House of Blades (The Traveler's Gate Trilogy) (17 page)

The black hood raised to study Simon, facing him more directly than any of his kind had faced him before, but the deep shadows hiding its face remained solid.

The old Nye drifted forward slowly, as though he had no feet under his robes. “Your master has left you, and you stand alone in a house of shadows.” His speech was odd, as if he had learned to speak far away or long ago. “Yet you seek us in the darkness.”

“You came to me first,” Simon said. He tried to rekindle the spark of his earlier anger, but fear was a cold wind that kept anger from catching.
 

The old Nye shrugged with one shoulder, and the rustle of cloth was louder than it should have been, as though many layers of clothes had shifted beneath that black cloak. He did not stop moving forward, though his progress was slow. Simon took a hesitant step back.
 

“We simply test you,” the Nye said. “You seek us with rage in your heart, try to find us in our homes.” Abruptly the light from the paper screens dimmed, as though a candle within had flickered on the verge of going out. In seconds the room was darker than a moonless night. Terror took control of Simon’s limbs, moving him like a puppet, swinging the sword in random defensive arcs. His blow stopped suddenly as his wrist hit something soft but unyielding, like a steel bar wrapped in thick wool. And then total darkness swallowed his vision.

For a wild instant he thought the light had failed entirely, but the truth was almost worse: the old Nye stood a fraction of an inch in front of Simon’s face, one hand locking Simon’s wrist in place as if it had been rooted in stone. Standing straight, the man of shadows was almost Simon’s height, and Simon could smell dust and ash on the cool wind that flowed from its hood. If the Nye had a face, Simon couldn’t tell. Perhaps the darkness was his face.

Simon stood frozen, afraid to fight, afraid to back away. The Nye spoke again, and once again it sounded as if his grating whisper came from behind Simon instead of just in front.
 

“We do not leave our home undefended,” he said. “Do not mistake our tests for true attempts on your life. If we should want your life, Simon son of Kalman, it would be ours.”

The Nye released him then, but did not move. He stood as if waiting for some response. Simon took a step back, and then, just to be safe, another. A thought struck him.

“My father’s name. How did you know my father’s name? I never told Kai that.”

The old Nye’s chuckle sounded like sheets snapping in the wind. “There is little I cannot find out, son of Kalman, if I have a mind to know it. And a reason.”

The old Nye hunched over again, folding his arms as if collapsing in on himself. Simon sensed that it was his turn to speak.

“What reason did you have to learn about me?” he asked.

The Nye paused, eyeing Simon, then nodded.

“Come with me,” he whispered. “You will learn.”

The two Nye guards—Simon had almost forgotten they were there, as the old one spoke—unfolded themselves from the floor at their elder’s words and began walking. The elder followed them down one of the hallways.

Confused, not sure what to expect, Simon hurried after.

***

Facing the shining walls of Elysia, which stretched at least fifteen paces over his head, Alin decided that he should probably try and find his way inside.

He had just begun to walk forward, through the grassy field outside Elysia’s walls, when he heard an echoing, powerful noise, like a dog’s bark mixed with the ring of a huge bell. He froze in place, trying to look everywhere at once for the source of the noise.

It didn’t take him long to find the culprit: a huge white-furred dog, bound in armor that looked like it was made of gold, leaped and bounded to him over the grass. It barked again, with the ear-splitting sound of a pealing bell, and rushed toward him. Even from ten paces away, Alin could see that its eyes were a bright, almost disturbing shade of blue.

Alin backed up, hoping the dog would stop, but it just kept running toward him. He turned to run, but as he did, the dog leaped forward and slammed him to the ground.

After spending several seconds struggling and crying for help, Alin realized that the dog wasn’t trying to eat him. It was quite friendly, actually, licking him all over the face and wagging its tail furiously.

He was suddenly very glad that no one had followed him through the Gate.

“You’re not dangerous at all, are you?” Alin said, in that voice people always got when they were speaking to dogs. He rubbed the animal’s white fur, in between its armored plates.

The dog barked in response, and from that distance, the sound nearly burst Alin’s ear.
 

“Okay, let’s try and keep you quiet,” Alin said. He used a low voice, hoping that would inspire the dog. “What’s your name?” Alin asked.

“Keanos,” a woman’s voice responded. Involuntarily, Alin’s head jerked back in surprise. He glanced around from his position lying on the grass, but saw no one else.

“Are you talking?” Alin said to the dog.

“Yes,” the voice responded.
 

How was that possible? Sure, this was a Territory, where all sorts of magical things were supposed to happen, but the dog’s lips weren’t even moving.

“Huh.” Alin took a discreet glance between the dog’s legs. “I, uh, thought you were a male.”

A woman leaned over him, above the dog standing on his chest. Bright yellow hair fell to brush his face.

She wore a huge grin. “Did you think the dog was talking?” she asked.

Alin scrambled out from under the gold-armored animal so fast he almost burned himself on the grass. “I’m sorry,” he said hurriedly, trying to brush off his clothes. “I didn’t know anyone else is here.”

She laughed, and Alin got a better look at her. She was maybe a few years older than he, pretty in an innocent sort of way. She wore a long white dress, belted in the middle with a gold-colored sash, and her eyes were gold. Gold. Not hazel or a shade of brown or any color he’d ever seen before, but a metallic gold that seemed to shine in the light.

That shocked Alin more than it probably should have.
Remember where you are,
he reminded himself.

“I am Alin, son of Torin,” he said politely. “And your name was...Keanos?”

The woman chuckled again, and—to Alin’s brief shock—levitated a few inches above the ground. “No, the dog’s name is Keanos.”

Keanos let out another deafening bark.

“My name is Rhalia.” She floated up until she stood on the air five feet above the ground, and swept him an elegant bow.

Alin glanced away, worried that he might accidentally see up her dress. More honestly, he worried that she might
think
he was trying to see up her dress. “Uh, nice to meet you, Rhalia.”

“You’re a Traveler, right?” Rhalia asked, settling herself down to a more reasonable level. “Great! Then let’s Travel. Do you know how Traveling works?”

“Not...exactly,” Alin admitted.

“Okay, no problem. Here it is: you explore your Territory. The closer your bond to something, the easier you’ll be able to summon it. But thinking people need to give you their consent, and animals need to obey you, either out of fear or loyalty. Isn’t that right, Keanos?”

Keanos barked again, the sound echoing like bells off of Elysia’s walls.

“And that’s it!” Rhalia said, flourishing one arm. “That’s Traveling. I like your hair. It looks like mine, only darker.”

“Thank you,” Alin said. He got the feeling she was vastly oversimplifying Traveling. For one thing, she made it sound safe.
 

 
“Now, let’s go!” Rhalia said. She flew toward the city gates, her feet barely skimming the tips of the grass. Alin found that a little disorienting, but he hurried after her anyway.

If she was going to teach him to Travel, he’d do whatever he needed. And she sure wouldn’t tell him anything more if he just stood around and watched her fly off.

Rhalia stopped in front of the shining gates, hovering next to a silver-set emerald the size of her head. “After you!” she said happily.

Surely there was supposed to be more to it than this. Wasn’t she going to prepare him, teach him what to expect?

But, as Grandmaster Naraka had already told him, the only way to become a Traveler was to Travel. And he had a beautiful, shining city just waiting for him, ready to be explored.

Steadying his shaky nerves, Alin placed both hands against the gates of Elysia. His right hand rested on gold, his left hand on silver. Part of him realized that if he could come away with only a fraction of the wealth he saw here, he could buy the whole city of Enosh, with enough left over for Myria.

Alin stored that thought for later and pushed on the gates of Elysia.

The gates opened much easier than the Gate had earlier, swinging open on silent, well-oiled hinges.

Inside was a short tunnel of white stone, most likely leading all the way through the thick walls. He could be sure, because it twisted at enough of an angle to keep him from seeing the end, but the walls and floor were solid white, polished to a mirror finish. The hallway was lit by what seemed to be gold-framed torches, but instead of the rough orange of a natural fire, these blazed like golden stars. As a result of the unnatural light, the hallway sparkled as if it had been piled with gold coins.

Now
this
was Traveling. He could never have seen a sight like this back in the real world.

Alin started to walk forward, almost blinded by the sparkling lights of the hallway, before he noticed a small box of pure gold lying on the floor. The box was large enough to make a fine doghouse for Keanos, and carved all over with whirling symbols and decorations that made no sense to Alin. It sat on the ground just inside of the gates.

Alin looked at it curiously for a moment, trying to figure out what the box was doing there. Was it some kind of treasure chest? Should he open it?

“Duck!” Rhalia called.

The lid of the golden box popped open, and Alin threw himself to one side.

Just in time.

A thousand glowing golden arrows burst from the box, shooting through the open gates as if fired from a legion of bowmen. If Alin had remained standing, they would have certainly shredded him like knives through cheesecloth.

Alin hugged the ground for almost a full minute after the flood of arrows had stopped, shaking against the cold stone floor between the gates. Was Rhalia trying to get him killed?

“I thought you said it was safe!” Alin said. Fear made his voice several shades higher than normal.

Rhalia floated over to the open box and did a little pirouette on top of it. “Safe? I don’t think I said that. It’s pretty dangerous here.”

Alin nearly choked. “Then why didn’t you
tell
me?”

“I’ve got some bad news for you, Alin,” Rhalia said. “None of the Territories are safe. You want to Travel, you’re going to have to risk it.”

He stayed on the floor, thinking. The danger didn’t sound great, but then again, he had seen what Travelers could do. If he only had to take a few risks for that kind of power, that was a cheap price.
 

Still, he would either have to get Rhalia talking or else find a more reliable guide. He couldn’t risk running into a wall of arrows one more time.

Climbing to his feet, Alin brushed his clothes off again. They were gaining quite a collection of stains. “So what do I do with that?” he asked, gesturing to the box.

Rhalia smiled innocently. “Who knows? You might try and learn to summon it.”

“Really?” Alin perked up at the thought. The ability to call up a volley of golden arrows out of nowhere sounded like the kind of thing Travelers were supposed to be able to do. “How do I do that?”

The golden-haired woman waved his question away. “I’ll teach you eventually, but there are more important things to see to. The box is just one little thing, just something to help you out if you need it. There are far more impressive powers in Elysia. Like Keanos, here.”

The dog let out another ringing bark.

“And you?” Alin asked. “What if I summoned you?”

“Oh yeah, that could be fun!” Rhalia spun a lazy backflip in the air over Alin’s head. “I haven’t been to the outside world in ages and
ages!
” Then she drifted around to face Alin and shrugged. “But I can’t help you much, I don’t think. I can’t fight. I’m just supposed to be your guide around the city. Test you and see if you’re ready, that sort of thing.”

“Test me?” Alin asked. He didn’t much like the sound of that, especially not after he had just been attacked by a deadly arrow-trap. He edged a little farther from the open box.

“Yeah!” Rhalia responded cheerily. She twirled in place, letting her white dress spin out. All of her motion was starting to make Alin dizzy. “Every Territory does that, in one way or another. You’ve got to prove you’re worth it.”

“So what do you test?” Alin asked.

“Your virtues,” Rhalia responded. She held out her hand, and a golden orb—like the one Alin had thrown at Cormac—appeared in her palm. She tossed it up into the sky, where it streaked away like a shooting star.

“Here, try one of those.”

Alin called a ball of golden light and threw it into the sky. His power felt easier to call here, somehow closer. Well, he supposed it made sense; he was calling power from Elysia, after all. It stood to reason that it would be easier to do while standing in Elysia itself.

“Well done!” Rhalia said. “That gold light is the reward for valor. You have to be really courageous to call
that
from the City. Did you risk your life to defend somebody else?”

Alin stood a little straighter, pride filling him, and nodded. He had stood up against the Damascan Traveler because no one else would or could, but he had been terrified. It was nice to hear someone tell him he had been courageous.

“Then you’re well on your way!” Rhalia said cheerily. “Selflessness is the key to most Elysian virtues. It’ll take you far.”

“Most?” Alin asked, suddenly eager. “There are others?”

Suddenly Rhalia’s golden eyes were inches from Alin’s own. He stepped back, but she just drifted after him. “How patient are you?” she asked.