The girl saw Kalindinai and her glowing rust-colored eyes went wide and she threw herself into a bow. “Matradomma! I-i-it’s late! W-w-we were not expecting—visitors.”
“We are aware of that Llajaerna,” the Queen said in a stern but level voice. She swung the black rod out and under the maid’s shoulder to make her straighten up. “We have urgent business with Our brother. Please take Us to him.”
Llajaerna stared at Kalindinai, her lower lip trembled. “N-n-now?”
The Queen didn’t answer she just glared at the girl, amber eyes narrowed. Had the young elf been made of wax, she would have melted down into a puddle.
“Y-y-yes, of course,” she stammered. “Please.” She pulled the door open for them, and gestured them in.
The mansion foyer resembled the circular entry area in Sarai’s quarters at Malbraion hall. He guessed it was something of a tradition, the sprays of flowers and artistic tributes to members of the family. In this case, busts of Kalindinai, and another female elf, and what must be Kalindinai’s mother and father. Did that mean Kalindinai had another sister they had not met? The sister’s tribute had a wreath of flowers around it, unlike the other three. Was she dead then? He really needed to study elven customs more carefully.
He looked around the sizeable area. Steps led down into a carved wood colonnade, atriums filled with blooming flowers were lit by the reddish glow of the moon. Water sculptures tinkled and glistened in the refracted lamp light.
They followed Llajaerna down the broad gallery deeper into the mansion. Bannor wished for his savant senses, because something felt strange and out of place, but he couldn’t find a source for the feeling.
He squeezed his Sarai’s arm. “Star, mindspeak me.”
She looked down at him with narrowed violet eyes.
He focused his thoughts.
Her brow furrowed and she gripped the shaladen blade on her arm. After a moment, she reached out and gripped her mother’s shoulder to pull her to a stop.
Kalindinai frowned back at them.
The Queen’s frown turned to one of puzzlement.
Llajaerna stopped and looked back. She clasped her hands in front of herself and looked around as though nervous. “Matradomma?”
The Queen looked back to her.
Bannor glanced around. Windows looked into an inner courtyard some thirty paces across. Moonlight glinted off the surface of a reflection pond decorated with stylized bridges, waterleaf, swaybranch and colored reeds. Apparently, Lord Valharesh liked to keep nature right in the house with him. Glowbug lights provided dim illumination in the adjoining halls, giving glimpses of crystal work, elaborate tapestries, and murals. A faint spicy scent that was probably incense hung in the air mixed with a heavy musky odor. Weapon oil? Kalindinai had said the lord wouldn’t know two weapons apart. Perhaps his guards were cleaning their weapons. Did that mean he was expecting them? Of course, after the confrontation with Ryelle, it was a surprise to Bannor that he was still in the country, especially when he had a wife capable of teleporting.
Of course, where could he run? His sister was an archmage of incredible power. She would eventually track him down no matter what he did. If he knew that already powerful wilder had a shaladen, he’d probably soil himself.
Kalindinai gestured the maid ahead. The Queen dropped back, putting more space between her and the servant. His warning coupled with whatever she’d sensed, making her more cautious.
He could feel Sarai probing the surroundings. Now that both of them had the shaladens, their telepathic abilities gave them powerful senses, able to detect the thoughts of any unshielded minds nearby.
They turned a corner and passed a dining hall now only lit by the glowlights. The house seemed quiet even for this time. Where were all the servants? Even after midnight, on the few occasions that he’d meandered through the corridors of Malbraion hall, he’d seen maids and stewards tinkering about. It was only ten bells now, and he doubted the Lord was the type to be early to his bed.
As they moved along the sanded wood floors he began to realize part of what was making him feel strange.
The ears.
Kalindinai’s magic had actually transformed him into an elf. He was seeing and hearing with elven acuity. Even as a human he had fairly sharp senses. This body didn’t have hearing that much more sensitive, but he seemed to make out the higher pitched sounds more clearly.
They turned a corner and Bannor caught snatches of conversation conducted in hushed voices. There was something heavy in the air. Some wrongness he couldn’t put his finger on. After moons of wishing he’d never been born with the garmtur, he found himself longing for the security of it, the knowledge of what was going on around him. Sharp hearing, the ability to see in the dark and a sensitive nose—they were a jest compared to his thread sense. He sighed, wishing wouldn’t help him now. Despite Gaea’s assurances, the garmtur was an asset he might never possess again.
He worked his fingers in his glove, brushed aside the cloak and reached back to the handle of one of his axes.
The conversation grew clearer as they neared an open archway.
He blinked. It was like the unity he felt with other savants only this was far more refined and complete. Their core thoughts weren’t revealed to this sharing, but there was a common pool, a place where they seemed to be keeping the whole group apprised of their activities.
He had no idea that Sarai had become a part of something like this. No wonder the family had grown so quiet in the last few days. They knew what each other were doing and could converse with them mentally at any instant. What did they need to talk for? King Jhaan was there with his wife in spirit, he heard their private whispers, a faint murmuring that pulsed nearby.
Much louder than the background thoughts, were the private musings of the maid worrying that she would be punished. Not far off were jumbled sources of images that must be dreams, and what must be other servants going about their duties.
Ahead in the room they were approaching were thought voices that crackled and distorted as though the ‘sound’ were being deliberately disguised. He felt Sarai focusing on that noise. In a flash, he felt her reach out to other minds and information traded in blur.
How long had she been doing this? He guessed he shouldn’t be surprised. She was a Shael Dal now, why not use all of her powers to their fullest?
Kalindinai answered.
Llajaerna stopped in the archway. She cleared her throat with an uncomfortable expression on her face. She looked into the room again and pulled at her blouse as if it had grown hot. She cleared her throat again and bounced on her toes, apparently trying to gain the attention of the people in the chamber and failing.
They stepped into the archway where golden light flowed into the hallway. The area beyond was a circular parlor, couches ringed a tall cylindrical hearth whose crystalline enclosure flowed up into the domed ceiling. The flickering light of the hearth fire illuminated tapestries of elven heraldry, statues, and paintings that covered the curved surface of the blood-wood paneled walls.
Bertrand sat at the left side of the circle, dressed in a dress blue surcoat, a platinum chalice in his hand. He sat next to a tall female elf dressed in skin-tight mirror-polished gold that reflected the light of the r
oom. Her pale hair stirred in a non-existent breeze and faint music seemed to chime around her. The word perfection came to mind. Bannor had only seen pantheon lords with such a stunning aspect. The two were sitting a little too close for them to be just conversing, especially with Bertrand’s hand on her thigh. From the incredulous feelings of anger and dismay he felt from Sarai and the way she clamped down on his hand, he knew this was not Bertrand’s wife.
Black rod on her shoulder, Kalindinai stopped in the archway with deliberately loud clack of boots. Where Llajaerna’s mouse-like attempts to get her master’s attention had failed, that hard crack on the wooden floor was more effective.
Bertrand who had been completely engrossed with his guest, snapped around and focused on his sister with wide amber eyes. The chalice fell from his hand and hit the wooden floor with a clatter.
“Good evening, Brother,” Kalindinai said in a dark tone. She tilted her head and made an expressive sigh.
Bertrand’s mouth dropped open. “S-s-sister.”
Bannor kept his attention on Bertrand’s glowing guest. She brushed back her pale hair and frowned. Her brow furrowed and she narrowed sky-blue eyes.
Kalindinai tapped the rod on her shoulder and put a fist on her hip. “And where is Bekijha?” the Queen asked. “She is always so fussy about entertaining guests.”
The older brother got over his surprise. He would be a fool not to see this confrontation coming. The only variables would be when and where. He probably didn’t expect that the moorgeer would be traced back to him so quickly, or at all. Surely after the hints at lunch and Ryelle’s outburst he had to realize he was suspected of something.
The elf lord seemed lost though. He didn’t look like a simpleton. Did he think his tracks were that well covered? Perhaps he felt that his sister Kalindinai wouldn’t move until she had absolute proof.
Bertrand’s guest straightened in her seat and raised her chin. “Matradomma Kalindinai,” she said in a powerful voice that seemed to echo in the room. “Greetings. Your brother has told me a lot about you.”
Kalindinai raised an eyebrow. “Has he?” she responded in an arch tone. “He’s told me nothing about you, but I guess we both know why that is.”
The female elf frowned. “Kalindinai, I think you should go.” The word ‘go’ was a command, and even without his savant senses Bannor felt the compulsion behind it. That glow around the creature was more than just for show.
The elf queen flinched and flicked her hand as if swatting away an annoying insect. “I think you underestimate who you’re dealing with.”
The creature, Bannor doubted she was really an elf, sniffed and rose to her feet. Bertrand scrambled to stand as well. The maid who was squarely between them scurried out of the room, obviously knowing this was not a place to be.
“So I have,” the female said. Her eyes flashed.
To Bannor, it was like his head was in a metal barrel and somebody gave it a resounding kick. The ringing blast made him flinch and stagger a step.
Kalindinai growled and gripped the band on her wrist. “You’re making me angry. This my kingdom. You threaten my family and my people at your peril. I will ask you once to let go of my arrogant, wrong-headed, foolish brother.”
Bertrand scowled. “Sister! How dare you…”
“Shut up, Traitor. To consort with this creature…to even think of using the black cauldron against my family. You are dead to me.”
The elf lord reeled back a step. “What? Those—humans—are not your family.”
“Brother, there are bonds that go deep as blood. If you had ever risked anything in your cautious, self-serving, miserable existence—you would know that. To hide behind what happened to Draline, to use it as justification, is the worst insult to her.” She gripped the band on her arm which glowed and with a rasp of magic flowed into the lines of a battlestaff. “She was my sister too, damn you. I am so sick of it. You actually believe your own lies now.” She pointed the staff at the glowing elf woman. “I have no patience. Release him. He is going to a dungeon, but he will do it with a clear mind and the ability to see his own foolishness.”
“Child you don’t—”
A flare of light lanced from Kalindinai’s staff, the bolt shrieked out toward the intruder, causing Bertrand to duck down. The blast of energy shattered a jeweled earring hanging from the elf lady’s left ear.
The female slapped a hand to the side of her head, eyes wide.
“Perhaps I have your attention now?” Kalindinai rasped. “As you see, your confidence in that shield is unwarranted.”
Bertrand looked back at the glowing creature whose jaw worked back and forth. He made a whimpering sound.
“Brother, have a spine,” Kalindinai snapped. “We haven’t started fighting—yet.” She sniffed. “Perhaps the time for disguises is done. You are no elf.”
The female let out a breath. “Very well.” She closed her eyes and her figure shimmered and melted. Sections of mirror polished golden cloth became gleaming gold skin, and a white sleeveless symbiote body stocking. The pupils in her sky-blue eyes vanished becoming only a radiant glow. Pale hair turned shining obsidian black. Pointed Elven ears became rounded. The female’s beauty was undiminished except for a jagged star-shaped scar around her left eye.
Bertrand’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
“Well, I can’t say that comes as much of surprise,” Kalindinai said with a shake of her head. “So, Daergon, what do you want?”
Bertrand’s gaze whipped back and forth between them. “Kal, you know this creature?”
“By reputation,” Kalindinai answered, keeping her staff oriented on the Kriar woman. “Don’t interrupt. Again, what do you want?”
“Give me the Vatraena. That will suffice,” the female answered, hands on hips.
“And will that stop the attacks of the Baronians?”
“It would be a start.”
“I think you will need to be a bit more specific.”
“You must stop interfering in matters of Fabrista Homeworld. Stop sheltering her allies, and assisting her attempts to disassemble our plans.”
“You know, I might have been receptive to that if you hadn’t sent agents to kidnap us, and used that device to kill my son-in-law.”
The Kriar pressed her fingers together. “He tried to interfere. Like you are interfering. I grow weary of this. Comply or I will slay you.”
Kalindinai spun her staff and took a fighting stance. Sarai gripped the band on her arm and the item flared and became a sword. Bannor pulled out his axes.
“Try it you gold witch,” Kalindinai snarled.
Bertrand scrambled to get away from the Kriar woman but the gold-skinned female was on him in an eye-blink, a fist tangled in his hair, and a knee in his back. “I wonder,” the Kriar mused, as the elf lord struggled ineffectively to get away. “Whether this one retains any value to you? While your defenses are quite strong—” She raised her hand and blade of light crackled into being and she brought it close to his face as he flinched and wriggled. “His are not.”
“To die honorably is more than he deserves,” Kalindinai said in a dark tone. “Considering what he faces for betraying his people, you would be doing him a favor.”
“Sister!” Bertrand yelled.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “Never call me that again.” She flipped her hand. “Kill him. Then I will deal with you, as you are apparently so weak as to need a captive to hide behind.”
The Kriar’s chin came up. “You’re bluffing.” She brought the weapon against Bertrand’s cheek.
The elf lord howled in pain, kicking and thrashing as the flesh of his face smoked and sizzled.
Kalindinai held position like a stone. She gripp
ed the staff in both hands. “As soon as he’s dead. You will join him.”
Bannor gritted his teeth at the popping crackling sound of cooking flesh. His heart beat fast, and his stomach knotted as he caught whiffs of burning meat. Bertrand writhed, screams growing hoarse as his skin and hair caught fire and boiled away from the immense heat of the weapon. His shaking hands gripped and pushed at the Kriar warrior’s arm without effect.
Hands white-knuckled on the shaladen, the Queen stared at the Kriar with hard eyes, not moving—not even twitching. Beside her, Sarai swallowed. As hard as the third princess was, Bannor didn’t think she would have had Kalindinai’s resolve. To watch a loved one, no matter how despicable, suffer in such agony.
Boiling droplets of blood struck the Kriar woman’s face and splattered on her on her arm and clothing. Bertrand went limp in her grip.
With a snort, the intruder tossed the elf lord aside. “Bah.” She turned glowing sky-blue eyes on Kalindinai. In a flash, she flickered forward, her body moving in a hissing blur.
Bannor didn’t see what Kalindinai did, it all happened too quickly. He only knew she had avoided instantaneous death, the attack meant to slay her struck the staff instead of her face. The power of the blow still blasted her backward.
He leaped into the path of her flight. He gasped as she slammed into his midriff. Bannor hugged her tight, curling into a ball to shield them as they slammed into the hard wood wall.
Stars exploded in his vision as he hammered into the brick-hard surface which crunched under the force of their impact.
Behind them, he heard Sarai let out ringing battle cry and he felt the house shake as a powerful impact rattled the air.
He shook his head and blinked. It was a good thing he had let them alter his body, he would have been pulped by the impact otherwise. Kalindinai coughed and growled. She rolled to her feet, she gripped his arm for an instant, and he felt a tingle go through him and he felt her thanks flicker through his mind and she pushed off toward their opponent. He snatched his axes off the floor and drove forward in her wake.
Reality's Plaything 5: The Infinity Annihilator Page 11
