by D N Meinster
They’d failed in their attempt, and it appeared as if it had cost them both their lives. Doren wasn’t sure he’d have held back even if he knew who they’d been, but he regretted their deaths, if only because Simma would care. They were her brothers, whether they shared blood or not.
“Empress Simma!” Doren exclaimed as she entered the room.
Her eyes scrutinized the entire scene, and though she appeared to understand what had happened, her expression changed as she honed in on her brother’s face.
She knelt down next to Luewen’s body, placing her hand on his cheek and then removing his remaining battle glove.
Simma rose back up, checking the other assassins and then glancing out the window. She didn’t have to see his face or his Massku blade to know it was Kuwain in the pool of blood and glass.
Finally, her eyes fell on Doren. “Get out,” she murmured.
Doren didn’t understand. Was she asking him to leave the room or the palace?
When he didn’t act, she bellowed, “Get out!”
Simma’s eyes had teared up; her face contorted into a scowl.
Doren didn’t want to go. They needed to get past this. Neanthal was out there, preparing to conquer all of Ghumai once again. Faunli was essential in the alliance against this.
Surely, she could see that it was her brothers that had tried to kill him. He only reacted to their provocation.
But Simma did not look like she could be reasoned with. All she knew was that her brothers were dead and Doren was their murderer.
“I—”
“Get out!”
Doren sighed before spinning in place and shifting away. He could only hope that he hadn’t just lost them the war.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Finding Versil
“What are you doing here?” Aros asked, puzzled by his friend’s appearance. Rikki should’ve been in Belliore, asking for help from the Directors there, just as he was in the middle of asking for aid from the Streamers, though he’d been entirely unsuccessful so far. Even the amazing woman that had feelings for him had declined his request.
Rikki needed to make sure the Bellish would join them, because Aros doubted he’d be able to convince the steward or any other monarchists to ally with them again Neanthal. The only ones who’d agreed to assist him weren’t even Streamers.
Maybe it had something to do with the culture that he didn’t quite grasp. If he was a Streamer himself, perhaps it would be easier to craft a persuasive case. That’s why he needed Loraya to accede, but he couldn’t even convince her.
“The Bellish are going to help us,” Rikki informed him. “But the Directorate has lost control of the peacekeepers.”
“How’d that happen?” Aros asked. Had that much occurred since they’d left?
“Versil. He disabled the master control and fled. We need him to reenable it. Otherwise we won’t have the numbers to take on Neanthal.”
“That’s for sure,” Aros said. He nodded toward Loraya. “She won’t join our alliance.”
Rikki’s mouth dropped open. “I thought you wouldn’t want your boyfriend to face certain death alone.”
Loraya spoke up before Aros could object to the term “boyfriend.”
“I don’t think this one will be that easy to kill,” she said, tugging on his arm. “And we’ve got our own war going on here.”
“Unfortunate,” Rikki replied, her focus returning to Aros. “But I am here for you.”
“What did I do?” Aros asked.
“I need you to find Versil,” she said, “by asking Magenine where he is.”
The Goddess had been conspicuously silent since they’d reemerged from the Door. Had their connection been severed once he’d crossed into another plane? Or was She intentionally keeping quiet? Either way, Aros couldn’t figure why Rikki needed him to ask Her. A piece of Her rested inside all mages.
“You don’t need me for that,” Aros stated. “You might not hear Her words, but still She guides you. How else would you have shifted to a spot right in front of us?”
Rikki smiled at Aros. “I forget there’s a brain in there,” she said, pointing at his head.
Aros exaggerated how offended he was by the remark, pulling his hand from Loraya’s and crossing his arms.
“I don’t like to blindly shift,” Rikki explained. “And I’m not so desperate yet.”
Aros looked away from Rikki and dropped his arms back to his side. Of course he would try to help her, but he couldn’t guarantee a response from Magenine.
After clearing his throat, he closed his eyes and focused on the gray dirt in front of his feet. “Can you please tell me where Versil has gone, my Goddess?”
Rikki and Loraya stared at their friend intently, as if they might be able to see an apparition of the Goddess whisper in his ear.
“The mountains,” Her voice softly divulged.
Aros glanced at both of his companions.
“Well?” Rikki asked.
Aros’ eyes locked onto the Enduring Mountains, and he spat out what She had told him.
“That narrows it down to half a continent,” Loraya remarked.
“It’s helpful,” Rikki said, spinning around to gaze upon the darkened peaks. “Two of us would be able to cover more ground. Even three?” She faced Loraya.
Loraya placed a hand on her chest. “I can’t shift.”
Aros was compelled to aid his friend, but that would mean abandoning his present course. True, the monarchists would likely turn him away, but he’d have to actually speak with the steward to be sure. Unless Magenine told him which way to go. That was an answer he could use.
“I—”
Loraya took him into an embrace before he could say much else. Her lips touched his cheek and then she grabbed hold of both his hands. “Go with her and find Versil. I’ll speak to the monarchists on your behalf.”
Aros’ eyes nearly popped out of his skull. “What?”
“I’m here already,” she said, giving him a smile. “Might as well see if we can minimize the amount of killing.”
Had his words had an effect on her after all? “And if you can?”
“Maybe I can spare some time for your war.”
Aros couldn’t decide if he was more pleased with himself or his friend. Girlfriend? Did he need to seek clarification with her?
Or maybe he had to decide whether he was ready to call anyone that. Leidess had been his last girlfriend, and he didn’t like to think that he was somehow replacing her. If she was still alive, he would’ve still called her that, until they moved in together. Then they’d officially be wife and husband under Kytheran law.
That future was no longer viable, however. And another path with another woman was within his reach. He undoubtedly felt something strong for her; feelings that he thought would never return after his loss.
If the world was less complicated, he would’ve stayed with her after his first visit to Terrastream. But such a stay would’ve been temporary. Once they’d learned that Neanthal had again become king, he’d be back on his present course.
“If I die in there, I’m blaming you,” Loraya said as she let go of his hands.
“Please don’t!” Rikki exclaimed.
Loraya was startled by the reaction to her little joke. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”
Aros scratched the back of his head. “I didn’t take it well after Leidess was killed.”
“Oh,” Loraya murmured. She took out her arrows and started to count them. “You don’t have to worry, though. I’m not gonna be struck down by any of them.” She stuffed the shafts back in her quiver and headed off.
“Any idea where a Bellish leader might hide in those mountains?” Rikki called after her.
Loraya paused. “We never saw any sign of the Bellish when we hid in there. But then, we never went further than the BedCairns caverns.”
Aros already felt like whatever happened to Loraya in Valiant Keep would be because of him. He didn’t want
to abandon her as she headed into the monarchists’ stronghold. He wanted to stay by her side, as he was the one that was supposed to speak with the steward.
But as she headed further away, he decided he would only call out to her. “May Magenine’s light point you true!”
She waved a hand back in recognition and continued onward.
“How urgent is it that we find Versil?” Aros asked, still considering shifting to her side.
“It’s the difference between victory and defeat,” Rikki told him.
Aros nodded. “So into the mountains we go.”
“I’ll head northwest, you head southwest,” Rikki stated.
Aros’ eyes darted back-and-forth. “Which way is that, exactly?”
Rikki fumbled within her cloak for a minute. “I think I lost our map.”
“Right when it might be accurate again,” Aros replied.
“But I have this,” she said, showing off Hunner’s compass. Rikki pointed straight ahead. “West is that way.” After slightly rotating, she added, “And that’s north.”
“So that’s south,” Aros said, pointing in the other direction. “What do I do if I find him?”
“Uh…” Rikki clearly hadn’t thought the plan through. She twirled her staff in place as she considered how they could relay what they found.
“Meet back here? Or in Tunsev Manor?”
She shook her head and stared at Aros. Her eyes narrowed onto his necklace, and she asked him to hand it over.
Aros did as requested.
Rikki held the golden M to the channeling crystal on her staff. A golden light filled the crystal and then swam into the air, where it circled the necklace and then dove into it. The M stayed illuminated for only a second before returning to normal.
“There,” she said, holding it out for him. “I hope I did that right. If you hold it up above your head, a golden beam should shoot from it and light up the sky. Do it only if you find him.”
Aros slipped the necklace back on.
“And if I find him, I’ll send a green beam into the sky.”
“Got it,” Aros said. “And if neither of us find him?”
“Then, I’ll see you back at Tunsev Manor.” Rikki began to fade away.
Aros watched his friend leave and next sought to get a final glimpse of Loraya. But she was too far from him to make out her location. He considered shifting closer but didn’t want to let Rikki down. So he spun in place and shifted to the southwest side of the Enduring Mountains.
The moons and stars provided only a shadowy outline of her position. Though she was reluctant to light her channeling crystal, lest she catch the attention of stone spiders or other creatures that may call the Enduring Mountains home, Rikki did so anyway. She was not going to spot Versil in such low light.
Gravel. Jagged stone. There was no sign of life around her.
How exactly was she supposed to find Versil? Loraya was right. Narrowing it down to the Enduring Mountains still left them half a continent to search. It could take days or even decks. That was more time than they had.
There was no knowing when Neanthal might strike. He could show up at her position yet again. If he did the same to Aros or Doren, they might not survive. Ghumai did not have enough mages left to protect what mattered most. She not only wanted to be with her friends at all times, she needed to be.
Maybe Doren was safe with Empress Simma in Faunli. And maybe Aros was shifting often enough that Neanthal would never catch up. But she hadn’t even warned him of what might be coming.
Rikki shifted again to another empty spot within the mountains. Would calling out for Versil be foolish?
“Versil Talap!” she screamed, not expecting any response.
And there was none.
There was only one way to find him. It’s what she’d been trying to avoid. But perhaps the Goddess wanted her to. She hadn’t been more specific with Aros because there was only one way to proceed.
Rikki closed her eyes and focused on that piece within that did not strictly belong to her. She knew it was there, from moments when her emotions seemed beyond her control to when she knew something without actually knowing it. And she asked it, she asked Her, to bring her to Versil Talap.
And with her eyes still closed, she shifted.
Rikki could hear the Unending Seas before she tried to take a look at them. But the waters were unobservable at this hour. It was too dark, and the light from her staff did not carry out to them.
There were no beaches around her; only the final cliffs of the Enduring Mountains. And there was no sign of any other life.
It might have been the wrong place, but at least she hadn’t shifted into the rock.
Was she supposed to blindly shift again? Or was this simply a hint to where Versil was? He wasn’t within the mountains, but at the very edge of them.
A gentle whirring reached her ears before she could shift away. As she searched for its source, a luminous blast erupted from within the mountain.
Rikki conjured up a transparent barrier, which absorbed the light before shattering.
She recognized the attack. It was exactly the sort of beam that could shoot out from her Bellish armor.
Another white ray came at her, and she summoned a second barrier to take the hit.
“Versil Talap!” she screamed again.
That did not cease the firing. Instead, more beams came at her. She was somehow surrounded by them.
Rikki encased herself in a transparent dome as light after light struck it. The sheer illumination reminded her of fireworks, and as she patiently waited for the attacks to stop, she figured it might be time to add in her own.
The barrier around her became a dim green, and with a jolt of her staff, it expanded. The green bubble grew and grew, taking out not only the source of the Bellish weaponry but bits of the mountain as well.
When there was no more indication of the technologically-advanced assault, Rikki’s staff absorbed the dome and she was back standing in the open air.
“I suppose I should be glad it’s only you,” a familiar voice said.
Versil Talap was standing in a doorway that led into the mountain. He stood straighter than he did during their last encounter, but he was otherwise unchanged. Vibrant red eyes stood out more than an overgrown nose and chin; his hair a mix of green near his scalp and blue on its ends. The robes he wore were a sophisticated gray, with a swirling black trim that seemed to denote his importance even though he was completely alone.
Rikki could see past him, into a place that was within the mountains but was certainly no cave. He must’ve brought parts of Belliore with him.
“Are you going to invite me inside?” she asked.
Versil backed up and beckoned her in with his arm.
The artificial lights and silver walls of his new home were almost overwhelming. She was reminded of the office she’d just visited, except it was full of life, and the images she remembered being projected there had been set up here.
“I’ll need to enhance my defenses,” Versil said, grabbing a seat behind his desk.
Rikki studied the pictures around him and was able to make out several locations within each kingdom. “If you can see all that, surely you knew it was me out there.”
“I’m sorry, my dear. I cannot trust any mage now that Neanthal has returned.”
“You think I’d become a sin mage?” she asked, clearly insulted.
“Think? No. But the possibility exists, and I am not willing to take that chance.” He pointed to a picture that was displaying Castle Tornis. “I cannot see what goes on within. King Neanthal plots and I can only hope to avoid whatever emerges.”
Rikki glanced at her former home, more sickened of it now than she had been as a prisoner within. “I’m here because of him.”
Versil touched a finger to his chin. “I know why you’re here.” He reached out and touched another image on the wall. It expanded and shrunk the adjacent pictures.
She was lookin
g at the Directorate chamber, where she’d been only hours ago, though it felt like days. It might have even been yesterday, already.
“Can you hear what goes on in there?” she asked.
He nodded.
So then he really did know exactly why she’d come to see him. “So then you should know I’m not a sin mage! I’m here for your help!”
“Easy,” Versil said, returning the projected image to its normal size. “I also saw Neanthal pay you a visit outside my lab. I make no assumptions about what’s happened between then and now.”
Rikki’s growing rage abated even though she was still hurt that anyone could think she’d be corrupted by the Beast. “You could’ve offered me your peacekeepers before he even showed up.”
Versil snapped his fingers and two of the featureless automatons joined them in the room. “These are all I have to offer.”
“You know that’s not what I mean,” she said, scowling at the newly arrived guests.
“Didn’t we already make a deal, Ms. Nasem? No more experimentation on mages occurs in Belliore. I resigned my position because of what I did, not that the Directors are better off.”
“You need to reenable the master control,” Rikki stated. She could tell he was reluctant to offer help, and she needed to learn why if she was going to sway him.
“I will not get involved,” Versil said. “The peacekeepers will continue to protect Belliore as they were designed to do. They will not be an army for you and your friends.”
Rikki’s fingers tightened on her staff. “All of Ghumai needs protection. You’ve lived long enough to remember what Neanthal did during the Dark Reign.”
Versil leaned over his desk. “I lived because I was not there. The time came to fake my death and retreat into these very mountains. I left, and when I returned, I heard the stories of what had happened to my people. Do you know what would have happened had I been there?”
Rikki stared at him unblinking and refused to react to his question.
“Neither do I. Valal Sipter is immortal under typical conditions. But in the face of a demigod? A deity? My longevity is based on that of mages, and he had no issues taking them out. Whether I am an obstacle to be removed or a subject to be studied and replicated by him, he only gains by my presence. Everything turned out well enough last time. No reason to change the factors this time around.”