The Infinity Gate

by Sara Douglass

  When finally she did, Ravenna spun around so precipitously she fell backward in an inelegant heap on the pile of tangled harness.

  “Such a fall from grace, Ravenna,” Eleanon said, “although I remember when first I met you that Ishbel had the better of you then, too. It comes as little surprise to me that you find yourself here now, a beggar among the remnants of Isembaard’s pride.”

  Ravenna stared at the beautiful birdman, hating him for what he’d said and for his beauty and because now Ravenna reflexively hated anything that lived.

  The entire world was hateful to her.

  “What do you out here,” she said. “I’d thought you inside, closeted tight with your lord and master.”

  Eleanon waved a hand airily. “You will have noticed the small altercation here yesterday, yes?”

  Ravenna gave a nod.

  Eleanon squatted down so he could stare Ravenna directly in the face. He radiated threat, and she shrank further into the tangled harness.

  “I no longer work Maximilian’s will, Ravenna, but mine only.” Now Eleanon’s hand moved directly in front of Ravenna’s face, and she flinched.

  But Eleanon did not touch her. Instead Ravenna found herself staring as if through a window at a blue-green glass pyramid, gleaming in a cloudless sky. As she watched, a beam of light shone from the golden capstone at the very summit of the pyramid, directly toward the sun. Higher and higher climbed this beam of light, until Ravenna gasped.

  The light struck the sun, and obliterated it.

  “Hark the power of Infinity,” Eleanon whispered, and he clicked his fingers, and the vision vanished. “That power is mine now.”

  “How so?”

  “The One shared Infinity with the Lealfast.”

  “For what price?”

  Eleanon laughed. “The price is of no matter now, for the One is gone, far, far away, and now I must do what I can for my people.”

  “Which is . . . ”

  “To destroy the Lord of Elcho Falling,” said Eleanon, “and to take Elcho Falling as our home.”

  “And the stars might fall from the skies and coat your foreheads in glory, too,” Ravenna said.

  Eleanon smiled coldly. “You are a stupid little woman, Ravenna. You thought to play at power, yet you had no head nor skill for it. I smell a curse about you. What is it? Tell me.”

  Now, finally, Eleanon touched Ravenna, his hands taking a strong grip of her head, and Ravenna felt power worm its way into her mind.

  Ravenna did not want to tell him, but the words tumbled from her mouth nonetheless, pulled by Eleanon’s power.

  “Ishbel cursed me. She has disinherited my son from his natural birthright, she has cut me from my power as a marsh witch by isolating me from the Land of Dream and she has cursed me to wander friendless and alone and to give birth in pain and agony with no one to aid me.”

  “Then Ishbel is a silly sad excuse for a witch as well,” Eleanon said, “for I would have done much, much worse. But tell me, how did she do this?”

  “Armat and I had murdered Maxel — at least we thought we had, but Ishbel must somehow have contrived to save him. Ishbel had Maximilian’s murdered blood in a magical goblet of power which I have never seen before. She used it to kill Lister —”

  Eleanon laughed in merriment at this snippet of information.

  “— and to turn Armat into a puppet, and to curse me.”

  “An interesting tale.” Eleanon paused, considering Ravenna. He did not know her well, but he understood that perhaps she could be very, very useful to him. She hated Ishbel and Maximilian . . . no doubt Elcho Falling as well. mayhap he could use that.

  Perhaps he could use Ravenna to do what was needed within Elcho Falling, rather than risk it himself.

  Yes. That would work well. Risk Ravenna, not himself.

  But then there was Ishbel’s curse, which made it difficult for Ravenna to stay within close range of any other living person . . . Eleanon wondered if the curse could be altered, even broken. If so, then Ravenna would prove very, very useful indeed.

  Eleanon’s hands suddenly tightened in their grip about Ravenna’s head. She struggled and cried out, but she could not free herself.

  “Stay still, you stupid woman,” Eleanon muttered. His grip tightened yet further, and Ravenna cried out, twisting under his hands. Suddenly Eleanon pulled his hands away.

  “I cannot undo her curse,” he said, “not entirely, but I think you will find your stay here a little easier for the next few days, at the least. Your urge to wander off will not be as strong. And do stay here, Ravenna. I think we shall need to speak again. I am, I believe, going to find you somewhat useful.”

  Then, quite suddenly, he was gone.

  High in the air, Eleanon punched into the sky in triumph.

  He had his entry into Elcho Falling!

  Chapter 16

  Elcho Falling

  Axis sat at the table, his breakfast sitting uneaten and cold before him, one hand rubbing at the side of his forehead, regarding Inardle.

  She looked worse than what he imagined he did. Axis had managed to snatch a few hours sleep last night.

  Inardle looked like she’d had none.

  Axis was not looking forward to this interview. If he were truthful with himself, all he wanted to do was to walk away from her and forget she’d ever existed. Forget everything that had been between them. Forget how he’d begun to feel about her.

  How he’d trusted her.

  StarDrifter had warned him about Inardle, but, no, Axis had refused to listen. He’d simply wanted her, and had shoved to one side all the problems associated with trying to bring a Lealfast into his bed and into the heart of the inner circle about Maximilian.

  He’d believed her before BroadWing and before his father. He’d humiliated BroadWing and his father because of her.

  And look what she had done to them.

  “What a traitorous bitch you truly are,” Axis said softly.

  It wasn’t how he’d meant to begin this conversation, but it was what he was feeling.

  “And what an unfeeling, unapproachable, arrogant son of a bitch you are,” she snapped back.

  He hadn’t expected that, attack instead of tearful defence, and his anger roared to the surface yet once more. He half stood, sending his plate of food flying, hoping to see her at least flinch, but she did not move, or otherwise react.

  For a moment Axis hovered in his half-standing, half-sitting posture, hating her that she had him at this disadvantage, then he completed standing in a smooth movement and wandered over to a side table, fiddling with a decanter of water, as if it might serve him some purpose.

  “There can be nothing to excuse the fact you did nothing to warn us,” he said.

  “Who would have listened? You? You know that I could never have approached you with this, and there was no one else.”

  “Ishbel? She would have listened.”

  Inardle dropped her eyes at that. “I did not think of her.”

  “Ha!” Axis walked back to the table and sat once again. “What the hell do you want, Inardle? Why are you still here? What further treachery do you plan?”

  “What do I here? Stars alone know! I don’t!” She took a deep breath. “I stayed because there is nowhere for me to go, Axis. Look . . . I am sorry for what I have done. I wish I never had deceived you, or BroadWing, or any other that I have hurt or —”

  “Murdered. Many hundred members of the Strike Force died in your brother’s attack. Almost two hundred other men from among the forces gathered within Elcho Falling also died. A single word from you could have prevented their deaths.”

  “I am sorry, Axis.”

  “Sorry? Sorry? What an abysmal word with which to attempt amends!”

  Inardle looked away, her face flushed, a muscle in her jaw twitching.

  “I now control Elcho Falling and all who shelter within its walls,” Axis said, his voice soft. “Your continued life or your death are now at my whim, Inardle
. It is my decision. What should it be?”

  “Whatever you want. I am too tired of this life, and of you, to care.”

  Axis wanted to scream, to pick up his chair and smash it against either the table or Inardle. His need to do something violent was so overwhelming that he had to close his eyes and clench both fists in order to fight it off.

  He didn’t want her to drive him to this.

  Oh stars, what was he supposed to do with her? He was so angry and so hurt and so damned cursed furious at himself for trusting her, for allowing himself to start to fall in love with her, that —

  “Let me stay, and help you now,” Inardle said. “Let me make amends, Axis.”

  “I thought you were too tired of life to want to continue breathing.”

  “Axis, let me make some tiny recompense by helping.”

  “How?”

  “By telling you now all I know about the Lealfast, about the power they command, about what they might do. There must be something I can tell you that will prove useful!”

  “And I should trust this?”

  Tears sprang into her eyes, and she flung an arm toward the window. “I could fly out there in an instant, Axis, and what would happen? My beloved brothers would murder me within a heartbeat! They no longer trust me, they no longer need me, and —”

  “Ah, so you are more interested in saving your own skin than in making any kind of recompense for the deaths you have caused.”

  “Well,” Inardle said, “surely that motivation at the least should make you more inclined to trust me.” She paused. “If that is what you prefer to believe, then so be it. Yes. My only chance of living is to remain within Elcho Falling, thus I am willing to aid you in return for the chance to stay here. Will that do?”

  Again she paused, taking a deep, shuddery breath. “Stars, Axis, I told you about the Dark Spire! I didn’t have to do that! If I had kept silent, how many weeks would it have taken you to discover it? It would have sat there, doing its malignant work for the One and you would never have known!”

  “Then tell me how to counter it.”

  “I can’t,” she said. “I am sorry, Axis, but I truly do not know how to counter it.”

  Axis took a deep breath. “Then I for one am sorry I ever saw your face.”

  Inardle’s eyes widened, then she slapped both hands down on the table and rose abruptly.

  “Oh, that is enough! I am sick of your melodrama! Ask yourself, if you dare, why you were stupid enough to trust the Lealfast in the first instance. It was your lust only that made you elevate me to your second-in-command, it was BroadWing’s lack of thought that saw him confess every Strike Force strategy to Eleanon and, overall, it was your overweening arrogance that made it impossible for me to come to you and betray my own kin! By the heavens, Axis, you might as well have opened your shirt, painted a red cross on your chest and followed Eleanon about, hoping he’d put an arrow into it and put you out of your misery! I have had enough of all the blame being heaped about my shoulders. Shoulder some of it yourself, if you dare.”

  The door opened behind them, but neither noticed.

  Axis was on his feet now, too. “I have no idea why you are still here, Inardle. I cannot think why you are not back with your kith and kin whom you were so loath to betray. There is nothing for you here.”

  “I remain only because I still — stupidly! — seem to believe more in Maximilian than I do in the One!”

  “You can contribute nothing. Get out. You are useless to me.”

  “You fool,” Inardle hissed. “I can hand you the Skraelings. You think they’re your enemy . . . but what if they can be turned into your allies? How would you like that then, Axis, eh? A new and pretty title to add to your vast collection. Axis, Lord of the Skraelings!”

  “ Get out! Get out before I —”

  “Leave, Inardle. I will speak with you later.” Georgdi had come up, unnoticed by either Axis or Inardle. He took Axis by the elbow and pulled him back a pace or two as Inardle glared a final moment at him, shot Georgdi a black look, then stalked from the room.

  “How dare you —” Axis began as he wrenched his elbow from Georgdi’s grip.

  “I dare very easily,” Georgdi said. “Don’t be a fool, Axis. All this condemnation of Inardle is driven almost entirely by your frustrated desire for her. She is guilty only of keeping her mouth shut when she might have spoken, and I can actually understand why she didn’t feel able to speak to you. She also spoke a great deal of truth just now, Axis. You’re a brilliant commander, but you are as flawed as any other man alive or dead. Get some distance, get some perspective and get some sense.

  “And while you’re in the get-some-sense mode, think about what Inardle just said. I’d like to hear more about ‘handing us the Skraelings’. Wouldn’t you?”

  With that, Georgdi stalked from the room, slamming the door behind him.

  Axis clenched his hands, taking several deep lungfuls of air, furious: at Inardle, at Georgdi, at himself, at the circumstances surrounding them all.

  He muttered an obscenity, pacing about the room, trying to calm himself down.

  Stars, what a mess.

  Axis?

  Axis spun about.

  There was no one else in the chamber, and that had not been an Icarii voice.

  Axis? It is I, Josia.

  Axis hoped Josia hadn’t witnessed that little scene. He walked to the window, opening it.

  About three paces away, suspended in the air, Axis saw the partial wall of what must be the Twisted Tower. In the centre of the wall was an open window, and a young dark-haired man sat in the window, one leg idly swinging over the windowsill.

  “Axis?” he said.

  “Josia. You have news?”

  “Are you well, Axis? You are flushed and appear —”

  “I am well, Josia. Do you have news?”

  Josia studied Axis briefly, then gave a small smile and nodded. “Maxel, Ishbel, Avaldamon and their two companions have arrived at DarkGlass Mountain. They are well enough for the moment.”

  “For the moment. Will you know if .”

  “If they succeed? If they fail? Yes, I will. And I will be sure to let you know as soon as I might.”

  Axis nodded, and as he did so Josia smiled, more widely this time, then he and the window faded from view, and Axis was left to stare at nothing but the view beyond Elcho Falling.

  Chapter 17

  Darkglass Mountain

  Maximilian and his company settled in a room that ran off the courtyard. It had been the grooms’ common room in happier times, and it was equipped with tables and chairs and even several daybeds.

  There was no food left, for the Skraelings had been through here and had eaten anything they could find, turning over the furniture and breaking doors from cupboards in the doing. They had also defecated throughout the room. Ishbel and Doyle had grimaced and taken upon themselves the task of cleaning away the foulness. By morning it was done, and the tumbled furniture rearranged. They did not expect to be here long, but while they were here they needed a base.

  Out of sight of the pyramid.

  They had been aware of it through the night. It had been a sense in every one of them, a subtle twisting of their nerves so that none of them could truly relax. The pyramid was probing, testing.

  It knew they were here.

  “Does DarkGlass Mountain exist only as an extension of the One?” Serge asked Avaldamon as they sat eating an abstemious breakfast.

  “No. Two thousand years ago, the pyramid seemed to have a power and purpose of its own. My son Boaz told me how it murdered at will. He said that he could feel its consciousness with him, following him everywhere. The One is Infinity, come to flesh within the pyramid. They are close, entwined even, but the pyramid has its own consciousness. It regrew itself, not through the agency, or at the behest, of any other power. It is greatly to be feared.”

  “Which is why we sit in this room,” said Maximilian. “It has no windows to the west
, so we are not in its direct line of sight. That affords us some protection.”

  “Then the pyramid will be difficult to destroy,” Doyle said. “How will Maxel manage it?”

  Avaldamon, Maximilian and Ishbel shared a look, then Avaldamon took a deep breath.

  “Maximilian will not be the one to destroy DarkGlass Mountain,” Avaldamon said.

  “I will have to do it,” Ishbel said.

  “My lady?” Serge said.

  “But . . . ” Doyle added, his face as aghast as that of his friend.

  “I have spoken of this briefly with Ishbel and Maximilian,” said Avaldamon, “but it is good we talk of it now and go into some detail. Ishbel is descended from the eldest child of Boaz, my son, and his wife Tirzah. When Boaz did battle with Threshold, as the pyramid was then known, and the entity which inhabited it — Nzame — Tirzah was present. She was also pregnant with their first child, the girl who would later found the line which culminated in Ishbel. Something happened during that battle. We know that both Tirzah and the child were touched by Threshold and we now know that something happened . . . some knowledge was passed to the child. A power . . . an understanding, if you will, of the very nature of the pyramid itself.”

  “Ishbel is also of the bloodline of Persimius,” said Maximilian. “Furthermore, she took many of the powers and abilities of the Lords of Elcho Falling during those few hours when I lay dead and she wore the ring of Persimius. Although I again breathe and wear the title of Lord of Elcho Falling, Ishbel retains much of the power. She is as much Elcho Falling’s lord as I.”

  “And,” Ishbel said, “I carry the abilities of the Coil within me. I was its Archpriestess and the best the Coil ever produced.”

  “Ishbel is the culmination of much accidental, as well as planned, contrivances,” Avaldamon said. “She carries many abilities.”

  “And,” Ishbel said, giving Maximilian an ironic smile, “while Avaldamon may not say this, none of us can risk Maximilian going into the pyramid. No one can risk losing him again.”