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  Parallel rows of mats covered the floor of the new Shrine. As he followed the mixture of Aldatan estate members, Brothers, and younglings in, Kaid looked around for Dzaka. Catching sight of him sitting to the rear of the hall, he headed in his direction. Squatting down on the mat beside him, he flicked an ear in greeting.

  "I thought you'd still be at your meditation," said Dzaka, keeping his voice low.

  "I didn't want to miss this," Kaid replied, looking up to see Lijou emerge from behind the curtain at the opposite end of the hall.

  Circling round the unlit right-hand brazier, the Head Priest stopped in front of the plinth bearing the statue of the God. Lijou looked round the assembled people, his jaw dropping in a wide smile. "It's gratifying to see so many of you here today," he said. "And to see among you some familiar faces. Greetings to you all. We are well met in the presence of Vartra."

  Kaid and Dzaka joined in the reply. "Well met, Father Lijou."

  "From Stronghold, I have brought with me the traditional gifts," said Lijou. "Fire, incense, salt, and water. Let the torch be brought before our assembly that we can light the fires of truth and clear thought once more in our hearts."

  Kaid glanced sideways, seeing Ghyan enter from the rear of the hall carrying a blazing torch.

  The flames flickered in the dimly lit hall, sending shadows dancing as Ghyan walked slowly up to where Lijou stood between the two braziers.

  Lijou accepted the torch from him and stepping to the right-hand brazier, lit it first. The flames leaped upward, crackling and dancing as if alive. Moving to the other brazier, he touched the torch to it. A second time the flames leaped high before settling down.

  Handing the torch to Ghyan, Lijou once more took his place in front of the statue.

  "Let the incense be brought to sweeten the air and aid our meditation."

  Rulla entered this time, bearing a casket. As he approached Lijou, he lifted the lid, presenting him with the open box.

  From it Lijou took a handful of the resinous granules and stepping toward the first brazier, threw some into the heart of the flames. They flared up brightly, spitting and crackling as a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke began to billow upward. He repeated this with the second brazier.

  Rulla closed the casket and stood back, parallel to the statue, on the opposite side from Ghyan.

  "Let the water that sustains our life be brought that I may add my gift of salt to it," Lijou said, taking a pouch from his pocket and holding it aloft.

  The female who entered carrying the bowl of water was one of the Brothers newly come from Stronghold. Vaidou was her name. Kaid had seen her from a distance before, but as she drew level with them, he looked more closely at her. Her coloring was fair, almost as fair as the female he'd seen in his vision. A mane of amber-colored hair lay around her shoulders, making the black of her robes seem darker than it was.

  She approached Lijou, who poured the contents of the pouch into the bowl. Taking the knife from his belt, he held it in both hands and proceeded to slowly stir the contents of the bowl with it.

  "Let the water of life and salt of the earth be conjoined and purified," he said. Removing the knife, he wiped it meticulously on the empty pouch, then returned it to its sheath before taking the bowl from Vaidou. As she stepped back beside Ghyan, Lijou turned to the statue of Vartra and bowing, placed the bowl on the plinth at His feet.

  "Bless us who are here today, and bless this Shrine which we dedicate to You." He bowed once more before turning back to the assembly. "Before you pass in front of Vartra to give Him your offering of incense and to receive His blessing, let us take a few minutes to make our own prayers to Him."

  There was a little shuffling as people resettled themselves before lowering their heads.

  Do you really see and hear us, Vartra? thought Kaid as he let his chin drop against his chest. Has the weight of years passed turned You into a God? If You're listening, I need to know why. Why are You playing with us, shaking up our comfortable lives, sending us the Humans with their seductive talents that they don't believe exist? What's it all for, Vartra? In the silence, he thought he heard the sound of distant laughter.

  He jerked upright in shock, knocking Dzaka on the elbow as he did so. His foster-son's hand caught hold of him, steadying him as he swayed slightly.

  "Are you all right?" whispered Dzaka, a concerned look on his face.

  "I'm fine." He took a deep breath and tried to relax. The vision he'd had just under an hour ago was still affecting him more than he'd realized. "I'm fine," he whispered again. "I came out of my meditation trance a little too quickly, that's all."

  Dzaka let him go, still keeping a thoughtful eye on him.

  Everyone else was stirring now, beginning to get to their feet. Dzaka stood, holding out his hand to Kaid, who hesitated before taking it.

  "Thank you," he said as they fell in at the back of the queue waiting to pass in front of their God.

  As they came level with Rulla, in turn they reached out to take a pinch of incense from the casket to throw on the braziers. Kaid recited the ritual words under his breath, then stepped forward to put a fingertip in the bowl of water at the feet of the God.

  Finding himself eye to eye with the statue, he hurriedly looked away, dabbing the water on his forehead.

  "Bless me with the gift of clear thought," he said mechanically as his legs moved him down the hall to the exit where the light of day and the fresh air waited for him. The heavy scent of the incense was beginning to make his head ache.

  * * *

  The dedication of the Shrine over, Lijou thanked Rulla and Vaidou before accompanying Ghyan to his office.

  "How long before the Clan Lord arrives?" he asked the priest as Ghyan handed him a mug of c'shar.

  "Not long, Father," said Ghyan, sitting down opposite him.

  "How goes things with Liegen Aldatan and his bond-mate? Any idea if they've decided when they'll take the Fire Margins ritual?"

  "None. It hasn't been mentioned. Kusac's been studying with me for an hour or two most days over the last month," said Ghyan. "He's more at ease accepting the presence of some higher being that we call Vartra, so that's at least a step in the right direction. The meditation techniques work as well for him and the other Leska pairs as they do for the Brothers, you'll also be pleased to know. Actually, at the moment, Kusac and Carrie are on an En'Shalla retreat."

  Lijou raised an eye ridge.

  "Kusac wants their cub conceived in En'Shalla," he explained.

  "Their cub?" said Lijou. "There's to be another so soon?"

  "I don't think they have a choice, Father," said Ghyan, picking up his mug. He hesitated.

  "You have a question, Ghyan?" asked Lijou, watching the younger male carefully. "How can I help you?"

  "I know it's presumptuous of me, but why did you choose Kaid to be their third? He's totally wrong, Father," said Ghyan, ears flicking as he rushed the words out before he lost his nerve. "He thinks only of his duty. He doesn't care for them!"

  Lijou took a drink, then set his mug down before answering the priest. "You still have a lot to learn about people, Ghyan," he said. "Vartra has chosen Kaid, not me. As for him not caring, you haven't looked deep enough. Don't rely on your Talent for everything."

  "I don't, Father," said Ghyan, ears flicking in acknowledgment of the rebuke. "He came to me, telling me not to dissuade the Vailkoi Clan from the Challenge. He cared nothing for the risks Carrie and Kusac faced!"

  "He did as I ordered, Ghyan," said Lijou.

  "You?"

  Lijou could plainly hear the shock in his voice. "Yes. Ghezu and I both gave him his orders. We needed the public proof they could both fight. Our bid for full Guild status depended on that proof and now we have it. I'm sorry she lost the child, but there is more at stake than the life of an unborn cub and her parents."

  "But to use them for political ends ..."

  "No," interrupted Lijou. "They are the politics here! Their very existence, not to mention t
hat of the cub, challenged the order of our society. We had to have the proof. As for Kaid, I suggested him because he does care. Even Ghezu realized he'd become personally involved— with the female. I'm surprised you missed it. The God knows, I wish Ghezu had!" He sighed and shook his head. "I need to speak to Kaid. I saw him at the dedication. Can you ask him if he'll spare me a few minutes of his time?"

  "He's here on retreat himself," said Ghyan.

  "Is he, by God! And you said he doesn't care?" said Lijou, ears pricking forward. "They may have more of a chance than I thought."

  Ghyan's ears went back parallel to his head in embarrassment.

  "Ah," purred Lijou. "You did notice then. And I imagine you ... shall we say, drew attention to it?" He made a noise of disapproval. "Why is it so many people have no idea how to handle someone like Kaid?" he asked. "The simple answer is, you don't. Someone like him is best given a summary of what you want, pointed in the right direction, then left to get on with it. His talent is in his unorthodox approach. Now, go and get him for me, please. I must speak to him before the Clan Lord arrives." Taking a mouthful of his drink, he sat back in his seat and looked at Ghyan.

  "Yes, Father Lijou," he said, getting to his feet. "Kaid may be meditating ..."

  "He's not," said Lijou, cutting across him.

  Ghyan was back within five minutes. Lijou watched Kaid as he entered. The angle of his ears and tail was exactly what it should be— politely curious— none of the disquiet he'd sensed in him earlier.

  "Thank you, Ghyan. Would you mind indulging me a little longer? What I have to say to Kaid is personal."

  "Certainly, Father Lijou."

  As Ghyan left, Kaid moved over to sit opposite Lijou, looking at him expectantly.

  "Ghyan tells me you've agreed to form a Triad with Kusac and his mate," Lijou said at length.

  Kaid sighed. "I've been given no choice in the matter."

  Ears pricking forward, Lijou looked sharply at him. "The God has spoken to you?"

  Kaid hesitated, obviously unsure what to say.

  "I've been looking at the records kept in the temple at Stronghold," said Lijou, his voice low enough that Kaid had to lean forward to hear it. "I know you were a lay-priest during the time the Leadership was being decided. You were one of the few to whom the God spoke regularly, weren't you?" Lijou didn't wait for an answer. "My predecessor, Father Jyarti, thought so highly of you that he proposed you as the new Warrior Leader. He wrote that you not only combined the best of both disciplines, but you truly heard the words of Vartra. I ask you again, did the God speak to you?"

  The tips of Kaid's ears twitched as he answered. "The God spoke to me, Father Lijou, but which God, I'm unable to tell you."

  Lijou let his breath out in a sigh and sat back in his seat. "Then I'm not alone," he murmured, more to himself than Kaid. He roused himself, capturing Kaid's gaze with his own. "We have very little time, Kaid. The Clan Lord and General Raiban are due here any time. To show my good faith, I have a warning for you. Watch Ghezu. He's become obsessed with revenge on you for an incident in your youth. It had to do with a female. He's located her again, in a village at the edge of the Ghuulgul desert. He'll draw you there, then have you killed. I'm afraid I have to say he's teetering on the edge of insanity and will likely fall over it any day now."

  Kaid sat there, obviously stunned by his disclosure.

  "I'm telling you because I truly believe that for the good of Shola, the three of you must go to the Fire Margins, and return alive!"

  Kaid remained silent, his ears tilting fractionally outward and to the side in anger.

  Lijou leaned forward, grasping him by the forearm and shaking him. "Kaid, do you hear me? You must go to the Fire Margins, no matter what! Don't let Ghezu lure you into the desert. This is far more important. The mixed Leskas and their cubs must be independent of both Esken and Ghezu!"

  Kaid nodded once, righting his ears. "I hear you," he said, his voice barely audible.

  Lijou released him. "I need something from you in return," he said. "I need to know what you really believe about Vartra. Jyarti trusted you, recorded many of your visions in a private journal which I discovered some time ago. You were the one he trusted most, his right hand. Your visions didn't stop because you were expelled from the Brotherhood, we both know that, so what was it you saw today?"

  He waited, hoping that hearing about the female and Ghezu's mad schemes of revenge would shock Kaid into being incautious.

  "Memories. I saw memories trapped in stone and crystal," said Kaid, his voice as expressionless as his body was now. "Carrie and Noni have seen them, too, up at Stronghold. We all have."

  Memories in stone and crystal? He hadn't time to ask him; perhaps he could speak to Noni later. "What else, Kaid? I need to know what else you've seen and heard."

  "Vartra. I've seen him in the memories." Kaid's voice was a whisper, his eyes looking beyond. "Not a God then, only a male like us."

  "What else? There's more." Lijou was inches from Kaid now, desperate to hear every word.

  Kaid's eyes refocused. "The God. Vartra. You know it's Him, Lijou," he said softly, locking eyes with him as he moved back.

  "Kaid, Jyarti trusted you. Give me your trust," said Lijou. "I can't take anything away from you, you have nothing left to lose. Would I warn you about Ghezu if I wished you harm? All I've read and heard and experienced myself points in the one direction. I need to see if another, such as yourself, has reached the same conclusions as me. I cannot ask one of my Order: I cannot ask them to face the conclusions I've drawn!"

  "Yet you ask me," said Kaid. "I have things I hold dear, Lijou. My faith is one of them. Shortly I will be putting not only my life, but that of my Liege and his mate, to say nothing of their unborn cub, at risk because of my faith in Vartra. Would you shake it after what you've said about the importance to Shola of our going?"

  "No," said Lijou, closing his eyes briefly as he sat back. "I wouldn't do that. I apologize. I should never have asked you."

  "What is the Fire Margins ritual, Lijou?" Kaid asked after a moment's silence. "What is it a test of but faith? To succeed you need to put your life in the hands of the Gods, Vartra in particular."

  "No one knows what you need to do to survive, Kaid. No one has survived according to my records at Stronghold."

  "What if those who went expected to find a God and found a living being no different from us, what then? The shock of facing the disintegration of all they believe could make it impossible for them to return from the world of the past. It could kill them, couldn't it?"

  Lijou opened his eyes again, looking at Kaid with renewed interest. "It could."

  "So many centuries of prayer, from the strongest minds on our world, all directed toward one mortal person. Could that, blended on top of an existing deity, make a person into a God?"

  Lijou could feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears. "If you believe the old tales of tapping into the psychic energy of our forefathers, yes, it's possible."

  "How much truth do you think there is in the legends that telepaths once fought as well as any Warrior?"

  "The Sholans in the new Leska pairs fight."

  "They're reverting to type, Lijou. It can be done. Those who've walked the Fire Margins before were telepaths who couldn't fight, who expected a God and found a male no different from themselves; who lost their faith in the capacity of the ritual that took them back to the Cataclysm to return them to their own time. It's no wonder they didn't return."

  Lijou watched Kaid get to his feet.

  "I can hear your visitors," he said, turning toward the door.

  "Will you go?" demanded Lijou, hands clenched so tightly on the chair that Kaid could see the whites of his knuckles showing through his pelt.

  "To the Fire Margins? I haven't lost my faith, Lijou," said Kaid, turning round briefly as he reached the door. "Yes, I'll go. The God told me we have an appointment there."

  CHAPTER 8

  "And was Raiban satisfied
once she saw the remains?" asked Rhyasha.

  "She was convinced they weren't Human or Sholan," said Konis, reaching for another cookie. "She's taken a couple of the smaller bones to be analyzed at the Nijidi Science Station. You know, dated and so on."

  "You'll spoil your appetite," his mate warned. "Third meal's only an hour away."

  "No chance of that," he said, nibbling at the edge of his cookie. "After missing second meal at the Shrine, I'm starving. I must say I didn't expect Lijou to break ranks with Ghezu like this. It's worrying."

  "I'd be more worried if he hadn't," said Rhyasha candidly. "Does he really think Ghezu will ask that the joint leadership of the Brotherhood be set aside in his favor?"