Phoenix in Shadow - eARC (28 page)

“Kyri, why don’t you get a pattern made for you?” Miri said brightly. “Then you could have a summoning crystal and give it to me or Tobimar. Or maybe we could get you a farcaller, and you and Tobimar could speak even when apart.”

“Well, I don’t want to impose—”

“It is no imposition,” Wieran said. “In fact, I insist. Visitors of such unique nature and importance should be given the special attention they deserve. It will take only a few moments. Making the crystals will take somewhat longer, but that will not require your presence.”

Poplock transferred back to Tobimar as Kyri entered the Array.
Our clever plan of acting like we had no suspicions kinda blew back in our faces. I’d
really
like to think there’s nothing else going on here, but I wouldn’t bet a single fly-wing on it.
He noted that Hiriista had not supported the idea or encouraged them to get involved, which was about as close as the
mazakh
magewright could probably get to telling them it was a bad idea.

“What about
you
, Poplock?” asked Miri, as Kyri stepped back out of the Array, finished with whatever it was that made the “pattern” for their crystals. “We could—”

“I am afraid not,” Wieran said reluctantly, and Poplock was sure there was, in fact, real regret in those words. “I have tuned the Array for all of the types of beings known in Kaizatenzei, but an Intelligent Toad is something completely different. While the spiritual parameters will of course be
similar
, they will almost certainly not be identical, and the physical ones are highly divergent. I would require some weeks to perform the needed adjustments.”

“Well, that’s disappointing,” Poplock said. “Having one of those crystals would be really neat. Maybe later, if we both get the time.”

“I would very much like that. But I understand you have more pressing matters to attend to in the next weeks.” He straightened from checking the matrix of crystal discs. “Well, allow me to show you a few more projects which should be of interest.”

Poplock gave a tiny sigh of relief.
At least
one
of us won’t be recorded or analyzed by whatever that is.

I hope one will be enough.

Chapter 38

“Oh,
Light
, I hope people won’t think this is all I do,” Miri said, as she held up one of the blades and examined it.

Kyri felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drag you down—”

“Drag? No, no. It’s just that sometimes I think all I do is be ‘Miri, Light of Kaizatenzei,’ fighting things, tracking down problems, choosing new weapons so I can go out and track down more problems and fight more things.”

“I think the people around here...and in the other cities, for that matter...see a lot more than that in you,” Kyri said. “I haven’t seen a single person who didn’t smile when they saw you, not a single town we visited where the whole place didn’t...well, light up when you arrived.”

That amazingly delicate pale complexion looked even more perfect when touched with a blush of red. “Oh, Phoenix, I’m...”

“...just doing your job, yes.” Kyri laughed suddenly and looked down at the axe she’d been studying. “You sound just like me, you know. Like what everyone told me I sounded like.”

The realization sank in, and for a moment she remembered—as clearly as if she were there—the fitted-stone streets of Evanwyl, the heads lifting and the smiles suddenly bursting out as she was seen, and she knew that what other people had told her was true. For a moment she was so homesick that her heart
ached
, but at the same time she suddenly understood Miri so very well. “Really. And I think it’s just as true about you as I know now that it was about me.”

Miri’s wide blue-green eyes stared into hers, wide-eyed, and abruptly dropped away, the blush even more emphatic for a moment. “Well...maybe you’re right. I try to make it so that people look forward to my visits.” She shook herself. “All right, we’re a lot alike, right? Except that I’m so tiny and you’re so tall and beautiful like Shae. I wish
I
was like that.”

Kyri felt herself blushing, but hoped that her own much darker skin hid it. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re absolutely
perfect
. I wish I looked half as good.”

“Can I tell you that
you’re
being ridiculous?”

The two of them shared a laugh. “All right, look,” said Kyri, “if you don’t want to just look like we’re grim warriors without any other interests—”

“Then you just keep doing what you’re doing, Phoenix and Light Miri!” said Grithu, the weaponsmith who owned the shop. “A less grim and more fair pair of warriors I have yet to lay eyes upon.”

“I think it’s really the ‘warrior’ bit we were worrying over,” Miri said. “But it may be that I’m just silly. Are you actually getting anything here?”

“Probably not,” admitted Kyri.

“Alas, I would think not as well,” Grithu said, tucking a strand of brown hair back under the band of cloth that kept it tied back while he worked. “I thank you for the privilege of examining your sword, Phoenix, and I confess that I cannot imagine you ever needing another weapon. If this and your armor is typical of the work of this Spiritsmith, I can but stand in awe and dream that I might one day be a tenth, no, a hundredth of the smith that he is.”

Kyri laughed. “Thank you, Grithu. You’re very good, you know; if you live as long as he has, you may well gain the same skill.”

“Practice does perfect one, yes,” Grithu agreed, then bowed and waved as they left.

“Well,
I
like my new fighting knives, even if I mostly don’t use weapons,” Miri said, spinning them expertly about in a complex flow of cuts. “But I’m hungry. I wouldn’t expect Tobimar and Poplock to be back down for a bit, so why don’t we get something to eat?”

“I certainly don’t mind,” Kyri said. She felt a bit left out at the moment, but tried not to show it.

But once they’d seated themselves at a table in the open-air dining square, Miri caught her gaze. “He should have let you come.”

Kyri looked down. “Am I
that
easy to read?”

“As Hiriista would say, it’s a matter of observation. You were suddenly a lot more quiet after I mentioned Tobimar, and you kept glancing back at the Tower whenever you thought I wasn’t looking. It’s obvious you’re thinking about him.”

“I guess it is.” She took a bite of the
ourta
(a thick steak cut from a large fish in the lake, heavily seasoned) and swallowed. “He didn’t
stop
me from coming. It’s not like he has the authority to do that even if he wanted to, right?”

“He made it clear he wanted to ascend to the Great Light himself. Yet he took the Toad.” Miri’s lips tightened, and Kyri realized she was actually
angry
at Tobimar.

That realization suddenly relaxed the tension in Kyri’s stomach. Impulsively she grabbed Miri’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Miri.”

“For what?”

“Being angry for me, so I could see whether that was what I wanted to feel.”

“And...is it?”

She shook her head. “No. No, I don’t think so. You didn’t hear our discussion before, but...if we’re right, what’s at the top of that tower is the most holy relic not just of
your
country, but of
his
—of his own religion, of Terian, the Light in the Darkness, the Infinite, himself. Climbing that tower’s a pilgrimage for him, I think.”

“But he took Poplock with him.” The tone was still resentful, defending her against the wrongdoings of her friend, and Kyri laughed.

“Oh, Miri, it’s okay.”

Miri looked up, surprised. “But—”

“Really. Oh, I love Tobimar. And he loves me, to my astonishment. But Poplock and Tobimar traveled a lot longer together, and I think in some ways they’ll
always
be a lot closer than he and I will. Poplock’s able to be there without being...intrusive, when he wants to be. Hard for me to just fade into the background.”
I’m not going to mention the fact that he’s also there just in case there’s a trap waiting
.

Miri looked at her wonderingly for so long that Kyri felt her cheeks heating up again. “You really mean that,” she said finally. “You were annoyed but now you’re not.”

“Oh, I’m still a
little
. Mainly because I really
do
want to see the Great Light up close, and I have to wait.”

Miri smiled and shook her head. “Well, I hope he appreciates this. And I mean
really
appreciates you.”

Kyri felt there was too much praise floating around for her to feel comfortable with, so she looked up and around. “So, if we’re not going to be warriors, what do you do when you’re not patrolling?”

“Um...” Miri looked embarrassed. “I, well, study the reports that have come in to see if there’s other things I need to do. And I exercise, and I check up on things around the tower, and...what about you, what do
you
do?”

“Are we really
that
much alike?” Kyri was both amused and appalled.
When was the last time I played a game, just for fun? Read a book? Wasn’t studying religion, swordplay, combat, or thinking about tracking down my enemies?
“Myrionar’s
Balance
, I think the last time I did anything that
didn’t
relate to being, or becoming, a Justiciar or Adventurer must’ve been when I was a child, playing with our figurines...”

The two looked at each other and the absurdity caused them both to burst out laughing again. “Oh, oh,
Light
, I needed that,” Miri said finally, getting her breath. “All right, we’re both career warriors. So let’s just stop fighting that and go do some sparring? I’ve got these new knives that need an opponent, and you’ve got armor that I can’t cut through.”

“But
you
don’t,” Kyri pointed out as they got up to head for the training area Miri had shown them that morning.

“Don’t underestimate what I wear just because it
looks
delicate!”

“All right, I won’t. I certainly won’t underestimate
you
, I’ve seen you in action. But I’ll stick with hand-to-hand techniques and not use Flamewing.”

“Oh, good, I don’t feel like being bisected and cauterized at the same time,” Miri said with a smile.

The training field was empty when they reached it—the midday sun was too hot for those not wearing comfort-enchanted armor. Kyri got into a guard pose and waited.

Miri advanced, knives flickering like lightning. The bewildering spinning movement baffled the eye, made it nearly impossible to guess the direction of the intended assault, and Kyri backed up, gauging not from the weapons but from the movement of the body and the shifting of the eyes where and when Miri intended to try to land her stroke.

Slash! Slash!
Two strikes, quick as reflections dancing off water. Kyri barely parried them, but missed the boot that came up and struck her squarely in her midriff. The Raiment of the Phoenix blunted the blow but she still tumbled back, rolling and trying to come up in an advantageous position.

But Miri was
fast
—so fast she was already on the other side of Phoenix,
behind
her as she rolled to her feet. Kyri somersaulted forward, trying to stay out of reach of the deadly blades.
She’s pursuing, so—

The rear-directed sweep only
grazed
Miri’s foot, but that still threw her coordination off, gave Kyri a vital split second to recover and face the smaller woman. For several more minutes they danced and ducked and struck and weaved, until finally Kyri saw an opening and kicked hard.

Miri flew across the field, tumbling like a rag doll, new blades scattered from her hands.
Oh, Myrionar, no! I put far too much into that kick!

She ran forward. “Miri! Miri, are you all right? Balance, I’m so sorry!”

Miri slowly rolled onto her back and looked up as Kyri knelt down. “Ohhh...Well, well struck. I...left myself completely open that time. Thought I had you...”

She struggled dizzily, managed to sit up; Kyri braced her with one arm. “I’m sorry, Miri. I really didn’t mean to do that! Are you all right?”

Miri’s eyes looked still a bit dazed as they gazed into Kyri’s. “No, it’s all right. I asked you to spar. I just made a mistake.”

She kept staring, and suddenly said, “By the Light...you have the most beautiful eyes, Phoenix.”

And as Kyri was trying to figure out how to respond to that, Miri bent her head back, leaned a little forward, and kissed Kyri full on the lips.

Chapter 39

“You’re actually
shaking
, Tobimar,” Poplock said, a note of concern in his voice.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous,” Tobimar answered, feeling the muscles in his calves and thighs protesting as he went up another step, two steps, three—each step just a tiny bit higher than he was comfortable with. “It’s just all...this climbing.”

“No, it is not easy to climb to the top of the Tower,” agreed Lady Shae; she and Master Wieran were escorting Tobimar, Shae ahead and Wieran behind.

That
did
make Tobimar a little nervous—if Lady Shae
and
Wieran were enemies,
and
this were some sort of a trap, he’d be several thousand feet in the air and beyond any help. But he
did
have Poplock with him, he had his training, he had his armor and weapons forged by the Spiritsmith himself, and...he
needed
to do this.

By preference, he’d have done this completely alone, without even Poplock. But the Great Light was the holy relic and symbol of all Kaizatenzei; there wasn’t a chance in all the Hells that he would be allowed to approach it unattended. That meant he really did need to have someone with him, and Poplock was the best choice for that, not the least because he’d been with Tobimar long enough to know, really
know
, what this meant to Tobimar.
If it really
is
the Sun...

He paused, catching his breath, letting the ache in his legs fade a bit. “How many steps
are
there in this Tower?”

“From the base of the tower to the peak—the Chamber of Light—are exactly eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight steps of eight inches in height,” Master Wieran replied from behind.

This
has
to be the Sun. Eight is the sacred number, his symbol raised high.

“Funny,” muttered Poplock, as Tobimar resumed the climb.

“What?” he muttered. The echoing of their steps through the tower minimized the chance of being overheard.

“Well,
Shae
’s an active woman with an obvious interest in keeping herself in peak condition, so maybe it’s not surprising
she’s
making you look like a newleg, but Wieran there doesn’t seem to be bothered at all by the climb either.”

That
was
odd. At the next short rest and for some time after they resumed, he surreptitiously studied Wieran, and concluded that Poplock was right. While he ocasionally made sounds as though the ascent was difficult or tiring, Wieran did not in fact seem to be breathing significantly faster, nor did he appear to slowing down, as even Tobimar did.
Very odd. Unsettling, and it doesn’t make sense. He’s focused on his laboratory work. He doesn’t have the time or inclination to stay in absolute top shape.

But that minor concern was being pushed to the background as they approached the top of the tower. At this range Tobimar could
feel
the Great Light, an inaudible song, an intangible vibration, an invisible
Presence
calling him forward, radiating its power and essence through the stone and metal of the Tower as though it were the merest air. Though his legs were now leaden and filled with dull agony, Tobimar did not slacken his pace; he
could
not, not now, and he dimly realized that he had caught up to Lady Shae, had
passed
her, and he could see the landing above, twenty steps, fifteen, ten, five, one—

The last step gave onto a black floor, polished yet giving back only the faintest glint of light. The walls, too, were black, interrupted only by eight windows set equidistantly about the perimeter of this, the highest room in the Tower. The ceiling, too, was pure ebony black. But all of this was but the merest side note, inconsequential detail, for in the center of the room was the Great Light.

It floated without visible support, a sphere of crystal not quite three inches across, and from within shone a brilliant polychromatic refulgence, a rainbow light so rich and pure that it was
tangible
. The rays of light caressed Tobimar’s cheeks as they passed, breaths of air glowing with ruby and amber and emerald and sapphire, the distilled essence of joy and power and of all that was
right.

And at the very center he could see a spark of blazing blue-white, burning like the core of a thunderbolt unleashed yet restrained within that impervious shell. Tobimar found himself moving forward.

“Umm, Tobimar, are you sure you should do that?”

“Hold, Tobimar!” called a voice from behind him, tense with concern.

But there was no stopping, no holding him back. Before any could move to restrain him, Tobimar Silverun reached out and touched the Great Light.

For an instant nothing happened; he felt the crystalline smoothness under his fingers, saw the delicate inlay of silvery metal that formed a setting at the very top of the artifact, a setting with a slender black metal chain attached to it, but nothing save the light seemed at all unusual or remarkable.

Then without warning the light expanded, a brilliance beyond mere light blinding him...yet he found he could see, see something else, something
within
the crystal, something that should be small but that was not, that rose up,
towered
up, blotting out the walls and floor and looming like a thundercloud of onyx and shattered rainbow, a black figure draped in night-shadow and surrounded by light, the head a blaze of unreadable luminance, its waist belted by rainbow and prism, and on its chest a golden sigil that Tobimar had known since he was too young to walk. For all its incomprehensible size the figure still seemed distant, walled away, but there was no mistaking it or the aura of Power it radiated.

As Tobimar began to truly grasp what he had seen, the figure began to fade, the world around him to take on its structure again. But now he
knew
, and he sank to his knees and bowed low, then rose—realizing that there was no pain or stiffness in his legs, that indeed his weariness was gone as though it had never been.

“Are you all right?” demanded Lady Shae. “I warned you—”

“Lady Shae of Kaizatenzei,” Tobimar said, and bowed. “I apologize for my conduct; I was seized by an impulse, and perhaps more than mere impulse, but still I committed an offense against your courtesy and hospitality by moving forward heedlessly.”

He could not keep a wondering smile from his face. “But I have now absolute knowledge that
this
, your Great Light, is also what I have hoped and dreamed to find. This is the Sun of Infinity, Terian’s Star, the greatest of His artifacts ever given to the hands of mortals, and I have the proof we sought.” A rising triumph was in him, and his next words rang out with an echo throughout the Tower’s highest room.

“This
was
my people’s homeland, and my quest’s end is in sight.”