Until All Bonds Are Broken

by Tim Frankovich

  “Hailstones!” Adhi exclaimed. He had tried a different book on another shelf. It had come apart in his hands also.

  Jamana turned back and looked around. “This library wasn’t for the mages, then,” he said. “If it was a part of the King’s Citadel, then it was for someone that worked there.”

  “Do you think it belonged to the King himself?”

  “I doubt it. Not all the way down here. It probably belonged to someone who worked for the King.”

  Adhi moved between the shelves. “I guess we’ll never know. Nothing seems to have survived.”

  Jamana found the remains of a desk near the door. Empty, save for something he assumed to be a dried-up feather pen. Next to the desk, however, he found something better.

  “Come here,” he called. Adhi joined him and they both examined a stone encasement.

  “It looks like a coffin for a small child,” Adhi said.

  “In a library?”

  Adhi shrugged. “Just saying what it looks like. We buried one of my sisters in a coffin this size.”

  Jamana did not know how to respond. “I…”

  “It is all right. I come from a very large family.”

  “I’m not sure that makes it better.”

  “It doesn’t. Not really. Death is still death. But I had a happy and busy childhood.”

  Jamana nodded. He moved to one side of the encasement and gestured to Adhi. “We should be able to lift this lid.”

  “Should we? Maybe we should call one of the Masters.”

  “To show them what? Decayed books? We’ll look in here and then tell them.”

  Adhi seemed reluctant, but he took hold of the other end of the lid. Jamana found it easy to lift, but Adhi struggled. Together, they managed to get the lid off and onto the floor. Jamana peered anxiously into the box.

  Several large books lay inside, looking much more preserved than those on the shelves. Adhi reached in and dusted off the cover of one of them. “It’s just a book of the Law,” he said, disappointment evident in his voice.

  Jamana pushed that one aside and looked at the next book. It appeared to be an older copy of one of their primary magic texts. Interesting, but not of major importance.

  The cover of the third book made him catch his breath. Slightly smaller than the others, the cover looked etched in gold. But the title!

  “A History of the Lords’ Betrayal,” Adhi read out loud.

  With trembling fingers, Jamana opened the book. “It’s written by Aharu! Do you know what this means?”

  “Aharu? The founder of the priesthood?”

  “He was there!” Jamana said. “There at the beginning with Akhenadom! He was actually there!”

  “Wasn’t he a mage, also? One of the Masters?”

  Jamana nodded. “I’ve read other histories of those days, but none by someone who was there. And a mage! This might even tell us how they created the Laws of Bindings and Cursings!”

  “That knowledge is lost.”

  “Maybe not any more.” Jamana turned a page. “We can now learn from a man who saw it happen…” He broke off, stunned by the words before him.

  “What is it?”

  “Not a man who saw it happen, after all.” Jamana looked up. “Aharu was a woman!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  KISHIN ARRIVED AT his home unnoticed and unacknowledged by anyone in the streets. Those few who did know him - more accurately, knew of him - were used to him taking long trips and returning at any time afterward. But why would even those few notice him? He looked nothing like himself any more.

  He paused at the door. He remembered being so proud when he purchased this home on the edge of Woqan. The vaulted masonry roof, such a symbol of wealth in this city, never failed to make him smile. Before the curse, before his change of profession, he never could have afforded such a home. But his smile faded. What was he to do now? What was he to become?

  Before entering, Kishin pulled his hood up and hid his exposed skin as best he could. His clothes, at least, should be recognizable. He opened the door and walked in. He shut the door behind him quickly, keeping out as much light as possible. His servants expected that of him.

  Aapo hurried into the foyer, hearing him enter. Kishin decided it was a good thing he hadn’t killed this servant before leaving… assuming he had done well in taking care of the house. If not, he would have to… No. He couldn’t kill any more. Getting used to this would be difficult.

  “Master! You’ve returned.”

  Ah yes. The other reason he considered killing this one. So intelligent.

  “Fetch me Inkil,” Kishin ordered. His voice had always been under his control, so that would sound familiar to Aapo, also. Inkil was his eyes and ears, the one he depended on to keep him informed of anything that might be relevant to his work, or the world at large.

  “At once, sir. Will there be anything else?”

  “Bring food and drink to my room. It’s been a long road.”

  Aapo nodded and hurried away.

  Kishin walked down the hall and pushed aside the curtain covering the door to his room. Once inside, he fumbled around until he found a candle to light. He looked around at his possessions. All of them seemed so pointless now.

  He moved to the wall that held his weapons. So many he had collected over the years, most from people he had killed. He put a hand on the sword hilt at his side. All of these weapons combined did not equal the value of the warpsteel blade, the one the Eldani warden left in his gut.

  The door opened and Aapo entered, carrying a tray. “Inkil is on his way,” he said. He looked at the lit candle, clearly perplexed, but did not say anything. Kishin stayed in the shadows while Aapo set the tray on his desk. “Anything else?”

  “Not now,” Kishin said. “You may go.” Aapo did not wait for another order.

  With the servant gone, Kishin ate and drank, considering his next moves. Once he heard from Inkil, he probably needed to find Blademaster Kuch. He would be the one who would know about his daughter, if Inkil didn’t.

  It took longer than he hoped for Inkil to show up. When at last Aapo let him in, Kishin waited on the opposite side of the room, back turned.

  “Welcome back, Kishin,” Inkil said. “I trust your latest trip was a success?”

  “That depends on how you define success.” Kishin let his hood fall back and picked up the candle. The light fell across his perfectly smooth skin.

  Inkil took a step backward. “I—I don’t understand.” He stared, mouth agape.

  “Neither do I.” Kishin set the candle down again. “But it’s real, Inkil. My curse is gone.”

  “What magic could do this? It—it defies reason. It defies Theon!”

  Kishin snorted. “Since when do you care about Theon?” He pulled out his desk chair and sat down.

  Inkil could not stop staring. “Have you… that is… are you still immune to further curses?”

  “I am not inclined to test that possibility.”

  “No, I would imagine not.”

  Kishin rolled his eyes. “You can stop staring now. Do what I pay you for. Tell me the news. I’ve been on the road for weeks.”

  “You’ve felt the earth shake, I assume?”

  Kishin nodded.

  “It seems to have started, or at least be centered on, the island of Zes Sivas. All of the Lords were gathered there some weeks ago, for the annual Passing.”

  “I was in Reman at that point.”

  Inkil nodded and tried to look away from Kishin’s face. “Ah, something happened there. Both Lords Varion of Varioch and Sundinka of Mandiata were killed. Lord Sundinka’s heirs blame the new Lord Volraag for it. One rumor claims that Volraag also stole Sundinka’s power. I would have said that was impossible, but… seeing you here is making me re-evaluate what is impossible.”

  Kishin waved him on impatiently.

  “If you were in Reman, perhaps you also heard their temple was destroyed?”

  “I was there. And no, I
did not do it.”

  “Interesting. I would like to know who did.”

  “I pay for you to give me information, not for me to give it out.”

  “Of course. As his first act as Lord, Volraag declared war on Rasna. There has been fighting along their border, but nothing of specificity as yet.”

  War with Rasna. What could Volraag be thinking? And what did it have to do with the scar-faced one, whose mother had lifted their curses? Kishin ground his teeth.

  “Those are the most significant events. Beyond that, we have seen unusual activity in Kuktarma regarding—”

  “Enough. What about here?”

  “Here? I have no major news about Ch’olan. Things are, ah, normal.”

  “Lord Rajwir returned from Zes Sivas?”

  “Yes, he and the Lady Ajaw.”

  Kishin leaned forward. “The Lady went, as well? Then she took the full complement of Holcan with her?”

  “Yes, now that you mention it, but… two did not return. I believe they perished in the earthquake or the same incident that took the lives of the two Lords.”

  Kishin felt a coldness steal over him.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  TALINIR GLANCED UP as Janaab approached. He congratulated himself on not getting lost in the stars while his companion had been away. A small victory, but significant.

  “What do you have there?” he asked.

  Janaab held up the bodies of two moderately-sized rodents. “A good dinner,” he said. “Honestly, I’m surprised at how much life still exists here, with much of the land so dead. The tunaldi, for instance. They’re huge! And they’re not the largest creatures here. How do they survive?”

  Talinir began pulling wood together for a fire. The Starlit Realm had no shortage of dead branches, at least. Water, on the other hand, would always be hard to find. “There are multiple answers to your questions,” he said.

  “I’d love to hear them.”

  “First, you can find life below the surface. That’s where we find water, obviously. You have to dig. And sometimes, you find plant life in caves. Some older Eldanim have also told me that there is plant life aplenty here… but beyond the borders of Antises.”

  “But you’ve never traveled that far.”

  “I’m a warden. I have a duty to stay within a certain range.”

  “So why would the animals leave that and come here?”

  Talinir took out his flint and struck sparks. “You know as well as I do.”

  “Pretend that I don’t.”

  “All life here is different from life in your world. Each living thing draws sustenance, not just from food and drink, but from what you call magic.”

  “You have a different name for it?”

  “There are many names for it,” Talinir said, irritated. Janaab should know these things, if he had been here this long.

  “Have you ever noticed that this world doesn’t seem to have any birds?” Janaab said. “No, don’t look up. But I’ve never seen one in all the time I’ve been here.”

  “It is… different.” Talinir had wondered the same thing as a young man.

  “So why do the animals usually stay away from Zes Sivas?” Janaab shifted the topic again. “It seems they would be flocking there, since it’s such a strong source of magic.”

  “Zes Sivas both attracts and repels. Animals desire its magic, but it frightens them as well.”

  “Frightens how?”

  “The sheer vastness of its power overwhelms them. Many are drawn there, but quickly leave. They can’t handle it.”

  Janaab nodded. “I wonder if your people feel the same way about the mountains.”

  “We do not fear the mountains!”

  “Then why don’t you go there?”

  “Some do!”

  “And what have they told you about what’s there?”

  Talinir stopped and considered. He actually did not know of anyone who had been to the mountains. At least not recently. Or at the very least, no one had told him about it. Why was that?

  Janaab smiled. “Oh, there is so much you don’t know. And you need to, Talinir. You need to know.”

  “Why?” The question escaped his lips instinctively.

  “Because it all matters. And you’ll need to tell Marshal. And the girl. Before they fall.”

  Talinir wondered why Marshal and the girl would fall, but then he realized Janaab looked up when he said it. Looked up at…

  He was lost again.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  DRAVID STRETCHED THE glowing magic as far as he could reach. A beam of golden light floated in the air in front of him like a levitating quarterstaff. He began adding more and more to it, seeing how large of a construct he could create. It felt good to manipulate the strange power.

  But at the same time, the negative effects grew the more he created and the longer he let it exist. The tightness in his chest and heat within built up far too rapidly for his tastes. In fact, the heat and pressure behind his eyes grew especially painful this time. He needed to let the power go.

  He pushed down within, but nothing happened. Wasn’t that how he had released it before? He struggled to take a breath against the tightness. His lungs did not want to expand. He had to let the power go!

  He focused and pushed back. Darkness began to gather on the edges of his vision. He couldn’t breathe! At last, the edges of his construct began to dissolve. But it was taking too long!

  He clapped his hands together. The construct exploded outward. Several shards cut through the curtains on either side of his room, while three of them pierced through the ceiling, letting tiny beams of sunlight in.

  Dravid collapsed, gasping for air. The heat and tightness subsided, and he recovered himself in short order.

  What if he hadn’t been able to release it? He needed help, or someone could get hurt. Unfortunately, Dravid realized he knew only one person he could talk to about this power. When needing advice, he knew to seek out someone with knowledge, wisdom, and trust. Forerunner had the first, might have some of the second, but none of the third. But no other options presented themselves, and Dravid needed to know something, anything. Even a clue would be helpful.

  Forerunner immediately recognized the change in him. “What is this?” he asked as Dravid approached. He leaped to his feet, sleeves fluttering, and dismissed two of his white-robed women with a wave. He walked in a quick circle around Dravid, who turned awkwardly on his crutch to follow him.

  “Remarkable. Totally unforeseen.”

  “I’m guessing you can tell what’s going on with me, then,” Dravid said.

  “My dear boy, I can sense what is within you, and it is absolutely unprecedented. To my knowledge—and it is quite extensive—no human has ever absorbed any of the… any power like this.”

  “Power like what?”

  “Like mine. Tell me, have you experimented with this?”

  In response, Dravid repeated his experiment from back in his room. In a few moments, his hand began to glow.

  “Delightful! Extraordinary.” Forerunner actually clapped his hands. “But enough. Please, have a seat.” He gestured, and Dravid sat as instructed. He closed his fist and stopped the glow.

  “Is this permanent?”

  “A very good question.” Forerunner sat down across from him. “As you are the first with this… capability, I cannot answer that question for certain. However…” He hesitated and closed his eyes. “I do not sense a diminishing of the power since you used it. That may be instructive.” He opened his eyes. “It’s hard to tell, of course.”

  “Of course.” Dravid felt ridiculous. Maybe this had been a stupid idea.

  “When you all arrived, I understood Seri and her amazing capabilities immediately,” Forerunner said. “I could see the cause both of her power, and her current lack thereof. You, on the other hand… I did not see anything special about you.”

  “I thought you were going to restore my great purpose in life,” Dravid said, unable to kee
p the sarcasm from his voice.

  Forerunner sat back and steepled his fingers in front of him. “Let us be open with each other, shall we? When you first arrived, I had full intentions of restoring either your leg or your purpose. After your ill-advised attempt to absorb my power, and your continual poisoning of Seri against me, I had decided to find a way to remove you from my sanctuary. In fact, I was just discussing that method with my friends when you entered. But now?”

  Forerunner leaned forward. “This is truly amazing, Dravid. I renew my promise to you. You may choose what I restore.”

  “My leg or my purpose?”

  “Glorious purpose. Especially now.”

  “And you want me to choose now?”

  “No, not at all. But there will come a turning point, a place where you must make the decision once and for all.”

  “All right. But I need answers about what’s happening to me. Tell me about this power.”

  Forerunner tapped his chin with his steepled fingers. “I will do all I can, under one condition.”

  “What is that?”

  “That you stop trying to convince Seri to leave.”

  Twice now, Forerunner referenced Seri. He wanted her to stay. But why? She didn’t even have her power right now. What made her so important to him?

  “Do you intend any harm toward her?”

  “Far from it,” Forerunner said. “I want to help her. And you. And Ixchel, who resists me most of all.”

  Dravid considered for a moment. Learning how to use this power could be of vital importance, especially since it seemed to guard against Antises’ current problems. Was it worth staying around Forerunner? He swore good intentions toward Seri, but…

  “Have you told Seri about this yet?”

  Dravid looked up. “I have not.”

  “And why not?”

  Dravid didn’t answer. He hadn’t told Seri because he didn’t trust Forerunner. Yet here he stood, telling him anyway. It didn’t make a lot of sense.