Read Online Beyond the Prophecy by Meredith Mansfield - Free Book Online

of
the Temple grounds or being led into the labyrinth of the Temple structure. But
all seemed to be proceeding in an orderly fashion. There was no sign, either
here or on the visible portion of the island, of the kind of damage a massive
wave would have caused.
    “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe that wasn’t Fore Sight after all,”
Vatar said.
    “Or maybe what you saw simply hasn’t happened yet.” Thekila
pointed to an open area a little back from the pier. “There’s Boreala over
there. Let’s see if she needs our help.”
    Boreala greeted them with a harried smile. “Of course we can
use more help. Besides the children, the first to be evacuated over here were those
injured during the quake. It’s my job to sort out the most urgent cases.” She
gestured to one side, where three men and two women lay on stretchers waiting
to be carried into the Healers’ Hall.
    All but one women were groaning in pain. Their moans a counterpoint
to the wailing of children uprooted from their homes and not yet reunited with
their parents.
    Thekila winced. “Theklan and I can help try to keep the
little ones occupied and calm.”
    Boreala smiled. “That would be a help.”
    “I can help carry a stretcher, at least,” Vatar said.
    “I was just about to ask,” Boreala said. “Start with that
one over there.” She indicated the silent woman. “She’s in the worst shape.”
    Vatar stepped up to the front of the stretcher. At a nod
from Boreala, a Healer’s apprentice took the back handles and they set off
toward the Healers’ Hall on the far side of the Temple.
    Vatar was almost back to where Boreala was working when the
prickling sensation between his shoulder blades came back, stronger than
before. He’d only ever had a double warning once before. He’d ignored it, then,
not understanding about Fore Sight, and his best friend had died. That wasn’t
going to happen again. He took off running toward the pier, trying to determine
who was in charge there. He spotted a man who seemed to be directing the flow
of people debarking from the boats and, occasionally, changing the rowers to
give them a break.
    Vatar went up to him. “You have to get more boats out
there.”
    “Those are all the boats we have,” the man replied.
    Vatar looked across the strait at the crowd of people still
on the stairs that led down from the main entrance to the dock. Still waiting
their turn. “Then send someone to get help from the fishermen or the
merchants.”
    The man took a step back, eyes going wide. “I can’t do that.
What would the Caereans think of the Fasallon having to evacuate Palace
Island?”
    Vatar shook his head. “You really think they haven’t noticed
that already. They’re not blind. We need their help or you’ll never get
everyone off in time.”
    The man looked out at the unusually placid waves of the
strait. “I don’t see the urgency. Frankly, I think this whole thing is a waste
of time. I’d like to get my hands on whoever suggested this was necessary in
the first place.”
    Vatar straightened. “That would be me. Based on a Fore
Seeing. Which I just had again a moment ago. There’s no time to waste.”
    The man stood his ground. “I still don’t see any need to
hurry.”
    Vatar chewed his lip in frustration. “No, but I do. Very
soon that island is going to be flooded by a monster wave.”
    The man’s brows rose. “A monster wave? In the bay? I
sincerely doubt that. And involving the fishermen or the merchants would only
make them question the Sea Gods.”
    “So it’s better for all those people to drown?” Vatar asked.
“Get more boats.”
    The man pointed back up toward the Temple. “Even if I wanted
to, I couldn’t do that without Montibeus’s authorization.”
    Vatar wanted to scream as he twitched his shoulders against
a third, even stronger, feeling of danger. “Well, it’s a good thing I can,
then.”
    Vatar ignored the gate, he ran for the steps he knew led
down to the beach. Dragon’s Cove,