The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(89)
“A rather conspicuous one,” Lia said bluntly. She glanced up at the mist-shrouded sky. “This fog has plagued us for quite long enough. It will cease. Now.” She held up her hand in the maston sign, the signal she had given Maia earlier.
Now, Maia, she heard whispered in her mind.
Maia’s thoughts reached out to the Leerings that were causing the mist. There were dozens if not hundreds, but now that Lia had touched her with the Gift, she could sense each one of them, understand where they were, how far from each other, and to what purpose they had been carved. With a silent thought of command, she calmed them in unison, and the mists shriveled away into nothingness, dissipated and spent.
The sky was a brilliant blue, and the sun stabbed down at them, having crested the Tor. The air was crisp and cool, and suddenly the birds chirped and trilled and fluttered through the sky. Maia awakened the abbey’s defenses, and the eyes on the Leerings in the gate and on the walls suddenly flared to life, exuding a feeling of danger and foreboding.
Behind them, Maia felt the abbey itself, as if it were a caged lion that suddenly roared. She watched as the faces of her father and Lady Deorwynn blanched with dread. The Medium’s power brooded, churning with violence and rage. The intruders backed away, shielding their faces from the streams of light shining from the abbey walls, which they had not seen in the fog.
Maia’s heart leaped with joy. All the Leerings were acting as one, brought to life by her command. The earth shuddered under the strain of so much pent-up power. Maia felt Collier’s hand jerk several times in response to the Medium’s powerful display. If he had not been convinced before, she knew he would be now.
“You have forsaken your maston oaths,” Lia said, marching forward and drawing her gladius. “You have ruled this kingdom with debauchery and evil, and you have slain innocent mastons, whose blood screams out to me for vengeance. I am Lia Demont, and I felled a wicked king on the Medium’s command in my past life. It commands me to tell you thus. Seek no more to persecute our people, else you be destroyed yourself. The cost of your wickedness shall fall upon your own head.” Maia watched as her father cowered in front of Lia, his eyes wide with absolute terror. The others shrank from her as if she were some avenging spirit. “You betrayed your marriage oaths and forsook your true wife and friend. You have chosen to spend your time in the company of harlots and scheming men. In return, your new consort has forsaken you. She despises you and has taken lovers of her own. As a witness to the truth of what I speak, seek the chambers of Lady Deorwynn’s musicians and you will find the evidence written in her own hand. Your chief groomsman is also guilty. Let him dare deny it.” Lia turned her gaze to Kranmir. “You, sir, have forsaken your most solemn oaths sworn in Augustin Abbey. I name you Ely Kranmir and strip you of your chaen and stole. You are unworthy before the Medium, and I rebuke you for the murder of innocent men.” Moving forward, Lia stood majestically over Maia’s cowering father, sword pointed at him. “Cease this evil, or you will be destroyed.”
Maia watched her father’s terror turn into uncontrollable rage. His eyes burned with spite and hatred. His teeth were bared like an animal’s.
“Do not stand there, Carew,” he snarled. “Kill them!”
And with that, he shoved Deorwynn away from him and fled.
As mastons, we must always remember why we are here on this earth during the second life. It is not to be endlessly entertained by minstrels and dancing or to be in constant pursuit of base desires. We are here to be tested, to be tried so that we can receive all the Gifts the Medium has in store for us. Some of these Gifts will be discovered in this life; others will come to us beyond the Apse Veil.
—Richard Syon, Aldermaston of Muirwood Abbey
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The Battle of Muirwood
The air rang with the keening sound of blades drawn from scabbards. The first blows connected, and the sound of swords shattering together rang out from beyond the gates as the king’s cohort fled and Lia’s knights pursued, battling through the knights who were brave enough to make a stand to protect their king. Maia strained to keep the protections of the abbey in full force, and the Leerings flared with power, emitting a warning to drive away the unworthy. Her father’s knights nearly trampled each other in their eagerness to escape, but most only found themselves embroiled in the battle just outside the gates.
Jon Tayt thrust a sword into Maia’s hands so she could defend herself and then closed with a knight who charged at her with a naked blade. After blocking the swipe with one axe, the hunter rammed the butt of his other weapon into the man’s stomach, doubling him over. Jon Tayt’s knee came up next, smashing the man’s nose and flipping him backward into the turf.
Maia had not experienced a large battle since her journey through Dahomey and Mon. Surprisingly, she felt a rush of calm despite the utter chaos of the scene around her. The villagers were scattering like leaves, and some members of the king’s Privy Council were taking advantage of the confusion to slip away. The looks of terror and fear in the men’s faces struck her. Crabwell was trying to mount a horse when one of Lia’s Evnissyen yanked him down to the dirt and aimed a gladius at the flesh of his neck. The chancellor quailed in terror and raised his hands in surrender, begging his attacker to take pity. The Evnissyen hauled him up by his collar and dragged him over to the maypole.