The Twisted Citadel

by Sara Douglass

  Maximilian glanced sideways, and saw that Axis was staring at her.

  "My brood sister, Inardle," said Eleanon. "She was Lister's companion for a while, but now is not."

  "An interesting manner of putting it," Axis murmured.

  "Axis SunSoar," said Maximilian, deciding to move into his own introductions before Axis could say anything else, "of whom you must have heard. Isaiah, of Isembaard, likewise; Ishbel Persimius, again likewise; and Ezekiel, the senior of Isembaard's generals."

  Cautious nods were exchanged all about.

  "The rest of the social niceties shall have to wait," said Maximilian. "As Isaiah has pointed out, Isembaard is in crisis." He looked at the Lealfast. "Do all three of you command your fighting group?"

  "Eleanon and myself," Bingaleal said. "Inardle fights among us, but does not command."

  "Then why is she here?" said Axis.

  Bingaleal looked at Axis, his entire manner chilly and aloof. "Because she stands for the rest of the Lealfast, StarMan. And because she has always stood among the elite, and in Lister's inner circle."

  "Definitely within Lister's inner circle," Axis murmured, "if she was sleeping with him."

  "Axis," Maximilian said, and Axis gave a shrug and turned aside a little, as if distancing himself from the conversation.

  "I need your help," Maximilian said to Eleanon and Bingaleal. "I want to send perhaps twenty-five thousand of your fighters, with Isaiah, to aid the Isembaardians to escape." He gave a little smile. "I may have preempted your agreement a little with my announcement to the army earlier."

  "You are our commander, my Lord of Elcho Falling," said Bingaleal. "You do not need either Eleanon's or my permission to use our force as you need." A slight hesitation. "We shall be glad to aid in Isembaard in any manner we are able."

  "Why?" said Axis, now turning back into the conversation. "Why so loyal to Maximilian? There is no history between you, so far as I am aware."

  He looked at Maximilian at this, and Maximilian gave a slight shake of his head.

  "As there is none between you and he," said Eleanon, "and yet, here we all stand."

  "We have heard of Elcho Falling whispered in the winds of the frozen northern wastes for all the centuries of our existence, StarMan," said Inardle. It was the first time she had spoken, and all the non-Lealfast studied her curiously. Her voice was very low, husky, but clearly audible and underscored with strength.

  "We yearn for Elcho Falling," Inardle continued, "more than you can understand. We know it, which is why we could describe it in the sky above you this day. Its lord is our lord."

  It was a brief but powerful speech, and it was followed by a momentary silence.

  "Thank you," Ishbel said. She rose from her chair and inclined her head at Inardle. "That was beautifully spoken. I think there must be much we can learn from each other."

  Beautifully spoken, perhaps, Axis thought, but did it truly answer my question?

  "Eleanon, Bingaleal," Maximilian said, "how long do your fighters need to rest? You have already had a long journey to reach me."

  "We travel effortlessly in our snow form," Bingaleal said, "and can return south again in the morning."

  Bingaleal slid a glance toward Isaiah. "Is it your wish that this man command us?"

  "You will operate under his direction, yes." Maximilian paused, looking between Isaiah and Bingaleal carefully. He recognized the tension between them, but did not yet understand it. "Is there a problem with this, Bingaleal? Isaiah knows both the land and the enemy well; you do not."

  Bingaleal gave an expressive shrug. "I have no problems, my lord. I just thought that perhaps Isaiah might feel uncomfortable about it."

  "Why--" Maximilian began.

  "Bingaleal was the Lealfast that Lister sent to Aqhat to stage the assassination attempt on Isaiah," Axis said. "That was the attempt that created the chaos that allowed Ishbel to be attacked and her child murdered."

  "And for that tragedy," Bingaleal said, "I hold myself fully responsible." He stepped forward to Ishbel, bowing before her in the Icarii manner, wings spread out behind him in deference. "My lady, I cannot tell you how badly I wish I could undo that action. The last thing I wanted was for you to lose such a precious child, and with such horrific results."

  "It would have happened either way, Bingaleal," Ishbel said. "It was no one's fault. Fate, only."

  The tent door opened, and Ishbel, who had been going to say something else, looked over.

  Ravenna had entered.

  She smiled pleasantly, apologized for disturbing them, then looked at Maximilian. "Should I go, Maxel?"

  she said. "Am I intruding?"

  Yes, she was, Axis thought, watching Maximilian. The man was obviously irritated with her presence.

  He glanced at Ishbel.

  She had turned very slightly, presenting her shoulder to Ravenna.

  It was a clear but elegant rebuff, and Axis' mouth twitched with humor that the woman who had to all intents and purposes been utterly rejected a few nights ago now held such a strong advantage. He wished he'd witnessed the scene in the snow. It had patently been a turning point in all three participants' lives, but in ways that none of them could have predicted.

  He looked about the room.

  Everyone, including the Lealfast, was watching with interest.

  "I thought you might have need of my counsel," Ravenna said to Maximilian.

  Axis almost winced. That had been a bad move. If Maximilian had needed Ravenna's counsel, he would have ensured her presence.

  Before Maximilian could respond, Ravenna turned to Eleanon, Bingaleal, and Inardle. "Greetings," she said, moving over and extending her hand. "My name is Ravenna, and--"

  "Ravenna aided in my rescue from the Veins some years ago," Maximilian said to the Lealfast, taking Ravenna's elbow just before she reached the Lealfast, "and she has been a good companion in my efforts to find Ishbel. Ravenna, this is but a war council and would bore you. I think--"

  She looked him directly in the eye. "I have ever been ready at your side, Maxel. I have risked my life for you. May I not have the courtesy of your ear?"

  "Ravenna," Maximilian said, his voice gentle, "this really has nothing to do with you."

  "And this child?" Ravenna said, her hand on her belly.

  Maximilian's expression hardened. She had pushed too far with that question.

  Axis folded his arms and leaned back against one of the tent's internal support poles, more intrigued than ever.

  "You should go back to your mother," Ishbel said, "and your dreams of dark misshapen creatures and betrayal."

  Axis could hardly believe he'd heard that. Maximilian had told Ishbel about Ravenna's vision? He looked to Maximilian to see if he looked surprised, but he continued to regard Ravenna calmly.

  Ravenna had gone white. She stared at Ishbel, then at Maximilian. "You have made your choice, then,"

  Ravenna said, and she turned her back and left the tent with, Axis thought, more dignity than he thought he'd be able to muster under the circumstances.

  Ravenna's brief interruption had left Axis astonished. Whether he had admitted it to himself or not, Maximilian had indeed very clearly made his choice. Officially very much apart so few days ago, Ishbel and Maximilian had just now presented a united front against Ravenna.

  Ishbel turned then, catching Axis' eye, and she gave him a very slight smile.

  He gave her a small nod in return. Your victory, Ishbel.

  Then he looked at Isaiah, and saw that his eyes gleamed with amusement and not a little pride.

  "I apologize for that interruption," Maximilian said, very much collected. "Bingaleal, if we may take up where we left...you are certain you can work with Isaiah?"

  Bingaleal looked at Isaiah and raised an eyebrow.

  "We can work together," Isaiah said, his voice quiet and even. "I am grateful for whatever aid Isembaard may have."

  "Good," Maximilian said. "You have fifty thousand among your forc
e here, Bingaleal?"

  "Give or take a few thousand," said Bingaleal.

  "And you travel light, no supplies?"

  "What you see before you is all that we are," Bingaleal said. "We eat food and drink wine such as you when it is available, but otherwise we may exist on what we gather within the air itself."

  At that point Bingaleal glanced at Axis, who gave the Lealfast man a small smile.

  They feed from the Star Dance.

  "We travel light and fast," Bingaleal finished.

  "Then take twenty-five thousand south, Bingaleal," Maximilian said. "The rest, together with Eleanon and Inardle, can remain here with me."

  Bingaleal inclined his head and then, as Maximilian looked away, sent his brother an intense glance.

  "Isaiah," Maximilian continued, "how fast can you travel? I know the speed at which the Lealfast can move, but--"

  "We can take Isaiah with us," said Bingaleal. "We have the means. We can all reach Isembaard within a day, two at most."

  Maximilian looked surprised at that. "You can do that for Isaiah, but you left Lister to travel at his own pace to reach me?"

  "Lister and Isaiah are different propositions," Bingaleal said, and with that oblique answer Maximilian had to be content.

  "My other purpose in calling you here," said Maximilian, "is to discuss the three missing generals. Ezekiel, what do you know of this?"

  "I knew the night they'd fled," Ezekiel said. "That first night, Maximilian, after you'd taken `control.'" His mouth quirked. "They did not approach me to accompany them. They thought me too much Axis' friend.

  I was not `safe.'"

  "If you knew the night they'd fled, Ezekiel," Axis snapped, "then why not tell us?"

  "Because I thought that if you were as good as the legends said, Axis, you would have discovered their absence within hours."

  Eleanon and Bingaleal looked away, repressing smiles.

  "You are right," Axis said, "I should have known. Tell me, Ezekiel, you know these men better than any here. Where will they be going?"

  "Riding as hard as they can for the soldiers Isaiah left stationed along his route to this point," Ezekiel said.

  "Seize command of them--two hundred thousand and more, if I am not mistaken."

  "Will they try to return to Isembaard?" Maximilian said.

  Ezekiel shook his head. "No. They can see vast territories here waiting to be seized. The Outlands and Central Kingdoms are in disarray because of civil war and the Skraelings' invasion. The generals will see an opportunity."

  "But there is Maximilian," said Axis.

  "Of course," said Ezekiel, the too heavy irony in his voice making Axis' eyes narrow.

  "They will know that I cannot be certain of the Isembaardian soldiers here," said Maximilian. "The generals will certainly have supporters here to spread their word."

  "You could have done more today," said Ezekiel, "to rally the Isembaardians to your cause. By the gods, Maximilian, you sounded almost as if you were giving them permission to follow in the generals'

  footsteps!"

  Maximilian gave a little shrug of his shoulders.

  "If you cannot retrieve those three generals," Ezekiel said, "then there will be war across the Outlands.

  Maximilian, you face a greater and nearer crisis than whatever waits below the FarReach Mountains, I

  think."

  "Then I shall need your help," said Maximilian. "Do I have it?"

  Ezekiel did not immediately respond. Then, finally, he gave a terse nod. "Save what you can from Isembaard, Maximilian, and I will give you both my help and my loyalty."

  "Good," said Maximilian. "Eleanon, if your brother flies down with half of the Lealfast fighting force to Isembaard, then I shall need your help, and the rest of the Lealfast's, to discover these generals before they can do much harm. It has been three days. They cannot have got far."

  "Maxel," Axis said, "perhaps I can ride after them, too. Their escape is the result of my negligence, and--"

  "We can find them faster, StarMan," Eleanon said, and Axis jumped a little at the use of his old title.

  "We have no need of Axis," Eleanon said, looking at Maximilian. "All we need is a description, and the direction which they were most likely to take, and we shall have them for you within a day."

  Goodness, thought Axis, if this lot are as good as they think they are, then I could have secured Tencendor against Gorgrael within a week, and relegated the Timekeeper Demons to the dustbin within two.

  "A description..." Maximilian said. "Ezekiel? You knew them better than anyone."

  Ezekiel was about to answer, but Axis forestalled him.

  "I can do far better than a description," he said quietly, and ran the Song of Recall through his mind. It was one of the first Songs he had learned during his training as an Enchanter, and it returned to him easily now.

  Instantly the space within the center of the tent filled with a vision.

  Axis and Isaiah, standing in Isaiah's private chamber within the palace of Aqhat. Ezekiel, white-haired but fit and hard, stood slightly to one side of the other four generals, Morfah, Lamiah, Kezial, and Armat.

  "Morfah," said Axis, pointing him out, "is now dead, thanks to one of Maximilian's tricks. That," Axis now pointed to a balding man with a deeply wrinkled face, "is Lamiah. The taller, thinner man next to him is Kezial, and the youngest man Armat."

  "And that," said Maximilian, "is one mighty surprise, Axis. I thought you had lost your Enchanter powers?"

  "Lost," said Axis, looking between Eleanon and Bingaleal, "but now regained. Eleanon, you have your men, now hunt them down."

  There was a slight challenge in his voice at the last, and Eleanon responded to it with a sardonic tilt of his head.

  "It is late," said Maximilian, "and we are all weary. Isaiah, may I see you in the morning before you leave? Eleanon, Bingaleal, and Inardle, do you need sleeping arrangements made for you? No? Then I

  shall see you in the morning as well. Ishbel, Axis, can you stay a few moments, please? I need to talk to you."

  A little later, as Eleanon, Bingaleal, and Inardle stood talking at the edge of camp, Ravenna slid out of the shadows and approached them.

  "I am sorry I did not make my acquaintance with you fully in Maximilian's tent," she said, noting how the faces of all three Lealfast closed over as she approached, and how swiftly they silenced their words.

  Eleanon gave a little tip of his head and a lift of his eyebrows.

  It could have meant anything.

  "I heard, before I entered," Ravenna continued, "your explanation to Axis regarding your remarkable loyalty to Maxel."

  "Maximilian Persimius commands the loyalty of many people," Inardle said.

  "So truly he does," Ravenna said, "if somewhat falsely."

  "Explain your `falsely,'" Bingaleal said.

  Ravenna gave a slight shrug of her shoulders "Once," she said, "the Lords of Elcho Falling were great and powerful."

  "Once?" Bingaleal said, and his attitude, as that of Eleanon and Inardle, was now very watchful indeed.

  "Once," Ravenna said. "But now...ah, my friends, so much has been forgotten. Maximilian himself has lost fully two-thirds of the lore needed to wield the power of Elcho Falling. Do you know of the Twisted Tower?"

  The Lealfast exchanged a wary look, then Eleanon managed a nod. "We have heard of it."

  "The Twisted Tower is almost empty," Ravenna said. "Maximilian can no longer access the knowledge he needs. His is but an empty title, my friends...unless he can somehow, magically, find all those lost objects on the muddy road to the east. He means well, but..."

  She gave an expressive shrug, then turned and left them watching her as she walked away.

  "I think it just as well, brother," Eleanon said in a low voice, "that you shall be journeying into Isembaard.

  Discover what you can before we must commit ourselves fully."

  Then he looked at Inardle. "Are you still so sure, sister, that the Lor
d of Elcho Falling represents our only path to salvation?"

  "I have only ever said that we need to be careful," Inardle said, "and not leap into the new and exciting at our later cost. We must be cautious."

  "As we shall," Eleanon said. Then his manner relaxed and he grinned. "Did you see, sister, how Axis StarMan looked at you?"

  Inardle laughed, low and lovely. "His sharp tongue revealed his interest."

  "He has a weakness for women," Bingaleal said. "The more distant they be with him, I think, the greater his interest."

  "Then perhaps you can affect some distance, Inardle," Eleanon said. "Can you imagine what we might learn--perhaps what knowledge we can offer the One--if you are in Axis' bed?"

  Inardle shrugged, much as Ravenna had just shrugged. "Perhaps," she said.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The River Lhyl, North of Azibar, Isembaard

  Hereward was just sitting down to her evening meal in the cramped cabin of the riverboat when suddenly the entire boat tipped slightly to one side. She grabbed at a bulkhead to stop herself falling over;

  then, before anyone could speak, there came the frightful sound of grinding and splintering and the boat tilted even more alarmingly.

  Everyone in the cabin was now grabbing for handholds.

  "What's happening?" cried Heddiah the cook.

  "I don't--" Odella began to say, then fell silent as something smooth and shiny and very, very sharp splintered through the hull of the boat, through her back, and then out her abdomen.

  It was a huge shard of glass.

  Hereward, as everyone else, was so shocked that for a long moment she could do nothing but stare.

  Then she opened her mouth and moved slightly, but before she could even reach out a hand to Odella, a score more shards of glass splintered through the hull, skewering two more people.

  Suddenly it was all noise and movement as people leapt away from the hull and climbed onto the central table. Hereward picked up a small toddling boy and clambered onto the table, keeping him locked in her arms.

  There was something wrong.