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The Quartz Key Chapter Sixty-One
by Lianne Burwell
April 2003
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Judas sat, staring into the distance, waiting for the men 
to speak. None did. The two he could see just watched him 
silently, without expression. Only the practice of his time 
of captivity allowed him to sit still. The back of his neck 
itched as well, and he had to fight the urge to move.

"Speak," one of the men finally said from behind him. His 
voice was deep and almost hypnotic.

"What would you have me say?" Judas countered. "You have 
asked no questions, and it is obvious that no one will 
answer mine." His jaw tightened in his bitterness.

There was a soft chuckle. "Perhaps, but you will never know 
unless you try."

Several sharp replies came to mind, but Judas refused to 
give them voice. "Why am I here?" he asked instead.

"Because this is where you belong. This is your home."

Judas shook his head angrily. "Ajantha was my home. The 
tribe of my father and my grandfather was my home. The 
desert was my home. Ne..." He stopped, and took a deep 
breath. "This is my prison, for there is no reason for me 
to think of it as anything else."

"You should be grateful," one of the men he could see said. 
"An outcast in the desert, a slave in the north. Here, you 
are revered. Here, you are valued."

"Here, I have no say in what I do, or when I do it, or even 
what I wear. I am treated as little better than a pampered 
pet, rewarded with small luxuries if I do as I am told, 
ignored when my presence is not desired," Judas spat back, 
his temper beginning to get the better of him. "Would you 
consider this life so great a boon?"

In a few quick steps, the man -- the youngest of the group 
-- was in front of Judas, his fist raised to strike a blow, 
and without thinking, Judas blocked it. His training with 
Nemir made that easy. Then he realized what he had done and 
went pale.

The man who had spoken before chuckled again. "Shall we 
dispense with the claim of blindness then? It will make 
this so much easier."

For a moment, Judas was tempted to deny. His block could be 
explained by saying that he had heard the sound of the fist 
swinging through the air. But instead, he sighed, and 
twisted in his seat to face the man who had spoken.

Where the others were all grim faced, and the one outright 
hostile, the white-haired man was smiling almost fondly at 
him. There was something in his calm authority that 
reminded Judas of his grandfather. "Now, shall we discuss 
this like adults? Hamar, sit down," he added, his 
expression becoming a glare as he shifted his attention to 
the young man still standing in front of Judas with his 
fists clenched.

"What is to discuss?" Hamar said angrily. "He will do as we 
tell him, or he will suffer for it."

"Sit, Hamar."

There was steal in the older man's voice, and Hamar chose 
to sit; wisely, in Judas's opinion. The older man's voice 
was the voice of authority, and it was obvious that the 
other clan chiefs deferred to him.

"Now, how long has it been since your sight returned?" the 
chief said, returning his attention to Judas, his 
expression softening.

"Seven days," Judas said, his mouth twisting with 
displeasure at having to make the admission.

"And you hid this in the hopes that you might be able to... 
leave us." Judas simply shrugged. Because of his earlier 
words, there was no point to deny it. "You would have 
failed. The temple is set on a high rock above our largest 
city. If you evaded the guards around the temple, and made 
your way down the cliffs, you would never be able to make 
your way out of the city without being detected." Then he 
smiled. "But if you cooperate, it may be that you will have 
a better chance of escape later."

"Chiram!" Hamar protested, jumping to his feet.

"Hamar, be silent. If you speak again, you will be removed 
from this council."

Hamar sat down again, but the glare he sent Judas's way was 
filled with anger and, surprising to Judas, jealousy. Why 
he should be jealous, Judas had no idea.

He turned back to the older man, Chiram. "What is it you 
want of me?" he asked bluntly. It was a question he had 
asked many times in the first few days after he had woken 
at the temple, then stopped since it was obvious that there 
was no one willing to answer it.

"The Goddess-touched have abilities that ordinary men and 
women do not," Chiram said, bringing his fingers together 
to form a peak in front of his chin, resting his elbows on 
the stone arms of his chair. He could not have been 
comfortable. Judas's back already ached from sitting on the 
stone bench for the short length of time he had been in the 
chamber. Above, the edge of the waxing moon was beginning 
to peek over the edge of the opening in the roof. "Those 
abilities hold the key to destroying the hold of the God-
King."

"What abilities?" Judas asked. The only one he had 
discovered so far did not seem to be one useful in a war, 
since he had only been able to see people that he already 
knew.

"You will learn what they are in time," Chiram said 
enigmatically. "The Goddess will teach you."

Hamar snorted, his expression one of disbelief, but he did 
not say a word, no doubt remembering the earlier threat.

"So, what happens next?" Judas asked, ignoring the young 
man.

"You have some training in how to fight, from what Nahanna 
told us. Now that the women of the temple have taught you 
our language and history, it is time for you to learn how 
to fight the way we do. We will be leaving for the 
gathering plain. The call has gone out and the time has 
come for us to march north and take back what is ours. Too 
long have we lived with the God-King's heel on our necks. 
Freedom will be ours!"

"Freedom!" the other men echoed.

The moon was fully displayed in the space above them, 
giving everything a silvery glow, and an unreal feeling. 
"How?" Judas asked.

"You will kill the God-King in single combat."

>>>~~~<<<

Judas lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. After the 
end of his meeting with the five clan chiefs, he had been 
escorted back to his room, and for the first time, the door 
was locked solidly behind him, in response to the fact that 
they now knew he could see. After Chiram's pronouncement, 
he had barely been able to follow the rest of what they had 
said. How did they think that he would be able to fight a 
man with god-like powers who had ruled for centuries? Nemir 
had taught him enough blade work to know how to defend 
himself against the average swordsman, but not one with 
centuries of experience. Surely they could not truly expect 
him to win such a battle.

He was not the only one who had his doubts. Just before the 
end of the audience, Hamar had finally spoken up again, 
urging Chiram to 'breed' Judas first, as though he was a 
stallion to be used for stud. From what he said, it was not 
one woman he was speaking of, such as Nahanna; it was many. 
The thought of it was enough to make Judas feel ill. He had 
never coupled with a woman, and he was not sure that he 
would even be able to perform if they insisted.

Thankfully, Chiram did not seem inclined to try that. If 
they failed, he had told Hamar, there would be no need for 
them to have bred a new Goddess-touched male, for there 
would be no one left to follow him into battle. This was 
their last chance to cast of their yokes.

That quiet and dignified statement was almost enough to 
inspire Judas to their side, despite all that had happened, 
but he said nothing. The truth was, he was still so very 
confused. Chiram seemed so honest, and so certain that when 
the time came, Judas would know what to do. Hamar, on the 
other hand, was young and arrogant. He reminded Judas of 
many of the young men of his tribe; the ones who would 
torment him when no one was around to carry tales to his 
brother or grandfather. He did not trust Judas, or his 
supposed abilities. He wanted to breed a new champion who 
would be raised from birth to do as he was told.

But as Chiram had pointed out, the God-King knew of his 
existence. He had sent soldiers to Ajantha to find and 
presumably kill him. Rumors had spoken of war coming in the 
south. With Judas still not found, there was little chance 
that the God-King would not be on the march by summer. Like 
it or not, the final battle to control the south was 
coming, and they would have to fight.

Judas pulled the mirror from its hiding place, but found 
himself unable to concentrate enough to see Nemir. Despite 
his best efforts to see him, or either of his two 
companions, all that he found was a headache that 
threatened to blind him again. Finally, he slipped the 
mirror into his sleeve and closed his eyes, trying to find 
some rest. At dusk, they would be leaving the temple. The 
call had already gone out to all of the clans, it seemed, 
even to those who had fled even further south in the wake 
of the first war with the God-King. The army was beginning 
to form, he had been told. Once they reached the plain, he 
would be presented to them as the new avatar of the Goddess 
on earth, and then he would lead them into battle, even if 
it was really the clan chiefs who commanded.

Judas's stomach clenched. He rolled over onto his side and 
curled up into a small ball. Rest was a long time coming.

>>>~~~<<<

Judas chewed on his lower lip, listening to the soft music, 
before turning to the Lady. "They said that... you would 
teach me what I need to know; how to destroy the God-King."

"Do you want to destroy him?" the Lady asked, setting aside 
her instrument.

"I... don't know. But if I am ever to be free, I need to 
know what I am and what I can do. Will you teach me?"

The Goddess stood, and held out her hand. "I will."

He took it and stood, then waited for what came next.

END CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE