Daughter of Ashes

by Esther Mitchell

  Sele shrugged. "He's good to me, as long as I serve him well."

  Ah, so she wasn't just a thrall, and she wasn't blind to his shortcomings. But she had all the makings of a devote disciple. That made her dangerous, in her desire to please.

  "Have you known him a long time?"

  Sele frowned, and shook her head. "Not so long. One night, on the way to Raiador, I went for a walk. I was foolishly homesick for my Cloister -- the only home I knew -- and I was upset that I was being banished from my studies for a ridiculous mine somewhere in the middle of nowhere."

  That admittance surprised Telyn. Didn't Sele realize that Raiador held all the answers to her cycles of study? That it was the entrance to the World Forge, and therefore the source of everything the Aerai Majin ever wrote?

  "As I was walking along the side of the river," Sele's quiet voice drew Telyn's attention back to the other woman, "Master Brun-Gild floated up to the shore on a dark skiff. At first, it was so dark I couldn't see the skiff, and I thought he was a Raktou, come to drink my blood. I tried to scream for my guards, but I couldn't make a sound. That's when he laughed, and told me that he could control my mind, and my body, if he chose. He also said that, even if I had screamed, the guards were beyond hearing it."

  Telyn frowned. She knew what happened to the guards. She wondered if Sele had any idea. "What do you think he meant?"

  Sele shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. I guess he meant that they were already dead."

  So she'd felt alone, helpless, and totally unprepared for the arrival of a man who'd spent his life perfecting the abduction and abuse of innocent young girls like herself. Sympathy flooded Telyn, to hear Sele's story. No matter if she was free, physically and mentally, Sele was as much a prisoner as poor, enthralled Rori had been. Sele's prison was a hell in her own mind. "Why did you go with him?"

  Sele ducked her head. "I didn't think I had a choice. Besides, he told me who he was, and I wasn't afraid anymore. After all, everyone knows who Master Brun-Gild is. He's an important man, and he promised me that he possessed the means to alter the world, to make it accepting of our kind, again. He said he needed my help, and he promised me a place to study."

  Confusion bubbled up in Telyn. "Your kind?"

  Sele nodded. "Maji. We are despised by so many, even within the House of Gild. I'm sure your time with Dariadus showed you how much Maji are hated."

  Actually, it hadn't, but Telyn wasn't about to divulge that. Better, for now, that Sele think Telyn was on her side, so she simply nodded.

  "Master Brun-Gild holds the key to change that." Suddenly, Sele's face was as animated as a child given a new toy, bringing her youthful beauty to the surface. "He knows where the Phoenix Book is."

  Though she had expected to hear something about the Book sooner or later, she hadn't been sure Brunnari really knew where it was. Telyn gasped, unable to suppress her surprise. At Sele's sudden suspicious glance, Telyn thought fast.

  "The Phoenix Book? I have heard of this manuscript. Have you actually seen it?"

  A smug little smile edged across Sele's face, and Telyn could tell she was glorying in her position as Brunnari's confidante. "Of course I've seen it. I've read it."

  Telyn froze. She doubted Sele was telling the truth. She didn't sense the power of the Phoenix around the girl, and she was sure she should, if Sele touched the Book. Right? That niggle of doubt, however, twisted her gut until she felt sick. "What happened when you did?"

  Sele laughed and preened, tossing her hair and posturing sensually. It was clear she hadn't seen through Telyn's disguise, yet. "It worked, of course. I gained the power to bend minds. All the destruction that's Fire now belongs to me. I could break you, make you do anything I want, even kill you, with just a thought."

  Telyn didn't have to fake her swallow. She didn't doubt Sele could do exactly what she said. But anger was swiftly nudging out fear. There was more to the power of Fire than just destruction. She remembered all the lessons Sala taught her, all the information the tiny Elemental imparted in her. Fire only destroyed to clear away what was dead and no longer viable -- what had to be changed. There was nothing clean, nothing pure or natural, about what Sele was talking about.

  She is desecrating the sanctity of the World Forge with her lies. This voice was Sala's speaking in the back of her mind, and the Salamandar's fury combined with the howls of a thousand Elementals calling for justice. Their fury pushed aside good sense, and Telyn's control snapped as righteous fury streamed toward eruption. Gritting her teeth, she struggled against the rising tide of it, aware that uncontrolled fury did her cause no good.

  Enough! She screamed in her head, silencing the multitude of voices. If I'm to fulfill my destiny, I must maintain.

  Silence descended so sharply that Telyn had to resist the urge to shake the ringing from her ears. Then, drawing a steadying breath, she forced her tone quiet and even before she spoke.

  "So, why do you hesitate? I am alone, and at your mercy. A mere guardsman."

  Sele's smile was full of secrets, and a sadness Telyn didn't quite understand. "You are no mere guardsman, Hanan. You were the apprentice of Dariadus, and there is some vestige of his power, his training, within you. I've tasted it. I can feel it even now. You're too protected, too useful, to be prey. Master Brun-Gild will want to meet you, Hanan. You've already proven yourself strong enough to resist me. What happens to you from this point forward is in his hands, not mine."

  Telyn's eyes narrowed, and she bit back her satisfied smirk. At last, they were to get to what she came for. As for whether her fate was in Brunnari's hands, she'd just see about that. She already knew he wasn't nearly the Majin he claimed to be, and more of a monster than any of the nine Gates of the Underworld ever spat out.

  About Sele, Telyn only knew that she was here of her own free will, which made her Brunnari's accomplice, and a dangerous enemy. There was more to her story -- Telyn could sense it hiding beneath the layers of bravado, and see it behind the hollow mask, but she couldn't yet read it. Perhaps Brunnari himself held the key to explaining how an innocent young Mistress became a power-hungry slavemaster.

  *****

  "I do not like this." Marat paced a wide circle in the small chamber, glaring at the door. "I do not like this at all, Lysha."

  The blonde Minegard leaned back on her elbows on the bed, and regarded him seriously. "What choice d'we have, then? We can' go awanderin' around a place neither o' us've e'er been afore. That's askin' ta get killed. Telyn knew the risks."

  He stopped, and rubbed a hand against the back of his neck as his eyes closed. "You are right. But I still do not like it. I do not want to have to be the one who explains her fate. Not to Nacaris. Not to Dariadus."

  Lysha lifted one brow. "So she really knows Dariadus, then? I'd wondered if she was jinkin' us with that'ne."

  Marat loosed a small, mirthless laugh. "Yes, she knows Dariadus. Probably better than most of the world. She was the only apprentice he ever took on -- the one person he trusted with his deepest confidences. I believe he saw in her the child he might never have, and so much more. He has certainly not been the same man since she left our Tribe."

  "Why'd she leave, then?" The questions seemed to be distracting him, so she'd just keep at them. Besides, she was curious.

  A flash of white lit his dark face as he grinned quickly. Just as quickly, that amazing grin was gone. "For a while, I have suspected it was the same thing that drove Nacaris away from us."

  Lysha bolted upright on the bed as surprise lanced her. "Wait. Ye mean ta tell me that Nacaris an' Telyn knew each other? They ne'er gave that impression ta me."

  Marat glanced anxiously toward the door. "It is a difficult thing to say, a difficult relationship. I do believe that Telyn has blocked most of that time out of her mind -- perhaps because of Nacaris, perhaps not. If he knows, Dariadus has kept his own counsel on the subject. But I do know that Nacaris remembers her well. He has always loved her. If not for her, I doubt he would be here, n
ow."

  Lysha stared quietly at the floor as she digested all of this. She wouldn't lie that she found Marat more than passing appealing, but Lysha Darl didn't know if love was in the Caster's runes for her. What would it be like to love someone well enough to follow him to the ends of the world? Knowing this explained what had troubled her, before -- finally, she understood why Nacaris was so protective, why he didn't like to let Telyn out of his sight. He was afraid she'd disappear on him, again.

  *****

  Nothing was going right. He could feel it. Nacaris crouched among the rocks, and prayed there were no cheelaqa out here in the mountains, or when night fell he would be in trouble. He couldn't make a fire, or everyone in the tower would know where he was.

  Telyn promised him this would all be resolved by nightfall. His gaze skipped to the mountains as Helios began His descent, and swore under his breath. Night was falling fast, and his muscles were stiff from hours of inactivity, his brain consumed with those final conversations with Telyn. It all felt eerily like a good-bye speech. Only, he wasn't interested in good-bye. He'd worked too hard, spent too many summers finding her again. If she ran away now, he'd have nothing left to go on for. He might as well go join the Borderlander fight against the Rahians -- there was a suicide mission if he ever saw one, but at least he'd go out a hero in someone's eyes.

  Nacaris swore to himself, and glared at the skyline. He needed to stop this nonsense. Telyn wasn't leaving him. She wanted him watching her back. She trusted him. He couldn't let her down. Not again.

  He heard a sound just as he settled in for a long wait. Turning, he saw nothing. With a shrug, he turned his attention back to the tower. Then, another sound, and before he could turn, something hard impacted the back of his head, and he slid to the ground as blackness closed in on him.

  Chapter Twenty

  "Here we are." Sele came to a stop before a nondescript wooden door, and Telyn forced herself to appear nonchalant. She couldn't give away that this was the most important part of her entire plan. Finally, she was about to come face-to-face with the man who had made her life miserable for far too long -- a man who she believed to be pure evil.

  As the door opened, Telyn cast a disdainful gaze over the ostentatiously decorated room on the other side.

  Oh, joy. She forced herself to smile. "It's great. I'm sure I'll be most comfortable, here."

  Sele shrugged, as if none of it mattered, least of all Telyn's comfort. She let Telyn into the room, but refused to step one foot inside. From the doorway, she warned, "Master Brun-Gild is expecting me back directly. Wait here, and don't touch anything."

  Before Telyn could question her, Sele closed the door and was gone.

  I've never met such a foul-mannered liar in all my life. Sala spluttered as she separated herself from a nearby candle's flame. If I didn't know it was the madness talking, I would burn her where she stands for her insolence.

  "How can you be so sure it's madness?" Telyn glanced toward the door. She didn't want to voice doubts, but she wasn't so sure Sele was mad. The girl had seemed quite articulate for a madwoman. "She seems to know exactly what she's doing."

  Sala flickered dismissively. Fire knows, young Phoenix. She, however, is not our concern here.

  Telyn nodded. "Brunnari. But if we don't help Sele, who will?"

  Sala perched daintily on Telyn's open palm. Sele Tora-Gild will answer to her House, and to Kishfa, for her debt. She will be most easy to capture, once the source of her madness is destroyed.

  Given what Sele had told her... Telyn gaped at the Elemental. "You want me to destroy the Phoenix Book?"

  No! Sala hissed out the word in a wave of heated smoke. Sele Tora-Gild's power and madness do not find their genesis in the Phoenix Book.

  "Then where is she getting it?"

  I do not know, but the power is dangerous, and reeks of evil Majiks -- Necromancy, perhaps. You must find its source, but once that is destroyed, she will be meeker than ever she was before, and entirely without recollection of the events to which she's been privy, here.

  "Wait, you mean she... she really is being held in thrall!"

  Sala twisted in negation. Make no mistake, young Phoenix. Sele Tora-Gild is here of her own free will. She took part in the original rite of her own free will, as well. However, she is now obsessed by the evil she allowed entry, craving violence and death, because she attempted to control a power she did not understand the root of, and should never have wielded.

  "What are you saying? She's just gone mad from the power?"

  Aye.

  "Then what's Brunnari's part in all of this? How will killing him solve the danger of Sele?"

  Sala shimmered with a gusty sigh of warm air. That is simple. Brunnari is, in some way I cannot fathom, the source of her madness. It is his hatred and evil that fuels her madness. Destroy him, and his false Shrine, and Sele will be much as she was before.

  Telyn grimaced, and tossed aside her headcovering in disgust. "Great. So I kill Brunnari, destroy the tower, and... oh, yeah, find the Phoenix Book. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

  You do not need to be so sarcastic.

  Telyn sighed. "Sorry. But, if I kill Brunnari, how do I recover the Book? He may be the only person alive who knows where it is."

  The Phoenix Book is close at hand. Sala shimmered in the air. I can sense its location, within the mind of one here. With a short time, we could find it.

  Telyn's pulse picked up. Could it be? "Really? It's really here?"

  No. But the knowledge to find it is, and I could find that easily.

  "You can? Why didn't you say so? Sala--"

  What I can do, and what I am permitted to do are very different matters, Phoenix.

  Telyn blinked. Clearly, they must have some kind of problem communicating. "But you just said... After all your talk about how important the Book is, you're actually refusing to help me?"

  Sala's color dulled to a muted orange. Not refusing, Phoenix. You must understand -- this quest you are on has certain rules. The Aerai Majin set these rules so that should the Book ever leave the Altar of Flames, only the quest of Fire's Chosen would succeed. Aye, I can track it, as its power is a piece of the World Forge, and thus a part of me. But if you do not find it on your own, Telyn, you will never learn to read it, or to use its power. The Phoenix Book, separated from the Altar, can only be read by Fire's Chosen.

  "Wait. What about Sele? She claims to have read it. And Brunnari..."

  Brunnari cannot use the Book, nor even read it. That is why he had to find someone else to perform the ceremonies. And, besides the Chosen One, Sele was his best option. She is young, impressionable, and has spent her life studying the Aerai Majin and his artifacts. That is why he believes she could read the Book. At least, she might have, had she not gone mad. Now she sees only what she wishes to see, and the Book is no exception. I doubt she has ever seen it.

  Telyn sighed. She understood exactly what Sala was saying, as well as what the tiny Elemental left distinctly unsaid. Looked like this would be the last time she would see Sala until Brunnari was disposed of. Not only was Sala's presence a danger to her, here, but Brunnari's presence was likely a danger to the Elemental. Telyn could only imagine what Brunnari would do if he got his hands on an Elemental like Sala. She shuddered. That was a chance none of them could afford to take.

  A sharp rap on the door jolted Telyn out of her reverie, and Sala blinked out, melding seamlessly back with the candle flame.

  "Who's there?"

  The door opened, admitting a suspicious-looking Sele, followed by Pelarius Brunnari himself. Telyn saw the surprise on Sele's face at seeing her without her head covering, but the lack of surprise on Brunnari's face troubled Telyn more.

  "I heard you talking to someone," Sele accused without preamble. "Who were you talking to? Where are they?"

  Telyn pasted a blank look to her face as she stared back at Sele. "There's no one here but me, Sele. Under Dariadus, I learned the art of throwing my voi
ce, and I like to practice, when I'm alone in a strange place. It makes me feel more comfortable."

  Brunnari snorted, though the explanation seemed to placate Sele. Like always, Brunnari leaned on his staff, looking every bit the frail old man Telyn knew was a lie. Then, with deceptively unsteady steps, he crossed the room toward her, his shrewd eyes appraising Telyn and making her feel distinctly dirty.

  "Well, well, young Telyn. I hear you told Sele that you were an apprentice of the great Dariadus. And now you've finally come to me -- I knew you couldn't stay away. Together, we shall reshape the entire world."

  Sele's eyes widened as she looked between Brunnari and Telyn. As realization dawned, a cold rage engulfed the girl's face. "You know this man?"

  Brunnari chuckled derisively. "Don't be such a child, Sele. This is no young man, but a young woman -- Telyn Gwndal, the Phoenix of the World Forge, yes?"

  "Phoenix... World Forge?" Sele spluttered, her pale face going mottled with rage. "I... he... she..."

  "How articulate, my dear." Brunnari dismissed Sele with a glance, before his greedy gaze came back to Telyn. "Welcome, Telyn. I knew you would come to me."

  Telyn held onto her rage and hatred, facing him down coldly. "I didn't come here for you. And for your knowledge, Dariadus told me that the world can only be shaped by the will of the Great Gods."

  Brunnari snorted again. "Dariadus is a fool. Granted, it's no small feat to change the world. Quite a daunting one, actually, unless you have the right keys. But one may achieve it, and proved it isn't as impossible as some people believe for us mere mortals to change our world."

  "And you actually believe you've found it? That some destiny drew you to this achievement?"