“Take me home, and I’ll show you just how good.” He leered at his partner, trying his best not to laugh.
As Farrell expected, Nerti and Klissmor were eager to leave Primilian. Horgon and the others accepted Farrell’s offer to return for them in the morning. Farrell opened the Door near the unicorn area and redirected the portal to his quarters once Nerti and Klissmor walked away.
Kel sat in a chair outside the children’s room when they arrived.
“I trust it was a fruitful trip.” Kel stared expectantly at him.
“Indeed, Grandfather.” Farrell held up the Ear. “Only Arritisa’s Gift remains.”
“I assume you’ll want to make another attempt tomorrow to test your theory?” Kel pushed himself up with his hand from the deep cushions.
“If it is possible, yes.” Farrell couldn’t stifle a yawn. “But maybe not until after midday.”
“Of course.” Kel turned to Miceral. “You should see he gets to bed soon. His energy is depleted and he requires rest.”
Miceral nodded. “I plan to do that soon.”
“Remember, I said he needs rest, not just to get in bed.” Kel chuckled as he opened the door. “When you go to Rastoria, I would like to accompany you. It was, after all, my spells that allowed you to reach the city.”
“Are you sure you’re well enough?” Farrell asked.
Kel’s eyes narrowed. “Please don’t ask me that every time I suggest using magic. I am more than capable of going with you. We both know the spells are not overly taxing. Rastoria is one realm I’ve never visited, and I wish to see it before I leave this world.”
“How is it you perfected the spells but never used them?” Miceral asked.
“I used them, but Arritisa forbade me from seeking out Rastoria. She wanted the kingdom to remain hidden until the time was right. Since the Arlefors have revealed themselves to your crew, I am confident She will allow me to visit now.” He left without waiting for an answer.
“Guess he let me know who’s in charge.” Farrell yawned again. “What if I said no?”
“Let’s go. It’s time to get some sleep.”
“Despite what he said, I’m not that tired.” Farrell smiled suggestively. “I don’t think I can go to sleep just yet.”
“Is that so?” Miceral raised an eyebrow. “Should I fetch you a book?”
“That won’t be necessary. I don’t need a book for what I’ve got in mind.”
Miceral laughed and reached for Farrell’s hand. “Just remember, Lisle will be here soon. I trust you don’t want her walking in on us.”
“No, but she won’t. I told her we’d be up all night and not to disturb us.”
They slept until midafternoon, handled a few matters, ate with the children, then went back to sleep. Miceral woke up before the sun had cleared the horizon. Farrell would have slept later, but Geena and Bren burst through the door just as Miceral left the bed. Still half-asleep, Farrell gathered the giggling children onto the bed.
“This is going to take some getting used to,” he said, trying to keep the children from crawling under the sheets. “Can you distract them so I can get dressed?”
Miceral laughed but reached out to collect the two squirming bodies. “Another thing to add to our list of things to remember—nightshirts.”
As if on cue, Lisle arrived with Urana and Teless. The two younger women carried trays with sweet cakes and juice.
“Lenore’s blessings be upon you, Lisle.” Miceral gave her a small kiss on the cheek. “What would we do without you?”
“Spend your entire day chasing little ones.” She held out her arms, and Geena and Bren ran to hug her. She showered them with kisses, looking happier than Farrell could remember. “But the hugs make it worth the time.”
“I’d better leave or else I’ll be late.” Miceral kissed Farrell and then the kids. “If I miss the first appointment, I’ll get an all-day lecture on punctuality from Father when he returns.”
“His talks haven’t had any effect on Farrell.” Lisle gave him a pointed look as Miceral headed for the front door. “He’s still in bed.”
Farrell’s cheeks flushed. “If you would all leave our bedroom, I might be able to get up.”
“Oh.” Lisle looked at Miceral. “Oh!”
Now Lisle’s face turned red, and Urana and Teless giggled as they guided the children into the adjoining room. Lisle lingered a moment.
“Would you please go!” He had a spell on his lips if she didn’t move.
“Sorry.” She sounded sincere. “You two need to change a few more habits.”
“Just a few,” he said to her back. When she closed the door, he sealed the room.
Once he’d dressed, he joined the others. Seeing the food, he realized he’d not had dinner the night before. He picked up the last pastry and ate half of it in one bite.
“Papa! That was mine!” Geena whined. Her cheeks were covered in honey, so he knew she’d already had at least one. Lisle gave him a disapproving glare.
He finished chewing and swallowed. “Sorry, sweetie, but I’m hungry, too. This was just a snack. Urana and Teless will take you to the kitchen for a real breakfast once you’re dressed.”
The promise of more food didn’t help her mood, and he knew he’d hear it from Lisle when she got him alone.
“That’s right,” Teless said, using a wet napkin to wipe Geena’s face. “Besides, I don’t want you to fill up on sweets.”
Farrell mouthed “Thank you” to the young woman and kissed Geena on the cheek. “I promise not to eat your pastry tomorrow, dear.”
“Promise?” Her mood improved slightly.
“Yes. Absolutely.” He kissed her again. “But now I need to go meet with Father Aswick and some wizards.”
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Lisle asked. Her expression told him saying no was not an option.
“Father Aswick is serving breakfast. I’m told he’s having food sent in from Fracturn.” The thought of dwarvish eggs and mutton made his stomach growl.
“I hope he ordered enough.” Lisle laughed as she wiped Bren’s fingers.
“If not, I promise to raid the kitchen when we’re done.” He tousled Bren’s hair and gave him a loud kiss that made him and Geena giggle. “I hope to be back by lunch.”
Running his crust of bread around the edge of his dish, Farrell collected the last few morsels from his third plate of food. As he’d hoped, Father Aswick had the chefs make several of his favorite dishes. Kel, Erstad, and Glendora had stopped eating long ago and stood beside a window overlooking the city.
“Are you sure you’re finished?” Father Aswick motioned toward a mostly empty platter. “I promised the cook we’d eat every bit and more of the extra food I ordered.”
Farrell pushed his plate away. “Three is generally my limit, but save what’s left. After we’re done with our attempt, I’m sure I’ll be hungry again.”
Erstad nicked a piece of lamb from the platter. “I’m not sure what’s worse . . . him skipping meals or waiting for him to finish eating so we can get on with our work.”
“Leave him be.” Glendora swatted Erstad playfully. “We both know you have nothing pressing to do today that you need to rush him.”
Aswick motioned toward the table, and three young dwarves in gray novice robes hurried forward. It still felt odd to Farrell to have any dwarves in the city, but they’d go back to Fracturn with the dishes. When the last of the trio left, Aswick closed the Door connecting Trellham to Fracturn.
“How is it only you can control that Door?” Farrell asked.
“The Six didn’t want anyone, not even the high priests of the other two temples, coming to Trellham.” Aswick moved his seat back but didn’t sit. “I know you only invited me because it is my city, but you ought to include the heads of the other temples.”
“For now I’d prefer to keep our numbers small.” He followed Aswick’s gaze to where Glendora stood. “Glendora’s status as a wizard priestess gives her a unique pe
rspective we can’t get from anyone else—at least no one else I’d trust as much as I trust her.”
“Also,” Kel said, “unlike other tasks, this one must be free of divine intervention. Otherwise we risk allowing the hordes of Neblor to reenter our world.”
Aswick let Kel join them. “Doesn’t using the Gifts violate some rule or something?”
“No. They were given to the world for us to use,” Kel said.
“Still, I don’t understand how you expect the Ear to help.” Aswick looked up, and Farrell heard Erstad and Glendora moving toward him. “But I’m just an old dwarf with limited experience with magic or divine gifts.”
Kel laughed. “My dear Father, there is nothing limited about you. You are one of the most astute beings I’ve ever met. Do not underestimate your worth.”
“Agreed,” Erstad said. “But his confusion is still valid. Using the Ear doesn’t seem to be the solution.”
“Just because you can’t see the answer doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” Kel raised an eyebrow. “I think Farrell’s idea is brilliant.”
“Don’t be so dismissive, Kel,” Glendora said. “Farrell asked us for our aid, and we can’t provide useful advice if we have questions left unanswered.”
Kel met her admonishing stare with an icy glare. “Questions are always welcomed, but not when they suggest the quest is foolish. If Master Erstad truly wishes to help, he’ll keep his doubts—especially when they lack any merit—to himself.”
“Grandfather, please stop.” The exchange threatened his pending attempt. “In time you’ll realize this is how Master Erstad and I work. One of his most valuable services is to make sure I’ve considered all possible results—good and ill.”
Kel looked like he wanted to argue, but Farrell gave him a pleading look. Erstad’s conservative, almost negative attitudes had worn on him for years. Having someone of Kel’s stature to support his ideas gave him renewed confidence to push back against his mentors. But Erstad and the others had served him well for many years, and he didn’t want to brush them aside.
“Erstad, perhaps if you expounded a bit, Farrell could better answer you,” Glendora said.
Erstad focused on Kel for another heartbeat before he nodded. “All information available tells us the dwarves are suspended between one moment and the next. What is there for the Ear to hear?”
“Are they? Suspended between moments, I mean.” Farrell glanced at Kel. His grandfather gave him an almost imperceptible smile that bolstered Farrell’s resolve. “I believe that proposition is false. I think time does exist inside the void, just not in the way we generally experience it.”
“I assume this is more than just conjecture?” Erstad cocked his head in a way that Farrell knew meant he had the older man’s attention.
“It is. When I met Randgar, he and his warriors knew some time had passed. They’d searched their surroundings. Granted it only seemed like a few minutes before Kel arrived, but they experienced some passing of time. They weren’t frozen between seconds.”
“Yes, but . . . Seritia . . .” Erstad’s eyes lacked focus.
“Had Kel send the dwarves to a similar pocket in the void as She used to hide the Ze’arderian people.” Farrell looked at his grandfather.
“Very good, Grandson.”
“Indeed,” Erstad said. “But how does that change things?”
“If the place they are in operates the way the one in Agloth did, they’re moving so slowly they can’t see or hear us.” Farrell swallowed the last of his water and remembered his prior attempt. “They could have been standing inches from where my staff entered the void, but I’d need to stand there for weeks for them to notice. For them to grasp it might take years.”
“So then how . . .?” Erstad sounded disappointed.
Farrell took out the Eye and the Ear. “Lenore’s Gift lets the bearer communicate with anything, even rocks and trees if you know what to listen for. I believe that if I can make contact with them—”
“You’ll be part of their reality.” Aswick clapped him on the back. “Kel was right. That is brilliant.”
“Amazing,” Erstad said in a low voice that everyone heard.
“What?” Kel raised an eyebrow at Erstad.
“I said that’s amazing. In a thousand years, I would not have come up with that notion.”
Farrell enjoyed the rare compliment. He knew how Erstad felt about him but hearing it made him feel more confident in his next move.
Kel stood and struck the end of his staff on the ground once. “Shall we see if Farrell is half as smart as we all think he is?”
Chapter Five
Finding the exact spot was much easier the second time. Not only had Farrell marked the location, his footprints were still fresh. He placed the tip of his staff on the ground and went over the process again. It would work; he was certain. Even Erstad agreed with his logic. If it failed, he didn’t know what to do next.
Farrell closed his eyes briefly and tried to clear his mind of negative thoughts. “Are you ready, Grandfather?”
Kel nodded. “I am.”
Farrell extended a link to Kel, who accepted and held it fast. Once he felt tethered to the presence, he began his walk backward in time.
Having used the spell before, Farrell immediately sent time whirling in reverse. He kept alert for the signs they were getting close, but still overshot his time.
Time stood frozen, and Farrell’s mouth went dry. Fighting surrounded him in such vivid detail he felt he was there. The bodies of dead dwarves littered the square. Bands of clerics from the six temples stood like defiant breakers in a stormy sea. Grim-faced fighters—most of whom didn’t appear to be soldiers—held their weapons ready and waited for their deaths.
The starkness of the moment unnerved him. Blood that gushed from mortal wounds hung suspended between body and ground; severed limbs hovered inches from the bodies they should have been attached to; dead or dying bodies were surrounded by dust and dirt that hadn’t yet settled. And these were just the ones closest to him. He didn’t want to see what he’d find if he probed further.
Forcing himself to “look away,” he set time moving forward—fast enough to avoid seeing the specifics. The blackness spread across the cavern toward the temple ledge like ink spilled on parchment. Creeping up the massive curved stairs toward the homes of the gods, the darkness stopped when met with a blinding light.
History taught that the Six sent their followers to Trellham to stem Neldin’s ambitions. Every great—and not so great—wizard of that age had been called to action. Their arrival created a massive surge that pushed the hordes of Neblor back—for a time. After the initial shock, Neldin’s army countered, and the two sides became locked in an epic back-and-forth without resolution. Until Kel ended the war.
The armies of the Six pushed the black mass backward, and soon bodies flew around Farrell. He did his best to ignore the fighting, but having a spawn of Neblor pass through his body made it hard to disregard.
He’d never read how long the fight lasted once the Six sent their forces to Trellham, but he knew how it ended. An enormous push by every wizard able to cast a spell and soldier capable of pulling a sword; rounding up the last survivors of Trellham; the armies of the Six walling off Neldin’s forces in a series of tunnels leading to the western gates of Trellham; and finally Kel opening the Door to nowhere.
Alert for the first phase of that plan, Farrell prepared to slow time when he saw a second massive burst of power. He let the counterattack play out for a time and waited for the central square to empty. The clearing of the dead let him know he was close. Finally, dwarves from Fracturn and Colograd lined upon either side.
Farrell slowed time to double speed and watched. About the time he expected, the Six appeared and towered over the dwarves. The second time he looked up, Seritia twisted Her head and stared at his position. He reminded himself She couldn’t see him; he merely observed the events and had not traveled back in time. But when he looked a
gain, Seritia nodded before looking at the approaching cluster of wizards.
The Six had selected the ten best wizards to try the spell. Kel hadn’t been among those chosen, but when one of the ten had died, Seritia handpicked him to join the group. His selection created a great deal of animosity, but as history told, only Kel proved equal to the task.
One by one, the other nine approached Farrell’s position. According to Kel, the others had drawn lots to determine their order. As the last selected, Kel was the last to try. Knowing the others would fail, Farrell paid little attention to their attempts.
Farrell slowed time back to normal when the ninth wizard walked into the crowd of dwarves to stand near the Six. Kel and Farrell stood in the same spot and moved through the process. Since he was recreating the Door in the present, Farrell had to fight the urge to hurry through the steps.
He fastened his spell to Kel’s, tugged on his link, and returned to his time. Erstad, Glendora, and Father Aswick stared at the black space between the Door’s frame. Having done the same recently, he understood their hope. He set the end of his staff aglow and extended it into the void. Once again, the Eye couldn’t see the staff from where the dwarves stood.
Keeping his vision channeled through the Eye, Farrell removed the Ear of Lenore from his endless pocket. He pushed his will into Her Gift and said, “Dwarves of Trellham, hear me. Follow the light and return home.”
In his mind, Farrell saw the motionless dwarves move. They twisted and turned until some began to point. Farrell directed the Eye to show him where they pointed, and he saw a light. He twirled his wrist, and the staff in his vision moved with him.
“I see them!” he said.
Focusing on the task, he spoke to the dwarves again. “Follow the light. It will lead you back to Trellham.”
The now-active dwarves milled about, debating. Some wanted to follow it, but their leaders urged caution, arguing it was another of Neldin’s tricks.
“They won’t come,” he told the others. “They think Neldin is trying to deceive them.”
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