Vagrants: Book 2 Circles of Light series (37 page)

‘We have only small
birds and animals roaming wild in the Circles of Vagrantia. We have
cattle and lumen which we brought here and bred, but we are
enclosed, isolated.’ She glanced at Thryssa.

‘Lady Emla,’ Thryssa
began. ‘When we found these craters we believed ourselves finally
blessed once more by the stars. We sealed ourselves within and, by
agreement of us all, we attempted no contact with any beyond this
sanctuary.’

Emla sat back on her
heels. ‘I have been told, by the Delvers of Asat,’ she paused,
noted puzzled expressions around her and hurried on – many
explanations would just have to wait. ‘A long time past – but I
would guess after you came here – there was a disaster of some kind
which devastated the lands between here and the northern High
Lands. I suspect that it had something to do with our arrival on
this world, but the Dragons say they had to flee this region then,
never to venture here since. How could you have survived
here?’

Kwanzi bustled back at
that moment with a tray laden with tea and steaming pastries. Shan
went to help him hand round the welcome refreshments.

It was Lashek who
answered Emla’s question. ‘It is recorded that indeed the earth
trembled and shook some time after we had settled in this place. It
was thought a new volcano might have erupted but there was no dust
in the sky such as a volcano might cause. A few of our people still
went outside these craters then, and they came back sick, as though
poisoned. It was decided then that we would seal ourselves within
Vagrantia.’ He pointed out of the window at the clear spring sky.
‘We shielded each crater and the poison never came
within.’

‘How long have you been
protecting yourselves?’

Lashek chuckled. ‘In my
grandfather’s youth the shields were removed, but we can replace
them extremely quickly – as we do when Gremara goes into one of her
aggressive phases and screams for her Dragon Lord.’

‘And Gremara lives so
close to you?’

Thryssa also indicated
the window. ‘The distant wall of this Circle of Parima locks with
Talvo Circle, which is Gremara’s province.’

Emla got to her feet
and stared across the great bowl of Parima, Shan moving to stand
beside her.

‘So close Lady!’ Shan
shivered and turned her back on the view.

Thryssa sat at her work
table. ‘Lady Emla, if you wish to write a message to your friends
in the north, perhaps you would do so soon. I have to discuss with
the other Speakers exactly what we will say in our message to
them.’

Emla turned from the
window at once. ‘Of course High Speaker. Come Shan, we will leave
our generous hosts to discuss the matter.’

Before they reached the
door it was opened from without by Alya who was bringing Speaker
Kallema of Fira and Jilla of Kedara. Introductions were made to the
Lady of Gaharn then Emla and Shan took their leave.

Kallema drifted to sit
in a chair like a piece of waterweed caught by a
current.

‘I came as swiftly as I
could,’ she murmured, accepting the tea that Kwanzi seemed able to
produce in endless supply. 'Are all these strangers as tall as Lady
Emla?’

Maressa smiled. ‘I fear
so Kallema. The one who mind spoke me is a little taller I would
guess.’

‘But who was the
smaller one?’

‘Her Guard,’ Lashek
told the water mage. ‘I suspect she would be most fierce in defence
of her lady.’

Kallema nodded vaguely.
‘I have to tell you at once that a boy in our Circle became quite
insane. The Healers say his mind was totally disrupted.’

‘Did his eyes alter?’
Thryssa asked urgently.

Kallema frowned. ‘Yes,
they did. They became completely red. At first the Healers thought
they were bloodshot but when he died this morning, they discovered
it was almost like scaling across his eyeballs. They could not get
near him before he died, he resisted any attempts to use power to
relax him – not surprising when they found how damaged his mind had
become.’ Kallema studied Thryssa carefully. ‘Have you had such a
case here in Parima then?’

‘The girl I spoke to
you about – Elyssa, who showed unexpectedly strong in testing. She
is in one of our guest rooms right now and her eyes are silver
except for the pupils which have taken the original colour of her
irises. And she is not mad.’

Jilla spoke for the
first time since acknowledging Emla’s greeting. ‘We have a boy
whose eyes have changed. It happened two days ago. His eyes have
silvered and he is undamaged in his mind.’

Lashek glanced across
at Thryssa. ‘I have a feeling the cousin I told you of, had eyes of
red rather than silver. I cannot be completely sure without
checking, but it was a very long time ago, when I was only just
beginning school.’

Thryssa rubbed her
face. ‘So, based on these few examples, it seems silver eyes mean
no brain damage whereas red - ’

Kallema shuddered, her
green blonde hair rippling over her arms. ‘I saw the boy in our
Circle – he was twelve cycles, yet it took four men to restrain
him.’

Thryssa drew a deep
breath. ‘You all know Lady Emla used a circle to get here. She was
fortunate indeed that she arrived here rather than Sapphrea or the
far South Lands.’

‘Very lucky,’ Lashek
corrected her.

‘We now have to decide
what to tell her people.’ Thryssa leaned her elbows on the table
and cupped her chin in her hands.

There was a
considerable silence until Kallema stirred.

‘I have to assume that
you retain the knowledge of how the circles function Thryssa. Is
that the case?’

Thryssa nodded
wearily.

‘Then will you tell
Lady Emla and her people how to use them, High Speaker?’

‘I will decide when you
tell me your honest opinions but yes, I personally believe they
should know – stars alone know what trouble they could find
themselves in should they discover a way by chance again – as did
Lady Emla.’

‘But Lady Emla said a
Great Dragon told her how to walk the circle,’ Lashek
interposed.

‘And how would the
Dragons have learned about our circles?’ Jilla asked in a bemused
tone.

Thryssa’s hands moved
from her chin to clutch her head. ‘Another puzzle Jilla. And now
this strange – should we call it “illness”? – that has afflicted
three of our young people.’ She raised her face and gave Lashek a
grim smile. ‘You remarked on how “interesting” life was becoming
Lashek. I could almost believe you have willed us to this
pass!’

Lashek beamed at her.
‘You look exhausted my dear. Shall we three work on our letter of
introduction to those in the north while you explain the workings
of the circles? I do think we should warn them as soon as maybe not
to jump on a circle without being sure of their destination. Lady
Emla did say that she had hoped to travel from her city of Gaharn
to the northern Stronghold, yet she ended up here.’

‘I agree,’ murmured
Kallema. ‘They could place themselves in terrible danger using the
circles with only partial knowledge.’

‘I am empowered to
Speak for my father and I agree,’ said Jilla quietly. ‘I would also
suggest that you ask Bagri to arrange a full complement of guards
around the Chamber of Harmony – just in case the wrong people
appear unexpectedly.’

Thryssa looked alarmed
but Lashek nodded.

‘I agree to that,’ he
said. ‘Both that you explain the circles and that you set guards in
place.’

‘Very well.’ Thryssa
rose. ‘I will go to my private study to write the basic
instructions for these others. You are welcome to work here on your
message for them.’

Kwanzi found Thryssa
soon afterwards in their private rooms. She was staring at a blank
piece of parchment on the table before her. He put his hands
lightly on her shoulders, drawing her back against him. She reached
up and caught one of his hands.

‘This is only the
beginning Kwanzi of yet another upheaval for us all. Where will it
end? Oh dear stars, will we be forced to wander the world again, or
will the world try to force its way in here?’

Chapter
Twenty-Five

By the time Mim and
Ashta came into the great hall, Fenj, the Snow Dragons, Kera and
Dessi had recovered somewhat. The strain of linking minds with
Maressa of Vagrantia, so far away, had eased, but Mim was
immediately aware that something had occurred in his absence. Kera
felt that Fenj’s decision to go hunting, leaving her to explain
their action to Mim, was a fainthearted one.

As calmly as she was
able, she presented Mim with the facts of their discoveries, to
which he listened in silence. The scaling on his face made it hard
to read his expression these days and Kera had no inkling of how he
would react. To her total amazement, he began to smile as she
reached the end of her story. He threw his arm around Ashta’s pale
green shoulders and shook with laughter.

‘I do not see anything
faintly amusing Mim,’ said Kera, rather offended by this
reaction.

‘Of course not Kera, do
forgive me. But how ever did Emla get to this place across the
Wilderness?’

‘It was such a short
time of contact Mim, but the woman I think must be in charge there,
said she would send a message by way of the circles.’

‘What?’ Mim
straightened with alacrity. He glanced quickly around at the few
Guardsmen in the hall and called to one. ‘Get a squad of men
together, armed, and send them to me in the upper chambers. And
find Captain Jal and Motass. They are to come to the Guardian’s
quarters as swiftly as they can.’

As he spoke Mim was
already moving back towards the ramp leading to the higher floors
of the Stronghold. Kera and Dessi were at his heels, hurrying up to
the area used by Rhaki and, since his disappearance, left empty by
tacit consent.

Mim paused at the door.
Guards were pounding along the passageway behind them and finally a
white-faced Jal arrived with his brother Motass.

‘You Guards will place
yourselves around the circle which is set into the floor within,’
Mim directed them. ‘We think something may be sent, using the magic
of the circle. I want to be sure you are ready to deal with
anything that might appear.’

Metal rasped as swords
were drawn. Mim paused, his hand on the door latch.

‘Whatever you do, do
not stand too near the circle’s edge.’

With that, he pushed
open the door and walked through. Kera saw him glance at the place
where the hidden door was, and she remembered Emla’s story of
Bark’s death. The Weights of Balance were in a chamber through that
door. She shivered and took a place close to Mim. And then they
waited.

It was quite a long
wait and then Mim tensed. The Guards came to full alertness again
as everyone felt the air within the chamber seem to change. There
was a soft explosion of air, enough to make them all rock back
slightly on their heels, and then a large leather scroll case was
rolling gently in the centre of the mosaic circle.

Mim insisted they wait
a further time to be sure that nothing else came through onto the
circle. At last he nodded to Kera who stepped quickly onto the
patterned floor, picked up the case and returned to Mim’s
side.

‘Jal, keep Guards here
at all times now – six should be enough in here with two outside
the door to call the alarm should the need arise.’

Jal nodded briskly, not
yet having devised a way of saluting with his left hand.

Mim looked at the
scroll tube Kera held but made no attempt to take it from
her.

‘Let’s go down to the
hall and you can see what it says.’ He grinned at her and lead the
way from Rhaki’s study.

Kera realised, as they
reached the hall, that Mim was still struggling to read. One
forgot, in the light of his other, burgeoning abilities, that he
had been, until only recently, an unschooled Nagum boy.

Fenj reclined in his
usual place, Lula crooning on top of his head. His eyes whirred
uneasily when Mim marched up to him.

‘You are a wicked old
Dragon,’ Mim scolded him. ‘Trying to link minds that far – you
could have died.’ Then he reached his hand towards the beautiful
long face and scratched his near-taloned finger down the side of
Fenj’s jaw. ‘And whatever would we do without you?’

Fenj calmed, realising
that Mim was teasing him and thankful not to be facing the Dragon
Lord’s wrath. Lorak poked his head out of his tiny
workroom.

‘He needed a drop of my
beverage afore he were fit to fly off hunting though.’

‘Splendid fellow!’ Fenj
gazed fondly at the old gardener.

Kera unlatched the end
fastening of the tube and tipped the contents onto a table. There
were three scrolls in all. She glanced questioningly at Mim then
unrolled the outermost parchment.

‘Greetings to the
people of the Stronghold,’ she began.

The message conveyed
the friendly intent of the Speakers of Vagrantia and held no trace
of threat.