“So, you had to go south and serve the Magi?”
Dendril took yet another step back then. “I’m sure Endric explained—”
“Endric explained, but I would hear it from you. Endric came back and served his penance as oathbreaker.”
“I never broke my oaths. I made new ones that required modification of what I had previously committed to.”
Rebecca snorted. “That is a fancy way of admitting that you broke your oath.”
Dendril looked around, practically pleading for someone to step in and help him. Novan watched with an amused expression. Jakob sensed that Novan had suffered under Rebecca’s wrath before. None of the Magi seemed interested in stepping up and intervening.
“We understand the former Eldest Jostephon is here. We need to speak with him,” Jakob said, standing and drawing Rebecca’s attention to him. Dendril gave him a relieved smile. “I need to learn what he knows so that I can find Raime. Jostephon serves him, which means that he can likely help me find him.”
“We all want to find the High Priest,” Alriyn said. “We don’t want him to harm any more of us.”
“It’s more than about him harming the Magi,” Jakob said. “I think Raime has some way of controlling the groeliin. In his absence, there is danger to these groeliin we have not faced in years.”
“Nahrsin tells us that Raime directed them south,” Rebecca said.
“As far as I know, he did. But I think he has also somehow bred another kind of groeliin that is incredibly powerful and now roams freely.”
“We’ve seen no evidence of a powerful groeliin,” Rebecca said.
Dendril shot her a look. “We know there’s evidence of other types of groeliin. Just because the Antrilii haven’t seen them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
“I’ve seen them,” Jakob said. “There are twelve of them. Each incredibly powerful. They have, and can control, their own ahmaean. They direct another type of groeliin that fights with sword.”
“Such a groeliin does not exist,” Rebecca said.
“Perhaps it does.”
Jakob spun, recognizing the voice. Endric stood in the doorway, and his gaze drifted around the room quickly before settling on his father. He nodded to him briefly, and the older man nodded back, neither of them saying anything.
“Endric. I need to speak with Jostephon,” Jakob said.
The general grunted. “Unfortunately, that will not be possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because Jostephon escaped,” Endric said. “We believe that he has discovered a way to charge the teralin. It’s possible that he has always been able to. We thought him confined when he was in Vasha, but even there he managed to escape. We should have known better.”
“Teralin?” Dendril asked. “That was all you used?”
“There were merahl watching over him,” Rebecca said.
“He shouldn’t have been able to escape from the merahl,” Dendril said.
“He should not have. I suspect he somehow discovered a way to send them away. Jostephon is nothing if not intelligent,” Endric said.
“Intelligent, but arrogant,” Dendril said.
“I seem to recall you calling me arrogant,” Endric said.
“Because you were.”
“Where is Isandra?” Alriyn asked.
Jakob gave him a puzzled look. “Who’s Isandra?”
“Isandra is a Mage who traveled to Rondalin where she was captured by Raime and branded, losing her Mage abilities.”
“Which we healed,” Rebecca said.
“Healed? You stopped her from losing more of her abilities, but I would not say that she was healed,” Alriyn said.
“There is no complete healing from what happened to her,” Rebecca said.
“We have discovered a way—”
“You have discovered a way of doing the same as the Yahinv,” she said as she cut Alriyn off. She glanced at the university chancellor, as well, including her in her gaze. “They are the same. Either way, the branding would have left her weakened. There is no recovering from that.”
Jakob debated whether to tell what had happened to Salindra, then decided against it. That sort of healing was not for everyone and would require the daneamiin to participate. Now that they were in the Old Forest, separated from their home, he wasn’t even sure if it would be possible. Was that type of healing only possible within the Cala maah?
“Where is Isandra now?” Jakob asked.
Endric clenched his jaw. “When Jostephon broke free from his cell, he assaulted both Isandra and me. He has grown quite powerful with his connection to the Deshmahne abilities.”
“The Mage beat you?” Dendril asked.
Endric grunted. “The Mage threw me against the wall. He employed some mental power over Isandra, and she fell unconscious. When I came to, he was gone. Isandra had been taken to one of the Antrilii homes to recover. But that’s not all. We have just discovered that the captured groeliin is missing.”
Jakob frowned. “You had a captured groeliin here?”
“Isandra believed there was something different about the creature,” Endric said. “She thought to study it.”
He would like Isandra, he thought. Studying the groeliin was something he would have expected the Antrilii to have done before now, but from what he’d learned about them from Novan, they had not. Why had no one thought to pursue that? Not even the damahne or the Conclave thought to study them. To have a Mage express an interest was encouraging.
“The merahl will alert us if the creature attempts to enter the city,” Rebecca said.
“The merahl have headed into the mountains, which is the same place I intend to go,” Endric said.
“Why?” Jakob asked.
“Isandra searches for something. She wouldn’t have traveled into the mountains alone otherwise. Either she has decided to follow the groeliin she captured, or she’s on the trail of Jostephon, though that would be more difficult for her to follow. Jostephon has discovered how to shift.”
Dendril’s eyes widened slightly. “There is only one Deshmahne who knows of that trick.”
Jakob shook his head. “The powerful groeliin can shift. And if there were a Deshmahne that would be capable of discovering how to shift, it would be one who has Mage abilities.”
It was hard enough finding Raime, since he, too, could shift the same way that Jakob could. If Jostephon had the same ability, he would be equally difficult to find.
“I witnessed it myself,” Endric said. “He was within the cave, and then he was not. There is only one way he would have been able to do so.”
“What is this shifting?” Rebecca asked.
Alriyn and the other Magi all nodded.
“It’s the way that the gods once traveled,” Endric said, casting a sideways glance at Jakob. “We’ve known that Raime has been able to do so for some time. It would be the only way he could travel between places like Rondalin and Gom Aaldia as quickly as he did. I would not have expected him to have taught Jostephon, but as Jakob says, if one of the Deshmahne were able to do this, it would be one with Mage abilities.”
“We won’t be able to find him then,” Jakob said.
“That’s not entirely true,” Dendril suggested. “He had been captured?” He looked at Alriyn and then over to Endric. Both of them nodded. “If he managed to escape, he would want to travel someplace where he could regain his strength.”
“He was captured in the mountains here,” Alriyn said. “Would he have remained near the mountains?”
Endric frowned. “I don’t know why he would remain near the mountains. Doing so would only risk him getting captured again.”
“He was captured near the breeding grounds,” Rebecca said.
Could Jostephon be involved in what was happening with the groeliin?
It was possible that during Raime’s absence, Jostephon had stepped in and taken a larger role. If he had, finding Jostephon took on greater importance than he had realized.
He couldn’t confront the powerful groeliin, not alone, and not even with these Magi. Endric might be able to help, and Dendril for that matter, but first, he needed to learn what he could, and see if there was anything he could discover about what Jostephon—and Raime—knew of controlling the groeliin.
He turned to Endric. “What do you intend to do?”
“I intend to find Isandra. If she’s gone into the mountains on her own, I know how dangerous that can be.”
“How dangerous?” Jakob asked with a small smile.
“For a Mage?” Endric asked, glancing to Alriyn. “It would be quite dangerous. Most of the Magi would refuse to fight, and would not be willing to engage in the attack they would need to, but for Isandra… It would be less so.”
“Why less so for her?”
“Isandra has followed Roelle in learning more about what the Founders knew, and in learning about how to fight with a sword. From what I understand, she has regularly trained with Jassan, and has grown quite skilled.”
Jakob glanced at the Magi and noticed a frown creeping across Alriyn’s face. He could easily imagine how annoyed they were at having Isandra—one of their Elders—choosing to take up the sword. He suspected it had been bad enough when Roelle did, but now that it was someone on their Council? That would be even worse.
“Find her. See if she has discovered anything about Jostephon,” Jakob said.
Endric nodded. “What of you?”
Jakob shrugged. “I will search for Jostephon, too.”
“How?”
“I know where the groeliin are in the north. If he is there, I suspect I can track him down if I can separate his ahmaean from the groeliin’s.”
“If he’s not there?” Endric asked.
If he wasn’t, Jakob had what, in reality, was an easier option, which meant that he probably should attempt it first, but it seemed more likely that he’d find Jostephon in the north, rather than in the south lands. The Deshmahne had changed since Raime’s defeat, and with both Brohmin and Roelle with her Magi in the south, Jakob thought it less likely that Jostephon was there.
But going with the easier option, he could know immediately. After the nemerahl’s return to the fibers, Jakob had been gifted with an ability to see into the future and glimpse along the fibers more easily. He had resisted, but perhaps it was time for him to change that.
Jakob sighed. “The fibers will show me.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Isandra lost track of how long she’d been climbing. The sun dipped behind the mountains, leaving the sky streaked with color. A cold wind gusted out of the north, fluttering her cloak. She was unprepared for a long hike.
She still had not reached the merahl.
Every so often, she heard the steady cry coming from the merahl, and it spurred her forward. She didn’t think the merahl was injured. There was no sound of urgency or pain, merely a summons for her to follow.
What was the merahl following?
Could it have the trail of the groeliin?
The groeliin must have escaped, but how? There had been no sign of the body, and no sign of anyone else that would make her think that someone had broken it free, or even killed it and dragged it free.
And there was that strange fog that had emanated from the mouth of the cave.
She should have gone back for Jassan, but now, it was too late. If she could catch up to the merahl, she could ask it to send word to others and have Jassan come after her, but to do so, she had to reach the merahl first.
The howl was closer this time, telling her that she was nearing the merahl.
The path led upward, continuing to climb deeper into the mountains, the dense grasses that were more common on the lower slopes now changing over to intermittent shrubs. Higher up in the mountains, she knew stunted pine trees grew. A few snowcapped peaks were visible in the distance, though even when she had traveled with the Antrilii, she had not gone so far as to reach those mountains. She didn’t recall them when she had come through here before, either. Jassan had led her on a more direct route, taking the pass that prevented them from fighting through snow, and weather that she had not been dressed for.
The trail led around a pile of rocks, and she paused. She saw the merahl crouched nearby, looking down from the trail and into a valley far below.
Isandra settled down next to the merahl and rested her hand on his back, ruffling his fur. The merahl pushed his head against her hand and made a soft rumbling sound deep in his chest. It was one she recognized as a welcome, something that seemed almost satisfied.
“What is it?” she asked merahl.
She turned her attention toward the valley and the direction the merahl had been looking. Far below, she saw traces of the same fog she had seen near the cave mouth. It had a translucent quality to it, like a haze that hung over the ground, but it carried none of the darkness that she had seen from the groeliin fog.
Could this be the groeliin they’d captured?
She waited, watching for movement, and when she saw none, she started down the slope. The footing was more treacherous, and she had to descend carefully, searching for handholds and navigating the rocks on her hands and knees.
At one point, the distance was too great for her to easily climb down, and the merahl jumped down before her and waited.
Isandra took a moment before she realized that the merahl intended for her to use him for support as she continued to climb down.
When she finally managed to reach the valley floor, she remained hidden by the rocks, concealing her presence. The merahl crept up next to her, breathing more easily than Isandra managed after the descent, though she did much better this time than she had in the past. When she had first started out with the Antrilii on the hunt for the breeding grounds, she had still been weak. Hiking through the mountains as they searched had toughened and strengthened her. Now she was tired, but not as exhausted as she had been before.
The daylight was long gone. With her Magi eyesight, despite the faint traces of moonlight being all the night sky offered, she could see well but would be at a disadvantage if she were attacked.
She assumed the merahl had better eyesight in the darkness, though she wasn’t certain that was true. He continued to sniff the air, and his ears shifted, twitching from time to time as he focused his attention on their surroundings. The Magi might have excellent eyesight, but they did not have the same enhancement of their sense of smell. It had never been an issue for her, but now that the merahl seemed to detect something, she wondered what he might notice that she could not.
The haze that she had noted from up above was still present. Down here, it was even more prominent. What was it that she detected?
She needed to move closer to find out.
As she did, the merahl tried to block her. It was the same thing he had done back near the cave.
“I need to see what this is,” she said.
The merahl’s ears twitched, and he moved so that she could slip forward. Isandra made her way around the rock, and out into the open. There had to be something here, even though she saw nothing.
She crept forward, moving slowly.
The haze became denser as she went.
Isandra hadn’t determined what it was that she’d seen surround the groeliin during her previous encounters. It had much the same appearance as what she saw now, but that had been more of a dark fog.
She reached for the distant part of her mind. Could she reach her abilities?
She had tried it before when Alison had placed the teralin rod upon her flesh, and nothing had seemed any different for her. Isandra didn’t expect anything this time, either.
Surprisingly, there was a faint connection.
It didn’t come from within her, not as it once had. This came from around her.
Was it manehlin?
She felt as if she could touch it, and that if she were to focus, she could reach for it. Except, she wasn’t strong enough.
The dam
age that had been inflicted upon her made it impossible for her to reach for anything. Her head throbbed even thinking of it.
What had Alriyn said? He had mentioned pushing through the weakness.
Doing so would only tear her mind open, and the Magi had been warned over the years that doing such a thing could lead to damage, even insanity. A few who had tried had never been the same.
Did she dare attempt it?
Alriyn had survived, which made her think that she could survive.
More likely than not, nothing would even happen. She might push, and she might cause her mind to split, but she might still not be able to reach anything more than what she already could.
She tried anyway.
There was the faintest sense that she grabbed at the manehlin.
It was wispy, little more than a sense of reaching for the fog that she saw, but nothing came of it. Isandra pushed, and when she felt the beginning of pain throbbing behind her eyes, she attempted to grab at the manehlin again. This time, she was even more certain that it was manehlin she detected.
As she tried again, she heard the merahl whine softly.
Isandra stopped and looked over at him. “What is—”
Movement caught her attention and she cut off.
The merahl crouched, muscles tense, but he remained silent, simply standing where he was.
The lack of reaction from the merahl put her more at ease. Had it been groeliin, she would have expected him to have a greater reaction, and to race off and attack. Unless he didn’t want to leave her alone.
Could it be groeliin here?
She unsheathed her sword, holding it ready.
Isandra knew she to investigate, but something in her mind warned that she should not, that she should return to Farsea and summon Jassan. But if she did, she might lose out on the opportunity to investigate what she found here. It didn’t seem that whatever this was presented a serious threat. If it were a threat, the merahl would protect her.
She stepped into the midst of the now dense haze.
As she moved deeper into it, the merahl howled.
Isandra recognized that sound. She had heard it countless times when hunting with the merahl while searching for the breeding grounds.
The Last Conclave (The Lost Prophecy Book 6) Page 26