Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)(105)

It had snowed the night before, but the snow had turned to rain and then ice, and now the world below him glittered frozen and iridescent in the morning light. He huddled in his crow-feather cloak and wondered what the three suns meant. Surely it was a sign, but was it one that favored the Sun Priest, or did it predict their shattering? The only ones who knew were the Watchers themselves, and he did not trust them to not bend the truth in their favor.

Okoa rubbed at his neck, trying to ease the tension in his body. He had not slept well. The crows in the aviary had been restless all night. He thought perhaps the weather had made them uneasy, and when he came up at first light, Benundah was gone. That wasn’t unusual; she was allowed to come and go as she pleased. Nevertheless, something about it made him anxious.

He decided to wait for her, knowing she would never miss her morning feeding, but when she still hadn’t returned by midday, he began to worry. He thought to take Kutssah or another one of the mounts out to look for her but decided he was being overly protective. She was a giant crow and a predator. There were very few things that could harm her.

Footsteps behind him, and Okoa turned to find one of the Shield approaching. He had sent them out across the city yesterday to look for the stranger the bargeman had named as the Odo Sedoh. They had reported throughout the day with no luck, and then one woman thought she had spotted a man matching his appearance in Titidi. He had sent someone to look further, but they had not been able to find him.

Another worry, he thought. The Odohaa, this self-proclaimed god, and now even Benundah was missing.

“Any news?” he asked the man.

“News, my lord,” he said, “but it’s strange news.” He swallowed, looking uncomfortable.

Okoa grimaced. “Spit it out, man.”

“We believe we found the man you were looking for.”

“Where?”

“Someone saw him in Titidi last night and followed him. He crossed the bridge to Sun Rock.”

Of course. He should have thought to look there first. If this Odo Sedoh was going to confront the Sun Priest today, it would be when she and the other Watchers were on the Rock.

“Go to Chaiya. Tell him to gather the Shield,” he commanded. “We need to get to that man before the Sky Made clans and the celestial tower do.” He could only imagine the havoc that would cause, the backlash that would rain down on Carrion Crow. “And send someone to my sister. Tell her no Carrion Crows go to Sun Rock for the solstice.” He would tell Chaiya to put the great crows in the sky, too, out of Odo. Or they could go to the rookery, where they would be safe.

He glanced at the sky. It had darkened markedly, and bands of shadow painted the ground at his feet. The sun and moon were moving into alignment as they neared sunset, and Okoa knew without a doubt that when the sun was at its weakest and Tova was under the sway of the eclipse, the Odo Sedoh would strike.

Which meant he had precious little time to get there. Where was Benundah? If his mount was here, he could be on Sun Rock in a matter of minutes.

“There’s one other thing, Lord Okoa.”

He had almost forgotten the man was there. Hadn’t he told him to call the Shield? “What is it?” he asked, irritated.

“We found your crow.”

He frowned. “Benundah?” His chest tightened. “Is she all right?”

“She appears to be fine, Lord, but she’s on Sun Rock with the Odo Sedoh. It appears she sheltered him there all night.”





CHAPTER 39




CITY OF TOVA

YEAR 325 OF THE SUN

(THE DAY OF CONVERGENCE)

And knives shall break against him

And wise men lose their rhetoric

No succor to be found

The sun, diminished

Unto death

—Prayer to Odo Sedoh, recorded at a meeting of the Odohaa



“They do not look so terrible,” Serapio observed. He was sitting under the wing of the great crow and ran a hand through her black feathers as he watched the priesthood come. He had taken another dose of the star pollen so he could observe their arrival, and Benundah had allowed him to share her vision.

Looks are deceiving, Benundah warned him. They have killed many Crows.

“My tutor described them as monsters. I expected them to be something from a nightmare. But they are only humans in bright clothing.”

He watched the four priests who led the procession. They wore long robes with matching masks—red, white, black, and yellow. He decided those must be the leaders of the societies. He marked the one in red first. His tutor had told him the Priest of Knives wore red. That was the one who would be hardest to kill.

Serapio let his gaze drift to the priest in the yellow mask. He leaned forward, eager. His tutor had told him the Sun Priest was a woman, but this looked like a man. No matter. The individual behind the mask meant nothing to him. He was here to put an end to the priesthood and, if Powageh was right, change the very balance of the world.

More priests filed in after the masked ones. Dedicants, he remembered his tutor calling them. Priests in training whom he would destroy before they could grow and infest.

“And who are the others? In gold and green and blue?” Blue he recognized from Xiala’s description yesterday. “They are the Sky Made clans, aren’t they?”

They are.

“And where is Carrion Crow?” he wondered.