‘I have had worrying dreams these past few nights, Samuel,’ she said. ‘I have been counselled by my highest seers and astrologers, but their advice is worthless.’ As if to illustrate, she gestured to them, splayed out on the floor. ‘The Star of Osirah shines brighter, but it cannot burn the worries from my heart. I want to know if you, my darling, my most trusted magician, can help ease my burden?’
Samuel cleared his throat. ‘Tell me what is bothering you and I shall endeavour not to disappoint you.’
‘My dreams are troubled. I see days past and events long gone. I see loved ones and lost ones and people that I know well, yet whom I have never met in this life. I am generations old but, in truth, my own childhood was told to me by our scholars, for it was so long ago that I cannot remember it. I always attributed such longevity to my beloved ring, but now I have witnessed these dreams, I am not so convinced.’ She ceased her stalking up and down and turned to face him directly. ‘Do you believe that I could have had other lives? I have never heard of such things, but these dreams are torturing me. They are so vivid, so real. They are more memories than dreams but, for this to be so, I would have to have lived another life that I have since forgotten; indeed, many lives for, in each, I am a different person, in a different place, in a different body.’
Samuel immediately thought of the Emperor. Before learning of his transfer into the body of Sir Ferse, he would never have thought such a thing was possible. The Paatin Queen’s words seemed eerily familiar.
‘I do not know what to say,’ he told her. ‘Perhaps they are merely dreams?’
‘They are not!’ she roared and one of the muscled men who lined her room actually bolted from his position in fear and fled through the door. Luckily for him, she failed to notice and continued stalking her dais. Magic had begun to boil from her finger and it surrounded her like a tumultuous liquid, curling and twisting around her. ‘I know dreams from truth, Magician. Don’t taunt me with such stupidity. I don’t know what it can mean. You are useless. Leave me be! Go, before I do something I may regret!’ she commanded and Samuel backed away from her as quickly as he dared. She continued muttering to herself as he left the room and he felt her magic lash out in furious, sporadic bursts. It did not bode well.
Another week passed and Samuel grew anxious about the uncustomary behaviour of the Queen. The Emperor had also begun acting strangely, looking distant and thoughtful at times, and losing his temper and having tantrums at Samuel, demanding he hurry up and find his ring.
The Koian woman was also behaving strangely, for she had surrounded her bed with all the furniture and blankets from her room, stringing and piling the sheets to form a makeshift shanty that she inhabited all day. Shara brought food and water to the woman, but she rarely ventured out, and ran back behind cover if Samuel or Canyon attempted to speak with her. She had covered her face with the make-up that had been provided to her, but in a hideous fashion, scribbled and smudged all about. When they beckoned to her, she only croaked at them from her hole and told them ‘Begone’.
Samuel ignored such behaviour and left the woman to her strange habits. He then had to resort to Canyon for the occasional civil conversation. The man was polite, but aloof, and so Samuel was left with nothing to do but venture beneath the mountain at every opportunity.
He had been hoping for Lomar to appear and miraculously save the day, but more wizards had been attracted to the palace by the Queen’s erratic behaviour and that made the prospect seem even more remote.
It was only as he was tiptoeing about beneath Mount Karthma, far down in the deeper reaches, that Samuel finally had a change of luck. Peering into a row of neat cells, he found that light was pouring from beneath the door of one and he was delighted when he sensed the familiar presence of Eric on the other side.
‘Eric!’ he hissed. ‘Is that you?’
‘Samuel!’ came the excited reply. ‘What took you so long? Let me out of here!’
‘I can’t. Not yet. There’s nowhere for you to hide and I can’t risk alerting the guards until I have found Balten.’
‘Then at least open the door for a moment. I can’t stand it in here.’
Samuel pulled back the heavy bolt that had been pushed into place, and it groaned as he eased it out of its rusty slot.
‘Thank goodness!’ Eric said and stepped out, stretching his arms wide as if to relieve his cramped muscles. ‘I thought I was going to be left in there forever.’
‘What of your wounds?’
‘Much better. The healers have been coming every day. They cannot use their spells down here, so they cover me in their vile ointments and make me drink some wretched concoctions. I must admit though, they do seem to work quite well.’
Samuel peered into Eric’s cell. There was a small bed, a bucket of clean water and a bucket for waste. It looked as though Eric had spent a lot of time on his cot, for it was littered with papers and notes.
‘At least you’ve kept yourself occupied.’
‘If it can be called that. I’ll go mad if I’m in here much longer. I need to get out and feel some magic! How much longer will you be?’
‘I don’t know. Not long, I hope. A few more days. This passage marks the end of the southern portion of the catacombs. I only have the eastern section remaining and I am hoping to find Balten somewhere there.’
‘Well, I hope so. What news from above?’
‘Don’t ask. Everything is going awfully, but if I can just get my ring, we can finally get out of here. I know where the Empress is and I’m fairly sure I can lure the Paatin Queen away from her wizards and overpower her.’
Eric nodded. ‘Then don’t forget me. You may need all the help you can get.’
‘I’m certain of it.’
‘Well. What are you waiting for? Go,’ Eric said, strutting back into his cell. ‘Lock me in and go find Balten. The sooner you find him, the sooner you can get me out of here. Just don’t get caught! You’d better get going. The guards check on me quite often and they’re due back soon.’
‘All right then. I will see you soon,’ and with that he pushed the door shut and locked it tight.
‘Samuel!’ Eric called from within.
‘What is it?’
‘I heard something shuffling around out there before. There are strange sounds from the tunnels, and I also heard screaming. Have you seen anything strange?’
Samuel immediately thought of the rumoured ghoul of the catacombs, but decided against frightening his friend. ‘I’m sure it is only the guards. But keep your lamp well lit, just in case.’
He could already sense some guards approaching and just managed to dart aside as they came sauntering down the passage. He waited for them to pass and crept back out, guided by his memory and sense of sight.
He made his way along the deep passages where few ever ventured and was about to head back towards the main tunnels, when he heard something ahead. He stopped, silent, and felt a wizard approaching, so he slipped into a narrow crevice in the wall of the tunnel, opposite a set of bolted doors. Someone had been moving around in one of the cells he had just passed and so he had to be careful, moving with complete silence to keep his presence unknown.
The crevice was deep enough so that he could fit his whole body in and he wedged himself around a tight corner at the end so as not to be seen. Staying quiet, he poked his head out just a touch, enough to see the telltale energies of the wizard approach, dangling like blue-green sparks in the air. Along with the normal points of energy, purple magic seethed and its stench burned into his nostrils. No natural light came to shine on the walls, so whoever was coming his way was walking in perfect darkness. Either they knew these tunnels well, or they had some other means to find their way. He knew some of the Paatin had this trait but, as the wizard approached, the vile energy grew denser until Samuel knew for sure who was coming.
‘Om-rah!’ he whispered softly.
Hulking footsteps clattered along the passageway as the arch-wizard neared and S
amuel could hear his loud and forceful breathing. It sounded like a horse labouring for breath after a hard ride. A strange, guttural clacking followed and Samuel had no idea how the man could make such sounds.
He waited, perfectly still, and he could feel the enormous wizard’s steps reverberating on the stone floor and hear his great bulk scuffing up against the narrow tunnel walls. The wizard had just reached Samuel’s hiding spot when, much to Samuel’s alarm, he stopped. Samuel could hear him standing there, still breathing heavily and shuffling about. There were some sniffing sounds, and he could hear the fiend moving around in front of the crevice.
Something sharp was pushed towards him and Samuel could hear it scratching around just on the other side of the protruding stones. He was safe behind his corner, if only the wizard could not reach too far.
He looked down, feeling a movement of air against his ankles, and noticed a hole in the wall by his feet. If it was deep enough he may just be able to push part of himself inside it. Still, he had no room to move and if Om-rah was looking into the crevice, he would be seen as he manoeuvred himself into it.
A voice sounded from inside the cell and the scratching sound withdrew from the crevice. Om-rah turned about with a huff of air. It was a Paatin within the cell and he called out from his prison in a querying tone.
Samuel heard the bolt of the cell door clatter as Om-rah fumbled with it in the darkness. The prisoner continued to call out, more urgently, but the wizard did not reply. The bolt squeaked out of place and Samuel’s blood froze as he heard the great bulk of Om-rah hurry into the cell. The prisoner screamed, but his efforts were quickly cut short. Something wet slapped onto the floor and it was followed by a blood-curdling, crunching sound. Om-rah continued shifting about, slurping and munching frenetically, but the prisoner was ominously quiet.
Very slowly and very carefully, Samuel edged onto all fours. Painfully aware of every scuff and sound, he eased backwards on his knees and elbows into the hole as the arch-wizard continued his meal. He had seen something of the wizard before and he knew Om-rah was not entirely human, but this showed how much of a monster he had really become.
Thankfully, Samuel found that his hole actually continued deep behind him, forming a narrow tube that opened wide at the other end. Following it feet first, he found himself emerging from the hole, high up on a ledge that looked down on another twisting length of dark passage. Thanking his luck, he dropped down, leaving the horrendous sounds of Om-rah behind, and padded away to find his bearings. At least now he knew what had been killing people in the tunnels and would not have to waste any more time with thoughts of ghost stories.
It was another week later still when Samuel felt the Queen’s magic at work. He went investigating, as the bursts were becoming more powerful and frequent. The crashing sound of walls tumbling sounded after each flash of power and he was sure she was sending spells down upon her own palace.
Utik’cah was waiting outside her room, standing nervously, and Samuel hurried up to the anxious desert-man as carefully as he could. Already, he could hear Alahativa shouting and ranting inside.
‘What is she doing?’ Samuel whispered.
‘She is with your Emperor again,’ Utik’cah explained. ‘My Queen commanded that I bring him and she has been questioning him at length. So far, she has not killed him, but she has slain most others in the room. I don’t know what has affected her. She has killed most of her favourite servants. She is becoming more and more distressed with each passing day. I have the healers making potions to calm her, but today she will not take them.’
‘Let me see,’ Samuel suggested, but Utik’cah caught him by the shirt.
‘You risk death,’ he said grimly, but Samuel pulled away and strode inside.
More servants lay dead than still remained, and those still living were all splayed on their knees with their foreheads to the floor, praying or shivering or blubbering with fear. The Emperor was standing defiantly before the Queen and she was shouting at him furiously. Magic ran from Alahativa’s fingers and dripped sizzling to the floor.
‘Samuel!’ she roared on catching sight of him. ‘How dare you come before me unsummoned!’
The Emperor said something to placate her and Samuel managed to walk all the way to his side without being struck down by her spells.
‘The Queen and I have been having an insightful conversation,’ Edmond said.
Alahativa looked greatly disturbed and she shook Samuel by the shoulders, staring at him as if crazed. ‘I have solved my dreams, Samuel! I know what they mean and so does he!’ she said, gesturing to the embodied Emperor.
‘Actually, I don’t understand what she is talking about, but she refuses to let me leave.’
‘Lies!’ the Queen hissed. ‘He ever lies! He knows my dreams! He is in them. All of them! He knows who he is!’
‘Calm now, Your Majesty,’ Samuel pleaded. ‘Please help me to understand what is happening.’
‘Each day, my memories return. I should have known when I first learned that the Emperor had survived—not only survived, but in a body not of his own. He, too, knows what it is like to be cast into the body of another. In another time, in another life, we were lovers, but he refuses to admit the truth!’
‘I don’t deny it,’ Edmond said. ‘I do not deny that past lives are possible, especially given my present state, but I have no recollection of any life with you and I simply don’t remember any of these things you are raving on about.’
‘Why are you doing this to me, Thann? Is it because of her? Can you possibly love your Empress more than me? Or is it the boy? That’s it, isn’t it? I could never bear you a son and she has given you what you always wanted.’ For the first time, the Emperor looked rattled by what she was saying. ‘Then damn you, and damn them, too! Om-rah!’ she wailed and a heartbeat later the hulking wizard had alighted on the balcony outside. If it had not been so sturdy, it would have been torn asunder, for the room shook as he landed.
It was amazing that Samuel had not felt the man’s presence until he had already alighted—but perhaps he had been too distracted by the Queen’s spells.
‘Go swiftly now to Yi’sit. Kill the Turian woman and her boy. Make sure this night is their last.’ No sooner had she spoken than the arch-wizard had vanished into the air with a snap of black cloth and a clatter of his wings. Alahativa turned about, her eyes wild with emotion. ‘You see? Perhaps when they are dead you will have reason to remember me?’
‘Don’t kill them! I beg you!’ the Emperor said and Samuel could see the genuine desperation in his eyes. He dropped to his knees. ‘Don’t do it! I implore you!’
‘It is done. Om-rah has gone to see to it and I could not recall him even if I wanted to. Get out of here, both of you!’ And she turned from them and returned outside onto her balcony, laughing hysterically as she overlooked her city.
The Emperor immediately grabbed Samuel by the arms and pulled him towards the exit from her room. ‘Quickly!’ he said.
‘What is wrong with her?’ Samuel asked as they rushed past the confused form of Utik’cah.
‘I have no time to explain, but my wife and son must be saved. Please, do whatever you can. You must reach them first!’
‘I cannot,’ Samuel protested. ‘That winged beast will get there in a fraction of the time I could. Without my ring I am powerless.’
‘Then get your blasted ring!’ the Emperor roared out.
Samuel stood firm and looked the man level in the eye. ‘I have no way to get it or even of knowing where it is unless I can find Balten. Of course I would gladly save the Empress, but there is nothing I can do! I can scour the last sections of the dungeons, but unless something miraculous happens it will just take too much time.’
‘Perhaps I can assist,’ came a third voice and both of them turned towards a hooded figure, shrouded in shadow and lurking outside the window.
‘Who is that?’ Samuel said, peering into the darkness, and the figure climbed in, into the light a
nd threw back his hood. At first, Samuel thought it was one of the Paatin wizards for he was dark-skinned and surrounded with a veil of spells and magic of illusion. ‘Lomar. I should have known.’
‘I have been waiting nearby, but the Queen’s tantrum caught my attention and her wizards’ spells are in turmoil. The palace is in chaos and everyone is fleeing to be away from her, or else I would not have been able to enter at all. I have learnt where Balten is being kept. At least, I have obtained a set of directions. If you know the tunnels well, I can describe the way.’
‘Then let’s go,’ Samuel said. ‘Om-rah has the head start.’
‘From what I understand, it is not far if you know the way, which fortunately, now I do. That Paatin beast can fly, but not quickly. He is fat and encumbered by his armour. If we move fast, we can still save her.’
The Emperor’s eyes lit up. ‘Then quickly—go! Go, Samuel, and I will be forever in your debt.’
Samuel turned to Lomar and nodded, and the two of them raced away, leaving the Emperor behind.
These floors were populated only by the occasional quivering servants, but they met several wizards and scores of armed Paatin soldiers as they rushed towards the catacombs. Lomar felled most of them without hesitation, his magic striking out furiously.
Before the gaping main entrance, Lomar paused. ‘As soon as we break the barrier, they will know we are here,’ he said. ‘However, they will not know if we are breaking in or out, so we should still be able to avoid them for a time. I would guess few would ever have the desire to steal their way into such a place. It will only mean that we must make our escape quickly, before the tunnels are overrun with guards. There is no point in wizards coming in to find us as they would have no power while under the mountain. Unfortunately, we will also be powerless if we are found.’
‘Then let us be quick,’ Samuel responded.
Lomar threw some spells of concealment over the two of them and they ventured in, sneaking behind the dozen guards who stood before the great entrance at the ready. Samuel tiptoed across the threshold first but, as soon as Lomar attempted to follow, a great wailing sound began from high above.
She Who Has No Name (The Legacy Trilogy) Page 44