As she began to walk off, the leader of the Circlians started after her. Reivan jumped as Mirar spoke.
“Leave her be,” he said, striding forward. They turned to stare at him as he moved through them to Auraya’s side and placed a hand around her shoulders. She leaned against him.
A touching scene, Reivan thought, smiling wryly. The gods were right about them. Who’d have thought?
Mirar drew Auraya to the side of the road. Looking over the edge, Reivan saw a woman guide a small boat toward them. Auraya paused, then let Mirar help her scramble down the bank and into the vessel.
“What now?” one of the White asked.
“We go home,” their leader said.
As they turned away, laughter rang out. Reivan felt a shiver run down her spine as she realized Nekaun was conscious and had got to his feet.
“Oh, what a fine trick! You knew you were going to lose, so your gods pretended to die so you could run away home without a dent to your pride. And you claim your gods are ours, so we won’t chase you. Ah! I see your plan now. You think you can lure us over there and—”
“Shut up, Nekaun,” Imenja said.
Nekaun stared at her, his face darkening with anger. “The gods won’t let your betrayal go unpunished,” he began.
Imenja rolled her eyes and turned her back on him. She and the other Voices turned away from the retreating White, walked past Nekaun and started toward Reivan and her companions.
“Come back here now!” None even turned to look at him. “I order you to come back.”
The Voices ignored him. Reivan flinched as he made a throwing motion at them, but nothing happened. He stared at his hand, frowned and cast about, puzzled by something.
Imenja looked at Reivan and smiled. “He always was a bit slow.”
“What happened?”
“It’s going to take some explaining.” Imenja glanced at the other Voices as she stopped among the Servants, advisers and the Elai king. “I felt something change after the first flash of light. A lessening of magic.” She looked at her pendant and frowned.
“That... that doesn’t make much sense,” Reivan said.
“No, it doesn’t.” Imenja sighed. “Auraya says the gods are dead. All the gods. I believe she is right.”
Reivan stared at her in horror.
“But those glowing figures? What were they?” an adviser asked.
“They were the gods. Their gods. Our gods. The same, it turns out. They were trapped by something Auraya and Mirar did. But it didn’t kill them. The gods did that. They did something and... it finished them off. At least, that’s what Auraya believes.”
“And you believe her?” the Elai king asked.
“Yes.”
Reivan felt the implications slowly sink in as they all started to walk back toward Avven.
“Do you still have your Skills?” a Servant asked.
“I imagine I have those that were naturally mine before I became a Voice. That means I have lost immortality. I suspect I am no more powerful than our most powerful Dedicated Servants. Except... I can still read minds.”
Lost her immortality? Reivan felt her heart twist with sympathy.
“If you and the other Voices are not as powerful, will you continue to rule?” the Elai king asked.
“Without the gods, will we start fighting each other? Will the world fall into chaos?” a Servant added, his voice strained with a hint of hysteria.
Reivan couldn’t help smiling. “We were already fighting each other.”
Imenja chuckled. “Yes. We were. But will we have reason to now? What do you think, Companion Reivan? Should we try to continue ruling our people, or should we find ourselves a quiet little hut on a mountain somewhere and wait for the world to end?”
Reivan looked at Imenja. The woman’s eyes searched hers. She realized that this was not just her mistress asking her for advice, but a friend seeking reassurance.
“I think Southern Ithania will be fine so long as you are its ruler.”
Imenja smiled. “I hope the rest of the south agrees with you, Reivan.”
Seeing a movement over Imenja’s shoulder, Reivan looked up to see that Nekaun was striding toward them, his face rigid with anger.
“But I think you’ll have a fight on your hands,” she murmured.
Imenja chuckled. “Oh, I don’t think Nekaun will be a problem. He’s offended a remarkable number of people in the short time since he was elected.” Her shoulders straightened. “And there’s no way I’m going to let him get away with treating you so badly, or the other women he harmed that night.” She looked at her fellow Voices. “What do you think?”
Reivan looked at Imenja, surprised and horrified to learn that she had not been the only Servant to experience Nekaun’s idea of “thrilling” lovemaking.
“I think we should apply the strictest of our laws,” Genza said. Vervel and Shar nodded.
Imenja spun around to face Nekaun.
“Nekaun, formerly First Voice of the Gods, I hereby charge you with the rape of a Servant, of which I know you are thrice guilty. What do you have to say in your defense?”
Nekaun had slowed to a stop, his expression incredulous. Reivan glanced at all the Voices’ faces, heart pounding with both dread and a dark hope. Surely they wouldn’t... but they weren’t going to tolerate Nekaun as their ruler now that they didn’t have to.
Recovering from his surprise, he sneered at Imenja.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I am daring,” she told him.
“The gods will never allow it.”
“The gods are dead, Nekaun.”
He rolled his eyes. “You really are a fool if you believe that. Even if it were true, nobody is going to believe it - or this charge. They’ll think it’s nothing but a convenient lie invented to get rid of me. The people voted for me, remember. They won’t like you defying their decision.”
Imenja looked at the Elai king. “Your majesty, would you do me the favor of thinking of a word. Don’t speak it aloud.”
He frowned, then shrugged.
“Rebellion,” Imenja said. “Am I correct?”
The king nodded.
“Think of another.” She paused. “Treaty,” she said. The king nodded again. After repeating the exercise three more times, Imenja looked around at the Voices, Servants and advisers. “Are you all satisfied that I can still read minds?”
All nodded.
“Do you believe me when I say Nekaun is guilty as charged?”
All nodded.
“Will you testify to this, if this is ever contested?”
All nodded. Satisfied, Imenja turned to regard Nekaun.
“If I could charge you with incompetence and get the same result, I would,” she told him. “But the charge of rape of a Servant is much more serious, and it would not be fair to the women you harmed to deny them justice.” She looked at her fellow Voices.
Vervel nodded. “A single charge is punishable by ten years of slavery. A second earns a lifetime of slavery. A third—”
“- is punishable by death,” Nekaun finished. He crossed his arms. “You don’t stand a—”
Heat seared Reivan’s face. She heard Imenja utter a cry of fury and the air filled with light and sound. Then all was quiet. Reivan stared at the scene around her. Several Servants lay on the ground, some groaning, some still. Imenja, Vervel, Genza and Shar stood over a charred body, still twitching.
Nekaun, she thought. He’s not going to recover from that. The thought brought an unexpectedly powerful relief, but as she looked at the burned flesh her cheek began to hurt. A lot. Imenja looked up at her and her expression softened into sympathy.