“What are you talking about?” Ashok said.
Vedoran laughed. “You’ve not lived in this city long enough, Ashok. Do you think there aren’t others who feel as I do? Did you imagine Tempus was the only god in Ikemmu? There are others, and we’re tired of being silenced.”
“You once told me you didn’t want to be controlled by the gods,” Ashok said. “Forgive me, but this newfound empathy is unconvincing.”
“Maybe,” Vedoran said. “But you should think of your own position in this city and where your loyalties lie.”
“I’ve sworn no oaths,” Ashok said. “Nor will I swear any-to Tempus, or to the other gods.”
“Then what will you do, Ashok? Return home?” Vedoran said. His shrewd gaze made Ashok go cold inside. “Do you have a home to go back to anymore?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Vedoran Left Tower Athanon and weaved slowly through the trade district. He picked a random path and checked often to see if he was being followed. Not that he expected Ashok to try to come after him. He’d been too shocked when Vedoran had left him.
Smiling to himself, Vedoran cut across the stone remains of a cluster of dwellings and ducked inside a two-story building marked as a warehouse belonging to his master’s trade consortium. It was not a warehouse, but his master often used the building in discreet business transactions and encouraged those closest to him to do the same.
Inside on the upper story, there was a room with no windows. A candle burned in a copper dish on the mantle of a boarded-up fireplace, and several chairs were arranged around the fireplace as if it were still a source of heat.
Traedis sat in one of the chairs. He looked up when Vedoran entered the room.
“You’re late,” he said.
“Forgive me,” Vedoran said. “I was meeting with Uwan and Ashok.”
Traedis’s eyes narrowed. “And is it certain?”
“Yes,” Vedoran said. “I confirmed it just now.” The look in Ashok’s eyes had told him all he needed to know. “Ashok’s was the enclave that slaughtered Ilvani’s scouting party. He knew the trail and those tunnels far too well for it to have been otherwise.”
“Amazing,” the cleric said, shaking his head. “Why did no one else have your insight? There were others with you in the caves.”
“All of whom believed they were following a vision sent by Tempus,” Vedoran said. “But if you take the god out of the mission, it was easy to see who was truly leading us.”
“Yet he helped you,” Traedis said. “Ashok betrayed his own people. Why?”
“Because he wanted a better life,” Vedoran said quietly, “an existence that wasn’t shameful to him. I could have given that life to him. But he chose Uwan instead.”
That part burned inside Vedoran almost more than anything else. He’d asked Ashok to consider his loyalties, but in his heart he knew Ashok had already chosen.
“Your life has been touched by many misfortunes,” Traedis said, drawing Vedoran out of his memories. “But this will be a new beginning for Ikemmu and for Vedoran.”
Vedoran nodded. “There is still an obstacle,” he said.
“Natan,” the cleric said. “Yes, I’d thought of that.”
“His visions are disturbingly accurate,” Vedoran said. “He could uncover our plans before we carry them out.”
“If that’s true, have you considered that Natan may already know Ashok’s true identity?” Traedis said.
“If he did, he would have told Uwan long before now,” Vedoran said.
“Not necessarily,” the cleric said. “Not if it meant he could have his sister returned to him safely. We can’t know what knowledge he has of Ashok.”
“I’ll speak to him,” Vedoran said, “find out what visions he’s received. Then I’ll decide how to proceed.”
“Wait,” Traedis said when Vedoran moved to the stairs. “I will not see you again until the thing has been set in motion. You must swear the oath before you go, and accept protection.”
Vedoran felt a wave of involuntary disgust. “You want me to swear faith to Beshaba. I’ve told you-”
The cleric laughed. “I don’t need your faith, Vedoran, for what we intend,” he said. “Only the appearance of it. When Tempus’s false emissary is exposed, the shadar-kai will need a rallying point. You will play that role.”
“In Beshaba’s name,” Vedoran said.
“Yes.” Traedis shrugged. “Power shifts, and you will have the recognition you want. Things will be different. We will not abuse the city in Beshaba’s name, as Uwan has done with the warrior god.”
The cleric smiled. Inwardly, Vedoran laughed at the futility of it all. First it was Tempus, then Beshaba, and in the future whatever god won out in the struggle for Ikemmu. Whatever happened, the gods would always have a collar around the shadar-kai.
But at least there, at that moment, Vedoran would choose the god.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
All the warriors of Ikemmu gathered at the base of Tower Makthar to watch Chanoch receive his sentence.
Ashok stood with Skagi and Cree at the front of the crowd. They gazed up at the tower summit, where four obsidian spikes rose like a crown. Purple lightning played between the spikes and arced up to scatter the shadows of the cavern ceiling.
Four figures stood at the top of the tower among the stone spikes and arcane light. Uwan led the way, with Chanoch standing behind him flanked by two guards. Chanoch had been stripped to the waist. His hair blew wildly in the wind, but Ashok could see nothing of his face.
“Why are they having this ceremony?” Ashok said. “We already know the outcome.”
“Tower Makthar is also the tower of Judgment,” Cree said, his manner subdued. There were deep shadows under his eyes. As far as Ashok knew, he hadn’t slept in days. Cree had known Chanoch best and would feel the loss more than any of them.
“Twenty years ago, when the second ruler of Ikemmu died, Uwan stood up there and accepted the trial to take his place,” Skagi said. “You stand among the spikes, and if the lightning doesn’t strike you dead, you’re deemed worthy to rule. Clean. Simple.”
“But who makes the judgments?” Ashok asked.
“The gods,” Skagi said, but he sounded uncertain. “According to the first shadar-kai who came to the city, the tower was used for that purpose by those who held the city last.”
“Tempus’s angels,” Ashok said, remembering the carvings on the tower, the single eye gazing down from Tower Athanon that saw all of Ikemmu. “Or something else.”
“Uwan’s preparing to speak,” Cree said, looking up at the tower.
“Will the lightning kill Chanoch?” Ashok asked.
Skagi shook his head and spat. “No, he’ll be banished to the caves, to the chambers above where they keep the animals,” he said. “They’ll chain him to a wall in the dark and wait for him to fade.”
“What?” Ashok said, recoiling. “He’ll go mad.”
Cree shook his head. “They call it a quiet death. It’s not painful,” he said faintly, “or so I’ve heard.”
“Send him to the shadows,” Ashok said, horrified. “What of his soul?”
Skagi shot Ashok a warning look as Cree flinched. “He’s a strong one, and his faith in Tempus has never wavered,” Skagi said. He put a hand on Cree’s shoulder and shook him. “The warrior god will take him home, eh brother?”
“That He will,” Cree said, but Ashok heard no conviction in the words.
“Godsdamn Vedoran for his vile tongue,” Skagi murmured. His expression was grave as he watched the proceedings at the top of the tower.
Uwan was addressing the crowd, but Ashok didn’t want to listen to the words. He didn’t want to hear Tempus’s name shouted above the wind. He turned and left the yard, heading for Tower Pyton and Hevalor. He needed to be away, and there was only one person’s company he thought he could stand.
It was late when Ashok arrived at Darnae’s shop. He half-expected her to be gone to her rest. He knew the humans and other races kept a different routine from the rest of the city. It seemed they required more rest than two shadar-kai put together, and they savored the tranquility that came with sleep in a way Ashok could not comprehend.