Five cycles ago he’d decided that he would never deny the truth. Whenever his students had gathered the courage to ask about his past and the accusations against him, Tyen had told them everything. The good and the bad. His regrets as well as his successes.
He’d expected to never work with Baluka again, or any of the Restorers’ future leaders. They would make sure his betrayals would be remembered. But he hadn’t anticipated that Qall would take over. Or that someone would create a machine army capable of killing entire worlds, giving them reason to give me another chance.
Because he’d done it entirely out of ignorance and self-interest, having brought mechanical magic into the worlds bothered his conscience more than his past lies and betrayals. If he could do anything to stop Kettin, he would, even if it meant facing the anger of the people he’d deceived. If all it took to solve the machine problem was an apology, he would ask their forgiveness over and over for centuries to come.
Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. He would approach this with the same policy of honesty he had with his students, though it wouldn’t be as simple as answering questions whenever they arose. He’d need to clear the air before any discussions of the machine army began.
But I will not accept censure for anything I did not do, he told himself. If they don’t believe me… well, Qall can see my mind. He can correct them. In fact, with Qall there he might even have a chance at establishing the truth. It was worth trying, anyway.
He reached out and took Rielle’s hand. “Let’s go.”
She smiled, squeezed his hand, then pushed out of the world.
Despite his determination, in every world that Rielle took him through, the tension and dread in Tyen increased. Even the touch of her hand grasping his could not distract or comfort him. While the physical manifestations of these feelings disappeared whenever they were between worlds, each time Rielle stopped in a world to breathe, his stomach twisted and sank a little more. This wasn’t helped when guards began to note their passing at arrival places. Most only recognised Rielle, but now and then one looked at her companion and thought they knew him despite Tyen having changed his hair and skin colour for the journey. He and Rielle did not stay long enough to know if they worked out who he was, and he wondered what would happen if someone did.
He began to consider changing his appearance more. It was a trick he was not well practised at, despite his former role as a spy. Doing so had always disturbed him, so he’d always relied on his ability to travel quickly to outrun anyone who recognised him and was bold enough to follow. His instinct to avoid it had been validated when Rielle had warned that ageless sorcerers could slowly lose track of what they originally looked like as the years passed.
“We’re here,” Rielle said.
Tyen looked around, immediately noting how closely the guards were inspecting him, having been forewarned that the Spy would be with her when she returned. Rielle nodded at them to indicate all was well, and they relaxed. She led Tyen out of the arrival place and down the wide streets of a serene city, its buildings surrounded by well-tended gardens. As they walked, Tyen shifted his appearance back to what he hoped was its normal state.
“This is it,” Rielle told him, waving towards a squat, non-descript building.
He stretched out his senses and confirmed what he had been told about the building: most of it lay underground. His senses also bumped up against minds alerted to their impending arrival. Baluka waited near the entrance with Hapre, former general of the rebel army, and through their minds he saw that Qall had just emerged from below to join them.
It was possible this meeting was a trap that only Qall knew of. Though Tyen believed it unlikely, he couldn’t help scanning all the minds he could read. He found none thinking about traps and most were immersed in whatever tasks they were doing, or avoiding in some cases.
“Are you ready?” Rielle asked when they reached the threshold, regarding him with one eyebrow raised.
He nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
She led the way through the open door. As Tyen followed, three figures stepped forward to greet him. Baluka was in the middle, a man he did not know walked to his right, and Hapre shadowed his left.
“Welcome, Tyen,” the stranger said. “Do you really not know me?”
Tyen blinked in surprise. The voice was familiar, and now that he looked closer he realised this was no stranger.
“Qall?”
Qall grinned. “Rielle knew me straight away. But then, she is an artist, so pays more attention to details.”
Tyen glanced at her. She wore a small smile. “I should have warned you,” she admitted. “But I’d forgotten he’d changed his appearance.”
Looking back at Qall, Tyen nodded. “I guess you can’t go around looking like…” Tyen paused as he realised Hapre did not know who the young man had once resembled.
“Valhan?” Qall finished. “No.”
“Well…” Tyen groped for an appropriate response. “The change looks very well on you.”
“Thank you,” Qall replied. He looked at his companions. “I don’t think I need to introduce Baluka and Hapre.”
“No.” Tyen turned to Hapre. “I have long wished for an opportunity to speak to you, Hapre, to explain, and apologise, in person.”
Her eyes widened a little. It wasn’t the greeting she had expected. Baluka had told her all he knew of Tyen’s motives for betraying the rebels and working with Dahli, but her anger towards him had never faded. Now it did, to her dismay.
“I look forward to it,” she replied.
As he turned to Baluka the man stepped closer and, to Tyen’s surprise, embraced him.
“You should have come back and told us,” Baluka said.
“I didn’t think you’d believe me,” Tyen replied, returning the embrace awkwardly.
“You switched to our side at the end of the battle with Dahli,” Baluka said. “Then left to rescue Rielle despite not knowing if Qall was Valhan or not.”
“I… guess.”
“Qall confirmed it later,” Baluka said, releasing Tyen. He squeezed Tyen’s arm. “I’ve missed you, old friend.”
“And I you,” Tyen mumbled, his throat suddenly tight. “And… well, I am sorry anyway. For everything I put you through.”
Qall placed one hand on Baluka’s shoulder and the other on Tyen’s. “Let’s continue to the meeting room.”
It was hard, for a moment, to comprehend that this confident man in charge of the situation had been the awkward teenager Tyen had tried to help five cycles ago. Living in Rielle’s world had matured him. Though from what Rielle had told him, her world would force any young outsider to grow up quickly.
Qall led the way towards a set of stairs, Baluka and Tyen either side of him, and Rielle and Hapre following behind. Rielle said something quietly, but Tyen couldn’t make out the words. Hapre murmured an assent, sounding amused, and he read from her mind that Rielle had asked if Tarren’s students were behaving.
They descended underground and arrived in a room furnished with several chairs surrounding a low table. The latter was covered with plates of food and a cluster of glasses beside a large pitcher. Everyone sat down, Qall indicating that Tyen should sit beside him.
“We should fill you in on everything we know,” Qall said. “But for that we’ll need something to wet our throats.” He looked at the pitcher and glasses, which were closest to Baluka, so the former Traveller began to measure out a portion of a dark green liquid for each of them. After these were handed around, Qall drew in a deep breath. “Where to begin?”
“Dahli,” Rielle replied.
“Yes. We should go over what we know. Dahli came to us more than a quarter-cycle ago asking for help,” Qall said. “His lover, Zeke, had disappeared, captured by machine makers. During Dahli’s search for Zeke he discovered worlds stripped of magic and life, and they led to a world filled with machines. While the machines did not wield great power individually, in the numbers he e
ncountered they were powerful enough to drive him away.
“We sent scouts to confirm if what he claimed was true. Some did not return.” He grimaced. “Those who did described worlds that had been emptied of people and magic, and evidence of mining for materials and the forging of parts for machines. They did not find the makers or the army. Then Rielle heard of a world only recently invaded. I sent her and two ageless sorcerers to investigate. She found a world still full of machines. A handful of inventors also remained, and from them she learned that their leader is known as Kettin. She also learned that Tarren’s school was under attack, so she hurried back to defend it.”
The young man glanced at Baluka. “We have also sought out mechanical magic inventors and learned that most have been killed or have disappeared. The few still alive have refused to help us.” He turned to face Tyen. “You are the only one who has agreed to.”
Tyen nodded. “I imagine they’re too frightened of Kettin and his followers.”
“Despite our offer to protect them,” Qall agreed. “Though they may change their minds when they hear you have joined us.”
“Or they may be more determined to stay away,” Tyen added wryly. “The machine makers of Liftre have threatened or punished every world I’ve tried to settle in.”
“And now you’ve settled in your own world,” Qall pointed out. “Are you confident of its safety?”
Tyen frowned. “Not completely. It was, until recently, so depleted of magic it was effectively a dead world. Rielle restored it at my request. The local sorcerers have much to learn. Only Tarren and the students I brought to it know how to travel between worlds.” And the Librarian, Tyen added silently. He mentioned that he returned to my world after travelling the worlds for a few hundred years or so. I must find time to talk to him and find out what he’s capable of. “The local sorcerers are proving to be unexpectedly strong, which I suspect is a result of being born in and training in a weak world.”
“I’ve noticed this effect too,” Rielle injected. “If the world I restore has been weak – but not dead – for a long time, the sorcerers tend to have a greater reach.” She shrugged. “I’ve not restored many worlds of that kind, though.”
Qall nodded. “This may prove relevant,” he said. “We gained some information about Kettin when one of our scouts returned a few days ago. She was born in one of these near-dead worlds you restored, Rielle.”
Her eyes widened. “So I released her from her world.” Then she frowned. “Kettin is a woman? That’s not what the inventors I found believed. Are you sure?”
“The scout was certain of it.” Qall glanced at Tyen. “It goes against what we know of these Liftre inventors. They tended to drive away women seeking to learn mechanical magic. She may be pretending to be a man whenever she is among the inventors or hiding the truth from all but a core group of followers, or she may even have learned pattern-shifting and changed to male. Either way, she would have to be powerful to hide the truth – and persuade them to teach her.”
“She may have already learned mechanical magic when she joined the Liftre sorcerers,” Tyen pointed out.
Hapre clicked her tongue. “Then the world she came from must have been restored early in the last five cycles, before the Liftre began discouraging schools from teaching mechanical magic.”
Tyen shook his head. “We can’t assume that. She may have learned outside a school. One of the recently killed teachers may have taught her. Or someone in hiding.”
“What matters more is why Kettin is destroying worlds and making so many machines,” Baluka told them. “Is she a conqueror? Is it revenge? Or is she only interested in selling or hiring machines in order to become wealthy?”
“We’ve not heard of anyone hiring the army or part of it,” Qall said. “I fear it is for her own use.”
“She may not be ready to sell or hire yet,” Rielle said. “Or start her conquest. She may be waiting until her army is larger, so she can keep control of wherever she invades.”
“Conquest is not the only reason to conquer worlds,” Baluka added. “She may only be interested in stealing a world’s riches.”
“Then why kill everyone?” Hapre asked.
“To ensure nobody tries to take them back, or seeks retribution.”
“Or to make room to transplant your own people there,” Qall said. “She does not stop the locals leaving, only slaughters those who remain. One of the many sorcerers who escaped and came to tell us what they’d witnessed told me that the killing was entirely impersonal, as if humans were a mere nuisance to be swept away. Another wondered if it was done to ensure nobody would interfere with the making of more machines. And one said he thought the killing was a trial run or test of mettle for her underlings.”
The room was briefly silent as all absorbed the horror behind these refugees’ ponderings. Baluka was the first to stir.
“We need to find out more about Kettin.”
Rielle nodded. “Not just her motives, but her strengths and weaknesses.”
“So, we send more scouts?” Hapre sighed. “We need to do more than that. We need information from inside her ranks. To get into the worlds where the machines are being stored.”
“If we’re going to attempt that, we may as well try to rescue Zeke,” Tyen said.
All turned to him. He smiled grimly. “He can tell us about Kettin and her followers, as well as what the newest machines are capable of. Perhaps how to disable them, too.”
Qall nodded. “If Kettin needs Zeke in order to invent new kinds of machines, she can’t be capable of doing it herself. Taking him away will weaken her.”
“She won’t be unaware of his importance,” Baluka warned. “He’ll be well guarded.”
“Of course he will be.” Rielle shrugged. “I didn’t say it would be easy.” She looked at Qall. “Dahli should be a part of the rescue.”
Qall nodded.
“Dahli.” Hapre scowled. “Must we? I don’t trust him.”
“I do when it comes to Zeke,” Qall said.
Rielle grimaced. “Much as I’d rather have nothing to do with him, he will resent us if we don’t include him in the rescue – especially if we fail and Zeke is harmed. Is he still here?”
“No,” Qall replied. “For obvious reasons, he is keeping out of sight. Only I have a way to contact him.” He looked at the others. “Who else will go?
“I will,” Rielle replied without hesitation.
Qall paused, then nodded.
“No,” Baluka protested. “I see the sense in Dahli going, but not you,” he said, turning to her. “You’re too important to risk.”
“I am vital to any rescue,” she countered. “Who is going to provide more magic when the machines take it all? It could be that the scouts who didn’t return simply ran out of magic.” She smiled humourlessly. “Remember, Kettin has told her people to avoid a confrontation with me.”
“You don’t know why,” Qall pointed out. “What if she wants to kill you herself?”
“I’ll go too,” Tyen said. “I can protect Rielle – against machines or Dahli, if he turns out to be bluffing.”
This time it was Qall who shook his head. “You are also important, Tyen. You are the expert on mechanical magic.”
“Not the only one,” Tyen replied. “I’ve taught most of what I know to my students. My world is full of sorcerers who understand it.” He chuckled. “I am realising even as I say this that I am far more expendable than I’d like to believe.”
“Not expendable to us,” Rielle told him. “I doubt we outsiders would have much success gaining the help of the Academy without you there.”
“Nevertheless, I ought to see these machine armies for myself.” Tyen met and held Qall’s gaze.
The young man didn’t look away. “If I order you to stay or go, will you?”
Tyen paused. A small shiver ran down his back. Qall was asking for Tyen to acknowledge and accept his leadership. A part of Tyen resisted. He had been independent for so lo
ng. Though he obeyed the Emperor of his world, he did so only because the alternative was much worse. Even if he wanted to conquer and rule his world – even if there was a bloodless way to do it – it was easier to work with the existing system. What Qall asked for was different. This meant serving not just Qall, but the Restorers.
“I will,” Tyen replied. “But only while this threat exists.”
Qall nodded. “I understand. Will you trust me to hold and protect Vella until you return?”
A stronger chill went through Tyen, but he ignored it, and the possessiveness that had risen faded away. Qall had looked after Vella before. He understood her value. And it was reasonable that he did not want to lose all of his assets at once if Tyen and Rielle failed.
“Yes, that would be wise. If I don’t return, would you protect my home until it is strong enough to interact with the worlds?”
“I will.”
Tyen nodded in thanks. Qall smiled and looked at each of them. “Then it is decided. You take care of each other.”
“We will,” Tyen assured him. “Even Dahli.”
Rielle lips pressed together. “Yes. I might not like him, but I have a feeling we’ll need him.”
“Then I’ll send for him,” Qall said, “and hope that with his help we can come up with a plan or three for how to snatch Zeke out from under Kettin’s nose without losing two of the people I value most in the worlds.”
CHAPTER 14
“How long has it been since you were here?” Rielle asked as she took in the neat green patchwork of crops, dotted with the burned skeletons of houses and ramshackle temporary new huts.
“Nearly half a cycle,” Dahli replied.
“How did the people here get home? We’ve passed through several worlds containing no magic. They’d need a particularly strong sorcerer to transport them this far.”
Dahli shrugged. “There may be an undepleted world next to this one, reached from a different direction.”
“I’m surprised anyone dared to come back,” Tyen remarked, looking down at the people working the fields and thinking of the devastated worlds they’d passed through. Kettin and her followers had been chillingly thorough at killing off all human life – in some cases all life, including domestic and wild animals.
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