As Ari slipped into the cavern, he saw Malera enter the center passage at the rear. He pulled the scarlet fyrestone from beneath his tunic and took the blue in his hand. Both stones pulsed with energy.
He heard a sound behind him and whirled. One of the young men he’d seen in the camp entered the cave. Though his hands were bound by silver chains, his legs were unfettered. He held a haversack by the straps. When he saw Ari, he froze.
“Don’t fear me,” Ari said. “I was also her prisoner.”
“Please. I need to escape. She plans to leave me for the lopestas when she returns to Rosti.”
“There is nowhere to go.”
The young man pointed to the rear of the cavern. “In my land, I was a scholar, a dragon master and heir to the prince. There is a passage leading through the mountain to my land.”
How could this young man be sure which passage to use? “Do you know which is the right one? One tunnel is blocked.”
“Before I was betrayed and sold to the slavers, I read the histories of my land. One scroll told of how the rulers of the three lands of Fyre met in this place.”
Ari grabbed the chain and used his knife to snap the links. “Go. Good luck.” He reached for the remainder of the torches and lit one. “Take these three to light your way. And take the water flask. May the fates favor you.”
“You have my thanks. Should you ever cross the mountains, look for me. I am Drakon.”
“Ari.”
As the young man scurried to the left-hand tunnel, Ari hoped the escape would succeed. He crossed the cavern and entered the center passage. Just inside, he paused to make sure Malera hadn’t lingered.
* * *
Ria jumped to her feet. She had dozed. What had roused her? When she heard voices, she peered into the dimly lit tunnel and listened. Sandals scraped across stone. Light from a yellow fyrestone broke through the darkness. The crystals on the passage walls gleamed.
Who, she wondered? The first of the shadowy figures took shape. A woman clad in a dusty yellow caftan appeared. Ria backed away. Had the priestess been sent to drag her back to Rosti? They couldn’t, for she now had a scarlet crystal.
“What do you see?”
The husky timbre of that voice startled Ria. Malera, who never left the hamlet, was here. Ria’s body trembled. Was she ready to face the chief priestess? She had to be. There was no other choice for there was no place to hide.
What had happened to Ari? He had planned to leave the glen. Had he been captured? Was that the reason she hadn’t been able to sense him? For an instant, she wondered if he had betrayed her. Impossible. They were twice bonded.
She closed her eyes and sought him and brushed against his presence. She sent a plea. If he stood with her, they might survive the challenge.
She retreated to the far side of the tiered circle. Prepare. Had the thought been his or hers? She climbed the tier and stood on the scarlet level facing the entrance. Her hand pressed against the three caged crystals she wore. She drew several calming breaths and steeled herself to face Malera.
A woman emerged from the passage. Ria recognized her as one of the priestesses who had been part of the circle when the fyrestones had been destroyed. Two more priestesses and two acolytes moved from the tunnel’s mouth.
“’Tis like the inner chamber,” an acolyte said
The first priestess walked to the foot of the circle. “’Tis larger than the one in Rosti. Look, there are stones in the cups. What is this place?”
Malera glided from the passage. “’Tis the ancient temple and a place of great power.”
The priestess who drew fire from an orange lifted a crystal from a cup on the lowest level. “Whites. We never use them except during the solstice rites.”
Malera laughed. “When we return to Rosti, we will expand the inner chamber and duplicate this circle. Think of the power we will wield. No one will dare oppose me.”
“No one.” Ria hadn’t meant to speak, but the words were out before she could stop them.
Malera looked up. “So you are here. You should have fled. This place and all it holds is mine.” She raised her fyrestone. “Prepare to die.”
Ria drew a deep breath. She held her caged scarlet. “In this ancient temple where men and women worked as equals, using the crystals for good, I challenge you. You destroyed Gydon, turned fertile fields into a waste where only lopestas can live. Join me on the tiers. We will call the flames and see who wins.”
Malera laughed. “A traitor deserves death.” A tongue of flame shot from her stone.
Ria sent an arrow of fire to divert Malera’s threat. “Again, I cry a challenge.”
“You are but a child newly come to power. For twenty-five years I’ve been a priestess and have ruled the temple for almost twenty. Do you think you can defeat me?”
“Perhaps I will lose, but I remember another time we met. When I stood on the Rosti circle, you couldn’t force me to obey your commands.” Ria cupped the scarlet and braced for another assault. A cloud passed over the opening above the tiers and cast shadows over the chamber. “Come, Malera. Join me on the tiers. I will face you. Are you afraid to meet me?”
While Malera approached the circle, Ria calmed her racing thoughts. She wished she had a blue and could use it. But that stone could only be used by a triple bonded pair.
“So bold and foolish,” Malera said. “You should fear me.”
Ria stiffened. To admit her fear aloud would be foolish, but to deny it to herself could be a fatal mistake. She was afraid. Could she keep Malera from learning? “Why should I fear you? The last time we met, the stones of the circle became cinders.”
Malera snorted. “You tricked me. That’s why there was a stalemate. I had no idea you planned a betrayal. Now I know you for what you are.” She gestured to the priestesses and acolytes. “Though she has no right to challenge, I will contest. Take your places on the tiers. When I command, you must activate your sections.”
Ria closed her eyes and sought to center herself. A snake of fear slithered along her spine. She was one against six. Somehow, she must survive and win.
* * *
Once Malera vanished into the gloom, Ari hurried along the passage. He halted at the end of the tunnel. A dark cloud shrouded the sun. He stared into the shadows. Ria stood on a tiered circle. He heard her challenge and listened to Malera’s spite-filled words.
For an instant, fear iced his thoughts and froze his movements. His scarlet heated and so did the blue. He stepped into the chamber and edged along the wall until he stood below Ria’s position. Though he remained silent, he felt her welcome. He reached the first tier.
“Stone seeker,” Malera called. “Why are you here? Men are not allowed to use the stones.”
“Your rules, not those of this temple,” Ria said.
Malera screamed. “Who freed you?”
“I freed myself.” Ari climbed to the second tier and raised his caged fyrestone. “Look at what I wear. You destroyed one crystal, but I have another. I’ve learned how to use it.” He continued upward until he reached Ria’s side.
“Welcome,” she said.
“You were right. This is the time and the place.” He opened his hand to reveal the pulsating blue stone.
She gazed into his eyes. “Body and heart we are bonded. Dare we try here and now for the third?”
“No need to dare. Though we didn’t consummate the bonding, the ties are present. I touched your mind and experienced your life, as you did mine. We must reach beyond fear and embrace unity.” He placed the blue stone in the cup on the fifth tier. “Give me your hand and we will stand as a unit.”
“Do we need a second blue?”
“I don’t know.” He stepped to the top tier and drew her beside him. At the foot of the circle, Malera spoke to her companions.
Ari laced his fingers with Ria’s. Time seemed to slow. Once more fears, memories, and hope, flowed between them. Ria trembled. He fought an urge to pull away.
Be
calm. Accept who and what I am, as I accept you
I do. A sense of serenity and purpose flowed between them.
’Tis good.
What now?
Call fire and I will support you.
* * *
Ria drew several deep breaths. Ari’s thoughts meshed with hers. As she waited for the chaos to end, she decided on a plan. Justice, not revenge. The evil of Malera and the priestesses who had ruled the temple before her must end. Could those women who had followed Malera’s lead be saved?
Just so. This is what we must do. Remember how you healed me after the bandits attacked?
Ari’s sending showed a way to protect them and the women who accompanied Malera. We must force her to face what she has done. Ria called fire from the three stones she wore. We are one. Hold fast. She drew fire from the white crystals on the lowest level and sent them behind the two acolytes. Though the young women tried to gain control of the flames, they failed.
Malera strode up the tiers. Arrows of fire shot from her fyrestone. Ari countered them with small shields.
Before the priestesses had a chance to activate all the crystals on the yellow and orange levels, Ria seized the flames. Malera screamed curses. Great gouts of scarlet shot from her fyrestone.
I must unite the flames.
I’ll hold her at bay.
Ria felt a surge of protection. She wove the yellow and orange into a sheet. As she gathered the flames from the whites, Malera’s wild laughter startled Ria. She faltered.
Steady.
“Fool,” the chief priestess cried. “To share power with a man is to dilute your greatness. Power keeps women from becoming slaves to men’s passions.”
“We share and strengthen each other,” Ari shouted.
Malera pulled a blue crystal from the pocket in the sleeve of her caftan. “Behold a blue fyrestone. With this, I will destroy you.”
Ria shuddered. “You can’t use the blue. Only a thrice bonded pair can control the energy.”
“A fable,” Malera said.
“The truth. You will destroy yourself and all who stand here.”
Malera’s laughter rose high and shrill. “You and the stone seeker will die. So will these women who have failed me.”
A chill rolled along Ria’s skin. Ari, we must form the dome of protection now, or she will kill us.
Even over the priestesses and acolytes? Perhaps they were among the ones who stoned you.
Not the priestesses. They were in the circle when the stones were turned to cinders. The acolytes took part, but they must obey, or face the same punishment as I received.
Show me how this is done.
Ria drew the flames from all the stones into a shining dome. She slid the dome over all but Malera. Ari added the flames from his stone to the dome.
Blue fire rose from the crystal in the cup. The flames covered the protection and formed a shell over the blended flames, yet not touching the dome. The clouds rolled from the opening. Blinding light filled the chamber. Ria tightened her grasp on Ari’s hand. Hold fast. She’s trying to shatter the shield.
Can she?
I don’t know. We must pray the fates are with us.
* * *
Malera felt the heat of the sun caress her arms and face. She tore her caftan and tossed the cloth aside. She would grasp the power of the blue clad only in the necklace, girdle, anklets, and bracelets, of white crystals. “Mine,” she cried. “The fire of the sun contained in the fyrestones is mine.” She tasted the energy in the air and felt the glow of victory blossom within her heart.
Did Ria, newly come to power, believe she could defeat one whose skill had grown stronger every year? The foolish young woman had diluted her strength by uniting with a man. Malera had seen what happened to other temple priestesses who had done the same. They had died.
A pity the stone seeker had allied with Ria. He was a prime stud and could have brought his virility to the harras. She regretted the loss, for she had craved being bathed by his essence.
Her eyes widened. How dare they erect a dome to protect the priestesses who were here? A scream rolled from her depths. She sent spears of flame to pierce the shining structure her enemies raised. Her failure to penetrate the protective barrier changed anger to fury. She held the blue crystal on her palm. She called fire, pure, blue, hot. The white stones adorning her body heated. Blue flames cascaded over her. As the white stones blazed, agony beyond belief flared. She became a living torch.
* * *
When Malera burst into flames, Ari shuddered. He swallowed a rush of bitter fluid that rose in his throat.
Ria’s hand clenched his. Hold. We must keep the dome complete until the end. Otherwise, we will join her.
Ari drew a deep breath. He had no desire for that fate. I’m all right. ‘Tis an ugly way to die.
Ria sighed. Though I wished her gone from the temple, this isn’t how I wanted the duel to end.
Justice, not vengeance. As she used fire against others, so she is consumed.
The flames Malera had drawn to herself died. Wind whirled through the opening above the circle and spiraled the ashes away. Ari released Ria’s hand. ’Tis done. What now?
We release the dome.
One by one, they drew the flames into the stones. Blue, scarlet, orange, yellow, and white, vanished. The three priestesses and the two acolytes slumped on the tiers where they had stood.
Ari embraced Ria. Waves of relief washed through him. Though the triple bond remained, his thoughts and feelings were his own. Only when they were united through the stones and the blue could he hear her thoughts. A thing they needed to remember when they needed to speak in private.
When he heard a distant rumbling, he knew what would occur. During the years he’d worked with the older stone seekers, he’d experienced several earthquakes. Bil’s leg had been crushed when a cliff had dissolved during one. Ari had helped Jorg save one of Bil’s legs.
He removed the blue from the cup. The crystal Malera used remained where she had stood. Ria tucked that one in her pocket. Ari stepped from the top tier. “We must leave here at once.”
“What about the women?”
“Rouse them. Don’t you feel the vibrations beneath your feet? Soon the rocks will dance. If we don’t leave, we’ll be buried.”
Ria moved to the orange tier. She shook the woman. “Danger comes. You must flee.”
Ari pulled one of the women on the yellow level to her feet. “Hurry through the tunnel and into the open. Ria, see them out. I’ll take care of the others.”
“Don’t tarry.” Ria grasped the older woman’s hand and gestured to an acolyte who was on her feet. “Come.”
The groans from the deep grew louder. Ria herded three women into the tunnel. Ari hoisted the unconscious acolyte to his shoulder. He prodded the other priestess and pushed her ahead of him into the tunnel. Loud crashes sounded. He called fire to light the crystals set in the walls of the passage. “Move,” he cried to the priestess. “If you don’t run, we’ll be crushed.” Small rocks fell from the tunnel’s roof and struck his back.
Chapter Eleven
By the time Ari emerged from the tunnel, the cavern floor heaved and bucked. Rocks tumbled from the dome raising clouds of dust. One of the granite pillars cracked and crashed to the ground. Large chunks rolled across the floor.
One of the priestesses frantically gathered fyrestones and scooped them into the skirt of her caftan. Ari grabbed her arm. “Woman, move. Do you crave death?”
“But the stones will be lost.”
“So will you. Other crystals will be found.” He pushed her to the entrance. A guard took the woman Ari carried. Ari grabbed the reluctant priestess’ hand and prevented her from returning to the cavern. He hurried her down the slope and through the churning water of the stream.
A loud boom followed a crackling sound. The earth shook. Ari turned and watched the face of the cliff above the cavern buckle. Rocks flew and thudded to the ground.
Th
e thunderous noises deafened him. The earth shook so violently, Ari fell. He pressed his body against the ground. A cloud of dust obliterated the sun. Ari rode the convulsing earth. Would he and Ria leave this glen or be trapped forever? He sought her through the shared bond and knew she lived.
When the tremors died and the noise stilled, Ari pushed to his feet. Ria staggered toward him. He gathered her into his arms. Their lips met in need and joy. Tongues met, stroked, and thrust. He grasped her hips and pulled her closer. She ran her hands over his back. If they had been alone, he would have pulled her to the ground and joined body to body, heart to heart, and mind to mind. She moaned.
He broke the kiss. “Though I want you, we must wait.”
“Not for long, I hope.”
The sun shone through the haze. From the height, he knew ‘twas mid-afternoon. So much had happened in a short time. “Let us set our camp away from the others.”
“Where?”
“By the waterfall.”
“We’ll need our things.”
He nodded. “I’ll check Ber and Bera bring the blankets and some of the cooking utensils.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
* * *
Ria found their haversacks and slung one over each shoulder. As she made her way through the orchard, she had to skirt fallen trees. She stopped to gather citrons and plantains. When she reached the willah trees beside the stream, she saw Ari. He carried their blankets and a large pack.
A surge of desire made her body pulse. She pushed aside her body’s demands for instant satisfaction. Could they join without opening the mind bond? During the confrontation with Malera, they had spoken mind to mind. After the initial shock, his memories had hummed in the background, but she’d been able to ignore them. Could they unite in body, heart, and mind, without experiencing the overflow of their emotion-filled pasts? She was afraid, yet they had to learn.
Temple of Fyre (Island of Fyre) Page 16
