Changing Fate [Fate series] (13 page)

Briam started after them, looking back to where Akila and the rest of the wolves stood frozen at the edge of the forest. “Well, come on!” He whistled, as if calling a dog, and to Akila's surprise the smaller male wolf bounded out after him. The other adults and the cubs melted back into the forest, and Akila followed Briam, hurrying to catch up with him before they entered the village. Bad enough to have to go there without going in alone.

The villagers didn't look at all happy with the idea of two wolves in their midst, but none of them dared to argue with the leader of the Queen's guard. The headman and his family moved out of their house for the night so that the party could stay there, and Druscilla managed to wait until they were out of earshot before making her remarks about the inevitability of fleas.

The headman returned a short time later and offered to slaughter one of the village's few goats to feed them, but the Shield-Bearer politely declined, saying that they had no wish to cause the village any hardship by their visit. She then invited the headman to join them in their meal, which consisted of the remaining rabbits. Briam carefully fed both wolves a portion of the cooked meat, thinking to Akila,
eating this won't stop you from turning back, will it?
as he handed it to her.

They went to bed immediately after supper. Druscilla and the swordswoman slept at the back of the hut, with Druscilla next to the wall. In the best heroic tradition, Briam spread his bedroll by the door and kept his sword near to hand. Akila thought the Shield-Bearer looked a bit amused by this; presumably she knew the people of the village, although even she kept her weapons within reach. Akila and the other wolf curled up behind the saddlebags, and Akila wondered where the wolf would sleep in the city, when the saddlebags were unpacked and put away. Under Briam's bed, no doubt. It was odd; she hadn't realized that the wolf was so devoted to Briam.

They left early the next morning. The headman thanked them for the honor of their visit with expressions of great esteem. From the looks he cast the wolves, Akila was sure that he had counted all the poultry before coming to bid them farewell.

The road they were taking veered away from the river, circling around the cultivated fields. “We should reach home around mid-morning,” the Shield-Bearer remarked.

"The Festival will be over by now, won't it?” Druscilla asked anxiously. “I've lost count of the days."

"The Festival need not concern you, Druscilla,” the Shield-Bearer replied coldly. “The Queen has decided that you are not ready to take part in it.” Her tone of voice was sufficiently dampening that Druscilla kept silence for the rest of the ride.

Diadem, Akila decided, must take its name from its setting. It was a semi-circular walled city, located on top of the highest land for miles around. She wished she could change to eagle-shape and get a better view of it and the land around it, but as long as she was with the others, she couldn't. The river they had left that morning, which was still visible to the west even now, ran along the far side of the city, and judging by the sound of it, there was a waterfall beside the city. From their current route she couldn't see the water below the falls, but she thought the river must widen below it.

As they approached the city, Akila saw that there was a gate on the north side of the wall, but the gate their party used was the east gate, in the center of the semi-circle, where the largest jewel would be in a tiara. Akila noticed that there didn't seem to be anyone watching the gate, which struck her as odd. The streets were paved with flat stones and had gutters at their sides, between the streets and the sidewalks. The streets were immaculately swept and the houses had garlands of flowers hung along the edges of the awnings which shaded the sidewalks. There was a fountain bubbling gently at each intersection, making Akila suspect that there must be an extensive system of pipes carrying water from the river and distributing it throughout the city. The walls of the houses were whitewashed, adding to the general impression of light and cleanliness. Was everything always this clean, Akila wondered, or was this part of the Festival Druscilla had mentioned? Considering the normal state of her old home, no matter how many people were trying to keep it clean, she suspected the latter. What kind of festival was it anyway?

Being in a city was making her very nervous after all the months in the woods. She could attribute some of this feeling to being a wolf—the other wolf was keeping so close to her that their fur was touching—but she suspected that she might well have been uncomfortable even as a human. After all, she had never been beyond the boundaries of her estate in human form before. Fighting her instinctive desire to find a quiet alley and hide, she forced herself to look around and analyze what she was seeing. The city was undeniably beautiful, but it was the most alien place she had ever seen. Compared to this, the forest was cozy and home-like.

The streets were empty of people, but now Akila was hearing sounds of singing. None of the humans seemed to hear it yet, but the other wolf was whining softly. When they came to the center of town, Akila could see why the gate and all the streets had been deserted. Except for a cleared space leading from the street they were on to a platform at the far end of a large plaza, the entire area was packed with people.
Every single inhabitant of the town must be here
, Akila thought. They were singing some sort of hymn, but Akila couldn't quite make out the words. This must be the Festival, but what king of festival was it?

The Shield-Bearer swung easily down from her horse and moved to lift Druscilla down from hers. Druscilla stood where she was placed, pale and frozen, looking sick and horrified. Briam dismounted also, and a man dressed in a plain dark tunic came out of the crowd, bowed to Druscilla, and led the horses away. Briam nodded politely to the man and moved to stand beside Druscilla. Akila, with the other wolf still at her side, went to lean against Briam's leg.

Akila
, Briam thought,
what's going on? Do you know?

I have no idea
, Akila thought back,
but I suspect it's the Festival Druscilla was talking about
.

The hymn ended and the people fell silent, looking toward the platform and the woman who stood there. Even after she had resumed human form and seen the Queen with normal vision, Akila always remembered the black and white of her first sight of her. She was a tall woman with pale skin and dark hair, which had been whipped around by the wind until it formed a cloud around her face. Her dress was dark, but was liberally ornamented with something that glittered in the sunlight. A matching cord tied just below her breasts barely saved the dress from being indecent. The neck was cut in a deep V, and only the cord kept the point of the V fixed between her breasts and stopped the dress from slipping when she breathed. The gown was sleeveless, and the skirt, fitted with a few almost invisible pleats, fell loosely to cover her feet. She wore a thin bright chain tight about her neck just above her collarbones, which made her dress seem less low-cut than it actually was by making her exposed bosom seem to be part of the dress. She stood there, straight and still as a statue, looking simultaneously regal and oddly vulnerable. Her head was tilted back slightly and she seemed to be waiting for something, or perhaps listening to a voice that only she could hear. Then she looked at Briam and smiled, nodding slightly. She drew a deep breath, which made the sunlight flash off her dress, and began to sing.

The song was like nothing Akila had ever heard before. It seemed as though all of creation was singing, and the music filled her head. It felt as if her brain had turned to air, providing a space for the music to fill and echo back and forth in. The words were in a language she didn't understand, but even in wolf shape she found her lips trying to shape the words as the woman sang them. She couldn't imagine why this was happening; it didn't make sense. She felt drawn to this woman, a pull even stronger than her bond to Briam, but Briam was her twin and she had never seen this woman before in her life. The feeling of power about her reminded Akila of the power in the sanctuary back home, but this woman, though she appeared to be a priestess, did not have the feel of either the Lady of Fire or the Earth Mother about her.

Akila glanced up at Briam and saw that his lips were moving in the words of the song, whatever they were and whatever they meant. The Queen, Briam, and Akila were all breathing in the same rhythm—and so, Akila noticed, was the other wolf. The song was compelling, as if it held them under a spell, unable to think, unable to breathe except when the singer did. It was the breathing which made Akila sure that she wasn't dreaming the whole thing, for aside from that things seemed dream-like and far away.

The song flowed, pulling them forward, drawing them all together. Briam started to move across the plaza, with both Akila and the other wolf still at his side.

Behind them, Akila heard Druscilla protest. “Briam, no! Don't!"

"Be still!” the Shield-Bearer said in an urgent undertone. “Don't disrupt the ritual."

"No!” Druscilla's voice was not loud, but it was intense enough to carry. “She can't! She can't have him—” Her protest ended with an sudden choking sound, but at the moment none of this seemed at all important to Akila.

The song was part of her now; her true self had always known it. It was telling her that she was home; she was where she belonged. Or perhaps it was telling this to Briam and she was picking up his feelings. It felt as though she, the other wolf, Briam, and the Queen were all part of one person. It was natural for them to be moving toward the Queen. Soon they would all be together, bathed in the great warmth and light which called them.

They were near the foot of the platform now, and the Queen came down from it to meet them. As Briam walked up to her, she reached out, took him in her arms, and kissed him.

Akila didn't know whether she was feeling her own feelings or Briam's, but everything seemed to spin about them and a strange energy ran through their bodies. It felt a little like shape-changing, but more intense. She became aware that she was sitting on the Queen's feet and leaning against her leg only when the Queen moved and Akila nearly fell over.

The Queen kept an arm about Briam and led him to a stone shrine at the left side of the plaza. People drew back to make a path for them, but Akila scarcely noticed. She and the wolf trailed Briam and the Queen as if they were all part of the same pack.

The shrine was small and cave-like, and had nothing in it but a low bed which took up most of the floor. It was too low for even a wolf to fit under, but there was just enough room at its foot for the two wolves to curl up together. The wolf huddled in the corner there, and Akila slid in next to him. At least it had the feel of a proper den, and it was the only remotely normal feeling thing about this entire situation.

The Queen dropped the curtain over the entrance to the cave, untied the cord at her breast and removed her gown, and assisted a dazed Briam to undress before taking him in her arms again. At that point the whole room started spinning around Akila and she passed out.

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Akila came half-awake in darkness and spent several minutes trying to remember where she was and why she felt so strange. After several minutes the events of the previous day returned to her, the journey to the city, the people all crowded into the plaza, the Queen, the song ...
that's right
, she thought,
I'm in that shrine, the man-made cave in the city
. Listening carefully, she could hear the breathing of two sleeping humans, and the scuffling noise made by the wolf beside her.

He was awake now, too, sniffing at her and trying to move closer to her. She felt oddly restless, as if she were searching for something she shouldn't have, but she didn't know what. And something in the shrine smelled different from anything she'd ever smelled before. She flopped over and leaned against the wolf, and suddenly she realized what she was feeling—it was a very strong wave of desire for him. And the way he was sniffing at her, she'd seen that before, in the kennels at home—
Holy Mother! she realized in horror. I'm in heat!

Almost before she finished the thought she was back in human form, shivering violently. The wolf whined, unhappy at the transformation, and she shushed him hastily. Miraculously, he stopped whining and lay down again.

What am I going to do now?
she wondered.
I'd better think of something fast; the Queen won't sleep forever, and I really don't want to explain this to her. I guess I should shift to something else, find out where they put the horses and our baggage, and find some clothes ... except that I have no idea where my clothes are, and I really shouldn't be wearing Briam's ... one thing's certain; I can't change back to wolf-shape now. The puppies are darling, and I do miss them, but that doesn't mean I want some of my own—I wonder what would happen if I got pregnant in animal form? I don't think I want to find out—at least not this way!

Signaling to the wolf to stay where he was, she crawled very carefully toward the door, listening intently to the breathing of the sleepers. Near the doorway, she felt coarse fabric under her knee; investigation revealed that it was Briam's undertunic. She slipped it on; he was bound to have enough else on his mind in the morning that he wouldn't miss it.

She peeked cautiously around the edge of the curtain covering the entrance. Luck was with her; the plaza was deserted. Keeping to the shadows as much as possible, she ducked into the nearest alley, and bumped into a small figure completely covered by a dark hooded cloak. Even in human form, however, Akila recognized that perfume.

"Who are you?” Druscilla demanded in a low voice, “and what are you doing here? Don't you know it's forbidden to disturb the Queen and the Year-King on their wedding night?"

Akila collapsed against the wall, almost sure that this time she really was going to faint. “Year-King?” she whispered in horror. She had read of this custom—of places where the Queen ruled, and where a new king was chosen each year to be her consort until the time for him to be sacrificed. She had always thought that it would be nice to live in a place where a woman ruled, where she wouldn't have to pretend that all of her orders and ideas were Briam's. But she had not given much thought to what having a Year-King would be like—and she had certainly never cast Briam in the role.