by Carol Berg
“I gather I’m still alive,” he said, grimacing as he rubbed his knees, while at the same time trying to huddle his arms into his thin robe. “Though I’m cold enough to be a corpse, I don’t think a dead man’s knees would ache so much. Did our honey catch any flies?”
I stepped through the Gate fire, sheathing my dagger with such force that I split the leather. “My plotting’s been no more successful than anything else. But it’s not over. They’re up to something. Come. Paulo is to meet us at the council chamber, and I’ll send Bareil for Seri.”
I started for the door, but Ven’Dar lingered, letting his gaze dwell on the towering wall of white fire, its full extent unseeable in the brilliance far above our heads. “It is magnificent, is it not? Such purity. Such power. I close my eyes and see it still; everything I look on is made more than it was. To have it be a part of me… it’s as if I’ve been given new eyes. Is it that way for you?”
“Now is perhaps not a good time to ask me,” I said and slammed my palm against the door, careful to watch for any ambush along our way.
As I had commanded him, Bareil was waiting for us in the small, book-lined anteroom off the council chamber. Ven’Dar sank into one of the enveloping chairs and dived most appreciatively into the steaming saffria and crusty bread Bareil set out for him. I had no time for such - and no need.
“Paulo?” I asked.
“Asleep in your private chamber, my lord,” said the Dulcé. “He arrived two hours ago.”
“And his report?”
“He said to tell you that all went just as planned and to wake him if you needed to know more. The lad was asleep on his feet.”
One success. Good to know that something had gone right.
I nodded toward the door of the council chamber. “Is everyone present?”
“The Preceptors, the Archivists, Master Men’Thor, your commanders, the witnesses from ten families as Mistress Ce’Aret specified - all are present,” said the Dulcé. “She says that when you are ready to proceed, each Preceptor will take an imprint of Master Ven’Dar, then lay hands on you for acknowledgement, much like the test of parentage.”
“I remember it.” An adoption rite, in essence.
“A quarter of an hour - no more - and it will be done.”
“Good” - I lowered my voice - “and have you brought what I told you?”
The Dulcé looked at me solemnly and matched his tone to mine. “Yes, my lord, but - ”
“You will speak of it to no one. No one. Do you understand me, Dulcé?”
“Of course, my lord.” He dropped his eyes.
“So, give it to me.” Into my hand Bareil slipped a red silk bag about the size of my fist. “Now you must fetch Seri. Keep her in here until I call for her.”
“As you wish, my lord.” He bowed very low, and turned to go without looking at me again.
I laid a hand on his arm. “There are not thanks enough for all your good service, madrissé, nor for your kindness and care that the madris cannot compel. You’ve never failed me. It is I who lost my way, not my Guide.”
Silent, eyes averted, Bareil kissed my hand and hurried away. Ven’Dar raised his eyebrows, but I left him ignorant and shoved the small heavy bag into the leather pouch I had fastened to my belt that morning. Already in the bag was a second object, retrieved from the vault in my bedchamber last night, where it had lain for the past four years, an artifact of the Lords that made my soul shrivel to touch it. I was as prepared as I could be for the eventualities of the morning. Laying my hand on the latch of the council-chamber door, I said, “Shall we see what surprises our friends have readied for us?”
The three members of the Preceptorate were seated at the long table on a raised dais at the far end of the huge windowless room. It might have been a winter’s night instead of a summer morning, for the lamps were lit and a fire crackled in the wide hearth behind the Preceptors’ table, burning off the chill of the eternal stone. My stomach never failed to give me a twinge when I walked into this room. The first time I’d sat in the Prince’s chair facing the dais was the day I’d stuck a knife in my gut to convince the Lords of Zhev’Na I was mad. On that day death had been but a painful feint. The paths of life were uncompromising.
“Ce’na davonet, Giré D’Arnath,” intoned Ce’Aret as I entered. The greeting was echoed by the others in the room, and I extended my hands, palms up, as ritual demanded.
The air of the room was thick with anticipation. Perhaps fifty people, dressed in their finest and fully aware of their privilege, were in attendance. Their eyes were wide and alert for the least nuance of expression from the principal players, ears pricked, shoulders straight, voices kept low. Every whisper was cause for excitement; every sound quickly hushed lest it distract from full perception of the historic event.
The old woman spoke with the authority of age and righteous power. “What business have you with your Preceptorate this day, my lord Prince?”
“I bring my chosen successor, Ven’Dar yn Cyran, to be acknowledged before the Preceptorate. As you have instructed me, I have taken him onto D’Arnath’s Bridge and touched his mind with my own, imprinting him with my family’s patterns of thought and all that I know of the Bridge and the Gates. Then did he open himself to the Gate fire for the time allotted to attune his power to the Gate and the Bridge. I have judged him worthy and capable, and as the Preceptorate witnesses my choice, so shall the secrets and the power of D’Arnath be unlocked in him, ready for his anointing.”
“Why such hurry, my lord?” asked Ce’Aret. “Is it not a risk for the successor to be privy to all the Heir’s lore so soon after his accession?”
“Our times are dangerous, Preceptor, and the deeds I must do today and in the days to come carry risks that are unknown. Ven’Dar is not a child to be protected and nurtured before he can shoulder his responsibilities.”
“Reasonable, I suppose. Yes. Very wise. Please be seated, and we will proceed.”
I settled in the Prince’s chair, facing the Preceptors. Ven’Dar took a position somewhere out of sight behind me. Ce’Aret spoke to the assembly to explain the ritual.
The most difficult part had already been accomplished, she said, and the acknowledgment was little more than a formality, a key to unlock the knowledge that had already been passed along to the chosen.
While the Preceptor droned on about my family and my unique inheritance of D’Arnath’s chair, I kept thinking of Seri. She would be watching from the anteroom through a myscal - an enchanted glass. It was all I could do to keep from looking up, from trying to express… something… of what I felt for her. But I had already slipped once. I had not intended to go to her in the night. She would do what was necessary, no matter if I told her or not, and if the Lords caught the least hint of my intent, we would fail. But I had not been able to leave her without a word or a touch. She was my foundation. My fortress keep. To share such a life as hers was a grace few men were given. And no man but I bore such hatred for the Lords of Zhev’Na, who had forced me to this day. Ah, gods, I would crush their bones in my teeth if I could.
Ce’Aret finished her recitation, stepping from the dais with the brisk movements of one half her age and disappearing behind me. She would be standing before Ven’Dar, splaying her fingers across his face, using her power to carve an image of his soul upon her mind. And soon after, she would transfer that image to me. An intrusive rite for the one whose image was being taken, exposing emotions and convictions one might prefer remain private. I was happy she was not probing my soul at the moment. All I had to do was read what she gave me and reflect my response to it. I shoved my murderous cravings aside and tried to unclench my fingers, which threatened to break the ancient wood of my chair, and focus on the rite.
Small hard hands settled on my shoulders. In an instant, I was infused with the image of Ven’Dar, not merely his physical aspect, but his essence: the joy that permeated every moment of his life, his love for our Way, for our land, for me.
&nbs
p; “Is this the one you have named, D’Natheil?” Ce’Aret’s voice was as clear as a brass trumpet. “The one who will follow your steps onto D’Arnath’s Bridge, whose hands shall serve the people of Avonar and all of Gondai, leading us and guarding us with their skill and power?”
“This is Ven’Dar, my friend, my mentor, my heir,” I said.
Ce’Aret removed her hands, and the image dissolved.
Mem’Tara brought me another image of Ven’Dar, this time the sounds of his voice, rich and clear in its timbre, honest and gentle in its tenor, powerful in its articulation of the words that were his life. She gave me the image of his eyes that could see so far beyond the moment and so deep into the past, and his hands that had calmed my anger as skillfully as they smoothed and shaped rough bits of wood into articles of use and beauty. She brought me his laughter, and his raucous baritone, singing a bawdy song. “Is this the one you have named, D’Natheil? The one who shall assume your place in the life of this world when your span of days is complete?”
“This is Ven’Dar, my friend, my comforter, my heir.”
Then it was Ustele’s turn. Slowly, leaning on a wild-wood cane, he hobbled from the dais and passed by me without meeting my gaze. I wasn’t worried about Ustele. The ritual was strict. He could refuse to participate, and I would remove him from the Preceptorate, appointing another person of my choosing to his place. But if he wished to retain his position as my counselor, he could only do as the ritual prescribed, take the image and present it to me.
My bones ached. A chill draft made me shudder. When had I last slept? My gritty eyes stung, and I rubbed them, causing a moment’s shift in the light, smearing faces and colors… red… green. The hour was speeding by. I flinched when Ustele laid his cold, bony fingers on my head.
“Is this the one you have named, D’Natheil?” The old sorcerer’s voice quavered in my ear, filled with bitterness. “The one who shall wield the sword and the power of D’Arnath and be privy to the innermost secrets of the Dar’Nethi? Is this the man to whom you would entrust the fate of the worlds? Consider well, for with your word will your successor be proved.”
Even dull-witted with exhaustion, I knew this one thing was sure and right. “This is Ven’Dar, my friend, my brother, my heir.”
But no sooner had I spoken, delivering the future of Gondai and the Bridge into his hands, than I glimpsed the flaw in the image that lingered in my mind. Ven’Dar, yes, his courage in battle, his unyielding devotion to justice and truth. In all things honorable. Yet, behind the image, lurking in the midst of everything I expected to see… what was it? A shadow. A scar. Alien. A flash of gold, a glimmer of ruby, of amethyst, of blue-white diamond… and familiar horror…
“No!” I slapped Ustele’s band away and burst from the chair, whirling about to see Ven’Dar’s eyes grow cold and his smile harden.
“First friend, then brother, then heir. I’m dizzy from coming full circle - for I believed myself to be your heir to begin with. Family, yes, but not brother. And never friend. Most confusing. And even more so for these others who cannot see what you see or know what you know. Tell them who I am, my lord Prince. Tell them who will reign in Avonar in three heartbeats from this moment, when their mad Prince lies dead on the floor. Say my name, and let them shudder and curse your failure.”
It was impossible, but there was no mistake. “Gerick!”
“No, no, good Father. Call me Dieste.”
CHAPTER 31
Seri
Bareil had given me a square of glass through which, by some magical mechanism, I could view the morning’s events while remaining hidden myself. I’d watched the ritual in the same state of heightened expectation I’d experienced since waking to see Karon’s rose.
Play the part that only you have ever been able to play. Follow the Way… What did he mean? He thought I’d understand. He had been rushed, pressed for time. But my message had told him that I knew what he was planning, at least the result of it, and he had come to tell me… what? Fragile hope held my soul together, but despair picked and jabbed relentlessly.
The sole bright spot of the morning had been finding Paulo in the antechamber. But before he could tell me where he’d been since Calle Rein, Paulo had raced off in search of the missing Roxanne, hoping that she was only hiding and would emerge if she saw his familiar face.
And then the ritual fell apart…
“No!” Karon’s cry of outrage pulled me to my feet, the magical glass held even closer to my face. But it was impossible to see anything once chaos erupted in the council chamber.
How could Gerick be here?
Shouts and curses. The unmistakable sliding clangor of swords engaged. As I strained to see, the door of the antechamber burst open, and several of the Dar’Nethi poured through it, reminding me that the chaos was only steps away.
“Cover your face, my lady,” whispered Bareil as the first rush of refugees fled through the outer door and others began to crowd in from the council chamber. “Perhaps we should withdraw.”
Play the part… Follow the Way…
To follow the Way meant to accept whatever came and fit it into the larger context of the universe. But I had never been able to accept whatever came, not until I understood the truth of it. That took time, and everything was happening too fast. But, of course, Karon had even less time than I to unravel the truth of these events, and he couldn’t always control his reactions, not with D’Natheil’s emotions confused with his own. Was that what he wanted from me? To stay close to him through everything? To watch and listen no matter how painful the event? To look for the truth and hold onto it?
“No, Bareil. I think I need to be here.”
I shoved my way through the fearful crowd into the council chamber. By the time I stepped past the door only a few observers remained in the room: the three Preceptors, the enigmatic Men’Thor, and four or five stalwarts in sober military garb, who I guessed were Karon’s field commanders, bound by honor and duty to stay beside their prince. Gerick was nowhere in sight. But Karon and Ven’Dar were engaged, swords in hand, Ven’Dar’s sleeve already bloodied from their first closing. Now I understood…
“Stay back!” shouted Karon to one of the Dar’Nethi who stepped forward, sword drawn, ready to enter the fight. “He’s mine!”
He didn’t need help. He already had Ven’Dar in a steady retreat. Karon - D’Natheil - was an incomparable swordsman. And Gerick… though it had been his childhood ambition to excel at sword combat, and he’d trained ferociously under the most skilled masters in Zhev’Na, he’d not touched a weapon in four years.
Ven’Dar pivoted and delivered a powerful counter to Karon’s thrust. Karon’s feet did not budge. Ven’Dar delivered another blow. And another. But Karon might have been waiting for an annoying fly to settle so he could swat it with his hand.
I wanted to scream out my confusion. If Gerick truly had control of Ven’Dar’s body and forced Karon into killing the Preceptor, then the god Vasrin himself could not keep our son alive. If Gerick left Ven’Dar’s body before it was dead, Karon would fly down to the palace dungeon and slaughter him. If he did not leave Ven’Dar’s body in time, then he would be trapped and die with the Preceptor. Why would Gerick challenge Karon this way, knowing it was a sure route to his own death? Surely the Lords were controlling him. But to what purpose?
If the Lords’ intent was merely to prevent anyone other than Gerick from inheriting the powers of D’Arnath, then why had they not forced Gerick to kill Karon at Calle Rein when they were linked and he was most vulnerable? Gerick had been Karon’s acknowledged successor for four years. The power the Lords wanted was within their grasp, and it made no sense that they would put Gerick, their prize, at further risk of Karon’s wrath. So, why this masquerade? All that was likely to happen from this futile exercise was that everyone would end up dead - Gerick and Ven’Dar and Karon, too, of course. Once he finished killing his dearest friend and executing his son he would be soul-dead, at the least. What wo
uld it benefit anyone…?
Frantically I scanned the onlookers and confirmed that the face every instinct insisted should be present was missing from the crowd. Earth and sky, I knew!
I shoved my way past the remaining observers, until I was so close to the combatants that I could feel the rush of air as their swords sliced the air. “Karon! Stop! This is not Gerick’s doing!”
Relentless, unbending, unheeding, Karon pressed the sneering Ven’Dar to the dais, laying blow after ringing blow on his opponent’s sword, his powerful arms unwavering, his face like iron. Mortal enchantments flew with every strike. Ven’Dar seemed scarcely able to parry, much less mount an attack of his own. The end could be only moments away.
“Get away from here, Seri!” I heard nothing of Karon in the command, only cold fury and death. He never took his eyes from his objective. Ven’Dar’s cold gaze never wavered from his Prince’s face. He showed no fear. No concern. No hatred. No interest in me. Only singular determination. I knew I was right. I just didn’t know how it was possible, even for a sorcerer of exceptional talent.
“I don’t care what you see, Karon. I don’t care what you feel. This is not Gerick. Stop and listen to me. For everything, listen to me.” I switched from the language of Avonar to the language of Leire, the language Karon and I had shared.
Ven’Dar let loose a powerful offensive that engaged Karon’s full attention, then dodged a deadly stroke that split the ancient Preceptors’ table with a flash of blue fire. One of the Dar’Nethi observers grabbed my arms from behind and tried to drag me away, but I shook loose and stayed close.
“Think, Karon! Someone wants Gerick dead, and Ven’Dar dead, and wants you to be responsible - for then you’ll be as good as dead, too.”
Another blow and Ven’Dar staggered backward. Karon wiped the sweat from his face with a bloody sleeve, and walked slowly around the table. “The Destroyer will not escape me this time. Not like the day he murdered Gar’Dena.”
Another blow and Ven’Dar’s sword clattered across the floor, and Karon had the Preceptor backed up to a toppled half of the long table. His sword point rested at the older man’s heart vein. “Not this time, Dieste.”
