by V. Lakshman
Silbane held up a hand. “I mindread him. Nothing in his thoughts turned to a bargain with you, nor that Arek was his son.”
The demon queen smiled and said, “To your second point, he himself did not know Arek’s true identity, not until I revealed it, hoping to aid his quest. As for the rest, have you assimilated all his thoughts? Two hundred years’ worth?”
Silbane stared at her, holding her gaze. Then he looked down, conceding, “No, that would have been too much.” He put a hand to his chin, considering.
“What of this invasion and Valarius?” he asked.
“Valarius blames all Edyn for what he feels was their betrayal. He has amassed an army here, one that he will take to Edyn to subjugate her lands. If we allow this, we will never be able to withstand Sovereign, and the world will be remade. Valarius needs to be stopped here, before he invades Bara’cor,” Lilyth said.
“Valarius lives, and is preparing to invade?” Silbane asked, incredulity plain in his voice.
Thoth stepped forward and asked, “What did you see in the vision given to you by the dragons?”
Silbane was quiet, his eyes measuring the keeper. Then he drew a breath and said, “He was angry at not being given help. And after he left, the dragons decided to end the war by sending him here, to his death.”
Lilyth leaned forward and asked, “You’ve seen the dead come back to life. Is that not reason enough? Vengeance is a powerful emotion, and here in Arcadia, it can sustain one with a legend such as Valarius.”
Kisan took that moment to ask, “Then where’s Piter, my apprentice? What have you done with him?”
Lilyth was quiet, and Arek thought in some way she was measuring the master. When she spoke, it seemed it was to Kisan alone, though everyone could hear. “I do not have your apprentice.” While she said this, her eyes flicked to Arek, but since there was no accusation or question, he remained silent.
“Why?” she demanded, her gaze steady on the demon queen.
Lilyth sighed and said, “The faith of Edyn gives Aeris life, and Piter had not yet become fabled enough . . . not like Valarius.”
Kisan paced, then spun back to the demon queen and asked, “What would you have us do? Attack Avalyon? Kill Valarius?”
There was a moment of silence. Then Lilyth said, “No.”
Thoth looked at her in surprise, and more than one person in the group appeared confused. It had seemed clear to Arek all of Lilyth’s points had been leading to stopping Valarius. It was the only choice, yet she wasn’t asking that. Instead, she looked at Arek again and then rose, coming to stand behind him and placing warm hands on his shoulders.
“Arek cannot come to harm. You must return to Edyn. My Furies and Thoth’s Watchers will deal with the highlord.” She gestured, and a new portal opened. It was hazy at first, but then cleared to show the pyramid room lying deep below the fortress, the very room they had entered to come to Arcadia. The group looked at it unbelievingly. Home, only a few steps away!
Heartbeats went by, long, slow moments of time stretching out as each looked through the portal and into the world they knew. It was Ash who spoke first, clearing his throat and looking at Silbane. “You go. Take your apprentice and the princess to safety.”
“And you?” Silbane asked.
Ash turned to Lilyth before replying, “Prince Niall is still missing. I’ll not return without him.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” said Yetteje adamantly. “I promised I’d find Niall. I’m not going back to the king empty-handed.”
Silbane was about to argue when Arek stepped forward and faced the group. His movement stopped everyone, and all eyes turned to him. This time, no dryness of the mouth, no faltering confidence stymied his voice. He knew exactly what he wanted to say.
He met their eyes, then turned to face Lilyth. “I came here to meet my father. He tried to rescue me. I’ll not abandon him.”
“Arek!” Silbane exclaimed, “Duncan has no idea who you are!”
“And that makes a difference?” Arek replied, his tone dark. “If Valarius has him, he needs our help. He and my mother.”
“And what about your death releasing that contagion?” Kisan remarked. “Do you care about anyone but yourself?”
“Be careful,” Arek warned, his expression causing Kisan to falter. “I’m not a kid in a sparring ring anymore. Dare me, and you’ll see.”
Silbane held up a hand, holding Kisan in place. He peered at Arek, and the young adept felt his master’s gaze measuring him. Finally, Silbane nodded and said, “Your have power, but don’t be foolish. The only answer is to get you and the princess out of here.”
“No!” Yetteje said, and went to stand beside Arek. “I told you I’m not leaving! Not without Niall.” When Ash began to say something, Yetteje snapped, “Firstmark, stand down. These are my orders and you’ll follow them.” Her eyes flashed amber as if punctuating her resolve.
A moment passed, then Lilyth said delicately, “I do not think this is well considered—”
“I’m not asking,” Arek said in response, cutting her off. “I came here for my father, and I’m not leaving without him.”
Thoth looked at the group, then addressed his two Watchers. “What do you say?”
Orion looked at Helios, who with a nod let him speak for them both. The silver Watcher stepped forward and bowed, “We follow the princess.”
Thoth gave a hesitant nod to that, looking uncomfortable.
“You’re going to have to trust me,” Arek said. “Rescuing them is important.”
“Arek . . .” Silbane began, “Duncan is insane. He barely knows himself—”
“Actually,” interrupted Lilyth, “Arcadia has healed him of much of his madness. The Way is strong here. So much so that most of your ailments are comforted. Have you all not felt stronger and more alive than ever before?”
The silence told Arek everyone had. He certainly had. It was at that moment that he knew what to do. “We’re going to save Niall, my father, and my mother.” He looked around, uncertain, his eyes finally coming to rest on Lilyth and her gate.
As if understanding what he wanted, Lilyth reluctantly said, “Duncan’s inadvertent use of the lens has fixed Avalyon’s position. If you are certain . . . I can transport a small group there.”
“Wait,” said Kisan. “Are you crazy?” She stepped around Silbane and looked from Arek to Lilyth. “The only place you need to go is home,” she said with a finality that brooked no argument.
When Yetteje opened her mouth, Kisan snapped, “He killed your father, remember? You wouldn’t be here if not for Duncan, and now you want to help Arek save the man who murdered your family?” A short, derisive laugh followed, forcing the princess to shrink back in on herself at first.
“I’m doing this for Niall and his father!” Yetteje then exclaimed, her expression at the same doubtful and defiant.
“My apprentice died because of you!” Kisan turned from the princess, pointing an accusing finger at Arek. “Yet I’m still trying to do what I think is best for the land, when the only thing I really want to do is make you pay for Piter’s death. Meanwhile, you want to go on some half-baked quest to save a man you don’t even know, when the man closest to being your true father braved two worlds to find you, and is standing right here?” She pointed to Silbane, fire in her eyes.
“Thankless . . . and now you’ll give Piter’s death no meaning.”
She turned to face Silbane and said, “You need to do something, talk some sense into him. Going after Duncan is beyond foolish.”
Silbane was about to answer when Lilyth said, “Impressive logic.” She took out a golden magehunter torc, brandishing it so that it caught the afternoon sun and flashed yellow. “You should be quite familiar with this,” she said, looking directly at Kisan. The young master didn’t say anything, but her lips curled into a snarl, making her look like an animal, a predator.
Lilyth tilted her head and continued, “Used to hunt and kill those born to the Way, l
ike your mother. Yet it was first created to kill Aeris.” She nodded when Silbane’s eyes widened at that revelation. “Holding it is no problem, but if this collar snaps around an Aeris neck, we die.” The demon queen was quiet for a moment, then she descended the steps and offered the torc to Kisan. “Who do you think made it?”
Kisan avoided the torc as if it were white hot and said, “Why should I care?”
Lilyth focused on the master and said, “Valarius Galadine. Without qualm, two hundred years of persecution, hunting, and death can be laid at his feet.”
She stared at Kisan, waiting for the master to meet her gaze. “Let the others return to Edyn. You and I are more alike than you realize. We are women of substance, of action. We stand when others run.” She paused, then held the torc up again. “I offer you this chance. Kill him, and you would bring justice to the man who murdered your entire family.”
She walked back up and sat, then tossed the torc down the steps of her dais. It bounced with a metallic ring, scintillating in the afternoon sun as it came to rest after a clattering swirl. In the aftermath of its fall the silence in the hall seemed more complete than ever.
For a moment, Arek thought Kisan would snatch it up and throw it at Lilyth herself, but it seemed the demon queen’s comments had created a small worm of doubt in the master’s normally unshakable confidence.
Lilyth looked down at the assembled group and asked, “I urge you again to leave Arcadia with Arek. Take him to safety.”
“What about Valarius?” demanded Yetteje.
“He is our problem, and Kisan’s . . . if she has the heart for it.”
Kisan surged forward but was intercepted by Silbane. “Easy!” He looked over his shoulder at the demon queen and said, “We’ve travelled far, and this is a lot to take in. Can we have a moment?”
Lilyth inclined her head. “Of course.” She motioned to her guards, who stepped forward, “They will escort you all to a more private place.”
Silbane pulled Kisan back, moving to the doors with the group.
Yetteje turned and addressed Lilyth. “I would like to speak with you.”
Lilyth breathed out, then nodded. “Of course, stay and we can discuss whatever you wish.”
The princess looked at the group, her eyes finally coming to rest on Arek. “I’d like him to stay, too.” She then pitched her voice for Arek alone, “Will you?”
Arek nodded. He looked at Brianna and gestured that she should follow the others. The dwarven woman nodded back, descending to follow the two Watchers. The two guards led the group out the same doors through which Tempest had been taken. The last one out was Silbane, who looked back at Arek, his concern plainly written on his face.
Arek nodded, trying to reassure him he’d be okay. His master bowed once to Lilyth, then left as the giant double doors closed behind him.
Nothing Dies
The dead speak through our memories;
the living, through our prejudices.
- Argus Rillaran, The Power of Deceit
Y
etteje waited for the room to clear, watching as Arek’s master was clearly torn between his concern for his apprentice and keeping Kisan in check. She did not envy him balancing on that knife’s edge. While she didn’t disagree with Kisan, other issues kept her from giving the female master her full support. Now she turned, facing the woman who could resolve at least one of her deeper fears.
She met the cool gaze of the demon queen and said, “My father, is he . . . here?”
“Yes,” Lilyth acknowledged, “noble King Tir lives on in this realm. He was so loved by his people he has earned a new life—”
Yetteje surged forward. “Can I see him?” Her eagerness interrupted anything else Lilyth might have said, but she didn’t care.
The demon queen gave her a soft smile, then gestured. Arek’s sudden gasp told Yetteje something was happening, but she dreaded seeing for herself. It would only confirm with irrefutable truth that her father had indeed fallen.
Slowly, however, she found herself turning, her body pulled to whatever lay behind her by the inexorable strings of her own heart. A figure stood there, tall and regal. Her eyes tracked up the mailed boots to the ornate armor engraved with the trident of EvenSea. It followed a strong shoulder bedecked with the aquamarine cloak edged in gold, to finally see the face of the man she’d known all her life. A small sob escaped as she ran down the dais and into Ben’thor Tir’s waiting arms.
Time seemed to stand still as she melted into his bear-like hug. He shushed her softly as her sobs came, now harder as the reality of his passing struck her like a physical blow. He was so real! She could feel the mail, smell the cinnamon flavored sap he liked to chew, even feel the gristle of his beard, still peppered black and white.
Then she looked up at him and he smiled, his amber eyes lighting with joy. She wiped her face, trying to clear her tears, and smiled back saying, “I wish you weren’t here.”
“At least you’re safe,” Ben’thor replied.
“Mother?” she asked, frantic at the thought of another apparition appearing and confirming the death of her entire family.
Her father shook his head. “Evacuated, along with the rest of the household, east to Morninglight.”
At that something inside Yetteje unclenched, and she sobbed and fell to her knees. A moment passed then Arek was beside her, pulling her up. He turned to Lilyth and asked, “How is it she can touch him? I was told our touch banishes shades.”
There was silence, then Lilyth said, “Were that true, the people of Edyn would never have to fear us, with a simple touch the only thing necessary to send us away.” She smiled, then continued, “Lesser shades are banished, such as those manifested from a person or family’s memory. Ben’thor is a legend to his people—magnanimous, noble, and loved. EvenSea still prays for him and his family, and as such he has more substance here, at least for as long as we survive.”
Yetteje faced her father again, his form blurring as she worked furiously to clear her eyes. “What do you mean, for as long as you survive?” she asked the demon queen.
Lilyth tilted her head, then said, “The Aeris are at war with Valarius and Sovereign. If either wins, it means our death. Was this not clear?”
“Return him to me,” Yetteje demanded, not really listening or caring anymore. “He’s a good man and deserves another chance.”
“I agree,” Lilyth said, nodding slowly.
“You—” she looked at the demon queen, confused, “What?”
“I agree,” Lilyth repeated. “Why should good men like your father not get second chances?”
Arek shook his head, also clearly confused, and asked, “You can bring him back?”
“Ben’thor Tir can live again,” Lilyth said. “He need only claim a body from Edyn.”
Her simple statement rocked Yetteje to her core. Of course! Just like the mistfrights who took over Alyx, her father could take another’s place and live again! Then the moral implication struck her and she looked at her father.
The king shook his head and said, “You know we can’t do that.”
“Why not?” inquired Lilyth. “Why not take a life less deserving than your own, King Tir?” Then she asked Arek, “Or offer a chance for your mother, Sonya? Why should she not have a chance to be with her son again?”
“We can bring them back?” Arek inquired softly.
Lilyth nodded. “As an Aeris, your mother could inhabit the body of someone who did not leave Edyn a better place with their existence. She could once again shed her wisdom upon her fellow men.”
Ben’thor held out his hands. “Less deserving? And who judges that?”
“You have,” answered Lilyth matter-of-factly. “Your prisons are filled with those deemed ill-fit for freedom. Some will die under the executioner’s blade . . . a shameful waste. Is not a greater good achieved by letting you lead your people again? Is my solution not far . . . kinder?”
There was silence at that, and even Yetteje
could feel her father considering Lilyth’s words. Her mind went numb with hope imagining her father alive again. After a first death, families could keep themselves whole. No more killing, simply changing bodies like a new shirt when one became elderly. What could they not achieve? The thought had never occurred to her, but now that it had she found it quickly consuming her mind.
Then Lilyth said, “If we are defeated, you will never have the option of bringing those you love back. Death will be true death. Think of that when you face Valarius, and do what justice and your heart demands.”
Yetteje looked at her father, unsure of what to say. Even he looked uncertain, but said, “I can’t go with you. I’m not strong enough yet, but my thoughts are on you and your mother. Tell her I love her.”
She nodded, tears welling even as she fought for control. It did not help when Lilyth said, “Perhaps you will tell her yourself, noble king.”
Ben’thor raised a hand and faded from view, leaving behind his daughter, who turned and clutched Arek. “I don’t know what to do.”
Even though her face was pressed against his chest, she could feel Arek look up at Lilyth, then turn back to face her. In a quiet but determined voice he said, “We’re going to bring our families back, Tej. No matter what, we’re going to save them all.”
A Dragon’s Quest
Fight like a soldier,
rule like a king,
dream like a god.
But never cross a dragon.
- Rai’kesh, The Lens of Leadership
D
ragor entered the tent indicated by the escorting guards with Jesyn right behind him.
He’d taken a moment to share with her the rest of his conversation with Giridian, up to when they were cut off. He didn’t want her acting without the full knowledge of everything he’d been given, but knew the details of Tomas’s fall would be part of it. He wished again for the mastery of Silbane or Kisan, who could have picked which memories to share. Unfortunately, Jesyn would have to accept it all, and find a way to cope.
