Jorad pushed through the curtain, the black knife drawn, and grim determination etched across his face by the flickering firestick. “You will not leave the Cor until you give me the counterpart to the hammer, the medallion Kate was wearing. It belongs in the Cor. You, however, do not belong here and never will.”
“Those are strong words.” The old woman stood to her feet and stood next to Corvan. “How did you come by this knowledge?”
Jorad glared steadily at Corvan. “What I have learned is that even the innocence of youth is false. I have decided to take matters into my own hands.”
The old woman leaned forward and peered into Jorad’s face. “And what do you intend to do with a medallion?”
Jorad turned his attention to her and stood up straighter. “As the new High Priest, it is my job to ensure that there is a balance of power between the palace and the priests. A medallion will give me the leverage I require to ensure that the palace cooperates.”
Corvan threw his hood back. “You aren’t talking about the palace.” He shook his head in disgust. “You mean Tyreth, don’t you? You don’t even trust the woman you hope to convince to marry you.”
Jorad pushed the tip of the knife directly at him. “Not only were you spying on others, listening in on private conversations, but you also left a map in the dust. That’s how I knew exactly where to find you. It proves again how young and foolish you are. You know nothing of how to handle power. That is why you will never be a leader of the Cor.”
Corvan did not pull back from the blade. “I don’t want to be your kind of leader. I don’t want to control people; I want others to know that I care about them.”
Jorad’s gaze went to Corvan’s neck before lifting the point of the knife to Corvan’s throat. “Since you are leaving the Cor, give me the medallion you are wearing on that chain. In return, I will permit you and Kate leave through the Cor shield before I close it and then seal off this settlement.”
Corvan looked at the blade, then to Jorad’s face. “How do I know you are telling the truth?”
“Because I am now the High Priest of the . . .” Jorad’s voice trailed off. He stood blinking in the silence.
Corvan withdrew Gavyn’s medallion from within his cloak. For a brief moment, he regretted that this was only a replica and not the glowing one that soothed a person’s fears. The real one might actually heal Jorad’s hard heart.
Keeping his knife extended, Jorad yanked the silver disk from Corvan, biting into his neck and snapping the thin chain. Intense satisfaction shone in his eyes as he tucked it away. “My men will arrive any minute with enough fire sticks to seal off the tunnel to this settlement. If you wish to try and leave through the crack in the Cor shield, you must go immediately. I cannot allow them to see you.”
Corvan turned away from Jorad, bent down to Kate and gently shook her shoulders. “Wake up, Kate. It’s time to go.”
Her eyes fluttered and focused on his face. “Where are we going?”
“We are going home now. I’ll take you to see the stars.”
Kate nodded and Corvan helped her to her feet, covering the hand that still clutched the glowing medallion tightly. Pulling her close he whispered in her ear. “May I carry this for you while we walk, Kate? It would be nice to feel its warmth close by, just for a bit.”
To his surprise, Kate willingly released the medallion into his hand. He tucked it secretly away inside his tunic, glad for once it did not glow strongly for him.
Taking Kate by the hand, he led her into the kitchen room.“Why is it so dark out?” she asked.
“It’s nighttime,” Corvan said.
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“Where are all the stars?”
“They’re covered up right now,” Corvan replied, “but we’ll see them soon.”
Jorad held aside the curtain into the entry. “Quickly now. We have no time to loose.”
Corvan helped Kate out of the dwelling and into the Molakar cavern. Jorad followed and once they were outside the door, he lit a long firestick and held it aloft to light their way.
From the entry a thin voice called out, “Farewell, Cor-Van. May you walk in the truth until we meet again.”
“Wait here a minute,” Corvan said to Kate, releasing her hand and running back to hug the hunched-over shoulders. He crouched low and looked into her eyes. “How can I say good-bye? I don’t even know your name.”
“My name is Saray.” She kissed his cheek and lowered her voice to a whisper. “When you come back to us, you must be sure to find me. I can help you become a great Cor-Van.” Reaching into his cloak she unclipped Gavyn’s carved hammer, turned it over in her hands, fumbled with the holster and then clipped it back into place. “You must keep this as your pledge to return to us. Unless you return this to the Cor, our people will continue to suffer.”
“You don’t understand,” Corvan said softly, glancing back to make sure Jorad was not coming closer. “The real hammer is with Tyreth. Gavyn made this one, and also that medallion I gave to Jorad.”
Saray nodded and patted his arm and smiled. “It’s alright. I understand where all this is going and soon you will too.”
“The others are arriving.” Jorad called out, pointing at a faint glow coming from the entrance into Molakar from the Kadir cavern. “The Captain informed me he was going to in bring his own guards along with my men to ensure we close off Molakar completely. We need to move quickly.”
Saray gave him a tear-filled smile. “Until we meet again, Cor-Van,” she said, then turned back to her dwelling.
Corvan ran back, took Kate by the hand and moved along the path.
Jorad fell in behind them. “Do not think you were sent to be our Cor-Van,” Jorad said. “A Cor-Van must know how to wield power and shape the world in which he lives. Instead, you have been used by others to accomplish their goals. That is not the destiny of a Cor-Van.”
Corvan did not respond. There was no point arguing with Jorad. He tightened his grip on Kate’s hand and pulled her faster down the path.
On the far side of the karst, they entered a roughly hewn cavern full of plants and debris. A bit of light shone out from clusters of smaller lumiens overhead. Farther along, a new corridor ran straight ahead between crude stone support pillars cut out of the solid rock. At the end of the double row of ragged columns, a patch of the Cor shield was exposed against the cavern wall. A long crack ran up the center of the glossy rock, easily wide enough for a person to walk through.
“Do not touch the walls once you are inside,” Jorad urged. “Legend says the cracks in the Cor shield will close on any who touch the walls. I intend to seal it once you are through and protect our people from more intruders from the outside.”
As they stopped at the entrance into the crack, Kate turned back, left Corvan’s side and kissed Jorad on the cheek. “Thank you for helping us, Jorad,” she said, then returned to take Corvan’s hand.
The lines on Jorad’s face softened and he looked at Corvan. “I am sorry it turned out this way. I want to believe that you were deceived by the Watchers, that you did not know better.” He swallowed. “You do not know what evil they brought on us. Many good men were deceived by them—including my brother, Morgan. In turn, he betrayed my family . . . took my wife and child as prisoners to the palace and . . .” His forearm bulged as his fist clenched tight around the hilt of the black knife hanging at his side.
“I’m sorry, Jorad,” Corvan said, “but I promise you, I did not betray—”
Jorad’s eyes flashed. “No one who has been in the company of the watchers can be trusted.” He gestured toward the crack with the blade. “You must leave the Cor and never return.”
Corvan looked into his eyes. “I understand how much you must hate the Watchers. I only hope it does not blind you to the truth.”
Jorad sheathed the knife. “I no longer believe that truth exists.”
“It does,” Corvan said. “I know it has changed me for the better.”
“Then you are more fortunate than most.” Jorad held out the fire stick. “You may need this on the other side. Go quickly. I will stall them as long as I can.”
Corvan took the fire stick and stuck out his other hand to shake Jorad’s.
Jorad looked at Corvan’s hand, then back to his face. His jaw tensed, then he turned abruptly and strode out into the darkness between the pillars.
As soon as Jorad was past the closest column, a shadow stepped out. Corvan’s heart thumped in his chest. Was it the Rakash? One of the gray men?
A tiny fire stick, like a lone votive candle in a huge cathedral, came to life in the high shadows, throwing its feeble light up the stone spire.
Below the light, A small figure stood in the darkness.
Tsarek was alive and he was waving good-bye. Corvan waved back, his eyes brimming with tears. When he blinked them away both the light and his friend were gone.