Angel Blessed (Angel Caste Book 5)

by K S Nikakis

‘You’re welcome any time, as is any si- or lein-tryst you might bring.’

  Drasen smiled. ‘I’ll have to wait for next Fire Zadic, to have a chance of that, Syld.’

  Ataghan spent the following days readying the compound for his departure, his nerves so taut he had to reassure Taris more than once that all was well. Granting Ithreya the time she’d requested hadn’t delayed his departure; he’d had no intention of moving Fariye from the compound’s warmth until the weather cleared. And whatever the reasons for Ithreya’s summons, it wasn’t to make him choose-father. Women sometimes named choose-fathers before a birth, but certainly within a day or so afterwards, so she’d have gifted the child by now. He just hoped it was to Drasen.

  The uncertainty didn’t help his mood, nor did being greeted by older women at the compound who seemed in no hurry to do anything. Most of the compound’s inhabitants had left for Amethen’s sett before Vorash, but a dozen or so lived in Esh-accom permanently, and they kept him waiting in the hall until Tonera, who had a heavy limp, escorted him with excruciating slowness to Ithreya’s room.

  She sat by the window, wrapped in a blue robe, her face as pale as her hair, but Ataghan remained poised near the doorway, unable to drag his gaze from the cradle. ‘I congratulate you on Enda’s gift,’ he said, with a stiff bow.

  Ithreya inclined her head. ‘Enda is worthy of thanking,’ she said, giving the ritual response of a new mother, and Ataghan’s gaze returned to the cradle. ‘I didn’t ask you here to open old wounds, Syld,’ she continued, ‘but to see your lein’s daughter.’ Ataghan bowed again and forced himself across the room. The baby slept, hiding her eye colour, but her dark hair, brows, and the set of her lips, were all his lein’s. Pain burned through him and he gripped a nearby chair.

  ‘Sit, Syld,’ she said, and waited until he could breathe again. ‘I know your suffering,’ she said softly. ‘Sometimes the pain is so great, I think Soaich had a hand in Enda’s gift too. I watch her face as she suckles and feel a mother’s love, but I would trade her in an instant to have Sehereden back.’ She bit her lip as she struggled to compose herself.

  ‘There are two things I want you to know, Syld. The first is that I’ve named her Vivreya.’ Ataghan looked at her astonishment. ‘The second, is that I’ll make you choose-father if you meet my conditions.’

  Ataghan’s blood roared as he fought to control his body’s burn. ‘What conditions?’ he demanded harshly.

  ‘Listen carefully, Syld, for I’ll not outline them a second time or grant you longer than Pool Zadic to meet them. Vivreya will be weaned by then and ready to gift. Whether I gift her to you, or to another, is your choice.’

  Chapter 21

  Viv decided Horse Zadic was the most spectacular of all the zadics she’d seen, although she suspected its brilliant undulations were helped by the icy air. No one spoke of zadics being hot or cold, but The Wheel certainly headed towards the equivalent of winter. The sidari took the edge off the air, but Viv shivered, as she sat on her usual log. Wearing her shirt halter neck didn’t help but after Orthagh’s little knife demonstration, she’d traded warmth for safety.

  She came to Tahsin’s pyre most nights. She liked the trees’ solitude and she felt close to the man who’d shown her kindness. She felt close to Sehereden too, but she couldn’t bear to think of him yet, so she thought only of Tahsin.

  The sett wasn’t the same without him, not that Gothral was unreasonable; he simply wasn’t Tahsin. Viv tightened her grip on the puzzle box and the balls inside tinkled. She’d have to get someone to explain how the puzzle worked, but for the moment it was enough to know Tahsin had left it just for her.

  The clearing’s silver dapples dimmed as the zadic ebbed, and she headed back to the sett, chaffing her icy hands as she went. The stable yards were full of horses, which was nothing unusual, the flow of traders having been constant in recent days. Apparently most vals had some retsen stands, but nothing of the quality or quantity of Gothral’s sett, and trade picked up in Horse Zadic, to beat the worsening weather, Viv supposed.

  The horses turned at her approach then went back to their grazing, except for one, which watched her all the way past. Viv still found Valen horses unnerving and this one was particularly intent. It was big enough to be the Syld’s, in fact, she was bloody well sure it was the Syld’s!

  The hall’s rumble of conversation told her people lingered over their final mugs of milk. The sett was always keen for news from other parts of the Vale but Viv hurried past to her room and wedged the chair under the handle. If the Syld were here, he’d be trading for retsen like everyone else, she told herself. Sure, Vivi. He’ll just bid you a good day and go about his business—like he has every other time you’ve crossed paths.

  Someone knocked at the door, making her jump, then tried to enter. ‘Viv? What in Soaich’s name have you done to this door?’ It was Enesha and Viv pulled the chair clear. ‘Why are you blocking the door?’ she asked, eyeing the chair. ‘Gothral’s sett is safe, or is someone troubling you?’

  ‘It’s a habit I’ve gotten into.’

  Enesha plonked down in the chair. ‘Ataghan en-Scinta-ril’s here.’

  ‘I know. I saw his horse.’

  ‘There’s a whole party from the Scinta-ril, come for our retsen,’ said Enesha dryly. ‘You know Sehereden en-Scinta-ril’s dead?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How did he die?’

  ‘In a riding accident.’

  Enesha’s breath whistled. ‘That man followed his lein into more fights than I care to count, and he dies in a stinking riding accident!’ She looked at Viv sideways. ‘He’s the reason I didn’t think you’d come back. His intentions were obvious when he collected you at Pool Zadic.’

  ‘Pool Zadic precedes Fire Zadic,’ said Viv. ‘Every man’s intentions are obvious then.’

  ‘Sehereden en-Scinta-ril wasn’t every man.’ Viv said nothing and Enesha eyed her. ‘It’s why you go to the sidari every night, isn’t it? Not just for Tahsin, but for Sehereden.’

  ‘I never said goodbye to either of them.’

  Enesha snorted. ‘There’s lots of folk I’ve never said goodbye to, which was probably for the best,’ she said, and sobered. ‘The dead are gone, Viv. You need to stay with the living.’ It was so unlike anything Enesha had ever said, that Viv stared. ‘It would be good if you came to the dancing too. Otherwise some in the sett will think you’re a typical elddra who thinks the Valen are below them, when I know you’re not.’ She got to her feet. ‘It’ll be interesting to see how much madder Mad At gets now his lein’s gone,’ she said cheerfully, as she went out.

  Viv knew when the Syld entered the hall the next morning, not just because she faced the door as she breakfasted, but because she saw the animosity on Orthagh’s face. The Syld was with others of his sett who’d been at Esh-accom, but they didn’t acknowledge her as they passed, and neither did he.

  Enesha sat opposite, but Viv concentrated on her retsen and honey, despite Enesha’s puzzled gaze flicking between her and Gothral’s table behind her, where Viv assumed the Syld and his party sat. The Syld would trade for his retsen and go, she told herself, as she followed Enesha out. He might even be gone by the time she’d finished the day’s harvest.

  ‘We’re picking the nightwise stands,’ said Enesha, as they set out, but instead of leading, she ordered Merhen and Fahan to walk with the men ahead, and fell into step beside Viv. ‘What is it between you and Mad At?’ she asked, dropping her voice. ‘He ignored you when he came in, then spent breakfast staring at the back of your head.

  ‘He’s my lein’s choose-father.’

  ‘Your lein? But … the way Mad At dragged you into the sett, when you first came … you’d have thought you were his worst enemy.’

  ‘I found his daughter after the Esh-embrin massacre and travelled with her,’ said Viv briefly. ‘We became lein but were separated by the Waradi. They were killed by the Syld’s party. He decided I was a Waradi lein-tryst. When his men found his daug
hter and he discovered I’d cared for her, he brought me here.’

  ‘You’ve missed a few bits of the story,’ said Enesha, stomping along. ‘Like the urrut leash, the Grey Fire, and your burns …’

  Viv glanced at her. ‘I love my lein, Enesha, and she loves her father.’

  ‘So, you say nothing of what he did to you? And what of Sehereden?’ Enesha laughed hollowly. ‘Oh, I can imagine how happy Mad At was at his lein’s interest. And how far did that interest go, Viv?’

  ‘You told me to stay with the living, Enesha. My lein’s safety depends on her father’s standing, and that little girl is all I care about. If you care about me, at all, you’ll hold your silence too.’

  The day’s fine start didn’t last long. Clouds scudded in, followed by slithers of icy rain, but the team continued to pick. Viv bore the brunt of it, as she harvested highest but being half-frozen was preferable to the warm sett with the Syld, and he’d still be there, given the foul weather.

  Viv rarely suffered retsen splinters anymore, but she’d collected two deep ones by the time she climbed down. Doran extracted them with his usual lack of sentimentality, shouldered the retsen bags, and lumbered off. Viv sucked her stinging hand as she walked. Sehereden had used saliva to soothe her scorch-berry burns and she recalled his other acts of kindness, right back to when he’d stilled the Syld’s knife as it plunged towards her heart.

  If she’d trusted him earlier, if she’d told him the truth …Viv shut the thoughts off. Enesha was right; she should stay with the living, but the Syld’s presence opened wounds old and new. Unfinished business has a habit of comin’ back to bite ya, Vivi.

  Viv trudged on, oblivious to the rain. She needed to farewell her dead and check Astraal for her mother. Going there gave her the chance to talk to its leaders too, who might be more reasonable than Anfarena and her ilk, or less so. And if that were the case, she’d have to take the next rift out. But the prospect of wandering from fold to fold was so awful, she couldn’t bear to even think about it.

  Viv didn’t go into the sett, not even to change her clothes, just went straight to the sidari grove. She wasn’t given to prescience but she had a feeling time was running out. Maybe the sense flowed from knowing she couldn’t settle here until her unfinished business was finished, or from something more sinister.

  The log where she usually sat was sodden but she was too restless to sit anyway. The scattered bones were evidence enough Tahsin had gone but she had no evidence Sehereden had gone except the Syld’s agony. She wandered around the derelict pyre, weaving between the bones. She’d read somewhere a labyrinth was different to a maze, because a maze was a puzzle you had to solve and labyrinth conjured useful thoughts.

  Given her head was empty of anything remotely useful, this must be in a bloody maze. She pulled the puzzle box out of her pocket but the usual sense of connection to Tahsin was missing. What she did sense though, was a rift. Not surprising given this was a place of death, and useful if Orthagh visited.

  ‘Speak of devil,’ she muttered, as someone approached but it was the Syld. He stopped on the edge of the clearing and they eyed each other across Tahsin’s remains.

  ‘Gothral said I’d find you here. I’d like to speak with you, if you’re willing.’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘Living in my sett.’

  Viv actually laughed. ‘Living in your sett?’

  ‘It was rebuilt in your absence. My new band live there with their kin. There’ll be plenty of company for you.’

  ‘You don’t want me in your sett.’

  ‘Fariye wants you.’

  ‘Fariye’s happy and settled, and if I love her, I’ll allow her to stay that way,’ mimicked Viv. The Syld advanced into the clearing and Viv edged towards the rift. ‘If you’re making a gesture for Sehereden’s sake, don’t bother,’ she said.

  ‘It’s for your lein!’

  ‘No, it isn’t. You’ve wanted me out of Fariye’s life since the moment we met. I saw her in Esh-accom, Syld, and she did look happy, so maybe it’s best I do stay away. She’ll reach an age one day when she’ll sense your hatred of me, and I never want her to have to choose between us. I’ll stay away, Syld, if you let me see her when you come to Esh-accom each zadican. Is it a deal?’

  His face twisted in contempt. ‘You’re content to spend your life harvesting retsen?’

  ‘Tahsin welcomed me.’

  ‘Tahsin’s dead and Gothral’s a very different man, as you’ll discover. You’d be better off accepting my offer.’

  ‘I’ve never been better off accepting anything you’ve offered, Syld,’ she spat. ‘Harvesting retsen’s an honest way to earn my keep, and there are enough misfits here for a stinking elddra like me to blend in!’

  Pain flicked across his face and vanished so quickly Viv thought she’d imagined it.

  ‘Whatever you are, you’re not elddra, unless Baraghan and Thrisdane lied.’ Viv was tempted to toss back he wasn’t Valen either, but she was too concerned about what Baraghan and Thris had actually said. Maybe the Syld intended to expose her as some sort of witch. She shoved the puzzle box in her pocket and turned towards the rift.

  ‘Don’t, Viv! Stay!’

  She stopped. It was the first time he’d used her name but she was more shocked by his apparent ability to sense the rift. Or maybe it was a lucky guess. ‘There’s no reason to stay.’

  ‘Fariye’s here, and your mother might be. I know the best route to Astraal and can aid your search.’

  Why was he suddenly so bloody keen she stayed? Maybe he and Baraghan had a bet going who could bed her first. She dismissed the idea. Baraghan might strut his stuff like a farmyard rooster, but it didn’t ring true of the Syld. And if he did know Astraal, and who was in charge, it could shorten her trip. On the other hand, having to walk would lengthen it.

  ‘I’m leaving at first light,’ she said.

  ‘First light it is,’ he said, and disappeared into the trees.

  Chapter 22

  ‘Are you as mad as Mad At?’ exclaimed Enesha, when Viv shared the news. Enesha was sprawled at the table in her room and Viv sat opposite. ‘No one goes to Astraal unless they’re Called, and then they think twice.’

  ‘The Stonash do.’

  ‘Trade makes it worth their while. It’s a hard journey, whichever way you go, and don’t expect a welcome at the other end. The Astraali only just tolerate our visits to their sacred lake.’

  ‘I need to see if my mother’s there.’

  ‘Why in Soaich’s name would your mother be there?’

  ‘She looks like me.’

  Enesha grunted. ‘And why go with Mad At given your history together?’

  ‘He’s been there before and he’s good with knives,’ said Viv, dredging up a smile.

  ‘And what does he want in return for being your little guide?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  Enesha laughed mirthlessly. ‘Believe that if it makes you happy, Viv.’

  ‘Just delay telling Gothral I’ve gone for as long as possible, will you? I want to be clear of the sett before he knows.’

  ‘Gothral’s no Tahsin, Viv, but you don’t need to fear him.’

  ‘He’s from the same sett as Orthagh, and I don’t want Orthagh knowing.’

  Enesha’s brows lowered. ‘He has been troubling you, hasn’t he? You should have told Gothral.’

  ‘They’re from the same sett,’ said Viv, with a shrug. ‘And it’s not what you think. I was troubled by the elddra in Esh-accom, and they weren’t happy I left. Orthagh is part of the same group. He’s let me know I’m being watched.’

  ‘Why would Orthagh be mixed up with elddra?’

  ‘Because he’s elddric.’ Enesha stared at her blankly. ‘The male of elddra,’ explained Viv, and rose. ‘If my mother’s not in Astraal, I’ll come back. If she is there, I don’t know what I’ll do. And if the journey’s as bad as you say, I mightn’t make it back anyway, so I’ll say goodbye now.’ She took a deep breath. ‘T
hank you for being kind, Enesha.’

  ‘I haven’t been kind.’

  ‘It’s all relative,’ said Viv, with another attempt at a smile. ‘You haven’t tried to kill me.’

  ‘Not since the first day,’ said Enesha, and enclosed her in rib-cracking hug. ‘Take care, Viv.’

  Viv nodded. ‘You too.’

  The predawn air was icy and despite her jacket, Viv shivered as they walked. They headed cloudwise up the val, keeping to the Kama-ril’s bank, but when a breeze sprang up, the Syld pulled a jacket from his pack, and tossed it to her. ‘Wear that,’ he said. Mittens followed. ‘You’ll need those later.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Viv, putting the jacket on and stowing the mittens. It was fleece-lined and her size, so he’d probably got it from the sett’s store. The exchange was the first words they’d spoken but Viv was happy to walk in silence. She’d put off searching Astraal so many times, it was a relief to have started the journey. The jacket was warm and she felt almost cheerful as she watched the redwings and the occasional shrill in the trees.

  ‘Are the birds the same as where you’re from?’ he asked. ‘Or doesn’t Moonsun have birds?’

  She’d been walking behind him but he dropped back to her side. There was no friendliness in his face and she wondered if he tested her honesty. Baraghan had obviously told him about Moonsun, but what else had he passed on? ‘Where I grew up had lots of birds. I haven’t seen any here that look like magpies, crows, or eagles, but the shrills are similar to sparrows. The Wheel’s owls are similar too.’

  ‘Why didn’t you stay in Moonsun with your choose-father?’

  ‘He was an arsehole. He beat my mother, and when she disappeared, he beat me. Then my seed-father turned up and told me my mother was still alive in another fold. He appointed Thris my guide and we set out to find her. Baraghan’s probably told you this already.’

  ‘Why not stay with your seed-father in Ezam?’

  ‘He’s an arsehole too. Not violent like my choose-father, but self-serving and vindictive. Moonsun isn’t like here, Syld. Mothers are more important than fathers. Men often abandon their seed-children and few want to raise the children of others. My choose-father would have likely murdered me and my mother, had he known I wasn’t his.’ The Syld’s shock was clear, and Viv decided to clear up a few other matters too. ‘It’s why I’m glad I can’t have children.’