The Nemesis Blade (75 page)

Nemisin was
instantly recognisable. Not only was he alike to Torrullin in
appearance, but his entire bearing bespoke royalty and rulership.
Unlike Torrullin, however, he wore flowing robes and his hair was
golden and long. His eyes were a piercing yellow-gold. This man was
definitely Vallorin and had already laid claim to the title. A step
in the right direction, but then, he supposed Nemisin’s ambition
could be relied upon … always.

It was not
Nemisin who drew Torrullin’s attention, though; not for long. It
was his companion.

A tall woman,
lithe of form, with dark hair, white complexion, and the bluest
eyes in the entire universe.

His first
sight of her took his breath away and he nearly doubled over.

Lowen.

Finally.

Nemisin turned
as Valen cleared his throat and grinned expansively. “Ah,
Torrullin, you are joining us! Excellent!”

Lowen jerked
in her seat, but covered it well. She turned and her blue eyes
fixed on him.

He barely
managed to prevent himself devouring her with his gaze … and more.
“My Lord,” he said, bowing to Nemisin, “we ran into Valen on the
plain and heard of your whereabouts.”

“We?”

“Elianas and
I, sire, with a few friends.”

“Elianas is
here? Well, bring him up! Fetch him, Valen. I have not seen that
beautiful young man for too long!”

Valen
retreated to do as bid.

“Torrullin,
meet Lady Lowen.”

Torrullin
bowed. “The lady is known to me, my Lord. In fact, my companions
hail from her world also. Lowen, it is good to see you.”

Lowen smiled.
“And you, Lord Sorcerer. And who have you brought to brighten my
night even further?”

She had
confirmed titles for him. Torrullin glanced at Nemisin. “If I may,
Lord Vallorin?”

“Of course!”
Nemisin waved an airy hand. “The more the merrier!”

Valen
reappeared with Elianas in tow, along with the others.

Nemisin
clapped his hands. “Elianas, come to me!”

Elianas walked
forward, bowed, but Nemisin gripped his face and kissed him on the
lips. “Welcome back, my boy!”

Elianas
smiled. “Thank you, Sire.”

“Come sit, sit
with me.” Nemisin made space on his cushioned bench, and patted it.
Elianas sat, flicking a glance at Torrullin, whose fingers twitched
with tension. Nemisin looked the new arrivals over and frowned.
“They are not all foreign.”

Torrullin
smiled. “No, my Lord. A number are from beyond Kalgaia, Valleur of
the outer reaches.” He introduced them and they followed his lead.
“This is Caballa, Teroux, Tianoman and Tristan.”

Nemisin
studied Caballa. “You are a beautiful woman. What do you do?”

Caballa bowed.
“I am a seer, my Lord.”

“Ah, that
explains why Torrullin has need of you. And you, young man …”

“Tianoman,
Sire.”

“Yes, yes, are
you of mixed parentage? Those brown eyes are not usual.”

Tianoman
glanced at Torrullin, who murmured, “The outer reaches have always
been a mite lax, Sire.”

“True,”
Nemisin muttered. “A thorn in our sides. We must do something about
that or we lose the purity of the Valleur.”

Torrullin said
nothing. His fingers clenched and unclenched.

“You look like
Torrullin,” Nemisin said to Tristan, leaning forward intently. “A
brother?”

Torrullin
managed a smile. “Ah, no, my Lord, not that I am aware of. However
…”

Nemisin waved
his hand again. “Say no more. The laxity of the outer reaches - who
knows who did what out there.” And then he added an addendum.
“Including you, not so, Torrullin?”

His eyes
glittered a moment and then he smiled at Teroux, but said nothing.
Teroux was a Golden and raised no suspicion.

“Teighlar,
Sire,” Torrullin introduced, inwardly gritting teeth. He forced
calm, and forced his gaze to stay away from Lowen. And Elianas.

“Hmm, pale
like Lady Lowen, but different colouring. Are the people of Ymir
that different to each other?” He waved eloquently at the Valleur
in the vicinity, who all looked similar.

Torrullin nearly swallowed his tongue.
Ymir
? Then he almost laughed aloud.
Clever Lowen; were Nemisin to threaten anyone, he would threaten
the den of iniquity that was Ymir, and not only would Ymir deserve
a cleansing, but Ymir would fight back, hard.

Teighlar,
bless him, understood. He bowed with a smile. “Ymirians are all
different, my Lord.”

Caballa bent
her head to hide her amusement.

“And this
strange little creature?” Nemisin stared at Quilla.

“Ah, we call
him Quilla. He is a product of the imagination.”

“Really?”
Nemisin was intrigued. “How did you do that? Can he speak?”

“No, my Lord.
We are still working on that. Quilla, please bow to the golden
man.” Quilla, ever curious, would find a way to question Nemisin to
death … and disaster.

The birdman
sent Torrullin an underhanded look filled with dire warnings, and
bowed.

Torrullin’s
lips twitched.

Nemisin
clapped his hands.” Extraordinary! What an amusement for our court.
You must share with us how you achieved this marvel.” He then
lowered a hand to Elianas’ thigh and squeezed. “Did you help with
this, dear boy?”

“Yes, Sire,”
Elianas managed. He managed also to curb flicking a glance at
Torrullin.

“You must tell
me how! What an interesting pet he would make!” He laughed heartily
and then fixed on Declan. “Is he a product also?”

“No, my Lord,”
Declan replied, speaking before Torrullin could muzzle him, “I am
Ymirian, of the sea people.”

“Lovely
wings,” Nemisin muttered. “For flight in water?”

Declan
shrugged. “Evolution can be strange.”

Nemisin was
silent for a moment, pondering perhaps the vagaries of evolution
that had gifted two distinct colourings for the Valleur. There were
no dark ones present; there rarely were in other cycles.

“This is
Sabian, Rose and Maple, Sire, of Ymir,” Torrullin went on, sending
the Siric a warning look.

“Another sexy
man,” Nemisin murmured, looking Sabian over.

Sabian bowed.
He barely controlled a look of loathing.

“And a lovely
maiden.” Nemisin held his hand out to Rose. She smiled and placed
hers in his; he kissed it, looking into her eyes. “We must talk,
pretty one.”

Rose gently
withdrew her hand and bowed. Teroux glowered.

Maple was
next.

“You are a
strange one, aren’t you?”

Wisely, Maple
said nothing and Nemisin returned his attention to Torrullin.

“Now what are
you up to, Lord Sorcerer? This is akin to a small, private court
you have surrounded yourself with.” He was friendly, but there was
underlying tension in his voice.

Valleur in the
vicinity leaned closer.

Lowen laughed
lightly. “My Lord, I told you I was separated from my party. Lord
Torrullin no doubt encountered them along the way.”

Nemisin
smiled. “So you did. Where did you find them, Torrullin?”

“On the
outskirts of Kalgaia, Sire. They headed to the city, thinking to
find their missing companion there.”

Lowen gave an
imperceptible nod. They could ever think along the same lines, he
and Lowen. Gods, what to do about her now that Elianas had entered
the arena?

Nearby Valleur
retreated. As confrontations went, it had no teeth. There would be
a few losers in the wagering game this night.

“Ah, good, and
a good deed, too. Unlike you, isn’t it?” Nemisin rose, waving a
dismissive hand, and gestured Valen closer. “Take our guests to the
lodge. They appear in need of freshening up.” He switched his gaze
back to Torrullin. “You and Elianas stay a while. We need to
talk.”

As Valen led
the others away, Lowen said, “My Lord, would you mind if I
accompany my friends? I desire to hear if all is well.”

Nemisin
hesitated, and then, “Of course, my dear. Your welfare is important
to the Valleur. Go.”

She rose,
bowed to Nemisin and walked past Torrullin without looking at him
and vanished down the stairs.

Nemisin stared
after her, his expression unreadable.

Torrullin and
Elianas glanced at each other. Lowen would inform the others of the
situation and they in turn would share their side of the tale.
Hopefully all would be circumspect.

Hopefully
Valen had not received a covert signal to do something about the
strangers.

Torrullin
lowered into the chair vacated by Lowen. “Is something wrong, Sire?
I have the distinct feeling there is something amiss.”

Nemisin stared
at him for a few beats. “Do not presume to know me well enough to
read me.” Again he waved expressively. “No matter. Something is
amiss, yes. There was a disturbance in the fabric today. It
concerns me.”

“We felt it,
yes, and found Valen there.”

“Well, what
was it? Did you deal with it?”

Torrullin
leaned forward, hands on knees. “I think it may be the signal to
build the mountain city, my Lord, and, yes, it is dealt with.”

“Explain!”
Nemisin snapped. He waved the other nobles out of hearing and then
waited while they were cleared away. “What signal? How?”

“If something
is imagined, Sire, it begins to take on reality. You have imagined
and now you delay. Forgive my bluntness, my Lord.”

“You are
suggesting I am prompted to begin?”

“Yes.”
Sometimes it paid to be as direct as possible. Not that Nemisin
would appreciate it.

“Elianas?”

“I concur, my
Lord.”

Nemisin pulled
a face. “So much work, so hot.” He sighed. “How long can I
delay?”

“You cannot,”
Torrullin said. “Either do it or remove the blueprint from your
mind.”

Nemisin was
silent, and then, “I shall have a decision by morning.”

Torrullin
smiled.

Then Nemisin
leaned towards him. “This outworlder situation.”

“Yes, my
Lord?”

“I do not like
it. Until now we thought of ourselves as alone in the universe and
now it is not so. What do you know?”

“I confess,
Sire, I am as surprised as you. I happened upon Lowen by chance,
and then ran into her companions.”

The quality of
silence that ensued suggested Nemisin did not quite trust that.
“What do you suggest we do?” Enough trust, however, in Torrullin’s
abilities.

Torrullin gave
the appearance of deep thought and then, “The simplest and most
direct method of investigation would be for Elianas and I to put
them through a series of tests.”

Nemisin
smiled, a cold and satisfied thing, and sat back. “We have our
differences, but I knew I could count on you in what really matters
to the Valleur. Do it. Do not hold back. Torrullin, they could be a
danger to the Valleur; do whatever you feel necessary.”

“It would
require privacy. We cannot allow scandal.”

“Of course.
Take them where you must. Take them now, including the beautiful
Lowen. I do not trust her words.” Nemisin paused and then, “I shall
command the city’s building to commence in the morning, considering
you will not be here to remove the blueprint. I shudder so at
disturbances.”

Torrullin
nodded. “A sound choice, Sire.”

Nemisin
inclined his head. “You have one week to present answers to the
outworlder situation.” He offered a smile. “I do not care what
happens to them, but that is an interesting little creature you
created - it would be fine to bring him to court for our amusement.
Perhaps we can teach it speech and song.”

“Of course.”
Torrullin rose. “Until then, my Lord. Come, Elianas.”

Nemisin pouted
as Elianas rose, and blew him a kiss.

The two left
as quickly as was decently possible.

“Clever, about
the signal,” Elianas murmured.

“I nearly
pulled his head from his shoulders,” Torrullin muttered.

“Relax; he is
always like that. This outworlder thing could well stir him to
war.”

“That was the
idea.”

“Now we need
to orchestrate the Throne.”

“Lowen may
have more on that.”

Elianas fell
silent.

“And how do we
get Neolone into the picture?” Torrullin wondered as they walked
through the trees.

“Maybe Lowen
will know,” Elianas said.

Torrullin
pulled him to a stop. “Are you going to be childish about
this?”

“And who was
the one who almost flew into Nemisin for touching where you do not
want him to?”

They glared at
each other and then both laughed.

They went
on.

The lodge was
a large cabin built around a deep pool.

Changing rooms
were open around this inner, watery courtyard. When Torrullin and
Elianas found it, they found everyone vanished into a room to
change.

Valen was
gone; they met him along the way and he supplied direction -
clearly he had received no covert signal - and thus only Lowen
paced the wraparound deck.

Lanterns
swayed in the breeze, and there were more shadows than light.

Torrullin and
Elianas walked through the open entrance, and there Elianas halted.
“You go an alone. I do not want to see this.”

“We have been
apart ten years; nothing will happen,” Torrullin said. He did not
dare say it, but Elianas was the barrier he needed against Lowen’s
larger than life presence.

Lowen came to
a halt, silky robes rustling in the silence. She watched the two
men close in, but her face was in shadow and thus they could not
read her. She could not read them either.

She shrugged
and said, “We haven’t had time to talk. Valen just left.” She
gestured at the changing rooms.

Remarkably,
all sounds from within those rooms suddenly deadened.