Between Darkness and Light Trilogy (30 page)

“As I said, she has suffered enough.”

Alma nods to me in understanding, and the
Magni Dominar says, “I understand your… hesitance, now. Shi'ahn, I
must ask you, do you wish to press charges against Cas Lydia for
her attack against you?”

“No, haven't you listened to my testimony?
She has suffered enough. If anyone should be blamed for my pain it
should be Prince Lucian!”

“Very well, you may all return to your
seats.”

~~~

That apparently ends the questioning. Magni
Dominar does something I don’t understand, and although none of us
have moved and everything still looks about the same, it is obvious
by the feel and
sound
of our surroundings that we are now in
the Hall of Answering. Once again the acoustics seem odd… they echo
a great deal, but not quite properly… yet at the same time they
somehow seem right. Chaos is indeed a strange and fascinating
place!

“The charges have been made, and it is time
for them to be answered.” Lydia pleads guilty to the charge of
kidnapping a Lady of Lumina, and her answer reverberates throughout
the hall. It’s a very interesting effect which grows in volume and
then abruptly stops, rather like a backwards echo. It is definitely
magical, but seems also as though something else may be involved as
well. Could that be why the acoustics seem unusual? It seems
linked, though again I cannot discern exactly how.

She also pleads guilty to harming the same
individual, but not guilty of collusion in the kidnapping and
torture of Prince Novanus, willful violation of the Luminarian
treaty within Lumina or it’s surrounding realm of influence, nor of
high treason. To the last charge, a huge reverberation, very loud
and lasting, follows her plea of not guilty. On the surface, I take
this to mean that she feels very strongly about having not
committed high treason against Chaos. There is also an
undercurrent… I feel certain that her denial is the truth – I feel
it to the very core of my being.

Once again we are moved, this time to the
Hall of Judgment. The Magni Dominar and judges, whom Darius informs
me are actually the heads of the Dynasties and greater and lesser
Houses, deliberate for about an hour. They do not, however, do so
in what would be considered a normal method. They all sit there,
absolutely still, and seem to commune. Eventually they are decided,
and the Magni Dominar announces their verdict.

“Cas Lydia ni Uisnach, you are found guilty
of kidnapping a high lady of Lumina, of harming this same lady, and
of willfully violating the spirit of the treaty between our two
realms, although not within the realms of Lumina. Of all other
charges you are found innocent, most importantly, of high treason.”
I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, and he
continues. “For your punishment, you are stripped of all titles,
lands, and privileges in this realm, and banished for a period of
one hundred years as measured here, in the Royal Court.”

A hundred years! It seems terribly harsh to
me.

Lydia is led away, her head bowed in
disappointment, and we all process into the throne room, where the
highest-ranking members of all the houses present are to go forward
and pay homage to the Magni Dominar. We of Lumina are advised that
we are all expected to pay our respects.

~~~

The throne room is far different from the
halls of justice. Where those chambers had been somewhat austere,
built for function, not form, this… this is entirely different.

Darius informs me that it is said to be
among the most ancient permanent structures in the universe,
created so long ago that none remember having lived in a time when
it did not exist. It was created by the SeshHaud. Ancient or not,
it is utterly fascinating – wildly different from anything I’ve
ever experienced before. I had noticed earlier that nothing here
seems to work quite like it does at home, but this… The acoustics
are unstable, as though instead of the distant walls and ceiling
being made of good solid stone they are instead comprised of
scintillating snakes, constantly moving, constantly altering the
way both light and sound reflect off them. If it weren’t so
fascinating, I think I might feel kind of sick – like William, he's
looking rather green just now.

I wonder how large this hall is? I can see
walls in the distance, but the strange, changing nature of this
place prevents me from stealthily sounding even such a simple thing
as the size of the room. My eyes must be playing tricks on me, I
could almost swear that the hall becomes larger as more people
arrive – how many are here, I wonder? Thousands, tens of thousands?
Millions, more? I understand now why only the heads of Households
are required to greet the Magni Dominar, allowing everyone here
such an honor would take very long indeed.

I’m so caught up in the wonder of it all
that Nero's butting in line ahead of me after abandoning his more
prestigious location isn’t enough to distract me from my amazing
surroundings. Yet… perhaps it should. “Why are you way back here,
Nero? You belong behind Celeste.”

“I had to take a leak, and Alma’s being a
bitch, she won’t let me back in front of her. I figure she won’t
mind my butting in here, though, after the way you practically
testified against her earlier.”

“I didn’t testify against her, I simply told
the truth!

“And weakened her case against the shiftling
bitch. You’re not doing a very good job of proving your blood,
Shi'ahn, and you apparently still haven’t learned your place. Let
me assure you, it is well behind me.”

What a jerk! Part of me would love to keep
arguing with him, but it wouldn’t be proper. Instead I take comfort
in the realization that everything is going quite well as my other
relatives greet the Magni Dominar, each mentioning hopes of
relations between our two realms improving in the future. They are
ushered rather quickly off to the right afterward, but I suppose it
makes sense that they wouldn’t want the Magni Dominar to have many
of us on either side of him for very long, even though there is
still a rather strong shielding between us and him.

My excitement returns as I try to think of
something intelligent and insightful to say, something to let him
know how seriously I take this meeting and the improving of our
relations, without merely echoing what the others have already
said.

I glance around the Magni Dominar, and
notice once again the others, most particularly the one closest to
him, his son I imagine. He has quite the presence. His hair is
golden and long enough that his curls seem wild. His eyes, I'm sure
now, are blazing amber, and wild in their own compelling way –
almost predatory. It seems like he’s staring right at me and I feel
penetrated by the intensity of his gaze, as though he’s looking
into my soul. It seems strange to think it, but he must be the
most… overwhelming man I have ever seen. I could get lost in those
eyes. Almost as though something in the back of my mind kicks me, I
realize - what am I thinking?! This place is dangerous!

Nero steps forward and my eyes snap back to
the Magni Dominar, I’m almost there! I hope Nero doesn’t do
anything to offend anyone… His voice booms out, I just know he’s
going to say something stupid. “In the name of Lumina, I strike
this blow!" As he says ‘strike’ he becomes a blur of motion, the
shield between the Royal Family and us shatters, and he plunges a
brightly glowing dagger into the Magni Dominar's chest. I can’t
believe it! For a moment I just stand there gaping like an idiot;
then a scream tears itself from me, half tortured music, half
words; “NOOOOO! You Stupid BASTARD!”

A shimmering portal appears near those who
have already greeted the Magni Dominar, Nero yells "Follow me,
children of Lumina, it is the only way!" Without thinking, I scream
in defiance, “I Will Not! Traitor!” The bastard smiles at me
cruelly, then steps through his portal.

My eyes snap back to the Magni Dominar, the
sight is both horrifying and captivating at the same time – a
brilliant ultra-violet dagger lies buried in his chest; violet and
near infrared fires burst from the wound. His body starts
emaciating, as though the very essence of his life is jetting out
with the flames… It’s terrible; the sight tears at my soul and
tears begin to blur my vision of it. I manage to force my eyes away
only to be caught by the burning gaze of the amazing man, his eyes
riveted on me in shock and disbelief.

A voice fills my mind, calm yet resounding
with authority, ‘Pull yourself together, Shi'ahn – you’re in
trouble!’ I tear my eyes away from the intense being before me and
see Darius urgently motioning for me to come to him. I sense many
around me also forcing their attention from the horror before us,
to… me. The enemy within reach. My thoughts fly like the winds of
storm. Darius’s household Uisnach has sworn to protect us while we
are in Chaos and in their presence; are these people truly as
honorable as Cailli has told me? So many others have said only bad
things about those of Chaos… Do we dare trust Uisnach now? Whose
judgment should I trust? The elders all seem to hate those of
Chaos, and certainly don’t trust them… and yet Cailli, the greatest
of all in Lumina considers them truly honorable. She would never
lie to me about such a thing, she has shown concern for me in so
many ways, while others, like the cruel Lucian, have allowed…

I decide to trust Calli’s judgment, and
therefore I will now trust Uisnach. I begin to head toward Darius
and see Lord Ultor follow Nero through his portal wearing an
expression of vengeful rage, no doubt he intends to capture the
murderer and bring him back to face justice. The others, far closer
to the portal, also move toward Darius. After only a few paces
creatures move to bar my way, I try to cast a shield spell but I'm
too distracted by fear to concentrate properly; it holds for but a
moment, then flickers and dies. I throw nearly everything I can at
them using my natural abilities – sonic blasts, vibration walls; I
stop short of creating vibration blades – I am not a killer and I
want them to understand that. I finally resort to acrobatics and
unnatural speed – I launch myself well over the heads of the final
beings that still stand between me and my goal.

Once I reach Darius’ side, I’m finally able
to really pay attention to those around us, seeing them now as more
than just dangerous obstacles. Many people had been in
humanoid(ish) forms before, which I had thought then were
incredibly unusual, but now we are surrounded by demons, monsters
and angry beasts of all kinds. Screams rend the air, and nearly
everyone/thing is closing in on us with clearly murderous intent.
Celeste is choking, and since there is no one near her I can only
imagine it’s from some kind of magical attack. We may be killed
before they discover we are innocent, if our innocence even matters
to them.

I try to use my crystal to transport us
away, but it doesn’t work. It would make sense for this place to be
shielded against such a thing, I suppose. I feel so helpless –
William, Gwenllian, Casanova and Darius are caught up in an
impossible seeming battle of swords and an astounding variety of
weapons of opportunity, keeping the nearest creatures from striking
us down where we stand. Darius even picks up an attacker and swings
him/it around, using it as a weapon against those assailing us.
Alma strains in concentration over a device in her hand, but then
she begins choking like Celeste. I suppose my own efforts were
entirely pointless. As an afterthought I shift my scarf so that it
covers my entire head – there isn’t much use keeping my neck safe
if my head gets split. William stops fighting, steps back and
begins concentrating. A great dome of Spire light forms around us,
creating an effective barrier between our attackers and us. He
looks to be having a difficult time, though; he cannot maintain it
for long.

“William, can you use your new skills to
keep them from disrupting my transport crystal?”

He shakes his head, “I don’t think so, Sis;
just keeping this shield up is pretty hard. Splitting my
concentration like that could make me lose control of what I
already have.”

A cold feeling spreads out from my heart,
engulfing me; traitor though he is, Nero’s escape route is all we
have. I look at the others, recovering from attacks of uncertain
origin, then meet Darius’, Cas’ and Gwenllian’s gazes, and
regretfully nod – we have all come to the same conclusion. Darius
steps toward the portal as Gwenllian reaches for Celeste and Cas
for Alma. They pass through as I touch William’s arm.

“William, it’s time to go, the others have
already gone.”

“You go, I’ll keep this shield up behind
you.”

I use every shred of authority I can summon
to strengthen my voice, “No, William, you go now. I’m right behind
you.” It works; he steps through. I still intend to hold true to my
word, I may be behind him, but I will not use the traitor’s portal.
I begin turning to face my fate, but for some reason I don't
understand, I stumble, almost as though I am pushed back. William
grabs my wrist and pulls me through behind him.

“NO!!!!” We’re engulfed by fire.

Chapter
17

Out of the Frying Pan…

The mass of fire surrounding us dissipates
almost instantly as the portal dissolves, but my shoes and the ends
of my hair are burning! I quickly pull my hair through scarf
wrapped hands, extinguishing the flames before more than a few
inches are lost, then kick off my flaming shoes. I automatically
look toward my errant little brother. His hair is fine, but his
outer clothes are all on fire. I help him beat out his flames,
perhaps more enthusiastically than he would prefer. “What were you
thinking – I was going to stay!”

“Ow! Hey, settle down Sis – Ow! Listen, they
would have killed you. Ow!”