by Ryan Kirk
Ren must have seen the unspoken question on his face, because he continued, his voice lower now. “Regar hasn’t informed you?”
Brandt shook his head.
Ren let out a long breath. “I suppose you’ll learn soon enough. You come at a time when much is in doubt. Our elders argue constantly, and the Falari are nearly split evenly into two groups.”
Beside him, Ana leaned in closer to hear what Ren said.
Ren continued. “There are many who believe we must wage endless war against your land. Others, like those who live in this village, have chosen a different path. We do not attack the empire. Our goal is to improve through training and the development of our martial arts.”
Some part of a larger plan unfolded in Brandt’s imagination. “That’s why you allowed Regar to win.”
Ren nodded. “Our trials were mostly for show. They are required for one who isn’t a warleader to speak to an elder, but we only sought to challenge, not to defeat.”
“You hope for peace, don’t you?” Ana asked.
“Not an imperial peace, no.”
Brandt frowned, confused again. “Why not?”
Ren gestured around the table. “Everyone here is willing and able to take up a sword when needed. Most would defeat the average imperial soldier.”
Brandt conceded the point.
“Peace is only possible when one is prepared for war. Your empire is not prepared. It rots at the core. We do not want your ways polluting ours.”
“So why let us in?”
“Being prepared for war doesn’t mean that war must be waged. We hope that Regar will help the other warleaders and elders see that. A larger threat looms on the horizon, and it’s there we must focus our attention.”
“You know about the Lolani?” Brandt asked.
“We do. Some among us hope the Lolani will cleanse the land of the empire. But in this town, we recognize the danger for what it is. The will of the people rests on the edge of a knife, though. That is why I’ll be among your escort tomorrow.”
“You expect trouble?”
Ren nodded. “Once those who oppose us realize Regar is here and journeying toward the elders, I believe they will attack.”
Brandt ate in silence for some time. He’d never thought the Falari would be so divided. Though he knew they acted as war parties, it had never occurred to him some of those war parties might wish for peace.
That night, they returned to the same home they’d had the night before. The family welcomed them in, although this night there was no music. That suited Brandt just fine. His head still spun with new thoughts.
He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Between the higher altitude and the afternoon full of training, he was exhausted.
That night, he woke to the sound of a single bell pealing in the darkness. He came to his feet in a heartbeat, and his sword was in hand a moment later. Was this the trap part of him had always expected?
He went to the door as he heard footsteps approaching. Brandt swung it open, sword ready.
The whole family stood in the hallway. The father and mother were armed with the short, curved swords common among the Falari. The children all held knives, and they looked ready to use them.
Brandt took in the family in a moment. They were uncertain.
They thought Brandt meant to attack.
And he didn’t speak their language.
A memory of the training hall returned to him.
Warriors didn’t need words.
The safe approach was to keep the family at bay.
But they’d welcomed him into their home.
In a single smooth motion he sheathed his sword and stepped away from them.
He remained ready to draw again if it was necessary, but his action confused the parents. They had expected him to attack.
Behind him, Ana called for him. He turned to look at her. She was pointing out their window at something he couldn’t see. She seemed worried.
“It’s fire. The town is under attack.”
20
Alena woke well before the dawn the next morning. Her night had been long and largely restless. Whenever she fell into sleep, a fresh nightmare ambushed her. First it was the cold emptiness of the void she didn’t understand. Then it was visions of Jace, dead on a battlefield littered as far as the eye could see with corpses. Finally it became a variation of her last attempt to explore the gate, twisting and bending her soul in ways it would never recover from.
When she woke from that last nightmare she felt the twisting deep in her stomach. She saw little point in trying to sleep again. Her mind roiled with images she’d rather forget.
She slipped from the tent without disturbing Jace’s slumber. He slept with the same enthusiasm he lived his days with. Jace’s snoring threatened to collapse their tent while they slept inside. Already Sooni was half-joking about moving the siblings’ tent nearer to some mortal enemy for the evenings.
Alena walked until her brother’s snoring faded into the background, until all she heard were the crickets and the sound of the wind through the tall grass. She made herself a comfortable place to lie and watched the constellations lazily spin overhead.
They didn’t make her drowsy, but they did bring her a sense of peace. No matter what happened to her, the stars would shine on. Her life, for all that had happened, meant little when one considered the whole of history, and she always found that thought peaceful.
When the sun rose on the new day, she heard footsteps behind her. She sat up and saw Toren approach. He sat down beside her and offered her a cup of tea. She gratefully accepted it.
“How did you find me?”
“I could feel you.” His tone was matter-of-fact.
Alena frowned a bit at that. She didn’t understand the full extent of his abilities yet, but he seemed quite sensitive to soulwalking. One question troubled her, though. No one would have judged him for putting all this behind him. “Why join me today?”
“Curiosity.”
She smiled a little at that. Curiosity had nearly destroyed her life once. More than most, she understood its irresistible pull.
Toren wasn’t particularly verbose, even by Etari standards. But she trusted him. He’d caught her when she fell, supported her with Dunne, and brought her tea.
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
Alena sipped at the last bit of her tea. “Well, shall we?”
Yes.
They stood and returned to the tents. They found Jace, who had mercifully woken up, and together they approached the center of Cardon.
Alena’s stomach rumbled, both out of fear and hunger. But after her experience yesterday she didn’t think working with the gate on a full stomach was a wise choice. Toren, it seemed, agreed. The tea would suffice until they were done for the day.
Jace reached the center tent first, holding the flap aside for her to enter. The sight of the broken gate almost stopped her in her tracks.
The gates represented opportunity. Hanns believed as much, and one would be a fool not to realize the possibilities inherent in such power. But they presented a danger as well. Power without control, without understanding, was as dangerous to the wielder as to the wielder’s enemies.
Her legs carried her into the tent. The gate glowed, and she felt the power in the room.
The small group took time to prepare. They had nothing to gain by haste. Alena checked her connections with Toren and with Jace. Then she reached out and connected with the gate.
As always, the power was indescribable. Her imagination painted it as a river, impossibly wide, deep, and fast. She rode on top of the power, dragging Toren with her. When she felt enough control, she shaped the landscape with her imagination. She brought them to the plains of Etar, a place they both felt comfortable.
Toren gained his bearings with surprising speed. He stood and looked around. “Are we in the gate?”
Alena shook her head. “I don’t think so. Connected, but no
t in.”
Toren looked into the sky. He flexed his muscles and jumped. His leap took him forty or fifty paces high, but he landed softly. He saw her staring. “Imagination and will, right?”
She shook her head. His actions had never occurred to her.
She let him explore for a bit. He ran like the wind and created balls of flame in his hand. While he was otherwise distracted, Alena studied their surroundings. Her mindscape existed on top of the power of the gate, like a boat carried down by a swift current. She was connected, but that connection was weak, almost superficial.
Alena allowed her memories to pull her back to when they’d first encountered the Lolani queen. That environment had felt different. That wasn’t this. That was control over a gate. Command.
She suspected that any problems with the gate required a deeper connection to uncover. Which meant diving into that terrifying current instead of riding on top. She’d pulled Brandt out of that current before. It had almost killed him.
But she didn’t see a choice. She kept the Etari in the front of her mind. Without answers, they would fall.
She caught Toren’s attention. “I want you to imagine a place you feel very comfortable in.”
She felt him trying and let him overwhelm her. Once again they were by the sea. Alena nodded. This place would do. It felt solid underneath her feet. Toren had control over it, which might be needed. “I want you to anchor me.”
“From here?”
Yes. “I’m going to try to connect more deeply with the gate. I’m not sure how I’ll manage once I’m within. If you feel like I’m in danger of losing my life, I want you to pull me out.”
He signed his acceptance. In his hand a thin but strong line appeared. She held out her wrist and waited for him to tie it tight. He did, and she felt his emotion through the bond. His feelings were as calm as a mountain lake. “You don’t seem terribly concerned.”
He signed indifference. “I will do what I can. The results are beyond my control.”
She wished she felt some of that same calm. It would do her good now, when her focus was needed.
There was no point in delaying. Every moment she waited was one more where second thoughts threatened her confidence. Taking a deep breath, she dropped through the surface of Toren’s world and into the powerful energy underneath.
It slammed into her, pulling her like a fish caught on a line. Power filled every muscle and bone in her body. Her skin burned as it threatened to explode.
Her first instinct was to control it, to try to hold it within herself. But her body was weak, a vessel poked full of holes ready to burst.
Let it flow through you.
The voice was that of a woman, one Alena had never heard before.
She couldn’t, though. The idea of letting that amount of power flow through her was tantamount to suicide. No living being could endure the onslaught of energy.
Stop fighting!
She wouldn’t. Fighting meant survival, and she wouldn’t surrender.
But she was losing the battle.
Moment by moment, the strength of the gate filled her closer to bursting. For this task, she wasn’t enough.
She searched for the way back but couldn’t find one. Forces beyond comprehension filled her mind. She couldn’t find her ties to Jace or Toren, blinded by the energies surrounding her.
There was nothing she could do.
Except surrender.
Lacking all other options, Alena gave up. She closed her eyes, stopped fighting, and let the current wash over her. Her heart felt as though it would go first, pumping faster than any heart ever had. Every hair on her skin sizzled, thousands of pinpricks of agony stabbing into her.
And then it passed.
She figured she was dead. It was the only explanation for such peace. She opened her eyes, fully expecting to see death’s gate, as she had before.
But she didn’t. She perceived only a milky whiteness. She imagined it like flying through a very thick cloud. Her whole body felt as though it were in motion, although she couldn’t see as much with her eyes.
She wasn’t controlling the flow of power, but had become part of it.
The longer she spent in the space, the further her vision resolved. She reminded herself that none of this was real. It was her mind trying to make sense of a vast power. She floated along the currents, completely at peace. There was a sense of correctness here, of things being exactly the way they should be.
She closed her eyes and relaxed more deeply. Time lost meaning, and she wondered if it even passed in this place.
Eventually, she opened her eyes again. Instead of the fog she’d encountered before, she was greeted with a vast web of connections. She recognized it immediately. This was a soulwalk on a completely different scale. The web stretched forever. The immensity of it defied comprehension. Thousands and thousands of connections. Perhaps all of them.
But some were brighter than others. She counted five.
The gates.
Turning her attention to them was a slow process. Her mind didn’t react with its customary swiftness. Even shifting her attention felt like an effort from a legendary story.
As she studied the gates, two facts became apparent. The first was that they stood outside the web of interconnectedness that bound all living creatures.
But they shared another connection. All five were linked to something else, the heart of the whole web.
What was it?
Even connected to the power of the gate, she perceived the heart as something immense. If the strength of the gates strained her imagination, this broke it completely. It was the source of the gates’ power.
When she understood that connection, Alena also saw the problem, the reason why the Etari gate was failing. Three of the five gates drew immense power from the source. Two of those three shared another bond, providing Alena another clue. Those were the gates Hanns was connected to. She assumed the third was the Lolani queen’s.
They were pulling too much from the source, choking the life from the other two.
But perhaps Alena could fix that.
She looked to the two gates that were more closely connected, then sought the thread which bound them. Like everything in this place, the process seemed to take forever. But her patience was rewarded. She found a single point of light that connected the two gates.
Hanns.
She reached out to him.
In a flash, the scene changed. She was sitting once again in her mother’s kitchen, the smell of freshly baked bread filling her nose. Hanns sat across from her, slack-jawed and open-eyed. He took in the scene in an instant, then fixed his gaze on her. “This should be impossible.”
Alena shrugged. She didn’t fully understand herself. But she had wanted to talk to Hanns, and once she had found him, her mind had shaped the power.
His stare was hard, reminding her that though he didn’t demand formality from her, he was still her emperor. He wasn’t a man others summoned.
Unsure how long this audience would last, Alena skipped the polite formalities. “The Etari gate is dying, and I think I know why.”
It took Hanns a few heartbeats to put everything together. “You’re at their gate, aren’t you? That’s how you did this.”
A hunger came into his eyes, one she hadn’t seen there before.
It frightened her.
But she wouldn’t lie, not unless she saw no other option. She’d learned that lesson the hard way. “I am. And it’s dying. Do you know that all the gates draw from the same source?”
Hanns didn’t react at first, but his gaze never left her face. “Anders I left information which implied as much.”
The confession rocked Alena. She realized that she might understand as much, or more, about the gates as the emperor himself. “Do you know what the source is?”
Again, Hanns didn’t answer immediately. She knew his mind was churning, but to what end she couldn’t guess. “I am not sure. Anders I believed that i
t might be the planet itself.”
“The planet?” Alena couldn’t figure out how she felt about the idea. “How could the planet generate so much power?”
This question Hanns answered quickly, as though he’d already decided something. “I don’t know, but I don’t find it hard to believe. This planet has the power to raise mountains, or to cause volcanoes to erupt. Is it so hard to imagine the gates tap that vast power?”
Alena wasn’t sure what to think, but she felt her anger rising.
Secrets dominated the empire.
How could Hanns know so much and not share it? How much better could she have helped the Etari if she knew half of what Hanns did? “That would have been nice to know.”
He grunted at that. “Knowledge is the most dangerous of weapons, and it can wound its wielder with surprising ease. These are secrets for a reason.”
Alena didn’t miss the hint of threat in the statement. But she refused to bow to his pressure. This was about the Etari, not about his own precious secrets.
“You and the Lolani queen are pulling too much power. It’s preventing this gate from working the way it should. Can you draw less?”
A long silence settled over the table. They had come to the crux of the matter.
“No.”
His answer had a ring of finality to it, little different than if he had given an official command.
But Alena wouldn’t let it go. “It’s causing the Etari gatestones to fail. And if they fail, the Etari won’t be able to protect themselves. This gate is their lifeblood.”
Hanns’ tone was surprisingly harsh. “And why should I care about the Etari? My concern is the empire.” He swept his hand over the kitchen they were in. “Would you rather I worry about protecting your parents, or sacrificing the empire’s safety for the Etari? Because you can’t have both!”
His verbal assault rocked her back, leaving her speechless. Her mouth opened and closed, but nothing came from it.
Hanns stood up. His anger, brief as it was, had vanished. “I’m sorry, Alena. I have nothing but respect for the Etari. But I have my own people to protect, and they must take priority.”
