Page 42 of The Scattered Bones

“Hreinasta’s temple was not the fortress Valka’s is,” I argue. “And Kaid was blessed by Varas himself. He earned the Thief’s ashes. I have no such protection.”

“Do you truly believe that?” The Stranger lowers his palm from my cheek and steps back. “Do you truly believe the Thief won’t bless you?”

“Why would he?”

“His greatest acolyte was executed in secret without his consultation at the hands of Valka and the order of Hreinasta. His head now sits preserved by black magic in War’s temple. Varas claimed Kaid. Do you think his servant’s demise didn’t anger him? That he isn’t enraged by the Pure One’s disregard? She murdered your husband in the dead of night, refusing him a public trial and denying him the last chance to face his sworn god. Would you not feel disrespected if you stood in Varas’ shoes?”

“I never considered how the Thief might have taken the news of Kaid’s punishment.” They'd kept his bloodshed silent, and I shiver, remembering the reason for the privacy. “Do you truly believe Varas will bless me?”

“I think you’ve learned the gods haven’t forsaken you, my child.” He tucks my hair behind my ear so gently it surprises me. “Most blindly follow Hreinasta’s ways. They fear the primordial goddess and bow to her corruption, but you are special, Sellah. You had the bravery to choose your own path. To see through her hypocrisy, and while most gods won’t openly claim you, they notice the spark in you. A spark that will change the realm. You began this journey believing you were abandoned, disregarded and shunned, but it’s time you face the truth. You are not alone. The gods that matter see you. I see you.”

He says the last part so strangely that my stomach pitches. I suspect he’s trying to tell me something. Something important, but I’m unsure what. My head is spinning, and my gut churns too fiercely to make sense of it all.

“Help me build a fire,” I say as I turn to search for kindling. It’s easier to focus on a task than the idea that the gods haven’t forsaken me. That a primordial goddess who refused to cultivate enough self-control to live purely in her own form bullied them into corruption. Kaid always wore the holy ashes of Varas’ temple, and while these woods are not the Thief’s inner sanctum, the gods are not bound by walls and stone. Just as we wed under the stars, I’ll pray under the canopy. I’ll burn a prayer to the Great Thief and paint my face as my husband once did. Then I shall see if Varas is as angry at Kaid’s punishment as I am.

* * *

The fire fadesas the sun dies, stealing all light with it. As the last embers lose their color, I kneel before them and pray to the god who witnessed my husband being brutalized in the streets and saved him when he was only a boy. I pray to the Thief who blessed Kaid after he stole my white and golden dress as an offering. I pray to Varas who lost a devoted acolyte in the dead of night, and then I smear ashes onto my fingers. I paint my eyes and forehead just as Kaid used to, and while I don’t sense a divine blessing descending upon me, I feel closer to him. How often had I stared at his gorgeous face, the black soot only enhancing his perfection? I say his name. It’s my mantra, my prayer, my security. It’s all I have left, and with ashes like his to guide me, I move through the trees toward Valka’s temple.

I have the advantage of darkness, but the soldiers have the advantage of familiarity. They know every room, know where each hallway begins and ends. They’ve been tasked with guarding Kaid’s head, which means it won’t be easy to find, and just because night has fallen doesn’t mean their defenses have loosened.Kaid, help me. Varas, protect me. Elskere, guide me.

The moon reigns high in the cloudless sky, and I move through the trees, circling the vast temple. It’s a large fortress, and that it’s so far from any town tells me this was constructed for one purpose. To defend his skull from me. The faithful do not pray here as part of their daily routine. They pilgrimage here to stand watch, to serve War with their swords. I don’t doubt their eagerness to kill, and if they find me, my head will join Kaid’s.

I take my time circling the temple, letting Kaid’s teachings govern my observations. The entrances will be impossible to breach, as are the lower windows, but an open one hovers high on the second floor. It sits above a sheer wall, rendering a climb to its ledge hopeless, but if I could drop in from the roof?

I circle the temple again, and I spot a tree with a long hanging branch. The jump is significant, and there’s a chance I’ll miss my mark, but it’s my only option. They designed this fortress to be impenetrable, ripping every tree and bush from its proximity, but it seems this single branch escaped their notice. I thank Varas for his provision and slip through the darkness. The thick bark offers generous handholds, but my arms shake from the beast’s puncture wounds, and my legs struggle from the still-tender gash. When I used to climb after Kaid, the impressive heights were easy for my muscles, but now, a simple tree threatens to be my undoing. It takes far longer than it should, but eventually, I’m perched on the outstretched limb. I close my eyes for a second and visualize my husband before me. My mind watches his agile form balance on the branch and leap onto the roof with ease. I map his movements, memorizing where each of his footfalls would’ve landed, and then, with a deep breath, I race forward and fling myself at the temple.

The instant my feet leave the tree, I know my angle is wrong. I don’t have Kaid’s height or his power. I don’t even have my own strength anymore, and I bite my lip to keep from screaming. If I fall, this height will break my legs, and I hurl a desperate prayer to anyone listening as my ribs hit the edge.

I fight my scream as the sharp stone slams into my abdomen, my knees cracking against the side of the building. My armpits scrape over the jagged ledge, leaving layers of skin behind as I slide, and my fingers claw for purchase. I can’t breathe through the sharpness in my chest. I worry I broke a rib.

“Did you hear that?” a soldier below asks.

“Sounded like something hit the wall,” a second voice answers him.

Kaid, help me. Don’t let me fall.

My toes suddenly find traction against the smooth side of the temple, and I push myself up. I imagine my husband’s powerful fingers gripping my shirt, hauling me to safety, and I scramble over the edge, collapsing just as the guards walk below where I’d been hanging.

“Probably the wind rattling the tree,” the first man says, and I twist to see the branch shaking dangerously.

Varas, please, don’t abandon me now.

I lay on my back as I catch my breath, the pain in my ribs lessening to a dull ache, and when the footsteps fade around the corner, I crawl to the edge. I locate the second-story window and wait, counting the intervals between the circular patrols. There’s no pattern to their timing, which shows their dedication and foresight, and after long minutes go by, I come to terms with the fact that I’ll just have to jump and hope Varas shields my shadows. I take a fortifying breath, and like Kaid taught me, I swing down and through the opening. I land with a graceful thump, praying I didn’t drop into a room filled with guards, and as my eyes adjust to the darkness, I realize my prayers are only half answered. The room is teaming with soldiers, men and women of immense size and power, but they’re all asleep. I must have dropped into their barracks, and I freeze in my crouch, hoping my fall didn’t wake any of them.

The man on the cot beside me grunts and rolls to his side, his face coming to rest inches from mine. I stop breathing, fear pumping my heart faster. His eyes flutter, and my muscles coil so tight they hurt. For an agonizing second, I wait to be discovered, but then the soldier snorts in sleep and burrows deeper under his blanket. I’m paralyzed for endless seconds as I listen to his snoring increase, and it takes almost a full minute for me to gather the courage to move. I wonder if this was how Kaid felt when he hid in my room. He didn’t know if my sleeping form would be friend or foe, but I was merely a girl, the Pure One’s naive and pampered vessel. These soldiers are trained killers, forged by Valka himself.

I don’t dare stand, so I crawl hands over knees to the door, pausing with my finger on its latch. I’ve never been inside this temple, but if it’s anything like Hreinasta’s, the Holy of Holies will sit at its center, the most guarded place within these walls. That’s undoubtedly where Kaid’s head waits for me, and if I was Valka, I wouldn’t leave it out in the open. I would lock it away in an impenetrable vault underground.Varas, help me. I don’t see how I’ll survive this.

“Calm, my child,” The Stranger says into my mind.

“Stay with me.” My whisper is barely audible, but I know he hears me.

“I always have. I always will.”

I lift the latch, begging the hinges not to squeak, and I push the door open. Torchlight floods my eyes, but to my relief, no soldiers patrol this upper corridor. I silently click the door shut behind me and pause in the dimness. I wait for the call, for his bones to pull at my soul, and a gentle tug shifts the air to my right. Based on the layout of this sprawling temple, venturing to the left will lead me to the main staircase, but the calling is urging me to venture deeper into Valka’s place of worship. I obey, keeping to the shadows, but I meet no living soul. Only flickering flames.

As I approach the rear of the temple, the hallway makes a sharp left turn. Rooms pepper my journey, but none of them call to me, so I ignore them and make for the bend in the corridor. Ascending stairs greet me as I round the corner, and the pull at my chest grows stronger. I take the stone steps two at a time until I reach a wooden door. I can go nowhere but forward, so I lift the latch and slip inside.

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