by Julia Gray
'Will you help me?' the boy asked.
'We have all heard,' the sharakan said, in a flat tone devoid of any emotion -
and Terrel knew this was the only answer he was going to get.
With that, Reader closed his eyes - and all the other questions Terrel had wanted to ask flew from his mind. The old man's eyelids were tattooed with images of the real eyes beneath, and the effect was startling. The implication was that even when his eyes were closed - even when he was asleep or even dreaming - the sharakan still watched everything about him.
The door behind Terrel opened and his guide reappeared, beckoning for the boy to follow him. Terrel picked up his pack, and as he left the room, he could feel the gaze of those painted eyes on his back. At the same time the ghosts vanished, but the white fox padded softly at Terrel's heels until they reached what were evidently the guest quarters.
I hate to say this, Elam commented, but that guy was really spooky. Those eyes
... He shuddered theatrically.
I know what you mean, Terrel said.
The ghosts had reappeared as soon as Terrel and Alyssa had been left alone in the chamber assigned to them. The room was small, and the only illumination came from a barred window above head height and two skylights in the ceiling.
Although this made it seem unpleasantly like a prison cell, the door had been left open and the bed was comfortable. There was also a table and stool in one corner, and a rug had been provided for the fox to lie on.
He didn't even blink! Elam added. Not once in all the time we were there.
That's not natural.
At least he was prepared to give you a fair hearing, Shahan remarked.
Unlike the one who came to Fenduca, Muzeni said, nodding.
You were all very quiet in there, Terrel said. Did I explain everything properly?
You 're the only one who knew the whole story, the heretic replied.
And we 're not used to people being able to see us, Elam added. It cramps our style.
You did an excellent job, Shahan reassured Terrel.
Good enough to persuade them to help me?
I don't see why not, Muzeni replied. If this earthquake hits, it will affect them as much as anyone else in Macul.
Unless they have some way of protecting themselves, Terrel said. We don't know how powerful their dream-trading can be.
I doubt even their sorcery could compete with the sheer power of an earthquake, Shahan argued. Defending themselves against that would hardly be as easy as creating a few illusions.
Like the tunnel I came through?
The tunnel was always there, the seer answered. The illusion was in making you think it wasn 't.
That's what I meant, Terrel said crossly. I'm not completely stupid, you know.
Even if they could keep this place safe from the quake, Elam said, surely they'd want to save the rest ofMacul too?
You would certainly think so, Muzeni offered, but I don't believe it's as simple as that. They don't appear to be a particularly benevolent group.
Their social awareness does seem somewhat limited, Shahan commented sardonically.
The real question is, do we really want their help? Alyssa said.
As usual, her first contribution to the debate made them all look at her.
Why shouldn't we? Terrel asked. I'll take all the help I can get.
All magic comes at a price, she replied. And you didn't need help in Betancuria, did you?
I don't know what obstacles I'm going to have to overcome in Talazoria. I might not even be able to get anywhere near the elemental. But if some of the sharaken were with me, surely even the king's forces would have to take notice of them.
You think they'll travel with you? Elam queried. They don't seem to get out much.
I don't see how else they 're supposed to help me.
Well, I don '$ think there's anything you can do about it tonight, Shahan said. It's my guess that Reader is considering what you told him. Judging your case, so to speak.
He said 'we have all heard', Terrel pointed out. What do you think he meant by that?
There was something odd about the staff he was holding, Elam said thoughtfully.
I had to use something like that when I was asking to be let inside, Terrel said. I had a conversation with someone I couldn 't even see. They call them message-handles.
I think that although Reader was there with you, all the other sharaken were listening, Muzeni hazarded.
Terrel was glad he hadn't known that at the time. The interview had been daunting enough when he'd thought he was speaking to only one of the sharaken.
So they 're all judging me?
You think they'll give him a fair trial? Elam asked. He had his own memories of legally sanctioned injustice.
We have no way of knowing, Shahan replied.
What do you think he meant when he said his name was changing? Terrel asked, not wanting to dwell on the outcome of any trial.
The moons rule everything here, Alyssa said.
Even their names? Elam looked incredulous. That must get a bit confusing.
The White Moon is new tonight, she replied, as though this explained everything.
So no news from afar, but a change of name? Elam guessed. And I thought we were the ones who came from a madhouse.
I wonder what else changes whenever there's a new phase of one of the moons, Shahan said curiously.
And what are they making of the behaviour of the Dark Moon? Muzeni added.
Maybe we do, Alyssa said.
What? Terrel said, thrown by this apparently unconnected remark.
Have a way of knowing, she explained. I can see their dreams. That's how they work, isn't it?
They judge us by what they dream? Elam queried.
''A path guided by the dreams ofmany Muzeni quoted. Perhaps that didn't refer to the villagers in Fenduca after all.
We 're on a mountaintop here, not next to one, Shahan added.
I suppose all we can do is wait till tomorrow morning, Terrel decided, then glanced at the snow fox. I don't think spying on them while they sleep would be a good idea. You don't even know your way around the castle.
I know what's real, she commented.
Unlike me?
Alyssa did not reply.
Am I just seeing what they want me to see? Terrel persisted. What would be the point of that?
There are things here .. . Muzeni began, then fell silent as the fox gave a warning growl.
I preferred you as a bird, Elam told her. Those teeth look altogether too sharp.
I'd bite you if I thought you'd feel anything, Alyssa informed him.
I think it might be time for us to go, he responded. Goodbye, Terrel. I don't think well be away quite as long this time.
Make sure you 're not.
The ghosts vanished, but not before Elam had made one last parting comment.
Be careful what you dream about tonight, he advised. Alyssa may not be the only one who can see them here.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
You didn 't tell me you 'd fallen in love with her, Alyssa said accusingly.
Terrel had struggled into wakefulness to find the snow fox staring intently at the air above his head.
'What?' he mumbled. 'Who?'
Esera.
I didn't, he protested. She was my friend, that's all.
Do you always... Alyssa began, then obviously decided not to pursue the point.
Is that all you dreamt about?
No. Far from it, Terrel replied. Reliving the time when he'd comforted the pregnant girl as they looked out over the lake had been only the last, inconsequential part of what had been a busy night. He was horrified by the fact that it had apparently aroused Alyssa's jealousy.
Then why is that all I can see? Alyssa asked.
I don't know. I woke up several times during the night. Maybe all the other dreams blew away then. At first he had not been sure what kept disturbing his sleep, but later
in
the night he'd heard noises coming from other parts of the huge castle. Bells had rung, and there had been the unnerving sound of clashing metal. It had almost sounded as if there was a battle going on. On each occasion, Terrel had expected voices to be raised in alarm, but instead the silence had been restored immediately. Such interruptions had not made it any easier for him to rest. Elam's parting comment had made him nervous enough as it was - and now Alyssa's evident puzzlement was making matters worse.
It doesn't work like that, she said, still gazing at the space above him, as if she could rediscover the afterimages of his dreams by sheer force of will.
Why can't I see? She was beginning to sound distressed. What are you hiding from me?
Nothing! Terrel exclaimed, upset himself now. I wouldn't even know how. I—
The fox looked down then, so that their eyes met for the first time, and Terrel knew they had both just reached the same conclusion.
They were there, Alyssa said. But they vanished as soon as they appeared. The sharaken have stolen them.
'It is our way,' Reader said. 'We can learn a great deal about someone from their dreams.'
'You don't consider such things private?' Terrel asked.
'Do you?'
'Yes.'
'And yet you allow Alyssa to look at them.'
'She's my friend. I have nothing to hide from her.'
'So you have something to hide from us?'
'That's not what I meant,' Terrel objected. He was getting flustered now, and found it hard to express himself clearly.
Everything in his current situation seemed to be set against him. He was back in the lofty chamber where he'd first met Reader, and the sharaken's leader was as imperturbable as ever. Terrel was facing him alone, because Alyssa had gone off on an unexplained mission of her own. Even the fact that the boy was now dressed in one of the brown robes - his own dust-filled clothes had been taken away for washing - made him feel uncomfortable. The coarse material chafed against his skin.
'You agreed to abide by our laws and covenants,' the old man pointed out mildly.
'Yes,' Terrel admitted. 'I had no choice. But no one told me what they were.'
'Would you want us to help you without satisfying ourselves that your cause is just?'
'No, but—'
'Forgive me, Terrel,' the sharakan cut in, 'but all men are capable of lying for their own purposes. Dreams show us the truth.'
Put like that, Reader's argument didn't sound quite so unreasonable, and Terrel's indignation began to subside.
'So what did you learn about me?' he asked reluctantly. His own memories of what he'd dreamt about had faded somewhat, but he still had a fair idea of the main strands.
'That your dreams match your waking tale,' the old man replied, 'as far as it goes.'
'Then you believe me?' the boy suggested hopefully.
'You have shown us only the past.'
'But not the future?' Terrel was thinking back over his fragmentary night.
Scenes recalling events in Betancuria, at Havenmoon, and the day when Ysatel had become a
sleeper had been interspersed with a repeat of the first time he'd flown over Macul. There had been the same arrow-straight rivers, the collapsing mountains and the plague-ridden land. He'd seen the extra darkness, felt the cold fear of separation in its wandering. But there had been no earthquake, no pattern of moons in the sky.
'Prophecy is an inexact skill,' Reader commented, echoing one of the seers'
axioms. 'Your vision will require further study.'
Terrel was not sure he liked the sound of that, but he couldn't blame the sharakan for his caution.
'How will you do that?' he asked.
'We'll come to that later,' the sharakan replied. 'At the moment I'm curious.
Why did you choose to drive the elemental to Talazoria?'
Terrel's instinctive denial died in his throat as he saw the dream in a new light. For some reason, the elemental had come to the surface of the land, into the open. That separation had been what was wrong, the source of its fear and panic, because it had then been at the mercy of the elements, of the magic in the air. Why had it done that? And why, once it was exposed to the cloud and rain, had it ended up trapped in Talazoria? It could only-have been a deliberate act, a wilful piece of malice — and Terrel was in no doubt that Jax had been at least partly responsible for the Ancient's fate. And yet that was not the whole story. We make a good team, you and I, the enchanter had said in a later vision. It seemed that, unknowingly, Terrel had played a role in creating the very problem he was attempting to resolve. What was more, he doubted that even the prince would deliberately set out to cause an earthquake of such catastrophic
destructive potential - but that was what they had done. Together.
'I did nothing intentionally,' Terrel said. T . . .' He hadn't mentioned his twin in his earlier version of events, and was at a loss to explain Jax's role now.
'The canals affected its course, and the rain,' Reader said, 'but there was human intervention too — and who else is the creature likely to have listened to?' The old man had been watching Terrel closely, gauging his reaction to the earlier accusation. He'd seen the hesitation and the changing emotions that spoke of the boy's inner conflict. 'But such an act seems out of character, if I am any judge,' he concluded.
'I think I was trying to protect it,' Terrel said, 'but something went wrong.'
Reader nodded. He knew this was not the whole story, but he was prepared to leave it at that for the moment. He got to his feet and signalled for Terrel to do the same.
'Come. It's nearly time.'
Nearly time for what? Terrel wondered as he followed the sharakan out into the corridor.
The parapet of the Dark Tower afforded a breathtaking panorama of the mountainous countryside around the fortress, but once Terrel had climbed up there, he had little time to admire the view. His attention was monopolized by the extraordinary structure that had been built within the crenellated walls.
It was in the shape of a dome, reminding him of Muzeni's ruined observatory, but there all resemblance ended. This hemisphere was made almost entirely of glass, held together by a shining metal framework. In Terrel's world, glass was a rare and expensive
luxury, and he had never seen so much of it in one place before. Nor had he ever seen such large and flawless panes. Each fitted into its bronze frame precisely, matching the curves of its neighbours to create the impression of a single enormous piece of glass. From a distance, Terrel had taken this to be a curiously designed roof, but now he knew it was much more than that.
The panes were not clear but tinted black, darker in some places than in others. Near the base of the hemisphere were various indecipherable markings in red, white and gold, which looked as if they were actually part of the glass itself rather than painted upon it. It was an awe-inspiring piece of craftsmanship, almost a work of art, but Terrel knew that it must also serve some purpose. A quick glance at the other three towers showed him that they were adorned with similar domes, each the colour of the moon they were dedicated to, and Terrel was in no doubt that each was used in ceremonies he could only imagine.
In the bright sunlight, the reflections from the dark glass made it almost impossible to see what was inside the dome, but he detected movement and assumed that there were other sharaken within.
'How do you like our shrine?' Reader asked, smiling at the boy's wide-eyed absorption.
'It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it.'
'Your destiny is linked to the Dark Moon. You know that, don't you?'
Although this wasn't something Terrel wanted to admit, he knew it was true.
It's been changing, he thought, and so has my life.
'Shall we go inside?' Reader asked.
Terrel could only nod, wondering what he had done to deserve such an honour. The old man rapped on the glass with his knuckles, and a moment later one of the panes swung out and up, so
that they were able to duck down and step through the low doorway thus created.
There were at least a dozen sharaken within the dome, some standing, some sitting on the floor. A few of them glanced at the newcomers, regarding Terrel with open curiosity and nodding respectfully to Reader, but most seemed to be in a state of trance-like meditation and paid them no attention at all. No one spoke and, now that they were out of the wind, the silence was almost complete. Once the door was closed again, the sunlight was muted too, the sun itself no longer dazzling but a bright orange disc high in the eastern sky.
Those of the sharaken who still had their eyes open glanced towards it frequently. The others remained still, watching the world through the tattoos on their eyelids.
Intimidated by the silence, Terrel glanced at Reader, wanting to ask him what was going on, only to see that his elderly companion had closed his eyes.
Looking round the dome, the boy was suddenly aware that he was the only one left with his eyes open.
It begins.
The unfamiliar voice spoke inside his head without the need of sound, and Terrel knew instinctively what it was referring to. A quick glance at the sun confirmed his intuition. It was no longer a complete disc. One of the moons -
Terrel was in no doubt that it was the Dark Moon — had taken a small bite out of it, a bite that was slowly growing larger.
It was not a total eclipse, like the one he had witnessed at Tindaya. Indeed, if he had not been behind the partial
protection of the dome, Terrel would not have been able to follow its progress at all. As it was, it was too bright to look at for long. However, at its greatest point, enough of the sun was covered to reduce its radiance considerably, and the temperature inside the glass canopy fell noticeably.
Terrel was intent on the spectacle above, and so he was unaware that all the sharaken had opened their eyes again. When he finally noticed this, he was unnerved to see that they were all staring not at the eclipse but at him. What was more, there now seemed to be another silvery light inside the dome, making up for the reduction in the sunlight.
And then he saw the reason for both the sharaken's amazement and the silver radiance. He raised his left hand, palm upwards, to see the miniature star of the amulet shining there like a magical beacon.