the man's eyes widened a bit more, a subtle but telling sign.
"What do you know?" the mystic asked the captive.
Merwan Ma looked away.
"The use of gemstone magic is strictly forbidden by the Chezru religion," the mystic explained to Brynn, who was nodding, already well aware of that fact. ?And yet, there is no other way that Chezru Chieftain Yakim Douan could have come to us. The Jhesta Tu know how to walk out of body, but that is a secret we guard carefully, and only our greatest mystics can achie the state.
"But Yakim Douan did come out here, did he not, Merwan Ma?" Pagon 1 went on. ?He came to Brynn and then to you, and you recognized hi clearly."
"You know nothing!" the Shepherd yelled, and he turned about, buryin his face in the tent side. ?Nothing!"
Brynn and Pagonel looked to each other.
"Leave us, I beg," the mystic whispered. ?I believe that this entire pic-ture is beginning to focus. Our friend here knows something - that is whv the Chezru Chieftain wanted him killed - and that something is perhaps linked to the surprise we have seen this night."
"The Chezru Chieftain uses a gemstone?" Brynn whispered, but she was too excited to keep her voice low enough so that Merwan Ma could not hear, and he shifted and let out a small whimper.
Pagonel shook his head, then shrugged. ?If he does, he would not want anyone to know."
"Enough of a threat for him to order this man killed?"
"Perhaps," the mystic reasoned.
Brynn left then, and Pagonel knelt beside Merwan Ma. He grabbed the man by the shoulder and began to turn him about, but Merwan Ma tugged free and turned back.
Pagonel took him more roughly by the shoulder and pulled him around. ?I have been more patient with you than you deserve," he said bluntly. ?You, we, were visited this night by a spirit, and one that you recognized as your God-Voice."
"No!"
"Yes! And now you will tell me the truth of why Chezru Yakim Douan wished you dead. Is it because you knew his secret? That he possessed a soul stone?"
The man blanched but did not answer, and Pagonel took that as an an-swer in itself, a clear indication that he had hit on something, something very important. Still, the depth of this escaped him. Yakim Douan had been in power for decades, without threat, for indeed, none of the Yatols would threaten him. The hierarchy of their religion left no room for any such dis-sension. Given that, why would Yakim Douan even need a soul stone?
Or perhaps, in desperation, he had enlisted the Abellicans to help him in his search for the To-gai-ru army.
That made some sense to Pagonel, but of-fered only a partial explanation. For if it was indeed the God-Voice who had come out to them in spirit, then the man's flirtation with such a gem-stone could not have been anything new to him. It took years of training, even with the aid of a hematite, to attempt even a small spirit-walk, let alone the near possession he had witnessed with Brynn. No, it made no sense.
"We will sit here all through the night, and tomorrow as well, if that is needed," Pagonel said to Merwan Ma. ?I will know the truth of it. And why u so protect this man who would see you dead, I do not understand." ?It was the Chezhou-Lei, and not the God-Voice!" Merwan Ma screamed, but his voice lost all power and all conviction at the end of the declaration, and he melted into sobs. Pagonel sat back and let him alone for a bit, trying again to sort through all of this startling news.
With mixed feelings did Yakim Douan re-enter his corporeal body back in Jacintha. He had found her! Had found this woman - Brynn, he had heard her called - and her band of marauding rebels! Now he could direct Yatol Bardoh and destroy the Dragon of To-gai once and for all.
But he had found Merwan Ma, as well, alive and sitting in a tent right be-side the woman and her Jhesta Tu companion. Merwan Ma! Douan had thought him dead and gone, murdered, burned and buried in Dharyan!
What implications did this hold? What dangers might Merwan Ma bring to him personally, whatever the outcome of his hunt for the Dragon of To-gai?
Few or none, he decided. He would send word out among his troops that the man was a traitor and was guiding their enemies across the desert.