Page 80 of Echoes of the Raven
All right, Goddess. I shall listen.
Taking a deep breath, I face Calierin and Kadewyn, my expressions stern. “Rífíor isn’t lying,” I declare. “Icanreopen the veil.”
Calierin laughs. “You two are really made for each other, huh? What sort ofbréagahis this? Did you bring her to the catacombs as a decoy to lead her guards to us? Were you party to that plan? Was it all a scheme you two came up with to get rid of the veilfallen?”
“Paranoia will be your downfall, Calierin,” Rífíor says. “Believe what you will. It doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t change what Valeria and I are going to do. With time, you will know the truth. And you will thank us when you are able to cross back into Tirnanog. This is what I have been working hard to accomplish since I joined the veilfallen. I have never lost sight of the real goal. You, on the other hand, care more about castigating humans than anything else.”
I wince at his choice of words, but they aren’t wrong. Calierin takes pleasure in inflicting pain on my kind. She was gleeful every time she had the chance to torment me, and always harbored the grim expectation that she’d be allowed to do worse the next time.
It suddenly occurs to me that if Calierin goes back to Tirnanog she might come back with an army of people just like her. I shiver at the prospect, which Jago has seen more clearly from the beginning. What if reopening the veil is a mistake?
If you can open it, you can close it again,a small voice says inside my head. Yes. I need to keep this possibility in mind. I can’t lose sight of what’s right due to fear.
Rífíor goes on. “It’s up to you. You can either go back to the capital, or you can help us get there and witness the miracle we have been praying for all this time.”
Kadewyn’s brow furrows. “Castellan guards are after you,” his words are thoughtful. “We saw them on the road. They seemed… desperate. That’s why you need our help.”
Rífíor nods in assent. “Yes, and I feel it is only a matter of time before they get clever enough and find us.” A pause. “What do you say then?”
Kadewyn thinks for a moment, his pale eyes roving over the ground as he seems to ponder every aspect of the situation.
“Are you seriously considering going with him again?” Calierin demands. “After the way he betrayed us? Have you lost your mind?”
Kadewyn shrugs. “Why else would he be traveling west with her?”
“The hells if I know, but we did not come here to fall into one of his traps again.”
“Given that your original goal failed,” Rífíor puts in, “perhaps you should reconsider.” He puts on a crooked grin.
“Fuck you!” Calierin spits.
“Hate me all you want, Calierin, but you can’t afford to dismiss me—not when you are already trying to remember if Tirnanog really smells as sweet as in your memories.”
“Think about it, Kadewyn,” Calierin says, “if she can really reopen the veil, it means her family was the one responsible for its collapse in the first place and every single one of them must pay for all we have suffered.”
“My family had absolutely nothing to do with the veil’s collapse,” I say. “I think you have been barking up the wrong tree all along,” I direct a pointed glance at Rífíor, “and the person responsible for all of it has been cleverly hiding amongst you all along.”
Rífíor blows air through his nose, unamused. “Such an overactive imagination.”
“Why would she say that, Rífíor?” Kadewyn asks.
Rífíor sneers. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Kadewyn doesn’t say anything else, but his expression tells me he sees merit in my words. Unlike Calierin, he seems like someone who uses his brain. After a long moment, he makes up his mind. “All right, I’ll go with you. I’ll help.” He starts walking in our direction.
“You cannot be that stupid,” Calierin insists.
Kadewyn glances over his shoulder. “Like Rífíor said, if there is the slightest chance that this is true, I cannot afford to doubt him. I care not about revenge, Calierin. All I care about is seeing my wife and daughter again, and I would not forgive myself if the veil reopens, and I go one more day without them.”
“Those heartstrings of yours have always been your weakness, and one day, they will be the death of you.” Calierin is all resentment and taut muscles, while Kadewyn only looks resigned.
“Perhaps,” he says, “but following my heart has never led me to regret anything in my long life, and I am not about to turn a deaf ear when such a chance presents itself.” Turning his pale countenance to Rífíor, he says, “I’ll get my horse.”
“Kadewyn,” Calierin chides in one last effort to make him change his mind.
He glances over his shoulder. “What do you have to lose? You saw what that amulet did for her. Your magic was no match for it. Do you not want to find out what has the power to so easily best you?”
The sorceress’s expression changes, and I can see curiosity taking over. She will come. I have no doubt about it.
