Mythborn (51 page)

He pulled back his sleeve but Sai’ken said, “Do not confer the marker upon him.”

When that order was met with surprised stares from more than one of the assembled, Sai’ken continued, “Adept, thou will journey deep into the mountain with Dazra, Gedeon, and Naph. Let havoc ride with thee like a summer storm, termagant and sudden.” She looked at Jesyn and said, “The rest will come with me.”

“Bait.” Dragor looked at the dragon, daring her to refute it, but she did not.

Instead, she turned to Dazra and said, “I need thy team to stay alive as long as possible. The adept will draw Sovereign’s forces like moths to a flame. Thou must keep him alive and lead our enemies away. I will take the healer and her companions.”

“I will help thee find Armun, whom I met many years ago with mine father,” she said to Jesyn. “He was a noble man.”

Dragor’s eyes widened and he said, “You’re Rai’stahn’s daughter!” The memory of the vision Giridian had shared of a young Themun now became clear, and he couldn’t believe he missed the obvious connection.

The dragon girl gave a small curtsy, an action that seemed entirely too innocent and girlish given this creature’s age and power. It was as if Sai’ken liked the discomfort she created when she played the part. “Armun journeyed into the mountain and returned that day without harm,” she said. “As the years moved on, his time within the mountain grew longer and longer. One day, he did not return. Mine father tried to find him, to nay avail.”

“What, then, is your mission? What has the Conclave asked you to do?” asked Dragor.

“Sovereign cannot be stopped without understanding thy lore father’s staff and the Phoenix Stone,” Sai’ken said. “The man who knew this lore best was Armun.”

She waited, and when Dragor said nothing she looked at Dazra and said, “Prepare your men as I asked.”

Dazra bowed once. “Of course, goddess.”

A slow smile drew Sai’ken’s lips back from her fanged teeth, her gold-flecked eyes finally coming to rest on Dragor’s own. “How long can thou stay alive, Adept?”

Dragor kept his mouth shut. He didn’t buy her simple explanation so long as confirming it with the lore father was off the table. Dragons did not consort with people unless the need was dire. Whatever was afoot, it likely would not end well for them, and he hoped Jesyn could see the danger they were all in.

Then he turned to Sai’ken and said, “Hopefully long enough to make a difference.”

Decisions

Sometimes luck is the thin wire

between survival and ruin,

And every effort made should be to keep your balance.

-
          
Galadine House of Arms, Battle’s Focus

I
nsanity!” cursed Kisan. “The boy will be the death of us all.”

Silbane looked at the younger master, his mind working furiously on everything he’d learned. First, though Sonya had said much the same thing, but the man most able to comment on Lilyth’s claims had remained strangely silent. Thoth stood to one side, his expression guarded, holding himself apart from the group. He turned to the enigmatic Keeper and asked, “Giridian vouched for your support. You’ve opposed Lilyth for centuries. Why this sudden change?”

Thoth looked at the two masters and asked, “Do you know the story of the siege of Tarsus?”

Silbane nodded. “The great bull statue hid soldiers within. While the city slept, they emerged from the bull’s belly and opened the gates. Slaughter befell Tarsus that night.”

Thoth replied, “Then you see Arek as the Bull of Tarsus.”

“They why in all the gods did Lilyth bring him here?” asked Silbane. “It seems foolhardy.”

“I will concede one thing,” Kisan said darkly, “foolish or not, we have been cleverly maneuvered. Of our own free will we choose not to leave Arcadia, and Arek has been enticed to rescue a father he doesn’t know, a man who doesn’t deserve it.” She was quiet, then said, “Even I’ve been given good reason to follow, a chance to serve vengeance upon those who caused my family’s slaughter.” She moved away, and to Silbane the white-knuckled grip of her hands was a clear indication of the conflict that waged within.

“What do we do?” Silbane asked, looking at Thoth.

The Keeper blew out a breath and said, “It is Arek’s choice.”

“We could grab him and Yetteje and go through the portal,” Kisan answered matter-of-factly, pointedly ignoring what Thoth had just said.

Thoth shook his head and addressed Silbane. “He’s more powerful than you can imagine. It is doubtful even you could touch him given his dark gift. As soon as he realizes this, the corruption will begin. Power will give his voice strength and you will not be able to control him. It is a wonder he listens to anyone at all.”

“If I may offer something?” Brianna had moved up and now inquired in a soft voice, “As I said, much of what you say makes little sense to me, but there’s something I do understand.”

At Silbane’s encouragement she continued, “Arek is dangerous, but I do not sense he means ill. He could have killed me, but did not, even though it seems he faced others like me in less than favorable terms.”

“If you consider trying to kill you as, ‘less than favorable,’ ” replied Silbane.

Brianna tugged on her collar, adjusting it, and said, “I may be able to help him. I’m a
dokter
.”

Kisan moved forward at the sound of the dwarven word, one she evidently recognized from her assimilation of the assassin’s memories. At Silbane’s look she offered, “A kind of dwarven healer, highly skilled.”

Brianna nodded. “And within the object in which I slumbered are tools that might help.”

“Help?” asked Silbane, “How?”

Brianna shook her head. “Much of my memory is gone, which means I have been asleep a long time. I can’t be sure yet, but these tools will help me see if there’s something within Arek that can be healed. Perhaps his use of this ‘Way,’ as you call it, stems from something within him that’s an illness.”

“It’s not his use of the Way, but his absorption of it that causes worry,” replied Silbane.

“As you say,” replied Brianna, “but I might be able to change that if I had access to my instruments.”

“Do you know where that thing you were found in is?” asked Kisan.

Brianna shook her head but pointed to a tattoo on her forearm. “My
entat
use is limited by this collar, but with it removed I can locate the capsule within which I slept. My
entats
will also begin healing my memories, helping me understand more of this place, perhaps making me more useful.” This last part was delivered with a note of embarrassment, as if the woman felt herself a burden.

Kisan looked at Silbane, then said, “We know we can’t take it off.” She looked at Thoth, who shook his head also. Clearly no Aeris could remove it, which meant the Watchers were also not in consideration.

Then Ash stepped forward and said, “Perhaps I can try.”

Brianna looked down at the firstmark, and to Silbane she now seemed to hesitate. Her fear was plain in her voice when she said, “You did not see what Arek did to those who had captured me.”

“And yet you just vouched for him,” Kisan said acidly.

Orion intervened and said, “Arek told us he worried you would leave, phasing through stone and rock as your kin, abandoning him.”

Brianna took a breath and seemed to come to a decision. “I don’t know where I am, nor even how long I’ve been asleep. My best chance of surviving is staying near you. I won’t leave, you have my word. But perhaps we should wait until Arek agrees.” Her eyes flicked back and forth between Silbane and Kisan, looking for reassurance.

Silbane smiled and said, “I think I can speak for him on this. Will you let Ash try?”

Hesitantly, Brianna nodded, bending so that the firstmark could reach her neck. He looked at her, smiled, and touched the collar. “Now this won’t hurt a bit.”

Nothing happened.

Ash looked at the collar quizzically, then tried again. The collar did not budge. He asked Silbane, “What’s going on?”

“Rillaran,” Kisan breathed, remembering her introduction to him in Bara’cor. She looked at Silbane and gave a soft laugh. “His surname is Rillaran.”

Silbane’s eyes widened and he turned back to Ash. “Do you know who you descend from, Firstmark?”

Ash shrugged. “Of course, nothing to note. My father said he took the last name to honor a distant uncle, who some said was a minor noble, others a crazy hermit. My father always said my uncle was better off living by himself.”

Kisan stepped forward and said, “I’d put good money down that he was Argus Rillaran, the Sunlord, the same that held the great dragon Rai’kesh at bay during the Rending of Shornhelm.” She looked at him with a mixture of awe and amusement, then at Brianna. “Relax, he’ll never get that torc off. The Way flows within him, the same as us.”

Brianna looked relieved, perhaps the thought of the torc coming off without Arek’s permission was too much to bear. She sat down heavily, breathing as if she were trying to avoid passing out.

“It seems our luck has remained consistently bad,” Kisan asked Silbane.

“We’re still alive,” Silbane responded dryly.

She heaved an exasperated sigh at Silbane’s positivity, then asked Ash, “How do you
not
know your own family’s lineage?” Somehow she managed to ask it in a way that implied the firstmark was an idiot.

Ash, for his part, looked equally confounded and spread his arms in exasperation. “How would I? The magehunters eradicated family records. Those who survived certainly didn’t bring attention to themselves. My father and I lived far from any city until I was accepted into War College. Never had a lick of anything strange happen.”

“Not even your blade?” Kisan inquired, one eyebrow arched. “An ancient, sentient sword picks you as its wielder. Does that sound normal?”

“Who’s to say what normal is?” Ash replied. “Certainly none of this!”

Silbane ignored the two, watching the firstmark closely, seeing how the Way flowed around and through him. He should have noticed it earlier, but it had just never occurred to him to look. Though Kisan and he had shared thoughts, he had not realized the significance of the firstmark’s family name, not the same way in which he’d noticed Yetteje’s burgeoning Talent. He felt his age then, cursing himself for letting details slip by. He pursed his lips and then interrupted the bickering between Kisan and Ash and said, “Enough. We can have a family history lesson later, but right now we need to decide what we’re going to do.”

Ash’s eyes turned hard when he answered, “I’ve already made my decision. I must return with Niall. If Lilyth can get me to Avalyon, then that’s where I’m going.”

Orion spoke then, “We will follow the princess, but,” he looked at Silbane, “having you and Kisan join us will increase our chances of surviving immeasurably.”

Silbane considered this, then looked at Thoth. “Keeper, Lore Father Giridian shared his thoughts with us. You said the dragonkind can be trusted.”

Thoth nodded. “Insofar as you recognize that they will interpret their role very narrowly. They exist to safeguard the Way, and will combat anything they perceive as threats to it.”

The master took this in, but knew if there had been orders to kill Arek, neither Giridian nor Kisan would have shared that. It would have made executing the order harder and Kisan was always the tactician. So he changed his tact and spoke directly to Kisan using mindspeak:
I think we accept Lilyth’s offer to send us to Avalyon.

What? she replied. It’s too dangerous, and if Arek is killed—

You let the gleam of your blade show too quickly. Have patience and listen.

Surprisingly, she was silent and Silbane continued, Accepting Lilyth’s offer gets us out of here. That opens many more options, including opening a new gate to Bara’cor.

Now it was Kisan’s turn to consider, and her silence told him she was doing exactly that. Finally she asked,
How do we open a gate?

At least she was listening, he thought. She had deduced the obvious weakness in his plan. Opening gates was Old Lore, something neither he nor Kisan had much knowledge of. He looked at the group, still pretending to consider Thoth’s last words as he said to Kisan,
We don’t.
I mindread Duncan. He’s here to save his family, of that I’m certain. We rescue him and Niall, and he will get us out of here. Trust me.

He risked a glance at her, but she did not look convinced. So he waited, and to buy time he asked Thoth, “Do you think recovering Brianna’s tools is possible, Keeper?”

“I’m sure Lilyth will agree,” Thoth said. “However, they will be useless until we can remove the magehunter collar, and none in Arcadia can do that.”

Silbane was quiet, his mind deep in thought. Then he said, “I know who can.” He turned to Brianna and said with a smile, “Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.”

“Does that mean you’ve made a decision?” asked Thoth, looking at the masters.

Silbane looked at Kisan, who simply nodded. Then he turned back to the Keeper and said, “It seems Avalyon is our only choice. Let’s get our children…” And to Ash: “all of them, and go home.”

The group nodded, some uncertainly, but at least their purpose was aligned. Silbane looked at each, knowing he could not press for more. So instead he looked at Kisan and said, “How about you and I purge some of these memories we’ve been holding onto. I don’t think we’re going to find another time to try.”

Kisan winced, then nodded, “Fine.”

Together they walked a short distance away and sat down, with their eyes closed. The rest of the group fanned out, each thinking about what new hurdles fate would bring their way.