Voice of the Gods

well enough.”

Chaia smiled.

:She is right.

“And when I die?” Juran asked, his voice tight.

:The worthy replacement you choose will take your place.

:We choose, Huan corrected, coming forward to stare at Chaia. She turned to regard the White and the Voices. Your gods are not dead. We are alive! You will build a Temple here. You will come here to consult us on the governance of your lands.

Chaia shook his head.

:The trouble with war is that the most powerful, ruthless and least scrupulous survive. They don’t make for pleasant company.

Huan turned to sneer at him.

:You survived, too, she pointed out. She turned back to the White and the Voices. A new era of cooperation must begin. You will build a Temple here and appoint priests to serve us. You will leave your strongest sorcerers here as guards while...

Auraya stopped listening as Chaia turned to regard her.

:She is a fool, he said. If one of your friends doesn’t come back and finish us off, we will perish eventually anyway. It doesn’t take much magic to maintain our existence. We might even live long enough to escape this place, but we would not be sane. Most of the gods we isolated within voids went mad, Auraya. We need mortals to provide a link to the physical world.

She felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry I distrusted you. I should have realized it wasn’t you. But don’t give up hope. Mortals will come here. They will build this Temple Huan demands. They will keep you from going insane.”

He nodded.

:Yes. They will. Will you?

She hesitated, then nodded. “For you, I will.”

Chaia smiled.

:It is good to know that. If it weren’t for Huan, I’d make you promise me that. But we both know Huan will continue to seek your death, even from within the void. As for me, being a god with no physical body grew tiresome a thousand years ago. I would rather not exist at all than spend a thousand years trapped here in her company.

Auraya’s heart skipped. A terrible suspicion was growing. “Don’t talk as though you’re dying, Chaia. I’ll find a way to heal the void. There must be a way.”

Chaia reached out and touched her cheek, his touch strange and familiar.

:Do that, Auraya. It would be a good thing. And don’t ever use the knowledge Huan gave you. Being a god is not as glorious as we like mortals to think it is. I’ve done some terrible things, but I don’t regret protecting and nurturing you. Goodbye, Auraya.

He stepped back from her. Confused, she focused on the magic around them, expecting to find it was dwindling to nothing. But what remained was plentiful enough to sustain Chaia, and the others.

Then she felt it all rush toward Chaia.

And finally she comprehended what he was doing.

“Chaia! Don’t!”

Bright light blinded her. Though unable to see, she could still sense the gods. She sensed them vanish one after another, Huan in mid-sentence. Chaia vanished last, but not before she heard three final words.

:Don’t forget me.

51

Reivan had felt awe and then fear when the glowing figures appeared among the White, the Voices and Auraya. That they were gods she had no doubt, but which gods were they?

Mirar had moved to the edge of the road as if preparing to throw himself off it into the sea, but then he paused, listening. Reivan could not hear the conversation. Curious, she had edged forward, but before she could draw close enough Auraya shouted and there was a second flash of light.

Dazzled, it took a long moment before Reivan could see again. The White and the Voices were all looking at Auraya. The gods had vanished.

“They’re gone!” Auraya exclaimed. “Chaia killed them and himself!”

Though Reivan could not hear what was said, it was clear the White and the Voices were protesting and questioning what she claimed. Auraya’s expression was terrible. Horror and grief twisted her features. She pressed her hands to her face, then shook her head and turned away.

As she began to walk off, the leader of the Circlians started after her. Reivan jumped as Mirar spoke.

“Leave her be,” he said, striding forward. They turned to stare at him as he moved through them to Auraya’s side and placed a hand around her shoulders. She leaned against him.

A touching scene, Reivan thought, smiling wryly. The gods were right about them. Who’d have thought?

Mirar drew Auraya to the side of the road. Looking over the edge, Reivan saw a woman guide a small boat toward them. Auraya paused, then let Mirar help her scramble down the bank and into the vessel.

“What now?” one of the White asked.

“We go home,” their leader said.

As they turned away, laughter rang out. Reivan felt a shiver run down her spine as she realized Nekaun was conscious and had got to his feet.

“Oh, what a fine trick! You knew you were going to lose, so your gods pretended to die so you could run away home without a dent to your pride. And you claim your gods are ours, so we won’t chase you. Ah! I see your plan now. You think you can lure us over there and—”

“Shut up, Nekaun,” Imenja said.

Nekaun stared at her, his face darkening with anger. “The gods won’t let your betrayal go unpunished,” he began.

Imenja rolled her eyes and turned her back on him. She and the other Voices turned away from the retreating White, walked past Nekaun and started toward Reivan and her companions.

“Come back here now!” None even turned to look at him. “I order you to come back.”

The Voices ignored him. Reivan flinched as he made a throwing motion at them, but nothing happened. He stared at his hand, frowned and cast about, puzzled by something.

Imenja looked at Reivan and smiled. “He always was a bit slow.”

“What happened?”

“It’s going to take some explaining.” Imenja glanced at the other Voices as she stopped among the Servants, advisers and the Elai king. “I felt something change after the first flash of light. A lessening of magic.” She looked at her pendant and frowned.

“That... that doesn’t make much sense,” Reivan said.

“No, it doesn’t.” Imenja sighed. “Auraya says the gods are dead. All the gods. I believe she is right.”

Reivan stared at her in horror.

“But those glowing figures? What were they?” an adviser asked.

“They were the gods. Their gods. Our gods. The same, it turns out. They were trapped by something Auraya and Mirar did. But it didn’t kill them. The gods did that. They did something and... it finished them off. At least, that’s what Auraya believes.”

“And you believe her?” the Elai king asked.

“Yes.”

Reivan felt the implications slowly sink in as they all started to walk back toward Avven.