Ebudae (34 page)

“Because . . .” Pelya didn’t know. “I just .
. .” They all stared at her, curious about the answer, except Aphry
who was leaning into the gentle hand stroking her cheek. “It was a
feeling that if I took her anywhere else, she might die or be hurt
even worse. If I brought her here, she would be safe and have the
opportunity to heal. I can’t even tell you how I came to believe
that.”

Healer Fusia leaned forward, looking up into
Pelya’s eyes. “Interesting.” She stepped back and took a hold of
Aphry’s hand. “You were correct. Leave her with me and go on about
your business.” The old woman pulled Aphry to one of the smaller
rooms, ignoring the rest of them from that point on.

“Interesting?” Pelya asked no one in
particular. “What in the world does that mean?”

Imbra chuckled. “She’s like that. Your
friend is in the best hands, so don’t worry about her.” His
expression became somber. “In truth, I’m glad you came here. There
is someone you both need to talk to.” He gestured for them to
follow. “Perhaps Reanna herself has a hand in things.”

“Hmm.” Frath frowned, but they followed the
knight.

They walked along the circular hallway some
more, travelling to the next tower. Pelya looked around at the
ornate decorations and statues lining the walls. “Reanna is one of
the Hushed Gods, isn’t she?” Both men halted in their tracks and
Pelya had to keep from running into the knight.

“Where did you hear about the Hushed Gods,
young lady?” Frath asked. Both men folded their arms and stared at
her as if she were in trouble.

She responded quickly, both perturbed and
worried about the stances they took. “From a book. I read a lot,
Daddy. Why are you both looking at me like I’ve done something
wrong?”

“Because I’ve kept you away from religion,”
Frath said with a growl. “Churches force people to worship them and
punish you if you refuse.”

The statement startled Sir Imbra. “Where did
you hear that? I swear to you that no servant of Reanna has ever
done such a thing.”

“No . . . I mean others . . .” Frath
stammered, realizing he risked offending the knight.

“Daddy was raised in an orphanage where
priests whipped him and any other child that didn’t swear fealty,”
Pelya explained.

“Where did you hear that?” her father asked
sharply.

“U . . . Uncle Bobbell told me. He said you
were the only one who ever refused and that you were punished a
lot.” Pelya felt tears sting her eyes at the thought of her father
suffering when he was young.

“That’s not your business, Pelya, and you
are not to share my personal matters with anyone else,” Frath told
her.

She hung her head and wished she could be
anywhere else. “I’m sorry.”

“Here now, she didn’t mean any harm,” Imbra
said with a calming hand on Frath’s arm.

Frath ran a hand over his face. “I know. I’m
not mad, just . . .” He shook the feeling off. “What book did you
read and what else did it say?”

Pelya definitely didn’t want to answer that
question. She also didn’t want to lie to him. “It doesn’t matter.”
She turned to Imbra. “You said someone wanted to see us.”

Regrettably, it wouldn’t be that easy. Both
men folded their arms again. Sir Imbra said, “I’d also like to know
which book you read. There are many books about different gods, but
the phrase ‘Hushed Gods’ is rare, largely because those particular
gods don’t like anyone mentioning them.”

“But I’ve never heard the terms Unreal Gods,
Van Gods or Crazed Gods either.”

Imbra took her by the arms. “What book did
you read?”

They were beginning to frighten Pelya. “It
was a gold and silver book in a temple in the ruins,” she blurted.
“Ebudae and I read it while we were exploring one day.”

“Where was this temple? Can you lead me to
it?” Imbra asked. He gave her an excited shake.

“Please let go of my daughter,” Frath said.
There was a hint of a threat in the words.

The knight let her go immediately, spreading
his arms wide. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Frath said, knowing the
knight meant no harm. “I’m very curious about this temple too. What
have you and Ebudae been doing down in those ruins?”

“Exploring.” Pelya shrugged and looked for
an escape route, but they were determined to get the information
from her. “We have a good system and we’re extremely careful. I
promise.” Her father stared at her with narrowed eyes. She sighed.
“There’s an academy under Lady Pallon’s house. We use that as our
base and explore out from it. A few years ago we found some maps of
the way that city used to be.”

“I’d like to see those,” Imbra and Frath
said at the exact same time. They frowned at each other
suspiciously.

“The temple is to the north of the academy.
We traveled pretty far that day, but we were very careful,” Pelya
said, reiterating their caution. “The doors opened easily for us
and it was beautiful inside with perfect statues and even
tapestries lining the walls, so we figured it was right next to a
pillar holding up the city.”

“I definitely want to see this place,” Imbra
said in a hushed voice. “Go on.”

“More doors opened up for us before we even
got to them. It made us nervous, but we didn’t have bad feelings
like the times when a hidden danger would raise the hair on our
necks.” Pelya took a deep breath, thankful that they weren’t
interrupting to chastise her, but not wanting to go on. “In the
center of a small circular room was a pedestal with a book that had
silver and gold throughout the binding. When we walked up to it,
the book opened.”

“There are magical books that can reach out
and make people read them. They can even take over your mind.”
Frath looked worried.

Pelya tried to figure out whether or not the
book was still in her mind. “No . . . I think maybe it did while we
were reading it, but it didn’t keep us.” Instead of comforting her
father, he seemed even more stressed, so she continued. “The book
was about the energies of chaos that flow through the universe
around Ryallon and how they affect magic and helped to create the
Gods. Then it defined the Gods and their place in Ryallon. It
didn’t name them though.” Pelya considered mentioning the chapter
on dragons, but the dragon mark on her back protested, so she kept
quiet.

The men stared at her in shock. “That’s . .
. I want
very
much to see that book. Will you please show me
when we have the opportunity?” Sir Imbra asked.

“I don’t want her going back down there,”
Frath said.

“Daddy, Ebudae and I have been going down
there forever. You can’t tell me not to go there now!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Well . . . maybe you can, but it would be
silly.” Pelya mentally kicked herself for such a weak argument.

“My crew will escort her. There isn’t
anything in those ruins that can stand against us.” There was no
boast in the knight’s words, only supreme confidence.

“Well it’s not going to happen right now. I
want to make certain the threat to my daughter is gone before we
think about any more adventures.”

“What threat? Does it have to do with
rescuing thousands of slaves?” Imbra dropped interest in the
book.

“There weren’t thousands,” Pelya pointed out
in confusion.

The knight winked at her. “You’re just being
modest. I’m certain you’ve rescued half the city’s population by
now.” Pelya blushed. He squeezed her shoulder. “In all seriousness,
you are my friend and I’ll not tolerate threats to your life.”

“A man by the name of Master Thanzin, who
works for Master Blavoci, is looking to harm Pelya and Ebudae for
rescuing the slaves.” Frath patted the backpack he carried. “We
have evidence of illegal activities in these log books, but it’s
going to take more than that.”

“That news makes it more important that we
see Priestess Omira,” the knight said. “Come, tell me more as we
walk.”

Frath and Pelya filled him in as they walked
past the next tower and reached a fourth. Sir Imbra led them
outside into a yard filled with animals. Most were in kennels and
other enclosures, but quite a few were roaming around freely.

“Priestess Omira is a healer, but she has
great affection for animals and concentrates all her efforts on
them,” Sir Imbra told them with a sweeping gesture over the
courtyard. “She cared for Ebudae’s emo bunny.”

“Ebudae has an emo bunny?” Frath asked
Pelya.

“She rescued it when we saved the slaves.
Its name is Shade.”

“I love your friend dearly, but she truly is
odd.” Frath shook his head in bemusement.

“We wouldn’t be best friends if she wasn’t.”
Pelya stuck her tongue out, eliciting a chuckle.

A thin priestess with brown hair touched by
silver approached. She was feeding a puppy with a bottle. “Sir
Imbra, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

Pelya couldn’t help herself. “Ohhh, it’s
such a cute puppy.” The priestess put puppy and bottle in Pelya’s
arms, allowing the young warrior to be useful while cooing over
it.

“Priestess Omira, This is Frath and Pelya
Jornin, friends to the Pallons.” Sir Imbra introduced each.

“The Pallons? Do they know?” she asked the
knight.

“Know what?” Frath asked. Pelya felt her
heart sink, taking her breath with it.

“Lady Pallon died this afternoon. Her
granddaughter allowed me to bring . . .” The priestess stopped when
Frath dropped to his knees as though felled by a great blow.

Shock weakened Pelya’s joints. Omira took
the puppy out of her arms. The loss of Lady Pallon didn’t cause
Pelya sorrow, but she knew it would hurt her father. It was
unexpected as well, that morning being the first indication that
anything was wrong with the woman.

Pelya held her father’s head against her
shoulder and he broke into tears. It was rare for him to cry. She
had seen it a few times when a close friend in the Guard would die
and had even heard him cry in the dark a few times when he thought
her asleep. There was something tortured about her father she
couldn’t seem to help him with.

Imbra and Omira were respectfully quiet
while Frath grieved. Finally, he stood and wiped his eyes.
“Sorry.”

“Not at all.” Imbra waved away the apology.
“Your grief shows compassion. It is healthy.”

Frath tugged Pelya’s tunic at the shoulder.
“It’s a bit wet.”

“I don’t mind, Daddy. I’m sorry she died.”
She was sorry for him, but glad the woman was dead. There was no
way she was telling him that though.

He looked at Omira. “How is Ebudae and what
arrangements have been made?”

“The young lady appeared to be very tired.
She mentioned that members of the City Guard had accused her of
murder.”

“
What
?!” Pelya was furious. While the
Guard was her family, Ebudae was more so. Every member of the Guard
had every other member to rely on. Ebudae had no one but Pelya.

“I assure you that she did not murder her
grandmother,” the priestess reassured them, perhaps
misunderstanding Pelya’s outrage. “Not only did the Guard’s healer
clear the young lady, but our priest divined that the woman died of
natural causes when he prepared the body.”

“Your priest prepared the body?” Frath asked
in surprise.

“Yes. I was about to mention that earlier,”
the priestess said. “When I delivered the emo bunny to young Ebudae
Pallon, her grandmother’s body was still in a chair of the sitting
room. I asked if she would like me to bring the body here to bless
and release it. She agreed.”

“What of the servants?” Frath asked. “I
would think they’d take care of arrangements.”

“I only saw one servant, a nervous woman
with a disturbing eyepatch.”

“That’s Tina,” Pelya said. “Everyone else
hates Ebudae. I bet they left.” Frath looked as though he were
about to argue, but chose not to. He frowned in thought. Pelya
tugged at his sleeve. “Daddy, I need to be there for Ebudae. I know
. . .”

He interrupted her. “I agree. We need to
make sure she’s alright.” He turned to the knight and priestess.
“If I remember correctly, you won’t release Lady Pallon’s body
until dawn. I’d like to pay my respects. Would it be possible to
get a carriage to the Pallon Estate afterward? The carriage loaned
to us by the Temple of Turqua left after dropping us off here.”

“But of course,” Sir Imbra said right away.
“We’ll take mine. I would go with if you’ll allow it.”

“I will,” Frath said. “Thank you for
everything you’ve done for us.”

The knight bowed. Pelya caught an
interesting look in his eyes, but it was so brief she thought it
might be her imagination.

When they reached the cool basement room
where Lady Pallon’s body lay on a table, Frath stepped forward to
pay his respects. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks. Pelya stood
to the side behind him, ready to be there if he needed her. After a
minute, he kissed Lady Pallon’s forehead and they left.

Chapter
23

Ebudae abruptly sat up. The sitting room was
dark with the exception of dim embers in the fireplace and a lone
candle flickering on the low table. Tina was fast asleep on the
other couch, probably exhausted from taking care of Ebudae.

Everything was bizarre. She was now Lady
Ebudae Pallon, Mistress of the Pallon Estate. The entire family’s
history and future rested on her shoulders. It wasn’t just an
esoteric concept, but a palpable entity tied to her.

She knew things. The secret tunnels to the
city below were all clear in her mind including some she hadn’t
known about previously. With certainty, she knew her grandmother
had never been aware of the passages from her room. She knew this
because the entity that was the manor knew it.

Pallon Estate was an entity that was aware
of its own existence. It wasn’t human and had never been. It liked
Ebudae. That was both good and bad. It would help her and keep her
safe. She knew that because it promised her it would.