"Talk?" Ghall gasped, his face red and sweaty. "You want to talk while I lie here dying?"
Tass sat back down and pulled the chair close to the bed. "Yes, I thought we could have a nice chat about who's in charge here."
"What are you talking about? What does it matter who's in charge?"
"Well, you seem to think you're in charge. I disagree. I thought it was about time we resolved our disagreement."
Ghall winced. "That doesn't matter at the moment. Go get the antidote."
"See, there you are. You seem to think I'm yours to command. That's not how I see it."
Ghall tried to sit up, but his face went white and he fell back on his bed. He writhed in pain.
"Well?" Tass demanded.
"All right. You're in charge. Please go get me the remedy."
"See how much better that was?" Tass turned to leave. Before she reached the door, she paused and turned back to Ghall. "You just lie there and enjoy it for a little while. I'll be back with the remedy before you die."
She paused and looked back at Ghall. "At least I hope I'll be back before the poison kills you."
Tass took her time finding the herbs and bark she needed to concoct the potion. She brewed them up in a tea and strolled back to the room where Ghall lay in pain. She knew the poison would not kill him while she tarried, but he would be in a lot of pain. It would do him some good to suffer.
She strolled into his room carrying the antidote. "Still alive? I knew you were strong enough to hold on." She patted his head. He was burning up and sweaty.
"You took your time, didn't you?" Ghall reached for the steaming mug she carried. He grasped her hands and guided the mug toward his mouth. Tass held it for him while he sipped it so he wouldn't drink too fast and choke.
The potion went to work quickly and opened up a path for Tass's magic. She pressed a spell on Ghall to accelerate the healing process and watched as the effects of the poison faded. He would live, but he still had several days of recovery before he would feel well again.
Ghall sat up and groaned. "Thank you for your kindness."
She could hear the sarcasm in his voice. It appeared that they'd never taught gratitude to the prince.
"What happened? Were you partaking at an inn or a private residence? Did someone sneak into the temple and do this?" Tass was genuinely worried that there might be an assassin around. Sulrad might have sent someone after them. If Sulrad had lost his tolerance for both of them and sent assassins out, life would be dangerous indeed.
"I was at a dinner for the Jaurns last evening," Ghall explained. "Most of the influentials I've been trying to turn against Ukina were there. Apparently, they had planned to kill Ukina and me. If neither of us survives, the throne of Veldwaite is open to the nobility. They will choose their own king."
"Sounds like their attempt failed. You'll have to be more careful in the future."
Tass left Ghall to recover, but visited him frequently over the next several days. The remedy for the poison had not been instantaneous. It left him feeling ill and weak.
"What are you planning?" Ghall asked.
"Planning? Why do you think I'm planning anything?"
"Because you threatened me with death if I didn't swear an oath of fealty to you. You have something big in mind."
"The temple is expanding. Sulrad doesn't know how far-reaching my plans are. With the egg, I believe I can finally bring him down. Then I'll take my rightful place as the High Priestess of Ran. The temple will spread across the land unimpeded under my rule."
Ghall snorted. "Unimpeded? How about the meddling wizards in Amedon? They may have a different opinion."
"The wizards won't matter. Sulrad almost destroyed them once. He nearly succeeded and I don't plan to fail."
"How will you do that?"
"Sulrad has a charm. The thing he drew on when he banished me. He must have it spelled so only he can use it, or else I would have sensed it much sooner. I plan to use the egg to take it from him and use it for my own ends."
"You make it sound so simple."
"Sulrad is weak. He has very little power of his own. If I can take the amulet away from him, he'll be powerless. I've already devised a spell that blocks his use of the temple as a power source. I should be able to do the same with the amulet he possesses. If that works, he's as good as dead."
"And me?" Ghall asked.
"I still plan to have you on the throne. Perhaps when the temple expands, we will grant you even greater holdings than Veldwaite. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
Chapter 14
Chihon sat alone in the study that she shared with Lorit. The fire burned low, throwing a dim flickering light about the room. It was chilly and damp. Chihon spent a lot of time alone in the study, but now she was lonely. She had cut Lorit off from their usual constant connection because he needed to decide what he was going to do about her, and that was best done alone. She wanted him to feel what it would be like without her so he could make up his own mind, but it left her isolated and alone.
She was heartened when Lorit returned from Veldwaite after his visit to Queen Ukina. He had Kimt with him and at first Chihon thought nothing of it. Kimt often visited her just to socialize, but Kimt looked serious. Chihon didn't want to get into a discussion about her health right away. She was curious as to how Queen Ukina was faring. It had been an emergency after all.
"How was the queen?" she asked.
"Afraid. She's being kept in the castle. The nobility and the temple have ganged up on her. She says she had a dragon's egg in the treasury and that she sent it here. That's what the fuss is about. The temple wants the egg, and the nobility want it for leverage against her and the temple."
"Did you bring her back?"
"No. She's afraid to let them see me helping her. She thinks they'll execute her if we interfere too much. I did heal her where it doesn't show, but she wanted to remain behind to give Sir Adane more time to get here."
Lorit sat beside her. He touched her forehead, letting the magic flow from his hand into her. It coursed through her, probing, but Lorit couldn't find anything he could affect and he retreated.
"I'm worried about you," Lorit said. "If you've been contaminated by the water, I may not be able to heal you, just as I wasn't able to heal Ril."
Chihon was worried, too. She'd examined herself but found nothing amiss. Still, she had a lurking feeling of unease that she couldn't shake.
"I've been thinking about it," Lorit said. "I can't stop thinking about it. It's not active magic. It's something guiding the victim's life force. It's consuming them from the inside."
"What do you think the temple is up to?" Chihon couldn't think of a reason the temple would want that many people sick. Did the priests think they could enslave the city by making the occupants sick enough that they would welcome the temple's healing at any cost?
"I think it's how they mean to control the people. All the people, not just the rich and powerful," Lorit said.
Chihon felt Lorit's magic touch her. It passed around and through her once again.
"Not satisfied with your first look?" Chihon asked.
"I don't see anything, but then I'm not sure I know what to look for. I want Kimt to check you out."
Kimt knelt beside Chihon, placed her hand in front of Chihon's stomach and closed her eyes. The magic penetrated Chihon, and she felt the touch of the healer probing. Kimt's magic paused in Chihon's stomach. It grew warmer. At first it was a gentle soothing warmness, but then the heat continued until it was almost painful.
Chihon winced as it grew to a burning pain. She placed her hand over the spot where the pain was worst, but Kimt pulled it away, continuing her examination. After a while, the heat subsided and Kimt sat back with a weary look on her face.
"What's the matter?" Chihon asked.
"You have the same sickness as Ril has," was all Kimt said. "It's very slight, but it's there."
Kimt took Lorit's hand and brought it close to Chihon. "Pro
be, just here." She positioned his hand. "There. I feel it. It's already taking hold."
Lorit's magic joined Kimt's. It was comforting at first to have Lorit warming her like that, but as his frown deepened, she grew nervous.
"Is it bad?" Chihon asked.
"It is," Kimt said. "I don't know what to try."
Lorit handed Kimt the vial of green fluid they had taken off the priest in Talus. "See if this is any help. This is what they were using in Talus."
Kimt looked the vial over, her healing magic probing the fluid and Chihon at the same time. "I see the similarity. I think I can break the spell. Do you want me to try? It's going to be painful," Kimt said.
"Yes!" Maybe Kimt could defeat it while the disease was only just getting started. Chihon lay on her back on the bed, nervous, as Kimt bent over her.
"I'm going to try something different from what you and Lorit tried on Ril. This may hurt a little." Kimt placed her hand against Chihon's belly. "Ready?"
"I'm ready." Chihon braced herself.
"Lorit, come help me," Kimt said.
Lorit knelt down next to Chihon. Kimt took his hand and placed it on Chihon. "There. I will drive the spell. You watch and try to keep it from doing any damage to her body."
"What are you going to do?" Lorit asked.
"I'm going to kill the disease with fire. Very tiny fire, localized where the disease rests." Kimt looked at Chihon with pain in her eyes. "This may hurt."
"Don't worry about me. Just do it," Chihon said.
"Here we go."
The pain of a red-hot knife sliced through Chihon's guts, and she let out a scream that almost deafened her. Her insides twisted and flared with fire, inciting pain like nothing she'd ever felt before. She arched her back and screamed as the fire erupted inside of her. Kimt let up, but Chihon encouraged her to continue until she was done. Chihon tried to hold back the screams as the fire twisted and pulsed within her. After an eternity, the pain subsided. The fire died away and Chihon relaxed, but the memory of the pain lingered as she sat back, panting.
"Did you get it?" Chihon asked.
Kimt and Lorit exchanged glances. "I think so. We will have to watch closely and see if it worked."
Chihon was exhausted. She could hardly keep her eyes open.
"Just relax," Kimt said.
Chihon let her eyes close and laid her head back. The pain still throbbed, but she soon drifted off to a heavy sleep.
Chihon woke to the touch of a cool, wet cloth against her forehead. She wasn't sure if it was the next day or the next week. She had slept fitfully after Kimt's attempt at healing, and the sleep had dulled the memory of the pain. She opened her eyes to see Kimt standing over her.
"Looks like you're finally back with us," Kimt said.
"What happened? Did you get it all?"
"Just rest. It was pretty hard on you. You've been asleep for three days." Kimt continued to mop Chihon's brow with the cool cloth.
Chihon struggled to sit up. "Three days?"
Kimt dipped the cloth in a bowl of water, wrung it out, and placed it on Chihon's head, gently pushing her back down.
"It's over," Kimt said soothingly.
Chihon placed her hand on her stomach. "Did...did you get it all?" she asked.
"We got it all out. The magic is gone."
"I'm going to be fine?" Chihon asked. She was worried because the magic had defeated Lorit when he'd tried to heal Ril.
"You'll live," Kimt said.
Kimt was holding something back from her. That could only mean bad news. Chihon knew the healer well enough to know how she operated.
"What is it that you're not telling me?" Chihon pushed the cold cloth away and sat up once more. "I know you're not telling me everything."
"Well...It may be nothing. It's too early to tell."
"Tell what?" Chihon demanded. She was growing impatient with Kimt.
"The disease and the cure may have a lingering affect. I just don't know for sure yet. I'm trying to deal with it." Kimt struggled with the words.
"Deal with what?" Chihon was even more worried now than before.
Kimt hung her head. "The disease affected more than your stomach. I'm afraid you may not be able to be a mother."
Chihon was shocked at the news. They had told her that she and Lorit were not to have children, but she had always thought that was a problem for the future. Now that she considered it, she couldn't imagine missing out on the opportunity to be a mother. She had never known her mother and ached to know what it would be like to have a child of her own.
"No kids..." Chihon said. "Are you sure?"
"No. I'm not sure. I'm working on it. Your insides were torn up pretty bad by the healing fire. I can't say right now. Just rest until you heal. Then we can try a few things to be sure."
Kimt returned to check up on Chihon every day, looking her over, encouraging her to rest and recover.
"You're looking much better," Kimt said. "Have you been up and around?"
"I've been out for brief walks. I'm starting to feel well again."
Kimt pulled the blankets down and lifted Chihon's gown to expose her stomach. Kimt placed her hand atop Chihon's skin. It was warm and comforting as Kimt lightly probed Chihon's flesh.
"I think this may be my last visit." Kimt removed her hand. "I've done everything I can."
"Can I be a mother? Do you know?" The question had weighed heavily on Chihon's mind. Not only Kimt's medical worries, but the prohibition of her having children with Lorit. She was eager to get a clean bill of health but knew that would only bring the problem of what to do about Lorit to the forefront.
"It looks like you may, but why are you so worried?" Kimt asked.
"I always wanted a little girl of my own," Chihon explained. "To know what it feels like to be a mother. I'm not ready to give that up yet."
"Certainly not with Lorit!"
"No...I just never thought about it before." Chihon had never considered that staying with Lorit meant missing out on motherhood. Was she willing to pay that price?
"You still have plenty of time to decide yet. You're young." Kimt patted Chihon's stomach and covered it with the blanket.
After Kimt left, Chihon thought about what the healer had said. If she were able to be a mother, who would be the father? If it couldn't be Lorit, then what would she do? She didn't want anyone but Lorit.
Chapter 15
Lorit felt every bit of pain he and Kimt had caused Chihon when they tried to heal her of the temple spell. He agonized over it every waking moment and dreamed about it while he slept. He decided he needed a distraction, so he invoked the spell that would take him to the home of Zhimosom, his mentor. Zhimosom had taken to whiling away his days in his mountain retreat. He said he wanted to spend his last days in comfort, but from what Lorit was able to gather, this meant frequent naps in the chair in his study.
Lorit appeared in the woods just outside Zhimosom's home. He knocked and then let himself in, knowing the old wizard would be asleep in his study and wouldn't answer the door. The study was large, gloomy, and dusty despite the warm breeze and sunlit afternoon. Zhimosom was fast asleep, his long white beard flowing down his chest and onto the book before him. It was opened to a page that showed a drawing of Zhimosom and Du'ala standing on a wide flat plain.
In the drawing, Zhimosom stretched his hand out and the sword grass rose from the plain. There was a connection there that Zhimosom was reluctant to talk about. Du'ala had summoned the old wizard to her when last Lorit had seen her. Zhimosom had come running as if he were a school child called to the Head Master's.
The Arda'um were a short scaly folk who lived in the Plains of Grass—a natural barrier of chest-high sword-sharp blades that kept everyone at bay. Had Zhimosom raised the sword grass? If the drawing in the book was accurate, he was the one who created the barrier that protected the Arda'um. Lorit had thought it was natural and that the Arda'um were somehow the only ones able to thrive in it.
Zhimosom s
norted but remained fast asleep, and Lorit didn't want to wake him. That had never worked out well in the past. Maybe Du'ala would have more to say about the drawing. She was just as tight-lipped about their relationship, but Lorit was curious.
He left Zhimosom sleeping and made his way back up the path to Zhimosom's Sorcerer's Stone. He stood atop it and gathered power to himself. Lorit reached out to the Plains of Grass and the image of Du'ala and pulled himself across the void to the home of the Arda'um.
Lorit appeared in the rough clearing where the Arda'um made their home. They used lizard dung to keep the sword grass away from their huts and fertilize the rich soil, but it left a sour smell about the place that mixed with the odor of burning grass.
Lorit was surprised to see Du'ala sitting beside her hut, pipe in hand, as if waiting for him. She extended the pipe to Lorit. "Smoke," she said. The last time he'd visited her, the smoke had put Lorit in a trance that allowed him to speak to her mind-to-mind.
Lorit smiled at her and pushed the pipe away. "No need."
Lorit opened his mind to her, and her image transformed to that of a beautiful young woman.
"Why are you here, young wizard?" she asked.
"I'm searching."
"Searching for what?"
"For a way to stop the temple. To stop Sulrad from killing young wizards and taking their power. To stop them from infecting people with diseases just so they can charge people gold to heal them."
"A worthy quest, but why do you think you can find answers here that you cannot find elsewhere?"
"Because the Wizard's Council won't do anything about the temple, and Zhimosom refuses to answer my questions. I know there is something between you and the wizard and the temple." Lorit leaned in toward Du'ala. "And finally, why doesn't wizard's magic touch you? I thought I saw a drawing of Zhimosom raising the sword grass. Is that true?"
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