The Obsidian Temple (23 page)

She started babbling again, and Kadar kept his voice low and soothing, trying to get that sense back.

“We have to get Alannah here,” he said, thinking the Counselor might be able to calm the girl, find out where Farrah was, what was going to happen to her. There was no one to send, though, and he couldn't leave Sanuri when she was like this.

Alannah!
He called urgently with his mind, over and over, hoping the Counselor could somehow hear him, even though she didn't have farspeaking.

Sanuri stilled suddenly, and stared at him. “She comes,” she said clearly, then lapsed into silence.

 

Chapter 20

SULIS TWISTED IN
her saddle. She eyed Raen as he rode in group of veterans, all charm and laughter. She'd learned he was half-­Northern, born in Illian, but raised in Frubia when his father moved him and his Northern mother south as a child.

He said something, and the men stared at Ava a few moments, then the shook their heads. Raen slapped a man on the shoulder, and both laughed. Raen then moved to another group.

No one else seemed to notice the interaction besides Sulis. But to her, the results were noticeable. The warriors were showing more and more hostility toward Ava, and she was reacting by turning inward, becoming unapproachable. Ava had started out the trip bubbly, happy because of her new kitten. They'd rigged a basket with a lid in front of her saddle, so she could care for and play with the
feli
. But every evening she was met with short orders and abrupt words from the warriors as they set up camp. And she'd receded into one of her darker moods, watchful and hostile.

Sulis brought this up to Grandmother and Anchee and had been immediately rebuffed.

“She's tired,” Anchee explained. “It's a long journey.”

“You are starting at shadows again,” Grandmother said firmly. “Quit being an alarmist.”

Clay just shook his head when she tried to talk to him. He never lost the queasiness riding a humpback left him with and put himself in a trance to keep his food down. They'd reached the edge of the chasm and were beginning the steep descent to the Obsidian Temple.

It seemed almost like some hostile magic, the way no one seemed to see what was happening among the warriors. Ashraf was better, understanding why Sulis was alarmed even though he had missed the exchanges between Raen and the other riders. And Ava's change back to moodiness seemed to confirm whatever he was telling the men. He never approached the female warriors, and Sulis wondered why that was.

“Maybe I should talk to the women,” Sulis told Ashraf as they rode. “Get them on my side.”

He shook his head. “Bad idea. If this is some sort of magic, they won't see what Raen's doing. I'd be angry if someone tried to get between me and my fellow warriors. You could make things worse instead of better.”

So Sulis kept silent, and she and Ashraf guarded Ava at all times.

It was a relief when Clay released the illusion on the pathway, and they arrived again at the Obsidian Temple.

“We will practice the day after tomorrow,” Clay said, smoothing down his trembling legs. “When I can again hold down food. You may want to refamiliarize yourself with the altar tomorrow and imagine how you would draw and dance it.”

Sulis drew Clay aside. “I don't want the warrior Raen to see the altar,” she whispered. “I know no one believes me, but I think there's something wrong about him.”

Clay glanced sharply at the warriors filing past them, going to the eating hall for a last meal.

“That won't be a problem,” he said. “Only acolytes of the Obsidian Temple and the Chosen are permitted in the Temple. None of these warriors are. Our guards will be from the elite guards stationed here.”

“What if he is from Voras?” Sulis asked. “And sneaks out to find the secret of the deities?”

Clay gestured, and Sulis saw two guards stationed at the temple door. “Guarded at all times, at every doorway including the interior doors. They are even less trusting than you are.”

At dinner that night, Clay stood suddenly, looking over the crowd. He began a blessing for the dead as they bowed their heads. The hall took up the recitation, even though they didn't know who it was for.

When he was done, he gazed over them, his eyes blank. He spoke in a distant voice, the voice of prophecy. “The Tribune is dead. Unrest comes, shifting alliances, new Voices. Voras will gain much even as Parasu and Ivanha lose. Restoring the balance will come at a great cost. There will be war on two fronts. The Forsaken are free, and we are revealed.”

He sat down heavily as murmurs arose in the hall. Anchee handed Clay a flask of liqueur, and he drank heavily, leaning on his elbow.

The next day, Clay rested while the Chosen entered the Temple. They were each touched by a guard, and Sulis learned that all the guards assigned could feel intent and know if a person was under a
geas
or disguise. She and Ava had been isolated so quickly the last time, she hadn't seen ­people entering the temple. The guards wouldn't let Ava pass at first, probably unable to get a reading on her intent because of the state of her mind. Healer Rana had to intervene before they'd allow her to go through. Sulis put an arm around Ava, but she cradled her kitten and hunched over, resisting the comfort.

Once they were in the Temple, there were no guards. Sulis walked around the eerie statues and shivered as she felt the energy they exuded. She could separate the strands of energy she felt now, and it was nothing like what they raised in practice. This felt hostile, resistant, almost angry. There was very little energy of living things, as they'd worked with in Kabandha. Most of the energy came from the statues.

“I feel their energy this time,” she told her grandmother. “It comes at me in waves. Do you actually see it?”

Grandmother nodded. “It is strange, swirling, four colors that somehow stay separate even though they are a mist. Not evil, but not pure like the light from the One. It is trapped energy, always trying to escape and go back to its master, so it will always resist being drawn, being woven.”

Ava wandered among the statues, seeming more cheerful and like herself as the kitten gamboled around the room, chasing Djinn's tail and hopping on shadows.

“Have you thought of a name for him?” Ashraf asked.

She nodded. “Not yet,” she said. “Palou says that I should wait until he develops more to give him a real name; otherwise, he'll grow out of it. I've just been calling him Nuisance.”

Sulis grinned as the aptly named Nuisance crawled all over Djinn, who had flopped down in a corner, chewing on Djinn's ears and ruff. The big cat tolerated it for a bit, then used a big paw to hold the squirming kitten down while he licked its head and ears. She could hear both cats purring, and Ava giggled.

They turned to the altar, and Ava pointed.

“See where they stand? That's where there's usually a black spot, or round corner on my mandala,” Ava pointed out.

Sulis grimaced. “But I usually step over that space. With an eight-­foot-­tall statue in the way, how am I going to get to the next form? It doesn't make sense in the dances we were taught.”

Anchee waved them to one side. “Many of the designs don't center in the middle of the altar. They use one deity as a pillar, collect and absorb the energy, and send it to the weaver, then they move on to the next. Only the final dance will have all the deities.”

“No, not just the pillar of the deity,” Grandmother pointed out. “One edge is the pillar; the other is the living Voice that embodies the deity.”

“We learned that in training, but now it seems impossible. I mean, they're just going to hold still for that?” Sulis asked, incredulous.

Palou answered for her. “That's what your Guardians and the Obsidian guards are for, to subdue the Voices who won't cooperate and immobilize them for the ritual.”

“Who won't cooperate?” Ashraf asked. “Do you think any will cooperate?”

Grandmother looked uncertain. “We hope that Parasu will come to us,” she said. “Especially with the new Voice's connection to both Sulis and one of the Counselors of the One. We also hope he will bring Aryn. The other two will have to be lured.”

“How?” Sulis asked.

Anchee answered. “Once the deities understand what is here, their Voices will come. The Deities know that they were forced to channel through the
feli
, losing some of their independence. We don't think they realize that these statues contain that lost power and that it can be reclaimed.”

“And you intend to tell them?” Ashraf asked.

Anchee shook his head. “Not until we're ready; not until we have the Chosen and Guardians as a complete group. Not until the Southern troops are rallied, and we have supplies and healers trained.”

“War,” Sulis breathed. “The deities won't come alone. It will be war.”

Anchee nodded. “The deities will come to claim their lost powers. We will be here to trap the deities in their Voices' bodies, then weave their energies back into the energy of the One. They won't want to be reabsorbed into the One and will fight to remain independent.”

“So, they'll be nothing. In essence, they'll die,” Sulis said.

“No,” Grandmother said. “They'll achieve union with the One. Which is the goal of all creatures created by the One, to escape our selfishness and ego attachment and leave the endless circle of lives.”

“The deities are nothing but ego,” Sulis said. “They won't want to be absorbed.”

“All beings long for union,” Clay said. “We hope that once they feel their energy combining with the One's, they will remember that they used to be a part of that wholeness and embrace it.”

Sulis glanced over at Ava and realized she was crying. “What is it?” she asked.

“My family are all up north,” she said quietly. “Farrah and my sister and brothers. All my friends are there. Will they be killed in the war with the deities?”

“Kadar and my family are there as well,” Sulis assured her. “They'll make sure your family is protected.” Or at least she hoped that Kadar wouldn't desert Farrah's family because Farrah had abandoned him.

“Have you heard from him?” Ava asked. “Have you heard why Farrah is scared?”

Sulis shook her head. “I think they're all pretty busy right now,” Sulis said. “Kadar can't risk a headache, not when he has so much work to do.”

“We should take a break now,” Grandmother said. “Get something to eat. We'll return in the afternoon for meditation and scripture reading.”

When Sulis went to follow Ava, Grandmother put a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. Sulis nodded to Ashraf, who caught up with Ava, making certain she wasn't alone.

When they were alone, Grandmother turned to her.

“You heard Clay; guarding Ava isn't necessary,” Grandmother murmured.

“It makes me feel better,” Sulis murmured back. “So leave it be.”

“I've had word from Aaron,” she said. “A group of the Forsaken have kidnapped children from Ivanha's Children's Home and are holding them until the Forsaken are released from the city. Raella and her boys and several families have left to return to the desert. Others will probably follow.”

Sulis sighed. “And Kadar?” she asked although she already knew the answer.

“Stayed in the city to help out,” Grandmother said. “Though he allowed Raella to take Datura with her.”

“He sent Datura away?” Sulis asked. “He must think it's going to get bad.”

“Farrah was one of the kidnappers,” Grandmother said. “He had to get Datura out of the city, so she wasn't punished for her mother's actions.”

“Of course she was,” Sulis said, shaking her head. “He contacted me a week ago, upset because Farrah was sleeping with the viceroy's son, Severin. I haven't heard from him since.”

“Too much uncertainty,” Grandmother said, looking out the door, her eyes unfocused. “Too much that not even a powerful Vrishni like Clay can see. I'm not certain we'll have the time Anchee thinks we need to ready ourselves. After centuries of waiting, suddenly there's not enough time.”

Sulis watched Raen at the next meal. He approached the Obsidian guards and was rebuffed by their cold demeanor. When he persisted, they turned their backs on him, and he was left to go back to his warrior companions. Sulis let out a sigh of relief.

At least Clay seemed more cheerful at last meal and eager to work in the morning. He joked and chatted with the Obsidian guards and seemed to be enjoying himself.

He took Sulis aside after the meal.

“I've told the Obsidian Guards about your fears, and they will be watchful,” he said. Sulis thanked him, and he waved it aside.

“I had visions of war and death for a while. Then even those dark visions went away, as though something suppressed them. I don't understand why they went away, and that makes me cautious. Last night was the first vision I'd had in weeks,” he said. “You must go to greet the Weaver when she comes to the desert and guard her. I know this. I am afraid . . .” He stopped and shook his head, looking down. “More I cannot say. There is too much I cannot see.”

“That's what Grandmother said,” Sulis told him, alarmed by the sadness in his face.

“She is a good woman who has had to learn to be hard,” Clay said. “Depend on her. Depend on each other and trust your instincts.” He looked over her shoulder and brightened. “Ah, there's my old friend, Tell. I must speak with him.”

Sulis hurried to catch up with Ashraf and Ava.

“What was that about?” Ashraf asked.

“I'm not sure,” Sulis said with a short laugh. “He was being more cryptic than usual.”

“He thinks he's going to die,” Ava said, sadly.

“What?” Sulis asked, looking back at Clay, who was laughing with his friend. “How do you know that?”

“I feel it, in our link,” Ava said. “It's a part of what I am.”

Ashraf glanced at Sulis. “Then I guess we'll have to watch him as well as you,” he told Ava.

The next morning, Clay let Ava know he wanted to work with her one on one in the Obsidian Temple before the rest of the group joined him in the afternoon. Ashraf raised his eyebrows at Sulis, and she nodded. She could meditate just as well in the Temple, keeping an eye on the two, as in their dorms.

Clay seemed surprised when Sulis, Ashraf, and Djinn arrived with Ava and Nuisance.