Despite her advanced age, Gracchus suspected that the Oraculum’s powers were still great. The Vigors worshippers would not only kill to get her back, but they would consider her return to their midst a huge moral victory. Her escape would be a no less stunning defeat for those who ruled the Rustannican Empire, so no chance could be taken that she might somehow vanish. Gracchus needed her visions if he was to wisely manage the ongoing struggle being carried out by the Viper Lord. But there was another, far more personal reason why he had insisted during the Suffragat voting session that the Oraculum accompany the legions on this mighty campaign. It was one that only he understood and could put into practice. He needed to look into her face as she offered up her pronouncements.
Gracchus had never dared to rely on the convenience of distantly touching her mind to learn what she had to say. Instead, he had for aeons visited her personally. He needed to look into her eyes, to see her face, to hear the quality of her voice to determine the veracity of her words. Indeed, by now his ability to judge her persona had become so keen that he immediately knew when she was lying, and because of it she had not dared do so for centuries. Even so, should he abandon visiting her in person and rely only on touching her mind, he had no doubt that her lying would recommence. Like the desperate campaign against Shashida, the struggle being carried out by the Viper Lord was of the utmost importance. The intelligence gleaned from the Oraculum must be genuine. And for that, only being in her presence would do.
Gracchus refused to answer. She knew why she was here, he realized. Besides, her inquiry was meant only to taunt him, and he would not honor her with a response.
“Tell me what you have seen,” he said.
Again the ghostly, knowing smile crossed the Oraculum’s lips. As it did, a tingle went down Gracchus’ spine.
This is why I come to see her, he thought. It is small gestures like this that tell me if her words are genuine. Her smile says that she has bad news and that she will enjoy telling it to me. That alone is enough to ensure that her information is genuine.
When Matsuko did not speak as soon as the anxious cleric wanted, he took a quick step forward, glaring into her weathered face.
“Tell me, you wizened crone!” he demanded. “What have you seen?”
Again her curious smile surfaced. “I have seen many things,” she answered, “not one of which you will like.”
Gracchus’ heart fell. “Go on,” he said cautiously.
“TheJin’Sai ’s mystics have miniaturized two of their Black Ships,” she answered. “He and two Minion phalanxes enter the caves in search of the Azure Sea. They bring the ships with them. I needn’t tell you why. The other two ships remain full size and were left behind for theJin’Saiou ’s use in hunting down the Viper Lord. They rest in newly constructed cradles that sit alongside the royal palace in Tammerland.”
Gracchus took an involuntary step backward, stunned. “How…” he breathed.
“They used some of the subtle matter to accomplish their ends,” the Oraculum answered. Then she went still again as she floated hauntingly in her majestic cube. Gracchus found her defiant silence infuriating.
Enraged by her teasing answer, he shook his fists at her. “Of course they used the subtle matter, you Vigors bitch!” he shouted. “But how did they come by the specialized knowledge to employ it?”
“From the Shashidans,” she answered. “They left behind both a message that Shashida lay across the Azure Sea, and a formula showing theJin’Sai ’s mystics how to transform the ships. Their plan was perfect. And now the most powerful of all theJin’Sai s ever to walk the earth has finally uncovered it. As we speak, he and his mystics search the Caves. If they are not intercepted and destroyed-”
“I know full well what will happen if they are not destroyed!” Gracchus screamed. He had become so uncharacteristically incensed that his whole body was shaking. Calling the craft, he arduously settled his nerves, then gave the Oraculum a seething look.
“You have made a grave error, Gracchus,” Matsuko said. “Why did you order Khristos and his servants to wait inside the Caves rather than attack theJin’Sai aboveground? Tristan has but two phalanxes with him. By allowing this you have granted him a great advantage, it would seem. Every step he takes brings him that much closer to Shashida.”
The Oraculum smiled again. “Things are unraveling on you, Gracchus,” she said. “It would seem that the leadPon Q’tar cleric is not as invulnerable now as during the heady days of yesteryear.”
Gracchus paced the floor, fuming. He would not tell her why he had allowed theJin’Sai to enter the caves, even though there had been no other choice. He could not let her know that Khristos’ servants were starving for lack of endowed bodies on which to feed and that the only way to sustain them in such multitudes and simultaneously augment their powers was to send them into the caves to devour Nicholas’ glowing eggs. But as he considered the situation further, he again took heart.
Khristos still had the element of surprise. Moreover, theJin’Sai ’s forces would be heavily outnumbered. Despite the Oraculum’s grim pronouncements, Gracchus’ plan still had the edge. He could of course commune with Khristos and call off the attack, but that would allow theJin’Sai to reach the sea unimpeded.
No, he realized. It would be better to let things stay on course even if Tristan did bring two ships with him. But the Conclave would have to be stopped at all costs, for Gracchus could not fathom the troubles that would ensue if theJin’Sai crossed the Azure Sea. Even now he could imagine Khristos employing the spell that he had ordered him to use, causing the sounds of the sea to reach the first chamber of the caves and draw theJin’Sai near.
“Tell me, Gracchus,” the Oraculum said, interrupting his thoughts. “Does the Blood Royal know how badly things have gone awry on the other side of the world? If he does, I can only imagine how angry he must be with you. And if not, there must be some facet about all this that you hide from him. Either way, the future does not bode well. You are playing a very dangerous game.”
The sudden combination of the Oraculum’s bad news and her growing insolence caused Gracchus’ anger to finally reach the boiling point. Deciding to teach her a long-awaited lesson in humility, he raised his arms and called the craft.
At once the Oraculum began writhing in exquisite pain-the same pain that Gracchus had used when she had first tried lying to him so long ago. She had not felt such agony for aeons, and it came as a total shock. But this time she was not being punished for lying, because her words had been true. Instead, Gracchus wanted only to reestablish his personal brand of terror.
As Gracchus continued to torture her she felt hot, searing pains burn along her nerve endings like blazing fires running amok through a tinder-dry forest. She screamed as Gracchus’ wicked gifts continued to pass through the cube-the cube that had been enchanted in such a way that his spells could reach her, but inside of which only her ability to see what the Orb of the Vigor saw was of use to her. She had tried for aeons to secretly unravel Gracchus’ manipulative spell that enforced this one-sided effect, but to no end. And so she hung helpless in the azure mist, her body jangling like a marionette manipulated by a cruel master.
Gracchus finally stopped the spell, and the Oraculum crashed to the floor. He hadn’t killed her-that would be unthinkable, even for him. He needed her alive, at least until his secret plans involving Vespasian, the campaign, and the Viper Lord had come to fruition. But when that day arrived, he would relish watching her die.
As she lay sobbing on the cold stone floor he called the craft and ordered the glistening azure cube to again retreat into the far wall. Pulling up the hood of his well-worn robe, he ordered the doors to open and briskly exited the Oraculum Tempitatum. There were new things to be done, including communing with Khristos as soon as possible.
When the doors closed, Matsuko slowly raised her head. She felt broken, used, abandoned. Tears filled her eyes, their coming as much a result of having to tell Gracchus the truth as
of the intense pain he had inflicted on her. The physical pain would go away, she realized, but the psychological torment of continually having to help Gracchus defeat her Shashidan countrymen would remain, just as it had done for countless centuries.
Suddenly she could again sense Gracchus’ unique application of the craft, suggesting that this strange new prison in which he was now housed had once more become invisible. Her fellow Shashidans might soon be looking right at it and not know that it existed or that she was imprisoned inside. That thought pierced her being more painfully than any torture the lead cleric might inflict on her.
How clever, Gracchus, she thought as what strength she still possessed slowly returned. But the lead cleric had said too much, she realized. Unless she missed her guess, she and this strange new temple would soon be in Shashidan territory. For what reason, she still did not know. But one thing was certain.
If there was a way to escape this new prison, she would find it and take her sweet, long-overdue revenge.
CHAPTER XXVIII
“HEAR ME, KHRISTOS,”GRACCHUS ORDERED.“YOU MUST COMMUNE with me, even if the battle has started! What I have to tell you is of the utmost importance!”
Waiting among some of his many servants in one of the dark tunnels facing the Azure Sea, Khristos immediately sensed the cleric calling out to his mind. His lead vipers had returned, saying that theJin’Sai was nearing the cave entrance. It would only be a matter of time now.
Cloaking his blood while also forcing the ocean sounds through one of the many tunnels was severely taxing his gifts, but he would prevail. As Khristos patiently waited he hungered for Failee’s killer to come nearer so that he might personally avenge her. Since learning that it had been Tristan who murdered his love, his need to face theJin’Sai had become overpowering. Clutching his silver staff in one hand, he fell to his knees and closed his eyes.
“I am here, Gracchus,” he answered silently.“The battle has yet to be joined.”
“Good,” the lead cleric answered. “TheJin’Saibrings with him prizes that must be destroyed at all costs. Two of his Black Ships have been shrunk by a craft device called subtle matter. He means to use the ships to cross the Azure Sea. I understand how badly you want to see the Jin’Saidie, for I share the same dream. But destroying the ships and the subtle matter is of equal importance. Destroy them, Khristos, and do not fail! ”
For a moment the Viper Lord was dumbfounded that the ships could be so radically transformed. Even Failee would have not dreamed it possible.
“We will not fail,” he said. “Consider the ships destroyed and theJin’Saias good as dead. ”
As he sensed Gracchus’ ken slipping away, Khristos opened his eyes and came to his feet. Knowing that time was short, he started urgently whispering new orders to his lead vipers, then concentrated again on sending the ocean sounds through the length of a nearby tunnel-the one theJin’Sai and his traitorous Vigors worshippers would soon exit. Then the Viper Lord smiled.
The game was afoot.
THREE HOURS LATER, TRISTAN STOOD JUST INSIDE THEentrance to a rough-hewn tunnel that looked out onto a sandy beach. The Azure Sea, white-capped and restless, lay beyond. On Tristan’s orders, no one had ventured outside the tunnel. Unlike the times before, this trip had been uneventful, something for which the prince and the First Wizard were grateful.
Sword in hand, Tristan could see and hear the waves strike the sandy shoreline about fifty meters away. Because of the ongoing ocean sounds, reaching the sea had been a far simpler matter than first assumed when the Conclave discussed this journey in the Redoubt. But that was not to say that the trip hadn’t been a confusing one.
Many intersections loomed along the way, most of which were unfamiliar even to Tristan and Wigg. The haunting ocean sounds whirling through the connecting chambers were confusing, forcing Wigg and Jessamay to use the craft to decide down which of the various tunnels they should travel. The last time Tristan and Wigg had come here they had been forced to descend a narrow circular stairway that hemmed them in on both sides. Tristan feared no man or the blade he carried, but tight spaces bothered him greatly. He badly wanted to leave this claustrophobic tunnel and set sail over the Azure Sea, for his destiny lay there and he would not be denied.
Wigg could sense Tristan’s restlessness to get moving, but the wizard remained apprehensive. Something tugged at his senses-something to do with the craft. The feeling had become stronger as he neared the tunnel exit. Perhaps it is the Ones’ spell, he guessed as he pondered the matter.
Wigg looked behind him to see the other Conclave members standing there. Farther down the tunnel, endless hordes of Minion warriors stood bunched together as far as the eye could see. Many more Minions still followed the trek’s strange path, their extended lines perhaps reaching as far back as the waterfall chamber.
Wigg could imagine Ox still trying to control the eager warriors with little at his command save his booming voice. Perhaps more than any of them, Ox would want to be here, standing beside hisJin’Sai. As Wigg looked down the tunnel, the millions of radiance stones in the ceiling added ghostly highlights to the warriors’ stern faces.
Tristan had been right about one thing, Wigg realized. Trying to move so many warriors through these tunnels was creating a monstrous logjam. They badly needed to exit onto the sandy beach, where everyone could get some breathing room. Still, something gnawed at the old wizard’s well-known sense of danger.
Standing just behind the Conclave, Taredd, Rhun, Arron, and Rafal had discharged their duties well and carried the two Black Ships without incident. At Wigg’s order the dark wooden crates had been set down on the tunnel floor. One crate still held the last of the precious subtle matter.
Tristan’s impatience was starting to overcome him, and he knew that Scars, Tyranny, Astrid, Phoebe, and Jessamay were also eager to walk out onto the beach. He gave Wigg a questioning look.
“Why are we waiting?” he asked. “We have arrived without difficulty. We must proceed!”
Wigg pursed his lips as he again looked out the tunnel exit. “There’s something strange out there,” he said, half to himself, “something more than the Azure Sea. There is a craft presence here that is eerily familiar yet also foreign.”
“Can you tell what it is?” Tristan asked.
Wigg shook his head. “Only that the craft is at work,” he answered.
The First Wizard glanced over Tristan’s shoulder, and he beckoned Jessamay to come forward. The sorceress squeezed through the crowd to stand with Tristan and Wigg. The First Wizard gave her a searching look.
“Do you sense anything unusual?” he asked.
Jessamay closed her eyes. When she opened them, a look of confusion crossed her face.
“I do,” she answered, “but it’s faint. How long have you sensed it?”
“For the last quarter hour,” Wigg replied.
Jessamay smiled. “Your gifts were always stronger than mine,” she said. “Had you not asked me to search it out I might have missed it altogether.”
“Can you identify it?” Wigg asked.
Jessamay narrowed her eyes while testing her gifts. “Sometimes the sensation feels like partly cloaked blood. But it changes from one moment to the next-it ebbs and flows much like the sea lying before us.”
Wigg nodded. “Exactly,” he said. “Would you care to hazard a guess about what it might be? I want us in agreement before we depart this tunnel.”
Jessamay thought for a moment. “I believe it is the spell that the Ones left behind to force the ocean sounds through these many passageways,” she finally answered. “It must be that because of the way it ebbs and flows. Otherwise I cannot say.”
Wigg again turned to look out the tunnel and toward the tempting sea. Its sounds still called to him, but now he was so close that it was impossible to say whether it was the sea that he heard, or the spell left behind by the Ones.
Jessamay must be right, he decided. Her analysis makes sense. Still…
> Wigg turned to look at Rhun. “Bring me the crate containing the subtle matter,” he ordered. Rhun immediately came forward with one crate and placed it at the wizard’s feet.
“What are you doing?” Tristan asked.
“If Jessamay and I are wrong, I want the subtle matter with me,” Wigg answered. “The two ships can be replaced if need be. The subtle matter cannot.”
Wigg called the craft and pointed a bony finger at the crate. Soon the crate started to glow and the leather belts surrounding it unbuckled themselves and slumped downward. Wigg used the craft to slowly open the crate’s sides and lower them gently to the floor.
TheEphyra sat in her miniaturized cradle, still twinkling with subtle matter. By way of the craft, a glass vial containing the subtle matter had been attached to the ship’s cradle. The jar was about half full of the strange, twinkling material. Wigg reached down and freed it from its resting place.
Before his group had departed the palace, Tristan had watched as Wigg and Faegan transferred the subtle matter into the flat vial. They had then attached a stout leather cord to the vial’s top. The First Wizard now placed the cord around his neck, allowing the vial to fall to his chest, hidden beneath his gray robe. A faint outline of the vial could be seen, but it would hardly be noticed unless one knew what to look for.
Then Tristan saw something unexpected. A smaller glass vial containing still more subtle matter had been attached to the inside of the crate. Before he could ask Wigg about it, the wizard employed the craft to close and secure the crate with its leather straps.
Tristan scowled. “I saw a second vial,” he said. He turned and pointed at the other crate that stood among the warriors. “Does that crate have one inside it too?”
“It does,” Wigg answered. “Faegan and I fitted each crate with one before we left the palace.”
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