Bray wanted to say more, feeling his temper rising towards Diagus for discovering his plans and for finding fault with them. But the door swung open and Elora and her song-sister stepped out.
Elora appeared surprised to see them there, then her face brightened into a smile that sent his heart soaring. She was dressed in the white and gold gown that she had worn the previous day, her hair curled to shining ringlets that hung to either side of her beautiful face, yet the only natural blonde lock still dangled separate to the rest as if charged with opposing magnetic poles.
“Good morning, Otheena,” he said, quickly, anticipating her arms reaching up to embrace him and checked them before the other woman noticed. “Songstress.” He inclined his head briefly to the other. She smiled curtly back, then taking Elora by the arm, led her off along the path. He and Diagus followed, keeping in step a few paces behind.
Lamps brightened the way to the church, casting soft amber light along the path that their footfalls echoed along. The snow caps of the mountains, barely visible above the city, surrounded them like sentinel observers making silent judgement. They paused briefly outside another dwelling to meet Miathlin, then continued the walk through the quiet city, unimpeded by others as the city slept.
Nobody spoke as they climbed the hundreds of steps that wound up to the church, the only sound was the scraping of slippers and the quickening of breath from Miathlin and Athena.
The sharp spires of the church ran the rest of the way to the summit: tall arches carved from the same side of rock, angled out, sloping down to the base that made the floor, this side of the building rested upon. Underneath them were the colossal pillars that swept down the rock face. Bray found the entire structure a wonder of engineering, made even more wondrous as only half the building was on the outside of the rock face, the other half was inside the mountain.
Miathlin raised a hand to stop him and Diagus proceeding any further.
“I’m sorry gentlemen, this is as far as you may go. Only Minuans are allowed in the church,” she explained.
Diagus shrugged. “So be it. We’ll stay out here until after the song.”
Miathlin raised an eyebrow. “That is your choice of course. But I can assure you that nothing will happen to Otheena. She is quite safe.”
Diagus inclined his head and pulled his cloak tighter around him. It was clear to anyone he wasn’t going anywhere.
Bray watched the woman pass through the huge doors, Miathlin put a finger to her lips as the sound of the Eversong echoed from within.
As Elora passed over the threshold she glanced at him and mouthed the words “I love you,” he began to say them back but the door closed behind her and sealed the sound in.
Diagus shook his head. “Love?” he said, making it sound like a mystery waiting to be solved. “Makes fools of men and ruins women. What’s the point of it?”
“What’s your point Shadojak?” Bray snapped, fighting the impulse to follow Elora in.
Diagus raised a notched eyebrow, clearly unused to having his former Shaigun speak to him in such a way. Well he can stick it up his miserable arse. Yet Diagus’s next words shocked Bray.
“Can’t say I understand it. Thought I loved somebody once.” Diagus puffed his cheeks out, then blew the air threw his lips. “Can’t have loved her though, if I gave her up to be Shadojak.”
Now it was Bray’s turn to raise an eyebrow. He had never pictured his old master ever being doe-eyed over anything. Maybe that was why he was so bitter, his demeanour so grim towards everyone. Had he lived with regrets for most of his life?
They both stared down into the city, a few dwellings beginning to show signs of life, lamps being lit, wisps of smoke from chimneys rising black against the grey of the slate as Aslania began to wake up. The first signs of dawn appeared above the peaks, a blood red haze rising against black giant teeth. Bray couldn’t help but get the feeling it was a bad omen.
He caught movement on the steps below. It was a gate guard, running at some speed, his silver helmet held under one hand as he came panting up the steps. Sweat clung to his red face as he halted before them.
When he tried to speak his words were lost within his heavy breathing. Bray held a hand up. “Steady yourself, you don’t want to get dizzy and fall all the way back down again.”
The guard put his hands on his knees and bent over, sucking in air as he calmed himself down. Once he got his breath back he attempted speaking once again but it was clear he wasn’t comfortable speaking in the common tongue.
“Two peoples, go gate,” he said, holding up two fingers. “Speaking for Shadojak?”
“They want to speak with me?” asked Diagus, pressing his thumb to himself.
The guard nodded.
“Who are they?” Bray questioned.
The guard seemed to consider his words, probably choosing what might sound right.
“One of man, with hair on face. One of woman...” He gestured a swinging motion over his shoulder, both hands held together.
“A hammer?” asked Bray, holding his hands apart, showing the length of the Fist of the North.
The guard nodded, enthusiastically.
“Ejan and Nathanial. I thought they were to remain hidden,” said Diagus, then glanced at Bray. “We better see what they want. Must be important.” Then inclined his head down the steps.
Bray got the message. The ‘We’, meant himself. He didn’t want to leave Diagus here alone, not trusting the Shadojak with Elora, should something go wrong. Yet it was clear from the guard’s appearance that they were urgently needed at the gatehouse. It seemed Diagus read his mind.
“Don’t worry, lad. I’ve no intention of taking my blade out, even after the job’s done. I think the girl’s proved herself to me.”
Bray felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
“I’ll only take out my sword if Solarius himself raises his monstrous head. Now get yourself to the gatehouse before this lad spontaneously combusts.”
Elora stood at the font, her hand pressed lightly against the basin which was twice as large as the one in the trial hall. Her mother and Miathlin stood facing her, their hands also upon the ancient stone vessel; Miathlin already singing the first verse of the Eversong.
The beginnings of the day shone through a large circular window, bathing the large circular hall in red light, mixing with the ghostly white reflections from the sphere that spun upon the font’s water with her song-sister’s voice.
The font itself stood upon a raised platform that was suspended above a large well, The Well of Redemption - that sank into the ground; disappearing deep into the bowels of the mountain. Runes and symbols were etched into the wall of the well, spiralling down into the depths, glowing with the soft light that seemed to feed from the font itself.
Elora stared down into the darkness of the well; to where Solarius was bound by the song which had been sung perpetually, since Minu had first begun singing it, thousands of years ago. Her father was beneath her, bound in a lost cavern in the mountains – did he know she was above him?
When they first entered the large hall, through a smaller atrium which sealed them from outside noise, Elora was amazed to see another trio already at the font performing the Eversong. She watched as one Songstress began to sing the final verse and her sister began to sing the first so the song was being overlapped. Word and pitch perfect, the beautiful sound echoed around the circular hall as the sphere spun upon the water in the font.
