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She headed back to the temple and was relieved to see it had suffered no damage. Stepping inside, she seated herself on the bench again, resolved to stay until Tezzel arrived. Maybe there would be less drama if she just planted herself in one place and didn’t move.
Over the next thirty minutes, a handful of people drifted in and out of the temple, staying just long enough to say a silent prayer or exchange a few words with the guardian. Then suddenly, the outer door opened with so much force that it was clear someone was rushing to get inside. Jayla rose to her feet as a compact Zessin woman hurtled in and headed straight to the guardian, asking questions in a sharp, eager voice. It was no surprise when they pivoted toward Jayla.
“Aussen?” the woman demanded, laying a hand on Jayla’s arm. “You have my daughter?”
Tezzel spoke Cordish; that was a small mercy. “Yes, she has been with me about three months now,” Jayla answered. “The woman traveling with her died on the way. I’m sorry.”
Tezzel put her hands to her cheeks, then pulled them away, as if she didn’t have time to grieve. “She had been ill, but I thought—but Aussen? She is safe? Can you take me to her?”
“Of course. Can you come now?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Thank you,” Jayla said to the guardian, then turned toward the door, Tezzel at her heels. “I’m Jayla, by the way.”
“Thank you, Jayla. Can we hurry?”
They strode swiftly down the side street to the main road, then broke into a run to catch a transport that was rumbling down the gridway. Jayla and Tezzel collapsed onto an unoccupied bench, and Jayla found that she was smiling again. Tezzel’s mother arrived! One of her burdens about to be lifted!
Tezzel still looked anxious and a touch suspicious. “I don’t understand,” she said, “why you didn’t leave my daughter with the temple guardian. Where I would find her instantly.”
Which was when Jayla realized her burden might not be transferred after all. No reason Pietro couldn’t come looking for Aussen just because Tezzel had arrived. In fact, wouldn’t he be more likely to find Aussen if she was living in the Zessin district? Jayla felt her heart rapidly regain all the weight she thought she had shed. She answered steadily. “It’s complicated, but I wanted to protect her. Someone in the city believes Aussen is a descendant of the god Cordelan, and such descendants are prized for the miracles in their blood. And that puts her in danger.”
Tezzel frowned as the car jounced over a particularly rough patch, and for a moment Jayla wondered if the woman didn’t know Cordish well enough to understand the complex explanation. “I always thought those were just stories,” she said at last.
Jayla felt her pulse quicken. “Which part?”
“My grandmother Villette told us that she was descended from Cordelan. Yes, and she claimed that the priests would kill her if she ever returned to the city.”
“Well, it might be true,” Jayla said. She took a moment to study Tezzel. She had the delicate bones, freckled face, and crinkly hair of the typical islander, but her skin was darker than most and her hair was more brown than ginger. “If you carry Cordelano blood, you’re in danger as well.”
“How did anyone even guess that?” Tezzel burst out impatiently. “I’ve never told Aussen those tales!”
“There’s a trick she can do—with a clump of dirt—”
Tezzel nodded. “I can do it too. It’s a handy ability, though an odd one.”
“A gift from the god, apparently,” Jayla answered. “Or a curse.”
Tezzel took a deep breath. “I despise what I know of Cordelan. The only deity I honor is Zessaya.”
“I have learned to prefer her myself,” Jayla said with a flash of humor. “But I’m not sure she can protect you from Cordelan’s zealots.”
“But then—”
The chugger rocked violently, and everyone on board screamed. The instant it righted itself, all the passengers shoved and clawed their way to the exits, then stood miserably in the street, wondering what to do next. Which way lay safety?
“How far now?” Tezzel panted. “Can we get there on foot?”
“We can. It might take us more than an hour of hard walking. And if the quakes start up again—”
Tezzel’s face was set. “Let’s get going.”
They strode down streets clogged with residents too nervous to reenter their homes and workers guarding broken wagons and sagging doorways. Most people were just milling around, but some, like the two of them, were clearly on purposeful journeys toward critical destinations, and they pushed past the bystanders with an impatience that bordered on hostility. The ground shifted under them a few times, but grudgingly, as if it was tired of this pastime and merely wanted to settle. The sun edged toward late afternoon and the air cooled considerably, but they walked with such dogged energy that they were warm enough to sweat. At least, Jayla was. Tezzel, pacing along determinedly beside her, didn’t bother to complain. She didn’t speak at all except to say “look out” or “how much farther?”
Finally, they attained the wide, gracious avenues of Council Row. Finally, Jayla could tell her, “Just a few more minutes. Just the next street over.”
But when they turned the last corner and the Alayne house came into view, Jayla could tell at once that something was wrong. There was a tangle of crumpled metal right in front of the house where a handful of gridcars must have been upended during a tremor. And there was a group of soldiers milling before the front gate, agitated and confused.
