Threads of Amarion Page 26

  “And the bond she made with you,” Bands said.

  He raised his chin. How did she know about that?

  “It doesn’t behoove you to hide things from me,” she said. “That’s why I’m warning you. I know you trust her, but...she’s unpredictable. There’s no other way to say it. She could be your undoing if you aren’t careful. I just want you to understand that.”

  “Why is she dangerous?”

  She sighed. “Because there’s more than one gust in that wind.”

  “What?”

  “Mirolah isn’t the only one in her head, and she is on the edge of losing control all the time. Yes, she’s powerful. Yes, she favors you, for now. Maybe she even thinks loves you, or she wants to love you. But the real truth is that somehow, she needs you. Desperately. That’s different than love, and if her need somehow shifts, if the voices in her head decide to see you as a threat...”

  He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t tell her about the night when Mirolah blasted him into unconsciousness.

  “Keep your focus on Avakketh,” Bands said. “That’s where it should be. But don’t look away from Mirolah for too long. And...be careful.” She seemed about to say more, but didn’t.

  Silence fell between them, and Mershayn found himself thinking of Mirolah. If she wanted his life, she could have it. He already owed her his life.

  Bands took a breath and let it out slowly, like she was marshaling her courage. He came back to the present and looked at her. He didn’t like the sound of that sigh.

  “I have news,” she said.

  “Bad news,” he guessed.

  “I am leaving,” she said.

  Cold roots grew in Mershayn’s stomach. He didn’t know how long he hesitated, stunned. “When?” he finally managed to say.

  “Today.”

  He raised a hand helplessly, then let it drop to the bed. He blasted a resigned breath. “Why?” he asked, before he could stop himself. He sounded like a whiny child rather than a king. How could she leave? The kingdom was on the edge of disaster, and Bands had, through sheer will, held it together. If she left...

  She rose and came to sit on the edge of his bed. She took his hand. “You showed me why I must leave.”

  “By Thalius’s beard, tell me how, and I will undo it!”

  “Your unthinking bravery. Your willingness to give everything to win. Against impossible odds, that is the only way it can be done. When we see the course we must take, no matter how daunting, we must take it without hesitation.”

  “Yes, fighting Avakketh. So stay and help us fight.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You have to. We can’t win without you.”

  She nodded. “Let me tell you a secret I have kept until now: I did not think we could stop the dragons. I thought you were all going to die.”

  “What? But you—”

  She waved a hand. “I prepared you as best I could. I did everything I thought we might do to keep Teni’sia standing, but as Stavark and I crested the ridge and saw the dragons, I knew that Teni’sia would burn and all her people would die. I knew I would die fighting next to you, or be dragged in chains back to Avakketh. But you...you turned it around because you knew what needed to be done. And you did it.”

  “Bands, please...”

  “Like you, I know what my next step is. I have to get Medophae back. If I stayed, I could help you. We might do better in the short term. In the end, we would lose.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Avakketh is a god. He is a hundred times more powerful than six dragons. No matter how powerful Mirolah is, she cannot ground Avakketh. If she goes toe-to-toe with him, he will destroy her. To fight a god, we need a god, and the closest thing we have is Medophae.”

  Mershayn couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “Like you,” she said. “I must fly into my enemy’s teeth and do what needs doing. I must bring Zilok Morth to heel and recover what he has taken.”

  “What? That spirit thing that made Stavark...” He shook his head. “No. You can’t. That thing can twist your mind and make you—”

  “He is not all-powerful, though he would like to think he is. I have tangled with Zilok before, but we have never tested...who is the greater threadweaver. Soon, we will know, and either I will return with Medophae, or you will carry the fight to Avakketh alone.”

  “There has to be another way.”

  She watched him. Finally, he bowed his head.

  “This will not be the last page in our book, Mershayn, King of Teni’sia,” she said. “I will return. And Silasa will remain with you. Stavark, as well. Each is a force you must use wisely. Silasa has the experience of lifetimes, but you’re going to have to pull it from her. She tends to see herself as a weapon and not a king’s counsel; don’t waste her by using her exclusively for hatchet work. And Stavark, though he may appear invincible, is more fragile than he seems. Keep him close. Do not forget he is a twelve-year-old boy. His spirit is strong, but he puts the world on his shoulders. That is too much for anyone to bear. If he breaks, you will lose a powerful ally. He desperately needs a friend, and he will never admit such a thing.”

  He nodded. “Okay,” he said. “And Mirolah. She’s going to stay.”

  Bands hesitated only a second, but it was enough to set Mershayn’s heart to beat faster. “What happened? Where is she?”

  “Her battle against the dragons took a toll on her.”

  No...

  “What are you saying?”

  “She is...still, but I do not believe—”

  “What do you mean ‘still’?”

  “Seeming dead.”

  He lurched out of bed.

  She held up a hand. “Sit down, Mershayn.”

  “I have to go to her!”

  “You need to listen to me first. Sit down.”

  Slowly, he sank back to the bed.

  “Calm yourself. Mirolah does not breathe. She has no pulse. No heartbeat. But to a threadweaver, her body glows like the sun. Something is happening here. If she was just anyone, I would say she is dead. But Mirolah is not just anyone. She has already done several things I would have thought impossible, and...” she trailed off.

  “And what?”

  “I think perhaps she has been this way all along, but the intense GodSpill she wields has kept her...moving.”

  “You’re saying she’s been dead all along?”

  She hesitated, then nodded. “I think so.”

  “That’s not possible. She...” He stopped talking. His head hurt. He and Mirolah had spent a night talking, sharing stories. He had kissed her, and her lips had been alive. How could she be...?

  “As I said, she has already done several things that I thought impossible,” Bands continued. “If she can bring six dragons to the ground, then animating her own...body...might not be outside her ability.”

  “To be dead and not dead at the same time.”

  “Yes.”

  “What can I do?” he asked.

  “Do nothing. Whatever is happening to her has not resolved itself, and I can only imagine what kind of trouble you might bring on yourself—or her—if you interfere. Take care of her body, make certain no harm comes to it, but do not disturb her. She will return when she is able.”

  Or if she is able. He heard the words she did not say.

  She stood then. Light seemed to dance in her white blond hair and on her flawless features, as though it wished to linger on her longer than it would a normal person.

  “You did this,” he said. “This so-called victory. This...kingship. Me. You made this happen, just like you said you would. What will Teni’sia be without you?” He got out of bed despite the many aches that told him he should lie back down. Clad in nothing but his nightshirt, he hugged her. She embraced him in soft, strong arms.

  “We will see each other again soon,” she whispered.

  “Even when you lie, I want to believe you,” he said into her hair.

  “Now,” she said,
letting him go, “before I forget. Your page Casur tried to wake you three times this morning. He is very persistent, but I would not allow it. There is something that requires your immediate attention.”

  “And it is?”

  “There are Sunriders at the gates of the city.”

  “Sunriders!”

  “They claim to come in peace. They have been waiting for hours, and they appear to have ridden very hard to get here.”

  “What do they want?”

  She winked at him. “That, my friend, is your duty to discover.”

  “By the gods, can we have one day without a calamity?” he said. “Is it an army?”

  She shook her head. “They are ten strong, an official ring guard for a Vessel Man. This is unusual for the Sunriders. Their Vessel Men are precious to them; they would not risk one for a trivial purpose, coming so far into Teni’sia with so small a host.”

  “Then I will see them as soon as I dress.”

  She went to the door, then turned back to him. “Goodbye, Mershayn. You exceeded my expectations, to put it mildly. You will do well in my absence. Trust in that. Trust in yourself. Trust in your friends. And, gods willing, we will raise a cup after this business is done.”

  “Wildmane willing,” he joked, trying to sound jaunty over the lump in his throat.

  Don’t go....

  She left, closing the door behind herself.

  Mershayn stared after, his heart heavy, then he once again got about the business of being king.

  37

  Medophae

  “Silly...” the voice warbled to him.

  I’m dead, Medophae thought. Should I be able to hear anything if I’m dead?

  “You were supposed to wait,” the voice said. “All that swimming... How am I supposed to rescue you if you don’t cooperate? Like you could make it to the surface with one breath. Humans can’t breathe underwater.”

  Medophae suddenly realized he could breathe, and that he had been breathing for a while. The crush of the ocean still squeezed his body like a giant’s hand, but the water was also moving, slithering past him. Or was he moving through it?

  “If you’d just floated, you would have lasted longer,” the voice continued. “Do you always fight like that? You just fight and fight. Is that what humans do? Do they fight all the time? I forget so many things.”

  He blinked his eyes. It was still dark, but a light blue glow surrounded the girl next to him. He could see her face clearly, and her blue hair flowed out behind her. She had his handless arm wrapped around her neck, and she was looking up as the water coursed over them.

  “Vee?”

  She looked at him. “You’re awake?” She let out a breath, and he realized then that both of their faces were connected by a big air bubble. “Are you goofy?”

  “Goofy?”

  “Creatures who don’t live in the water, sometimes when they breathe water, their minds go goofy.”

  “What happened?”

  “You fought Mother. She doesn’t like it when people fight her. So she took you to the bottom and left you to die. I think she wanted to prove a point. She always wants to prove a point. But it was a good thing she did that instead of just squashing you. We got lucky there.”

  “You saved me.”

  “Again.” She winked. “But I’m going to need that favor this time.” She had big eyes but petite features. Slender lips, a pert upturned nose, and an almost pointed chin. She looked a little bit like a quicksilver, but without the pointed ears, the alabaster skin, and the silver hair.

  “Well, I owe you twice now.”

  “Actually,” she said. “I asked you not to tell Mother about me, and you didn’t. That was a favor. So we’re even on that one. But...well, now I saved your life again. And I need you to save mine.”

  “What? How?”

  “I know who you are,” she said. “I’ve watched you sometimes.”

  “On Dandere?”

  “Yes. On Dandere. In Teni’sia. In Calsinac, when you were happy with your lady Bands.”

  “Vee...” he trailed off. That was over a thousand years ago.

  “You brought Oedandus back from the dead. I want you to do the same for me.”

  “Vee, who are you?”

  She looked down, her lips pressed together, then she looked back up and said, “I’m Vee, like I told you.”

  “If you want to be ‘brought back’, then you’re saying—”

  “I’m Vee, but I used to be more.”

  “Who did you used to be?”

  “Vaisha.”

  Medophae couldn’t say anything for a long time. “Vaisha the Changer is dead,” he finally whispered.

  Vaisha the Changer was the daughter of Saraphazia and Tarithalius. She’d been killed by Dervon before humans even began recording time. Tarithalius had spoken of Vaisha with affection and sadness. He’d said the young goddess had been like a newborn colt, filled with curiosity and passion. She had played with the sentient races to make new creatures, which was how she got her nickname “the Changer.” She made dolphins from whales. She made quicksilvers from humans. She made the legendary unicorns and pegasi from equines.

  Vaisha’s experiments changed the world forever, and the other gods imitated her. Zetu created rocklurs from humans and spine horses from equines. Dervon created dramaths and darklings from humans. He created the dreaded neila, vicious imitations of dragons, and soaked them with GodSpill. They were terribly powerful, and nearly killed all the dragons. It took the combined might of two gods to destroy them. According to Tarithalius, Dervon’s neila sparked a war among the gods. It was the reason Dervon and Oedandus began their eternal struggle.

  But that hadn’t been enough for Dervon. Soon after, he captured Vaisha, killed her, and used her godly life force to create White Tuana. That sparked another war among the gods, which ended with Oedandus defeating Dervon a second time, forever maiming him as punishment.

  “But Dervon killed you.” Medophae finally got the words out.

  “He killed Vaisha,” she said matter-of-factly. “Yes. He pulled her apart and used her to create White Tuana. But a few pieces of Vaisha escaped, little tiny swirls of what she had been. Mother caught one and saved it. She put it into a dolphin, and I became Vee. But the other little parts of me, they didn’t go into the ocean. They went into the woods, into the mountains, into the winds of Amarion. I wanted to get them back, but Mother won’t let me leave the ocean. It’s far too dangerous, she says. She wants to keep what’s left of me alive, wants it so much that she made me a prisoner. I tried explaining to her. I tried begging her. I even tried to escape, but she’s too strong. She cast a spell on the ocean, and it won’t let me leave. I learned how to transform myself into this human form so I could have feet that walk on land, but the ocean always grabs me and pulls me back in. But back then I could still feel the other pieces of myself, could see them like stars in the distance. I just couldn’t reach them.” She paused.

  “Then one day, those stars went out. They just vanished, like they had finally died from being away from me for too long. I knew my chance to be Vaisha again was gone, and I cried for a whole year after that.” She spoke with such soft intensity. “But I was wrong. They didn’t die. They’d just been hidden away, like they’d been shoved in a bottle and corked, because someone pulled the cork, and they’ve come back now. I can feel them again, but this time they’re stronger. They’re all stuck together, but they’re still longing for me. I can feel their longing. They want me to come back to them, and I’m not going to let them die this time. They whisper so loud along the coast of Amarion that I can almost understand them. I have to go to them. I have to put myself back together!”

  “Daylan’s Fountain...” Medophae said. “Those parts of you, they got trapped in Daylan’s Fountain with the rest of the GodSpill. That has to be it. And Mirolah set them free.”

  “Mirolah!” Vee said. “This is a person? The whispers speak that word over and over. I didn’t know it wa
s a person.” She smiled wide and turned her face upward. “I need to get to those pieces of myself. But I never could before because I need you. You’re the one. No matter how strong Mother is, you cut me free. Your sword killed Dervon. It can sever Mother’s spell—”

  Her head jerked to the side, and she stared like she could peer through the bubble and the darkness beyond. “Oh no. She’s coming,” Vee said fearfully, turning back to him. Her wide eyes beseeched him. “Please. Will you help me?”

  “Of course I will.”

  “I will take you to the coast, but she won’t let me go. Cut me free, Medophae. Please.”

  “You get me to Amarion,” he said, feeling a thrill of possibility in his chest. “And I will fight her for you.”

  She giggled, clasping her hands together. “Hold tight,” she said. “No matter what happens, hold onto me. She will try to kill you when she sees you with me. Her greatest fear is that someone will steal me. She won’t bother drowning you this time; she’ll just kill you.”

  “Go!” he said, taking a big breath.

  Vee transformed into a huge dolphin, but with two large hands on her back that grabbed onto Medophae’s arms. She flipped her fin and surged upward. The bubble around his face burst as the water rushed past them. The pressure was so great it pushed his eyes shut. He concentrated on keeping the breath in his lungs. Her hands clung to his arms with superhuman strength, and it felt like her grip and the water pressure might tear his arms off. Something broke inside him, and he tasted blood.

  Go, he thought, go!

  Then he felt light on his eyelids. He opened them to a squint, and he could see sunlight overhead. The pressure lessened from the sides as they neared the surface, but the phenomenal rush of the water continued as Vee sped through the ocean.

  They broke the surface, and Medophae gasped, sucking in a wet, rattling breath. Medophae felt like someone had crushed him with rocks. He coughed, and blood came up.

  “She is upon us,” Vee yelled from her dolphin’s mouth. “You must take me with you, Medophae. Don’t leave me behind!”