by Pedro Urvi
Let us hope we are the ones, Rotec said with folded arms.
Kyra looked at him, not understanding.
Adamis nodded. Yes, it would be better if it were us. The House which attains it will make a definitive break in the delicate balance of powers which it is so hard to keep in order to avoid a war. The other Houses will want that knowledge for themselves, and there will be war. It is inevitable, for the achievement is of such magnitude that no-one will be able to deny it.
An abysmal war, Notaplo said. For so great is the glory and power which attaining immortality might grant that the other Houses will not rest until they conquer it. Rivers of pain and death will soak Alantres, our glorious and eternal city. The Five Rings will be drowned in the dark blood of our people. Unfortunately I have not the slightest doubt of that.
We must move ahead of the others, Rotec said, especially the House of the Second Ring, for our own good and the good of our whole civilization. If we go to war it could destroy us all.
Adamis nodded and went to his friend’s side. Lord Asu is extremely dangerous. He is always looking for ways to gain an advantage for his House.
Rather, for himself, said Rotec. He is taking advantage of his father’s absence. He knows very well that the cycle is about to end and he will once again have to give back the reins of his House to his father, the King.
Notaplo put his hands behind his back. Lord Asu is very dangerous, it is true. From what we have been able to find out, his studies are focused on getting hold of the vital essence. But I do not think he has been able to advance very far. That path has been investigated and abandoned by all the Houses.
All the Erudites are unanimous on that point, it is a dead end, Adamis said.
I would not say that. It is a way from which nobody has managed to obtain more. Dead? I do not know. What we discovered in that field two thousand years ago we are still using nowadays. Let us not forget that. And it is crucial for the survival of our leaders, of our civilization. He was looking at her out of the corner of his eye, which troubled her. She did not understand what they were talking about, although she sensed that it was important and that, for some reason, it affected her.
“What is… this thing that’s so important?” she asked timidly.
Notaplo and Rotec looked at Adamis. There was tension on their golden faces.
We cannot tell you all our secrets, Adamis said, hiding behind his God-Prince mask. You are a slave, after all.
The comment hurt her, but she said nothing, although her eyes probably gave her feelings away.
But we can share with you the reason why you are here, Adamis said, and gestured at Notaplo to go on.
Notaplo leaned on his staff. He sounded more relaxed. You are here because you are not like the others, and an anomaly in a species is exactly what I am looking for.
“Anomaly?”
Well, little shrew, my area of study, my knowledge, centers on the study of the species.
Kyra stared at him blankly. All my life I have been studying the different varieties of species which wise Nature puts before us in all her greatness and glory, and which we refuse to admire because we believe ourselves to be superior, when in fact we are not.
“What species?”
All of them, but one in particular.
“Mine.”
Notaplo smiled from ear to ear.
Exactly.
“And what interests you about mine?”
For a thousand years we have enslaved your people, and for almost as much time I have been studying you. You have always fascinated me. This innate capacity for survival of a species of animal without Power, which despite everything survives, reproduces and goes on growing. The survival instinct you possess is incredible, something we lack. But the most surprising thing is your extraordinary ability to reproduce.
“Extraordinary? A woman needs more than nine moons to conceive and give birth to a child.”
Our race needs ten times as much, and a woman can rarely bear more than two children. Very rarely.
She looked at them in surprise. “You only have one brother or sister?”
They shook their heads sorrowfully. With luck! We do not have either, we are only children.
When one of our people dies without children, he said, his eyes on Adamis and Rotec, it is catastrophic for the family. Not only has one life been lost, a life which should have lasted for many years, the seed of the family is also lost and cannot be recovered. That is why attaining immortality is so urgent for us. And that is why I am so fascinated by your species.
“What are you looking for in us?”
Notaplo smiled. An extraordinary anomaly.
She frowned. “Why do you want to experiment with me?”
Because you are a Selected, an anomaly in yourself.
“Now?”
At midnight.
Kyra raised herself to her full height.
“I’ll be ready.”
27
It was the middle of the night, and the moon, almost full, shone brightly in a clear sky full of shimmering stars. Liriana surfaced and looked for the safety of the pier. She climbed out noiselessly, dragged herself over the wooden structure and hid among the shadows.
Old Tulmis’ plan has worked. I can hardly believe it.
She leaned back and recovered her breath. When she stretched her arms she felt twinges in her tired shoulders. The escape had left her exhausted. Unfortunately she had been forced to leave the stolen boat when she had seen a patrol in the middle of the great channel. She had swum most of the way, the last part under water. She closed her eyes and fell asleep, overcome by exhaustion.
The fluttering of some bird of prey woke her. She sat up, alarmed, her heart racing. She looked in all directions but could see nothing. She was surrounded by darkness.
How long have I slept? She felt recovered. Not more than a couple of hours. I must hurry or I’ll lose the cover of night.
She recalled Tulmis’ instructions: “It’s just under the statue of a lion, to the east of the Royal Palace.” She had to go there at once. She looked for it, sweeping the horizon with a glance, and it was not hard to find. It was so incredible and magnificent that in the moonlight it shone as if it were pure crystal, The Palace of a God-King. It’s truly spectacular… and the way it shines, even a blind man would be able to know where it is.
She looked around her and listened in the silence of the night. The area she was in was deserted. There was not a soul near: human, Enforcer or God. She thanked Oxatsi and seized her chance to move as fast as she could without making any noise. It did not take her long to make out the lion statue. She hastened to it, but as she was nearing it she had to stop and hide behind a hedge. A patrol of Custodians was making the round of the area, going around the statue on their way.
She stretched her neck. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to make out the entrance to the twelfth catacomb. It had to be there, but she was too far away to see it. She risked running at a crouch and found a crystal fountain surrounded by glass benches in the middle of the park. She cursed to herself. She could not hide behind them, she would be seen. She ran to the right and found another statue. It too was translucent.
Hell! Everything here is like glass, there’s nowhere to hide!
A little to the right she saw some oak trees and ran to them as if a devil were after her. She reached them and threw herself behind one of them, out of sight, with her chest heaving wildly. Only the trees offered any protection in the whole area. She managed to calm down and recover her breath. She glanced quickly around. On the right of the huge pedestal of the statue was a Custodian on watch duty in front of a low rectangular building. This caught her attention. She crawled forward a little further to another tree and hid behind it. She risked a quick look. The low building looked military, with no windows. The door the Custodian was guarding was of reinforced metal, but the bolts were on the outside.
She clenched her fist and nodded. The twelfth catacomb, she thought with
a triumphant smile. Maruk was inside, a prisoner. She had to rescue him, for herself, for their own people. It was essential. But how? She had to avoid the patrol and the guard at the door. She leaned against the trunk of the tree. And then she heard them. The heavy sound of a dozen iron-clad footsteps, hammering the ground to the rhythm of a drum. Swiftly, like lightning, she looked out and hid back again.
The patrol! It’s coming towards me!
Her heart began to beat so hard she thought it might burst from her chest. What can I do? If she stayed there she would be discovered, if she ran she would be seen. But she could not stay there; the footsteps sounded very close, were almost on top of her. I have to go back to another tree! She crouched, ready to spring.
A barn owl hooted above her. Damn! She was so furious that she looked up. And froze. A hand reached out for her from among the shadows of the branches. The patrol was almost on top of her. She did not stop to think twice. She stood, reached up and grabbed the hand. She felt herself being powerfully pulled, and climbed up the tree. She held on to a thick branch and hid. The patrol passed underneath, brushing against the tree on their way towards the next oak in the park. She breathed again. When they had passed she turned to her savior. Her eyes were met by others both strange and enigmatic: one intense emerald, the other a pale blue, almost gray: eyes she knew very well.
“Ikai!” she cried, unable to contain her surprise and joy.
He put a finger to his lips. “Shhh,” he warned her.
She fixed her eyes on his and made a great effort to contain herself. They waited for the patrol to walk away before speaking.
“But what are you doing here?” he asked in an almost inaudible whisper.
“Me? What are you doing here?”
“What do you think? Hiding from the patrols, of course. The trees are the only place to hide. The whole area’s made of glass.”
“I’m so happy to see you!” she said whole-heartedly. “I was afraid you’d got caught… or worse.” As she looked into the enigmatic Hunter’s eyes and his determined, attractive face, she felt butterflies in her stomach and a pleasant warmth in her chest. “I’m so glad to see you…” she added, and felt the warmth reach her face so that the crimson rose to her cheeks.
And she did not mind.
“You didn’t seem so glad that morning you left without even saying goodbye.”
Liriana read reproach in his eyes. “I didn’t want to endanger your life. You have your mission and I have mine. There were more chances of doing it separately than together. And you know it.”
“You might have asked me.”
“Would you have agreed?”
“No…”
“I didn’t want to risk an argument.”
“But…”
“It’s not important any longer. The two of us made it. We’ve come all this way.”
For a moment he turned a penetrating gaze on her, then he nodded.
“What I’ve come looking for is behind that door. I must get in and rescue him.”
“Rescue? Who?”
“My fiancé.”
Ikai’s face grimaced: his eyes wide, his eyebrows arched, his mouth twisted in surprise. She felt as if she had thrown a bucket of ice at his face. The surprise vanished at once, to be replaced by anger. His eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed and his teeth clenched so hard his jaw seemed about to break. Liriana lowered her eyes and swallowed. A feeling of utter guilt overcame her.
“What happened between us…” she began to say, but he interrupted her at once.
“What’s past is past. There’s no need for an explanation.” His tone was so curt that she felt the pain she had caused as if he had slapped her.
“Let me explain…”
“There’s nothing to explain.”
She looked into his eyes pleadingly, but he turned away. “Thank you… for saving me…”
Ikai replied with a nod. His gaze was lost in the night.
“I must rescue him, he’s deeply important for us… for Gedrel.”
He turned and frowned. “For Gedrel? I thought you were here for yourself.”
“Yes, that too. Well, for both, really.”
“Who are you risking your life for, your fiancé or Gedrel and his lost cause?”
“For him and for the cause. For both.”
He shook his head.
“I know you don’t understand,” Liriana said, looking at him firmly. Her tone showed how offended she was. “I’m not asking you to. Just accept I’m like that,”
“You’re right, forgive me. I’ve no right to judge you.”
She relaxed. She could understand his annoyance, but nobody had the right to judge her convictions or her actions. She was fighting for what she believed to be just, for an ideal, for her people’s freedom, and that was more important than anything, even her own feelings.
“I have to get in there and rescue him. We need him.”
“There’s a Custodian at the door and a patrol doing its round. It’s impossible, you’ll never make it.”
She thought for a moment and realized he was right. But even so, she had to try. “Thank you for everything, Ikai. You’d better go away now…”
“Are you really going to try? Can’t you see you’ll fail?”
“Probably, but I can’t stop now, not when I’ve come this far.”
He seized her shoulders. “It’s insane. Don’t do it.”
She looked into his eyes. “Would you abandon your sister?”
He looked away and withdrew his hands. “No. No, I can’t.”
“Nor can I.”
They were both silent, their gaze blank. There was no way back for either of them.
“Leave, Ikai. I’m asking you. Please”
The silence became unbearable. Ikai looked around. It was clear. He began to climb down. She sighed and let her gaze linger on the huge Custodian. She felt like an ant facing a scorpion. How could a monster like that be defeated? His size was probably matched by his fighting skills. In fact he would not even need to fight; all he needed to do was give the alarm, and everything would be over for her. She breathed out hard. There seemed to be no way out of the situation.
Suddenly she heard the branches cracking and saw Ikai climbing up again.
“All right, so what’s the plan?” he asked with a wink.
She smiled broadly.
As he crawled behind the hedge, Ikai was thinking about their plan. He was not at all sure it would work, but they did not have much choice. Dawn would come in a couple of hours, and they had to get out of there. I have to help Liriana and move on. Now I know they have Kyra in the Royal Palace I have to get to her somehow. To get into the castle and rescue her seemed impossible, but he was not giving up, he would do it. He had been forced to withdraw from the immediate surroundings of the Palace. The patrols and the watch being kept were too strict in the higher part, and the risk of being discovered too high. Back in the lower part he had remained hidden, thinking about how to proceed, in the relative safety of the trees. But Liriana had appeared suddenly, and now he was back in the midst of an extremely dangerous situation.
He shook these thoughts out of his mind and concentrated on the task at hand. He waited in hiding for the eastern patrol to approach. He and Liriana had patiently measured how long it took the patrol to do the round and worked out the best moment to carry out their plan. As the rhythmical heavy tread of the Custodians came closer, his stomach began to churn like butter.
Relax… hold fast… he told himself as the Custodians went by with their martial strides, two feet away from his hiding-place. It’s too dark, they can’t see me, he said to encourage himself, far from sure that this would be true. He breathed deeply and ran behind the chosen oak, the nearest to the guard at the catacomb. He leaned back against the massive hundred-year-old trunk and recovered his breath. He glanced quickly around. There was the Custodian, like an enormous statue of rock in front of the door, holding spear and shield. He calculated the distanc
e: about fifteen paces. He nodded. It was enough. Then he searched for Liriana at the other end of the park. He could not see her, it was too dark. He would have to assume she was in position.
He sighed. Time to act. He put his hands to his mouth and imitated the sound of a heavy grunt in the direction of the Custodian. He waited, then repeated the grunt, this time louder and longer. The Custodian turned his head, and he hid his own behind the tree. It was so dark that at that distance the guard would only be able to see a shadow moving. Ikai repeated his animal grunt, this time loud and sustained. The Custodian turned, breaking his hieratical position. Ikai withdrew his head and hid behind the trunk, letting himself be visible for an instant.
“Who goes there?” came the cavernous voice.
There was silence. He waited, his body flattened behind the tree, completely hidden. He heard the heavy steps moving in his direction. He breathed in deeply and the characteristic sulfur-stench of the Enforcers of the Gods reached him on the night breeze. He’s stopped. But he’s there. Damn him, he’s hesitating. He’ll turn around. I have to lure him towards me. He grunted again and poked his head out for the briefest of moments. The steps became faster. He’s coming.
He took out his throwing dagger. The idea of facing up to the Enforcer crossed his mind, but he dismissed it at once. He would be torn to pieces, and what was worse, the alarm would be sounded. No, I can’t do it by brute force, I have to beat him by cunning. He ran the dagger along the palm of his hand and made a cut. He opened and closed his hand energetically, so that the blood flowed.
He’s here.
On the other side of the park, tense as a Hunter’s bow, Liriana watched the scene. The Custodian was nearing the tree Ikai was hiding behind. She took a deep breath and filled her lungs. Now or never. I only have one chance, and not much of one at that. I have to stake everything on this trick, no matter how little chance there is. I didn’t come all this way to be stopped by one last obstacle when I’ve got success at the tip of my fingers. I’ll deal with this last pitfall and free Maruk.
