“The gods? You mean they're like this as some sort of punishment?” She could feel her ire rising and fought it down. Linked mentally with Korandellan, it would distress him greatly to be exposed to her anger. “So what can I do?”
You must appeal to Cheltaran directly, I fear.
“The God of Healing? I don't know him.”
But he knows you, demon child. I'm certain he will heed your summons.
The image flickered for a moment and R'shiel realised that Korandellan was weakening. The idea alarmed her. Korandellan was as strong in the power as she, and certainly far more skilled. The effort it took to link through the Stone was minimal. It should not be having that effect on him. “Are you all right?”
I am tired, that is all.
“How can you be tired? You're the King of the Harshini.”
Your faith in me is encouraging, R'shiel. Korandellan could not lie, but he could avoid giving her a direct answer.
“What's wrong?”
He sighed, obviously reluctant to share his burden. The strain of holding Sanctuary out of time is telling on me.
“Why don't you just let it go? Nobody knows where Sanctuary is.”
Xaphista's priests would find us easily, if we were back in normal time. I cannot risk it.
“But if your hold weakens, they'll find it anyway.”
Then I must rely on you to remove the threat of the Kariens, and trust you are able to achieve it before I falter.
Korandellan was not trying to pressure her - it was not in his nature to do anything so blatantly human, but R'shiel felt it, nonetheless. It simply wasn't fair. She never asked to be the demon child. She certainly did not want to feel responsible for the survival of the Harshini.
The King smiled. I fear I have made the burden of your destiny heavier. Do not concern yourself, R'shiel. Things will turn out as the gods will them.
Which isn't saying much, she thought irreverently. “Is there anything I can do?”
If you are following a path that leads to breaking the power of the Overlord, you are doing all you can, my dear.
“Well, I'll try to do it a bit faster,” she offered with a wan smile.
Korandellan nodded wearily. You will prevail.
The strain of maintaining the link was telling visibly on the King's face. She took her hands from the Stone and it cleared almost instantly, the milky backdrop returning to the crystalline clarity that characterised the magical talisman. R'shiel sank down onto the floor, sitting with her back to the marble base, her knees drawn up to her chin. She let the power go with some reluctance.
So, I have to call Cheltaran, she told herself. That would take care of the wounded Harshini. Then, if Dikorian can't help me... maybe the answers I need are at the Citadel. But I'm running out of time.
That the Harshini might be imperilled had never occurred to her until now. In fact, she had never really felt that she was working to a timetable. She knew that at some distant point in the future she would finally have to confront Xaphista, but she had always thought the one thing on her side was time. Perhaps she could sneak away after this damned election. Damin was a smart boy, Adrina even smarter. Surely, between the two of them, they can figure out how to secure his throne without my help?
She climbed to her feet and glanced around the temple. What makes it holy? she wondered idly. The gods - or the people who worship them?
“Cheltaran!” Her voice echoed through the cavernous chamber, but no divine being answered her call.
“Cheltaran!” Was there some sort of ritual she should perform to summon him? Zegarnald came when she called, as did Gimlorie. Dacendaran and Kalianah seemed to come and go as they pleased. She had never tried summoning another god.
“Hey! Cheltaran! I need you!”
“Never have I been summoned quite so... eloquently, demon child.”
She started at the voice and spun around to find the god standing behind her, leaning against the Seeing Stone, his arms folded across his chest. They did that a lot, she noticed. You called them and they popped up where you least expected them.
“Cheltaran?”
He smiled serenely. In solid form he looked like an older version of Dace, but without the motley clothes or cheeky grin. He wore a long white robe, similar to those worn by the healers of Hythria, but she had expected someone older. A fairly ridiculous expectation in hindsight - these beings were immortal. If they appeared old, it was simply because they wished to.
“Is there some reason you called me? You appear quite well.”
“There are Harshini here who need you.”
“Ah yes. The Harshini who overextended themselves.”
“You know about them?”
“Naturally. I am the God of Healing. All sickness and injury is known to me.”
“Then why haven't you done something about it?” she demanded impatiently.
“Healing is part of every living being, just as, sometimes, allowing nature to take its course is also a part of life. Things happen as they must, R'shiel. I do not interfere without good cause.”
“Well you have a good cause now. I need them up and about.”
“You need them? Am I to interrupt the natural order of things at your whim, demon child?”
R'shiel thought about that for a moment, then decided she didn't have time to argue. She nodded. “That's about the strength of it.”
“I have interfered more since you came along than I have in the past millennium,” the god told her with a frown.
“Then a bit more won't make much difference, will it?”
Cheltaran sighed. “Very well, demon child. I will do as you ask. But be warned. There will be a reckoning. Nature requires a certain balance. Each time you call on us to disturb that balance, the day of reckoning draws nearer.”
There was something vaguely threatening in his tone that worried R'shiel.
“I don't mean to.”
“I know you don't. But you are the demon child. You are a force of nature in your own right.”
Cheltaran vanished abruptly, before R'shiel could say anything more. She was puzzled by his sudden disappearance, but the reason became clear a moment later, when the doors to the temple flew open and the sound of booted feet pounding on the tiles echoed through the place. She turned as the interlopers emerged into the light. It was Almodavar, Damin's captain, and a squad of his Raiders.
“My Lady! Lord Wolfblade demands you return to the palace at once!”
“He demands, does he?” she asked with faint annoyance as she descended the steps from the altar. “What's the matter now?”
“The palace was attacked. They've taken Adrina.”
R'shiel swore under her breath.
By the time she reached Almodavar, she was running.
CHAPTER 25
R'shiel was shocked by the devastation when she reached the palace. There was blood on the white marble steps and smeared across the tiled floor of the main hall. The diamond-paned windows that led out onto the balcony and overlooked the harbour were shattered into a carpet of glittering shards that crunched underfoot as she followed Almodavar at a run. There were several bodies lined up near the doors, with shrouds thrown hastily over them. How many had died, she wondered? And for what?