Lyra tried to return a smile of assurance, but the result came out more like a grimace. She looked once more at HawkShadow and Temiker and weighed their contradictory advice and took the two messages from HawkShadow’s hand. “Very well,” she stated. “Lord Marak will meet with me then, but he will meet me here in StarCity.”
She held her hand up to hold off the objections she saw forming on the lips of her fellow Sakovans. “MistyTrail will meet with Lord Marak and bring him to StarCity,” dictated the Sakovan Star. “She has shown that she is a good judge of character and this will give her the chance to find out more about this Khadoran Lord before they arrive here. HawkShadow and StormSong will accompany her. If MistyTrail decides that this man is a threat to us, I am sure the three of you can dispatch some old Lord and his two bodyguards. Any problems with that?”
“HawkShadow and MistyTrail know the Sakova better than anyone,” MeadowTune said. “Their skills are really needed to check for the advance of the Omungan armies.”
“The armies can not move that swiftly,” stated HawkShadow. “SkyDancer can handle the Okata section with a little help and we should be back in plenty of time. I think the plan is a good compromise. I think we should leave as soon as possible so that we arrive before he does.”
“I am leading this expedition, HawkShadow,” beamed MistyTrail, “and I will decide when we leave. Go tell StormSong to get her gear together because we are leaving as soon as possible.”
Lyra laughed along with the rest of the Sakovans as they watched the smile fade from HawkShadow’s face and then reappear in a wide grin. “It appears I have created a monster,” she chuckled. “I must see RavenWing now,” she said turning to MeadowTune. “Will you join me?”
MeadowTune nodded and strode with Lyra towards the palace leaving LifeTender and Temiker to talk about magic. Maybe LifeTender was right, Lyra mused. Perhaps Kaltara would guide her actions and she would do all right. At least she was surrounded by people who could be counted on and who worked together well. Somehow she would learn to rule people the way she learned magic, with help and practice. She just hoped that her mistakes would be small ones.
MeadowTune opened the door to RavenWing’s chamber and Lyra strode in and went to his side and took his hand.
“I am sorry to bother you,” she said, “but I need your wisdom.” She handed RavenWing the two messages and gave him time to read them.
“The worst is coming, I fear,” sighed RavenWing. “There is nothing you can do for StarWind and her people, including your father, I’m afraid. If it were possible for you to get someone into the city, they would already be out. Her skills are best for getting out of that situation. The armies are what bother me the most. The generals who lead the biggest armies are the most skilled the Omungans have. Their movements must be reported and anticipated. We have to find out why they are moving and where they are going. We cannot wait until they enter the Sakova to start preparing though.”
“Who is best suited to lead our army?” Lyra asked.
“You are,” RavenWing declared. “The Sakovans have no need of any leader other than you.”
“I cannot lead the army,” protested Lyra. “I have no skill at all in that area. I wouldn’t even know what to do.”
RavenWing smiled and nodded. “It will take time for you to understand our way of life, Lyra,” he soothed. “We do not have an army as the Omungans do. When we fight, every Sakovan will fight to the death. I am not suggesting that you lead a military charge into the Sakova. You have many brilliant and talented people around you and they are all available for you to use. You do not need to appoint a general. Work with your fellow Sakovans and decide what must be done. You may appoint someone for each task or to lead a small group, but you are the only leader we have. You will make the final decisions.”
“Shouldn’t I at least name someone who can issue orders in my absence?” insisted Lyra. “What happens if I die and there is nobody to take over making the decisions?”
“If you die,” frowned RavenWing, “then Sakova dies with you. Kaltara has given you to us. If He takes you back then we shall deserve to die because we will have offended Him again. I know this is hard for you, Lyra,” he smiled as he griped her hand, “but you will make the right choices. This does not mean that you should spurn the advice of others, rather you should seek it, but in the end, it will be your decision to make and it will be the right one.”
“I wish I had your faith, RavenWing,” Lyra sighed. “I am so afraid of making the wrong decision and costing people their lives.”
“If people die, and I am sure that they will, it is because Kaltara has called them home,” smiled RavenWing. “Sakovans have been dying needlessly for centuries because we spurned our God. Now we know that when we die, we will do so in His favor. Do the best that you can, Lyra. It will be enough.”
“What about this Lord Marak?” inquired the Sakovan Star.
“Last year I would have said not to meet him,” admitted RavenWing, “but times are not the same as last year. I trust StarWind’s judgement a great deal. If she feels that this is in our best interest, then I would agree to the meeting.”
“I have done so,” nodded Lyra as she watched RavenWing’s face, “but I am having him brought here instead of meeting him at Whalebone Cove.”
“That has long been against our laws,” stated RavenWing, “but those were laws made by us, not Kaltara. You are the law now, for you speak for Kaltara, and if you think he should come here, then it will be so. The Scroll tells us that you will lead us to retake our land, so the Sakova will no longer be our hiding place. Perhaps the secrecy we have maintained will not be necessary much longer.”
“Have you heard of this Lord Marak?” she quizzed.
“I have heard some rumors about him,” admitted RavenWing. “He is Khadoran and as such has never been important to us, but what I have heard indicates that he may be good for Khadora. He does not appear to be fighting for power for himself, but to wrest control away from the powerful lords who use people up there. If the rumors are true, then he shares some of our ideals, but they are just rumors. It is possible that his own people have spread the rumors and he seeks to rule both Khadora and Omunga. You will have to decide which he is, friend or foe.”
“Thank you for seeing me, RavenWing,” Lyra said as she squeezed the old man’s hand in farewell. “I know you are still in pain. Is there anything we should be doing for you that we are not?”
“Hardly,” grinned RavenWing. “Your two friends, Syman and Antello, have been spoiling me rotten. They make sure that the cooks make everything just as I like it. They remove the bland paste that LifeTender has made up for me and sneak in the good food. They even smuggle me outside once a day so I can feel the sun on me. Don’t tell LifeTender. She will have a fit with them. She thinks the food I eat is too spicy and that moving me is out of the question, but if I am to remain alive, then I want to feel alive.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” assured Lyra, “other than some ribbing with Syman and Antello. I haven’t spent much time with them lately. I really should.”
“They are good boys, Lyra,” added RavenWing. “I am glad that I had the three of you brought here. It must have been Kaltara directing me.”
“Well I hope he directs me as well,” Lyra said as she bid farewell to RavenWing.
Chapter 28
The Search
“Help me get into this quickly,” whispered Cherri as she picked up the long slender dress.
StarWind looked at the blue garment covered with tiny blue gems and shook her head at the narrowness of it and the plunging neckline. “There is no way that you are getting your body into this,” she remarked.
“I only need to get most of me into it,” Cherri replied as she rolled her eyes. “I had forgot that he was coming tonight.”