Duskfall (46 page)

“You’ve adjusted the formula for the new lacuna? There weren’t any problems?”

“Yes I have, and no, there weren’t. Relax.”

Nash nodded reluctantly. He wouldn’t press the issue. There was too much at stake. As much as Kali enjoyed Nash’s company—as much as she respected him as a psimancer—she sometimes wondered about his commitment.

She turned back to the lacuna, pulling out one of the voidstones from the pouch. It was pale white in color, with a black-painted design on one side, a series of slash marks forming a rough-edged rune.

Kali placed the stone in the lacuna’s hand, and then backed away. Reaching into the bag once more, she pulled out a complimentary stone, this one charcoal black and its marks chalky white. She tossed the pouch on the bed behind her, holding the small stone in her hand.

Kali did not know why voidstones possessed such power. They had first been discovered, decades ago, in the catacombs of the Citadel in Triah. After that, Nazaniin agents began discovering voidstones throughout the Sfaera, bringing them back to the capital to be studied. Their origin and method of creation was unknown. Some speculated the stones dated as far back as the Starless Era. Others posited that they had always existed. Some thought the stones gifts from Canta and her angels—a ridiculous theory, in Kali’s opinion, but popular nonetheless. Kali wasn’t sure where they came from. But she did suspect they were only just scratching the surface of the stones’ potential.

As she clutched the voidstone, Kali found her other hand moving to her chest. But the parchment was gone. She needed to get used to that.

Kali opened her mind, and immediately she was in the Void. An aptly named place, metaphysical or not, for all around Kali was blackness. Some claimed it was darkness, but it was more than that. The Void was more tangible than shadow, less malleable. This darkness did not retreat; it devoured light.

Kali’s presence swept through the Void. Small lights appeared, pinpoints in the distance, like stars in the night sky. The holes in the Void passed beside her, above her, below her, around her, quickly and silently. Most were white. More rarely there were blue pinpricks, purple spaces, red holes and green glows in the sea of black. Kali concentrated on the stone in her hand, or rather the stone in her body’s hand back in Roden. Then, directly in front of her, another pinpoint of light appeared, approaching her rapidly. She was traveling through a tunnel, spiraling down it faster than light itself, until—

Kali was in Triah. Beneath the Citadel, in the headquarters of the Nazaniin, in the room psimancers had recently deemed the Heart of the Void.

This chamber was the central meeting place for the Nazaniin. Even at night, candles, torches, and lamps shone brightly. The floor was made of alternating white, black, and red tiles, and it was equipped with long tables and chairs painted in the same colors. Cabinets and bookcases lined the walls.

“Rune said you would contact us,” a familiar voice said. “I had hoped he was wrong, for once.”

Kali turned—or, rather, the body she now possessed turned—to see Sirana standing directly behind her.

Kali frowned. She brought her forearm diagonally across her chest in the salute of the Nazaniin, although her movement was casual. Sirana was a powerful psimancer, and that Kali could respect. But she was too emotional. Too willing to let her feelings get in the way of the mission. How Kosarin had overlooked those flaws, Kali did not understand.

“Where’s Kosarin?” Kali asked, hearing her voice meld with the familiar low baritone of Kosarin’s personal lacuna. Only a few people had direct access to it; she was one. Sirana was another.

“He’s busy,” Sirana said. “What is it you need, Kali?”

Sirana looked older than the last time Kali had seen her. Pale, almost withered. Her short red hair wasn’t as neat as Kali remembered; stray strands fell from a messy bun into the woman’s eyes. Her clothing was disheveled, and there were dark circles under her eyes. But the eyes themselves were the same penetrating green as always.

Sirana was one of the most powerful of the Nazaniin, but she was getting old. Kali’s mouth twitched. A pity Sirana wasn’t the acumen in the Triad; otherwise Kali could think of a perfect replacement. As a telenic, Sirana would only be able to see Kali’s vague image imprinted over the lacuna in Triah—she would be unable to see through Dahlin’s eyes, here, in Tir.

Everything in due time
, Kali told herself.

“We’ve crossed into Roden in pursuit of Lathe and his companions. I want to update Kosarin on our situation and confirm our orders.”

Sirana stared at her for a moment. The woman was sizing Kali up, deliberating. Kali could feel it, along with something else, something Sirana was hiding.

“It’s fortunate you’ve contacted us,” Sirana finally said. “Your orders have changed.”

Kali kept her face expressionless.

“In light of the events in Navone, we have concluded that, whatever Lathe’s intentions are, he cannot be allowed to continue on his current path. Your orders are to execute him and bring his body back to us.”

A surge of anticipation burst through Kali. She had known, from the moment she had been assigned this mission, that it would end this way. She would confront the most powerful Nazaniin agent in history.

She would confront him, and kill him.

“And the Harbinger?” Kali asked. The girl was special. Kali had accepted that. She had even come to respect Winter, despite her tiellan blood.

“Kill them all,” Sirana said, her voice hard. “The girl is not the Harbinger. We’ve come to a consensus about that, at least. Kill her, kill Lathe, kill anyone with them, and come home. Those are your orders, Nazaniin.”

Kali blinked. Kill Winter? Surely that was folly. The girl was the Harbinger. She had to be. A knot of worry twisted in Kali’s chest. She and Winter had much in common. Killing her would be… difficult.

Something about the way Sirana gave the order bothered Kali; she had not met Kali’s eyes. Strange. Sirana, while she let her emotions rule her sometimes, was not soft. She never balked, neither in giving nor in taking orders. Of course, Kali could understand why. Sirana was ordering Lathe’s execution. But business was business. Emotion had no place in it.

“Are you sure,
Triada
?”

Sirana looked away from the lacuna.

“They’re of no use to us,” she said evenly. “Kill Lathe, kill his companions. Those are your orders. Do you have a problem, Nazaniin?”

“No,
Triada
,” Kali said. “I must obey.” As always, Kali would do as she was commanded. If Kali could not rely on obedience, what else was there?

Just as Kali was about to return to the Void and her own body, the large double-doors to Sirana’s right opened and Kosarin walked into the chamber.

“Good evening,
Triadin
.” Sirana saluted him.

“
Triadin
,” Kali said, also offering the Nazaniin salute—her movement crisp and clear as she snapped her forearm across her chest.

Kosarin Lothgarde, the Venerato of the Citadel, was one of the most powerful men in the Sfaera, and only part of that power came from being the director of the Citadel. His real power emanated from his post as leader of the Nazaniin, and one of the most powerful acumens in recorded history.

“Kali,” Kosarin said, his deep, drawling voice echoing through the chamber, “good you checked in. We were hoping you would. Your new body is young, I see.” He looked Kali—or, rather, the image of Kali projected through the lacuna—up and down. Kosarin himself wasn’t young, though he still had a surprisingly powerful build. He kept his head shaven, but grew a short circle beard around his mouth.

“Yes,
Triadin
,” Kali said.

Kosarin looked at her, blue eyes glinting behind silver spectacles. “There were no problems with the transformation?”

Kali smiled inwardly, noting the eagerness in his voice. She had hoped to make her report to him if only to tell him about her most recent transformation.

“It all went smoothly,
Triadin
,” she said. “The previous body was destroyed, but I still managed to return without a prolonged hiatus.”

Kosarin’s gray eyebrows rose as he lowered his head to look at Kali above his spectacles. “The body was destroyed
while you were in it
?”

“Yes,
Triadin
,” Kali said, unable to stop the pride in her voice. “I was fortunate to sense what was happening before I lost consciousness, and it took me a while to regain myself in this body, but it worked.” What she said wasn’t entirely true; she hadn’t sensed the massive globe coming towards her at all, but she had somehow woken up in Elsi’s body, anyway. She figured that was an aspect she would keep to herself, for now, until she figured out exactly what had happened. She wasn’t comfortable with everyone knowing how close she had truly come to death.

“How long?” Kosarin asked.

“Two days.”

Kosarin nodded slowly. “Very good. You’ve accomplished something unprecedented; I’d like a full report as soon as you return to Triah.”

Kali nodded, excitement building within her. It was finally happening. She was receiving the recognition she deserved. The sight of Sirana rolling her eyes made Kali want to grin.

“I will,
Triadin
. Nash and I should catch up to Lathe and his company within the next few days. After eliminating them, we will return to Triah as quickly as possible.”

“Ah,” Kosarin said, glancing at Sirana with a half-smile. “I see you didn’t hold back. Very good. I admit I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to deliver the orders given your history with one of the targets. I’m pleased you overcame your sensibilities.”

Sirana said nothing, and Kali’s sense of elation burned all the brighter.

“If you will excuse me, I have matters requiring my attention.” Sirana walked quickly out, via a side door of red lacquered paint.

“I’m afraid I upset her,” Kosarin said, sighing. “It wasn’t my intention.”

If Kosarin ever accomplished anything without first intending to do so, then Kali was a puff-tailed goat. “Permission to speak candidly,
Triadin
.”

“Granted,” Kosarin said, moving to a central table, stacked with papers, books, and a large map. There were no boundaries on the map, Kali noticed. Not between Khale and Maven Kol or Alizia, and certainly not between Khale and Roden.

Odd
.

She had to be careful with what she would say next. Being too bold could mark her as a potential target, but to not make herself clear would be useless at best, and would earn Kosarin’s wrath at worst. But, if Sirana would not answer her questions, perhaps Kosarin would.

“
Triadin
, my orders are to eliminate Lathe and his companions, including the tiellan woman we once presumed to be the Harbinger.”

“And?”

Kali hesitated—questioning an order was bad form, but in this case she felt she had to make an exception. “
Triadin
, if you don’t mind me asking, what has led us to believe that the girl is
not
the Harbinger? I have seen her power, sensed her potential, and it is beyond anything I have ever seen before. And she is tiellan, sir.”

“The prophecies are changing, Kali. You know it. I know it. We have known it for some time, now. This girl… she is powerful, yes. Rune has seen it, and he has shown me. But she is not the Harbinger. Other tests must be passed, other paths taken, before the true Harbinger reveals itself.”

“Very well, sir.” The bitter disappointment Kali felt was surprising.

She’s just a tiellan
, Kali told herself.
Remember that.
Kali touched the place where the parchment had once rested in the pocket near her breast. She would remember. She would remember, and obey. Orders were orders.

“Is that all, Kali?”

“No, sir,” Kali said. “I have one more concern.”

“Go ahead.”

Kali took a deep breath. This was it. This could be her moment. “As competent as Sirana is,
Triadin
, she has a personal investment in this mission. Is her involvement wise?”

Kosarin looked at her with his crystal-blue eyes, and Kali suddenly panicked. Was he excavating her? Excavation should be impossible over such a distance, but she had heard things about the
Triadin
, impossible things… The image Kali projected onto the lacuna was only that, an image—her body and mind were still far away in Roden. And yet the way he looked at her…

Then Kosarin chuckled, a short bark of a laugh, his large shoulders shaking up and down.

“The ambition of youth,” he said. “Inconsistencies? Of course I’ve noticed them. Sirana was never perfect. Neither am I. But we should oblige her, should we not? She has been through a great deal, if you haven’t forgotten.”

Kali frowned. Of course she knew what Sirana had been through. That was why she was unfit to lead. Nevertheless… “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

“I’m sure you did not,” Kosarin said, in a such a way that made Kali think the man was sure of the exact opposite. “Your ambition is good, Kali. Don’t lose that. You’re one of the most gifted psimancers I’ve seen in decades. But you still need to respect the offices of the Triad. Do not lose sight of our structure.”

Kali nodded, looking at the tiled floor.

“And don’t forget,” Kosarin continued, the humor gone, “that Sirana could still best you in a psimantic duel.”

Kali resisted the urge to raise her eyebrows. Any Nazaniin knew that a trained acumen could take on a trained telenic in just about any scenario. If there was another acumen more powerful than her within the Nazaniin, besides Kosarin himself, she would be surprised.

“You don’t believe me, and that’s all right,” Kosarin said. “But just remember that Sirana has had years of experience fighting acumens, telenics, even voyants. And she has had
me
as a teacher. So, as powerful as you are, my dear, I’m afraid she still outranks you. In every way.”

Kali stood her ground, face reddening. She wasn’t sure how much of her blush the
Triadin
would see in her projected image, but she was sure he would sense her emotion, whether he saw it or not.