The Labyrinth of Destiny (18 page)

Adesina was exhausted.

She stumbled into her tent,
unbuckling her breastplate as she went. She was tempted to let the armor simply
fall to the ground, but she resisted the urge and put it away in its proper
place.

L’iam was not in the tent. He was
walking among the soldiers, speaking with encouragement and boosting morale.
Adesina knew that he would probably be gone for quite a while yet.

The Shimat army had battered them
for more than twenty-four hours before pulling back for a reprieve. Adesina
knew that there would only be a short break before the fighting began
again—this time with her husband at the lead.

She washed her face and hands,
removing the grime and blood of the day. Adesina wished she could wash her
spirit of the effects of the battle as easily. She was weary, and not just in
body. Her mind was numb and her heart felt as though it was drooping in her
chest.

Sitara had said that Immortals had
no need for sleep—that they could meditate instead and be just as refreshed.
However, Adesina was certain that meditation would not be enough to help her
regain her energy.

She unpinned her knot of hair and
flopped forward onto the bedding, not bothering to undress. She kicked off her
boots and closed her eyes with a sigh.

The Dream grabbed hold of her mind
immediately and yanked her away from the waking world.

Adesina looked around, feeling
almost breathless.

She was surrounded by a black
nothingness that pushed in around her oppressively. It almost felt like she was
floating, and yet she knew that she was standing. Her eyes were unable to
detect anything beyond her own body, which she could see surprisingly well.

“Hello, Adesina.”

Adesina turned around in surprise,
hearing the familiar voice. A short distance away stood her mother, E’rian.

Like Adesina, E’rian’s form was
vivid against the black of their surroundings. The deceased woman was clothed
in a simple red dress rather than the white one she had always worn in
Adesina’s previous Dreams. Other than that, she looked very much as she always
did. Her features were very similar to Adesina’s, only more delicate and with
different coloring. Adesina had silver hair with black tresses surrounding her
face, and her eyes were metallic purple with flecks of gold. E’rian had black
hair with chestnut locks around her face, and her eyes were pale metallic
yellow with flecks of purple.

E’rian appeared to be the same age
that she had been when she died, which meant that she and Adesina looked more
like sisters than mother and daughter. Adesina was only a year younger than
E’rian had been at her death.

“Mother,” Adesina greeted her
warmly. She tried to move to embrace her, but found that she couldn’t. “What is
happening? Where are we?”

E’rian’s smile was strangely cold
and her eyes glittered with an unusual light. “Do not worry yourself, Adesina.
Such things happen in Dreams.”

Adesina frowned. “I have never had
a Dream like this before.”

A startled expression flitted
across E’rian’s face. “You are familiar with Dreaming?”

“Of course I am,” responded Adesina
slowly. “You know of my Dreams.”

E’rian gave a trilling little
laugh. “I meant to ask if you were familiar with
all
Dreams. Even you
cannot know all that there is to learn.”

“I suppose that is true,”
acknowledged Adesina.

“I see so much potential in you,”
E’rian went on with a fond smile. “I always have, you know.”

Adesina thought that a strange
thing for her mother to say, especially since E’rian already knew of the
prophecy concerning the Threshold Child.

“Mothers often believe that of
their own children,” Adesina ventured casually.

“Yes, but you are meant for
something more,” insisted E’rian.

The L’avan queen laughed. “More
than leading our people in a war against evil?”

The cold glint returned to her
mother’s eye. “You are thinking too small, Adesina. This battle may seem
important now, but that is only because you are not considering the greater
picture.”

Adesina put a puzzled expression on
her face, hiding any trace of the calculations that were racing through her
mind.

Something was wrong.

Adesina’s instincts screamed at
her, telling her that this was not right. She could not quite pinpoint what it
was, but her mother’s words seemed very out of place.

“What is the greater picture?”
asked Adesina innocently.

“The world,” answered E’rian
simply. “This world is in chaos. It is full of pain and oppression, and
humankind needs someone who can unite the world and give them a sense of hope.”

Adesina’s brow furrowed. “Are you
suggesting that person is me?”

“Look how you have brought the
people of Sehar together,” urged E’rian. “They were without a leader and you
have made them whole once more.”

“I cannot take credit for all of
that,” answered Adesina wryly. “Fear of the Scepter of Cha-sak has forced the
Seharans to take actions that they would not normally consider.”

“Yes, and look how powerful you
have become,” exulted the deceased woman. “You can
use
the Scepter of
Cha-sak to unite humankind under your rule.”

E’rian’s words rankled in Adesina’s
heart. The sense of wrongness in her mind grew by the moment.

Adesina’s kind, sweet mother never
would have made such suggestions before. It was true that Adesina’s knowledge
of Dreams was limited, but it did not seem possible for E’rian’s personality to
change so dramatically.

That could only mean that the
person standing before Adesina was not her mother.

Adesina gave a single shake of her
head. “I do not want to rule them.”

“I am not suggesting that you wish
for that power,” E’rian amended hastily, “but you have to admit that much good
has come from it.”

Adesina decided to prod the
conversation along to discover what this person was trying to achieve by
invading her Dream.

“I suppose that the Seharans would
not have united under less dire circumstances,” Adesina admitted thoughtfully.
She watched the false E’rian out of the corner of her eye and saw an expression
of triumph flash across the face.

“Exactly,” said the false E’rian.
“Without unity, this nation has fallen apart. It has almost ceased to exist.
Other nations have a strong central government, and because of that they
thrive. It is easy to see the difference between a strong nation and a weak one
because you have both examples before you. But it is more difficult to see that
on a global scale. You have never seen a fully united world, so you do not know
the power and security that comes from such a thing.

“If you were to bring this world
together under a single ruler, there would be a massive change in humankind.
Conflicts could be solved without war. The world economy would thrive. The very
sense of division between groups of humans would disappear. They would not be
separated from each other by national loyalty, but rather they would be joined
by a feeling of global loyalty. Peace and prosperity would abound in this
world.”

Adesina could not deny that the argument
was appealing. She was tired of fighting, and she was tired of being an
outsider. However, Adesina knew deep down that the false E’rian was only
telling partial truths. Global unity might bring about the benefits spoken of,
but conquest was not the way to achieve them.

“And you say that I can do this by
using the Scepter of Cha-sak?” prodded Adesina.

“Yes,” responded the false E’rian
with confidence. “If the Scepter continues to spread, leaving fear and
destruction in its wake, what do you think will happen to other nations?”

Adesina made a guess at the answer
that the false E’rian was seeking. “They will desire to unite against the
threat.”

“Exactly,” said E’rian with
satisfaction. “The reaction of the world will be the same as that of Sehar.
Since you are the one leading the resistance in this land, you would be in a
perfect position to do the same in other nations. Not all would want to join
the alliance at first. But as the Scepter grew more powerful, the independent
nations would become convinced it is the only way to save themselves.”

“What if we defeat the Scepter of
Cha-sak before it becomes a global problem?” posed Adesina.

The false E’rian gave a harsh
laugh. “That seems unlikely. You do not have the necessary strength to defeat
Cha-sak.”

“Do you mean to say that the only
way to defeat him is to unite the armies of the world?”

A crafty expression crossed
E’rian’s face. “Perhaps. It is difficult to know for certain. As your forces
would grow, so would his. How could we possibly determine the outcome without
seeing it happen?”

Adesina gestured with both hands.
“Then why not strike now, while he is still gathering his forces? Why wait for
a united world, all the while letting our enemies grow stronger? That seems a
recklessly dangerous plan.”

The false E’rian raised a finger.
“It would be, if you had no control over the Scepter of Cha-sak.”

A frown creased Adesina’s brow.
“What do you mean?”

“A team of horses can be a powerful
force, but sometimes it takes a whip to drive them to reach their full potential,”
said E’rian with a tone full of meaning.

“Are you suggesting that I use the
Scepter of Cha-sak as the whip to drive humankind to unification?”

The false E’rian smiled and spread
her hands, as if to leave Adesina to her own conclusions.

So, this was what the imposter was
leading Adesina toward.

The young L’avan queen kept her
expressions carefully controlled, but her heart hardened against the attempted
manipulation. In Adesina’s youth, such lies would have worked in swaying her.
She would have believed that she could achieve great things with only the small
cost of her own morality.

Now—having discovered the truth of
the Shimat organization, and learning from the L’avan about the true worth of
herself—Adesina knew that no result was worth such a high price.

A building could not stand if its
foundation was rotten.

A united world order would not last
if it was born of violence and deceit.

Adesina needed one last piece of
the puzzle before she knew the full purpose behind this Dream. She cleared her throat
and spoke with a hint of uncertainty.

“One must control a whip to use it.
I have no control over the Scepter of Cha-sak.”

The false E’rian’s voice was low as
she spoke. “There is a way…”

“Is there?” questioned Adesina.

E’rian’s piercing gaze was fixed on
the face of the young queen. “A blood contract with Cha-sak himself would give
you control over the entire organization.”

“A blood contract?”

“Yes. The demon could be your
servant, Adesina. All that is his—his powers, his servants, his wisdom—could be
yours as well.”

Adesina shook her head. “He has
already made a blood contract with Basha. That is how he escaped the Threshold
in the first place.”

The false E’rian waved a hand
indifferently. “Multiple blood contracts can be in place at once, as long as
the terms do not contradict one another. A blood contract with Cha-sak would
enable you to do everything you could ever imagine. You could unite humankind
and bring peace and prosperity to all.”

The growing suspicion in Adesina’s
mind became a certainty. Adesina had learned why this Dream had been forced
upon her, and there was nothing else to gain by letting it continue. It was
time to put an end to the charade.

Adesina put on an expression of
helplessness. “I know you wish to see great things for me, but I just do not
believe I can do it. It sounds like something better suited for my sister.”

E’rian’s eyes flashed with
annoyance. “Your sister is not
you
. You were meant to do these things,
Adesina, not her.”

Silence.

A ghost of a smile played about Adesina’s
lips. “Now, why would my own mother think that I have a sister?”

E’rian blinked in surprise. “What?”

“You are my mother, are you not?”
Adesina challenged. “You should know that I do not have a sister.”

Adesina could see the thoughts
racing through the imposter’s mind.

“I…assumed that you were referring
to one of your close comrades.”

The young queen arched an eyebrow.
“Would you not then ask for clarification as to whom I meant?”

The lie had become useless.

A cold smile spread across the face
of Adesina’s deceased mother. “Well, are you not just a clever little mortal.”

“Take your true form, Cha-sak,”
commanded Adesina. “You do not deserve to bear my mother’s countenance.”

Darkness seeped from the imposter’s
skin in roiling wisps. It came thicker and faster until the form of the
deceased L’avan woman disappeared entirely. It was difficult to see the demon,
due to their black surroundings, but Adesina could see his glowing red eyes
shift position as he resumed the height of his true form.

“You were right,” said Adesina, “in
saying that I do not know all that there is to know about Dreams. However, it
was foolish of you to try and manipulate me through the form of my mother. She
would never even consider the things you were suggesting.”

“I may have been deceiving you with
my appearance, but the words I spoke were true,” insisted Cha-sak. “If you and
I were to become allies, we could bring peace and prosperity to this world.”

Adesina shook her head. “No, the
words you spoke were
partially
true. We may be able to conquer this
world, but it would be through bloodshed and suffering. Our rule would be
nothing more than tyranny.”

“Perhaps, at first,” admitted
Cha-sak, “but that would change with time. As humankind accepted the new order
of things, they would become content. If you enter into a blood contract with
me, your life will be tied to mine. I am immortal, and therefore you could live
forever. You could be the eternal ruler of this world.”