Phoenix in Shadow - eARC (26 page)

She cut off even before his usual jaunty farewell and sat in the quiet comfort of her room, alone and silent, for long minutes. Finally, she took a deep breath and forced thoughts of doubt and confusion from her mind.

I’ll go let Shae know about our extra visitor, and then I’ll find out what Phoenix is up to!

The thought gave lightness to her heart, and she found herself once more bouncing along, anticipating the next sight of the tall Justiciar, while a part of her wondered
why.

Chapter 35

“Draw your sword, little human. Draw your sword and let me kill you fairly.” The distorted face of the
bilarel
grinned broadly, showing huge yellow teeth that looked even worse contrasted with the clay-gray skin, and matched the dull yellow eyes.

Condor’s lips tightened as he evaluated the rest of the creature. It wasn’t, really, a
bilarel
, but something that used to be, or could have been, one of the giant humanoids; the thing must have come over the Wall here at Evening Dawn, midway between Hishitenzei and Ruratenzei, and it showed all the hideousness of the other things from that twisted forest.
Bilarel
normally looked like gigantic gray strongmen, all smooth, impossibly huge muscles bulging on a frame that simply exaggerated the ideal.

This
thing’s skin was covered with rough patches like stone, some of the patches growing sharp spines. It wore a swaying shirt of mail that reached nearly to the knees, a shirt whose looseness still failed to conceal the warped shape of the torso beneath, and held a huge axe in one hand; the other hand gripped a large shield. Worse, the forearms had naturally-growing
blades
running from wrist to elbow, and he had already seen that these were poisoned; Mallan Helbert lay twitching on the ground, his daughter trying desperately to administer some form of antidote.

No more time to waste; other people are hurt or in danger.
“I’m not wasting my sword on something like you; you’d just get it dirty.”

The thing’s grin vanished, but it did not charge in anger, as Condor had hoped.
Tilted
Balance
, the thing’s a lot smarter than it looks.
The yellow eyes were studying
Condor
now, recognizing that only someone insane would make that speech...unless they had something to back it up with.

“Is that so?” it finally growled. “Well, I’ll do my best to relieve you of that worry...forever.” Instead of charging, it closed in slowly, cautiously, shield raised, knees bent so most of its body was protected, eyes watching the False Justiciar’s every move as it moved forward, passing the large gray boulder that marked the border of Helbert’s front yard.

Condor found himself tempted to draw the Demonshard. This thing was dangerous. But he knew full well that every contact with the sentient blade was a risk; yes, it was now cautious and recognized he was stronger-willed, but Condor knew it would never entirely give up; it was made as a tool of corruption.
As I should have expected from the King of All Hells; a part of me did, but didn’t care, not then. And now...a little late.

The axe screamed down and Condor leapt back, evading the strike, then tumbled sideways to force the creature to turn. This confirmed what he’d noticed when the thing first appeared; it was demon-quick with its arms, but the misshapen torso and perhaps other parts lower down hampered it slightly on the turns.
Which means...

Condor sprinted sideways, forcing the thing to turn again. Then reversed, barely evading another strike of the axe, and reversed again, then reversed a
third
time. By this point the creature had realized the pattern and settled itself, readying for the next evading reverse.

Which never came, as Condor continued around, now almost
behind
the distorted
bilarel
, and then launched himself into the air, pushing off from the boulder he’d noted earlier. He somersaulted in midair and used the spinning motion to
drive
his heel down and around.

The Condor Raiment’s black-forged boot smashed into the
bilarel
’s head like a sledgehammer; Condor could feel the crunching, squashing sensation of bone and flesh being crushed. He rebounded from the impact and completed a flip backwards, landing on his feet, and even as the monster roared in pain and stunned confusion, drove a gauntleted fist into the thing’s side, ducked under a wild swing of the axe, and then caught the other arm, gauntlets protecting him from the bladed edge, levering down and around, and the creature teetered, then went
down
with an earthshaking crash.

That won’t finish it, Aran
, he told himself. But the impact had knocked the axe from the thing’s grasp, and Condor dove for it, calling on the power that might be false as the Justiciars, but was still strong, strong, and he felt the massive weapon grow light in his hands; even as the creature shook itself, trying to rise, Condor brought the axe up and then down, as hard as he could. The meaty
thud
was met with an agonized grunt...and then silence.

He turned immediately to Mallan Helbert, whose breath was coming fast and irregular. “Please, let me,” he said to Istiri Helbert. The young woman glanced at him helplessly and moved aside.

Using the power to heal was difficult—and these days Aran, the Condor Justiciar, appreciated the irony far less than he used to. But he forced the power to flow
just
so, and blue-gold light shimmered around the darkwood-skinned farmer; Istiri’s eyes were wide as she saw the blood-wet cut across her father’s chest closing up, a wound in reverse. Mallan’s eyes slowly opened, showing his own wonder.

“Son...I don’t know who you are, or how you came here at the right time, and I don’t know how to thank you, either. But I’d surely like to know all three of those answers,” he said after a moment.

Condor chuckled. “You can call me Condor.” He gestured at his armor. “As for my timing, I’d heard about your troubles with disappearing livestock and such in town, and thought I’d come check it out. Apparently it decided there was no more need to be cautious just about the time I arrived.”

“Are there...more of them, do you think?” Istiri was clearly afraid, but not terrified. Her father being wounded had frightened her more than the monster itself, Condor thought.
Strong woman. Though you’d expect that out here.
In some ways she sort of reminded him of Kyri—Istiri was tall, with long, straight black hair, though her eyes were dark and her face more heart-shaped.

“I doubt it; regular
bilarel
travel alone or in pairs, but this thing was a freak; it’s almost certainly alone. If you really want to make sure, get some of the guards from town to check the area.”

“You didn’t answer the third question,” the farmer said, slowly getting to his feet.

Condor shook his head. “No need to thank me with anything more than words. I’ve got a journey ahead of me and no time to stop...though I’ve got little choice if people are in danger.”

“You’re
sure
?” Istiri’s voice echoed her father’s incredulity. “You just risked—”

“Nothing terribly much, I assure you. Fighting things like that...it’s my profession as a Justiciar of Myrionar.”
Well, what else am I going to call myself? Not a False Justiciar. I’m not following anything else.

“Then please accept our most deep and heartfelt thanks, Condor, Justiciar of Myrionar,” Mallan said emphatically. “If journey you must, do so, and go safely. But you’ll be welcome here for a day or a year, if ever you pass this way again.”

“Then I thank you and accept your own thanks.” He bowed and, hearing them call farewells after him, strode towards the south, hoping to regain the Necklace and get in at least a few more hours of travel before night fell.

Events like this one...they gave him
hope
. He knew that was a terribly, terribly dangerous thing to have, when you were using surely accursed power and engaged in a mission of vengeance that might well leave you dead or worse. Yet...for the first time he was entirely on his own, possibly beyond the reach of the creature that controlled the Justiciars, and he was helping people not as part of a masquerade but because
he
wanted to,
he
was making the decision to find people in trouble and solve their problems.

The only problem was that it was
slowing
him, and he had been falling behind for a while. Phoenix and her party were like phantoms, passing through towns, leaving a few words and accounts of their presence, an occasional trace along the road, but for the most part seemed to be traveling without pause or comment.
They’ve got a goal and they intend to make that goal. What? What is Phoenix after
here
?

That question was
really
nagging at him. The fact was that—during the times he was honest with himself—he
knew
Phoenix was a hero. He or she—based on the latest reports, probably she—
had
to be; she was the final choice of the true Myrionar, and there was no way she was less than the best the god could find in Evanwyl or immediately surrounding states. Yet it seemed that she was ignoring people in distress, or so blinkered by her mission that she actually wasn’t noticing them.

What could be driving her—or him—so hard that they’re not performing missions of Mercy, Justice, and Vengeance, so that I—the False Justiciar—have been trying to make up for their failures?

Try as he might, he couldn’t come up with a satisfactory answer to this question, and that bothered him a lot. But on the positive side, he was sure of her destination; it
had
to be the capital, Sha Kaizatenzei Valatar. Which meant that if he pushed himself a bit more, it wouldn’t be very long before he could catch up with her...and finally settle the matter of his murdered friend.

“Don’t worry,” he said to the Demonshard, and touched it, feeling the questioning, dark eagerness. “You’ll have someone to kill soon enough.”

And what then?
a part of him asked.

And for that, he was not sure he had an answer.

Chapter 36

“I think I’m going to have to hop out of the bushes and admit I’m here,” Poplock said.

“What?” Tobimar was startled, and by their expressions so were Hiriista and Kyri. “Why? I thought we’d agreed—”

“We had, but...Tobimar, I’m good at watching people without watching them, you know. And sure as water’s wet, that Master Wieran’s guessed our game. Hiriista could do it, I can’t pretend he couldn’t. Right?”

Hiriista bobbed his head. “Indeed. You have expressed appreciation of my intellect and talents, all of you; understand then that in my honest estimation I am nothing at
all
special when compared to Weiran. Poplock is almost certainly right. Now, that does not mean he will
communicate
his perceptions to the others; he is the sort to keep secrets, whether he is the enemy we suspect or the savior others believe.”

“What do we gain by doing this, though?” Kyri asked sensibly.

“Blunt their stroke and perhaps return it upon them,” Tobimar said slowly, and leaned back in the chair, causing the front legs to tip up slightly. “Consider: at the moment no one has said anything to us about Poplock; as far as most of them know, he’s a dumb animal. Even if Wieran has said something to them, as far as
they
know, we still believe we have carried off this deception, right?”

“Ooooo, I see the way you’re swimming, and that’s clever,” Poplock said. “We confess to the deception...hmmm, how would be the best—”

“Tell them most of the truth,” Kyri said with a quick smile at both of them. “Truth is a lie’s best weapon, wasn’t that something you told me?”

“It certainly sounds like my brand of wisdom,” the Toad agreed with a bounce. “So...we tell them that I was kept secret as a sort of backup weapon, until...”

“Until,” Hiriista finished, enthusiasm rising in his tone, “you became convinced that the enemies you sought either were not here, or were at least not among the highest in the land, so by being open with them you will make them your allies to hunt down these enemies. Yes, yes, that is well thought of. It also allows
you
to define the parameters of the, how should we say,
reveal
.” He glanced at the others. “But this, of course, will
only
work if we do it before any of them indicate the slightest suspicion.”

Tobimar leaned forward, the chair-legs dropped down with a
thump
, and he rose. “Then let’s not waste more time. We were talking about meeting with Lady Shae and the others at the Valatar Throne this morning. Are we ready?”

Phoenix nodded, looking relieved. Tobimar thought he understood; duplicity was one of the harder things for her to manage, and hiding Poplock had been a strain on the Phoenix Justiciar.
Plus the idea of having to wait for the reveal, as Hiriista calls it, would just make it worse.

“I certainly am,” Hiriista said. “And I look forward to seeing what we may learn here. You are a destabilizing influence, which may allow me to observe and deduce from events things which I would otherwise not have seen.”

“Happy to be of service,” Tobimar said with a grin.
I’m pretty sure he’s
got
to be on our side now; if he wasn’t, he’s had more than a few chances to stab us in the back or hand us over to whoever wants us.

Admittedly, the depth to which some beings were apparently playing these games implied that there could be a reason for Hiriista to continue the masquerade even now, but Tobimar really doubted it. And Phoenix hadn’t shown any doubts of him, which Tobimar found comforting.

The four of them made their way to the Valatar Throne, where Lady Shae was standing with Miri, Pelda, and a couple of Hues whom Tobimar had not yet met. As they entered, Shae smiled and nodded; Miri, predictably, skipped her way over, grabbed Tobimar’s hands and said “Good morning,” bowed to Hiriista, and then gave Kyri a huge hug.
She’s affectionate to everyone, but she seems even more so with Kyri.

“So good to see you all up and ready now!” she said. As she turned to lead them over, Shae finished her conversation and the two Hues bowed and left, glancing curiously at the newcomers. Pelda also bowed and excused himself.

“A welcome to you this good morning,” Shae said. “If you are hungry, I would invite you to join me; I was about to have my own breakfast when I was interrupted by an urgent matter.”

“Nothing too bad, I hope,” Kyri said with concern.

“Oh, not a disaster; more something that could not move forward without my blessing. Never mind that, are you joining me?”

“We had expected to eat either with you, or perhaps later this morning, so yes,” Tobimar said, seeing that Lady Shae was already walking towards the smaller side room they had eaten in the prior night.

“Good, good. I expect you’ll want to have a good look around, and that Miri will want to avoid her duties for another day while guiding you—”

“
Shae!
”

Lady Shae laughed. “Oh, by the Light, Miri, you’re so worried about other people’s opinions. Of
course
I want you to make sure our unique guests aren’t left to fend for themselves.”

No time like the present
. “About that, Lady Shae, I’m afraid we have a bit of a...confession to make.”

Shae raised an eyebrow, and though her expression was still relaxed, merely curious, Tobimar could tell from the shift in the tall, graceful frame that she was suddenly braced and ready for action. “A confession, you say?”

“Yes,” Kyri said. “We’ve hidden something from all of you since we arrived. Well, actually, it’s more accurate to say we’ve hidden some
one
.”

Poplock bounced onto Tobimar’s head and waved. “Hello!”

Shae’s eyes widened and she gaped momentarily. Miri spat out the tea she had just taken a sip of.
“What?”

“Lady Shae, Miri, this is Poplock Duckweed...our
other
companion.”

Shae had recovered, as had Miri after she wiped her face off. “So your party was three, not two. You know...now that I think of it, some of your stories would have sounded a bit better if there was a third. You changed them, then?”

“Yes,” Kyri said. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, whether I accept your apology rather depends on the explanation.” Lady Shae was no longer smiling, but she did not—quite—look angry, either. “Why did you conceal his existence from us for all this time?”

“And,” Miri added, “why did you suddenly decide to reveal it?”

“Holdout weapon,” Poplock said simply. “That’s what I’ve been for them before, and it just made sense to try to keep me that way, especially when we came to this place expecting something monstrous.”

“As he says,” Phoenix affirmed. “Lady Shae, we
know
that our enemy had at least some connection here, somewhere. The worst possibility was that the connection went
here
, to the center of Kaizatenzei. Having Poplock as a backup just in case was so very important. But having arrived here and met you...” she shrugged and smiled. “Our enemy must be
somewhere
around, but I know that you aren’t what we’re seeking; I’d have sensed it, I’m sure, even through all this light around me.

“And we’ve gotten to know Miri really well; she’s become...” Kyri’s expression suddenly was surprised as she went on, “well, one of my best friends, even in these few weeks or months, and I just can’t imagine that someone she regards so highly as you would be any less trustworthy. So now we need your help to search for what must be hidden somewhere in Kaizatenzei, and if we’re going to do that, we can’t be hiding secrets from you anymore.”

Lady Shae studied them for a few moments longer, then suddenly threw back her head and laughed the big, hearty laugh Tobimar remembered from the party. “How can I resent something so cleverly done, and with such real and powerful reasons, especially when it is revealed with such flattery? Very well, you are forgiven!”

She stepped forward and extended a finger. “A pleasure to meet you, Poplock Duckweed.”

The little Toad took her finger and bowed over it. “I’m honored to finally speak with you.” He then bounced off Tobimar’s shoulder and landed on Miri’s head. Looking down into her eyes, he said, “And sorry to have tricked you for so long!”

Miri stared up at him—somewhat crosseyed, giving Tobimar an idea of how
he
must sometimes look when talking to Poplock—and suddenly grabbed him off her head. “You’re
adorable!
”

Poplock gave a startled croak but was utterly unable to get free from the sudden hug. The helpless, pop-eyed look was just too much; Tobimar suddenly burst out laughing, and so did everyone else, even Hiriista with his hissing shriek of amusement. “I guess you can take that as an acceptance of your apology, Poplock,” he said finally.

Finally released, the little Toad made it back to his shoulder. “Or I could take it as my punishment,” he muttered.

Lady Shae was regarding Hiriista. “You showed little surprise, Hiriista. Did you know this already?”

“I had
deduced
it earlier,” Hiriista said, “though I did not know for sure until they told me, which they did before coming down this morning.”

Well,
there’s
a masterful evasion. He’s just not saying
how
much earlier he deduced it, or just how
long
before coming down this morning he was told about Poplock. What was it that Xavier called that? “Telling the truth like a Jedi,” that was it.

Lady Shae smiled and sighed. “Well, all right then.” Looking back at the Toad she raised an eyebrow. “‘Poplock,’ hm? A master of accessing that which is hidden, are you?”

“Well, actually, there’s quite a story behind that.”

“I
love
stories,” Miri said. “Tell us while we have breakfast!”

Tobimar winced inwardly, though he kept it off his face.
But telling them stories about you will reveal...

He stopped that line of thought.
It will show that he’s formidable when his presence isn’t suspected. But it tells them nothing of any of the skills he’s picked up since, and allows us to tell the story of who he’s become in whatever way we like.

Of course, he should have assumed Poplock knew what he was doing; the Toad usually did, after all. And as the tale of the lone Toad against the cult of Voorith unfolded, Tobimar had to smile.
They know he’s a menace...but they haven’t a clue about just how
much
of a menace. And maybe that will be enough.