She Who Has No Name tlt-2

by Michael Foster

  ‘For god’s sake, boy, listen to me,’ Anthem said, choking on his blood. ‘You were supposed to bear the hope of the world, not its damnation. You don’t have to forgive me, but forgive yourself. It is not too late.’ Then his gaze became unfocussed as his blood fell freelyand he dropped to his knees. He looked through Samuel altogether. ‘Forgive me, brother.’

  With that, the tether around him tightened and he was gone in a flash. The oppressive presence of the demon vanished and,as the ether gulped the beast back into itself, Samuel’s garnered power was sucked in with it. Thousands of souls’worth of power vanished, drawn in by the tear in the pattern and Samuel was left shuddering and gasping in wordless pain.

  The voices in his head started shouting at him, and he could hear it was the Ancient Lick; they were speaking, commanding him to gather more souls. He would not listen to them for,with the pain,his mind had cleared. He realised that Anthem’s parting words were true. If he had continued, perhaps he would have become the very demon that he was trying to prevent from returning, or a mirror of Ash, the very manwhomhe had despised. He would have consumed everyone-even his own son and the child’s mother. Instead, he fought back against the voices, using the old man’s final message to empower him. He refused to become a tool for destruction. He would not hurt the ones he loved. In defiance of the voices, he held his hands to his ears and screamed as loudly as he could.

  ‘Get out of my head!’ he told them. The voices increased in intensity and he continued to yell, but he refuted their claim on him and refused to let them in. Slowly, they dimmed away and he could hear his own hoarse voiceonce more. Finally, the whispering faded away altogether and only his own thoughts remained to fill his mind.

  With his power all but gone, he became aware of his body and he suddenly realised he still had a spear through his chest. He dropped to his knees and cried in pain, as he strained to slide the thing from his middle. Length by length he drew it out, until it was finally free and he cast the thing aside. It shattered on the rooftop, a shard of glassed rod. He looked aboutto discover who hadcast such a weapon, but no magician was in sight or could be sensed.

  He had only shreds of power left, and he instilled that magic into the hole in his chest and knitted back the broken flesh as well as he could, leaving a pale scar just below his ribs. He would live and his power would return, but it had been a sobering experience. Anthem had saved him in the end with the parting gift of his words. He had probably saved them all. Samuel had little love left for the old man, but,despite his misdirected methods, his intentions hadno doubtbeen true. Perhaps, one day he could forgive the old man. One day, but not today.

  He dropped from the roof and rolled uncomfortably onto the lower balcony that had fallen against the building, now forming a broken ramp that led to the ground. Standing on his throbbing ankle, Samuel carefully descended to the street and began hobbling along the curved terraces, up towards the palace.

  The city was deserted here,for everyone caught nearby now lay dead. As he climbed the hill and neared the glorious palace, he found more and more people: some ignoredhim completely and others fledin terror as they recognised him. His mind was on the Koian woman, but he still had to retrieve the two rings from Alahativa. He had felt firsthand what a demon could do and he had no wish to fight something like that,somethingwhich could devour souls with its thoughts.

  He took deep breaths as he climbed and,by the time he had entered the abandoned palace, he had gained enough power to heal his ankle and was feeling something more like a magician again.

  Despite his fears that Alahativa may have fled, she was still in her chamber, still arguing with the chained Emperor. Her hair was messed and she looked crazed. Strange energies were billowing around her: a mix of her own ring-empowered magic and the strange alien aura that was threatening to overcome her.

  ‘So you live!’ she yelled at him, and she hid behind her captive with wild eyes and held a jagged dagger to his throat.

  ‘I want you to free him,’ Samuel commanded.

  ‘Never!’ the woman declared. ‘He is mine, forever! I will kill him and kill myself before I let him go to another.’

  ‘He has his own mind to decide.’

  ‘But he does not remember yet. I do! Once he realises who I am, he will never want to leave me again. We were made to be together for all time! He just does not remember!’

  ‘I am not that man!’ the Emperor roared.

  ‘You are!’ she cried into his ear. ‘I know it!’

  ‘Then put the other ring on my finger,’ the Emperor suggested. ‘If I am truly who you say, I will have the same powers as you dormant inside me,the same powers that have brought back your memory. If not, then it will prove that I am just a man, and not whom you think.’

  ‘Yes! Yes!’ she said and she forgot Samuel asshe hurried around in front of her captive. She dropped the dagger and,fumblingin the pockets of her elegant gown,drew out Samuel’s magical ring. She pushed it onto the Emperor’s finger and Samuel saw the energies bloom around him. ‘There! Do you remember now?’

  The chains dropped from his hands as he spelled them loose, using the power that came to him via the ring. Just having such power proved that the man called Edmond Calais was,indeed,a magician of some description. The fact that he already knew how to wield his power also spoke volumes.

  ‘Yes, of course I remember you, Rei,’ and for a moment she had a look of utter elation. But he went on. ‘I have remembered for as long as youhave, cursing you every day as you held me captive but,unlike you, I have turned my back on who I was. We have lived under the curse of Marrag Lin for so long that we have forgotten weeachhave our own free will. Our memories fade over the years but,each time our master returns, we relive the same troubled lives of our past. We cannot keep on doing this forever, Rei. I refuse. I want to be a better man than that.’

  ‘No,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘I know who I am, but I do not love you any more. I have been a slave long enough and I will make my own choices from here. You have kept me prisoner in your palace and kept me from my wife and son. I harbour no ill will towards you, but I will stay no longer. You can do as you wish, but do it without me.’

  ‘What do you mean, Edmond?’ Samuel asked.

  The man turned towards Samuel. ‘I am no more Edmond Calais than I am Andor Ferse. I have been countless different people, but I am no more any one of them than I am the man born so many Ages ago called Thann,as she is not truly Rei. Once upon a time,we were lovers, but we have both died countless times since then. We are no longer the people we were. We have been blended and merged with the souls of so many others. It is pointless to lay claim to our old selves. I realised that when my memories first came creeping back to me but,for some reason,she cannot seem to reach the same conclusion.’

  ‘Don’t leave me, Thann! We have only just found each other. How can I live without you?’

  ‘Wake up,woman! Nothing will change while we keep re-enacting our old lives. We are not those people any more. I want nothing of you orofbeing Thann.’

  ‘It is because of that child!’

  ‘It is. For some reason I cannotfathom, fate has granted me a son and this tiny improbability has finally given me hope. I admit that I am incapable of having feelings for his mother, but she is a good and intelligent woman and she will raise our boy well. I will take them into some deserted part of the world and we will do our best to escape Lin’s return. When I die, I will be reborn within another and it will all begin over again, but I will not think of that now. Who knows what will happen in the future? But at least I will have a son. For a short time, perhaps I can be happy. What will you do, Rei, but follow his commands until the end of time-a hollow woman with a hollow life, raising armies to do his bidding?’

  ‘Lin will find you! He will kill you,too!’ she declared, pointing an accusing finger towards him. ‘As his strength returns, so will yours, and your memories will overpower you!’

/>   ‘Perhaps, so. But I can have my hope. Perhaps this time, things will be different.’

  ‘Pah! A foolish hope! The Demon King’s legacy cannot be denied!’

  ‘You mean the stories are true?’ Samuel said, interrupting their argument.

  ‘Yes, Samuel,’ the man who was once Emperor replied, ‘Lin is coming and there is very little time.’

  ‘How did this happen?’ he said, feeling defeated by the news. ‘After all we have been through,after all the battles we have fought and all the lives lost, how did we possibly fail? Was it her? Did she put the relics together? I thought she didn’t know how to do it?’

  ‘Sometimes these things happen instinctively, Samuel. It is too late now to do anything about it. Lin’s return is certain, but is not a sudden event and he will not raise his head for some years to come. It will take time for him to gather his strength and make himself known. Go to your woman. Raise your child. Enjoy these final days as much as you can. That is certainly what I plan to do.’

  ‘What about the rings? Were they not the relics we were seeking?’

  ‘The rings are not related to his return at all. These are just as Rei has said-aids for those who are learning to master their magic-children’s toys in our time. When Lin left this world he took our powers from us, but now, in these days of his return, our power is returning along with our memories. In a short time, we will have our full power at our fingertips.’

  ‘But, I thought the rings had great power? Have we wasted all our time?’

  ‘They have no power of their own; that is why one ring is no more useful than two. Relics like this were common in those early days when we were learning how to control our magic and were teaching it to others. We also made staves and rods and a multitude of devices used to manipulate the energy of the ether, but most of them are now long gone. Some of the hardier ones had innate methods of preserving themselves. These rings, as you know, transform into great metallic blocks when lost, which simply makes them easier to find. It was nothing more mysterious than that.’

  ‘It was Dividian who changed the ring from the stone,’ Samuel said. ‘He used the Ancient Lick to form the Great Spell that transformed it.’

  ‘Such foolishness. If only he had found the proper spell,it could have been done easily. The Ancient Lick can accomplish much, but it is a power that does not belong to us. Its use is forbidden, even to me. Never use it, Samuel. Forget it; destroy any scrap of it you may have learnt.’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘It is an evil language, rampant with dark power.’

  ‘I thought it was the language of the Ancients?’

  ‘Not at all. It was first found in that time, and it is true we Ancients did foolishly play with it-little knowing what it would do-but it is not the language we spoke. It is the tongue of evil, which beckoned to us from other realms. Evil calls to all in this world who become powerful, for power is a beacon for beings that seek to devour it. We knew no better and gave ourselves to that evil and,because of that, we became what we are. We fended off that evil in the end and regained our selves, but we are left forever changed by it. Lin made the ultimate sacrifice, becoming little more than a demon himself to save us. ’

  ‘So what are you?’ Samuel asked him. ‘Why is it that you live forever like this, taking the bodies of others?’

  ‘We are two of the last three surviving Ancients. Lin cursed us for our role in his creation and left us to walk the earth in his absence. We can be killed easily enough, but our spirits will readily fill the body of another. Our memories fade with time, whether we die or not, but our nature is difficult to change. Every age we become kings and queens and raise our empires and armies, just as we did back them. It is an eternal curse that we cannot escape.’

  ‘But to what end?’

  ‘For Lin. He thrives on destruction and the souls that are releasedhe gathers for his own purposes. They empower him. Every death upon the earth fuels him and makes him stronger.’

  ‘Is it something to do with the star? Is it truly a portent of his return?’

  The man with many names shook his head. ‘I have never seen its like before. The comet’s presence can only be a coincidence. At least, it is not as a result of Lin’s power.’

  ‘You mentioned another-a third Ancient.’

  ‘Poltamir,’ the man responded. ‘I have not spoken with him in many Ages. He may be in hiding, and if he can accomplish such a thing, then perhaps I can, too. I’m sorry, I must go now. I hate to leave you here, but I think you can manage on your own. I don’t think she will bother you further,’ and he gestured towards the broken woman as she lay weeping upon the floor, ‘and I must find my Lillith and Leopold. If they have returned to Cintar, I will need to remove Rei’s army before they threaten any more of my people.’

  ‘Will you return to being the Emperor?’ Samuel asked him, but the other only shook his head.

  ‘No. I have had enough of crowns and empires. I will slip away with my family and leave the ruling for others. Goodbye, Samuel. I am genuinely honoured to have met you. You have done well.’ He strode towards the broken balcony, looking out the gaping hole over the ruined city. ‘You have acted nobly when all others around you have been corrupt. Please don’t feel disappointed in the way things have worked out. Perhaps in the next age things will be better.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I suggest you follow my example and go to your woman while you can. Enjoy your time together. The child may be born any moment. The mother will need you.’

  ‘I don’t know if I know how to be a husband or a father.’

  ‘Don’t be foolish, Samuel. She loves you. You two were made for each other. Go. Be with her.’ He then turned once more to look at the sorry woman lying on the floor. ‘Goodbye, Rei. Please, let them enjoy their final moments. Put aside your petty jealousy for once in your pitiful existence. Their lives will be hard enough.’

  ‘But what about the Demon King?’ Samuel asked. ‘We can’t just give up. What can we do to stop him?’

  ‘Nothing, Samuel. Don’t even try. It will only make things worse.’ And with that, silver magic blazed around him and he arrowed away into the sky, towards the west.

  The woman once called Rei climbed to her knees with her hair hanging down around her face. She sobbed wildly and crawled towards the hole in the wall.

  ‘Thann, my love!’ she sobbed. ‘Thann!’

  During their conversation, he had time enough to reclaim much of his power, but he did not have the heart to strike such a broken woman. She already looked utterly defeated. Instead, Samuel turned away and left her to her tears.

  The palace was completely abandoned and it only took a few minutes for him to reach the Koian woman’s room. The guards and wizards were gone from the halls and he easily broke down the door to her room with a spell, with a good section of the wall crumbling around it. Shara was still there at her side and Samuel rushed up beside them.

  ‘She’s doing well,’ the old lady said. ‘The pains have subsided. I think all the noise and ruckus outside must have scared the dear thing. You look like a new man. What was going on out there?’

  ‘Nothing,’ he told her. ‘It is over.’

  The labouring god-woman looked weary. She looked up at him with weary eyes. ‘Why won’t he come out? I’m just so tired. I need our baby to come out so I can rest.’

  ‘I know. It should not be long. Then you can sleep for as long as you want.’ He then turned Shara. ‘Should we move her? The palace is abandoned. We could take her down into the city? We could find somewhere safe and comfortable, and perhaps someone to help us.’

  ‘I don’t think it’s wise to move her, but we could use the help of a healer, just in case. And we need water and fresh towels. This is no way to have a child.’

  ‘Very well. I can move her,’ Samuel said and he reached carefully beneath the pregnant woman and plucked her up like a flower, sheets and all. Using his magic, she felt like little more than a pill
ow in his arms.

  He was about to move to the door, when he felt magic building behind him. He threw up his shields, but the spell that came hurtling into the room was not meant for them. Shara screeched as the magic struck her and she burst into cinders.

  ‘Damn you, Magician!’ Alahativa said, holding herself against the broken doorway. She looked tragic, with her dark eye make-up streaked down her cheeks, and her hair knotted and matted about her face. ‘I will see you dead before I let you leave. At least I shall have that! You will never enjoy being with your woman! You will never feel that child in your arms!’

  ‘Damn you, witch!’ the Koian woman returned. ‘Why can’t you leave us in peace?’

  ‘Because of who I am. Because of who you are. Why should I give you peace when all you have given me is such misery? You could have done your duty and died like you were supposed to. Instead, you turned Thann against me and I will have to endure another thousand years of torment before I hold him again!’

  ‘That was by his own choice, not my doing,’ Samuel responded.

  ‘We Ancients made our choices long ago, Samuel. There is no pleasure to be had in our lives. At the very least, I will have the joy of watching you die, and seeing the misery on her face. Then, I will drive my armies for the sake of Lin, until there is nothing living upon the earth.’ She cast forth her finger and argent lightning burst forth, driving towards Samuel anddeflecting from his spell shields. The stone walls blew to pieces wherever the spell flickered upon it, but Samuel and the woman in his arms remained unharmed. ‘Your magic will not last forever, Samuel. I know you are tired after facing the old magician. He was much more powerful than me, but I don’t need much power to defeat you. You can’t fight me while you hold the girl, and you can’t protect the both of you. I have you!’

  A thrown clay pot landed at the Paatin Queen’s feet and she looked down instinctively. Black soot lay spilled around her feet and dark vapour curled up from it and wafted around her. Too late, she realised what it was.