“Forgive me, Brother,” Kel’Ratan said, his tone sharp. “What makes you say so? Just what is a ‘beloved of the gods’? Why her?”
Lavi cocked his head, now the one confused. “You don’t know?”
I wanted to scream. Taking hold of my self-control with an effort, I put my elbows on my knees, leaning forward. “I am Ly’Tana, Princess of Kel’Halla,” I said firmly. “I have many titles, some grand, some not so much. No one ever, until you, has ever titled me Beloved of the Gods. Surely you’re mistaken.”
Lavi smiled, a sweet, gentle smile. Dropping his face slightly, he peered up at me from beneath his brows. “There is no mistake, Princess,” he said softly. “The divine light in your eyes proclaim you.”
Kel’Ratan swiveled his head sharply to peer at me, frowning. Silverruff whined low, also seeking evidence of Lavi’s claim. Further away, Rygel furrowed his brow, his amber gaze not on me, but at the dirt between his boots.
Oddly, Arianne smiled, her magnificent grey-blue eyes glowing softly. She only added to my confusion and I quickly looked away.
Li stirred from his spot near the tent. “Pray you, good Brother, explain more fully, for not even I understand your words.”
Lavi nodded. “For a reason known only to themselves, the gods will select a certain person for their favors.”
“Favors?” Kel’Ratan asked, when my dry mouth couldn’t form the word.
Since very suddenly my gut roiled within me and my head swam, I dared not glance away from Lavi’s smiling face. I might faint if I did. My heart thudding like a runaway horse, I knew what he would say next. I knew.
“All the good gods and spirits will answer her prayers,” Lavi went, his kind smile firmly in place. “There are none who will refuse her.”
“That explains it,” Rygel broke in suddenly, his own teeth flashing white in the sun. “Damn, if that isn’t the answer.”
“What answer?” Kel’Ratan fumed. “You’re as vague as he is.”
Rygel’s eyes dragged mine from Lavi. We both understood, without words, exactly what Lavi meant.
“The innkeeper of the Whoring Whale,” Rygel went on. “Her Highness blessed him that night. Remember?”
Comprehension dawned, flooded Kel’Ratan’s face. His jaw dropped. Arianne nodded, also remembering my story after Rygel and I flew over the devastation left behind by the Wrath of Usa’a’mah. Corwyn nodded somberly, and offered me a ghost of a wink.
Silverruff and Shardon pled ignorance, the former with a quick whine and the latter wide, inquiring eyes. Li sat down at last, folding his legs under him, his saber across his lap. Brother Lavi’s face begged to know, his half-smile quick, coaxing nod asked me for an explanation. While I did not relish speaking of it, I knew I needed to.
Drawing a shuddering breath, I swiped my hair from my face and tried on a smile. “A while back, gods how long ago was it? A month? More? In Soudan, we rode to rescue Arianne here from slavery. She’s my–” I tripped over the word ‘beloved’, half-choked and said it anyway, “–my beloved’s sister. I, er, was disguised as a priestess of Osimi, as the High King hunted us all.”
Brother Lavi nodded. “I recognized your name, Princess. I know you are running from him even now.”
His brows raised, he glanced about the sky and the nearby hills, the village below. “Where’s your griffin?”
Suppressing a sigh, I peeked up at the same moment Bar winged over the tops of the sand dunes he’d hidden behind and sailed serenely down our side. Loose sand drifted in his wake as his wide wings sent wind currents spiraling out of control behind him. He circled dramatically low over Lavi’s tent before dropping lightly to all four feet behind me.
“Drama queen,” I muttered.
“No need to be nasty,” Bar answered, furling his wings and sitting down. His immense body cast Kel’Ratan and me in shadow, shielding us from the sun. His tail’s black tip flipped lazily back and forth.
To his credit, Lavi smiled at the sight of Bar’s graceful body, showing no fear of a predator who might kill him with one swipe of a talon.
“Greetings, noble Bar,” Lavi said, offering Bar a half-bow.
“At least he’s polite.”
“Suggesting I’m not?”
“Did I say that?”
“Pray carry on, Princess,” Lavi said, gesturing toward me. “You disguised yourself as an Osimi priestess?”
I nodded, returning to the story with an effort. “At a tavern called the Whoring Whale, the innkeeper asked for my blessing.”
I caught my breath, glancing to Kel’Ratan for something, anything. Taking my hand, he squeezed it, offering me a rare, personal smile of love and encouragement. A sweet smile, one just for me. I doubted I could’ve continued without it.
My audience, their rapt attention riveted, almost caused me to fumble again. “I’d no earthly idea what a real priestess would say,” I said slowly, uncertain of my footing. “Thus, I just, um, waggled my fingers and said, er, ‘you’re blessed’.”
“Then what happened, Ly’Tana of Kel’Halla,” Li asked.
I shrugged, helpless. “Not much. We got caught in Brutal’s trap. Kel’Ratan was shot with an arrow. I lost my mind for a while, tried to kill Brutal by myself–”
“What’s this?”
Kel’Ratan’s outraged voice burnt through my story. I flapped my hand at him, annoyed.
“Suffice to say, we escaped Brutal,” I said. I glanced at Kel’Ratan. “Though ’twas not without cost. After, we sheltered at the Monastery of Jeffe.”
Lavi nodded encouragement. “I know of it.”
“The next day, a tremendous storm hit the area, devastating everything. It all but ripped up the monastery by its roots, but ancient magic held it, and us, close.
“After it was over–” I half-glanced at Rygel’s grinning face, “–in the form of birds, Rygel and I flew over Soudan. The river flooded the entire quarter, leveled everything except–”
“Except?” Lavi asked eagerly, his hazel eyes bright.
“Except the Whoring Whale.”
Silverruff growled what I suspected was a curse of surprise. Li gawked like a small boy. Shardon nodded, forcing Rygel to sweep silver mane out of his eyes, as though something just clicked in his head.
Only Lavi beamed, his hands wide. “How can you not have known you are the Beloved?”
“I thought it was a coincidence.”
“There’s no such thing, Princess.”
“This can’t be right,” I muttered, folding my arms over my knees and dropping my face into their shelter.
“Let me understand. You say she’s beloved of all the gods,” Kel’Ratan demanded, leaning forward, “and all the gods answer her prayers, this is what you’re telling us?”
“It is, my lord.”
“Curses, as well, I expect?”
“Indeed, my lord.”
“Then why in the bloody hell is one trying to kill her?”
I straightened. Brother Lavi started, his smile dropping from his face instantly. His brows came together under his shiny, bald skull. “What’s this? A god wants to kill her?”
“Or a goddess,” I said. “Maybe Osimi doesn’t like me impersonating her priestesses.”
“Nonsense,” Lavi replied quickly. “Osimi would favor you in that guise, for she loves all in her service.”
“Some divine power is very angry,” Rygel said, his voice soft. “He/she/it even tried to turn me against her.”
As Lavi swung his head toward Rygel, Rygel smiled sadly, his tawny eyes on me. “It almost worked. I nearly killed her.”
“Tell me all,” Lavi said, his tone firm, worried. “Please.”
To spare me, Kel’Ratan explained the earthquake, the hate-filled, cheated snarl Raine heard in his head the moment he flung me into Bar’s talons. In clipped words, he told of the savage lightning storm that chased me over the hills and only Shardon’s speed kept me alive. To his credit, Kel’Ratan didn’t look once at Rygel as he spoke of my
disguise as a slave, Rygel’s tension, the soldiers, and Rygel’s complete loss of control.
Lavi listened intently, his body inclined forward, his hands clasped between his knees. When Kel’Ratan finished, I half-smiled and shrugged. “Here we are, Brother, hoping you may have some answers. And help me make peace with whoever is trying to kill me.”
“You speak to all the gods, can you not?” Rygel asked. “You are a Huhtamaki monk?”
Lavi bit his lip, nodding absently to Rygel’s question. “I am of the Stone Temple of the Huhtamaki, yes. Princess . . . tell me more of this storm.”
“The Wrath of Usa’a’mah,” Corwyn answered quietly, speaking for the first time.
At Corwyn’s terse explanation, Lavi straightened. His head lifted, cocked, as though hearing words on the light breeze. For a long, agonizing moment for me, he sat still, silent, barely breathing. My left hand crept around Silverruff’s shaggy neck, needing his strong comfort. Something about the way Lavi sat as if listening . . . .
Lavi stirred into life. “By your leave, Princess, Clan Chief,” he said. “Permit me to go to my chapel. I must pray in solitude.”
“Of course,” I said, surprised.
Rising, he bowed low to both of us. His robes swirling about his legs, his rope belt swinging, Lavi strode rapidly behind his tent. Climbing the hill beyond the steaming, noxious cauldrons, he vanished over the top.
“He built himself a tiny stone church,” Li explained. “We dare not enter that holy place.”
“How did he happen to come here, Clan Chief?” Kel’Ratan asked. I leaned against Silverruff’s massive shoulder and shut my eyes, my head tucked against his neck. He rumbled deep in his chest, the vibration tickling my ear.
“He said everything will be fine,” Rygel translated, his voice subdued.
“Will it?” I whispered, though I knew only Silverruff’s, Shardon’s and Bar’s keen ears heard me.
“Somehow,” Shardon said. “We’ll make it so.”
Li carried on as if this exchange hadn’t happened. “Several years ago, he fled the terror and the killings the High Priest of Usa’a’mah brought down. One step ahead of the priest-soldiers, his brothers dead for their faith, he sought sanctuary here.”
“Obviously, he’s no threat to your people.”
I heard Li’s robes rustle as he shrugged. “Despite his non-aggression, we do not take in strays. However, he convinced me to allow him to prove his usefulness, and here he is. He does not just brew talela, he is also wise in healing and curing sickness. Many of my people come to him for spiritual help.”
“Do you not have your own priests?” Rygel asked.
“We do,” Li answered, smiling. “Brother Lavi is far wiser than they, however.”
Brother Lavi’s servant appeared before me as if by magic, startling me. I sat up, recoiling, blinking at the skin and offered cup in his small hands. Accepting the water he proffered, I drank deep, not realizing how thirsty I was. The hot, mid-morning sun drained me without my realizing it. I gestured for him to fill it again for Silverruff. After Silverruff accepted his share, the boy took the water to everyone else. He filled a bucket to the brim for Shardon, and waited politely until he drank his fill.
Nearly an hour passed before Lavi flapped back down the hill. In that short time I alternated between anxiety, futility, anger, terror and annoyance. I bit my nails. When Kel’Ratan dragged my right hand from my teeth, I nibbled on the left. Rygel pulled my hand down and clasped it as Bar clicked his beak.
“You’re giving me a headache. Cease already.”
My acid response deserted me at the critical moment. My mouth opened, but as I watched Lavi half-jump, half slide down the loose sand, all cognitive thought dissipated into dust. I swallowed hard, yet nothing passed my throat save a sharp gulp. To save my life, I couldn’t utter a word.
“Forgive me, Princess,” Lavi said, emerging from behind his tent. He dropped to his knees with his hands knotted on front of him. His brows furrowed in anxiety as a tiny tendril of sweat dripped from his temple.
I couldn’t breathe, yet I pushed a few coherent words into life. “Did you learn anything, Brother?”
“I did. The earthquake was not the first attempt on your life.” He raised his pleasant hazel, now frightened, eyes to mine. “The storm was the first attempt–”
Kel’Ratan bolted up, onto his feet. “I knew it! Usa’a’mah is trying to kill her. He’s angry because she killed that bloody Theodoric.”
Lavi nodded. “He’s correct. Usa’a’mah is furious you killed his High Priest.”
“Why?” I exploded, badly scared. “That idiot abused Usa’a’mah’s worshippers, took monies that belonged to his temple for his own, murdered people in his name–”
All through my desperate rant, Lavi nodded. “Indeed, Princess. He was all that. His behavior caused Usa’a’mah great embarrassment, even condemnation from many of his brother gods and sister goddesses. Usa’a’mah was very put out with his priest and planned to take steps.”
“Then why–”
Lavi raised his hands in a calming motion, encouraging me to silence and Kel’Ratan to sit back down. I took a deep breath, my arm, which trembled out of my control, around Silverruff’s heavy neck. He nuzzled my cheek, whining low. Kel’Ratan obeyed with a snort, scowling and his blue eyes hot and fierce.
“You misunderstand the dark god of war and death,” Lavi said, returning to his spot near Li and folding his legs. His anxious face did little to reassure me. “Usa’a’mah, blessed be his holy name, is a temperamental and jealous god. While he planned for Theodoric to die, he wanted the man to suffer, to know his sin. Theodoric’s merciless killing of other gods’ and goddesses’ worshippers, and converting the survivors to Usa’a’mah’s worship, cost the dark god a reprimand. Furious, Usa’a’mah craved Theodoric’s blood spilled slowly. You, with your keen sight and steady hand, robbed Usa’a’mah of his revenge.”
“You’re not serious!” Kel’Ratan exploded, once more on his feet. “He’s angry because Ly’Tana did what he planned to do himself?”
Brother Lavi smiled sadly. “In Usa’a’mah’s mind, Ly’Tana killed him too cleanly. Had she spilled his blood drop by drop, Usa’a’mah couldn’t be better pleased. Unfortunately, Theodoric died quickly, cleanly. Usa’a’mah could only sit in judgment, consign him to hell, and brood over his unslaked thirst for revenge. He made Her Highness, the Beloved, his target.”
“Gods above and below,” I muttered, hiding my face in my arms. “Damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”
“I apologize, Princess,” Lavi said. “But you’re right. Usa’a’mah won’t be satisfied with anything less than your death.”
“What of the other gods?” Rygel asked suddenly, also on his feet. “If she’s their Beloved, aren’t they doing something to help?”
Brother Lavi smiled gently. “She’s still alive, isn’t she?”
That brought my head up and halted Kel’Ratan’s prepared tirade. Rygel frowned. “Can they keep him off her?”
Lavi shrugged. “They’re doing their best. But with every failure, Usa’a’mah’s fury grows. As does his determination. He’ll try again.”
“Is there nothing that’ll satisfy him?” I pleaded, near despair.
“Only your death.”
“Then Beloved of the Gods doesn’t mean very bloody much, then does it?” Kel’Ratan snarled, pacing about, running his hand through his red locks.
“It does, indeed, my lord,” Lavi said. “She is protected.”
“What does all that mean, anyway!” I snapped, my anger replacing my fear. I jumped to my feet, pacing about, too furious to sit still any longer. “I pray for something and they grant it?”
Lavi nodded gravely. “That’s exactly what it means.”
“If I prayed for someone to die, they die?”
“Indeed, Princess.”
In a wild, laughing moment, I screamed, “Then how about I pray for the end of the world? Maybe I should
end the world, and then Usa’a’mah wouldn’t have much to bitch about, then would he? Would they answer that?”
“Indeed, Princess. They would.”
My teeth snapped shut so hard I bit my tongue. “You’re not serious. Tell me, you’re not absolutely, dead serious.”
“I am.”
With my hands on my sword’s hilt, I leaned over the good brother. “I could ask the gods to destroy the world, and they’d destroy it?”
“They wouldn’t like it, but yes, they would.”
I sagged back so hard I missed the log, bruised my back on its bark and sat down hard in the sand. “That’s not right.”
I trembled. Under the broiling sun, I shook, chilled to the bone. Gooseflesh rose on my skin; I felt cold, as cold as the frozen north Raine galloped toward, even now. That’s not right.
Lavi’s voice, soft yet as implacable as Usa’a’mah’s quest for revenge, found its way into my ears despite my arms over them. “They wouldn’t have chosen you, Princess, had you not been worthy.”
“I am not worthy,” I screamed, raising my head, my hair in my face, blinding me. “Can’t you see that? Can’t they see that?”
More than his words, Lavi’s silence spoke volumes. Through red-gold strands of my hair, I found him watching me. His eyes kind and his lips half-smiling, he exuded sympathy. Instantly, I hated him. Despised his kindness, loathed his pity, and detested his message. I hated Usa’a’mah for his jealous rage. I reviled Nephrotiti and Osimi. I condemned Darius for taking Raine away from me. I scorned Arianne for the love and support I saw in her eyes, I abhorred Rygel for–everything.
I sat on the ground with my hair over my face and I–I hated.
Once more, my rescue came from the smallest among them.
He leaped from Mikk’s broad back to the ground without harming himself, and toddled the distance across the sand. Alone, mastering his fear, he ventured on, knowing my need. Answering a call only he heard. My brave knight in arms, my hero, the only one to whom I might listen.
Whining, Tuatha crawled into my lap.
I hugged him close, my anger whirling apart like a straw shack in a twister, leaving behind only terror. His warm tongue caressed my neck, my hair shielding us both. Arianne had the right idea. Hair made an excellent place to hide.
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