Page 76 of Skysong

There was the sound of movement nearby. For a moment, Andala thought she had offended Tomas so badly with her unsolicited271thoughts that he had chosen to move away in disgust. But then she felt a body settle down right beside her. A hand touched her shoulder, gentle and brief as a bird on a branch.

‘Thank you,’ came King Tomas’s voice, quiet but close. ‘If we get out of all this, somehow – if we make it through … I think Hana would do well to speak to you, Andala. It sounds like you are somebody who knows darkness near as well as she.’

The moment was shattered by the sound of boots descending the dungeon stairs.

Terault’s people had returned.

272

Chapter 37

The blue-clad guards brought light with them. Lots of it. Andala shielded her face. The flames of the torches they held burned her eyes like brands. Beside her, Tomas leapt to his feet. She heard Kitt do the same on her other side.

Andala lowered her hand a fraction so she could see. The guards had formed an orderly line along the wide walkway between the two rows of cells, and a lone figure clad in black was weaving through them. Andala stood, but shrank back as he stopped in the centre of the walkway, directly in front of their cell.

‘I think,’ Terault said smoothly, projecting his voice so that it echoed off the cold stone walls, ‘it is time you all understood why we are here, and what has been set in motion these past months. I have waited for this opportunity; prepared for it. It has been a long time coming, the restoration of the rightful way of things. But it is time you knew, my fellow citizens of Cielore, that a new god will soon be born to our lands. A new god for a new age.’

Anewgod?Anewage?Andala looked up at the king, but he was staring silently at Terault, motionless.

‘Many of you do not know my story, or how I came to stand before you here today,’ Terault continued. ‘But it is important that273each one of you understands the legacy that is soon to be restored – even those of you who have not yet seen the light.’

He turned, his eyes passing over each of the cells.

‘There was a time when faith ruled over this land as surely as the sun rose in the east; a time, centuries ago, when Cielore was a stronger, more united land, whole and holy in its worship of the Messenger of Day. And the stewards of that faith were my very ancestors. I am descended from a line of high priests, whose duty it was to tend to the skylark and stoke the flames of faith. But when the first queen of the Meridean line took power, those flames were snuffed out. Our faith was smothered. Our sacred duty, our veryidentitywas stolen from us, all because a jealous queen could not abide the thought that her people bowed to a higher power than her. And the skylark … Well, the skylark disappeared, as you well know. Our goddess vanished, our faith languished, and my family’s line of sacred stewards was cast aside, our legacy lost to the cold new era the Meridean heretics so hastily ushered in.’

‘That’s a lie, Terault,’ came Tomas’s voice. He spoke through gritted teeth, eyes shadowed in the bright torchlight.

A smile curved Terault’s thin lips. ‘Is it?’ was all he said.

Jeers and hisses surged forth from his followers. Tomas clenched the cell bars, but he said nothing more.

Terault continued. ‘These past months, my friends, we have once more felt warmth from the stirring embers of our faith. We saw the skylark returned to us, singing for us once again. Belief was growing stronger, day by day, citizen by citizen. The king was taking steps towards the old way, therightway – steps away from the faithless path his family has trodden for all these years.’ His eyes fell upon Tomas again, and Andala shrank back further from the malice that now shone there. ‘Until the skylark refused to sing.’274

The silence deepened at his words, like the hush over mourners at a funeral.

‘Never before has such a thing occurred. Never before has our goddess, the one to whom we should turn each day for light and guidance, turned away from us herself. It is an anomaly. A blasphemy. A dereliction of her duty and a corruption of the power she is blessed to wield. How far our fair goddess has fallen … How far she has strayed from the light.’

Even in the iron grip of fear, Andala felt a surge of fury at the way he spoke about Oriane. She tensed, teeth clenching.

‘It is a great shame, my friends,’ Terault went on, ‘to have lost our skylark so soon after we found her again. But lost her we have. She is no longer the goddess we once followed and served, which is why we gathered here and rose tonight – to seize the skylark, and take her heart, and bring a new god forth.’

A chorus of gasps bounced off the dungeon walls. Andala’s blood chilled in her veins.Takeherheart.What did he plan to do with Oriane’s heart? What did he mean byanewgod?

She did not have to wait long to find out.

‘That heart,’ Terault continued, voice resonant with conviction, ‘is the source of the skylark’s power. It is wasted in her while she does not use it. But if someone else were to take it – to consume it, become one with it … That person could take on the power of the lark, and the duty bound to it. And I, my friends, bolstered by the legacy of my ancestry and the faith that runs strong in my blood, have the strength to take on such power, and the conviction to serve you all as the skylark should.’

An eruption of sound. The blue-robed people were celebrating. Theybelievedhim. They believed he could do this – that he couldconsumeOriane’sheartand … Andala’s thoughts whirled away in a275spiral of sickness, of panic. And to her horror, as she looked around at the others in the cells, she saw that some of them were murmuring together. Nodding. Looking at Terault not with fear, but curiosity. Looking atTomaswith wariness, distrust.

Andala’s limbs went numb. The seneschal was turning them. They were starting to believe his lies—

Terault raised his hand for silence.

‘But as you know, the king and his retainers have conspired against us. They have taken the skylark and hidden her away. Rest assured, my friends, we will find her. And when we do—’

‘This has gone on long enough,’ Tomas interrupted loudly. ‘Let us out of here, Terault. Let’s you and I discuss this face-to-face, like honest men.’

Terault turned to face him. In the blazing light, his face was expressionless, masklike. ‘I’m afraid that was not the bargain, my king. No, the deal was this: one hour to think about your options. One hour to decide whether to reveal the skylark’s location to me, or whether to doom the first of your people to death.’

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