2 To Light A Candle.13 (99 page)

The tea was ready. Kellen poured, and held out a cup to Cilarnen, dropping several honey-disks into it for good measure. In the cold, honey was energy. The boy—Kellen couldn't help thinking of Cilarnen as a boy, though he knew Cilarnen was a year older than he was—took it automatically.

Heavy rains. When the Black Cairn had burst, it had affected the weather everywhere. Normally that wouldn't have included the Delfier Valley, granary of Armethalieh, but when the Mages had restricted the Bounds, they had removed the weather-spells from the valley, exposing it to the full force of the freak storms. Anything still in the fields would have been beaten down and drowned; rotted. He hadn't known. Of course, if he had, it still wouldn't have changed anything, but—

"You couldn't let that go on," Kellen said quietly.

"We had to stop them!" Cilarnen said passionately. "The High Council wouldn't listen—my father wouldn't listen. It was his plan to reduce the Bounds to the walls, to shame Arch-Mage Lycaelon, and he would not reverse his position. The Arch-Mage would have listened. I know that now. I know it! But I thought he wouldn't because of who my father was, and I couldn't see the City starving before my eyes!"

Odd as it was to imagine, Kellen thought Lycaelon would have listened. Leaving the City without any way to feed itself was suicidal. But if the rest of the Council had backed Volpiril, and not Lycaelon…

"And I couldn't see the City starving before my eyes" At that moment, Kellen felt something he hadn't expected for Cilarnen: respect. As Mageborn, Cilarnen would have been one of the last to suffer; in fact, the hardships of the City would scarcely have touched his life at all. Yet he had taken on the responsibility his elders were too enwrapped in political wrangling to claim.

"What did you do?" he asked gently.

"We made umbrastone," Cilarnen said miserably. "Light deliver me, I don't even know why now! There were six of us, and Master Raellan: Jorade Isas, Geont Pentres, Kermis Lalkmair, Tiedor Rolfort, Margon Ogregance, and me. Margon's father was on the Merchant's and Provender's Council, so he knew exactly how bad things were. Kermis was the one who had the recipe for umbra-stone. It eats magic—I think we thought that if we made enough of it, we could get into the High Council chambers and make them listen to us."

"Leaf and Star," Kellen said softly. Treason, they'd guessed back in Redhel-war's tent, and here it was: conspiracy to overthrow the High Council and meddling with forbidden magic. He'd read about umbrastone in the Ars Perfidorum,

the Book of Forbidden Acts. It was one of the products of the Art Khemitic, and as such, as much anathema to the High Mages as the Wild Magic was.

"We were arrested before we even made the first batch," Cilarnen said, sounding baffled and grief-stricken. "I don't know how they found out. But we had all the ingredients, so that was good enough for the High Council. I don't know what happened to any of my friends—I think at least one of them was Banished before me, and died. Hyandur said there was someone in a Felon's Cloak, and the Hunt… I didn't believe him then. Or maybe… Undermage Anigrel said my father was dead, when he came to Burn away my Gift. He said the conspiracy was Lord Volpiril's idea."

"He lied," Kellen said instantly, though the mention of Anigrel's name made him want to twitch. It wasn't only kindness that motivated his words, but common sense. Why would Lord Volpiril instigate a conspiracy whose sole purpose was to overthrow him and support Lycaelon's position? Anigrel must have been lying.

Cilarnen held up a hand. "That doesn't matter," he said, his voice rough with grief. "This does: Undermage Anigrel came to Burn away my Gift. I still have it."

Kellen started, but didn't interrupt.

"For a long time I didn't." Maybe Cilarnen interpreted Kellen's expression of startlement as skepticism, because he nodded vigorously. "Truly. Even you have to believe I'd know whether it was there or not. I spent two moonturns at Stone-hearth, and I didn't have it—just the worst headaches you can imagine. Then— the day that Thing came—it came back."

"And it's all there?" Kellen wasn't sure quite what he was asking, or what good the information would do him. He knew how the High Mages fueled their spells—by power stolen from the citizens of Armethalieh through their City Talismans. Even if Cilarnen hadn't had his Gift Burned out of him, he had nothing now beyond his personal power to draw on to fuel his spells.

"Yes," Cilarnen said, smiling bitterly for a moment. "For what good it does me. I was nearly ready to test for Journeyman when I was Banished—but here, without tools, without spellbooks, what good am I? Unless, of course, you need someone to take care of horses. I can light fires and boil water. But just touching those cursed books you Wildmages are so proud of makes me feel sick. And there's something missing when I try to cast a spell. But I don't know what it is."

I do, Kellen thought. And bless Leaf and Star that Anigrel was so willing to parade his superior knowledge before me that day..'tcan explain to you how the High Mag-ick REALLY works, and why your spells don't.

But whether that was something he should do would require more thought. And he wasn't sure that even if he did explain, it would help. Cilarnen would still need a power source—quite a lot of them, in fact—and they would have to donate their power freely and willingly.

"I'm glad that you told me all this," Kellen said, "and I really am sorry about your father—not because I liked him, or any of the High Mages, but because I think he was unjustly killed. And I know that you and your friends were unjustly punished. It should have been the first thought of every High Mage on the Council to take care of the City, not to spend their time in wrangling over who was to blame. But this isn't why you came, is it?"

"No," Cilarnen said. "I came because of what the De—Thing told me at Stonehearth." He closed his eyes, obviously concentrating, and when he spoke again, eyes still closed, Kellen sensed he was reciting something he had carefully committed to memory.

"'So, Arch-Mage's son Kellen, what a surprise to see you here. Have you tired of the Children of Leaf and Star and think to make your way back to the Golden City? You have nothing to return to now. Your father claims another as his son. He has given him the seat on the High Council that was to have been yours. And daily our foothold in the City grows stronger…'"

Kellen rocked back on his heels, the words striking him like separate blows.

The Demons were in Armethalieh.

Or… wait. He was fairly sure the Demons couldn't enter Armethalieh, any more than they could enter the Elven Lands. If he could trust a single word Ly-caelon had said to him that night in his cell, the High Mages did remember the Demons, and were still terrified of them. So they'd have spells to keep them out of the City.

But… a foothold. That was bad enough.

It would have to be a foothold of a different sort than they had here in the Elven Lands with the Shadowed Elves. Something that could pass the City-wards and flourish unnoticed.

But what?

"Well?" Cilarnen demanded. "Aren't you going to do something?"

"Yes," Kellen said. "I'm going to have another cup of tea. And I'm going to think."

"Think!" Cilarnen cried. "What good is thinking going to do? You've got to stop them!"

"Really?" Kellen replied, his tone dry. "One would be interested, of course, to hear how this was to be accomplished at all, much less this instant. I can't go back to Armethalieh and neither can you. And even if we could fight our way in, do you think the High Council would listen to us? Would the Arch-Mage listen to me?" And Lycaelon rules the Council now. He must, now that Volpiril's dead. I have to talk to Idalia about this. She kept watch on the High Council for years. She'll have a

better idea of how the power would have shifted with Volpiril gone. And… Lycaelon has adopted someone, and given him Volpiril's Council seat. Who?

"So you're going to leave them to die," Cilarnen said bitterly. "I knew you would." He started to get to his feet.

"Sit down," Kellen said firmly. "Drink your tea. And think, Cilarnen. By Leaf and Star, you were the best student at the Mage-College—you must have some brain in that pretty head of yours. I wouldn't give my worst enemy over to Them—I'm certainly not giving Them a whole city of innocent people to play with. Their sorcery is fueled by torture and death—and the more powerful the Gift in their victim, the more power They gain from destroying him. If they take Armethalieh… if they can take Armethalieh…"

Then They win. They'll be unstoppable.

"It's cold," Cilarnen muttered sulkily, sitting back down.

Kellen lifted the pot. Cilarnen held out his cup. Kellen refilled it. Cilarnen sipped. "Now it's bitter," he said, a faint whining note in his voice.

Kellen sighed inwardly. He wondered if he'd ever been anything like Cilarnen. Probably. He refilled his own cup. "I don't make very good tea. Ask anyone," he said mildly. He passed Cilarnen the jar of honey-disks and sipped his own tea. It tasted fine to him—strong, but that was just as well. He hadn't gotten much sleep.

"You say you're going to help. But you don't say what you're going to do. And the only reason you're going to help is because if those Things destroy Armethalieh, it'll be bad for the Elves, who are the only ones you really care about," Cilarnen retorted,belligerently a few moments later.

If Kellen hadn't had something really important to worry about now, if he hadn't had the paying of his Mageprice fixed firmly in his mind, he might actually have gotten angry. As it was, he simply stared at Cilarnen in bemusement. Why in the name of anything you cared to call upon was the boy trying to pick a fight with him?

Because Cilarnen was afraid.

The intuition came to him suddenly. He glanced up at Kardus, and saw acknowledgment in the Centaur Wildmage's dark-eyed gaze. Cilarnen was terrified.

For Armethalieh.

Kellen had been afraid when he'd been Banished, but only of the unknown. From the moment Armethalieh's gates closed behind him, he'd been looking forward, not back.

But Cilarnen…

Cilarnen missed Armethalieh. The way Idalia would miss Jermayan, he imagined vaguely, or he would miss Shalkan. Cilarnen felt about Armethalieh the way Jermayan and Ancaladar felt about each other.

But a city is wood and stone. It can't love you back.

He supposed that didn't matter. The Elves loved Ysterialpoerin, and had fought desperately to save it. He had fought desperately to save it.

Compassion warmed his next words.

"Yes, many of the Elves are my friends. But I'd help anyway, even if Armethalieh's destruction weren't a danger to them. If They destroy Armethalieh, Their victory will be bad for more than just the Elves. It will give Them the power to destroy every creature of the Light, every tree, every blade of grass, until there's nothing left in the world but Them and Their slaves. They tried twice before. The first time was before there were humans, and the Elves fought them alone. The last time was around the time Armethalieh was built. Everyone—Elves, humans, Centaurs, unicorns, dragons, and Otherfolk who don't exist anymore—all joined together to defeat Them. They thought they'd won forever.

"They were wrong."

Cilarnen just shook his head. Plainly it was more information than he could handle.

"Kellen will aid Armethalieh, Cilarnen, and so will the Elves, for all the races of the Light depend on one another, like a spider's web. Cut one strand, then another, and soon there is no web at all. Do you see?" Kardus said, as simply as if he were talking to a small child.

"But the Elves went to ask the City for help," Cilarnen said, shaking his head. "And we wouldn't give it. Why should they help now?"

Kardus glanced at Kellen questioningly.

"Well, the Elves weren't actually asking for help. Andoreniel already knew that the High Mages wouldn't fight for the Elves—or for anyone outside the City," Kellen said, trying to keep his explanation simple. "He was only trying to warn the City so they could protect themselves."

"But they wouldn't let Hyandur in!" Cilarnen said angrily. "They wouldn't let him warn them—and he still saved my life! Roiry and Pearl could have been killed outrunning the Scouring Hunt, but he still helped me."

Kellen wasn't sure, but from the context, "Roiry" and "Pearl" seemed to be Hyandur's riding animals. Odd that one of the Mageborn should care about anything like that; young Mages-in-training didn't have pets or favorite mounts any more than they had girlfriends. They were supposed to focus their entire being on the High Magick to the exclusion of everything else.

"If what the creature you met at Stonehearth told you is true," Kellen said, still thinking his way slowly through everything Cilarnen had told him, "Hyandur's being barred from the City may have saved not only your life, but his. He probably wouldn't have been left alive to deliver his message—depending on the nature of this 'foothold.'"

Cilarnen looked surprised, as if the thought had never occurred to him.

"So… it worked out for the best?" he said tentatively.

"It went as the Wild Magic wills," Kellen said automatically.

Cilarnen recoiled in disgust, wincing faintly.

Kellen sighed ruefully. Cilarnen was more difficult to talk to than the Elves of Ysterialpoerin! "You can't have that much objection to the Wild Magic. You came here with a Wildmage," he said, with just a touch of chiding in his voice.

It was an hour before dawn now; he wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight. He might as well get dressed and take Cilarnen to be fed. At a slightly more civilized hour he could present him to Redhelwar—hoping Cilarnen did not insult the Army's General too thoroughly—and they could begin to plan what to do.

"Kardus is different. He doesn't make my skin crawl," Cilarnen said with a shattering lack of tact. "And anyway—I'm already Banished. What difference can it make who I associate with? But Wild Magic… it doesn't make any sense."

Kellen looked at Kardus, puzzled.

"As you know, I have no magic. Yet when the Books came to me, I did my best to live by their teachings, and to follow the Great Herdsman's Path. There are times when I Know what others do not, and in payment for these Knowings, I am always set a Task. I Knew in Merryvale that I must go to Stonehearth, and help the human child I would find there. When I reached Stonehearth, my Knowing unfolded further, and I realized, after the attack, that my Task was to bring him to you, in order to give him the help he truly needed.