Legacy of the Blood (The Threshold Trilogy) (16 page)

Adesina hesitated to interrupt her guardian, but her impatience to
find her husband was strong. “You said that this was not a simple rescue
mission, but would not saving L’iam deprive Basha of her opportunity to open
the Threshold?”

“We are still several days behind them,” he reminded her, “and I
do not have high hopes that we will close the distance easily. The ritual to
open the gateway between realms takes time, especially with those unpracticed
in
vyala
, but we are still in danger of being too late.”

Ravi fixed his most intense stare on them. “The Threshold of Zonne
must not
be allowed to open, no matter the cost. It would be the
beginning of the end of our world.”

Kendan sat up in agitation. “What can we do to stop it?”

The Rashad’s gaze shifted to focus on the young queen. “A leader
must put the needs of the people over the needs of their own.”

Adesina had heard this lecture many times over the past few years,
given in many different situations. L’iam sometimes even mumbled it in his
sleep. “A king must be willing to make the sacrifices that will allow his
people to live and prosper.”

Ravi’s voice was gentle. “Do you believe that?”

“Of course,” she replied automatically.

“Do you believe that it is right to sacrifice a single life in
order to save all others?”

Adesina froze, her heart racing with terror at the implication.
Her throat went dry, and she couldn’t find her voice to speak.

Her guardian went on in a soft but unrelenting tone. “It may be
that we do not stop Basha before she begins the ritual. It may be that we
cannot reverse the ritual once it has begun. If that is the case, there is only
one path left to us to prevent the release of demons on all that we hold dear.”

The young woman still couldn’t utter a single word, and so it was
left to Kendan to urge the Rashad to continue.

“What path would that be?”

“L’iam would be acting as both key and bridge to open the portal.
Once the ritual is begun, he is essential for it to succeed.”

Understanding dawned on Kendan’s face, and his eyes filled with
apprehension. “Are you suggesting that we…?”

“If we cannot stop Basha before she begins, our only way to stop
the ritual may be to kill L’iam.”

Adesina had barely spoken all day. Luckily, Captain Zulimar had
made Satosh’s early predictions a reality, and he kept the L’avan occupied.
That limited Adesina’s need to talk, and it kept her mind from dwelling on what
Ravi had said in Kendan’s cabin.

Between healing crewmembers, mending the wood and metal of the
ship, freshening the food and water supplies, and giving reports of incoming
weather, Adesina had no more than a few seconds on her own to think.

Than’os and Mar’sal were both limited in how much they could do,
which meant that Adesina was required to make up the difference. They tried to
explain to Zulimar that almost all L’avan have only one or two types of magic,
but then he demanded an explanation as to why Adesina was not like them. To
save her the pain of sharing the details of her personal history, they simply
accepted his requests for work and tried to balance it as much as possible.

Faryl used her skills as an apothecary, dispensing herbs and
salves for simple afflictions. Maizah stayed with Kendan, who was still
recovering from his seasickness. The whole party kept busy in earning their
passage across the ocean.

Adesina noticed that Suvi always found an excuse to be nearby. She
attended to her tasks faithfully, but she never seemed to be more than a dozen
feet away from the L’avan queen. The teenage girl would watch her carefully,
but she seemed to sense Adesina’s reluctance to converse, so she did not
attempt to speak.

When evening fell, the crew relaxed and had a merry meal. They
enthused over the quality of the food, and the cook generously attributed it to
the magic-users.

Captain Zulimar ate with his comrades, treating them as equals.
Adesina could see how much they respected him, and her own respect for him deepened.

Than’os and Mar’sal sat near their queen, laughing and talking
with the crew. Maizah was still absent, taking care of a still seasick Kendan.
Faryl was surrounded by several burly men, all of whom were lavish in their
praises of her skills and beauty.

“I never met a woman so useful before,” exclaimed one with
extensive tattoos.

The others laughed and gave him a good-natured punch on the
shoulder.

“What a thing to say to a woman,” another teased. “She will think
you have no regard for the gender.”

The first speaker was hasty in correcting himself. “I just meant
that most womenfolk are more the homemaking type. But she is a
sure-as-saltwater apothecary. That is quite something.”

“I know plenty of useful women,” boasted a man with a bushy black
beard. “They all got some special skill or another where I come from.”

“Well, I never saw one so pretty before,” asserted a sailor with a
round belly. “Just look at those eyes.”

Faryl blushed, looking as though she hardly knew what to do with
so much attention. Adesina and Ravi exchanged smirks as they watched her
struggle to find her words.

Several of the crewmembers threw appreciative glances at Adesina,
but they all kept a respectful distance. The L’avan queen assumed that this was
due to Than’os and Mar’sal’s protective proximity, as well as Ravi’s
intimidating presence.

“I am told that you can provide some magical entertainment,” the
captain said as the meal came to a close.

Adesina wasn’t feeling very theatrical, so she tried to buy some
time. “Yes, but I was hoping that we might first hear a story or two from
Satosh. I understand that he is an historian.”

No one seemed opposed to the suggestion, and the little man took
his place on the steps that led to the deck. Everyone could see him clearly,
and he appeared to relish the sense of anticipation that preceded his tale.

“In honor of our guests, I will tell of Naiser the Mighty, the
first king of Sehar, and how he won the hand of Queen Mirinda.”

There were murmurs of appreciation as they all settled in for the
telling. Adesina smiled at his choice. Her education from the Shimat had
focused on the relevant points of history and skimmed over the personal
details. She looked forward to hearing the tale—and from one who was not
Seharan.

“The Fallen Kingdom of Sehar as we know it now is a place of
isolation and superstition. After the murder of King Rasim, along with his
entire family, and the exile of the nobility, anarchy reigned and distrust
became the key to survival. Stories of shadow demons kept villages boarded up
at night, and heightened suspicion of strangers made trade all but impossible,
choking the economy to its current limping state. However, this is a far cry
from the days of Sehar’s former glory.”

Adesina knew the details of the fall of Sehar. In fact, she had
witnessed it happening in her Dreams. Her mother had shown her how King Rasim
had gathered together a group of the nation’s most infamous assassins and
struck a bargain with them. They were to be his personal killing force,
answerable only to him. He helped them to disappear from the eyes of the world,
and gave them whatever they needed to build up their organization.

They became the Shimat.

When the king had outlived his usefulness, the Shimat thought it
most convenient to kill the only man who knew about their existence. Then they
used their considerable influence in bringing the entire kingdom to ruin—a
perfect place for them to control and continue their clandestine work.

Satosh, who knew nothing of that aspect of Sehar’s history, went
on with his narration. “During the Great Wars there was a mighty warrior who
became famed for his brilliance and his strength. His name was Naiser the
Mighty. He gained many followers, and they took refuge in the eastern quarter
of the northwest continent during the years of plague.”

Adesina enjoyed hearing the history of her homeland told with the
sailor’s dramatic flare. It helped to ease her mind from the troubles that had
been burdening it all day.

“The followers of Naiser raised a banner in his name and declared that
he should be their king. He was a proud man, not opposed to authority, and so
he accepted the throne gladly. He named his newly formed nation Sehar, after
his dear brother who had died in battle protecting Naiser’s life.

“The years of plague were filled with anarchy, and there were many
men and women grasping for as much power as possible. King Naiser taught his
people to be warriors as well as farmers, and they learned to defend themselves
and their lands.

“The middle kingdom of the northwest continent was ruled by a
beautiful woman named Queen Mirinda, whose hair was the color of a raven’s wing
and whose eyes were as blue as the morning sky. Every man desired her hand in
marriage, not only for her surpassing beauty but also for her powerful kingdom.

“Lam, the western country, was under the power of Magistrate
Dezisla, a man who hungered for a crown but was hindered by the laws of his
land. He believed that if he won the hand of Queen Mirinda, he could conquer
his own nation and become king of both.”

One of the crewmembers was nodding in a knowing fashion, and
Adesina surmised that he was either a citizen of Etan or Ghaith, the
neighboring nations to Sehar that were formerly part of Lam.

“King Naiser also wished to win the heart of Queen Mirinda, and so
began the lifelong rivalry between Naiser and Dezisla. There were countless
suitors in the court of the queen, but she was wise in knowing that her
marriage could bring strength to her kingdom. She determined to marry one of
the two rulers that controlled the lands on either side of her own.

“Mirinda devised three challenges that would test for qualities
that she felt to be necessary in a great ruler. She declared that the victor of
these challenges would be her husband. On a fine summer morning, with the midland
hills wreathed in mist, Naiser and Dezisla appeared before Queen Mirinda to
receive the first challenge.

“She proclaimed that the first trait of a great ruler was courage.
In those days, there were still remnants of magic to be found, and a handful of
magical creatures had survived the Plague Years. In the Caves of Norla there
dwelt a shadow creature who fed on the fears of mortals.”

A few of the crewmembers hissed quietly, and made a sign to ward
off evil.

“A wraith,” pronounced Satosh, “the last of its kind. Queen
Mirinda explained that a rare mineral was found deep in the Caves of Norla—a
luminescent stone called kingsheart. The first man to bring her one of these
stones would be the victor of the first challenge.”

Satosh took a sip of water before continuing his tale. “King
Naiser set out immediately, fearing nothing and preparing little. Magistrate
Dezisla first went to the scholars of the land to learn all that he could about
wraiths and how to evade their notice. He gathered supplies carefully, and
began his journey a full day and a half after his rival.

“Naiser arrived at the Caves of Norla, and ventured into the damp
underground on foot. His sword was drawn, and his heart was filled with
confidence. The wraith tried to weave illusions over his eyes, attempting to
create fear and doubt. However, Naiser knew the illusions to be false, and the
wraith was kept at bay by the courage of the king. Naiser searched until he
found a bed of kingsheart, and he used his sword to carve out a stone the size of
his fist. As he turned to go, the wraith stood in his path.”

The tension among the listening audience was palpable. The fears
that each of them bore of wraiths was like a suffocating force in the room.
Adesina knew nothing of wraiths, other than legends of questionable origin, but
she still felt the strain of the others’ emotions.

Satosh waited a few moments for dramatic effect.

“Naiser held forth his sword and cried, ‘Stand aside, creature of
darkness. I grant you no power over my mind.’ The wraith trembled at the
strength of the king’s courage, but made no effort to move. ‘Return what you
have taken, mortal, or I will take your soul.’ The king sneered at the spirit,
‘You have no power over me. Begone!’”

The crewmembers cheered at this declaration, and the fear of the
moment before was dispelled.

“The wraith was forced to leave Naiser, and the king climbed out
of the caves and to his freedom.”

More cheers followed.

Satosh grinned at the enthusiasm, but he quickly become somber
again. “Dezisla arrived at the Caves of Norla just after Naiser left. His mind
was filled with the tales he had heard from the scholars, and his heart was
shriveled with terror. The dark spirit was drawn to Dezisla’s overwhelming
fear, and it immediately began feeding on his soul.”

The apprehension returned to the room, and all fell silent in rapt
attention.

“You see,” explained the little man, “wraiths feed on fear, which
creates more fear. Dezisla had unwittingly fallen into the very trap that he
had hoped to avoid. He had believed that knowledge would protect him, but he
had not been able to master his own uncertainty before facing the source of his
terror.”

Satosh’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The wraith continued to
feed…and feed…and feed…”

It was almost as if Adesina could see the form of Dezisla
withering away to nothing.

“But then,” he said in a sudden burst of energy, “the gods took
pity on the man. A Guardian, robed in purest white, appeared in the darkness
and drove away the wraith. Dezisla was saved.”

The crew cheered again, some of them jumping to their feet in
their excitement.

In the midst of the chaos, Ravi leaned towards Adesina and said
quietly, “It wasn’t a Guardian. It was L’avan.”

She turned to him in surprise. “What?”

“The man who saved Dezisla was L’avan, the founder of your race.”

The young woman frowned. “How is that possible?”

Ravi smiled softly. “He was in the same cave, looking for
kingsheart. It has special properties, and is very valuable. He came across
Dezisla and the wraith, and he drove the spirit away.”

The Rashad went back to listening to Satosh’s tale of the
remaining challenges for Queen Mirinda’s hand, but Adesina found herself
reflecting on the history of the L’avan. She wondered where the story of the
Caves of Norla fit into chronology of L’avan’s life. L’iam had told her many
tales over the years, but she had never heard of this particular story before.

Her thoughts turned to the quiet evenings she had spent with her
husband, and tears formed in her eyes. Her heart ached with missing him. L’iam
loved to tell stories, and Adesina had loved to listen.

She thought of what L’iam had told her about the very beginning of
their race, and she worked her way forward in her mind.

When Naiser the Mighty was still beginning his reign, there lived
a man named L’avan. He was also a veteran of the Great Wars, but he did not
thirst for power or glory. Instead, he longed to find the life he had known
before the time of strife.

His wife and son had died in the early years of the wars, and the
heart of L’avan had never healed from the loss. The fierce battles had given
him purpose during the Great Wars, but afterwards he wandered the lands alone,
hoping to find new meaning.