The Crystal Mountain (7 page)

Angels and hound warriors worked feverishly to halt the growth of the tree and save their companion.

“Take over here,” Garin ordered one of the devas. “I’m needed elsewhere.”

The other angel turned his attention to the desperate rescue.

“And be careful,” Garin added as he went aloft. “If another of those arcane maelstroms erupts, get everyone out of here.”

The other angel nodded and returned to the task at hand.

Garin soared above the treetops, opting for a higher view of the terrain as he sped toward his new problem. To his right, the great wall of roiling Other continued to churn.

Garin spied another maelstrom nearby. He increased his speed, angling to get near the storm without getting so close that he was in danger of being affected by it. The veils of color and light sliced through the forest like a barrage of whirling blades. Everywhere they touched, reality changed.

We’re losing this fight, Garin realized. We cannot slow it down.

Shoring up his resolve, he dived toward the place the lantern archon had indicated. He could already see another crew of devas and archons scattering before the churning, obliterating maelstrom. Garin sought out the commander.

The fleeing angel heard Garin’s shout and changed his course. They met in midair, well back from the surging power of the wild magic. “It’s too much,” the other angel said, panting. “That’s the fourth one just since I sent word to you. We can’t do any good here.”

Garin gave the other angel a stern look. “We have our responsibilities,” he said, chastising the deva. “You will hold your position and work to cure the damage done until you receive new orders. Is that clear?”

The other angel glared back. “You would sacrifice us all to this madness just because that was the instruction handed

down to us? You’re as foolish as Tyr himself.”

Garin, dumbfounded at his counterpart’s insurrection, could only gape.

“Perhaps Torm has a more level head on his shoulders and can think of better ways to use those loyal to him. If you wish to die needlessly, then you and your rigid commands are more than welcome to do so. I leave you to it.” With that, the deva turned and flew away.

Garin watched the traitorous angel depart, sadness filling his heart. Please act soon, Tyr. Your followers begin to abandon you. Hope is dwindling.

Below him, another eruption of magic roared. He looked down to see the very land turn inside out, blossoming like some bizarre, nightmarish flower. When the upheaval abated, a strange seedlike object twenty paces across bobbed in the ground as though it sat upon the surface of water.

Several archons approached the peculiar object cautiously. As they drew near, it shimmered and shook, then began to crack along the top.

“Get back!” Garin screamed. “Stay away!”

He soared closer, yelling at the remaining celestials to stand clear. He had no idea what it might be, but he would not sacrifice more of his followers until it was necessary.

The seed-thing split in two, each half flopping to the side. A horde of vile creatures from some nether plane spilled out, accompanied by a gagging stench. Their pasty bodies oozed pus and drool dripped from their slavering fangs. They gibbered in delight, chattering to one another in some fell tongue Garin did not understand. They raised wicked weapons—dark, serrated blades and barbed, blood-soaked hooked polearms—and screamed a challenge.

Demons, Garin realized, stunned, and sickened. Demons in paradise. It cannot be.

With cries of glee the wretched things swarmed outward from their broken cocoon and raced toward the celestial denizens.

Eirwyn stared at the game board before her, frowning. She could see several possible moves that might create an advantage for her position, but none of them felt right. She could gain no insight into her path.

No, that’s not quite right, she admitted. I can’t focus.

“You seem restless,” Oshiga commented, sitting across from Eirwyn. “Have I backed you into a corner?”

Eirwyn smirked. “Not yet, but I can’t seem to concentrate. I’m not certain this is working.”

Oshiga nodded. “Perhaps we should rest.”

Eirwyn shook her head. “That’s not it. I know Erathaol wants me to relax and get back in the habit of divining in small ways, but this doesn’t feel right.”

“How so?”

Eirwyn frowned and shrugged. “I shouldn’t be here,” she said finally. “All this”—she gestured around herself at the sumptuous chambers that had been prepared for her stay— “is too…”

Oshiga gave her a puzzled look. “I do not understand. The rooms are not to your liking? How can we make you more comfortable?”

Eirwyn sighed. “No, the accommodations are wonderful. That’s the problem. They are too nice.”

Oshiga looked more confused.

“Something terrible is coming,” Eirwyn said. “Something I need to be a part of. I shouldn’t be here, enjoying such luxuries, when trouble is brewing.”

“Erathaol believes that you cannot find yourself until you release this anxiety. You will not know your role until you stop fighting it.”

“I know,” she said. “It’s quite a conundrum. The more I remove myself from the threat—the more I escape my troubles and cares in order to make peace with my unconscious and unearth this mystery—the more confused I become.”

“I will speak to Erathaol about this at once,” Oshiga said, rising. “Perhaps he can offer you some sense of how better to proceed.”

“No, do not trouble the Seer with this,” Eirwyn said. “I will muddle through it somehow.” She stretched and rose. “But let us leave off from playing board games for a while. I must seek some other ways to relax.”

Oshiga bowed. “As you wish.” He turned to go. “If you have any need, I am at your disposal.”

“I know,” Eirwyn answered, and she smiled in appreciation. “You are most kind, generous, and patient with me.”

Oshiga bowed again and departed, leaving the angel to her thoughts.

Eirwyn peered around the chambers once more, trying to decide what she wanted to do. Fly away, she thought. Return to the surface. Find something meaningful to do. Help.

She threw her arms up in frustration and decided to swim. She moved to the pool. As she entered the water, Eirwyn thought of Tauran. She remembered how he rarely chose to swim in the Lifespring merely for pleasure. She could see

him, in her mind’s eye, diving from high above the enchanted waters, honing his skills, practicing.

He never let up, the angel recalled. He was always preparing for the next development. That’s what I should be doing.

Much later, Eirwyn awoke in darkness, panicked. She fumbled to rise, could not, and finally realized she had become entangled in the covers. She was drenched in sweat, and her heart pounded.

Another nightmare, she thought. About what?

She sat in the darkness of her chambers and concentrated, trying to remember anything at all.

Images flashed through her mind. Pictures of danger, of dark creatures. Of prisoners. There!

Eirwyn focused on one particular image, a place that seemed somehow familiar, yet not a place she recognized. I must go there, she understood. But what—and more importantly, where—is it?

She rose from her bed and dressed. I must do some research, she thought. Somewhere in this massive library is the answer I seek. I need Oshiga.

Eirwyn left her chambers and went in search of the trumpet archon.

Aliisza watched Kaanyr pace from one side of the rotunda to the other. She could see the cambion’s mood grow fouler with each lap. Beyond him, barely visible in the dim light, her arcane cage still stood, holding the creature that had once been Micus and Myshik. The aberration had finally ceased his attempts to batter his way out. He sat near the back of his enclosure, watching Kaanyr.

Aliisza rested against one of the columns between Tauran and Kael, with the planetar nearby. Zasian stood over all three of the wounded companions, watching over them.

Aliisza and Kaanyr had decided to move the three unconscious forms into the center of the chamber, where the priest could tend to them more easily. Kael bucked and groaned when they removed Aliisza’s sword protruding from his gut, but he did not otherwise awaken, and Zasian managed to close the wound with his unusual healing power. The half-drow seemed stable, but Aliisza refused to leave his side until she was certain he wasn’t going to succumb to his injuries. From time to time, the priest would place a hand upon

one or another chest, close his eyes, and murmur something Aliisza couldn’t quite make out. He had been at his vigil for quite some time, and Aliisza marveled at how he kept it up. Her own body ached with fatigue.

“Is he ever going to waken?” Kaanyr asked, standing in the middle of the chamber and staring at Zasian.

The man cringed and shook his head. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I’m trying. This one”—he pointed at the planetar—”is badly hurt and I can’t seem to heal him. But those other two are much better. They should be awake by now, but for some reason, they just aren’t. I don’t understand.”

Kaanyr’s sigh echoed through the room. “This is ridiculous! We’re getting nowhere!”

When Aliisza didn’t answer him, he returned to pacing. Aliisza glanced over at Zasian. He was watching Kaanyr with a mixture of fear and curiosity, his eyes wide. The strange childlike innocence that the priest exhibited continued to intrigue Aliisza. Beyond her distrust of the man, the youthful attitude belied the maturity of his face. If it was a hoax, he was carrying it off perfectly.

“I just wish I could remember,” Zasian said as he returned to monitoring Kael. “I must have done something very bad to make him so angry at me.”

Aliisza just watched the man next to her. Finally, when he looked up, she said, “Be glad that you can’t.”

She turned her attention back to Kaanyr. He returned her stare, but his mind seemed far away. Aliisza rose to her feet and crossed the floor.

“Hey,” she said, taking Kaanyr’s hand in her own. The preternatural warmth of his skin felt good. She had forgotten how much she used to seek out his touch. “What is it?”

Kaanyr shook his head. “It seems like we’ve been out here for days. Who knows? Maybe we have.”

“And?” she prompted, pulling the cambion around to face her squarely. “What of it? We already agreed that waiting for Tauran to wake up was the best choice. Perhaps Tyr will have seen fit to grant his blessings to Tauran once more. But even if he hasn’t, we won’t be any worse off. Just be patient.”

“I’m just so tired of feeling… helpless.”

Welcome to my world, Aliisza thought, but she resisted the urge to snort in derision. Standing close to him, sharing that moment, felt familiar and comfortable, and she didn’t want to lose it. Instead, she just watched him. Her mind flashed through a series of memories, of a happier time for the two of them, back in Amarindar, when they were master and mistress of their world. A lifetime ago, Aliisza mused. Several lifetimes, perhaps.

When she turned her attention back to Kaanyr, she was surprised to find him smiling at her. She could tell by the twinkle in his eye that he was thinking lascivious thoughts.

Aliisza returned the grin, though she felt slightly embarrassed. Must have been thinking the same things I was, she thought. “What?” she asked him.

“I was just remembering when you used to come find me in the throne room,” Kaanyr said. “How you used to sit on my lap and squirm, trying to distract me, and I’d pretend not to notice just to aggravate you.”

Aliisza chuckled and punched Kaanyr gently in the arm. “Infuriate me, is more like it,” she said. “I should have known.” She rolled her eyes playfully, then stepped into his embrace and snuggled there. “Mmm,” she purred.

“Let’s go,” Kaanyr said abruptly, that old mischievous

tone in his voice. “Just you and me, right now. Let’s just take off into that silver void and find our old lives again. What do you say?”

Aliisza felt her smile turn sad as she pulled back to look him in the eye again. “You know I can’t do that,” she said, “and neither can you.”

Kaanyr nodded and said, “I know, but would you if we could? Is there still enough of the old you in there somewhere that you could see yourself slipping away with me, starting over again, without… without all this?” He gestured around the two of them. “We didn’t have such a bad life together, did we?”

You’re just figuring this out now? Aliisza fumed. Only now, after using me as your personal skeleton key? She looked away and fought her frustrations at her lover’s misguided ambitions. Instead of answering his question, she asked, “Where would we go? How would we escape this?”

Kaanyr shrugged, and. a look of consternation crossed his own face. “I don’t know,” he said. “Does it matter? I just thought—”

“I’m sorry,” Aliisza said, realizing she was spoiling the moment. “Yes, of course I would go with you. If none of this was happening, if there weren’t other lives dependent on us for survival, and we could just slip away, steal back our place in the world, I would go with you.” Maybe.

Kaanyr’s smile returned. “I miss us,” he said. “I really do.”

That time, Aliisza couldn’t help herself. “Then why in the Nine Hells would you do what you did to me?” she asked, her voice plaintive. “Why would you put me through all this? I never crossed you. I deserved better.” She looked down, biting her lip.

Kaanyr laughed, then, a deep, long chuckle that made him shake. Aliisza glared at him, but she knew why he was laughing. That didn’t make her any less angry about it.

When he finally caught his breath, he said, “You may never have crossed me, but you were hardly loyal, wench. You plotted your own course all the time, my instructions be damned.” He saw her fury and softened his tone. “But that’s exactly why I loved you so much,” he said, taking her face in his hands. “That’s what always drew me back to you, time and again. You may have kept your own counsel more than I would have liked, but you always had spirit.”

Aliisza tried to cling to her anger, but his praise made her blush, and she couldn’t help but smile. “You always knew how to flatter a girl,” she said. “You know, maybe, after all this”—she gestured around the ruined chamber-—”is over and we get away from everything, we can—”