Beyond the Prophecy Read Online Free

“I was preoccupied with
Theklan, but my father said she wore a little metal eagle on a chain. I thought
it was maybe something you’d made for her.”
    “No, that’s not my handiwork,” Vatar said. “Her people all
wear similar amulets, though they’re all different. It’s always some animal
that represents that person’s . . . spirit, if you will. The eagle was the
symbol they chose for her. Thekila was an eagle long before she was adopted by
your clan.” That much, at least, was certainly true. Truer than Ariad would
ever know.
    Ariad nodded. “Then she’s in the right clan.”

Chapter
3: Kausalya
     
    Gerusa looked around her new apartment with displeasure. It
was not quite rustic, but the Fasallon Palace in Kausalya wasn’t nearly as
large or luxurious as the Palace of the Fasallon in Caere. She could make do with
it for the time being. At least it was better than the first place they’d given
her.
    It had taken Gerusa longer than she’d hoped to establish
herself here. Unbelievable, but there’d actually been some chance they’d send
her back to Caere. It’d taken some work to prevent that. She’d never thought
that the rebellion led by Veleus’s bastard—not Vatar, the other one,
Cestus—would benefit her. First, she’d had to persuade them to cut off all but
the highest-level communication with Caere. They’d done that themselves just as
soon as she informed them that the message senders in Caere were part of
Cestus’s faction. Then she’d exploited their fear as the wedge she’d needed to
break the Kausalyan Council apart and take over as its new leader.
    She finally had the position at the head of the Council
table she’d always wanted and deserved—just in a much smaller city. Well, that
would be amended in time.
    A High Councilor from Caere should have been treated with
more respect from the beginning. Especially one, like her, who should have been
the leader of the High Council. Would have been, but for Veleus’s maneuvering
against her. Well, that would be taken care of in due time, too.
    Actually, though it had seemed like disaster at first, this
removal to Kausalya might actually work to her benefit in the long run.
Already, she had the basis of a plan. Admittedly, this plan would take longer
to carry out, but the prize would be worth it. Never mind heading the High
Council. Gerusa intended to supplant them all and rule as sole representative
of the Sea Gods. No. Not representative. She’d rule absolutely as a goddess in
her own right.
    And, with that power, she’d reverse the foolish policies of
the current High Council. Allowing the guilds too much power could only lead to
trouble. Someone had to take the reins and steer the Fasallon away from
disaster and destruction.
    First, she needed to consolidate her position here. Then,
she could begin her campaign against Caere. She smiled at the thought. She
didn’t actually need to do anything for the first part of her plan to play out
without her raising a finger. Without her—and her Talent for
Transformations—the Festival in Caere was bound to fail. There’d be uncertainty
and unrest following that. The Caereans would begin to lose confidence in the
High Council. That would be only the beginning of her revenge for their supreme
bad judgment in rejecting her.
    Follow that up with shortages. Caere actually grew—or fished
for—only a portion of its food. Much came from the other coastal cities along
with other commodities the Caereans had become accustomed to. And most of that
came either from Kausalya’s rich farm land or through Kausalya from Tysoe. Just
a little tightening of the exports—perhaps a tariff on goods shipped through
Kausalya from Tysoe—and there would be shortages in Caere this winter. And
still more loss of faith in the High Council.
    Fortunately, she’d be able to coordinate with her daughter,
Selene, with Far Speech. She’d know exactly how much things were disrupted—and
be able to judge whether