The Dark Queen

by Michael Williams

  "Before?" It was as though the idea was alien to her.

  "Nothing of … opals, then?" he asked.

  "Opals?" Larken frowned. "Nothing more than the tore found beside him as a child-the necklace that grew in size as Fordus grew to maturity."

  "How intriguing," Tamex observed, lightly, almost casually. "What else do you know of this … tore?"

  Larken knew nothing. And something within her told her it was dangerous to guess.

  "I know what I am telling you," she said, her eyes fixed on the dark interloper. "Nothing more."

  Tamex's eyes fell suddenly flat and cold.

  "Tell me of the prophecy, then," he whispered. "Tell me."

  Larken shifted, wiped her hands on the front of her tunic as she met the dark man's odd stare. Had one eye blinked more slowly than the other?

  "At fifteen," she continued, "Fordus was faster than the tribal outrunners, faster than the leopards and able to pace the gazelle at the desert's edge. Nor would he use that speed in cowardice or caution; he was brave to the borders of recklessness, and yet he calmed and sustained the boys who followed him.

  "Then the rains failed, for the first time after the death of the old Water Prophet.

  "And the chieftain called council.

  "The Namers had searched the sky for months. They tried the old methods of insight and augury- what the old Prophet had done to serve the tribe for fifty years. They augured by star, by stone, by the twining moons, but no rain was promised and no

  rain came.

  "It was a dark time, they tell me, and soon augury passed into grumbling, and grumbling into the silence of growing despair. Then Kestrel called them all together-boy and man, warrior and outrunner, and sentry and firekeeper.

  "He told them he was sending them for water."

  Larken paused, tilted her head as though she lis shy;tened to the air.

  "The desert abounds with hidden springs," she said. "Sometimes there are oases, unexpected or suddenly, mysteriously newborn from the desert's lack and dry-ness. Sometimes there are springs under rocks, a thin brown trickle in a muddy arroyo. But without a Prophet, the chances of finding water are thin.

  "When the chief ordered the water search, he ordered it in desperation. And after a week, even the oldest and wisest of the Namers had given up.

  "Racer pressed to be named the tribe's Water Prophet; the title was his by right arid age. He pleaded for the ceremony-the vow to be said before his blood kin, acknowledged on sacred ground, and beneath the shining north star. Then he would fast, and meditate, and perhaps find water, perhaps not. It was a hard and thankless task, water prophecy, and yet Old Racer desired it with all his might. But while Racer sued and cajoled and threatened, the water-skins dried and the youngest children took on the parched, haunted eyes of the drought-stricken.

  "At fifteen, for the first time, Fordus spoke for himself at the Telling.

  "In the midst of the boasts and dreary bravado he stood, as the firelight mocked the false cheer of the thirsty men around him. He stood, and at his stand shy;ing, the camp fell silent.

  "With the kala, Kestrel pointed to his adopted son.

  All eyes turned to the lean, muscular youth, who stood resolutely, confidently, flanked by his friends Stormlight the elf and Northstar, almost still a child.

  " 'What do I care of your little hunts,' Fordus asked, 'of your spears and your bola, your journey of leagues and nights?'

  "He took the old language of the hunter's boast and returned it to them, scalding and unforgiving.

  "Racer spat, and his company of Namers nodded their beaded locks in support.

  "A murmur rushed through the assembled hunters, but Fordus only smiled. 'Save your water, Racer,' he cautioned. 'With your prophecies, you will need it. Boast and brood and despair of water. As for me, I shall find the water we need.'

  "Then Fordus turned and stalked from the camp, with two of his friends at his side. The older men talked of it all night, but by morning they had forgot shy;ten, departing on their own search for the legendary god-given spot from which the water would rise.

  "Meanwhile, the three young men hunted on their own."

  "A rebel even then," Tamex observed, his voice cold and insinuating.

  "But a rebel then for the good of all," Larken replied. She reddened and avoided the dark man's stare.

  "Then? And not now?" This Tamex was no fool. He had heard the wound in her voice, the regret and resentment.

  "Judge for yourself," Larken answered blandly, and resumed the story.

  "The lads combed the desert within sight of the camp, keeping the low fires of the Que-Nara con shy;stantly to their left as they circled the settlement. Fordus loped ahead of them, not even winded, as I have seen him do many times since in the vanguard of armies. And I am sure he paid no more attention to his two companions than to the missing red moon or the slow clouds straddling the western sky.

  "When he reached the rise," she continued, ab shy;sently stroking the glowing drumhead, "Fordus stopped and leaned against a smooth, upright stone. Stormlight and Northstar were a step behind him, as always.

  "Overhead the white moon sailed serenely out of the clouds, and suddenly the entire desert stretched before them, desolate and featureless as the face of that moon. Salt crystals dotted the arid landscape, catching the moonlight like blades, like slivers of glass.

  "Salt and stone, but no water.

  "This was south of here, in old country indeed. The ground they stood on once formed the north shy;ernmost borders of Silvanesti, back in the Age of Light. 'Twas woodland until the Second Dragon War, when Lady Chaos laid waste to the Elflands. Now it is rubble and salt, salt and rubble."

  Tamex said nothing. The two of them sat in silence, there in the bed of the dried-up river.

  "Elf country," Larken continued, her thoughts haunted by the prospect of such devastation. "Druid's country. And then .. ."

  Tamex stirred restlessly. "I know. I know. The Dragon Wars. But what of Fordus?"

  "Fordus? Oh, yes. That was the night he found the kanaji."

  "Kanaji?"

  "A druidic oracle pit. I first saw them near Silvan-ost, on the banks of the Thon-Thalas. Wide declivities, covered with netting and leaves. The druids descend into them to meditate, to … find enlightenment."

  "How? How do they work, these …"

  "Kanaji? Druidic magic," the bard answered elu-sively. Something in her shrank from the ardent ques shy;tioning. "Fordus found the pit that evening. He stood upon it, as though it had summoned him there.

  "Dig they did, hoping beyond their wildest hopes for water. Then the three of them knelt together, pulling the heavy stone away.

  "They found a hollow chamber, round, of lime shy;stone block, just large enough for two good-sized people to sit in. The floor was nothing but fine white sand, which looked as if it had gone undisturbed by wind and water for a thousand years.

  "Fordus hopped into the circular chamber, Storm-light close behind. They examined the gray, gritty walls, the shadowed circumference, while the youngest, little Northstar, stood above them in an impatient watch.

  "Fordus and Stormlight sat in the fine sand. They joked-the nervous, blustering jests of young men in holy places. But the ancientness and reverence of the place soon stilled their laughter, and they sat in silence as, over the dry expanse of the desert, the chanting of the elders drifted to the rise and down into the kanaji pit.

  "The lads went still. In the reverence they had been taught since infancy, Stormlight and Northstar looked up toward the heavens, toward the mobius of Mishakal and the harp of Branchala.

  "Fordus, on the other hand, looked toward the floor of the kanaji. Then, suddenly, as the sand began to ripple and eddy beneath him, he glanced up at Stormlight, motioned his friend's gaze to the changing sand, to the strange glyphs forming in the pristine whiteness.

  " 'Druidic' my cousin Northstar told them. 'The picture language of a thousand years past.'

  "With a whoop, Ford
us raced across the level expanse toward the fires of the men, leaving his companions agape at the emerging symbols.

  "Curious, not a little irritated at being disturbed at their ritual, the elders were led to the kanaji. Staring down into the pit, all of them noticed the change in Fordus-the sea-blue eyes suddenly bright and focused, as though his earlier addling had been lifted, the pupils dilated until a core of fathomless dark seemed to rise out of that blue sea.

  "His lips moved slowly. With great effort, as though he were translating the hidden language of the gods, he breathed a single syllable, then another."

  "Crouched by the lip of the kanaji, Racer made the warding sign, protection against the Lady, "and the destruction that follows her."

  "A foolish sign," Tamex observed. "A foolish superstition."

  "Whatever its wisdom, he did not complete it. With a firm grip Kestrel grasped the old conniver's wrist. 'There will be no warding of my son,' he decreed. 'Let him speak, Racer. Unless you can read glyph and symbol.'

  "Silenced, Racer glared at Fordus, who knelt now above the signs fully formed.

  " 'Axe,' Fordus muttered. 'Tower and Lightning. The rain is hewn of light and memory.'

  "The elders glanced at each other uncertainly. Surely some of them thought of Sirrion's touch, of the flame of poetry or madness.

  "Then Stormlight, his white eyes staring into the whirling depths of Fordus's blue, translated for them all.

  " 'Halfway between the Red Plateau and the Tears of Mishakal,' he pronounced. 'Seven feet below the surface. Water enough for a month of travel.'

  "They had to confirm Fordus's prophecy. Later that night they would dig to the water and their thirst would end. But now, in a starlit cluster, Kestrel set his hands on the head of his adopted son and began the chieftain's chant that would name the lad Water Prophet.

  " 'It cannot be!' Racer shouted, bargaining for time, for delay, for anything that would keep the title out of the grasp of the upstart. 'The gods honor only the Prophet who stands beneath the North Star. It has not yet risen! You know this, Kestrel, and yet you wrest the robes from me and confer them on your firestruck son. It is not according to tradition, not fitting, not permitted, not… not…'

  "Silently, triumphantly, Kestrel pointed at the lad who stood over his son. 'Who stands above Fordus, Racer?' he asked. 'What is the name of that lad?'

  "Northstar, in his place by design or accident, knelt by the lip of the kanaji and, reaching down into the pit, gently and reverently touched the top of For shy;dus's head."

  Larken smiled and stretched, rising from the bed of the old river and dusting the sand from her tunic.

  "That is the story, Tamex. That is the way it is told at the Telling."

  "But never so splendidly," Tamex soothed. "Never by the fabled bard, the Breath of the Gods herself."

  Suddenly, as though she were awakening from a trance, an enchantment, Larken looked at her soli shy;tary audience in a new, harsh light.

  He seemed much shorter than when he had first appeared, scarcely an hour ago.

  Chapter 5

  Every morning, despite several floors of stone under his room, Vaananen awoke to the sound of rending rock beneath the city. Sometimes it infiltrated his dawn dreams and he thought he, too, labored in the dank, musty tunnels to blast and hammer and drag forth the glain opals for the Kingpriest. This morning, the dreams had become especially vivid, and the con shy;stant pounding of the city's secret heart lingered in his ears even now as he strode rapidly down a higher passage to keep a regular appointment with his sparring partner.

  Down the spiral staircase he ran, his high-necked practice shirt already damp from the rising heat of the day, his arms covered past the wrists in padded sleeves to turn the blows of long sword and dagger. When he reached the ground floor, he drew forth a bronze key, wrought in the shape of a sidewinding serpent, inserted it into the elaborate lock on the heavy oaken door, and took the last easy breath he would get for the next two hours.

  "You are almost late," said the Kingpriest, tossing a rough-hewn pole at the druid.

  Vaananen deftly caught both the weapon and the malice. He bowed in silent reply, his eyes never leav shy;ing the sea-blue stare of his opponent. This is the last time, he thought, stepping inside the walled garden.

  For eight years, Vaananen had fought the King-priest in these small battles, never winning, never telling, and always leaving the sovereign with the suspicion that Vaananen used magic rather than martial skill to survive.

  It was all for Vincus, these weekly combats and humiliations. The lad could not help that his father had been an unfaithful weapons-master to an unfaithful ruler, that instead of teaching the King-priest the form of the broadsword prohibited to cler shy;ical orders, old Hannakus had tried to skip town, taking with him a hundred of the Kingpriest's trea shy;sured glain opals.

  The Istarian Guard had caught Vincus's father before he reached the walls. They had arrested old Hannakus, tried him, and executed him. But they had never found the opals. The Kingpriest had maintained that the son, at the time a mere boy of twelve, should work off the father's debt in the opal mines beneath the city.

  It was a death sentence. Vaananen intervened, promising his services in Hannakus's old role. And promising his silence as the Kingpriest, in a sacrilege older than the faith, took up the edged blade that was forbidden to all who served the gods in holy orders.

  Now, that service, that silence, was almost over.

  The Kingpriest turned his head at last and paced to the farthest point in the practice circle, examined the blade of his sword, and placed a booted foot against one of the smooth white shells that marked fair ground for the fight.

  Vaananen dropped to a crouch and balanced in his right hand the light pole, which was actually a living tree, its roots bundled tightly and its branches pruned away. The Kingpriest never played by the rules; there would be no salutation. Vaananen drew a long breath, loosened his legs, and waited.

  The Kingpriest pretended to adjust his grip for a moment, then charged the druid on the right. Vaana shy;nen stood his ground until his attacker's blade whistled through the air in a long, deadly down-stroke, then pivoted exactly six inches aside to catch the Kingpriest lightly in the back of the head with the pole and knock him to his knees.

  Before the Kingpriest could regain sight, breath, and footing, Vaananen threw himself to the ground and lay still. Long ago, he had learned that never a blow was dealt to this sovereign that was not repaid tenfold outside the arena; it was best to ungracefully sprawl in the appearance of one cut down by the mighty swipe of the monarch's blade.

  The Kingpriest rose, furious and wild, only to find his fighting partner in seemingly worse condition after the clash. He laughed smugly and kicked the druid until he "regained consciousness."

  And so it went for an hour and more, Vaananen spinning, dodging, rolling, and feinting, always adjusting cooly to the attack, and only occasionally dealing the Kingpriest a gentle tap with the length of the bound tree. Vaananen kept it interesting, but never, to the Kingpriest's utter frustration, did he seem to become angry or lose control.

  "You willow-heart!" the Kingpriest taunted. "It is our last round-have you no more spirit left than this? Did you leave your manhood in a grove of rot shy;ten oak?"

  It is not my fight, Vaananen would say to himself. This is for Vincus's freedom, so that he will never inhabit the darkness of the mines. Then Vaananen would smile and think of another way to turn the Kingpriest's forbidden blade, never allowing it to touch him.

  At last, just before the round was meant to be over, the Kingpriest, seething with anger, stopped the exchange.

  "Come over here," he panted. "Stand exactly here." He pointed to the outside of the ring of shells. The sea-blue eyes shone with rage and cunning.

  Vaananen knew if he left the sparring ground before the round was over that it would be a foul, and would give the Kingpriest an opportunity to deliver an undefended blow. The blade glistened in the no
onday sun, its edge razor-sharp and lethal. The Kingpriest did not care for blunted weapons.

  Vaananen moved to the center of the ring and stood his ground. It was a show of truce-the most vulnerable place in the arena.

  "Do you decline my order, noble Vaananen?" the Kingpriest said smoothly. "I think there is a penalty for that. … I think you will do five more years of this game, this time with no padded shirt, eh?"

  For the first time, Vaananen spoke. "I have paid the debt of Vincus's blood. He will go free. And you cannot coerce me. You violate your Order by using this broadsword. The game is over."

  The Kingpriest smiled, his sea-blue eyes flickering coldly. "You will stay in my service," he said. "You are bound to me by oath. Many others who are unworthy serve me-from the thief's son to peas shy;ants …"

  He eyed Vaananen cagily.

  "Perhaps even druids. Cast out from their own Order for the gods know . . . what crimes?"

  Vaananen's face betrayed no emotion.

  "Now, willow-heart, we will arrange to pay your debt," the Kingpriest said with a low chuckle.

  Slowly, he stirred the border of shells with his booted foot, walking around the ring, narrowing the circle around the silent druid.

  Lazily the goddess walked through the Tears of Mishakal, the crystal structures rising in bizarre angles, catching the red moonlight until they seemed like blades dripping with blood.

  The crystals that housed her changed as well. No longer was she Tamex, the menacing, mysterious warrior that would trouble Larken's dreams for yet a dozen nights.

  She was Tanila now-a lithe and lovely woman, a creature of darkness to be feared and desired by man and elf alike. Casting her black eyes toward the heavens, the goddess breathed a summoning word .

  And in the far sky, somewhere over Istar on the northern horizon, a star winked out and the long line of dune and mountain darkened ever so slightly.

  Good. Her powers were growing. She could again subvert the deep heavens with an old spell or a quiet incantation. Somewhere in the far void of space, as dark and lifeless as her prison in the abyss, a black star cooled and died, collapsing on itself, and ten plan shy;ets-ten worlds-felt the first glazing of a final ice.