Void: Book Five of the Nightlord series

by Garon Whited

  “I’ll keep it in mind, but I’m a bit busy.”

  “Oh? Is there anything I might do to assist you?” he inquired. He sounded eager.

  “You really want out of the body-switching business, don’t you?” I guessed.

  “I am pleased you remember.”

  “Do you want to hand it all to Bob?” I asked. T’yl sighed and turned away.

  “I don’t know,” he admitted, finally. “I have given it much thought in the time since last we spoke. You are correct in that it does not seem wise to place so much trust in him.”

  “Any idea who else we could trust with it?”

  “There’s the trouble. I don’t know of anyone I can trust with it. I would give it all to Tort, but I can think of no other. Even then, I would not wish such a burden on her. Could we make it a function of one of the churches?”

  “I’m hesitant to give even more power to any church.”

  “Even the Lord of Shadow?”

  “Yes.”

  “Isn’t it, effectively, something the Lord of Shadow rules over? It is your creation, after all.”

  “Yes, but it’s not associated with any religious organization. You don’t walk into the Temple and ask to be immortal. The Temple tells you they’ve got nothing to do with it and sends you away. You have to come bother a representative of the King-in-Retirement to get served. Maybe a council of magicians, in Arondael?”

  “Then no one would get a new body.”

  “How so?”

  “They would demand their own bodies, first, then extort favors and loyalty from those who were served, assuming they could agree on who would be so served.”

  “I see. Well, what if we make it a sort of self-serve kind of thing?”

  “Self-serve?” he repeated.

  “Say we have a built-in monitor to determine the age of an embodied soul—no, that won’t work. Leave anything alone to be picked at for long enough and someone will either break it or bypass it.” I sat down in one of T’yl’s heavier chairs and thought some more.

  “Maybe a council or committee to replace you is the best course,” I agreed, finally.

  “Our problem,” he said, quietly, “is the offer of immortality will eventually reach beyond the community of magicians. We guard the secret jealously, of course—no one wants competitors on the narrow road upon which they must race. To add kings and princes to the list would not benefit the magicians. Yet, someone will be foolish, stupid, or greedy and the secret will go beyond those magicians who struggle with time.”

  “Whoa, hold it. Didn’t we have a conversation about this in the baths? I know you had a privacy spell going, but the bath-ladies were inside it.”

  “They were affected by the Tongues of Chaos.”

  “A who the what, now?”

  “Everything they heard was distorted, incomprehensible. You remember how they offered things and we either accepted them or gestured them away? They could hear us speak and understand our tone, but the words were meaningless to them.”

  “Oh. That’s… huh. I take it you’ve been exercising similar caution in other ways?”

  “You have no idea. Nevertheless, you must recognize even with my best efforts, this cannot continue indefinitely. There are already rumors—wrong ones, but they have begun. The secret will escape. When it happens, as it eventually must, there will be an unending clamor both for and against it. Those who wish to make the change will be legion. Those who protest against such an unnatural act will be equally numerous—unless they, as well, can benefit from it. Then what do we do?”

  “I figure I break the enchantment and tell them all to go to hell.”

  “Is that wise? They will pursue you even more vigorously, both for your blood and for the secret of the body-changing.”

  “So what? They’ll never find me.”

  “If I were to seek you, I would give the Bright Queen many troubles in the hopes of forcing her to call upon you.”

  My comment was forceful and profane. T’yl nodded agreement.

  “What I’ve done,” I observed, “is to make myself even more of a target as soon as this gets out.”

  “I think you have done well to slow the efforts of those who would consume your blood for the extension of their lives. Think on it as a respite, perhaps, rather than a cure.”

  “Yeah, but if the immortality beds don’t keep up with demand, Lissette is going to have to deal with problems not of her making—cleaning up the aftermath of my mess again!”

  “I once was told the art of politics lies in realizing there are no permanent solutions.”

  “Sounds wise to me,” I admitted. “How long can you keep the body-changing quiet?”

  “It is not up to me. It is the many who are now elves and the ones they tell of how they were changed. They will not easily betray us, but those with the power to pry the secret from them may already have begun.”

  I drummed my fingers on the arm of the chair, careful not to gouge the wood.

  “If it’s been kept quiet this long…” I began, and trailed off. I shook my head. “It’ll be a secret as long as it stays a secret, however long that is. I’m not sure there’s anything we can do about it.”

  “I fear not.”

  “All right. Will you please stick with the job until the news breaks on its own? Or until you find someone you’re willing to trust with it?”

  “I will,” he agreed, reluctantly. “I do not wish to, but I will.”

  “Thank you, T’yl.”

  “It is my honor, if not my pleasure, my friend.”

  Bronze carried me through the halls of the mountain, headed for the gate room, but halfway there I remembered Diogenes mentioning Tianna and T’yl both left messages. I didn’t get the messages. He said they weren’t emergencies, but Patricia’s was. Now I’ve handled T’yl’s thing—probably a notification that Alliasian and Filiathes were available—so it would probably be a good idea to stop by Tianna’s temple and check in with her. I was in the neighborhood, by which I mean I was on the same planet.

  We changed course, exited through one of the main mountain-gates, and trotted along the streets.

  It wasn’t a nice day. It was grey and the sky was spitting the occasional icy drop at the ground. This didn’t bother most people. Karvalen is full of wizards. It’s routine to throw up an umbrella spell or wear a warmth spell like a jacket. The weather did tend to make people more self-absorbed, however. They kept their eyes on where they put their feet and hurried about their business.

  As I passed through a market square, I discovered they roofed it over with a rain-deflecting spell. It was a spell, not an enchantment. Someone had to notice it was raining and decide to put the thing up. Covering an entire marketplace is not a small working. Did they get the Wizards’ Guild to do it? I suspect the average citizen isn’t up to speed on cooperative magic. The oversized umbrella did make the market much more active than it would otherwise have been.

  Should I add some covered arcades? No, it’s not my problem. Dantos has been introduced to the mountain. It listens to him. He can ask it to rearrange things if it suits him.

  The Temple of Fire was intact. Always a good sign. Bronze was happy to nibble at grass along the walkway—an unusual sight, to me. Then I remembered the Blacks were omnivores and thought I should get her something more substantial to eat, like a dazhu, or at least a chicken. She found grass somewhat bland. When she was a car, she liked the gasoline a lot more.

  I’m not sure why the thought of her eating plants or animals was more disturbing than the idea she would eat anything flammable or metallic. It’s all a matter of what you’re used to, I guess. It was certainly a novel sensation for Bronze, so I shouldn’t complain.

  Tymara was nowhere to be seen when I came in. Tianna came out of the back rooms to see who arrived, smiled at me, and closed in for the hug.

  “You’re looking well,” she said. I thought I detected a trace of worry.

  “So are you, which pleases me immen
sely. I was told you wanted something, but not what, so here I am.”

  “I spoke through the flame to your familiar spirit, the Diogenes. Did it not convey my message?”

  “He tried, but I was in something of a rush. I haven’t checked in with him since, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”

  “Oh. Won’t you sit down?”

  “Certainly.” We parked on benches. “What’s on your mind?”

  “I am concerned about things I hear.”

  “If it concerns you, it concerns me. What can I do to help?”

  “It’s more of what I can do to help you.”

  “Also good. I’ll take it. What do you have in mind?”

  “I believe something has happened to the Lord of Shadow.”

  “Oh? Why?”

  “I…” She wouldn’t meet my gaze. “I have a feeling.”

  “A feeling.”

  “Yes.” Her answer was flat, final.

  “Okay, you have a feeling. What sort of feeling?”

  “He may have been killed by the Lord of Light.”

  I didn’t tell her I spoke with him earlier. I wanted to follow up on this premonition of hers.

  “I doubt it,” I said, instead. “I’m pretty sure I would have noticed, but I’ll look into it. Why do you think that?”

  “The Mother does not like it when I discuss Him, and so we do not. Yet, I am not insensitive to… things… that happen in the higher realm. I believe He has fought some great battle, and He may be… well, gods cannot die, but they can be defeated.”

  “They can die,” I assured her. She shot me a look. “I’ve seen it happen. The original Lord of Light was eaten by the Devourer, impersonated by it, and then a substitute stepped into the Lord of Light’s old shoes after the Devourer went away.”

  “Not so, for while the form of a god may be destroyed, the essence remains.”

  “I’m not sure I follow you.”

  “Did you not exist among the gods for a time?”

  “Yes.”

  “And do you exist there now?”

  “Well… yes, sort of. I guess. But I think I see what you mean. You’re saying gods can’t die?”

  “They can be defeated, but I do not believe they can be destroyed.”

  “I’m not certain this comforts me.”

  “I think I understand.”

  “You might, but few others would,” I admitted. “Is this the only thing to worry you? A feeling about the Lord of Shadow?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll check on him and make sure he’s okay.”

  “You say that casually.”

  “Eh. I’m pretty sure he’s fine. If he’s not, I’ll find a way to fix it.”

  Tianna cocked her head and that one curl of hair fell across one eye.

  “I almost believe you can.”

  “Almost?”

  “The other thing I wished to discuss was a message from Bob.”

  “Oh, here we go,” I groaned. “Why is he bothering you?”

  “He wishes to be certain you have received his request to visit him in the city of Stadius.”

  “Did he give you a good reason why I should?”

  “His messengers, male and female elves, gave no reasons, merely delivered his message.”

  “They didn’t say anything to me,” I complained. I also recalled how I treated them—brusquely. They might not have felt it a good time to say anything. “Fine, I’ll talk to him. He probably wants an update on how the moon shot is coming.”

  “Moon shot?” Tianna asked.

  “First Elves came from the moons, back when there were several. Now Bob wants to go back to the remaining one. I promised I’d work on finding a way to make it happen.”

  “Oh,” she replied, in a very small voice.

  “At any rate, where’s Tymara? I have a horse we can ride and possibly some tickling to do.”

  “She is with her tutor, studying magic.”

  “Oh, really?” I felt my eyebrows climb. “Now she has a tutor?”

  “Yes. She knows you are a great wizard and has decided she wishes to learn.”

  “I wish you’d asked me. I would have been happy to teach her.”

  “Every day? On a schedule? Consistently?”

  When she put it like that, it did seem unlikely. Staying in Karvalen, having predictable movements, patterns of behavior—it’s a recipe for assassination. Or, even worse, capture. There are still people who would love to drink a gallon of my blood and be vampires. Then there are the political assassins who want me dead because I’m the Demon King. And the religious assassins, who want me dead because I’m a nightlord. I’m sure I’m forgetting other groups who hate me, but those are enough.

  “Well, maybe I can show her a few tricks, once she’s mastered the basics?”

  Tianna smiled and nodded, one loose curl bobbing with a fiery glow.

  “I am sure she will like that. Perhaps you will teach me some wizard tricks, too. I am hardly a master of the Art.”

  “You’ve got the talent for it. It runs in your family.”

  “No doubt. The terrible strength of my grandfather’s blood is said to run strong in all his descendants.”

  “Ouch.”

  “I’m teasing, Grandfather.”

  “I know. When is Tymara due back? I don’t have a—no, wait, I do have a bit of schedule.”

  “She will be busy for most of the afternoon.”

  “Shucks. Well, I’ll be back. I’ll remember to bring a present, next time.”

  “She’ll be delighted—we’ll both be delighted—just to have you visit. We miss you, you know.”

  “I’ll see you soon,” I promised, and started to rise. Tianna gestured me back to my seat.

  “Wait. There is another matter.”

  “Oh?” I asked, sitting.

  “It is a delicate question.”

  “Then handle it with care. Ask me anything. I won’t hold it against you.”

  “Very well.” She took a deep breath. Her hair was completely extinguished. “You are, of course, aware of the… the cult of the Demon King.”

  “Nope.”

  “You aren’t?” she asked, surprised.

  “Nope. First I’ve heard of it. The Demon King founded a cult?”

  “Not exactly. I’m told he did not care enough to start a cult. People who feared him did that.”

  “You’re told?”

  “Yes.”

  “May I ask who told you?”

  “I… I just know. It has to do with being your descendant, I believe. I wasn’t told, precisely. I feel it. I know it.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “It does?”

  “It has to do with bloodlines and avatars. Don’t worry about that part. What about this cult?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not certain why I feel there is such a cult, but I have an intuition it exists. If you knew of it, no harm comes of telling you. If not, you may investigate it at your leisure.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate being told. And no, I wasn’t aware of them. I’ll ask the Lord of Shadow about them and see what he can tell me.”

  “I wondered. I had to ask.”

  “No problem. If they become a problem for you, let me know.”

  “I will.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  This time, Tianna rose when I did, kissed me, and showed me out.

  Bronze raised her head as I came out. She was still hungry and the grass wasn’t doing it.

  “How about something grown in a vat? Diogenes has a whole hydroponics setup for produce and a cloning facility for meat.”

  She thought it was an excellent idea. We galloped up the road, into the mountain, and through a gate.

  Apocalyptica, Tuesday, September 22nd, Year 11

  I went from living to dead in a single, sudden shift. That’s unpleasant. Abrupt and hard on my system, but I’m back to being a fully-functional corpse again in moments.

  Bronze and I arrived
through the gate in the residence complex. I’m glad I specified large corridors—I like having room to swing a sword. They had sufficient room for a horse. It was a bit incongruous to have a horse roaming about the corridors, but if she didn’t mind, I didn’t mind. Even a full-sized Bronze could cope with them without too much trouble, although some of the hatchways would be a problem.

  If it was a problem when she was in a hurry, we could always replace the hatch with a bigger one.

  I think I wanted large corridors partly because I missed her. Possibly because I missed the corridors of my pet rock. Maybe a little of both.

  We squeezed awkwardly into the Denver shift-booth. Once we exited, I addressed the closest flying drone.

  “Diogenes.”

  “Yes, Professor?”

  “Bronze is going to have trouble relocating between local sites. I’m going to need a special shift-stall for her—one here, one in the residence, one in Niagara, and so on.”

  “Will we require one in the various other worlds with which we do business?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Cargo shifters should be fine. We probably want to enlarge the hatches in the residence, though, once you get a shift-stall added to the Hall of Doors. I’ll enchant the stalls to let her select her destination once we have them built.”

  “I will begin at once, Professor. Let me point out the larger shift-spaces require more power. Do you wish to prioritize power production to accommodate the increased demand?”

  “Yeah, I suppose I should. Since last I asked, have we found any worlds where we can legally buy a nuclear power cell?”

  “No.”

  “I didn’t think so, but it would’ve been nice. Maybe we can build some thorium reactors here. They are less complicated than fusion plants.”

  “Thorium processing can begin immediately.”

  “Let’s do that as a supplementary power source,” I decided. “I don’t suppose we can legally buy thorium slugs from anywhere, either?”

  “No, Professor. However, if you wish to buy a starship in the universes where such are commercially available, they are powered by proton-proton fusion. According to the literature, antimatter is used only on military vessels.”

  I thought for a minute as we walked from the shift-booth to the cloning facility.