Corean Chronicles 3 - Scepters

by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

  Silver, blue, and maroon mixed in a swirl of chill slashes that shattered away from him in icy shards.

  The chamber in which he found himself was empty, and he stood in the oblong depression that had characterized all chambers that had once held an ifrit Table. For a moment, Alucius gripped his rifle even more tightly as he saw the ifrit figures standing on the stone floor around the Table depression. He relaxed slightly as he realized that they were statues, but statues such as he had never seen.

  The larger-than-life-sized figures were carved of white marble. All thirteen figures had hair painted black and wore clothing of the type that the Tarolt-ifrit had worn, brilliant green and deep purple. Likewise, the sculpted boots had been painted black. The facial features were similar to those of the ifrit on the frieze in Southgate or those depicted in the ancient wall paintings he had seen years before in the hidden room in Dereka.

  There were six figures on each of the longer sides of the chamber and a single figure at one end. The single figure was slightly larger than the others, close to three yards in height, and held a silver scepter topped with glittering blue stones arranged so that the top of the scepter resembled a blue flame. The facets of the gems reflected the illumination from ancient light-torches, more than a dozen.

  Alucius immediately used his Talent to scan the chamber, but he was the only living being within it, although he could sense others farther away. He stepped out of the Table depression and studied the chamber more carefully.

  The light-torches were different. In fact, no one bracket was the same as any other. Nor were the shapes of the lights. Likewise, the clothes on the statues, while superficially identical, varied in fabric and weave, and even in the more subtle shadings, so that every shade of green and purple varied slightly from every other.

  The same was true of the ifrit statues. All twelve of those along the sides of the chamber were roughly a head taller than Alucius when he stood beside them, but their heights varied slightly. Each statue had the left arm by its side, and the right raised as if in a stiff-armed and fingers-pointed salute to the taller figure at the end of the chamber, but none of the arms were quite at the exact same angle as any other. There was no way to tell if the differences were merely the attempt not to have identical statues or inaccurate copying.

  Another sweep of the chamber with eyes and Talent revealed nothing besides the statues and the light-torches, and Alucius moved toward the stone door on the side of the chamber. This door was open and had been slid back, revealing a stone-walled corridor.

  He could sense the green of Talent at the end of the stone passageway—but how far beyond he could not tell. There were also others in that chamber. But Talent? Could someone have brought Wendra?

  He frowned. The Talent was greenish, but did not feel exactly the same. Yet… if she had been drugged or restrained… If it were not Wendra… the Talent was certainly not purple-tinged, not in the fashion of an ifrit.

  After a moment, he took a deep breath and eased into the stone corridor that stretched a good ten yards toward what had to be a screen wall beyond the ending archway. The corridor held the odor of burned oil, and he looked up. The entire stone roof was covered in black, as if lamps and torches had traversed the passageway for years, if not centuries. The walls were bare stone, and the floor had been recently swept, although the center of the stone paving was lower than the edges, an indication that many feet had traveled the passage over the years.

  As he neared the end of the passage, lighter from illumination beyond, he could see that, as in Hyalt, the archway at the end had edges lined in maroon ceramic tile, but the tiles looked older and the color had faded. Alucius could hear voices beyond the stone screen wall that blocked his view of the chamber beyond.

  After a slight hesitation, he called up his illusion of nothingness, moving to the archway, but not beyond. He used his Talent to scan the space beyond the wall screen. As in Hyalt, there was a square platform five yards by five yards beyond the wall screen. Beyond the platform extended a large cavernlike amphitheater.

  Unlike Hyalt, there were people on the platform. A man sat in a throne-like chair upon the dais, and on each side of him were two guards, armed with shortswords and rifles. The figure in the chair was not an ifrit, nor ifrit-possessed, but, from what Alucius could sense, all five were garbed in a fashion similar to the garments on the ifrit statues.

  In the amphitheater itself were but a handful of people, or so it seemed.

  The figure in the chair on the dais wore a black mask across his eyes, a mask with no slits for eyes. Was he blind? Or was the mask to show his ability to act without eyes.

  "Silence!" commanded the blind man.

  Instantly, the guards froze.

  Sensing a faint Talent-probe, Alucius eased back into the stone passageway that led back toward the Table chamber.

  "There is an intruder! In the sacred passage! Kill him!"

  Alucius turned and ran for the Table chamber. He had to get out of the passageway before they started firing, because the bullets would likely ricochet everywhere, and if they fired quickly and often enough, one could easily hit him where he wore no nightsilk.

  He scrambled into the Table depression, standing in the middle, trying to ignore both the statues and his pursuers. Concentrating, he tried to call up the sense of the portal, even as the sound of boots pounding down the narrow stone passageway grew louder and as shots flew out of the passageway toward him. He began to drop into the greenish black mistiness that lay beneath the purpled black of the ifrit tube.

  A dull lancelike blow slammed into his shoulder, followed by a second and a third…

  As he sank into the misty blackness, his whole side and upper body were a mixture of chill and burning pain. What was he doing? He had to think. What was it? Where was he trying to go? Back to Dereka… but it was so far… and there were no green and gold portals of the soarers… and he was getting so cold… so very cold… he struggled… trying to orient himself in the darkness…

  Chapter 136

  The Hidden City, Corus

  « ^ »

  Wendra stepped back from the mirror-portal. Agony and chill flowed from the black crystal on her ringer. She looked at it, although she did not need to. Within the carrypack, Alendra whimpered, as if in pain.

  Wendra's eyes flicked to the soarer. "Alucius needs me. He needs me now!"

  You have not learned enough.

  "He's hurt and somewhere in a tube or a ley line. I can feel it. I'll help him back. You can teach me more then. Unblock your portals. Please."

  The soarer offered a fatalistic sense of a shrug. It is dangerous. If you fail, then all you know and love may be lost.

  "It doesn't matter! Without both of us, everything is lost." Wendra squared her shoulders. "Are you going to offer me some guidance?"

  You must use your thoughts to guide you, and to seek not the places marked with arrows, but those less obvious, those with hidden circles. He is near the circle that is… blue and maroon… as you would see it. The soarer seemed to blur. The portals are unblocked, but you must hasten.

  Without speaking, Wendra adjusted Alendra in the carrypack and stepped onto the mirrored surface. She began to drop into the misty black greenness.

  Behind her, the soarer sank to the floor, wings drooping, its gold and green iridescence fading away.

  Chapter 137

  « ^ »

  Alucius tried to concentrate … his thoughts questing for the hidden crimson gold portal, but all he could sense was the blue arrow and the dark green one, the two where the ifrits waited… and he knew… injured as he was, he would have little chance.

  Where was the crimson gold? He would have blinked if he could, but he sensed something, something green and gold… so distant… and seemingly receding from him. He struggled toward the green and gold, pressing, but he felt as though he made no progress, and all the time, greater and greater chill pressed in around him.

  Suddenly, a line of warmth tou
ched him… and a gentle pressure…

  Was it a soarer? Had the green and gold been a portal opening?

  He could sense a presence, urging him, pressing him, guiding him, even somehow lending him strength as he struggled toward the green and gold portal that no longer receded. Still, the journey seemed endless.

  Then… the green and gold shattered into silver shards…

  Alucius tottered on shaky legs. He could feel dampness running down the side of his face, and there was an iron coppery taste in his mouth. Around him was amber, but he could not see it. He could only feel it, yet everything was amber.

  "You're hurt," a voice said.

  He knew he should have recognized the voice, but before he could put a name to the speaker, his legs trembled and gave way. A golden redness swept across him, and everything began to spin, swirling around him, faster and faster.

  Deep darkness washed over him, a darkness filled with fire, and purpled visions, and ifrits who stood back and laughed, and ifrit palaces whose walls contracted upon him.

  Alucius woke. His eyes opened, and… he could see nothing. Nothing at all. There was no amber, no red, no green, just a solid black that revealed nothing. He shuddered. Where was he? What had happened? Why couldn't he see?

  "You'll be all right, dearest. Just try to relax."

  "Wendra?"

  "I'm here." A warm hand stroked his forehead.

  "How did you… ? Where are we?" The questions tumbled out of his mouth.

  "In the hidden city. Or one of them. The soarers took me… and Alendra. She's fine. Except she was upset when you got hurt the last time."

  "Where is she?"

  "She's here. She's finally sleeping," Wendra's voice was gentle.

  "I can't see. I can't see anything at all. Are you all right?"

  "I'm fine. We're both fine. You'll be all right before long. The soarers said that this sometimes happens when someone is… injured and travels the ley lines."

  Alucius lay silent for a moment. He wiggled his fingers, and could feel them move against his legs. His toes worked. "Can I sit up?"

  "You could," she replied. "You might get dizzy. You've had a concussion. Your head hit something, or something hit your head."

  "Stone… or bullets. Could be both." He took a slow breath. "I heard you had disappeared… I was looking everywhere." Alucius paused. "We're really in the hidden city?"

  "There are two of them. I've seen them both. We're in the one where you were. I think we're probably in the same chamber."

  "How did you get here?" He stopped. She'd told him. He was having trouble holding on to his thoughts. "Why did the soarers bring you here?" He found himself shivering.

  "To teach me more… to get your attention."

  "I kept trying to find you… once I heard. Korcler rode all the way from Iron Stem to tell me. I thought the ifrits had you. The ifrits… they're traders, or traitors, or the traders are ifrits…" The words seemed to tangle themselves in his mouth, but that could have been because his teeth were chattering and he was shivering violently.

  Wendra pulled a cover of some sort up over his chest and shoulders. "You still need to rest. Alendra and I are right here. You don't have to look for us anymore. We're all together."

  "… all together…" Those were the last words he heard before he slipped back into the darkness.

  Chapter 138

  Tempre, Lanachrona

  « ^ »

  As he sat in the chair across the low table from the love seat, the Lord-Protector lifted the wineglass and took a small sip. His eyes were directed at his consort, but not focused upon her, nor at the wall beyond her.

  "Talryn?"

  The Lord-Protector did not respond.

  "Talryn." Alerya's voice was a great deal more firm. "You have not heard a word I said. Not one."

  "Dear… you were talking about how strong young Talus has gotten, and how he managed to turn himself over in his crib."

  "You didn't look like you were listening. What is it?"

  "Oh… nothing…" Talryn shrugged.

  "It's not nothing. Not when you look through me and around me. I could be in Soupat or Southgate, and you wouldn't notice that I wasn't here."

  He shook his head, finally looking at Alerya with his eyes truly focused upon her. "I'm sorry. There are so many things…"

  "I know. Yet… who else can you tell?"

  "This one is trivial. It bothers me. I cannot say why. You know the Table chamber? How I had the remnants of the Table smashed and the chamber sealed?"

  "You told me about that." Alerya's words were cautious.

  "The servants and the guards claim that they have heard noises there. I had the door unsealed, and there was nothing there."

  "Mice or rats. What else could it be?"

  "I worry that it is not merely rodents or thieves, not that there is anything left inside. The overcaptain had said that the Tables were a way of transport. He said that the Tables were dangerous."

  "He was right, I'm certain. You were right to seal the chamber. What else can you do?"

  "I don't know." Talryn paused. "I had the chamber resealed—even more firmly."

  "Then, forget that one. You have too many other worries. You worry about everything."

  "In my seat, wouldn't you? Waleryn was plotting with Enyll, and Enyll knew how to use the Table. Waleryn vanished into Lustrea seasons ago, and I've heard absolutely nothing. No messages, no reports from scouts or spies. The Regent of the Matrial is massing forces against the garrisons in the south, and Alyniat is uncertain whether he can hold Fola—even without facing the spear-throwers—"

  "You didn't tell me that."

  "I got the report this afternoon." Talryn sighed.

  "Are you thinking about recalling the Northern Guard colonel?"

  "If I but could. Why is it that there is only one of him? And a northerner to boot. I could use a score of him. But he is but one, and I cannot recall him. That would cause yet more damage. Weslyn disbanded two companies and pocketed the payroll, and promoted a half score of incompetent captains to cover things up. Colonel Alucius and Majer Feran are trying to rebuild the Northern Guard, and if I pull him out, then I'll have no forces in the north, and the Regent can pull all her lancers out of northern Madrien and use them against Fola and Dimor. It's almost as if someone paid Weslyn to gut the Northern Guard."

  "Perhaps they did," suggested Alerya. "That would serve the Regent well."

  "It has indeed." Talryn took another sip from the goblet. "It has indeed. I can but hope that the colonel acts well and decisively, and that Alyniat can hold the south…"

  Chapter 139

  « ^ »

  When Alucius woke again, Wendra was by his side… and he could see—her golden eyes flecked with green, her brown hair that held a depth of gold, and her wide mouth and generous lips. He couldn't help smiling.

  "Are you feeling better? " She slipped onto the edge of the bed, easing the carrypack with Alendra slightly to the side.

  "I don't think I could have felt much worse." Alucius slowly eased himself into a sitting position, swinging his feet onto the amberstone floor. The left side of his head still ached, but it was a dull pain, not the stabbing agony he recalled feeling when he had staggered into the tower room. He slipped his right arm around Wendra, holding her gently, trying to avoid disturbing the sleeping Alendra. "She's good, isn't she?"

  "Mostly. Except when she's hungry." After a moment, Wendra asked, "How does your head feel?"

  "You were the one in the darkness, guiding me, weren't you?"

  "I tried. You were so heavy—I know it's not weight, but that was the way it felt. It felt like I could only urge you toward the soarer portals."

  "I could feel you. I wouldn't have made it without you," Alucius admitted.

  "The soarer didn't want me to go. She said I hadn't learned enough."

  "What have they taught you?"

  "How to travel the ley lines…"

  "Is that what they c
all the misty black lines under the purple black tubes of the ifrits?"

  "Yes. I stayed away from the tubes when I went after you. The soarer said they were dangerous."

  "I suppose they are," mused Alucius. "I knew that, but until the last few days, I didn't realize about the deeper ways." He looked directly at Wendra. "Why did they bring you here?"

  "I told you when you… they said you might not remember. They brought me here to keep me away from the ifrits, to teach me more, and to get your attention."

  "Get my attention?"

  "She said that you would not act in time against the ifrits. She's very upset. I can feel it." Wendra worried her lower Up. "She's acting like there's not much time left, almost like a crotchety aunt."

  In the carrypack, Alendra squirmed, then made a little sound.

  Alucius smiled, but only for a moment. "Why are the soarers worried?"

  "The ifrits are rebuilding the Tables. The barriers the old soarers erected have failed. The ifrits are trying to invade Corus once more. Their world is dying. They're close to having drained it of all its lifeforce, and they will come here and do the same."

  "If they aren't stopped," Alucius said.

  "If we don't stop them. The soarers no longer have the strength to hold them off."

  Alucius wanted to ask why he and Wendra had to, but there wasn't any point in asking the question. They were young and had lives in front of them, but they wouldn't be happy lives, not under the ifrits—if they had lives at all. But he did wonder why it had to fall on them, and the only answer was that there wasn't anyone else who had the ability to stop the ifrits—or that anyone else who had that ability hadn't been discovered by the soarers—and there wasn't even any assurance that he and Wendra could do what was necessary.

  "Is that why they closed off their portals?" he asked.

  "I think so." Her eyebrows lifted in inquiry. "You could sense that?"