This last question excited him the most, though he could find no more reference to someone using the Chi’utlan as a gateway to some other Plane of existence than he could of someone being crushed out of existence. He knew of the Quay’ka’gana, of course. Or, as it was more commonly known, the Sending Stone. One sat near the center of the city. A round dais surrounded by stairs made completely from Ratave. Six fingers, made from the same black Ratave as the dais, rose from the platform to hold aloft a massive red Crystal perched at their apex. Like fingers holding the stone for all to see. Runes covered the pillars, much like those in the hall leading to the Chi’utlan. He even uncovered references about the Quay’ka’gana—amazing testaments of people coming and going by simply standing under the red stone. Yet, as far as he knew, none in living memory had used the device. None, even in this Cycle. He could find no record of how to activate it, either. He feared that knowledge, along with so much of how the Essence worked, was lost forever in time.
As always, time is the true enemy. Even for our long-lived race.
“I said, would you like some more raz?” His mate’s voice cut through his thoughts.
Turning, Delmith stared into the deep black eyes of Melisian, concern filling them to the brim. “I am sorry, my one. What did you say?”
Melisian pulled her lips tight and entered his study. It was a small room off the main hall that led to their sleeping chambers. A desk, two bookshelves, and two chairs filled the room, leaving little space to walk. Still, it was all Delmith needed. She turned the vacant chair to face him and sat. “Delmith, my one. I am concerned. You have been home more these past few tendays than most of the last two winters. Yet, it is as if you are not here at all.”
Reaching out, he placed a hand upon hers. “You are correct, as always, my one.” He gave a heavy sigh. “We do need to speak. And forgive me for not informing you of this before now.” This was not how he had envisioned this conversation happening. Still, he could not let his mate continue on, oblivious to what may happen. He owed her more than that. Though he still did not wish to give voice to his concerns over his Prince, he was convinced the Blue was without a doubt insane.
Mayhaps it has to do with him being the third child born, something that is not normally done. Or mayhaps it is him being a twin, another rarity. Though, his sister Sarshia appears fine.
A slight shift of his mate’s leg brought his mind back to his task. She appeared calm, though after thirty turns of the seasons with her, he knew better. A layer of unease rested just below her composure.
“My studies with our Prince have been most gratifying. I have learned much about histories that have been forgotten.” He paused. He was stalling, and he knew Melisian could tell by the way her thin dark lips bent down at their edges. “Yet, my research has taken me into forbidden areas.”
Melisian cocked her tear-dropped shaped head to the side. “I do not understand. What research is forbidden to us?”
Trying to swallow, Delmith found his throat suddenly dry. “We found a Chi’utlan beneath the Chandril’elian—a pool of pure, Liquid Essence where this Plane connects to another. This is what I have studied these last few turns of the seasons.”
The tinkling sound of her laughter filled the room and Delmith smiled in spite of himself. “A Chi’utlan is an interesting find. And I now understand why you have kept it a secret, even from me. Still, I do not see why this should cause you such turmoil, Delmith.”
Her words forced the smile from his face and pain lanced his heart. Why had he agreed to those damnable tests? How could he not have seen that using Humans was not only wrong, it stained the very fabric of the Elmorr’Antien people, as his Princess pointed out to him?
With his mind in chaos, he did not notice that Melisian had stopped laughing. She reached out and placed a hand against his cheek. “There is more, is there not?”
Not trusting his voice, Delmith nodded.
“Well…” She stood. “…I think I will get the raz. You collect your thoughts and when I return, you can tell me.” With that, she turned and left.
Rotating to his desk, he closed the book that had lain open and forgotten for much of the morn. Standing, he returned the book to its shelf. What was he to do? Now that the time had come, he did not feel he could admit his crimes to his mate. He had always let the prospect of learning, of gaining unknown or forgotten knowledge cloud his judgment. This had led him down a path that could very easily end with his death.
A clatter of porcelain on silver came from the hall. Turning, he reached out and took the tray from his mate. He set the tray down and poured two small cups of ice-cold raz. Handing one to Melisian, he joined her in sitting. Both remained silent as they enjoyed the drink.
Finally, their cups empty, Melisian reached out and placed a hand on Delmith’s thin knee. “My one. Please, tell me what part of your research is troubling you so.”
Nodding his head, Delmith knew he could put this off no longer. “My one. Please do not think less of me when you learn the truth. In the beginning, everything was so harmless. It escalated out of control, and before I could turn from what was happening, it was too late.” He took a deep breath and set his cup down on the desk.
“As you know, the Chi’utlan is what is used to create the Mah’Sukai.”
“Yes. Every youngling knows of how they rise to power and ravage the entire Plane in war each cycle. Still, this will not happen in our lifetime. The War of Power for this Cycle should not begin for several more millennia.” His mate paused. “Our Prince did not try and use the Chi’utlan on you, did he?” Fear tinged her words.
“No. Not me.” Reaching out, Delmith took her hand in his. “At first, our Prince enlisted me to decipher the runes that lay in a hallway adjacent to the chamber that houses the Chi’utlan. As time progressed, and I could not provide him with answers fast enough to please him, our Prince took it upon himself to move the research forward.
“Without my knowledge, he ordered his Gralet’nars to bring one of the Human Initiates down to the chamber.”
As he spoke, Melisian’s eyes widened. “Prince Aritian created a Human Mah’Sukai?” Fear no longer tinged her words; it filled them to the brim.
“I wish I could say no for certain. Yet, I can say that the first Initiate, a young boy from Silaway named Tilly, is not a Mah’Sukai. In fact, after he came out of the Chi’utlan, he was no different than when he went in.”
“Wait.” Melisian’s interruption was so abrupt that Delmith jumped. “Tilly. The black skinned Human that attacked our Prince?” The news that a Human had attacked a Blue—a child of the Royal House no less!—had been on the mouths of every Elmorr’Antien for moons.
“Yes, only…” Delmith licked his lips. “He did not attack Prince Aritian. That was a lie told to cover up the truth.”
Melisian shook her head, shifting her long white hair around her shoulders. “I do not understand. He was seen by many. He attacked Prince Aritian in the Great Square and only the diligence of the Gralet’nars protecting our Prince stopped him.”
Delmith’s shame overtook him and he stared at the floor. “That is what everyone was supposed to see. The entire ordeal was false, however. The Gralet’nars shoved the boy in front of our Prince with a blade in his hand, then killed him before he could react.”
A gasp escaped his mate, and Delmith glanced at her. She had covered her mouth with her hand and was pushing away from him. “You could not have done this, Delmith! Tell me you had no part in this.”
Delmith’s heart broke at her words. “No, my one. I did not learn of this deed until later.” His mate relaxed a bit, though she did not remove her hand from her mouth. “Still, in remaining silent, I am just as guilty as if I had been the one to implement the entire scheme.” Bowing his head once more, he mumbled out the rest of his confession. “And I have done worse since.”
Without looking back at his m
ate, Delmith continued. “On three more instances over the past two turns of the seasons, I have been present when our Prince has taken a Human Initiate to the Chi’utlan.” In his turmoil, he let the words roll from his numb tongue. “The next was a girl named Srist. She was a lovely, blonde-haired thing. Our Prince told me to bring her blindfolded. She would enter the Chi’utlan, then once the test was complete, be sent home. It was almost her time anyway, so I thought nothing of it. Nothing had happened to the first boy. So long as she never saw what she should not, I thought things would be all right.” A wrack of pain gripped him and he shivered. “She was not the same when she came out of the Chi’utlan, however.” Trying to purge the memory of her vacant eyes, he took in a shuddered breath to regain control of himself. “Her eyes still haunt my dreams…they were as lifeless as a corpse’s.” Despite trying to hold his composure, he sobbed. “Her mind was…gone. Destroyed. And I had led her there by my own hand.”
“What happened to her?” Sympathy replaced the fear in his mate’s voice.
Looking up, Delmith blinked his outer eyelids to clear his vision. Though his race shed no tears as the Humans did, their eyes did mist over when they were wracked by immense sadness. “Prince Aritian had the girl sent home with a story of how she had broken during her final days of training. I have heard no word of her since, so I do not know of her ultimate fate.”
Falling forward, he rested his forehead upon Melisian’s chest. “Please, my one. Please, forgive me for what I have done.” Delmith lost himself in his sorrow and sobs shook his small frame.
With a gentle hand, his mate stroked his long white hair and uttered shushing sounds. It was the most intimate they had been since their joining, and it felt both strange and comforting. He had often admired how free Humans were with their emotions. How much they enjoyed the touch of one another. Pressed against Melisian’s chest, he thought he understood now.
“There were others, yes?” Her words came strong, yet not unkind.
Nodding his head, he did not remove it from where it lay. To his delight, his mate did not stop stroking his hair. “Yes. Two others. One, Quiln, met with the same fate as Srist. He too was sent home with the excuse he had broken. The latest was the Human boy, Alant. He…” His voice failed him. How could he tell her of the horrors he had witnessed? The horrors that had occurred in part by his participation!
Pushing him up, Melisian stared into his eyes. “Expired?”
He could not give the true event voice, so he simply nodded. “Even with all the tragedy that has taken place, our Prince still insists on continuing with his experiments.”
“Why? What is his ultimate goal?”
“He has aspirations of becoming the first Elmorr’Antien to hold the power of a Mah’Sukai.” Raising a hand to forestall her, he continued in a rush. “Although, I am no longer certain this is possible. I fear the reason there is no mention of one of our race stepping into a Chi’utlan is that none who have done so survived. The writings are old and in a language even the eldest of our race has forgotten. Still, I think they are a warning.”
Melisian smiled. “There is your answer, then. Give this information to our Prince. He cannot hope to continue if it means he will die in the attempt.”
Delmith returned her smile with a weak one of his own. “Alas, I cannot tell him what I have learned.” When she gave him a puzzled look, he paused. His next words were the ones he dreaded more than her learning he was a murderer. “Princess Sarshia forbade me to tell Prince Aritian what I have learned.”
All at once, Melisian’s posture shifted. Over the turns of the seasons, her unease about his past relationship with the Blue Princess had waned. Still, he knew it had not fled her completely. “You confided in her about this before you spoke to me?”
Suddenly, he realized how she took what he had said and his thoughts started to fumble. “No, my one. I…I mean yes. I did speak to her before you. Yet, it is not what you assume. She already knew and she summoned me. I am not sure how she learned of her twin’s actions so soon after her arrival back to the isle. Still, she knew. Or, at least, she had enough information to realize he was working on something our King would not approve of.” His words seemed to appease her somewhat and her posture relaxed. “In my discussion with her, she said she was my only hope of escaping this situation alive.”
Melisian scoffed. “You cannot possibly think that your participation in this could lead to your death, can you?” When he did not answer, her body tensed. “How can you think such a thing?”
Shifting his feet, he decided to tell her everything, no matter how ugly the truth. “I am of the opinion that—and believe me when I say, I do not take this lightly—Prince Aritian is insane.”
To him, this was the most horrendous thing for one of his kind to utter. To voice such an accusation against the royal family…Yet, Melisian’s response struck him like a slap to the face. “He would have to be, to do such a thing.” Her words sounded matter-of-fact, as if the conclusion was obvious.
“Yes…It seems he would, at that.” He did not think he would ever understand females, and wondered briefly if Humans experienced the same troubles with their women.
Probably not.
Rising from her chair, Melisian gathered the cups and set them back on their tray. “What has our Princess told you she would do?” She turned and headed out of the study.
He really did not know. Other than the once in her apartments, the two had not spoken directly. Delmith had been forced to meet with her handmaiden to pass on his Prince’s plans and the information about the three Human Shapers sequestered somewhere in the city.
Oh, how I hope she has found those men. If they are found and released, that would forestall my Prince. If only for a short while.
Delmith rose and followed his mate. “She knows that on the morrow, I am to attend Prince Aritian to the Chi’utlan for another test.”
“How many more Human Initiates are there at the Chandril’elian that he can use?” She spoke over her shoulder on her way to the kitchen with Delmith shuffling along behind.
“He will not be using any more of my students. He has…procured some Human Shapers for his tests.” When Melisian glanced over her shoulder, Delmith waved her on down the hall. “I do not know anything about these men. He only told me they are presumed dead by their kind.” He grunted and shook his head. “Not that it makes any difference. Their deaths will still stain me if I allow it to happen.” He lowered his voice to a mumble. “Not that I can think of any way to stop it.”
When the knock at the front door echoed through their house, Melisian spun so fast that one of the tiny raz cups fell from the tray she carried. The thin porcelain hit the white stone floor and shattered. Frowning down at the mess, Melisian sighed. “That has been in my family for generations.”
After a quick glance at the front door, Delmith looked back to his mate. “Gather all the pieces. I know someone who is very gifted in mending porcelain. I will take it to him when I can.”
Melisian paused. “You look worried, my one. Who is it you think is at the door?”
Delmith was not certain until the knock came again, this time with more force. “It is Prince Aritian.” She paled, and he placed a hand on her shoulder for comfort. “He is not expected until the morrow. Hopefully, he will only be a moment.”
Turning, he hurried to the door. “I am coming!”
Once he reached the door, he pulled it open, bracing himself for what he knew awaited him. He jumped at the unexpected sight of a huge Gralet’nar filling his doorway.
“Delmith, Delmith, Delmith. You are as jumpy as a contilian bird.” Chuckling softly, Prince Aritian stepped from behind the Warrior Servant and brushed past Delmith.
Following Aritian into his own dwelling, Delmith bowed his head to the side. “My Prince. I was not expecting you until the morrow.” His stomach twisted into a knot.
&nb
sp; “Yes. It seems we need to push our timetable forward by a day. My sister’s inquiries have become more forceful than I had anticipated.” Aritian paused and gave Delmith an odd look. “Almost as if she has had assistance in finding out my plans.”
“My Prince.” Melisian glided into the entry hall and tilted her head in greeting. Delmith was grateful for her timely interruption. “Your presence honors our home. Please…” She gestured to the sitting room beyond. “…seat yourself, and I will serve you something refreshing.”
The Prince raised a negating hand. “That will be quite all right, Melisian. It is good to see you again after so long. Unfortunately, I do not have the time.” He turned back to Delmith. “I only stopped by to inform your mate that his services are required this eve.”
Delmith paled. “My Prince. I was under the impression we were meeting on the morrow.”
Aritian’s expression turned sour and his jaw clenched tight. “As I said. I have decided to move our plans forward to this eve. The last party celebrating my sister’s return is this night. Everyone will be in attendance. I want to ensure our…” He glanced at Melisian before continuing. “…test is uninterrupted.”
Turning his hard gaze back to Delmith, he sneered. “As I said. I fear someone is talking too freely about our private work. Do not tell the rest of our little circle of this meeting. Most should be at this night’s party, anyway.”
Delmith’s mind raced. How could he get word to his Princess without raising more suspicion?
At least is seems that my Prince suspects someone else from his confidants other than me.
Still, this did not ease his worries. He could not watch another living being, even one as minor as a Human, come to harm by his inaction. He had to stall his Prince. Postpone this test until Princess Sarshia found those men. Then he would not have to endure their deaths upon his conscious. Yet how?
Looking to his mate, an idea struck. “My mate and I were invited to this eve’s festivities, my Prince. The note arrived just this morn. Will it not raise suspicion if we do not attend?” Melisian cut her eyes his way and he held his breath. She did not voice anything over his lie, however. Instead, she gave him a smile that made him feel as though she was proud of him.
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