The Moons of Mirrodin (31 page)

Bruenna shook her head. “Sounds crazy.”

“Crazy what she do best,” called Slobad from where he clung to Glissa’s leg.

Bruenna moved her hand back on the quicksilver control orb, and the boat slowed. Glissa kept an eye on the aerophins as they sped toward the next island, looming closer and closer. The tingle on the back of Glissa’s neck returned. They would fire any second, but the island was still some distance ahead.

“Full speed!” she shouted. “They’re close enough.”

Bruenna rolled her hand up on the orb, and the boat lurched forward. The aerophins were still gaining slightly but hadn’t attacked yet.

“Cut as close as you can to the side of the cave.”

Bruenna maneuvered the boat around a crystal island, which had a single spire growing straight from the water. As they sped around the other side, Glissa saw a silver arch curving out from
the tower into the sea ahead of them. Bruenna twisted the boat to the right, just missing the arch as they skided into the cave.

The first aerophin slammed into the leg of the arch, exploding and sending debris into the sea. The second made the turn, but its momentum propelled it straight for the far side of the cave.

“Everybody down,” cried Glissa. She dropped to the deck right as the aerophin slammed into the cave wall and exploded in a shower of electricity and glass. When the elf looked again, the boat was still speeding through the cave, heading straight for a row of docked boats.

“Bruenna,” she screamed.

The mage stood and slapped her hand back on the quicksilver control. The boat slowed down, but Glissa could tell it wasn’t going to be enough. Bruenna twisted her hand, and the boat slid sideways. They came to a stop, bumping the last two boats in the line.

“She learned that from me, huh?” said Slobad. “I did that first, huh? Remember? I did that at docks.”

Glissa ignored the goblin. “Is everyone okay?”

Slobad and Bosh nodded. Bruenna looked concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” said Bruenna, “but we’re not safe. The vedalken will send someone down here to investigate those explosions.”

“Is there somewhere safe we can go?” asked Glissa. “We need to finish our talk.”

“Yes, we do.” said Bruenna. “Before I agree to do anything else for you, I’d like to know who you are and what trouble you’ve brought to my people.”

“So,” said Glissa, tapping her feet on the leather deck. “Where can we go?”

“I know a place,” said the mage.

*   *   *   *   *

Bruenna made her way through the islands in the chain and sailed into the middle of the sea. Glissa watched behind to make sure nobody followed. While the human piloted the boat toward a set of distant spires, Glissa told Bruenna of her adventures, starting with the death of her parents and ending with Kane’s death and the description of the four-armed mage who killed him. She left out references to the goblin cult and the inner world.

After a time, they came upon a lone island jutting from the sea near the intersection of the mountains and the Mephidross haze. The island was a simple spire that corkscrewed up from the sea. Glissa noticed that it did not glitter like the towers in the crystal island chain. In fact, the silver spire looked almost dirty.

“The vedalken abandoned this island long ago,” explained Bruenna as she guided the boat into the cave at its base. “It was too close to the Mephidross and was being infected by the necrogen mists—that green haze hanging over the Dross. We should be safe here.”

The cave seemed to take up the entire base of the spire. A central stairway spiraled up from a landing in the center. They docked at the far side of the landing so the stairs blocked the boat from view, and ascended the spire. The interior of the crystal island was dull and greasy from the necrogen, but still it fascinated Glissa. Light from the moons came through the walls, but the walls bent the light in odd ways, stretching and distorting the world outside. If she stared at it too long, her eyes blurred and her head began to hurt.

“Would we not be more secure near the boat?” asked Bosh.

Bruenna stared at the golem. “It talks?” she asked.

Glissa smiled. “I forgot to mention that,” she said. “Sorry.”

Bruenna grunted. “You have some strange servants.”

“They aren’t servants,” said Glissa. “They are my friends.”

“Thank you, Glissa,” said Bosh.

Bruenna stared at Glissa and shrugged. “We’re going up to one
of the terraces,” she said. “We’ll be able to see anyone coming from there.”

They emerged onto a terrace that completely encircled the spire. Bosh and Slobad patrolled it while Bruenna and Glissa continued their talk.

“You were right,” Bruenna said. “The mage who killed your friend was a vedalken. Why do they hunt you? I’ve never seen so many aerophins used against a single person before.”

“I don’t know,” said Glissa. “I was hoping you could help me find out.”

“Why should I help you?” asked the mage. “I brought you this far to get you away from my village. If I help you further, the Synod will order the destruction of my town.”

Glissa sighed. “Look,” she said, “you don’t trust me and I don’t trust you, but I have no choice. The vedalken want met dead, and I need your help. Just give me some information and you can walk away if you want. What is this Synod?”

“The Synod is the ruling council of the vedalken,” replied Bruenna. “If they find you, they will know I helped you. It must be a member of the Synod after you. Only they have access to that many aerophins.”

“Then help me defeat them so they don’t find out,” pleaded Glissa. “Look, they’ve already attacked my people twice. If I don’t stop this, a lot more people will die, including the people of your village. Help me, and I’ll try to stop that.”

“With what?” asked Bruenna. “A rusty construct and a filthy goblin?”

“Fine. Don’t help us. Take us back to land, and we’ll find another way.” Glissa turned and stared out over the vast expanse of the Quicksilver Sea. “You can go back to your forced servitude to the vedalken. Just tell me one thing—why do you work for them? You humans seem to be a fairly intelligent race, and you have magical powers. Why not work for yourselves?”

“That is exactly what my father said,” said Bruenna. “They killed him for it.”

“What happened?” asked Glissa.

Bruenna stared off across the gentle rippling sea. “We used to be like the other human settlements,” she said. “We worked with the vedalken … or at least we thought we did, but our lives never improved, and they kept everything we helped to create. My father had enough. His life’s work was complete, and those bastards in the Synod stole it from him. He led our town in a revolt against the vedalken. We refused to work for them any more. That’s when they sent the aerophins … fifty of them. Those silver assassins ravaged the town and killed everyone who dared fight back. So, yes, we still work for the vedalken, but we have no illusions as to our role anymore. We are their slaves, and nothing can change that.”

“I can,” said Glissa.

“How?”

“I have a power,” said the elf. “I don’t understand it yet, but I can destroy the aerophins. With your help, I can learn to control it. If you help me, I will protect your village.”

“I don’t know,” said Bruenna. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “We’ve lived in peace with the vedalken for almost thirty cycles.”

“You mean you’ve lived in slavery. What would your father do?”

Bruenna stared at Glissa for a long moment. Tears streamed down her face. At last she asked, “What do you need?”

PREPARATIONS

Glissa grabbed Bruenna’s shoulders with both hands. “Thank you,” she said. “I need to find out who is trying to kill me and why.”

“I don’t know anything about their motives,” protested Bruenna.

“Maybe not,” said Glissa, “but you know how they operate.”

“I know a little about their magical research,” said the human mage, “at least those projects my people are working on. Not much more. I have no idea what they’re thinking, and I don’t know anything about the inner workings of the Synod.”

“Something pretty big is going on here,” said Glissa, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “The vedalken have made deals with the nim and the goblins. They’ve attacked the leonin, the trolls, and the elves. It has something to do with some deep, dark secret about the world the vedalken have uncovered. There must be
someone
who knows something about this.”

Bruenna shrugged. “The vedalken are a lot smarter than humans. They treat us as if we are no better than beasts. It wasn’t always like that, though. I’ve heard tales from long ago of a time when humans and vedalken worked as equals, but the serum changed all that. It changed the vedalken.”

Glissa nodded. “I’ve heard about the serum, too. It expands your mind and gives you insight into the creation of the world.”

“The serum does more than that. It expands all your senses.
You become aware of the connections between all living things. I have heard it can even unlock racial memories. You can learn everything your ancestors ever knew. Unfortunately the effect is only temporary, so the vedalken need a steady supply. Much of their research goes into finding faster ways to refine the serum.”

“I’ve also been told it comes at a terrible price,” muttered Glissa.

“It certainly did for the vedalken,” replied Bruenna. “They turned cruel and used the knowledge they gained from the serum to take control of the sea and everything in it.”

“It has another drawback as well,” said Glissa. “The vedalken have to murder millions of blinkmoths to maintain that steady supply.”

“That I did not know. I am glad I never took the serum.”

Glissa looked at her companion in some surprise. “How do you know of the serum if you’ve never taken it? Do the vedalken ever give it to humans?”

“Winds, no!” exclaimed Bruenna. “It is forbidden to humans. The vedalken keep it all for themselves. My father once worked refining the serum. Later he became a research assistant and was able to learn more about the serum.”

“Yet they trade small quantities to their allies,” said the elf. She pulled the vial from her boot sheath. “I got this from the leader of the nim. It was to be his payment for killing me. The vedalken probably assume a few vials won’t do any harm if the effects wear off so quickly.”

“You have a vial of serum?” asked Bruenna. She reached eagerly for the vial, but Glissa pulled it back.

“I’m loath to use it,” she said, “but it is my only link to the mage who killed my friend.”

Bruenna drew back her hand, a sheepish look on her face. “Sorry,” she said. “I don’t really want it, either. I gave up wanting
to be like the vedalken long ago. However, there may be a way to get your answers with that vial.”

“Do I have to drink it?”

“Yes,” said Bruenna, “but not here. Not now. First, we have to get you into Lumengrid.”

“What is Lumengrid?”

“Lumengrid is the crystal fortress of the vedalken. It is where the Synod sits. It is where they keep their most prized possession—the Pool of Knowledge.”

“A pool of knowledge?” Glissa was skeptical. “I bathe in it and I magically get all of my questions answered?”

“Something like that,” said Bruenna, smiling. “I am not sure how it works. My father told me tales of it before he was killed. He even tried to use it once.”

“Did it work?” asked Glissa. “Did your father learn the knowledge of the vedalken? Is that why they killed him?”

“He only got flashes of images,” said Bruenna sadly. “It was enough for him to realize how horrible the vedalken are. That is why he tried to lead our village from under their control.”

Glissa ran her fingers along her jaw. “How is that going to help me?”

“I did some research of my own when I was younger,” said her human companion. “After the revolt, I took my father’s place as research assistant. I think the vedalken wanted to keep an eye on me. After a few cycles, I became nothing more to them than a piece of research equipment, but I never forgot what they did to my father. When my vedalken master wasn’t watching I went through his journals and personal research notes. From what I learned, I believe the Pool of Knowledge will only work correctly for someone who has taken serum.

“That’s why you wanted the serum?”

“Once,” said Bruenna. “I planned to gain the knowledge my father sought so I could use it to exact my revenge on those
responsible for his death. But I learned—over time—that there are more important things than vengeance. I dedicated the last ten cycles to my people and to my mother.”

“Vengeance is a great motivator,” said Glissa drily. She reached out and touched Bruenna’s shoulder. “If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past week or two, though, it’s that it must be tempered by reason or it will consume you.”

The pause in the conversation grew uncomfortably long. Finally Glissa said, “So, I just down the vial and jump into the pool? That sounds easy enough.”

“It won’t be,” said Bruenna. “Lumengrid is impregnable, and the Pool room is closely guarded.”

“You have a plan, right?”

“I do,” agreed Bruenna. “I planned for a long time after my father’s death. First, we need to go back to the village.”