“Damn it, now?”
“Sorry. Come, get air.”
The two walked away from the party, heading into the deserted field. The platform still stood and they headed towards it. The moon was full, washing field and platform in silver light. A silver eye.
Elianas looked up. “Akhavar’s moon was more yellow.” Yes, mundane enough for control.
“Valaris is blue … shit, here goes …” Torrullin doubled over and threw up.
Elianas stood by, patient. Torrullin was not on the same wavelength. He conjured a flask of water, passed it over.
Torrullin gargled, spat and then drank deeply. They walked on, climbed onto the platform, and sat.
“News?” Torrullin prompted.
Elianas nodded. “I went to track the state of balance. It will be peaceful, largely because of the Kaval’s continuing influence.”
Tracking balance had seemed intricate enough to keep his mind occupied, but he discovered important nuances nonetheless.
“Good news.”
“For now, agreed. We have some guiltless time at our disposal.”
“But?”
“Those worlds where peace has reigned long already show signs of stagnation. It would be better for them had they discovered peace only now.”
Torrullin rubbed his chin. “Example?”
“Ceta, for one. Despite an angel in a forest, which the Lady of Life mended, they invent nothing new and exports have fallen off. Folk talk about rest and relaxation, how wonderful life is, but within a year or two they will be in trouble financially. Thereafter it will get worse, for aid will not come. Other balanced worlds will not see the necessity of the labour involved in taking it to them.”
“There are others?”
“Do you want a full list?” There was an irritated lilt to his tone.
“I believe you, but I would like to know how you found out. The why I can fathom all by myself.” In Torrullin’s tone there was a sliver of taunting.
“My bloodhound nose,” Elianas said. “My point is, we have time, but not long.”
Torrullin muttered, “This could have waited till morning.”
Elianas shrugged. “By morning Caballa will be in full flight, and Tristan, Declan and Quilla will delay our departure with too many questions.”
Torrullin blinked, “You want to go now, when we are able to go alone.”
“Yes.”
Torrullin lay back on the platform with a groan and covered his face. “Gods, I cannot think straight at the moment.”
“Don’t think. What does instinct tell you?”
Torrullin laughed behind his hands. “Not to go anywhere alone with you.”
“I guess we wait until morning.”
Torrullin’s hands dropped away and he stared up at the star-filled sky. A longer silence ensued. Night sounds punctuated it like question marks.
“Elianas.”
The dark man flopped back also. “I know that tone.”
“We need a buffer. Lowen was meant to do so and upon your instigation. I fought it, but now I cannot imagine what will happen if we spend an extended period together without a shield in some form.”
“You can imagine it.”
“Yes. You know what I mean.”
“We spent ten days together recently. Nothing happened.”
“Since then tensions have risen.”
“True.”
“I would prefer that Caballa stay here,” Torrullin said.
“Lowen would be better?”
“God, no.”
Elianas laughed.
“I am thinking Declan.”
Elianas groaned. “Why not Quilla while you are at it?”
“He sees too much.”
“And the Siric doesn’t? Gods, Torrullin, he is the smartest of the lot.”
That was true. “Who would you suggest?”
“Nobody.”
“Not going to happen. Choose someone.”
“Teighlar,” Elianas said after a moment.
“What … no. He definitely sees too much.”
“Belun, then.”
Torrullin laughed. “Belun would be at your throat within a minute. He gets very protective.”
Elianas was silent again and then he sat up. “Saska.”
Torrullin jerked upright. “Saska? Why?”
“She is the one person we both respect and the one woman we would not want to hurt with the games we play. She is clever, thinks on her feet and has rare courage. Torrullin, she needs purpose the way we need it.”
Torrullin hung his head, weighing the options. “Saska and Declan.”
“Agreed.”
“Goddess, Lowen will be furious when she hears.”
“Do you care?”
“I care - what kind of question is that? Gods, I wish you had left me to the drink,” Torrullin muttered. He rose. “You get Saska and I will speak to Declan.”
“Fine.” Elianas rose also.
“You are like a petulant child sometimes,” Torrullin snapped.
“And you are like an overbearing father,” Elianas muttered. And blind. “I shall see you on the hill at sunrise.”
He vanished.
AN HOUR LATER Torrullin had explained it to Declan … and Tristan and Quilla.
Caballa sat frowning next to Tristan, fuming, actually.
They were in one of the guest cottages and no one was in the vicinity. Sounds of the on-going celebration were muted.
Caballa said, “I hate that you want to cut me out, and if I can’t go then Saska is a good choice, but, damn it, Torrullin, if you hurt her again, I swear I’ll unman you.”
He inclined his head.
Declan murmured, “Count me in.”
Tristan leaned forward. “Explain again how the Void has balanced us, how it isn’t a good thing.”
They spoke intently, all of them, for the remaining hours of darkness.
Mine site
THE HILLTOP LIT quickly as the sun rose, although the surrounding valleys remained in darkness.
Tristan, Caballa and Quilla came, and so did Allith and Petin. Carlin had returned to Cèlaver.
As they waited for Saska and Elianas, and Torrullin wondered what exactly Elianas needed to say to convince her, they studied the site of the cave-in lower down.
It looked terrible, but plans were underway to replant shrubs and neaten the edges. Perhaps it would remain a dam, and perhaps the water would drain away.
“The door was pretty hidden,” Allith remarked as she swapped the scarred view for a prettier one. “Had this mining not begun, it wouldn’t have been discovered. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise.”
“It was erected a long time ago,” Caballa said. “There probably wasn’t a hill then.”
“It has magic,” Quilla said. “Hidden or not, it would have called to Dragon and Sword soon enough.”
“Amazing,” Allith said.
“You get used to it,” Torrullin grinned.
Then Elianas was there, with Saska, and that smile fixed to his face. Saska was dressed for hiking, pack and all.
She squinted up at him. “Seems you can’t get rid of me.” She paused and said more seriously, “Thanks. I need this.”
He inclined his head, wanting to shout at her to run away, run away now, while it was still safe to do so. He flicked his glance to Elianas instead. “Ready?”
“Whenever you are.” Elianas was particularly expressionless.
Parting greetings were brief. A hug for Caballa, a remark for Quilla, a clasp with Tristan, a word for Petin, and thus Max Dalrish … but Allith drew him aside when he got to her.
“Your wife, Torrullin?”
“Ex-wife.”
“If you say so. She’s beautiful, and vulnerable. Be careful.”
He hugged Allith to him. “I should be taking you along.”
“Ah, no, that brave I’ll never be. Go well, and may we meet again.”
“My regards to your father.”
Elianas had spoken greeting and Saska achieved both greeting and farewell in one breath.
They were ready.
Torrullin lifted a fist and brought it down. A hole appeared in the grass. He lifted again and beat down harder. The hole depressed inward.
“One more,” Elianas said, peering in.
A fist raised, came down. The hole deepened.
Torrullin peered in and nodded. “Yes, enough. Get in.”
The four climbed in, vanishing to waist level.
Allith and Petin stared.
“Torrullin,” Quilla murmured, closing in. “For pity’s sake, not two thousand years this time.”
Torrullin grinned, sketched a salute, and then the four fell away as if an elevator bore them away. A moment after, the hole in the hilltop sealed.
Quilla stayed where he was, uneasy.
“Gods, will they be all right?” Tristan demanded.
It was too late for second thoughts. Quilla swallowed and turned a serene countenance in that direction. “He is Elixir. Have no fear.”
Caballa was white-faced. “I have a bad feeling.”
Allith, feeling peculiar herself, took the Valleur woman’s arm. “Sunrise or not, I think we could use a drink.”
AS THE ACCELERATION began, Torrullin and Elianas joined hands overhead, free hands pushing outward.
A space formed about the four, and Saska and Declan ducked beneath those raised hands, understanding it was the safe zone. Light vanished as the rock closed in upon itself; they fell fast in darkness. It was hot and cloying, and it felt like forever.
They tumbled into a dark pit where the air was stale and warm. They were in the mine.
Torrullin lobbed a globe up and breathed deeply.
Elianas did the same and grinned at Torrullin. “I think that was our fastest descent yet.”
“This one was not that deep, thank the gods.” Torrullin stretched and flexed his fingers. “More cramp, however.”
“You are out of shape.” Elianas pointed up, using that finger to move the globe forward. A moment later the door was revealed. “Right on target.”
“You were the only one who got lost,” Torrullin muttered, and strode closer.
Saska and Declan glanced at each other and followed.
Of old, beaten steel, there was no rust, a property of the metal, but time had settled an ancient patina over a once shiny door. The glyphs protruded, which was a remarkable feat.
Declan ran his fingers over the pictograms, reading softly.
“You read Avior,” Elianas said, surprised.
“The Siric annihilated them; learning about them was the least we could do.”
Torrullin snorted. “You knew. You had Quilla talk me into coming here.”
Declan shrugged. “Dragon and Sword, Torrullin.”
“Bloody hell, Declan, you could have saved us a lot of trouble.”
“Why? I know you thrive on a challenge.”
“He’s got you there,” Elianas laughed. “And we saved Echolone in the process.”
“Huge heroes, yes. Gods, the air is foul. Let us get beyond.”
Torrullin took up position before the door, put one hand on the Dragon symbol, the other in the recess to the left and braced. Elianas took up position immediately behind him, one hand to the Sword symbol, the other resting over Torrullin’s in the recess. He, too, braced.
Together they pushed, leaning more to the left.
A mighty groaning in the rock sounded and dust shook loose from the ceiling. The door creaked, shifted, groaned, moved, and abruptly swung on a pivot to come to rest at a right angle to its original position.
Torrullin and Elianas tumbled through into darkness.
“Come!” Torrullin called. “Ten seconds is all we have!”
Saska hurtled in, her heart somersaulting, and Declan ambled through more slowly, saying, “You two seem to know much about Avior’s magical doors.”
“We know them, yes. Hurry up,” Elianas snapped.
Declan was in. The door swung closed and darkness was encompassing.
The door had vanished.
The way out lay elsewhere.
Part II
SHADOWLAND
Chapter 19
Shadow and shade, a dominating and pervasive presence
~ Titania Dictionary
Echolone
Still Pond Rock
QUILLA AND TRISTAN ferried Allith and Petin back to the village, along with Caballa.
As promised, Allith poured stiff drinks.
Petin swallowed his and excused himself.
“Where to now?” Allith asked as they sat around her kitchen table.
“Home to Valaris,” Caballa said. “With many rugs.”
“We head back to the Dome,” Quilla replied. He glanced at Caballa, noticing how tired she was. “Or I am. Tristan here is taking a day off.”
Caballa’s face lit like a yuletide tree and Tristan, about to remonstrate, smiled as he changed his mind. “I think I deserve a day off, yes.”
Allith smiled. The two were obviously in love. She said, “You look like your grandfather, Tristan.”
“Both advantage and disadvantage in that, trust me.”
“How old is Torrullin?”
“Very old.”
Allith was confused. “A number?”
Quilla sighed. “There is no number. Torrullin is ancient the way rock is ancient.”
Allith lost her ability to speak.
Caballa murmured, “And Elianas is right up there with him. I wish those two had never met.”
Tristan asked, “It got worse?”
“Far worse.”
Quilla sighed. “Nemesis and Destroyer. Let us hope they find the light beyond that door.”
“They must find the shadows,” Allith said, her voice hoarse.
“My dear, they are the shadows, and right now both need light to shade darker corners.”
“Quilla is finding spooks … Caballa? Caballa!” Tristan jumped up as she toppled backward, eyes rolling back, showing only white.
“They are beyond,” Quilla whispered.
Shivering, Allith asked, “How do you know?”
“A vision. A mite of unbalance has been gifted.”
Caballa moaned, opened her eyes and found she was in Tristan’s arms. She stared at him, speechless.
“Caballa, what is it?” he asked, short of breath.
Lowen erupted out of thin air. She searched for and found Caballa. “You, too?” Caballa nodded mutely and Lowen stamped her foot. “We should’ve gone with them.”
Caballa struggled upright, giving Tristan an apologetic look. “Then they would get no help. Thank the gods we are on this side. They are in trouble.”
Quilla paled. “How bad?”
“Need to see more. Lowen, come … Valaris …” The two women vanished.
Tristan swore and started pacing.
Allith’s head moved with a will of its own as she looked at Tristan and then Quilla, eyes wide and questioning.
Beyond the Door
THERE WAS NO light anywhere, no sound, no movement.
It was more a void than the Void had been.
Torrullin was heard cursing.
“What’s wrong?” Saska whispered.
“Everybody stay put,” Torrullin said, “until I figure this out. Don’t fucking move.”
Elianas gave a snort of laughter and then a bellow of it, which was soon slightly hysterical. “Fantastic! Just great.”
Torrullin swore again. “It’s not funny.”
“Be wary of what you wish for,” Elianas laughed, with the same thread of desperation in his tone.
“Ha.” Torrullin sounded peeved. Caballa said they needed time without magic to become real again. Ha.
Declan snapped his fingers and a profound sigh erupted. “Ah, I see. We have no magic.”
Saska clicked for light - and nothing. “Lovely.”
Torrullin asked, “You did not pack flint or matches, by a
ny chance?”
“No, why would I?”
“Then we are buggered,” Torrullin muttered. “Can’t see to move, can’t move to see.”
“I’ll check,” Saska murmured, and rummaged. Long minutes passed.
“It’s all right,” Torrullin muttered.
“Now wait,” Declan said. “Let us think. We are sitting on a rock, right? Find a loose stone, something we can use to strike a spark. Saska, a piece of cloth of some kind …”
“Do not move from position,” Elianas warned.
More minutes followed, alive with scratching sounds.
“Got something,” Saska said. “Gods, I think it’s flint!”
“Pass it here, with the cloth,” Torrullin said.
Somehow in the dark their hands connected and potential flint and cloth passed over.
“Straw,” Elianas murmured. “Must be straw …” He was heard gathering something dry.
“More flint,” Declan said. “It seems Avior knew these items would be needed. Or this space knew. Talk, Torrullin, so we can get the stuff to you.”
“Here,” Torrullin said, and tapped with the piece of flint on the rock. Elianas passed what could be straw and Declan handed over the second piece of flint. Torrullin was then heard muttering as he arranged straw over cloth in what he hoped was a configuration that would catch alight, and then flint struck flint.
“Strike the rock,” Elianas said.
Torrullin struck rock. Nothing happened. He struck flint. Nothing happened.
“Gods, let me do it,” Elianas said, and sidled closer to where Torrullin’s noises came from.
He took the flint and struck the rock at an oblique angle. A mighty spark flew out. In that brief light he found the prepared kindling, and struck again, missing by a breath, and struck again. A spark landed in the straw, curled there, and Torrullin leaned over and cupped his hands, blowing gently. When Elianas struck again he was ready, and a breath caused flame to shoot up.
“Anything that burns,” Declan said, and was on his feet, using the meagre light to start a search.
“Well done, Elianas,” Torrullin murmured.
“Made more proper fires than you ever did.” He passed more straw and also started looking for fire material.
Lore of Sanctum Omnibus Page 80