by L. S. Gibson
Suvran frowned. "Now should I tell you? Yes, perhaps I will." He glanced around at their audience. "Some of your friends need to understand the Eynan is not quite as special as they've been led to believe. As you've been led to believe, Jhond of Reeve."
Partly to test Suvran's claim and partly to show his friends that he was still fighting, Jhond created a fireball and sent it careering at Suvran. Jhond channeled his senses into watching precisely what Suvran did in his defense: quick as lightning, he brushed a finger over his ring, and Jhond was fascinated to see the way the gem in the center reacted. As Suvran touched the gem, it glowed faintly blue and Jhond's flame was doused by a sheet of water that crashed to the floor to run off across the stone slabs.
"Thank you for the demonstration." Suvran smiled and gave Jhond a small bow.
It had demonstrated to Jhond that at least one claim for the ring's power was true. The color blue represented the power of water. The odds were the other claims were accurate, too.
"Now I should demonstrate something to you," Suvran said. The web of energy surrounding Ninian surged with additional power and it seemed to shrink until it came in direct contact with his body. Ninian's back arched, his mouth gaped and his eyes widened. Suvran smiled, and Jhond realized he was broadcasting his feelings, so he forced his emotions back, locking them away behind a shield of indifference.
Suvran cocked his head, regarding Jhond intently. "I want the strands of time. I know you have them and by right they should be mine," he declared. "Give them to me, and I will let him live."
"The strands belong to the Eynan," Jhond said. "You have no rights to them." Jhond knew, of course, that Suvran wouldn't be able to use the strands now they were sealed to the Eynan, but perhaps it was better the mage didn't know that.
"I claim the right my power gives me! You don't care if he dies?" Suvran raised an eyebrow. "Very well." The net tightened further and it became difficult to see Ninian as the energy writhed over his form.
No way could Jhond surrender to this evil. Jhond let his anger and fear for Ninian flow over him and he gathered each iota of dark emotion into his center.
"Enough!" he roared and sent a powerful negative charge against the web imprisoning Ninian. The web surged and sparked with dancing green energy and then it exploded outward. "I deny your right!"
Gallia and Patinus had to duck to avoid being hit by the remnants, which now resembled shards of orange crystal.
Ninian tottered briefly before tumbling to the ground. Jhond wanted to go to his side, but knew better. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Patinus crawl to Ninian and pull the dazed mage back to where Gallia was still kneeling.
Suvran snarled in rage and this time he sent a ball of fire at Jhond, who responded with a hurricane wind, which blew the fire straight back at Suvran. He rolled to the floor to get out of the way. A couple of royal guards who had been standing too close to Suvran got caught in the firestorm and screamed as they were engulfed in flames; one of them running to try and escape the flames consuming him tripped over the broken stones and fell out of the damaged tower.
"You will never get your hands on the strands!"
Once again, Suvran's finger caressed the ring and he murmured some words Jhond couldn't quite hear. Jhond saw it flash gold momentarily and he tensed, knowing what gold was supposed to stand for. He glanced immediately at Ninian, only to hear Patinus say, "Gallia?"
Jhond snapped his head around to see Gallia taking halting steps toward Suvran. "Gallia!" Patinus was trying to pull her back to his side, but she resisted. Girau jumped up, dashed forward and stood between Gallia and Suvran, as if to block the magic. It had no effect as Gallia kept walking.
Jhond fired some of his energy at Suvran, but he blocked it and swept it aside, shouting, "One more and I'll swamp the gold with the red. You understand?"
Jhond nodded. He could have sent a more powerful charge against Suvran, but his friends were too close and he wouldn't risk them getting caught in the flashback that would result from such an attack.
Gallia tried to walk around Girau toward Suvran and Girau grabbed for her.
"No, Father!"
"I don't understand! Jhond? Do something," Girau demanded.
Jhond turned to his father, his gaze drawing in Patinus. "I'm sorry, I can't. I do know how the ring works. He's enchanted her with the gold in his ring; it controls the heart and mind of an opponent's loved one, drawing them to Suvran. If he makes the red color cover the gold, then fire will engulf Gallia."
Suvran laughed. "So, I'm not the only one to lie." His gaze swept around the room. "Look at him, the all-powerful Eynan helpless against me." He brought his gaze back to Jhond. "A man with a conscience has no real power because he always has a price. In some cases, more than one, since she is one of yours." He stepped closer to Jhond. "I can make her do anything I want. Do you need a demonstration?" Without even waiting for Jhond to respond, Suvran said, "Go, kill your husband."
Without the slightest hesitation, Gallia walked back toward Patinus and drove her sword straight at his heart. Patinus gasped and only just managed to knock the blow aside, though the sword did scrape his arm. Gallia moved in for another attempt.
"Gallia!" Patinus cried, but it was as if she never heard him.
Again, Patinus swept the attack aside, but Jhond was aware just how good Gallia was with a sword and, though Patinus might defend himself, he would never retaliate against the woman he loved. Jhond saw his father approaching and knew Girau could no more hurt Gallia than Patinus could; they both loved her. Suvran might not know that Girau was actually her father, but that wouldn't matter if he ordered her to attack Girau. If this continued, one of them could unintentionally hurt the other.
"Stop it, Suvran," Jhond demanded.
Suvran smiled, hearing capitulation in the demand. "Return to my side," Suvran said, and Gallia obeyed instantly. To Jhond he said, "I told you on that beach I would have the strands of time. I want them now."
"Ninian," Jhond said quietly, "you know what to do."
Ninian sighed. "You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Very well." To Suvran, Ninian said, "It will take me a little time to get to the ship and back."
"No," Suvran said. "I'm very aware you can appear at will where you wish." He regarded Jhond, to whom he said, "Something else we need to discuss." Returning his attention to Ninian, he added, "Be quick."
"I can't do that," Ninian replied. "Only the Eynan can travel by that method."
Suvran considered, looking from one to the other. "I don't trust either of you out of my sight." He looked at Girau. "You get them."
"I don't know where they are."
"I'm sure your son will tell you." He pointed to two imperial guards. "You two go with him."
Jhond went to Girau and told his father where to find the chest. As Girau turned away, Jhond whispered, "Trust me."
As Jhond walked back, Ninian turned to face him, and Jhond saw the question in his eyes. He'd guessed Jhond must have some plan, but there was no way to know what it might be, and Jhond hadn't thought of a way to let him know. He had to trust Ninian would understand and act when the time was right.
Suvran was smiling as Jhond approached. "If only the ancient peoples knew what a disappointment you turned out to be. They thought they were so clever when they created the spell that would raise the Eynan when he would be needed, but they hadn't even considered that not all the mages wanted so much power in the hands of just one man."
"And that's the reason your house created the Ring of Triert?" Jhond commented. "To redress the balance as they saw it?"
"Or was there really a simpler reason?" Ninian interjected. "That your family thought they were the ones who should wield such power and there was no way to control from which house the Eynan would come."
"And why should it not be a member of the House of Triert?" Suvran said. "My house is a noble one and one of the oldest. Why should we risk all the power of the magi falling to a lesser ho
use, one not so deserving?"
"You cannot say the House of Reeve is not deserving," Jhond retorted angrily. "I don't know how the magic works, why I was chosen for such a role, but the Reeve name has a long and honorable history."
"Oh yes, and it is merely a coincidence the last council major just happened to be a Reeve? Come, sir, at least be honest now when you've lost. It was planned that way and your family always knew one day a Reeve would be the Eynan."
"That's a lie!" Jhond declared. "My family had almost forgotten we had ever been mages."
"And I know that's not true," Ninian said. "The council major may have been a Reeve, but it was not a Reeve alone who created the incantations for such a powerful spell. The story has been passed down in my family for generations as we were the ones meant to seal the Eynan when he was found--"
"Old wives' tales," Suvran interrupted.
"Not so," Ninian insisted. "And besides, I found the written proof of it in the Reeve library. Three mages were involved in the spell, one was from the House of Morncest, one from Hartees and one from Reeve, though it was not the council major but his son."
"You can quote all the 'truths' you want to me," Suvran said, "but it matters not. What counts now is who really has the power, who controls the situation, and that is me. And when I have the strands of time, I will control the world more than that idiot Bardius ever dreamed of. He saw power in the strength of arms, but real power comes from the uncertainty, the fears of others." He smiled. "Once I have the strands, I can know everything, learn any secret I wish." He turned to Jhond again and Jhond suspected what was coming next. "And when you tell me the secret of your ability to travel at will, there'll be no way to hide from me. That is real power."
"Yes, it is, which is precisely why a monster such as you will never have it."
"You know, I'm rather glad you're still trying to fight me. It'll make my lesson that much more compelling, more meaningful, more of a punishment." Suvran's finger moved slowly toward the ring as he spoke, the threat evident.
"If you kill her, you'll have lost your dominion over me," Jhond said calmly.
Suvran shrugged. "She's not the only one who gives me dominion over you. Besides, I can hurt her without killing her. Fire isn't the only element I control."
"I know, but you also know that whatever you attempt, I will counteract."
"Hmm, but will you be in time?"
Without warning, a tornado sprang into being directly beside Gallia and she was caught up in its twisting motion as it moved swiftly in the direction of the damaged portion of the tower. Patinus screamed and ran toward his wife, but he was much too slow and the swirling wind took Gallia out into open space high above the rocks below. Abruptly, another tornado formed, more powerful than the first one, twisting in the opposing direction and effectively cancelling it out. Jhond's creation swept Gallia up into its center and deposited her back on the floor inside the tower near to Patinus, before disappearing as if it had never existed.
"I will always be in time," Jhond declared.
In retaliation, Suvran removed a small black stone from his pocket and tossed it into the air, mumbling an incantation as he did so. The small stone spun, and Jhond sent an energy bolt at it intending to destroy it, but instead it split into three shards and Jhond's energy missed it completely. Before Jhond could respond again, the shards shot away at high speed to spin around Ninian at a dizzying pace. Then, without warning, they transmuted into needle-sharp shards roughly six inches in length and darted in from three different angles. One was aimed at Ninian's heart, the second at his temple and the third for his throat.
Ninian was combating the shards; the one aimed at his throat had already been shattered. While Suvran's attention was momentarily on Ninian, Jhond stared steadily at Patinus until the prince took his attention from his wife long enough to meet Jhond's glare.
Laughing, Suvran turned to look at Gallia. "Now I wonder what I should do with you?"
Jhond assumed Suvran thought by attacking both of them at the same it would distract him, but though Jhond had faith in Ninian's ability to look after himself, the same couldn't be said for Gallia.
Jhond turned to Suvran just in time to be slammed back by an energy field, which surrounded him. The field contracted around Jhond, shafts of energy jabbing at him as it did so, and Jhond heard Suvran laughing again. Did Suvran think he could be conquered so easily? Ignoring the shafts that couldn't impact his body, Jhond walked through the energy field as if it were but mist.
"Did you think such simple tricks can harm me?"
Suvran shrugged. "Sometimes the simple ones work best."
There was a harsh shout from Ninian as the second shard shattered. Jhond knew the last one would be destroyed any second now.
The time had come.
Chapter 38
Jhond let go of his control and sent a barrage of spells at Suvran, energy bolts, fireballs, whipping winds, minor earthquakes, deluges of water. Almost instantaneously, he was joined by Ninian firing his own spells. Suvran was forced to defend himself from the dangerous spells on two fronts and he was never able to activate the Triert ring. Jhond saw the two occasions Suvran risked trying to use the ring, taking the chance of being overwhelmed by one of their attacks. Each time, Jhond intervened to stop him with a vicious energy bolt, the second time driving Suvran to his knees.
And that was the moment Patinus surged forward, sliding along the polished stone floor on his back, his sword arm raised. He yelled in fury as he swung his weapon and sliced through Suvran's left wrist.
Suvran screamed, falling to his knees as his hand bounced on the floor before rolling to fall inches from Patinus, who stared at it with a look of disgust.
Jhond gathered all his energy and fired it at Suvran in one all-powerful spell. Suvran was engulfed in surging green energy so potent sparks shot out in all directions and Patinus had to scuttle away to safety. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light followed by a swirling green mist. When the mist cleared, there was no sign of Suvran.
There was silence, and then it seemed everyone was talking at once. Jhond felt exhausted and exuberant all at once. Ninian must have guessed how Jhond felt because he gripped Jhond's shoulder and said softly, "Give yourself a little time."
Patinus staggered toward his wife, sighing audibly when he saw Gallia lift a hand to her temple. She swayed a little and Patinus quickly gathered her in his arms.
"I feel strange," Gallia murmured, "as if I've been dreaming."
"All is well now, my sweet," Patinus said.
Girau suddenly appeared in the doorway, the two imperial guards in tow. His expression was unhappy, but it cleared as he surveyed the throne room. "What's happened?"
Even as he spoke, Amired and Mathias grabbed hold of the confused Illurians and hassled them to one side, where the few remaining Illurians were grouped together under guard.
"Your son was remarkable," Patinus said. "Gallia is free. Jhond was able to defeat Suvran."
Girau looked from one to the other, clearly confused. "However it happened, I'm just so glad you triumphed, Jhond, because I couldn't find the chest where you said the strands of time were hidden. I'm sorry."
"No, it is I who should apologize. I sent you on a false errand. I needed Suvran to believe you were going for the strands and I also wanted one less hostage for him to use against us. I keep the chest on my person at all times."
Girau's eyes widened and then his expression cleared. "Of course, you can shrink it with that artifact."
Girau looked around for Suvran, frowning when he couldn't find him.
"He's gone, Girau," Ninian said. "Jhond destroyed him."
Girau didn't respond right away, but he looked confused. "Destroyed?" he whispered, staring at his son.
Gallia stepped forward. "Yes. As if the monster had never even existed."
Suddenly, Girau's voice drowned everyone else out as he called, "Who is the senior soldier here?"
A Timendran soldier st
epped forward. "That would be me, My Lord. Sergeant Beckla."
"Very well, Sergeant. Get the casualties treated for their injuries. Make sure the prisoners are secure and take them to Colonel Culier. Tell him I'm placing them in his care."
"But, sir, what about your own injuries and security?"
"Never mind us. We have other matters to deal with."
"What shall I tell the colonel about the emperor?" Beckla asked.
"Nothing." Girau raised his voice, "And that goes for all of you. I will inform the colonel what took place here when I'm ready."
"Sir!" The sergeant set about following orders, but after a few moments, there was a scuffle accompanied by raised voices.
"Don't argue! Do as you're told," the sergeant said.
"No! Please? Please, let me speak to Prince Patinus!" a woman cried.
Patinus swung around toward the commotion, looking surprised. "It can't be," he whispered. He raced across the room. "What..." he began, halting when his gaze fell on the woman struggling with the sergeant. "Lords! Ilada?"
The sergeant released her and, as if understanding for the first time how scantily she was dressed, Ilada tried to pull her flimsy clothing more securely about her. The sergeant looked from one to the other and obviously realizing the situation was beyond his understanding turned his attention back to his duty, just as Girau spoke.
"Captain Amired, could you order your men below, too, please?"
"Of course. Mathias, arrange that, if you would," Amired ordered, and Matthias hurried to obey.
"I'm sorry," Ilada whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I know I don't deserve it, but please, please forgive me. Take me home. I swear I'll go into seclusion, but--"
"Stop, please!" Patinus begged. "You don't have to... It was never your fault. You were my responsibility and I failed you, in the worse possible way. It is for you to forgive me."