Between Darkness and Light Trilogy (44 page)

I catch Llywelyn's eyes, “The people
remember you.”

“It is gratifying. They seem to believe that
you would be the one to bring me here.”

“I have no idea why, very few have even seen
me – I haven't been here long at all.”

“Perhaps there is a legend neither of us is
aware of.”

If there was, why did the Emperor look
displeased when he saw what I've become?

Llywelyn continues, “It seems a good sign. I
am anxious to see my father again.”

“About that, Llywelyn,” Guards from the
Citadel meet us before I can complete my warning. I'm worried, the
Emperor did not seem the least bit pleased when he saw Llywelyn's
ring on my finger. Just exactly how does one tell a man that his
father may not be pleased to see him? As I try to formulate the
words, Gwenllian runs toward us.

“Father! You have returned! Llywelyn
releases my hand from his arm to embrace his daughter.

I step back and enjoy the sight – will I
ever share such an experience? I can hardly imagine being held in
the arms of a father who loves me; it must feel wonderful. Llywelyn
glances back questioningly to me, I gesture for him to continue
with Gwenllian, I will follow. It's nice to see Gwenllian truly
smile, her
harmonies
give testimony she is undoubtedly the
happiest she has been for a very, very long time – if not the
happiest ever. After all, when we are young and haven't been
separated from those we love, we don't appreciate them as much as
we do after they are gone. Someday, someday I wish to be reunited
with Mathair. The Emperor's voice jolts me out of my thoughts, how
did we get here so fast?

“This cannot be – Llywelyn?” His voice
sounds incredulous, and not exactly how one would expect a father
to greet a long lost child.

Llywelyn responds in a strong, deep voice,
“It is I, Father, your eldest son finally returned to you.”
Gwenllian and I both stop advancing, while Llywelyn continues to
approach his father.

Vespasian, standing to Augustus’ right,
bristles and steps forward. “This can't be Llywelyn – he's been
gone for almost two thousand years; no one can survive, let alone
thrive as this being obviously has, after having been away from the
source for so long! It's a trick, he's an impostor, probably one of
our enemies trying to take us down from within.” He turns toward
Llywelyn, “I am the heir now, and I will not stand by and allow my
father to be misled like this!” If it were possible, I'd almost
expect him to explode in his rage. Llywelyn remains outwardly cool,
but I can hear building anger in his
harmony
. There is a
glittering off to his left: Cailli.

“Stand down, Boy!” That seems all the
attention she wishes to spare Vespasian, she turns to the Emperor.
“I assure you that this is your firstborn son, Augustus; returned
to you as I had promised long ago. I expect you to hold true to
your oath.”

The Emperor's chest swells with more than
just air, “LEAVE US!”

I've never heard him sound this upset,
everyone in the court leaves but Augustus, Llywelyn, and the
Cailliach. Vespasian tries to stay, but Cailli sends him away. A
force field of some type jumps up around them, blocking most sound
and light, but I have unusually good hearing; they argue bitterly.
I intend to continue eavesdropping, but William runs up to me, and
joy at seeing him alive and well trumps my interest in the Imperial
conflict.

“Shi'ahn!” I'm caught up in his strong arms
– he even swings me around!

Laughter joins the relief in my voice,
“William! I was so afraid that you would come to harm.” The throne
room doors clang shut behind us, but I no longer care.

“I was indeed in danger. Shi'ahn” He quits
speaking aloud, 'We have lost Shiral.'

“WHAT???”

'Not here, Shi'ahn.' He concentrates on his
transport crystal, and we appear in his rooms. “I'm sorry, Shi'ahn,
I did all that I could. All three dynasties of Chaos stormed us:
Lagash, Akkad, and Temenus. I do not know how they breached the
moon shielding, although, to tell the truth, something about it
reminded me of you.”

“You think there was a Harmony wielder
involved? I wonder, Lagash is the house that Novanus hates so, and
he hates me; could it be Harmony that he hates?”

“I don't know, but Lagash was the worst,
they came in ships and bombarded us from space!”

“No! How many did we lose? How is Gaea?”

He looks down. “I'm so sorry, Shi'ahn. I was
unable to stop them. We lost over half the population, and the
deaths continue, primarily in the Lagash holdings; and Gaea… she
has gone insane with the pain.” The look in his eyes expresses his
pain far better than words; I take him in my arms, much like I used
to when we were children.

He feels… slightly wrong, as though he is
keeping something from me. I pull back slightly, “William, is there
something you are not telling me?”

His pain swells. “I had hoped I wouldn’t
have to hit you with everything at once, Shi'ahn. I'm so sorry.” He
pauses, unable to continue.

“Tell me, William. I need to know.”

“Zah-Ha'Gor… she was injured. Badly. She
chose to enter the stone sleep. We took her to the crystal chamber
she had led us to, which I worked extensively to further shield.
She melded her mind with Gaea in an attempt to restore her sanity,
or at least ease her pain.” I collapse back into his arms, crying
for our world, our people, and my beloved Zah-Ha'Gor. The tears
surprisingly soon change to resolve.

“At least some survive; as do you. Mark my
words, William, we will return. And when we do, we will make them
regret their actions. They will wish they had never heard of
Shiral.”

He looks up, seeming troubled. “But you
cannot return home, you will be instantly discovered.”

“William, I have listened to you, you have
grown in knowledge and skill – and so have I. Between the two of
us, we will work out a way to shield that cavern so that no one
could penetrate it. And once we are back, they will learn that
Shiral is ours.” I will hope to fill him as I make it fill my soul,
and see the fire of it catch in his eyes. We spend the day plotting
our return and how to drive the invaders out. He also explains what
he had learned about what had happened to my computer. Apparently
Lucian had attempted to use my override code for Shirallian
computers in his final attack. My computer had been linked to Gaea
at the time, and she began to react. My computer destroyed itself
to keep Lucian from gaining access to Gaea. For a computer, it had
become almost noble. I vow to myself to restore it; such service,
even from a machine, deserves all I can do for it.

In the evening a servant knocks on William's
door.

“Excuse me, Lord William, …Lady Shi'ahn, I
am to inform you of a war council to convene at 9:00 tomorrow
morning in the command chambers.” He leaves, William yawns, and I
suddenly realize the time.

“I should be leaving you to get some rest,
I'm sorry.”

“You should get some too, Sis.”

“I don't sleep well these days.”

~~~

When I enter my rooms I see one of those odd
technological servers. Listening to it reveals nothing dangerous,
but it reminds me of Lucian. There is a knock upon my door; it's
Lucian, perhaps that's why he had jumped to mind. “Why are you
here?”

“I have been sent by the Emperor, of course
– to question you. May I join you?”

I sigh, “I suppose there is no avoiding
this, is there?”

“No, there isn't; but it need not be
unpleasant.”

“Really? Then why don't you leave me a
written list of your questions, and I will send you my answers at
my earliest convenience?”

He smiles, but not happily. “That will not
do, Shi'ahn. The Emperor wants to know how you came to rescue
Llywelyn, and he is not willing to wait for answers.”

“Then why don't you just take me to your
interrogation chambers and force the information from me? That
would be the Emperor's preference, wouldn't it?”

“He did not specify the means, only the
outcome. Please, Shi'ahn, just tell me what happened.” He sounds
almost tired, or perhaps careworn?

“Oh fine. The truth isn't really all that
interesting anyway. William and I had attempted to transport to
Shiral to prepare her for the war, but Cailli intercepted me,
imprisoning me on a strange, highly shielded world that she
described as 'a safe place'. During my explorations I found
Llywelyn, who had been trapped in a heavily shielded cave.”

“And how did you manage to free him when he
could not do so himself for so long?”

“I happen to have a tremendous amount of
power available to me for use, it took a lot to free him.”

“Do you expect me to believe that it was
just a matter of available energy?”

“No, I suspect Cailli wanted him to be
freed, and so allowed it. She similarly allowed me to slip past the
outer barrier soon thereafter, even though she would not let me do
so earlier.”

“If what you say is true, why didn't she
just let him free herself?”

“I don't know! She said I would not be free
until I had done all that I needed to do. You're so superior, you
figure it out!”

He pauses. “So…you are willing to admit that
you were merely a tool used by the Cailliach to bring about her
will?”

I hold out my glowing arms, “Is that such a
stretch of the imagination?”

He shakes his head, “No, it is not; being a
tool of another's will is certainly not an unusual occurrence here.
If that is your final word, it is what I will report to my
father.”

I don't even bother to answer, I just stare
it him in affirmation. He turns to leave and I decide to
listen
to him. His
harmony
sounds odd, sad and angry,
and helpless? It doesn't seem right, not for Lucian. The ice in my
heart momentarily melts.

“Lucian, what has happened here while I was
gone?

His
harmony
swells with discord, he
turns back and his face drops the mask it always wears. I see and
hear
… unbearable pain and regret. “Much that you will not
wish to know. Get some rest while you can, Shi'ahn; tomorrow you
will learn more than enough.” He looks as though he wishes to
continue, but he holds his tongue. The mask of neutrality returns
before he leaves, I get the feeling he is hiding behind it. “Don't
forget to eat. Your body may be filled with energy, but it still
needs nutrients; possibly even more than before.”

Our strange interaction confuses me so
completely that the door is re-closed before I fully realize he is
gone. The food server remains, though, and its contents smell
wonderful. Well, I suppose there is no reason to refuse it.

After I finish a delicious meal, I turn my
attention to my computer, or, what remains of it. The burned out
processors fill my heart with sorrow. It was a good computer, loyal
to the end. I wish I had studied it more carefully before, I don't
even know where to start in repairing it. Wait, William's computer
is – was, almost exactly like mine after Cailli altered it. I wish
I still had Llywelyn's ring so I could study William's computer. If
I could examine it, I could use it as a template for repairing
mine. I hate leaving mine as it is, but I don't know what to do to
help it. Instead I drop the shielding around it, cut open the
casing and carefully remove the processors and memory crystal. At
least the crystal doesn't seem damaged, probably because there was
no way for Lucian to decrypt it. They are not large, I add them to
the pouch that conceals my transport crystal, then do my best to
shut my mind down, to rest.

~~~

In the morning I expect to see the server
gone, but it remains, and opens as I near it; it's covered with a
very nice breakfast. It must be a more efficient way to feed
everyone in these new, uncertain times. And yet… it abounds with
many of my favorite fruits and berries, and a cereal comprised of
exotic grains. The yogurt is the creamiest I've ever tasted, and is
sprinkled with wild raspberries, strawberries and blueberries –
perfection! It seems strange that they are providing such wonderful
foods given the uncertain nature of our current circumstances. I'd
think they would be preserving such things for later use. Well,
they must have some reason, I quit wondering and just enjoy.

William and I walk to the war council
together. He smells of sausages, eggs and hash browns – the
servants must be targeting our preferences. “Did you enjoy your
breakfast, William?”

“Yea, but the kitchen staff sure are on edge
lately – they've been burning things. I was surprised not to see
you there, has your… condition finally curbed your appetite?”

“No, not at all, the servants have continued
delivering meals to my rooms, really wonderful ones, but now they
serve them on an odd device called a converting server. It combines
technology with sorcery. I figured it must be a more efficient way
of serving us.

No, considering the numbers showing up in
the kitchens, having us show up to be served is the most
efficient.”

“Maybe they feel uncomfortable with my
presence. After all, the first time they saw me like this, many
either feinted or ran away.”

“Don't take it personally, I think you're
beautiful.”

I can't help but smile, then I try to return
my thoughts to more timely matters. “Do you have any idea where
this Command Chamber is, William?”

“Yes, this isn't the first council, but I
expect it will be the most interesting to date!”

His smile is playful; I can't help but echo
it. I listen ahead of us and hear yet another heated argument.
Llywelyn's strong voice rings out in my mind.

“It is the duty of the Princes to lead the
armies while the Emperor oversees the battle. The people draw their
confidence from our actions, we must be visible and involved!”