Mythborn (45 page)

“Then why give…” He was quiet for a moment, the reason becoming clear. “You want to send Arek to Avalyon. In either outcome Valarius will be rendered useless.”

“Either he becomes mortal, or he dies and Arek is trapped here.”

Thoth had to admit her plan was ingenious. He moved a bit closer and leaned on his staff, his tone turning less confrontational as he asked, “Then why did you have your Furies intercept Arek when he first appeared at the henge? Valarius’s forces had him in their grasp. Why free him then, only to deliver him back to the archmage now?”

Lilyth was quiet, but the corners of her eyes crinkled with what seemed to be pleasure, as if she finally had been asked a thoughtful question. “Keeper, many steps must be in place to insure Arek’s allegiance to us. If Valarius had met him first,
we
would be facing Arek as his weapon. We could not allow them to meet until we were prepared, until key pieces had been moved into their proper places.” Then she looked at the Keeper and asked, “Do you know what Arek desires most?”

“Judging from his earlier display I’d say the princess,” Thoth said with a smile.

Lilyth smiled too, then corrected, “To meet his true father.”

“The red mage is insane, no good will come of it. Why not let him believe Valarius is his pater?”

“Duncan searches. It will only be a matter of time, and telling Arek the truth first will bind his allegiance to us.”

“Where does Duncan roam? The man is a menace.”

Lilyth paused, as if debating whether to say anything, then she sighed and said, “Duncan languishes within Avalyon’s walls, no doubt a prisoner.”

“Prisoner?” He had followed the broken lore father over the centuries as his thirst for vengeance consumed him, driving him beyond any hope of salvation. It had been debated if he should be killed, but that would have created another Aeris Lord to contend with as the legend of the red mage had permeated Edyn’s myths. One Valarius was enough, and the Conclave had learned its lesson. For that reason amongst others, they had left Duncan to his own misery. But the fact that he was already within the elven city opened a new mystery

“How did he find his way into Avalyon?” Thoth asked.

“How indeed? He’s a lore father, just as Valarius, with centuries of time to hone his skill. It suffices to say my world has healed the one thing limiting him: his fractured mind, and that resulted in an attempt to rescue his wife.”

“His wife? Sonya was the consort of Valarius…”

A smile grew on Lilyth’s face, making her countenance sublime. She looked at Thoth and said, “Now you see the rub, and the reason we had to wait. Who will Arek align with once he learns his father has been betrayed and captured by the highlord? Once he learns what the highlord has done to his mother?”

“Done? What do you mean?”

“You don’t know that only a few days ago Sonya was sacrificed so that Valarius could send a contingent of elves to Bara’cor?” Lilyth said. “A haphazard spell, but successful nonetheless.”

“Sonya is dead?” asked Thoth in a whisper.

“Sonya was dead the moment she arrived here, though she knew it not. Valarius had no intention of saving her, only the child growing in her womb. That she lived this long is a surprise to me, but no matter. I only care that he now has a force within Bara’cor, one that could realign the gate and offer him an escape.”

“You need to stop this,” Thoth said. “We cannot enter Bara’cor because of your phase shield.”

“Arrangements have been made, yet I cannot stop Valarius from reenacting the same spell with another sacrifice. Blood magic is not something I can counter. Therefore… Duncan and Arek.”

“Duncan will try to kill Valarius.” It was not a question but a fact Thoth knew all too well. Jealously and hatred would focus into a cataclysm of fury with Valarius at its center. Certainly moving this piece would have dire consequences.

“And Arek will help him,” Lilyth replied simply.

Thoth shook his head, at first in disbelief, but that slowly gave way to admiration. The careful, methodical approach she’d taken was both impressive and reminded him of the danger she represented. He would have to stay on guard to be sure the Conclave did not end up the loser in any potential alliance they forged. Then a thought occurred and he asked, “How will you breach Avalyon in phase?”

“That is my concern,” she paused, then added, “but we cannot send Arek without guardians.”

Thoth looked at her, confused. Then her meaning became clear. “You’re asking me to send my Watchers? Why not use your entire armada of Furies?”

For a moment he thought Lilyth wouldn’t answer but then she said, “My forces stand ready, but a full attack will only marshal all the highlord’s defenses. Your Watchers must escort Arek. They’re better at combating Valarius’s warforged elves than my Furies. Four should be enough.”

“To do what?” Thoth inquired.

Lilyth raised an eyebrow at that. “I thought it would be obvious by now.”

“Indulge me,” he replied.

“Why, to rescue his father of course.”

His expression must’ve revealed his doubt. She leaned forward, her eyes becoming half-slits as she confronted his uncertainty. “You cannot remain neutral. Our future rests upon Arek accepting this path.”

Thoth was quiet, staring at her without blinking. Time slowed down, as if the universe waited for his next words. Because he couldn’t think of anything else, he said, “What path? It’s a lie designed to get the boy and his companions to do what you want. At best, they’ll all be killed.”

Lilyth gave a small nod and smiled, her clear eyes sparkling blue. “And a better world will be the result.”

“I don’t have four Watchers to commit,” Thoth lied. He knew Lilyth, for all her appearance of transparency, would have something else planned and his earlier caution reasserted itself. The advantage of knowing someone for millennia was while their intent might be obscure, their actions were predictable. Lilyth was not one to play a direct game so Thoth needed insurance against her likely betrayal. Therefore, he would not commit what meager resources he had left, but that would mean sacrificing Helios and Orion. Thoth sighed, growing weary at the thought.

Just then Lilyth looked up, her gaze drawn to something far outside her walls. A small smile crept onto her face. “Perhaps more Watchers will not be unnecessary.”

Thoth turned and saw the bright incandescence of two Ascended approaching along with a third that was less bright but obvious, like three shining stars on the plains of Olympious. He breathed out, knowing things had just gotten much more complicated.

“Do not worry. They will be exactly what Arek needs to complete his task.”

“And no matter the outcome he and his friends will be trapped here in Arcadia,” Thoth said. “They’ll all die to achieve what you want.”

Lilyth looked down, her gaze imperious. “What
we
want,” she said, her voice brooking no argument. “And do not be so melodramatic, Keeper… everybody dies.”

* * * * *

The figure of Piter stood quietly in a darkened corner of the room, his form nothing more than a black shadow. Black eyes without pupils glistened as he watched the two, nictating slowly like a reptile’s. A slow smile spread across his face, then without a sound he faded completely from sight.

Bloom

Sometimes I sit back and watched the sun move across

the sky to settle into the Westbay.

It is a beautiful sight to see, like golden fire.

The only better feeling I can recall, was falling in love.

-
          
Alain the Farflung, A Guide to Westbay

A
rek had kissed her! The thought raced through Yetteje’s mind, bringing with it embarrassment and fear, but a small part kept going back to the memory. Oh, it had been nothing more than a desperate mashing of his mouth on hers, nothing like the times she’d stolen private moments with a man or two of the Tir Combat Academy.
TCA knows their way
, as the saying went.

They were rough, smelled of sweat, grime, and more often than not, spirits, but they knew women and had been all too eager to help a young princess looking to defy her royal trappings. Still, Yetteje had never done anything with anyone to sully her family’s honor, and groping in the dark was nothing more than getting to know herself. No man would dare force himself upon a princess of Tir, making her small acts of defiance more of a dalliance than anything serious.

Arek’s kiss had been sweet in its unrefined surge of emotion. He was clearly interested in her and Yetteje had to admit she liked his attention. He was comely, a proven warrior, and fearless in battle. A girl could do worse. She smiled privately at the thought.

She also remembered she’d felt drained, a physical weariness that seemed to be passing, but had been very real. Hadn’t Arek said something about interfering with magic? Maybe that was the cause. Yetteje stumbled once, her legs feeling rubbery and her sense of direction wrong. Her earlier ability to unerringly find her way seemed gone, and for the first time in a long while she felt slow. She reminded herself to ask him about it at the first chance she got.

They had not walked very far before they found a bench in and amongst the hedges and trees, a secluded spot that would have been romantic if not for the two giant Watchers and the dwarven woman lurking over them. She’d asked Orion to remain behind but the Aeris Lord had answered her by flicking his glance between her and Arek, and then just ignoring her.

So Yetteje had to be content that whatever happened, Arek would remain in control of himself before he embarrassed them both further. That thought brought a small flutter in her stomach, and at the same time a rumble of laughter from Orion. She snapped her head up and looked at him but he merely raised an eyebrow and gave her a wink. Whatever… men were idiots in any form, she reassured herself, winged or not.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Arek said. “What happened?”

Had it only been a day ago? It was difficult to tell because time here was hard to judge and Yetteje was so blasted tired her brain felt fuzzy. Still, it felt like an eternity and the uncertainty of their party’s fate caused her to hesitate. It was only then that she realized she’d been keeping them alive in her mind so that she could go on, but she had no evidence to justify that fact. In actuality, the hole they fell through to open sky seemed unsurvivable, a thought she hadn’t allowed herself to consider until now.

She started haltingly, telling Arek of their fight with Anhur and his giants, and the mistfrights who called Lilyth their master. Every now and then she’d pause, gathering her strength. She was starting to feel better by the time she got to the part where they fell when she stopped, her voice choking up with emotion.

It was Helios who spoke then, his burnt orange armor glinting between golden and red as he said, “Do not despair for their fate. You said they had wings like us and if they perished from falling, they would be the first Aeris to have ever done so.” He ended that with a small laugh, and somehow his mirth infected her enough to pull it together.

“Wings?” Arek asked. He looked confused by that.

“They can change form here, I guess. They look just like these two, except their armor is different colors.”

Arek was silent, his pale eyes looking down as he seemed to digest that. When he didn’t say anything else, Yetteje completed the tale of her journey, telling him of her encounter with Thoth and Orion’s test. “It was amazing. A flash of light and Orion had to fight these creatures, like wolves but worse. That boy, he became something huge and awful.”

“Tomas lost hope, else we would be joined,” Orion said.

At the mention of Tomas, Arek bolted upright, his eyes wide.

“You tested with Tomas?” he asked Orion, his pale eyes narrowing. “Tomas of the Meridian Isle, a combat test to become Adept?”

The Aeris Lord took a knee so that he stood only slightly taller than Arek and said, “I did, and unlike Anala, I failed.”

Arek looked back at her, and to Yetteje he seemed scared. His face had gone white. Then he looked back at Orion and ask, “What happened to Tomas?”

Orion breathed out, the sound heavy with grief. “He succumbed to the darkness. I had to destroy him before he turned others into creatures… nephilim like himself.”

Arek stumbled back, painfully hitting the bench they were just sitting upon. He rubbed his face, then looked at Yetteje. “I… Tomas. He was my friend.”

“Then this a day of mourning for both of us,” Orion then replied. “The boy tried but could not see the crux of the test.”

“What? Pain? Embarrassment?” Arek’s words came out rapid fire laced with hot anger, causing the Aeris Lord to fall back on his haunches at its vehemence. “They put us up to these so called ‘tests’ without helping us to survive.”

Orion bowed his head. “It is about sacrifice, Lord Arek.” He seemed about to say more, then he just hung his head, clearly overcome by the loss as well.

Yetteje put a hand on Arek’s arm, pulling him back to her. “I saw Orion try to save him. He fought with courage and honor. Your friend… he couldn’t beat the things he created.” Arek looked at her with such anguish it pulled at her heart. Before she knew what she was doing, she grabbed and hugged him. “I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to lose someone.”

“Carefu—” When it was clear no part of his skin was touching hers, he seemed to relax into the hug while everyone else remained silent.

It was Arek who finally disengaged. “Thanks,” he said. “It’s just that I always thought Tomas and Jesyn would pass.”

Helios smiled at that. “Then you have reason to rejoice, for Anala and Jesyn are Ascended and now serve the Way.” He laughed. “Your faith in her is well-placed.”

Arek was quiet, then asked, “You mean Jesyn is an Adept?”

“Verily,” remarked Helios, clapping Orion on the shoulder, “a fact I remind my grieving companion here when he becomes too morose. Hope springs eternal as long as you have faith.”

Yetteje did not miss the look of irritation that crossed Arek’s face, as if the news was not as welcome as he’d acted. Then he muttered, “I’m an Adept, too.”

“Indeed?” asked Helios, “and who is your bonded partner?”

Arek looked up, his gaze becoming hard. “I don’t bond with others. I don’t need to.”

There was a moment, a heartbeat where Yetteje feared Helios would laugh again. Her skin began to crawl with the sudden feeling of immediate danger. She didn’t know why, but felt they walked a razor’s edge with Arek. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the dwarven woman backing up slowly, as if she had firsthand knowledge of this peril.

Helios must have felt it too. He stepped back and put a fist to chest and bowed. “As you say,
Lord
Arek. I do not question the power you wield.”

She put a hand back on Arek’s sleeve, turning him to face her. “I have some questions that don’t have to do with Tomas, but I don’t want to upset you. It’s just that we may not have another chance to talk alone.”

Arek didn’t see the look that passed between Helios and Orion then, but Yetteje did. She could almost imagine them both drawing blades. They had the same look when facing the nephilim at her rescue, the resolute look of battle hardened warriors.

Arek wiped his eyes on his sleeve and said, “Sure, it hasn’t quite hit me yet anyway.”

She could feel the tension ease in the two Watchers and continued, “I felt drained when you kissed me. Weak in the knees, but not the good kind.” She tried to smile at that but another wave of vertigo hit her and she had to lean back and steady herself.

Arek looked ashamed when he said, “My touch negates magic. It’s what I did to that door under Bara’cor, remember?”

And Yetteje did remember, when their glowing clearing had been plunged into blackness. “Why didn’t it knock me out or get rid of me the way you did with the door?”

Arek shrugged. “Maybe there’s so much raw power here that my body doesn’t need to take yours, or maybe it somehow knows when I don’t want to do it. Besides, you said you still felt weak.” He looked around lamely, clearly not sure how to answer her any more lucidly.

Seeing that, she nodded in agreement and switched tact, asking, “What do you know about Lilyth?”

“Where do I begin?” Arek laughed. At this, both Aeris Lords leaned closer, clearly interested in his observations.

“She claims she’s my mother. She’s at war with the archmage, Valarius Galadine, that’s clear. My assumption is that Thoth is neutral or you wouldn’t have been given audience here.”

Orion scoffed. “Hardly. It is because we had Thoth and the princess with us, else we would have had to fight our way in and out. Do not trust anything told to you by the Lady. Her thirst for rule is no less than Highlord Valarius himself.”

“And who’s she?” inquired Yetteje, nodding at Brianna. She was curious about how Arek was in league with the same folk that had attacked them in the underdark of Bara’cor.

“Her name is Brianna. I don’t think she’s aligned with the assassin that chased us. In fact, I’m not sure she’s aligned with anyone. She didn’t know what Dawnlight was.”

Yetteje drew her head back in consternation. What dwarf wouldn’t know her own homeland, or at least their reputed homeland? She looked at Brianna and asked, “You’ve never heard of it?”

The woman looked like she wanted to disappear into the tree next to her, but at Yetteje’s direct question she stepped forward and said, “Most of what you’re talking about is a mystery to me.”

One of the tattoos adorning Brianna’s skin changed then, moving a bit into a new shape. Yetteje’s eyes widened and she asked, “What are those?”

Brianna looked down at her arm. “These are my
entats
. They let me understand you, and you me.”

That was interesting. She looked at the
entat
that had changed and asked, “You don’t speak our language?”

Brianna looked trapped, her eyes darting left and right as if she literally sought to escape the question by running. When it was clear she had to answer, she hesitantly said, “I do now.”

Yetteje waited but Brianna said nothing else, so she asked, “What is your trade?”

Again that look, as if the woman didn’t want to answer any questions but knew she had no choice. Finally she said, “I’m a healer…” her eyes grew distant and then she said, almost to herself, “at least, I
was
a healer.”

“And you don’t know your own people?” asked Yetteje, feeling a bit frustrated at the dwarf’s reticence.

Brianna must have felt the same. She dropped her gaze and said, “I do, but we call ourselves,
yewmins
. It sounds strange to call
me
a ‘dwarf’ given your stature.”

Yewmins?
Yetteje had never heard the strange word, but noticed many things about the woman that were also strange. For one, her clothes were finely stitched, everything evenly spaced and exact. Her boots were laced up the side, but not by strings. Instead, fine interlocking teeth of a type of metal sealed them around the middle of her calf. The soles were covered by a black material that was pliable yet hard enough to hold its own shape, unlike the leather soles of normal footwear, and again that fine stitching, evenly spaced and exact wherever it showed. Such craftsmanship was rare and while Yetteje couldn’t say she’d traveled all of Edyn, she’d seen examples of fine tannery and tailoring from all over the world as a princess of Tir. None, in her opinion, matched the quality of what Brianna wore.

She didn’t comment on this but filed it away, not sure yet what to make of it. At the very least a dwarf ought to have heard of the mountain itself. It was strange, but she did not get the sense the woman meant them any harm. Finally, she looked at Arek and asked, “You trust her?”

Arek nodded. “She’s also not going anywhere with that collar on.”

“Going, what do you mean?”

“These dwarves can evidently phase through rock.”

Then Yetteje remembered the assassin under the floor when they’d been stuck in that supply room in Bara’cor. “After you left, we fought one that could move through stone like it was water!”

“You’ve seen others like me?” Brianna asked her.

She looked almost hungry for the answer, so Yetteje replied, “One, but you’d not want to call him a friend. He was an assassin trying to kill us, and he could move through stone. But Arek and I killed him, or so we thought. He reappeared, possessed by an Aeris calling himself Baalor.”