Legacy of the Blood (The Threshold Trilogy) (15 page)

“No,” replied Ravi simply.

The people of Emerald Harbor had treated the L’avan with
indifference, and the refugees from the High City had acted as if trying to
befriend a dangerous beast. Neither of these reactions had been openly hostile,
and so Adesina had felt cautiously optimistic.

However, Suvi was welcoming in her attitude and appeared anxious
to get to know them better. Could it be possible that there were others who
would treat the L’avan with such ready friendship?

Adesina had feared that her people would spend generations
fighting for a place among the people of the world. She worried that the
centuries in isolation would damage their relationships with others for an
equally long time.

Now she felt a ray of hope.

If this young girl was so willing to associate with the L’avan,
why should there not be others?

Perhaps they could build a home where L’avan and non-L’avan lived
in harmony. Perhaps they could begin to travel the world and establish ties
with other nations. Perhaps they could use their gifts as they were originally
intended—to help others.

Suvi had shown her that all of it was possible.

After several hours, Adesina became accustomed to the motion of
the ship and her stomach settled down. Faryl made some sort of tea for the
others to help with the seasickness, but it didn’t work on Kendan because he
couldn’t keep it down. He remained violently ill, and confined to his bunk.

The young queen took pity on her former teacher and went below
deck to pay him a visit. Ravi surprised her by staying on deck, leaving the two
former Shimat to talk in private.

Kendan’s face was pale and a sickly green hue, and his eyes were
clenched shut. He opened them briefly to see who had entered the room, but then
he closed them again.

“What do you want?” he asked hoarsely.

Adesina held up the shallow bowl that held a mixture of water and
fragrant herbs. “I am here to nurse you back to health.”

Kendan moaned. “Please, just throw me overboard and let me die.”

She rolled her eyes and sat down next to him. “Do not be so
melodramatic. I thought you were a Shimat. Shimat do not let something so
insignificant as seasickness stop them.”

He looked as if he wanted to throw something at her, but he didn’t
have the strength to even respond.

The L’avan dipped a rag in the water and loosely wrung out the
excess. Then she laid the cloth on Kendan’s forehead. The smell of the herbs
was soothing, and he immediately began to relax.

“All of the others are back on their feet,” she teased gently. “It
would be a disgrace to our training if you were to remain ill.”

He gave a wan smile. “I doubt that the Shimat care if I am
upholding their reputation anymore. I believe they are more concerned with
making me pay for my betrayal.”

Adesina’s expression became more serious. “Do you regret your
decision?”

“No,” was his immediate reply. “I regret not leaving them sooner.
I should have left them with you.”

She felt her cheeks grow warm, and she fixed her eyes on her hands.
“I do not wish to talk about that.”

“But I do,” he insisted. “I owe you an apology for my behavior. I
lied to you and I manipulated you. Then, when I had the opportunity to make
things right, I turned my back on you. I have done many things in my life that
I wish I could erase, but nothing more than that decision.”

Adesina turned her gaze on the man she had thought she loved all
those years ago. It was impossible to pretend that she did not care about the
events that had torn her from Kendan’s side, nor could she say that she had not
been deeply wounded at the time. However, she had been given time to heal and
L’iam had taught her how to love again—a truer and more lasting love.

“I cannot deny that I was very hurt by what happened, but I have
moved on. Ravi and the others have taught me that one of the most important
things we can do is to learn from our mistakes and move forward.”

“That is what I am trying to do,” said Kendan. “I am trying to
make amends so I can continue with my life.”

She snorted. “You certainly are making it hard to see that.”

Anger swept across his handsome face. “Oh?”

“Yes.”

He propped himself up on one elbow. “How can you believe that I am
not sincere? I put my life in danger to leave the Shimat and to help you. I
brought you the Tracker, I led you to Faryl, I even brought your horse and
sword back. What else can I do to show you I am committed to this mission?”

“Perhaps you could drop the air of mystery and stop keeping vital
information to yourself,” she said acidly.

Kendan leaned back again slowly, appraising her with his dark
eyes. “Perhaps you are right.”

Adesina wasn’t prepared for such an open admission. She stared at
him for several moments before managing, “Of course I am.”

The fragrant herbs appeared to be doing their job. Kendan’s color
was beginning to improve, and his voice became more steady.

“The truth is,” he continued quietly, “that you do not need me for
this mission. Not really. If I were to provide you with all of the information
I have gathered, you could easily leave me behind and carry out this mission. I
wanted the chance to regain your trust. I wanted you to…need me.”

There was a pause as Adesina organized her thoughts. “You cannot
force someone to trust you, Kendan. Keeping the truth from me will only make things
worse.”

“I know. I keep telling myself that I am going about this wrong,
but,” he chuckled softly, “you make me so angry sometimes, and my spite gets
the better of me.”

She smiled back. “You cause your own share of frustration, you
know.”

“That is true,” he grinned. The merriment faded from his face and
was replaced by earnestness. “Can we begin again? I want to put everything
behind us.”

There was so much hope in his words that Adesina couldn’t help but
agree. “Yes, of course. But I want you to tell me everything. What is really
going on with L’iam?”

Her former teacher took a deep breath and began his tale. “There
is a branch of the Shimat that focus on unraveling the mysteries of magic. Some
of them do this by experimenting on magic-users, and others have turned their
attention to legends and ancient texts.”

Adesina indicated that she understood, and urged him to continue.

“There are stories that tell of the world before the Great Wars,
and how there were more magical creatures than humans. There are texts that
indicate that some humans were granted magical powers by some of these
creatures.”

“Yes, but Ravi said that such contracts do not exist anymore.”

There was a glint in Kendan’s eye when she affirmed that the
ancient reports were true. “It is said that a bargain must be struck between a
mortal and an immortal, and so it was surmised that such a path to magical
power would be impossible. After all, there have not been any magical creatures
in the world since the end of the Great Wars.”

Other than the Rashad and those few Serraf
, amended Adesina
silently.

“A few years ago the Shimat acquired a book that was written near
the end of the Great Wars. A handful of scholars were dedicated to seeing it
translated, and they were astonished with what they found.”

He paused and Adesina leaned forward in anticipation.

“Yes?”

“The book told the tale of
how
the magical creatures left
this world.”

A chill ran down her spine at the idea of such knowledge in the
hands of her enemies. She struggled to keep her face impassive. “Oh?”

“Yes. It said that there were ‘Thresholds’ that led to another
world, and that new world was the refuge to which they escaped. Our histories
say that they all died in the Great Wars or the plagues that followed, but this
book attested that many of them survived.”

“How many?” asked the young L’avan.

Kendan shrugged. “It did not say exactly. But it did say that only
magic could be used to open the gateway between worlds. That is why it has not
happened in the centuries that have passed since it was written.”

A sudden thought came to Adesina’s mind, filling her with dread.
“What does this have to do with my husband?”

Kendan tried to present the rest of the information in as gentle a
tone as possible.

“The ancient book revealed the location of one of the Thresholds,
using a series of cryptic descriptions. However, with the right guide, the
gateway could easily be found. The book also gave the details on how to open
the portal between worlds.”

“All of that information would be useless to normal humans,” said
Adesina in a subdued tone.

“Yes,” agreed Kendan. “That is why the project leaders determined
that they would need the use of a L’avan.”

“Why did they choose L’iam?” she asked in anguish.

It was clear that he hated seeing her in pain, but he answered
truthfully. “The translation was completed more than a year ago, but the
Sharifal determined that there were more pressing matters—more promising
possibilities to harness the power of magic. So, the project was put on hold
indefinitely.”

Kendan took a breath. “Then, a few months ago, I heard a whispered
rumor of a group of Shimat conducting missions without the approval of the
Sharifal.”

“Traitors?” Adesina asked in an incredulous voice.

He shook his head. “I do not know, exactly. I tried to find more details,
but no one seemed inclined to even mention what they heard, especially to the
nephew of the Sharifal. I cannot say that I blame them. Signe would execute
anyone tied to disloyal acts.”

Adesina knew this all too well. If she ever fell into the hands of
the Shimat, her life would be forfeit.

“I finally found one Shimat who was willing to tell me of the
rumors that had fallen on his ears. He said that there were tales of a splinter
group of Shimat trying to obtain magic before the Sharifal found a way, and
that they had sent out a handful of operatives on secret missions. He told me
that there were plans to kidnap the L’avan king and use him to complete some
sort of ritual that would open the gateway to a magical realm. The man telling
me this information did not understand its significance, but I did. I knew
about the ancient texts and what had been discovered from them.

“I was not certain of the truth of such reports, but then I found
that the book containing the texts in question was missing. I knew that it
could not be coincidence, and I decided to help you rescue your king. Basha
must be a part of that splinter group, and have the task of finding the
Threshold and striking a bargain with whatever creature lies on the other side.
She chose your husband because of her vow of vengeance against you, because he
has the required type of magic, and because it would strike at the heart of the
L’avan to lose their king.”

“She must not be allowed to succeed,” came a deep voice from the
door.

Both former Shimat turned to see that Ravi had joined them. His
golden eyes were intense with determination and an underlying sense of sorrow.

“The Threshold of Zonne leads to the area in that realm that is
controlled by demons. If the Shimat make a blood vow with demons, then the
entire world will be in danger.”

“Demons?”

Ravi moved into the small room and sat back on his haunches. “I
have said so before, Ma’eve, there must always be balance in the universe. If
there are creatures of exquisite good, then there are also creatures of
unspeakable evil. The Shimat named themselves after a race of shadow demons
from ancient lore, but such creatures used to exist in this world. Every legend
is based in truth, but the stories told about demonkind fall far short of
reality.”

Adesina studied her guardian closely. “Did you know this would
happen?”

“I had a Dream,” he replied cautiously.

Anger flared up within the young queen. “Why did you not tell me
about it?” she demanded.

His feline face remained perfectly calm. “Because I was not certain
what it meant. I Dreamed that you and I were searching for L’iam, and Kendan
stood in the way of the truth. That is why I told you to confront him. Then I
Dreamed that L’iam was caught between two beacons of light and that he was a
bridge that brought darkness from one beacon to the other.”

“Just as he would be the means of bringing demons into our world,”
affirmed Kendan.

Adesina’s initial reaction was one of panic. She could not allow
her beloved husband to be used for such vile purposes.

She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her mind. Her years
of Shimat training had taught her that she could do nothing if she could not
first master herself. There was no denying that the situation was dire—much
more so than she anticipated—but she had to keep her mind clear if she was to
save L’iam from such a dark fate.

“Well,” said Adesina bravely, “we will simply have to rescue him
before they reach the Threshold.”

Ravi’s expression was grave. “There has never been anything simple
about this mission, Ma’eve. I sensed from the beginning that it was more than
rescuing him from his kidnappers.”

The calm that Adesina clung to desperately slipped away. The cold
fingers of dread gripped her heart painfully. “What do you mean?”

“There was a time in our ancient history when demons ran rampant
on this world, leaving absolute ruin in their wake. There was a millennium of
warfare before a balance was found and life was able to continue among the
mortals.”

Both Adesina and Kendan were still and silent, waiting for him to
complete his tale.

“During the Great Wars that balance was almost lost, giving demons
a free reign once more. In an act of desperation, the Creatures of Light opened
up the Thresholds to another realm and drove their ancient enemies through,
trapping themselves in the process.”

“They did not go of their own accord?”

“They did,” assured Ravi. “It was their purpose to protect this
world from darkness, and they did so by placing themselves as a barrier between
spheres. That is why a L’avan’s
vyala
must be used. Only the power of
Light can open the way, and the L’avan are the children of the Serraf.”