The Journey Home: The Ingenairii Series: Beyond the Twenty Cities (34 page)

The Duke looked at Lyder, who looked at Andi.

“We’ll go see that it is done, your grace,” Andi said.  She stood, and she and Lyder left the room.

“I do not know what is happening around me, you have raised such a whirlwind of activity!” Duke Remton told Alec.  “And I do not know if our duchy will be able to keep up, but I thank you for the prospect of a better life you have delivered out of nowhere, and I thank you for the return of my family.”

“I knew the Duke Toulon, and he was a great leader of his duchy, always able to look at what was in the best interest of his people.  I know that you will be able to do as well,” Alec said, standing.  “Start involving your daughter and granddaughter in your deliberations, so that they can learn leadership, and so that they can advise you
;
you’ll need to have family and advisers to rely on through all the changes about to take place.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to ask a favor.  May I have some coins to go to the market?  I need to purchase some herbs,” Alec requested.

With a smile, the Duke gave Alec a handful of coins.  After that Alec went through a variety of steps: a trip to the armory to arm himself, a visit to the kitchen for a bag of sugar, a stroll to the market to buy the homewort, which he added to the bag of sugar, and then the beginning of a series of jumps to take him to the stables in Michian.  He went to Bondell city momentarily, landing in the empty barracks of the palace.  He then jumped to the ancient bridge over the Ravinia River.  There he saw a steady stream of commercial traffic on the road leading to the long pass through the rugged mountains that separated the Dominion from Michian.  One wagon full of barrels was being slowly pulled up the rise on the eastern side of the bridge, barrels that Alec suspected were water from the spring in Goldenfields.

Alec took his last hop through space, landing in an isolated spot atop the roof of the Michian imperial palace.  It was a place he had visited many times during his lifetime as the consort of Jeswyne, empress of Michian.  No one else ever went there, other than repairmen, and Alec had appreciated the chance to sit and quietly contemplate whatever situation weighed on his mind.  He felt an emptiness, and realized it was the absence of a vibrant awareness of Andi.  In Michian he was too far away from her for their spirits to be able to do more than vaguely sense one another.  It left him with a
nebulous
sense of uneasiness, and he made himself focus on the issue at hand.

He walked about the roof, scrambling atop gables and around chimneys, examining the landscape all around the palace.  The restorers still used the stables they had occupied in his previous time in Michian, the very stables he had visited during his very first time in Michian, when he had carried out the same type of sabotaging misfeeding, the time when he had fought a demon for the very first time, and escaped only through the gift of returning to John Mark’s cavern.

Alec watched a restorer being led from the stables, already saddled.  A pair of sorcerers appeared from a nearby building and approached the animal, as three large crates were strapped to the animal’s sides.  Grimly, Alec pulled the bow off his back and selected a handful of arrows.  The sorcerers were preparing to climb atop the restorer behind its keeper, giving Alec time to draw the bowstring and carefully select his target.

He didn’t want to kill the animal, but it was his only option at the moment.  If he didn’t kill it first, the animal would be whisked to safety while he assassinated the sorcerers, he knew.

He let the first arrow fly, strung the second arrow and sent it on its way, then pulled and released the third arrow, all three of them aimed at the restorer’s neck.  He adjusted the bow just a fraction of an inch and released a fourth arrow, then adjusted and shot a fifth.  As he released his sixth arrow the first one struck the unexpecting animal in the neck.  The second struck immediately, and pierced a vein; as the restorer began to squeal, a bright red fountain of blood began to jet outward.  The third arrow struck as well and the restorer’s front knees buckled.

The fourth arrow arrived and struck the lead sorcerer in the neck; Alec had aimed at his chest, but the restorer’s collapse had changed the location of the target by the time the arrow hit.  The fifth arrow struck the second sorcerer in the temple as the collapse of the animal continued.  The last arrow grazed the scalp of the rider of the animal, who yelped in pain, as the animal’s dying moans, along with the shouts of the nearby witnesses, filled the yard.

Alec shrugged his arm through the bow to restore it to his shoulder.  A pair of men was standing down by the scene of death, looking up at the roof of the palace.  Alec waved, then walked back out of sight so that he could Transport himself, unseen by anyone.  He arrived in the hayloft of the restorer stables, and listened to the silent shuffling of the animals below
, as muffled shouts penetrated the building from the chaotic scene in the yard outside
.  No keepers or tenders seemed to be present, so Alec climbed down the ladder from the loft, and began once again the familiar practice of holding out a handful of treats for each animal to snuffle and lick from the palm of his hands.

The herd had shrunk since his prior days in Michian.  Alec had devoted considerable effort to breeding and improving the reproduction of the restorers, and had increased the number of animals available for the empire to use.  The growth had led to improved trade and communication throughout Jeswyne’s domain during his lifetime.  But now, even taking into account the animals that were housed at Oyster Bay, and assuming there were some animals out and about in the empire, the number of animals was reduced considerably.

Alec climbed back up into the loft and peered out into the yard.  The animal that he had killed lay on the ground, while the two dead sorcerers had been laid on stretchers on the ground nearby, cloths draped over them.  The yard, he realized with a start, was the very yard where he had fought that first demon, when Rief had been held hostage and used as bait.  It was busy now, crowded with soldiers and workers drawn by the unexpected blossoming of death.

Another restorer arrived suddenly in a roped off circle in the yard, and all heads swerved to look at the roof of the palace.  Archers raised their bows to take aim at any target that might present itself, while animal handlers swarmed the newly available animal.  Three men who appeared to be officers disembarked from the animal, and as the seconds grew longer with no danger apparent, the atmosphere in the yard began to relax.  The officers were given an immediate briefing on the situation right on the spot, then walked over to the dead bodies and observed them.  They followed the fingers that pointed up to the roof spot Alec had occupied, shaking their heads and talking among themselves before they walked away from the yard.

Servants carried the stretchers away, while the live restorer was led into the stables.  Alec waited patiently for the animal to have its saddle and harness removed, then to be left in its stall.  He went down the ladder again, fed the animal its handful of treats, then closed his bag and started his journey back to the Dominion.  He Transported back to the bridge, then back to the Saltcrust fortress in Bondell, and, upon a moment’s reflection, he Transported to the gate of Ingenairii Hill.

He felt better; he was closer to Andi, and that gave him comfort.  The link between them reacquired its s
trength as he came within close-
enough proximity for their two spirits to acknowledge each other, and Alec felt glad for it, and he felt his warmth echoed in Andi’s soul.

Alec stood in an alley near the gate, opposite the fountain that flowed in the middle of the square, and observed the guards who stood watch.  They were attentive, not slack.  They would either let him in or they wouldn’t, he decided.  He had Transported enough during the day to make him feel he didn’t want to try to do much more; the use of his Transporter energy wore him down faster than he had remembered, faster than his other abilities did.  He had forgotten that it was so much more challenging to use, an energy for which humans were not truly adapted, except through extraordinary means; he had delved into the energy realm and exercised those
extraordinary
means long ago, and subsequently used the ability to considerable benefit, as he was doing now.

Alec walked to the gate, where the sentries watched his arrival.  “I’d like admission to the Hill,” Alec said, starting to walk forward through the gate opening.  Both guards lowered spears in front of him.

“Only ingenairii are allowed to enter unescorted,” one of the guards said.

Alec lifted his right sleeve, revealing the Spirit ingenaire mark emblazoned within his skin.  “I think I qualify,” he said softly.

Both guards bent close to look at the mark, then to study Alec’s face again.  “W
e’ve both been on guard duty with
the Hill for ten years or more, and neither of us recognizes you,” the lead guard said.   “Considering that there hasn’t been a new ingenaire apprentice admitted in
twenty
years, there shouldn’t be too many surprises awaiting us.  Who are you, and where do you come from?”

“My name is Alec, and I’ve been away in the east for a long time,” Alec replied.

“It must have been a long time, but you’re awfully young to have been a trained ingenaire who’s been gone that long.  I don’t know that there are a handful of ingenairii at this location who look any younger than you,” the other guard said.

“Do you doubt that I am an ingenaire?” Alec asked.  “If not, then let me enter.  If you doubt me, we’ll settle this quickly.”

The two guards looked at one another, then raised their spears to allow Alec to enter.

I feel you getting closer.  Will you return soon?
Andi’s thought touched his spirit.

I’ve just returned to Oyster Bay, and I am going to visit Ingenairii Hill.  I will be back soon, before nightfall,
he replied as he started to stroll up the walk.

Enjoy your visit, and be careful
, Andi told him.

I will.  I love you
, Alec concluded the conversation, and sensed the touch of satisfaction Andi felt upon receiving those words.

The Plant House appeared normal to Alec as he passed it, with signs of habitation, and a plethora of lush foliage surrounding it.  The Spirit house looked half full, with some portions neglected but other portions still clearly occupied.

He stopped outside the Water House, noting the signs of typical occupation.  He thought back to the days when he had been so young, when he had walked up the walk to the door and asked for Bethany.  If he went and knocked and asked, would she appear through some magic, he wondered, then abruptly cut off his thoughts as he thought of Andi’s awareness of his nostalgia.

Further up the hill he saw the Healer house, apparently occupied, judging by the curtains in the windows.  He drove his legs to climb higher, and came to the Warrior house, near the top of the hill, an apparently empty set of structures, he was surprised to see.  He approached the buildings cautiously, sensing no signs of habitants anywhere, and climbed the steps – unmaintained and falling apart – around the outside of Rubicon’s house; he smiled to think that he
still
named it after the master Warrior who had occupied it in his youth, centuries ago.

With a deep breath he stood on the patio that had the perfect view, the wide swath of empty beach far below, on which the waves gently rose and deposited driftwood and seaweed.   Although the cave of John Mark was where he had gained his Healer powers, it had been here, on this patio, through daily training, that he had become an ingenaire.  Rubicon and Mariah and Nathaniel had crafted his ability, trained him to shape the power that flowed through him, so that he had been an ingenaire who mastered the trickery and unpredictability of the energy that came from that other realm.

“You really are back, aren’t you?” a voice behind him spoke, and he whirled, shocked that he had been so unobservant as to allow someone to steal up upon him unnoticed.

A man, perhaps
for
ty years in age, stood nearby on the patio.

“I told them that Alec would return.  I felt it begin six months ago.  Of course, as a prophecy ingenaire I’m the least respected member of the Spirit house,” the man said.  “And this morning there are the crazy rumors – four guards in the palace are mysteriously killed and their bodies are left on Ingenairii Hill, two hostages from Goldenfields inexplicably disappear, the restorers are all suddenly bereft of their ability to travel, a mysterious pair of people are seen in the palace, but no one saw them enter or leave, not to mention that the restorer at Goldenfields has not returned, and now,” he paused.  “Here you are, where Alec lived when he lived on the Hill.

“Most folks think he lived at the Healer house, but I know enough history to know he only lived there for a few days, after he restored the house,” the man finished.

“That’s an impressive recitation,” Alec replied.  “Does anyone believe you?”

“Not yet, but I suspect they will soon, when the next set of hostages disappear and the shipments of healing water cease to flow and no restorers come from Michian any longer.  Then the viceroy will begin to grow nervous, and he’ll stay that way until you come and kill him and turn the Dominion into a free land again,” the man said.

“What is your name?” Alec asked.

“Kinset,” the ingenaire replied.  “I’m one of the young ones.  And I’m one of the ones who didn’t go along to Michian when the Warriors and Spirit leaders traveled down there to begin the conversation with the sorcerers, to try to find a way to work with them.”