by Radu Aldea
The man was probably checking her. That was all right, she wasn’t actually hiding. He had three guards and she tested them. She guessed he wasn’t that powerful and she wanted to be sure. The answer came quickly enough and she saw no reaction on the male senator. He was an under a hundred who couldn’t sense her prodding. Just as she expected.
Kara visualized her connections. There were so few of them and so much room for others. The link with Amelia and Cecilia was there, it looked so beautiful, and those with the men who attacked her, somehow uglier and more twisted. They were supposed to look the same. They didn’t. The men had traveled faster and they almost arrived home. And there was one more connection, the one that was different, created out of wildness, incredible and uncontrollable, unfinished, the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
It was unique, she couldn’t hope to create another one. Suddenly, she had an idea. She might not be able to create two of them, but maybe she could meld it with her usual kind of connection. Kara created another tendril of power and touched the connection with it to see what happened. It stirred, wild and hungry and tried to engulf the tendril. She fought to separate them. It was more difficult than she expected and took a lot of concentration. She couldn’t do it on a regular basis. The tendril, from where it touched the other connection, looked wonderfully different. Again she tested one of the guards and she saw the same thing. She could pour power through that tendril and obliterate their block and she also had the instinctive knowledge she could send something else through that tendril, other than commands. Emotions! Kara didn’t know how that was possible, but she felt it was true.
She decided to do one more test. That tendril of power looked so different, she had to try. She didn’t think she would succeed. She didn’t think something like that was possible. The tendril searched for the male senator and found him. At first she was shocked, then she looked. What she saw was a block just like that on the guards. As if their block was an extension of the senator’s. She could break that. The realization made her smile at first, then, it scared her. What she had been given was truly dangerous and the knowledge couldn’t fall in the wrong hands. She did the math. There were less than three hundred fifty senators over a hundred and she could take over almost all of them. Through them, she could control the rest of the Order, giving her total power. What every senator had been searching for a very long time, suddenly was within her grasp. That kind of power was too dangerous and the knowledge couldn’t be shared. The books! There were more books like hers, and somebody else might try the ritual. She had to get her hands on the rest of the books. They were out there, but she only knew the owners of some of them, which was not of as much help as you would believe. Extracting information from senators was practically impossible. Theoretically, it was highly improbable another senator would satisfy all the demands of the ritual and perform it without dying – she wasn’t sure she hadn’t died there for a short time – but she wouldn’t take the chance. She had to find those books before another senator came up with her idea.
The problem was she didn’t know where to start. That wasn’t exactly true, she would start with Lucian, which she was already planning to do, but after that she had no idea. She needed more information. Kara remembered an important historian she truly admired lived in Orenburg and he might be able to help. During her earlier information gathering she had learned his address and she was headed that way.
It was already night when she reached his house. Simply knocking on his door could be considered bad manners, but what other choice did she have? The street was empty except for a boy playing with a ball. He was five or six and definitely a senator. She knew that without sending tendrils of power to test him. His parents wouldn’t let him play outside this late otherwise. The city was dangerous enough at night. And he truly did look like a senator.
“Streets are not safe enough at night, even for senators.”
“You’re a senator and you’re out!”
“I am older and I have more experience.” Kara already liked the kid.
The kid shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Nobody is stupid enough to mess with a senator. They know me. They might attack somebody they don’t know, like you, though.”
“Do you think they will?”
“Nah, you look too much like a senator. You’ll scare them away.”
“You’re a battle-senator?” Somehow she knew that was true and the kid beamed. She guessed he wasn’t recognized for what he was very often. That was confirmation enough. “Your parent’s aren’t?” It was a reasonable deduction. He would live in a villa if one of his parents was also a battle senator. But the kid looked like he had some power.
“No. My father is just below the hundred threshold. Are you a battle-senator?”
She shook her head. “I’m under the threshold too.”
“Really? You look like one.”
The kid was smart. She had managed to trick every senator she had met so far only to be uncovered by a six-year-old. “Can you do me a favor, kid? Can you go to Cyprian Vitalis and ask him if he can receive me? Tell him I know it’s late and I apologize for disturbing him.”
The kid wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know if I should. You might be up to no good.”
Oh, she was, but not in the way the kid thought. She took out a gold coin and gave it to him. The kid was a shrewd negotiator because he took the coin and waited. Perhaps it had been a mistake to show him just how many coins she had. She gave him two more coins.
“I can go and ask but I’m not sure it will do any good. They had some guests who just left and they were expensive. I don’t know if they can afford to have another guest.”
Kara had heard the senators who just left stayed here. It seemed there was more to that story. “I only seek knowledge and I can be generous. Tell them that.”
“All right, I’ll do it. It’s your gold. I am Jason.”
She caught herself before she told him her real name. “I am Olivia. Nice to meet you!”
Jason ran to Cyprian’s house. Kara hoped the kid was persuasive because otherwise she would use other methods to get the information she wanted. She was not going away.
Kara watched Jason talk to one of the servants, gesturing emphatically. It seemed she had chosen her messenger well. The kid deserved the three coins. She wondered what kind of story he was selling. Probably that she was going to pay them for having her as a guest. That was not actually a bad idea, and she would pay Cyprian for his knowledge, but the kid was smart and knew his neighbors, so she had to trust Jason knew what to say.
It didn’t take Jason long to finish the conversation with the servant and return. She couldn’t tell if he was successful or not, the kid gave nothing away.
“They agreed to meet you. I tell you, it wasn’t easy to convince them.”
“What did you tell them?”
“I told them you would be generous if they received you and refusing was not a good idea. Even so, they didn’t agree at first. Then, they suddenly changed their minds.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know why. I only know it wasn’t because of what I said.”
That piece of information could prove useful and Jason was honest. He could’ve easily lied to her and take credit for everything. She gave him two more coins. “You should go inside, Jason. Battle-senators are always of value, especially to other senators.”
Kara watched Jason to make sure he was safe inside his house and then headed to Cyprian’s. A servant was waiting for her at the door and led her to a room where three persons were waiting for her. She recognized Cyprian and his wife, Teresa, and she assumed the third person was their daughter. Then Kara realized something was wrong. Kara recognized the girl from earlier. She was the senator who negotiated with the scouts. Up-close, she looked very different. What threw Kara was that she thought Michael’s assessment of the girl’s power was wrong. Very wrong! How could that be possible? Wizards didn’t make mistakes like that, but she could. Aleyna was
the brilliant one at guessing a senator’s power and Kara had learned that art from her friend. It was an art not an exact method, so Aleyna could be wrong, too. Even if Michael was right, which she was not ready to accept yet, the girl was of medium power while Cyprian and Teresa were weak. There was too much power difference and she was too old, Kara guessed sixteen, to be their daughter. But what was she doing here?
“I am Olivia. I am so happy you agreed to see me. I am a great admirer of your work.”
“Really?” Teresa was suspicious.
“Absolutely! I have read all your books. They are so inspiring,” Kara said and they all looked at her with suspicion. “Maybe I missed one book, two at most.” She had actually read all of them. “You are Cyprian and this must be your lovely wife Teresa and you are?” Kara asked the girl. There was something very disconcerting about her. Maybe it was the dyed hair.
“I am their daughter Megan.”
Kara laughed softly. “No, you are not!”
Maya laughed. “Fine, I lied! I am Maya, Robert’s new errand girl. You must’ve heard of me. Everybody else has. I’m the orphan he took under his wing.”
Everybody must not have included her, because Kara had not heard of Maya, which was an oversight she was going to remedy. What was Maya insinuating? Was she saying she was Robert’s mistress? No, that was the obvious solution and probably what Maya wanted her to think, but there was something more there. Maya made the hair on the back of her neck rise and she really wanted to send a melded tendril of power to test the girl. Kara’s instincts screamed that Maya was at the top of the senatorial power spectrum. She didn’t go through with it, something told her it might be a very bad idea as well as a violation of the guest law.
“I apologize, I haven’t heard of you and I really wish I had.”
Maya smiled. “Well, you met me now.”
“Why do you wish to see my husband? The boy you sent suggested that you will pay us for information and that we will regret it if we don’t see you. That sounded like a threat.”
“I am an historian. I don’t have information you would find interesting.”
“I apologize. I gave Jason a few gold coins and he may have been a little too zealous in his attempt to arrange this meeting. I seek knowledge, not information, and yes, I am willing to be generous. Your husband’s time is valuable. As I understand you had other guests and I don’t wish to be a burden,” Kara said and took a pouch with a hundred gold coins and put it on the table. That was more than what they probably made in a month.
“Knowledge? That’s an interesting word you used,” Maya said.
“I have always been interested in history and when I found myself in Orenburg I just couldn’t miss the opportunity to meet Cyprian Vitalis.”
“You want to talk about history?” Teresa was still suspicious.
“Yes. My main interest is the veil. How was knowledge preserved after it has fallen, what caused it? Questions like that. Most historians agree the wizard wars were responsible, but you do not. You have a different theory, don’t you?”
Cyprian questioned the other historian senators and he was right to do so. They didn’t really bother with the truth, they just blamed the wizards for everything. He didn’t present his theory in any of his writings, which meant he didn’t have enough proof and it wouldn’t be received well by his peers, but a historian of his caliber must’ve had one.
“You asked two very good questions and unfortunately we don’t have a clear answer for them. Not one that everyone agrees on, anyway. Take writing, for example. The symbols are different before the veil, but they are still recognizable. In a way, writing continues and in a way, it doesn’t. Are you familiar with the theory that says there was no veil?”
“Of course! They claim everything was discovered after the veil, including writing, and that’s why we only have myths and oral history.”
“It’s the extreme variation of the theory. And it is false because we have inscriptions on tombstones with names, ages of the deceased and sometimes epitaphs. That’s all we have. Every example of writing from before the veil is a mortuary inscription. The moderate theory, which has not been refuted, says they only use writing for that. It is a really powerful theory, because if they used it for something else we would’ve found an example.”
Kara had the proof the theory was wrong with her. “Do you believe that?”
“No! The problem is we have buildings that are older. In fact, most of the strongholds that could withstand any kind of attack are dated to an earlier period. And the rest might be as well, we just don’t have proof for it. We do have references to some of these fortresses from the moment we have histories. And you can’t build something like that without writing.”
Kara’s villa was one of these buildings. The multitude of urns in the crypt suggested some of them might’ve lived before the veil. She read her family’s journals and the villa had always been their home. She promised herself she would return to it.
“I have heard rumors there are books from before,” Kara said and Maya was suddenly more attentive. She tried to hide it and she did it very well, but Kara noticed.
Cyprian laughed. “I have heard the same rumor, but I think it’s just that. It’s always a friend of a friend who knows someone who has one. Why would someone keep them secret?”
“I don’t know. Let’s just pretend the books are real! Who do you think has them?”
“Levilli, Metteli… Those would be my best guesses and in that order.”
Damn, that was two for two. “Why do you think they have them?”
Cyprian laughed. “Because they have been around for an awfully long time and they have been awfully powerful for just as long. We have mentions of the Levilli from the first history and they are already powerful. The Metteli are a bit more recent, but when they appear they are also powerful. This makes me believe you only got mentioned if you have power.”
That sounded about right. “Who else?”
“The Conclave. That island of theirs is always mentioned as their home, they are insular and they have the annoying habit of not getting involved in wars. I probably should’ve ranked them at the top. I am not aware of any fighting taking place on that island.”
Not yet, anyway. Kara might change that. “That’s it?”
“Well, these are my best guesses. If you want me to continue I can. I would look at the Sabini too. It’s not the obvious choice, I know, but I would check them out.”
That was three for three. Lucian Sabinus was the head of the Sabini and the owner of the third book she knew about. Kara wanted to say something but Maya was quicker.
“You just named the three most powerful families. Easy to make that list.”
“She is right. You didn’t use the same criteria. Lucian’s family isn’t old enough.”
“That’s not exactly true. They are only mentioned in the more recent histories, but I think he has an ancestor in the early ones. I can’t prove it with certainty, though.”
Kara didn’t need him to. She knew about the ancestor. Lucian had told her about him. Unfortunately, she didn’t know how his family came to own that book. Hers and Julia’s were inherited for as long as anyone could remember. She would have to ask Lucian about it.
“The Casti?” Kara asked.
“An even more questionable maybe. They are more recent than Lucian’s ancestor.”
She would have to ask them anyway when she ripped them apart. The Casti were a very dangerous enemy. They might masquerade as two families – people believed them because the brothers didn’t like each other – but she knew they did it for the two votes they had in the Council. One brother might not submit to the other and there might not be much trust between them, but when it came to outsiders who threatened them they were united.
“Maybe you should ask them?” Maya had an evil little grin on her face.
“I think that’s a great idea. With whom should I start?” Kara returned the smile.
“J
ulia Mettela! I think she would be the most accommodating.”
Actually, Julia would be accommodating and would lend Kara her book. She had read Julia’s text many times and had no intention of taking it. Her blond friend she trusted, it was the others who might own one of these books she had a problem with. Maya, however, did not know this. She had just sent Olivia to the most dangerous senator she knew about because she thought it was funny. Kara thought it was a little funny as well. She kind of liked the girl.
“That was mean,” Cyprian said. “You know she can’t just go and ask the most powerful senator out there about some books. Julia will probably kill her on the spot.”
“I was joking. Olivia knows I was joking and she doesn’t mind,” Maya defended herself. “Besides, I don’t think Julia is that powerful. It’s propaganda. No one outside the family knows how powerful she is. She may be an over two hundred, even a powerful one although I doubt that, but there’s no way she is an over three hundred. They are lying!”
Maya was so wrong in so many ways. Julia could control about three hundred and forty humans and people outside the family did know about it, she was proof of that. It made Kara reconsider her opinion of the girl once more. This occured so many times her head was spinning. Something like this didn’t happen to her. Usually, Kara could get an accurate reading of someone very quickly and she was not often wrong. She got the impression Maya was doing it intentionally to keep her off balance and Kara didn’t know anyone who could do that. If she was right, Maya was more dangerous than she had previously thought.
“I don’t know about that,” Teresa joined the conversation. “We’ve met Lucian a while back and he was very cautious when he spoke about Kara and Julia. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he was scared of them. But that’s just ridiculous, isn’t it!”