"How did you end up there then?"
"My uncle was a hunt trainer, and he was very good at it," Inacia said. "He taught me how to hunt and helped me train Hun-Ki from the time he was just a few weeks old. One night our house caught fire. I slept in the attic with a couple of my cousins and we woke up to the dogs barking and my uncle yelling. I just remember being so afraid.
"Then I heard a voice in my head saying if I told him yes, he could save me and take me home." She paused, frowning at the memory. "I was so afraid, I said yes immediately and then all of a sudden I could see a way to the window. I tried to get my cousins to follow me, but they were too frightened. I managed to get out, but I hit my head when I landed on the ground. I woke up the next morning and the house was completely gone and the dogs and my uncle and cousins were all dead. Aduran was there, tending the cut on my head and telling me 'our master' had sent him to get me and bring me home.
"We rode four days to the temple and that was the start of it." She paused when she saw Tion watching her, his expression curious. "Aduran introduced me to other girls and boys my own age and I made a few friends. I was fed and given clean robes and made to feel welcome.
"You go to lessons with the priests where they teach you about Zared and how he was wronged by Zakris and Jensina and how Nahtan was the reason for everything that had happened to him that caused his downfall."
"How old were you?" Rial asked.
"Fourteen summers or so, I think" Inacia replied. "Some of it is sort of unclear now. At mealtimes, they'd give you a version of the sweet wine and it would make you more--" she paused, trying to find the right word. "Agreeable, I guess. You'd be more open to things they'd tell you or want you to do. After I'd been there a few years, Aduran found me again and told me Zared was pleased with my progress and I was ready to go into communion and enter his full priesthood as a chosen priestess."
Rial shook his head. "How did you fall out of favor with him?"
"I became one of Zared's favored," she said. "You could tell how favored you were by how often Aduran or the higher priests called you to communion. If you weren't very favored, you'd only be called once or twice a month, those who were highly favored were called three or four times a week. I would usually be called about three times a week, sometimes four but not often.
"One day Aduran showed up with another priestess, a woman who he said had been studying and training in seclusion. She was Zared's new favored. Pretty soon she was being called to communion up to five times a week, sometimes for an entire day at a time. The rest of us found ourselves being called less and less. I became very jealous and one day tried to kill her.
"Aduran came in before I could and stopped me. He dragged me to the altar and forced me into communion immediately. Zared held my soul there while Aduran threw my body into the fires. Once it was consumed, Zared cast me out. I would have faded to oblivion except Rena found me and begged the gods to show me mercy. Zakris agreed." She bowed her head, tears falling from her eyes.
"I hurt so many people," she said after a minute. "I killed people just to see their fear and taste their blood. I made parents watch as their children died on the altars." She shook her head. "I lied, and stole and schemed. I didn't deserve mercy, but they still showed it to me. That's why I had to save Valry, even if it cost me my life again," she looked over at Rial. "If I had to die, I wanted it to be because it was to repay that debt to Rena."
Rial watched her for a long moment. He understood her fear of being back in the temple now, as well as her discomfort whenever Aduran had paid attention to her at Basiyr. He understood why she'd become protective of Valry and had put up with him to keep her safe.
"So what is this?" he asked, motioning to her and Hun-Ki.
"After Zakris saved me and offered me a place as one of his servants, he sent me back here," she replied. "I woke up and Hun-Ki was with me. I guess he'd been able to restore him, too."
"That explains why the mutt's so happy," Rial sighed. "Temah?" He remembered the name Zared had called her by.
"Because my other fate was erased, Zakris had Halona write me a new one," Inacia continued. "Temah was who I was then. Inacia is the name Halona gave me with the new fate she wrote me. Zakris told me all he asked of his priests or servants is that they help people." She paused when Tion nodded at her. "I don't know what fate Halona wrote for me, but everything my uncle taught me had come back to me like I just learned it. I was still trying to get my bearings and used to what I was supposed to do now when I had the dream about Valry, then the next dream about you. I realized it was a chance to repay Rena for saving me. You know the story from there."
Rial was quiet for a moment, considering everything she said. She truly was the fallen one. She had fallen from grace with every god, only to find mercy once more.
"So Valry was correct when she told me you have no family or home," he noted.
Inacia nodded her head. "All I know is I'm supposed to help people, and sometimes Zakris will tell me something if he wants me go somewhere or I need to know something. So far, he's pretty much left me on my own."
"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Rial sighed. He knew she'd said she'd leave if he wanted her to, but he had to admit, her company had made the last few months seem easier. He had no reason to doubt her story, she'd once again given none of the signs she was lying or trying to gain sympathy from him. He didn't know a lot about the servants for the gods, but he did know Zakris didn't seem to mettle in things the way Halona and Jensina did. "I happen to know of a rather dreary looking hold that sits on the edge of marshlands," he said after a moment. "It's fairly isolated from the other holds in the kingdom; the next closest one is two week's ride away. I'm sure you and my lieutenant would get along quite well."
Inacia looked up at him, obviously surprised. "Are you inviting me to Valin?" she asked.
"If you'd like," he shrugged. "It's certainly not a pretty place, and the people there tend to be a bit on the rough side, but they're loyal."
Inacia smiled. "I think I'd like that," she nodded. "Provided you still have Valin," she reminded. "Thorvald did march three thousand of his men there."
Rial waved a hand at her. "Valin's never fallen," he told her. "And Cace wouldn't let that happen. There might only be the keep standing, but Valin's still there."
Tion rolled his eyes and sighed.
Rial looked over at him. "We should find some shelter until she wakes up," he said, nodding to Valry. "She's likely to be very weak and I want to get a look at her feet and clean the wounds."
Tion nodded and pointed up ahead. The hills slowly became rockier, and looking up, Rial could see what might be small caves or crevices leading to caves.
It didn't take them long to find a wide crevice that led back into a small cave. It was high enough up that they'd be out of sight from anyone riding below, but low enough that they'd be able to easily get back down to the ground if needed. It took some coaxing to get the horses inside, but once there, they seemed to settle down.
Inacia left with her bow and Hun-Ki to look for something to hunt to feed them while Rial got water, a thick rag and a length of cloth from one of his packs, along with two small pouches. As Tion built a small fire near the entrance, Rial started cleaning Valry's feet, frowning and muttering several curses when he saw how deep some of the puncture wounds were.
Tion came over after the fire was built, watching Rial with an interested expression.
Once her feet were clean, he poured a small amount of a finely ground bluish powder from one of the pouches into his hand. Adding a few drops of water, he rubbed it into a paste, then began dabbing it onto the worst of the punctures. He mixed up a similar paste with the powder from the other bag, dabbing that onto the lesser wounds, then tore the length of cloth in half and wrapped each foot several times.
"It seems to me she should be waking up by now," Rial said, putting the pouches back into his packs.
Tion shrugged at him, moving to sit between Valry and the door.<
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Rial frowned and slipped from the cave, going to look for firewood.
He returned almost an hour later with an armful of wood. Inacia had found a large rock chuck and had it cooking over the fire. A quick look at Valry showed she was still asleep.
"Is that normal?" he asked Inacia.
She nodded. "Depending on how much wine Aduran gave her when he first took her into the altar, along with being exhausted, she could be asleep for ten or twelve hours easily, if not longer."
Rial frowned. "We should stay here until she wakes up and is strong enough to travel," he decided.
Inacia nodded. "She'll be very weak and probably disoriented when she does wake up," she said.
They settled in, and once the chuck was finished cooking, Rial would drip bits of grease from it into Valry's mouth, as well as give her small amounts of water. Inacia leaned back against Hun-Ki, the big dog leaning over to lick her cheek and wag his tail. They could see the light fading outside, and Rial figured they'd be there for the night at least.
It wasn't long until he realized Inacia and Hun-Ki had both dozed off, though Inacia's sleep seemed restless. Tion looked at her, then stood up and walked over. He reached down and touched her forehead, her sleep instantly calming. He leaned down and petted Hun-Ki's head next, even the dog's tail falling still as he rolled onto his side with a heavy sigh.
"What are you doing?" Rial demanded.
Tion shook his head, turning to face him. With a deep breath, he slowly faded from Tion's image into his own.
Standing only slightly taller than Lord Valin, his brown hair fell to his broad shoulders. He wore full scale armor, a deep crimson glowing from under each scale. Thick drops of blood occasionally seeped between the scales only to disappear before hitting the ground. On his back, what appeared to be the top of a wickedly shaped, glowing halberd could be seen over one shoulder. The blade seemed to shift and alter its form slightly every few seconds.
"This will go far faster and easier in my normal form," he said, his voice clear. "My name is Areli, I am Halona's first servant."
"You've been hiding as Tion this whole time?" Rial asked, standing up. He could see now why Inacia had seemed so wary of him if she'd been able to see him for who he was instead of as Tion. Though he wasn't an imposing figure in size, his appearance and presence was more than enough to instill fear in any normal person.
"I came to protect Valry from Zared's priests," he explained. "As you saw when we left the temple."
"Why not just appear as this there?" Rial asked, nodding to him.
Areli looked down at himself. "All they could see was a mute orphan boy because that's all I allowed them to see." He looked back at Rial. "Most men run screaming when they actually see me. I was given leave by Halona to mete out whatever justice I felt necessary to get you out of the temple and chose to do so as Tion. I felt having what appeared to be an innocent driving them mad seemed all the more right." He paused to give Rial a long look. "Would you like to know why you're not afraid of me?"
"I haven't been afraid of anything for a long time," Rial replied.
"Yes, I know," Areli nodded. "And that's my fault."
Rial turned his head slightly, watching him. "What are you talking about?"
"My role as Halona's first servant is to close and seal the scrolls for mortals when they pass from this world to their gods' realms," Areli explained. "When a mortal's fate is finished and their life is ended, I close their scroll, mark the seal of their scroll upon their soul, then when they pass, seal the scroll." He met Rial's gaze, his tone direct. "When was the last time you remember being afraid?" He seemed to be watching Rial carefully now.
"When I jumped from the tower into the river," Rial replied without hesitation. That moment would likely be prominent in his memories for the rest of his life. "I was terrified."
Areli nodded. "One of the compassions Zakris has allowed me to bestow is in the moment before someone passes, I was granted the ability to take their pain, grief, anger or fear so their passing will be calm for their soul." He put a specific emphasis on the word 'fear' as he spoke. "When you leapt from the tower, I closed your scroll, because in that moment you had made the decision that closed your fate. When you hit the water, I marked the seal of your scroll upon you as you had crossed the threshold to the point of your passing. When you went under that last time, I took your fear--" He didn't finish his sentence, watching Rial.
"And then Nahtan and Sewati pulled me from the river," Rial finished, putting the pieces of that day into place.
Areli nodded. "Taking you, quite literally, from the moment of your passing."
"That's why Aduran and Zared called me 'dead man'," Rial realized. "They could see it."
Areli shook his head. "Aduran, no, that one is mortal and can see no more than any other mortal. Zared, however, can, so he no doubt referred to you by that name and Aduran adopted it for you."
"So what now?" Rial asked him. "You give me back my fear?" He wasn't too fond of that idea, he'd gotten very accustomed to living without it.
"I've tried," Areli sighed. "Several times. I even had Halona and Zakris try, but it can't be done. I'm afraid you'll spend the rest of your life never knowing fear again." He paused. "Which could be both a blessing and a curse."
"What then? You can't have gone to this much trouble," he motioned to the sleeping Inacia and Hun-Ki. "Just to tell me I was supposed to die almost ten years ago."
"The situation must be resolved," Areli said. "The gods cannot allow you to continue on as you are. For any other mortal, I would simply finish sealing the scroll and move on, but given the efforts you've made to protect and save Valry from Zared, Halona has agreed to allow you options."
"And these are?"
"You have three choices," Areli explained, his tone telling him there would be no other options offered and no bargaining. "First, your scroll will remain closed and the mark remain on you as it is. I will then seal your scroll, and you will die here and now, setting things back upon the original path. If you choose this option, I promise you Tion and Inacia will see Valry safely back to her father and you will be remembered as a hero for saving her." Areli paused to let that sink in.
Rial frowned, that was most definitely not an acceptable offer.
"Second, I can reopen your scroll and your fate will be extended, but you will live knowing that at some point, you will return to the river, and you will meet your fate there." He paused again. "Or third, I can leave your scroll sealed, and change your mark from that of your scroll's to one of Halona's and you will serve her as one of her chosen for the remainder of your days. Your mind will only be known to her, and your life will continue as you know it, except you will be called upon from time to time when she has need of your particular skills."
Rial glanced at Inacia, then looked back at Areli. "So my choices are die now and leave Valin's future up to some governor that Herridon will appoint," he began. "Spend the rest of my life knowing I'm going to drown," he continued, frowning. "Or become a chosen priest?!"
Areli shrugged. "Halona doesn't really consider her chosen as priests or priestesses," he said. "We're not an overly compassionate lot like Jensina's. Yes, there are some who do travel and preach her word, and that's between her and them, she has her reasons for why she chose them. But Halona's realm is that of fates, Lord Valin, and fate is often a very messy, dirty business. We're often called upon to take care of the small tasks here in the mortal world that she can't be bothered with. I would consider Halona's chosen more a brother and sisterhood of vagabonds, rogues and ruffians. Both her chosen here among the mortals as well as her chosen and created servants often work together."
Rial stared at him. "So you're telling me I'd be seeing you again."
"Given my tasks as her first servant, and your particular skills, Lord Valin, I can guarantee we'll be seeing each other in the future." He paused. "Time grows short, you need to make your choice."
"You already know what I've decide
d."
Areli shrugged, then smiled slowly. "Yes," he nodded. "But one of the few bright spots of my position is I have to hear you say it."
Rial was sitting and staring at Tion when Inacia stirred and woke up. He was flipping one of his daggers while Tion occasionally glanced up at him from the parchment he was drawing on, giving Rial an amused look. Rial looked over at Inacia as she sat up, brushing her hair back from her face. Hun-Ki stirred behind her, then rolled onto his back and started snoring again within seconds.
"How long was I asleep for?" she asked.
"Perhaps an hour or so," Rial answered. "Maybe a little longer."
She nodded, blinking to clear her eyes and the fog from her mind. "Valry?" she asked.
"Still asleep." Rial flipped his dagger again, looking back at Tion.
"Rial?" she asked, confused as she looked over at Tion, then back at Rial. She stopped. "Rial?" she asked again, this time with a note of concern in her voice. "What happened to you?"
Rial pointed his dagger at Tion. "He did." He looked at Inacia. "You can see it then?"
She nodded her head slowly. "I can see Halona's mark on you."
He rolled his eyes and looked back at Tion. "You didn't tell me that," he pointed out.
Tion shrugged and continued working on his drawing.
"What--?" Inacia's voice was confused.
"Apparently I was supposed to have died a number of years ago, but through pure chance in a fraction of a second, lived. He had to 'fix' things and that was the only option I was willing to accept," Rial explained.
Inacia put her hand over her mouth, obviously not sure what to say.
They both turned when Valry began to stir. Rial sheathed his dagger and immediately moved to her side as Inacia crawled over to grab a water skin and hand it to him.
"Valry?" Rial asked, brushing her hair back from her face.
Basiyr: Chronicles of Nahtan: Book 6 (The Herridon Chronicles) Page 20
