Maker of Fire

Emily, Aybhas, Planting Season, 5th rot., 9th day

I wanted to walk down the Northway to the chapel shrine. Still, Lisaykos overrode that desire and carried me down side streets and alleyways.

"Dammit, Lisaykos," I squirmed in her tight grip, "put me down."

"When we get to our destination, Great Bug," she said in her most regal and intractable voice in her aristocratic accent. "The Northway is a heavy construction zone full of Cosm who are not looking out for a tiny thing like you. Did you not see the guards posted to keep Coyn away from there? I might as well allow you to walk in front of a runaway wagon to be run over. Don't force me to use the Grace of Mugash on you."

"Damn you, woman," I shouted in rage at her.

"Please don't, dearest," she paused her ground-eating stride and looked at me with a worried expression. "You are a prophet, and the hands of the Gods are upon you today. If you truly damn me, it might be fatal. I am not making this up."

That short-circuited my next bit of tirade at her. "Lisaykos, what are you talking about?"

"Kamagishi and Losnana are still incapacitated from what Losnana said was the unraveling of precognitions about you. We suspect something is about to happen, but they can't see it." Lisaykos frowned so deeply that the cleft between her eyebrows rivaled the Grand Canyon. "Emily, to my knowledge, I know of no precognitive vision that has completely vanished before. You've proven that precognitions can change and that we have some control over those changes. But they just don't disappear. I am worried about what might happen to you. Your survival until your revelation from Landa may no longer be a destined event. We can't be sure you can stay alive until then. Do you understand why I am concerned?"

"Wait, Lisaykos," I grabbed the edge of her winter mantle for balance as I turned my head to see her face better. "What did you mean, the hands of the gods are on me today?"

The reluctance that crossed her face made my stomach flip.

"What aren't you telling me?" I demanded.

She closed her eyes and sighed, looking weary. "When you said we should go out and mingle with the populace, your aura, it..." she grimaced.

"What? What happened?" I insisted. I had to know. What had unnerved this thrice-blessed granite-spined avatar of a god?

"Your aura is silver. Its brightness ebbs and grows depending on how willful you are being. Ten godmarks have circled your head like a halo, and Galt's godmark is glowing in your eyes. To those mages who can see auras, your eyes are glowing, Emily. It's unreal and frightening. I'm in physical contact with you, and I can feel those godmarks affecting my behavior toward you. I can't resist it, Emily. If you commanded me with your authority as a prophet to kill myself, I would do it. The only reason I'm not helpless with fright is because I trust you. I trust you would never do something like that because you respect life and hate suffering, even for those who might deserve it."

I was speechless. What she told me left my brain sputtering. What the hell was happening? As I tried to come to grips with what Lisaykos said, she continued walking through the residential neighborhoods to the east of the north market. The closer we came to the Inner Ring Road, the more we saw fire damage and clean-up crews.

The Coyn sector in the northeast quarter started north of the Inner Ring Road, complete with a ghetto-like wall blocking the view of the other side. Lisaykos walked east until she reached a gap in the wall wide enough for two wagons to pass.

"Do you want to get down and walk to the chapel shrine at your caterpillar pace?" Lisaykos asked. "I would suggest instead that you sit on my arm for walking through the Coyn neighborhoods. It's a better look than my carrying you like this. And we should both put our hoods down since the point of this exercise is to be seen."

"How far is it to the chapel shrine from here?" I asked.

"About half the distance from the top of the north market to the Inner Ring Road."

"That's not very far. I would like to walk, please."

Lisaykos released a great sign of resignation and put me down. "Onward, Great Caterpillar."

"Humph."

We walked into the remains of the Coyn neighborhood. Lisaykos studied her surroundings with her usual intensity. "Two stories, all of wood," she remarked as we walked. There were fewer burnt buildings here than near the Healing Shrine. Most were partially covered in sand. She stopped at one and examined the remains of a wooden wall in the unburnt half of a residence. In the exposed second story, soot-covered furniture and clothing were scattered about the room.

"This isn't supposed to be like this," she looked at the interior of the wall. "Are they all like this?" She frowned and then looked at me, "Let's keep walking."

She stopped at every burnt residence and inspected them. I could see anger growing on her face. I also noticed people hiding from view as we walked by.

"What is wrong, Lisaykos?" I had to ask after she inspected the remains of the fifth burnt residence.

"This is an older building, and it's built to city standards. The other ones are newer, and they've been built without their interior wall and insulation. There's just one wall between the occupants and the outside. Someone has engaged in fraud at my shrine's expense." Lisaykos was wearing that sour face she got when she was more than angry.

"Lyappis is right," Lisaykos grimaced, "I need to stop hiding on the fourth floor and get out more, including into the streets beyond the markets. My complacency has done this." She closed her eyes and sighed. Then she turned the way we had just come and strode back to the previous structure she inspected, leaving me far behind and running to catch her.

"I know you are out there. I can feel you. You must know who I am," Lisaykos addressed the empty street. "I will talk to a ward or block leader now."

I could feel a touch of Voice in her words. Yes, the old lady was not happy.

An older man appeared, buttoning up his coat in a hurry. He looked afraid as he fell to his knees before the looming High Priestess. After he made his obeisance, he said, "Our block leader is in the chapel shrine, Great One."

"We are on our way there," Lisaykos replied. "What is her name, and who owns her?"

"She is owned by the city, Great One. Her name is Gerta."

"Gerta?" I asked, surprised. "Gerta, who is a bath house crew boss? A good-looking, tall lady, around thirty?"

The man looked at me as if he was seeing me for the first time, "Yeah, that's our Gerta. You know her? Who are you?"

"My name's Emily, and—"

I didn't get a chance to finish talking. He interrupted with an obeisance to the ground, "Great One! May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." His obeisance to me was much more enthusiastic than the one he made to Lisaykos.

"And upon you too. Please get up. What's your name?"

He scrambled to his feet. "I'm Gagol. I'm also a city slave. Most of us on this block are owned by the city. Gerta said she had met you."

"Is Gerta hurt badly?" I had to ask. She had been nice to me, and she was Tom's friend.

"She had to jump out a window to escape the fire at her quad. She broke stuff and hit her head. No one's heard how she's doing because we were turned away when we tried to visit, me and her other friends."

Lisaykos surprised me when she sat cross-legged on the rammed earth of the street. "Gagol, Emily and I are on our way to the chapel shrine," Lisaykos said in a firm, informative voice. "If we can find Gerta, I will have a runner return with news for you. Have you lived here long?"

"Ever since these blocks were rebuilt about fifteen years ago, G...Great One," Gagol looked very nervous. "Our old bunkhouses got torn down, and the city had these built so we could each have our own rooms."

"Here," Lisaykos reached out and put her big hand on his shoulder. She looked sad when he flinched. Then his expression relaxed in wonder.

"I just cast the charm of peace on you," Lisaykos said. "You were looking a bit too uncomfortable. I thought it might help."

Gagol just nodded, speechless and gaping. I noticed a handful of people coming into the street to watch warily. They reminded me of what I used to be like and what I was still like around Cosm I didn't know.

"Gagol, did you know that there is supposed to be an inner wall and insulation between the walls?"" Lisaykos asked him.

"Yes, Great One," he nodded. "One of us went down to city overseers to tell them about it, and they said there was no budget for it because of some war with the Tirmarrans."

Lisaykos pinched her nose, "Just to warn you, I will send someone from the justiciars to take statements from you and anyone else who remembers this. It won't be right away since we're still busy clearing up the current mess, but it will be before the end of the next rotation."

"Statements?" Gagol looked confused.

"For the investigation into this crime," Lisaykos stated. "You were lied to, Gagol, and the law has changed. Coyn can now give evidence."

"That's not a rumor?" A lady standing in a doorway asked, a look of disbelief on her face.

"No, that's not a rumor," I said, turning to speak directly to her. "I've seen the revised law. It took effect at the end of Harvest Season last year. I wrote some of it." I thought for a breath and then turned to Lisaykos, "Why don't Coyn know about the law changes? Did no one bother to tell them?"

Lisaykos looked distressed, "I will be honest, dear heart. I don't know. I'm sure Convocation will be meeting very soon. I will take care of this. This is an appalling oversight. These people need to know about the law changes that affect them."

(continued in installment 2.71)