“Not if you’re just going to watch the gibbons.”
“Sorry. I like how they celebrate. Go ahead. This is actually a great place for a private talk. I’m paying attention.”
Avoiding his gaze, Rachel tugged self-consciously on her sleeves and cleared her throat. “Okay. Galloran, I’m worried that the oracle may not have made an accurate prediction. I mean, she sent you after the Word, and that didn’t turn out so great. She didn’t know that one of her students was an assassin. She was dying when she spoke to us. What if her mind was foggy? What if she was just desperate?”
“You’re worried that Felrook can’t be taken?” Jason checked.
Rachel shrugged. “I know we have an opportunity. Maldor’s main armies are in the east, fighting Kadara. Since Maldor isn’t worried about anyone attacking him, Felrook isn’t heavily defended. But what if he’s right not to worry? Nobody thought Felrook could be taken until the oracle told us to do it. If she was wrong, the last armies resisting Maldor will be crushed! And the other group won’t have it any easier.”
“We have to do impossible stuff too,” Jason agreed.
“What if this is like the Word? What if we’re heading down a false trail?”
“We’ll all die,” Jason said honestly.
“And you’re okay with that?” Rachel blustered.
“I’m not okay with dying,” Jason said. She clearly needed reassurance. It was hard to tell what would help her. He had plenty of his own concerns, but at least he felt convinced that their quests were necessary. “Normally, I wouldn’t risk my life for anything. But these aren’t normal circumstances. I get that we really could die—we’ve already lost people we know. The oracle never promised we’d make it. She didn’t promise we’d succeed, either. But she did say that our only chance for winning would be to follow her instructions. Her words were good enough for Galloran. They were good enough for the drinlings. They were even good enough for the Amar Kabal, and you know how careful they are.”
“But how do I know the oracle got it right?” Rachel asked, almost pleading.
Jason considered her question. “You know better than anyone how Galloran can look into minds.”
“We talk without speaking all the time,” Rachel said. “He even sometimes does it when I’m not communicating with him on purpose.”
“Don’t you think he was making sure the oracle was being straight with us?” Jason asked. “Don’t you think he was watching her mind the whole time? You know how smart he is, how cautious. He’s been burned before. And he’s convinced.”
“True,” Rachel admitted.
“You spoke with the oracle, just like the rest of us. She knew things about us that she couldn’t have known unless she was the real deal. She was the oracle here for a long time. Everybody accepted her as authentic. She didn’t promise we’d win, but I’m sure that what she told us is true. Basically, if we want to save Lyrian, we have to do this, even though it’ll be brutal.”
“She warned that even if we won, many of us wouldn’t make it,” Rachel reminded him. “And she told us that we would probably fail.”
“True,” Jason said. “But we fail for sure if we don’t try.”
Rachel nodded thoughtfully. She looked into his eyes. “You’re convinced?”
Jason found himself turning inward, taking her question seriously. Sure, he had been looking for arguments to reassure her, but it was more than just that. He realized that he really believed what he was saying. This needed to happen. It felt true in his gut, in his bones, right down to his core. “Yeah, I am.”
“So I shouldn’t bother Galloran?”
“Depends why you want to talk to him. If you need reassurance from him, go ahead. But you’re not going to point out any doubts he hasn’t already considered. He knows the stakes, and he made his choice.”
Rachel sighed, her whole body sagging. “Maybe you’re right. It isn’t like I realized some specific danger that everyone overlooked. I guess I’m mostly nervous about leaving, and I let that make me paranoid.”
“You’re not alone. I get worried too. At least you’ve become the ninja wizard girl. You’ll probably make a big difference out there.”
“And you won’t?”
Jason shrugged, trying not to let his worries show. “I hope so. I’m just not sure how.”
“You’ve done so much. I can’t picture you very nervous.”
Jason smiled. “I’m glad you can’t imagine me that way. But I’m all wound up, too. Why do you think I’m hiding out up here when I should be packing? Just because these quests are the right thing to do doesn’t mean they won’t be hard.”
“Or maybe even impossible.”
“We can’t think that way. We’ll psych ourselves out.”
Rachel nodded. “All right. I guess you’ve talked me off the ledge.”
Jason glanced at the enormous drop to the temple floor. “Were you going to jump?”
“I didn’t mean literally. Wanting to die isn’t my problem.”
“Good. The slow way down makes a lot more sense. You sure you’re okay?”
Her smile looked a little forced. “Depends what you mean by okay. Am I looking forward to leaving? No. Do I wish I could go hide under a rock? Yes. Will I do my duty? I don’t really have another choice. I can’t abandon everybody, and I can’t deny that this is the right thing to do.”
Jason nodded. “That’s what it comes down to. Difficult or not, scary or not, it’s the right choice. Our friends need us. Lyrian needs us. We have to keep going.”
Her smile became sweeter, more natural. “Thanks, Jason. I needed this. You can be pretty impressive sometimes. Now I don’t have to embarrass myself by bothering Galloran. I’ll find a way to keep it together. Are you done up here? Should we head down?”
“I guess.” Following her to a ladder, Jason turned to look back. “So much for my farewell ape fights.”
* * *
While descending from the heights of the temple, Jason and Rachel found Ferrin awaiting them near the base of a long ladder. Dressed for travel, he leaned against the wall, balancing his dagger on his fingertip. “Jason,” the displacer greeted, sheathing the knife. “I was beginning to worry you had been made an honorary gibbon.”