Song of Ashes

52: The Scales of Fortune

As she realized to whom Atai had referred, the peace that had settled over Sarka was broken. She hardly had time to think: a man materialized in the same breath, standing near the front of Atai's small temple chamber.

The newcomer wore layered robes in brilliant colors and rich with embroidery. At his waist was tied a trailing sash. He had an intelligent face with an expression of keen attention, framed with black hair that flowed down to his shoulders. Floating in the center of his forehead was a golden crescent, glowing with light.

He was the very image of the figurehead that had adorned Etza's ship: the God of the Crescent.

"Jalea," Atai said. He lowered his shoulders and the stump of his neck in a semblance of a bow. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

Jalea took Atai in at a glance, unperturbed by the headless god's appearance. "I have come to collect my due," he said. His voice was soft, yet resonant. Sarka's anxiety turned to fear.

"Your due?" Atai's smile was as warm and patient as ever. "Forgive me. What can you mean?"

"You know what I mean." Jalea addressed Atai's shoulders, paying no mind to his face. He lifted his chin and looked over at Sarka with hooded eyes. "She belongs to me-and how convenient that I should also find him here." He glanced at Ro. "I shall take them both."

Sarka rose to her feet. Ro, who had been sitting silently until now, stood up too. He angled his body so that he stood partly in front of Sarka. Although his expression was calm, a tight-wound energy radiated from him, and Sarka was reminded of her first encounter with Ro, a spear-wielding soldier in the night.

"Sarka and Ro belong to no one but themselves," said Atai. The pleasant warmth had faded from his voice.

"You claimed the girl as your servant and thereby offered her your protection. Yet she has taken no vows, and she is hardly the picture of devoted servitude, Atai. I grow tired of this play-acting of yours." Jalea fixed Sarka with his eyes. They were unsettlingly blue, the color of the skies over the ocean: endless and distant. "She is responsible for the deaths of my followers. She must pay for the violence that has been done against my people. And he is guilty of much the same crime."

"They were fleeing for their own lives. What happened to your people is unfortunate, but they are not to blame."

"They broke the laws of their goddess. In so doing, they wrought destruction on my children. I will have them." Jalea leveled his gaze at Atai.

"You have no power here in my temple. And that you propose to punish those who stood against the one who is actually responsible for the deaths of your people is bewildering, my lord. Myself? I will speak against Kogoren. It was her order that led to the deaths of Captain Etza and her crew on The Crescent."

The God of the Crescent stared at him for a moment. Then, he seemed to gather himself up, and he took a step back. "Very well. You will not hand them over. Your reputation for coddling weaklings is well-known. Keep your flock in the fold, though, Atai, for if these criminals step foot past your threshold, I will have them. And mark my words: I will be watching." Jalea turned to go.

"Wait."

Jalea paused, looking back over his shoulder with astonishment at Sarka, who had spoken. She pushed Ro aside and stepped forward. "You want justice?"

"I do. Justice means punishment for those who have done wrong," said Jalea.

"Then punish Kogoren."

The God of the Crescent laughed in apparent surprise. "You are a bold creature, and foolish. She was within her rights to send the Beloved to fetch back what was hers: you. You are the one who slipped their grasp, turning their attention to my people."

"If you think that, you are stupid." The atmosphere had turned brittle, but Sarka was unabashed. "Where were you when your people were crying for mercy? You are no better than Kogoren: you left them to die."

"Impudent wretch!" Jalea's hand curled into a fist, and Sarka could tell that were she not in the Temple of Atai, he'd be wringing her neck.

"Stand with us against her. That is the only way you will get justice for those she killed." An image of Captain Etza lying dead on the sand crossed Sarka's mind, and she shivered. "I would never have brought harm upon the sailors of The Crescent, my lord. It was not my intent to put anyone other than myself in harm's way."

"She could not have known that they would be punished for her actions," said Ro. "And I did not know, either. When Sarka realized the price of their aid, she asked the Beloved to protect the crew of the Jewelwave. They're safe because of her."

"They were in danger because of her-and because of you," said Jalea "The cost of your treachery should not have been their price and mine to pay."

"You need not fear any Annari sailor being stupid enough to take on a Kogorian refugee again," Sarka said. "The tale will have spread by now. Etza herself was reluctant to take me in the first place. It's my fault she's dead, she and her crew. I know that. But the Beloved who would have killed me and the crew of the Jewelwave are allies to us now. I intend to free those who showed us mercy. And I intend to find a way to bring Kogoren's reign of terror down. Consider that your justice, my lord. When she is stripped of her power, she will no longer be a danger to your people, or to mine."

"You are but a human girl. Weak, small, and foolish. What harm can you propose to do to the Mother of Ashes? She has reigned in Kogoren since time immemorial. She was there before I was born into my own power. There before Atai was born into his. She is eternal."

"Not without her priests," Konn said. "And there are none of those left. None, at least, who are loyal to her."

Jalea curled his lip in disgust. "I will not stand here to listen to this," he said. "You are both her children. What you propose is worse than treachery, worse than treason. It is blasphemy and deicide."

"I am not asking you to help us. I am simply asking you to stay out of our way," said Sarka.

Now Atai spoke, cautioning her with his tone. "Sarka."

She acknowledged his words with a glance, but continued. "When I bring her down, my lord, it will be in the name of everyone she has ever hurt-including Captain Etza and her crew. They were blameless. Their deaths were a tragedy."

"And if you do not bring her down?" Jalea said, raising his brows.

"Then I suppose I shall die in the attempt. And if not...well, come and get me. Just give me the time to try."

The God of the Crescent measured her with his gaze, his lips pressed together. "I will not wait forever for you to complete your suicide mission, girl. The scales of fortune must be balanced."

Atai said, "Sarka goes under my protection now, Jalea. We are determining how best to proceed in the interest of justice and peace, not revenge. It grieves me that Kogoren claimed the lives of some of your people. It grieves me sorely. But more death will not undo the damage that has been done."

Jalea frowned at Atai. "You do not have a reputation for wisdom, nor for taking sound advice, Headless One," he said, "but I will try, all the same: be wary of whom you welcome into your temple. You may well make enemies."

He turned with a sweep of his robes and vanished.