He chuckled, an appreciative glimmer in his eyes. "Clever girl. However, I would never be so presumptuous to say I've found the key to that great Majik. But I have a way to get it."
An uneasy trickle went down Telyn's spine at the unholy gleam that entered his eyes. What card was he about to play?
She didn't have to wait long. With a fiendish gleam still in his eyes, he advanced on Telyn. "I don't need to convince you I'm right. I have something else I recently found lurking around my tower."
Brunnari snapped his fingers, and a young man with the empty eyes of a thrall entered, dragging someone with him, a cloth bag over his prisoner's head. But Telyn didn't need to see the captive's face. Her eyes riveted on that familiar leather armor, the long hair, plaited with cloth in the way of the Borderlanders, and her stomach rose into her throat. Still she tried to keep her cool. "Who is this?"
Brunnari barked a cutting laugh. "As if you don't recognize your own lover."
Those words slapped Telyn as Brunnari yanked the hood from Nacaris' head. How did Brunnari know that she and Nacaris were lovers? She searched her lover's face for signs of torture or guilt. She saw none. Instead, he met her gaze directly, and his quick, secret wink let her know he was already turning his capture to his advantage. In fact, she almost believed he'd done it deliberately. But if Nacaris hadn't revealed their relationship... Bile burned in her throat as she stared at the young thrall who held Nacaris immobile, and she remembered Rori. The truth twisted like a blade in her gut. Brunnari had been spying on them. One of his thralls must have been watching them, all along, and reporting back. Which meant none of this was a surprise to him, and explained why he hadn't even acted surprised by her presence.
Anger pulled Telyn upright, and she faced the man who had been her greatest nemesis for most of her life. "Let him go."
Brunnari laughed again and dismissed the young thrall, who dragged Nacaris away. "Oh, no. He's my insurance -- that mercenary assures that you do what I tell you to. As the world slips further and further into its stagnation and fears, the more control I gain, if I have the power of the Phoenix behind me once again. And you, young Telyn, are going to give that to me."
She stiffened. "I will not."
"Don't," Brunnari's voice dropped to a harsh rasp, "and your lover dies."
Telyn froze as she recalled what Sele told her earlier, about killing with a thought. Her eyes widened as she stared at the girl, then at Brunnari. "You wouldn't!"
"Not if you do as you're told, no."
And it was then she realized the truth she'd been avoiding. Loving someone was a danger she couldn't afford -- but nor could she let Nacaris pay for her weakness. There had to be another way.
Chapter Twenty-One
Telyn stared at the old man as she processed what he said. She couldn't believe the old viper had the audacity to claim he could remake the world with the manuscript that was her birthright, and he wanted to force her to become a partner to his treachery. Her thoughts drifted briefly to Nacaris, and knew he'd forgive the choice she had to make. Nacaris knew she couldn't do what Brunnari wanted. She only prayed he was ready to make his move before Brunnari had time to make good on his threat. Nacaris' capture was unplanned, but if he could still get to Marat and Lysha...
Her assessing gaze turned to Brunnari's outstretched hand, shaking with palsy, and wondered if she could shock the old buzzard into dying on the spot. She discarded the idea after only a moment's temptation. He hadn't become this old by being easily frightened, and she couldn't take the chance that he'd see through her. Besides, she didn't know where the Phoenix Book was, yet, and she knew he did. She did not intend to sink to his level, anyway. She wanted answers, not mayhem.
"Why do you want to remake the world? There's nothing wrong with it as it is."
"Don't be an idiot, girl," Brunnari sneered at her. "There's no order. Everyone just does what they want, and that has to stop. I know what's best for this world, and you're going to help me."
"I don't know how you expect me to do that. I'm not a Majin."
Cold humor lit his hawkish gold eyes, and he advanced on her in a looming threat that surprised her. She didn't know a man of his smaller stature could loom like that. She backed up a step, and that cold humor spread to his lips.
"My dear girl, you may not be a Majin like I am, but if there's one thing I've learned in my long life, it's to know power, and ability when I see it. You have both. I would hazard that, in this world so dangerous to Maji, Dariadus taught his favorite apprentice a few tricks to make use of that Majik in your blood."
She lowered her gaze to mask the raw hatred burning within her, and hoped he wouldn't see that he got to her. Memories of Nacaris' steady gaze, his complete faith in her, and his steadfast loyalty all these cycles, gave her the strength and calm she needed to control her own emotions. When she finally mastered her emotions, she leveled her gaze on Brunnari.
"What I learned from Dariadus is that deifying oneself is sacrilege, and makes the Great Gods angry. Reshaping the world into your own twisted desires will destroy the world -- didn't you learn anything from the Majik Wars?"
Brunnari snorted disdainfully, his gold eyes gleaming with a light Telyn knew to be pure evil, as he studied her for a long, tense moment. Then, finally, he spoke, and his words were cutting.
"You seek the truth, young Telyn? I'll tell you the truth. Dariadus was a fool, as are all those who believe as he does -- that we suffer or rejoice at the will of Kishfa or the whim of some god. Neither created this world we have now. It was the will of one man that made all of this."
Telyn couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you talking about the Aerai Majin?"
His aged, decaying teeth flashed briefly in his face, though Telyn couldn't tell if it was a grin or a grimace.
"Majin of the World!" he scoffed. "He had no more vision than the rest of those idiots. He thought he could reshape the world into some utopia of love and peace. He didn't see what he held for what it was. He could have been the God others served, given the world the Supreme God it should have, omnipotent and unquestionable."
Watching the insane light dancing in Brunnari's eyes, and the mottled color that stained his face, Telyn knew she was dealing with a madman. She had to play this one carefully. "Maybe he knew the consequences, and didn't feel godhood was worth the price."
"He was a fool!" Brunnari screamed, his face turning red with the strain. "He gave up eternal life for what? Love?"
The sneer in his voice made Telyn wince inwardly. She didn't want to think about love right now. Not while she was most likely consigning her own to a terrible death.
"He had his reasons, I'm sure. The Gods--"
Brunnari spat out an unintelligible oath. "All this talk of gods and Kishfa sickens me. I'll tell you all about your precious gods, little Phoenix. I'll tell you a little secret about the universe. There is no Kishfa, no Fate, and your gods died long ago." His face twisted in a sardonic grin that sent ice racing through Telyn. Aye, this man was clearly mad. "All those whining, pathetic pawns, dancing a game of fools I began. They're convinced some higher power looks out for them, that what's happened is the will of some deity or another, the will of Kishfa. Blathering, mewling idiots!"
His laugh was an eerie, chilling sound that echoed in the chamber, and Telyn shivered. This wasn't going to end well. It would end -- she'd make sure of that -- but there'd be no easy victories, here.
"You're saying this was all your doing?"
"Who else? I took away the Phoenix Clan's treasured Book, cursing them to a death they, not I, believed in." Brunnari's eyes glazed as he paced, and she knew he was no longer talking to her. She doubted he even knew she was there. "Oh, no, not I. No grand design, no fate, rules me, except what I make on my own."
She didn't have time for this. "Where's the Book?"
He stopped, his head turned vaguely toward her, and his blank expression told her he wasn't aware of whom he was speaking to as he shrugged. "I hid it decades ago. Only I know
where to find it. I knew I had to find the means to study it, but I also knew I had all the time in the world. As long as the Book remains in my hands, I can age no further, and I cannot die. The Phoenix Book cannot be left long without a master. So, you see, I cheated even Death. And I will continue to do so as long as the Book remains hidden."
Telyn resisted the urge to wrap her fingers around his scrawny little throat and squeeze, just to show him how vulnerable to death he really was. Damn him, he'd perverted the power of the Book to his own ends. Legend said that the Book kept those who possessed it young and healthy for much longer than a normal lifespan, but eventually, one would still age and die. Only, Brunnari had found a way to use the Book and forbidden Majik together, to make himself invulnerable to a natural death.
Through gritted teeth, she demanded, "And what does immortality grant you, old man? You're weak, and feeble. Immortality isn't the same as eternal youth."
He leaned on his staff, laughing until he coughed. "Now that sounds more like the Telyn I once knew! You always lacked vision -- the result of bad bloodlines, no doubt."
She wasn't rising to his bait. "I don't need vision to see you're falling apart."
Still chortling, he moved a step closer. "Ah, but am I truly? You see, my dear, I have actually conquered age as surely as I conquered death. I surround myself with the young for a reason. Their auras infuse me with youth, helping me to spiral backward through time. One day, I shall be as young and hale as you. Then, no one will be able to stop me!"
Telyn stared at him, stunned and sickened, as she realized what he meant. Brunnari wasn't just using forbidden Majik to stay alive. He had learned the secret of the Sheehai -- the dark skill of Auric Vampirism. It solved an old mystery for Telyn, as to why Raiador always housed so many who were little more than children. The younger they were, the more untainted the energy would be, and the less adept they would be at shielding themselves if they ever learned what was happening to them. Her anger seethed through her, to know that she'd been right all along -- he'd been harming entire generations of the very same people he swore to shelter.
"So, you sacrificed your honor and self-respect to become immortal. What good can an eternal life do you if you're already damned?"
He glowered at her, offense twisting his expression. And yet, she knew he couldn't tell her she was wrong. He had dishonored himself.
"I would think you, of all people, would understand."
"Understand what?"
"Banishment. Having no home to claim. I was already an old man when Phoenix Strom banished me back to my doom in the Endlands."
Telyn's eyes narrowed as she stared him down. Already, she knew he was leaving things out. She wasn't about to let him get away with it. "Why were you banished?"
He glared back at her. "Because your ancestor was weak. He clearly didn't understand the power of the Book -- he refused to let me use the Book, the sanctimonious bastard. Said that the Aerai Majin's law still governed the use of the Book. A dead man had more power than I did. He condemned me for my exploration of the final rites, and banished me. Me!"
He really was insane. Telyn shook her head, and crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the wall, watching him. "He must have known what he was doing."
Brunnari's glare turned venomous, and the fury in his eyes might have killed a lesser person. But his words finally gave Telyn purpose, and showed her where her true loyalties lay. Finally, she knew who she was, and where she belonged. She knew what she was supposed to do, and this was just the first step on a very long journey.
"That bastard couldn't think his way out of a waterskin! He thought I'd face death quickly, but it never came. I am the sole survivor of the Phoenix Clan. Do you hear me?" He suddenly shook his fist in the air, his mad gaze turned upward in defiant fury. "I, the pariah, am the last of your clan!"
Telyn straightened. "No."
His gaze bored into her, suddenly clear and direct in a way that was terrifying. "What did you say?"
"I said, you're not the sole survivor. You aren't even a Bathron. But I am. I am the daughter of feud, child of two houses. You, on the other hand, are disgraced by both Houses, and you've become a hunted man. Where does it end, Pelarius? When is it enough blood, enough suffering?"
He laughed, then -- a sinister sound that reverberated from the walls with a menace that chilled Telyn's blood.
"You naïve little fool! This will never be over. You hear me? Never!" He advanced, surprisingly spry for a man of his advanced age. "It won't be enough until the last child of Phoenix Hall lies dead, picked apart by the carrion birds. Not until every Clan of the Bathron weeps their lifeblood upon the graves of their slain. Not until every treacherous soul of the House of Gild screams in pain, misery, and fear. When that glorious day arrives, I will finally say it's enough."
Telyn shook her head sadly. "You truly are mad."
"Mad? Not hardly. I've dredged the secrets of the Ancients from deep below the murky waters of the Caryptus Sea, and I have the Phoenix Book. Who's the mad one, now?"
Telyn shot a glance toward Sele, to see the shock and horror on the girl's face. If there was one thing good to come of all of this, they would at least free Sele. "Your desire for revenge has driven you insane."
His narrowed gaze stayed on her as he moved about the room. "You'd like to believe that. Those sanctimonious Bathron bastards drove me out, stripped me of everything I was and left me to die, and for what? Because I dared to fulfill my destiny. And those arrogant Gild... No one's good enough for the sanctified Gild, are they? Raiador was mine, as the Phoenix Book is mine, but do you think those pompous idiots in Colandra could see that? No," he hissed the word, glaring at Sele as much as at Telyn. "They laughed. They laughed at me, the guardian of the Phoenix Book."
"Why?" Sele voiced this quiet question, her eyes huge in their hollow pits.
Brunnari laughed bitterly. "Because, my dear, I was laying claim to my guardianship. I wanted them to remove the Miners and Maji from Raiador. But Jathar laughed at me, then had me dragged to the border and cast out. I had to work decades to disguise myself and win that miserable bastard's trust, but it finally paid off. He gave me title, and a post right where I wanted to be -- at Raiador. Finally, everything was going according to plan. I bided my time, waited for when there was no one still alive who might remember me as I was, and then I began to put my plan to work."
Rage boiled within Telyn at the gloating tone of his voice, but she held her tongue. She wanted him to reveal his depravity and madness himself.
"What plan?" Sele asked, advancing one step with questions in her eyes.
"My plans to gain Raiador, clear of both Houses, and avenge myself against them all. But," he glared at Telyn, "the Gild stuck their noses into my business yet again, and sent that accursed mercenary, Onachar, to keep an eye on me. And then Lanoki sent you, you miserable little half-breed bastard," he pointed accusingly, "and the two of you lost it all for me."
"Then why'd you run?" Telyn broke her silence in search of an answer to that one question. She hadn't understood why he'd run, only to kidnap someone who would bring the wrath of the Gild down on his head. "Why did you take Sele?"
Brunnari's gaze slid to Sele, and that sly, cunning look was back. "Sele is my last hope, and my loyal companion. Aren't you, my dear?"
Sele responded to Brunnari's smarmy smile with a syrupy one of her own, clearly still under his sway as she moved to stand by his side in a clear signal of unity. Telyn's spirits sank. It couldn't be more obvious that she'd seriously underestimated Brunnari's sway over young women. She scowled at Brunnari. Time for the game to end.
"Where is the Phoenix Book, Brunnari?"
He laughed mockingly. "Do you really think I'm going to tell you? I'm no fool. The Book is safe, and that's all you're ever going to learn about it."
Cold fury poured through Telyn. She was tired of reacting to his games, and fresh out of patience or mercy where it applied to Pelarius Brunnari.
"You'll what?" Sele's childish, taunting retort cut her off, as the young woman moved her body between Telyn and Brunnari, using herself as a shield. "You're unarmed, remember?"
Brunnari laughed again, laying one talon-like hand on Sele's slim shoulder. "Isn't she just too clever? This is certainly amusing. Where is your precious little pet rock, Sera? Surely you haven't lost it, and I know you didn't leave it with that brainless oaf you've been hauling around."
"I think I take exception to that description," came a new voice from the doorway, and a grin split Telyn's face as everyone's attention turned to the newcomer, and his companions. Looked like Brunnari's young thrall more than met his match.
Chapter Twenty-Two
"Nacaris!" A grin broke Telyn's face, even as she caught the anaqueri he tossed her way. The hilt slid smoothly into her palm, drawn there like an old friend coming home. "I won't even ask how you got away."
"Didn't expect to have this party without me, did you?" He winked at her as he drew his own sword and moved to stand beside her, facing Brunnari. "Now, you and I have some talking to do."
Brunnari sneered at him. "You first."
The anaqueri hummed loudly in Telyn's hand as she shifted forward, her rage now complete.
"Give me an excuse, old man. You may think you know who I am, and what I can do, but I bet I have a trick or two you haven't seen, yet."
Derisive laughter reverberated in the room as Brunnari shook his head at her. "Again, you failed to listen. You can't kill me."
She glared defiantly at him, knowing he was right, even as she sensed Nacaris shift beside her.
"Maybe she can't," he growled, misunderstanding Brunnari's meaning, "but I can!"
"Nacaris, no!" Telyn tried to stop him as she saw the subtle glow building around Brunnari's hands. The old man had tapped into destructive Majik. Everything seemed to slow down a she watched Nacaris brush past her outstretched hands, Brunnari's hands lift, and the ball of fire crackle in the air between those hands. That was Fire Majik -- she felt the answering energy stir within her. She knew that energy couldn't kill her, but it could kill Nacaris, and without him, she might as well be dead.
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