Beyond the Prophecy (31 page)

Vatar huffed irritably.
At least I’d have been on the
ground when I finished. What am I supposed to do from up here? In case you
didn’t realize it, lions can’t fly.

Thekila.

At Vatar’s voice through their bond, sounding stressed,
Thekila set aside the bread she’d been slicing for the evening meal and walked
out to sit quietly under the apple tree.
How are you? What’s going on?

Safe, for now. They’ve put me up in a dark room at the
top of the highest tower. But at least I’m finally alone. No one’s watching me.

Thekila felt a slight pull as if she were using distant
manipulation at a great distance.
What are you doing?

There are narrow vents just under where the roof joins
the wall. I thought if I could enlarge them, I’d at least be able to see out.
Maybe get some ideas. The part of the wall where the vents are can’t be bearing
the load of the roof.

Good thought. Do you have any ideas?

Just one.

Thekila waited for him to elaborate.
Well, what is it?

Something Gerusa said made me think of it. Do you remember
back before my first fourth-level Transformation? When I suggested I might try
a different avatar, one that could fly with you?

Yes.

Quetza said that it wouldn’t work, that I’d be too heavy.
But then, later, you said you had to start by learning to soar on updrafts. And
Quetza was able to teach Zoridan to soar. He’s not that much smaller than me. I
was wondering if I Transformed into a bird—maybe an eagle—if I could soar just
far enough to get outside the city. Or even across the river. That’d be better.

Thekila suppressed a laugh.
Yes. I don’t like to think
about you trying to swim across the river. Not without someone to drag you back
out again before you drown.

Do you think it would be possible? Flying—soaring, I
mean?

Thekila closed their bond to her thoughts for a moment. It
wouldn’t help right now to let Vatar know that it had taken more than a year
for her to learn to fly. Or how many times Quetza had saved her from a
potentially fatal crash during that time. And she was little more than half
Vatar’s weight. Vatar needed encouragement, not more doubts. This might really
be his only option at this point. Soaring was easier—if the air currents were
favorable. She opened their bond again.
In theory, maybe. I’d be happier
about it if you had someone there who could
catch
you, the way I’m sure
Quetza did with Zoridan—or used to do with me.

We don’t have that luxury. And I can’t think of any other
way to get out of this. I thought, maybe, with you helping me I wouldn’t need
quite as much experimentation.

Thekila bit her lip, thinking hard.
Maybe Quetza could
fly over to help you.

No. I don’t want to put anyone else in danger. Gerusa has
reasons to keep me alive—for now, anyway. She has some plan to use me against
Father. To distract him from her real plans, she said. That wouldn’t apply to
Quetza. And a large white wyvern flying overhead is kind of hard to miss.

Thekila nodded.
You’re right. Keep working on widening
those vents—all around. We need a much better idea of what you’ll be facing
before we can make more definite plans.

~

The next morning, Thekila prepared to guide Teran and
Terania down into the city, to visit the Archives.

“Are you sure you still want to do this?” Terania asked.
“Considering . . . everything.”

Considering Vatar’s capture, she meant. “The city will be
much too busy for you to go to the Archives once the Festival starts tomorrow.”
Thekila blew out a breath. “Anyway, I can’t do anything to help Vatar from
here. Not, at least, until he’s ready to try flying.” The thought still made
her shudder. “The only better idea I have is to use my eagle form to fly down
there and help him.” An oversized white wyvern might draw a lot of attention,
true, but a normal-sized white eagle would only be remarkable for its color. No
Fasallon who didn’t know about the Spirit of the Eagle would even suspect that
the bird was an avatar. There was just one problem with that idea. She placed a
hand protectively over her belly. “But before I think any more about that, I
need to talk to Boreala about it. So, I’ll take you down to the Archives, go
see Boreala, and rejoin you later.”

Terania nodded provisionally, but accepted this. “Maybe it
won’t be a bad thing for you to be busy with something.”

Thekila appreciated the thought, but she needed a great deal
more than just something to keep her busy. She needed a way to help Vatar. And
soon.

They’d barely stepped into the Archives when Thekila heard
her name called from the stack of scrolls to her left. She turned to see one of
Vatar’s half-brothers waving at her. “Miceus! It’s good to see you again.”

Miceus grinned. “You, too. Father said you’d be bringing
some guests to the Archives today, so I made sure to be on hand. He asked if
I’d help make sure they find whatever they’re looking for.”

Thekila felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn’t informed Veleus
of the latest developments, yet. It had seemed too late, last night. She’d had
to pretend nothing was wrong until after the children were safely in bed,
before she even told Teran and Terania—and Elaria. And then she’d gotten
distracted by Vatar’s plans to try to fly out of his prison. She should prepare
Veleus before Gerusa put whatever plans she had into play. She’d do it right
after she talked to Boreala, she promised herself.

“Oh, good.” Thekila introduced Teran and Terania to Miceus.
“With you to look after them, I’ll go ahead to consult with Boreala.”

“Is anything wrong?” Miceus asked with a look of real
concern.

“Not with me. It’s just . . . I’m pregnant again. Vatar says
it will be a girl, this time.”

“Oh, congratulations, then.” Miceus paused. “Um, Father said
that Vatar is south, in Tysoe.”

Thekila grimaced. “Not anymore.”

“He’s on his way home, then.”

“He was.” Thekila sucked in a deep breath. “He was captured yesterday
by a patrol out of Kausalya—and taken to your mother. They’re holding him
prisoner. That’s one of the things I want to talk to Boreala about. Just how
much I can do to help him, without . . .”

Miceus gulped. “Captured by Mother?”

“Yes,” Thekila said. “He said the odd thing was that the
patrol seemed to actually be looking for him.”

Miceus sat down hard on the nearest bench. “Selene.”

Thekila’s brows knit. “What?”

“My sister, Selene. She came to visit me not long ago. Out
of the blue. After more than a year. Athra was suspicious about that. Well, I
was, a little, too. But . . . well, Selene is my sister and it was only the two
of us growing up. She made out that she’d finally realized how Mother used to
manipulate and use us. She was there when Father came by. And I could see how
happy he was to have her back with us. So I set my suspicions aside.” Miceus
looked up into Thekila’s eyes. “She was there when Father mentioned that Vatar
was in Tysoe. And . . . and that he was planning to come back with Arcas’s
group who were surveying for a road.”

Thekila sat down on the other end of the bench. “Miceus, do
you think Selene is still in contact with Gerusa? Through Far Speech?”

Miceus nodded. “I wouldn’t doubt it. She always was the
closest to Mother. Mother’s pet.”

“What else was discussed in her hearing? Can you remember?”

“Just some concerns Father had about the Festival. Selene
offered to help. Said she’d been practicing her Transformations so she could do
it without help this year. But, last I heard, they were going to reduce the
number of Sea Gods this year. Abella wasn’t going to be one of them.”

Thekila chewed her lip. “I wonder . . .”

“What?”

“Vatar said that Gerusa planned to use him in some way
against Veleus. As a distraction, she said. But she hasn’t made any move to do
that yet as far as I know. Vatar certainly hasn’t communicated anything about
it. That feels very out of character for Gerusa, especially if she’d had time
to plan for capturing Vatar. It makes me wonder what else she’s up to.” Thekila
stood up. “I need to talk to Boreala and Veleus. Right away.”

Miceus grabbed at her hand. “Father . . . Father won’t want
to believe that Selene had anything to do with Vatar’s capture—or anything
else.”

Thekila paused. If it was anything like the delight Veleus
had displayed at being reunited with Miceus . . . “No. Veleus would probably
fight as hard for Selene as he has at times for Vatar. It’s . . . not exactly a
fault.” She nodded. “I won’t take away his joy in Selene based only on a
suspicion.” Her face darkened. “Proof will be another matter.”

~

Boreala discouraged any thought of flying down to Kausalya.

“Last time, you said exercise was good for me,” Thekila
objected.

Boreala shook her head. “It is, in reasonable amounts. I set
the line a lot farther out than Vatar would and so I reassured him that riding
wouldn’t be a problem. You’re talking about something else altogether.”

“Shape changes aren’t a problem, are they?” Thekila was sure
she’d been an eagle at least once while she was pregnant with Jadar—at a
similar stage, too.

“By themselves, no,” Boreala answered. “But maintaining a
shape change for the kind of time you’re talking about, combined with the
physical effort to fly that distance could be.”

Thekila had actually envisioned soaring most of the way
along the bluffs of the coast, like the pelicans she’d seen from time to time.
But she had to admit, even that would get tiring. She sighed. She needed
another plan. That might depend on what Gerusa was actually planning to do with
Vatar—and when. Hmm. Maybe she had the beginnings of another idea fermenting in
the back of her mind after all. “How about maintaining a shape change for as
long, say, as the Festival?”

Boreala shrugged. “That’s often been done without adverse
effects. But you’re not thinking of helping with the Festival after all, are
you? Anyway, there’s no time to make any changes now.”

“Not exactly.” Thekila’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me, is Selene
participating in the Festival? And, if so, who is she portraying?”

Boreala blew out a breath. “She practically insisted. She’ll
be Farlene. Why do you ask?”

Thekila shared her suspicions.

“What are you going to do about it?” Boreala asked.

“I’m not sure, yet. But I think it might offer another—safer—way
for me to help Vatar. I need to talk to some people first. Then I’ll let you
know.”

After leaving Boreala, Thekila settled herself on one of the
benches in the Temple gardens to contact Veleus.

“Thekila?”
Veleus’s mental voice sounded harried.

“Yes. I . . . I need to tell you—”

Veleus interrupted,
“About Vatar?”

Thekila drew in her breath sharply.
“You know?”

“Gerusa made sure of that, early this morning.”

Thekila felt a stab of guilt. She really should have told
Vatar’s father sooner.
“I’m sorry. I should have been the one to tell you,
so you’d be prepared. But, it was late when I knew he hadn’t been able to
escape before he was taken to Gerusa. And then I was . . . distracted.”

“Of course you were,”
Veleus reassured her.
“Gerusa
wants something. I don’t know what, but we’ll get Vatar back. I’ll focus all my
energy on that.”

Thekila suppressed a desire to curse and fought for calm.
“Actually,
from what Vatar said, I think that’s exactly what Gerusa wants—to keep you
distracted so the Festival fails. Vatar and I have at least the start of a plan
to get him out.”
She explained Vatar’s plan to fly to freedom, with her
coaching.
“Don’t let this distract you from what you need to be doing.
That’s what Gerusa wants. That’s why she wanted to capture Vatar in the first
place. I’m sure of it.”

“Do you think it will work?”
Veleus asked.

Thekila tried to radiate more confidence than she actually
felt.
“I think there’s a good chance, yes.”

After ending that conversation, Thekila turned aside from
her return to the Archives to seek out Cestus. After relaying the facts as she
knew them once again, she asked, “So, I have two questions. Maybe three,
depending.”

“Yes?” Cestus said.

“First, do you suspect, as I do, that Selene is up to
something? Wanting so much to help with the Festival seems suspicious to me.
Especially after she demanded that Vatar manage her Transformation last year.”

Cestus nodded reluctantly. “I’m afraid I do. I can’t see any
other reason for her sudden conversion. She’s had a year to rejoin the family.
All right, I can see her being shy at first. But that seems a very long
time—and very convenient timing. She always was her mother’s right hand.”

“And that leads to my second question. Do you think she’s
told Gerusa how to find Vatar?”

“I can’t see any other way that Gerusa could have found out
where Vatar was. Of the people who knew and had the ability to contact Gerusa
with Far Speech, Selene is the only one who would have.”

“Right. So that leads to my third question. If Selene and
Gerusa plan for something to happen tomorrow, will Gerusa be watching with Far
Sight?”

Cestus blinked. “I don’t know Gerusa as well as some. You
could ask Orleus, or Boreala. But . . . yes, I think that would be just like
her. She’d want to gloat over her success.”

Thekila nodded. “Then I think I have the beginnings of a
plan. But I’ll need help.”

“What can I do?”

“Give me an hour. I want to bring Teran and Terania into
this, too. Probably Boreala, too. What I have in mind will take all of us.”

“Can’t you give me a clue? Maybe I can at least think about
it while you’re gone.”

Thekila smiled ferociously. “I want to put on a show, like
the Festival has never seen. If Selene attempts to sabotage the Festival, I
want to ruin her plans in the biggest way possible with a few surprise shape
changes of our own. Between Teran, Terania, and I, we should be able to not
only mask whatever Selene does—probably drop her Transformation in the middle
of the market, at a guess—and add a few touches of our own. I want to keep
Gerusa’s attention riveted on what’s happening here, while Vatar gets far
enough away to be out of her reach.”