The Ancient Ones (The Legacy Trilogy Book 3) (33 page)

‘The Eudans came and defiled even our most precious temples,’ Lady Wind noted. ‘They enslaved the priests and raised pigs on our most hallowed ground to spite us. Nothing is sacred to them.’

They approached the foot of one of the towers they had spied from the ship, its top poking up above the treetops. For some reason, the forest had decided not to crowd in upon this building, although vines had long since snaked up the stonework, squeezing between them and prying them loose.

The clearing was not altogether vacant: Salu was there, staring up at the tower side. He did not acknowledge their coming, and he was banging on the side of the tower with his stick, perhaps checking to see if the thing would fall before venturing inside, perhaps just enjoying the sound.

Tell-tale laughter emanated from the trees an instant before Toby bound into view, scampering past the old man and vanishing inside.

As the landing party came to Salu’s side, the old magician sat down on the tower steps with a weary sigh and began to probe with his tongue at something stuck between his teeth.

‘How did you find your way here so fast, old goat?’ Daneel asked him, but Salu was not giving away his secrets and instead worked at cleaning the dirt from under his nails, grunting contentedly.

The building was only a few storeys high, with rounded floors of equal girth built atop each other. Lady Wind led them inside, giving away nothing in her expression, and they wound their way up the stairs to the topmost level. The roof was gone and the wind and rain had ruined the contents. Shattered ornaments littered the floor. Mounds of rotted tapestries were piled up against one wall. What remained was woven from bamboo, now just heaps of unrecognisable pulp.

Leopold glanced at the overcast sky, unconcealed by branches. Sweat ran under his shirt. Despite his hopes, the clouds did nothing to bring relief.

‘What do we do now?’ Captain Orrell asked, surveying the room. ‘Apparently, no one is here.’

Lady Wind looked around, searching for some clue amongst the decay. ‘We wait.’

Orrell leaned out an empty window and called down to his men. ‘Any sign?’

‘Another path leads further into the jungle,’ someone hollered back in response. ‘Shall we follow it?’

Orrell turned to the Koian woman, who shook her head, leaving the captain to relay the same gesture out the window to his man. ‘Stay here. Don’t venture out of sight.’

****

They waited many long hours at the base of the tower. Captain Orrell was keen to let his men look around, but Lady Wind insisted they stay together and wait patiently.

‘The Eudans may come; or worse, we could be mistaken for them. Keep everyone together and with me,’ Lady Wind instructed.

‘I thought you said it was safe,’ Leopold reminded her.

‘I said it was safe for a boy.’

Orrell’s men remained alert, but Leopold soon bored and set about wandering the extents of the clearing.

He stepped up and over the various piles of building stones and rubble. He poked his sword into the trees and looked between their branches. If Captain Orrell had seen him using his father’s weapon in such a way, the man would surely have yanked his ear, but Leopold could see little harm in it. He was careful not to blunt its edge, occasionally hacking at the leaves for boredom’s sake, but avoiding the thicker wood. For that reason, he kept himself towards the back of the clearing, with the tower between himself and the others.

‘There’s no need to torture the poor trees,’ Jessicah said, having come up quietly behind him.

‘Why is that?’ he asked with annoyance, turning to face her and carefully sliding his sword back into its sheath. She had startled him, and it infuriated him that a woman could so easily sneak up on him. She had probably not even been trying.

She looked at the ragged fronds and cut stalks. ‘They feel it, you know. They feel it, very slowly, but they do know pain.’

‘What would you know of the feelings of trees?’ he asked her suspiciously.

‘I’ve always felt at home in nature, away from the walls and rooftops of the cities. Something inside of me gains comfort from places like this, so wonderful and green and vital ... saturated with life.’

Leopold was not about to agree with her. ‘I think it’s quite awful.’

She ignored his obvious attempts to offend her. ‘I want to speak to you, Leopold. About me. About my secret.’ She spoke earnestly, her palms clasped gently in front of her pale dress.

‘What of it?’ he asked impatiently. All this waiting around did little for his temper.

‘I’m not sure what you are thinking, but I want to ask you not to tell anyone about what I did—who I was.’

‘By anyone do you mean Captain Orrell?’

‘I mean anyone. There are no secrets on that ship, Leopold. Telling one is as good as telling all.’

‘I don’t think it is very wise to hide such truths from the captain,’ Leopold stated firmly, standing as tall as possible and using his best Emperor’s voice. He had been honing it upon the sailors and thought it was sounding much improved—very regal and commanding.

‘Then if you want to tell him, so be it,’ she responded. ‘David is a kind man. He will understand.’

Leopold was disappointed. His best attempts to infuriate her always failed dismally. ‘David?’

‘The captain.’

‘Oh,’ he replied in understanding. He had never even stopped to think the man did have a given name. ‘You heard what he said about Rei. He did not sound so understanding to me. Who could blame him? The woman inside you destroyed the Empire—my Empire—and killed innumerable innocent people: men, women and children.’

He made a point of mentioning the children, just to wound her even more. She remained calm and level headed, even through that, and it was Leopold who felt his confidence wavering.

‘You may be right. I cannot stop you, Leopold, but I implore you to wait. Everyone will discover the truth soon enough. I only hoped it would be later rather than sooner, after we have finished with this voyage.’

‘I think sooner,’ he said quite smartly.

She sighed, but Leopold did not receive any of the squirming he had hoped for. He had mentally rehearsed this conversation many times over the previous weeks, knowing it would come, but it was not nearly as rewarding as he expected.

‘There’s no good to be had from this, Leopold. I am not sure what has gotten into you. Perhaps being Emperor has overfilled you with pride. I very much liked the Leopold I first met, but the one that accompanied me on this voyage is little more than a spoilt child.’

‘Do you really think it’s wise to be so rude?’ he asked, puffing out his chest. ‘Do you know what would happen if I were simply to open my mouth?’

She scrutinised him, on the brink of looking riled. Then, as if carried away by the hot air, her anger evaporated and her expression shifted substantially. She adjusted her weight and pulled her shoulders back to stand straighter, matching his upright stance.

She smiled at him warmly. ‘Oh, Leopold. Don’t think of us as enemies. The captain and I are becoming fast friends, but don’t think I have anything more in mind for him. Of course I have been saving myself for you, dear Leopold. I’ve just been too timid to admit it. Can’t you see how much I care for you?’

‘I—I beg your pardon?’ he stammered, not believing his ears. Her sudden change of heart was unexpected, overwhelming.

She stepped closer to him, nearly toe to toe. ‘If you are nice to me, Leopold, I will be nice to you. Don’t be jealous of the captain. I’m only befriending him to find out more about Samuel. The captain knows many of his secrets, his weaknesses. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To get back at that awful magician?’

Leopold took a step back with alarm, the leaves resisting his retreat. ‘What are you saying?’ Had she gone mad? Had he misjudged her all along?

‘You know what I’m saying, Leopold. We both don’t like that magician telling us what to do. He killed your father, or have you forgotten? We should get back at him for that. He’s done horrible things to me, too.’ She smiled at him demurely.

‘You’d really help me against Samuel?’ Looking closer at the woman, he found the obvious staring him back in the face. ‘You’re not Jessicah.’

‘Shh,’ she told him gently, as an excuse to put her fingertip to his lips. ‘Clever little devil, aren’t you, my Leopold?’ There was a deliberate hint of sarcasm in her voice.

‘How long have you been here?’ he asked suspiciously.

‘Just a few moments here and there. Long enough for me to understand what’s going on. Enough for me to start making subtle changes for the better. Jessicah is a brave girl, but when she gets upset she inevitably runs and hides, and that leaves me in control. Each time I stay a little longer. Eventually there will be no Jessicah at all.’

Leopold thought about calling to the others, perhaps Samuel or Captain Orrell, until he realised this could be the perfect opportunity to get what he wanted all along. ‘What can you do to help me rid the world of Samuel? Neither of us is strong enough to kill him. What can you do that I cannot do alone?’

Her lips curled into a satisfied smile and Leopold found himself thinking once again how utterly beautiful she was, beyond reason, a goddess sent to earth.

‘Oh there is so very much I can do for you that you cannot do alone, dear Leopold.’ Her smug voice was full of connotations. ‘We can set a trap for him,’ she said. ‘We can lead him to danger. He is not a god. He is a man with mortal failings and he loves his dear Jessicah beyond all others—nearly as much as his son. But he is powerful. He has Thann’s power; he has my power! It may take some time for the opportunity of our revenge to arise, but I’m sure it will ... soon enough. Just wait and watch, Leopold. Be patient. The time of Samuel’s comeuppance will arrive, and when it does, act swiftly. Don’t forget, it is him or you, Leopold—a matter of live or die. You are your father’s son. There is magic in you too and eventually Samuel will come for it, as he has for everyone else, or he will send his Truthseekers to do his dirty work for him.’

Leopold’s eyes filled with apprehension. ‘I want no part of magic. He can have it!’

‘Don’t get excited, boy, it is only a trifle. I can see it hidden away and kept out of your reach, but Samuel knows of it. He will claim it for his own without a doubt, and that does not bode well for you. Beware of him when he is weak, when he is desperate. When the hunger overcomes him, that is when you should fear him most. I’m sure he keeps you nearby as a potential snack, something to sate his appetite when he is feeling drained. He eats souls, Leopold. That is what demons do.’

Leopold subdued his fear. ‘And would you abandon the captain once you have what you need from him?’ His voice lowered to a whisper as he voiced his true heart’s desire. ‘Would you truly save yourself for me?’

Something snapped in her expression and it was clearly Jessicah who was looking back at him with disdain. ‘Why would I do that? Well done, Leopold! Now you’ve confirmed it. You really are an ass.’

With that, she stormed away, leaving Leopold by himself at the jungle’s edge. He paused for a moment, wondering if he should follow her. Shaking his head, he returned to cutting at leaves with his sword. Rei was right. There was no hurry, and she would surely show herself again when the time was right. He was quite looking forward to it.

****

They waited until near dusk, with the sounds of the jungle changing to meet the approaching night. Leopold was hungry. They had few provisions, thinking they would only be ashore a short time.

Finally, Lady Wind stood and spoke, breaking the monotony with her announcement. ‘They come.’

Orrell’s men, alerted, scoured the jungle warily with their eyes. Somehow Lady Wind had sensed their arrival long before the figures came filing down the path from the mountain.

‘Still your men!’ Lady Wind hissed, for some of Orrell’s soldiers had readied their swords. She clasped her palms together and put her eyes to the ground and waited, as if in respect for those who approached.

A gesture from Captain Orrell saw his men easing their weapons back into their scabbards, but it seemed they need not have been worried, for it was only young women that stepped into view. They each had the same tinted skin and angled eyes as Lady Wind and they spread themselves in a line, sixteen in total.

The first thing of note was that each was a svelte beauty. Several of Orrell’s men swore under their breath. None of the women could have been past their twentieth year and Leopold was as surprised as everyone to see such young ladies emerging from the trees and ruins, as if there were a wonderful paradise just out of view, home to such heavenly angels.

Apparently, they had been subsisting in these jungle wilds, but none of them looked the least bit dishevelled. Quite the opposite, they were immaculately clean and well-dressed, as if readied to attend some royal gala. Some had their long black hair pulled tight in ponytails, or tied up in decorative fashion. Some had shorter hair that hung freely about their shoulders. They wore shimmering, figure hugging garments, similar to Lady Wind’s in design, but while her clothes were made from the simple fabric common to Amandia, theirs shimmered in the light. Lady Wind would later explain it was silk, a material rare in Amandia before the Darkening.

One of them conversed with Lady Wind in some unfathomable language that only the good Lady comprehended. The young woman’s expression was serious as she spoke to the older, and she looked as if she had never laughed in her life. Such a grievous bearing looked altogether strange on her youthful face.

Samuel, the only one still sitting, raised himself, slowly and groaning like an old man, to come beside Leopold.

‘Do you understand them?’ Leopold asked of the magician.

‘I understand everyone,’ he said. ‘The Lick of the Ancients taught me all languages.’ The reference escaped Leopold. ‘Even if I did not, they speak the Old Tongue, which I learned long ago. Here. It is a simple matter, and it is fitting that you understand them, too. I will just give you fair warning: I would treat these young ladies very carefully if I were you. They will not put up with nonsense.’