Page 131 of Salt in the Seas
“They’re the acolytes of the Seer. Each one of them is a possible replacement for her, but they don’t expect it. There’s no method to the madness of a new Seer being chosen. It’s simply seen by the former Seer and decided. Sometimes it comes after mere moons of one Seer being in place; other times it’s years. Lady Merinnia has been in this position since before some of the elders were born, so we all expect her to pass it on in the near future.”
The acolytes kept glancing at Gaeren and the others, their sharp gazes intimidating as he wondered how much they could see. If each of these women were trained to be the future Seer, were they sifting the visitors’ futures even now?
“What happens next?” Gaeren asked.
“From what my mother told me, this is where only one of us movesforward. I suspect they’ll take us one at a time to see her until her patience wears out. We could be here for days getting through everyone.” Nori’s face grew troubled. “I don’t know of any instance where this many have come to see her at once. I thought it was forbidden, but it seems it was tradition for it to be an individual’s journey.”
Gaeren took a sip of the fresh water they’d laid out, then grabbed some sort of seaweed roll that looked more edible than the other things on the table. Despite his practice at multiple ambassador meetings with strange customs and foods, he still made a face and set the roll down on an empty plate, desperate for a place to spit out the little he’d eaten.
“You don’t care for the octopus intestine rolls?” Velden asked, slapping Gaeren on the back and making him choke on the slimy substance. Velden picked up the remainder of the roll and shoved half of it in his mouth in a single bite. “My mother made these for me when I was a boy. I’ll have to get the recipe before we leave.”
Gaeren felt sick watching the other man eat, but he was saved from responding by the elders and the acolytes turning to face the group, their gazes solemn. For the first time, the elders seemed nervous, and Elder Algaen sought Nori out with his eyes, his expression pained.
One of the acolytes stepped forward to address the group. “Lady Merinnia saw your approach. She is unhappy with your decision to come with so many, but she has seen that the result is good. She is willing to sacrifice her comfort to see all of you for the sake of the people. Once you have had your fill, we will take you all to her chamber.”
Nori and Gellen both balked. “All of us?” Nori asked. “At once?”
The acolyte turned her way. “It has been foreseen.”
CHAPTER 50
Gaeren glanced at Sylmar,whose grip tightened on his staff.
Something was very wrong. He would have suspected foul play from the Sayhleens if it weren’t for their equal surprise. But now his distrust in the acolytes grew, as if they’d manufactured this entire visit. But how could they have? Even if they’d foreseen some way to use this to their benefit, they hadn’t sent the Vendarans across the barriers. They hadn’t pushed the elders to make it such a large affair.
His fear came full circle, reminding him of all the times Orra’s ominous predictions had left him uneasy. If she were standing here, she would smile serenely and say it had all been arranged by the Sun. And who were they to question the Sun’s decision?
No one else spoke up, and the food and drinks remained untouched for several long moments, their appetites stolen by their fear.
The acolyte who’d addressed them gave a sharp nod. “Very well, your guards can remain as well as your elders, but anyone who has called upon their right to see Lady Merinnia may step forward. It’s important that you understand you do not need to state your individual requests. Her power is pervasive. Most come seeking answers to the future, but some come seeking judgment about the past. Her skills fall along the full length of the pneumatic spoke, so she will sift the thing you wish to know most, whether it be in your past, present,or future. If it’s the future you wish to know, she will show you the possible paths, likely only three at most, sometimes only one.”
Gaeren winced, unsure he would trust a single path shown. It seemed impossible. And what was it he wished to see anyway? He was supposed to be proving his innocence, but they’d come to find a cure for the curse. Except he wanted that for Aeliana. Deep down he knew that wasn’t what Lady Merinnia would show him, not if she sifted through what they each truly wanted the most.
The acolyte raised her chin. “You will not all like what you see. You may not all leave here alive or sane. The things you learn may haunt you for years to come. Anyone who steps into her chambers comes with that understanding. You are choosing this knowledge. She is not forcing it on you, though it may feel that way in the moment, depending on what you see.”
Riveran snagged the hem of Gaeren’s tunic. “I don’t like this,” he whispered. “It’s too much like the sprites.”
“It makes me wonder if their source of power is the same,” Gaeren murmured, “if the Seer’s power really originates from the Sun after all.”
Their conversation was cut short as the head acolyte’s gaze rested on them. “Do you all accept this warning and agree to proceed?”
Everyone nodded.
“And do you agree not to hold Lady Merinnia accountable for seeing and sharing the truth, for she is but a messenger?”
The nods were slower to come this time.
“But you said she told you the outcome was good?” Aeliana clarified.
The head acolyte hesitated. “It is for the good of all people. I don’t know if it is good for each one of you.”
“We agree.” Nori’s voice rang out with confidence.
“Then so be it.” The acolyte turned to head down another small cavern hall. Three of the women followed her, but the other four gestured for those seeking Lady Merinnia’s judgment to walk before them so they could take up the rear. Gaeren and a few others were forced to hunch inside the cavern as the ceiling sloped downward, their growing discomfort representative of their growing fear. Whenthe hall that had become more like a narrow tube let out into a larger cavern, Gaeren had to blink several times for his eyes to adjust to the new source of light. It came from deep within the pool of water at their feet, an unmoving cerulean glow that cast them all in a somber blue sheen.
The path they walked led around the circumference of the pool to an open area with a single chair carved from the same rock they walked on. A woman with long kelp-like hair and scaly skin sat so still on its seat that Gaeren questioned if he was looking at a statue of one of the first Seers or the current Seer herself. When they reached the platform, she turned ever so slightly, opening eyes that were milky white to stare unseeing at them.
Gaeren couldn’t help recoiling, and a few others around him gasped, but the woman made no sign of offense.
