Quilla said, “You did not feel the Dome summons?”
A beat. “I felt it. I locked myself in the library downstairs and threw the keys out the window.” A sigh followed. “I wanted to stay out of it, and then knew one of you would come here.” A laugh erupted. “I tied a thread of lead around my wrist to prevent myself transporting. It is hard, really hard, to ignore a Dome summons.”
Yet here he was about to draw her into a mess. “The Kaval are mobilised to find Tian and Aislinn.”
She stared at him, realising it meant the Vallorin was in danger and potentially Valaris also, and also immediately understood the reason for Quilla’s appearance. This was about more than a Dome summons.
“It is not a rescue effort you desire of me; you want me to tell this to Elianas. You need Torrullin.”
“Elianas will listen to you.”
She nodded. “He probably will, yes.”
Quilla closed his eyes, reading the connections. “Will you do it?”
“Seeing Torrullin - I don’t want to see him, Quilla, I really don’t want to see him again.” She rose and wandered around the chamber. “And yet, if the Vallas need help, I am willing to give it. Tian and Aislinn are friends.” She wandered over to the wall of books. “I will attempt to have Elianas come to me first, before I attempt to go to him.”
Quilla breathed in and out. “Will he come?”
“He may, yes, if I guarantee no one will enter their airspace in his absence. Am I able to exact that kind of promise? Will Belun not get a hot-headed idea, or Teroux a stupid notion, and what of Teighlar and Tristan? Will they promise to stay away while Elianas is away also?”
Quilla stared at his hands. “If we do not tell them …”
“You would say nothing? You would not use this window of opportunity at all?”
“I think we could gain more by hearing him first. And we need know first-hand where exactly Torrullin is in his Rayne persona.”
She smiled at him. “You love Torrullin, don’t you? Birdmen don’t usually lie.”
“It will not be lying, merely an omission.”
She laughed lightly. “I need to think on this. I will send word.”
Quilla rose. “Thank you. Then I am off to Teroux to omit certain factors.” He smiled and wandered to the doors.
“Quilla.”
He turned.
“I saw the telling you haven’t yet mentioned. As you go forward now, know it will not fit this situation or another because you are using past knowledge as imagery. Wings of Mist are not Shadow Wings; Wings of Mist are noble, Quilla, and they replace Shadow Wings.”
“What are you implying?” the birdman whispered.
She paced forward, her blue eyes darker than usual. “Elianas released his wings in Lethe to save Torrullin. He no longer has them. What he might have is Wings of Mist, and then, dear friend, you dare not interfere with his purpose.”
“Why not?”
“Because he is the only one who can take Torrullin’s mighty Shadows from him. Not Wings - we know Torrullin released his as well to seal Digilan away - but Torrullin’s Shadows.”
He stared at her. His own wings quivered as the resonance of truth washed through him.
“Quilla, Elianas loves Torrullin more than all of us put together. He loves him through realms and time and is the true constant, the reason Torrullin exists. He has saved Torrullin many a time, but the great rescue of Elixir is still to arrive, and only Elianas can achieve it.” She paced closer still. “Torrullin was near to falling into darkness, Quilla. I thought he was stepping closer to lumin, but the wings he released on Avaelyn against Digilan’s horde proved how close he was to falling eternally. I believed Elianas was more dangerous, darker, but now understand Elianas tries to heal Torrullin from the inside. Do not mess with that.”
“Elianas is the noble purpose.”
A strange look crossed her face. “There is more to come, but, yes, that is the gist of it. It explains him in a nutshell. He isn’t the demon everyone makes him out to be.”
Quilla asked then because he had to, “Do you love Elianas, Lowen?”
Her eyes glittered. “Very clever, Quilla. Yes, unfortunately, I find I love Elianas almost as much as I love Torrullin. And, indeed, it means I would protect him also.”
Quilla nodded again. Yes, he had major reordering to do.
He bowed slightly and left her staring after him as he vanished.
Sanctuary
The Villa
QUILLA FOUND TEROUX with Sirlasin.
Clearly the Elder had imparted the news, for Teroux was so pale he appeared almost transparent. Quilla gripped him and sat him down.
“The Kaval is on it. We are also trying to get to Torrullin.”
Teroux stared at him without reaction.
Sirlasin nodded to himself, pleased with that revelation. It would help the Elders to know something concrete was being done.
“Teighlar will not go,” Quilla said to Teroux, “but Lowen will make the contact.”
“Lowen.” Teroux sighed and his shoulders slumped forward. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“I must go.”
Teroux glared at the tiny being. “When will you be back?”
“As soon as I have heard from Lowen, I promise. You, meantime, stay put.” Quilla faced Sirlasin. “I suggest protection for this Valla. Already we almost lost Teroux in the lake, which may not have been as much of an accident as we thought.”
Sirlasin drew breath, and began demanding facts of Teroux.
Quilla left.
This time he ensured he did not run into Rose.
Rose was bound to see he was not telling the whole truth.
Chapter 8
The desert sands lend majesty to thoughts. It is the pure silence, friend. Some claim they hear their thoughts on the wind.
~ Anakton of Xen III ~
Xen III
Desert
LOWEN WANDERED AMONG the dunes, seeking the silence of those great spaces.
She loved the desert and she particularly loved Xen’s deserts; hues of rose and fawn that stretched endlessly, a waterless land astonishingly beautiful.
Torrullin had hated the desert and probably still did. He preferred the cold and harked to verdancy, and came alive in a storm as few others did. Where others would cower and hide from an unleashing of natural power, he would revel in it.
So, too, Elianas.
God, what to do?
She had walked away from those complications deliberately. Torrullin chose Elianas and that future, and it excluded her. Why stay, why remain involved in a scenario of pain and betrayal?
Now Quilla asked her to enter the same arena once more. She would get hurt again. Yet, truthfully, she could not avoid this situation; ignoring a Dome summons did not mean she had no duties. Tianoman and Aislinn were not merely Vallas to her; they truly were loved ones.
The prophecy niggled, however. She recently had a vision along similar lines. In the months since Torrullin vanished from Echolone, few sighting had plagued her, and now they were returned.
Lowen, the seer.
She sneered at herself.
Right. Foresight had brought her only disillusion.
She laughed aloud in the spaces where no one would hear how hysterical she sounded. Max would have her committed if he heard her - no, not really; he thought her eccentric. The entire Dalrish clan thought her strange and, with so many of them, she often had to hide to find some peace. A huge family, the Dalrish, and she was alone in it.
Real connection lay on Valaris with the Valleur. In her heart she understood her longevity had excluded her from human companionship; she was human again, but her mind was far beyond.
Her true connection had ever been Torrullin.
In the great spaces she halted and the silence surrounded her.
Her mind stilled.
She called to Elianas.
Avaelyn
ELIANAS GAZED UP AT the rugged low mountain beh
ind the dwelling.
Since morning dark and ominous clouds gathered around its peak and he was agitated. A storm from the land was far worse than one racing in from the sea, but it would be short-lived. At least it would be over swiftly.
Torrullin would react as if scalded.
Threading long fingers through dark hair, Elianas clasped his hands behind his neck. He had been losing ground recently to Rayne; this damnable storm could potentially undo the final barriers.
Rayne was less approachable in the last days and hardly ever indoors, often wandering those slopes or vanishing along wild and overgrown paths. He no longer held to any form of routine and barely ate. Rayne hardly slept either; he heard the man toss in his bed night after night and then more often than not heard him wandering the dark of their home, waiting for day and enlightenment.
He wore only black.
The day Rayne strapped his sword on also, would be the day the future rushed back over them to drown this interlude. Thank the gods, he had not yet reached for his sword.
Sighing, Elianas put his back to the unsettling view. What would be would be.
He wandered to the other side of the house to stare out over the ocean. The water was slate grey in sympathy with the storm from behind, and Rayne was out there on the pinnacle watching its moods.
Then the day got worse.
He heard Lowen call.
They had stayed away, as bid, all of them, and yet they knew Lowen was one of the few he could not ignore.
He debated whether to disregard her and then understood his curiosity was already aroused. She was not a farspeaker, but he was, and she was aware he would hear her even if she was light-years away; the ability being his, not hers.
At least it was not Quilla with his intelligence and knowledge. Watching that Rayne made no sudden moves, he answered her call.
Lowen, I hear you.
She came back immediately. I need to see you, Elianas.
Why?
Amongst other urgent matters, a prophecy. Whatever you believe you are doing for Torrullin, you need to hear this. He needs to hear this.
His hands shook and he stuffed them into pockets. Come here.
No. Come to me. I swear no one will know you are gone from there. Elianas, I cannot see him.
There is a storm brewing.
She knew what it meant. Five minutes, I promise.
Rayne lowered into lotus position and would probably sit in that manner for the rest of the day, meditating and hoping for the storm to wash over him. He could spare five minutes; just yesterday he strengthened the barriers.
Where are you?
Xen. The desert.
Perhaps the heat and emptiness would grant him clarity, for here it was now absent.
On my way.
Xen III
Desert
LOWEN WAITED IN THE lee of a great dune, the shadow black over her.
He would find her.
Her heart hammered. Seeing Elianas was almost as unsettling as seeing Torrullin would be. It was nigh on four months since Elianas whisked Torrullin away, four months of hell for some of them, relief for others, and terrible confusion for everyone. Nobody knew exactly what was happening and it did not sit well.
He would not tell her, she already knew. She would have to curb her curiosity and use the five minutes as she had promised.
Then he was there. Long-legged in black breeches and boots, a white shirt flapping loosely around his lean frame, his long, dark hair swinging as he climbed the rise to reach her. He was glorious in his beauty and her heart stopped for a moment simply to appreciate him. He wore no sword; he would not, not while he tamed Torrullin.
He entered the shadow and for a moment was almost ghost-like, and then his dark eyes pierced through to her soul.
“Lowen.”
Gods. “Elianas.”
“I have not much time,” he prompted, his tone even, although not quite emotionless.
She nodded, but could not speak.
“This is hard for you.” He gazed out over the sea of sand. “It is hard for me also. Who is behind this meeting?”
“Quilla.”
Elianas made a face. Quilla was the last to see Torrullin; it was perhaps fitting he be the first to make a move. “And what has the birdman uncovered? The short version, please.”
She told him of the prophecy in short, succinct sentences. She had practised her delivery before sending the call. She thought to begin their conversation with it, for to lead with Tianoman’s disappearance meant he would not listen to the words of telling afterward. Emotion might deafen him.
He was silent after, before murmuring, “Thank you. I shall consider this carefully. I must go.”
“Elianas, that is not why Quilla came to me.”
“I am not going to talk about him, Lowen.”
She snapped. “I lost him and I lost you and I lost my immortality, my reason for living, my purpose, my connection to the Valleur, to Grinwallin. I have nothing left, but the long wait into goddamned old age. I am not going to interfere again, I swear, nor do I seek to reverse any of my choices, but I want to know if he is all right. Give me that.”
He turned his head to look at her. “I cannot help you.”
“I do not want help. I want peace of mind.”
His eyelids flickered. “I cannot give you that either.”
She clutched at his arm. “I have had a vision also, Elianas.”
He did not pull away. “And you will not tell me unless I am more forthcoming.”
Her fingers dug through his shirt into his skin. “Tit for tat.”
“I hate manipulators, Lowen.”
“Coming from a master at the game, that is rich.”
He lifted her hand from his arm and held it trapped in his. A moment later he brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed them. “Tell me.”
Her heart tumbled over and resettled in a skewed position, but she left her hand in his. “I saw a dark man tearing at wings and digging the nubs out of shoulder blades.”
His hand jerked around hers and then squeezed hard.
“Elianas, you are going to hurt him badly soon. I hope you are prepared.”
He blinked. “Is that all?”
“A storm will destroy the dwelling and he will curse you for it.”
He released her hand and stood as if turned to stone. Lowen’s visions never lied, not ever. A minute ticked by, then another, and within it he was aware of the rising energy on Avaelyn. He had to return; he needed to go back immediately.
Without looking at her, he said, “Rayne is losing ground. Torrullin is on the brink of return. He is not together enough and I am afraid his Shadow Wings will be too great for me. He released them during the battle on Avaelyn to seal Digilan away, we all witnessed that, but I do not think he released the whole, the inner part. As Destroyer is now dead, I hoped to remove the residue of his wings also before he returns to us. I am out of time on that score, I believe. Torrullin is a master manipulator.” Then he did turn to her. “You say I shall hurt him; will that be as terrible as the hurt he has inflicted upon me? Have you seen what he has done to me, Lowen?”
She reached out and laid her hand on his cheek. He flinched; so tense. “I know he has hurt you, but two wrongs have never made a right.”
He moved away from her touch. “We are far beyond two wrongs. I must go. There is change in the air.” He touched his forehead, a laconic gesture of appreciation and made to move …
“Wait.”
He stopped, his eyes unfathomable.
“Someone should tell you that you did right in taking him away.”
He pulled in a breath, caught unaware by how much it helped him. “Thank you.”
She smiled, and then was instantly serious, knowing she had only moments left before he vanished. “This is the real reason Quilla asked me to contact you. The Kaval, and no doubt soon the entire universe of allies, is mobilised to find two people.”
He stared at her.
>
“Tian and Aislinn, Elianas. And apparently the Throne demands Torrullin be brought into its presence. The latter Quilla did not see fit to tell me.”
Elianas closed his eyes. “Tian is missing? How?”
“They suspect snatched in transport. A powerful something is behind this.”
Elianas drew in a breath. “Torrullin will not forgive me if I keep this from him.”
A nod, a sigh, and then, “I have no other details, but know Torrullin is needed for the search.” Lowen squared her shoulders. “Go, Elianas. I doubt we will see each other again.”
He reached out and blindly crushed his mouth down on hers. The kiss seared through to her marrow and she clutched at him hard, seeking to drag him into her, and he let her go, breathing erratically.
“One day we shall meet in the beyond of realms, Lowen, and then time will not have meaning. Perhaps then.”
“Perhaps then, yes. Go.”
He vanished.
She wished the sand would swallow her, for now she would wonder forever.
The Dome
QUILLA WAS TALKING TO Belun when Lowen entered, the two bent over a chart at the conference table.
Both straightened.
“Hello, Lowen, it’s been a while,” Belun murmured warily, reading high emotion in her.
“Hello, Belun. I am not staying. I need to speak to Quilla.”
The birdman’s sharp eyes missed nothing either; she was upset. “Give us a moment, Belun.”
The Centuar moved away, eyes blinking as he attempted to curb curiosity.
She perched on the table and stared at Quilla. “He came.”
“Ah. How was he?”
“Cold. Emotionless. And then not.”
“You told him.”
“I could read nothing beyond astonishment in his reaction. And yet I feel better now he is forewarned. All he revealed about Torrullin is that Rayne is failing as hold. I guess his return is imminent.”
His bright eyes moved over her face. “What else, Lowen?”
She looked away. “I told him something of what I have seen.” She met his gaze again. “I cannot tell you; it is theirs alone.”
Lore of Sanctum Omnibus Page 136