The girl smiled. ‘I do not think so.’
Chapter Twenty
In her private apartments Mejana stripped off her blood-soaked clothing and stood naked before a full-length mirror. There was no sign of a wound upon her pale flesh. Not even a mark to show where the knife blade had punctured the skin. Tidy, as always, Mejana carried the stained clothes to a laundry basket and dropped them inside. Then she dressed in another voluminous gown, this one of pale green linen. Returning to her outer rooms she saw the girl sitting by the window, looking out over the bay.
Mejana paused and stared at her. Outwardly she looked no different to the naive villager she had found wandering the city, the shy girl she had taken to Baj. But something about her had changed. There was a radiance to her features and a new confidence in her movements.
‘How are you feeling?’ asked Sofarita.
‘Better than I expected. How did you master the Avatar crystals?’
‘I have no crystals, Mejana. The power is mine alone.’
‘I had no sense of it when I last met you,’ said the older woman, moving to a large chair and sitting opposite the girl.
‘It had not manifested itself at that time. Now it has. And all is changed.’
‘And now you serve the Avatar?’
‘No. I serve no-one.’
‘Yet you dwell with Questor Ro and you saved his life.’
‘Indeed I did – and would do so again. Just as I saved yours.’
‘Mine is worth saving,’ said Mejana. ‘I have a mission and a purpose. To free my people from Avatar tyranny.’
Sofarita shook her head. ‘No, you desire only revenge for the death of your daughter. But your motives are not important now.’
‘What is important, then?’ asked Mejana.
‘The defeat of the Almecs. They are a cruel and malevolent people, ruled by a goddess of crystal. She is fed by blood, by ritual sacrifice. If they succeed here then the Vagars and all the people under their dominion will be merely food for the goddess.’
‘My daughter was food for the Avatar. She fed their crystals with her life.’
‘I am not defending the Avatar, Mejana. Their day is almost gone. However, I want you to trust me. I want you to understand how terrible is this new enemy.’
‘What are you asking of me?’ snapped Mejana.
‘The Almecs have landed armies upon the coast and they are sailing to attack the Mud People at Morak. More ships are arriving daily along the coastlines. Soon there will be thousands of Almec warriors. It is vital that we co-ordinate our efforts. You have contacts with Ammon and the tribes. Your grandson Pendar is close to the Patiakes. He made a friend of their king.’
‘Until Viruk slew him,’ Mejana pointed out.
‘That is past. Viruk slew Judon, you killed Baliel, and ordered the deaths of others. You did not listen as Baliel cried for mercy. You held his legs as he thrashed around in the barrel.’
‘How do you know these things?’ whispered Mejana.
There are no secrets I cannot find,’ Sofarita told her. ‘But, as I said, this is all in the past. In two hours I shall meet with Questor General Rael. You will be there. Together you will plan the campaign against the Almecs.’
Mejana laughed. ‘Rael will have me arrested and crystal-drawn.’
‘He may,’ agreed Sofarita. ‘But that is a risk you will take.’
‘Why should I?’
‘Because if the Almecs are comprehensively defeated you will be closer to your goal. Freedom for the Vagars. The coming battles will exhaust the Avatar. At that point change will be inevitable.’
‘You ask a lot of me. So tell me, what do you gain from all of this?’
‘I will merely die,’ said Sofarita. ‘Now take my hand, and I shall show you the nature of the enemy.’
Rael had never been more angry. He struggled to speak through his rage. ‘How dare you!’ he stormed. ‘How dare you bring this murderess into my company?’
Mejana sat silently, watching the Questor General. Niclin stood back, his eyes hooded, his emotions masked. Questor Ro stood in the archway to the garden, his eyes on the calm, tranquil figure of Sofarita, seated on a low couch. Rael loomed above her, his face ashen. ‘I would sooner die than deal with such … such scum!’
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