"Like water," Leeka said, "it will refresh you. Touch and drink of it. It will sustain you until you return to your lands."
Just like that, Kelis's thirst-which had faded to so deep within him that he was no longer aware of it-returned. Nothing had ever seemed more enticing than that fiery liquid. His hand scooped into it and came up dripping flame. Naamen was right. It was cool to the touch. He brought his hand to his lips. It was delicious and like liquid life as it slid down his throat. He felt it reach the center of him and begin to slip out as if into the veins of his body. Just one handful, then he sat back on his haunches, head tilted to the sky, eyes closed, completely filled. For a time he forgot everything, understanding vaguely that the others had done the same.
"The Santoth are here," Leeka said. "They thank you for bringing the heir to them. She is loved. They will answer your questions now."
Remembering the sorcerers as he had seen them on the plains that day, Kelis opened his eyes and looked around. The five of them were alone. "They will?"
"My teachers will speak through me, yes."
"Now you'll answer our questions?" Benabe asked. The euphoria of having drunk the flame had filled her features, but her voice still had its edge. "Now that we walked through the desert with you for three days-now we can ask you questions?"
"Mother," Shen said.
Leeka said, "Perhaps I should begin with what they think you should know. You should know that the Santoth are protecting you. They have been for some time already. They feel your fear and they understand, but you are safe here. When you leave, you will find your way safely back to the world of people. They promise you that."
"What do they want with my daughter?"
"They want her to be safe."
"Safe from what?"
Leeka was silent a moment, his eyes focused somewhere else. Eventually he said, "They wish me to explain. Shen knows these things. She and I have discussed them. Time that you know as well, mother of Shen. Understand without doubt that the Santoth have been in communion with the girl her entire life. We know you know this, and yet we feel the doubt in you. Don't doubt."
Benabe sat with her daughter at her side. The mother's face wore an expression like hurt, as if the man had touched an old wound. Shen must have seen it, for she took Benabe's hand and rubbed it.
"For many generations of the living world the Santoth knew no hope. They suffered their banishment, undying. They knew much of what transpired in the world, but they were not part of it. They remembered so much, and yet their grasp of the Giver's tongue slipped from them. It eroded, grew tainted. It became a dreadful thing even to them. You cannot understand how they suffered."
"You do?" Naamen asked.
"They have let me experience it with them," Leeka answered. "It is a gift to me, but I would not wish this knowledge on you. But then Aliver came to them. As you did, but he came unbidden. He stirred hope in them again. He reminded them that their banishment could be lifted. He could have done it, being a firstborn of a generation of Tinhadin's line. There had been others, of course, many others. But none of them had sought the Santoth. None of them came so close to releasing the Santoth to do good in the world again. Aliver said he would. That's why his death tormented the Santoth. They journeyed to find him, and they did; and in the disappointment following, they let themselves release their rage." Here he looked at Kelis. "But you know that. You were there."
Kelis looked down. He rubbed the knuckles of one hand with the fingers of the other. He did not wish the others to see the horror of that day on his face, but he was sure it would be there for all to see. Why, they might ask, had he brought them here to those who had unleashed abominations on the world? He wouldn't be able to answer.
"My teachers feared that their exile would continue long and long. They feared that, but when they listened and waited, they realized Aliver was not completely gone. He lived on in the one we call Shen. The bond they had with Aliver continued with her. That is why they have been able to speak with her all her life, even from when she was in the womb."
Benabe did not look at Shen this time, but again the girl rubbed her mother's hand, comforting. There was apology in the motion, and yet her young face was eager, waiting for Leeka's words.
"You asked what the Santoth wish of Shen," Leeka said. "They wish only what she wants to give, only what her father had tried to give. Only she can call them back to the world. Not the queen. Not the queen's child. Only the firstborn of a generation of Tinhadin's line. Aliver was such a son. Shen is such a daughter, and she has agreed."
This caused Benabe to break her silence. "I don't know what you think she agreed to, but I have agreed to nothing. I'm her mother."
"She told you of the stones," Leeka said, "for years she told you of them."
Benabe did not deny it. "Shen is a child. She knows nothing about-"
Leeka raised his hand. "She knows a great deal. Mother, without insult, understand that you are the one who knows nothing about these things."
For a moment Kelis thought Benabe was going to hit the old soldier. Like any Talayan tribal girl, she had been trained in fisting, a martial art that, ironically, used elbows and knees more than fists. She could have driven his nose into his skull before his instincts pulled his head back.
If Leeka felt threatened, he gave no sign. "A great conflict is coming, war on a scale never seen before."
"War with who?" Benabe snapped. "The Mein were thoroughly beaten. Aushenia wishes Acacia no harm. Talayans have their own issues, too. There is no one to war with. The queen grips the world in her fist!"
"Her fist is not that large," Leeka answered. "The Santoth can see farther than you or I. They see a coming war on a scale never seen before, against a new enemy. Preparations have already begun."
The glow from the fire bowl was stronger now. By its light Kelis saw the faces of his companions as they absorbed that news, weighed it. But that was not all he saw. Behind them hulked the oblong shadows of the stones. He glanced over his shoulder. Surely, they had not been that near before. He began to comment on it, but found the words stuck on his tongue.
"The Santoth," Leeka continued, "would aid the Known World in the struggle to come, if the queen would share The Song of Elenet with them. She has it. My teachers know that. They feel it every time she reads from it, every time she sings. They could explain it to her better than she can learn it on her own. They could help her, and help all the people of the Known World."
Benabe was on her knees now, leaning toward Leeka, in an even better position to strike. "Tinhadin, who was the greatest of the Santoth, came to fear sorcery and drove it from the world. Why should we want it back? Forgive my asking, but who does that serve other than them?"
Kelis's eyes flicked between her and the stones. They crowded so near now that he imagined he could reach back and touch the rock behind him. Naamen saw them also. His mouth opened and remained that way.
"Is it a good thing to survive the coming slaughter?" Leeka asked. "Without the Santoth, you won't. Without the Santoth, the Known World will learn chaos of a kind it's never experienced before. Without the Santoth, Corinn Akaran will not learn the dangers of her sorcery. We know that she does not understand fundamental things. God talk does not create things anew. The Giver could, but when humans sing, we can only steal, rearrange, and often corrupt. There is always a consequence. Alone, the queen will not be able to see the consequences until it is too late. She needs the Santoth much more than she knows."