Page 90 of Sun Warrior

“He has not yet lost all of his strength, but his appearance is loathsome—his skin cracks and sloughs, and he is covered in oozing blisters.”

“Excellent! Get Lizard. Bring him here to my chamber. We will paint our skin to camouflage us, and then you and he will join your God on a mission of the utmost import. After you call for Lizard, command all of the People to gather in the courtyard below. I have a question to put to them.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Dove heard the reverence in Iron Fist’s words. Before he could hurry from the chamber Dove moved soundlessly from her shadowy corner, taking her weaving supplies and making her way to the warmth of a firepot. There she sat, appearing busy with her net making, and waited for what terrible thing would happen next.

“Dove! Come to me!”

Smoothing her face into the benign listening expression that had helped her survive the sixteen winters of her life before Dead Eye had freed her from the abuse of the Watchers, Dove walked the familiar path to join Death on the God’s balcony.

“I am here, my Lord.”

“Excellent. I need you to command your Attendants to ready the body paint. None of the white paint, though. Tell them to mix forest colors—greens, browns, and blacks. And tell them to hurry!”

“Yes, my Lord. Where shall I have them bring the paints?”

“Here, to my balcony. Iron Fist and Lizard will be joining us. The People will be gathering below. It is my desire to speak to them before Iron Fist, Lizard, and I go to the forest.”

“It will be as You command, my Lord.” Dove bowed low and backed quickly from the balcony. “Lily! Your Champion has orders for you.”

The girl was by her side in an instant. “Yes, Mistress?”

“Mix the tubs of body paint for three of our men. Your Champion commands you only use forest colors. Quickly! The People will be gathering to watch.”

“Yes, Mistress!” Her bare feet padded against the tile floor as she rushed from the chamber.

While her Attendants did the God’s bidding, Dove went to the private space she had shared with Dead Eye. She dressed carefully. She did not know what the God was planning, but she was certain He would somehow put her on display, and her survival depended upon whether or not her appearance and her actions pleased Him. By the time she’d donned her most decorated skirt and brushed her long hair free of tangles, Iron Fist had returned to the God’s balcony. Dove knew the badly infected Lizard was with him—she could smell the stench of his rotting flesh and she heard the wheeze in his breath that foretold his end was not far away, that soon he would drown in his own blood and puss and be free of the misery of his diseased body.

“You may join me on my balcony,” the Death God called when Iron Fist and Lizard hesitated, waiting for permission to enter the presence of the massive statue that most of the People still believed was their Reaper God. “Dove! Bring your Attendants here when they return with the body paint.”

“Yes, my Lord,” Dove called.

She was inside the chamber, but Dove could hear the sounds of the gathered People lifting from the courtyard below. She could smell the gamey scent of boar stew that wafted through the open balcony and she knew that the aroma of food and the promise of a full stomach would draw even those of the People who might not come quickly at the command of a Champion they were not certain they needed.

He is wily, this Death God,Dove acknowledged silently.I must always remember that.

“Mistress, we have the body paints ready,” Lily said.

“Very good. Follow me to the God’s balcony.”

Inside the Temple, Dove needed no guide. She knew every step of the chamber and the God’s balcony, so she lifted her chin and walked gracefully, with the pride her extinct title of Oracle afforded her. She didn’t need to be guided to the Death God, either. She could feel Him, just as she had been able to feel Dead Eye’s presence—except Dead Eye had drawn her to him with love. Death drew her with loathing.

Dove strode directly to the shell of the man she used to adore. “My Lord, the Attendants have done as You commanded.”

“Very good, little bird.” He stroked her cheek intimately. Dove forced herself not to flinch away. Then He turned His attention to her Attendants. “You women, I would have you paint my Reaper, Iron Fist, and my Hunter, Lizard, completely with camouflage.” The God spoke to the two men. “Stand near the lip of the balcony so that the People below may see you being anointed for our mission.”

Then Death surprised Dove. He turned His back to the People and faced her as He spoke in a voice filled with power and authority.

“My People! You have gathered today to witness a miracle and to answer a question. One is no less important than the other. But first, I must be anointed along with my men. Dove! Come, anoint me!”

Dove didn’t know what the God was planning. She only knew she was trapped in His waking dream and she must play her part or perish. Lily pressed three pots of sticky dye mixture into her hands. Dove could not hesitate, so she moved with feigned confidence forward until her outstretched hand met with His skin. He was standing near the lip of the balcony, facing Dove. She knew that from below the People could see some of His body but not all of it. Dead Eye had insisted that they address their People from atop the balcony ledge, where they could easily be seen from below. She had no idea why the God chose to hide part of Himself from the People. She didn’t care. And Dove didn’t allow confusion to slow her hands. The quicker she worked, the sooner she’d be able to stop touching Him. She scooped the muddy paint with her fingers and began slathering it on the God’s enormous body.He’s grown so much bigger!The thought helped her by giving the being before her yet another degree of separation from the man she had loved with all of her heart.

Dove worked quickly. The God had a deerskin cloak hanging from His wide shoulders, but except for that and breeches He was naked. Her hands felt the changes in His body. Dead Eye had been a big man—muscular and powerful—but in the short time the God had possessed him he had grown. His shoulders were wider. His muscles were thicker. He was undeniably taller. When she tried to reach around and spread the dye mixture across His back, Death waved away her hands, but not before she felt the deer pelt that had spread to cover His entire back.

“Just the front of my body, little bird.”

Her hands did not tremble, though her spirit did. Dove concentrated on her duty, covering the God quickly and efficiently with the thick paint. He did not allow her to touch His hair, though she did paint His face, and as she did Dove felt that He had fashioned a hood for the cloak, which He kept pulled up over His head.

He hides the horns,she thought. And His hiding of them made her wonder how much they, too, had grown.