He nodded, accepted it, and remained as he was.
"What is it?" Catrin asked, her anger turning to exasperation. She knew Chase would not interrupt such a crucial meeting without a good reason.
"I need to speak with you a moment," Chase said.
"You may speak freely," Catrin said. "I have no secrets from my allies."
Allette appeared as uncomfortable with that term as Chase was, but he knew his cousin. There would be no changing her mind now. Casting a glance at Sevellon, he gestured with his head for the man to enter. No matter how he felt about thieves, he would not repeat what Trinda had done.
Sevellon entered the room and knelt before Catrin. "Lady Catrin, I bring you a gift. With this I also give my support to your cause." With those words, Sevellon handed Catrin a small bundle.
Chase was just starting to think the man had a good sense of self-preservation until he saw what it was he presented to Catrin. Her breath caught before she even opened it, and Allette could not take her eyes from the bundle. Coarse cloth fell away in folds and Koe was revealed, all glossy and slick as if he'd been thoroughly soaked in Istra's light. Now it was Chase who lost his breath. This was perhaps the most precious gift anyone could have given Catrin, but it might also hasten the onset of the very war Chase feared. He didn't know how much energy the dragon ore carving held. It would not be enough to destroy the Fifth Magic.
Allette was the first to speak. "It's so beautiful," she said. "May I touch it?"
The conflict on Catrin's face was brief, but then she said, "It contains a store of Istra's power. You may touch it, but I would ask you not to draw from it. I fear it will be precious little given what we're about to face. Sevellon has given us a powerful gift, but it comes at a great price." Sevellon looked as if he wanted to disappear. "What's done is done. The best we can do now is prepare for Trinda's response, which will likely be swift and lethal."
"There is one other thing, Lady Catrin," Sevellon said, pulling a torch from a nearby crevice. "Please come." Catrin did not appear entirely pleased, but she allowed Sevellon to lead her back into the hall. Allette followed closely, and Chase brought up the rear, on the alert for any signs of trouble. Already the hairs on his neck stood, and he knew it was coming. Dragonhold currently felt the same way the giant mountain in the shallows had felt right before it exploded. "A wise man once taught me to observe everything in my surroundings," Sevellon said after stopping at a nondescript section of hall. "That includes looking up."
The ceiling was high above them, but with the torch lofted, there was something there. It wasn't much, just a small hole in the otherwise ubiquitous stone. Sevellon handed the torch to Chase, and he held it higher. The additional light brought out previously hidden details. Chase knew what he saw: a tunnel-collapse mechanism. Sevellon had found part of the keep's ancient defenses. The only problem was they didn't have the specially designed release rods needed to safely trigger the cave-in. This shortcoming was apparent to everyone and the futility of the situation clear when rows of guards entered the hallway from the great hall. This was they had seen of such military movements within the hold. Trinda knew she'd been robbed.
Shouts from the God's Eye gave evidence of attacks from two sides, and Catrin stepped back from under the collapse mechanism. "Get back," she said in a dangerous voice. Sevellon obeyed her command, but Chase and Allette remained. "Go!" she demanded and even Chase feared her in that instant. Fire danced in her eyes.
Kenward had come up behind them, and he took Allette by the arm. To Chase's surprise, she let him lead her back to the viewing chamber. Walking sideways, Chase retreated. Worry for Catrin was foremost on his mind; his own safety and that of the rest, not far behind. The guards were nearing the cave-in mechanism, and Chase muttered under his breath, "If you're going to do something, you'd better go ahead and do it."
Catrin may or may not have heard, but it appeared she agreed. Holding up Koe, she pointed him at the release mechanism. Tinged with fire and lightning, a blackness leaped from the cat's open jaws like a bolt of night. Roaring like an angry dragon, the intentionally weakened stone shuddered and cracked upon impact. While it had appeared to be solid and permanent as the surrounding stone, the ancients had done their jobs well. Despite being triggered in far from the expected manner, the defense mechanism did what it had been designed to do. Before approaching guards' eyes, the ceiling collapsed, blocking the hall with granite chunks larger than yearling horses. Like the ancient barriers originally barring their entrance into the hold, this obstruction was considerable but could be removed in time. The sand clock had been turned, and Chase knew the last grain would eventually slip away.
Retreating from the dust and debris accompanying the cave-in, Catrin came with a grim expression. This was not at all how either of them had expected this day to go. When she shifted Koe in her hand, Chase saw chalky swirls left in the cat where Catrin's fingertips had been. That single burst of energy had already visibly drained the stone, and Chase's confidence waned. There would be no way to recharge the cat once it was drained, Chase knew, and if it could be drained so quickly, then it would soon cease to be useful. He would have to trust his cousin to be judicious in its use.
"Arm yourselves and gather 'round!" Chase shouted as they neared the halls where most of their people waited. Afterward, he looked back to Catrin. She had stopped walking, her eyes glazed and distant.
"The God's Eye is well defended," Catrin said. "Post guards but Kyrien says he'll keep any real danger from getting too close." Again she shifted Koe, and the cat's back was now cloudy.
"Now what do we do?" Chase asked no one in particular. Catrin shrugged. Both turned their eyes on Sevellon, who had the good sense to keep his eyes down.
Under the weight of their gazes, he said, "I just wanted to help."
* * *
Along the shoreline of the God's Eye, Catrin and Allette stood, unworried over demon attacks since Kyrien had briefly shown himself before disappearing in deep, dark water. The barge carrying Trinda approached slowly. Only the child queen and a single guard were aboard. Chase knew it was possible to conceal more soldiers under and around the barge since he'd trained his soldiers in the tactics, but Kyrien's presence made that less worrisome. The two overcharged herald globes Trinda carried, whose light was nearly blinding, were far more worrisome. Even as an effort of last hope, two herald globes could produce a devastating attack.
No one on shore spoke as the barge glided to a stop before them. Chase wasn't certain what he'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been seeing tears dripping from Trinda's chin. Never had he seen such a mournful look on her face, and his emotions churned.
"My sisters," Trinda began, her voice quavering. "I come in search of forgiveness. I have wronged us all in my ignorance, and I am sorry. I've also come because I need your help."
Her words were met with silence. Trinda possessed a knack for being unreadable and impossible to predict. Chase couldn't imagine a more terrifying thing than someone as flighty as Trinda with the powers she possessed. Perhaps from that aspect, what Trinda had done had been a good thing. If only she hadn't trapped the rest of them in Dragonhold with her. She claimed to have acted in Catrin's and Allette's best interests by protecting them from the ever-growing amounts of Istra's power flooding their world. What other escape could there be? Chase had wondered more than once. Catrin refused to talk about what had happened to her after her disappearance, and Chase was left to speculate. It was a cruel thing to do to a person, and he really didn't appreciate it, even if he knew she had her reasons. Sometimes being angry at Catrin was a never-ending effort. Add Trinda to the recipe, and Chase thought he might scream.
"What is it you've done this time, sister?" Allette asked.
Trinda bowed her head, accepting the reprimand. "I've made a terrible mistake." This admission was met with silence charged with resentment. "I learned long ago of the Fifth Magic. I was told it was a sanctuary shielded from Istra's power."
T
hus far, Chase felt her argument was plausible, but he feared whatever this mistake was. To have reduced Trinda to what were to Chase convincing tears and emotion, his fears conjured terrible visions.
"You've said as much," Allette interjected.
Catrin remained silent and Chase marveled at her control. Somehow saying nothing delivered a more scathing reproach than any words could convey.
"After the Fifth Magic was triggered, I knew something was wrong. It felt as if I was being sapped of life."
"It's an unpleasant sensation, isn't it?" Allette remarked.
Catrin's gaze was unyielding and was starting to intimidate Chase as well. She projected the energy of an angry mother so strongly, everyone present was cowed, with the notable exception of Allette, who looked ready to pull Trinda's head from her neck.
"I retreated to the archives and scoured the oldest sections with my most trusted assistants. This is what I found." In her hand was little more than a roll of aged vellum. The image it bore was faded and stained but contained an unmistakable signature Chase had seen before on equally ancient documents. Most concerned abominations such as the Statues of Terhilian and dark tomes of compulsion and greed. This image was different than the others, though. It showed Dragonhold as it was now, the stone claws enclosing the keep, though the drawing looked far simpler and cleaner than the real thing. On the vellum, trees grew around the energy field, and Chase had seen the devastation around the keep, even if tinted by translucent blue flame.
What lay beneath was the last thing to draw Chase's eye. Seeing it first, Catrin drew a sharp breath, and Chase rushed to understand. There, at the bottom of the vellum, partly obscured by dark stains, were words Chase could mostly translate and understand, having studied alongside Catrin for years.
Here waits my final revenge on those who embrace Istra's abominable light.
Just below was the signature of Von of the Elsics, a madman if ever there was one. The name made Chase's blood run cold. Already thousands had died as a result of Von's weapons, and knowing he designed this keep to target those with Istra's power drove Chase to his knees. It occurred to him then that Koe might contain the only usable energy in the entire hold, save the explosive force of the herald globes. The energy Catrin had expended in collapsing the hall and communicating with Kyrien had essentially been wasted. When he considered how much work it was going to take to clear the obstructed hall, Chase wanted to slam his head against the cold stone.
"I bring these as gifts and tokens of my sincerity," Trinda said, handing Catrin and Allette each one of the herald globes. You now have the power to kill me if you so choose."
Allette appeared to be giving this option serious consideration. Chase was ready to run. He'd seen what overcharged globes did on impact, and he wanted to be well clear of the area if one was going to go off. He was no coward. A wise person knows when they are overmatched.
Again tense silence hung in the air, and no one knew what to do next. Chase feared Allette would kill Trinda out of frustration if nothing else, but all of them turned and looked as ripples of water moved toward them, growing larger by the instant. Glistening in the light of the herald globes, Kyrien raised his head and nudged Catrin. In doing so, he also nudged Allette, who laughed. It was the first sign of happiness Chase had ever seen from the girl.
Catrin, though, closed her eyes and laid her hands on Kyrien, communing with him. When she pulled her hands away, there were tears in her eyes. With a firm nod she said, "I know what must be done, and I like it not."
* * *
Chase didn't like any of what was happening. Events moved too fast, and so much was based on the word of the least reliable person he knew. If not for the communication from Kyrien, Chase would have demanded they stop. He didn't completely trust the regent dragon either, but Catrin did, and he would have to accept that. Looking forlorn, Trinda gave the strong impression of a child made to wait her turn to play with a toy. Allette refused to leave Catrin's side and occupied the other stone chair. Finally, the viewing chamber was ready for what they believed to be proper use. Brother Vaughn and Chase had trained groups on the chant, and there was melodious power in the vibrations, even just as a bystander. Watching from the corner of the room and feeling sick, Chase prayed to any god who'd listen to keep anything from going wrong. No one knew if astral travel was possible from within the hold, and none could say if Catrin would even survive. Allette was bound to the same fate since she insisted on doing as Catrin did.
There was no guarantee Koe contained enough energy for her to complete the journey, and Catrin had tried to dissuade her. If anything complicated her travels, as had happened in the past, she might not make it back at all. Allette was beyond reasoning, though, and only when it looked as if she might throw down her herald globe in frustration had Catrin relented. What had Trinda been thinking giving the Black Queen a herald globe? Then he had to admit knowing what Trinda thought about anything was among his life's greatest mysteries.
There was no sound or anything other than the distant look in Catrin's eyes to indicate she was gone, and Chase's guts twisted. Allette, on the other hand, was frantic. She, too, knew Catrin was gone, but it was clear she'd been unable to follow.
"Catrin once told me that hitting her head on the rock while staring out into the sky was how she first learned to astral travel," Chase said, unsure why he felt compelled to offer this advice. In the next instant, he wished he'd been a bit more specific.
With desperation on her face, Allette gazed out the portal and slammed her head back against the stone chair--hard. Chase wasn't certain if she'd successfully left her body or knocked herself unconscious.
Chapter 19
Few things match the power of imagination.
--Enly Mandone, bard
* * *
Twin beams of consciousness burst from the viewing chamber in tandem, almost immediately piercing the blue fire encasing Dragonhold. There was no perceivable effect. Catrin soared free, her spirit rejoicing. Behind her extended gossamer thread leading back to her physical vessel, and she suspected a smile was forming on her now distant body. Mother Gwendolin had introduced her to astral travel long ago, even if somewhat accidentally. Catrin took a moment to thank her. Brother Vaughn had been instrumental in determining what kind of stone the chairs needed to be made of and where they could be sourced. Kenward had sacrificed two ships to transport these very stone chairs, and she would make certain it counted for something.
Without her body, Catrin could not feel the sun or the wind, nor could she feel Istra's energy. Her only source was Koe, and she had to be mindful of the limited supply. She didn't know what would happen if they depleted the energy Koe held before they returned to their bodies, and she had no desire to find out. Another thing that worried her was the possibility of draining Koe to the point of destroying her precious carving, just as she had destroyed Imeteri's fish so long ago. She had no way to know how much energy she was drawing or how much remained, thus all she could do was attempt to achieve what she must as quickly as possible.
Had Allette remained in her body within Dragonhold, it would have been better, Catrin thought, but she sensed the Black Queen's presence gaining on her. Consciously Catrin slowed to allow the girl to catch up. Catrin had no inkling how much energy Allette was drawing from Koe, but the thread leading back to her body burned brightly.
We must conserve.
Communicating with Allette in the way Prios had once done for her, Catrin experienced physical pain at the thought of her beloved. That pain was foremost in her mind when the chanting within Dragonhold found a new level of synchronicity unlike anything Catrin had experienced before. Always before, the two disparate melodies had merged into one, but never before had Catrin realized her spirit was bound to one side of the melody; Allette's spirit was bound to the other. Even when Pelivor had once traveled at the same time as her, he'd been trying to save her and they had never achieved synchronicity. Now, with Allette, it was unavoidable. Even the
energy beams trailing behind them were now intertwined, braided and indistinguishable from each other.
Somehow the losses they had taken bonded them and brought them closer. Allette's pain was Catrin's pain. It suffocated her. Every moment that was seared into the Black Queen's psyche permeated Catrin's and overlayed her own experiences; she remembered being present and had memories of all the senses. Smells in particular triggered intense memory and emotion.
You were so afraid. Allette's disembodied words rang in Catrin's consciousness. You are so powerful, and yet you are so afraid.
Guilt washed over Catrin at hearing the words because they were true. Never would she have believed Trinda could trap her within Dragonhold. She'd been so foolish as to think she was going to scold the child queen for summoning Kyrien. If only she'd known, she would have done things differently. Now she had left the most dangerous things unguarded. She tried not to think about that since she knew Allette must be experiencing her memories as well. Both must have had the realization simultaneously, which wasn't by circumstance. Whatever one wanted to hide was foremost in the other's mind. The very act of trying to conceal something exposed it.
And now they knew they had to kill each other. They now knew the other's most closely guarded secrets, things far too dangerous for anyone else to know. Any sane person would want to distance her thoughts from someone now committed to killing her, but their energies were now inseparable. If only Catrin had known this would happen.
Both resigned themselves to killing the other later.
* * *
This wasn't the first time Catrin had left Chase, Brother Vaughn, and others waiting during her astral travels, but this time was different. Chase watched Koe in despair as streaks and milky swirls appeared within the dragon ore carving. The cloud cat, Rastas, was curled up in Allette's lap but watched everything taking place. Chase could almost see the energy streaming over their hands and out of the carving. He knew they both could die if they ran out of energy, and he also knew they might never hear his warnings. Brother Vaughn and the others continued chanting while Chase yelled at his cousin to come back, shouting that they were draining Koe far too quickly. Catrin had been gone for days during previous astral travels, and by the looks of Koe, they had hours at most. She'd told him she experienced time differently when traveling, and he worried his warnings would go unheard and unheeded. Resting in Allette's lap, the cloud cat continued to watch.
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