darkened blade_ A fallen blade novel - Kelly McCullough Page 0,85

swords away from Faran’s throat and stepped aside. When she did so, the left one puffed away into nothing.

Faran moved to the middle of the diamond, facing the head of the goddess, while Siri sheathed her sword and returned to the southern ward. As she did so, Kyrissa flowed up from the ground to enclose her in a second skin of smoke and shadow, giving her will into Siri’s keeping for the duration of the coming ritual.

“The Warden of the South is in place and ready to defend the rights of the petitioner.” Siri bent and touched a hand to the glyph between her feet. As it flared to golden life, she looked at Kelos.

“The Warden of the West is in place and ready to defend the rights of the petitioner.” He touched his glyph and it burst into light, igniting the line that lay between Kelos and Siri, who turned and nodded to Jax.

“The Warden of the East is in place and ready to defend the rights of the petitioner.” Jax placed one finger on the glyph, waking it and sending another line of light to meet Siri’s glyph.

Siri didn’t bother to prompt me, and I had already pulled the stuff of shadow up and over my skin in anticipation of what came next. “The Warden of the North is in place and ready to defend the rights of the petitioner.” My will and the touch of my flesh lit up my glyph and connected it to those belonging to Jax and Kelos. “With my seal, the warding is complete. None may force the ward while any Warden lives.”

More light jumped up from the spell lines, enclosing us in a translucent pyramid of golden light. Below us, and invisible within the earth, another such extended downward. We stood within a fortress of magic until such time as one of us released their glyph or all of us died and the warding failed.

Siri stepped away from her glyph and walked up behind Faran. The warding was a part of her now, drawing nima directly from the well of her soul so that she no longer needed to maintain her position physically. “Faran Ghostwind, you have come here to the final resting place of Namara, Goddess of Justice, to ask a boon. State your desire.”

“I bring the swords of one who once served justice.” Faran drew Parsi’s swords with a snap and held them high over her head. “She is as dead as Namara, but her weapons may serve on, if justice wills it. I would take these swords up in the place of she who once held them, and serve justice as a Blade full and true.” She knelt before the stone head, her arms crossed with one sword held straight up on each side of her face.

Siri placed her hand atop Faran’s head. “With the goddess departed, the duty of justice falls to the Blades she left behind. Who sponsors this woman to become one of us?”

I had been expecting something like that, so I was ready, stepping forward to stand beside the head of the goddess. “I am Aral Kingslayer, First Blade of Fallen Namara, and I stand sponsor for the petitioner.” Like Siri, I mimicked the intonation of the priests who had served with us before the fall.

Siri nodded solemnly to me, though I thought I saw a twinkle somewhere in the deeps of her eyes, suggesting she approved of my language. “There is none better to speak for you, Faran Ghostwind. You may rise and approach the statue of the goddess.”

Faran did so, stopping and bowing once again when she stood a few feet in front of the great stone face. For perhaps ten heartbeats she stared deep into Namara’s cold, dead eyes. Then she straightened her back and let her swords fall to her sides.

“I am ready,” said Faran.

Siri nodded. “Will you petition the goddess by entreaty or by ordeal?”

“Ordeal.” The word came out flat and cold—a strong woman making a hard choice. The spell-light that danced across the surface of Namara’s head stopped shifting colors, settling on a deep crimson, like the sun shining through a curtain of blood.

“So be it.” Siri crossed the short distance to stand behind Faran. “You know what comes next. Face me when you are ready.”

Faran took a long step forward so that she was practically touching the head of the goddess before turning around. “I am ready.”

Siri drew her sword again and placed it on the ground between