Midnight Quest (31 page)

“I think…not.” Jewel’s expression of calm control dissolved under a furious scowl. “Let’s make this clear, gentlemen. You are on the steps of the Temple of Elahandra. You are within
my
domain. Whatever your orders, you do not have authority here.”

Tired of arguing, Herlevi and Briones waved the guards forward.

Jewel must have heard the multiple clinks of metal guards being slung into position and the hiss of swords being drawn from sheathes. Head twisted first one direction and then another, taking in the sounds, and the scowl deepened.

“Very well. If words will not convince you, perhaps this will.” Jewel’s face lifted heavenward for a brief moment, as if in supplication. Almost instantly, light seemed to flood out of every pore, making Jewel glow like another sun.

With an oath, the guards leaped back, shields automatically coming up for protection. Even the aides took a hasty step back with expressions of fear. Chizeld didn’t blame anyone, as it unnerved even a third-generation armsman to see so much power radiating from a single woman.

Jewel opened both eyes and looked directly ahead. For once, both eyes were filled with light and focused, as if the priestess could truly see everyone there. “I am the Priestess of Elahandra,” Jewel said with quiet steel. The power around that small frame flared and burned as if it was an open flame, lending a weight to each word as Jewel spoke it. “I am her hand, when she needs it. I am her shield when the people of Evard require it, but do not forget this: I am also her sword. If you dare to attack me, or attack any Priestess of Elahandra’s, you will be declaring war on the Goddess of Light. The first man daring enough to take on
her
may step forward at any time.”

No one dared. In fact, after a nervous gulp, several men actually retreated a few paces while hastily putting their swords away, as if even a six foot clearance wasn’t enough distance.

Chizeld finally saw what Rialt had said before, in Hawleywood. The Ramathan had said that Jewel’s courage was such that she would face a danger any grown man would flinch before. Seeing Jewel stand there, with no trace of fear, against this armed complement of men was awe inspiring. But seeing those grown men retreat rather than engage was even more amazing.

When Chizeld had first heard that the woman sent on this impossible mission was blind and barely eighteen, Elahandra’s judgment had been brought into question. Surely some other priestess would have been more suitable to the task, after all. But it was clear now that it was
Chizeld
’s judgment that was lacking.

Herlevi, either brave or foolhardy, cleared the throat and tried again. “Priestess, surely you must understand our position.”

“Understand mine,” she responded coldly. “For generations, the Priestesses of Elahandra have suffered under the men
you
serve. This will no longer be tolerated. If you are truly so loyal to them, then by all means, try and take me into custody. But beware, for the moment you step forward with that intention, your life will be in
my
hands.”

No one dared to make that gamble. A lot of nervous, questioning glances were exchanged, but not one man moved.

Jewel gave a satisfied nod of the head. “Very well. Go home, all of you. Report exactly what has happened here. If I hear that your policies regarding Elahandra’s chosen has not changed by the time I return home to Ramath, I will
not
be pleased.”

Tamarra Matthison was no doubt cleaning house and re-arranging policies even now. Jewel’s added influence would likely be unnecessary. But the immediate weight of Jewel’s words were felt and the men quickly stepped down and huddled to one side, giving the party room to pass.

The light from around Jewel slowly faded away. With it, the woman’s strength seemed to slack as well. Rialt, ever observant, slipped a supportive hand around Jewel’s back and led the way up the stairs. Chizeld kept an eye on the Thornockians as the party passed by, but no one could even meet Jewel’s eyes. Well enough.

When everyone had passed the main door, Chizeld leaned down to whisper, “Alright?”

Jewel nodded faintly. “It’s just overpowering, sometimes. Elahandra’s power is just so…words can’t describe. I always feel a little tender for a few minutes, afterwards.” With a deep breath, Jewel straightened up. “Chantel?”

“Here.” The other priestess came around and touched Jewel’s arm. “What you said down there made me think. Why were the Thornockians even allowed to wait here
inside
the temple anyway? It was clear what their motives were.”

Jewel nodded grimly. “It’s disturbing.”

“I think I need to deal with this.” Chantel’s eyes had a flinty look that did not bode well for anyone that worked here. “Jewel, you sit down on that bench and rest.
I’ll
deal with this place.”

 “Chanty, take Chizeld with you,” Jewel suggested in a tone that bordered on command. “He’s familiar with the temple here, after all, and he’ll provide any support you need. I doubt you’ll be able to handle these people without a fuss.”

“True enough.” Chantel gave a blinding smile. “Then, let’s go, Chizeld.”

Gladly.

~*~*~*~

It took the better portion of an hour, but Chantel did indeed rout out everyone with questionable loyalties from the temple. Jewel happily sat on the bench and let her sister high priestess take care of it. The Verisan Temple of Elahandra was, after all, not Jewel’s problem. Chantel had the authority to handle it, and handle it she did.

With everything sorted, Chantel came back to where everyone else waited. “Alright.” A loud clap of the hands followed the word before Chantel asked brightly, “What am I looking for?”

“Sense is a better word for it,” Jewel corrected, instinctively turning in the right direction. “To someone who’s never been close to an operational crystal before, I think it’s harder, but you should still be able to feel it. First, let’s focus on something a little closer. Turn your attention to Rialt or Chizeld.”

“Alright…” she responded slowly, boots crunching slightly in a half-step. “Oh. They glow a little.”

Jewel smiled encouragingly. “That’s right. The mantel of their position is obvious when you look for it. All armsmen of a high priestess will have such a mantel of power about them.”

“Hmmm…then, Sarvell, why don’t you glow?”

“I’m temporary,” he explained, a timber of amusement in the words. “I’m only helping until the crystals are found.”

Jewel didn’t want Chantel to be sidetracked by this other issue so took steps to redirect her. “Now that you can feel them, extend your senses out even further. A crystal doesn’t feel the same as living beings, but the source of the power is the same, so there
is
a similarity.”

A long moment of silence ensued as Chantel focused.

“
Oh!
Oh shards, it’s obvious!” She sounded vexed, tone sour. “If I had just looked, I would have seen it easily.”

Jewel managed, somehow, to bite her tongue. There were simply too many openings to take advantage of. “Good, now you have an idea of where to go. Once we’re closer—much closer—you’ll also be able to sense where the crystal
should
be.”

“I’ll take your word on that.” Chantel hesitated a moment before venturing, “I can’t tell how far it is.”

“You learn to judge distance by experience.” As Jewel had learned painfully well. “I’d say that we have a good five, six hours of hard riding before we reach it.”

“The camping supplies now make sense.”

“I thought they might.” Jewel waved an arm in the air in a small circular motion. “But before we do that, we
have
to get Broeske’s permission to work in his land.”

Chantel let out a long groan. “That god is impossible to reach.”

“I know,” Jewel couldn’t help but growl. “I’ve already tried. Several times.”

In a particularly devious tone, Chantel suggested, “If we can’t reach him this time, I vote we sic Elahandra on him.”

Normally, Jewel would have vetoed this. But under the circumstances… “If we really can’t, let’s do it.”

“Jewel!” Chizeld protested in something akin to panic.

Jewel crossed her arms over her chest, chin lifted in stubbornness. “If Rialt can bargain with gods and win, then so can I.”

Chizeld spluttered over that, but Rialt and Sarvell laughed outright.

“See?” Chizeld said accusingly to his brother-in-arms. “Stop setting bad example! Jewel is being corrupted by Ramathan stubbornness.”

“It no be a bad thing,” Rialt managed, voice still shaking with laughter.

Judging from that growl of frustration, Chizeld clearly didn’t agree.

“Alright, let’s move out.” Jewel stood from the bench and headed outside. “We need to go to a temple and pester a god.”

Rialt gave a deep chuckle. “A fine field officer you would make.”

She gave him a quick pat on the arm. “I learned from the best.”

“Are you calling me bossy, now?”

“Did I say that?” she mocked innocently.

Each saddle creaked and the harnesses jangled slightly as they all swung aboard the horses. Jewel had learned how to mount by herself after so many weeks of travel, but on this particular trip, they didn’t bother to lead her horse. Rialt simply swung aboard behind her.

“This way,” Chantel directed. “Fortunately, the temple is on the way out of town. You can actually see it from here. That round roof ahead.”

“Hoo,” Rialt’s voice barely carried over the city traffic. “That be quite the building.”

“Is it large?” Jewel asked him, voice raised over the ruckus of the traffic.

“Judging from the roof, it be.” Rialt leaned in close to her to ask confidentially, “Will you really call upon herself if Broeske does no answer you?”

She got that stubborn feeling again. “I certainly will.”

Rialt apparently liked this answer as he chuckled. “I pity the man that tangles with you.”

“You make me sound formidable,” she responded, almost in protest. After all, she could hardly be described as a fighter.

“Eh, lass, that you be.”

They entered city traffic at that point and the noise around them drowned out any possibility of having a whispered conversation. They travelled for some distance, or at least it felt that way, as their pace stayed at a near crawl to avoid running into people. Even then, Jewel could feel people brush up against her legs they were that tightly packed. This must be a very popular street.

“There it be,” Rialt suddenly announced.

“What’s it like?” she asked, raising her voice to make sure he could hear her.

“Building be round as the roof. There be no courtyard to speak of, it just opens directly to the street. I count three, four, five…hm, looks like six prayer rooms altogether. Three of the doors be wide open.”

So, she had three rooms available to her. It didn’t seem that busy. Good. She might be there another hour, after all.

It took another few minutes to fight their way through traffic, but they finally arrived and dismounted. Rialt led her up a short flight of stairs and into an empty room. Jewel paused in the doorway and turned. “Chantel?”

“Right behind you.”

“Do you want to go into this room with me or try from a separate space?”

“Hmmm, good question. Let’s try petitioning him separately. If we don’t get a response after the first few minutes, I’ll come to you and we’ll try again together.” 

Jewel didn’t see a problem with this tactic. “Alright.” She fully entered the room, Rialt shutting the door behind her.

Prayer rooms seemed to have a universal layout. Each one that she had entered had an altar with a padded bench in front of it to kneel on, and absolutely no other furniture around. Two lamps on the far wall provided light. Rialt took up station behind her, beside the door.

The door had been made from sturdy planks, so it buffered most of the noise from the street not a stone’s throw away. It made it easy to ignore as Jewel knelt in front of the altar and offered up a prayer. She kept it simple, as she had all of the other prayers: “
Broeske, God of Veris, I ask permission to work in your land. I am Jewel Jomadd, Guardian of the Barrier, and I wish to restore the crystal that is lost in Veris. Will you grant me this request?”

No response.

After a minute of silence, she repeated the prayer, nearly verbatim. No luck.

“Lass?”

Jewel shook her head and sat back a little. “He’s not answering. Fetch Chantel for me, will you?”

“Sure.” Rialt opened the door with a slight squeak of hinges and stepped out long enough to rap on the door nearby.

Jewel heard the other door open and Chantel ask, “No luck either?”

“No,” Rialt confirmed.

Within seconds, Chantel stepped past Rialt and into the narrow confines of the room. “I’ve been thinking, if he’s ignoring both of us, I don’t think praying together is going to get much success. Let’s just ask Elahandra.”

After days of petitioning with no success, this sounded like a fine plan to Jewel. Her patience had pretty much evaporated. “Alright.” Turning away from the altar entirely, she raised her head to the heavens and prayed aloud, “Elahandra, can you hear us?”

“Indeed, my dears. What is the matter?”

“We can’t reach Broeske,” Jewel explained, trying not to growl in vexation as she explained. After all, she wasn’t upset with Elahandra. “We’ve been trying for several days now. Can you ask his permission to work here in Veris?”

A weighty pause descended. When Elahandra responded, she sounded livid.
“Are you saying that he’s been ignoring
two
of my priestesses?”

“We’re not sure if he’s ignoring us,” Chantel hastily input, no doubt worried about starting a war in the heavens. “He’s not the best at paying attention to Veris. I think he’s just preoccupied and hasn’t noticed us.”

“It’s still inexcusable,
” Elahandra responded in clipped tones.
“Wait a moment. I’ll deal with him.”

The goddess’s presence abruptly vanished.

“Err…” Chantel sounded a bit nervous. “She did mean ‘talk to him’ and not ‘deal with him’, didn’t she?”