"Well, I've made myself a criminal now," Marell said. "I have no choice."
"It's this way," Faina said, leading them through the darkness. They avoided Sunlamps as much as they could, but Kadin still worried that people would be waiting for them where they'd created the hole in the fence.
They raced across the plantation. Kadin's blood was pounding in his ears. Soon they reached the hole.
"We still have some work to do," Kadin said.
Marell moved to the hole. "A little force should shift what's left. We probably don't even need Sunweaving."
He kicked at some loose rocks, and they crumbled away. Kadin and Faina did the same, and soon the hole was wide enough for them to fit.
"You two go first," Marell said.
Faina ducked through the hole, reaching the other side easily. Kadin followed, covered in sweat, his heart pounding. Then he looked back, waiting for Marell, who barely fit through the hole.
Once they all stood on the other side, Marell said, "Let's move."
They took off in a direction that Kadin had never been.
"Shouldn't we go back to Illindel?" he asked.
Marell shook his head. "They'll be looking for us in Illindel."
"Then where can we go?" Faina asked, her voice high-pitched with desperation.
"I don't know. You weren't supposed to attract so much attention. I shouldn't have needed to intervene to help you escape. I hope you're happy, Kadin. I hope it was worth it." He fell silent a long moment. "Now you'll have to tell them you're a Sunlord. It's the only way you can avoid execution. Faina, I had no idea you were a Fireweaver."
"I was trying to hide it," she said as they ran. "I'm surprised you're helping me."
"Unlike some, I don't believe Fireweaving alone makes a person evil."
Eventually, they could run no longer. They slowed to a quick walk, leaving the plantation far behind. Thus far, there had been no pursuit, but how long would that last? The more time that passed, the more Kadin thought back to that moment when he'd burned Andric to death. Kadin's anger no longer consumed him, and now he couldn't believe he'd done it.
"I'm a murderer," he said, struggling against tears.
Faina put a hand on his shoulder. "I know how that feels. It'll get better. It won't go away entirely, but you'll find you can live with it. You were right about Andric. He did deserve it. But I wish you hadn't been the one to do it. You were innocent, Kadin. Now you're not. No matter who you kill, once you do it, there's always going to be blood on your hands."
Kadin looked at his hands, as though he might see blood there.
"I won't argue about whether he deserved it," Marell said. "But it was foolish. By killing him, you made all of our lives much more difficult. We already faced stiff penalties for our actions, but the Sun Guard isn't usually all that dedicated to looking for runaway slaves or a single Fireweaver. But they can't ignore the murder of a Sunweaver."
Kadin's stomach twisted into a knot. He hadn't thought of that. Again, he felt as though a crushing weight had settled over him, trapping him. He wanted to cry, but he fought the urge.
"What can we do now?" he said, choking up.
Marell looked away. "I don't know."
"I'm sorry," Kadin said. "I should have had better control."
Marell smiled, but it didn't touch his eyes. "Now this is a situation where an apology is appropriate."
"Thank you for helping us," Faina said, pale in the dim moonlight. "How'd you do it?"
"Ever since I taught Kadin about Sunweaving, I've been watching him, waiting for him to show signs that he would be leaving. Most people wouldn't have noticed any difference, but today I could see the extra energy in Kadin as he went about his work. I knew right then that he'd try to escape tonight. I also knew that Andric suspected something."
"Why didn't you warn me?" Kadin asked.
"I knew you'd do it whether I warned you or not."
"True," Kadin said.
"So I kept watch, staying far enough away that no one would see me. When I saw them capture you, I knew they'd take you back to the manor and wait there for the Sun Guard, so I slipped inside and hid in another room with the door cracked open. Once everyone had their attention focused on you, it was time to act. You know the rest."
Kadin couldn't fight the tears any longer. "Thank you for helping us."
Marell's expression was hard. "You better make something of yourself, Kadin."
"I-I'll try."
"This is where I leave you," Marell said. "I don't know where you're going, but I can't go there with you. Sticking close to you is too dangerous. I'm sorry."
"I understand," Kadin said through tears.
Marell put his hands on Kadin's shoulders. "I wish you luck."
With that, he turned and strode away into the darkness. For so long, Kadin had felt mixed feelings toward Marell, but not now. Marell had been his hero, and Kadin couldn't stand to see the man go. He turned to Faina and saw that she was in tears as well.
"I didn't know him as well as you did," she said. "But he helped us at great personal risk."
"I know," Kadin said. "He's a good man."
Kadin had met so few of those.
Chapter 28: The Sunlord's Prison
The day after she saw the guarded corridor, Rella came up with a plan. She pretended she wasn't interested in the corridor, pretended that all she cared about was acclimating to her new life and finding out if she was a Firelord. Meanwhile, she needed to find a way into that corridor. In a palace this old, there had to be secret passages.
But first they were testing her for Firelord abilities. Karik showed up in her chamber early that afternoon, looking at her with that relaxed, confident smile. She had already dressed for the occasion, wearing lighter clothes than she was used to. In a palace so warm, there was little need to dress in thick furs.
Karik led her through the stone-lined corridors, to a large chamber in a section of the palace she had not yet seen. One person stood in the stone chamber, an older man with a graying beard. His expression remained neutral as Rella and Karik entered.
"This is Firelord Talin," Karik said. "He teaches potential Firelords."
Talin gestured Rella toward him. "Don't expect preferential treatment because you're related to Firelord Atarin."
"I wouldn't expect anything of the sort," Rella said.
"Good," Talin said. "That's settled. Time to see if you're a Firelord. Sit down. Put your hands on the floor. Firelords can draw power from the core most easily if they're touching stone."
Rella did so, worried that this wouldn't work. She hadn't given much thought to whether she wanted to be a Firelord, but now she knew she'd be disappointed if she failed this test. After all, she might gain more freedom as a Firelord and be able to investigate things without drawing suspicion. Or at least without drawing as much suspicion.
"What am I supposed to do now?" she asked.
"This is going to feel odd, but I want you to weave every color."
Rella had never tried doing that before. Usually, weaving more than two colors resulted in nothing. Only Sunlords and Firelords could do anything with more than two colors, and only if they wove every color. She'd never thought she was anything special.
But she should have. How many people could do every weave?
With her hands pressed to the stone floor, she focused on every color, on weaving them together. It was strange at first, but then she felt incredible warmth. The heat didn't burn her, though it felt hot enough to do so. Instead, it filled her with energy.
"I think it's working," she said, trembling as the power coursed through her.
Talin smiled at last, but there was still no emotion in his voice. "Congratulations, Rella. You're a Firelord."
"What do I do now?"
"Release the power," Talin said. "Focus on letting the weave go."
Rella closed her eyes and concentrated as the power hummed through her. With a deep breath, she let it go and collapsed to the cold stone floor, strug
gling to move.
"You took on too much," Talin said. "Many Firelords do that the first time. I have to say I'm surprised how easily you did that. Most Firelords take much longer. Some have to do it for weeks, or even months, before they can do as well as you just did." He paused a moment. "Perhaps Firelord Atarin truly is your uncle."
Rella's arms complained as she pushed herself to her feet. "What exactly did that do?"
"Your powers combined with the energy you took from the core. It's the same thing the Sunlord does, but with the core instead of the sun. Your body increased the core's energy and returned that energy to the core. We need as many Firelords as we can get, or the energy of the core will eventually become too little to support the world. Either that or we'll have to stop using Fireweaving."
"How do I learn to control it?" Rella asked, wavering on her feet.
"It's a matter of practice and focus."
Rella turned to see that Karik was watching her.
"Well done," he said with a smile.
"I think you should rest now," Talin said. "You've proven you're a Firelord, and you'll need some time to recover your energy before you try that weave again."
Rella felt unsteady on her feet. "That sounds like a good idea."
As she left the chamber, she leaned on Karik for support. He felt strong and solid. She wanted to trust him, wanted to feel like she belonged here. A part of her did feel that way, but this wasn't home. She didn't have Tarell, Azira, or her father.
"Why are there so many Firelords?" she asked as they walked back toward her room in a slow rhythm. "After all, there are never many Sunlords."
"Sunlords are better at what they do," Karik said. "I'm not sure why. Just a few Sunlords, or even just one, can keep the sun going. It could be related to the difference in the energy sources. Sunweaving doesn't deplete the sun. It barely has any effect on the sun's energy because the sun, even as weak as it is, has a lot of energy. But the core doesn't produce as much energy. It's not even close. And with Fireweavers using that energy, we need to replenish it."
"I think I understand," Rella said, but she felt too tired to process his explanation. She'd think through it later.
Karik left her at the door to her chamber. She wanted to look at old palace building plans in the library, but exhaustion overcame her, and she sank into bed, falling asleep in seconds.
When she woke, she felt much better. Night had fallen, but that made little difference with all the Sunlamps. She stepped out of her chambers and made her way to the library, passing the guarded corridor on the way. The guards remained there, vigilant as ever, so she pretended the corridor was of no interest to her, and prayed that they'd believe it.
To her relief, the library remained open. She ducked inside, read their enormous catalog to locate the plans she wanted, then walked to that section of the library, checking that no one was watching her. She didn't see anyone, but her chest felt tight, and she glanced back every few seconds.
If Atarin found out what she was doing, he would probably kill her.
Even if he gave her the option of exile, she couldn't take it. Well, she could find a boat across the ocean, but that would be difficult because only a small part of the ocean was free of ice, and she'd have to go all the way to Hyrandel to find a boat.
And even if she did find a boat, the Sardek Empire was strict about letting Fireweavers in. Fireweavers were not persecuted there, but Lightweavers remained in charge, and they made sure not to upset that balance of power through admitting Fireweavers.
So Rella had to pray she wouldn't get caught investigating. One part of her mind told her she should let this go, but she feared what might happen if Atarin used the Sunlord to bring back Halarik. Perhaps Halarik wasn't evil back when he fought against Aralea, but Halarik had spent six hundred years alone in a misty, shadowy prison. He might be insane by now.
Still, even if she did find the Sunlord, how could she accomplish anything?
But that was a worry for another time. She thrust it aside and dug through the archives. Her search lasted hours, but she did find original plans, meticulously drawn and well-preserved.
She unfurled the dusty scroll and laid it upon a wooden table in a deserted corner of the library. The Sunlamp behind her battled the chill of a nearby draft, but she still shivered. The entire time she read, she felt like someone was watching her, but she convinced herself she was being paranoid as usual. She'd lived that way her entire life.
Due to the size of the palace, she had to scan the scroll for a long time before orienting herself. Once she figured it out, her mouth dropped open.
The palace contained many secret passages, and one of them led from her chambers to a room in the guarded corridor. These plans looked so old, battered, and dusty that they had likely been forgotten. Would anyone notice if she took them from the library?
No. She couldn't take that risk. Not until she was certain.
But she still had to learn how she could access these secret passages. She squinted, examining the minute writing littering the plans. Most of it was useless. Some of it was indecipherable. But after a while, she found what she wanted.
One small line of text next to a secret passage told her that a Firelord's weave would open any passage. Her heart climbed into her throat, and she struggled not to bounce with excitement as she memorized the secret route one last time. It started at the corner of her room, so she only had to find out what she was supposed to open.
Rella placed the plans back where she'd found them, then left the library and returned to her chambers. She went to the corner and looked for an entrance of any kind. An enormous wardrobe sat above where the passage should be.
"Please tell me I don't have to move that," she whispered. It might be possible with Green/Blue Fireweaving. Wood was a dead plant after all. All she had to do was use her Fireweaving to move the wardrobe's wood bottom out of the way.
Hopefully no one would notice.
She concentrated on the weave, and the wood split apart with a sharp crack. Her stomach lurched, and she stopped for a moment, but she heard no one approaching. She continued working the wood, making it curl away to reveal a giant hole. Through that hole, she could see a square marked out on the floor, indicating the entrance to the secret passage.
She bent low over the entrance, focused on weaving every color, and waited. A moment later, the rock shifted open, revealing a dark passage. She glanced back, as though someone might be watching over her shoulder, then she slipped into the hole, into darkness.
A quick Yellow casting illuminated the narrow, dusty passage. She pushed through spider webs. Even here in the Frozen Lands, spiders could find a place to live underground. Spiders had never bothered her, though. Some tales said there had been large, poisonous spiders back before Halarik weakened the sun, but those spiders had long since vanished.
The passage twisted along, and she stepped softly, afraid her steps might echo into the rooms and corridors above. In the narrow confines, the journey felt longer than expected. Her chest tightened, and her heart raced. What would she find on the other side?
At last, she came to the end of the passage. She held her Yellow casting above her head and saw another square marked into the ceiling. When she pressed her hand to it and did the Firelord's weave, the ceiling shifted open with a low rumble.
Hesitantly, she poked her head through the hole. The chamber above was much like hers, with lavish red carpets and rich wood furniture. The only difference was the man sitting at the edge of the bed, massaging his temples. He stared at her, shaking his head.
"Who are you?" he asked, leaning forward, his gaze more curious than worried. He looked close to fifty years old. His brown hair and beard were fading to gray.
She pulled herself out of the hole. "My name is Rella. And you are?"
"Zaren," he said. "I think you might know me."
Rella bowed her head in greeting. "It is an honor, Sunlord."
He chuckled. "I wouldn't expect so
meone around here to say something like that. Then again, you did just come crawling out of a secret passage. You're not like the others."
"I am a Fireweaver, if that's what you mean."
"No, that isn't what I meant," he said, beckoning her closer. "I can tell that you don't support them."
She settled down on the bed. "Well, I didn't come here of my own choice. It was discovered that I might be a Firelord." She hesitated. "I'm also Atarin's niece."
"I thought I noticed some family resemblance," Zaren said. "The hair especially."
"Then aren't you worried I might be working with him?"
"Perhaps a little. But I'll take the chance that you aren't."
"How did all this happen?" Rella asked. "Did Karik kidnap you?"
"Yes, he did. He planned this for a long time, he and Atarin. It's all part of a plan to bring back Halarik, and I'm afraid their plan will work."
Rella's stomach churned.
"To bring Halarik back, they need every Sunlord in the world to counteract the weave Aralea used to imprison him. To do this, they've been killing potential Sunlords, leaving me as the only one. When Atarin found out that Karik was a Fireweaver, he had people from Halarik's Chosen work to convert him to their cause. It was the perfect opportunity. No one would ever suspect the Sunlord's own son.
"So Karik came into the Sun Chamber around the time I was finishing my daily weave to restore the sun. I was too weak to offer any resistance. He loaded me into a wagon, concealed me beneath some boards, and rode away with friends of his. People we'd never had a reason not to trust. They were all powerful, so I was shielded every second of the journey.
"When we finally got here, Atarin advised me of what he wants to do. I knew immediately that I had no choice in the matter. If there were another Sunlord, I could kill myself and at least delay Atarin's plans. But as it is, I can't do that."
His expression sank, and he massaged his temples. He looked broken.
"What about escape?" she said.
"Do you have some plan that will get me out of here?"
"No. The passage I took only leads back to my own chamber. There are no windows, and the stone that makes up the palace has been reinforced. I can't do a Yellow/Green weave."
Sunweaver Page 21
