Arrival (16 page)

The next morning came all too soon for the revellers, but with the sun came the reality of what must happen, and so they all filed into one of Accolon’s studies ready for the council of war, bright and early. There was a very large round table in the centre so that they could all sit facing each other and have equal say in the discussion.

The Strangers were there, as were all members of royalty who were in Amalia, and the people of importance in Accolon’s court.

Harry sat in between Luca and Jane. She was looking even more lovely than usual. It was the presence of danger that had made her stronger, and she appeared almost regal in her hard resolution. Plus, something that only her friends from Earth could have noticed, there was a light in her eyes and a flush to her cheeks that made her look breathless with excitement, something none of them had ever seen in her before. Harry had absolutely no idea what was causing it, but he definitely wanted to find out.

Anna sat with her hawk eyes peering intently around the table, trying to pick up even the tiniest details. She’s intelligent, that one, Harry thought with pride, but she looked very pale. Vezzet was staring at her longingly, and Harry had to hold back a smirk. Tomasso, Vezzet’s superior, watched the two of them, a dark expression on his face. Harry had never once seen the man smile, and had noticed that he was always watching everyone with a darkly calculating expression that gave Harry the creeps.

Fern was talking animatedly to Jane, across Anna and the two chancellors. Eventually Tomasso suggested that he swap seats with Jane, so that they could continue their conversation properly. Harry couldn’t help but stare at the Elf prince.

Entering the city, Harry and Satine had spent a few hours in a busy tavern and he’d been surprised to notice that the talk within was about three things: the assassination of Gaddemar; the woman who was to be the new queen; and for no reason at all except the fact that he was always talked about, her brother, the prince from Cynis Witron, who was half Elf, and bright as the morning star. What Harry had not expected from the prince, having heard how brave and noble he was, was his sense of humour, and ability to lighten any mood. Harry knew that Jack, if he were here, would be practically drooling over the way Fern could make a joke from anything.

Harry, for his part, could barely look the man in the eye, he was so intimidated by his roguish gallantry. The problem, though, was that Harry was starting to get the feeling they were going to need people who could take things seriously, and he tried to quell a rising doubt about Fern’s ability to do just that. He never stopped laughing.

Accolon sat silently next to his new bride. He must have been thinking hard because, although Elixia was trying to talk to him, he seemed oblivious.

Harry looked over at the second king in the room. Cornelius was talking to the Emperor Liam who was calmly telling him about the torture methods in Tirana. The old king looked as though he might be sick, and the picture would have been comical, had Harry not heard what Liam was saying and turned pale himself.

“Do you ever have a hard time putting it together?” Harry asked Luca softly and his friend looked at him questioningly. “All the magic and adventure and the people who are so amazing you’d expect them only to exist in books—and the brutality that seems to hide around every corner.”

Luca nodded. “I know what you mean. There are so many extremes here. Cruelty and injustice walk hand in hand with beauty and courage.”

Harry wasn’t surprised to hear his friend say something so thoughtful. Luca had always been rather poetic.

“There has to be something for the good guys to conquer in the end though doesn’t there?” Luca added, shrugging.

Harry nodded, catching onto Luca’s point. All this light and shade was what made it exciting. “Without evil for us to face, we wouldn’t be part of this,” he said. “This really important stuff. Do you think its true that we really have a role in everything?”

Luca clasped his big hands together on the table and frowned. “I don’t know. I never thought I’d believe in a prophecy, but everyone here seems to be so sure ... ”

Harry could hardly contain his excitement. “But imagine if it is!” he grinned, his voice squeaking.

Luca looked at him and gave a gentle smile. “Don’t get too carried away. It could all turn out to be rubbish.”

Harry shook his head, unwilling to accept the idea. Just imagine—him, Harry, always so clumsy, so inadequate at everything, so boring, now a world’s saviour!

He swallowed loudly and forced his attention back to the room. He wanted to try and get the feel of each person there.

Ria sat next to Luca. She was pretty, Harry thought, but there was so much awkwardness in her. Luca’s attraction to the older girl surprised Harry. He’d always thought that Luca would only ever have eyes for Jane. But now, here he was, leaning attentively towards Ria in a way that was unmistakably interested, and completely unwilling to take his attention away from her.

Harry decided to keep his nose out of it—none of his friends ever came to him for romantic advice anyway, since it wasn’t like he knew anything about love.

He wondered what the kids back at school would say if he tried to tell them about all of this. If he could show them a picture of this room, and what was going on. Imagine if they knew he was sitting around a table with men who had real swords at their waists!

And his parents! His mother and father who had never thought he’d amount to anything, and who’d practically already told him not to bother applying for any universities next year since he’d couldn’t even come close to getting the marks his older brothers had recieved. Harry would give anything for them to see him here. Would they recognise him? Did he already look cooler? More like he’d accomplished something, meant something? More like a hero? He certainly felt different.

Harry looked over at one of the scariest men he had ever seen. Kha~dim was the leader of the El~ariah warriors. The deadly fighters were the king’s personal guards. Fiercely loyal, they would despatch anyone who posed a threat to their king. They were positioned around the room in the shadows, out of the way, though always at the ready. Harry could see no weapons, but he had no doubt that the lithe soldiers could kill with their bare hands.

Kha~dim actually looked a great deal like Liam, and he was not surprised to learn that the El~ariah had originally come from the Kabduh desert warriors. But that was before they were tortured and turned into something else all together.

“Who were they tortured by?” Harry had asked Satine when she’d told him the story.

She’d hesitated for a long moment and then, quickly, her hands wringing together uncomfortably, she’d said, “They called him The Scourge of Paragor. He’s long gone, and we don’t talk about him anymore.”

Harry had tried to ask her more, but she’d been unwilling to say any more. He shivered and turned away to gaze at all the others around him.

“All right?” Luca asked him, turning to pat him on the shoulder.

“Yes,” Harry replied with a grin. Luca’s own expression was far more controlled, but pleased nonetheless. “Can you imagine what havoc Jack would be wreaking in here!” Harry said.

Luca’s smile broadened. “It might be a good thing after all that they’re not here yet—I get the feeling most of the people in this room would punish first and ask questions later for the pranks that Jack likes to play.”

Harry smiled, eyeing the long sword that hung at Fern’s waist. “You have to admit it’s all pretty cool.”

There was a small bang on the table, and Accolon stood up. The room fell into respectful silence.

“You all know why we’re here.” He looked around the table for confirmation, and went on.

“Our freedom is threatened. Leostrial first came to Lapis Matyr seven years ago. He sailed in from the seas, from a place unknown. It was clear that he had considerable dark power, and he used it to take over the country with but a small army. Far smaller than the army he faced.

“When this happened, Satine agreed to spy on Leostrial and report to us his actions. Over the years she has managed to convey quite clearly that Leostrial is planning to take over Paragor. However, we’ve never known when or how.

“A few weeks ago, our situation changed dramatically with the arrival of the six Strangers.

“I believe they are the Bright Ones.”

The people around the table nodded their heads in agreement. Harry looked around curiously.

“Satine brought with her two scrolls from Leostrial’s study. Yesterday Elixia was able to tell us what these scrolls actually depict.” He paused to unfurl the scrolls and lay them in the centre of the table for everyone to see.

Then he gestured for his queen to speak.

Elixia stood and leant to point at the maps, and indicating the large building in the first, she said, “This may be difficult for you to understand, because Paragor has been completely ignorant of the truth for many years, so you must listen with an open mind.” Nobody spoke, so she continued. “You all know of the morning star Elendial as the last true star to shine, the last of the stars to die when the Great One was destroyed. Well it is not dead, as we have thought, but thriving. It is on Elendial that the gods meet.”

A shocked silence descended on the chamber and she went on quickly, pointing to the map, “This structure here is the only one on the star. It houses angelic beings and provides a meeting place for the gods. This room here is called the meeting room. If the gods meet, you can be sure it is important, for they don’t lightly leave the realms over which they rule.”

It took most of them a moment to understand what she was saying, for Elendial had been thought to have been lost a long time ago, along with all the other stars, and its death was deeply mourned.

Harry felt like actually checking his ears to make sure he wasn’t going insane. He couldn’t possibly have heard her correctly. Angels and gods?

“Have we stepped into a fanatical religious cult or something?” he whispered under his breath to Jane.

She shrugged, not looking away from Elixia.

Accolon nodded to his wife and as she sat down he took his place again. “Now, the fact that Leostrial was in possession of these maps is our first clue. Our next clue, Harry?”

Harry carefully stood and recounted his dream. His voice was shaky—he wasn’t used to speaking in front of so many important people—and his face flushed deeply.

He told the anxious listeners about the angel and the arrows, the room he had seen, and watched their expressions as they began to understand. As he described the building, he realised it was exactly as Elixia had explained it. He was more than pleased to banish the thought that they were all crazy.

Rushing to the end of the dream, he sat down gratefully and Accolon stood up once again.

“Taking this into account along with Leostrial’s possession of the maps, the Kabduh seer’s prediction that war is upon us, and the fact that the angel in Harry’s dream spoke the words, ‘They are coming’, it seems that Leostrial is planning to wage war on the star Elendial.”

“Could he not just be planning to attack the rest of us?” Emperor Liam asked.

Satine shook her head and said, “I’ve spoken to him on a number of occasions and he has never expressed any desire to do any such thing. It has to be Elendial he seeks to attack.”

There was a deep silence in the room as everyone contemplated what this meant. An incredulous silence. A question hung in the air.

“But ... why?” Jane asked.

Accolon shrugged. “A thirst for power, I imagine. If Leostrial were to win, he would have complete and total control over Paragor. I don’t have to tell you that this would be ... disastrous. Who knows what he would do with such power! From what we have seen in the past, he is likely to run the world into the ground, slaughtering men, women and children in his bloodlust. We must stop him. We must gather all the forces of Paragor as one in fighting Leostrial, or we shall perish.

“The problem is,” Accolon continued more quietly now, “we don’t know if the events of the dream have come to pass yet—if the gods know of Leostrial’s plans, surely they would make plans of their own. If we are to plan a proper attack, then we must know.”

Fern cleared his throat and said softly, “Not so, my lord. There is still much to be done. The time has come to act.”

That was when Harry realised he’d been wrong. Fern may be wild and fun-loving, and even—from what Harry could see—a little immature at times. But not when it mattered.

Ria stood up. “I have something that may help you.” She waited for Accolon to nod before continuing.

“A few days ago, I returned to my village after many years. The men had been away and a pack of sabre-tooths had killed many of the women and children. I followed the beasts to a ridge not far from the Elvish border. Liam was with me. We watched the beasts for a night and a day, and I will admit that my mind was filled with thoughts of revenge. I didn’t have a plan, and it was a stupid thing for me to do.

“Mid-afternoon on the second day, as we watched, something happened. We all know the story of Locktar. We grew up to understand that this beast was just a tale.” Ria closed her eyes. “It is not just a tale. I saw him begin to herd a large pack of sabre-tooths north. I will leave it up to you to guess who has enough power to control the beast.”

Harry looked around the room. Each had a horrified expression. Elixia’s hand covered her mouth. Tomasso closed his eyes.

Ria sat down, and Harry saw Luca rest his hand on her arm gently. Accolon stood slowly and put his hands on the table for support.

“It seems that Leostrial has control of one of the most dangerous beasts ever to cross the earth.” Accolon sighed heavily. “His power is very great. He has an army of sabre-tooths, though I don’t know how he’ll transport them across the sea. How many were there, Ria?”

Fern answered, “There were over a thousand, but they are well diminished in number.”

“How so?”

“My father and I dealt with them.”

Accolon nodded in thanks and then continued. “But Leostrial could not have power enough to control Locktar. It cannot be.”