Her eyes bored into his and the pain he had tried to suppress exploded back into his mind like a knife.
“Gods!” he cursed, and nearly lost his balance as the wave of vertigo hit him. Nausea enveloped him and it was all he could do to stay upright and keep from vomiting.
Then, as suddenly as it had hit him, it was gone.
Thannis opened his eyes and stared at the wall he was leaning against. Why had he stopped? He couldn’t quite remember. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind. He needed to get moving; people would notice some idiot huddled against a wall.
As subtly as he could, Thannis faked a cough and cleared his throat, pretending he had swallowed a bug. Performance done, he moved on and merged once again with the flow of the crowd moving down the street.
Soon he was at the doors of the Academy’s Research Wing, his episode on the street forgotten.
“Can you inform Denis Beau’Chant that his cousin has arrived?” Thannis said to the young clerk sitting behind the guard’s desk.
“Lord Beau’Chant did not make me aware that he was expecting visitors today,” the young clerk interjected.
“I’m sure he did not, as this is a rather unexpected visit. But I assure you, Cousin Dennis will be very excited to see me.” Thannis smiled.
“And, sir, who may I say is here to see him?” The clerk had a rather sceptical eyebrow raised. Dennis was rather infamous for his reclusive ways. Visitors would be a rarity.
“Tell him his cousin, Thannis Euchre, is here to see him,” he replied. It was an easy lie, for they really did have a cousin named Thannis Euchre. A distant relative of enough importance that it would force Dennis to tear himself away from whatever book or experiment he was currently engaged in. Ignoring a family member at a respected establishment like the Academy would be too much of a slight even for Dennis.
The clerk nodded appropriately, but Thannis knew the young man must still be sceptical. Before long, however, the clerk came back, and the look on Dennis’s face was absolutely priceless.
“Thannis …” Dennis stuttered.
“Euchre,” Thannis interposed before Dennis could ruin everything. “Yes, I know my visit is unexpected, but the family has heard such good things about your research. I just had to come and see what you do for myself.”
“They have? You did?” Dennis was staring at him as if he were an Onai demon which had just invited itself in for tea.
“Of course, cousin. You set a tremendous example. For one of the royal line to commit himself so selflessly to the pursuit of science, well, it is truly commendable.” Thannis was laying it on thick for the clerk’s benefit, who, having heard his sycophantic tirade, had promptly begun to ignore them and had returned to reading the book he had been engrossed in before his arrival.
“Well, yes, I suppose it is commendable.” Dennis had recovered from his shock and was trying to play along. “You must have travelled a long way, cousin. Let me show you to a guest room. Frederique! A key to one of the guest rooms. Second floor to your liking, cousin?”
The clerk nearly fell out of his chair at Dennis’s tone, but retrieved the key promptly enough.
“That will do perfectly.” Thannis smiled. He liked Dennis: reliable, intelligent, and eager to please. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to kill him. It was such a shame when family had to be dealt with.
Dennis led him up to his room to deposit his suitcase, and waited by the door, obviously not sure whether to interrogate his surprise visitor, or run.
“Step inside and close the door,” Thannis said.
Dennis complied, but he watched him with suspicion. Dennis was a Beau’Chant after all, and only five steps removed from the throne. “May I ask to what I owe the pleasure of your company, cousin?”
“So very polite, Dennis. Now, now. I know I’ve surprised you, but you needn’t be so formal. We grew up together, didn’t we?” Thannis grinned, watching Dennis for his reaction.
“Yes …” Dennis hesitated. “That we did. Which is part of why it never crossed my mind as even a possibility that you would ever want to come and see me.”
“Was it so bad, cousin?” Thannis mocked with a pouting face. “Growing up in one of the wealthiest estates in all of Salucia must have been absolute torture.”
Dennis sneered as much as he dared. “You and I have very different views of our time together I think.”
“Ah,” Thannis said, “it seems you’ve grown more of a backbone away from home.”
Dennis sighed and shook his head. “What do you want?”
Thannis dropped his mocking tone. “Believe it or not, Dennis, I actually do think your work here is commendable. When we were growing up, you were completely oblivious to how to gain allies at court, or how to navigate even the simplest social environments. I had to, of course, ridicule you with the others and distance myself from you, quite often taking the lead in such matters. You were essentially poison within our social circles and, at the time, you had next to nothing to offer me. Secretly, however, I too have a love of science, though I knew, given our families’ connections and alliances, that I could not brazenly display this lack of respect for the Singer order or divest myself from family interests. Not publicly, that is. So, while you were blind to the advantages your station offered, I do think your pursuit of science is commendable.”
Dennis's face had shown a reflection of confusion, pain, then shame, anger, and finally disbelief. “You really came here to ask me about my research?”
“Partly.” Thannis smiled. “But you haven’t been completely listening. I have given a false last name, so I am not here in an official capacity. No one, and I mean no one, is to know that the Prince of Nothavre is here.” He fixed Dennis with a stare. “And you will keep that secret as if your life depended on it. Understood?”
“Yes, Thannis,” Dennis said.
The slight annoyance Dennis had showed towards Thannis was gone now, and he was satisfied that his cousin was properly cowed.
“Good.” Thannis smiled and clapped Dennis on the shoulder, making him flinch. “Now, why don’t you show me this research that you’ve thrown your title away for?”
“Really?” Dennis shook his head.
“Well, if I’m going to be working with you, I’ll need you to fill me in on the details, won’t I?” He guided Dennis out of the door.
“Working with – ?” Dennis started, but then thought better of it before continuing, “The Professor won’t like this.”
“I suppose it’ll be our job to make him like it then, won’t it?” Thannis grinned. “Lead the way.”
“Right.” Dennis sighed and shook his head. “Follow me.”
Before long they had navigated a labyrinth of hallways and were somewhere below ground level when Dennis finally stopped in front of a large set of wooden doors.
“Professor Attridge is known to be blunt and quite miserable to most people, so be prepared for poor manners. He is, however, one of the greatest minds in Salucia.”
“I know who he is,” Thannis said, “and I am pleasantly surprised at your choice of mentor. I have read several of his papers on santsi capacitance, and his theories on the dynamics of siphoning.”
Dennis looked at him in wonder. “All that time growing up. How could you have faked your disinterest all that time?”
“People see what I mean them to see,” Thannis replied, forcibly ending that line of questioning. “Now, let us find the Professor so you can introduce me.”
As they entered the cavernous room beyond the wooden doors, Thannis had to let himself smile. A multitude of oil lamps lined the great ceiling and lit the room with a steady yellow light. The soft glow illuminated row upon row of shelves containing the most complete set of scientific equipment he had ever seen. Glassware of every description, metal clockworks, copper vats, jars filled with everything from catalogued minerals to animal parts, and dozens upon dozens of contraptions whose use he could not even guess.
Yes, this is wher
e science truly came to life. He had come to the right place and could feel it right to his core. It was almost like stepping out of a dream and finding yourself where you always should have been.
“Your father was an idiot if he could not see the potential in what you were pursuing. In fact, too many in Nothavre have become infatuated with their own entitlement and lack of progress.” Thannis snarled, “They would be content to stagnate and become obsolete as long as the status quo was upheld. Sickening.”
Dennis smiled at that, as Thannis knew he would. Thannis wanted his cousin’s loyalty, as it would make his charade much easier to maintain. Letting his cousin think he had a hidden ally all those years as kids was a good start. Though Dennis would no doubt need his ego stroked several more times before subservience was assured.
Thannis did actually believe a bit of what he had said this time. He did see how petty and delusional the aristocracy had become. Their complacency and blindness to the real world had been a major reason why that barbarian, and now High King, Ronaston had ridden roughshod over them and forced Nothavre into joining his Salucian Union.
Dennis led them to the back of the laboratory, where recent experiments still sat in their apparatus upon benches. Within one such contraption was the most perfect santsi globe Thannis had ever seen.
Golden wire, thin as a spider’s thread, hung down from a series of clockworks and entered the globe, which was pulsing with light. Professor Attridge was bent over the high bench, absorbed in what looked like delicate work.
“Dennis. Where have you been? I needed an extra set of hands half an hour ago. Gods take you, get over here,” the Professor ordered.
Thannis put his hand on Dennis’s chest and winked at his cousin. “Allow me,” he said with a smile. He walked to stand beside the old man and dutifully took the shining dark blue mineral that was offered to him.
“Put this in the discharge bracket.” Professor Attridge didn’t look up as he wound a thin golden filament around one of the many copper pegs in front of him.
Thannis smiled and took a closer look at the apparatus. A bracket directly opposite the santsi globe had a spot in which the strange mineral in his hand would fit. He went to the other side of the bench and looked at the instruments available.
“This is covellite,” he said, somewhat shocked. Covellite had incredible conductive abilities but was extremely hard to find. The size of the chunk in his hand would be worth a small kingdom in the right circles.
“Of course it is,” Professor Attridge scoffed, still not looking up. Thannis could see that the Professor had a series of magnifying lenses on one side of his glasses, which partially explained why he had not been noticed yet. “Stop gawking at the size of it. Came in just this morning and I want to see if it increases the accuracy of our readings from this new globe. It should tell us the truth about whether we have finally made a santsi which can hold charge indefinitely.”
That sparked Thannis’s interest. He placed the covellite into the bracket and turned the golden receptor screws until they held the mineral in place.
Professor Attridge glanced up quickly at Thannis’s work, having finished whatever it was he had been working on. “Good, now go and get the charged santsi so we can transfer the charge to this new one.”
“No need, Professor,” Thannis said, his eyes now drawn to the central santsi globe, “I can be of assistance.” He looked to the large fire burning in the hearth, just a few metres away, and then placed his fingers gently upon the santsi within the apparatus. He took a breath, closed his eyes and began to siphon, feeling the chaotic energy billowing forth from the fire begin to coalesce around his hand, to then be pulled inside him. The familiar tingle and numbness surged through him and Thannis pushed it through himself and into the santsi.
His eyes shot open as he felt the energy leave and enter the santsi almost effortlessly. The size of the void within this globe was so much greater than anything he had ever felt before.
Thannis regained his focus and increased the flow from the fire, watching the flames begin to lick towards his hand. The flow within him increased and was pushed into the globe with no more resistance than before. “Incredible,” he said, “how much can … ?” He trailed off and decided to see for himself; and as he did, an idea began to take shape in his mind.
Without thinking about the consequences, he opened himself up fully to his siphoning, allowing as much to pour into him as possible. The fire billowed outwards from the hearth and was sucked straight into his outstretched fingers. Pain blossomed as the energy started to burn within him, but Thannis just smiled, because the globe was taking all of it.
He tried to pull harder, sensing the latent energy within the room around him, within the air, the bricks, down into the vast but sluggish store within the earth beneath him. He pulled it all to him, everything he could find. He felt the fire wink out and the water in the air begin to crystallise as it turned to snow around his hand. And still the globe took it, drinking in everything he could push through him. The light within the santsi pulsed with a brilliant blue-white glow, like a tiny sun had come into existence within the small lab.
Thannis’s arms shook and then went numb; he couldn’t pull any more. The energy was too far away, there was too much resistance. He finally had to stop, clenching his teeth against the pain. But pain was just a feeling – and Thannis pushed it away and forced himself to move. He put his hand against the frost coating the wall of the chimney flue, and sighed as the icy coldness touched his fingers.
“Incredible,” Professor Attridge whispered as he watched the dial on a small capacitance meter. “You’ve pushed more energy into the santsi than the combined effort of the four other siphoners we employ. What is your name, young man?”
Thannis needed a moment before he could speak, trying to absorb as much of the cold that he had conjured into his tingling fingertips. “Thannis. I’m a distant cousin of Dennis’s, and I was hoping to follow in his footsteps in the pursuit of scientific discovery.”
Professor Attridge was scribbling in his notebook, only half paying attention to Thannis’s words. “Dennis, check the decay rate readout. We should be getting a reading with that much energy in the globe.”
Dennis had been staring at Thannis for a long moment, in awe of his cousin’s display of siphoning, but the Professor’s voice made him jump to his task. “You’re going to want to see this, sir,” Dennis said with a slightly dumbstruck look.
Professor Attridge snatched up his notebook from the bench and shuffled over to look at the meter Dennis was attending to. “Check the connections. We’ve seen faulty wires or loose connections give false positives before. Go over everything.”
Dennis embarked on a frantic but what looked like practiced series of checks on the apparatus. The professor tapped the meter gently with his quill before once again noticing Thannis.
“A distant cousin, you say, coming here to help Dennis? I thought the Beau’Chants and their ilk detested all this science and dark magic business we do. They essentially disowned Dennis for following his passion. Why the sudden interest?” Professor Attridge stared sceptically at him.
“To be honest, sir, I’m here under false pretences.” Thannis gave a placating gentle smile. “I am meant to be visiting the Oratorio, for spiritual fulfilment and education. At least, that’s what the paperwork I had sent to my family expresses.” He watched the Professor swallow his lie. “After what they did to Dennis, I have to be cautious, lest I be equally besmirched.”
“I see.” The Professor narrowed his eyes.
“I can’t find anything, Professor,” Dennis said, having completed his circuit of checks, “but I can check each of the wires if you need me to.”
“No, that’s alright, Dennis. I checked them all this morning, they should be fine.” The Professor put his quill down and tapped the meter one more time. “Zero decay. We’ll need to try some more tests, but we may have just created a santsi which can hold a massive charge indefinitel
y.”
Dennis was practically buzzing. “This will change the world, sir!”
“Yes, Dennis, I think it will.” Professor Attridge let a small smile slip through his critical features, and then looked Thannis up and down. “You want a job, huh? I can’t pay you much.”
“I’ll work for room and board, sir.” Thannis nodded as he focused on playing the role of eager student, but in truth he did not have to try very hard to maintain his enthusiasm. He was genuinely excited. A santsi globe which held the amount of energy he had pushed into it indefinitely? That was truly remarkable. His mind was already racing. Dennis was right, this would be a giant technological shift forward. It would change the world, yet Thannis had some very unique applications in mind. “And I would be willing to use whatever assets I can acquire to help fund this research.”
Dennis’s eyebrows shot up at that.
“Is that so?” The Professor eyed him again. “Seems suspect, but I’ll not argue that you’ve got a talent we could sorely use. And any ties to Beau’Chant money would certainly go a long way.”
“I have but one humble request.” Thannis was practically salivating at the prospect.
Professor Attridge huffed, “I see, put your money on the table and suddenly there are conditions. Go on then, what is this request?”
“That a large proportion of my assets be put into the production of more santsi like this one.” Thannis pointed to the glowing sphere on the bench.
“Not to worry,” Professor Attridge chuckled, “I was thinking the same thing. Now, tell me what you’ve studied.”
For the next few hours he was grilled on his scientific background, what he had read, what sort of experience he had and the like. Most of what he said was true, apart from where he had been trained, of course, and Dennis corroborated his entire story.
By the end of the day he was set to work, draining the energy from the new experimental santsi globe and then refilling it to double check readouts and test for any energy decay. He happily set to the work, and despite being exhausted once it was all over, his mind was ablaze with what this meant for his own brand of research. He knew he needed to get his hands on one of these santsi globes as soon as he could, because, if he was right, these santsi would hold the energy he fed on during a kill. He would be able to keep that delicious cocktail of ecstasy indefinitely.
Visions: Knights of Salucia - Book 1 Page 32
