Without a King (Greatest Thief 1, mxm)

Chapter Fourteen

Baisan was waiting for us at the entrance. Arms crossed, he leaned in the doorway as if he was guarding Castin against Siour. I held out the jar. "The best available. It'll stop the cut from going bad."

Baisan nodded without bothering to take it from me to inspect it. "I've got another favour to ask. Take Stria to the temple."

Kassia took the jar from my hand and gently pushed her way past Baisan. We both watched her go.

"She's hysterical and worrying the others. Take her, have her talk to Anniva for a bit. I'd do it myself, but..." He hesitated and glanced over his shoulder. "We've been together for, I don't know, seven years? I don't think I can... If I leave, and he..."

"I understand. He's my brother too." I clapped Baisan on the shoulder as I walked past him. Inside, the room was much as I'd left it. The girls were crowded around Castin. Kassia was unwinding his bandage, the sewing kit already balanced on her knee. Orrun and Leker were sitting quietly in the corner. I nodded at them and walked over to the others. "Stria, come with me."

She glanced up at me in a panic, her eyes wide. She was still tightly holding Castin's hand. "What do you want?"

"Come to the temple with me." I spoke as calmly as I could. "We should ask Anniva for help."

"You go." She turned back to stare at Castin's face. He was pale, and I tried not to look at him.

"No, Stria. You need to do it." I crouched and touched her arm. "Anniva will feel how strongly you care about him, and that'll convince her to help. There's nothing you can do here for now, in any case. Kassia has to stitch the cut and Baisan's watching the door. Trust me, Siour's not getting through anytime soon, so come with me."

I let her think about it. A few minutes passed before her grip on Castin's hand relaxed and she shakily stood up. I got up with her and put an arm over her shoulders.

It wasn't really a temple. Before the Telts had landed, Zianna had a large temple in the upper city, and many smaller shrines spread around the rest of the city. The Telts hadn't approved of our beliefs, and tried to destroy the temples throughout the entire kingdom. Three of the statues had been rescued from Zianna's great temple and hidden away.

Their current home, the building we called a temple even though it wasn't one, used to be an warehouse. I had to guide Stria through the wooden doors as if she was sleepwalking. The first room was small and empty aside for a small table holding some candles. They were all lit, as usual, since the priest often checked on them. I picked one up and gently took Stria's hand.

The second room was larger. It was lit by the raised trough that ran down the centre of the room. It held wood and oil, which burned gently, casting a warm glow on the statues at the far end of the room. The three statues were a little bigger than life size, and were the only ones remaining from the ancient temple. In the middle stood Zianesa, the goddess of the earth and patron to the kingdom. She was wearing a dress that had once been green and a crown carved to look like it was made of wood. Her hands hung down at her sides with her fingers spread to meet the vines that were reaching up from around her feet.

Her sister Kitsa, the goddess of the air, was to the left. Unfortunately, her statue was not in good condition. Her hands had once been clasped in front of her chest, but long ago had broken off and left two stumps that cut off near the elbow. There was no paint remaining on her dress, but it would have been white. She was staring up at the ceiling, towards the sky she ruled.

Their brother, Roe, stood on the right. Like Kista, he was worn down, so much so that it was impossible to tell where the cloth wrapped around his waist was meant to start. His right hand held the remains of what was once a spear, and his left hand was stretched out and held open. He was supposed to be holding a small ship, but it had been stolen long before I was born. He was the god of the ocean.

Stria ignored them. Along the walls of the room were small niches, each holding a figure of a god or goddess. The smaller statues had been carved after the Telts' arrival, to replace the larger ones that had been lost. Stria quickly picked out the niche she wanted. The figure was a woman holding a box and sitting in a crescent moon. It was Anniva, the goddess of the moon and healing.

Stria knelt in front of the little statue and began to pray quietly under her breath. I walked away, giving her a little bit of privacy, and found the statue of Siour. He was carved entirely from a black rock, and was depicted as he usually was, standing in his chariot. It was pulled by two skeletal creatures that looked a bit like horses. Although the trip into the underworld wasn't supposed to be scary, Siour certainly was. Every Native child had nightmares about him pulling them onto his chariot. I sighed.

"Don't take him, Siour, please. We need him." I hesitated, and then started to mumble one of the traditional prayers to him in Old Ziannan. I didn't understand the words, no one did anymore, but we memorized the sounds as best we could. I often wondered if they'd been altered over the years, the meaning completely lost.

There was movement at the door and I moved back beside Stria protectively. Two women walked in, but paused when they saw us. Stria paid them no attention and I nodded a quick greeting. Getting interrupted was one of the downsides of a small temple, but everyone did their best to ignore each other. The women nodded in return and made their way across the room, stopping in front of the little statue of Lovi. I watched them a moment longer than I should have, and noticed them place a small stone in front of the statue.

I looked away before they would notice me watching. Our wedding ceremonies were fairly private, and I didn't want to interrupt their moment. Lovi had brought those women together, just as she'd brought Stria and Castin together. With a sigh, I glanced at the statue of Anniva. She had to help Castin. We annoyed each other constantly, but that's because we were brothers. He meant even more to Stria.

Stria finished her prayer, stood up and grabbed my hand. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she was no longer crying. Praying to the statues didn't make a huge difference in whether or not the gods would listen, but it certainly made us feel better.

The women both glanced over as we moved. One of them cleared her throat. "May Anniva heal your loved one," she said kindly, having clearly overheard.

"Thank you," Stria murmured.

"And may Lovi bless your union," I added, before squeezing Stria's hand gently and leading her from the temple.

On the way home, I stole a few slices of bread and almost had to force Stria to eat them. We saved one to try to give to Castin. Baisan was still hovering outside. Stria walked past him without a word, but I stopped.

"So?"

He shrugged dejectedly. "I don't know. Stria seemed calmer."

"A little."

"Can I talk to you two?" Kassia stepped outside and shivered. As usual, it had gotten colder once the sun had completely set. "You're in charge, aren't you?" She correctly looked to Baisan, who nodded slightly. "Right, well, I think he'll survive. I stitched his wound shut, and the salve Finn took should protect it from going bad. If you want, I can show the other girls how to properly bandage it up, and then I can get going."

Baisan glanced at me. I wasn't used to being consulted; usually he and Castin made all the decisions. I didn't know how to react. Baisan sighed. "Kassia, do you have somewhere to go?"

She looked a little shocked by the question. "I guess not. I lived with my mother, but she died and our landlord won't let me stay in the building." She shrugged. "So, I'm alone."

"You can stay with us," Baisan offered quietly. He didn't like letting others join us, hence why in the past four years only Leker and Orrun had been allowed. We'd become a family, the only family most of us had, and it was hard to let people in, but he was desperate. I could see it even though he pretended he wasn't. "At least until Castin's better. Then if you want to move on, you can."

Kassia smiled. "I'd love to stay, thank you."

Baisan looked at me. "Finn will answer any questions you have." Without another word, he turned and walked back into the building.

I stared after him with narrowed eyes. This was Castin's sort of job. I wasn't sure if I liked being second in command.