Angel Blessed (Angel Caste Book 5)

by K S Nikakis

  The door slammed and Viv’s legs gave way. There was immense pain, as if a fist had clamped her heart and slowly twisted it, and horror at what Ithreya endured, and a gut-wrenching guilt she’d not felt since she’d killed the child.

  Maybe she was an of angel of death that spread misery wherever she went. Maybe she should end her life now, before she ended the lives of still more others. She couldn’t cry; her eyes as dry as her mouth. Wasn’t that proof enough her human and angel genes had thrown up a creature as malign as cancer?

  Ershen wouldn’t allow her to leave but she must go for everyone’s sake. She set the bracelet on the table, slung on her pack, and climbed out the window. A ramshackle wall separated the compound from the next, and she took a running jump at it, dropped into the next yard, and sprinted on. Her thieving days gave her a knack for choosing good cover and she’d always been fast, and she sped on through the neighbouring compounds unchallenged. The final jump took into a street and she jogged until she reached the wall. The gate was open, probably to admit the horsemen near the stables, and Viv hurried through.

  No one was visible ahead but she hadn’t gone far before she heard hoofs behind. Every nerve tensed as the horse slowed then came alongside. ‘Viv!’ It was Drasen, but Viv kept walking. ‘Viv, you have to come back to the compound.’

  ‘That’s the last place I’m wanted. I killed Sehereden.’

  ‘Who told you that? Sehereden died in an accident.’

  ‘While looking for me!’

  ‘Viv! Will you stop? We need to talk.’ Viv shook her head and trudged on, but Drasen jumped from his mount and caught her arm. She didn’t struggle, but she wouldn’t look at him either.

  ‘Viv, Ithreya sent me.’

  ‘I might have killed her too.’

  Drasen gave her a small shake. ‘Listen to me. The Syld’s locked himself in his room and no one has authority to enter. Baraghan en-Esh-accom won’t risk it either.’ Drasen paused. ‘He’s harming himself, Viv. He might die.’

  ‘But then Fariye will have no one!’

  ‘That’s what Ithreya said. It’s why she sent me. She said to tell you if you have any love for Fariye at all, you’ll come back.’

  ‘And do what?’ demanded Viv, wrenching herself free. ‘Does she think I’m a bloody miracle worker? The Syld hates me!’

  ‘That was her message. Will you come? We don’t have much time.’

  Viv swore, which Drasen obviously took to mean yes, because he leapt on his horse and hauled her up behind him. The Wall Guard must have seen them coming for the gates swung open and Drasen swept across the yard and up the street into the Miraj quarter. He took the turns so fast Viv feared she’d be killed, which would save the Syld the trouble, but they arrived at the compound intact.

  The hall was full of men but their low mutter fell silent when she appeared. Then Ithreya struggled from the throng and caught Viv’s hands. ‘Thank Enda you’ve come.’

  Her face was whiter than the walls and Viv searched the room for Baraghan. ‘You need to rest,’ said Viv. ‘Didn’t Baraghan …’

  ‘Forget him. He’s gone off to patch up his men after some brawl in Axian. Come, Viv, we don’t have much time.’ Ithreya tugged her along the passageway, Tormis in tow, his craggy face grey with worry. They stopped at the Syld’s door and Ithreya beat on it. ‘Syld?’

  There was no answer, and Viv glanced down. ‘Shit!’ Blood seeped from under it, and Tormis caught Ithreya’s arm as she swayed. ‘Where’s Fariye?’ asked Viv, watching the seep in horrified fascination.

  ‘I told Brithergen to take her to his compound.’

  Ithreya seemed the only person capable of doing things. The rest of them were under the Syld’s command, which meant letting him die. ‘Are the shutters locked, Tormis?’ she asked urgently. Tormis nodded. ‘Can they be opened from the outside?’ Again, the nod. ‘Do you have a bloody key?’

  ‘I’m not permitted to use it, elddra.’

  ‘Well, do you have a piece of wire? Or a hammer?’

  ‘I have a hammer, elddra.’

  ‘Then bring it,’ said Viv, hurrying off down the passageway. ‘And go sit down, Ithreya, before you fall down.’

  It was easy to find the Syld’s window, it was the only one shuttered, and Viv ran her fingers over the lock. She’d have picked it in a flash if she’d been in Moonsun but The Wheel had nothing handy lying about. She racked her brains and wrenched off the owl charm. It was filigreed metal and might just work.

  Tormis appeared and she snatched the hammer and smashed the charm until a thread of metal unraveled. Tormis’s disapproval was plain but she focused on the lock, and when the metal bent, twisted it to double strength and tried again. Picking locks was about sensitivity not speed, but Viv struggled not to shake. The Syld’s room was quiet which meant he might already be dead.

  The lock turned and she twisted the bolt and eased the shutters open a crack. The Syld was still on his feet near the door but it was too dim to see which way he faced. She gestured to Tormis to move away, but then Ithreya appeared.

  ‘I told you to sit down,’ hissed Viv.

  ‘I drank the bitter concoction Baraghan left,’ whispered Ithreya. ‘I’m all right, Viv, but I’m worried about you. What if he kills you?’

  ‘Then I’ll be dead.’

  ‘Viv …’

  ‘We agreed he needs to live for Fariye’s sake. Stay well clear.’

  Viv eased the shutters open and climbed in with all the stealth of a thief, but the light flooded the room, and he spun. He had knives in both hands and as he dropped into a crouch, Viv thought he’d throw them.

  ‘Go,’ he ground out, ‘or I’ll kill you.’

  Viv remained rooted to the spot. His arms and torso were covered in blood, his trousers drenched.

  ‘You don’t have a right to do this,’ she said unsteadily. ‘Fariye needs you.’

  ‘Go,’ he repeated, then slashed himself again, opening another gaping wound. He was suiciding, cut by cut, but even as she watched in horror, the wounds began to seal.

  God in Heaven! How could she have been so effing, bloody blind? It had stared her in the face since the day they’d met. The explosions of aggression, the bursts of heat, the recklessness that earned him the title of Mad At. Even Sehereden had alluded to it, but she’d been too full of hatred to see.

  Help me Syatha, she entreated silently, and dropped her pack to the floor. Her jacket and shirt followed, then she unbedded and spread her wings. He swayed, but his gaze was unwavering as she moved towards him. He could throw a knife, or stab her but she forced herself on. He swayed again, slipped in his own blood, and fell to his knees. He was too weak to get up, and Viv knelt too, and cradled his head against her breasts.

  ‘Let it go, Ataghan,’ she whispered. A shudder ran through him but he was rigid, the knives in his hands, cold against her skin. ‘Let it go,’ she whispered again, and brought her wings around them both.

  ‘Sehereden!’ The cry was guttural and so full of grief that Viv felt it as pain and sloughed citrus, then he collapsed against her and she lowered him gently to the floor. She was covered in his blood and she bedded her wings, poured water into a bowl, and washed herself down. Then she dressed, unlocked the door, and went back to the window.

  ‘Viv,’ cried Ithreya. ‘Thank Enda! Are you hurt?’ Tormis hovered, grinning in relief.

  ‘No, the Syld’s unconscious. Tormis, can you bring water and cloths? The door’s unlocked. The Syld needs his wounds seen to and the room cleaned.’ Tormis hurried off and Viv and Ithreya considered each other. ‘You should hate me,’ said Viv.

  ‘Because Sehereden loved you? That was his choice.’

  ‘If I hadn’t come back …’

  ‘Sehereden had all of Cadestone to lein-tryst with me but he hoped for you. It was his choice,’ she repeated.

  Viv glanced down at bulge under Ithreya’s gown. ‘You’ve still got a part of him. He’s not truly dead.’

  ‘Yes. Enda gifted me early at
unement and certainty.’ She drew a ragged breath. ‘But I loved the man.’

  ‘He was easy to love,’ rasped Viv. ‘What will you do?’

  ‘I haven’t decided. And you?’

  ‘I’m going to Tahsin’s sett. I’m welcome there.’

  ‘You’re welcome here, Viv, and Fariye needs you.’

  ‘Fariye needs her father, and her father needs Fariye. They need time together to heal. The fighting, her abduction, and now this … Fariye needs to be a little girl again, to laugh and play, to feel safe, to have her father’s love.’

  ‘She’s always had that.’

  ‘Yes, the Syld loves his daughter.’ Viv forced a smile. ‘Fariye’s a fortunate little girl to have a father who loves her.’

  ‘Viv …’ began Ithreya, but the door behind her opened and Tormis came in with buckets and cloths. Drasen and Mereya were with him, and Mereya locked the door while Drasen and Tormis lifted the Syld onto the bed. Viv was glad they kept the Syld’s suffering private, but it was time for her to go. She clambered out the window and slipped on her pack. ‘Take care, Ithreya,’ she said, and briefly touched her belly. ‘You carry something precious.’

  Ithreya caught her hand. ‘You might carry one day too, Viv.’

  ‘No possible. I’m barren.’ She tried to smile. ‘A story for another time,’ she said, and went to move off, but Ithreya embraced her. ‘Take care, Viv.’

  Viv nodded, but knew she’d probably need a dose of luck to make it out the gates twice in one day without Baraghan or the elddra’s henchmen catching her.

  She made her way back to the gate, jumping at every shadow, and expecting a hand to descend on her shoulder any minute, but the Wall Guards opened the gate and she trudged through. Maybe Anfarena thought Viv had departed last time and Baraghan’s men had left Anfarena’s men in no state to report any different. She had no idea why Ershen hadn’t persuaded her to stay either. Perhaps Baraghan had called him off because she’d agreed to remain safely inside. At least she’d had the foresight to don her shirt halter neck this time, so no one would be forcing her to do anything.

  All she wanted was to get to Tahsin’s sett, curl up in a bed, and shut out the world. The sky faded to a delicate blue, then blushed to a pink that reminded her of the game she’d played with her mother as they watched Mt Silvercrest’s changing colours. She hoped Lettie was in Astraal, but if she wasn’t, Viv had to accept she’d gone beyond reach. The Wheel was her fold now, and Tahsin’s sett her home. Viv en-Kama-ril: had a pleasing ring.

  She took to the air as soon as it was dark, keeping high to avoid stray Lefer, or hunter’s barbs. It was hard to see much beyond the vals’ dark crags and the occasional shine of rills, but she had no fear of getting lost. Erath Fold might have returned her need to eat, sleep, and pee, but it had honed her sensing skills, and she came to earth near Tahsin’s bounds as Cadestone burst into the sky.

  Its light made the bob of Doran’s lamp visible long before he saw her, and she waited for recognition to dawn on his broad face. ‘Viv en-elddra. You’ve come back.’ He grinned but forgot to lower the lamp, and Viv squinted.

  ‘Can you tell Tahsin?’ He’d want to put her on a work roster, and she needed to be assigned a room. Tomorrow would be a normal harvesting day, and she’d be expected to work.

  ‘Doran will tell Gothral.’

  ‘No, you need to tell Tahsin.’

  Doran scratched his chin, and lowered the lamp thankfully. ‘Doran must tell Gothral who comes to the sett and who leaves the sett,’ he said carefully.

  ‘Alright,’ said Viv giving up. ‘Tell Gothral.’ She followed Doran into the building, wondering if Tahsin were away and all but collided with Enesha coming from the washroom.

  ‘Viv! I didn’t expect to see you again.’

  Viv grinned, knowing it was as warm a welcome she was likely to get from Enesha. ‘It’s good to see you Enesha. Maybe we can eat together after I see Tahsin.’

  Enesha’s eyes flicked to Doran. ‘Didn’t you tell her, you big lump?’

  ‘Doran will tell Gothral who comes to the sett,’ said Doran stolidly, and Enesha shook her head in disgust.

  ‘Tell me what?’ asked Viv.

  ‘Tahsin died at Fire Zadic. It’s Gothral’s sett now.’

  Chapter 19

  Thris and Ash followed Ky through the Bokos, keeping silent to avoid distracting him from his counting. Thris was too astonished to speak anyway. He’d known the Bokos was immense, but shelf upon shelf jammed with yellowing scrolls pressed in on him, like a living creature. Surely the answers to his every question, and to the questions of every angel in Ezam, whether Archae or Dane, were already here? And if they were, angels who laboured over their own sheets of blank parchment, wasted their time.

  But the immensity of angelic knowledge posed its own problems. The scrolls were stored in no apparent order, so the writings on Wheel Fold discovered by Prime-archae Serith, weren’t elaborated on by the scrolls to either side, or on the surrounding shelves. The relevant scrolls could be anywhere in the Bokos, or nowhere at all.

  Thris eventually lost track of Ky’s turnings and glanced at Ash worriedly, but the blue angel remained serene. He wore his snowy wings exposed as usual, and their brightness lit the way. Ash should have joined the Principae cycles ago and Thris feared he and Ky were to blame. They’d appeared simultaneously and might need to transcend simultaneously too, and his and Ky’s plumage held only a smattering of white.

  ‘Soon there’ll only be empty shelves,’ said Ky.

  ‘How do you know?’ asked Thris. The scroll-packed shelves seemed to stretch into infinity.

  ‘Because I’ve taken four thousand steps, and at four thousand five hundred, the shelves empty.’

  ‘We might approach from a different direction.’

  ‘It makes no difference. It’s a nine thousand step round journey to where the scrolls end, and another three thousand steps after that to where the shelves end. Prime-archae Serith calls it a trinity of trinities. He says it’s important in other folds too.’

  ‘A trinity of trinities?’

  ‘Multiples of three,’ said Ash, ‘like Paendane, Anasdane, and Senquar-archae, and we three.’

  ‘Did Prime-archae Serith say what a trinity of trinities means?’ asked Thris.

  ‘Of course not,’ said Ky, and grinned over his shoulder.

  ‘It would be nice to have answers for once, instead of even more questions,’ muttered Thris.

  ‘Which is why we’re here,’ said Ky, sobering. ‘It’s where you returned from Wheel Fold.’

  The store of scrolls gave way to empty shelves, just as Ky predicted, and Thris found himself counting as they went on, and sure enough, the shelves ceased after three thousand steps. Impenetrable gloom confronted them and Ky brought them to a stop. ‘I don’t know how large this central area is,’ he admitted. ‘It’s been too dark to search, except for when we found you, Thris. Then it was filled with golden light.’

  ‘You were wet,’ said Ash, ‘even your plumage was saturated, which means you passed through water with them unbedded. Have you any memory of it?’

  ‘I was caught and caged,’ said Thris slowly. ‘Bitter liquids were forced down my throat. There was only darkness after that, except for the fire.’ A shudder ran through his body. ‘They burned me … to make me show my wings. And then, the cage was gone … and I woke in Haven,’ he finished, his voice ragged. Ash embraced him and he was able to calm.

  ‘This is the centre of the Bokos and, according to Prime-archae Serith, the Bokos is the centre of Ezam,’ said Ky. ‘You came back into the very heart of Ezam, and I’m guessing through a water rift.’

  ‘The prospect fills me with dread,’ whispered Ash.

  ‘Exiting into Ezam’s heart might just be one of the uncountable possibilities of the Rynth,’ said Thris grimly.

  ‘I heard your heart stop,’ said Ash, tremblingly. ‘It’s why we came—and found you.’ There was a long pause. ‘Is there water in Wheel Fo
ld, Thris?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said, thinking back to his first visit.

  ‘I remember it too,’ said Ky thoughtfully. ‘It flowed down narrow valleys.’

  ‘Water rifts are more likely in still water,’ said Ash.

  ‘The water flowed down valleys set as evenly as the petals of a glis bloom,’ said Thris, ‘and when I returned the second time, I saw a peak at their centre. The fold is the same shape as the wheels some human caste folds use to aid travel, hence its name,’ he added.

  ‘Which proves the Host were there,’ said Ash. Thris and Ky’s heads swiveled in unison. ‘The Tome uses the same name for the fold as those who live there. The shekinah used other names for Moonsun. The male daimon caste who visited said that Angellus engendered those such as him but hadn’t stayed, and those of his kind wished to join them, wherever they were. He thought we might be the Angellus.’

  ‘What exactly did Prime-archae Serith’s scroll say?’ asked Thris.

  ‘The Wheel the way, the Wheel a knife; the way of water, the way …’ recited Ky. ‘The rest was torn off.’

  ‘Light is the lure and light the trap, light the maze and light the map. The red, the blue and the white don’t show, what mantise, scarab and sumi know,’ quoted Ash. ‘Senquar-archae wrote these new words too.’

  ‘And they’re just as obscure,’ grumbled Ky.

  ‘They were probably clearer in their entirety,’ said Ash. ‘The way of water, the way of … life?’

  ‘Or strife,’ suggested Thris darkly. ‘Whoever destroyed the writing, might have destroyed the angel lore here as well. But why?’

  ‘The way of water,’ murmured Ash.

  ‘Water rifts are unstable,’ said Thris uneasily, peering up. ‘I’d prefer not to linger.’

  ‘No,’ said Ash. ‘There’s nothing more to be learned, for the present.’

  * * *

  Viv’s first impulse was to leave. If Tahsin were dead, she had no place in this sett, but Enesha would have none of it. Her hand fastened on Viv’s arm and she marched her to the hall to meet Gothral. He was a lot younger than Tahsin, with black hair and an unsmiling face, and simply nodded when Enesha identified Viv as a returning sett member, and then Enesha marched her out again.