Prince Ilathor stepped forward, trying to shield Ella, but she fought him as he tried to hold her back.
Everyone else stared at the relic.
The tall oval mirror floating above the platform in the centre of the pool slowly changed hue, from gold to red.
Killian looked back at Ella, and his expression said everything. She didn't know what the relic was, but her intuition told her it was some kind of doorway. She didn't know what lay on the other side, but she knew Killian, and she knew from his face that he was a man preparing to die.
Killian walked forward and entered the pool, the only man alive who could do so. He waded through the essence, mindless of its touch on his skin.
"No!" Ella cried. He couldn't leave her. He couldn't!
She tried to go to him but the prince held her back, his grip too strong to break.
Killian mounted the platform and replaced the seals. He turned one final time and looked at Ella.
His last words were to tell her he loved her.
The surface of the mirror rippled like molten gold. Killian's expression was set with determination as he took a breath and then walked through. Ella looked for his body to emerge on the other side of the shimmering curtain.
But he was gone.
Moments later, the sound of the beacon ceased as abruptly as it had started. Evrin's voice could be heard as he reactivated the seals, and the reddened shade of the portal shifted steadily back to silver. Evrin sighed and hung his head.
For a long time there was silence.
The Akari was the first to speak. "You can lower your weapon, bladesinger. I won't fight."
Miro slowly relaxed the arrow he had nocked to his ear.
Ella wanted to go to her brother but there was still too much that she needed to know. Instead she ran around the pool to Evrin. The old man was badly wounded; one of his legs was clearly broken and the other bore a terrible wound that might be infected. His lips were parched and cracked. "Water!" she cried.
Miro threw her a sloshing flask. Ella snatched it out of the air and pressed it to Evrin's lips, waiting until the old man had taken a large gulp before she spoke.
"Where did he go? When will he come back?"
"I'm sorry," Evrin said, appearing to revive in front of her. "He cannot come back."
"No," Ella said. "I don't believe you. How could you let him go if you knew he could never come back? Bring him back." She shook the old man, heedless of Evrin's moans of pain. "I know about your secrets. I know you have powers. Bring him back!"
"Ella," Miro and Prince Ilathor both said in unison. They then looked at each other as if each man was noticing the other for the first time.
"Who are you?" Miro said.
Ella looked up at her brother and Prince Ilathor. It was like a meeting of two black-maned lions, circling as they took each other's measure. Both were tall, but Miro was slightly taller. Both men were lean and broad-shouldered, but Ilathor's shoulders were a little wider. Each wore the right of command like a mantle.
"My name is Prince Ilathor Shanti of Tarn Teharan. I take it you are the brother of Ella?"
"Miro Torresante, Lord Marshal of the allied armies of Altura and Halaran."
Dain Barden picked up his war hammer and leaned on the head. "I remember you, Lord Marshal. We met on the Azure Plains."
"We should get out of here," Ella said, breaking the tension in the room. "Miro, Ilathor, help me with Evrin."
The two warriors lifted the groaning old man between them and carried him out of the chamber.
"Don't even think about it," Ella said, glaring at the Akari and looking pointedly at his war hammer.
Ella followed the Dain down the spiral stairs, but before she left she saw a book on the ground. Its pages were seared at the edges and part of it was missing completely, but it was made of the same metallic fabric as the Lexicons. She bent down and picked it up.
Soon Ella, Miro, Prince Ilathor, and Dain Barden all stood on the pedestal at the foot of the Sentinel.
"Please, put me down here," Evrin said. "Lean me up against the foot. Yes, that's it. Before I speak, there is something I must do."
The old man called out a series of activations, names Ella didn't recognise at all. The circle of runes around the opening in the pedestal flared blue, and there was the sound of stone moving against stone. In an instant the opening was closed, sealed as if it had never been. Only the circle of runes remained.
Now they were safely out of the chamber and Miro and Ilathor held the Akari in check, Ella rounded on Evrin.
"Where did Killian go?" Ella demanded.
"He went to another place, removed in both time and space from this world. I am sorry, but where he has gone you cannot follow," Evrin said sadly.
Ella's mouth set with determination. Killian had given himself so they could be safe from the danger on the other side of the portal. He couldn't be gone forever. He just couldn't.
"I promise you, I will find a way," Ella said.
Ella saw Miro coming towards her and fell into his embrace, closing her eyes for a moment. She looked over Miro's shoulder and saw Prince Ilathor, looking at her as if seeing her for the first time. Ella remembered Killian's last words as she looked past the prince.
"Look," Ella said, pushing her brother away and pointing, laughing despite herself. "It's Jehral. He has Bartolo with him. And Shani! And…"
71
MIRO released his sister and then turned his head in the direction she pointed. Five figures were walking across the tiny island towards where their group clustered at the base of the Sentinel.
Miro saw the Hazaran first, recognising Jehral from long ago in Sarostar, though he was now covered in blood and walked with a terrible limp.
Supporting Jehral on each side were Shani, the Petryan woman, and a bladesinger. Miro grinned when he saw Bartolo, smiling broadly despite his wounds.
Then Miro saw Rogan Jarvish, whose tall body obscured the woman beside him. Rogan smiled wearily.
And then Miro was running. He didn't remember telling his feet to move, they were simply propelling his body forward. "Amber!" he cried.
Amber held something in her arms, and Miro suddenly drew up short, staring at her in shock.
Amber looked up at Miro, and he could see the trepidation in her eyes. She pulled the soft wool from the bundle in her arms so that he could see the tiny babe she carried.
"Miro," she said, "this is my son."
Miro gazed down at the baby, looking at its clear blue eyes and dimpled chin. The baby held his hand in front of his face and then reached out, as if trying to touch the chin of the warrior who loomed over him.
Miro stared at Amber, and then his eyes returned once more to the baby. The babe's hands were tiny, each little finger represented in detail. Miro reached down with his own hand, and the boy grabbed hold of his finger with surprising strength.
"What's… what's his name?" Miro asked.
He looked up at Amber when she didn't reply, and then he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. Miro's heart instantly when out to her, and he reached out and pulled her close to him, with the baby held between them.
"He doesn't have a name," Amber said through her tears.
"He's beautiful," Miro said, and he meant it. Here, clean and sweet, with her baby held so naturally to her breast, Amber looked lovelier than ever. "You're beautiful."
Amber's eyes shone through her tears. "He's Igor's," she said. "I never told Igor I was with child."
"Amber, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Do you think…?" Miro was suddenly unsure of himself. "Do you think we could name him together?"
Amber laughed. "Of course we can. I'd like that very much."
"I would too."
"Amber." Ella's arms went around her friend and tears fell from her eyes. "I've missed you so much." Then the baby started crying, and Ella laughed. "He's beautiful."
"The city is secured," Rogan said to Miro. "The
desert men like Jehral here," he nodded, "and our soldiers are working well together as we restore order."
Miro locked eyes with Prince Ilathor.
"There's one score I need to settle first," Miro said, frowning at the prince. "No one comes to my city under the guise of a treaty and captures my sister. No one."
Prince Ilathor dropped his hand to rest on the scimitar at his side.
Miro reached around to the hilt of the zenblade on his back.
"Miro, stop," Ella said. "He needed our help to take the Petryan capital. By knocking Petrya out of the war, he enabled you to take back Halaran."
"My prince, listen to me," Jehral said. "It was not our people who took this city; it was those from all over the world. They come from Altura, and Halaran, from Torakon and Loua Louna. It is for no one house to claim victory. We are in their debt."
Prince Ilathor took his hand away from his sword, and after a moment, Miro followed suit. The prince held out his hand, and Miro hesitated, but a moment later, he reached out, and the two men shook.
"There is one more," Rogan said. "All others have either surrendered, or come to our side." He looked pointedly at Dain Barden.
The ruler of the Akari shook his head. "We won't go against the wishes of the houses. It's too hot here. I've already sent the orders. I'm taking my people back north."
"What did you really want?" Miro asked.
Dain Barden shrugged. "We wanted to join the empire. People find our lore repulsive, but it is who we are. No one is harmed except for the dead, and those we send them to fight."
"Provided you keep your lore to yourselves," Rogan said.
"Yes, I'll give you that. Provided we keep our lore to ourselves. The first Emperor, Xenovere the Great they call him, exiled us because of who we are. All we ever wanted was to have our own place in the world."
"Then go back to the north," Amber said, "but this time not to exile."
"The Tingaran Empire is gone," Miro said, "and the brief rule of the Primate is over. It is up to men like us to decide what comes next. Whatever happens, we must never again let any one man control the world's essence, just as we must keep a wary eye on the powerful relics the Evermen left behind."
"A worthy sentiment," Evrin spoke from his seat, leaning against the Sentinel's big toe. "As soon as I'm well enough, I'll help you rebuild the machines that once resided in Stonewater. Extracting essence from the dead may work for the Akari, but essence taken from lignite works just as well."
"Wait," Ella said, causing all eyes to be on her. "Before we say anything more, I think it's time."
"Time for what?" Miro said.
Ella turned to Evrin. "It's time to know the truth. Killian left us," her voice caught, "so that he could prevent the return of the Evermen. Twice now you've asked everything of him, and twice he's given you everything. All he ever wanted was to know the truth. Yet he left without ever knowing. It's time we knew, Evrin Evenstar."
"I'm wounded," Evrin protested.
"Then the sooner you start, the sooner you'll see a healer," Ella said. "None of us are leaving this island until we know the truth. It's time," she repeated.
Evrin bowed his head. "I suppose it is. I used to think the best protection lay in ignorance, but the Primate has proven me wrong. Listen to me well, for I will not repeat myself."
Ella and Miro exchanged glances. Soon they all clustered around the old man.
72
"MY NAME is Evrin Evenstar," he began. "I'm not sure how old I am, but I have walked Merralya for at least a thousand years. Please put aside everything you have learned from the Evermen Cycles, for what you have learned is a lie, and what I am now telling you is the real truth."
Ella and her brother exchanged glances. Ella looked at Evrin and now saw the passage of centuries behind his eyes, and as he spoke power came to his voice, so that Ella could believe that this was the man who created the Lexicons.
"Long ago, the Evermen ruled the world. Not just these lands here that you call the Tingaran Empire. No, I speak of long before the empire even existed. The Evermen ruled all of Merralya, and everyone in it."
The crashing of the waves against the island sounded against Evrin's words. Evrin closed his eyes for a moment and then resumed.
"Humans were our workers. You could use the term slaves. Like all slaves, you were given work."
Evrin looked into the distance, and Ella wondered what he saw.
"Some of you processed essence for our use. You were taught to use the machines, but you didn't need lore of your own, and were never taught any."
"Templars," Amber murmured.
"Some of you, however, were taught to utilise lore. You built our cities and you manufactured our tools and gadgets. You constructed machines to do the labour that you were not capable of doing yourselves. Some of you created illusions to entertain us."
Evrin moved his leg and winced, looking at Ella, before he continued.
"Ours was a beautiful world, filled with wonder. Yet when I say ours, I do not include you humans, I refer to my brothers and myself. You were our playthings, our toys, our servants and our slaves. You did what we commanded, and we did with you what we willed. Your lives were in our hands, and you lived and died, loved and gave birth at our command. You were no threat to us, for we were all-powerful. We could kill you with barely more than a thought. We lived forever and we knew everything."
Evrin licked his lips. "Or so we thought."
Ella looked up at the Sentinel, and thought about Stonewater, and the Pinnacle, and the incredible power the Evermen had possessed.
"My brothers and I each took a god-name to impress our subjects. There was Varian Vitrix, who you might know as the Lord of the Earth. Pyrax Pohlen was the Lord of the Sun. I am Evrin Evenstar, but you would know me as the Lord of the Sky."
Ella couldn't believe what she was hearing. It turned upside down everything she had ever been taught about the Evermen. She could understand now why Evrin had kept them all in ignorance. Who would cast down their own gods?
"There was one of us, Sentar Scythran, the Lord of the Night…"
Dain Barden looked up, his gaze intent.
"You," Evrin said. "Dain of the Akari. You need to hear this most of all."
Barden's knuckles were white as he gripped the hammer at his belt.
"Sentar Scythran found his slaves' free will to be offensive. He didn't humans having emotions or singing songs. He didn't want his subjects speaking to him out of turn, or breeding without his permission. Sentar Scythran preferred to be served by the dead."
Ella wondered how the Dain would react to Evrin's words.
"None of us took much notice. We were powerful and knowledgeable, and we could do almost anything we set our minds to. Drawing runes on a corpse and teaching it to pour wine was nothing to us."
Evrin coughed for a moment, and in the break Ella looked over at Seranthia, wondering if the world would ever be the same again.
"However something happened that made us take notice. For, being constantly around the dead as he was, the Lord of the Night discovered a new source of power. Sentar discovered that essence's power comes from life. We all knew that, of course, but we always thought the essence itself had to come from lignite, from below the ground, where the life energy of a thousand trees or a million blades of grass condenses over eons.
"Yet, Sentar Scythran, the Lord of the Night, made a new discovery. He found a way to harness the life energy of humans."
Evrin looked down at the ground as if filled with shame.
"My brothers, the Evermen, began to adopt this process. At first we were pleased. We had found a use for the dead humans, and our power was never greater. We could do anything. We pooled our knowledge and we discussed ways of exploring worlds beyond this one."
Ella thought about the hidden relic, a portal to another world. She wondered if Killian was lost to her forever.
Evrin looked up again. "But then I fell in love with a human."
He took a deep breath. ""You have to understand, this was something unheard of among my people. Unimaginable, perhaps that might be a better word. We Evermen did with our slaves whatever we willed. We bedded those who we ruled whenever the mood was on us. Yet never was the fruit of our passion allowed to survive. Never did we feel anything more than lust. How could we? We were your gods. We were as far above you as the stars."
"Who was she?" Shani asked.
"She was different. Her people had made her a leader, which is how we met, and it didn't take me long to see why. I had never met a human before who saw herself as my equal. Not until I met her. She was intelligent, and charming, and filled with new ideas. She was beautiful, and I took her to my bed.
"Yet even as I did so, I knew it was only with her permission. She would have rather died than give in to anyone who sought to control her by intimidation or force. My feelings crept up on me. I thought I was ruled by my passion, but it was more. I was in love.
"Suddenly I felt that I could see for the first time. With her to open my eyes, I came to realise that my brothers had lowered the cost of human life to nothing. You were worth more to us dead than alive. The slightest provocation and you were killed — one more body for the vats. I started to feel sick to the stomach. What we were doing was wrong.
"I confronted my brothers, but they would not give up their ways. They were disgusted that I had taken a human lover and tried to bring me back into the fold. We argued, and I left.
"You have to understand how hard this was for me. They were my brethren, and together we dreamed of wonders you cannot possibly imagine. Yet I loved her even more than I loved my brothers. I felt responsible for the humans in my dominion, as well as for those in my brothers' dominions. I made my decision, and chose a path I would never be able to turn away from."
The expression on Evrin's face told Ella how hard the decision had been.
"I gathered nine of the human loremasters to me. Looking at these men and women with my newly-opened eyes, I saw that these were bright, intelligent people who deserved to be given the opportunity to be all they could be.
"I presented the loremasters with nine Lexicons, one for each school of lore. With these books, not only would the humans have the knowledge they needed, they would have a source of power that the Evermen would not be able to take away.
The Hidden Relic (The Evermen Saga, Book Two) Page 41