Vessel

“I am proof—”

“You are an abomination!” Maara sat up, and Liyana scooted backward. She hadn’t imagined that the goddess had so much control over the body already.

Korbyn’s eyes snapped open. He sagged and then caught himself. Leaving Maara, Liyana helped him lie back on the blankets. He clutched her arm, but she hastily withdrew as if his touch burned. “Are you all right?” she asked. “What were you doing?”

“Contacting the deity of the Dog Clan,” he said.

“You can do that?” Liyana asked.

“It is similar to the summoning chant,” Korbyn said. “I fill words with magic and send them across the desert. It is an awkward way to converse but sufficient for emergencies.”

“And did he reply?” Maara asked.

“He’s in his vessel with his clan, but he refuses to join us. Once again my reputation precedes me. He believes it’s a trick.”

Stubborn idiot, Bayla said. We do not have time for this. The clans need to mobilize now! Let me send words to the imbecile. Her tone left no question as to what kind of words they would be. Vessel, you will aid me. Liyana repeated Bayla’s offer.

Korbyn shook his head. “They won’t trust you either. Apologies for tarnishing your good name, my love.” He smiled wanly at her, and Liyana knew he was smiling at Bayla. She tried not to feel a pang at the word “love.”

“They would trust me,” Maara said. “But I cannot use magic while the vessel remains. For though I control the limbs, she retains primacy.” She slapped her thighs hard enough to bruise them.

“Yet another reason you should talk to Raan,” Liyana said.

“Yet another reason she should vacate this body,” Maara said.

Liyana felt Bayla sigh. Tell Maara she needs to work with her vessel. Stumbling over the words, Liyana repeated this. She didn’t dare ask what this meant for herself.

Maara narrowed her eyes. “Was that truly Bayla?”

Does she want me to share about the time the scorpion became besotted with the butterfly? Liyana repeated this as well. Once, in the days when death was new—

“Very well,” Maara interrupted. “I will speak with the vessel.” She closed her eyes.

The tent fell silent.

Liyana wanted to talk to Bayla. She searched for the words and failed. She glanced at Korbyn, wishing he would speak and break the silence. She tried to remember the last thing he’d said to her, not Bayla. She wished she could hear him laugh again. “Your clan will be happy to see you,” Liyana ventured. It wasn’t much of a conversation starter, but at least it was something.

Korbyn shrugged. “Perhaps. They were fond of this vessel.”

“Oh.” Liyana lowered her eyes and watched Maara, who lay silently in her blankets with her eyes closed. “But you didn’t know.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Korbyn said.

After waiting another half hour, they tied the unresponsive Maara to a horse and continued on. There were still several more days of travel ahead of them before they would reach the oasis where Liyana had first met Korbyn. From there it would be several more days to Yubay—if her clan was even there.

Would you like to see where they are? Bayla asked softly. If you wish, I will feed you the magic.

For a moment Liyana was robbed of a reply. She never expected such a kind offer from Bayla.

They are my clan as well.

After a moment Liyana felt the magic fill her. She let her awareness spill outward. She felt Gray Luck moving in a steady stride beneath her. She felt the sand and the wind and the heat. She felt the plants scattered across the sand, and the insects that hid in their centers. She touched the birds of prey and the rodents. She brushed past the sky serpents as they soared above. She shied away from the sandstorms with their howling hearts. Fueled by the goddess’s magic, she reached much further than ever before. All the while, the tether to her body continued to stretch.

As she spread, she became aware of the people: their souls pulsing all over the desert, grouped in areas where she also felt water. She touched the oasis where her family had camped and where she had left the silver bells—and she touched the souls of hundreds of people. Her clan!

Retreating back to her body, she felt Gray Luck still plodding along beneath her, and the sun battering her skin again. That was the oasis where I was left behind. Only my clan uses that oasis. She’d see them soon!

You were left behind? There was shock in Bayla’s voice.

You didn’t come. Liyana tried not to let the pain of the memory seep into her thought. Her clan had done what they’d believed was best. They thought you’d rejected me and that you’d forgive them if they exiled me.

I would never—

How were they to know? You didn’t come. She tried not to sound as if she blamed Bayla.

She felt Bayla churn inside her. The traitor Mulaf must be stopped.

I want the same, Liyana said.

You are suggesting a truce between us.

Yes.

Bayla was silent. At last she said, Tell me about our clan. It has been many years since I was one of you.

As they rode, Liyana told stories about her childhood, about Jidali and Aunt Sabisa, about her cousins and her parents, about Talu and the chief and chieftess, about the master weaver, about the goatkeepers and the herds. Bayla continued to prod her for more and more, and so Liyana fed her memory after memory.

When she was midstory about the time she and Jidali had raced the weaver’s boys up the date palm trees, Raan woke with a jerk. She sat bolt upright, and the startled mare reared back. Raan was tossed forward into the horse’s neck. Korbyn slid off his horse and grabbed the reins of Raan’s horse. He steadied her.

Sitting upright with ease, Raan dusted the horsehairs off her robes—or more accurately, Maara did. Raan hadn’t had much physical control in days. This had to be Maara. “I hate horses,” Maara commented.

“Did you speak to your vessel?” Korbyn asked.

Maara sighed. “She is alarmingly like me.” The goddess did not meet Liyana’s eyes. Instead she focused on her horse’s ears. “Tonight she and I will attempt to reach the other clans together.”

At dusk they pitched the tent and tended to the horses. Once all was set, Maara lay down inside the tent, and Liyana and Korbyn joined her.

“You two aren’t going to stare at me the whole time, are you?” Maara asked. “Because that might make it difficult to focus.”

Maara, you should allow the vessel to have primary control of the body while you draw power from the lake. Channel it to the vessel. Surprisingly, this allows you to draw more power with less fatigue since you do not have to hold the body simultaneously.

It does? Liyana asked. She knew she was more powerful with Bayla, but for Bayla to be more powerful with her . . .

Bayla’s voice was so soft that Liyana could barely sense it. It has been my observation that we are more effective together than not. Quit wallowing in self-satisfaction, and repeat my instructions.

Liyana obeyed, and Maara closed her eyes. Her back arched and then spasmed, and then her eyes popped open. “Oh, oh, I can feel my legs! And my fingers and toes!” Raan.

Liyana squeezed her hand. “Welcome back, Raan.”

Raan smiled at both of them. “Walk me through what I’m supposed to do.”

“Maara will fill you with magic,” Liyana said, “and you use that to spread yourself. You don’t even need to enter a trance! You’re going to love it. It’s a tremendous feeling.”