Secrets of the Stonechaser (The Law of Eight Book 1) (31 page)

“An admirable sentiment,”
the Tattered Man said,
“but what will you do when you acquire that power? Angelica went through much trouble to conceal it. You may end up my instrument after all, like the last Stonechaser. I know you have seen that future as well.”

The mist faded, and the Tattered Man vanished. Len-Ahl let out her breath. If the Tattered Man could only appear for such a brief period, perhaps his hold on the Yagols was not as strong as she feared. Still, he remained a dangerous foe as long as he controlled Qabala and the Cult of Eversor, and his power would grow with time unless stopped.

She wondered why she felt no fear at meeting the enemy of her people. Perhaps because for all his power, he struggled as she did. And the consequences for his failure would be equally as dire for him. As she stared into the torchlight, she realized she need not fear the blackness. For even the darkest night had a sunrise. The light would always return.

Chapter Thirty-One

QABALA TAPPED HER fingers on the arm of her sitting chair as Meeka inserted the hot tongs into her hair. “Don’t burn me again,” she said. “Do it slowly.”

“Yes, my Eternal,” Meeka said. “I am sorry.”

Meeka could press a white hot iron to her flesh, and the burn marks would heal as soon as she removed it. However, the power of the Fatexion did nothing to dull the pain. The consequences of every wound she suffered were felt, and it would remain that way until the day when she reunited the godstone with the Exemplus.

Qabala sighed. “It’s not your fault, Meeka. I cannot seem to stop fidgeting.”

Tonight was the banquet in celebration of the arrival of the ambassadors from Miagama. The Irahi Sorcerers’ Guild had once been a power to be reckoned with in the far-flung eastern nation, to the point of causing stability problems for the Shogunate. Nowadays they were another dwindling order, much like the Earth Clerics. But where the clerics had once tapped into the power of the faeries, the Irahi drew their power from Eversor, even if it took them millennia to realize this. The Tattered Man had suggested she seek their aid, as he had worked diligently to nurture their power over the centuries.

She glanced toward the balcony, where their gift rested against the glass doors. It worked much as a spyglass, but was longer in length. It had come with the arrival of the governor’s vanguard. A spyglass which would allow her to closely gaze upon the stars themselves. According to their letter, only a few existed in this world, and had been recently invented by a pair of astronomers from Dellain. She could not wait to try it out, with Nerris by her side, of course.

However, first she had to make it through the banquet. Such occasion was mere tedium compared to the evening she had planned with Nerris afterward. She had decided to try a new hairstyle for the occasion, and suffered Meeka’s pokes and prods as the slave attempted to curl her hair with tongs heated in the fire. Truthfully, she didn’t much care for the process, and her hair would most likely be back to its natural wavy flow by the time the Miagamese governor arrived in a fortnight.

She smiled at that thought. Perhaps she would let Meznas sacrifice that woodwitch in the dungeons. Such an act would leave no doubt to the Irahi where her loyalties resided. She would throw another banquet to honor the governor, one where she planned to announce her engagement to Nerris. She wondered if he would appreciate her new look. She might decide to keep it yet if it made him forget about that half-faery wretch.

A knock sounded on her door, causing the Aeterna to turn her head sharply. Meeka poked her scalp again with the hot tongs and Qabala grimaced. She stood and slapped the tongs out of Meeka’s hands. “Enough, Meeka.”

The slave curtsied and rushed to answer the door. Meznas entered, a look of distaste writ on his face. He bowed. “My Eternal.”

“Yes, Meznas?”

“The ambassador of the Irahi Sorcerers’ Guild awaits at your pleasure in the great hall,” he said. The Grand Menista wore resplendent robes of black satin with crimson inlays to mark his rank. However, he also wore a sullen look on his face, and his eyes were flinty.

“What is it?” Qabala asked.

Meznas pursed his lips as if reluctant to speak. “Do we truly need these conjurors, my Eternal?” he asked. “The Cult and its practitioners are far more advanced than these yellow devils, both in ability and numbers. Has my service not been satisfactory?”

“I will need your followers here to fight Prince Lahnel when I go on my journey,” Qabala said. “I have some specialized tasks in mind for the Irahi.”

Qabala let Meeka finish her hair and dress her, and marched through the corridors of the Aeternica, meeting her Dume-Generals outside the great hall. Dume Yorne’s armor was polished to perfection, his eyes gazing at her through the hollowed slits of his helm’s visor. Dumes Valez, Quin, and Lukas had fancied up as well, all dust and dirt washed from their plate and cloaks. Even Falares didn’t smell as rancid as usual, and she wondered if he had bathed or merely saturated his armor with scented oil.

 They entered the great hall from the side entrance, and Qabala ascended the dais where the throne of Yagolhan sat. The midday light beamed in from the long, vertical windows, illuminating the figures kneeling before the throne.

“On behalf of the country of Yagolhan and the Order of Peacekeepers, we welcome you,” Dume Yorne said. “Rise, and be received by Queen Qabala Aeterna, the Unbreakable, ruler of all Yagolhan.”

The ambassador and his entourage found their feet, and she found herself looking upon a slight, bearded man with the angular eyes and olive skin of the Miagamese. “Far and wide have the tales of the emergence of the Aeterna spread,” he said in a thick accent. “Even in far off Miagama the deeds of Queen Qabala are told within our circles. I am honored to represent the Irahi Sorcerers’ Guild in offering our assistance to your Eternal in all matters which you would find us useful.”

“I graciously accept your service,” Qabala said. “For far too long has the power of the Irahi gone without notice or respect in the world at large. Upon my victory over Prince Lahnel, perhaps we can change that in a way which would benefit both of us.”

The ambassador’s arms were folded together, concealed by the wide sleeves of his robe. He inclined his head to her. “The governor wishes to treat with you on these matters personally, your Eternal. He has sent us, the chosen few, with a demonstration of the power we can offer you.”

Qabala nodded, and the ambassador and his underlings stepped out of the way. There were maybe a half dozen of them, and they had concealed a wheeled structure behind them. It contained a great stone which she thought to be crystal, and it had the diameter of a wide shield. The two most ancient men she had ever seen stood on either side of it. Toothless and wrinkled to the point they barely resembled humans, they were bent and no taller than children. They wore flowing robes, and thin strips of black cloth covered their eyes, which had characters in the Miagamese language painted on them. Perhaps most shocking was that these old men were bound hand and foot in fetters.

“These men are Denzai,” the ambassador said. “Sorcerers among our order bound in slavery for their own protection, lest their power be unleashed without restraint. Approach the scrying crystal and they will show you many things you did not know.”

“Such as?” Qabala asked.

“Past, present, future,” the ambassador said, “but above all, truth.”

Qabala descended the dais, and Lukas and Falares parted to let her pass. However, Dume Yorne held out his arm. “My Eternal,” he whispered. “Can we trust these men?”

“Nothing they can do will harm me,” Qabala said. “I carry the Doom Rock.”

“It is not your physical well being which worries me,” Yorne said. “The Irahi are known as soul stealers. There’s no telling what you could see...”

Qabala laid a hand on Yorne’s gauntlet and gently pushed it aside. “I sense much power in the Irahi. They can aid me. But if they do play false, act accordingly.”

She could hear Dume Yorne’s resigned sigh through his visor, but he let her pass. Qabala approached the scrying crystal, and the fettered old men began to chant in a language she did not recognize. They sang the same phrase over and over again, their voices in unison.

The Denzai held their hands up.
“Tunfa katua, tunfa katua,”
they continued to chant in raspy voices.

Qabala stopped several paces from the crystal and looked at the ambassador. “What now?”

“Merely gaze into the crystal. Let your thoughts come naturally and you will see a secret revealed.”

Qabala turned her gaze back to the luminous crystal, which was emanating a faint glow. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to think about. The Tattered Man had said the Irahi would be able to help her, but she was not sure she wanted to rely on him so much. She was perfectly capable on her own, and with Nerris at her side, she felt like she could do anything.

The surface of the great crystal shimmered, and Qabala lost all sense of the great hall. Instead, she seemed to be in one of her dungeon cells deep beneath the Aeternica. Turning toward the door, she saw Nerris standing in front of her. Before she could ask him what was happening, he stepped forward as if not seeing her. She held out her hands to stop a collision, but Nerris passed right through her as if an apparition.

She whirled around and saw him standing over a huddled figure in the corner. Upon closer inspection, she saw a head of blonde hair darkened by dirt and dust, and hissed. It was
that girl
. Nerris stooped beside her and spoke, though Qabala could not hear him. She watched the silent conversation, but no words could tell her the story better than the girl’s eyes. She reached toward Nerris with her soul, and worse, Nerris was responding.

She could feel the emotions between them, and the truth finally came for Qabala. This girl not only loved Nerris, he loved her as well. Her heart dropped, and Qabala sank to her knees. She had vowed long ago to never cry again, but tears formed in her eyes nonetheless. She wept into her hands as Nerris and the girl held each other close.

“Why?” she said between sobs. “Oh, Nerris, after all we’ve shared—”

She willed herself to stop. She was not the helpless girl who wept every night her foster father rolled on top of her in Verchak. She was Qabala the Unbreakable, the one chosen to create a new world, and she did not deserve to be treated this way.

“Enough,” she yelled, getting to her feet. “Let me out of this demon’s vision! Let me—”

There was a flash of light, and Qabala was back in the great hall. The shock of the transition caused her to stumble, and the ambassador moved forward to help her. Qabala waved him off.

“I see your truths,” she said to him, “though I cannot thank you for them. Please leave me.”

The ambassador nodded and barked out some orders in Miagamese. His subordinates pushed the scrying crystal away, with the Denzai filing out behind them. When they had all left, Qabala sank to her knees once more and her Dume-Generals started forward.

“What did you see?” Qabala asked.

“Nothing,” Quin answered. “You stood there sort of rigid, my Eternal. Then you began shaking. That’s when you came out of whatever you were under.”

“Good.” No one had seen her weep. Qabala stared at the cracks in the floor. She would not show weakness. She would hear the truth from Nerris’s own lips. If he proved himself unfaithful, a lesson would be required. “Where is Nerris?” she asked.

Her Dume-Generals cast glances at each other, but none of them were able to answer. “We are not sure, my Eternal,” Valez finally said.

“Valez, Falares, Lukas, with me,” Qabala said. “Round up a dozen men.”

“My Eternal—” Yorne said.

“Stay out of this, Dume Yorne,” Qabala said. “I know he is your friend, but you cannot protect him now. You and Quin are dismissed.”

Yorne bit back further response with a grunt, bowed, and exited. Quin did the same and followed him. Those two were too close to Nerris, but she knew Falares and Valez harbored no love for him. If Nerris was going to spit on her hospitality, spit on her love for him, she would treat him in kind.

After Valez summoned some guards, Falares dispatched them to find Nerris and summon him to her chambers. It was not long before it was done, and Qabala marched back to her quarters, picking up guards as she went along. She knew how dangerous Nerris could be when provoked, and didn’t want a spectacle like the last time.

She threw the door open to her bedroom and entered with Falares and Valez in tow. Nerris sat up from her favorite chair. “Qabala,” he said. Then he laid eyes on Valez. “What is
he
doing here?”

“You’ve lost the privilege of questions,” Qabala said. “Tell me the truth, Nerris. You went to see that girl despite my instructions for you not to set foot in the dungeons.”

Nerris’s face hardened. “What of it? Len-Ahl is my friend. That will never change.”

Qabala’s heart sank all over again. The Denzai had seen it true. Nerris did not even have the good sense to lie about it. “I loved you,” she said, her voice faltering. “You loved me once as well. Tell me, Nerris. Tell me what she has that I am lacking. What have I not given you?”

“Qabala, I do love you.”

“Liar!” Qabala’s sadness turned to anger. She had seen how he held that girl in his arms in her vision, and the look in his eye when he spoke of her. Did he think she was stupid? “At every turn you resist, Nerris. What if I sent away everyone? Falares, Valez, the Cult, the Tattered Man. If it were you and me and no one else, what would you give up to be with me? That girl? The Thrillseekers? What will it take?”

Nerris’s shoulders slumped. “We can’t be together, Qabala. Not even if we were alone. I’ve tried to deny it myself a thousand times, but when I go to sleep, I think of Len-Ahl. And when I wake up, she is my first thought. That doesn’t mean you have meant nothing to me, but it does mean we cannot continue this way.”

Qabala fixed him with a cold stare. “You’re right. I was such a fool. The Tattered Man was right. The only thing that matters is finding the Elemental Stone. And you and that girl are going to help me find it. And I will have your love even if I have to use the godstones to make it be so. I will not accept any other outcome.”

Nerris shook his head. “Qabala—”

“Until then, you can enjoy the same accommodations as your friends.” She nodded to Falares and Valez. “Take him.”

Falares barked some orders and the room filled with guards. Nerris tensed, but he had no weapon and could not fight them. Several pairs of gloved hands grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him from the chamber. As he passed her, his face held a mixture of confusion, anger, and longing. Qabala forced herself to turn away, attempting to hide the tears which ran down her cheeks.