by Victor Poole
"He's a witch, he's a witch!" the guard screamed into the room, and the other guards pressed in close behind Ajalia and Delmar, so that they could see. The old king sat on the floor, and watched the guards with amusement in his eyes. Ajalia felt the heat of the guards' bodies behind her. Delmar had wrapped his arms protectively around Ajalia, and his eyes were still fixed anxiously on her.
"Are you okay?" Delmar asked her again.
"Yes," Ajalia said shortly. She was following the trail of the black cord. Fernos watched her with bright interest, as though he had no doubt of winning in the end, and as though he was enjoying the spectacle that she and Delmar made together. Fernos seemed curiously unafraid of the guards, who now sided clearly with herself and Delmar.
Ajalia found the place where the blackness sunk down below the king's heart. The two black cords joined at the king's heart, and then slid down, intertwined like loving vines, against the old man's spine. At the king's tailbone, the black lights seemed to vanish, and Ajalia wiggled free of Delmar's arms and moved closer to the silent king, studying the place where the cords were no longer visible. The king watched her with a smile on his face. She looked briefly up at Delmar, and at the guards.
"Please don't kill him yet," Ajalia told them. The guards were all looking, their faces a matching chorus of fear and disgust, at the black stumps that squirmed hideously out of Fernos's ribs.
"Have they always been there?" a guard asked reverently.
"He has learned to put them away in the earth," Ajalia said, studying the place where the darkness vanished. "I am trying to see how he has done it." She refused to meet the eyes of the king, who was watching her, a grin spread over his ancient face. The king looked up at the guards, and at Delmar, and he laughed.
"You are right to be afraid of me," the king boasted. "I am stronger than any of you. I am stronger than all of you put together."
"Ha," Ajalia said, and she put out her hand towards the wall of blue magic, which the guards had all passed through to get closer to the king. The king had fallen back against a corner, when Delmar had thrown him away from Ajalia, and the guards and Delmar were now clustered in a tight ring around the king, staring down at the hideous missing limbs that had extended, like evil tongues, from his ribs.
"I will grow them back, you know," Fernos told Ajalia. He settled himself comfortably against the floor and the wall, and pillowed his head on his arm. "You will learn to serve me well, when I have conquered you," Fernos said. The old king was staring appreciatively at Ajalia, and she felt as though she had never been looked at in this way before. Fernos did not look at her as though she were a woman he desired, or a slave he could command. She saw, in the greed and lust in the old king's eyes, that he desired her, and desired to use her, as a tool. She was, to him, as a wonderful and shining sword, made of some precious material, and he hungered to use her power for his own ends.
"You are, at any rate, honest," Ajalia told the king. She told herself that this was why she had thought Fernos was all right at first. She had a keen eye for honesty; she had often been able to tell, from the tone in someone's voice, whether they were lying or telling the truth, and Fernos, for much of the time, had told her the truth. She saw now that Fernos was indeed a liar, but he was a liar who believed in his lies, and he told the truth often enough to keep the deception out of his voice. Fernos had, Ajalia reflected, been honest in his desire to possess her, and to use her for his own ends. This had made it more difficult for her to see his twisted soul, but now, as she studied him, she saw a firm connection to scraps of darkness that she found in the mountain below the palace.
"You've had the black dragons living here, with you," Ajalia told the king. She wanted to distract him, to buy herself time, but she knew that too much of a lie would make Fernos suspicious. Fernos watched her, a complacent look in his eyes. "Delmar," Ajalia said, without taking her eyes from the place where Fernos kept his shielding and invisible magic coated around the black cord that ran into the earth, hiding it from the sight of those who could see magic. Ajalia suspected that Fernos knew a lot more of magic than he let on.
"Yes," Delmar replied. Ajalia was shocked at the venomous hatred in Delmar's voice. She almost looked around at Delmar, but she didn't want to lose her line of concentration on the black power in the earth.
"Delmar, I'm going to ask you to do something," Ajalia said carefully. Fernos began to laugh.
"I recognize that tone of voice, lady," Fernos told Ajalia in a soft, mocking tone.
"Don't kill him, Delmar," Ajalia said. She was still holding her knife, which had gleams of ocean blue around the blade.
"Why not?" Delmar asked in a measured tone. The guards had fallen back a few inches, and left a gap between themselves and Delmar. They were staring avidly at Ajalia, and at her shining knife. She knew that the guards could see the blue shimmer on the blade of her knife.
"Do you remember the day in the woods, when you tried to hurt me?" Ajalia asked softly. Fernos was still smiling up at her, and the twinkle in his eyes, if she had not found the source of black magic, would have driven Ajalia wild with anger. As it was, she felt that she had Fernos trapped, and he could no longer make her feel rage.
"I know what you're doing," Fernos said.
"Then you know that I'm going to win," Ajalia told the old king.
"You won't win," Fernos said easily. The old king's eyes flicked to his grandson, and his smile widened. "You are not willing to lose your precious Thief Lord, or falcon, or whatever you call him. You cannot win. I will wait you out, and then I will make you my own slave."
"Ajalia," Delmar asked, and she heard a terrible strain in her lover's voice. She had forgotten, somehow, how much Delmar actually loved and desired her. She had never known a man like Delmar before; he kept a tight lid on his emotions, and she continually forgot that he cared deeply enough about her to fight, and possibly to kill. He had been so stunted by his parents, she thought, that she had grown accustomed to his behaving in a dull and careless manner around her. When she had first met him, he had loved his mother, or seemed to, far more than he cared for Ajalia herself. She knew now that it had not been the case, and that this effect had been caused by Lilleth's dark magic, and by Delmar's father's shadows that had filled up Delmar's heart, but Ajalia had yet to permanently adjust her thoughts on the matter. I should adjust them right now, she told herself, and she looked away from Fernos. She regretted this as soon as she had done it, for a creeping sensation of power brushed her cheeks. Delmar made a flash of red-gold light spin like fire between Ajalia and Fernos; the creeping power vanished.
Fernos let out a growl like an animal, and shrank back against the wall.
"You cannot kill me," Fernos told Delmar, his white hair flying wildly about his head, and his eyes burning madly. "You may be able to singe me with your evil lights, and you might be able to keep me from her for a moment, but the girl belongs to me. She will grow into a woman, and I will keep her close. With this slave, I will live forever."
"Ajalia," Delmar said in a strangled voice. "Do you have a plan, or may I kill my grandfather now?"
"Do you remember when you shot at me with light?" Ajalia asked. She kept her eyes now fixed steadfastly on the place where the black power gleamed below the earth. It took her a moment to find the black power again; if Delmar had not struck out at Fernos, Ajalia told herself, the old king would have had time to conceal the darkness from her again. "I have a plan," Ajalia said, keeping her eyes on the darkness.
"You cannot destroy my power," Fernos told Ajalia softly. She ignored him.
"I remember that day," Delmar said.
"I want you to try to take the dark power into your body, as Fernos has done," Ajalia said slowly. Delmar said nothing; his silence was telling, and Fernos laughed wildly.
"I did not think you would be so bold as to suggest that as a remedy," Fernos admitted to Ajalia, "but your plan will not work. I am too old, and too strong. Even if you made your little Thief Lord boy into
a man like me, I would crush him like a bug."
"You do not know what Delmar is," Ajalia told the old king. "You are incapable of knowing. Your lust for power has blinded you to the truth."
Fernos looked enormously amused; he watched Ajalia speak with the expression of child who is hearing a marvelous fireside tale.
"Then I will have both of you," Fernos said. "I thought I would have to kill Delmar, but I see that I shall have both of you, for the price of one. Proceed," Fernos commanded, settling back against the wall, and crossing his legs. "I was sorry to give up Thorn," the old king told Ajalia. "I don't want you to think that I am totally heartless."
"I know you are not heartless, Fernos," Ajalia said.
"Ajalia," Delmar hissed, "stop talking like that to him. He's bad inside."
"I know," Ajalia said, keeping her eyes fixed on the darkness in the earth. "Delmar, I need you to trust me."
"I'm not going to become evil, just to destroy my grandfather," Delmar protested hotly. The group of guards had retreated a little more throughout this talk; they seemed to be growing more uneasy, and they huddled together like sheep. Ajalia told herself, without looking around at the guards, that they would not be willing to leave the room until they thought they were going to be killed in some magical battle. She knew that the guards were by now all thoroughly invested in the outcome of this conflict that was unfolding before them; they all wanted to see what would happen next.
"Delmar," Ajalia said, and Delmar let out an angry chuff of breath.
"Don't ask me if I trust you," Delmar snapped, and he sounded just a little like a petulant child. "Of course I trust you. I just think you're wrong this time."
"Then he will take me, and he will kill you," Ajalia said, keeping her eyes on the magic below.
"The child is quite right," Fernos told Delmar, sounding completely satisfied. "You cannot possibly win against me, in any case, so you might as well do as she says."
"Why does he say that I can't win?" Delmar asked, and Ajalia heard that he was also asking her, why don't you think I can win?
"Because he has taken the skins from the black dragons," Ajalia said, "and stored them below the ground of the palace. There are pieces of evil darkness all through the mountain. Look for yourself, and see."
"I suppose I won't need to hide them anymore now," the old king said easily, and he made a flick with his fingers. The place where Ajalia had focused her attention was suddenly expanded into a whole field of curled-up scraps of black. They looked like the leavings from a snake's shedding skin. Ajalia heard Delmar take a deep breath, and she thought that he was sending his vision down into the mountain below. A shocked silence spread out through the room; Ajalia wondered if the guards were trying to see down there as well.
"I can't see anything," one of the guards whispered to another, and the old king looked at the guards, and laughed.
"You leave them be," Ajalia warned the old king, and the king smirked.
"I will not corrupt them yet, with the essence of the dark dragons," the king told her. "I will wait, and watch you do that." A gleam of lust showed in the old king's eyes. "I will enjoy watching you corrupt those worthy of a white brand," the king said softly.
"Shut up!" Delmar snapped, and Ajalia was sure that Delmar could see the black leavings of the dragons.
"You see that darkness?" Ajalia asked.
"Of course I see it," Delmar shouted. "What am I going to do about it?"
"Do you remember what happened, when you tried to kill me?" Ajalia asked. She was watching the king closely, to see if he would attempt to send tendrils of hidden magic out towards the guards. The king saw her looking, and he laughed again.
"I promise seriously that I will not attempt to touch anyone with darkness," the king told her, with mock sobriety in his eyes.
"Delmar," Ajalia snapped.
"I remember," Delmar said reluctantly.
"So take this darkness below, and put it into your heart," Ajalia said. She handed her knife to Delmar without looking around.
"What do I need this for?" Delmar asked, taking the hilt.
"To kill the king, after you have absorbed the darkness," Ajalia said.
"I don't want to touch it," Delmar said.
"Then you will have to kill me, after I take it in," Ajalia said. She heard a start of shocked silence; Delmar did not say anything, but she could imagine the look that was on his face.
"I don't want you to touch it, either," Delmar said.
"It is too late for that," Ajalia said. "One of us will have to touch the darkness."
"This is taking a very long time," the old king said impatiently, and he lifted a hand towards Ajalia. Delmar uttered a deep growl, and Ajalia felt the whole darkness within the mountain shift, as though it was dammed up, and Delmar had moved the block of the water. The darkness seemed now to be trickling upwards. The king stared hard at Ajalia, and then at Delmar. "Is he doing it?" the king asked Ajalia urgently.
"I don't know," Ajalia said honestly. "I won't look away from you."
"I will not do anything while you look," the old king snapped. "I want to know if he is taking it in. Look and see," Fernos demanded. Ajalia shook her head. "Look," the old king shouted. "I will hurt myself. See?" He reached one hand out towards the rim of red-gold that was shimmering still between himself and Ajalia, and burned his skin against the shining light. A hiss of genuine pain left his lips. "Now turn, and tell me if he is growing dark in his heart," the king demanded.
"No," Ajalia said. Fernos glared at Ajalia with naked hatred in his eyes.
"You have to do as I say," Fernos said. "You must obey me. I am your master now." Ajalia thought at first that the old king was addressing her, but then she saw that Fernos's eyes were turned past her, towards Delmar.
"I can see it!" one of the guards shouted violently. Ajalia wanted to turn, but she did not dare take her eyes away from the old king. She was sure that the king would try to take her, or one of the guards, if her attention was not fixed on him until he was dead. She knew that Delmar would end by killing his grandfather; there was no other course of action that would resolve in any peace for Talbos, or for themselves.
She did not know why, but this thought made a spark of sadness rise up in her heart. Of course Fernos has to die, Ajalia told herself sternly. This is not a surprise, she told herself, and I should not feel sorry for it. She only realized now that she had depended, up until a little while ago, on there being an older person in the world whom she could potentially confide in, or at least rely on to behave with some semblance of sense and morality. Oh well, Ajalia told herself, at least there is still my master. She smiled a little at this thought, and Fernos, who was looking around with panic now at the people in the room, caught sight of the smile, and uttered a sound like a howling monkey.
"You are not allowed to smile!" Fernos told her wildly. "Things are going very badly for you! Your little husband is turning dark inside, just like me."
"He is the dead falcon," Ajalia told Fernos. "He now will arise from death, and become the living falcon, the falcon who unites the cities. You are an old fool, and a monster, and you will burn in the glory that shines from my Delmar's heart."
"I'm doing it, Ajalia," Delmar said. "I can see that you will not turn away from the king. I suppose that is wise. But I want you to see me now."
"I will step backwards," Ajalia said, and she began, carefully, to retreat.
"I don't want you to touch it," Delmar warned her. "Go left." Ajalia did so, and moved back, her eyes fixed on the old king, until she drew level with Delmar. "I want you to tell me if I am turning dark inside," Delmar said. His voice was full of many things; Delmar's words were like bursting rivers of noise. He pressed the falcon's dagger into her hand, and she closed her fingers around it. "I want you to step back," Delmar said, "until you can see me as well, and if I am turning into a shadow, I want you to kill me."
"You are not turning into a shadow," Ajalia told him, but she stepped back
, the dagger in her hand. The guards in the room were pressed now against the farthest wall, and their eyes had grown as large as saucers. Ajalia could not see the guards, but she could hear their tense and strained breathing.
"He will turn into something like me," Fernos told Ajalia. The king's eyes were turned eagerly on Delmar. Ajalia could feel a gradual rumble building in the mountain below the palace; she could sense the shifting and crumbling of the long piles of black dragon skin as they tumbled up into Delmar.
THE BOUND PRIESTS
"There are colors inside of the darkness," Delmar said suddenly. Fernos was glaring hard at Delmar, and his lips were drawn in a sharp line.
"Yes," Fernos said. "Yes, that is right, my boy. Look into the darkness. Become one with it. It will give you great power." Ajalia could hear in Fernos's voice what the old king wanted. She saw a vision in her mind of Fernos leading Delmar along gradually, until Delmar was saturated with the blackness, and stultified with it. Ajalia saw, as plainly as if she were watching it happen before her, what Fernos wanted, and the future that he was trying to build. She saw how Fernos desired to fill Delmar up with black power that Delmar would not be able to control, and then she saw how Fernos wanted to take Ajalia's knife out of Delmar's hand, and kill him where he stood.
Ajalia now had backed up so that Delmar was a little in front of her. She moved to the side, so that Delmar and the king were both in her line of vision. She wanted to smile at what she saw, but she controlled her face. Ajalia knew that if Fernos saw her smile, the old king would rise to his feet, and attack. The old man already was vibrating with tension, and eager watching. He looked as though his whole life was hung on the balance of whether Delmar would turn to join him. Ajalia reflected that the king's life did, indeed, depend on this, and she told herself that things were not going well for Fernos at all.