just because the girl had fallen. Only then did Yasha reveal what everyone else in the compound already knew: that every morning for the past week, VexâMara Kadeja, fallen priestess of the Vekshi goddess Ashasa and now the foremost consort of Vex Leoden, had read the omens, seeking the proper day to make a dusk offering to Ashasa in the Square of Gods. That sheâd declared her intentions openly beforehand was an act of breathtaking heresy, almost equal in kind to her choice of venue. Though situated in the Warren, the holy fountain in the Square of Gods was no less sacred to the Kenan pantheon than if it had been part of the palace temple.
Of course, none of them had any way of knowing if today had been that day â not until Zech returned, at any rate â but as soon as Yasha spoke, Gwen knew in her bones that it was, of course it was, because the Many as she understood it was incapable of working any other way. Kadejaâs decision to worship Ashasa in the Square of Gods was roughly equivalent to the Queen of England holding a full Christian mass in the Dome of the Rock. What else would happen, but that her charge be caught up in events she couldnât possibly understand?
âWhy didnât you tell me?â Gwen asked Pix, her voice low and dangerous.
Pix flushed. âWould it have changed anything if I had? It was out of our hands. You didnât need another reason to worry about the girl.â
âYes,â said Gwen, through gritted teeth, âbut if youâd told me Kadeja was planning a jaunt to the Square of Gods, I might have ridden a different route to avoid it!â
âEnough!â snapped Yasha, thumping her staff on the floor. âWeâll know soon enough whatâs happened.â
Gwen bit back a retort, knowing the old woman was correct, but not liking it. She glanced at the bed, where an exhausted Trishka slept in a swaddle of blankets. Though sheâd woken briefly to greet Gwen, sheâd subsequently lapsed back into sleep. The power needed to open portals between worlds was considerable even before you factored in Trishkaâs physical frailties, and while Yasha made periodic attempts to dissuade her daughter from overexertion, it was only a formality. Trishkaâs magic demanded use, and after her one disastrous attempt at suppression all those years ago, there was no question of her repeating it.
A wild thumping on the door disrupted Gwenâs reverie. Yasha responded at once, revealing the same messenger boy whoâd previously announced Pix.
âTheyâre back!â he said, but there was a gulp to his words. âTheyâre⦠Zech said I should run for one of Teketâs Kin.â
âDo it,â Yasha said. Nodding fearfully, the boy vanished, leaving Gwenâs imagination to conjour up all the very worst reasons why Saffron might need a healer.
Without another word, Gwen, Pix and Yasha left the room, hurrying down the hall and out into the courtyard. They were just in time to see the gates pulled close behind a haggard-looking Zech, who was barely managing to keep Saffron upright.
âLights!â Yasha roared, and several onlookers scrambled to obey, their features obscured in the evening blue. But Gwenâs eyes were sharp as ever, and despite the darkness, she saw what the matriarch could not: that VexâMara Kadeja had found her precious omen in Saffron Coulter.
âGods be good,â she whispered, and ran to them. Saffron was dead on her feet, clutching her left arm sideways across her body. Her taal hung awkwardly from her hips, forcing her to stumble over its hem. Her head was shaved, and her hand was bloody.
âGot her,â Zech croaked, staggering back as Gwen put an arm around Saffronâs waist and lifted her up. The girl was deadweight, but not yet unconscious; she whimpered at the contact, still clutching her maimed hand. Despite the urgency of the situation, Gwen nonetheless