The Nemesis Blade (65 page)

Sabian
shrugged. “I do. Knowledge helps too, of course.”

Caballa
rummaged for fresh clothes. She smelled of vomit and cursed her
weakness as she found something else to wear. Without modesty she
pulled her tunic off and donned another.

Tristan did
not notice, entranced as he was by the view.

Saska,
meanwhile, knelt beside Torrullin.

He focused.
“Get away from me.”

She pulled
back and studied Elianas. “What is wrong with him?”

“You know what
he is. He was not created at this point.”

“Gods, is he …
dead?”

“No. Go
away.”

She gazed at
him, rose and left.

Sabian
sauntered over. “I was not created at this point. Neither was
Teighlar.”

“Fuck off,
Sabian.”

“My, my.”
Sabian wandered off.

Maple came to
sit cross-legged beside Torrullin, crushing wildflowers as he did
so. “You share a legendary sword, Elixir. Reach out to him with
it.”

“It is not
that. He is traumatised. He reached back to a time of personal
vacuum, one in which he did not exist, but it will not kill him. I
shall carry him until he wakes.”

“He did not
expect to feel quite so much, I think,” Maple murmured. “I would
gladly share this burden with you.”

“Thank you,
but he is no burden.”

Maple leaned
forward. “Perhaps you did not expect to feel quite so much?”

Torrullin
sighed. “It is not the way you think, my friend.”

“I know, but
emotions are emotions.”

A reluctant
smile from Torrullin. “True.”

“Well, that
was trying. I find I am exhausted. Shall I tell them we are resting
here for a time?” Maple suggested.

“Thank you,
yes.”

Maple nodded
and left Torrullin alone.

When Torrullin
looked down Elianas was gazing up at him. Relief flooded into bone
and marrow. “Welcome back.”

Elianas’ eyes
dropped to Torrullin’s mouth. “It will not happen again, I
swear.”

“The
connection was necessary.”

Elianas looked
away. “It was not.”

One facet of
what they were to each other was clear to Torrullin then. “I am the
last person you should love.”

“And the
first.” Elianas gave a laugh and sat up. “This I did not bargain
for. Brothers, yes, since the beginning, a connection deeper than
soul, heart and spirit combined. Finding form, however, brought
other feelings back. I am ashamed before you.”

Teighlar
approached …

Torrullin
shouted, “Not now, damn it!”

Teighlar
lifted his hands in surrender and backed off.

“You need not
feel ashamed, brother.”

Elianas said,
“That is like telling me not to breathe, or suggesting I ignore
desire.”

“Then I am
ashamed also.”

A searching
gaze swept over Torrullin. “What are you saying?”

“I felt what
you felt,” Torrullin admitted, although there was reluctance in his
tone.

Elianas
watched his eyes for a few moments and then shrugged. “Reflection,
Torrullin. They were my feelings, not yours.”

“What do you
want me to say to you?” Torrullin snapped out.

“You should
tell me to back the hell away.”

“Then I would
be bereft.”

Elianas
sighed. “Clever, but I wonder if you know where this goes.”

“Give it up. I
do not care how far you go, what you say, or what people think.
Shame is a state of mind, not being.”

“And
desire?”

Torrullin
laughed. “You ask me? Gods, I cannot give myself an honest
answer.”

Elianas
grinned then. “Now that is the truth.”

Torrullin
waved absently at their surroundings, changing the subject. “We did
well. We came out in the right place.”

Elianas looked
up. Another meteor trail trawled across the sky. “Small sparks. I
hope we do not encounter the big ones.” He looked down. “We did
well, yes.”

“Then let us
go forward.”

“Backward.”

“Semantics.”
Torrullin stood and held his hand out, and Elianas accepted it to
lever himself up.

“You two
sorted yourselves out?” Sabian enquired from nearby. “That was some
kiss.”

Elianas
snarled, whirled and attacked.

Torrullin let
him be. Sabian required a lesson and Elianas needed outlet. He
required release as well, but he hauled the need inward before he
hurt someone close to him.

Maple ambled
over and stood beside Torrullin watching the escalating brawl. “He
can swing well,” he remarked. “Sabian will have a bruised eye for
some time.”

The three
Valla cousins closed in.

“Gods,
men
,” Rose muttered. She watched a moment and then turned her
back.

Sabian was
laid out cold. Elianas stood over him and then theatrically wiped
his hands. He bowed as a round of applause erupted.

He left the
man there and rejoined Torrullin. “A man’s man?”

Torrullin
grinned. “Absolutely.”

Elianas
laughed and then, “I might have cracked his ribs some. He could
need a small - emphasis on small - healing.”

The period of
rest stretched into a longer period of discussion.

Mauve sky
paled and a bright sun shone. Wildflowers opened.

“There is no
alteration on the horizon,” Tianoman pointed out. “Nothing here
shows direction. Which way do we go?”

“West. Always
west,” Torrullin replied.

“Why?”
Tianoman said.

“Grinwallin is
east; Akhavar is west. It may not look like a tunnel now, but it
is. There is are two ends, east and west.”

“As simple as
that?” Dechend frowned.

“Things are
not always complicated,” Torrullin murmured.

“But there’s
nothing here,” Tianoman insisted.

Torrullin
said, “Interlude. Look at it like this; a river trip from hell, a
testing of resolve; crossing a divide, a testament to truth; a
doorway, an antechamber, a testing of … connection. Now, interlude.
This is between. Enjoy it while it lasts. Soon enough something
will prompt us.”

“The road is
rough,” Sabian said through swollen lips. Torrullin saw to his
cracked ribs - three of them - but not much else. Spreading redness
around his left eye promised a real shiner.

“Is this an
alternate realm?” Teroux asked.

“Here, yes,”
Elianas said, touching his head. “It would be foolish and foolhardy
to go back and change a parallel’s future, would it not?”

“Then this is
senseless,” Rose said. “Are we not meant to do something real so
that at least a parallel knows what happened?”

Teighlar was
thoughtful as he said, “It makes perfect sense, for a realm of Time
allows leeway. While I thought to fix our issues in a parallel, I
acknowledge even that will change the future for all of us. Here we
can recreate without causing harm elsewhere.”

“I am happy to
hear you say that, my friend,” Torrullin murmured.

Teighlar
winked. “I have some wisdom, you know.”

“But how does
that help those who were wronged?” Rose insisted.

“Echoes,”
Quilla murmured. “All we need are the echoes.” He glanced at
Elianas. “That is what you employed to determine our timing, not
so? You were listening to the echoes.”

Elianas
nodded.

Rose threw her
hands in the air.

There was
general laughter.

“What is the
first goal?” Caballa asked.

“Finding
Nemisin before he ascends the Throne,” Torrullin replied. “We
attempt to mute his hunger for power.”

Tristan
whistled. “A tall order.”

“Do we stop
the symbiosis with Neolone?” Tianoman asked.

“No,”
Torrullin said.

“Will we stop
the creation of darklings?” Teroux asked, glancing at Sabian.
Earlier Torrullin spoke long to fill in the gaps where he could
safely do so.

“All those
things have a place in the future. We are simply to prevent or
alter an ancient crime.”

“What possible
difference will it make?” Teroux asked.

Teighlar answered. “In the real universe many worlds stand on
the brink of war. Why? Because the Valleur are seen as the
aggressors they once were. You three head the list of necks to
sever, the three softer targets that will curb Elixir -
the
Valla - and his
Kaval. If we right this wrong, the Valleur lose most of a bad
reputation, Elixir is benevolently regarded and war is
avoided.”

Sabian wheezed
laughter. “Who are you fooling, Emperor?”

Elianas
smiled, noting Declan and Quilla glance at each other.

“Why is he
here?” Teighlar snapped at Torrullin.

“Sabian is
right, my friend.”

“Tell the
truth,” Elianas murmured.

Teighlar
glared at the two of them and then, “Fine. Truth. The Diluvans were
slaughtered, among them dear ancestors. It is wrong; it changed
Luvan future on a new world. We demand redress. Here is a place
redress may safely be applied.”

Dechend
groaned.

“Or?” Tristan
prompted.

“Or I leave
Grinwallin by another route and thus unleash her,” Teighlar
said.

“Cutting your
nose to spite your face,” Sabian laughed.

“Grinwallin
unleashed will wreak havoc on Akhavar, Sanctuary and Valaris,”
Torrullin said.

“Is he holding
you ransom with this threat?” Teroux demanded.

“No, son.”

“Ancients feel
the stirrings of time, Teroux.” Teighlar rubbed at his face. “We
feel the undeniable need to change things. We seek those changes or
we succumb to antiquity without a place that will hold us longer. I
am not threatening Torrullin; I am stating the form my change will
take. While I am able to remain aloof from the need to implement
it, I am here, seeking a way around unleashing Grinwallin, which
means redress. Here. Only echoes of redress, and yet it will be
enough.”

“And you,
Quilla?” Tianoman asked.

“I feel the
pull of another universe, young man. I do not want to return, thus
I seek to alter, if possible, the future as we know it. It might
stem the siren song.”

Torrullin
sighed. “You never told me that.”

The birdman
shrugged. “I have now.”

“And you,
Sabian?” Teroux asked.

“I felt the
pull to become one person and I have achieved it. Now I feel the
burden of mortality … and do not like it.”

“What of
Ritual?” Teroux frowned.

Sabian shook
his head and then winced at the pain. “That is beyond me. I was
darak fallen and, thus, in receiving this new form, I also had to
pay a price. I lost immortality. If, however, I aid in redressing a
crime of universal nature, the gift of longevity will be returned.
Give to get.”

“Selfish of
you,” Rose said.

“Yes, but I
shall give of every ounce of my strength and will. Is that not
worthy of a gift?”

“Quilla
doesn’t seek a gift,” Rose pointed out.

“Of course he
does. His gift is the retaining of place. Mine is the retaining of
years. Teighlar’s is the retaining of his fair city.” Sabian
grinned as he added, “What Torrullin hopes for, you must ask of
him.”

“All this
retaining and yet you say you feel the pull to change,” Rose
said.

“Sharp girl,”
Teighlar smiled.

“A pull is not
choice, my dear,” Quilla murmured. “And reversing a pull is, in
fact, change. With Sabian’s ‘retaining’ comes new appreciation, new
peace, a new drive and desire for the future. That, too, is
change.”

“The only
certainty is change,” Declan put in.

“Very
philosophical of you, but what do you really achieve?” Rose
insisted.

“Life,”
Elianas said.

“Sanctuary is
populated, Valaris more so, and Luvanor has most. Life. Grinwallin
must not be unleashed,” Teighlar said.

“She has been
our great conscience for aeons,” Torrullin murmured.

“How?” Rose
asked.

“You saw the void,” Elianas said. “That is real and
can
swallow
worlds.”

“Rose meant how is Grinwallin
long
the great conscience,” Tristan
said.

Elianas
shrugged. “She is old, and the void was there before her.”

“Grinwallin
was built after the Diluvan massacre. How does she know?” Tristan
said.

Torrullin
said, “She was built in the imagination long before she was
physically raised.”

Teighlar
lifted brows at Torrullin.

“Fine,
Emperor. I imagined her.”

“And deeper
into the void we go,” Sabian said.

“Do you want
another hiding?” Tristan snapped.

Dechend held an admonitory finger in the air. “Wait,
wait,
wait
. You
all talk as if you were there. Dancing Sun time.”

“I was,”
Quilla said. “I had recently left my universe.”

“Sabian has
been explained, but you two?” Dechend eyed Teighlar and
Torrullin.

Teighlar
sighed. “I am connected to the Dancing Suns by Nemisin’s foray into
the future, but I was born an eon after the Suns.”

“My Lord?”
Dechend gasped.

“High King of
Orb, Dechend. Reincarnate as Luvan King, reinvented as Senlu
Emperor.”

Dechend
stared. “That changes everything!”

“Rose’s change
on a silver platter,” Teighlar said. “Here there is no room for
lying.”

Tristan leaned
forward, gazing at Torrullin. “And you are the reincarnate of which
historical figure?”

Elianas drew
Tristan’s attention. “The recent seven times born reincarnate cycle
your grandfather underwent was a means to attain true Immortality.
That was the only time he was reincarnated.”

Torrullin
frowned at him. “You said I was reincarnate of another.”

“You wanted to
hear it at the time. You are reincarnate only of yourself, and only
seven births.”