The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence

by Storm Constantine

  Pellaz raised an eyebrow. ‘Sadly, yes you will. It’s your fate, Darq. You’re Aralisian. But you’ll learn how to cope with it.’

  Darq sighed dismally and thought longingly of Anakhai. ‘Is Geburael here yet?’

  Pellaz scanned the room. ‘No, but that’s not unusual. Why?’

  Darq experienced a moment of envy that his surakin wasn’t forced to attend the gathering. ‘I just wondered.’

  ‘He’s your own age, of course,’ Pellaz said. ‘You’ll meet others, Darq. You’ll soon have a host of friends, and you can be picky about who you let close.’

  At that moment, Darq could think of nothing more tedious than having to consort with Gelaming hara his own age. He imagined them to be preening creatures to a har. What would they do all night? Talk about makeup and clothes? His heart slumped. Had he gone through everything in Anakhai just to reach this point? It seemed farcical.

  ‘I don’t want to stay in Immanion all the time,’ he said and took a deep breath. ‘I have a chesnari in Anakhai.’

  Pellaz regarded him steadily. ‘Cal has spoken to me about that,’ he said. ‘He’s your first love, Darq, this Tava-edzen. A chesna bond takes time to develop. What you feel is something else. I’m not denigrating your feelings, and I think you should live them to the full while you have them. It might be that you and this har will remain together, or you might not. I’ll not stand in your way, in either case. I know what it’s like when others tell you how you should feel.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Darq said. ‘I thought you might disapprove.’

  Pellaz laughed. ‘I’m the last one who should disapprove of controversial choices in matters of the heart, or of how young you might be when they take a hold.’ He put a hand on Darq’s shoulder. ‘Enjoy yourself. I wish you well.’

  ‘Come with me to Anakhai some time,’ Darq said. ‘I want you to meet Tava.’

  Pellaz stroked his son’s face. ‘I’d like that.’ He paused. ‘Do you want to go somewhere we can talk alone soon?’

  Darq shook his head. ‘Not tonight, if you don’t mind. I can hardly think straight.’

  ‘Well, when you’re ready, just come to me.’

  ‘I will. I want to.’ What Darq didn’t say was that he wanted to speak to Geburael first.

  But Geburael did not put in an appearance that evening at all, which in some ways Darq found puzzling. He knew Geburael was interested in him, if only to prove Darq really was some kind of demon. Hadn’t he intuited what Darq wanted to speak to him about? If he hadn’t, he wasn’t the har Darq had decided he was. But perhaps it was a deliberate ploy on Geburael’s part to keep away.

  Darq was also aware that he was being watched carefully by Cal and Velaxis. He hoped he was only being paranoid and they hadn’t worked out what he planned to do. Eventually, as Pellaz had promised, Darq was able to plead exhaustion and leave the gathering. Unfortunately, Caeru insisted on escorting him back to his rooms.

  ‘Everyhar thinks you’re amazing,’ Caeru said. They were walking along one of the high galleries that led between the different wings of the palace. The lighting was dim, and the corridor seemed endless.

  Darq grunted in response. ‘Where was Geburael tonight?’ he asked.

  ‘Oh, he goes his own way,’ Caeru answered, a little coldly. ‘He’s in love with Loki, it’s obvious. Draw your own conclusions as to his absence.’

  ‘I don’t want anyhar to feel pushed out because of me,’ Darq said. ‘I can’t be bothered to deal with senseless enmities.’

  ‘You’re our true son,’ Caeru said.

  ‘So are the others.’

  Caeru sighed. ‘Abrimel, yes of course, but… I should tell you about Loki’s parentage, Darq. It’s complicated.’

  Once Darq knew the facts he realised that Loki had even more reason to resent him than he’d imagined. Was having family always this messy for hara? He yearned to return to the winter stillness of Anakhai and the haven of Tava-edzen’s arms. But he must deny himself that. He wouldn’t return there until everything was resolved; only then he could feel justified in rewarding himself.

  When they reached the doors to Caeru’s apartments, and the guards on duty had admitted them, Caeru said, ‘Do you want to come for a final drink with me before bedtime, Darq?’

  Darq screwed up his face. ‘Not really, Rue. I’m feeling har-drowned, if you know what I mean. No offence, but I need time alone to unwind. Thanks, anyway.’

  Caeru hugged him. ‘I quite understand. See you at breakfast, then.’

  Alone in his bedroom, Darq sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his face slowly. His head was aching. Geburael, come to me!

  He extended his senses and was sure that Geburael had heard the call, because he felt a slight flex in the ethers that suggested attention, but the har didn’t respond. This was ridiculous. Darq could also sense other disciplined minds scanning the vicinity. Perhaps that was a customary security measure in Phaonica, but he was wary of transmitting too forceful a mindcall, because then it could be picked up easily. A soft touch caressed his mind. Darquiel… It wasn’t Geburael. Darq shuddered. He suspected it was a sedu.

  Geburael, come now, or I’ll come and find you. You want Loki safe? I know how to accomplish that.

  It wasn’t exactly the truth, but at least had the required effect. After only a few moments, the shadows in a corner of the room condensed and shivered, and then Geburael stepped out of them. He was in fact quite dressed up, which suggested to Darq that his surakin had been in two minds about whether to attend the dinner party or not.

  ‘At last!’ Darq said. ‘Are you avoiding me?’

  Geburael shrugged. Like Darq, he was dressed in deepest green, which was an amusing coincidence. His hair hung loose over his breast. ‘What do you want with me?’

  Darq could see no point in dissembling. ‘I want us to go to Thanatep,’ he said. ‘Together.’

  Geburael grimaced, folded his arms. ‘I told you, I can’t get back there. I tried taking Pellaz with me. It won’t work.’

  ‘Yes it will… with me.’

  Geburael sneered. ‘The Hashmallim will kill you.’

  ‘Or you will? Isn’t that right?’ Darq stood up, gestured at himself. ‘Come and try it.’

  Geburael didn’t move. ‘You could be everything the Hashmallim say you are.’

  ‘Then come and find out. Come on. What are you waiting for?’

  Geburael flared his nostrils. ‘Is this what you want? You want us to fight?’

  Darq laughed. ‘No! I can simply see your mind, Geburael. You can’t protect your thoughts from me. The Hashmallim are right to fear me.’

  ‘I won’t take you to them,’ Geburael said.

  Darq could tell the har was on the point of creating a portal to leave the room and projected his will firmly. It was like a hand closing over Geburael’s intentions.

  ‘No,’ Darq said. ‘Don’t run. It has to be done. You have to help me get to Thanatep. It is destiny. Maybe Loki will kill me or maybe I’ll kill him. Maybe we’ll all die together or there might even be a happy ending. Who knows? But you must help me end it, Geburael.’

  ‘You’re unnatural,’ Geburael hissed.

  ‘Maybe so, but I exist.’ Darq sighed. ‘I don’t want us to fight. Listen. If I can, when this is over, I’ll pull those thorns for you. I can take the taint of Gebaddon from you completely.’

  Geburael bared his teeth. ‘How dare you! You have no right to pry so deep.’

  Darq shrugged. ‘I know. But don’t you want to be like a normal har? It bothers you that Loki might still find your unusual trait disturbing. I can help you, but you must help me first.’

  Geburael took a step forward, fists clenched at his sides. ‘Will you just shut up? Stay out of my mind.’

  Darq raised his hands. ‘I’m out! Well? What’s your answer? Don’t you want Loki back to normal too?’

  Geburael exhaled slowly. ‘All right. I’ll help you. But if you try to hurt Loki, I will kill you, even if it takes the last
breath in my body.’

  Darq gestured to his surakin. ‘Come. It’s up to us. Nohar else can do a thing.’

  Geburael placed his hands over Darq’s. What Darq sensed in him was not the wistful longings and hot passions like those he’d sensed in Zira and Amelza. Geburael was full of sorrow, because even though he and Loki had become close, Loki still thought that part of Geburael was contaminated. ‘Loki is a fool,’ Darq said softly. ‘Doesn’t he realise that his own love for you would remove this taint he despises so much?’

  Geburael shook his head. ‘Don’t speak of it. We have work to do.’

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Lileem sometimes felt tremors from above, as if Thanatep were flexing muscles that were stiff from long disuse. She spent most of her time exploring Thannaril Below, which was vast. She wandered through towering empty apartment buildings that were like something from a narcotic dream. The people had left so much behind; their clothes, their tools, even their letters. Some homes were jungles, just like the greenhouses. Mechanisms in the buildings had continued to nurture houseplants after the owners had left.

  While Lileem roamed the city, Ta Ke remained sitting on the strange black throne in his work area. He appeared to be doing nothing, although Lileem knew his mind was attempting not only to re-establish communication with his tower but to rebuild it. Ta Ke had wept the first time he’d done this. Mutandis was crippled and he felt its pain.

  ‘How will you rebuild it without going to the surface?’ Lileem asked.

  ‘The way it was created initially,’ Ta Ke replied. ‘Through sound.’

  ‘Won’t anyone on the surface notice it’s rebuilding?’

  Ta Ke made an airy gesture. ‘I’ll do what I can to disguise the process.’

  But it all appeared to be taking too long. Lileem was starting to feel impatient. She sensed some kind of deadline approaching.

  Then she ran smack into it. It happened as she was walking in one of the farms, between tall trellises that were overgrown with rampant vines hung with swollen purple fruit. Without warning, the ground shook, and she was thrown from her feet. This was far more than the slight tremors she sometimes felt. Leaves and fruit rained down upon her. She had to curl up into a ball to protect her head. Once the tremor subsided, she scrambled to her feet and ran at once to Ta Ke. The Thanad had been disturbed from his meditations and was prowling round his workroom, his eyes feverish.

  ‘What was that?’ Lileem demanded. ‘Something’s happening above us.’

  Ta Ke picked up a small vitreous sphere of indefinable purpose, which had fallen from one of the tables. ‘A portal opened,’ he said. There was a trace of blood at the edge of one of his nostrils. ‘It took some effort by whoever was responsible. Basically, they had to punch a hole through some well-constructed defenses.’

  Lileem scraped back her hair; it was still full of leaf bits. ‘Who came? Can you tell?’

  Ta Ke wiped his nose with the back of one hand, stared in some astonishment at the blood he found. ‘I’m not sure. Not Aasp, or their agents. That’s all I could tell.’

  ‘Ta Ke, I want to go up there!’

  The Thanad frowned. ‘No, you mustn’t. That would be the worst folly. You have no idea what’s happening up there.’

  ‘Exactly!’

  Ta Ke considered for a moment, then shook his head. ‘No, no, I can’t permit it. I’m so close to a breakthrough. Nothing must threaten that.’

  ‘But what if whatever’s up there is a danger to the tower? You have to let me investigate. I’ll be careful. Help me make a portal, so I emerge somewhere discreet.’

  Ta Ke stared at her for some moments. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘But there’s no need to create a portal. I can show you how to travel up through Mutandis.’

  Geburael had neither lied nor exaggerated when he’d spoken of being unable to return to Thanatep. He was quite open about the fact that he considered his otherlanes traveling ability to be second to none. He intimated to Darq that he thought the Hashmallim believed he’d defected to the sedim and now they wanted to keep him out of Thanatep, perhaps for obvious reasons.

  ‘That may be so,’ Darq said. ‘But I really believe we can get in there if we do it together. It’s a gut feeling I have. I have to obey it.’

  Even with this focused intention, Darquiel and Geburael still had an immense struggle to break into Thanatep. Darq could perceive the realm beyond the otherlanes, but whenever he and Geburael tried to create a portal, an invisible solid wall sprang up to obstruct it. It was only by repeatedly bombarding a specific point with intention and energy that eventually the barrier began to weaken. It was exhausting work, not least because hara are vulnerable in the otherlanes. Parasites are drawn whenever they perceive weakness. They hovered at the edges of Darq’s perception, waiting to strike. It was almost impossible to keep up his guard and assault the barrier at the same time.

  We need more power, Darq told Geburael. It’s rebuilding itself almost as quickly as we can break it down.

  Geburael’s response was an enraged cry in Darq’s mind. I’m tired of this! We can’t keep it up. They won’t keep us out any longer! Believe it, and throw out every bit of energy you still have.

  They directed a final searing blast of will at the weakest spot and for a moment Darq thought it hadn’t worked and they’d have to abandon their plan. Then suddenly, the barrier broke and disgorged them, almost like expelling a nauseating irritant. They were falling from the sky, perhaps from five feet above the ground, into the stark realm of Thanatep.

  Darquiel landed heavily on top of Geburael, who expressed a sharp cry of agony. For some moments, neither of them moved and then Darquiel crawled away. He scanned himself for broken bones or other injuries and was relieved to find none. ‘Geburael, are you all right?’

  Geburael hauled himself into a sitting position. ‘Barely.’ He was rubbing one wrist.

  ‘Is that broken?’

  Geburael shook his head. ‘Hurts, but no, just twisted.’

  Darq got to his feet. They were perhaps half a mile away from the city of broken towers, which lay at the bottom of a long slope. It was an amazing place, beautiful in its strangeness, but Darq could perceive no sign of life. ‘Where will Loki be?’ he asked Geburael.

  Geburael also stood up. ‘In his tower, or in the otherlanes with Zikael… he could be anywhere.’

  ‘Well, let’s go and look for him.’

  ‘What do you intend to do when we find him?’

  Darq had no idea, but realised Geburael needed an answer. ‘Talk. What else? I’m here with you. That must count for something.’

  Geburael looked around himself. ‘Keep on the lookout for Thanax. They’re inhabitants of this realm, and sometimes dangerous. Loki seems to have an empathy with them, but I wouldn’t recommend getting too close.’

  ‘What do they look like?’

  ‘I’ll tell you about them,’ Geburael said. He indicated a path that led slightly to the west. ‘We’ll follow this trail. I don’t think we should enter the city head on. Diablo is there too. I’ll leave you in a safe place and go to find Loki.’

  As they followed the path that skirted Thannaril, Geburael related to Darq all that he and Loki had learned of the Thanax, details that had been left out of the discussions in Immanion.

  ‘Shouldn’t you have told hara about this?’ Darq asked. ‘I mean, if these creatures are failed inceptions and so on…’

  ‘Darquiel,’ Geburael said firmly, ‘this is a side issue.’

  ‘Though probably not to the Thanax,’ Darq insisted.

  ‘Then you sort it out, once you’ve given us all a happy ending.’

  Darq flared his nostrils. ‘I’ll certainly not forget it.’ He paused. ‘Lileem and the Thanad must be in Thannaril Below. After the happy ending, as you put it, we should try to contact them. You know how to get down there.’

  Geburael nodded, frowning slightly. ‘I suppose so. You’re assuming Loki will be open to what you’ve got to say. I wo
uldn’t count on that.’

  ‘I don’t think he’s stupid,’ Darq said. ‘He’ll surely listen to reason, whatever’s been done to him. I believe I can reach him. I have to believe it.’

  Geburael merely sighed.

  Loki sat meditating at the summit of Ninzini. Zikael had given him power, even if it was so alien he could barely understand it. His whole being was focused upon destroying the brother he’d been told was an abomination. He would do this thing, and he would find a way to get Geburael back.

  His trance was disturbed by a mind touch from Diablo. Loki opened his eyes and saw that Diablo was also with him physically, only a few feet away.

  ‘It’s nearly time,’ Diablo said. Ever since Geburael had gone, Diablo had been different with Loki. His behavior could not be called kindly exactly, but there was a new empathy between the two of them. He didn’t even appear so freakish to Loki now.

  ‘How do you know?’ Loki asked.

  ‘I received a communication,’ Diablo answered. ‘The abomination is with your family. They have embraced him.’

  ‘What?’ Loki’s voice was a rasp.

  Diablo sat down opposite Loki, who couldn’t help thinking that if circumstances had been very different, Diablo could have been more like Geburael was. He felt a pang of sympathy for this har who’d been born in the poisoned realm of Gebaddon. ‘Demons are often very beautiful,’ Diablo said. ‘The Aralisians admire surface beauty and in this case have been seduced by it.’

  ‘What of Geburael?’ Loki asked. He could tell that Diablo was thinking of Geburael.

  ‘He’s with them too,’ Diablo said, ‘but he’ll bring the demon here for you, Loki. I feel them approaching, like a hot wind, full of stinging sand. You must be ready.’

  ‘I am,’ Loki said simply. He stood up.

  Diablo also rose to his feet and took hold of Loki’s hands. ‘You won’t be fighting alone,’ he said. ‘Use my senses. Use my strength. They are yours to draw upon.’

  Diablo leaned close and Loki realised the har meant to share breath with him. He had a feeling that Diablo might never have done this before. Somewhere deep inside himself, he was shocked that he was willing to comply with Diablo’s wish, but he wrapped his arms around Diablo’s cold thin body and pulled him close. What lay in Diablo’s breath wasn’t cold though, it was unnatural heat. It poured into Loki’s flesh, invading every cell. It was a roar in his head; a hurricane scouring his inner landscape. It filled him with strength so vital and beyond compassion he lost himself to it.