this. He had to risk himself for his children. Orleus was a trained soldier and knew what he was getting into. Quetza . . . well, Quetza was able to take care of herself. As she was now, Thekila wouldn’t even be able to run away to avoid danger to herself and their child. “Thekila—”

  Thekila lifted her chin defiantly. “I can lift more than Quetza or any other Valson, Vatar. I’ve had to. It’s how I could make my eagle avatar work, even before I had the help of the Spirit of the Eagle. You may need my Powers when you get to the Palace.”

  Vatar shook his head. “Thekila, you can’t come this time. Not—”

  She placed her hand on his chest. “I know. I can’t keep up with you, now. But there’s still a way for you to be able to use my Powers if you need them. Now is the time, Vatar. We’re more than half bound as it is. Let’s complete it. If we bind ourselves, you’ll be able to use my Powers as well as your own.”

  Vatar was momentarily speechless. “Thekila . . .” He shook his head and swallowed hard before going on. He couldn’t let her do it, of course. It was far too dangerous for her, but it meant the world that she’d offer. “I couldn’t begin to control that. And, what if—”

  Thekila smiled. “I doubt control is going to be an issue. But it doesn’t matter, because I’ll be with you. Here,” she touched his head. “And here,” she put her hand over his heart. “I can help you control it, if you need me to. And you are not losing your mind. Even the voice told you that.”

  Vatar snorted. “As if I should believe the voice that drove me to think I was crazy in the first place! Thekila, I can’t risk it. If I am losing my mind—”

  Thekila took a painful grip on his arms. “Then we’ll go insane together and go live in the wilderness where we can’t hurt anyone.”

  That forced a bark of laughter from him.

  Thekila looked into his eyes. “Vatar, it’s the only way I can help.”

  That stopped his protests. He understood that feeling too well. Vatar drew a deep breath and nodded.

  Thekila released his arms and looked around. “We need someone to hold our oaths, but Quetza’s—”

  Father stepped forward. “Just tell me what to do.”

  “What do we do?” Vatar asked.

  Thekila took a half step back and turned to face Vatar. “Stand facing me and take my hands. Veleus, your hands go above and below ours, to hold the oaths. It’s not necessary that we say anything.”

  Vatar squeezed her hands. “Yes. But how do I do it?”

  “Just will it. It’s very much like what we do when we join our minds to . . .” Thekila blushed.

  Vatar smiled despite his worry. “That I know how to do.”

  Thekila returned his smile. “All right, this is just more complete and it will be permanent. We truly hold nothing back; we open ourselves completely to each other. Veleus, you contain the energy that passes between us.”

  Vatar nodded. So did Father. Vatar and Thekila looked into each other’s eyes and began to join their minds. This time, they left no barriers and no way to close the doors and back out again. Vatar was used to doing this on a more limited scale, but this surprised him. He was disoriented for a moment as he seemed to see the courtyard from two different perspectives. Then he adjusted to the new sensation.

  Thekila smiled. “That’s it. We’re bound now.”

  In spite of the urgency of the kidnapping, Vatar smiled, too. “I can feel you. I could find you like I could point to the sun on a cloudy day.”

  He caught her elbow as Thekila stumbled slightly blinking. He knew it was the same doubled perspective that had thrown off her balance.

  “Yes,” Thekila answered, looking into his eyes.

  Vatar didn’t pull his eyes away from Thekila’s until Orleus and Quetza came back from the guest house. Quetza had Orleus’s old sword—the one Vatar had replaced last winter—hanging from her belt.

  Vatar looked around at his friends and nodded. He cast a quick glance at the lathered horse Father had ridden up here. “Arcas, help me saddle four fresh horses. You need to stay here with Elaria and Caslar. And Thekila. We can’t leave the farm undefended, just in case. Not until we know what’s behind this. The rest of us will ride down to the Gate and then storm the Palace if we have to, but I will get my children and Theklan back.”

  Arcas moved toward the pasture. “I’ll get the horses. And good luck.”

  “We need some kind of plan, Vatar,” Father said.

  Vatar nodded. “My plan is first to go to the lockup and get Theklan out. If, as we suspect, he was knocked unconscious, we may have to take him to the Healers from there. Then I’m going across to the Palace. That’s where my children are. Whatever we do, it will have to be there. If your contacts have information for us when we get there, well and good. We can make better plans. Otherwise, I’ll storm the Palace floor by floor if I have to.”

  “We could appeal to the High Council,” Father said. “Let them deal with it.”

  Orleus snorted.

  Vatar shook his head. “You can go to them if you like. But I’m not sure I trust them any longer. They failed to keep their word to me. Even if I did trust them, I don’t intend to kick my heels waiting for them to debate before they take action. Zavar is frightened and Savara is still unconscious. I mean to get to them as quickly as I can. Anyone who wants to stop me had better be prepared to fight.” He cast an apologetic look at Thekila and Quetza. “And I don’t much care about the Tenets right now either. I’ll use any weapon or tool I have.”

  The four of them galloped down the muddy road to the Temple Gate, where they were forced to leave their horses. The guards eyed their swords and Vatar’s spear uncertainly. No one but the Guard normally carried weapons inside the city. Father gave them an off-hand wave and the guards stepped back and allowed them to pass.

  They wouldn’t have gone any faster mounted than on foot through the narrow streets of Caere and the crowded market squares. Their first stop was the Temple Guard post and lockup.

  Father stepped out in front. “Let me handle this, Vatar.”

  Vatar nodded. Father’s authority was better than a sword—or spear—in this case, at least.

  Father pulled himself up to his full height and strode toward the corporal at the front desk. His attitude and voice radiated authority. “A red-haired boy was brought here earlier. Where is he?”

  The corporal looked up and gulped, clearly recognizing a member of the High Council. He stood to attention. “He’s in the cells, sir.”

  Father arched one eyebrow. “Well, bring him out here to me.”

  The corporal shuffled uncomfortably. “Sergeant Tarus wants him held for resisting—”

  Father held up one hand and leaned forward just slightly. His voice dropped to a deceptively silky tone. “Corporal, do you think that as a High Councilor I outrank Sergeant Tarus?”

  The corporal gulped again. “Y-Yes, sir. R-Right away, s-sir.”

  In moments, Theklan emerged, pushed through the door separating the guard offices from the lockup. One eye was swollen shut and blackening. He stumbled as if his head hadn’t quite cleared from the blow and he was hunched slightly to one side, protecting the place where a kick had probably broken a rib. He looked up blearily and recognized Vatar. “Vatar, I tried. I just couldn’t . . .”

  Vatar stepped forward to help support the youth. “Hush. You did very well—better than I could have expected of you. How badly are you hurt?”

  Theklan made an effort to stand straight, unable to suppress a gasp and a wince. “It’s okay. Just some bruises.”

  Vatar smiled slightly. He’d tried to pass off injuries at Theklan’s age, too. “We’ll take you to the Healers before we go on.”

  Theklan looked up, eyes wide. “No!” He swallowed. “I’d rather go
with you . . . wherever you’re going.”

  “You’d be safe at the Healers’ Hall,” Vatar said.

  Orleus stepped up to Theklan’s other side. “Let him come at least as far as the Palace, Vatar. I have friends who can look after him if we need to leave him—just for a little while. And there are Healers over there who can dress his honorable wounds.”

  They started towards the pier, a little slower, now, out of consideration for Theklan, but not much. Hurrying down one of the labyrinthine corridors, they passed Cestus.

  Cestus stared at them. “What’s going on?”

  Orleus, bringing up the rear with Theklan paused. “Mother had the Temple Guard take Vatar’s children from the farm. We’re going to get them back.”

  “What about Jana and Arus . . . and Lancera?” Cestus asked.

  Vatar came back to them. “Lancera had your children inside. They weren’t touched. Lancera’s a bit agitated, naturally, but otherwise they’re fine. Theklan here tried to stop the Guard by himself. “

  Orleus cast a glance at Theklan. “Could we leave him with you for a bit? I’m sure he’d feel safe with you.”

  Cestus’s eyes narrowed. He chewed his lip for a moment before nodding to himself. “I have a better idea.” He looked up and down the corridor, then gestured to a passing Fasallon. “Go tell Kareus to sound the signal.”

  “Now?” the young man asked.

  “Right now.” Cestus moved to support Theklan’s other side. “Let’s go.”

  As they crossed the gardens, the great bell started ringing from the Temple. The tolling had an unusual rhythm.

  Quetza paused and looked toward the tower. “What’s that?”

  Father looked toward the bell tower, too and his brows drew together. “I don’t know. That bell is used to send signals, but I’m not familiar with that code.”

  “You wouldn’t be, Father.” Cestus gestured to where the empty boat was just pushing off from the pier. “You’ll need me with you, now.”