Divined (17 page)

“When you were ambushing us?” Clio supplied.

Ixie raised her chin, indignant. “I know it wasn’t
your
doing. You were so weak Tirza could have taken you down.”

“I should tend to this before you sleep. I want to make sure it’s properly cleaned so it doesn’t become inflamed on your journey.” Ealis’ voice was calm, professional. Clio knew only something as strong as his vows as a healer could get him to voluntarily spend time with Ixie.

“No. I’ll manage on my own.”

“Don’t be foolish, Ixie.” Clio smiled. “You can’t even reach it on your own. Go with Ealis. Let him tend to you. Although, I expect you’ll want to defy me on this as well.” She raised her eyebrow questioningly.

Ixie didn’t move, her expression betraying nothing. As if nothing was the matter, she turned and smiled at Ealis. “So kind of you to offer, Ealis. I would be grateful if you would tend to me.”

Clio watched them walk down the corridor to the washing room, biting back laughter.

“That was cruel, Clio,” Ashira said.

Clio’s smile faded. She followed Ashira into their room, stopping inside the curtain.

“Why are you so ready to forget what Ixie did?”

Ashira sighed and pulled out her dagger, laying it on a small table by the window. “Ixie shouldn’t have turned on us. She shouldn’t have made an alliance with a woman who attacked and threatened you.”

“Exactly! But she doesn’t see that. She thinks because it turned out well, she shouldn’t be blamed for what might’ve happened.” Clio unclasped her cloak and sat on the low chair by the empty hearth.

“It
did
turn out well, though. And she was always seeking to help you.”

“She could have been killed. There was no way she knew Atzi’s intentions before approaching her.”

Ashira smiled. “Yes, well, that’s who Ixie is. You know it. I’m mad at her for what she did. But there’s simply no point to it. Punishing Ixie won’t change anything. And, besides, it makes me happier to forgive her.”

“I don’t understand you.”

“No. I suppose you wouldn’t.” Ashira had a curious look in her eye. “You guard your heart well.”

Clio stood. “Yes, well, I have good reason to. The people I love tend to die. Either that, or I end up hurting them.”

Ashira remained silent. She turned to make her bed, untying the knots of her armor and sliding in between the blankets.

Clio walked around the room, too restless for sleep, her mind in a dozen places. She hadn’t been able to think so freely since before she took Vazuil’s blood, and for the first time, she found herself thinking uninterruptedly of Riece.

Above all others, Riece had to understand why she was cautious. How many times had he been in danger because of her? If she was slow to accept his proposal, she hoped he understood it had nothing to do with her feelings.

Ashira sat up. “You know, if you had accepted his proposal you could be with him right now, instead of pacing the floor thinking about him.”

Clio stopped. “What makes you think I’m thinking of
him
?”

Ashira laughed.

“What?” Clio crossed her arms, willing herself to stand still.

“Would you just go speak to him already? I’d like to get some sleep before sunrise.”

“You’re too insightful for your own good.”

“Whatever you say. Be quiet when you come back in. If you’re planning to come back, that is.” Ashira raised an eyebrow.

“Ashira!” Clio’s face reddened. “I’ll be back.” She darted from the room before Ashira could say anything else.

She entered the corridor, her skin still flushed, and immediately stilled. Atzi stood in the middle of the hall, fully armed.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Clio tensed, but Atzi didn’t turn around. The Oracle had put her black hood back on, and Clio could make out the gleaming tip of a dagger sticking out of Atzi’s sleeve. She was prepared for an attack. Clio slipped back into the shadows. If Atzi was to betray them, there wasn’t a better time.

Clio’s hand slipped to the small dagger she still had in her sheath at her hip, waiting. It felt a long time before Atzi strode though the great archway leading to the gardens. With a last glance down Riece’s corridor, Clio stepped out from her hiding spot and followed Atzi into the night.

Atzi moved silently through the garden, then halted behind a fountain and waited. The air was cool, and Clio felt herself shivering without a cloak.

It wasn’t long before a guard left his post and came strolling past the fountain. Atzi crouched down and slipped past the guard and through the unwatched gate. She’d had a Vision, Clio realized. It was the only way Atzi would have known how to get out of the garden without anyone knowing. Clio quickly followed, all too aware she wouldn’t have a Vision telling her how to avoid notice.

Clio trailed paces behind Atzi through the sleeping streets. Something had to be wrong. Atzi should have woken Clio if there was a threat. And yet, Atzi had snuck out without even Ixie at her side. Clio’s stomach knotted.

She ducked around a corner and fell backward when she nearly collided with Atzi. The Oracle stood still, smiling down at Clio.

“I thought you might want a more serious weapon if you insist on following me around.” Atzi held out a long, curved dagger and tossed it to Clio.

Clio scrambled to her feet just in time to catch the dagger’s hilt. “Where are you going?”

Atzi grinned. “I’ve had a Vision. Trouble at the river.”

“A Calling,” Clio murmured.

“Care to join me? I know you’re no longer the Oracle, but you might enjoy it anyway.”

“
Enjoy
it? I never enjoyed any of it.”

Atzi frowned then shrugged. “Well, you might. Anyway, it’s your choice.” She turned and walked toward the river.

Clio hesitated for a moment as she looked down at the blade in her hands. It had been so long since she had been in a real fight. She wasn’t the Oracle anymore, but she could do this. She
had
to do this. She had to prove she still could. Straightening, she stowed the dagger at her side and ran after Atzi.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Five men stood arranged in a tight circle on the bank of the river. Atzi threw a hand out, stopping Clio and pulling her down so they were concealed in the brush.

The men were standing over something, and Clio strained, trying to see what it was.

A scream broke through the silence, and one of the men stepped into the circle, giving Clio a clear view of the small girl cowering between them.

Clio made to stand, but Atzi grabbed her wrist and yanked her back down.

“First, we listen,” Atzi mouthed.

“I don’t think we should do this,” one of the men said. His voice was pitched high with fear, and Clio realized he was younger than the rest, little more than a boy himself.

“You can’t have doubts now. All the hard work is behind us,” an older man answered.

“But, she’s just—”

“She’s just one girl.” Another man stepped forward, towering over the girl who was crying soundlessly. “One girl for the Deities. An offering. Then we can join the Order.”

“And we’ll be able to send gold back home. This is what the Deities want. It’s an honor to die for them.”

The man who spoke pulled out a small blade from his robes.

“Please,” the girl begged. “Please, no.” Her voice was thin, her eyes red.

Clio couldn’t watch it any longer. Jumping up, she tore her robes from Atzi’s grasp and sprinted as fast as she could to the river.

“What in the Deities—” one man began as he spotted Clio coming toward them, dagger raised.

Two of the men immediately scattered. Clio didn’t concern herself with them. Her eyes were on the man still clutching the girl’s elbow. Without slowing, Clio charged into the man. Her shoulder hit his chest hard enough to send him sprawling on his back, his head in the lapping water of the river.
 

“Run!” Clio cried to the girl. She didn’t hesitate. Still trembling, the girl took off toward the city, running past Atzi in pursuit of the fleeing men.

Clio leapt onto the man and ripped the dagger from his hands as she held his head under the water. But another man was behind her, and Clio felt fingers dig into her shoulders, pulling her backward. The man in the water stood, blood streaming down his lip. Jabbing an elbow behind her, Clio freed herself only to be met with a kick in the stomach. She collapsed to all fours, and one of the men rammed his knee into her face. She went down. Atzi was too far away for help.

The man grabbed her, flipping her over. Her head was spinning, but she struggled, and the man backhanded her.

“We’ll use this one instead,” the man holding her said. He began dragging her to the water while the other man picked up the fallen blades, tossing one to the younger boy who stood behind them.

Clio felt water at her heels. The man holding her pulled her up and pushed her head to the side. “Do it, quickly!” he yelled to whoever was behind him

The water was cold, each drop stinging her skin. She couldn’t let it end like this. She was stronger than this. Even without the Visions, she was still a warrior. As much as she hated it, she still had her father’s blood in her veins. She was stronger than these mortal men.

Fisting her hands in the man’s robes, she swept his feet from under him, sending them both into the cold river. The water was only knee-deep, but they fell flat, and Clio held on tightly, pulling the man to her so his head stayed under the waves. Kicking off the sandy ground, she flipped them and released his robes as her head broke the water’s surface.

Sucking down air, she turned. Without a weapon, she couldn’t take down three men on her own. She’d need a blade before she stood a chance. The men were coming for her again, but then Clio saw him. The boy. He still stood on the shore, worrying the dagger’s hilt in his small hands.

Dodging the other attacker, Clio splashed through the water. The boy’s eyes widened, and Clio dove for him, ripping the blade from his hand before he could use it.

Holding the blade to the boy’s neck, she turned and faced her other two attackers. “Come any closer, and I’ll be giving my own offering.”

The two men instantly froze.

“Drop the dagger,” Clio commanded.

“Don’t hurt him. He’s only a child,” one of the men begged.

“And what about the girl you were going to murder? Was she not a child?”

“It was for the Deities. Please—we had no other choice.” He stepped forward.

“Drop the dagger!” Clio jerked the boy backward, out of reach.

The man dropped his dagger into the water. “Let him go. Please. He’s my brother.”

Atzi ran up to them. Her robes had been torn, but she was without obvious injury. She smiled brightly as she reached Clio’s side.

“Nicely done.” She nodded.

“What did you do with the others?”

“Scared them. They won’t be trying anything like this ever again, believe me.”

“You merely
scared
them?”

Atzi stepped past Clio, turning to the two men. “If you ever so much as think about sacrificing another girl, I’ll be back, and I won’t stop my friend from killing your brother.”

The men nodded quickly, their eyes white with fear, but Clio couldn’t forget the girl’s sobs and how little these men had cared.

Atzi pulled the boy from Clio’s hands, shoving him over to his brothers. “Go. Get out of here.”

The men exchanged frightened glances.

“Do I need to tell you twice?” Atzi swept her hand to the side, revealing the three daggers she had concealed inside her cloak.

The men tripped over themselves in their haste to get away. Clio watched them go, her heart pounding. “How can you just let them go?” She turned to Atzi.

“Because I feel certain they won’t do it again. This is the Order’s doing, not theirs. They were just desperate.”

“They were going to murder that girl to join the Order. I don’t know how you can be certain they won’t be willing to kill again.”

“They were terrified. I’ve seen fear like that before. It will keep them from trying again.”

Atzi turned to head back to town.

“They deserved to die,” Clio said, catching up.

Atzi paused. “Perhaps.”

“That’s all?
Perhaps
? How can you leave here knowing you’ve left men like that alive?”

“Clio, I know you served a different type of Deity, but I don’t murder people because of a Vision. I was told to save the girl. So I did. If I felt like the men were a threat, I would have killed them. But I didn’t. I don’t like blood on my hands if I can avoid it.”

“I don’t like blood on my hands either,” Clio said defensively. “But some people deserve to pay for the pain they cause others.”

Atzi’s hand drifted up to her chest, to the burn peeking out from her robes. “I once wanted vengeance, too. I didn’t just want to kill my masters. I wanted them to hurt as I did.” Something dark flashed in her eyes, and Clio wondered what Atzi had suffered before she became the Oracle. “But when I let go of the fear, the need for vengeance faded. I killed them quickly to free their slaves, and I haven’t thought about them since.”

“They deserved worse,” Clio muttered, but Atzi never responded. They walked back to Ealis’ home in silence.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

They snuck back through the garden, entering the guest corridor with the first rays of the morning. Atzi went into her room without another word, leaving Clio alone in the hallway. She stood there for a moment, knowing she should get some sleep. But her heart was still racing, her blood still on fire. She felt as if she’d been sleeping for ages, and now she was finally awake.

Without giving herself time to rethink, she spun on her heel and walked down the corridor to Riece’s room.

His room was still dark. Heavy drapes were drawn, blocking out the rising sun. Clio stepped inside, letting her eyes adjust. Riece slept on a wide mat, furs and blankets pushed down to his waist, exposing his bare chest.

As silently as she could, she slipped across the room and knelt at his side. His brown hair was tousled, his eyes closed and soft. Perhaps it would be better not to wake him. Perhaps she could just lie beside him, listening to his steady breathing. She was reaching out a hand to brush the hair across his forehead when his chest stilled. His hand locked around hers while he pulled a dagger from under his pillow and pressed it to her neck.