An Echo of Things to Come

by James Islington

  “You have a theory, I take it?” he asked eventually.

  Ishelle shrugged. “Perhaps. The first step would be to find out whether the one we found is the only one.”

  Davian stared at her in bemusement. “Of course it isn’t,” he said slowly. “The Boundary’s hundreds of miles around. What are the chances that we would stumble onto the only door? Just where we happened to be?”

  “What are the chances indeed,” murmured Ishelle, raising an eyebrow.

  Davian felt his brow crease. “You’re suggesting that it might have been deliberately placed there … for us?”

  Ishelle shrugged again. “Alchesh took part in the creation of this wall, and he saw a long way into the future. To now, if we’re going to believe everything that you claim to believe. Who’s to say that he didn’t also See us?”

  Davian shook his head slowly. “Seems a little grandiose,” he observed.

  Ishelle gave him a wry look. “You think that we’re trying to save the world from the greatest evil to ever be unleashed upon it. If you’re going to believe that, I don’t think it’s too grandiose to think that my theory is at least a possibility.”

  Davian grunted, but conceded her point. The healing of the Boundary—or its collapse—would surely be a crucial moment in the future, though he’d been trying not to think of it in quite such terms. It was possible that it had been Seen long ago, he supposed.

  “Well, we should know soon enough,” he said, gaze wandering down the wall of light to the east. “That looks like Erran and Fessi. They’ll be able to tell us if the next section is the same.”

  They slowed, allowing the other two Augurs to catch up to them.

  “Any news?” Davian asked as they got within hearing range.

  Fessi shrugged. “Nothing important,” she said, sounding as tired as she looked. “Everything seems close to identical to here, as far as I can tell.”

  “Did you find another door?” asked Ishelle.

  Fessi shook her head. “No door.”

  Davian grunted as Ishelle’s eyes lit up. “It doesn’t mean anything, Ishelle,” he warned her quietly. “There could be one every few pillars. Or one for every outpost, even. It’s not necessarily unique.”

  “But this makes it more likely,” retorted Ishelle.

  The others looked at them questioningly, and Ishelle supplied her theory on the kan archway’s purpose.

  “What if the Boundary can only be fixed from the other side?” she concluded quietly. “Even if that doorway wasn’t specifically made for us, the Augurs clearly wanted to be able to get into Talan Gol for something. Perhaps it was their way of ensuring that if the Boundary needed fixing, it could be done.”

  “It’s still thin,” observed Erran quietly. He held up a hand defensively as Ishelle glared at him. “I’m not saying that you’re wrong. But I don’t especially feel like wandering into Talan Gol just to find out whether you’re right, either.” He shrugged. “Besides, I’d like to think that if I’d helped make the Boundary, and then Seen us in our current situation, I would have left us something other than a door.” He gave Ishelle a pointed look. “Like, say, instructions telling us how to fix whatever’s going on here.”

  Ishelle sighed. “I suppose,” she conceded.

  They kept walking, quiet discussions about the mysterious door and other mechanisms in the Boundary fading to silence as they got closer and closer to the long climb up to the outpost.

  They were all trying to maintain an optimistic outlook, but it was hard to avoid the slow, creeping sense that they were in over their heads.

  Davian glanced back toward the now-distant rippling wall of light as he started up the stairs. Today had been the first time that he’d really seen a sign of just how badly, how rapidly, the Boundary was decaying.

  He suspected that it wouldn’t be the last.

  Davian nodded to the two guards at the northern entrance, frowning slightly as he entered the keep beyond.

  The outpost was quiet—as was the norm at this time of night—but there was a pile of satchels in the corner that hadn’t been there when they’d left. A few men were sitting around a table in one of the side rooms, playing cards. Davian poked his head inside, giving a friendly nod to the one who looked up.

  “Do we have visitors?” he asked curiously.

  “You do,” came a familiar voice from behind him.

  Davian turned, a huge grin splitting his face.

  “Wirr?” He wrapped his friend in a fierce embrace, laughing. “Fates! Fates. I did not expect to see you here!”

  “And you cannot imagine how glad I am to see that you’re here,” said Wirr. The young man beamed back at Davian, though he looked worn—somehow even more so than he had the last time that Davian had spoken to him, after the battle in Ilin Illan. “You have no idea how hard it’s been to get information on what you’ve been up to out of Shen.”

  Davian winced. “There’s a reason,” he admitted wryly. “But we’ll get to that. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be … Northwardening, or whatever it is that you do now?”

  “Finally, someone who has a grasp on my job description,” said Wirr with a grin. “Yes, ideally I would be Northwardening. But there have been some … complications.”

  There was movement at the door, and Davian paused as a woman in a blue cloak swept into the room. Her gaze fell on Davian, the icy look in her eyes immediately wiping the smile from his face.

  “A friend of yours, Torin?”

  Wirr smiled, but Davian could tell that the expression was forced.

  “Mother, this is Davian. Davian, this is my mother, Duchess Geladra Andras.”

  Davian immediately dipped his head respectfully. “It’s very nice to meet you, Duchess Andras.”

  “Hmm.” Geladra looked unimpressed, eyeing him for a few moments. “You’re the Augur.”

  “I am.” Davian straightened. “We’ve been studying the Boundary, trying to—”

  “I know the story.” Geladra’s gaze swept past him, searching the room. “Tell me, Davian. Did you know my husband?”

  Davian glanced at Wirr, who was looking uncomfortable. “I met him briefly just before the battle in Ilin Illan,” he said quietly. “I am sorry for your—”

  “Don’t.” Geladra’s words had heat to them. “Are there others like you here? Where are your keepers from Tol Shen?”

  Davian stiffened, glancing askance at his friend, who gave him an apologetic shake of the head in return. Wirr looked mortified, at least. That was something.

  “There are others,” Davian said as politely as he could. “But unfortunately none of the Elders from Tol Shen were able to join us. We were given permission to travel here by ourselves, given the urgency—”

  “So you’ve had no oversight.” Geladra’s expression darkened. “For all we know, every man in this outpost is being Controlled.”

  Wirr groaned. “I know Davian, Mother. I grew up with him. He would never do anything like that.”

  “And you. You should be the one who’s outraged, not me.” Geladra glared at her son. “These Augurs are here in clear violation of the Amnesty, and yet your immediate reaction is to say that it’s all right? Take responsibility for your position while you still can, Torin.” Her eyes took on a dangerous look. “I expect you to organize for me to have a word with these other Augurs as soon—”

  “That’s enough. I’m saying it’s all right because I am exercising my judgment on the matter,” interrupted Wirr, his tone cool and gaze steady as he said the words. Davian blinked; Wirr’s voice held more commanding, calm authority than he’d ever heard from his friend before. “You will have your chance to speak with the Augurs, Mother, as promised. But for now, I would like to catch up with my friend. In private.”

  Geladra glared at her son, face flushed, but after a few moments spun on her heel and left.

  There was an awkward silence following her departure, Davian staring after her wide-eyed. He eventually turned to see Wirr sha
king his head.

  “Fates,” he muttered. “I’m sorry, Dav. That wasn’t the way I’d hoped to greet you.”

  “Not your fault.” Davian raised an eyebrow. “So things are … not going well?”

  “Not even close. You?”

  “Worse.” Davian rubbed his forehead. “Definitely worse.”

  There was another silence, and then the two boys grinned at each other.

  “Come on,” said Wirr, his smile widening. “We can commiserate later, but first, I can think of at least one other person who’s going to be happy to see you.”

  Davian, Asha, and Wirr sat around the table, the conversation still lively despite the late hour.

  It felt like forever since the three of them had been together like this. It had been well over a year, Davian supposed—they hadn’t had a chance to simply sit and talk like this since Caladel. Despite the situation, despite the grimness of their surroundings and what was to come, each of them wore smiles.

  After everything that they’d been through recently, this felt good. It felt right.

  Still, the underlying tension of what was going on around them was unavoidable. Much of their conversation had been taken up discussing all that had happened since they had last been together. Davian had insisted that Asha go first, spending most of the first hour dazed every time he saw her face, still finding it hard to believe that she was really no longer a Shadow.

  Even that, though, was almost easy to accept next to what she and Wirr had been through over the past few months.

  “Fates,” he said, sitting back after Wirr had finished explaining what he’d found in his father’s journals. “So you really believe that all of this—the war, the last twenty years—was just …”

  “I don’t know.” Wirr shifted uncomfortably. “It at least seems likely that Nethgalla and Jakarris worked together to take down the old Augurs. And that Nethgalla set things up so that she’d gain strength from the Gifted being turned into Shadows … but then, that seems to have been mostly in service of stopping the Boundary from collapsing.” He glanced at Asha, who nodded reluctantly.

  Davian felt a chill as he shook his head, trying to process it all. “It’s still a terrifying thought,” he observed quietly. “It means that they willingly ruined tens of thousands of lives just to get to this point.”

  There was a somber silence after that.

  “So we think that Caeden’s name is really Tal’kamar, now? He didn’t say anything else to you? Or to Karaliene?” Davian asked eventually. He’d thought often of their friend but so much had been happening, it had never been for long. “If he’s remembered anything more, then he might have some answers.”

  Wirr shook his head. “You know everything that I do. You can ask Kara yourself, though, if you want—she’s here somewhere. Just be aware … she won’t react to you quite like my mother did, but she probably won’t be entirely easygoing about you and your friends breaching the Amnesty, either.” He stretched. “So have you and the other three made any progress since you got here?”

  Davian sighed, nodding an acknowledgment at Wirr’s warning regarding the princess. “We’re not making quick progress, exactly—but we’re learning more about how everything works up here each day,” he said quietly. He glanced at Asha, stomach twisting as he thought about what she was intending to do. “I’m sure that we’ll figure out a way to fix the Boundary before you need to use this Tributary device, though.”

  “Liar,” observed Asha with an affectionate smile, though Davian could see her nervousness behind it. She shook her head. “Do what you can, Dav. But if I need to use it, it won’t be anyone’s fault.”

  “When will you start looking for the Shadows?” Wirr asked her.

  “Tomorrow. First thing. They’re to the east—a little way, but not too far, I think.” Asha’s tone was confident. “The sooner I find them, the more prepared we’ll be if I do need to do something.”

  Davian and Wirr both grimaced at that, and Asha rolled her eyes at them. “I’ll be fine.” She looked at Wirr. “Honestly, I’m more worried about you at the moment. I still can’t believe that you offered to step down.”

  Wirr shrugged awkwardly.

  “I’m still hoping that I won’t have to,” he admitted. “But I need to convince my mother of the problem. I need to convince her that there is a problem. Otherwise, she’s going to cause more than a little trouble for the Augurs.” He gave Davian a concerned look. “The thing is … we think that someone may have been Controlling my father for the past few years. We found some things that he’d written in a journal, and …” He sighed. “The worst part is, I was angry to begin with, but now that I’ve had time to think about it, I’m conflicted. If it’s true, it probably saved my life. But it’s still a hard thing to just let go.”

  Davian gazed at him in horror. “I’m so sorry, Wirr,” he said quietly. Beside him, Asha just watched, her eyes full of sadness and sympathy.

  The conversation stalled for a few moments, but eventually turned to lighter things after that. For just a while, Davian forgot where they were. Forgot the pressure, forgot the frustration and nervousness and panic that pressed down on him every moment that he was working on the Boundary, and just enjoyed the company of his friends.

  Too soon, though, Wirr glanced at the moonlit landscape outside the window and stood, stretching.

  “Well. I’m off to bed,” he said with a yawn. He gave the other two a mock-stern look. “Don’t run yourselves into the ground.”

  Davian smiled. “You’re starting to sound like Elder Olin.”

  “Then fates rest him, that man was wiser than I gave him credit for.” Wirr yawned again, nodding cheerfully. “See you in a few hours.”

  He left, and there was silence for a few seconds. Davian shifted.

  “I’ve missed you,” he said quietly, a little awkwardly.

  “I would hope so.” The corners of Asha’s mouth curled upward. “I’ve missed you, too, Dav.”

  Then she paused, giving him a gentle nudge with her shoulder. “I see that you still have my ring, by the way,” she added, eyes sparkling as she nodded to the band of silver on his finger.

  “Of course.” Davian hesitated. “I know you said to hang on to it until the next time we saw—”

  “No.” Asha reached over, pressing her hand down firmly over his and leaving it there. “I like that you have it.”

  Their gazes met and Davian smiled, a contented warmth suddenly in his chest.

  They sat like that, just talking, for hours more. In the background, guards came and went as they changed shifts, and outside the moon rose and then began to fall again. Davian knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he should probably sleep. He needed to be sharp when the morning finally came.

  In the end, he just didn’t care.

  A good amount of time had passed when, midconversation, Asha’s eyes went wide and she swayed in her seat, gripping his arm tightly to steady herself. Davian half rose in concern at the expression on her face, but Asha quickly shook her head and waved him back down again.

  “I’m all right,” she said softly, shaking her head dazedly. “I think …” She shuddered again. “I think Caeden is starting to bind the Lyth.”

  Davian watched her worriedly. “Are you sure?”

  Asha grimaced, still holding on to his arm for support. “There was already so much power there, it’s hard to tell. But … yes.” She shivered. “Yes.”

  Davian watched her silently for a few seconds, heart heavy.

  “Are you really going to do this?” It wasn’t completely in context with their previous conversation, but the seriousness of his tone, and their surroundings, was enough for Asha to know to what he was referring.

  Asha gave him a rueful smile. “Not much choice in the matter.” She reluctantly released his arm, seemingly having adjusted to the abrupt influx of power.

  “We’ll see,” said Davian. “There’s still a chance that we can find a way to make it unnecessary.
”

  “I hope you’re right,” Asha said softly, “but don’t make promises you can’t keep. If it’s what needs to happen, then I’m ready.”

  Davian nodded slowly, heart wrenching as he gazed into Asha’s eyes.

  Then he leaned in, a little hesitantly until she smiled, lifting her face gently to his.

  Time passed in an all-too-brief blur of long embraces and soft, happy conversation after that; when Erran and Fessi abruptly burst into the room, the first hints of dawn were showing outside the window.

  “Davian! There you are!” Erran pulled up short when he saw Asha and Davian together, having the good grace to wince and give Davian an apologetic glance before continuing. “Ishelle’s gone.”

  “What?” Davian straightened. “Where?”

  “Toward the Boundary. She must have used a time bubble to get past the guards without them noticing. They only spotted her a few minutes ago. She’s not far from getting there.”

  Davian frowned. “Maybe she couldn’t sleep. She could just be getting an early start,” he said slowly. He saw Erran’s raised eyebrow and cursed. “Fates, you’re right. That doesn’t sound like her. And she was awfully interested in that El-cursed door last night.” He leaped to his feet. “Let’s go.”

  “You’re not going anywhere.”

  Everyone turned to see Geladra in the doorway, several Administrators behind her.

  Davian frowned. “We need to go after our friend,” he said urgently. “She left, and we’re not sure why.”

  “None of you should be going anywhere without supervision.” Geladra’s eyes were hard as she looked at the three of them. “I would hope that you will respect the rule of law enough not to resist—but if you do, we are willing to use—”

  Suddenly everyone in the doorway appeared to freeze.

  Davian blinked, then turned to see Fessi with a look of concentration on her face. “Good thinking.”

  “Thanks.” She glanced at Erran, then at Asha, both of whom she’d somehow managed to pull outside the flow of time, too, despite not being physically in contact with them. “I probably can’t hold a bubble of this size for long, so let’s make this quick. What are we doing?”