by Troy Denning
They had just reached the steepest part of the hillside when they began to hear voices chattering ahead. Seema broke from a fast walk into a run, tugging Atreus's yak along behind her. From somewhere ahead came a loud crash, followed by the clatter of tumbling stone.
Atreus and Seema emerged from the forest onto a steep, jumbled talus slope. Twenty paces below, a circle of men were gathered around Yago's stooped form. Above the ogre stood an old man in a scarlet tabard, issuing commands in a thickly accented voice that Yago probably could not understand. By the woolen herb satchel hanging over the old man's shoulder, Atreus guessed that this was Kumara, the healer Timin had mentioned.
Seema tied the yak's lead to a bush. Atreus dismounted and followed her down to the crowd. They arrived to find the head and shoulders of a glassy-eyed man protruding from beneath a wagon-sized slab of granite. The poor fellow was lying on a blood-smeared boulder, babbling incoherently about yetis and devils. Yago stood over him, struggling alongside several villagers to keep the huge slab from dropping on his chest. Timin was kneeling next to the victim, presumably his father, stroking his hair and speaking gently while two other men pulled his arms. A third man had crawled under the stone so far that only the soles of his boots remained visible.
The victim shrieked in pain, and a muffled voice under the slab cried out, "Now!"
The men holding the victim's arms stepped back, pulling him from beneath the boulder. As his legs came free, one ankle began to spurt long arcs of blood. The other merely oozed from a smashed stump. Kumara instantly jumped down beside the injured man and pressed one hand to the spurting ankle, fishing through his woolen satchel with the other.
The brave man under the slab began to inch out, but Yago was having trouble holding the heavy stone. He groaned deeply, and gasped, "Fingers… slipping!"
The villagers frowned and began to jabber in confusion, and Atreus realized they had not understood the ogre's warning. He shouldered his way into the crowd, grabbed the ankles of the man under the stone, and jerked him out backward.
"In the name of the Five Kingdoms, take care!" the hero cried, twisting around to glare up at his handler.
"Rishi?" Atreus gasped, surprised to find himself staring down at his sly guide. "What are you getting out of this?"
"Nothing," Rishi, flushed with embarrassment, answered. "I am as surprised as you are, but no one else believed Yago could hold the stone."
At that instant, Yago cried out in alarm and jumped back. The granite slab crashed down, shaking the whole talus slope, and Atreus thought for an instant that the rockslide would begin again.
Rishi's eyes widened at the near miss, and he spun to glare at Yago. The ogre merely shrugged and turned away, stooping over the other onlookers to peer down at Timin's father.
"Is he gonna live?"
The father's glassy eyes grew round, then he began to shake his head in fear.
"Yeti devil!"
Yago's heavy brow rose. "Me?"
The man tried to push himself away. "Thief of daughters!" He scraped his fingers across the rock, searching for something to throw, crying, "Where is my Lakya?"
Atreus stooped over the man. "Is that what happened to your daughter?" he asked. "Did a devil steal her?"
When the man's gaze shifted to Atreus, he screamed in terror and cried, "Devils everywhere!"
He struggled to escape, flailing around so hard that the old healer could no longer hold him.
"You must step away," ordered Kumara. His glower slid from Atreus to Yago. "Both of you."
Yago scowled. "You guys are the ones that asked me-"
"Please, my father means no offense," said Timin, moving to block the injured man's view of Yago. "He is delirious."
Atreus nodded and pulled the ogre away, but even that did not calm Timin's father.
"Return my Lakya!" the man screamed. "Give her back!"
Kumara reached into his satchel and removed a small, clear vial. The liquid inside looked remarkably like water, save that it seemed to catch the light like a fine diamond and cast it back in a sparkling aura of radiance. When Atreus made the mistake of gasping, Kumara frowned and shifted around to hide the vial from view. There was a small popping noise, then the sound of liquid being poured. A silvery halo rose around both the healer and his patient, and Timin's father grew instantly quiet.
This time, it was the villagers who gasped.
Atreus's heart began to pound faster. He leaned over to Seema and, as casually as he could manage, whispered, "What was that?"
Seema hesitated, then said, "Water."
Atreus risked a doubtful frown. "Water?" he asked. "No water I've ever seen-"
"It comes from a special place!" Seema hissed. "Only healers may go there, and now you must ask no more."
"Why?"
Seema scowled at him. "Because it is the Sannyasi's wish, that is why!" She moved away, kneeled down beside Kumara, and said, "Is there anything I can do to help, Old Uncle?"
The old man gave her a glare that could have melted granite. "Have you not done enough already?" he asked.
Seema recoiled as though struck.
"What do you mean?"
Kumara nodded toward Atreus and Yago. "It is you who brought this evil on us." He ground a leaf between his fingers, then pushed the dust into the spurting wound on his patient's ankle and added, "You angered Fate by trying to cheat her, and now we must all pay."
Atreus could not stand the sight of the tears that welled in Seema's eyes. He squatted down across from Kumara, his misshapen face taut with anger.
"Speak how you wish about my friends and me, but Seema is not responsible for this," he said, gesturing at Timin's wounded father. "Nor is she responsible for the missing daughters. Only a coward would blame a woman for a devil's doing."
Kumara returned the threat with a black-eyed glare, then hissed three times. An invisible force as soft and powerful as the wind struck Atreus in the chest, knocking him to his haunches and leaving him gasping for breath.
The old healer narrowed his eyes. "In this place, you are a devil." He glanced at Seema and added, "Women who consort with devils are witches."
Seema gasped in outrage, then met Kumara's eyes and locked gazes. Atreus sensed that some contest neither he nor the villagers could quite perceive, much less understand, was taking place. The two healers glared at each other for what seemed an eternity, neither blinking nor seeming to breathe, until Seema finally began to tremble.
Kumara sneered, then raised his chin. "Do you hear it, Seema?" he asked.
Atreus heard nothing, but Seema's eyes darted toward the head of the basin.
"You see?" Kumara sneered. "Even Jalil's ghost knows what you are."
Seema's eyes flashed with fury, but she seemed unable to keep from turning her gaze in the direction of her own hamlet. She cocked her head as though listening. Her shoulders slumped and tears began to spill down her cheeks. She spun away and bounded up the boulder field, leaving Kumara to smirk at her back.
Atreus glared down at the old healer and said, "If Seema did bring evil to Langdarma, she is not the first There is enough wickedness in your heart for ten devils."
Kumara did not even look up. He simply hissed, and Atreus felt an invisible hand pushing him away. Yago scowled and started to step toward the healer, drawing an alarmed murmur from the crowd of villagers. Atreus quickly raised his hand.
"Seema wouldn't want that."
He motioned Yago and Rishi to his side and led the way a short distance up the talus pile. He spent the next several minutes glaring down the slope while Kumara tended to Timin's father, until he finally felt calm enough to speak.
"That old terror is right about one thing," he said. "Tarch followed us."
Yago's eyes grew round with fear, though it would have shamed the ogre to admit this, and Rishi shook his head.
"Such a thing is impossible," the Mar insisted. "You were not conscious, so you do not know…"
"I know that two girls have
disappeared since we've been here," Atreus said. "It was no coincidence that Timin's father was babbling about devils. He must have seen Tarch before the landslide."
Rishi closed his eyes and said, "And you want to capture him."
Atreus shook his head. "No, we've tried that," he said. "I want you two to track him down. We'll let the Sannyasi take care of the rest"
"Us two?" Yago could not quite suppress a knowing smirk as he added, "You going after the girl?"
Atreus nodded. "I'd only slow you down… and besides, you're not to get into a fight." He started to limp off, then paused. "Be back by dark, even if you find nothing. We promised Seema no killing, and I suppose that includes you two."
"The good sir is most generous," said Rishi. "I am certain he will reward us well for this danger."
Atreus smiled, then waved his hand around the valley. "You're seeing Langdarma," he said. "What more do you want?"
By the time Atreus hobbled up the slope to his yak, Seema had disappeared down the trail. He untied the lead and started after her, expecting to find her waiting a few switchbacks below.
When he reached the main trail without seeing any sign of her, he began to worry. Though he was no scout, he dismounted and sorted through the muddy tracks until he convinced himself that Seema had indeed turned toward home. This hope was confirmed as he passed through the hamlet, where the worried villagers stopped him to ask why she had seemed so troubled. Atreus assured them it had nothing to do with the condition of Timin's father, who would no doubt be returning soon under Kumara's care. He urged his yak toward Seema's hut
He arrived to find the door wide open and Seema kneeling beside a wooden chest, holding a small yak hair cloak. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she was still huffing from her long run. Atreus stopped just inside the door, reluctant to intrude, happy just to find her uninjured and at home.
Seema set the cloak aside, then removed a pair of brown trousers and a striped tunic. Finally, she withdrew a round hat of black felt and held it before her, running her finger along the brim. Though Atreus had not realized she knew he was there, after a time she placed the hat with the other clothes and turned to face him.
"I heard Jalil," she said. "He was crying and calling for me, but I was gone Outside. I did not answer, and then he just stopped calling."
Atreus limped into the room and kneeled across from her, picking up the hat. It was small, only a little larger than his fist. "Jalil was yours?" he asked. "Your son?"
"He was eight."
She took the cloak in her hands, rubbing the material as though she could bring the boy back by stroking his clothes.
"Kumara warned me not to go. He said I could bring Jalil nothing but pain by trying to cheat Fate. And now look. I have brought evil to the whole valley."
"You were trying to save your child. How can that be wrong?"
Atreus wanted to take her in his arms, but he could not quite bring himself to reach out, to believe that she, or anyone, would be comforted by his embrace. "If there was any evil in that, it was only that you had to go instead of Kumara," he offered.
Seema looked up from her son's cloak and said, "You don't understand. life in Langdarma brings with it sacred duties, even greater than that of a mother's love for her child."
Atreus thought of the terrible sacrifice his own mother had made to save his life and shook his head. "There is no duty greater than that of a mother to protect her child," he said.
"In Langdarma, there is. Langdarma is the birth home to Serene Abhirati, Mother of Peace and Beauty."
Atreus frowned, not seeing the connection. "And?"
"And Abhirati has been gone wandering the heavens for a hundred centuries. She left us to watch over her valley, and the Sannyasi to watch over us, so that all would be the same when she returned." Seema lowered her gaze, her hands crumpling the hem of her son's cloak, and said, "Kumara is right to be angry with me. My selfishness has brought evil into her home."
"Kumara is a fool," Atreus said, taking Seema's hands and gently smoothing Jalil's cloak. "If Abhirati is truly the Mother of Peace and Beauty, then she will understand… as one mother to another."
Seema looked up. "Do you think so?"
"I know so," Atreus said. "Would Abhirati have left the Sannyasi to protect you if she were not a good mother? If she is a good mother, how can she condemn you for doing all you could to save Jalil?"
Seema considered this, then said, "That does not change the evil I have brought on the valley. If you are right about Tarch being here, it is because of me."
Atreus shook his head. "If anyone is to blame for that," he told her, "it is Kumara."
Seema frowned and asked, "How can you say that?"
"No slaver wants old men like Kumara," said Atreus. "Had Kumara gone after the yellow man's beard instead of you, Tarch would not have bothered to kidnap him."
Atreus did not add that Kumara might also have returned in time to save Jalil's life, but he saw by Seema's furrowed brow that this had also occurred to her.
After a moment, she shook her head.
"This game makes no sense. We can say "what if this' and 'what if that' all day long, and it changes nothing."
"Aren't you the one who said no mortal can understand the Wheel of Life? Perhaps Tarch has been fated to come here since the beginning of time, or maybe it was Kumara who cheated fate by refusing to help save Jalil. I don't know." Atreus squeezed Seema's hands more tightly and said, "The only thing I do know is that no matter what Kumara says, you aren't to blame. You did what you did out of love, and that is never wrong."
Seema considered this, then said, "Thank you for saying these things." She closed her eyes and embraced him. "Even if they are not the truth."
"They are." Atreus kissed her forehead without really realizing he had, adding, "You can trust me."
"I already do."
Seema looked up, and Atreus was instantly lost in her brown eyes. He pressed his lips lightly to hers, then pulled away.
"I'm sorry," he said as he tried to disengage himself. "I don't mean to take advantage…"
"Do not apologize." Seema pressed a finger to his lips, refusing to let go, and said, "You are not taking advantage. I trust you, and you are a comfort to me."
Seema kissed him again, this time harder, and he could feel her need drawing him closer. She pressed her body against his. He wrapped her in his arms, felt the softness of her breasts against his hard chest, the heat of her belly warming his, the smooth curve of her hip beneath his fingers. She melted to the floor beneath him, drawing him down on top of her, holding him so close that it seemed she was trying to make him part of herself. He wanted to become part of her, to feel their bodies join as he had felt their spirits unite earlier, when she told him not to apologize-and then Atreus realized he was deceiving himself. Worse, he was deceiving Seema. He did not deserve the trust she had granted so freely, not while the secret of the fountain remained between them. Now that he had seen the sparkling waters in Kumara's hand, he knew Sune's quest was a literal one. He was to find the Fountain of Infinite Grace and return with a vial of its waters. He also knew that this was forbidden, that when he did as his goddess bade and filled his vial, he would betray Seema's trust in the cruelest manner.
Atreus's embraces grew weak and his kisses guilty. He began to feel the ungainliness of his body and recall his hideous looks. His desire for Seema became a sick, shameful thing that even his body would not abide. He drew his face away from hers, then could not bear the beauty of her brown eyes and looked away.
Seema continued to hold him. "Atreus?" she whispered. "Did you hurt yourself?"
"No. No, I'm fine." He could barely choke out the answer.
"Then why did you stop? Is love-making not a Devotion to your goddess?"
"Yes, it is," Atreus answered as he rolled off Seema, but stayed beside her and continued to hold her in his arm. Even that felt like a lie. He could not tell her about the fountain any more than she could ta
ke him to it. "I'm feeling uneasy."
Seema propped herself on an elbow. "You are wondering about Jalil's father?"
Atreus nodded, breathing a silent sigh of relief, and even that made him feel guilty.
"There is no need to think of him," Seema said. "He is only a friend now, and I seldom see him."
"He doesn't live nearby?" Atreus asked.
"No, he is a healer down in the valley. No more needs to be said about him."
Seema pushed herself up and began to fold Jalil's cloak.
"Now I am a little bit sad again," she said. "I hope you will forgive me."
"There is no need," Atreus said, picking up the boy's hat. "I fear it's you who must forgive me."
Atreus waited alone on the balcony until well after dark, when Rishi and Yago returned exhausted and famished. They had spent most of the day scouring the area around the rockslide and found nothing, not even a footprint they could identify as Tarch's. The Mar had been ready to declare the hunt over and report to Atreus that he was mistaken, but Yago, knowing first hand the comforts of a good deep grotto, had insisted upon investigating the Caves of Blue.
The task had proven more difficult than they could imagine. The mouths of more than a thousand different caverns dotted the face of the Turquoise Cliff, some located nearly a mile above ground. After a cursory examination of some of the ground level caverns, many of which they happened across only after catching a whiff of musty air from behind a bush, they had given up and returned to Seema's for the night.
At Atreus's insistence, they abandoned the search for the Fountain of Infinite Grace in favor of investigating the Caves of Blue. No more girls turned up missing, and Atreus was at first inclined to attribute the basin's good fortune to the vigilance of his friends. When they found no signs of Tarch after seven days, even Atreus began to think he had been wrong about the slave master following them into Langdarma. Yago and Rishi returned to looking for the fountain, though they often made a point of passing through Timin's village to inquire about signs of the devil.
It was after one such stop that Rishi returned with news of the fountain. Grateful for his father's life, Timin had finally responded to the Mar's discreet questioning. According to rumor, the twinkling water came from an ancient temple somewhere in the main valley. The news had, at first, disheartened Atreus, but Rishi had quickly hit on the idea of searching for the temple from above. They would simply climb the canyon walls and scan the valley floor, looking for any likely buildings or streams that sparkled more than they should.
