A Dance of Shadows (Shadowdance series Book 4) by David Dalglish

Author:David Dalglish [Dalglish, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2014-05-19T22:00:00+00:00

“I would not worry about it,” Melody said later that day, both she and Alyssa holding thin glasses filled with wine. They relaxed in a private den of Stephen’s mansion, free from the bustle of the servants and the movers and the private guards.

“It’s hard not to,” Alyssa said, thinking of the way Nathaniel had collapsed amid his crying. It still gave her shivers.

“Your son watched rioters gather at the gates, determined to kill him,” Melody insisted. “And then he witnessed the slaughter as it unfolded. To go through all that, and then suffer the stress of moving into a new home, however temporarily? It is a lot for a boy his age. He just had a fit, that’s all.”

Perhaps, thought Alyssa, but she’d never seen Nathaniel act in such a way. He was always a quiet, thoughtful boy, not prone to crying or hysteria. Still, it had indeed been a rather awful week…

“I pray you are right,” she said, wishing to put the moment out of her mind.

“Indeed,” said her mother, “but to whom should you pray?”

At first Alyssa tried to laugh it off, gesturing with her glass. “To whichever god will listen,” she said, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Melody leaned forward in her red leather chair, a sudden eagerness coming over her. “The gods are not playthings we should cast our whims upon, Alyssa. They are real, they are powerful, and their intervention will always come with a cost. I asked whom you prayed to. It is not a question I ask lightly.”

That slight discomfort became nearly unbearable. Alyssa focused on her drink, preferring that to the wide-eyed look of her mother. The gods… what did Alyssa know of the gods? Nothing.

Well, perhaps nothing…

“I do not pray to either of the brother gods,” she said. “I know not enough of Ashhur for it to be honest or wise. As for Karak”—she shook her head—“I do know of him. I’ve heard enough stories of his servants to last a lifetime.”

“Stories?” asked Melody, leaning back in her chair. “What stories? From whom?”

“Zusa once served in the temple,” Alyssa said. “For daring to sleep with another man, she was stripped naked, beaten, and forced into servitude. Many years ago, when I first met her, we were also chased by a man in dark plate mail. One of Karak’s paladins. He would have dragged me back to Veldaren, to a dungeon or to my death, I do not know. Zusa protected me from him, saved me from such a fate.”

“What you know of Karak is twisted,” Melody said, shaking her head. “The priests here, you must understand, they do not follow the right path. They do not understand the old ways…”

“And I don’t care,” Alyssa said, finally setting down her drink and looking her mother in the eye. “If you want me to pray to Karak, then you will be sorely disappointed. Pray to him yourself. In Zusa I have seen all I need to see of the perverse ugliness at the heart of your lion god.

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