You have been chosen, Pez, as others have been chosen before you.

What is my role as Messenger?

You are wise counsel to those who protect and nurture Lyana. You are their friend. You are eyes and ears for them, for her. You tell her what she needs to know.

But that is you, Iridor, not me.

We are one.

How can that be?

Because you are chosen. Release me from the statue. Let our spirits combine.

How?

You have already opened your mind to me. Now open your heart. I am friend, not foe. I will never hurt you or those you love, but we together are warriors for the battle.

Against Maliz?

Yes.

Has he begun remaking himself? Pez asked, astounded, remembering the old story.

Yes. It is done.

How will we know who he is?

You will discover him, as he will discover you.

Pez felt suddenly overwhelmed. Are you sure you want me? You can see me, can't you? An ugly dwarf, a supposed imbecile? What can I possibly do, how can Ia"

Hush, Pez, the voice soothed. You were born this way in order to be Iridor. You learned early how to hide your true self. You have known your abilities since you were very youngaand you have hidden them well. Accept me fully, Pez.

Is that even my name?

Your earthly name, yes. Your heavenly name has always been Iridor and all of us who worship the Mother see nothing but your beauty.

At this Pez thought he might have wept, though he couldn't be sure. The voice talking to him was gentle. It demanded nothing. It simply asked him to join the fight, make use of the powers he had been gifted.

Do I belong to Lyana?

Of course. You always have.

The calming words, the gentle voice, the warmth throughout his being, all told him to accept this special task.

I won't let her down.

You never have. When you awake, we shall be one but you cannot come into your full power yet, though you will have to soon. Until then you will still have questions. Listen closely to those who can help you.

And the desert night blazed into a silvery fire.

HE SUCKED IN a huge breath and realized that Zafira was standing over him, her face a mask of worry.

"Pez!"

"What was that?" he asked, shocked by her nearness and concern.

"You tell me. One minute we were talking and the next you became silent and rigid in the chair. I couldn't reach you. I was talking to you and pulling at you but you were like the statue you grasped so hard in your fist."

He relaxed the white-knuckled grip, his hand opening slowly to reveal a silver owl with jeweled eyes that were no longer red. They glittered yellow now, as if all the gold from the body had been absorbed into its eyes. He realized they were exactly the color of his own eyes, his strange yellowish eyes that had always fascinated and repulsed people.

Zafira gave a sound of exclamation. "What's happened to you, to it?"

"I don't know how this happened," he claimed truthfully. "IaI felt like I was traveling."

"When? Just now, when you were like stone?"

He nodded. "I can't remember what occurred," he added, deciding to lie now. He was not ready to share his secrets with Zafira and his mind was suddenly aware that an ancient knowledge lay within him. He couldn't touch it yet, for it sat dormant as the spirit had promised. He wondered when he would be called to rise.

Zafira was still talking anxiously. "You called my name but then I felt as though I'd lost you."

Pez was silent. He knew he was shaking. "I can't remember anything," he reiterated, wondering why Zafira looked as shocked as he was feeling. "I do remember what you told me, though. I have some questions."

"Ask them," she said, no sign of her concern dissipating.

"The old woman in the bazaar who gave the owl to Anaa""

She anticipated his question. "Yes, it was Ellyana."

"She was also my Bundle Woman."

"I know."

"So she deliberately sought me out and then with the same intent went after Ana and Lazar. Why not just give me the owl when we first met?"

"Pez, I don't know as much as you think I do but I gather that Ellyana was drawn to all of you as she was to me. She was compelled, you could say. The owl finds its own, as I have explained. And when Ana approached her, Ellyana realized she was the young woman she was seeking. Lazar I'm not sure about. He could have simply been a bystander."

"Then why would she try and save his life?" he persisted. "It doesn't make sense."

"Compassion?"

He snorted. "Don't play me for a fool, Zafira. I'm not suggesting that Ellyana's cruel but her mind is set on one thinga"whatever it isa"and it involves me and Ana and I'd suggest Lazar as well as yourself. There was nothing coincidental about her arrival at the temple and there was nothing casual about her decision to aid Lazar. She wanted to save his life, needed to save his life. He is as involved as the rest of us. But now she's lost hima"that's where it all falls apart. How did she react to his death? It must have been a shock."

Zafira shrugged, looked uncharacteristically awkward. "I was too upset to take much notice."

"Yes, but you recall she was so calm at the temple. She even mentioned that she should have guessed something like this would happen. She was perturbed but not terrified for his life as the rest of us were. It was as though she knew something we didn't. And still he died." He shook his head. "It just doesn't make sense. Didn't you talk to her? Hasn't it struck you as odd that she's turned up now?"

"Yes, of course. But, more importantly, since she arrived at the temple my feeling of being unsettled has disappeared. She is a fellow priestess and her quiet presence has calmed me."

"What did she say to ease your anxiety?"

Zafira hesitated. "She said that we are sisters and that I have already contributed to the Mother."

"That's it?" Pez pushed.

She hesitated again.

"You must tell me," he urged.

"She said that Lyana was coming again. She knew because Iridor was rising. Ellyana assured me that my work was just beginning and I would be instrumental in aiding Lyana for the battle ahead."

Pez fell silent. It was as disturbing to him to hear Zafira's words as it was for her to repeat them. Awed and overwhelmed, they stared at each other, helpless.

"And I'm Iridor," he said finally. He still didn't want to believe it. Still couldn't, in truth.

"Yes, that's what I think Ellyana must have wanted you to understand, why she gave the statue to Ana, hoping it would find its way to you in the harem. But Ana gave it to Lazara" Her voice trailed off.

"And still it found its way to me." He finished her thought for them both. Sitting forward, Pez took Zafira's hand, a plea in his voice. "But how do we know this is truth? What do we know about Iridor? How can we possibly accept that I am thisathisa"" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Demigod?"

He nodded.

"Tell me what you do know of Iridor."

He sat back, despondent. "Very little. He's an owl."

She looked suddenly intrigued. "Iridor is known for hiding himself from others, listening, gathering information. He is able to take the form of a silvery-white owl at will."

Pez forced a smile. "Well, I fit the bill on the first three but that last item surely counts me out. I ask you, Zafira, do I look like a bird?" His voice was filled with amusement.

"As a matter of fact, you do," she surprised him.

He snorted his derision. "A silvery-white bird?"

"Come with me, Pez," she said softly.

"Where?"

"Over here," she said, standing and walking toward a small bureau that held her comb and brush, her chain with the Cross of Life pendant, and a few other possessions, including a pretty ornamental hand mirror worked in silver. She picked up the mirror and offered it to Pez. "Look at yourself."

And Pez did, taking the mirror from her hand and staring into it, aghast. He had never cared much for his reflection at the best of times but now he was stunned.

Staring back at him, he saw his face, pale with shock, surrounded by hair of the purest white.

26.

When Ana woke the following morning, Pez was back at her side. He was wearing a madly colored knitted cap that hugged his squarish head and made him look even more ridiculous than usual.

"Do you like my new garb?" he asked.

She gave a wan smile. "No one will miss you in it."

They looked sadly at each other for a few moments and Pez reached to take her hand.

She looked earnestly into his strangely yellow eyes. "Is it true? Not just a bad dream?"

"Lazar is dead," he said as gently as he could, although the words still caught in his throat. "Jumo sailed yesterday to find his family. And Horz will pay with his life today for murder of the Spur."

"Horz?" she exclaimed, fully awake now. She sat up. "He did not do such a thing."

Pez gave a small shrug. "No one knows the truth, child. He has admitted it to the Zar in front of witnesses."

"Then he has been forced into speaking a lie."

"I'm sure that notion has been explored but there is nothing to be done about it. And it should not be something that affects you anyway."

"The death of an uncle?" she said, her voice hard and flat. "No wonder Boaz asked me to confirm it."

"Call him the Zar, Ana. It's important you keep your head very low now. Are you telling me Horz was kin to you?"

She nodded, glad for the admonishing reminder. "I promise you I will be careful." Her eyes filled with tears. "Yes, Horz is my father's brother. We kept it secret. Neither of us said anything about it when we first saw each other in the Choosing Room and we kept it that way. Pez, I'm not sure I want to live. My life is stretching out before me. It looks long and pointless in the harem. And now with Lazar dead because of mea" She couldn't finish.

He pulled out a spotted silk square. "Dry those eyes, Ana, and bury that hurt, I beg you. You will never have a pointless life and I will protect you as I promised Lazar. Lazar is gone, though, Ana, and he would have been gone for you anyway. You would not have been permitted to see anyone other than the harem members or the Zar. You must accept that. Put Lazar from your mind."

She looked at him as though he spoke in a different language. "Put him out of my mind? How can you ask that of me? I loved him," she said fiercely.

If she expected him to be shocked by her admission, she was disappointed. Pez glanced around, making a hushing sound. "So did I, child. I will miss him, as will Boaz, as will Jumo, but we must all get on somehow. You must rise above your pain and forge a new life, for you would never have been permitted to love him except as a distant memory. I hear you've already caught the Zar's eyea"that in itself should give you hope."

"To be his concubine, you mean? At his beck and call, to service his sexual needs?"

Pez gave a tutting sound. "You do view it dimly. Give the young Zar a chance. You may be surprised. He is not obsessed with carnal pleasure. He is actually something of a scholar, and charming company. I was thinking of something far beyond concubine for you, Odalisque Ana. I see no reason why you will not be a wife, if not Absolute Favorite."

"It doesn't change anything, Pez," she said morosely. "I'm still a prisoner."

"Only of your own mind. The Zar is talking about change. He's planning a picnic for the girlsa"and that's just the beginning."

She looked at him. "Perhaps I could effect change through him."

The dwarf grinned. "Good girl. Look ahead, Ana. Pretend Lazar is not dead. Tell yourself you simply can't see him anymore; it's what they would have done to you anyway. Time will heal that pain in your heart, I promise. Make your own destiny, child."

His words roused in her a new sense of hope. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like a bird?" she asked suddenly, and regained a small sense of amusement at the look of surprise that claimed his face.