At least her sandals could be washed clean of the blood and slipped back on.
Hereward knew she had to make a decision about what to do, but delayed it by deciding to examine the book.
She hefted it, wandered over to the lamp burning in the prow, and sat down with a thump on the deck.
Another band of Skraelings drifted past on the river, but they gave the boat a wide berth.
Hereward opened the cover to a blank, creamy page. She turned it over and came to what was obviously a table of contents.
She frowned at it--the writing was unfamiliar, foreign, and she couldn't--
The writing shimmered, and suddenly both script and language were familiar, and she could read.
The page listed in order a series of stories...save that all the stories were the same.
One: The story of the woman Hereward who waited on the riverbank with the book.
Two: The story of the woman Hereward who waited on the riverbank with the book.
Three: The story of the woman Hereward...
And so on for thirty stories.
"Wait," Hereward muttered. "On the riverbank."
Far to the south, the One raised his head from the kitten in his hands and looked northward.
"What is this that rises?" he whispered. "What ghost from the past be this?"
The book stank of Boaz, and the One instinctively hated it.
CHAPTER SIX
The Sky Peaks Pass
Can you show me the Twisted Tower, Maxel?"
"You want to see the Twisted Tower?"
"Will you trust me that far?"
Maximilian breathed in deeply. Distrust and uncertainty had been the twin pillars of their relationship before even they'd met. But now that that relationship had been utterly torn apart, it appeared to be progressing in leaps and bounds.
Now that it had been fractured... Ishbel's mouth moved in the hint of a smile.
"If you wish, then certainly." Maximilian fell silent, thinking. "But for this first time, I will need to touch you. It is the only way."
"I don't mind, Maxel."
Nonetheless, Ishbel took a big breath as Maximilian pulled his chair close, hesitated, then lifted his hands and slid his right about the back of her neck, cradling her head, and lay the other against her cheek.
"Now it is you who will need to trust me," Maximilian said softly. "I need to take your consciousness and turn it in a slightly different direction. You can stop anytime you want."
"I trust you, Maxel."
"Close your eyes."
She did so.
"Relax your neck and shoulders. Let me cradle your head."
She did this, too, though with some effort, as the intimacy reminded her so much of their brief period of almost happiness.
How long had that lasted? A week? Two? But even that brief time had been founded on lies and had collapsed at the first test.
"Ishbel, trust me."
Trust me.
Ishbel's mouth opened on a small, silent gasp. It felt as if Maximilian's fingers had suddenly intruded right into her mind and were gently twisting it, just a little, very quietly, almost tenderly.
"Do you feel what I am doing with your consciousness, Ishbel? Do you think you could turn your mind so, on your own, later?"
His fingers were still so gently turning her mind. Their pressure felt very curious, but not uncomfortable or unsettling, and Ishbel could understand what he was doing.
He was turning her consciousness so that it altered her perception of her surroundings and of the world she inhabited.
"Yes," she whispered.
She felt him smile, felt the alteration in the warmth that radiated out from his face.
"Good. Right about now, Ishbel, you should see a path before you. Do you see it? Do you feel it, beneath your feet?"
"Yes. Yes!"
And Ishbel did. She stood with Maximilian on a paved pathway that wound through a garden of low flowers and shrubs toward the most extraordinary structure she had ever seen. A tower rose before her, twisting in a corkscrew manner so high into the blue sky that she had to crane her head to look at it.
"Ninety levels," said Maximilian. "One chamber per level, and one window only, at the highest level." He smiled. "I have never seen this garden on either side of the pathway, Ishbel, nor have I seen the sky so blue. You brought that with you."
She looked at him. He was smiling, and she thought he looked very relaxed.
"Now look to the pathway," said Maximilian. "There are eighty-six steps to reach the door. You always need to take eighty-six steps, and you must learn to count them as you approach. Soon the eighty-six will become second nature."
"Why eighty-six?"
"The tower is a thing of order. It is also a thing of immense memory...ordered memory. If you approach it in a disordered manner, then that disorder will reverberate throughout the entire tower. Come. Let us begin these eighty-six steps."
He took her hand, and led her toward the tower. They stopped before the door, and Maximilian paused in the act of reaching out to grasp the doorknob.
"You open it," he said. "Only someone of Persimius blood can open it."
"Are you testing me?"
"No. I'm allowing you to do some of the work for a change."
Ishbel bit back a smile, and laid her hand on the round brass knob.
Hello, Ishbel Persimius. Never before have I had a queen of the blood visit.
Ishbel's fingers trembled a little, then they firmed and she twisted her hand so that the door clicked open.
She stopped, one foot inside the door, astounded at the clutter and crowd of objects in the room.
Maximilian put a warm hand in the center of her back, gently encouraging her inside a step or two.
"Welcome to the Twisted Tower, Ishbel Persimius."
Maximilian led Ishbel through the lower chambers of the Twisted Tower. He showed her a few objects, and watched her face as she picked them up.
"I know what memory this plate contains," she said. "It holds a memory to do with the opening, or raising, of Elcho Falling. Yes?"
"Yes." He explained to her precisely what the memory meant, and what was its message, and the small frown cleared from Ishbel's brow.
"How did I know that?" she said. "I knew the general gist of it, but not the particulars, which you needed to explain. But now that you have explained..." she turned the plate over, then returned it to its place on a table. "I know I will never forget it. But how did I have the basic knowledge, anyway?"
"That's your Persimius blood," said Maximilian. "We all have the basic understanding--we just need to have someone guide us through and restore to us a full and clear understanding of the memory of each object."
"Ah," she said. "I was being tested again."
"Not at all. I knew you would know each object, and that you had the memories within you." Maximilian hesitated. "In the same way that you knew the basic memory in that plate, so I knew the instant I touched you that you were of strong Persimius blood."
They looked at each other, remembering that night when Maximilian had first come to Ishbel, and had seduced her.
"It is why I wanted you so badly that night, Ishbel," he said. "I had come merely to say hello." His mouth quirked. "I ended up doing far more."
Now Ishbel felt uncomfortable, and a little irritated at the idea that he might now be trying to seduce her all over again. "I'm tired, Maximilian. It has been a long day. Perhaps we can go now?"
"Of course. Do you know how to leave?"
"Yes, I think so. I just need to twist my consciousness back the way it has come and--"
Ishbel's head jerked in Maximilian's hands and she opened her eyes with a start.
"Oh," she said, staring at the inside of the tent.
Maximilian smiled. "Very good."
He was very close, and Ishbel again felt deeply uncomfortable. She tensed her head, ready to pull it out of his hands, but he moved them first.
His left
hand dropped away completely, but his right...the fingers of his right hand trailed down behind her left ear, then continued in soft, lilting movement down her jaw until they, too, finally dropped away.
Ishbel froze, staring at Maximilian.
That had been a signature movement of his when they had made love, a tender conclusion that he had almost always employed.
Ishbel had loved it, and always turned her face into it.
Now she sat rigid, unable to think or move.
Maximilian sat back. "You can find your own way into the Twisted Tower now," he said. "You may go whenever you like."
Ishbel ran her tongue about her mouth, trying to will some moisture into it, and finally managed to find her voice. "You don't mind?"
"Not at all. I might join you sometimes, and show you the meaning of more of the objects."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because it doesn't hurt to have two of us with the knowledge."
"Oh. Maxel, if you have the basic memories of all the objects already within you, then why can you not remember the ones that were lost?"
"Because we need to touch the object, see it, to spark the memory carried deep within us. Did you know of that segment of the raising ritual of Elcho Falling before you touched the plate?"
"Oh," Ishbel said again, and felt foolish. "I think I will say good night now, Maxel."
"I have kept you far too late. I'm sorry."
Ishbel rose, but Maximilian spoke once more as she reached the door.
"Ishbel, you may go whenever you wish into the Twisted Tower, but I shall demand a price from you."
She turned back to him, her expression wary.
He grinned. "A flower. Give me a flower for every time you visit."
"A flower?"
He gave a little shrug.
Ishbel looked at him, let out her breath in exasperation, then left.
After Ishbel had gone, Maximilian remembered that he should have reminded her of the Weeper. It was growing more insistent now, calling Ishbel's name many times while Maximilian was about.
Maximilian sighed. Never mind. Doubtless he would find time soon.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Sky Peaks Pass
Axis paused just outside his father and Salome's tent. Very gently he used a little of the Star Dance to sense inside.
He smiled.
StarDrifter lurched up from Salome's body as Axis entered the tent.
"By the stars, Axis, did you not think to announce yourself before your entry?"
Axis sat down in a chair and stretched out his long legs. He smiled lazily. "I thought you'd be interested in what I know about the Lealfast. Forgive me, is this a poor time?"
StarDrifter muttered a curse and sat up in bed. Salome stretched languidly, not caring that the sheet only covered to her thighs, and gave StarDrifter an amused glance as he tugged the sheet higher.
Axis narrowed his eyes a little, watching Salome. She was as desirable heavily pregnant as she had been when first he'd met her. That SunSoar blood. He turned over in his mind the thought that he need not tell his father about the Star Dance, and instead could use it to win Salome to his side.
She would be drawn to it irresistibly. StarDrifter could do nothing to hold her.
He could have a SunSoar woman back in his bed once more...
"Axis?" said StarDrifter. "Why are you here?"
Axis dragged his eyes back to his father. "May I tell you a story?"
"Oh, for the gods' sakes," StarDrifter muttered.
"Shall it amuse us?" Salome said.
"Assuredly," said Axis.
"Then go ahead," said Salome, turning languidly over on her side to face Axis and allowing the sheet to fall away from her breasts.
Their eyes met.
All he would need do was to keep the secret of the Star Dance to himself, and he could have her.
Salome smiled. She was not able to read his thoughts, but she understood the expression in his eyes.
"Axis?" StarDrifter said.
"When I was a young man," Axis said, "learning the ways of the Star Dance and the powers of the Enchanter, I spent some time with Orr, the Charonite Ferryman, who guarded the waterways of the Underworld."
"I know this," said StarDrifter. "I don't know why--"
"Salome has not heard this tale," Axis said.
StarDrifter muttered another curse and cast his eyes up to the roof of the tent as if it cradled salvation.
"I spent time with Orr, the Ferryman," Axis continued. "He was a man, a being, of great power and wisdom. He told me something about the waterways--I'm not sure if ever I told you--"
StarDrifter made an impatient gesture with one hand.
"Well," Axis said, "he told me that, as the Icarii Enchanters used music to mirror and then manipulate the patterns of the Star Dance, the Charonites used the waterways in the same way."
StarDrifter suddenly shifted his gaze to Axis.
"Whenever the Charonites wanted to use the Star Dance for a purpose, to create an enchantment, instead of singing a Song, they traveled a particular waterway. They used movement--dance, if you like--to create the same effect."
"The Star Dance was lost when the Timekeeper Demons destroyed the Star Gate," StarDrifter said.
"That is a myth," Axis said, holding his father's eyes. "We both know the Lealfast still use it. We just lost the ability to hear it."
"Axis," said StarDrifter, now so tense he was almost rigid, "have the Lealfast told you how to access the Star Dance?"
"No," said Axis. "I think they rather hate us, StarDrifter. They wouldn't give me the time of day, let alone their secret to the Star Dance."
StarDrifter's body slumped once more against the pillows.
"Nonetheless," Salome said, her eyes narrowed, "you are telling us this delightful little tale about Orr the Ferryman for a reason, are you not?"
"Indeed," said Axis. "StarDrifter, all we lost was the ability to hear the Star Dance. Look, the Icarii were used to hearing the music of the Star Dance, yes? It filtered through the Star Gate from the heavens and into our daily lives. It surrounded us always. But what if we were so used to hearing it this way that we'd been blinded--and I use that word deliberately--to other means of recognizing or of allowing the Star Dance to filter through us?"
"Axis," said StarDrifter, "have you regained your connection to the Star Dance?"
"Yes," said Axis.
StarDrifter literally leaped over Salome and crouched before Axis, his hands on his son's arms. "Tell me!"
"You can't see it yet?" said Axis.
StarDrifter's grip tightened until his fingers dug into Axis' flesh. "Tell me!"
"We can see it, StarDrifter," Axis said, pulling his arms away from his father's grip. "The Lealfast can see it. And once you can see it, then suddenly you can hear it again--not as loudly as we were once used to, but hear it nonetheless. Salome."
She jumped a little, surprised at being addressed. "Yes?"
"You have not been corrupted by a lifetime of Icarii blindness," Axis said. "Maybe you will understand.
What has StarDrifter told you of the Star Dance?"
She glanced at her husband, then looked back to Axis. "The Star Dance is the music made by the stars as they weave their way through the heavens."
"Yes," said Axis. "Good stock answer. Carry on."
Salome gave him a black look, but continued. "The music made by the stars filtered through the Star Gate--"
"Tell me, Salome," Axis said, "was that the only way to see the stars, through the Star Gate?"
She sent StarDrifter another glance. "Well, no, we can see them in the night sky. But I have been told that the stars in the night sky are but a pale reflection of what was visible through the Star Gate."
Axis sat and waited, regarding Salome steadily, and StarDrifter turned away from his son and stared at Salome also.
She narrowed her eyes, thinking. "The stars in the night sky are but a pale reflection of what you could see
through the Star Gate...but they are still there."
Axis' mouth curved in a small smile.
"Ergo," she said, "the Star Dance is still here, too, but a paler reflection of what you could once hear via the Star Gate."
Now Axis was grinning, and looked between his father and Salome. "The Star Dance is still here. It falls to earth gently about us, day and night. It drifts down from the heavens. It isn't as concentrated nor as loud as what we heard via the Star Gate, but it is still around us. We just need to open our senses to it.
Listen, when I watched the Lealfast do their pretty snowflake thing in the sky above Maximilian, my mind was screaming at me to make some connection, and I just couldn't."
"They were making patterns," said Salome.
"Yes," said Axis. "They were making patterns. And as that thought came into my head I remembered what Orr had told me about the waterways making patterns so the Charonites could manipulate the Star Dance...and suddenly it just clicked."
"What just clicked?" StarDrifter said.
"It would have been better to do this during the day," said Axis, "as our sight would be clearer then, but there is a light snow falling and it will do better than nothing." He stood, and picked up a lamp. "Come with me. Oh, and toss on some clothes. It will be cold outside."
StarDrifter cursed, and grabbed at his breeches.
Axis led StarDrifter and Salome outside and held up the lamp. "The Star Dance is drifting down gently from the heavens," he said. "Look at the pattern of the snowflakes as they fall."
StarDrifter and Salome stared, their brows furrowed.
"Would it help," Axis said softly, "if I said that you can see music as well as hear it? That you can write music, and understand it? That the--"
"Star Dance is twisting the snow as it falls!" said StarDrifter. "The twists and cadences of the snow as it falls show us the music of the Star--"
He stopped, his face going completely blank.
Axis watched him, then saw the instant the Star Dance filled his father's consciousness. StarDrifter's entire body sagged and his eyes filled with tears.
"Everything about us is affected to some extent by the gentle fall of the Star Dance from the heavens,"
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