Alchymist twoe-3

by Ian Irvine

  'Vithis could not humble himself,' said Zea, her eyes contracted to steely points. 'Embittered by misfortunes of his own making, he must seize first and make demands.'

  'He hasn't taken any land,' said Tiaan. 'He will once he gets what he really wants,' said Zea. 'Your flying construct. His obsession has cost us dearly and the clans are close to rebellion. Abandoning all our long-laid plans, he brought us to this bloody battlefield in pursuit of your flier.' She laid a hand on her husband's arm. 'Be sure your heroism and sacrifice is appreciated …What is it, Yrael?1

  Yrael began to flush in waves of deep red until his face seemed to be on fire. He rose abruptly, to pace the room with jerky steps, head bent. After half a dozen turns he sat down again, meeting Zea's eyes.

  'We're not heroes!' he said harshly. 'We weren't allowed to be.'

  'What are you saying, Yrael?'

  'The clan leaders would not allow us to fight beside our old human allies. They pulled us back time and again. When our allies looked desperately for our aid, it was not there, and they died for it. We are deeply shamed.'

  Zea stared at him, her hands over her mouth. 'But you're the leader of Clan Elienor …'

  'Not on the battlefield. Our clan was commanded by Vithis and I had no say in the matter.'

  'But this is terrible, to have so let down our allies when they needed us. The old humans must be calling us cowards.'

  'With reason,' Yrael said heavily.

  'So we've lost thousands of young lives, and more injured, for nothing! And our supplies are running low, we'll surely have to abandon our constructs. Once that happens, we'll be beggars in a hostile land.' Zea's voice rose. 'So why are we here, Yrael?'

  'That's what I keep asking myself.' Yrael sat with head, bowed. 'We'll have to plunder to survive and the whole of Santhenar will rise up against us.'

  Zea made an effort to be the one in control. 'This is a big world and there's land aplenty. In the last year of the war humanity have lost more people than all our population put together. If we deal honourably with them surely they will embrace us.'

  'I doubt that, said Yrael, though I agree it's our best course.'

  'Clan Dargau urge war against humanity.' said Zea. To strike hard, seize what we need and be ready to hold it.'

  'Dargau have always been warmongers.' Yrael contemplated his untouched goblet. 'Though when it comes to the sticking point they prefer to risk the lives of other clans.'

  'Rumour tells that the enemy have fled,' said Zea. 'Is that so, Yrael?'

  'They've withdrawn but I doubt that they're far away. We're terribly vulnerable, should they attack again.'

  He looked afraid and it spread to the others, but Zea said, 'If it comes to that, we'll fight — even if we must fight barehanded. We won't go meekly to our deaths. In the meantime, we must attend to our dead.'

  'We begin recovering the bodies in the morning. Luxor is designing a memorial and we'll work together on a protection for it.'

  Tiaan could only admire them. Even in such peril, they were driven to honour their fallen. 'Urien warned Vithis against using the amplimet,' she said into the silence. 'But he says there's no other way to save the constructs.'

  'He may be right,' Yrael agreed, 'though after today, who would dare?'

  'Urien suggested that they force me,' said Tiaan.

  'Such dishonour!' said Zea.

  'And folly,' added Yrael. 'In ancient times an amplimet almost destroyed our civilisation and undermined our very world.'

  'What happened?' asked Tiaan.

  'I don't know. It occurred before our clan was founded, and the whole truth has never been revealed,' said Yrael. 'It's said that not even Urien, Matah of Aachim-kind and Keeper of the Secrets, knows all. Some chroniclers say that the Charon found our world because we had used that crystal, and their led to thousands of years of slavery. You should be very afraid of the amplimet, Tiaan.'

  Kalle came hurtling in. 'Vithis is coming for Tiaan.' Thyzzea covered her face with her hands.

  Tiaan was back in Vithis's tent. It must have been long after midnight. The interrogation had been going on for some time, and the differences between him and Urien were more acute than ever. Urien had rejected his proposal to use the amplimet, whereupon Vithis tried another tack — to employ it to uncover the secret of flight.

  'With flight,' said Vithis, pacing back and forth, 'we can recover all that we've lost.'

  'Except the lives!' Urien countered. 'I forbid it, Vithis. We must cut our losses, abandon the stranded constructs and go.'

  'Flight is the only thing that can save us. I won't give it up.'

  'Tiaan doesn't know how to explain what she does,' said Urien. 'We can't indulge you any longer, Vithis.'

  'I'm not walking away from a fleet of constructs, carrying my goods on my back like a homeless vagabond.'

  'You don't have any choice.'

  'I want to put Tiaan at the controller of a construct,' said -Vithis. 'If she truly needs no more than the amplimet, she can make it fly. And if not, she can tow the other constructs to safety.'

  'You'll only succeed in destroying her, and probably yourself as well.'

  'She's been using it for months, so she doesn't have our vulnerability.'

  'It can develop over time,' Urien said ominously.

  Tiaan looked from one to the other, fearful of the consequences no matter who prevailed.

  'Those who fear the crystal can walk to Gospett,' snapped Vithis. 'I got us into this situation and I will get us out, with our fleet intact. And if I don't, you may elect a new leader. Just give me the chance, Urien.'

  Urien stared at him, unblinking, for a very long time. 'Very well,' she said. 'But you may make one attempt only.'

  'I'll begin right away,' Vithis said.

  Tiaan, afraid as she had never been afraid before, was carried to the nearest construct and strapped into die seat. The night was as black as the pits at Snizort.

  Vithis, holding the amplimet between a folded sheet of platinum, slid it into its cavity. Tiaan, find a suitable field and make this construct fly.'

  She was going to be exposed as a liar. What was she to do? Tiaan took a deep breath then drew just enough power to lift the construct off the ground. She pretended to strain for more as she drew upwards on the flight knob. The construct did not move, of course, and then the field slipped from her mind. She couldn't concentrate for fear of the amplimet taking charge, as it had done to Ghaenis.

  'What are you doing?' said Vithis sharply, as if suspecting her of sabotage.

  'This is how I made my thapter fly,' Tiaan lied. She wiped her face and tried again. 'It's not working,' she said in a small voice.

  'Try harder!'

  'Don't push her,' snapped Urien. 'That kind of talent must be coaxed.'

  'I'm sorry.' Vithis bowed to the Matah. 'Zeal overcame my good sense for the moment.'

  After pretending to make several more attempts, Tiaan said, 'I can't seem to work the balance correctly. The field isn't oscillating at all.'

  'You're not trying,' said Vithis. 'You made Tirior's construct fly in a few minutes.'

  'That was different,' Tiaan said, white-faced. 'We were all going to die. My talent just flowed.'

  'If you're keeping the secret from us,' Vithis said fiercely, 'I'll make sure you regret it.'

  'Threats aren't the answer,' said Urien. 'If she goes the way of Ghaenis, we've got nothing.'

  He regained control of himself. 'Will you try again, Tiaan?' Vithis said softly.

  Urien had shown Tiaan the way out, though she had to make it convincing. She drew power hard, as much as she could bear safely, then a little more. To her relief, the con-struct's mechanism spun up to a roar. Could she make the field oscillate, to convince them?

  She fed power into the field, drew hard, then fed it back even harder. The roar from below rose to a screech, died to nothing and rose again. Suddenly the construct whirled like a top, throwing the Aachim against the side, though Tiaan had not moved the controlle
r.

  Vithis let out a muffled curse, Urien a cry of fear. Tiaan could feel her hair standing up, smell the ends beginning to smoulder. Her cheeks grew hot; her vision blurry. She rubbed her eyes. She could just make out Vithis and he wasn't convinced. She had to make him believe, and it had to be done quickly. She could not withstand him much longer.

  She forced more power through the controller, then back into the field, then out, then back again, until the field began to go whoomph-whoomph, whoomph-whoomph like a fire driven by a bellows. Even with her eyes open, she could see its patterns beating all around her.

  So could Urien, for she cried out in alarm, 'Enough, Vithis. This isn't right.'

  'Keep on, Tiaan,' he grated.

  The mechanism let out a metallic screech and began to thump itself to pieces. A burning pain flared up Tiaan's middle. She tried to cut off the field but power kept flowing -the amplimet had taken over. She'd gone too far.

  She opened her mouth to scream but only steam came out. The burning intensified. Even her eyes felt hot. Tiaan had no idea what to do about it. She could no longer think straight.

  Vithis was staring at her in horror. He cried out a warning but his words emerged as a dry croaking, like a frog caught in a forest fire. .’

  Urien slammed her fist down on the release. The amplimet shot out of its cavity and she fumbled it out of the air in agetwisted fingers, grimacing as though it had burned her. Still holding it, she uttered three words in a guttural tongue. Tiaan's pain eased. Urien hastily wrapped the crystal in the platinum sheet and thrust it into her pocket.

  Tiaan fell off her seat, hanging by the belt. As she swooned, Urien's crackling voice came to her.

  'You're a bigger fool than I thought, Vithis. Are you satisfied now?'

  He was staring at Tiaan as if he expected her to explode in his face. He looked as if he were going to be sick.

  Tiaan came to as she was being carried to the healers' tents Vithis and Urien were still arguing.

  'You will abandon the search for flight, as of now,' Urien said coldly, 'or I will dismiss Inthis from the Register of the Eleven Clans.'

  'Inthis has always been First Clan!' he cried. 'And it was re-chosen just one year —’

  'Only because you manipulated the votes,' came Tirior's voice from the other side. 'Inthis is not fit, Urien. Do you know what Vithis really did to my son?'

  'Go on,' said Urien in a deadly voice.

  'He made it a matter of honour for Ghaenis to use the amplimet, knowing that he was too noble to refuse. Vithis killed him —’

  'He begged me for it,' said Vithis, rigidly controlled.

  'You didn't have to agree.'

  'He convinced me that he had the best chance of anyone, because you had taught him how it was to be used.'

  'Tirior?' Urien said sharply. 'Is that so?'

  'Ghaenis and I had spoken about it; Tirior said reluctantly.

  'I knew it,' said Vithis. 'You put him up to it and now blame me to ease your own guilt.'

  'That's a lie! Dismiss him and his clan, Urien. Put them below Clan Elienor.'

  'You hypocrite!' Vithis cried furiously. 'And all this after you took Minis, the sole survivor of Inthis First Clan, into Snizort, in defiance of my direct order that he remain in our main camp.'

  'So that's what this is all about,' said Tirior. 'Your shabby revenge.’

  ‘Explain your actions, Tirior,' Urien said sharply.

  Minis begged me, over and over, to take him with me. I rightly refused but he kept pestering me, and finally used his rank to countermand my order. There are witnesses, not of my clan.'

  'I've spoken to them,' said Vithis. 'They say you preyed on his weakness for Tiaan. You took Minis into Snizort hoping he would die there, and Clan Inthis with him. Clan Nataz has always chafed at its inferior status and you'd take any risk to raise it above its station.'

  'I brought Minis safely out of Snizort,' said Tirior. 'You killed my son and heir.'

  'Tiaan brought Minis out. She saved your life, and his.'

  'Enough!' said Urien. 'The clan leaders will determine the rights and wrongs, later. Put your grievances aside. We must find a way out of here.'

  'We must, but who dares risk the fate of my son?' said Tirior.

  They were walking across uneven ground. Tiaan kept her eyes firmly closed, though brightness on her eyelids indicated that it was morning. It was hard to concentrate on what they were saying, for she hurt inside as if scalding water had been poured down her throat.

  'Urien could use it,' said an unknown voice.

  The person who was carrying Tiaan stopped dead. Someone let out a shocked cry. Another said, 'How dare you insult the Matah of all the Aachim?'

  'I'm sorry,' said the unknown voice. 'I allowed myself to be carried away.'

  'No need to apologise,' said Urien. 'The Matah has a duty to her people, as much as they to her. And here is my reply. I might use the amplimet once or twice, and get away with it, but not even I could employ it every day for weeks, as would be required to save our constructs.'

  'What if we took it in turns?' said Vithis. 'If our strongest, all volunteers, could iust use it for a few hours each, we could save some of our constructs.'

  'Yes, show us the way, Vithis,’ Tirior said venomously.

  The silence was finally broken by Urien.

  'How can I do that and leave my clan undefended?' he said.

  'Inthis Last Clan,' sneered Tirior. 'Cowards all!'

  'There will be no volunteers,' said Urien, 'for most would die as horribly as Ghaenis did. And there are greater risks …'

  'Not here!' cried Tirior.

  'We must talk about the other problem I said Urien.

  'What problem?' said a dreary voice that Tiaan recognised as Luxor, chief of Clan Izmak.

  'The amplimet communicated with the nodes at Snizort, Booreah Ngurle and Tirthrax, where it went close to unbinding the trapped Well of Echoes.'

  'So it is like the one that nearly brought down our world in ancient times,' said Luxor heavily. 'I feared as much. It would be better to destroy the amplimet and walk away from our constructs. Even if we abandoned all these here, we still have five thousand near Gospett, and elsewhere. Nothing on Santhenar can match them.'

  'The old humans would take apart the abandoned ones,' said Vithis, 'and soon learn to make their own. Where would we be then? And there's another matter. The lyrinx have not gone very far. If they attack in the night, they could wipe us out. We can't risk it.'

  'What are we to do?'

  'How is Tiaan?' asked Urien.

  Tiaan felt the cool hands of a healer on her brow. 'She'll recover,' said an unknown voice, 'though she'll be in much pain when she comes round. You'll get nothing out of her today or tomorrow.'

  'Give her the best treatment we have,' Vithis ordered. 'Don't spare our most precious medicines. Tiaan must be ready by dawn the day after tomorrow. She must use the amplimet to tow our constructs to safety.'

  It seemed that other Aachim had joined them on their long walk. 'Even if Tiaan were an enemy, this would be a dishonourable act. But she's a hero who saved us from extinction. This is sheer infamy!'

  Two more voices, both unknown, objected just as strenuously.

  'What do you say, Urien?' said Vithis. Do you still forbid it?'

  She did not answer at once. There was silence for several minutes, broken only by the tramping of many feet. 'I have agonised about this all evening and night. I've weighed the arguments. Every choice represents a hazard.'

  'And your decision?' said Vithis.

  'You may use Tiaan to try and save our constructs, but for no other purpose, and it must be done with great care.'

  'I will not put my name to it,' cried Luxor.

  'Overruled,' said Urien. 'My position on this amplimet is well known — I hate and fear it — but Vithis has convinced me that we have no choice. We must wield this perilous crystal for our very survival.'

  'Then our Syndic must be told of these matters,'
said the second unknown voice, 'and given the opportunity to debate —’

  'There's no time,' said Urien. 'Vithis, your leadership is suspended. In this emergency, I've no .choice but to rule by decree. We will use Tiaan and deal with the consequences afterwards.'

  'How dare you subvert the very founding principles of our Syndic?' cried a new voice, high in outrage.

  'The Matah is above the clans, and even the leader,' Urien reminded them. 'In an emergency that threatens our survival, it is my duty.'

  That only raised more outrage, until Urien declared in a voice that brooked no disobedience, 'It is done in the name of the Matah. Let anyone challenge it at peril of their life and their clan!’

  Silence fell, long and pregnant. Tiaan could hear her heart thumping.

  'What if the crystal comes to the second stage of awakening and takes control of her?' said Luxor. 'Should it break out to fulfil its destiny, we won’t be able to stop it.’

  'From what she's told us.' said Urien, the amplimet is far from ready. We'll salvage all the constructs we can, for as long as her body can take it.'

  'We will rue this dishonourable day for as long as our Histories last,' said Luxor.

  'How will we write this into our Histories?' said another objector. 'How will we explain it to our children, and their children?'

  'History is as it is written,' said Urien. 'It will be recorded thus: Tiaan begged to be allowed to aid us in our extremity, out of her great love for our kind, and recognising that Aachim are the superior species.'

  'You would put a lie into the Histories?' said Luxor incredulously.

  'Once it's in the Histories, it is truth.'

  'Not if everyone knows otherwise.'

  'All other Aachim will be kept away from her. How will they know?'

  'I know,' muttered Luxor. 'I will make it known.'

  'Then you have your own dilemma. Let it be done.'

  'What if -?' Luxor began. 'What if the worst comes to pass and the crystal reaches the third stage — full awakening? Would you risk this world, too?'

  'We'll stop well short of the node,' said Vithis. 'The amplimet won't be able to get close enough to draw real power.'

  'And if it takes over Tiaan?'

  'Archers will be standing by in the towed constructs,' said Urien. 'And mancers, alert for any sign that the crystal is overpowering her. If they detect such signs, the archers will be ordered to shoot to kill.'