knight of Torm.
No, the half-drow decided, stopping in midstride. This is too important. You know it is. And you're terrible at following orders, soldier. Tauran spoiled you. Go find them!
Remembering Pharaun's words about answering to himself, Kael turned to see if any of the officers were nearby and watching. Satisfied that he would not be noticed, his mind made up, he moved away from the milling mass of soldiers and hurried for the front gates of the city.
He hoped he was not too late.
'It's time,' Nilsa said, framed in the doorway of Aliisza's chambers.
The alu turned from where she was standing in the middle of the room, gazing around at the familiar white marble and baskets of vines and flowers. She looked at the angel. 'I know,' she said. 'Give me one more moment. Please.'
The slightest hint of exasperation clouded Nilsa's expression, but she nodded and stepped back out of the chamber, leaving Aliisza to herself.
Aliisza drew a deep breath and inhaled the fragrance of blossoms. She listened to the breeze ruffling the wind chimes on her balcony. She strolled to the railing and looked out, staring at the brassy blue sky and the array of clouds surrounding the great mountain of Celestia, which disappeared into more of them high above.
I can't believe I'm thinking this, but I'm going to miss this place.
The alu remembered the very first time she had gazed upon the great mountain. It had been the day Tauran had brought her to the House. They had appeared on an island of sweet-smelling grass. His angelic brilliance had dazzled her. How long ago that seemed.
She had tried to fly up into the heavens surrounding that mountain, tried to penetrate the clouds and find escape beyond them. I was a fool. Often.
Aliisza wondered if Eirwyn was already there, on Celestia. The angel had claimed she would travel back to Venya, to serve Erathaol as a seer.
Leaving this place behind, the alu thought. I suppose Garin has already taken Tauran away too, she mused.
She imagined the celestial magically transported her friend to some other realm in the cosmos, just as Nilsa was about to do to her. Just whisk us all away, like sweeping dust under a rug. Out of sight, out of mind. That's the way to deal with your problems, Tyr.
Aliisza felt another sudden pang of sorrow. She wanted to see Tauran again. She wanted to say goodbye. Then inspiration hit.
Why don't you go with him?
She wondered if it was even possible. Aliisza had planned to return to Faerыn, most likely Sundabar, although she hadn't truly made up her mind yet. It seemed like the natural choice, but then, she had never been anything more than an interloper there.
Or anywhere, Aliisza thought. You are an outcast, an orphan. Like your son.
More sorrow washed over her. I'm losing them all. Kael, Pharaun, Eirwyn. Even Kaanyr. Everyone who became part of my life, yanked from me by-what was it Pharaun said?-the capricious whims of gods.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
Aliisza turned her back to the room and crossed it. She reached the door and pulled it open, stepping out into the hallway. Nilsa still stood there, waiting.
'I want to travel with Tauran,' Aliisza announced. 'Where is he going?'
The angel shook her head. 'That's not possible,' she replied. 'You must return to the place from which you came. I am to take you to the city of Sundabar.'
Anger boiled in Aliisza. 'Why? You could take me anywhere, so long as I never bothered you or your kind again. Why does it have to be there?'
Nilsa sighed. 'You're right, so far as that goes. But I have been given specific instructions. It's not up for debate.'
Aliisza cocked her hip to one side and folded her arms across her chest. 'That's not good enough,' she said, giving the angel a pointed look. 'It shouldn't matter, and I want to know why.'
Nilsa stared right back. 'You don't want to have this argument with me.'
Aliisza snorted. 'Why, because I'll lose?'
'No, because I don't need to debate you. I have a duty to perform. I'm not going to let you change my mind, no matter what you say. If you persist in trying, if you make it difficult for me, I will simply knock you silly and dump you in an alley somewhere in your city. So make your choice.'
Aliisza fumed. She knew the angel could do it, simply by drawing on her divine power to stun the alu. But that didn't make it right.
For a moment, she fought the urge to punch the angel in the nose. Finally, as the rage subsided enough for her to control herself, she said, 'Can you at least tell me where he's going so I can find him?'
'No.'
'Gods and devils, why are you being so difficult?' Aliisza yelled, tears of helplessness welling up. 'He's my friend. Can't you set aside your edicts long enough to give me some small thing?'
A momentary look of compassion crossed Nilsa's face, but she smoothed her expression quickly. 'It was decided that you should be separated, never to see one another again,' the angel explained. 'There can be no risk of you coming together to cause further trouble for the House. I'm sorry, but that's the way it must be.'
'I hate you all,' Aliisza whispered, choking back sobs. She crumpled to the floor. 'I hope you and your stony god wither and die.'
Nilsa pursed her lips and reached for Aliisza. 'Enough of this,' she muttered, grabbing hold of the alu. 'We're leaving now.'
Aliisza started to jerk free of the angel's grip. She wanted the fight, wanted to force the cold, heartless celestial to follow through on her threat. It would prove that Aliisza was right in her assessment of how unkind and unfair Nilsa truly was.
Nilsa opened her mouth to say something, perhaps even to utter a word of power and knock Aliisza silly as she had promised, but a voice from down the hall interrupted her.
'Hold, Nilsa.' It was Tauran. He and Kael approached together, Garin right behind them. Aliisza's heart leaped at the sight of them both. A foolish grin spread across her face.
'What are you doing here?' Nilsa asked in surprise, frowning. 'Garin, our instructions were clear.'
Aliisza yanked herself free of the angel's grip, jumped up, and ran to Tauran and Kael. She wrapped an arm around the fallen angel and the knight and hugged them both tightly. Warm feelings of hope and possibility coursed through her, where only despair and defeat had dwelt before. 'I thought I'd never see you again,' she said, her face buried in their shoulders. She felt Kael chuckle softly as the two of them returned her embrace.
Behind them, she heard Garin say, 'It's changed, Nilsa. Everything's changed.' The weary sound of his voice made Aliisza wince.
'What are you talking about?' Nilsa asked, walking up behind the alu.
'Tyr is surrendering his godhood,' Garin answered.
Aliisza pulled back with a start and looked at Tauran and Kael. 'What?' she asked. 'Truly?'
Kael nodded and Tauran said softly, 'He has already done it.' His face held a grim expression, a visage that Aliisza had come to think of as a scar, every bit as permanent a fixture as a sword wound.
Aliisza turned to look at Nilsa. The angel had a stricken look on her face. She stared at nothing, her mouth opening and closing. Compassion welled up in the alu. She didn't know what to do. She took the angel's hand in her own and said, 'I'm sorry.'
Nilsa stared back at her. 'It's true. I can't feel him with me anymore. I've lost Tyr.' Her hand shook in Aliisza's grasp.
'He's sending all of us to serve Torm, and he's marching to war under Torm's banner,' Garin said. When Aliisza turned to gaze at him, his wide eyes, usually so keen and piercing, looked lost.
Tauran said, 'We have all been asked to aid in the fight. The demons are coming.'
