Ossacer sat back on his haunches and breathed out heavily. He shook his head at the exertion and wiped a hand across his brow. In the bed, the boy was calm. His fever was gone and he slept. Ossacer smiled and turned back to the mother. She was in the doorway still, her hands clutching hard at the frame. In the room, the lantern and candles were extinguished and in the kitchen, the fire smoked, its last embers dim. There was new growth on the olive tree despite the cold of dusasfall.
'Let him sleep,' said Ossacer. 'And boil all your water until we make the supply safe.'
She nodded mutely, unwilling to come near him even though she must be desperate to go to her son. Ossacer stood up.
'I understand your fear. I see it every day. But you must forget what you have been told. This is what the Ascendancy can bring to you, to the whole Conquord. We are not against God, we act with God and do his work. We seek only to help. I was born to heal.'
'Thank you,' she managed, her voice choked with a confusion of emotion. 'I just—'
'It's all right,' said Ossacer. 'All I ask is that you think about what you have seen here today. What will you tell your son, your friends? That your son has been cured by an evil that must be stamped out, or that by God's will, he has been granted another chance at life, a chance he so richly deserves? Think. We do not ask for thanks, only acceptance.'
He bowed his head and walked past her towards the front door. Harkov, general of the Ascendancy Guard, intercepted him. He was an instantly comforting figure. His strong lifelines surrounded a commanding frame. Harkov was a former palace guardsman respected by Paul Jhered and hence the perfect choice to lead the Ascendancy Guard. His natural energy map oozed authority and control.
'Trouble at the fountain,' he said.
'Bad?' asked Ossacer, putting a hand on Harkov's arm and relaxing his mind. The world faded to black before him. Harkov led him out into the chill day.
'Bad enough. It's Koroyan.'
Ossacer sighed and sagged, feeling suddenly tired. 'Will that woman dog my footsteps forever?'
'Unless she meets with a nasty accident,' said Harkov.
'You don't mean that,' said Ossacer.
'Not all the time.'
'Where's Arducius?'
'Three guesses,' said Harkov.
'Then we'd better be quick,' said Ossacer.
The two men were joined by another six Ascendancy guardsmen, each armed with gladius and shield and with bows slung across their backs. Their livery, fed, with the Ascendancy crest of sun over tree in a pair of cupped hands, was becoming a common and accepted sight throughout the Conquord. Made up of ex-levium and palace guard for the most part, the Ascendancy Guard were quickly gaining respect. They were also making powerful enemies.
It was a short walk to the fountains through slums that stank of death. The streets were tight and full of fear. Refuse was strewn across muddy cobbles. The stench of sewage was strong. Ossacer felt a little anxious. This far from the heart of the Conquord, not all the advances it boasted had penetrated to the poorest. It would ever be so.
The tension travelled in waves through the latent energies surrounding them. And in a few paces, he could hear it too. The wind carried the harsh sound of angry voices.
'The foun
tain's crowded,' said Ossacer. ‘I
can see the interference in the energies above it. Heat and emotion carried on the wind.'
'Don't leave my side,' said Harkov. 'This might get ugly.'
'If Koroyan is there, it already is,' said Ossacer.
They hurried down a right-hand turn. The fountain was at the end of the alley. Ossacer could see the confused mass of people in the lifelines. Beyond them, the lively blues of the fountain waters. Harkov signalled two of his men to move ahead while he slowed almost to a halt. Ossacer searched the blaze of human energy, searching for Arducius's map. So hard to divine.
'Where is he?'
'He'll be all right,' said Harkov.
Ossacer's heart was pounding. He fought himself to calmness. Energy signatures ceased their flaring and resolved to detail once again. But he still couldn't see Arducius. There was shouting, a brief scuffle and into the silence that followed walked Ossacer with Harkov. The general filled in the detail.
'Koroyan is with Vennegoor and twenty or so Order guards. Arducius is facing them behind a line of our people. No swords are out but it's getting twitchy. Trouble is that citizens are crowding in quickly. If this goes the wrong way, we'll have nowhere to go.'
'We'll be fine,' said Ossacer. 'Just get me next to Ardu.'
Harkov's men put their shoulders to the gathering crowd and forced a path through to the fountain. The multiple images in Ossacer's mind thinned. He could see Arducius now. His aura was calm, his body map even. But within his frame, the brittleness of his bones was a dominant shifting pale grey. A sickness not even Ossacer could cure.
Around him, the guards showed more signs of stress while across from them, just a few yards away, the Order flooded his senses with their anger. Conversation broke out around them and Arducius looked round as he approached.
'Can't leave you alone for a moment without trouble breaking out,' said Ossacer.
'Nothing I can't handle,' said Arducius. 'Glad you're here though.'
The two of them moved in front of the line of guards. Before them, Chancellor Koroyan stood haughty and disdainful.
'Ah,' she said. 'The blind one too. Fresh from peddling your perverse healing, no doubt?'
Quiet spread again among the crowd, now several hundred strong, in the tight square which housed the fountain. Ossacer could feel them wavering. The Chancellor remained a dominant figure and despite the work he and Arducius had done here, their security was by no means guaranteed. Everyone listening and watching was an Order devotee.
'You are of course welcome to accompany me and talk to some of those I have helped,' said Ossacer, raising his voice loud. 'Ask them how they feel about my work.'
'It is interesting, and I think all of us would be fascinated to know,' said Arducius. 'What exactly is it you are doing here?'
Ossacer sucked in a breath.
'Risky, Ardu, very risky,' he whispered.
'Best get it out of the way now.'
Indeed, Koroyan did seem a little taken aback at the invitation but she recovered quickly and strutted into the gap.
'Is she still wearing the old robes of state?' asked Ossacer.
'Still. Lot of grey in her hair since last time though.'
'Good people of Okiro, of Morasia and the Conquord,' said Koroyan, indulging them with a smile. 'Faithful servants of the Omniscient. I am glad that you have had the opportunity to see at first hand what these so-called Ascendants can do. They can heal your sick, but what do they use to do it? And what else can they do that they would not be so pleased to demonstrate?
'I have seen what they can do and it chills my blood that they are allowed to walk among you. They can raise waters that could drown you all in your beds. They can summon gales that would flatten your homes. They play with the elements as if they own them. They do not. This earth is the province of God the Omniscient. None of us has the right to call on the powers of God and use them as our own. Can you possibly feel secure with them moving amongst you?
'The Omniscient cares for you. And this tragic disease that has afflicted you means that you are utmost in my prayers and in my thoughts. Curious, is it not, that the Ascendants choose to come here at the very outbreak of disease. Almost as if they knew it was going to happen.' Koroyan shrugged. 'Who knows, perhaps they are so powerful that they could sense the coming of the disease. Or perhaps they are the cause of it. After all, what is more powerful than live demonstration. They would not command your attention if there was nothing to improve, no?
'I denounce them. They are criminals under the Conquord's mistaken protection. They are heretics under the Omniscient. These people must be stopped. All here who worship Him know this and know the penalty. They should burn.'
There was a movement in the crowd. Anger stirred and voices were raised. The majority in support of the Chancellor but not all. None risked a move to action with guards flanking both parties.
'This is becoming a trial,' said Harkov quietly. 'I suggest you choose your next words very carefully.'
Arducius jumped on to the lip of the fountain, raising himself head and shoulders above the crowd which quietened quickly. Ossacer could see the confidence radiating from him, a warm green ripple in his aura.
'We've been here five days now. Five days in which we have sat with you, eaten with you, prayed with you and, yes, used the abilities we have to heal the sick. I recognise many of you as I look around. Some of you once heading for a premature return to the earth, are now walking, with your strength returning.
'The Chancellor is right. The Omniscient does care for you. And we do the Omniscient's work, saving those who can be saved. Helping those who can be helped and who ask us for it.
'The Chancellor is right. We can raise wind, we can raise water and fire. But only in the Omniscient's name. Only to protect our people. You. That is the worth of us. We are here to serve you. Have we harmed a single one of you?'
Arducius turned his attention square on the Chancellor. 'It is an enduring tragedy that we want nothing more than to be welcomed into the bosom of the Order. We would happily swear loyalty to the Chancellor. She denies us that opportunity and so we are forced to work without her blessing.
'I stand before you now and tell you that you have nothing to fear from the Ascendants. If you choose not to believe us, then see us burn. But it will not stop the destiny of the Conquord. The Ascendancy is here forever. It has the support of the Advocate. And as the generations pass, more and more of your children will demonstrate similar abilities.
'Some will accompany us back to Estorr today. Others will follow. See the good in us for that is all that there is. The Chancellor is mistaken. We are not heretics. It is only she who talks of death. We prefer a discourse on life. I can think of no greater pleasure than to worship the Omniscient and I urge you all to maintain your faith and bring others to you. All we ask for is that you understand that we work within the faith of the Omniscient, never ever against Him.'
The crowd had fallen completely silent while Arducius spoke. He jumped down from the fountain and walked across the space to face the Chancellor.
'It's tired, Felice, this declamation of yours. In a decade, we have saved hundreds, liberated thousands and harmed no one. We will take those who wish to go with us back to Estorr and you will not stop us, nor will your lap dog draw his sword.'
Beside the Chancellor, Horst Vennegoor, Prime Sword of the Armour of God tensed and growled.
'Save it, Vennegoor,' said Arducius
. 'When you first crossed us in
Westfallen a decade ago, you were past your best. Now you're just old.'
Felice Koroyan hushed Vennegoor's retort and took a pace forward to stand toe-to-toe with Arducius.
'You have always been, and will always be, an abomination,' she said quietly. 'And one day, you or one of your bastard brothers and sisters will transgress. The ear of the Advocate will turn back to me and you will have no friends. All I have to do is wait.'
Arducius smiled and Ossacer saw the anger settle on him. 'We will never give you the satisfaction, Felice. I know why you fight us. It is because you fear one day your crimes against us will come back and bite you. It is only by the grace of the Advocate and the laws of tolerance in our Conquord that you are still alive, let alone still the Chancellor. But while the Advocate might forgive and forget, we Ascendants never will. One day, you will be gone and the Ascendancy and the Order will be as one, as the Omniscient surely intends.'
The Chancellor's face was grey and angry.
'Your words speak your guilt,' she said. 'And one day I will watch you burn.'
'Don't hold your breath,' said Arducius. He turned back to Ossacer and Harkov. 'Come on. Plenty of work to do yet.'
Chapter Three
859tb cycle of God, 1st day of
Genasrise
'All right, you can come in now.'
Her son's voice swelled Mirron's heart as it had done from his first newborn cry. She turned from the window overlooking the splendour of Estorr and walked from her bedroom to the main reception room. Through the partially open doors, she could hear the shuffling of feet and a low murmur. The beautiful scents of fresh-cut flowers and greenery wafted out and water trickled in the decorative fountain.
Her son was at her side.
'Look left first. Don't look right,' said the boy, putting a hand up to her face to shield the rest of the room from her eyes. 'All right,' she said.