Harmonic Magic Series Boxed Set

by P. E. Padilla

  The day passed quickly, Nalia taking the cue from the others and napping to make up for not sleeping the day before. At dinner, Dr. Walt and the two Zouyim were not in the dining hall. Sam asked one of the servants about it and the man told him that he had brought food to the library for the three, that they hadn’t wanted to take the time to leave their work.

  After dinner, Sam went to the library while Nalia went out to check on the rakkeben. The wolves had gone out and found game, so they were fed and curled up in the corner of a big, unused area in the stables where they normally teleported from. She spent a little time with them, petting Cleave and the other two as well. Sam found her around midnight, his eyes bleary and unfocused from reading for hours.

  “Still no luck,” he said. “I’m going to get some sleep. At this point, even if I looked right at a passage about Iboghan, I may not notice. I’ll go help some more in the morning.”

  Nalia kissed him goodnight and soon turned in herself. She was not good with Old Kasmali, so would not be any help in the search. All she could do was wait and hope the others found information. It seemed to her that much of her life consisted of waiting. She did not like it.

  She saw Sam in the morning for breakfast before he went to help with the research. Rindu had gone with him. Nalia spent the morning helping Danaba Kemp with the training of some of his recruits. The ex-bandit had more than one hundred soldiers, but needed many times that. The force building against them numbered in the thousands, if Lahim Chode’s viewing could be believed. She, for one, believed him.

  At lunch, she was sitting in the dining hall, picking at her food—some kind of roasted fowl with baked vegetables—when Sam plopped down next to her. His eyes were tired and he seemed sluggish, but when he smiled at her, she forgot all about the bags under his eyes and smiled back. Her father was with him, too, as was Palusa Filk.

  “Have you found nothing yet?” she asked them.

  “Nothing,” Palusa Filk answered. “There are so many books and scrolls and fragments here, something like this may take years. Dr. Walt thinks he remembers seeing the word, but cannot figure out where.”

  “We’re close,” Sam said. “I can feel it.”

  Nalia marveled at his constant optimism. “But Sam, how long will we wait? If we cannot find the location soon, we may be sacrificing our chance to catch her by following.”

  “I know,” he said. “I thought of that. If we can’t find it by the end of the day, we’ll go back to Gutu and follow her trail. She’ll be sticking to the roads as much as she can, I think, until she gets close to her destination. We shouldn’t have any problems following such a large force.”

  The others settled in to eat. They chatted of this and that, Nalia renewing her friendship with Palusa Filk, whom she thought was dead before she and Torim Jet showed up at Whitehall. When they were done, she went with them to the Grand Library. The search had been moved from Dr. Walt’s favorite library simply because the Grand Library had more books and there was less need to move them from one room to another.

  Nalia saw in Sam’s demeanor that he was thinking about another time in the largest library of the keep, the time when they had fought their way there to confront the Gray Man. Sam’s memories of the place were as bad as hers.

  They opened the huge wooden doors to enter the room and Sam froze. Nalia looked around him and saw what he was staring at. A familiar, thin woman with black hair stood near Dr. Walt.

  Ix had returned.

  Chapter 47

  Nalia had her shrapezi out and was charging the woman before anyone else moved. She had made it halfway across the room before she realized Ix had one of her arms in the air. The other held the hand of a small girl, whose eyes were wide at Nalia coming toward her with weapons drawn.

  She slid to a halt ten feet in front of the assassin, lowering her blades.

  The little girl stood stone still in front of her, eyes afire. She did not cry, however.

  “Bao Ling,” Ix whispered, “say hello to the Sapsyr. It is polite to say hello when someone is kind enough to show you her own clan weapons.”

  The little girl’s expression changed from fear to awe. “You are of the Sapsyra Shin Elah?” she said in her delicate voice. She bowed reverently. “It is my honor to meet you. I am Chen Bao Ling.”

  Nalia did not know what was going on, but she did know that the assassin was surrounded by no less than three Zouyim, herself, and Sam. If she attacked, she would be dispatched quickly. She put both shrapezi in one hand, saluted the little girl, and bowed. “My name is Nalia Wroun, Bao Ling. It is my honor to meet you.”

  Dr. Walt, who was standing nearest Ix and the little girl, let out a long breath. “Nalia, Rindu, Sam, I believe you know our guest, Ix. Please, let’s all sit and perhaps she can tell you what she has just told me.” He took his own advice and sat down hard on one of the benches. He looked frazzled, no doubt from being so close to getting caught between combatants again.

  Nalia looked at Ix. She appeared the same as when she had last seen her. Not even five and a half feet tall, she was slender and muscular, with short black hair and the same flat features as the little girl. They both shared the eyes that tilted more sharply than most of the people Nalia had ever met, but she knew that in other areas these features were common. She had known some in Marybador. In fact, her father’s side of the family had some of those traits.

  The assassin was wearing the same type of garb she had when last Nalia saw her, black snug-fitting cloth that allowed movement but did not have loose folds that could be grabbed or snagged on things. She had those strange weapons attached to her hips, the ones that looked like steel circles with the fan of three blades attached to one side, opposite the cord-wrapped side. She remembered well the long blade in the center and the shorter blades to either side. She had been cut by those blades in her battle with the assassin. The woman had been one of the Gray Man’s top minions, his personal killer.

  Shifting her attention to Bao Ling, she saw that the little girl was staring at her. It made Nalia feel uncomfortable. Why was she looking at her like that? She almost seemed excited to see her.

  “I’m sure it is a surprise to see me,” Ix said. “Our parting was perhaps not on the best of terms.”

  “You tried to kill me and my friends,” Nalia said, trying to keep her temper in check. “You are only alive because I allowed it to be so.”

  “Yes,” Ix said, “and for that, I thank you.” She gave a seated bow toward Nalia.

  “I have learned much since then,” Ix continued. “The honorable way you treated me made me think. I, too, once knew honor, before tragedy had leeched it from my thoughts and actions. Your sparing of my life in our last confrontation caused me to re-examine myself and my life.

  “I snuck back into the fortress to retrieve my clan weapons,” Ix gestured toward the blades attached to her hips, “but did not break my word and try to attack you or your friends. The ring daggers are very important to me, heirlooms of my family for hundreds of years.

  “Once I had them again in my possession, I realized what I needed to do. I traveled to my homeland, the land which had been owned by my clan since the patriarch Chen Feng Dao established Zhong hundreds of years ago. When I got there, I found that corruption had rotted the very core of all life in my homeland.

  “I will not bore you with details, but let me say only that the remnants of my clan were persecuted solely for bearing the name Chen. Bao Ling here watched as her parents were killed and was herself held hostage to lure me to my death. She has dreamt of being a hero from when she was able to talk and the bravery she has shown tells me it is her destiny.

  “I have settled matters in my homeland, but Bao Ling is meant for greater things. I heard there were Zouyim yet alive in the land and that the temple will be rebuilt. When it has been, there will be need for disciples. I respectfully submit Chen Bao Ling as one of these disciples. It is for this that I have come back. For no other reason.”

  Nalia was
speechless. The assassin had come back, to a place where she knew she might have been killed on sight, to give her young charge to the Zouyim? She thought frantically, trying to figure out what ploy this could be, what game she played. She could think of nothing.

  Torim Jet walked to where the little girl was sitting and knelt so he could see her eye-to-eye. “Greetings, Chen Bao Ling,” he said in a kind voice. “I am Torim Jet, of the Zouyim.”

  Her eyes grew wide again. She scrambled off her perch and bowed deeply to the old monk, cradling her right fist in her left hand, held out before her, in a salute. Her shrill voice was tinged with awe. “It is my great honor to meet you, Master Torim Jet. Will you take me as a disciple? I am small, but I have good balance, quick movements, and I am a Chen. My family is strong with the rohw. Ask Auntie Ix.”

  “I see,” the old monk said as he eyed the assassin. “I will speak with her in a moment. Do you know that the temple was destroyed and that we have no place to call our own?”

  The little girl’s eyes dropped to the floor and the determined line of her mouth turned downward. “I do know. I am little yet, but when I get bigger—perhaps next year—I will help to build the temple again. The Zouyim must have a place to live. Heroes must all have a place to live.”

  The surprise on Torim Jet’s face made Nalia want to laugh. Leave it to a child to turn a conversation on its ear. She saw Master Jet look to Rindu, saw her father nod. He looked to Palusa Filk as well, as a courtesy, and she looked barely able to contain her excitement. She nodded firmly. For a wonder, Master Jet then looked to Sam, a question in his eyes. Sam looked surprised, and then regained his composure and nodded, too, smiling.

  “I think,” Torim Jet said, turning his attention back to Bao Ling, “we must accept you as a disciple. We must have your help if we are to combat the evil forces in the world.”

  Bao Ling smiled so widely it nearly split her face. She saluted Torim Jet again, then Rindu, Palusa Filk, Sam, and Nalia. Palusa Filk went to her quickly, kneeling in front of her. “We are to be sisters, you and I. Training will be hard, but I will be there if you need to talk. Welcome, sister Chen Bao Ling.”

  The little girl threw her arms around Palusa Filk and hugged her. “Thank you. I will be the best disciple ever, you will see.”

  Nalia couldn’t help but notice Torim Jet wiping a tear from his eye. Taking a breath, he squared his shoulders and faced Ix. “What is it that she said about the rohw being strong in your family?”

  “It’s true,” the assassin answered. “Our great patriarch, Chen Feng Dao, had a special talent, that of teleportation. He was from a class of fighting monks on another world, Telani.” Nalia saw Sam’s head snap up from watching the girl to meeting Ix’s eyes.

  “He accidentally traveled here from that world and could not return. He found a wife and established a community far to the east of here, and called it Zhong. His strong affinity to the rohw was passed down through the generations, as was his ability to teleport, but the latter more rarely. I am the only one in this generation able to travel in this way.

  “Our clan dwelt in peace for almost two hundred fifty years, until betrayal caused it to be all but destroyed. The Chen martial art was almost lost, but I was able to resurrect it through the ancient records I discovered along with our clan weapons, the ring daggers I now wear. My father, the clan head, was an honorable man, as was Chen Feng Dao, and our community was based on honor. That is another reason I want Bao Ling to be of the Zouyim, or of the Sapsyra,” she nodded to Nalia, “because there she will grow to be honorable, an example to our people.

  “I gave her the choice and she decided to be Zouyim, so she could learn combat as well as rohw use. It took me ten minutes to explain to her that she could not be both a Zouy and a Sapsyr. The conversation involved many tears, some from me.”

  “Auntie Ix,” the little girl interrupted, “Sister Palusa Filk said she would take me to see the manu birds that have just arrived. May I go?”

  Ix drew the girl into a hug. “You may. You are a Zouyim disciple now. You will be asking permission of the masters, not me. I will miss you, precious one. Perhaps the masters will allow me to visit you on occasion and you can show me what you are learning.”

  Bao Ling kissed Ix on the cheek and sniffled. “I will miss you, too. Please tell the others in the clan that I am to start my training to be a hero. They should listen well for stories about me and my heroism.”

  “I will do that,” Ix said, not able to hide her smile.

  After the little girl and Palusa Filk left, Nalia turned to Ix. “What will you do, now that your task is complete?”

  “I don’t know,” Ix said simply. “Perhaps I will go back and help what is left of my clan. My days of assassination are done. I have regained my honor and will not let it go again.”

  “Maybe you can help Danaba Kemp with training soldiers in combat,” Sam interjected. Nalia glared at him. Was she the only one who did not believe someone could change in such a short time?

  “Yes, that may be a way I could help,” Ix said. “I’ve heard about the new government you are trying to set up and would like to aid you.”

  “How about it, Dr. Walt?” Sam asked. “Do you think Danaba would let her do it? If we don’t find Iboghan soon, we’ll need all the skilled soldiers we can get.”

  “Well, Sam,” Dr. Walt said, “I don’t see why n—”

  “Iboghan?” Ix said. “Are you going to Iboghan? Why?”

  Sam’s expression grew serious. “Do you know that word, Ix? Iboghan?”

  “Yes, it is a great pit, a cave. It’s also called the Heart of Hell.”

  “How do you know of it?” Dr. Walt said in a rush. “Do you know where it is?”

  Ix shrugged. “I know approximately where it is. Chen Feng Dao wrote about it in the clan records. Before he found the place where Zhong would be established, he searched far and wide for a suitable location. He drew some maps of the places he visited.”

  “Maps?” Dr. Walt was getting even more excited. “Do you have access to these maps? Can you show them to us?”

  “I could retrieve them, but there’s no need. I have memorized all my clan writings. If you have a map, I’ll show you where it is. It is seven or eight hundred miles southeast of Gromarisa. Do you know where that is?”

  “We do,” Sam said, leaving it at that.

  Dr. Walt produced a map and rolled it out on the table. Ix looked at it for a moment, got her bearings, and pointed to a location.

  “Of course!” Sam exclaimed. “I should have thought of that.”

  “What, Sam?” Dr. Walt asked, scratching his head.

  “The first artifact was at the Grand Canyon. The second one is in Carlsbad Caverns.”

  Chapter 48

  Sam could have kicked himself. He should have thought of the caverns. It fit that pattern for the first artifact, Azgo. He remembered what Dr. Walt had said, that the ones who hid the artifacts would have chosen landmarks that would still be readily identifiable even hundreds or thousands of years in the future. There was no use in dwelling on it, though. They knew now where they needed to go. They just had to get there.

  “I don’t know any locations close enough to be of use,” Sam said. “Teleporting won’t help us here. We can’t use it to catch Rasaad.”

  “What do you mean ‘teleporting won’t help?’” Ix said. “How do you know?”

  “It is something he learned from the Gray Man,” Nalia told her. “Sam can teleport.”

  “Oh?” Ix eyed Sam, studying him. “Interesting. Well, then, why don’t you just skim ahead, overtaking whoever it is you’re talking about and getting there first?”

  “Skim?” Sam said. “I don’t know what that means. I can only go to places I’ve been before, places where I have memorized the vibratory signature. I haven’t done that with any locations close enough to Iboghan to make a difference.”

  “Your teleporting seems to work differently than mine, then,” Ix said. “I can telepor
t to locations directly that I have been to before, but when I don’t know a location, I can go there in several hops, covering many miles at a time. I call it ‘skimming’ or just ‘jumping.’”

  “You can do that?” Sam asked. “Can you teach me?”

  “I don’t think so, sorry,” Ix said. “I do it exactly the same way I travel to a location I already know. I wouldn’t know how to teach you. Besides, it’s probably just something that I can do because of my inherent ability. It does come in handy, though.”

  Rindu had been silent, but now he spoke. “Ix, can you teleport more than just yourself? Can you transport others as well?”

  “I can,” she answered, “if they are touching me. I have only done so with three people at a time once before, but I believe I am limited only by how many people can physically touch me. Nalia can attest to it working, even if I don’t want it to.”

  Sam could see Nalia tense. Ix must have been talking about when she and Nalia battled in the Gray Fortress the last time they were on Gythe. Ix had tried to teleport away and Nalia was dragged along with her.

  Rindu nodded. “I thought as much. Would you be willing to help us in our endeavor? Your skills and abilities could be useful.”

  “Father!” Nalia said. “The last time we saw her, she was trying to kill us all. She tells us a story, brings a child, and everyone is ready to trust her with our safety? Am I the only one who still has sense?”

  “Nalia,” Rindu said gently, “I understand your concern. I can sense the peace and lack of ill intent within Ix. Things which were different the last time we met. She is more in harmony with the rohw. I trust that she will act with honor.”

  “But—”

  “—and I see no other way to arrive at Iboghan before Ayim Rasaad,” Rindu finished. “Do you? Are you willing to sacrifice our greater goal in the name of holding someone to account for their past wrongdoing? If so, why did you spare her to begin with?”