Tonespace: The Space of Energy (The Metaspace Chronicles Book 3)

by Matthew Kennedy

  “Why don't you just leave it where it falls, like you do with a lot of the leaves in here? Enrich the soil.”

  She held up a bit of the severed vine and showed her mother the nodes where tendrils extended from the main vine. “Because the books say these nodes can root if they lie on the ground. The damned stuff climbs and covers. It's the last thing my trees need.”

  Above their heads and around them, bees buzzed hopefully, but the apple trees had not yet begun to blossom.

  “Still, the fact that it fixes nitrogen could make for good compost. Maybe you should start a new section, and let it root there instead of here.”

  Aria picked up the basket. “Don't get me started. You know the School has taken several of the floors I was going to start planting this year.”

  The Governor glanced about to make sure they were alone on the floor. “Your father deserves his School. We both know his own Dream is the reason he supported the General and me all these years."

  “I know, but...”

  “But what? You want me to make him uproot it and move to another building?”

  “If I thought you would, I'd say yes to that. And his plan of starting a school isn't the only reason he stayed with you...is it?” She took a breath. “If it was, I wouldn't be here. He stayed because of his feelings for you.”

  Kristana appeared to be studying the apple tree. “He never touched me until Robbie died.” She shook her head. “He would have stayed on if the General had recovered. Yes, he loves me. But I think he loves his Plan more, and he has no hope of succeeding without the School.”

  Aria set the basket down next to a couple of already-filled ones. Maybe the weavers could do something with the kudzu vines once they dried a bit. “Do you really believe his School can change the world by teaching a few wizards?”

  Her mother shrugged. “I know he believes it. And he's certainly earned the right to try.”

  “Well, can you at least give me some more floors to grow food on? If Texas manages to invade and we have a siege situation, we could eat better if we had more floors under cultivation.”

  Kristana sighed. “I'd like to, but we need the space for diplomats. That's the price of forming diplomatic ties.”

  “But Qusay's gone back to the Emirates!”

  “He'll be back,” Kristana predicted. “Or someone like him. We're going to need all the friends Rado can make if the Lone Star Empire moves against us again, and the way things are shaping up down there, it sure looks like they will.”

  “I might be able to help with that,” said Xander.

  They both jerked, startled. “You know I've asked you to stop sneaking up on me like that!” Aria told him, glaring. “Just because you're the court wizard doesn't mean you have to go skulking around invisible all the time.”

  “Have to keep in practice,” he said, grinning. “I have some good news for you. Your fiancee's alive. And he's on his way here.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you sure? How do you know that?”

  “We managed to contact him with the ring the Queen gave Lobsang.”

  “Who?”

  “Kaleb. His real name's Lobsang. Kaleb was just what the Queen called him.”

  He went on about how the blue ring helped them talk to people mentally from far away, but she was barely listening. Jeffrey was alive. How did she feel about that?

  When she had first heard about the coup in Texas, part of her had feared for the young Honcho's life. But, and she had to admit this to herself, if to no one else, another part of her had almost welcomed the news. Marrying Jeffrey was too complicated. Their children would be heirs to both governments. “Coming here? Are you positive?”

  “He was on his way here when we made contact.”

  “I know this sounds cold, but why? Is he hoping we'll loan him some troops to retake his throne? He must know we need all the soldiers we have, to defend against Texas.”

  “I'm sure he knows that,” said Xander. “Although if he manages a return to power there, he'd stop any invasion plans the junta has made. No, the reason he's coming, according to Jeffrey, is to study at my School.”

  “But he doesn't have the talent for it!” She stared at him disbelievingly. “If he did, you would have sensed it while we were negotiating the peace treaty, right?”

  “You're right,” he admitted.

  “So how does he expect you to teach him? Becoming a wizard might help him beat the junta and get his throne back, but I thought you couldn't make a wizard out of someone, without the talent for it.”

  “True. When he was here, I sensed no ability in him. And yes, I've always believed that to develop the talent you have to be exposed to the artifacts, the Gifts, as a child, like Lester and I were. And he's too old for that now, or so I thought. But maybe I was wrong about that.”

  “Wrong in what way?”

  “When I was a boy, I had a swizzle and an everflame to fiddle with, back in Wyoming, just as Lester had an everflame and a coldbox at the inn in Inverness. And it was enough to prepare both of us to learn the magic. But apparently Jeffrey has been exposed to a whole room full of artifacts, and it was enough to nurture some talent in him, even though he's a late starter.”

  That gave her pause. “So you're telling me...”

  “That it's not just when you start the exposure. The actual number of artifacts a person is exposed to makes a difference too.”

  “But where did he find a whole room full of them?”

  He exhaled. “That's the weird part. The Church hid him out in one of their monasteries, and they had a cache of the Gifts there, just as they do in the warehouse somewhere in Dallas.”

  She blinked. The Church? “Why would they help him?”

  He shrugged. “That puzzled me, too. It looks as if they like him more than the ruling junta, otherwise they would have just turned him in.”

  “But Jeffrey's not even Catholic!”

  “Well, yes and no. Officially, the Martinez family has been faithful supporters of the TCC ever since his great-grandfather talked them into moving the Vatican across the border into Dallas.” He paused. “But you're right. From what our operatives in the Empire say, the boy has never been a big fan of organized religion. Bit of a cynic, especially since as son of the previous Honcho he got more education than the average citizen.”

  “So, why?”

  “As I said, maybe they think he's better for stability than the junta. The TCC like stability, we know that. A dynastic line is one of the most stable forms of government. But that's not what puzzles me the most.”

  She had been about to say something, but that stopped her. “There's more?”

  “What I'm wondering about is why they are leaking so much, especially now.”

  Leaking? “What are you talking about?”

  He stared at her. “Don't you see? It's not just about protecting him from the junta. They could have kept him hidden at the monastery, but, instead, they're sending him to us.”

  Kristana frowned. “Maybe they're just covering their own asses. Now that they've sent him to us, the junta can't find him on any Church property."

  Xander shook his head. “No. What I'm getting at is, by sending him to us they are also letting us know two things. One, that they have another warehouse of artifacts, and unlike the one in Dallas, Jeffrey knows where this one is since he's been there.”

  “They could always move it somewhere else, now that he's left the monastery,” Kristana pointed out. “What's the second thing?”

  “That they know exposure to the artifacts helps make wizards,” he said. “And that the more artifacts you have, the quicker the process and the older you can be when you start.”

  “We already knew the first part of that,” said Aria.

  “Yes,” he said. “But not the second part. This is huge. Now I can accept anyone into the school, even if they have no talent yet...because I have my own room full of artifacts, thanks to all the scavenging by your mother's soldiers.” He gazed at
both of them. “The question is, why would they want to help me like that?”

  “Do we have something they want?” Kristana asked.

  Xander was silent for a moment. “Maybe we do.”

  “What? They have more troops, more territory, and that buried armory they discovered at Abilene. What could we possibly have that they want? Our gold mines?”

  “No,” he said. “It's me.”

  Now it was their turn to stare at him.

  “Think about it. They have artifacts, and someone must be getting exposed to them, so they have some potential wizards. But they have no one to train them, or they would have kept Jeffrey there.” He sighed. “Looks like they want me to train some wizards for them. I just wish I knew why.”

  Chapter 52

  Feather: Hunters and Hunted

  “Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry.”

  – Navajo saying

  She knew perfectly well what she should do: she should take the Healstone back to the Shrine where it belonged. She'd tried to circle back to do this, but after nearly being recaptured a couple of times she decided that it might not be a good idea, for the time being. That wizard and the men from the coast might be waiting back there for her.

  She crouched down by a stream and scooped up some water. The water was clean, but so cold it made her shiver. Well, made her shiver even more than she was already. This mountain might not be as tall as some, but it still had snow near the top. Idly, she wondered if all the snow would melt by the time Summer came. Some mountains kept it all year round.

  Her current plan arose after the second of her close calls. She had managed to fall asleep tangled in some vines to avoid falling out of a tree, and when she woke up the pursuers were actually camped below her.

  “Do you really think she came this far?” one of the men asked as he rolled up his tent.

  “Where else could she have gone?” said Ludlow. “The men we left back at the Shrine would've sent up a smoke signal if she tried to return to the scene of her crime.”

  “Her crime? You mean, when she stole the thingie before we could?”

  “As the lawfully deputized agents of His Excellency the Duke, we are under orders to secure an item that exists within the borders of his domain...”

  “...existed...”

  “Yes, existed!” he snapped. “Thank you so much for reminding me that it's moved, as if we didn't all know that. But like these hills and trees, the Healstone falls under the Duke's authority. Therefore, in acquiring it for his Excellency we cannot be said to be stealing.”

  “Especially when we can't find it. Do you really think she's headed up the mountains? She's got to be as cold as we are. Maybe she's all snug in a cave somewhere. I know I wish I was.”

  “Have we found any other caves?”

  “Not as such,” the other man admitted.

  “Then neither did she,” said Ludlow. “At this point I think she has only two choices. Turn back, and fall into our hands, or press forward over the mountain, towards Deseret.”

  “You think she's headed toward the Mormons? That's crazy! She'd never make it there alone.”

  “At this point, Sergeant, I doubt very much if she is heading toward anything. She's alone, with no supplies or furs, and without weapons she's not going to get any furs. When she hits the snow line she'll have to turn back, and we'll have her.”

  If you looked straight up, you'd have me, she thought. But he was right. It would be crazy to go over the mountain.

  So that's exactly what she decided to do.

  Chapter 53

  Esteban: The Word Revealed

  “Wisdom is better than strength.”

  – Ecclesiastes 9:16

  He had actually been relieved when Xander called them together to discuss the change of plans regarding the memspheres. But the relief turned out to be short-lived when the head wizard's decision to screen the spheres himself left Esteban free to continue decoding the message from His Holiness.

  Glumly he'd returned to his room and set about the task of completing the final stage. As he worked, he used another blank sheet of paper to cover up what he'd written so far. If anyone had asked he could have said this was to force himself to be meticulous and avoid guessing the rest of each word. But the real reason was he didn't want to know the message, not really, and was putting off reading it until he had the entire text.

  When he was finally finished, he covered up the last letter and sat back trying to come up with an excuse to not read what he had transcribed.

  But there could be no excuse. Even his loyalty to Xander and the School could not take precedence over his loyalty to God, and to His chosen Pontiff.

  He sighed and slid the blank page aside.

  “Brother Esteban,

  By now you should have begun to learn some of what Xander and his apprentice Lester know. We realize that direct communications with Us are impractical, and for that reason are taking the trouble to send you a list of intermediaries We have inserted into the city of Denver to assist you...”

  There followed a list of names and addresses of contacts to whom he could entrust messages. His Holiness was being extra careful. Just one contact would have sufficed, but there was the possibility that one might die, fall sick, or be discovered, so a list of no less than twenty contacts were included. Had they all been sleepers, agents sent here long ago in case they might be needed someday? Or had his Holiness means of bringing in so many on short notice? There was no way of knowing.

  “...It is imperative that you send notes on what you have learned thus far to brother Marcus, in case your connection with the Church is uncovered.”

  Why was His Holiness suddenly worried about discovery, after all these weeks? Obviously, something was about to change. Father Andrews had kept his secrets, and there was every reason to believe that he would continue to respect the privacy of confession. So why was there an increased risk now? Where was it coming from?

  “We are sending another student. He is more familiar with the Church than those around you now, and is thus more likely than them to catch small slips the others might miss...”

  What? Why would His Holiness send anyone who might endanger an ongoing operation?

  “He is someone already known to them, from before your arrival, so if he suspects you it would probably be useless to try to discredit him. If he exposes you, you may allow them to believe that you have forsaken your vows and left your Order. We do not like to order you to lie, but God will forgive any minor sins you must commit in order to serve His Church...”

  It sounded like the Pontiff had more than one operation going here, or would soon, and had taken the risk that one might interfere with the other.

  “...Even if you escape detection as Our agent, it may become necessary for you to leave at any time. If you hear of any communication from the Empire that contains the word Genesis you are to follow the name of the next book...”

  Evidently, His Holiness realized that he might not be able to send another coded letter under some circumstances. Esteban could see that if the Empire decided to invade Rado again the troops might arrive before a letter advising him to leave. But they might still be able to pass a message via a soldier or diplomat. If he heard the word Genesis from any Texan, he was to make his own personal Exodus immediately.

  “...Memorize the list of contacts and then destroy both the plain text version and the original copy of this letter. Take no risk of discovery whatsoever, and may God preserve you in your work for His holy Church.”

  The letter was unsigned, but that didn't matter. No one but his Holiness would use the 64x64 grid of a Pontifex cipher.

  It was just as well that Xander had collected the memspheres. It was a long time before he managed to drift off to sleep.

  Chapter 54

  Qusay: Tedious Hospitality

  “Do not mix Truth with falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the Truth.”

  – Quran 2:42

  T
hings were changing too fast. Rado and Texas were enemies, then they were allies, and now very possibly they were enemies again. It was hard to know who to trust these days. Kareef could be trusted; the boy might be naïve politically, but at least you always knew where he stood on things.

  The same could not be said for this self-proclaimed “khalīfah” Waqqas, however. Somehow he kept his anger at the arrogance of the man locked behind his best diplomatic smile. Caliph? If he had known of this man before they left Denver they would have taken a different route back to the Emirates.

  “We appreciate how welcome you have made us, Sidi.”

  “Hatha wajepi, Qusay. It is my duty. We all know that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, commands us to offer hospitality.”

  “Glorified and sublime be He,” Qusay agreed. Which is more than I can say for those who appropriate titles above their station. He wished Ateeqa was with him, but naturally this 'Caliph' had kept to tradition and excluded her from the meeting.

  “So do you bring news from Texas, Qusay? Are they planning to attack my people any time soon?"

  Qusay sipped his coffee. “Alas, this is not known to me, but only to Allah, the Mighty and the Majestic. We come not from that land, but from Rado, to the North.”

  “Oh?” said Waqqas. “Do many of the Faithful dwell in that land, a land I have heard is ruled by a woman?”

  “My wife and I have only been there a short time,” said Qusay. “It has been my duty and honor to serve as ambassador from the Emirates to Rado. Governor Kristana is not a lady to be underestimated.”