Father faced him. “It means that the dogs of Erenthrall, this Devin and his men, are already on their way to the Needle because they believe we are a safe haven now that Erenthrall has cracked. The Gorrani, the serpents, are headed here as well. They simply want revenge.”
“Your vision. It’s coming true.”
“Did you doubt, Darius?”
“Never!”
Father’s mouth twitched. “It does not matter. We must prepare for the arrival of the dogs and snakes. Don’t bother repairing the southeastern gates. Simply close them off with stone, as quickly as the masons can manage. Seal it off.”
“That will leave us with only one gate.”
“One entrance to guard, rather than two.”
“Only one exit as well.”
“We will either stand here, or fall. And if we fall, then there will be no chance to stop the destruction of everything that we hold sacred. The ley will destroy us all.”
Father began walking toward the temple entrance, his pace sedate. Darius glanced back toward the flickering lights over Erenthrall and the pulsing distortions to the north. “What will we do about Erenthrall and the Sisters?”
“Nothing. It is in Iscivius’ and the Wielders’ hands now. All we can do is pray. Korma will either see fit to aid Iscivius in saving us all or, in His wisdom, He will destroy the world and create it anew. That is up to His judgment.”
Darius began to trail after him. “Then where are you going?”
Father paused, half turned back. “You captured mages when you took over the temple. Have you forgotten how they entered the Needle the first time? They must be dealt with immediately.”
“That’s already been taken care of. They won’t be blasting their way out of the temple. They won’t be doing much of anything until we’re ready.”
“—so as soon as the debris settles from the back wall, we’ll push through into the corridor beyond—”
“You’re certain there’s a corridor there?” Sovaan asked.
“—and clear it if necessary. We’ll keep the mages in the middle of the group.” Ty looked up at Cory. “If we’re trapped at any point, don’t hesitate to blast through a wall on either side.”
“What will we do with the wounded?” Cory asked.
“Nothing.” Bryce motioned down at his leg. If possible, it looked worse than when Cory had first inspected it upon arriving, the blood leaking out of the wound now darker, thicker. “There’s no way you can carry me with you and still make it out alive. Anyone who can’t walk will have to stay behind.”
“But—”
“No,” Ty interrupted. “Bryce is correct. We can’t afford to be slowed down, by anyone or anything. Got it?”
Cory clenched his teeth. The other mages stirred.
Then the door to the room groaned open. Half of those gathered around stood abruptly; no one had heard anyone approaching from outside. Most reached for nonexistent swords.
From outside, someone shoved a half-barrel into the room, what looked like water sloshing over the side.
“Don’t touch it!” Ty shouted.
Someone tossed something else through the door, a sachet of some kind. It hit the water and sank.
The door pulled closed. No one moved, looking at each other in confusion.
Seconds later, those closest to the barrel gagged and began coughing. Hands raised to their mouths, they lurched away, but stumbled and within three steps had fallen to their knees and slumped to one side.
“What in hells?” someone mumbled in stark terror.
“It’s a gas.” Ty pointed at Cory. “We have to go now!”
Cory twisted toward the wall they’d chosen as their exit, reached for the Tapestry, but then the gas slammed into his senses. With a single indrawn breath, it burned from mouth to sinuses to throat and down into his chest. He tried to exhale, but his lungs wouldn’t work. His eyes teared as he grasped at his shirt, the stone wall before him wavering. Men were collapsing on all sides, eyes red, tongues distended. He fell forward onto hands and knees, Jerrain hitting the floor on his left, Ty on the right. Bryce clutched at his throat. Cory reached for the Tapestry again, felt its folds as he tried to knot it within the nearest wall, but it slipped from his fingers as he fell onto his side.
Stone pressing into his cheek, he watched as Bryce’s head finally slumped to the side and rocked forward. His last thought was that it was strange that the Dog was still breathing.
Fifteen
“NONE OF YOU look like you slept at all,” Allan said from his seat as Kara entered the Temerite main chamber, followed by Artras and Marcus.
Kara barked laughter. “I destroyed Tumbor yesterday and you thought I’d sleep?” She crossed the room and leaned on the table, more to hide the trembling of her hands than for any other reason. Her skin felt drawn, her eyes bruised, her entire body somehow both light and heavy at the same time.
She glanced around the table. The Matriarch was there with Janote, of course, and Lienta and Boskell. The others in their group from the temple were present as well—Allan, Cutter, Marc; Grant and Hernande; Morrell and Drayden; Okata. Only the Wolves were absent.
The Matriarch pushed a cup across the table. “Have some kaffe. It will renew your energy for a while.”
Kara picked it up and smelled the steaming liquid, tart and pungent, like ground-up earth. She took a sip and almost spit it back out. “Bitter,” she managed after a swallow.
“Some people add milk or sugar, although we consider those who do so heathens.”
Cups were poured for Artras and Marcus as the Matriarch gestured toward three free chairs. “Sit. We have much to discuss.”
“So do we.” At Allan’s raised eyebrow, she added, “Did you think I simply sat around and wallowed in anguish all night?”
“It crossed my mind.”
“She worked both of us to an extreme,” Marcus said, grabbing his cup and gulping it without thought. He immediately began coughing. “Gods, what is this!”
“Steeped ground roasted cacao beans.”
Marcus continued gagging, while Kara took another sip. “It does seem to work. My arms are tingling. And it’s spreading.”
“The body’s reaction is blunted after multiple uses, but the first time can be rather pleasant,” the Matriarch said.
Kara set her cup down. “What’s the report on the Needle?”
Lienta leaned forward. “The Kormanley have taken over the city east of the chasm. The populace doesn’t seem inclined to rebel against them, at least not yet. Most appear ecstatic that their Father has been released. He spoke to them this morning at dawn from the temple’s tier. We couldn’t hear all that he said, but it sounded as if he reassured them but was also riling them up. He mentioned snakes and dogs repeatedly, and he pointed toward the north and toward Erenthrall.”
At mention of the city, he deferred to Allan, but before the ex-Dog could speak, Kara said, “We already know about Erenthrall.”
“What do you know?” the Matriarch asked.
“The ley system there has ruptured. It’s spewing out of the ground, like a volcano, ley flowing through the streets like lava. Whatever support it had, even with the distortion over Tumbor, has collapsed now that the nodes within Tumbor have been completely destroyed. If Hernande’s theory that the ley lines form the underlying structure of reality and the Tapestry is draped over it is correct, then—in essence—a cornerstone of the foundation has been knocked away. The entire system is fluctuating, and something within Erenthrall gave way.”
“The repercussions are worse than that,” Boskell broke in. “The watchmen have reported a change in the Three Sisters to the north. They’ve begun to pulse. Also, they swear that they’ve seen the land to the west and south . . . rippling.”
“Rippling? Like when the auroral lights pass over something?”
“No. As if the earth itself were rising and falling, like a wave on water.”
“Quakes,” Hernande said.
“Worse than anything we’ve experienced so far. The men also report more sightings of auroral storms. Nothing close to us yet, but they’re fearful.”
“It would appear that the Kormanley seizing the Needle is the least of our problems,” Marc said.
“No, it’s a significant problem,” Kara said instantly. “The pulsing of the Three Sisters and the quakes are simply effects. The root of the problem is the ley. And in order to solve the problems with the ley, we’re going to need access to the Nexus at the Needle.”
Hernande raised a hand to stop her. “We’ve already tried that. It didn’t work.”
Kara winced as if physically struck and bowed her head. Then she gathered herself and pushed herself away from the support of the table. “You’re right. We tried that. It failed. I failed. But we’re still going to need the power of the Nexus if we’re going to heal anything and stop whatever’s happening to the land. It’s gone too far to be halted by an individual.”
As if in answer, another quake struck. Not as strong as the ones immediately after Tumbor’s distortion collapsed, but it lasted for at least five minutes, everyone glancing upward at first, then hunkering down and holding onto the table and chairs, cups and saucers. Janote grabbed the porcelain kettle holding the kaffe. Dust sifted down from the ceiling, everyone covering their drinks.
When it finally faded away, watchmen raced into the room. “Matriarch!”
“I’m fine.” She waved them away, though they were reluctant to leave. “Boskell, deal with them. Have the servants bring us something more substantial than kaffe, please.”
The lieutenant stood and joined the watchmen at the door, escorting them outside. He returned a moment later, servants trailing behind him with trays of fruit and bread. As they set the food around the table, the Matriarch again motioned to the three empty chairs. “I assume you’ve come up with some type of plan.”
Artras sat without preamble, drawing her own cup of kaffe toward her and snatching up a few grapes. Marcus followed suit, cutting a slice of bread, but Kara remained standing, crossing her arms over her chest. “We need access to the Nexus,” she said.
“That’s only one of our problems,” Hernande countered. “Can you repair the rupture in Erenthrall from the Nexus?”
Kara began pacing back and forth, everyone remaining silent. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “Probably not. The ley is wild in Erenthrall, and because of the lake beneath the ground, it’s strong. In order to repair it, I’ll have to be in Erenthrall. But I’ll need the power of the Nexus to do it. Someone will have to funnel the ley from the Nexus here toward Erenthrall so that I can use it.”
“Which means we’ll have to retake the Nexus, if not the entire Needle,” Marcus said. “But there’s more.”
Artras spit the seeds from her grapes into the palm of her hand. “Based on our observations of the ley last night—as Marcus said earlier, extensive observations—it would seem that even if we can get control of the Nexus here and Kara can repair the rupture in Erenthrall, that won’t be enough to keep the ley from ripping reality apart.”
“Why not?”
Artras faced Okata. “Because there’s a gap in the foundation of the Tapestry. It will continue to ripple, as Boskell described it. Think of a flag flapping in the wind. Eventually, unless the flag is tied down, it will tatter and fray. The Tapestry will do the same thing.”
“Unless we tie it down,” Hernande said. He’d begun to stroke his beard. His eyes were squinted in thought, focused on Kara. “The issue is the lost nodes that were inside the distortion over Tumbor, isn’t it? They were destroyed. They were anchors for the ley, and thus for the Tapestry.”
“Yes.”
Boskell threw his hands up in disgust. “Then we’re lost. There’s no way to tie them down again. All of this discussion is useless.”
Hernande made a noise of disagreement. He’d progressed to chewing on his beard, and his gaze had shifted to Morrell. “In essence,” he said, musing to himself, “we need a node in Tumbor, something for the ley to connect to, to use as an anchor.”
“But there’s nothing left,” Kara said, sinking down into her chair and resting her head in her hands, despair welling up from her chest. When she spoke, her voice was ragged. “I was there during the collapse. I saw it. The distortion shattered everything, broke the ground into splinters, reduced the buildings to rubble. There is nothing left. Nothing.” She suppressed a shudder.
“But the earth remembers,” Hernande said.
Kara raised her head. “What does that mean?”
The others looked as confused as she felt.
Hernande spat out his beard and leaned toward her, one finger poking the wooden table for emphasis. “The earth remembers. The stone. It remembers what it once was. Tumbor must have been built over a natural node, one that Prime Wielder Augustus used as a focal point to shape his network. The earth will remember that node, its shape, its structure. For the stone, it will feel natural.”
“I don’t see how that helps us,” Marcus said. “None of us know how to construct a node. Based on the pits and the Nexi here and in Erenthrall, it’s not something easily done. The placement of the stones, the order.” He shook his head. “Constructing a new node without any foreknowledge of how to do it could take months, if not years. I doubt we have that much time.”
Kara drew breath to agree, but Morrell spoke first.
“He means me.”
Her voice was soft, so it took a moment for most of those at the table to realize it was Morrell who’d spoken. But eventually everyone focused on her small-framed body, her soft blonde hair. Drayden sat beside her, nostrils flaring as he returned everyone’s stare. He growled, but Morrell placed a hand on his arm and he quieted.
“Hernande means me,” she said again, her tone stronger. She straightened in her seat, glanced apologetically to her father. “I can build a new node. If he’s right and the earth remembers, I can heal it, return it back to what it once was. I did it with the stone of the walls here at the Needle. I’d need to go there, to Tumbor, or where Tumbor used to be. I’d need to touch the earth there, but I could do it.”
“No,” Allan said instantly.
Morrell smiled. “You can go with me, Dad.”
“No!” Allan shoved back from the table, his chair clattering to the floor. “I can’t let you—I can’t—” He balled his hands up into fists and nearly beat them against the table, catching himself at the last minute and placing them down gently, even though he gave an inarticulate cry of frustration.
“What he’s trying to say,” Lienta said into the startled quiet, “is that he can’t go with you.”
Morrell looked stricken. “Why not?”
“Because I have to go with Kara,” Allan answered. He faced Kara. “Isn’t that right? I have to go with you, because you’ll need to get to the Nexus in the center of Erenthrall and right now it’s in the middle of a geyser of ley. The only way to get through that is if I’m there, to suppress the ley.”
Kara opened her mouth to answer, but the words halted in her throat. Allan so obviously wanted her to deny it, so that he could accompany his daughter to Tumbor, to protect her, but she couldn’t. She did need Allan and whatever talent he had that canceled out the effects of the ley.
Allan cried out and stalked away from the table, away from them all, halting a short distance off. Morrell leaped up and joined him. Kara couldn’t hear what she said, but Allan hugged her tight and rested his chin on top of her head.
“Every time I think we can finally stay together,” he said, his voice barely audible, “something sends us apart again.”
Morrell answered, but her words were muffled by her father’s chest. He chuckled and stepped back to look do
wn at her. “One day, yes. Both of us together.”
“I will protect her,” Drayden said, his rumbling, animalistic voice loud. He startled as it echoed in the room, but glared around at everyone defiantly. “I will go with her and keep her safe.”
“She’ll need more protection than a single half-Wolf,” Lienta said.
Drayden bared his teeth, but Lienta halted him with a raised palm.
“I simply meant that you’ll be traveling through Gorrani territory and they will show you no mercy.”
Okata stirred. “Perhaps if they have a Gorrani in their party, they will have a better chance.” He faced Kara. “If she is creating a node, a Wielder should be with her. I may be needed to help connect the ley lines to the new node when it is finished.”
“That makes sense.”
“Who else?” Allan asked, stepping away from Morrell.
Lienta and Boskell looked at the Matriarch. She bowed her head. “Send as many of our watchmen as needed. If she fails to create the new node, everyone is lost.”
“I’ll go,” Boskell said immediately, “with a few watchmen as a guard. I owe Allan my life, after all.”
“Not many,” Okata warned. “It will be easier to evade the Gorrani if there are fewer of us to notice.”
Allan didn’t appear satisfied, but he said nothing.
“Who will go with Allan and myself, then?” Kara asked.
“I will go with you to Erenthrall.” Everyone turned to face Grant, the pack leader lounging back in his chair, arms over his chest. “I am still searching for my wife, even if it is unlikely I will find her now. My Wolves will protect us all.”
After seeing how they’d handled the Kormanley guards in their escape, Kara didn’t question him, turning to the Matriarch instead. “That only leaves the problem of seizing the Nexus.”
“Leave that to us,” the Matriarch said. “The Temerites will make certain that Marcus—”
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