There was a pause.

‘You have slept long, child of the Tanzanite. You have missed much. We made invitation to Yadavendra six years ago.’

‘And he didn’t come?’

A look was shared among the Bringers. ‘He has not yet graced us with either reply or his presence.’

‘Then why haven’t you taken action?’

‘It is not our place to interfere in the business of the living. But when the time comes we will do … nothing.’

‘Nothing?’ Her first instinct was to be angry, but then she noticed the way they were staring at her and thought about it. They mean that literally. She exchanged a look with Arkav, and he nodded in understanding. They’re saying that when Yadavendra dies, they won’t bring him back! That’s how they will deal with this. She thought about it some more and quickly got angry again. ‘But that will be too late! I’ve heard about the situation at House Ruby. They cannot wait for Yadavendra to die, nor for House Sapphire to pull itself together.’

‘We cannot interfere. To do so would be to upset the balance.’

‘The balance is long past upset. It’s furious! It’s running around and setting things on fire!’

‘Pari,’ warned Arkav.

She went on, determined to make her point. ‘As we speak, people are dying. And I’m no seer, but I am confident that it’s going to get a lot worse if we don’t stop Yadavendra immediately.’

‘Then stop him,’ they replied. ‘That is your task, not ours.’

They seemed unmoved, her words unable to touch their strange hearts. She bowed again and said as politely as she could, ‘I am sorry for wasting your time.’

The lead Bringer waved away her apology. ‘We are all rich in time here, but we are wondering when you will raise the real reason for this meeting.’

‘I don’t understand.’

They all looked from her, to Arkav and back again, their eyes flashing unnaturally. ‘You understand.’

Pari conceded the point with a tilt of her head. ‘When we are between lives, our souls drift in another place. Is it possible to go there without dying?’

The Bringers were now giving her their full attention. ‘It is.’

‘Then I wish to make that journey. How do I get there?’

‘Below this castle, below every castle, are the fountains of essence that the Deathless ride. If you were to dive into the fountain, and fly against the currents, you would pass beneath the rock of this world and into another place. That is where the soul goes between lives.’

‘And if I wanted to find a particular soul, would it matter which place I went in?’

The Bringers did not answer.

‘They have no idea,’ said Arkav.

‘That is a simplistic answer,’ replied the lead Bringer, ‘and as with any simplification, it distorts truth.’

‘Will you enlighten us?’ asked Pari.