Escana (68 page)

His hand was sticky and smelt of
pears, there was something decidedly off about this boy. Then Ella
realised that it was the first one she'd seen in all of Upper
Levanin.

'Do you like the city?' he asked
her, dropping beside her and following where she walked.

'It's a very pretty place.' Ella
answered guardedly.

'My mistress doesn't like the
city, she says it's like a tomb.'

'A tomb?'

Eli nodded. 'She says it has no
warmth and that makes her sad. The walls are white and she doesn't
feel anything from them.'

She didn't know why she was
talking to this small child, there was something fascinating about
his oddness, he seemed to trip over sentences as if he had found them
by accident.

'Is your mistress your mummy?'

He went from continuously nodding
to vigorously shaking in one movement. 'No. She is my mistress. I
don't have a mummy.'

Ella made her way over to a
bench, wondering why this child was still following her and how to
get rid of him.

Eli looked out at the sky. 'She
says that we are too far away from everything that happens. That
people who are in charge of things should be able to see all about
them. Our names are nice together. Ella and Eli, Eli and Ella.'

To her surprise the boy broke out
into a song, skipping around her merrily and singing their names
repeatedly.

She was relieved when he finally
silenced himself upon reaching the bench, he hopped up onto it and
started walking his way across it with his arms stretched wide out.

'My mistress would like to see
you,' he said, teetering slightly as he spoke. 'She likes to see all
the friends of Everalm, they're good friends.'

To her surprise, Ella felt a pang
of jealousy course through her. Who was this other woman and why had
El-Vador neglected to mention her if she was such a close confidant?

'Do you want to go and see my
mistress now?'

The curiosity had crept up on
Ella, she had been given free reign in the city for the day by
El-Vador, he was not expecting her to come back until late. Would he
know if she ventured out to visit this other woman? Then again, he
was bed-ridden and not omniscient as she had previously suspected,
how could he possibly know?

'Very well Eli, take me to see
your mistress. I'd very much like to meet her.'

Eli clapped his hands together in
delight and vaulted off the bench as she rose. He placed a sticky
hand in hers and started to insistently lead the way across the plaza
and toward the building that this mistress resided in.

Ella was tired of the vagueness,
of the gaping holes in her knowledge. Of feeling trapped and isolated
from everything she once knew. She was ready to learn more about this
island in the sky that she lived on and meeting this woman was the
first empowering step.

Alissandra
began ascending the steps, Eli's innocent charm had accomplished its
goal yet again. Now all she need do was return to her boudoir and
ruminate on what she had seen prior to the girl's arrival.

There
was little sense in wondering whether the girl had been informed of
her heritage yet, she knew that El-Vador was a secretive soul even
when he was beginning to open up. If he hadn't told her the next time
they met she would take the pleasure of doing so and announcing
herself to him.

She
had heard from Belesdair that Everalm had returned to the city after
his travels, full of tales of wonder and intrigue. The glamour that
the man used didn't fool her, though she was not immune to its
effects it was easy to deduce that this reclusive man was a
masquerade, the coincidental timings of El-Vador's arrivals and
departures were blatantly obvious to those few who knew he existed.
To those that were unaware of his presence in the city, a strange
mental working fell over them. They filled the gaps of time that this
Everalm wasn't present with their own personal memories of him, all
of them as fictional as the glamour itself.

Long
had she thought into the night of his recent arrival, he had been
gone for an extended period of time to deal with the Emperor's
request to clear up a matter in some far-flung rural region. She
hadn't divined the importance of the task that El-Vador himself need
be sent there and that irritated her.

If
it was one thing that Alissandra craved more than anything else it
was control. Knowledge was the currency that could provide a gateway
into control, she wanted to know everything that everyone was doing
in Upper Levanin and beyond so that she may exert influence to her
own ends.

The
Emperor's orders were largely transparent, that this errand was of
such importance but eluding her in purpose was like a thorn jabbing
the soft flesh under her nail. She needed to remove it with all haste
before it drove her crazy.

She
had been settled into her cushions for some time when the knock on
the boudoir door finally arrived. She liked the false intimacy that
this setting provided, as if she had invited her guests into the
heart of her premises openly in a gesture of trust.

Upon
bidding them enter, the door opened immediately in Eli's typical
rushed fashion and in stepped the young lady that had become
acquainted with El-Vador.

Yes,
she could see the Elven features immediately, they were much more
subtle than that of her old friend but present nonetheless. She
offered the girl a welcoming smile and beckoned her to come closer.

'You
must be El-Vador's newest, welcome to my home. Please make yourself
comfortable.'

She
watched her face constantly as she said the words, the manners were
impeccable but the girl could not hide her feelings from Alissandra
for long. There was the obvious surprise at her knowing who El-Vador
was, then there was confusion over her description. It was the final
emotion that her face settled into prior to her return to politely
smiling. Was that jealousy? It was! The girl saw her as a threat, and
so she should. That wasn't the order of the day though, she was here
to build bridges rather than burn them. As tempting as it would be to
destroy this girl, she needed her.

'Eli
dearest, do be so kind as to fetch us some tea.'

Eli
bobbed out of the room dutifully, shutting the door behind him and
finally leaving them alone.

'So
you are Eli's mistress then?'

Alissandra
let out a measured laugh as if Ella had said something funny. 'That
is what he calls me, he's a bit too young to have mistresses though,
don't you think?'

The
girl nodded curtly, waiting for her to speak.

'And
what is your name, dear girl?'

'I
am called Ella, m'lady. As you have previously divined, I am new to
the city and much appreciate that you would wish to speak with me.'

So
the girl was clever with her tongue too. Good.

'Do
you know why it is I wish to speak to you?'

Ella
shook her head. 'I must confess, I know not the reason you invited me
here. Have we met before?'

'No
dear, we have not had the pleasure which is indeed one of the reasons
I requested your presence here.'

She
passed the small bowl over to her. 'Candy pear?'

This
Ella girl seemed to consider it for a moment, weighing up the
potential repercussions of the action. It seemed she had a sound
analytical mind too, perhaps the choice had been correct in spite of
her misgivings. It was still far too early to tell.

'Don't
worry, this is no test. You can refuse you know, I will not think any
less of you for doing so.'

She
finally decided not to take one of the sweets, Alissandra put the
bowl back in a nonchalant fashion after taking one for herself.

'The
reason I brought you here may have become apparent to you already. As
unbecoming as it would be for a host to do so, I'm wondering if you
can determine why without my telling you.'

Now
she really looked into the girl's mind, it was fractured and full of
sharp edges that she danced around with great care. There was much
pain here and many trials of life left to scar the insides, this was
good, she needed her to be learned yet experienced. There were far
too many academics that had previously come before her and yielded no
results. To be tempered in the fires of a life suffered was a
necessity that she herself had long ago been put through.

'You
are the first woman I have seen in Upper Levanin, perhaps there is
some kind of gender solidarity at play.'

The
word confirmed Alissandra's initial speculations on the matter, her
vocabulary was markedly different than her peers. 'You are correct in
that assumption my dear, few women earn a position here in Levanin as
the talent seems to manifest in predominantly male minds.'

'The
talent?'

Ah,
so El-Vador had not explained everything then, a perfect opportunity
to aid this poor confused girl. 'The talent is the innate mental
power of a select group of individuals that are birthed largely in
Levanin alone. It manifests at a variety of ages, some come to it
very early and others only realise late in their lives. The abilities
it confers are seen by the church as a divine blessing, I believe
there is a much more practical explanation for it and have spent my
years trying to determine the cause.'

She
could see the girl was eagerly soaking up this knowledge with a
thirst that mirrored her own. Good, that made it easier to convince
her to do her bidding.

'The
Emperor is aware of the special requirements for girls born with the
talent, he has placed me in charge of their development as opposed to
the academy. I find it most curious that El-Vador did not bring you
to me sooner.'

She
watched her ponder over this information, she was clearly questioning
why her darling El-Vador had not confided this in her. 'So you
believe that I am talented then?'

She
let out another laugh, somewhat more genuine this time. 'My dear, you
are undoubtedly talented, I can see it simply by looking at you.
El-Vador would not have brought you to the capital otherwise.'

The
revelation on the girl's face never came, it was in that moment that
Alissandra realised that El-Vador had told her.

'Your
race confers unique abilities, no doubt you have seen a smattering of
those enacted by the man himself. If you wish to learn such power
then you must do so by coming to me.'

Now
the shock came to her face. 'How do you know that I am Elven?'

'My
dear, I know many things. The important thing to take from this
conversation is that it is I who must educate you. To leave you in
the hands of El-Vador or even the academy would be disastrous.'

'What
would be so wrong with El-Vador teaching me? Is he not of my race?'

'Yes
dear but he is not of your sex. He cannot understand how a talent
effects a young lady in the flush of youth, nor will he be prepared
for the consequences. You must trust me on this matter.'

She
willed the final sentence forth and winced as she hit the wall, the
mental barrier that she had so often experienced when trying to
pierce the veil of El-Vador's thoughts. Was this set in place by
El-Vador to prevent such machinations from coming to place? She
couldn't say and ultimately it didn't matter, the barrier was too
weak to hold her influence back.

'I
shall trust you on this matter,' Ella said in delightful monotone.

'Yes dear, you will.' Alissandra
smiled.

J
akob vaguely
recalled the muffled voice as he was pulled into an upright position.

'I
see you're coming to your senses once again, welcome back the land of
the living.'

The boat sailed smoothly across
the massive stone bridge, Gooseman stared down at him with a knowing
smile. He must have made the journey from the warp gate during
Jakob's moment of unconsciousness and seemed to be looking no worse
for having done so. The darkening sky proved that he hadn't been out
too long, though he didn't trust his senses much after having
suffered such a side effect from entering the gate.

'I've seen the look in your eyes,
you know.'

He looked up at Gooseman
groggily, wondering what the man was talking about.

'No, not that one. I'll let you
come to your senses first before explaining any further. For by now
you are most certainly overdue an explanation about a great number of
things.'

It was if something had birthed
inside his head, an almost overpowering urge rose in him to grab this
man by his shirt and hurl him off the edge of this giant bridge so
that his body may be broken on whatever lay below.

'Yes, that's the look,' Gooseman
said, seemingly unconcerned by the murderous gaze. 'That look is the
reason we're here in this craft, suspended high above the land and
travelling on thought alone.'