Prophecy, Child of Earth (70 page)

Rhapsody blinked back tears. She rested her hand gently on Jo's abdomen, seeing if she could feel the presence of a different soul, and she did detect a strange vibration, but there was something wrong about it, something alien. She tried to sense further, but Jo pushed her hand away.

'No, Rhapsody, I'm not pregnant. Leave me alone."

Rhapsody made her voice as mild as she could. "Are you sure, Jo?"

'Yes. Now stop it." Jo rose and walked across the room, taking her mead glass with her.

'I'm sorry, Jo," Rhapsody said. "You know I'll do anything I can to make it better. I have lots of herbs and roots that can settle your stomach and ease your aches. Come home with me to Elysian and I'll put you in a nice warm tub."

'It's all right," Jo replied, taking a deep swallow of the amber liquid. "It's probably just that my first time was a little, well, a little rough, a little violent. I'll be fine in a week or two, I'm sure."

The words chilled Rhapsody's soul, and she felt anger, like a blush, rise to her face and choke her. She tried to keep her voice steady. "Jo, I am so sorry," she repeated, trying to stay calm. "Have I been away so long? I wish I'd been here for you, you know, to talk to. I mean, I hadn't realized you were seeing anyone."

Jo turned and looked at her for the first time from across the room. The expression in her eyes was unwavering.

'I'm not seeing anyone. Actually, you're seeing him."

!

Rhapsody stared at her blankly. Jo continued on, as words tumbled over each other in their rush to spill out. "It was Ashe, Rhaps. I'm really sorry. It was just once."

'Jo, what are you talking about?"

'It was Ashe," Jo repeated, her face beginning to harden. "I had sex with Ashe.

The night of the meeting, when I ran out of the council room, and he came after me—he found me on the heath. He didn't tell you, did he?"

Rhapsody said nothing, but the color drained from her face.

'I thought not," Jo continued, watching Rhapsody turn white and avert her eyes.

"He probably told you he couldn't find me, didn't he? Scum. I tried to make him leave, but he wouldn't. And, well, we did it. Actually, although I enjoyed it a little at the time, it was pretty grisly overall. I don't think I'll ever get the image of his face as he was knobbing me out of my mind. Honestly, Rhaps, I don't know what you see in him. Don't you have anything better to do than let him rut on you?"

Her words were having their intended effect; when Rhapsody looked back up she was in tears. She stood up and, as if in a daze, pulled the covers back on the bed.

'Why don't you get some sleep?" she said, not looking at Jo. "I'll put together some tonics for you and bring them by in the morning," Jo watched as she gathered up her hair ribbon and the lark's flute, and left the room, closing the door silently behind her.

cAshe sat up in bed as the door to Rhapsody's chamber opened softly. He had expected that she would stay the night with Jo, and the delight he felt in her return showed immediately on his face. He pulled his hood back a bit and held his arms out to her, but she turned silently from him and went to the wardrobe where she slowly hung up her robe.

'Rhapsody?" he said, pushing himself up on his knuckles and putting his feet down onto the frigid stone floor. "Are you all right?"

She turned to look at him and shock crossed his face as he saw the tears streaming down hers.

'Aria, what's the matter?" He started to stand, but Rhapsody held her hands out in front of her, as if to keep him at bay.

'Please, just stay there." She crossed her arms in front of her, looking like she was fighting nausea.

'What happened? Did you have an argument with Jo?"

Rhapsody walked a few steps nearer to him, her arms still clutching her waist.

"She—said that you had sex with her the night of the meeting out on the heath above the canyon."

Ashe's face went blank, then shock and fury roared through him like a flash flood. Rhapsody could feel the change in the electricity of the air around them as the dragon in him bristled and started to rise. She came to him and rested her fingertips on his lips as his mouth opened in protest.

'Don't say anything, please. I know it isn't true." The tears fell like rain, and she began to tremble.

His denial cut short, Ashe put his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap.

He held her tightly to his chest while his hands caressed her shining hair, caught in a chasm between uncontrollable anger at the lie and heartfelt joy at her unwavering trust in him. "Why would she do that?" he asked incredulously. "Why would she want to hurt us, hurt you like that? Do you think it's in retribution for us not telling her sooner?"

Rhapsody raised her face and looked directly into his eyes. For the first time since he had met her he saw fear in them.

'No," she said, shaking. "I think she met the Rakshas." cAshe rose slowly, like a man in shock. He savagely pulled up his hood, then walked to the other side of the room and began to gather his belongings. Rhapsody watched him in sorrow; the muscles of his body were coiled like springs, visible even beneath the ever-present mist cloak, and she knew he was struggling desperately to keep from running out the door and dragging Jo out of bed. At least he still had maintained enough common sense to know that awareness of his presence might provoke a demonic attack they were unprepared for.

'We have to go after it now, we can't delay any longer," Rhapsody said. "We had planned to wait until the first day of winter, but obviously that's off." She could not see his face, but when he spoke his voice was calm, his words pragmatic.

'You understand that she may be in thrall now, Rhapsody? That she may be under the control of the F'dor?"

Rhapsody said nothing.

Ashe took her chin in his hand; his grip was gentle, but she could feel him trembling with rage.

'You
do
understand, don't you, Aria? You can't trust her now, not with
anything
.

The contact may have been brief enough to only enthrall her temporarily, like the soldiers who attack their own villages, then can't remember doing it. Or the influence may be deeper, stronger; it may be using her as a spy."

'I know."

The grip on her chin tightened slightly, and Ashe turned her face up so that her eyes were aligned with his inside the wide hood of the mist cloak.

'She may be bound to it, Rhapsody. It may have gained access to her soul. It may own her now." Her jaw clenched, but her eyes did not waver. "It's not likely, though—the F'dor requires a blood contract, whether freely given or taken by force, to fully ensnare an immortal soul. Did she say that it had taken any of her blood?"

Rhapsody's face went white in his hand; Ashe loosed his grip and caressed her face gently.

'No, I don't think so," she said after a moment's thought. "She said the act was—violent, but she didn't mention being actually injured." "Was she a virgin?"

Rhapsody went numb. "Yes."

Ashe released her face and belted Kirsdarke. "I think you should prepare for the worst, Aria. If she is bound to it—

'If she is bound to it, I will secure her release as well as yours when I kill the Rakshas," she said harshly. "We'll leave tomorrow morning before daylight, before she knows we're gone. I'll have the guards keep an eye on her until we get back.

Whatever needs to be done to save her from this, I will do, no matter what the cost.

She's my sister, Ashe. She was bound to me long before she met the Rakshas.
I
have first claim on her soul, by the gods, not the F'dor."

Ashe grasped her arm. "Don't sacrifice yourself for her. It's not worth it."

Rhapsody twisted away angrily. "How dare you say that! Who are you to tell me what it is worth? Would it only be worth it if I were to make that sacrifice for you?" Ashe stood still in shock at the venom in her voice. Even without seeing his face, she knew how deeply her words had stung. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

'The answer to your question is no," Ashe replied, bending to secure his boots.

"Nothing is worth that sacrifice. I only meant that your death would not save her."

'I'm not going to die," Rhapsody said, staring down at her own hands. "Not to save her, not to save you."

The silence between them echoed for a moment. Finally Ashe spoke. "I should leave immediately, before it discovers I'm here." Rhapsody nodded numbly. "It's for the best."

Ashe nodded as well, then turned away. Rhapsody watched him from behind as he ran a hand through his unkempt locks, trying to regain a sense of calm, and failing miserably. He dressed in silence, never removing the mist cloak, his knotted muscles speaking volumes about his anger.

Rhapsody drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, trying to stave off the despair that was clutching at her as she watched him pack. She had known this moment was coming, known all along that he would leave, but somehow she thought it would be later, and gentler. She fought back tears as he slung his pack over his shoulder and came to the bed, crouching down beside her.

'How long do you think the hunt for it will take?"

'I don't know. It depends on how far away it is. As soon as you're away from here I will go to Achmed and tell him we have to move the plans up immediately.

We'll leave tomorrow." "Make sure Jo doesn't hear you."

'Of course. But she was told about our current strategy, so if she has communicated anything, we'll catch them looking."

Beneath the hood she heard the snort of breath that always accompanied his wryest smile. "Well, that's something to be grateful for, anyway."

Rhapsody threw her arms around his neck. "Please, please be careful."

Ashe pulled her tightly to him, holding her so as to be able to recall the memory in darker times. "Tow be careful, Aria. You will be the one facing the Rakshas. I never realized how much I dread your doing this until now."

She patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I'll be fine. We all will. I was almost able to take him down by myself. If Grunthor and Achmed are there, too, and we have the element of surprise, we should be able to end it quickly, and forever."

'When you fought it, you were on sacred ground on the holiest night of the year.

Don't underestimate it, Aria; the gods only know what demonic powers it can draw on."

'I won't. Don't underestimate us, either, Ashe. We know what we're doing. I need you to promise me you'll stay far enough away to be out of danger. We'll slay the damned thing, then you'll have the piece of your soul back, and the F'dor will no longer have power over you. It's probably not a good idea to call you as I did, to put your name on the wind again. How can I find you to let you know when it's over?"

He moved back and took her face in his hands again, tenderly this time. Inside his hood she could see the blue eyes gleaming intensely. "You can't. If I could be found, I would be dead. I'll return in a month; you should be back by then, yes?"

'Gods, I hope so. Where will you go?"

'I don't know, the coast, maybe. Don't worry about me, Rhapsody. Just get through it and don't get hurt. Leave the soul fragment if you have to—it won't be worth anything if something happens to you."

'Nothing is going to happen to me. I'll be fine."

'I will pray every moment until I see you again that you're right." His fingers slid into her hair as he pulled her face to him and kissed her. She could feel the rage quivering within him, and her lips trembled as well, fearing his anger would make him foolhardy. Her mouth clung to his, filling it with warmth as she tried wordlessly to console him, but it was of little use. She had never seen him so angry.

With great effort Ashe pulled away, then strode to the door and left without a word. Rhapsody sat for a moment, still stunned, then bolted to her feet. She ran to the door and looked for him in the hall, but he was already gone. He had not said good-bye. She had not told him she loved him.

Q) or the second time that night Rhapsody crept down the hall, still watching for Bolg sentries. Seeing none, she put the basket of tonics on the floor outside Jo's door, opened the door silently, and peered in.

The girl she loved as a sister was asleep, snoring softly, curled up like a baby in the womb, or a child with a stomachache. Rhapsody watched her in sorrow, knowing how she must have suffered, how she must be suffering still.

Hatred took hold in her heart, and she felt her fingers curl into claws as she unconsciously pictured the Rakshas's smug smirk. It would take extreme force of will to prevent herself from gouging his eyes out when they met. She was not sure yet if she would avoid castrating him when they were taking him down.

As she pictured his gory death Ashe's face appeared in her mind and she started; she forgot sometimes their identical visages. Her stomach went suddenly cold with the knowledge that he had left in a tearing hurry, without the promise of staying away. Rhapsody's heart cramped in sudden fear. Perhaps he was tracking it now, seeking to spare her the danger. On a moment's further contemplation, she knew he was. She hurried back to her room, threw on her boots and cloak and ran for the gates of the Cauldron.

Che darkness was thick in the Teeth, thicker than pitch. The rocky crags held the night fast, as though trying to shield themselves a little more from the prying eyes of the world, wrapping their summits in mist and anonymity. The wind was high, and cold, even as the scraggly vegetation stiffened in the rictus of autumn, bowing and bending before it with less vigor than in the supple moisture of summer. The annual death ritual of the land had begun. In the dark it held none of the promise that the colorful leaves of the forests made in daylight as to the temporary nature of summer's demise. Now it seemed as though the world might be swept forever into the cold and the dark.

Rhapsody clung to the walls of the rocky passes, trying to stay upright in the roaring wind. Her legs trembled with the chill that blasted up her nightgown, whipping it and the cloak she had hastily donned, making her feel as though tied to the mast of a ship under full sail. Only her knowledge of the terrain prevented her from plunging headlong down into the chasms that yawned around each turn. She could barely see a few feet in front of her, so pervasive was the darkness.