The High Priest and the Idol Page 13

  “You. Stop right there,” one of the sentinels shouted.

  Tevi grabbed the broken panel and leapt to her feet. The sentinels clearly expected her to flee and broke into a run. Their surprise when Tevi charged towards them was evident and they faltered. Tevi pulled back her arm and hurled the panel, spinning it as if she was skimming a stone across a pond.

  The panel arched through the air, tracing a lazy curve into the stomach of one sentinel. The man was rocked backwards by the force and slipped to his knees, dropping his sword. His comrade skidded to a stop, shock on her face. She took a half step back, reaching out, and then her expression hardened. She turned to Tevi, but she was out of time.

  Tevi crashed into the sentinel, straight-arming her in the chest and sending her flying off her feet. The woman slammed into the wall and slid to the ground. Tevi hurdled over her crumpled form and charged on. She wrenched open the door of the dining room.

  At opposite ends of the table, Ciamon and Jemeryl were seated on cushions. Sefriall knelt to one side with the wine carafe in her hand and three goblets before her on the table. Everyone jerked around as Tevi burst in. The gentle sounds of music cut off abruptly.

  Tevi pointed at the carafe. “Don’t drink the wine. It’s been poisoned.”

  *

  Jemeryl had barely got over her shock at Tevi’s entrance when the door was shoved open even wider and two sentinels lurched in. Judging by the dazed look in their eyes and the blood on the face of one, they had already had a run-in with Tevi. Undeterred, they closed in on her again.

  “No. It’s all right. She’s a friend.”

  “She is?” Ciamon was clearly still struggling with surprise.

  “If she’s right about the wine then she’s just saved your life. How much show of friendship do you want?”

  “But do you know her?”

  Jemeryl hesitated. Ciamon was not going to like the truth, but the risks of lying to him were too great. Without knowing more about how Tevi got to be there and why she thought the wine was poisoned, any made-up story stood a high chance of unravelling. Getting caught out in a lie would go down even worse than the truth.

  “Yes. She’s my partner. You remember the one I told you about?”

  “What’s she doing here?”

  “To be honest, I’m not completely sure. Maybe you should ask her.”

  Ciamon looked at the two sentinels who were still standing in the doorway, swords drawn. “It’s all right. You can wait outside. But call for reinforcements. And you can go as well.” His gesture encompassed the musicians. They hurried from the room. When the door was shut, Ciamon turned back to Tevi. “What makes you think the wine is poisoned?”

  Jemeryl had no way to pass on the message that only something close to the truth would work, but Tevi clearly reached the same conclusion for herself. “I saw the person do it.”

  “You did what? When? Where were you?”

  She pointed to the wall. “This temple is riddled with secret passages. I was watching this room through the spyhole over there.”

  Ciamon stared at the wall, looking dumbfounded. “How do you know about the passages?”

  “I met some priests who used to live here. They told me.”

  “Darjain and his accomplices.” Sefriall spoke for the first time.

  Ciamon turned to her. “What do you know about this? Did you know there were secret passages?”

  “No.”

  “The temple was built by followers of Harretha,” Tevi said. “They made the passages, and they hadn’t been sharing the knowledge.”

  Ciamon had been standing. Now he sank onto the cushions, hands over his eyes, obviously thinking. Jemeryl watched him anxiously. He had always been prone to go to extremes of naïve credulity when he liked someone and obsessive suspicion when he did not. Which way was he going to go now?

  Eventually he raised his head. “Right. You found out about the passages from the priests. But why are you in Kradja?”

  “I’m looking out for Jem. When she didn’t come home, I followed her here.”

  Ciamon’s eyes jumped back to Jemeryl. “You knew she was here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why the secrecy? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Tevi thought she’d be more effective watching from the background. Obviously she was right. If she’d been here in the open, she’d have been drinking poison with us.”

  “You could have explained that to me. What else have you been hiding?” Ciamon glowered at Jemeryl, his doubt and distrust plain. He returned to Tevi. “You saw someone pour something into the wine?”

  “Yes.”

  “What makes you sure it was poison?”

  “I’d followed him from the herbalist where he’d bought it.”

  “Do you know his name?”

  Before Tevi could reply, Sefriall cut in. “Do you think you can believe a word she says?”

  “Test the wine on rats, if you don’t believe me.”

  Sefriall was not deflected. “Oh, I don’t doubt there’s poison in it. But how did it get there? It’s an odd coincidence you just happened to be looking through the right spyhole at exactly the right time. How do we know you didn’t put the poison in yourself?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “To gain the High Priest’s trust.”

  “But we already have that, don’t we?” Jemeryl said, determined to counteract Sefriall’s manipulation. Ciamon had always been quick to see a conspiracy. The more complex and convoluted the motives you ascribed to someone, the more ready Ciamon was to believe it.

  Worryingly, he did not answer, but continued questioning Tevi. “Who do you accuse of being the poisoner?”

  “One of the priests. I don’t know all their names.”

  Sefriall gave a snort of contempt. “I must admit they’d be my second guess at the culprits. I’ve warned you about cracking down on Darjain and his accomplices. They’re plotting against you.”

  “It was nothing to do with Darjain,” Tevi said.

  “How can you know that?” Sefriall went back on the offensive. “These seditious priests told you about the secret tunnels, you say. Why? What part do you play in their schemes? Are you working for them?”

  “I’m here solely to look after Jem.”

  “So she’s in on it too?”

  “Jem isn’t—”

  Ciamon cut Tevi off. “We’ll deal with the conjecture after we have your full story. Start at the beginning. You saw the priest buying poison and followed him to the temple?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you try to stop him before he could administer the poison?”

  “I lost track of him in the passages. It’s a maze. I was trying to find him when I saw him through the spyhole. He was pouring the poison he had bought into the carafe. Then he threw the empty pouch under the table and left.”

  Sefriall bent down. “The pouch is here. And so is this.” She stood up, holding a piece of paper. She glanced at it and then passed it to Ciamon. “I think you might want to read it.”

  Ciamon spent a full minute studying the sheet. “Who is Wess Tanaislanda?”

  Jemeryl saw Tevi react. This person was clearly known to her, and hearing the name was equally clearly not good news. For Jemeryl’s part, the question was easy to answer. Hoping to distract attention, Jemeryl said, “I’ve never heard the name before.”

  Ciamon’s smile was not encouraging. “Really? It’s got her description here. A female vouchsafed mercenary. Tall. Dark-haired. Aged thirty or thereabouts. Does it remind you of anyone? This is a writ for safe passage. Apparently Wess is travelling on Coven business. And it’s signed by your old tutor, Iralin.” Ciamon’s eyes bored into her. “Are you sure you don’t know her?”

  “Er…” Jemeryl was confused.

  Tevi sighed. “That writ is mine.”

  “From Iralin, a senior Coven sorcerer?”

  “Yes. She was worried about Jem as well. That’s why she helped me get here.�
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  “So, what’s your name Wess or Tevi?”

  “I’m Tevi. Wess Tanaislanda is the name I was travelling under.”

  “Why the deception?”

  “Because Alendy would have stopped me coming.”

  “Any idea how the writ ended up under the table?” Ciamon’s tone made the question a taunting challenge.

  “I saw the poisoner put it there.”

  “You didn’t mention that before.”

  “I didn’t know what it was.” Tevi’s shoulders slumped, as if suspecting that she would not be believed. “But the reason I was following him to start with, was he’d just searched my room at the inn where I’m staying.”

  Sefriall joined in again. “I think both the High Priest and myself can think of an alternate explanation. You dropped the paper after you had put the poison in the wine.”

  “Oh come on. It’s a blatant and very clumsy attempt to frame me. Think. What reason would I even have carry the writ around with me? It’s no use in Kradja. And of all the things I might have dropped, I was careless enough to lose the one thing that could be traced back to me.”

  Jemeryl was pleased to see Sefriall’s haughty expression change to a frown. Tevi had won that one, but it might not be enough. Ciamon was subdued, rubbing the paper between thumb and forefinger while he made an obvious attempt to marshal his thoughts. “Regardless. It’s a very useful thing for me to have seen. It tells me you’re a mercenary in the pay of the Coven. Which ties in with the way you and Jemeryl have been secretly working together behind my back.” The eyes Ciamon turned on Jemeryl were full of pain and regret. “I thought you were my…”

  He looked down sharply and concentrated on putting the writ down very carefully, lining the bottom edge with the table. The silence in the room drew out. Jemeryl wanted to say “I’m sorry,” but that would be an admission of guilt. At the moment, Ciamon only had conjecture.

  “I am your friend, Ci.” That much was true, and always would be.

  “What do you want to do with them?” Sefriall asked.

  “Do? Nothing. Jemeryl is my guest and I extend the same hospitality to her partner. They can stay in the same room. But I want a guard kept outside, watching them at all times.” The eyes Ciamon raised glinted with tears in the light of the lanterns. “I’m sorry Jem, I just can’t…”

  “It’s all right. With assassins around, it would be a good idea anyway. You might want to think about it too.”

  He gave the ghost of a smile. “I want to trust you. But it…” He took a deep breath. “We’ll talk more tomorrow, when we’ve had time to think things over. Perhaps your partner’s story will sound better then.”

  “Fine. Tomorrow.”

  Sefriall was not finished. “And the dissident priests who tried to murder you, if we believe this mercenary’s story? Are you going to leave them until tomorrow as well?”

  “They’re not important.”

  “Your mercy and kindness do you credit. But too much leniency will be misunderstood. If you let this go, they’ll try again. We cannot expect fortune to forever smile on us.”

  “We don’t know which, if any, of them was involved.”

  “If the sentinels brought them all in for questioning, I’m sure we could get to the truth.”

  “No.” Ciamon’s voice was firmer. “I’m not interested in retribution. When they see the wonders Equalitus will bring to the world, they’ll realise they’ve been misguided in their opposition. Give it time, and all foes will become friends. That’s the true victory we are after.”

  Sefriall bowed her head. “Very well. But I fear some hearts are so soaked in evil they’ll never change. I fear for you. Supposing the next attempt on your life succeeds?”

  “We don’t know there will be another. But there’s one thing we can do.” Ciamon looked at Tevi. “Tomorrow, I want you to show Sefriall the entrance to the tunnels, and anything else you know about them.”

  Tevi nodded. “I’ve got a map.”

  *

  As soon as the bedroom door closed, Tevi crossed the small space between them and wrapped Jemeryl in a fierce hug. “I’m so pleased I got to you before you touched the wine.”

  “I’m sort of happy about it too.”

  “I was terrified I wasn’t going to make it in time.”

  Tevi bowed her head and placed a soft, nuzzling kiss on Jemeryl’s neck. She let her mouth work slowly up to Jemeryl’s ear, catching the lobe gently in her teeth and then running her tongue around the rim. Jemeryl shook in her arms, gasping.

  Tevi opened her mouth and breathed into Jemeryl’s ear. “There’s a spyhole in here. Be careful what you say.”

  “Where?” Jemeryl whispered the word so softly it sounded like a sigh.

  “Behind my right shoulder. I doubt anyone will be there, but we can’t be sure.”

  “Have you been watching me?”

  “What do you think?”

  At the moment, although the sentinels had the map, their only way in was through the hatch Tevi had kicked down. She was due to show Sefriall the other entrances in daylight the next morning. The route to Jemeryl’s room was not straightforward and the network of passages was tricky enough to deal with during the day. In total darkness it would be impossible to navigate, except that the sentinels did not need to worry about detection and could carry lanterns, dousing them only when they were in position.

  Would the sentinels be taking advantage of the secret passages so soon? Tevi suspected they would want to thoroughly explore the maze first before deciding what use they could make of it. But if they did decide to experiment with the eavesdropping capability, without doubt she and Jemeryl would be at the top of the list for surveillance.

  Jemeryl took her time, first planting a series of small kisses across Tevi’s eyes and cheeks, and then continuing the journey until her mouth touched Tevi’s ear. “We can find somewhere to talk tomorrow. There’s no rush. For now we can just sleep.”

  “I want to make love to you.” Tevi spoke the words aloud, not caring if she was overheard. After all, surely it was what any eavesdropper would be expecting her to say.

  “Supposing we have an audience?” Jemeryl whispered her response.

  Tevi picked Jemeryl up, carried her to the bed, and then lay down beside her. Again she brought her mouth close to Jemeryl’s ear. “Then I hope they go blind.”

  “Blow out the candles.”

  Once the room was in darkness, Tevi heard Jemeryl removing her clothing and pulling back the sheets and blankets. Tevi felt her way to the bed, stripping off her own clothes on the way. She slipped in beside Jemeryl, who was naked under the covers. The touch of her lover was so familiar, and yet so special. Tevi felt her own body come alight, from the tingling that rippled over her skin, to the slow fire smouldering between her legs.

  Separation from Jemeryl had been a torment for far too long. Before the events of that evening, Tevi had planned to enter the secret passages during the day, wait until night by the exit nearest to Jemeryl’s room, and then sneak into bed with her when it was dark. She was delaying only until the night of the next meeting in the cellar, which she would not attend, so she could be confident no one was at the spyhole. Despite the unwelcome potential audience, the big advantage now was that she need not worry about oversleeping and being caught in Jemeryl’s bed the next morning.

  Tevi’s hands roamed over Jemeryl as she reacquainted herself with her lover’s body—not that she had forgotten a single detail. She traced the hard ridge of Jemeryl’s collarbone. She had remembered the texture of Jemeryl’s skin, its touch, how it smelled, how it tasted, how it looked. Tevi could recall exactly the constellation of freckles scattered between collarbone and Jemeryl’s right breast. She could have drawn it from memory. But she could not see it, and the absence bothered her.

  Making love in the dark was not something they ever did. Jemeryl’s body was the most beautiful thing Tevi had ever seen. She could look forever at the wavy auburn hair, narrow impis
h face, full round breasts, and the soft cushion of Jemeryl’s stomach. Tevi liked to watch Jemeryl respond to her touch, to read the visual clues as to what Jemeryl wanted and needed. She liked to watch Jemeryl’s face contort in ecstasy as she climaxed.

  Tevi pushed Jemeryl onto her back and rolled on top of her. Their lips met in a long slow kiss. Jemeryl’s hands stroked her back, her sides, and lightly tickled the back of her neck. Tevi never ceased to be surprised that something so exciting could yet fill her with a deep sense of peace. Passion was rising, soon it would overwhelm her, and yet—

  Tevi slid her mouth to Jemeryl’s ear. “I wish I could see you.”

  “I wish I could sense you in all seven dimensions. I’m afraid you’re a little bit flat at the moment, darling.” Jemeryl’s arms tightened, squashing Tevi against her, as if to make the point. “But I still love you madly.”

  Of course, Tevi thought. Jem is even more sensory deprived. Despite the fact they were in the same state, for Jemeryl it was a level of blindness she was not used to. Tevi was without one of her senses. Jemeryl was missing half her world. If for no other reason, Tevi would want to destroy the idol to give back to Jemeryl everything she had lost.

  Tevi raised her hand and stroked the side of Jemeryl’s face, concentrating on the texture and detail that her sense of touch could reveal. A light fuzz of hair lined Jemeryl’s jaw beneath her ear. A mole on her cheekbone was a small raised bump. The first faint wrinkles of age were in the laugh lines around her lips. Tevi felt muscles contract as Jemeryl kissed her fingertips, leaving the merest hint of moisture behind.

  Jemeryl’s breath was a soft dry rasp, catching at the back of her throat in the middle. Tevi had heard that sound before, but had she noticed how it synchronised with a slight tensing of Jemeryl’s stomach? Had she picked out the high note at the end, the beginnings of a groan of passion? How much had she really concentrated on the sounds her lover made? Tevi would have said without question that she loved the taste of Jemeryl, but even in this, had she blurred the fine detail of the experience? How much had she missed by concentrating on sight?