Lady of Light and Shadows (16 page)

And now the sweet baby girl whose soul Lauriana had vowed to save, the daughter she'd raised in Light, was turning her back on all that her mother had taught her, lured by the beautiful illusion of the Fey.

Lauriana wanted to weep and scream and snatch her precious child out of harm's way, but she could not. King Dorian had declared Ellysetta to be the Fey king's bride, and there was nothing Lauriana could do about it. A woodcarver's wife could not flout the will of one king, let alone two. She had Lillis and Lorelle to think of, too.

"Please," she whispered, looking up at the shafts of sunlight shining in from the windows of the Solarus's tiny dome. "Please, help me. Show me how to protect her. Give me a sign.”

But this time, the Bright Lord remained silent.

Weary and full of despair, no less troubled than when she'd begun her prayers, she exited the Solarus. Father Celinor stood near the doorway, his blue eyes gentle and compassionate.

"She's a good girl, Madame Baristani," he said. "I don't think you have to worry about her losing her path among the Fey, no matter what the pamphleteers and rabble-rousers are claiming. Once tempers calm and people starting thinking again instead of reacting in fear to these
dahl'reisen
threats, they'll remember that the Fey are soldiers of the Light.”

"I hope you're right, Father," Lauriana murmured.

He patted her hand. "Trust the Bright Lord to protect the souls in his keeping.”

She nodded with obedience but no sincerity and took her leave. Outside on the street, her doubts and fears rose up again, and she went about her errands in a cloud of despair, desperate to find a way to save Ellie but helpless to know how to go about it. She even, gods help her, considered approaching the Brethren of Radiance, but the moment she came within sight of their wild, wailing followers, she turned and fled. Desperate she might be, but not desperate enough to trade magic for madness.

All the while, the Shadow Seer's warning rang hauntingly in her ears:
Save her, mother. Only you can save her.

When she left Maestra Binchi's shop on Queen's Street after finishing the final fitting of her gown for the wedding, she broke down into helpless tears. She'd just tried on the most beautiful gown she'd ever worn, custom-tailored for her by the country's leading Maestra of fashion. It should have been one of the giddiest, most exciting experiences of her life, a prelude to the even happier event of her oldest daughter's nuptial celebration. Instead, as she'd stood there, draped in exquisite, costly silks, all she could think was,
Will I dance in silk and jewels while I send my daughter to her doom?

A familiar voice called her name, "Madame Baristani?”

She looked up, scrubbing her tears away with the palms of her hands. Selianne was standing on the sidewalk, not far from Maestra Binchi's shop door. She carried a bag filled with parcels and was watching Lauriana with a worried expression.

"Madame Baristani, are you all right?”

"Oh, Selianne." She began to weep again. Here was someone who shared both Lauriana's love for Ellie and her fear of the Fey. Here was someone she could talk to, someone who would understand. "No, killing, I don't think I am all right.”

Selianne stepped closer and slipped a comforting arm around Lauriana's shoulders. "Come with me, Madame Baristani.” She glanced around at the storefronts surrounding them. "There's Narra's tea shop. Why don't we share a nice pot of tea, and you can tell me what's troubling you."

Two bells later, Lauriana knelt beside Selianne and Ellysetta at the altar in the Grand Cathedral of Light, her head bowed in prayer, sneaking glances at Greatfather Tivrest. For the first time in days, she felt a glimmer of hope.

"I think you should speak to the archbishop," Selianne had suggested after Lauriana poured out her litany of fears in Narra's tea shop. "He's a sensible man, and a godly one. He's even powerful enough in the church to challenge King Dorian to protect the souls in his care. Talk to him. Tell him everything you've told me. I'd be surprised if he can't help.”

Now, looking at him as he stood at the altar, stern and strong in his faith, she knew Selianne was right.

The archbishop was no blind admirer of the Fey like Celinor, nor a wild-eyed fanatic like the Fey-hating Brethren of Radiance. He was a sensible, orthodox man, a disciplined soldier of the Light, and a noble as powerful as any in King Dorian's court.

If any man could help her save Ellie, Greatfather Tivrest could.

He sketched the sign of the Lord of Light and intoned the final blessing of today's devotions. "Arise, daughters," he said when he was done, "and walk in Light.”

The three women rose, and the air of formal ceremony faded.

"Well, that's that, then," Selianne said, rubbing her hands together and flexing the fingers that had been clasped in prayer for most of the last bell. "Tomorrow is the Bride's Blessing. Are you ready, Ell?”

Ellysetta nodded. "I think so.”

"Nervous?”

"A little.”

"It gets worse when it's time for the actual wedding.”

They all laughed, including Lauriana. Ellie's expression grew a little more solemn. "You seem to be feeling better now, Mama.”

"I am." From the corner of her eye, Lauriana saw the archbishop turn to descend from the altar. She pressed a quick kiss on Ellie's cheek, then Selianne's. "You girls run on. I'm just going to have a word with Greatfather Tivrest." She hurried towards him. "Your Grace? Can you spare a moment, please?"

"I wonder what that's about," Ellysetta murmured to Selianne.

Her friend shrugged. "Wedding stuff, most likely. I'd better be going. Gerwyn's out of town, so Mama's watching the children.”

"Still? He's been gone for days.”

Selianne nodded glumly. "I know. I miss him terribly.”

Ellysetta felt the tingle of magic as the Fey tore down the barriers around the isle, then a familiar rush of emotion and power. What was Rain doing here? He'd always waited until she returned home before he collected her for their daily courtship bells. "Sel, Rain's here.”

Poor Selianne looked as if someone had jabbed her with a knife. "I, uh... I think I'll go out the back." She turned and fled.

Ellysetta watched her disappear. She supposed it was a good thing, after all, that Selianne wasn't going to attend the wedding. It wouldn't look good to have her Honoria faint from fear of the groom during the ceremony. Of course, it would look even worse to have the groom murder the Honoria because he read her mind and discovered she was part Eld. At least, she and her best friend had been able to share this much-and thank the Bright Lord that Rain's dire predictions about the Mages consuming Selianne's soul had not come true.

She gave a quick, fanning wave, marshaled her thoughts, and hurried out of the cathedral into the bright sunlight where Rain stood waiting on the manicured lawn.

"Did you miss me so much?" she asked, a teasing smile on her face.

"Have I been such a poor suitor that you must ask?" His teeth flashed in a smoldering smile, and his voice lowered to a throaty purr. "I shall endeavor to do better.”

Oh, my. She knew that look, that tone. Her cheeks flushed scarlet.

He laughed softly and moved close so that his body almost touched hers, but didn't; energy zinged between them all the same. Teasing her.

Her eyes narrowed. Two could play that game. He'd even taught her how Mindful of being in a public place, she didn't use her hands. She just closed her eyes, concentrated, and sent her essence rolling over in him in pulsating waves. His breath hissed on a sharp intake, and she smiled in satisfaction as she felt the rewarding stun to his senses.

When he caught his breath, he regarded her with glowing, half-closed eyes. "If I'm very, very good,
shei’tani,
will you do that again when we're alone?”

She laughed. Without a care for their public location or the worshipers walking past them, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.

The teasing passion in his eyes softened to a different, more tender emotion, one that made her heart skip a beat. His hand trailed down the side of her face, brushing back spiraling tendrils of hair. "Come,
shei’tani,
dance the skies with your mate.”

He didn't escort her outside beyond the city walls as he usually did. Instead, he Changed right there on the cathedral lawn, much to the outrage of the priests who saw him. Ellysetta barely noticed. She settled into place on Rain's back and together they sprang into the sky.

"You see what I mean, Your Grace?" Lauriana pointed out the window at the disappearing shadow of the Fey king's tairen form. "He calls his magic right here, on holy ground, with no respect for our beliefs or our ways. He's encouraging Ellie to try magic as well. I'm sure of it. She's so in love with him, she'll do anything to please him. I fear that in time she'd even turn her back on the Bright Path if he asked it of her.”

Greatfather Tivrest turned away from the window and paced across his private office, his brows drawn together in an expression that was half scowl, half thoughtful deliberation. "It is perhaps providential, Madame Baristani, that you came to me today to discuss your fears." He glanced up, apparently having come to some sort of decision. "Will you follow me, please?”

He lit an oil lamp from his desk and led her to a small, windowless room adjoining his office. Long velvet drapes hung from floor to ceiling to ward off the chill of the ancient stone walls, and a small altar sat in one corner, its stone surface cluttered with dozens of red candles. The room still smelled of smoke and sago flowers as if someone had been burning those altar candles only recently.

Moving to the left wall, he parted the drapes to reveal a small metal door that he proceeded to unlock with a key he pulled from a pocket inside his robes. The door swung inward, opening to a narrow, curving stone stairway. A dim glow of light shone up from the darkness below.

"You are not the first to approach me this morning concerned about the safety of your daughter's soul," he said as they descended. "Three brothers from the north came to see me as well." The stairs opened up to a small room furnished with a simple wooden table and chairs. The room's occupants-three men in scarlet robes-rose to their feet and turned to greet them as Lauriana and the archbishop entered.

"This," Greatfather Tivrest said, indicating the older of the two, "is Father Lucial Bellamy, head of the Order of Adelis. And this"-he gestured to the younger, white-haired priest at his side-"is Father Nivane, one of the brothers in his service. And the father standing in the shadows over there is Father Brevard." Father Brevard did not move from the shadows, nor remove the hood concealing his face.

Lauriana had never met any of the three men before, but even without the Greatfather's mention of their Order, the first glimpse of their scarlet robes had told her who-or rather what-they were.

Exorcists.

"No." Lauriana's feet began to move of their own volition, backing away from the men in their bloodred robes.

"Father Bellamy heard of your daughter's betrothal to the Tairen Soul," the archbishop said. "He came here to Celieria City as soon as he received the news. He says her name is not unfamiliar to his Order.”

Lauriana's frightened gaze darted from one priest to the other. "I-" Her throat tightened, choking off her voice. Her knees went weak, and she reached out to grab the wall for support.

"Here, come have a seat before you fall." The archbishop put a supporting arm around her and led her to one of the empty wooden chairs. He pulled up a second, sat beside her, and patted her hand with a gentleness she hadn't known he possessed. "This isn't an interrogation, and I didn't bring you down here to cast blame or frighten you. You came to me for help, and I'd like to provide it, if I can. But first, I need to know what happened in Hartslea all those years ago." He bent forward, his blue eyes solemn, sincere, free of even the slightest hint of reproach. "Is it true your daughter was diagnosed as demon-possessed when she was a child?”

Lauriana swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes." She forced herself to speak, telling him about the seizures and the doctors' eventual diagnosis.

"So you sought assistance from the Order.”

She closed her eyes briefly in pained remembrance and nodded. It had been the hardest decision of her life. "I did. Sol didn't want me to, but I insisted. They came to our house with their prayer books and needles ... It was awful, what they did to her. She screamed and screamed.” She could still see little Ellie's face contorted in agony, hear her shrieking and crying out for her mama and papa to save her, to make the pain go away.

"I know the rites can seem brutal," Father Bellamy said softly, "but they are necessary. Demons do not easily release their prey.”

"But the exorcism wasn't completed," Greatfather Tivrest prompted.

She shook her head. "Sol couldn't bear it. He stopped it and threw the priests out. We left Hartslea. We prayed and prayed, and eventually the episodes stopped on their own”

"Did they?”

She couldn't hold his too-knowing gaze. "For the most part. It's been more than five years since she last had a seizure. She only gets an occasional nightmare now and again-at least until the Tairen Soul came to town.”

"Her nightmares have increased?" Father Nivane asked suddenly.

She cast a wary glance his way. "Yes.”

He exchanged glances with Father Bellamy. The older priest nodded. "Madame Baristani," Father Bellamy said gently, "once a demon claims a soul, it does not leave until it's driven out. It may lie dormant for a while, but it is still there." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "You must authorize the completion of the exorcism.”

She lurched back, yanking her hand from the archbishop's, then leapt to her feet and turned to face them. "No." Her heart pounded against her ribs, and her lungs felt starved of breath. She began to back away, towards the stairs.

"My dear lady, your concern and deep love for your daughter is obvious. And it is obvious that your own love and dedication to the Bright Lord has been of invaluable assistance in keeping her on the Bright Path, but you cannot abandon her now, in her time of deepest need.”

"You don't understand. My husband made me swear on the Book of Light that I would never turn Ellie back over to the exorcists. I can't betray my solemn oath.”

"The Bright Lord would never ask you to keep an oath to surrender your child to evil," the archbishop replied. "Your husband was wrong to demand you make such a vow. I grant you dispensation to do the right thing.”

Lauriana shook her head with frantic emphasis. "Sol would never forgive me. It would destroy our family." Mild-mannered and loving though he was, Sol had a spine of tempered steel and an unswerving sense of honor and loyalty. He could forgive many things, but not a personal betrayal of the sort they were proposing. "Even if Sol did understand, the Fey wouldn't. They'd kill anyone who touched her. The Tairen Soul won't even let the queen's Master of Graces hold her hand in dance lessons, for the Haven's sake! They'd slaughter us all ... these exorcists ... you ... me .. . maybe even my entire family." She ran trembling fingers through her hair. "No, it's madness even to contemplate such a thing.”

"Madame Baristani," Father Nivane interjected, "would you change your mind if you knew we could conduct the exorcism without anyone knowing it ever happened?”

"How on earth could you promise that? She shares a bond with the Tairen Soul. He ... senses things. And all the Fey can read minds. They'd know the instant you touched her.”

"No, they wouldn't." Eagerness lit the younger priest's pale eyes. "We recently discovered a forgotten text in the Church archives that proves we can conduct the exorcism without the Fey's knowledge. They could be standing right outside the door and not sense it.”

"Most victims of demon possession have no memory of the exorcism once it is complete," Father Bellamy added. "The Fey would never know. Your family would be safe.”

The archbishop stood, adding his voice to theirs. "Madame Baristani ... daughter ... I know this is a difficult decision, but it's the right thing to do for your child.”

She backed away, shaking her head. It was too dangerous. No matter what they said, she didn't dare risk it. "I appreciate your concern, Greatfather-more than you'll ever know-and I know I was the one to come to you asking for help, but this isn't he help I was looking for. I was hoping you could simply convince the king to dissolve the betrothal. Once I can get her away from the Fey, things will go back to normal and she'll be fine.”

"There's no possible way I could break your daughter's betrothal. Not only was it decided by the Supreme Council, but between the king and the Tairen Soul, they've made it a matter of state. Even if I had such authority-which I don't-haven't you been listening to Father Bellamy? Your daughter isn't fine, and never will be until the exorcism is complete.”

"And I've told you I can't authorize an exorcism. I just can't." Lauriana turned and rushed towards the stairs, but before she could set foot on the first step, a hand caught her wrist in a steely grip. Father Nivane held her fast.

"Think of your daughter, woman. Think of her soul. How can you make such a self-serving, cowardly decision and call yourself her beacon?”

"Nivane!" Father Bellamy rapped out. "You forget yourself. Unhand Madame Baristani at once." Turning a conciliatory face to Lauriana, the chief exorcist approached, hands outstretched in a gesture of peace and entreaty. "Madam, forgive my young Brother. He has long fought the agents of the Dark, and such work requires a certain fervor. It is easy, sometimes, to forget that others are not so acquainted with the perils of evil as we.”

She pressed back against the wall. The stone felt icy against her skin. "I know what evil is, Father, believe me.”

He searched her eyes and nodded. "I do believe you, daughter.

I can see in your eyes that you have confronted it before." Sorrow and compassion lay in his, and the simple kindness she saw made her start to weep. He obviously regretted what he was asking her to do, and knew how difficult a decision it was. "We cannot force you to do this, but will you at least promise to consider it? You can give us your answer tomorrow.”

“I-“

"You cannot stop her marriage," he added, "but you can save her soul. And isn't that what you've wanted all along?”

Lauriana nodded, tears trickling from her eyes. "Yes.”

"You've been a good mother to her, and an exceptional beacon. Without you, she no doubt would have been lost long ago. For her sake, will you promise to consider our request?”

Nivane bowed, his expression penitent. "Forgive my outburst, Madame Baristani. It was unbefitting my vocation. I want only the best for your daughter. Here, please, take this." He removed a golden pendant from around his neck and held it out to her. The pendant was a golden sun, set with an amber crystal. "It's a charm, blessed by some of the Brothers of the Order to ward against magic. I know the Fey have surrounded your home. This will help protect you and your thoughts against them.”

Bellamy laid a hand of thanks on Nivane's shoulder. "Madame Baristani, if you still wish to refuse tomorrow morning, simply send the charm back to Greatfather Tivrest here at the cathedral. We will know you have declined our offer, and we will depart with no one the wiser. Neither your family nor the Fey will know we approached you.”

Lauriana reached out slowly and took the pendant from Nivane. The metal felt warm to the touch. "I will consider everything you've said, and give you my answer in the morning." In his room at the Inn of the Blue Pony, Kolis Manza smiled with satisfaction as he sensed the amber crystal change hands from Nivane to the Feyreisa's mother. The Feraz witchspell anchored to the stone didn't suppress thoughts but rather siphoned off the loudest of them and channeled them to the receptor crystal Kolis wore around his neck. Short of a deliberate Spirit assault on Lauriana Baristani's mind, the Fey would not be able to hear her thoughts, while Kolis, on the other hand, sat like a little fly on the periphery, hearing everything louder than a whisper.

Rain and Ellie flew farther and faster than they ever had. As they'd departed Celieria City, she'd asked the innocent question, «
How fast can you fly?»
and with a wicked tairen laugh, he'd shown her.

He'd wrapped them both in a cocoon of magic and shot so high they could see the deep twilight cusp of the sky and the dim shine of stars gleaming just beyond the blue heavens. No breeze stirred in the shield of Air around them as they flew, and Rain's wings weren't even moving. They were swept back, fully extended but held close to his frame while magic alone propelled them forward at tremendous speed.

"That was incredible," she breathed when at last they landed and Rain Changed back to Fey form. "How fast were we going?”

Rain smiled. "Very fast. We're halfway to Queen's Point." Her jaw dropped. "Halfway to-but Queen's Point is more than five hundred miles from Celieria City!”

"A little over four hundred as the tairen flies. I could have gone further, but then I would have had to feed to replenish my strength, and tairen dining can be a little unsettling to those unused to the sight.”

She thought of Love and the kitten's penchant for leaving the gnawed, half-eaten bodies of mice and lizards lying about, and her stomach took a queasy lurch. How easy it was to forget that tairen were, first and foremost, predators, with a predator's instincts and a predator's habits. "What do tairen eat?”

"When they're hungry? Anything that moves.”

"And are you ... er... hungry now?”

He threw back his head and laughed. "Only for a meal we can both share. In fact, why don't you set it out now while I spin the protection weaves." After a quick glance at their surroundings to find what he needed, he spun a rapid Earth weave. A folded blanket and a small basket appeared beneath nearby pella tree.

Leaving her to lay out the blanket and basket of meats cheeses, and various fruits and salads, Rain wove a large five fold dome around them and secured the threads firmly in place. Not even here, on the beaches of Great Bay two hundred miles from Celieria City, would he relax his guard. Whatever was hunting her-be it Mage, demon, or
dahl'reisen-
would have no further opportunity to prey on her as long as he could prevent it.

He joined her on the blanket to share their meal. When they were done, he leaned back on his elbows and watched her walk towards the gentle surf lapping at the white sand. She stretches her arms up high over her head and lifted her face towards the warmth of the Great Sun, all but purring as the ocean breeze ruffled her hair and filled her lungs with the wild, fresh scent of the sea.

The sight of her standing there in the bright waves reminded him of the long-ago days of his youth when he, Rainier-Eras, Tairen Soul of the Fey'Bahren pride, would join his soulkin to swim in the warm, sparkling waters of Tairen's Bay and later bask on the silvery sands to dry his wings in the ocean breeze. His father, Rajahl, would bask as well, but never far away from his son and always with one watchful eye open, while Rain's mother, Kiaria, would lean against her mate, her slight Fey body shining and pale against his tairen darkness, her eyes closed, a smile of utter contentment on her face.

Ellysetta lifted her skirts and dipped a slender foot in the water. A wave crashed, sending spray and sand flying to soak the hem of her gown.

"That is not quite the right attire for a visit to the ocean," Rain said. He summoned Earth and wove it. Her heavy silk dress shifted, becoming a light, flowing white robe and gown that blew back in the breeze and molded to her body in ways that made his heart beat a little faster. She glanced down and gasped, and her arms slapped into place to cover all her most interesting bits. He grinned. The robe and gown were sheer and he had not spun undergarments.

She scowled. "This is not what I would call being `very, very good.' “

"That is a matter of perspective,
shei’tani.
From where I'm standing, it looks very, very good indeed.”

"Ninnywit”

"Happy mate," he corrected. He spun Earth again. His weapons disappeared and re-formed in a neat pile on a blanket spread beneath the broad fronds of a nearby pella tree. His leathers were transformed to a robe and loose trousers as flowing and sheer as her garments. Unlike her, he didn't try to hide his bits, not even the one growing more interesting by the moment. Her eyes went wide. "And impatient groom," he added with a shrug and another grin.