“Especially itty-bitty runts like you,” added Falhart helpfully.
She shook her head at the three of them. Hart had come because he wanted to get out and ride. Correy, she thought, had come out of an honest desire to protect her. Gerem, she strongly suspected, had come to save her hulking brothers from their nasty, shapeshifting sister, itty-bitty runt or not.
“Men,” she snorted with mock disgust.
She pivoted Sheen until he faced their original direction and sent him off racing across the sun-sparkled snow, smiling when her brothers called out in protest at her head start as they picked up the race.
Ridane’s temple was a large structure nestled in an isolated valley. Aralorn remembered the “new” temple as a ruin heavily overgrown with ivy, but even under the snow, she could see that was no longer the case. Someone had been doing quite a lot of work, and the result was elegant and impressive. The snug little house built unobtrusively on one side was a new addition to the site as well.
Correy pointed to it. “When Father heard there was a priestess at the temple, he rode here by himself to talk with her. When he got back, he sent me out with a score of workmen to build her a house to live in.”
Falhart grinned at Aralorn. “Correy’s been really helpful around here. He took several days to clear the ivy and a week to scrub the lichen off the stone. He even got the old well working again.”
Before Correy could reply, a cheery “Who comes?” rang out from the cottage, and the door opened to reveal a woman bundled in a wool cloak dyed cherry red. She shut the door behind her and came out to greet them.
“My lords! And isn’t it a cold day to be out visiting, I’m thinking.” The priestess, for she could be no other, was close enough for Aralorn to see that her face matched the promise of her voice. A warm smile lit eyes the color of dark-stained oak, and it was aimed particularly at Correy.
Correy jumped lightly off his horse and took one of her hands in his, bringing it to his lips. “Any day with you in it, Lady, is as warm as midsummer’s eve.”
Hmm, thought Aralorn. Maybe Correy didn’t come to protect me after all.
Falhart shook his head as he dismounted also. In tones of apologetic despair, he addressed the priestess. “Smooth-tongued demon, isn’t he? I’m sorry, Tilda. It’s my fault. I taught him all I knew.”
“That took the better part of supper,” confided Correy without releasing the priestess’s hand. “And only that long because he was eating most of the time. It’s amazing the man ever managed to get married in the first place.”
Aralorn slipped off Sheen and dropped his reins to the ground.
“It’s obvious that he wasn’t teaching you manners,” Aralorn muttered in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, “or you would have introduced me by now.”
“Forgive me, O Small-but-Sharp-Tongued-One,” said Falhart, taking Aralorn’s hand gallantly. “I have neglected my duties as older brother. Tilda, allow me to present my sister Aralorn. Aralorn, this is Tilda, priestess of the death goddess.”
“The shapeshifter,” murmured Tilda thoughtfully.
“The mercenary,” Aralorn murmured back.
They exchanged cheerful grins. Then the priestess turned to Gerem, standing quietly beside his mount.
“Gerem,” said the priestess, “well come. I haven’t seen you since last summer.”
Aralorn watched Gerem’s face closely, but apparently Nevyn had no objection to the death goddess, for Gerem’s smile was genuine, lighting his eyes as it touched his lips. “I’m sorry, Lady, but Correy made us stay home so he could have you to himself.”
“To what do I owe this visit? Would you like to come in?” Tilda gestured to her house.
Correy shook his head. “Today’s an official visit to the priestess, I’m afraid. Aralorn thinks Ridane might be able to shed some light on the matter with Father.”
The priestess lost none of her warmth but nodded understandingly. “I was not surprised when I was told he was not dead—Ridane had said nothing of his death to me. I don’t know if She knows any more than you do, but you may certainly ask. Would you go into the temple? I will meet you inside.”
Aralorn followed her brothers to the main entrance of the temple. Correy started to open the rough-hewn, obviously temporary door, then hesitated.
“Aralorn, I think it might be best if you leave your wolf outside,” he said.
“The wolf is one of the death goddess’s creatures,” said Gerem unexpectedly. “I doubt the goddess will object—though her priestess might.”
Wolf settled the matter by slipping through the narrow opening and into the temple.
Aralorn shrugged. “I suspect this temple has been infested by everything from rats to cows over the last hundred years. One animal more or less will make little difference.”
Correy shook his head but opened the door farther and allowed the rest of them to pass. As Aralorn moved by him, he caught her arm.
“Don’t be fooled by Tilda’s friendliness. The death goddess has a very real presence here. Be careful how far you choose to push Her.”
Aralorn patted him gently on the top of his head—she had to stand on her toes to do it. “Go teach Lord Kisrah how to cast a light spell, baby brother. I’m not as uncivilized as it sometimes appears.”
Brushing by him, she walked into the entrance hall. It was not very impressive as such things go. Although it was large enough for twoscore people to stand without feeling crowded, there was still a multitude of evidence of the temple’s long spell of neglect. High above, the vaulted ceiling showed white plaster and gaping holes where frescoed wolves and owls once frolicked. The floor had been pulled up and the usable flagstone piled to one side. On the other side, several large and crudely made benches lined the wall.
Though there was no sign of a fire, the room was remarkably warm. When the men began to toss their cloaks and gloves on the benches, Aralorn did the same.
As she dropped her gloves on top of her cloak, the creak of door hinges drew her attention to the far end of the room. The doors set in the wall were neither makeshift nor temporary; only years produced such a fine patina in bronze. They swung slowly open with a ponderousness in keeping with their hoary age.
Dressed in robes of black and red, Tilda stepped through the doorway onto the narrow platform set between the doors and the three stairs down to where Aralorn and her brothers waited. They approached the priestess with varying degrees of wariness, reverence, and enthusiasm. When Correy stopped several feet from the stairs, the rest of them did as well, leaving the priestess above them.
“You are come to ask about the Lyon.” The priestess’s voice had lost the hills accent and the warmth. Her earthy beauty was in no way faded, but it seemed out of place.
Aralorn thought it wasn’t Tilda speaking at all. A shiver ran through her. She could never have stood for such a thing; the last ae’Magi had come close to controlling her thoughts. Even as part of her shuddered in distaste, she felt a flash of awe—and satisfaction. This priestess was a priestess in truth; even her small store of green magic told her that much. She might really be able to help the Lyon.
“My father lies with the seeming of death,” said Correy, when no one else spoke. “Can you free him?”
She seemed to consider it a moment, and Aralorn held her breath. Finally, the priestess shook her head. “No. There are limits on the things that I control. This is no death curse, though he may die of it, and I can do little but speed his death. That I will not do without reason.”
“How long—” Aralorn’s voice cracked, and she had to try again. “How long before he dies of the magic?”
“A fortnight more will the spell hold stable. Until that time, he comes not unto me.”
“Two weeks,” said Aralorn softly to herself.
“As I said,” replied the priestess.
“Do you know of the Dreamer?” asked Aralorn, drawing surprised looks from her brothers.
The priestess turned her head t
o the side, considering.
“The creature that sleeps in the glass desert,” Aralorn clarified further.
“Ah,” said the priestess. “Yes . . . I had forgotten that name ...”
“Has it awakened?”
The priestess hesitated. “I would not know of it, unless it killed—and that was not its way. It incited others to do its killing.”
Falhart spoke for the first time. “Do you know anything about the farm that was burned to the ground?”
“Yes. Death visited there and was caught to pay the price of the Lyon’s sleep.”
“You mean,” said Gerem, with a tension that was strong enough to attract Aralorn’s interest, “something was killed there. That death was used in the magic that ensorcelled my father.”
The priestess nodded. “As I said.”
“Is Geoffrey ae’Magi dead, or does his spirit attend the living?” asked Aralorn.
“He is dead,” said Tilda. “But in the way of such men, much of him lives on in the hearts of those who loved him.”
She swayed alarmingly. Disregarding his wariness for the goddess in concern for the woman, Correy jumped up the short flight of stairs and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Here, now,” he said, helping her sit on the floor.
“Did you get the answers you needed?” she asked. “She left without warning me. Usually, I can tell when She’s ready to leave, and I can give notice of the last question. Otherwise, you are left with the most important thing unanswered.”
“It was fine,” said Aralorn thoughtfully. She would rather have had a simple yes or no to her last question, but she hadn’t really expected as much help as they’d gotten. Usually priests and priestesses were much less forthcoming and a lot more obscure when they did tell you something.
“Aralorn”—Tilda got to her feet and shook out her robes briskly, obviously putting off whatever weakness the goddess’s visit had left her with—“I wonder if you would mind speaking with me in private for a bit.”
Since Aralorn had been debating how to phrase the same request, she nodded immediately. “Of course.” Last night she’d thought of another thing that Ridane could help her with.
Tilda walked down the stairs and, with a shooing motion, said, “Go along now and wait for us in the cottage. There are some fresh scones on the table, help yourselves.”
Aralorn’s brothers left without a protest. As he turned to close the door behind them, Gerem shot a calculating look at Aralorn. When she smiled and waved, he frowned and pulled the door shut with a bang that reverberated in the large, mostly empty room.
“He doesn’t trust me,” commented Aralorn, shaking her head.
“With Nevyn around, you’re lucky anyone does,” said Tilda in reply.
“For someone who lives several hours from the hold, you know an awful lot about my family.” Aralorn rubbed the itchy place behind Wolf’s ears.
The death goddess’s priestess grinned companionably and answered Aralorn’s observation. “My news travels fast—Correy’s new horse has a rare turn of speed.”
Aralorn returned her smile. “You wanted to talk to me about something?”
“Hmm.” Tilda looked down and tapped her foot. “The goddess told me to ask you if you would change shape for me.”
Of all the things she could have asked, that was something Aralorn had not expected.
“Why?”
“You are a shapeshifter,” Tilda said. “A few weeks ago, I saw an animal that had no business being in the woods. A shapeshifter was the only explanation I could come up with, though, other than the fact that there hasn’t been a report of a howlaa around here for generations, the animal didn’t seem unnatural. I asked Ridane if I’d be able to tell the difference between a shapeshifter and a natural animal; She told me to ask you.” The priestess smiled. “Since you hadn’t been here in a long time, I did wonder. When you came here today, She reminded me again to ask you.”
“There was a howlaa,” said Aralorn. “It was killed yesterday, not far from the keep. But I don’t see any reason to refuse to change in front of you: a favor for a favor.”
“What is it you need of me?” asked Tilda warily.
Aralorn threaded her fingers through the hair on Wolf’s neck and cleared her throat. “I have this friend who needs to get married.”
Tilda’s jaw dropped for a moment. “No one’s ever asked me that before.”
Not surprising, thought Aralorn. There hadn’t been a priestess of Ridane here for generations, and even when there had been, few people chose to be married in Her temple. Marriage bonds set by the goddess of death had odd consequences: Two people so bound could not live if one died.
Aralorn was counting on three things: that no one would see the marriage lines written in Tilda’s recording book and use them to trace Cain ae’Magison to Aralorn and her wolf; that Wolf and his unbalanced education wouldn’t know about the quirk of Ridane’s marriages; and that, afterward, when she told him, he’d want her life more than his own death.
“You can perform a marriage ceremony?” Aralorn asked.
“Yes,” Tilda said slowly. “I know the rites.”
Aralorn inclined her head formally. “Thank you.”
She turned to Wolf, who had been staring at her incredulously since she’d begun speaking.
“Well?” she said.
He glanced at Tilda for a moment, then swung his yellow gaze back to Aralorn.
Evidently deciding that Aralorn had already spoiled any chance to maintain his secrecy, he asked, “Why?”
Because I don’t want to lose you, she thought. That sounded right to her, so she said, “Because I don’t want to lose you, not ever. I love you.”
Her declaration seemed to mean something to him though he’d heard it before. He stood so still that she could barely see him breathe.
“It is too dangerous,” he said finally. “Someone will see the records.”
His voice was so sterile she could read nothing from it. A good sign, she thought. If he’d known what the marriage would mean, he’d have refused her outright. “Too dangerous” was no refusal, and he knew her too well to think that it was.
“Who would ask a temple of the death goddess for a record of marriage lines?” asked Aralorn reasonably. “And an avatar of a goddess surely won’t be caught up in the residue of your father’s spells.” She turned to Tilda, who was watching them with some fascination. “Would you agree to keep this marriage secret?”
Slowly, she nodded. “Barring that it violates any request of Ridane, yes.”
“I know you, Aralorn,” Wolf said in a low growl. “You do not fight in the regular forces because you don’t like the ties that bind such folk to each other. You work alone, and prefer it. You have many people who like you and some people you like, but no one who is truly a friend. You protect yourself with a shield of friendliness and humor.”
“I have friends,” she said, taken aback by his assessment; it had come from nowhere—and she thought he was wrong. She wasn’t the loner; he was.
“No,” Wolf said. “Whom did you tell when you came here?”
“I left a note for the Mouse.”
“Work,” he said. “You believed your father had died, and you told no one. What did the note to Ren say? That you’d been called home on family business? Did you tell him the Lyon was dead or leave it for his other spies?”
He was right. How odd, she thought, to see yourself through someone else’s view and discover a stranger.
“You fight to have no bonds to anyone,” he continued, an odd hesitation in his rough voice. “You don’t even come to visit your family because you fear the pain of those ties. But you would tie yourself to me anyway. Because you love me.”
She felt stripped naked and bewildered. “Yes,” she said, when he seemed to be waiting for some response.
“If you wish to marry me,” he said, “I am most honored.”
Tilda cleared her throat awkwardly. “Uhm. I’m not
actually certain that I can marry someone to a wolf.”
Aralorn gathered her tattered defenses together and managed a grin. “I agree. Wolf?”
Wolf could no more have resisted putting on a show for the priestess than a child could resist a sweet.
Black mist swirled up to engulf him until he was merely a darker shadow in the blackness. Gradually, the mist rose to the height of a man before falling away to reveal Wolf’s human shape, complete with his usual silver mask.
Aralorn turned to Tilda, who had recovered from her initial surprise, and indicated Wolf. “May I introduce you to Cain, son of Geoffrey ae’Magi. But I call him Wolf, for obvious reasons.”
“Cain the Black,” whispered Tilda, horrified. She drew a sign in the air that glowed silver and green.
Wolf shook his head in disgust. “You can hardly think, whatever tales you have heard, that I would attack a priestess in her own temple. Not the brightest of moves.”
“Don’t mind him,” offered Aralorn. “He always responds to other people’s fear this way—not that the fear is always unwarranted, mind you, but, generally speaking, he’s harmless enough.”
“You want me to wed you to Cain the Black?” asked Tilda, sounding like she’d had one too many shocks.
“Look,” said Aralorn, stifling her impatience. “I’m not asking you to marry him. Do this for me . . . ask the goddess what She thinks of Wolf . . . Cain. Then decide what you would do.”
Tilda spared Wolf another wary glance. “I’ll do that. Wait a moment.”
She sat on the middle stair and bowed her head—without removing the sign she’d drawn. It hung in the air, powered by human magic rather than anything of the goddess’s. Tilda was mageborn. Aralorn wondered if she should add the priestess’s name to the list of mages Kisrah had requested.
“You’ve taken quite a risk,” murmured Wolf in a voice that went no farther than Aralorn’s ears. “What if the goddess decides I am so tainted by my early deeds that I should die to pay for them?”
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