“How can you when you don’t even know what is wrong with her?” He pauses, looking at the other escorts. “Alright, listen. She is in a coma that was brought about by an extremely powerful mental attack. She shielded two others from it, thus compounding it’s effect upon her; she has been in a coma ever since – I’d say three and a half to four days so far. Most of that occurred while she was imprisoned way out on the fringes of Chaos. I have done all I could for her in the short term, but she needs rest, nourishment and exposure to artifacts of power. The closer she is kept to the Spire, the faster she will recover.”
“I understand, thank you for your assessment, Novanus. We will begin treatment immediately.” One of them taps a device on his wrist and they all disappear – I suppose it makes sense that they would have some way of reaching their medical facilities quickly. I return my attention to the rest of the group and notice another argument in progress. Alma sounds upset.
“You don’t understand – she is extremely dangerous! I will not allow her out of my sight until I am certain she is safely detained.” She sounds as though set in stone… they will not win this argument with her. I see now why William encouraged me to steer clear of her earlier; she raises ‘angry’ to a new level. She takes hold of the floating pallet with the heavily chained occupant and gazes intently at the guards. They step closer to her and all disappear in sparkling light.
The remaining escort looks at us expectantly. “Would you now please accompany us to his Imperial Majesty?”
Novanus still sounds annoyed. “Oh please…” We are engulfed in sparkling light, and appear just inside the throne room doors. The guards' startled expressions almost make me laugh.
The Emperor greets Novanus first, “Ah, Novanus, we launched our rescue operation just this morning, and already you are returned to us safe and sound. It appears that you hardly needed assistance.”
“On the contrary, Your Majesty, in truth I nearly met my end this time, and I have many to thank for my life and freedom. Celeste and Shi'ahn rescued themselves and my sister from a crystal trap, and Gwenllian came for us after rescuing Alma from her abductor.”
The Emperor looks surprised. “They escaped a crystal trap? How?” Novanus turns toward Celeste, who in turn looks to me.
“Well, there wasn’t that much to it… after we puzzled it through. Celeste explained to me that we were more than data but less than mass. That our existence as three-dimensional beings was a figment of what existed of our minds, and in a way it was that illusion that held us prisoner. I found that difficult to accept, but while inspecting myself I noticed that fast motion caused my hand to become… sort of two dimensional, and then Celeste successfully passed her hand through the floor of our prison. So… we just spun around quickly until our entire bodies became two dimensional, then threw ourselves through the floor. Unfortunately, we had to leave nearly all our physical possessions behind to compensate for the energy loss we suspected was occurring while we puzzled it out.”
“What did you lose?”
“Nearly everything. I even had to leave behind my transport crystal.” I look down, expecting him to be angry.
“What of Aurora’s crystal?” I smile and reach into my belt pouch.
“That we saved.”
Celeste gasps in relief as I hold it up triumphantly, and Novanus exclaims, “I think she will forgive you all her other losses.” He plucks it from my hand. “No wonder you were so careful to secure that pouch.” He turns to the Emperor. “Your Majesty, I must give credit where it is due - Shi'ahn sustained me with both the food she brought in that simple pouch, and with her own vitality. I owe her my life… and I suspect my sister does as well.”
“Well, Shi'ahn, how… unusual of you, to give of yourself so that others might survive.”
Why is he looking at me so strangely? “I merely did what seemed right at the time.”
“You appear to have very good instincts; you have earned our Imperial thanks.” His look of approval, strangely, does not reach his eyes, as though he is more annoyed than pleased with my actions. His statement also rings of dismissal, and he turns to Gwenllian.
“Tell me, Gwenllian, how did you know where to find Alma and Novanus?”
“Alma was simple to find, she had triggered a distress signal which we merely followed. It took a while to catch up with her – she was blinking in and out of space at quite a pace; they were following one of those ‘passages’ the shiftlings are so fond of. As for Novanus…” She turns to William.
“Ah, well, while we were picking up Alma I sensed Shi'ahn’s presence. I just know when she is near, she has… a particular feel about her.”
“So you just barged into their prison and freed them?”
“Not without difficulty and losses. Fortunately the mistress of that strange place was absent up until the very end.”
“And who was that?”
Novanus answers in a cold voice. “Appropriate you should put it in that tense. Her Name was Cas Maude de Mithridia. She will not be troubling us further.”
The Emperor looks displeased. “A pity you didn’t take her captive, it would have been useful to be able to interrogate her regarding Alma’s abduction.”
Novanus is untouched by the Emperor's tone; his reply sounds even darker, “I was angry.” He pauses, and his tone becomes circumspect. “I also did not know at that time that there had been another abduction.”
The Emperor nods, apparently that’s all the explanation he requires of Novanus, he turns to Alma. “I understand that you have quite a story to tell as well.”
“Do I ever! That bitch, Lydia, she calls herself, kidnapped and shot me!”
“And how did she manage to kidnap you?”
“Damned if I know. There I was, asleep in my bed here in the Citadel, the next thing I knew I woke up beside a dirt road! At first there wasn’t anyone around, and I decided to go exploring, trying to figure out where I was. The area was strange, definitely not within the realms of order. I encountered a woman riding a horse toward me on the road, and struck up a conversation with her. I asked her where we were and her answer made no sense at all, then she asked me where I was from. When I replied she threw open her cloak to reveal a wrist mounted crossbow and forced me to walk with her. Of course I tried to transport out, but my crystal wouldn't respond. I tried other means of transporting, but nothing worked. I believe she was alternatively blocking the dimensions, though I couldn't tell how she was accomplishing it. Then she began world shifting and I knew she was a woman of power, so I ordered her to summon me a horse. Would you believe she refused me? The nerve! Then she shot me, took my crystal and all the other devices she found, trussed me up with rope and tossed me over her horse! The indignity of it! Fortunately she wasn’t smart enough to locate or disable my distress beacon, which is of my own design.”
“Did she give you any indication of where she was taking you?”
“No, she only said that we would be traveling for the better part of the day, and if I didn’t want to get shot again, I should keep my mouth shut.”
“How far did you travel after she said that?”
She pauses for a moment. “Not long at all, really, a couple of hours, perhaps.”
“Did you see the Castle nearby?”
“Yes, it was on the other side of a deep chasm. The road we followed did not cross the chasm.”
“So she made no effort to cross over to the castle?”
“No, none at all. I don’t think she even looked that way more than fleetingly.”
“Are you saying that you do not believe that castle was your destination?”
“Yes, that is what I believe. She didn’t seem the least bit interested in it.”
“Interesting.”
Novanus enters the discussion. “Are you honestly telling us that you believe our abductions are unrelated? What could the chances of that possibly be?” Alma looks at him oddly, almost condescendingly.
“I have no idea whether or not th
ey are related, I only feel sure that the castle you were held in was not the destination she had in mind, she expected to travel much further. She didn’t seem the least bit interested in the place, as though it was nothing but a landmark to her.”
“I can’t believe that – I won’t believe it. I’m certain Mithridia was in collusion with the Lagash Dynasty, and if we can prove that your abductor was as well, then their causes were related.”
The Emperor looks intently at Novanus. “And why are you so certain that Lagash is involved in this?”
“Because they murdered my son! That bitch knew of his death, knew of the vendetta Lagash has declared. She swore that there would be more deaths, that all of Lumina would pay the price. Another abduction passing through the same world is too much for coincidence. Also, there is absolutely no way that Mithridia could have fashioned the barrier around their castle – they had to have had very powerful help in order to block my powers. Lagash is the only household with the strength to produce such shielding, aside from the royal house, of course, but they would have no reason, while Lagash…” Novanus’ anger is palpable, I’ve never seen the like before.
The Emperor pauses in thought. “Your argument is compelling, but we need proof before we can take such an accusation to their Magni Dominar. Our captive must be questioned. Unfortunately, her Household has already learned of her capture. They will be sending a representative to negotiate her release, so we have very little time to interrogate her. Lucian, you are in charge of that. I want answers, truthful ones, but heed this, she is to sustain no visible damage.” I silently sigh in relief – at least we will not do to her anything like was done to Novanus. The Emperor continues, “To do so would risk war with Chaos, and… my personal, highly displeased attentions.” Is it my imagination, or does Lucian actually turn slightly pale at the thought?
“Of course, Father, I shall act within your limitations.” He turns to the rest of us then, “If any wish to help with the interrogation, you are welcome.”
No one accepts.
~~~
As soon as the meeting is adjourned, I swiftly follow Novanus, catching his sleeve just outside the throne room. “Novanus, May I speak with you, privately?” He nods curtly.
“Follow me.” He leads me to a private sitting room. Once the door is closed I begin excitedly asking questions,
“Novanus, you referred to my ability as ‘Harmony’, would you tell me what you know of it?” His eyes turn cold.
“I will not and cannot. You won’t find anyone else around here that can either. It is rare, and possessing it is dangerous. Associating with those of Harmony is dangerous as well; trust me in this. Do not speak of it – to anyone!”
“But Novanus, if it is dangerous, please tell me why, teach me how to protect myself, please!” I’d been so certain he would help me…
“Listen, Shi'ahn. The food you brought, water you provided and the energy I took from you saved my life, and your novel way of approaching difficulties saved the lives of my sister and niece as well, and for those things I owed you a debt. But in putting you in good light with the Emperor while not mentioning either your Harmony or how masterfully deceptive you are, I have repaid that debt in full. I owe you nothing now.”
“Masterfully deceptive? What are you talking about?”
“Oh please. The bitch was even truth-scrying you, and you passed her test! Not many could do that.”
“I did not lie to her, within the bounds of the identities you had assigned to us. You renamed each of us and Celeste declared me a servant, and by the oath I swore to the Emperor I was bound to follow the directives of my elders.”
“You also told her that Aurora’s crystal was lost.”
“She asked me where my jewel was, and it was indeed lost. She was deceived by her own expectations and poorly worded questions, not by me.” He pauses a moment, I can only guess he reviews the conversation in his mind.
“Truth or not, from your carefully selective point of view, the deception still gives proof to masterful skill which I assure you the Emperor would want to be informed of. I protected you from that. I also refrained from bringing your ‘Harmony’ to light. Exhibiting strange unexplainable powers is not the way to earn the throne’s trust. So you see, my debt is indeed paid in full.” My look of incredulity must be plain to see, he continues. “You should have paid closer attention to Celeste’s words – we of Lumina pull together in times of need, but otherwise we often turn upon each other. I needed to survive, and you provided me the means; but now my debt is repaid and I have more important matters to attend to.”
“But you protected me as well! Why would you do that if I you hate me so?”
“It was in my best interests for our captor to have an interest in you, to think of you as an innocent that she might rescue from the hated Luminarians. It distracted her from my growing strength. Now mark my words; knowing what I know of you, I wish no further interaction between us.” With that he turns and leaves.
His last words echo in my mind; for all I’m worth I know he spoke the truth. I should have stayed with my initial impression of the man – I want nothing to do with him.
~~~
I leave the room and realize I don’t know where I am. No, that isn’t entirely true… it is time I start thinking these things through. I delve back into my memory, re-creating each of the paths I have been led through since I came here. There are intersecting memories… I use them to trace my steps to my rooms. Almost immediately upon reaching them I am engulfed in sparkling light, and find myself in Cailli’s tower.
“Well, you certainly are good at getting into trouble!” She takes me into her arms and hugs me! Strength pours into me as my mind fills with music – in a way I never want her to let go. She pulls gently away, “There, that should feel better; you did well, child. I understand, though, that you lost your transport crystal.”
Again I hang my head. “Yes, I did. We feared that the power remaining within Aurora’s crystal had drained. We had no idea how much power it had lost, so we hoped to reduce what was needed by leaving our possessions behind.”
“Except for one very important crystal and some life saving food…”
“Well, you never know when the next meal will come.”
She laughs, “Indeed. Here’s to being prepared.” Somehow I find myself holding a snifter of… something. She holds her glass up. “To a job well done!” We each drain our glasses, and instantaneously they are gone. I have no idea what it was, besides really, really good. Her voice becomes more serious.
“As I said, however, you are rather good at getting into trouble. I can’t have that…” She walks over to something that looks like a vault. With a wave of her hand and a rush of beautiful music, it opens and she reaches inside. “Ah, such a beauty. I knew I’d have a use for her one day.” She returns with an exquisite deep violet jewel in her hands. “Your previous transport crystal wasn’t good enough anyway, perhaps it was fated that you were forced to leave it behind.” The jewel she holds before me isn’t shaped like my last transport crystal – where it had been long and thin like a natural crystal, this is an astoundingly cut gem. It doesn't have any large flat surfaces, but instead it must have hundreds of facets on both sides, and is fairly shallow, as though it is intended to be set into a piece of jewelry that would lie close to the skin.
“It’s… remarkable!”
“Yes, she is; the Eye of Setanta. A favorite of mine… but now she is yours.”
I can hardly believe my ears, “What? Why would you give me such an amazing gem?”
“Because you need her… and she's perfect for you. However, Shi'ahn, you really should understand something. Gems are for jewelry, while crystals are for power collection and control. Especially carefully grown and nurtured crystals such as I specialize in. Take the Eye of Setanta here, she is a very special crystal of pure Luminite - the very same element I used to create the Staircase of Enlightenment. Luminite is also, you may be interested in kn
owing, the same mineral that your moons of Shiral are composed of, as well as the core of Shiral itself. It is a very special mineral, for it can be made into the most dense and powerful crystals in the Universe. That is privileged information, by the way, do not share it with anyone, and do not brandish her about. Keep her in this.” She holds out a small pouch the exact color of my skin. “It will attach within your bodice, just over the solar plexus. Exceedingly few will be able to detect her as long as you keep her in this. Here.” She waves her hand toward me, and the crystal disappears. No, that isn’t right – it settles within my bodice as she stated. Something about its feel is reassuring. “Now you need rest, child. Food and rest. You will find a tray in your rooms.”
“But, Cailli, I have questions for you.” She does not respond, so I forge on. “Why are the books in my library so different from William's? Mine are filled with baby physics, while his are astoundingly detailed.”
“Yours are simpler because you don't need that level of knowledge. In fact, delving too deeply into physics may be detrimental for you. You have a different, more unique way of interacting with the Universe. The sounds you hear that no one else can, the songs underlying everything - Novanus was correct; that is Harmony. He was also correct to council you not to speak of it directly, not yet. I recommend you continue referring to harmonies as songs, for the time being. In public, of course. Between us, speak correctly.”
“But, if I am to study Harmony, as you call it, why aren't there any books on it in my Library?”
“Because there are no such books. I will guide you when I think it's appropriate, but Harmony is a highly individualized power, you must, for the most part, learn it on your own. I'm sorry, child. Yours is not an easy path, but it should prove… fantastic.”
Words begin to burst from me, but I am surrounded by sparkles of light, and am returned to my rooms. That's not fair! Does Cailli have Harmony? Am I no longer alone? “Cailli, please, bring me back!” Nothing. “Cailli, please! You can't just leave me like this!”
“Eat, then sleep.” Her voice resounds within my rooms, and I'm nearly struck by the wonderful smell of the meal that awaits me.
Between Darkness and Light Trilogy Page 10