“That won’t be needed,” she answered.
The others turned to look. The fog was slowly parting. As it did, shafts of golden sunlight streamed down here and there from the sky above, spotlighting the ships and the waves. It was a welcome sight. Tyranny saw that the coastline was starting to appear. Raising her spyglass again, she turned its lenses to the west.
The fleet was moored about a hundred meters from shore. She could see the lush foliage of the delta and one of the three major tributaries that poured the Sippora River’s fresh water into the sea. Several fishing villages clung to the delta coast, one of which lay dead ahead. Birmingham, she realized.
Then she saw something odd on the rocky beach, and she froze. Hurrying forward, Tyranny leaned hard against the gunwale and again raised her spyglass. At first she refused to believe her eyes. But as she looked further, the terrible reality sank in. She slowly lowered the glass.
“I beg the Afterlife,” she whispered, her face contorting in cold rage.
Of her three officers, Scars knew Tyranny best. Even so, he had rarely seen such a look overtake his captain’s face. “What’s wrong?” he asked anxiously.
Tyranny quickly beckoned them all forward. Reaching out, she took Traax by his shoulders and pulled his face to within inches of hers.
“Save for a skeleton crew left aboard each Black Ship, I want every warrior armed and aloft this instant!” she ordered. “Have them circle above until I order differently! I want my litter made ready, and bring the other three acolytes here immediately! We’re all flying ashore!” Traax clicked his heels and was gone in an instant.
Scars gave Tyranny another questioning look. The privateer’s only response was to remove the spyglass strap from around her neck and thrust the scope into Scar’s beefy hands. The first mate raised the glass and turned it toward the coast. After a time, he swallowed hard.
“Tyranny…” Adrian breathed. “What’s going on?”
The hard-nosed privateer reached for her gold case. After stabbing another cigarillo between her lips and lighting it, she finally answered the acolyte.
“I suggest that you employ the craft and look for yourself,” she growled.
Adrian hurried to the gunwale. As he looked toward the coast, Scars stood stock-still beside her like some great marble statue. Calling on the craft, Adrian augmented her eyesight and looked westward.
Like Scars and Tyranny, the acolyte had already experienced much during her relatively short life. But what she saw this day froze the blood in her veins.
CHAPTER X
WITH EVERY STEP GRACCHUS TOOK, HIS CONCERN mounted. The Oraculum had reached out to touch his mind less than one hour ago, and he feared that her latest vision might be disturbing. The war plan to take the Shashidan gold mines was nearly ready to submit to the Suffragat, and he had worked, schemed, and killed for far too long to let his dream die now. With one hand gripping the opposite shoulder of his white and burgundy robe, he hurried on.
The subterranean hallway he trod was dank and mildewed. Wall torches, enchanted to burn forever and without smoke, showed the way and lent the twisting passageway a haunted feel. Specially chosen centurions sworn to secrecy on penalty of death stood guard at every turn. As the leadPon Q’tar cleric hurried by, they snapped to swift attention.
The secret hallway that Gracchus navigated lay far below Ellistium. Aside from the guards, only thePon Q’tar and the Suffragat knew of its existence. Aeons ago, after selecting the site for the new capital city, thePon Q’tar had secretly built this subterranean labyrinth. It had come into being while the magnificent capital had risen so many meters above it.
Gracchus soon came to a large square room built from cut stones. Before him lay a granite landing that overlooked a wide subterranean lake. More torches burned in iron wall brackets. The lake was dark, dirty, and deathly still. Three more centurions stood guard there. As they came to attention, Gracchus hurried to the edge of the landing.
“Bring me the boat,” he ordered.
At once a centurion saluted, then walked to the far end of the room. Reaching down, he untied the line that secured a common wooden rowboat to the landing. He towed the boat to a place before the lead cleric.
Gracchus walked down a short series of steps cut into the landing and climbed into the boat. The centurion tossed the line into the boat, setting it free. Gracchus took up a wooden staff from the bottom of the boat and started to pole his way across the dank lake.
As he went, here and there the putrid water rippled ominously. Good, he thought. The deadly creatures that he and his fellowPon Q’tar members had conjured so long ago to protect what lay on the other side still lived. So far, their savagery had not been needed. Still, he was glad to know that they were there, constantly searching the water for intruders.
The boat trip would not take long. He knew the way well, for he had come here thousands of times before. Soon he saw his destination. As he reached the opposite side he tied off the boat and walked up another series of short steps.
Like the preceding chamber, this one was square in shape and built from rough-hewn stone blocks. More wall brackets held burning torches. As Gracchus mounted from the landing, a startled rat squeaked and scurried off into the gloom.
Finally alone, Gracchus walked to the far wall. A casual observer would have seen nothing unusual about its many rough-hewn stones. After choosing one unremarkable block from among thousands, Gracchus summoned the craft.
At once the stone glowed bright azure. Gracchus then caused a small incision to form in his right wrist. As he liberated one drop of his endowed blood, it hovered before him and twisted itself into his unique blood signature. He calmly watched the incision close and the resulting scar disappear. He then sent the blood signature flat against the glowing stone.
The enchanted stone quickly recognized the cleric’s blood. Soon a bright azure line formed down the center of the wall and the two halves parted, allowing Gracchus access to the chamber beyond. He hurriedly entered, and the walls scratched closed behind him. The subsequent chamber was as pristine as the preceding one was dank.
As Gracchus walked into the room he was comforted to see that nothing had changed. And why would it? he asked himself. I have been the only visitor to this place for thousands of years. The being I imprison here will never reclaim her freedom, despite the immense power she once commanded.
The chamber was large and well lit. Its four walls and ceiling were built from finely hewn alabaster blocks. The floor was solid onyx, polished to a magnificent sheen. Solid gold wall brackets held engraved oil globes, their flames combining to cast a soft glow over the room, and the air was warm and odorless. But the chamber’s beauty meant little, he knew. The real reason for this secret place stood across the room.
The entire far wall glowed with a soft azure hue. Its depths seemed limitless. Curved shards of swirling white light continually wheeled and streaked amid the azure aura that imprisoned them. The strange masterpiece of the craft emitted a soft roar and a crackling sound, much like a blazing fire.
As he regarded the mesmerizing sight, Gracchus was reminded of how long it had taken him and his fellowPon Q’tar clerics to create it. Fifty years, to be exact-ten years of ceaseless toil to refine the formulas, then forty more to construct this chamber, the two landings, the lake, and the secret tunnel that led here from aboveground. The skeens who had been forced to do the construction were long dead and had taken this place’s secrets with them to the Afterlife.
The lead cleric raised his hands and called the craft. At once the glimmering wall started to slide closer. As it neared, a transparent roof and equally glassy sidewalls formed, ensuring that the azure light remained imprisoned. The amazing construct slowed, then stopped about three meters from where he stood.
The result was a glistening cube that measured eight meters square, the entire space within it filled with azure light and darting white shards. Despite how many times Gracchus visited here, he always found the cube
a wondrous thing to behold.
The lead cleric stepped closer. “Show yourself,” he ordered.
From the foggy depths a woman emerged. Her eyes and wrinkled skin were so old that they were nearly dust. Her long, brittle hair was the purest white and flew about wildly. Her dark eyes darted about the room, then stared straight at him, boring their way into his own. The tattered gray gown she wore had once been pure white. Like her hair, its tattered ends swirled in the azure mist. Wrinkled arms and hands lay quietly by her side while her bare feet dangled just below the hem of her tattered gown. As she hung weightless in the cube, she said nothing.
“You touched my mind,” Gracchus said calmly. “What have you seen on the other side?”
“The Orb of the Vigor has shown me much, lead cleric,” she said. Her ancient voice was tremulous, hollow. “Two more important manifestations of the craft have occurred east of the Tolenkas. You are fortunate-I had barely enough energy remaining to witness each. You will be pleased to learn of one. The other will doubtless cause you great distress.”
Gracchus eagerly stepped forward. “Tell me,” he ordered.
A short smile crossed the Oraculum’s lips. Gracchus guessed that she would deliver the distressing news first, because she would enjoy it. He and the woman had been enemies for aeons. Even so, in a perverse way they needed each other.
“The Conclave has discovered subtle matter,” she said. “Although theJin’Sai ’s mystics cannot yet employ it, it seems only a matter of time until they learn. It might become a potent weapon for them.”
Gracchus was stunned. “How did this happen?” he breathed. “Their knowledge of the craft is not sophisticated enough to have done this on their own!”
“It was revealed to them through a secret spell incorporated by the Shashidans into the Tome and the Scroll of the Vigors aeons ago,” the Oraculum answered, her gown and hair floating about her as she hovered in the azure light. “Even I did not know of its existence. When Faegan placed the three relics side by side for safekeeping, the subtle matter was released.”
“Subtle matter is never released without need,” Gracchus mused. “What purpose did it serve?”
Reveling in his discomfort, the Oraculum smiled again. “You’re right,” she said. “The ancient spell that was enacted did far more.” She went silent again, purposely allowing the tension to build.
“Tell me, you half-dead bitch!” Gracchus raged. “Or I will kill you here and now!”
“No, Gracchus,” she answered. “We both know you won’t do that. You might torture me. But you can’t afford to kill me-especially not now, when there is so much left for you to learn.”
Seething with rage, Gracchus shook his fist at her. “Tell me!” he screamed, “or Iwill torture you! And I’ll enjoy it!”
“Very well,” she said. “The subtle matter has told theJin’Sai that he must traverse the Azure Sea to reach Shashida. As yet, he and his Conclave do not know how that is to be accomplished. But theJin’Sai ’s wizards are clever. If they learn enough about subtle matter, they might devise a way to cross the sea. The Tolenka Mountains on which you have so long relied to keep theJin’Sai and theJin’Saiou trapped on the other side of the world might no longer be the obstacle that they once were.”
“But how can that be?” Gracchus breathed. “Its expanse is too vast and its dangers too great! Even our strongest spells cannot overcome its many obstacles!”
“I can only guess that the subtle matter will somehow lead the way,” the Oraculum explained. “If theJin’Sai finds it, I do not know what might follow. Nor does theJin’Sai know. But there is more to it. The subtle matter also supplied the Conclave with a detailed map of the territories west of the mountains. My guess is that the map is aeons old and might well be flawed, given the shifting changes in the boundaries that you say have taken place over time. Even so, it should be of great help to them should they somehow cross the sea.”
For several moments all Gracchus could do was to stare blankly down at the onyx floor, his mind a whirl of misgivings. He could not have imagined worse news. He finally collected himself and looked the Oraculum in the eyes.
“And because all my Vagaries allies in the east have been defeated, there is no way for me to stop theJin’Sai from trying,” he whispered, half to himself.
At first the Oraculum did not answer as she floated silently before him, imprisoned in the mist. “That is not entirely true,” she finally replied.
Her heart broke as she said the momentous words. Even so, she had no choice but to tell him. Gracchus could easily torture the information from her, and he had often done so by magically altering the environment of her bizarre prison. Many centuries ago when she was younger and stronger, she had tried lying to him about what she saw on the other side of the world. But he had always found out and the torture started. Now she was too feeble to survive it. To stay alive, her only course of action was to tell the truth-no matter how much it grieved her to do so.
“You’re referring to your second sighting, aren’t you?” Gracchus demanded. “Tell me of it!”
The Oraculum sadly closed her eyes. “Youdo possess a new Vagaries ally on the other side,” she said. “If the legend is true he has the ability to commune with you, for Failee’s last attempt to find the needed forestallment formula was successful. To order him to do your bidding, you need only to reach out and touch his mind.”
Sensing a glimmer of hope, Gracchus took another step closer. “Who is he?” he demanded.
“The Viper Lord has risen,” she answered, “as have his many servants. The legend seems true, after all. Failee’s genius for reaching out from the dead to influence the here and now continues to know no bounds.”
Gracchus’ heart leaped in his chest. “How did the Viper Lord come into the world?” he asked. “Did it happen as we always suspected?”
The Oraculum nodded. “A few drops of left-leaning endowed blood were inadvertently released into a spring in Hartwick Wood, thereby enacting the spell,” she explained. “As we know, during the Sorceresses’ War, Failee had hoped to end the war there. But the Directorate did not take the bait and chose to fight elsewhere. Even so, what little blood was spilled was enough. Since your rebellion against Shashida, whenever an important use of the craft occurred on the other side, I have witnessed it. Like you, I command the gift of Consummate Recollection, and I can easily recall the day that Failee enchanted the waters.”
Gracchus’s mind started racing. He had long known that the Viper Lord might rise, and he welcomed the coming of Failee’s long-lost creation. But the discovery of subtle matter by the Conclave and the idea that Tristan might try to cross the Azure Sea posed new threats of dire proportions-especially now, when he and thePon Q’tar were so close to realizing their dreams.
But if the Viper Lord could intervene and keep theJin’Sai from crossing the sea, perhaps the campaign to take the Shashidan gold mines and the rest of his secret plan could still be salvaged. In any event, he would inform Vespasian only of the Viper Lord and not of the Conclave’s discovery of subtle matter, for if Vespasian learned of the latter, he might choose to postpone the new campaign. Gracchus looked back at the Oraculum as she hovered in her beautiful prison.
“Where is the Viper Lord now?” he asked.
“I can only tell you that I saw him and his servants flee Hartwick Wood,” she answered. “They travel northeast, presumably searching for more populated venues. Without direction from a higher Vagaries power, the Viper Lord is doubtless searching for his former mistress, and committing his preordained mayhem as he goes. When he does not find her, he will assume her to be dead. In her name he will continue to blindly seek revenge against all of Eutracia. With each victory his servants are systematically removing certain organs from endowed corpses. As you know, revenge was one of the First Mistress’s greatest motives. If she could not win, she ensured that those who had bested her would continue to suffer her wrath. Unlike the failed Swamp Shrews of Parthalon, the V
iper Lord might finally succeed in carrying out her vengeance.” The Oraculum paused for a moment as the azure mist swirled about her.
“When theJin’Sai learns of the Viper Lord, he will face a difficult choice,” she continued. “Will he lead his Minions against this new threat, or will he take up the larger challenge and try to cross the sea? If theJin’Sai succeeds in reaching Shashida, the Orbs cannot follow him. I will no longer be able to monitor theJin’Sai, or any other Vigors mystics he might bring with him. If he reaches this side of the world, the only way to find him is by seeking out his all-powerful blood. Given Shashida’s immense size, doing so seems highly unlikely-even for you and your fabledPon Q’tar. ”
Gracchus turned away from the Oraculum and he started angrily pacing the room. He needed time to think and he didn’t want to endure the Oraculum’s self-satisfied gaze. His thoughts soon turned to the recent past.
Although Failee never possessed the convoluted forestallment that allowed her direct communion with the Heretics or with thePon Q’tar, by way of the Oraculum the Vagaries masters had monitored the First Mistress’s valiant struggles with great hope. But now it seemed that she had perfected one aspect of the formula, allowing Gracchus to touch the Viper Lord’s mind. That was at least one stroke of luck that he would soon make use of. Even without thePon Q’tar ’s help, Failee had nearly defeated the wizards and destroyed the Vigors east of the Tolenkas. She was indeed brilliant, Gracchus thought. Given enough time and training, she might even have risen to join the ranks of the Pon Q’tar.
Had Failee won the Sorceresses’ War, the Vagaries east of the Tolenkas would have finally been victorious. But it was not to be, for the Directorate prevailed. Despite Failee’s well-planned attack on Eutracia three hundred years later and her brilliant plan to kidnap Shailiha and turn her into her fifth sorceress, Tristan had killed her and the entire Coven. Worse, for the first time a reigningJin’Sai was threateningthis side of the world, and had at his disposal knowledge and weapons more potent than anyJin’Sai before him. That bastard seems to have nine lives, Gracchus fumed.
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