"Aye, we're there." Telyn led them to where the door was, and then watched as Marat pounded on one of the tower doors with far more bravado than she was sure he felt. He looked almost surprised when his fist actually impacted wood. He shot her a grin.
"It is real!"
She chuckled, knowing then that he hadn't been entirely sure all this time. "Aye, it's real."
He pounded again. The sound echoed back at them from the other side, and Telyn held her breath, half-expecting the door to open of its own accord, or the ground to open up beneath them. From the wary way her companions shifted, she knew they felt the same way. Majin towers often contained traps and other dangerous defenses.
After a long, tense moment when nothing happened, they breathed a collective sigh of relief and relaxed. Apparently, this Majin had decided disguise was enough protection for his tower.
Telyn's relief was short-lived, turning to impatience as the moments plodded by with no sign that anyone was even in there to hear Marat's knocking. After several long, agonizing moments of waiting, Telyn's patience gave way, and she was just about to wave her companions back while she tried to break down the door, in spite of the wards, when one door thumped, then began to creak slowly inward.
The dim light inside was probably difficult for her companions to see anything, but Telyn had no such trouble. Her eyes widened in surprise when, instead of Brunnari, she saw a petite girl in a red and silver dress, her hair falling in golden waves over frail shoulders and the ghost-pale skin of her face.
She would have been a pretty girl, except for the deep hollows that carved craters of her eye sockets, and the hollow glitter of her ice-blue eyes. Telyn looked into those eyes, and a pain she'd never felt before -- one she could only describe as excruciating -- twisted through her chest until she clutched it, struggling for air.
Lysha instantly moved a step closer, but Telyn waved her away and forced herself to stand straight, and release the girl's gaze. Aye, there was something Majikal going on here, and Telyn would wager her life that it had no good purpose. The girl before them looked emaciated and hollow, as if nothing more than her skin held her bones in place, and there was no spirit left in her eyes -- just that evil glitter.
The girl's icy eyes ran over the small party with an air of annoyance, and settled on Marat with a hard glare Telyn was glad wasn't directed at her.
"What do you want?"
Her words cracked in the air like a whip, and Telyn's brows rose in surprise. That wasn't the tone of a servant. It was the tone of a very put out Mistress, interrupted in the middle of something important. Could it be...?
"Many pardons," Marat thickened his Targothic accent and stumbled his words together, pretending only a limited facility with Tagra, though Telyn knew he was fluent. "I am a humble trader of goods... how do you say?" He brightened. "Rare treasures. It has been a long journey in the mountains this day, and--"
"If you're an Endland merchant, where's your caravan?" The girl cut him off impatiently. "And how did you find this place?"
Marat forced a swallow, as if pained by memory. "Please... so sorry, but I am a humble trader. My wilderbeast was lost in crossing early rivers, and I have saved but a few items to trade. It has been a difficult day, and my guardsman saw your... your, um... tower. I would beg an audience of your Master or Mistress, to barter for a night's lodging."
"Ulambara is less than a league west of here, merchant. Go there, and leave us alone." It was clear from her tone that this girl had no plans to let them through the doors without a damned good reason. She moved to shut the door, but Marat's foot was quicker than her hand, wedging into the space to keep the door ajar.
"Please," he begged so convincingly that even Telyn believed he was sincere for a moment.
The girl heaved a disgruntled sigh. "What?"
"It has been a very long journey, and my wife..." He glanced toward Lysha. "She is a woman of high breeding, not used to such hard travel. I ask but one night's lodging, for which I will gladly pay from what I still possess."
A resigned look crossed the girl's face. "What do you have to trade?"
She didn't sound enthused at all. No doubt, she expected him to rattle off a list of common household items or exotic wares of absolutely no use to a dedicated Majin.
A charming smile cracked Marat's dark face. "Why, young lady, I have treasures which your eye has never seen! I have a lamp from a distant land, within which is held a wondrous spirit said to be able to bestow untold wealth and power upon its owner." From within his pack, he produced a battered Lahrasian ceremonial lamp, and even Telyn blinked. Surely, it didn't actually possess the power he just claimed. Yet, the girl seemed impressed, which was all that mattered.
"What else?"
"I also carry a feather plucked from the wing of an Avarii, capable of healing any wound, no matter how terrible. Then, there is this," he drew forward the anaqueri. "Unbonded and skillfully hilted by my own kinsmen."
The girl looked impressed, all right, but the wary light in her eyes said she still hadn't seen anything worth letting them in. Telyn glanced nervously at Marat, who only smiled and continued, "I also have Dorfaíle, but I'm certain a skilled Mistress of Majik such as yourself has no need of those. However, I do have something that would be of interest to any skilled scholar."
The girl's attention perked up. "What?"
Marat produced an ancient-looking scroll Telyn decided she didn't want to know the origin of, and showed the girl. "This scroll contains the final incantations the Aerai Majin ever wrote down after he hid the Phoenix Book."
That got her. Telyn watched the girl's eyes light up with greed, and that was when she knew. This had to be Sele! No one else here, with the exception of Brunnari, should react to those words with such open avarice.
The girl heaved a sigh and tried to manufacture a bored, annoyed look even as she capitulated. "Very well. I suppose it would be all right for you to stay the night."
The gleam in her eyes told Telyn that Sele would be doing her best over the course of the night to wheedle that scroll away from Marat. Knowing it wasn't at all what he claimed -- she had a sneaking suspicion it was actually his Mummer's charter, written in Targothic -- Telyn could only hope that Marat was clever and strong enough to endure Sele's best.
The door opened wide enough to admit the three companions. As he stepped inside, Marat had the gallantry to offer Sele a sweeping bow.
"Let us make introductions. I am Fatafah of Krisalis. This lovely lady," he drew Lysha smoothly to his side, and Telyn noticed the Minegard kept her face securely covered, "is my wife, the Lady Barshive."
Sele's gaze skipped over the Minegard without any real interest, but narrowed when it came to Telyn. "And that one?"
Marat gestured vaguely in dismissal. "That is my guard, Hanan. My brother's youngest. He accompanies us, to guard against brigands along the road. He was trained by the great Dariadus of the Enui and made his apprentice."
Telyn swallowed her grin, and winked at Sele as many a youth had at her when she was younger. Better the girl think her a lusty lad than to try to examine her face too closely. Still the mention of Dariadus had its effect, and the girl's attention was riveted. It wasn't even a lie, what Marat said. She was Dariadus' pupil, his friend, and his apprentice. Still, Telyn felt uncomfortable beneath Sele's probing stare. What was the girl looking for? Proof that she was who Marat claimed, or that she wasn't a male?
A crackle of energy passed between them, and Telyn was sure it would have singed a lesser Majin. Interesting, how much power was in Sele's thin frame, but not surprising, since she was granted the title of Mistress so young. That wasn't something earned lightly, and took a great deal of skill to acquire. Sele's power could be lethal, if she chose. Of that much, Telyn had no doubt. Forcing herself to remain calm and loose when every fighter's instinct in her told her to take out this clear threat, Telyn stared directly back into those hollow, icy eyes, knowing the girl wouldn't recognize her. She feared recognition
from no one in this place except Brunnari, and she intended for him to know her on sight. She'd told no one in her party, but she intended to reveal her identity to Brunnari.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of battering from Sele's energy, the girl's eyes shifted back to Marat, apparently satisfied that Telyn was who he claimed. Telyn relaxed in truth, then, as the tension surrounding her ebbed away.
"I am Sele." She spoke the words in a dull monotone, as if she discussed the weather. Even knowing it was true, Telyn still had trouble grasping that this thin, sickly-looking waif of a girl was the powerful Mistress Sele. Had she not just felt the power the young woman possessed, she would never have believed it possible.
What bothered Telyn more was why Sele was still there. If she was truly a captive, she wouldn't be answering the door. And if she was free, why did she linger here? She didn't appear held in thrall. Unlike Rori, who hadn't been able to fight her urges, Sele was in complete control of herself. It didn't make sense, and Telyn could only wonder. Had Sele's attempts to escape reduced her to this emaciated walking corpse? Did she not have the strength necessary to survive long enough to reach a city, and so she determined her survival chances better if she stayed? But that didn't fit with her dismissive attitude when they first arrived. Those were the words and actions of someone who didn't want to be found, and suddenly, Sala's warning made sense. Sele truly didn't want rescued.
Telyn absorbed all of this as she followed Sele, Marat, and Lysha down a short hallway and up the winding stairs into the main body of the tower. This new information changed her plans. Originally, she'd intended to reveal her identity to Brunnari, demand the location of the Phoenix Book and the release of Mistress Sele, and then be gone. But now, she would remain silent, bide her time, and observe her surroundings before she acted.
As they plodded up the winding stairs, Telyn studied their surroundings and frowned. There was very little here, and none of the opulence she expected from a man like Brunnari. The walls were barren of either tapestry or torch, and no door they passed along the way invited inspection by casting slivers of light or sitting open even a crack. The place was locked up tight, and cold as a tomb.
She was so intent on her surroundings, Telyn nearly ran into Lysha when they stopped rather suddenly outside a non-descript door that looked exactly like so many others they already passed. Twisting the lock, Sele shoved the door open and turned to Marat. "This is where you'll stay, merchant. Your wife can stay with you. Settle yourselves, and don't wander. I will come for you when it is time for you to see Master Brun-Gild."
Marat frowned. "What of Hanan?"
Sele's gaze raked over Telyn again. "I will see to it that he is properly housed and attired to serve attendance at dinner tonight."
Marat didn't look pleased, but bowed to cover his wariness. Telyn couldn't blame him. None of this was going according to plan. Nervously, she wondered where Nacaris was, if he was prepared to do whatever it took.
As Marat bowed over Sele's hand in a courtly fashion, Telyn saw the first true emotion flood Sele's face, and it was shocking. Most girls her age might blush or giggle, or be charmed by the Endland courtly ways. Instead, Sele's face bore the imprint of disgust and total discomfort, before she yanked her hand quickly away. It was a violent enough emotion to make Telyn's brow arch in interest. Few Maji ever felt uncomfortable in, let alone disgusted by, the presence of the opposite sex. And if Sele was the student of the World Majik she claimed to be, she should be not only comfortable in the presence of a man, but also eager for it. What had her time with Brunnari taught her? Or was it simply a bias against Marat's Endland origins?
Telyn traded a swift glance with Marat, before he slowly closed the door on the chamber, himself and Lysha securely inside. That left her to deal with Sele.
"Follow me." Sele's voice was suddenly less hostile, lighter. "The rest of the tower's rooms are either involved in our work, or entirely uninhabitable since the Majik Wars. You'll have to spend the night in my chambers."
Ice prickled along Telyn's neck and spine. Something in the way Sele said those words told her there was more at hand than simple lodging. As they came to a stop before a door she knew led to Sele's personal chambers, Telyn thought quickly.
"But I couldn't possibly sleep in your chambers. I mean..."
Sele shot her a look hot enough to melt steel, and Telyn swallowed back a curse. Her guise had worked well -- too well. Sele was power-hungry, and the combination of what she believed was an attractive young male and the power of Dariadus drew the young Mistress. She twisted the door handle slowly, even as her hand grasped Telyn's pulling her forward, into the room. Telyn swallowed hard, and knew she had to get herself out of this one, and quickly.
"Mistress, it's not that you're not attractive... But I'm spoken for." That was only too true, and Telyn thought of Nacaris. "I can't..."
"Shh." Sele pressed one hand against Telyn's mouth, and lifted the other to lay over her thinly-covered breast. "No one has to know, young guard. Grant me a little taste of the power Dariadus taught you."
Telyn cursed her foolish decision to have Marat mention Dariadus' name. The Endland leader had far-reaching fame, both as a warrior, and as a Priest of Sheli. And while it was true that Telyn had been his apprentice, she'd also been his friend, and she knew better than anyone how often people tried to take advantage of any connection to him to gain power.
"Mistress, I..."
Before she could finish the protest, Sele was plastered against her body, her lips fused to Telyn's in a hungry, devouring kiss. Placing both hands on the younger woman's shoulders, Telyn pushed her away.
"Enough!" She glared at Sele, surrounding herself in an aura of command that would keep the girl at bay. "What is it you expect from me? Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
Sele slumped back onto the edge of her sparse cot, and sighed heavily. "I only wanted a taste of the power. I don't want you to take me, only share your power with me. I would never want to lose my purity."
Telyn blinked. This wasn't making any sense. "I don't understand."
"Purity is essential for my work," Sele explained in a beaten voice. "Purity of not just the soul, but of mind and body, as well. Complete purity gives you power over the very world in which we live. The purer I remain, the more fully I can touch the face of Nature, and the more powerful I become. The only one I can give my body to is a Majin stronger than myself. I had hoped...." She cast a furtive glance Telyn's way. "I feel your power, and I hoped to taste it. Hoped it might be stronger, that maybe you could give me the strength to endure."
Telyn frowned. Sele clearly had a warped sense of reality and Majik, and she had an idea where the girl had gotten it. "Endure what?"
Sele shook her head with a frown, before a serene smile pasted itself over that, and her gaze turned glassy. "Master Brun-Gild has opened my eyes to the truth of Nature. Now, I see its order, its perfection, and why it requires so much sacrifice from me. All of Nature is pristine, untarnished. Only through pure Majik can we touch it, alter it."
She was having trouble keeping up with the way Sele's mind was dancing around. Telyn studied the girl closely as her mood slid from morose to frightened, to almost giddy. She had to test to see if Sele could even remember the truth.
"Have you always trained here?"
"No." Sele gave her a sweet, inviting smile that was so full of aching hunger Telyn was surprised at its pull. Then Sele's gaze dropped to her own hands, twisting in her lap. "I grew up in the Cloister of Learning, in Colandra. Then, one night, as I journeyed to take my post at Mount Raiador, coerced into selling my purity by entangling myself in a lie I didn't want to live, Master Brun-Gild came to me, and opened my eyes to the truth. He showed me how a greater Majik controls and possesses, how it can feed a lesser Majik. Now, I control the forces of Nature, and they have already granted me the means to control minds."
"Really?" Telyn couldn't hide the skepticism in her voice. Sele clearly had a warped view o
f the World Majik that had nothing to do with reality, and everything to do with whatever lies Brunnari had been feeding her since her abduction.
Without a word, Sele bent those icy blue eyes on Telyn again. Only, this time, her pupils were orange with a light Telyn could only describe as both terrifying and compelling. Certainly not the effects of the World Majik. This Majik left her head feeling heavy and her limbs sluggish, as if neither were any longer under her own control. When she moved toward Sele, without consent, Telyn realized that she actually wasn't in control of her body, anymore. Instead, she was under the control of a maniacally grinning Sele, whose strangely orange eyes were full of a power lust and hunger Telyn wanted no part in.
Break her hold, Phoenix, or you will perish. The voice was calm, quiet, and deep within her. It wasn't Sala's voice, or any other Elemental she'd yet to hear. And she knew it spoke only the truth. Drawing on the Fire that stirred within her soul, Telyn fought back, sweat standing out on her brow as she struggled to close her eyes. Then, with a cry of mingled pain and triumph, she slammed her lids shut, and felt Sele's control of her snap.
Sele's face registered awe and surprise when Telyn opened her eyes again. "You really are that powerful! How did you do that?"
She wasn't about to tell Sele that. Instead, she settled on a derisive laugh. "You don't honestly believe I could spend summers of time close to the greatest Endland Majin without gleaning a few Majikal survival skills, do you?"
"Dariadus taught you well," Sele offered that begrudging respect, and gave herself away at the same time. Her easy acceptance of the story told Telyn that Sele's powers over the mind didn't extend to reading one, and Sele's petulant expression said she didn't like being denied. How long before Brunnari got his hands on her had Sele already been a spoiled child?
"Tell me more about your Master." Telyn settled herself back against the door, still shaken and wary, but determined to appear in control of the situation. She wanted to know what Sele really thought about Brunnari. Was she under some kind of spell, or did she truly admire the old git? "Is he a good Master?"
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