by Pedro Urvi
“Until he’s ready to attack, you mean?” Albana put in.
That is so.
Kyra picked up one of the discs. “That means we have his secret weapon! He’s in our hands. Without all this, he won’t be able to start a war.”
“True,” Albana said, and narrowed her eyes. “We have his treasure. It’s ours.”
Ikai was looking at the crates. “The discs… can they be used on men? Do they have any effect on us?”
The Erudite shook his head. We have experimented with it, but it does not have any effect on you. Your organisms are not capable of absorbing the essence of life.
“In that case they’re no use to us,” Albana said. “We ought to destroy them so that Asu can’t get his hands on them.”
“I think so too,” Kyra said.
Ikai nodded. “It’s the sensible thing.”
“Let the Erudite do the honors,” Kyra said. She turned a look of pure fury on him.
Me? No, my prince would go mad with rage… all the work done… the incalculable value… I cannot…
Albana threatened him with her black daggers. “Set fire to the warehouse.”
The Erudite muttered again: No… not that…
Kyra took a step toward him, looking as though she were about to cut his head off. Frightened, the Erudite set fire to the first line of crates.
“That’s better,” she said, and dragged him out of the warehouse. Albana and Ikai followed them. The flames took hold inside the building and climbed up the front as far as the roof. They watched the fire devour the warehouse: the Erudite on his knees, defeated, the three Senoca looking on proudly, filled with joy.
“What wouldn’t I give to see Asu’s face when he finds out,” Kyra said.
“He’ll have a fit of rage,” said Albana. “I hope he bursts into flames.”
Ikai sighed as he stared at the black smoke filling the sky. “We’ve managed to put an end to his plans.”
The three watched half the warehouse collapsing under the flames with a loud crackling. There was no mistaking the joy on their faces. The flames began to consume the other half of the building.
A powerful mental message reached them.
What is going on here?
The Erudite looked up towards the entrance in the wall.
Lord Champion!
At the entrance stood a formidable Warrior-God whom Ikai recognized at once. It was Asu’s champion. Behind him were a dozen Warrior-Gods and twenty or so Custodians.
“Treachery!” shouted the Erudite aloud.
Albana hit him on the head with the hilts of her daggers, and he fell unconscious. “Run!” shouted Ikai,
They sped towards the back wall, crossing the gardens like gazelles pursued by tigers. Several fiery javelins narrowly missed them. Kyra used her Power and covered them with a heavy fog. Albana used her own and raised a dark barrier behind them. When they reached the wall Kyra and Ikai, holding hands, levitated over it. Albana used her Power and crawled up it like a spider.
The last thing they saw as they fled was all the Soldiers and Custodians fighting the fire in an attempt to save what was left of the warehouse and its contents.
Chapter 25
Eyes blazing, Asu stared at the crates of discs which contained the slaves’ life-essence. The walls in the chamber of knowledge of the House of Fire, in the Second Ring, seemed to sweat in the face of the Prince’s fury.
“This is all you managed to save?” he asked Iradu. The champion was still recovering from his wounds, and moved with a grimace of pain.
“Yes, my Lord. When we arrived to pick up the discs the warehouse was burning. It is all we managed to rescue.”
“It is not even a third of what Beru had collected!”
The enormous warrior bent his head, so that his long braid fell to one side. “I am deeply sorry.”
“By the flames of my ancestors, I will kill those interfering slaves! Tell me what happened again.”
Iradu told him what he had found once they had managed to put out the fire and save some of the crates.
“I cannot believe that those cockroaches managed to kill my cousin Beru and free all the slaves from the pods.”
“They were three, my Lord. I was able to recognize them. The slave that Adamis helped and her brother. The third one, if I am not mistaken, is one of the Shadows trained by Oskas.”
“Albana… I remember her. And the other two are that insolent Kyra and her brother. Yes, I know who they are, and they will pay with fire and suffering. They will pay!”
Moltus stopped operating the red monolith of knowledge and went over to the crates. He picked up one of the discs.
“What are you doing, you old fool?”
“I must check the purity of the harvest, your Highness. If your Highness will allow me.” He bowed clumsily.
With an impatient wave, Asu allowed him to continue.
“Bring me the Claw,” Moltus said to one of his assistants, who brought him the golden bracelet with the claw-shaped clasp and put it on his right wrist. He chuckled with anticipation, then placed the disc on the circle engraved on the back of the bracelet. Once it was in place there was a click, and the claw clamped onto his wrist. The five pins in the nails buried themselves in the old Erudite’s flesh. The upper part of the disc began to spin, glinting as it did so. Black veins began to appear on his arm and slowly spread throughout his body.
“Well?” Asu demanded impatiently.
Moltus inhaled deeply. On his face there appeared a smile of satisfaction. Then he looked from side to side, as though he were listening to something.
“The voices are telling me it is an excellent harvest. Life is returning to my body.”
“You and your damn voices!”
Moltus bent over in fear. “They tell me they will bring long life to our people.”
“Not our people, me and my own people!”
“Of course, your Highness.”
“How much essence of life do we have in those crates?”
Moltus nodded several times. “Enough to carry out your plans, my Lord.”
“Are you sure, you old fool?”
“Yes, my Lord, the voices say there are enough discs.”
“There had better be, or else I will put an apple in your mouth and roast you alive like a pig.”
Moltus slumped his shoulders over his staff, his head bent.
“I could send troops to the Boundary to capture the escaped slaves,” Iradu suggested.
“No, it would take too long. We will soon have all the slaves we want. Not only from our own Boundary, but from all the rest.”
“The campaign against the slaves?” Iradu asked.
Asu nodded. “The Army of the Five High Kings has set out already for the great continent. Soon the slaves will be ours.” He gave a twisted smile. “Well, all those who survive. I will put all of them in pods and squeeze them until there is not a drop of life left in them. We will obtain a constant production of essence of life which will feed us so that we do not age. We will live forever!”
Moltus coughed. “Do not forget, my master, that they must reproduce, to generate more able bodies from which life can continue to be extracted.”
Asu frowned. “We will breed them like cattle and squeeze the life out of them. Start preparing all the details for breeding and mass production.”
Moltus chuckled triumphantly. “Of course, my Lord. Thus the circle will close and we will obtain an infinite flow of life.”
“We will be immortal! Immortal!” Asu shouted, so forcefully that the walls of the chamber could barely contain his thirst for power and eternal life. He turned to his Champion. “Iradu, is everything ready?”
“Yes, my Prince, as you ordered.”
Lord Erre came into the chamber and bowed. “Your Highness.”
“Cousin,” Asu replied with only the trace of a bow in return.
“The meetings have been agreed.”
“When?”
“The firs
t one will be tonight, the second tomorrow evening.”
“Very well. It is time to seal alliances,” Asu said, and his eyes distilled fire.
Adamis was waiting anxiously for Sormacus to come back. He needed information, and he needed it urgently. He began to pace around the cellar of the temple where they were hiding in the Fifth Ring, and a sharp pain attacked his stomach. For once he bore the punishment gladly. For a moment it made him forget a much deeper pain that had been torturing him for days: that of Notaplo’s death. Every time he thought of his friend and mentor’s end, something inside him burnt, demanding revenge from the skies. But when the feeling of rage passed it was replaced by one of intense pain and unfathomable sorrow.
He gazed up at the somber ceiling and took a deep breath. I am so sorry, my old friend. Thank you for everything you taught me, for everything you did for us. I will soon join you and we will be able to go on philosophizing about life, Men, Golden, nature and the search for eternal life.
Sormacus came down the stairs in a hurry. Judging from the expression on his face, the news he brought was not good.
“What did you find out?” Adamis asked him bluntly.
“The situation is becoming critical,” he replied, with concern in his voice. “The Houses have called their Soldiers to assemble, as well as the Healers. The Rings have been closed. Nobody may come in or go out, the boundaries of each House are closed. Martial law has been proclaimed. First it was the House of Fire, followed by the House of Earth. The Houses of Ether and Water had no choice but to do the same.”
“And the House of Air?”
“It remains neutral, but has also put its army on alert and is allowing nobody to cross its Ring.”
“As serious as that?”
“Yes. War seems imminent.”
“What has brought on this situation?”
“The freeing of the Boundaries. It is rumored that all of them have fallen, one by one, and that only the House of Fire have kept theirs. This makes it the most powerful. The balance of forces has been broken and the old grudges are coming back to the surface. The nobles of every House are looking to gain position as they see the chance to make the opposite house bend the knee. Especially the House of Fire, with the support of the House of Earth.”
Adamis shook his head and put his hands behind his back. “And my Father?”
“He is in a difficult position. He has been accused of dealing with the Banished House, the House of Hila.”
“My father would never deal with those worshippers of death.”
“Your Father has formally accused the House of Air of the murder of their First Erudite… which has made the situation even worse.”
“I do not believe it was the House of Air. I have no doubt it was Asu, although I cannot prove it.”
“Unfortunately the knife found in Notaplo’s body belongs to the House of Air. It has the Royal seal.”
“A trick to make my Father accuse the wrong person and force the House of Air to lose its neutrality.”
“Allying itself with the Houses of Fire and Earth…” Sormacus reasoned.
“It would seem so. It is well played. A very skillful move.”
“Let us hope that your Father will not act. A false step in this situation would bring on a catastrophic war.”
“My Father will not act without having meditated his moves beforehand. I do not think he will fall into that trap.”
“Let us hope not, for the good of all. Unfortunately it will be hard for me to gather more information now that the Rings have been closed and martial law declared.”
“What about your contacts in the other Rings?”
“In hiding. The Soldiers are searching the Rings house by house, for spies. They are imprisoning anybody in the least suspicious, or who might have contacts with the other Houses. Accesses to the Palace have been sealed, and nobody is being permitted to pass without the express consent of the Royal Family. There are checks at many points in each Ring. I am afraid we cannot count on their help.”
“Do not worry, we will manage to get out of this mire,” Adamis said, though without much confidence. Suddenly he felt a tingle at his waist. He put his hand in the pocket of his robe and found Ariadne’s charmed pearl. He took it out and gazed at it on his palm. The pearl vibrated. He closed his hand over it and concentrated.
“Adamis,” came Ariadne’s mental message in a whisper.
“I am listening, Ariadne. Where are you? Are you all right?”
“I am fine… at least for now. I am at the Royal Palace of the House of Fire.”
Adamis used his Power to project Ariadne’s messages so that Sormacus could hear them too.
“How did you get there?” Sormacus said in alarm. “You have to get out, you’re in great danger. The Houses have declared war.”
“I know. But I can’t get out. They’ve sealed the Palace. I’m trapped.”
“Have they found you?” Adamis asked.
“No. I’m safe for the moment. I’m a guest of Lord Erre, Prince Asu’s cousin. He is rather attracted to me… He’s been flirting, trying to woo me. He invited me to the Palace, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I couldn’t reject him. But now I can’t get out. Nobody can.”
“We will have to get you out of there,” Adamis said.
“No, this might play in our favor. Here I can get valuable information at a key moment.”
“But it is too dangerous,” Adamis said, greatly concerned. “You are in the lion’s den. If they discover you they will kill you.”
“That is a risk we always run.”
“Have you gathered any useful information?” Sormacus asked her.
“Yes. Something strange is going on. Lord Erre had a meeting with Asu and other nobles of the Royal House around mid-morning. When he came back I couldn’t get him to tell me what is going on, but he was very serious, extremely serious. He has called his Guard and ordered them to arm.”
“They are getting ready for battle,” Adamis said.
“And there’s something else. When I asked him whether we would have dinner together this evening, he told me that much to his chagrin he would not be able to, that he had something very important to see to. But he said he would definitely come to see me in the morning.”
Adamis’ attention was caught by this. “See to something? Tonight?”
“Yes. I don’t know where, but I could try and find out.”
“It is too dangerous,” Sormacus said. “He will be suspicious if you show too much interest,”
“Do not endanger yourself any more, Ariadne,” Adamis told her. “Try to survive and take no risks.”
“Somebody’s coming,” Ariadne said, and the communication was abruptly broken.
Adamis and Sormacus exchanged looks of alarm. Adamis thought of using the pearl, but it would put her in danger and he rejected the idea. He put it away.
“She will be fine,” he told Sormacus. But they both knew that Ariadne’s chances of coming out of there alive were very limited.
Night fell, and Adamis said goodbye to Sormacus.
“Are you sure?” the Son of Arutan said.
“Yes. Asu is going to attempt something tonight, and we need to know what it is.”
Sormacus bent his head. “Very well.”
“Warn the Elders of Arutan of what is happening.”
“Very well, I will warn our leaders.”
“And good luck.”
“The same to you.”
Chapter 26
Idana placed her hand on the great translucent monolith. The first time she had done so she had been afraid, but now it comforted her. The golden artifact kept the Senoca hidden from the Gods. It gave her a sense of protection. She gave thanks to Oxatsi for Notaplo’s and Aruma’s help with building the object there, in the heart of the New Shelter.
The apothecary was at the top of the cliff watching the fishing boats bringing in the day’s catch. It was an image which always filled her with joy, almost as much
as healing some sick person with one of her potions. Not only for what it represented symbolically ̶ the people of the Sea were once again sailing the waters of Mother Oxatsi ̶ but because it meant food, prosperity.
She followed the boats with her gaze until they entered the white cove where the harbor began. The New Shelter, as the Senoca had named their new home, was growing day by day, and Idana marveled at how swiftly it was doing so. Thousands of little fishermen’s cottages rose along the coast, seeming to multiply from one week to the next. Inland, too, farms and fields devoted to cultivation and cattle-rearing spread toward the forests behind them.
Her eyes turned to the breakwater, which only a year ago had been insecure and relatively small. Now, on the other hand, it was large and robust and defied Mother Sea’s fury. More than a hundred people were working on it, getting ready for the arrival of the fishing boats. She turned toward the cottages behind her: every day they were a little bigger, a little better cared-for. The Senoca worked day and night to improve things, to make a worthy home in which to live in freedom and harmony. And little by little, with much effort and tenacity, they were succeeding. She sighed. How she loved that place and her people.
“They’re coming back,” commented Oltas, chief of the warriors and her personal bodyguard.
“Shouldn’t you be doing something more important than following me everywhere?” she asked, although she knew well the answer she would get.
“You’re our Leader now, and we must protect you.”
She sighed again. Behind Oltas, the half dozen warriors who accompanied her everywhere were waiting at the ready.
“Leader only because the others aren’t here.”
“Leader because you’re one of the Heroes, and because the others made it clear before they left.”
“You’re not letting me out of your sights, are you?”
There was a broad smile on Oltas’ face, framed by his thick black beard. “Not now, not ever. You’re too valuable for all of us.”
Suddenly shouts made everyone look in the direction of the forest. A young man was running down the hill. He waved his arms and shouted something Idana could not understand. He reached them panting breathlessly, his forehead drenched in sweat, fear on his face. He tried to speak.
