They carried on though Matthu attempted to show her other memories from time to time. With each attempt, Amelia got better at dissuading him. Nervous energy sped up Matthu's words. He became so excited he nearly knocked her over to point out the memory of his induction as an Ayamin. "I didn't know if the king would allow it. I was only fifteen. But Father and Shon and seven other Ayamin all accounted for me. The tests were so hard. On the last one, I fractured my arm. I'm glad I got the chance. Even if I didn't get to do anything worthwhile as an Ayamin."
"And you're going to get even more chances to prove yourself." Amelia pulled him along. "You can show me all of this later. Right now we have to fix you."
"I guess…" Matthu's shoulders slumped. He walked slower now as if his strength was fading.
Amelia slid her arm through his, supporting him. "Hey, come on. There's a lot more you're going to do."
Matthu lifted his head. "Do you smell that?"
Amelia wrinkled her nose. It was a fetid odor, faint yet familiar. But where did she know it from? "I think we're getting close." She tightened when she glimpsed something in the darkness. Was that what she thought it was?
"What?" Matthu froze in place. "What do you see?"
"That's a spider web, isn't it?" Amelia pressed her hand against Matthu's chest, signaling for him to stay put. It was little more than a darker grey in the shadows, but as she drew closer, it became clearer. The final tapestry here was not moving, and it was blank inside. Another web connected to the back. As Amelia moved toward it, the light came with her, highlighting the material.
Each web strand was thicker than her arm. A horrible fear gnawed inside her. When she had been panicking in that dungeon, there had only been one thing on her mind. Of course it was here…
"What is this stuff?" Matthu plucked at the web. It hissed and shuddered. Yelping, Matthu jerked his hand away. "It burns!" He shook his hand violently.
Amelia's heart beat faster. She followed the web strands into the darkness, dread growing with each moment. "You said it feels like there's a spider on your head. Do you mean in your mind?"
Matthu's eyes widened. "Did you put a really real spider in my head? Can you…could you do that?"
"I was so scared. All I could think about was the spiders and how I wanted to get away. Nialan says that the necklace parts I gave you created a conduit. I'm so sorry, Matthu. I don't…I think we have to consider…"
Matthu's face paled. He turned around and swiped at his head. "What do we do?"
Amelia surveyed the surrounding tapestries. There was one where Matthu trained with Shon. They dueled back in forth in elaborate combinations. A large table at the back of the room held numerous swords, knives, and spears. As she focused, the sounds of the scene reached her. The tapestry wavered but opened as she jumped inside. The colors here intensified. She strode across the stone training room, avoiding the tapestry Shon and Matthu, and reached out for one of the swords. Her hand passed through the hilt, clutching only air.
"So weird." Matthu stood outside the tapestry. "You can walk in my memories?"
"Not that it does much good." Amelia hopped back out. She rubbed her hand, a faint chill passing through it. "I don't suppose you have your javelins or your sword."
"I don't even know how I got in here. I guess I don't have one because I wasn't wearing one when this happened."
That made sense. She hadn't brought the war hammer or a dagger with her. Nialan probably hadn't known. Whatever it was that was in Matthu's mind, she had to face it without weapons. "All right." Amelia nodded. "You should probably stay here, Matthu. I'm going to go fix this."
Matthu laughed. "Yeah, that's not happening. It's in my mind. I'm fighting. Besides, you don't have any weapons. You'll probably need some help."
"True. I guess." Amelia set her lips in a tight line. She followed the web.
They walked a little farther before Matthu stopped short. "If I die in here, is your mind going to be stuck in my body?"
"Um…" Amelia hesitated. She hadn't thought about that.
"Cause that means your body is going to die, and I'll die but you'll be running my body. I guess that'd mean you wouldn't be married to Naatos anymore, but would you still be the Third Nalenth?"
"I don't know if that's how it works." Amelia realized that she didn't actually know how to leave Matthu's mind. Fear crept up inside her.
Matthu's eyes bugged. "Do you remember what Naatos did with the bruins? He turned them into crudons. You don't think he'd turn me into a girl, do you? He can’t do that, can he?"
"I…I doubt he could do that, but why don't we plan on both of us staying alive?"
"As if I needed more of an incentive. But just so we're clear, you do not have my permission to be married to Naatos in my body. Even if he turns it into a girl body. And if that does happen, I'd appreciate it if you and Shon just stayed friends. Actually regardless, if you’re stuck in my body, I’d rather you stay friends with Shon and enemies with Naatos." Matthu shuddered.
"Shon and I aren't going to work out anyway. Not so long as Naatos is around." Amelia sighed. "Now come on. We shouldn't waste any more time."
She followed the scent and the webs farther into the darkness. Matthu trailed behind. Soon all the tapestries faded from sight, and they walked in dull blackness. Wherever the light source was from, it revealed nothing.
"It can't be that hard to kill a spider, right?" Matthu asked. His voice wavered. He reached back to where his sword had been but grasped only air. Sighing, he put his hands on his head. "Is it one? Or three? Or…why did you have to be afraid of spiders?"
"Probably because that's what was attacking me at the moment," Amelia said.
"I guess it could be worse. We could be drowning slowly in sludge with—"
Turning, Amelia clapped her hand over his mouth and glared at him. "Don't start coming up with more things for us to face."
Matthu pulled away, his face screwed up with annoyance. "I don't think it works like that."
"We don't know that for sure."
"Actually, I think we do. If everything I was afraid of started manifesting, there'd be a lot of other bad things in here."
Amelia paused. That made a lot of sense. "Good point." She relaxed. "I guess if it had worked that way we could have made weapons too."
"I almost wish it worked like that." Matthu's grin faltered. He pointed over her shoulder. "Um…I think that's it…"
A faint clickety clack sounded behind them. Matthu fell back a step. Slowly Amelia turned and beheld the creature she had created.
48
Troubling Developments
Shon paced the stone hall, a thousand thoughts flying and crashing through his mind. He couldn't concentrate. Couldn't focus. His mind spun with images. He alternated between believing Amelia could save Matthu to fearing she couldn't to wondering how anything could possibly be done. Clenching his jaw, he rubbed his neck, struggling to clear his mind.
"A moment, Shon."
Shon lifted his head, surprised to realize he had wandered into a low-ceilinged stone chamber. There was no furniture except for a few incense-dipped torches hanging on the walls. Vorec stood in the broad arched doorway.
Shon cleared his throat. "Yes, sir."
"You look troubled." Vorec tapped a borrowed pipe on his carved bracer. His uniform was bloodied and torn in many places, but the insignia on his neck and shoulder remained. "The Machat informed me that your brother is doing poorly."
Shon wasn't entirely sure how to respond or what all Vorec knew. Ordinarily he trusted the elder Ayamin, but his gut warned him to be cautious. "Yes, sir. I am certain he will recover."
Vorec chuckled, but his expression remained cold. "We can always hope. But that seems to be something you're quite good at, isn't it?" He tapped the pipe again. "Hoping."
Shon set his arms akimbo. Vorec was one of the highest-ranking commanders in the military, and his dedication to Libysha and the royal family was unparalleled. When the army had be
en decommissioned in light of King Barlen's vows, Vorec's titles and honors had been transferred into the Ayamin. That did not mean Shon always agreed with Vorec. There was something else beneath the surface now. Vorec wanted something. "I am not certain what you mean."
Vorec lifted his broad shoulders in a faint shrug. There was still blood in his greying close-cropped beard. "Hoping that we will succeed. Hoping that this woman who claims to be the Third Nalenth is who she says she is."
"Amelia is the Third Nalenth, and she is Inale. Matthu and I met a Machat in one of the passages of the palace before we met her," Shon said. His shoulders tightened. "He gave us proof that she was who she was."
"And you believe the Machat? You believe they are on our side?"
"Traditionally, they are on no one's side except Elonumato's," Shon said.
"That means they aren't fully on our side." Vorec blew the top of the pipe. The fragrant smoke wafted from the broad base. "Though you should have been able to determine that based on the fact that they did nothing to stop the attack on Telhetum. They could have done something, you know."
Shon could have offered any number of reasons why the Machat might have done what they did. However, their actions didn't always make sense. He wasn't always entirely happy with how they had handled that situation or the situation with Matthu. "I suppose," he said carefully. "If I could see parts of the future or see how it all came together and receive prophecies and foretellings, I would see things differently as well, and what I did might not make sense."
Vorec studied him. His grey eyes were hard and cold as the mountains his family had come from years ago. "You have shown great promise, Shon. I was not convinced that either you or your brother were good candidates for potential command positions within the Ayamin, particularly given your youth. But you have shown many times that you are a skilled warrior. You have a good head…when you use it."
"To my knowledge, I have not stopped using it. Sir."
"You've been using it to hope, and hope leads to empty tables and cold graves." Vorec took a long draw from the pipe and grimaced.
"I don't see how any of my hopes, as you put it, have led to anything remotely close to that," Shon said. This wasn't the sort of thing he wanted to discuss at the moment. But it was difficult to end such a conversation.
"You are hoping that Amelia is what she says she is and that, more importantly, she is on your side."
"She is."
Vorec chuckled. The ice in his eyes unnerved Shon. He had never seen Vorec look this way. Not even when discussing how to handle the Talbokians or the Ulthranes or the violation of the Lantril Pact. "You know…if a strange woman showed up and told me she was our cursed little princess all grown-up, I would say she was a liar. Particularly since I had just seen the princess. And if a strange Machat appeared in the passage and confirmed her story and even told me where to find her, I'd say it was a conspiracy. Whether she is or isn't the Third Nalenth or Inale is irrelevant. Truth works to bolster a conspiracy. What matters is whose side she is on. And I would not recommend that you put your trust in her. More importantly, I would not recommend you fall in love with her."
"How—" A stab of shock and unease went through Shon's heart.
"The same way I know this woman is the one who is killing your brother. Some sort of mindreader thing. Mindshifting. A shame, really. I always knew that girl was a killer. She was a monster who hadn't grown her teeth yet, but here they are."
"Amelia had nothing to do with what happened to Matthu," Shon said sternly. "The Machat said—"
"We all know that the Machat are forbidden to lie. But it's a funny thing." Vorec tapped the pipe on his bracer again. "You don't have to lie to mislead people. They told you it was a Neyeb, didn't they? And then you assumed it was someone else. No. It was Amelia. I'm sure she didn't mean to, but it's that underlying mind of hers that is dangerous. It is what makes her a monster. And yet you want to take that creature to your bed."
"It's not as coarse as all that." A cold sweat crept along the back of Shon's neck. "There's more to it." There had to be.
"Of course there is. You're here to save her. But what have you gotten into, my boy? You're about to finish your second tour of duty. It would certainly be quite a prize to woo the heart of the king's daughter, adopted and monstrous though she is. Except that she's already married, and she clearly has feelings for her husband."
"Amelia doesn't have feelings for Naatos!" The words came out angrier than Shon intended, but he did not pull them back. "I have listened to your words with all due deference, but I will not listen to this further."
"You will," Vorec said coolly. "That is an order. You are still under my command."
"And you are going to command me not to see her again?"
"No." Vorec took a deep draw on the pipe. His eyes narrowed. "I know better than to forbid such a relationship. It will only fan your desire more. No. What you need are facts, and that is one thing you don't have. There is something about that creature that has addled your brain. Your father would be most disappointed."
"I have all the facts I need, and don't call her a creature."
"Really?" Vorec eyed him as if both annoyed and amused. "Did you know that when we were trying to rescue the Ayamin prisoners, we actually took down Naatos and WroOth? The Machat had some excellent insight into that. Captured lightning in these special nets. Took them both down like that." Vorec snapped his fingers. "And do you know what she did when she reached them?" He paused, allowing the tension to build. Shon avoided fidgeting. "She knelt beside him. Pushed the brother's shoulder back in. Then she held her husband's hand. All you had to do was look in her eyes and know she sympathizes with them."
Shon's chest tightened. It was harder to breathe. It wasn't like Vorec to lie. "Amelia is compassionate," he said.
Vorec snapped the pipe out of his mouth. "She is Naatos's wife. Do you think that means nothing? Do you know anything about Neyeb women? They bond to their husbands. Their husbands' desires become theirs. If she doesn't feel that way yet, she will soon enough. You think she loves you, and that is why you give this woman your time."
"She's not just some woman. She is the—"
"She was adopted into the royal family at Joseph's insistence. He refused to let her be a ward. It was the only way that the king could guarantee sufficient oversight of the Third Nalenth without violating any laws. But Joseph is gone. And when King Theol learns what has happened, he will disown her, and her royal connections will be severed."
Shon resisted the urge to lash out at Vorec. His muscles knotted. "He will not do that."
"Then you do not understand politics. The king's feelings for the Neyeb may remain unchanged, though I would be surprised if he or the queen could feel as warmly for the woman who was once their daughter, no matter how much they might want to. A loss of twenty or more years is no small thing. But her alliance with Naatos, whether she desired it or not, gives these monsters an even stronger hold on this nation."
Shon laughed bitterly. "Do you think that's why Naatos married her? To get a foothold in our politics? I am fairly certain that they're taking over and destroying everything. Ambushes in the night and executions in the square suggest political alliances are too subtle for those three."
"In politics, it does not matter. It is a risk. And if she has children by that monster, as Naatos surely intends, they too will have a claim. I heard of your ill-advised allegation that the two of you were betrothed. At least Naatos made you recant it. I hope that you continue that position."
"I will keep your advice in mind." So many other words and such rage brewed within Shon, but he did not dare release them.
"Take this as well then. The Tue-Rah is all well and good. But Naatos and his brothers are planning to bring in a Vawtrian army as soon as it is restored. That interdimensional portal may be more trouble to us than it's worth. If that happens, then we will have to take steps."
"Steps?" Shon paused. A sickening feeling grew in his st
omach. "What steps?"
"The same steps that will have to be taken if Amelia formally allies herself with Naatos or starts giving them aid." Vorec took a few more breaths from his pipe. The puffs of smoke rose to the top of the low carved ceiling. "Her being the Third Nalenth makes no difference to me. And I may not be a Machat, but I can promise you that her days in Libysha and among us are numbered."
49
The Conduits
AaQar traced his fingers along the image of Rasha. "No, Naatos." His voice was little more than a husky whisper. "This has gone on long enough."
Naatos turned, startled. "What has?"
"Naatos…" AaQar held the painting loosely. "You have to get her back. And if that means relinquishing the Tue-Rahs and the Para bands, then so be it. But at this point, you have done more to damage the relationship than can ever be done to repair it."
Naatos stared at AaQar, stunned to hear his words spoken so sorrowfully rather than defiantly. He had not expected this. Slowly he took a seat beside his brother. "AaQar, she is not lost to me. Our family will not end."
AaQar shook his head. His features appeared far older and more haggard now, his shoulders slumped and his back stooped. His fingers pressed tight against the pane of glass. "And what will you do to win her back? Apologize to her? The great Almonyek Vawtrian who once oversaw the Neyeb will go before his wife and beg her forgiveness. Will you present her with flowers and make your atonement? Will you grovel for her favor?"
"No." Naatos stiffened. "She may yet be won. Soon her elmis will—"
"Enough!" The glass painting shattered in AaQar's hands. The shards sliced into his flesh, clear blood dripping onto the floor. "You cannot control her. No matter how hard you try. And each attempt at control will only drive a greater wedge between you. I am dying, brothers! There is nothing that can be done to stop that. I have no wish for it to stop. But what I do want is to go to my end knowing our family will continue. I longed to hold the niece or nephew who will carry on my name, but your insufferable arrogance has all but ensured that that will never come to pass. The woman has told you what she wants. What good is it to conquer the worlds and the Tue-Rahs if our legacy ends with us?"
Identity Revealed: The Tue-Rah Chronicles Page 44
