“There won’t be any other matters if you falter,” she warned. “Let me carry some of the load. Or do you enjoy being a martyr?”
He smiled at her wearily. She had been out visiting the humans again. Her manner of speech always reflected her journeys among the mortals. “No, I do not enjoy being a martyr, sister. But if I fail, our people will need you to guide them. If you help me now, you will certainly ease my burden, but it will weaken you at a time when one of us needs to be strong. Only the demon child can lift the burden from my shoulders completely.”
Shananara flung herself into one of the chairs opposite the window. “The demon child? That unreliable, spoilt, half-human atheist brat? If that’s who you’re relying on to save us, brother, we are doomed.”
“You shouldn’t speak of her so harshly, my dear. R’shiel will do what she must.”
“She will do what suits her, Koran, and not a damned thing more. I doubt if even the gods know if it will be what she was destined for.”
“Yet it is on her we must rely.”
“Then let me bring her back.”
“Here? To Sanctuary? For what purpose?”
“If you won’t let me ease your burden, then let R’shiel do it. The gods know she’s strong enough. Let me bring her back, Koran. Let her carry the load for a time, enough to let you recover, at least. Then you can take up the burden again and R’shiel can do what she has to.”
The King shook his head. “Events unfold as they should, Shananara. We cannot interfere.”
“What events?” she scoffed. “Where is it written that you should destroy yourself holding Sanctuary out of time, while the demon child sits on her hands trying to decide if she even believes that we exist or not?”
“You did not speak to R’shiel before she left us. She has learnt much.”
“She doesn’t know a fraction of what she needs to know. And who is there to teach her? Brak?”
“I thought you were fond of him.”
“I am, but he’s hardly the one I would have chosen as the demon child’s mentor. He doesn’t even like her. And he certainly doesn’t trust her.”
“She will learn what she needs to know in Hythria.”
“But does R’shiel know that? She’s just as liable to head in the other direction.”
“You worry too much, Shanan. These things have a way of working themselves out. R’shiel will come to accept her destiny and will learn what she needs in due course.”
“Before or after the Harshini are destroyed, brother?” Leaning forward, she studied him intently, as if she could see through his skin and into his soul. “Xaphista’s minions have control of Medalon. The Defenders have surrendered to Karien. Hythria is on the brink of civil war and Fardohnya is arming for invasion. And you are beginning to weaken. I can see it in your eyes. You tremble constantly and cannot control it. Your eyes burn. Your aura is streaked with black. A flicker, a slight wavering in your hold on the spell that holds Sanctuary out of time, and Xaphista’s priests will know where we are. Once that happens, you will be able to count the days on the fingers of one hand before the Kariens are standing at our gates.”
“R’shiel will deal with Xaphista before that happens,” he assured her.
“I wish I shared your faith in her. But how long do we have, Koran? How long can you keep draining yourself?”
“As long as I need to.”
She leaned back with a defeated sigh. “Then I can only pray to the gods that it will be long enough.”
“The demon child will do what she must.”
Shananara did not look convinced. “You place far too much faith in that uncontrollable half-breed.”
The Harshini King nodded tiredly. “I’m aware of that, Shananara, but unfortunately that uncontrollable half-breed is our only hope.”
The Ruins of Treason Keep
The Raiders Attacking Treason Keep
R’shiel and Two Demons
Princess Adrina of Fardohnya
Joyhinia Tenragan
Damin Wolfblade
Dacendaran, God of Thieves
Mahina Cortanen
Princess Adrina of Fardohnya
Illustrations by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Reading Notes
1. Discuss the different role of women in Medalon, Karien and Fardohnya.
2. Dacendaren devotes a great deal of time trying to get Mikel to steal something, even though the Karien boy consistently denies the existence of any other gods. Discuss the reason for this and why it is so important to the God of Thieves.
3. R’shiel has a long conversation with Xaphista, in which he tries to seduce her into joining him. Why does he fail?
4. Is the Princess Adrina a product of her environment or simply a spoilt brat?
5. The God of War demands that R’shiel leave Sanctuary because he fears the Harshini will weaken her resolve. What affect would living in Santuary have on R’shiel, both long term and short term?
6. The demons meld to save Tarja at the end of Treason Keep. What effect could being possessed by a demon have on Tarja when (or if) he recovers?
7. Adrina tells Cratyn that her slaves are better off in slavery than as his free serfs. Discuss the differences between being a slave living in luxury, or a peasant living in abject poverty. Which would you prefer?
8. Brak explains the dangers of coercion to R’shiel at some length. Discuss the reasons for his concerns and why R’shiel feels she has no choice.
9. Many of the characters are confronted with evidence that the Primal Gods exist, yet refuse to acknowledge their existence. Discuss why these characters refuse to accept the evidence of their own eyes.
10. How would their lives have been changed if Adrina and Damin had met in Greenharbour several years earlier?
CREDITS
Cover and illustrations by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Cover and text design by Darian Causby, HarperCollins Design Studio, Australia
This e-book provides links and pointers to Internet websites, which are contained and maintained by third parties. These links are provided as a convenience, and do not constitute an endorsement of content, policies or practices of the websites linked or referred to.
FB2 document info
Document ID: 554ff615-242f-41f7-90b2-ceb2aeec5126
Document version: 1
Document creation date: 23 September 2012
Created using: FictionBook Editor Release 2.6, VIM 7.3 software
Document authors :
About
This file was generated by Lord KiRon's FB2EPUB converter version 1.1.5.0.
(This book might contain copyrighted material, author of the converter bears no responsibility for it's usage)
Этот файл создан при помощи конвертера FB2EPUB версии 1.1.5.0 написанного Lord KiRon.
(Эта книга может содержать материал который защищен авторским правом, автор конвертера не несет ответственности за его использование)
http://www.fb2epub.net
https://code.google.com/p/fb2epub/
Treason Keep dct-2 Page 52
