Born Of Fire And Darkness (Book 2)

by India Drummond

  “No, no, of course.” Betram looked thoughtful. “Don’t worry about Vol. I sent my own protégé Reffa to take the situation in hand, and the Sennestelle has also provided two more from nearby cities. Assuming Pendra recovers fully, she will join the others in doing her duty. No, Vol is well cared for.”

  Octavia froze. “Pendra?”

  “Yes. I’ve heard she’s doing well, all things considered, although she hasn’t returned to working, of course. It’s only been six days, mind you. Soon, perhaps, with the power of the One guiding her.”

  “Pendra is alive,” Octavia whispered. Slowly turning to face Korbin, she saw from his expression that this was the thing he couldn’t tell her, the thing that Jorek had forbidden him to speak of, the thing that the emperor feared would drive her back to Vol.

  “Certainly she is,” Betram said. “We were told you were the one who negotiated her release. It’s one of the reasons your position here hasn’t been challenged. Are you saying that isn’t the case?”

  “Of course it is,” Korbin interrupted, looking somewhat clearer than he had a few moments before. “We just hadn’t heard if her condition had improved since her release.”

  Octavia cast him a grateful look. “I’m glad she’s doing well. I hope to be able to visit her soon.”

  “Naturally you wish to be with your friend, but don’t forget your duties, Octavia. Remember that our fragile relationship with the Talmorans must be preserved.”

  “I know that, Betram,” she said, annoyed that he’d left off her title and determined not to let him assert himself as her superior. “I more than anyone understand what I have to do.”

  “Very well,” Betram said, looking pensive. “I should be on my way, then. I would like to meet again, once you have had time to look into the situation with…”

  “Dul Korbin,” she finished for him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce you.”

  Korbin stood and extended his hand. “My apologies.” He still looked a touch shaky, but the color had returned to his face.

  “No worries,” Betram replied, seeming more jovial than before. “A Dul. Interesting. I don’t suppose you’re related to Seba, are you?”

  Korbin stiffened. “No.” Forcing a polite smile on his face, he said, “Not all Dul are related.”

  A soft rapping at the door interrupted the awkward moment, and a wave of relief washed over Octavia. “Come in,” she called.

  A guardsman entered. “Ultim Qardone Graiphen to see Dul Korbin.”

  “Of course,” Korbin said. He gave a polite bow to Betram. “If you’ll excuse me. It was a pleasure to meet you, Sen Betram. Thank you for your help over the past few days. May the power of the One ever guide you.”

  “Long may your fires burn,” Betram replied, returning the bow.

  Korbin went to the door, telling the steward that he would receive his father in his own room. He moved with confidence, but knowing him so well, Octavia recognized his steadiness was feigned.

  She missed his presence the moment the door closed. She had to get out of here, but mostly, she wanted answers. “I will add my thanks to that of Dul Korbin. I must go, however. The emperor will want to hear from me.” She still felt light-headed herself, but she didn’t want to submit to interrogation by Sen Betram, no matter how much he’d done for her. “We will meet again soon.”

  “Yes,” he said, his eyes narrowed. “Soon.”

  The moment she had seen Betram to a steward who would show him out of the palace and to the gate, she headed to Korbin’s room. It was time to face Graiphen and find out whose side he was on.

  ∞

  Korbin offered his father a drink, not even certain if it was a time of day for the gesture to be considered appropriate. He didn’t care.

  Graiphen accepted without comment, and Korbin poured them both one from a decanter on a side table. Handing one glass to his father, he took the other and downed the amber liquid, letting the warmth infuse his body.

  They sat on two long divans that faced each other in front of a tall window covered with heavy tapestry drapes, and Korbin placed his glass on the wooden table between them.

  “I’m relieved to hear you awakened,” Graiphen said. He wore the red robes of the Ultim Qardone of Braetin, but they hung on his frame as though he had recently lost weight. Korbin thought back to their last encounter in the prayer alcove. He hadn’t even noticed the way Graiphen looked then. He’d been too preoccupied with other things.

  “It’s hard to believe it’s been more than two days,” Korbin said. “It felt like minutes.” He thought back to his mother’s words. She’d surprised him with her plea for patience with his father. He’d always believed Graiphen mistreated Risa, and yet, still, even after death, she defended him.

  “When I didn’t see you, at first I thought you’d taken my advice and left the city. Of course, with this incident, you could easily plead illness and leave without causing offence. It’s the perfect excuse.”

  Korbin opened his mouth to answer, but a rapping at the door stopped him. Excusing himself, he went to the door and swung it open. Octavia stood on the other side. She too looked a bit wan, but she seemed to be coping with their awakening better than he did. Possibly he was suffering from the shock of seeing his mother so unexpectedly.

  “We need to talk.” She swept into the room.

  “My father is here,” he said, but of course she’d already seen him.

  “I know.” She went and sat opposite Graiphen on the divan Korbin had just vacated. “I think it’s time we talk frankly.”

  “I agree,” Graiphen said, watching Octavia closely.

  Korbin followed her and sat beside her. A few weeks before, she’d shivered at the mention of Graiphen’s name. Now she seemed strong and confident. It was good to see her more herself.

  “Korbin told me of your last conversation.”

  “Then you know Zain is plotting to kill you.” Graiphen leaned forward. “This is nothing to be dismissed lightly. He is powerful, and he is gaining ever more influential friends. If you hadn’t been guarded so heavily in the past days while you were unconscious, you would be dead already.”

  She waved her hand, dismissing the idea. “His power doesn’t concern me at the moment. I need you to tell me everything you know about the Spirits.”

  Graiphen furrowed his greying brow. “Everything? I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  A little snort of impatience escaped Octavia’s lips. “What do you know of the place they come from? How did they get here? How were they banished from this realm the last time? Korbin tells me that four of them are dead. Did that happen in this realm or their own?”

  Graiphen sat back. “You do realize that if I tell you what I know, I will forfeit my own life. You would ask this of me? You would expect this of me?”

  Octavia’s expression darkened. “Yes. I would and I do. You give warnings and vague hints while still trying to protect your own position. Meanwhile, our world is in danger of being claimed by these parasites.”

  “Octavia,” Korbin said by way of warning. She might have some protection because of her relationship with the emperor, but Korbin didn’t yet trust that his father wouldn’t find a way to use her words against her.

  She continued as though he hadn’t said anything. “In centuries past, people could be forgiven for seeing the tricks of these beings and extolling them as gods. Even today, the people would welcome them with open arms. Power is intoxicating.”

  Graiphen pressed his lips together but made no comment.

  “But shall we welcome them, knowing what they are? Interlopers? Frauds? And yes, parasites? Shall we give up our souls and our freedom in exchange for a fleeting chance at power, when that power is only an illusion? What power do you truly have? You may have authority over some men, but in the face of these two beings, you are as helpless and lowly as any of us. They will protect you only so long as it suits them. They are changeable and amoral.”

  “You want me to actively wo
rk against them. To give up everything in the hope that you, a foreign woman with little influence, can stop them? How do you intend to send them back? Do you even know how to close the portal? I do not.”

  Octavia’s eyes lit up. “Tell me about this portal.”

  Graiphen hesitated.

  “Father, your choice was forfeit the moment Seba targeted you. He sent you into the arms of Braetin, and now there is no turning back. Either you work with us to stop these creatures or you work with them to stop us. You must choose a side.”

  “It all comes back to Seba, doesn’t it?” A dark look passed over Graiphen’s expression.

  “The portal, Graiphen,” Octavia pushed.

  He considered, his face taking on a faraway look. When he spoke, his tone was quiet. “It’s a passage between worlds. It’s situated in the lowest part of Braetin’s temple.”

  “You saw it with your own eyes?” Octavia asked, though Korbin had told her the story already.

  “Yes. I was present when my mistress brought Pang through.”

  “How did she do it?” Korbin watched his father, suspecting that he was holding something back.

  Graiphen looked away for a moment, then met Octavia’s eyes. “I called her. Braetin used my throat to force me to speak in a language I didn’t know. It opened a portal.” He described the mirror-like surface and the tall, disjointed, and spindly creatures with razor-like claws.

  “Do you remember the words you said?”

  “No,” he replied, but his tone was vague. “Not really. As I said, I didn’t understand the tongue.”

  “What if I could help you remember?” Octavia asked.

  “How?”

  “A simple meditation. I create a safe place in your mind and we recall the moment together.”

  “No. It’s not safe. I wouldn’t even dare repeat those words in a dream.”

  After a moment’s consideration, Octavia said, “Let me think about it. There must be a way.”

  A thought occurred to Korbin. “If you didn’t know how to call Pang without Braetin’s help, how was Braetin herself summoned?”

  “I’m not certain,” Graiphen said. “All I know is that a small group of the temple leadership discovered how. To create a portal is completely different from merely opening one, which is all I did.”

  “There must be a way to destroy it,” Octavia said.

  “I don’t know how, as I said, but there is an immediate problem we can solve: Pang and her son.”

  “Zain is mortal,” Octavia said.

  “But not defenseless. Don’t underestimate him,” Graiphen warned.

  “And his mother?”

  “As dangerous as Braetin. Her poison is sweet, but no less deadly.” Graiphen looked as though he was suppressing a shudder. “Still, she has a weakness that Braetin does not.”

  Octavia sat perfectly still. “What is that?”

  “The Spirits cannot be far from the portal without possessing another. Braetin controls the only portal… for now.”

  “Surely Pang will just create another one?” Korbin asked.

  Octavia shook her head. “Trinity said she didn’t think that possible.”

  “I don’t know who this Trinity is, but I would take nothing for granted when it comes to the power of the Spirits.” Graiphen ran a hand over his face, looking deep in thought. “Still, even if it is possible, Pang isn’t strong enough. It takes time for them to build up strength, and there are things that can weaken them. Your attack on Braetin earlier this year was what prompted her to bring Pang in the first place. I don’t know what you did, but your actions nearly crippled her. I doubt she’ll let you close enough to try again.”

  “And so both goddesses are weak right now?”

  “Braetin less so. She has access to the portal and Pang gave her a measure of strength when she came through. That was the price.”

  “And Pang’s weakness?”

  “She is dependent on a human vessel until she finds a way to come through in the flesh. You perhaps cannot kill Pang, but if you destroyed her vessel, she would be forced back to her own realm.”

  “Couldn’t Braetin just use someone else to bring her back?”

  “Possibly,” Graiphen said. “Of course, but I doubt she would. She needed an infusion of strength before; now she isn’t so desperate. Pang is planning to kill Braetin. She wants this entire realm to herself.”

  “Maybe we should let her,” Korbin said. “Then we’d only have to deal with one of them.”

  “No,” Graiphen snapped. “No, Pang is the vulnerable one now. We should destroy her while we can.”

  Korbin watched his father, distrust sneaking in. Why was his father so strongly advocating this path? Was he just using them?

  “Tell me, Ultim Qardone, why are you helping us?” Octavia smoothed the wrinkles in her robe, not meeting Graiphen’s eye.

  “Because it’s too late for me,” he said. “And you’re right. I have to pick a side.” He glanced at Korbin, then back at Octavia. “Pang has been offering me protection from Braetin, if only I will pledge to her. I admit I considered it, but then Zain asked me to kill you. As a test of loyalty.”

  “And you found this offer objectionable?”

  Graiphen tightened his lips. “I found it insincere. I don’t like being used, and yet, here I am, caught between these two powerful creatures.”

  Korbin didn’t like being used either and couldn’t help but think Graiphen deserved the position he was in. He’d had a choice, once, and he’d chosen wrong.

  Octavia said nothing about Graiphen’s dilemma. She merely nodded. “Have you seen Pang since your arrival?”

  Graiphen tensed perceptibly. “Yes. A couple of times. Even though I am not of her temple, one does not refuse the demands of a goddess.”

  Korbin frowned. There was true hatred in his father’s voice. “You could see her again.”

  “Perhaps, yes. She’s never refused my request for an audience.”

  “Has it not occurred to you that you, more than anyone, are in a position to deal with Pang?”

  “You want me to kill her vessel,” he said.

  Octavia pursed her lips.

  “Isn’t that just what you were suggesting we should do? With her gone, Zain would be a lot easier to manage. As a mortal, he is much more vulnerable to the power of the One.”

  Graiphen’s face was completely unreadable. “To do as you suggest would be to defy Braetin. She would not be pleased.”

  “What of Pang’s betrayal?” Korbin demanded.

  “She might not mind Pang being sent from this realm, but she would not abide me being the one to do it. I belong to her, and she tasked me to help Pang. If I did what you’re suggesting, I could count the value of my life in the pockets of a pauper.” He ran a hand over his face. “I need to think.”

  “I don’t like this,” Octavia said. “Conduits are not assassins. I took vows when I joined the Sennestelle. My aim is to rid the realm of men from these interlopers, not murder their victims.” Graiphen opened his mouth to speak, but Octavia raised a hand to silence him. “This vessel of Pang’s may be of the temple, but she is a human woman. I’ve seen the Spirits act. Even you do not deny all will is overwhelmed in the human host when the Spirits are within.”

  Graiphen reluctantly conceded the point. “Do not think your idea of mercy will save you when Zain or another comes to cut your throat in the night. Pang has killed with her feeding, just as Braetin has, though death might seem a mercy. They are both equally ruthless and cruel. Do not underestimate the danger you are in.”

  Octavia shuddered. “I am not naïve. But neither is it my wish to become a killer. We all have some thinking to do.” She stood, and both men followed suit.

  With a dark expression, Graiphen bade them both farewell and left.

  “Octavia,” Korbin said. “I’m sorry. About not telling you about Pendra.”

  She turned and gripped his hand. “I understand. It’s not you I’m angry with.”
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  “What will you do?”

  She sighed. “For now, there’s nothing I can do. She’s being cared for. Although I wish I was by her side, I need to see this through. We must return to Vol, but that will come soon enough. Braetin is nesting there, and eventually we’ll have to face her.”

  “My father thinks we should deal with Pang first. Don’t forget, she wants to come through to this world in physical form. We cannot let her gather the strength to do that.”

  She shook her head. “If we close the portal in Vol, we can rid the world of both at the same time.”

  “If we do not confront the dangers here, we may not make it to Vol.”

  Octavia said nothing, but she looked more determined than afraid. “I need to speak to the Sennestelle. If anyone remembers the weakness of the Spirits, it will be them.”

  Chapter 21

  Still refusing to bow, Octavia gave a polite nod, then crossed her arms. Standing in front of the emperor and two of his advisors, she cast him a level look. “You sent for me?”

  “I’m pleased to see you’re recovered,” he replied.

  She flushed and uncrossed her arms. On one hand, she was very grateful to him for looking out for her and Korbin. They might not have survived otherwise. It was the second time he’d taken care of her after such a spirit journey and even though it had been nearly a full day since her awakening, she still felt wan.

  On the other hand, he had kept information from her for his own ends. “Thank you,” she said, her voice flat.

  Some measure of recognition flickered in his expression. He took in her tone of voice, her stance, but didn’t overtly acknowledge that something was wrong.

  “My son is making a public appearance today. I have only just learned of it.” Jorek paused. “I need you to attend.”

  Octavia raised an eyebrow. “What kind of appearance?”

  “A public blessing ceremony at Pang’s temple,” he replied.

  One of the advisors, a Dula whose name Octavia couldn’t recall, spoke up. “It is rumored that they will be calling on people to serve the temple, taking in new acolytes,” she said. Octavia noticed one of the woman’s hands was smudged with ink stains.