OATHTAKER

Chapter 10, Part 3-2 (End Chapter 10)

"Unless?"

"I've never heard of it happening, but could someone have bewitched you somehow? Could someone be trying to order your steps?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I only know that it's happened on numerous occasions. Sometimes it lasts for days and is highly intense. Then it just . . . dies. Each time, I feel I've lost her all over again."

"Oh, Basha, I am so sorry. How awful. I don't know what to say." He played a drumbeat on his thigh. "So, what do you want to do about it?"

"I want to accompany you to the City of Light. That's the direction from which it seems to pull me each time. If Therese is there, maybe I'll find her. If she's alive, then she needs me."

"But why wouldn't she come to you then?"

Basha chewed on her lower lip. "I'd like to think it was because she couldn't, and not because she wouldn't."

"Maybe the Council would have some answers, or maybe scholars at the sanctuary library could help shed some light on this."

"Maybe."

He sat quietly for a minute, then turned his attention back to his own concerns. "What do you make of Lilith's behavior?"

Basha grew thoughtful. "Lilith is . . . She is . . . broken."

"Broken?"

"Yes. Rowena had finally managed to bring the family together, only to have everything disrupted when Therese died. Well, when we think she died. Lilith became lost. She resorted to her old selfish ways. Only now her behavior is many times worse."

"She's beginning to frighten me."

"Me too. That's another reason I want to accompany you. There have been rumors around the palace. I've stayed here on and off—mostly on—since shortly after you and Rowena left. It feels like there's a cloak of secrecy over the place. Meanwhile, Lilith has become more and more out of control."

"What kind of rumors?"

Basha sighed. "Dixon, some say she was behind Therese, Dianna, and Eve's, deaths. Some even say she may have meant Rowena harm."

"And Sally and Janine? They and Lilith are the only ones remaining of Rowena's sisters. Why would Lilith be behind the death of the first, second, and third, while leaving the fourth and fifth unharmed?"

"I don't know. Sally and Janine both stay here at the palace at all times. Lilith gives them free reign to do as they please. Sally uses her leadership as a fifth to . . . Oh, I don't know how to describe it. Let's just say that she encourages unusual things within her jurisdiction."

"Such as?"

Basha tapped her finger to her chin. "Oh, I know! Recently she encouraged new laws that forbid people from cutting wood from the public forests to burn for heating their homes."

"That doesn't make sense."

"She says 'the trees have feelings too.' She says if people want to burn wood for heat, they'll just have to get it elsewhere. And that's true even though the authorities only ever allowed the people to take out the deadwood, or to cut from certain areas so that if a forest fire broke out, it wouldn't burn out of control for miles on end. It's all so contrary to Ehyeh's ways."

"What does Lilith say?"

"She just laughs and says that's the price others pay for being 'commoners.'"

"Commoners! And Janine?"

"Oh, she does the most ridiculous things! People can't use medicines they prefer because she thinks they're bad for them. People can't teach their own children their skills, because she thinks children should be free to decide those things when they become adults. Do you know she's trying to restrict the kinds of weapons people keep for self-defense because she thinks they could be used to harm others?"

"It sounds like she just wants to control how others live."

"Yes, that's right. There's little rhyme or reason to most of what she does. The requirements are just extra burdens for the people, or could leave them vulnerable to harm."

"And I suppose Lilith reacts the same way with Janine?"

"To Lilith, the two of them can do no wrong."

Dixon pondered. "But why would she have intended harm to Dianna, or Eve? Or to Therese?"

Basha tilted her head right to left, then back again. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's the only explanation that makes any sense, the only one supported by all of the evidence."

"And that is?"

"They're trying to keep the people from being strong in their homes, families and convictions. When outside frustrations constantly harass the people, they're easier to control." She shrugged. "That's just a theory."

For a minute, Dixon considered telling Basha that he thought Lilith was responsible for Rowena's death as well, but he decided against it—at least for now. He didn't want to put any extra pressure on her should anyone discover he'd spoken with her.

They talked late into the night, contemplating the changes at the palace and in Oosa in general. When the first rays of morning light graced the sky, Dixon parted his friend's company and returned to the palace.

***Thank you for taking time with Oathtaker. I sincerely appreciate your votes and welcome your comments.*** 

Oathtaker is an award-winner in the 2014 Readers' Favorite International Book Award contest. A completed work, it is currently available in print form at CreateSpace at createspace.com/4767727, in print and for your Kindle on Amazon (see the link) and from Barnes and Noble for your Nook.