Fireweaver

by Ryan W. Mueller

  The young man leaned against a nearby shelf, looking far too relaxed. "That's quite a personal question, don’t you think?"

  "It's a simple answer," Atarin said.

  "Perhaps I'm neither. Perhaps I'm Lightless."

  "If you're Lightless," Atarin said, "then I doubt you'll be much help to us." He turned away. "We're obviously not going to find anything of use here. Let's go."

  Karik opened his mouth to voice an objection, but he understood the look in Atarin's eyes. Atarin was playing a game here, trying to get the young man to agree. Karik and Vanara both laid aside the books they'd been reading and followed Atarin away from the young man.

  "Are you really going to leave?" asked the young man. "I said I can help you. There's no other way you're going to find this information. You can't get into those tunnels without me."

  Atarin turned back, his expression sharp, calculating. "Oh, is that so? I think you underestimate our talents. You've given us everything we need."

  "I could report you to someone," said the young man. "You know that, right?"

  "But you won't," Atarin said. "If you do, you'll regret it."

  For the first time, the scholar looked nervous, and he took a step back. "You're right. There's no need to report this. I'd say I wish you luck, but I'm not sure I trust your intentions."

  Atarin's gaze remained stern. "And we don't trust you either." He turned to Karik and Vanara. "Let's go. This place is useless, and so are the people in it."

  The young man remained where he was, watching them go with a curious frown. After they passed a couple of shelves, Karik stopped looking back. Still, he felt as if unseen eyes were watching them. Had they just made a huge mistake?

  "Are you sure that was the right thing to do?" Karik asked.

  Atarin continued forward. "I don't know, but one thing I do know is I do not trust that man. Anyone who spies on people like us is not to be trusted. He's playing some game, and I don't want to be a part of it."

  "But he could have helped us," Vanara said.

  "He gave us all the help we need," Atarin said.

  "He could have been lying," Karik said.

  Atarin took a few steps, stroking his beard in deep thought. "We'll have to take that chance."

  Chapter 25: New Plans

  "Deril, you have to be more careful," Captain Hanir said.

  "I know that," Deril said, sitting across the desk from Captain Hanir. The walk back to the temple had been nerve-wracking, but nothing else had threatened Deril since he'd evaded the assassins. He still had no idea how he'd managed it.

  "The question now is this. Who wants you dead?"

  "It has to be Teravin," Deril said.

  "That's the most likely possibility, but you have no proof."

  "Somebody like Teravin would give us no opportunity to find proof."

  Hanir stroked his beard. "I know, and that's why you need to be more careful. You made a powerful enemy, Deril, and he will not stop until the threat you pose is neutralized."

  "Then what do you suggest I do? High Councilor Jarek has me in a tight position, too. On the one hand, the Church is trying to kill me. On the other, I somehow have to uncover the Church's deepest, darkest secrets. And then I'm supposed to somehow get all three keys to open the Vault and find information about the Lost Weave. And while all this is going on, the plague of the Turned is getting closer and closer to Hyrandel."

  Hanir put his hand on top of Deril's hand. "You must feel overwhelmed right now."

  "That's an understatement if I've ever heard one." Deril gazed down at the desk, feeling as if he were being squeezed from every direction. "Tiran would know what to do."

  "Tiran is dead. You can't bring him back."

  Deril glared at the captain. "You think I don't know that?"

  "You've had the time to mourn him. He wouldn't want you to continue mourning him this long, especially when there are so many problems you need to solve."

  "But why do I need to solve them? I'm a talented Sunweaver, but surely there are others who can take up these tasks. I saved my father. Shouldn't that be enough?"

  Captain Hanir frowned. "In my experience, there is little fairness in what the world asks of us. Whether you like it or not, you're going to have to take on these responsibilities. Could you really abandon them?"

  "No, I can't. If Jarek exposes my mother for what she is . . ."

  "I'll do my best to help you," Hanir said. "But the Church is very powerful, and even though the Sunweaver Council is supposed to govern our actions as Sun Guards, the truth is much messier. In reality, the Church is the force in control. They always have been."

  "Do you have any suggestions for me? I feel completely lost. I've never been good at playing these political games. I'd rather infiltrate Atarin's palace all over again."

  Hanir leaned on his desk, frowning in deep thought. "All right, we need to start with what we know."

  "And that's nothing," Deril said, his frustration mounting. "I have only Jarek's vague directions. He wants me to uncover the Church's secrets and use them to take it down. But how am I supposed to do this? I don't even know where to start."

  "I might be able to help you there. There's a priest here in the temple. His name is Alvin. He's a bit of a renegade, or so my sources tell me."

  "You think he'd help me?" Deril asked.

  "It's worth a try."

  Deril thanked Hanir for his advice and left the office. A quick check of the temple map revealed the chambers belonging to Father Alvin. Deril made his way there and knocked loudly on the door. After a few seconds, he was told to come in.

  He stepped into the room, finding Alvin sitting behind a desk. Alvin looked up with a curious frown, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Deril, what brings you to my humble chambers today?"

  "May I sit?" Deril asked, motioning toward a nearby chair.

  "Please do. I have the feeling this might be a lengthy discussion."

  Deril sat down. "I've been told you're a bit of a renegade in the Church."

  "Perhaps. What does it matter to you?"

  "I don't think I can tell you. I need to trust you first."

  "Very well." Alvin leaned forward, resting his elbows on the polished wooden desk. "Weave Orange and Yellow."

  Deril did so, and recognized the enhanced heat field immediately. In fact, it was brighter than any heat field he'd ever seen. "You're a Fireweaver."

  "I've just revealed my deepest secret to you. Now do you think you can trust me?"

  Deril wasn't entirely sure, but he had to take a leap of faith. "All right. High Councilor Jarek tasked me with finding out some of the Church's secrets, and possibly even take the Church down. I was told you might be able to help me."

  Deril's heart pounded. Had he revealed too much?

  "I believe I can help you. As a matter of fact, I intend to bring the Church down myself. You've seen the truth about me. I'm a Fireweaver. I have developed the talent necessary to hide that fact from my superiors in the Church, but if they were to find out, they would not hesitate to kill me. As they have killed thousands upon thousands of my kind. I cannot allow such injustice and persecution to continue."

  Deril squirmed in the wooden chair.

  "Relax. I am not some crazed member of Halarik's Chosen. I do not wish to see all Sunweavers dead, just the Church. If I can expose their secrets, I can bring them down. I can show the world that they've been lying to us for hundreds of years."

  "Lying about what?" Deril asked.

  "Aralea is not dead. Halarik did not weaken the sun. It was all the work of a third figure, a god named Vardin, a figure shrouded in secrecy."

  Deril should have felt surprised, but he'd learned by now just how little he understood about the world. "And how do you know this?"

  "I can show you the texts if you'd like." Alvin inserted a key into the lock of one of his desk drawers and pulled out a thick stack of papers. "All the answers are right here."

  Deril read through the papers, growi
ng more and more astonished at what he was reading. He recognized the name of the writer. Caradin. It belonged to one of the most reputable scholars in the Church's history. Deril had read some of the man's works before and knew the handwriting was the same. No forgery could be this good.

  The writing meandered a bit, as Deril had discovered before when reading this author, but the essentials were exactly what Alvin had told him.

  "How did you get your hands on these?" Deril asked.

  "I've learned the art of secrecy very well."

  "In your position, I imagine you've had to."

  "What do you think of these texts?" Alvin asked.

  "They seem to be legitimate."

  "You're a scholar, then?"

  "I don't know if I'd say that," Deril replied. "But I've spent a lot of time in the temple library, and I'm familiar with Caradin's work. If this is a forgery, it's the best I've ever seen."

  Alvin nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

  "But how does this Vardin figure live so far to the north? I understand why we wouldn't know about him. No one travels that far north. But how can anyone survive there?"

  "One of the world's great mysteries," Alvin said.

  "Why aren't these texts enough to expose the Church's secrets?"

  "Unfortunately, they are too vague. We need real proof."

  "In other words, we need to find this Vardin figure for ourselves."

  "Yes," Alvin said. "And survive the encounter."

  "The encounter? I'm more worried about the journey."

  "There is a way," Alvin said, "but it might sound insane." He paused for a breath. "The Realm of Shade. I've researched it in depth, and there are ways of using the Realm of Shade to travel between points in our world. It's a dangerous trek, full of monsters—or so I've heard—but we won't freeze to death."

  "Do you think we can find this city in the north?"

  "I'm not sure," Alvin said, "but we have to try."

  "And how are we going to enter the Realm of Shade?" Deril had come across references to the Realm of Shade in his time reading, though he'd always wondered if it was real.

  "There is an entrance beneath this very temple. Very few people know this—only the highest people in the Church. I once heard Teravin talking about it."

  Deril felt overwhelmed by this sudden flood of information, but somehow he didn't doubt it. Perhaps recent events had introduced so much upheaval into his life that nothing surprised him. Regardless, he was glad to have a path open to him, even if it was an insane path.

  "Why would they have an entrance to the Realm of Shade here in the temple?"

  "Because they are taking monsters out of that realm."

  "Why would they do that?" Deril asked.

  "I have not yet figured that out."

  "How do we find this entrance?" Deril asked. He was sure he was making the biggest mistake of his life, but he was already in icy water, struggling to stay afloat. What did it matter if he took a few more insane risks?

  "I know where it is."

  "Then we should go as soon as possible."

  "Not just yet," Alvin said. "There are two more people who should know about this."

  Deril shook his head.

  "Kadin and Faina, of course."

  "What do they have to do with all of this?"

  "I have befriended them. Faina has become my acolyte, and I've spoken to Kadin a few times now. He's a troubled young man, but he has a good heart."

  "I don't want him coming with us," Deril said. "He's too important."

  "That might be the wisest course of action, but I still think he should know what we're doing. Can you imagine his mental state if we all suddenly disappear?"

  "Yes, it wouldn't be good," Deril said.

  "No, it wouldn't." The voice came from behind a curtain in the corner of the room. A few moments later, Faina stepped out from behind the curtain.

  Deril shook his head, chuckling softly. "Have you been here the entire time?"

  "I've always been good at sneaking around," she said.

  "Is Kadin here, too?" Deril asked.

  "No, I haven't seen him," Faina said. "He's probably working on the Sunlord's weave."

  They didn't have to wait long to discover Kadin's whereabouts. A few minutes later, there was pounding on the stone door.

  "It's me. Kadin. I need to talk to you right now."

  Deril didn't like the note of panic in Kadin's voice.

  "Come in," Alvin said.

  Kadin burst into the room, sweaty and disheveled. There was a wild look behind his eyes. Pure and undisguised fear. He looked at Deril for a long moment, then shook his head as if he didn't even care why Deril was there.

  Deril rushed to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

  It took Kadin a while to calm down enough to speak. At last, he said, "High Priest Teravin has my sister. She isn't one of the Turned. He said he's going to kill her if I don't spy on you for him, Father Alvin." Tears streamed down his face. "I-I don't know what to do."

  "There's only one solution," Alvin said. "He's coming with us."

  "No," Deril said. "I forbid it."

  Kadin blinked away tears. "Come with you? Where?"

  "The Realm of Shade," Alvin said.

  "But how is that going to help his situation?" Deril asked. He was surprised that he hadn't begun to panic as well. Kadin was his brother, and Deril had to protect him. Though Deril didn't know Kadin's sister, he almost felt as if she were his family as well.

  He couldn't let her die.

  "This is the way I see Kadin's situation," Alvin said. "If he stays here and I leave, he will have no means of spying on me. If he comes with us, he will be close at hand."

  "But he'll still be gone," Deril said. "Teravin will think he's run away. He will kill Kadin's sister. There has to be another option we haven't seen yet." Deril began pacing, his thoughts running in anxious circles. "Kadin has to stay here. It won't be his fault if you mysteriously vanish. Teravin can't possibly blame him for that."

  Kadin sagged against the nearby stone wall, his eyes welling with tears. "I just need to know what to do. If you leave, he'll kill her. I know it."

  Alvin leaned back in his chair, a smile spreading across his face. "Then we'll just have to rescue her first."

  Chapter 26: The Rescue Attempt

  "But how are we going to rescue her?" Kadin asked. His thoughts were spinning in anxious circles as he paced near the stone wall.

  "I don't know," Alvin said. "It will take some time to make plans."

  "What if Tyrine doesn't have that long?" Kadin asked. His pacing had become more frenetic than ever. He couldn't lose Tyrine, not after everything he'd been through. She was the only part of his old life he cared about anymore, and if he lost her, he felt as if he would lose part of the person he was. As much as he'd hated his life back then, it still mattered to him.

  She still mattered to him.

  Alvin stroked his clean-shaven chin. "Teravin won't kill her unless we force his hand. For the moment, she is safe, and I think she'll be treated well enough. Teravin is not the kind of man who is cruel for the sake of being cruel. He uses cruelty as a tool to get what he wants. As long as you don't give him a reason to harm her, she will be fine."

  Kadin felt as if a heavy weight had settled over him. "I wish I could feel so sure."

  "Relax," Alvin said. "I can handle this."

  "But what about what I have to do for Teravin?" Kadin asked. "If I don't bring him some information to make you look guilty of something, then he'll kill her."

  Alvin's confident mask faltered. "I'll have to think of something."

  "Well, do it quickly," Kadin said.

  Deril put a hand on Kadin's shoulder. "We're doing everything we can."

  "It's not enough! She's going to die. I know it."

  "I won't let that happen," Alvin said. "Just give me some time to come up with a plan. Teravin won't expect you to have information immediately. He may have many fa
ults, but he is a patient man. He will take however much time he needs."

  "How can you all be so calm about this?" Kadin demanded, turning his angry gaze from one person to the next. "My sister is going to die, and you're sitting here and telling me you'll come up with a solution. But I haven't heard anything that sounds like a solution."

  "Good plans take time," Deril said, squeezing Kadin's shoulder gently.

  "We don't have time!"

  "Yes, we do," Alvin said. "Not as much as we might like, but we do have some time."

  "You're not helping," Kadin said. He pulled free from Deril and stomped out of the room. If they weren't going to do anything to save his sister, then he'd have to take matters into his own hands. He was a Sunlord, and a very powerful Sunweaver. Surely he could find a way to free her.

  They called out for him to come back, but he ignored them. He returned to his chambers, where he gazed out the window as the sun set. No matter how much he thought about the problem, he couldn't come up with a good solution. Maybe he'd been too harsh toward Alvin and the others, but they didn't understand. It wasn't their sister who was going to die.

  There had to be a way to free her. He just hadn't figured it out.

  For the next few hours, he paced in his chambers, thinking through various unlikely plans. He discarded most of them as soon as they came to him. They were too risky, or just plain stupid. The longer he thought, the more frantic he became.

  Think through this carefully, he told himself. First, you need the key. Where can you find the key? The Sun Guard won't have it. No, it has to be Teravin.

  And if Teravin had the key, then Kadin's plans were hopeless. There was no way he could get the key from Teravin without arousing suspicion. But maybe Kadin could get Faina to help him. She'd been a thief. She had a lot of talent in the arts of secrecy.

  No. Teravin would be ready for that.

  Besides, Faina had clearly sided with Alvin and the others. She wouldn't want Kadin taking any risks to save his sister. She'd want to plan. Well, Kadin was sick of their planning. It was time for action, time to feel like he wasn't useless.

  But Kadin had nothing.

  A week passed, and still Alvin had not come up with a plan. Kadin was growing more and more restless by the day. He wanted to see Tyrine again, wanted to assure her that he would rescue her. Somehow. With every passing day, that outcome became less likely.