Page 38 of Invocation

In the room was a tree. An enormous tree with bark that glowed with life and light and magic, growing deep underground.

The heart of the forest.

She stared at it, and a small voice in her head told her that she shouldn’t be there. She walked toward it anyway. She was so focused on the tree that she didn’t notice the figure beneath it until it moved.

Avan sat on her knees between the huge roots of the tree, glaring up at Novikke. She was awake.

“Avan,” Novikke said in surprise, not sure whether she was happy to see her conscious.

Avan studied her, suspicious. Her eyes went to the sword at her hip. Novikke wondered if she recognized it as the one Aruna had been wearing before.

Her body was sagging, as if she was on the verge of falling asleep like the rest of them had.

She took a step closer, and the woman bared her teeth. “Just stay where you are. Your presence has sullied this holy place enough. You needn’t make it worse.”

Novikke leaned back on her heels. “I wasn’t trying to sully anything,” she said. “But there’s a bit of an emergency up there. You’ll have to pardon me for taking drastic measures.”

Avan glared at her. The light of the tree made her face glow. “What’s happened?” she finally asked, her brows drawn together in concern.

“You don’t know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I did, would I?” she snapped. “I saw the other priests start dropping, and I…” She bit back the rest of the sentence. Her mistrust was palpable.

“And you came down here,” Novikke finished for her. So, she’d known that the tree could protect her somehow.

Her throat moved as she swallowed. “Where is Aruna?” she asked.

“He’s safe. I mean, he’s not…dead. Yet.”

“Yet?”

“Everyone in the city is asleep. Maybe dying, I can’t tell. Everyone except non-Varai. You’re the only one still conscious. I think it’s only a matter of time.”

Avan slowly shook her head. “That can’t be.”

“I couldn’t have gotten here alone if anyone was awake to stop me.”

Avan knew it was true. Novikke could see the despair in her eyes. She put her head in her hand.

She wanted to remind her that they’d tried to warn her. “What is this place?” she said instead.

Avan shot her a hard look through watery eyes. “You know what it is. This is what you came here for, isn’t it? Are you here to finish what the others started?”

“No, I’m not.” She took another step toward the tree.

“Stay back,” Avan snarled, and Novikke stopped short.

Avan’s hand was on one of the roots, holding on tightly. It reminded Novikke of a mother guarding a child, though she wasn’t sure which was the mother and which was the child.

“Ravi will protect us,” Avan said.

“Ravi is dying, and the Varai are dying along with her. I’m the only one left who can do anything about it.” She thought, then amended, “The only one who wants to do anything about it.”

Avan scoffed. “Why would you want to help us?”

“Aruna,” Novikke replied shortly.

Avan didn’t ask why a slave would want to protect her master. Novikke sensed that she’d already guessed she was not really a slave.

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