Then Dale and Aladane flung their arms around her, snapping her awake. Fish was holding up Dada, while all around them people were splashing through the hallway in panic.
“Emeline, you went into the grove!” Aladane said, absolutely appalled. “Why did you do that?”
“Because of the water. Because she could use her magic to fight them,” Dale said. His face was pinched, but his voice was thick with pride. “Did you see that tree fall?” Aladane’s mouth hung open.
“I was so afraid….” Dada put his face in his hands.
Fish hugged his shoulders. “She’s all right, Bird. She’s all right,” he said. Emeline threw her arms around her father, too, and he squeezed her tight.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” Dada whispered fiercely.
She shook her head, tears stinging her eyes. First she had revealed her magic to the king, and then she had flung herself into a battle. It was a wonder that her father’s heart had not stopped. But she had won. They had won.
“Innish!” Reese’s voice boomed suddenly. They all turned to see him grab the older man by the collar with one hand, the other still clamped on his neck. Emeline gasped at the blood seeping through his fingers. “Perhaps you’d like to explain yourself now!”
Innish went limp for a moment, closing his eyes. Then he straightened himself and said, in the strange new voice he’d used in the tower, “I will. But I must find Olvinde first and make sure he’s safe.”
Reese stared at him for a few seconds. Then he let go, shaking his head. “If you’re Lord Irwind, prove it. Prove it.” His tone was uncertain now.
“Here is my proof, Reese!” As they all watched, Innish pulled out the chain that hung under his shirt. On it was a large silver ring, engraved with a symbol of stars and wheels interlocking.
Emeline looked at Reese as he studied it. His green eyes went wide. For a moment, he said nothing, but then he swore under his breath. Abruptly, he knelt low to the floor.
“By all the fish in the canal,” Fish said, watching him kneel.
“This is the ring of my birthright,” the king’s brother told them. “But there’s no need to bow to me, Reese. I owe you an apology for lying to you.” He sighed heavily and looked down the hallway with a troubled expression. “Though that’s nothing compared to the other wrongs I’ve committed, and must atone for now.”
“You built these monsters, didn’t you?” Reese demanded, standing slowly. “They’re automatons!”
Fish gasped. Emeline looked at Dada, who was frowning and watching Irwind. He had already begun to suspect it in the tower, she knew. She almost didn’t believe it herself, but the sparks and the steam…and the Ithin standing absolutely motionless….Everything clicked in her mind now.
It had broken down. They were machines, malfunctioning in the water.
“But not that last one,” Reese said, and looked at Emeline, his fierce face drawn. It was the first time she had truly seen him look afraid.
“Reese, you’re bleeding,” she protested, coming to his side.
He glanced down at her, barely comprehending, but then he pulled off his helmet, wincing. The Ithin’s claws had slashed him deeply. He knelt wearily and wrapped one arm around her waist as she examined his wound. She pulled off her drenched red cap, for lack of a bandage, and pressed it against the blood flow. Even in the midst of her concern, his arm felt wonderful around her. It felt like it belonged there.
“No, not that one.” Irwind put his hands up to the sides of his head and closed his eyes again. “Let us find my brother and I will explain. Come with me to the tower. The grove is flooded and the danger is over.” He turned and strode down the corridor, trailing through the water.
you remember, Olvinde, when I journeyed to Vindane all those years ago?” Lord Irwind asked, studying his brother. “To see the mineral springs? I became lost for several days in the woods there.”
“You never would take an escort!” the king retorted.
Emeline and her family watched from a soft divan in a glittering blue-and-silver sitting room inside the tower. It was less ostentatious than the council room, but more comfortable. The king and his brother were seated in padded armchairs, their hands clasped together between them. Emeline couldn’t imagine what the king was feeling, now that he knew his missing brother had been hiding in plain sight for an entire year.
Reese was missing the story after all, to his clear frustration, having been ordered to report to the infirmary at once by the king.
No more of the creatures were stirring in the grove. It remained locked and flooded, but most of the hall’s residents were still in a panic. The surviving knights were trying to restore order.
No one but the people in that room yet knew that all but one of the Ithin were automatons. Emeline marveled at the irony of a handful of villagers knowing such a secret before anyone else.
“Truthfully, I never had an interest in the springs,” Irwind continued. “I went to the Vindane region because I was concerned by the persistent folklore surrounding it. You know where I stood in the royal argument. I was thoroughly convinced that the Theurgists were deluded in every sense, and I wanted to see for myself what innocuous wildlife populated the area.” He laughed grimly. “So I went, with every intention of debunking those myths. And instead…I found her.”
“Her?”
“An Ithin, brother,” Irwind told him, his eyes glittering. “A real-life monster, flesh and blood.”
King Olvinde’s sunken face turned even paler. “Beyond all doubt?” he whispered.
“Beyond all doubt. A Dark Creature itself, from the old legends. She was tangled in a hunter’s trap and dying. She was so fearsome, her smell so horrible!”
Irwind smiled despite what he was describing, and the effect was strange—almost sinister. It reminded Emeline of the weird look on his face underneath the fireworks.
“Imagine my horror and shock. After all that time, to discover that the stories were true!”
“But you told no one?” King Olvinde demanded.
“And admit my mistake? No…never,” Irwind said, reddening. “A common fault in this city.”
Emeline couldn’t believe her ears. She looked at Dada and Fish, who shared disgusted glances. She could only imagine Reese’s reaction.
“But I was desperate to study her. The issue was getting the subject of study back into my labs under the hall, undetected,” he said. “I paid my driver into silence, of course, and only managed to strap the creature to our carriage because she was so deteriorated.”
“You should have brought the cursed thing straight to the council!” the king exclaimed.
“Yeah!” Aladane muttered.
Irwind hesitated, dropping his eyes to the floor. “…Forgive me, brother,” he said finally. “That is what I should have done.” He put his hands up to the sides of his head and closed his eyes again, as he had done in the corridor beyond the grove.
The king made a furious, exasperated sound.
“But instead, I brought the Ithin to my lab through one of the subterranean tunnels and began to study her. Her strength was incredible, even in that injured state! Her movements so serpentine…How she frightened me, even locked up in a cell…One thing became very clear, Olvinde: The kingdom needed protection from these creatures.” Irwind gazed at the king and for a single instant, Emeline could see Innish again—the staunch protector they had traveled with across the kingdom.
“Perhaps because of my skills at automation, the idea struck me that I could build a mechanical Ithin—one of equal strength and fearsomeness, but one that I could control. And if I could build one, why not many? What better defense against Dark Creatures than our own army of them?”
“I confess I had no idea how advanced your automation had become,” the king murmured, staring at him in awe.
Irwind brushed that off wi
th a wave of his arm.
“But surely you see the logic?” he insisted. “I began at once, but it was a long and difficult process. I could never duplicate the exact odor the Ithin projected, so I left out that detail, but I designed a simple attack-and-defense program. I built an army of twenty, as deadly as the real one languishing in her cage, and just as aggressive. I gave them automatic reflexes. I even devised a way to make them seek out woods, as a shelter from rain.” His eyes lit up with pride for a moment. “I had them pacing in the cells, testing their movements and strength against one another.”
Emeline grimaced at the image of a pack of Ithin roving about in cells and tunnels underneath the King’s Hall.
“My plan was to present them to you, Olvinde, and give you the controls—once I had finished them. But all along I knew—I ignored the fact that those prying council members were attempting to discover my secret.” He shook his head in fury. “I never imagined any of them could be so wicked as to use it to their advantage.”
“Helid Theurgist!” Dada said, suddenly comprehending. “He let them out!”
“Yes.” Irwind’s voice dropped to a bitter murmur. “Before I could finish their controls, someone released them through the tunnels in secret. My monstrous army was set loose upon the kingdom.”
Emeline gasped.
“And now I know that it was Helid, the same vile man who hired Loddril,” he declared.
“Why would he do that?” Dale blurted out.
“To ensure that everyone believed in the Ithin and the Theurgists would regain power,” Irwind told him. “You see, at the time, the reports of Dark Creature sightings had become rather few. And with my Ithin roaming the kingdom, the chances of such sightings were much higher.”
“But didn’t he know the machines could kill people?” Fish demanded.
“Oh, yes. He could not have seen them in action without knowing that,” Irwind said darkly. “It was a sacrifice I suppose he was willing to make, in exchange for the favor of the king.”
Emeline felt a sickening twist in her stomach.
“But there were two things that miserable old man did not know. One, that a real Ithin was among the machines, and two, that the others were programmed to return to the hall, once they began to need repairs. The latter is why they ended up in the grove.” He paused and shook his head. “I confess, I don’t know why the real Ithin returned with them, unless to her, they had become family.”
Silence filled the room.
“That man should be put to death!” Fish growled suddenly.
“He will be,” King Olvinde rasped.
Irwind nodded and then closed his eyes again. “But you see, I didn’t know what he had done. I believed the Ithin had escaped through some fault of mine, and I…I could not face it.” He looked at the king, and his face crumpled in shame. “The programming was unfinished! There was no way to find them all, to bring them back! But they were designed to be attracted to the woods, and I knew that would minimize the damage. People were already afraid of the woods.”
“The knights could have hunted them down,” the king said, and his voice was flat, expressionless. “You should have told me.”
“But I didn’t,” Irwind whispered. “Instead I ran away to the Outer Lands…where my foolish eyes were further opened. Very few people I met there thought the existence of magic at odds with science and invention. There are sophisticated people outside this kingdom, brother, people whose technology is beyond our imagining.” He looked at Emeline then, and she flinched, uncomfortable with his attention. “I finally understood that our divided council was waging a pointless war. Both sides are right, of course,” he said quietly.
“And while I was out there, berating myself, I learned that the Theurgists had begun to use the more frequent Ithin sightings to influence you, Olvinde. And at that, I became suspicious. So I returned to the capital in secret and secured myself employment as a guard. When Reese suspected foul play among the Theurgists, I knew I had allied myself with the right man.”
The image of Gundan lying on the ground returned to Emeline abruptly. Young, handsome, dead. Arrogant, yes, but that was not a crime. Because Irwind’s Ithin were modeled after the legends, they must have been designed to aim straight for the heart. And they had crushed his.
How many others had died at the hands of his machines? Today, or anywhere in the kingdom? Adding to the number of existing Ithin, had the machines caused more deaths than they ever would?
It struck her that, in the wrong hands, science could be even deadlier than dark magic. Perhaps the problem with all power was that the wrong hands reached out for it.
In the silence that filled the room, Dada picked up the tattered journal that Irwind had left on the table between them and the two royals. It was his diary of how he had designed the Ithin, as well as his other discoveries, ideas, and projects over the years. Emeline knew that it must be wondrous, but she wanted to toss it into the fire.
“Yes,” the king said suddenly, startling everyone. He had been quiet for so long, listening and thinking, his trembling hands knotted together in his lap. “You were right in that, brother, that one matter—that both sides are right.” Although he addressed Irwind, he seemed to speak to the air, looking at no one. “In fact, I have had enough of this foolish feud, once and for all, and I shall end it.”
His eyes turned to Emeline, and she held still under his piercing gaze. “You who so bravely demonstrated that magic is not only real, but also elegant, and not limited to these terrifying creatures…you deserve, first and foremost, the promise that I will send royal guards to protect your village.”
Dada and Fish beamed at her and each other. Her heart soared.
“And second, you have won the right to be the first in the kingdom to hear my decision.” The king cleared his throat. “It is to become royal law that the council be once more combined into one. There will be no more Sapients and Theurgists. It will not be easily done,” he added grimly.
“Reese always believed in both. Science and magic,” Emeline heard herself say. Then she winced, and added quickly, “Sir Reese.”
“Yes, he is a good knight,” the king replied. There was no mockery in his voice at her familiar address. “I understand why you have formed an attachment.”
Her face grew hot. Most of them had seen Reese with his arm around her in the corridor. Dale and Aladane were grinning at her—Aladane even winked—but Dada’s expression was serious. With a sudden pang, she wondered what he was thinking. Was he afraid that she would refuse to go home to Equane?
“And what about Emeline and her breathtaking magic?” Irwind asked. She looked up again and saw with alarm that he was studying her, fascinated.
“It’s her mother’s magic, Your Majesty,” Dada said guardedly. “As you said, it doesn’t have anything to do with the Dark Creatures.”
“Yes,” the king said thoughtfully, watching Emeline. “Magic even the Theurgists know little about.”
“It’s stupid that I don’t have it,” Dale muttered, and Aladane nodded in sympathy.
“I would like to see you demonstrate it again,” Irwind told her eagerly. “With your permission, of course,” he added to Dada.
Dada’s face darkened, and Emeline couldn’t blame him: She had immediate misgivings herself about his interest.
“I believe we would all benefit from learning more about your gift,” the king told her, and she nodded reluctantly.
“But please, Your Majesty, my daughter must be safe,” Dada said quickly. “I’m sure you understand—she must be kept safe from the council members. From being used or hurt.”
“Indeed. I give you my word that she will be.” With sudden violence, Olvinde snatched up a handkerchief and retched into it, his whole body shuddering. Irwind turned to him in concern; the last of his brother’s color was fading fast in his weary face.
&n
bsp; “And then there is the matter of my heir,” the king whispered to himself. He stared at Irwind as if he could not quite fathom who his brother had become. “Things have changed now.”
Emeline had forgotten that the king’s brother, now that he’d returned, certainly had the best claim to the throne. Dada and Fish gave each other unhappy looks: This new heir was a man who had designed and built murderous automatons, after all.
“I must retire. Someone should collect this family.” The king’s voice was barely audible.
“I’ll call for Quaith,” Irwind said quickly, standing up. He stepped over to the wall and pulled a round knob that was hidden behind a tapestry; a faint ringing reached their ears.
“Take the young lady to see her knight,” the king breathed.
The king was a complicated man, she realized. As fierce and proud as he had seemed in the council room, he had spoken well of Reese, without concern to his birth. And despite the serious matters that lay before him, he had taken a moment to acknowledge her feelings.
Quaith arrived, looking much shaken and disheveled by the events of the day, Irwind told him to take Emeline to the infirmary and return the others to their guarded rooms, per the king’s command.
“She’ll be perfectly safe in the infirmary,” Quaith was telling Dada, sounding exhausted. “I’ll bring her home whenever she’s ready.”
The word “home” hung in the air in an odd way. She gave Dada a fierce hug and then turned to follow the servant that Quaith had summoned, out into the corridor. After many turns, they pushed through a pair of white doors and into a large room filled with a sober hush. It was partitioned by several white curtains, and men and women in blue cloaks walked through, speaking in low voices.
“Not done?” Reese’s deep voice broke the silence. Emeline gasped. “What else are you going to do, paint it over?”
There was a thump and another voice, soft but stern, answering. Emeline broke into a grin and ran forward, just as one of the curtains was yanked back by a large hand.
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