'Sar Avram! Sar Tavar!' I called out to the sentries. 'These are my friends — let them through!'
Sar Tavar, a long-faced knight, stared past the thin logs of the stockade and shook his head doubtfully. 'What if the thing from the amphitheater has taken on this woman's form?'
Liljana's forhead creased with puzzlement. I felt her bristling with anger at being kept waiting for what must have seemed no good reason. But I sensed her resolve to control this impulse and sort things out in a calm, careful and even relentless way. The flames of her being blazed with a bright will toward goodness, truth and beauty, and if she were realty a skulking murderer in disguise, then I might as well give up all hope, for the world had ended and the sun would not rise on the morrow.
'Let her pass,' I said to Sar Tavar again.
Sar Tavar and Sar Avram reluctantly pulled open the stockade's rudi-mentary gate, and Liljana and Daj stepped inside. Just then, Master Juwain, Maram and Atara came hurrying up behind us. Liljana greeted them warmly, then told me, 'I can see that my identity is questioned, though I really can't imagine why. You have stories to tell me, as I have you. Very well. But I'm the tome Liljana who cooked your meals and darned your socks across the length of Ea.. Of course I am.'
She bowed her head toward Atara, and then stared at me. 'Don't you rememher what I said to you in the White Mountains about what a woman truly desires?'
'Do you rememher?' I asked her.
'Of course I do.' She stepped closer to me, which caused Sar Tavar to grip the hilt of his sword. Then, as I leaned down, she cupped her hands over my ear and whispered, 'To be someone's beloved.'
If Atara had still possessed eyes, they would have filled with anguish just then. Somehow, she must have known what Liljana told me. She stood tall and still as one of the sculptures that the Frost Giants carve out of ice. I didn't want to look at her.
And then Liljana rushed forward and threw her arms around Atara. She kissed the cloth binding her face, and stroked her long hair. Tears streamed from her soft large eyes as she said, 'It's good to see you again, my dear.'
I felt Atara weeping inside as she embraced Liljana and kissed her. And then, in a quavering voice, with only a little irony, Atara said, 'It's good to see you, too.'
Daj ran up to me, and I grabbed his sides and raised him up in the air. He laughed as he looked at me eye to eye. Once, his lively face had held the aspect of one much older than his nine or ten years. But under Liljana's care much of the boy had returned to him. I set him down, and rumpled his hair. And he ran his finger over the diamonds encrusting my chest. He told me, 'Liljana taught me my letters, Ten times, maybe more I've read the story of how Aramesh and the Valari defeated Lord Morjin at the Sarburn, I didn't know anyone had ever defeated him before. . before you did in the hall. They call the Valari the "Diamond Warriors." But I never really believed your armor was made of diamonds,'
His words caused Sar Tavar and Sar Avram to beam with pride. Other knights had broken away from their meals to get a look at these two companions from the great Quest. Baltasar and Lord Raasharu crowded in close next to Skyshan of Ki, Sar Kimball and Sunjay Naviru. And then Lord Harsha and Behira, with Estrella, made their way down the lane between the tents. When Daj met eyes with Estrella, a smile as bright as the sun broke upon his face. He pushed past the tall knights nearby and ran straight up to her. 'Estrella!' he cried out. 'Estrella! Estrella!'
He hugged her to him and then stood back as they both fairly danced with delight. And Liljana called to him: 'You know this girl?'
'Yes, from the Dark City where she served one of the priests.' he said. 'She's my sister.'
We were all astonished to hear this, for during the many miles of our flight from Argattha, Daj had never spokeen of any relation that he might have left behind. Upon questioning, however. Daj now admitted that Estrella was his sister in spirit only.
'Her mother was a slave, too,' Daj said. 'She belonged to a weaver on the fourth level. That's where Estrella was born.' I stepped closer to these two mysterious children. I looked at Daj and asked. 'But how could you know that? Was there a time when Estrella could speak?'
'Of course there was,' he said. 'I mean, there is. She speaks so me now.'
I turned to Liljana, who held in her hand what seemed a little piece of driftglass cast into the shape of a whale. But I knew it to be of blue gelstei the stones that quickened the powers of truthsaying and listening to the whisperings of the mind. I looked into her wise, old eyes, and asked, 'Have you …?'
Have you taught him how to speak mind to mind?
Liljana had once promised me — and our other companions — that she would never look into another's mind without his leave. But she didn't need to exercise this power now to understand my unfinished question. She shook her head slightly as she said to me, 'No, I haven't.'
'Then what does Daj mean?' I asked.
I watched as he looked at Estrella, widening his eyes and pursing his lips. Estrella nodded as she gestured with her hand back toward the road. Then she slashed her finger across her throat. Her face darkened with a frown. I didn't need the gift of valarda to perceive the sadness that fell over her.
For a while the two children stood there facing each other, flashing hands, smiles or knowing looks at each other. It seemed they were talking to each other in a secret language much deeper than words. Then Daj broke off his silent communications. He looked at me and said simply, 'It's after you.'
'What is?' I said to him.
'The Skakaman,' he told me.
Baltasar, Skyshan and other knights moved in closer. Their eyes filled with dread as they regarded Daj warily. Dread seized my innards with cold claws, and I looked at Daj with amazement, for I had spoken this evil-sounding word to no one except Master Juwain. 'And what is that?' I asked Daj.
Daj held up his hands and shook his head. 'I don't really know. But I heard Lord Morjin speak of the Skakaman once. I think it's something he sends to hunt people down when they're asleep. It… steals their faces.'
Baltasar muttered something to Sunjay then, and Lansar Raasharu's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. Other knights looked at each other as if seeking to confirm their worst fears. Seeing this, Master Juwain stepped over to me and said, 'Perhaps we should return to your pavilion. I'm sure our friends would welcome a little dinner.'
At the mention of food, Daj's eyes lit up. In Argattha, he had often had only rats to eat — that is, when he'd had anything at all.
And so I bade the Guardians to return to their meals or posts. I led Liljana and Daj back to my pavilion, where they joined Atara, Maram and Master Juwain inside. Since Daj and Estrella seemed inseparable, I invited the girl as well. In the soft light of the oil lamps that I meant to keep burning all night, we sat in a circle and shared our simple meal of roasted pork loin and some fresh bread and onions that we had bought in the village. The walls of my tent, lined with white silk, danced with shadows. Because they were so thin, we kept our voices low as we discussed all that had happened along the way from my father's castle toward Tria — and what had occurred in that great city over the last few days.
'A tinker traveling up the road,' Liljana said to me, 'passed your knights earlier today. When he reached Tria, he told of a company of Valari a few miles outside the walls. The word has spread quickly. Ever since King Waray and King Mohan arrived, everyone has been expecting you, myself most of all. I had to hurry to leave the city before they closed the gates for the night. And so here I am.'
'Why the urgency?' I asked her. 'Don't tell me that it's just because you're glad to see an old friend?'
'I am glad to see an old friend, my young friend,' she said, reaching out to squeeze my hands. 'But there are things I must tell you before you go into the conclave tomorrow.'
'Then has it already begun?' I asked.
'It has,' she said. 'King Kiritan wouldn't wait upon your arrival. Your Valari kings, of course, objected to that, since, as they said, it was your father who called fo
r the conclave in the first place. But King Kiritan shouted them down. There has been much shouting in his hall. For two days, that's all these glorious kings have done, shout and argue with each other.'
Between bites of bread and pork, she told of some of these disputes. The sovereigns of the Free Kingdoms, it seemed, could not even agree upon the nature of what they were supposed to agree upon. Were they met to make an alliance against Morjin or only to discuss means to forestall his aggressions? Old King Hanniban of Eanna, for one, professed little fear of Morjin. He claimed that the southern kingdoms had fallen to Morjin's perfidies and plots because they were weak. But the Free Kingdoms, he said, were strong. He boasted that the combined navies of Eanna, Thalu and Nedu could easily blockade the Dragon Channel against Morjin's warships. And if Morjin's armies tried to attack Eanna by way of the much more arduous land route through Surrapam, then Eanna, with aid from Thalu alone, could easily beat back the invaders.
'King Hanniban,' I said, upon listening to this, 'is shortsighted. He thinks only of his own kingdom.'
'So it is with each king, I'm afraid,' Liijana said.
'And he underestimates his enemy,' I said. 'Morjin will soon fall against the Ymanir and destroy Elivagar. He'll reinforce Yarkona from Sakai, then order Count Ulanu to attack Eanna from its soft underbelly in the southeast, even as his Hesperuk armies move up through Surrapam. He'll crush Eanna between these two jaws. King Hanniban must be blind not to see this.'
As I said this, Atara's lips tightened. But she sat across from me in silence.
'Well,' Liijana said, 'other kings do favor an alliance.'
'Which kings?' Maram asked from beside her.
'Well, your father,' she said. 'I think he's very eager to make alliance with Alonia and the Nine Kingdoms. He fears that Delu will be attacked from Galda across the Terror Bay, as in ancient times.'
'Ah, well, he's a fearful man,' Maram said 'But in this case with good reason.'
'Too true,' Liijana said. 'And if reason alone prevailed, Alonia would promise aid to Delu. But King Kiritan doesn't want to commit forces that might be needed in defense of his own kingdom — unless others first commit to him. They're selfish men, these kings.'
'Then all must commit as one,' Master Juwain said. 'There simply must be an alliance.'
'And that is precisely what King Theodor Jardan has said. Of course, being of the Elyssu, he's a reasonable man.'
'Of course,' Master Juwain said. He, who had been born on this island kingdom, smiled at Liljana. But she did not smile back.
'But I'm sorry to say,' she told him, 'that King Theodor favors an alliance only with Alonia and Delu — and possibly with the Nine Kingdoms. The western kingdoms he doesn't trust. It's been only twelve years since the Elyssu warred against Nedu.'
She watched as Master Juwain's ugly face fell into a frown. From the moment these two luminaries of their respective Brotherhood and Sisterhood had met, they had taken to sparring verbally with each other.
And then Maram put in, 'Is there anyone besides my father who favors an alliance of all the Free Kingdoms?'
'Well, there is Atara's father,' Liljana said, looking at Atara. 'King Kiritan has almost persuaded King Tal and King Aryaman of the need — King Theodor, too. If he succeeds, King Hanniban will likely go along with them. But it seems he won't succeed.'
'But why not?' Atara asked, breaking her silence.
'Because the kings dispute everything,' Liljana said. 'Are the Free Kingdoms merely to make a pact to come to each other's defense in case of invasion? Or are they to form an army and navy of their own, and themselves invade the lands held by the Red Dragon? And if so, how many battalions of foot is each kingdom to contribute? How many archers and knights? How many warships? What should be the Alliance's strategy?'
'Fourteen kings,' I said, 'will likely offer fourteen different strategies.'
'Of course they would,' Liljana said, brushing bread crumbs from her lap. 'Of course they have. And that is why everyone realizes, even if they won't admit it, that only one of them can lead the Alliance. King Kiritan is exercising all his power to ensure that he is that king.'
'That,' I told her, 'can never be. The Valari kings would never accept any but a Valari to command the Alliance.'
She nodded her head as she wiped her hands on a moistened cloth. 'King Hadaru has made this clear to everyone. King Waray, too. And King Mohan has said that the only one of Valari who could be Lord of the Alliance would be the Lord of Light himself.' Liljana, having finished eating, turned to look at me with clear eyes that missed very little. I sensed her searching for something deep inside me. I could almost feel her congratulating herself that any noble qualities she found there were at least partly due to her cherishing my soul.
I wiped my hands, too, then broke out a bottle of brandy, which pleased Maram greatly. After filling all our cups, I turned to Liljana and said, 'Then have the Valari kings spoken much of the Maitreya?'
'All the kings have spoken of him,' she told me. 'And throughout the whole of the city, there is talk of little else. You can't know how much we Trians have awaited the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies.'
I noticed Atara holding her head utterly still. She seemed to be looking at something outside my tent, past the shadowed, silken walls of time. To Liljana, I said, 'Then is it possible they would entertain the thought of the Maitreya being of the Valari?'
'If that Valari lord was he who had brought the Lightstone out of Argattha,' she said, squeezing my hand again, 'they would welcome him with open hearts and trumpets blowing.'
'And you, Liljana?'
'Why, the questions you ask!' she said, squeezing my hand even more tightly. 'I'd be overjoyed for you to claim the Lightstone — if that is truly your fate.'
She paused to take a sip of brandy as she looked at first Atara and then Estrella. And then she said, 'Of course, I'd always hoped that the Maitreya promised to bring in the Age of Light would be a woman.'
We all smiled at this, except Liljana herself. She had never been one to take herself or her own words lightly. But more to the point, ever since she had looked into Morjin's mind in Argattha, she had lost her ability to smile, even as Atara had warned her.
Now it was my turn to squeeze her hand. I said to her, 'But what of the kings at the conclave, then?'
'Some are almost ready to accept Valashu Elahad as the Maitreya,' she told me. 'Most of your Valari kings, of course. King Marshayk. And, I think, King Theodor. Even King Aryaman.'
'Ah,' Maram said, staring at his cup, which he had already emptied, 'it is one thing to accept Val as the Maitreya but quite another to make the Maitreya the Lord of the Alliance.'
'True, true,' Liljana said. 'But better the Maitreya as Lord, many say, than King Kiritan himself. Few except Lord Kirriland and the nobles closest to King Kiritan want to see him as a King of Kings.'
'But would they want Val any more?' Maram asked.
'It is to Val's advantage,' Liljana said, 'that he is not a king, nor ever likely to be.'
Master Juwain sighed as he rubbed the back of his shiny head. 'From what I remember of Val's last meeting with King Kiritan, it seems unlikely that he will ever accept Val as the Maitreya, much less as Lord of the Alliance.'
'Not unless the other kings accept him first,' Liljana said. 'Then King Kiritan will be forced to bow to their will — either that or to stand alone.'
'My father,' Atara said suddenly, clenching her hands, 'will not suffer anyone's will, not even that of thirteen other kings.'
'But he can't want to oppose all the Free Kingdoms!' Maram said.
'No, of course he doesn't,' Liljana told us. 'Which is why he also won't suffer anyone calling Val the Maitreya. And that is why I've come here tonight — one of the reasons.'
She put down her cup and brought out her little whale figurine. For a few moments she stared at this bit of blue gelstei. Then she looked at me and said, 'King Kiritan means to challenge you, Val.'
I noticed that Maram a
nd Master Juwain were also staring at me intently. To Liljana, I said, 'To challenge me … as man or Maitreya?'
'Perhaps both,' she told me. 'But he will certainly try to discredit your claim to the Lightstone.'
'But how?' I asked her. 'And how do you know?' I glanced down at her figurine, and so then did Maram. He had always feared that she might peer into his mind as easily as she might open the pages of a book, regardless of all her promises.
'As for how I know,' she said to me, 'that is easy to tell. One of my cousins is one of King Kiritan's tasters. She's sniffed out his intentions, so to speak.'
'You mean, one of your sisters of the Maitriche Telu,' Maram said. 'And you mean, she's spied on him.'
Liljana reached out to tap Maram's empty cup as if blaming the brandy for loosening his tongue. 'You should be careful of what you say, young man, and where you say it.'
She looked at Estrella, who sat across from her limned against the tent's thin walls.
'The girl has all our trust,' Maram told her. 'Besides, she's unlettered, and she couldn't tell anyone of what she hears.'
This last, of course, had proved not to be true. All this time, Estrella had sat next to Daj, flashing bright smiles at him, speaking to him in their private way and seemingly ignoring the conversation of her elders.
'Estrella,' I told Liljana, 'is one of us now. 'Her fate is tied to my own.'
'Do you trust her?' Liljana asked me.
Estrella's dark, wild eyes, found mine just then, and I said, 'With all my heart. With my life.'
No sooner had these words left my lips then Daj looked me and laughed out, 'Estrella trusts you, too, Val. She even trusts Liljana.'
He turned to smile at Liljana, but she just sat across from him regarding him sternly. And she muttered, 'Impertinent boy.'
Daj, in Argattha, had faced a fire-breathing dragon bravely, but he now fairly wilted beneath Liljana's disapproval. Seeing this, Liljana leaned over and touched his arm. Her voice softened as she said, 'These are matters of life and death, Daj. And not just our lives, either.'
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