Harvest of Dreams (The Gods' Dream Trilogy) (33 page)

As nauseated as Sadie felt about Tharon being Thaddis, killing him wasn’t right. She drew her sword out of the scabbard. The opals flashed blue in the light. “I won’t let you.”

“Thaddis always had women trailing after him,” Philan taunted. “More even than our princes, and they had plenty.”

Like a dart to her heart, the dig embedded in her already aching emotions. “Killing him right here, right now...in Guinheld’s temple...She’ll probably turn you into a frog.”

His brows creased together. “Frog?”

Never mind.
She waved her free hand in a dismissing motion.

Philan shrugged. “Withea’s sent me to protect Thaddis.”

“Protect him?”

“The Goddess says he’s necessary to defeat Ontarem.”

Before she could absorb Withea’s message and Philan’s about-face, a shout rang out, filled with fury.

Sadie pivoted to face the crowd and saw everyone’s attention was drawn to Jamm, the man without a leg.

Jamm balanced on his single leg, both crutches in one hand, the other pointed at Thaddis in accusation. “Defiler! Murderer! You killed my family. Our king and our princes. Demolished our city!” He went for Thaddis, hopping forward, swinging the crutches like a bat and wobbling to stay upright. He struck hard.

Sadie winced.

Thaddis made no move to avoid the blow, although the muscles in his back tensed. As the crutches caught his shoulder, he staggered, then straightened.

The crowd, who’d fallen silent, murmured. A few people gasped, and others called encouragement to Jamm.

With a smirk, Philan lowered his sword. “Crutches won’t kill Thaddis. Serves him right to be beaten up, though.”

Sadie shot the soldier a look of disgust.

The one-legged man jabbed Thaddis in the stomach.

With a grunt, Thaddis doubled over.

Sadie couldn’t bear to watch.
He deserves it
, she echoed Philan’s opinion.
Then why does this feel so wrong?
Torn between interfering and allowing revenge to take its course, Sadie raised her arm to slide her sword into the scabbard.

She noticed movement on the edge of the circle surrounding Thaddis. The big woman, who’d been one of their initial captors at the palace eased through. A crazed expression contorted her face. A knife flashed in her hand.

Sadie’s heart thumped into her throat.

Philan must have seen the same thing, for they moved as a team, leaping to land on each side of Thaddis, blades crossed in a protective barrier in front of the former king, a clear message for everyone to back off.

But Sadie could see from the insane gleam in the woman’s eyes that she would keep coming. Sadie grappled for a way to stop the woman without hurting her or anyone else. Frantic scenarios raced through her mind.

The woman bent her knees, obviously about to jump at them.

Before she could act, Devore slipped behind the woman and gripped her shoulder. A whoosh of power flowed from the Archpriest into her, and she crumpled. Devore caught her limp body and then handed her to some other priests who carried her off.

The Archpriest approached Thaddis and laid his left hand gently on the former king’s stomach and the right on his shoulder where Jamm had hit him. Although Thaddis had a stoic expression on his face, Sadie knew he must be hurting.

This time, Sadie saw Devore send orange sparkles of energy into the bruised areas and couldn’t help but feel awe at the workings of the Goddess.

As he was released from pain, Thaddis straightened. “My thanks, Devore,” he said in a low voice. “Although I don’t deserve for the Goddess to waste Her energy on me.”

“That is for Her to choose,” Devore said in a tone of reproof. “You survived Guinheld’s ordeal. She healed you. Do not throw away that gift.”

Philan sheathed his sword. “Withea still has need of you,” he said in a grudging tone.

Thaddis flicked him a look, but didn’t respond. He gave Devore a slight bow. “My apologies to you and to the Goddess.”

Devore stepped in front of Thaddis and faced the crowd, holding up his arms for silence. When all eyes were on him, the Archpriest spoke. His voice, amplified by the power of Guinheld, rang through the temple. “Thaddis of Ocean’s Glory, also known as Tharon, is under the divine protection of the Goddess Guinheld. He is not to be harmed by any. Guinheld, Herself, tested Thaddis and knows his true heart.” He twisted to level a firm look at Philan and Sadie.

His true heart.
Sadie wasn’t sure what that meant, but the words gave her a boost of hope. She sheathed her sword.

Philan did likewise.

“We prepare for war,” Devore continued. “And by the will of the Goddesses Guinheld and Withea, Thaddis will lead our army.” His gaze swept the room, seeming to touch every person. “Do I have your understanding?” He focused on Jamm.

Jamm nodded. One by one, the people followed suit.

Sadie watched closely but didn’t see anyone refuse to acknowledge Devore’s command.

Devore lowered his arms. “Seagem’s soldiers, come here,” he ordered. “All other citizens of Seagem are free to stay in Zacatlan or to return to Yadarius’s city. The window will open every morning and evening for traffic between our two lands. If you wish to stay but have no friends or kin who live here—go to your priestess.” He pointed to where Wenda stood. “She will escort you to our guest hall.”

With murmurs and movement, hugs and goodbye kisses, people made their choices.

A few hardy souls walked to the window and stepped through. The rest disbursed. When everyone had left the temple, about twenty soldiers remained, all who had obviously been injured. A man with his arm chopped off at the elbow guided one whose vacant blue eyes looked shell-shocked. The group moved to stand in front of Devore. All of them stared at Philan, hope or envy or fear on their faces.

Devore waved to Philan. “The Goddess Withea has healed Philan. She and Guinheld will combine Their forces to heal you as well. You need to be whole to fight. This will take much power from the Goddesses. So if any wish not to engage in battle, let him step back. If we prevail, perhaps healing will be available in the future, although I cannot promise that.”

No one moved.

Devore turned to Philan. “Withea’s
Tanmargis
. Lead these men to your Goddess’s healing waters.”

Philan bowed to Devore. “Gladly, will I do so, Guinheld’s
Archpriest,
” he echoed.

Sadie couldn’t help but smile at Philan’s exact replication of Devore’s syntax.

Philan pointed at the entrance to Withea’s temple. “Through there, men. Nothing to be afraid of. Doesn’t even hurt. I promise, She won’t turn you into...” He smirked at Sadie. “A frog.”

There was a rush, or at least as much of a rush as the wounded men helping each other could manage. Philan waited watched them all climb through the window before he turned and gave a mocking salute. He stepped over the threshold, and the door closed behind him.

Sadie watched the blank wall for a few minutes, imagining what might happen when the men met Withea. She closed her eyes to find the reservoir of othersense energy within her and sent it to the desert Goddess, a cool turquoise stream that matched the color of the opals on her sword hilt. To her surprise, the power twined with the coppery brown energy of another stream, coming from Thaddis. The two-colored spiral magnified many-fold and blasted to Withea.

Even though they’d never worked together with their energy, Sadie could feel their connection. She wanted to stay angry, to hold onto her hurt. But that was difficult when they were so open to each other. At the same time that she grappled with her emotions, Sadie struggled to contain and direct the power. It felt as if she was pushing an ocean wave.

As her personal energy drained, Sadie grew weak; dizziness sparkled gray flecks in front of her eyes. Before she could cut off the power, blackness overcame her. Her knees buckled, and she toppled over.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Astonished by the magnitude of his othersense power, far more than he’d possessed before, Thaddis tried to recall his rudimentary othersense lessons. But he hadn’t been in touch with his othersense since Ontarem took him over. Like two magnets, his power latched on to Sadie’s and increased still further. He staggered, buffeted by the strength of their sendings.

Awed, willing to give all he could to Withea, Thaddis let the energy stream flow out of him. But soon, through his connection to Sadie, he saw her becoming exhausted.
She doesn’t know how to stop!

He released the flow, and the dregs returned to their place within him. Off balance and dizzy from the experience, it took him a few seconds to steady and leap to Sadie’s side. But before he could help her shut down, he sensed the complete drain of her power and only had enough time to catch her before she crumpled to the ground.

Thaddis scooped her up. Her sword in the scabbard thumped against his leg. She lay white and still in his arms. To his relief, he saw the rise and fall of her chest. “Devore!” he shouted for help.

All are engaged in the healing process, Thaddis.
Guinheld’s voice was a tiny thread, as if all Her concentration lay elsewhere.
You must care for Sadie yourself.

He sent back his understanding and had the sense of a door closing, leaving him and Sadie on the outside.

Cheta whined.

“She’s all right, girl,” he told the dog. “Just depleted. We’ll have to teach her to let go.”

The dog nodded.

“Now, let’s get her back to her room so I can take care of her.”
I hope when she wakes up and sees me there, Sadie doesn’t take her sword to me.
“Maybe I’d better hide her knife and sword,” Thaddis told the dog, only half joking.

~ ~ ~

Feeling peaceful and sleepy, Sadie floated on her back on a sea of white clouds. The sensation felt so good that she allowed herself to drift, traveling with the breeze. After a time, her energy started to return, seeping into the empty place inside her.

She stretched, then leisurely rolled over to her stomach. The clouds beneath her cleared, and Sadie realized she was floating above an ocean, high as if she flew in an airplane.

No, she realized. Higher. She could see the edge of a continent, and when she focused on the land, her vision telescoped to a close-in view. Seagem. She recognized the place, perched above a boot-shaped harbor. Farther away, above another dent of land that must be a harbor, rose a bigger city.
Ocean’s Glory?

Zacatlan, inland from the ocean, with a ring of white-capped mountains surrounding the miniscule dome-shaped buildings, was easier to recognize. She supposed the brown swath around the mountains must be the desert she’d heard about, although a green patch in the middle could be where Withea held sway.

A pull from the left made her turn her attention to a gray mass across the sea. Sadie shivered and looked away, guessing that this continent must be where Ontarem lurked. In fact, she could see the dividing line of the Evil God’s territory because the ocean abruptly changed color from turquoise to gray-green.

Just inside Ontarem’s boundary and to the north, some dots punctuated the water. Sadie squinted, trying to see what they were. But either her eyes couldn’t focus, or murkiness hid them from her view.

Somehow, Sadie knew the dots were important. “Withea, Guinheld,” she called, asking for help, for othersense power. But nothing came from the Goddesses, and Sadie remembered the Deities were involved in the healing of Seagem’s soldiers.

Again, she tried to focus. This time a wave of energy wiped away the murkiness, giving her clarity. The power had a masculine essence, but one she experienced as good, and not at all what she thought Ontarem would feel like. “Thank you,” she sent in His direction.

As she concentrated on the dots, they sharpened into three islands. Sadie caught her breath, remembering the dream she’d had before she’d even come to this world. Suddenly everything she’d been learning crystalized.
That’s where Yadarius is captive!

Something glinted like diamonds, midway up on each island peak, beaming a light to triangulate into the ocean. She squinted, attempting to make out the power source, but couldn’t.

Sadie glanced around again, trying to memorize positions. When she felt she’d absorbed as much as was possible given that she had no knowledge of longitude and latitude—did they even have that here?—she turned toward Zacatlan and started to dive back into her body. But before she could move, something grabbed her ankles and held her fast.

~ ~ ~

Since there were no movable chairs in the guest quarters—hadn’t these people learned how to craft furniture of wood?—Thaddis sat on the edge of Sadie’s bed, holding her hand.

She lay pale and still, barely breathing. Beneath her eyelids, her eyes moved, and he wondered if she dreamed. As soon as he asked himself the question, he had a strong sense Sadie was in the midst of an othersense dream. He hoped whatever Goddess was involved wasn’t working her too hard.

Thaddis sat for a few minutes content to be in her presence, knowing that when she awoke, everything would change. Finally, hunger pangs stirred him to seek food.