revealing a well-disguised trail.
“We’ll need to lead our horses for a while,” Ertik instructed. “About two miles from here the path gets easier. We should be at the temple by dawn.”
When they finally arrived at Valshara, they came upon a natural stone archway that served as the entrance to the temple. Two men in black robes stood at the threshold, each wearing a sword. Ertik halted and got off his horse.
“Stay here until I call you over,” he told them. “We’re unaccustomed to visitors.”
He walked over to the men and talked to them for several minutes. Finally, he motioned for the rest to approach.
“You must leave your weapons,” said one of the robed men. Lee and Kaylia removed their weapons and handed them over.
Dina retrieved Gewey’s sword and kept it with her. “I must show this to the High Lady,” she explained.
“Then Ertik must carry it, Novice,” the man growled. “And you must surrender your arms as well.”
Dina nodded and handed the sword to Ertik, then removed her dagger. The man motioned for them to continue.
Once past the entrance, a broad stone path led up an incline to a large wooden door. The walls of the temple were plain gray stone and twenty feet tall, extending for several hundred yards in either direction. Ertik pulled a rope that hung from the top of the door, and a bell echoed loudly in response. Moments later, the doors slowly swung open, revealing a massive courtyard. Multicolored slate formed a walkway around the outer edge of the yard, enclosing an inner yard of well-manicured grass. In the center stood an eight-foot tall golden sword, its point buried deep into a marble slab. On either side of the courtyard were covered walkways that led deeper into the temple grounds, and at the rear was another double door, nearly as large the first.
There were at least a dozen men and women walking about the yard. None of them wore ceremonial dress or anything else that might indicate they were part of a temple, and all of them stopped and stared at the newcomers suspiciously. From the far left corner, a young woman began walking rapidly toward them. She went directly to the coach without saying a word to the rest of them and looked carefully at Gewey.
“You’re a healer?” she asked Ezmerial.
“I am,” Ezmerial replied.
“You two,” the woman said, pointing to Ertik and Lee. “When the stretcher arrives, bring him to the healing chamber. You do remember the way, don’t you, Ertik?”
Ertik nodded, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I haven’t been away
The woman harrumphed, unimpressed.
A moment later, a young boy came running across the yard with a stretcher on his back. Lee and Ertik carefully placed Gewey on the stretcher, and followed as the woman strode off. It only took a few seconds for them to lose sight of her, but Ertik did in fact know the way.
“How did she know about the boy?” asked Ezmerial. “She walked straight to him.”
“Many of our healers can feel when someone is sick or injured,” Ertik replied. “Wileminia is extremely sensitive. I’m sure she has had them preparing from the moment we got to the archway.”
“Amazing,” she whispered.
Ertik led them through a series of stone hallways to an open door. Inside was a bed, several tables with various bottles and plants, and a stone basin in the center.
Three women were busy at the tables preparing medicine while Wileminia waited by the bed.
“Lay him down,” she directed. “Then Ertik will show you to your quarters. The Sister that has been tending the boy will stay and help.”
Lee and Ertik put Gewey on the bed and began to leave, but Kaylia refused to go.
“I will not leave him,” she said defiantly.
“My dear, you must,” Wileminia said with a much softer tone. “The High Lady of Valshara herself will be here in a moment to personally tend to him. She has commanded that you all be removed until it’s over. He could not be in better care anywhere in the world, I promise.”
Kaylia stood silent for a moment, looking at Gewey’s nearly lifeless body, and then lowered her head. “Please tell me the moment you know something,” she pleaded.
“You shall be the first,” Wileminia promised, placing her hand over her heart.
Lee stepped forward. “Before you attempt to heal him, there’s something you
Wileminia looked at him, her eyes skeptical and slightly amused. “If you mean he’s like you, then you needn’t worry; treating a half-god is no different than treating a typical human.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” Lee insisted. “He isn’t half anything.”
The realization of what Lee was saying struck her. “I see. Are you certain?”
“I am,” Lee replied. “There is no doubt.”
Wileminia looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “I will inform the High Lady. Now if you would please go, we have work to do.”
Ertik led them to a large, empty den with several couches and chairs angled around a lit fireplace. “Please, sit and rest while I attend to your quarters.” They sat in silence until a young woman in a blue housedress entered, giving them each a cup of honeyed water.
“No one wears robes here?” Lee asked once the girl had left.
“Only during certain ceremonies,” Dina replied. “Our order is very informal when it comes to things like that. Only the guards wear robes at all times.”
“The High Priestess,” Kaylia said pensively. “She is a skilled healer?”
“She is most skilled among us,” Dina replied. “However, you should refer to her as High Lady. We have no priests or priestesses. The order does not center on rank as much as others do. After you advance past novice, you become either a cleric or a knight, but there’s nothing above that, save the High Lady.
“A knight trains as a guardian of the order; they are among the finest warriors in the world. If you achieve the rank of cleric, you choose a focus of study that you spend the rest of your days trying to perfect. For example, I intend to become a temple historian.”
“What does a historian do here?” Lee inquired.
“They travel to different cities, towns, or temples to observe and record events as they unfold,”
“Sounds like an enjoyable life,” Lee said with approval.
“Yes,” she agreed, a touch of sadness entering her voice. “But with the way things have turned out, I doubt it will ever be.”
“Why would you say that?” Kaylia asked, trying to keep her mind off Gewey. “You are part of one of the greatest stories in known history. Who better to record and tell about it?”
“When Gewey and I met Felsafell and stayed in his house, he woke me in the middle of the night and told me a different story,” Dina said. “He said that as a child of two worlds, I would have to sacrifice myself to make the world whole again. Of course, he said it in his odd little way-but there was no mistaking the intent.”
“Mind his words,” Kaylia advised. “They do not always mean what they seem to. As I told Gewey-” she paused, wincing slightly upon saying his name, “he is dangerous, and you risk great peril if you take his words at face value. You may yet have the life you want.”
Dina smiled. “Thank you, Kaylia. I hope we all get the life that we want.”
When Ertik returned, he escorted them down the hall and showed them each their rooms. The rooms were plainly furnished with a bed, a small table, and a chair. A washbasin with hot water sat in one corner of the room, and their belongings had been placed in another.
“Once you’ve rested and washed, you may wander freely-with the exception of the healing chamber,” Ertik told them. “If you need me, I’ll be in the den, awaiting word of Gewey.”
“I think we’ll all be joining you shortly,” Lee informed him. Dina and Kaylia nodded in agreement.
Lee was the first to return to the den. Ertik was sitting in a chair by the fire, thumbing through a leather bound book, humming to himself. When he saw Lee, he sat the book on the arm of the chair and gestured for Lee to sit across from him.
“You look…cleaner,” Ertik noted. “Though I’d wager you must be exhausted.”
