King L'unn didn't appreciate her avoidance of his question. He fixed a stern glance on the young woman across the table from him. "What is your plan, that this friend is so indispensable?"

Adesina lifted her chin proudly to hide her discomfort. "A set plan is useless at this point."

They looked at her in shock.

"Do you mean you do not have a plan at all?" asked one of the aged counselors.

Her voice became defensive. "I do not have all of the necessary information to form an effective plan. My contact will supply us with that information."

A wave of murmurs pa.s.sed through the room, which quickly turned into a heated debate.

Every counselor seemed to have something to say, and not all of them were willing to wait their turn.

The king's eyes were set on Adesina, but his thoughts had taken him far away. He ignored the noise around him and carefully considered the risks of the mission. When he came to a decision, he raised a hand for silence.

Everyone looked at him expectantly as he spoke. "How many men would you need for this operation?"

Adesina was startled by the question. "I intended to go by myself."

Several protests were voiced at once.

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed E'nes.

"That is out of the question," insisted L'iam.

"Impossible," said King L'unn.

Her eyes strayed to Ravi, who merely smiled. "You know you cannot prevent me from following you."

She turned back to the king. "The larger the group, the harder it will be to remain undetected."

He nodded in understanding. "Even so, you cannot go alone."

"I am going with you," stated E'nes. He glared at her, daring her to argue.

"As am I," said L'iam.

Adesina expected the king to dispute his son's decision, but after a few slow moments he nodded solemnly. "I wish for Sa'jan to go with you as well."

Sa'jan nodded readily. "Of course, your Majesty."

King L'unn looked at Adesina with a question in his eyes. "Do you approve of this party?"

She glanced at each of the men a.s.signed to go with her: E'nes, L'iam, Sa'jan and Ravi. She felt strangely comforted know that they would be going with her back into the heart of the Shimat world. When she spoke, she struggled to contain the relief she felt.

"Yes."

With this decided, the king got to his feet. "A plan will need to be devised, obviously, but you should prepare to leave as soon as possible. Our people have waited for our help long enough."

"Sire," protested one of the military leaders, "these men need further training before setting off to fight our greatest enemies!"

King L'unn shook his head. "They can train along the way, but no more time must be lost."

There were several more objections, but the king silenced them with a glance.

"I have made my decision," he said in a determined tone of voice, and walked out of the room without a backward glance.

The council also got to their feet and slowly began to disperse. When the door was opened, L'era could be seen speaking to No'am in a low voice. She spotted L'iam and waited for him to finish his quiet conversation with their father. As soon as he stepped out of the room, she pulled him off to the side. Adesina, who was waiting for E'nes, could hear her hushed words.

"You are going with them." It was more of a statement than a question.

Her brother feigned looking puzzled. "With whom?"

L'era gestured impatiently. "Whomever Father has chosen to go."

He sighed in loving irritation. "L'era, you have a knack for prying into things you should not. If Father wants you to know about our meeting, he will tell you himself."

She grabbed his wrist with both hands, refusing to let him walk away. "I am going with you!"

All pretenses dropped. "Do not be ridiculous, L'era!"

She smiled triumphantly, knowing now what she had only guessed before. "I told you that I would not let you leave without me again."

L'iam's expression was rigid. "That was when we were talking about trading or research. This is completely different!"

E'nes took hold of Adesina's elbow and gently led her past the quarreling siblings. As they walked through the halls, Adesina could not help but think about all the things that could go wrong with a mission like this.

She hated starting without a definite plan in mind, but nothing could be done about that right now. She needed to contact Kendan and together they would find a way to save her father.

Apprehension weighed down on her heart as she silently acknowledged that she was heading into a darkness more deep than anything she had ever known before.

It was pitch black in the windowless room, but his eyes had grown accustomed to it. There was a bit of straw in the corner that was rank with mold and excrement. The stones of the floor and walls stole away any heat that existed in the room, leaving the huddled figure shivering from the chill. The slow drip of water into a rusted pail sounded like the seconds on a clock.

When he had first been thrown into this nightmarish abyss, he had counted each drip. It had occupied his mind and kept him from dwelling on the last image his eyes had seen. As time pa.s.sed, however, the picture of her face pushed its way to the front of his mind, and he couldn't ignore it any longer.

E'rian.

At least, she had looked just like E'rian. Deep down he knew that it couldn't have been her. The eyes had been different and the features of her face had been just a touch too sharp. He had traced the lines of his wife's face often enough to know them perfectly. Also, his mind told him that the face had been too young to be the woman he had lost so long ago.

That left only two possibilities, each worst than the last.

The first possibility was that the Shimat had found a way to make some sort of copy of his beloved E'rian. The second possibility was that the Shimat had his daughter, Ma'eve. He couldn't bear either thought.

In the distance he heard the echoing sound of footsteps, and through the cracks in between the heavy door and the wall could be seen a flicker of light. The figure braced himself for what he knew was coming.

The jingling of keys was followed by the door bursting open. The harsh torchlight caused the prisoner to flinch and shade his eyes. Two heavily armed guards and a woman dressed in black robes filed into the room.

She cast her eyes on the filthy, beaten figure before her. His hair was matted with blood and grime, and his face was bruised and swollen. His clothing had been reduced to rags, due to the numerous beatings he had received.

A cruel smile spread across her face. "You may think it strange that you have been asked no questions, but I find that the tongue is loosed after a bit of pain. It saves time and frustration overall."

The prisoner looked up into the strong features of the Sharifal, but said nothing. As soon as he had realized where he wasa"however many days, weeks, or months ago it had beena"he had determined not to say a single word to his captors. He couldn't pretend to be mute, because they had heard his cries of pain. Still, he knew that his silence was the only power that remained in his grasp.

The woman's vicious smile widened. "What is your name?"

The grim expression did not waver on the prisoner's face. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain that was sure to follow.

Signe merely shrugged. "It does not matter. A name will not save you here. In fact, a name has no meaning for you anymore. Your ident.i.ty has been taken from you as easily as you were taken from your former life."

The prisoner fought to hold back the emotion he felt, but he couldn't hide the look of pain that flashed across his face when he thought about the circ.u.mstances surrounding his abduction. Signe observed his reaction with interest.

"Are you hurt by the betrayal of one of your own people? Or perhaps, is there more to all of this than we antic.i.p.ated?"

The prisoner's expression immediately became stony, trying to hide any trace of the answers for which the Sharifal was looking. Signe continued to study his beaten face for several minutes before straightening slowly.

"Well, a few more days of pain may make you more cooperative."

She and her guards backed out of the cell, slamming the door shut with a reverberating clang. The prisoner waited for the footsteps to die away before burying his face in his arms and weeping for his lost child.

Chapter Thirty-three: An Unexpected Companion.

Adesina glanced back over her shoulder one last time before Yavar was out of sight. It was strange that she had been there for such a short time, but she felt such a strong connection to it. It felt more like home than any other place in which she had lived.

E'nes noticed her reluctance and studied her face worriedly. "Are you having second thoughts about this mission?"

She gave him a half smile. "No. I am just sorry to leave."

He nodded. "Yes, I understand."

Adesina suspected that her brother's feelings were quite different from her own. It had been heart-wrenching to watch E'nes and his wife part. He had been away for so long, and this new mission would not likely end well. They had refused to say goodbye to each other. Instead, E'nes had kissed Wren'na and promised to be back soon.

Adesina desperately hoped that this promise would be fulfilled.

They traveled through Pevothem at a quick pace, though not as quickly as Adesina would have liked. Still, she understood the need to pace the horses. The journey ahead of them was bound to be a long one.

Her eyes fell on the horse she was riding. It had been a gift, although she was not exactly sure from whom. E'nes had presented it to her, but it looked suspiciously like one of the horses she had seen at the palace.

He was a large warhorse with a satin black coat. He had a single white star on his forehead, which had inspired the name she gave him: Torith, which was the Shimat word for star. It seemed fitting that her horse, like herself, should have a Shimat name. He was beautiful and proud, and Adesina had loved him immediately.

E'nes pulled his horse closer to Adesina's, speaking to her in a soft voice. "I have something for you. I wanted to give it to you before we left, but we ran out of time."

She looked at her brother in curiosity. "What is it?"

He extended his hand. Lying across his palm was the dagger that had belonged to her father, the one that Horas had found in an alley of the High City. Adesina shook her head when she realized what it was. "No, E'nes. You should have Father's dagger."

E'nes smiled. "He would want you to have it. It has been pa.s.sed down through our family for many generations. You should have something that shows your heritage."

Adesina took it reverently and attached it to her belt. "Thank you."

He shrugged, indicating that it was nothing. Then he glanced at Ravi, who was trotting alongside the horses. "What did Rajan say when you told him you were leaving again?"

Ravi's reply was simple. "He knows where my first duty lies. He supports the path I have chosen."

Adesina joined the conversation. "What about your family?"

He snorted softly. "Rissa almost threw a fit, but my parents were more understanding." After a pause he added, "Remah was sad."

E'nes could empathize, but Adesina could not. "You seem to be in love."

Ravi and E'nes both laughed, which made Adesina feel defensive.

"It was my understanding that your betrothal was an arranged affair. I a.s.sumed love had little to do with it."

Her guardian inclined his head, only slightly less amused. "Yes, it was arranged for us, but Rashad marriages are created the same way L'avan marriages are."

She looked to her brother for an explanation, which he was happy to supply. "The L'avan occasionally have arranged marriages as well. A child is taken to a Reader by it's parents, and they are told who the child is meant to marry."

Adesina frowned. "A Reader?"

He inclined his head. "Someone who specializes in the reading and understanding one's spirit. They are able to project their vyala further and deeper than most. This enables them to find the perfect match for a childa"the one they would be happiest with and love the most. A more common term would be *soul mates,' although it is not quite accurate in describing a L'avan match. We called them our dava."

She was strangely unsettled by this revelation. "I am surprised that a civilization as advanced as the L'avan would continue such practices."

Her brother quirked an eyebrow. "You said the same thing about our religious practices."

She waved a hand impatiently. "Yes, but this is different. To choose a mate for a child before they are old enough to have a say in the mattera"

Ravi smiled calmly. "Ma'eve, how many times must I tell you that there is always a choice? No L'avan is forced to marry, but they always choose to do so. Not only that, but they often choose to marry as soon as they are old enough rather than waiting a few years. Why would they not want to spend the rest of their existence with the great love of their heart?"

"How old are the children when they are taken to the Reader?" asked Adesina.

"Well, both children of the match must be living. Most parents go to the Reader as soon as they discover they are with child. The Reader reaches out to the unborn infant's spirit and then searches the rest of the L'avan for their perfect match. The dava and it's parents are then summoned to the Reader for a more in-depth check to make sure they are meant for each other. If a child's match is not currently alive, they wait until they are summoned by the Reader."

She was doing her best to keep the incredulous expression off of her face, but wasn't sure if she was succeeding. "How old were you when you were matched with Wren'na?"

A smile stole over E'nes' face. "I was six months old. Wren'na and I are one year apart in age."

Adesina's tone became dismissive. "I suppose it is easy to fall in love if you grow up knowing that you are going to marry each other."