Secrets of the Stonechaser (The Law of Eight Book 1) (37 page)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

THE NIGHTMARES HAD returned. Visions of the past and what lay in store, alternate histories and possible futures, roiled in her mind like an angry storm. Every time she glimpsed the face of the man she loved and reached out to him, he dissolved back into the fog. In his place stood a young woman with cold, jade eyes. She reached for Len-Ahl with bloody hands, and the faermaid of the Great Oak Forest repulsed at her touch, only for the blood to fade away.

A black cloud enveloped her, and Len-Ahl struggled against the darkness. She saw the face of the Tattered Man and screamed for him to leave her alone, and his robes flared out, taking her to the next vision. In this one, she held a light green stone in her hand. Qabala stood across from her, a dark violet rock in hers. Between them lay an unmarked grave.

“You did this,” the Aeterna accused her. “It didn’t have to be this way, Len-Ahl.”

She shook her head. “No, this is destiny. I cannot change it.”

“But you can prevent it. You know how.”

Qabala held the Doom Rock away from her, and a purple beam emitted from it, striking Len-Ahl’s eyes. All sight and shape were lost, but the voices of everyone she knew seemed to be talking at once. She could not make out any one statement, but she understood all of them as they raged at her in a single, terrible voice.

When it seemed like she might go mad, a blinding light pierced her dreams, enveloping her, warming her. The light grew until it filled her vision and a calm settled over her. Something was different, and it took a few moments for Len-Ahl to realize what it was. She was awake.

Slowly, the light dimmed and her surroundings came into focus. The room was quiet and well-lit, sunlight pouring in through open windows. She lay on her stomach in a bed with fresh, white linens which smelled of flowers. Her head rested on a soft pillow, but the comfort she felt did not matter. Only the smiling man who sat in a chair next to her, holding her hand, his hazel eyes gazing into hers.

“Nerris,” she said, her voice coming out small and croaky. She tried to rise and embrace him, but pain lanced through her body. She winced and dropped back to the bed.

“Stay still, Len-Ahl,” Nerris said. “You’re badly hurt.”

Len-Ahl recalled those brutal few minutes in the Fury Pit, as Queen Qabala whipped the life from her body with a vile weapon of torture. However, she could remember nothing after that. It seemed like a distant nightmare now, though the pain she felt told her it had been a waking one.

“How can this be?” she asked. Her throat hurt when she spoke, and she dared not speak above a whisper. “Where are we?”

“The port of Lesta,” Nerris said. “Guest quarters in Y’Ghan Palace to be exact, home of Prince Lahnel.”

Many possibilities dance through Len-Ahl’s mind. Had they escaped Qabala, or had the Aeterna conquered Lesta? Was this another dream to torture her even more with false hope? As she wondered, she gazed past Nerris and noticed others in the room. Dist and Jhareth stood behind Nerris, giving her glad smiles. Off to the side, an older man rose. He wore a brown robe and carried a wooden staff.

The unknown man cleared his throat. “Maybe I should explain what has happened.”

“Certainly, Nateus,” Nerris said. “I probably couldn’t keep it all straight anyway.” He gave Len-Ahl’s hand a squeeze and stood.

The man called Nateus took his seat, but Len-Ahl did not know how this could be. Nateus was the title given to the leaders of those who gave their devotion to Angelica and her kings, humans who lived within the faery realm, each giving themselves to an order of one of the four physical elements. But those orders were all gone, were they not?

The balding man looked at her. “Len-Ahl, my name is Surnal. I am the Nateus of the Earth Clerics, or the woodwitches if you prefer.”

Len-Ahl was dumbstruck. “That cannot be.”

“I know most think us extinct,” Surnal said, “but from what Nerris tells me, you possess abilities inherent to those who devote themselves to Paral. Windwitches, flamewitches, and waterwitches all remain in this world, but are scattered, orderless. In truth, the Earth Clerics were the last brotherhood to remain in Tormalia, until Qabala’s rise to power. Now but few remain in all of Yagolhan. She has had most of us hunted and killed.”

“Why would she do such a thing?” Len-Ahl asked.

Surnal shrugged. “Why does a tyrant abuse her power? There are rumors of an unsavory acquaintance from her childhood who happened to be a woodwitch, but I will not trouble you with sordid hearsay. Most likely it is because she has joined in arms with the Tattered Man, and he realized our order was a threat to him.”

“You know of the Tattered Man?”

“I know many things,” Surnal said. “I know you are the Stonechaser, and I know Nerris is the Catalyst. And I know of the journey you face, as well as the meaning of the runes on the medallion of Jinn you found. Can you read the Xenean language, Len-Ahl?”

“I can,” she said. “I had not yet had the chance to think on the medallion’s words before we were taken.” She looked at Nerris. “I am so sorry for what I caused. I knew what would happen, and I led you into it. All this hardship his my fault.”

Nerris shook his head. “Surnal explained it, Len-Ahl. You were following the prophecy and you could not have turned away if you tried.”

“I too have had prophetic visions,” Surnal said. “About seven months ago, an ecstasy came over me. I felt the presence of Queen Angelica, but she said not a word to me. I felt in my soul what I had to do. I allowed myself to be captured by Qabala’s men, imprisoned and tortured, as you were.”

“Why?”

“I knew by sacrificing my freedom I would meet the Stonechaser,” he said. “It was my duty to help her find the Elemental Stone and erase the corruption of the Doom Rock. I rotted in the dungeons of the Aeternica so long I despaired of ever breathing fresh air again, but the Thrillseekers showed up and I knew I had done right. But I never could have suspected the condition you were in when we met.”

“Then we escaped?”

“It wasn’t easy,” Nerris said. “If not for Surnal’s friends, we would all be dead right now.”

“I knew I was to meet you, but had no inkling of how to get you safely away,” Surnal said, “so I prevailed on Prince Lahnel to lend me a contingent of men to cover our eventual escape. Luckily Nerris, Dist, and Jhareth took care of the rest.”

“Thank you,” Len-Ahl told all of them.

Nerris knelt beside her and held her hand again. “Len-Ahl, you almost left us. When I saw you hanging from that table, I thought you were dead. I never hated anyone at that moment the way I hated Qabala.”

“He was quite good in defending your honor.” Dist grinned at her. “You would have been proud of him.”

Jhareth laughed. “And then some. I think he took down half of Qabala’s sabres on our way out of the city. I took down a whole regiment myself, and drove the cart.”

“Jhareth,” Dist chided. “Don’t spew your nonsense at her. She’s confused enough as it is.”

Nerris cast his friends an irritated glance before turning back to her. “I trapped Qabala in the Fury Pit, and Jhareth got us out of the city on a cart he stole. The sabres chased us down, and would have had us, but Surnal’s friends were watching for him and intervened. They delayed the pursuit long enough for us to get away. It took us almost three weeks to make our way through the mountain highroad to get here. That’s the real version of it.”

“Killjoy,” Jhareth muttered.

“I wish I could remember,” Len-Ahl said. “Was I asleep the entire time?”

“I kept you asleep as we made our journey here,” Surnal said. “The rough roads and the jostling of our cart would have caused you further pain. With Jhareth’s help I was able to scout the wilderness for the plants I needed to work my magic. The salve I made stopped your bleeding, but you had already lost so much we feared for you. But once we made it here and you were in restful conditions, you came out of danger. You should be fully recovered in a few weeks, though I could do little to erase the scars on your back. Qabala had the power of the Doom Rock behind her hand. I’m afraid you will carry them for the rest of your life.”

“That is all right, Nateus,” she said. “I would have borne any disfigurement to see us all safe again.”

She smiled at Nerris, and he returned that smile. The worry had disappeared from his face, replaced with gladness.

Jhareth raised an eyebrow. “I think we should let these two have a few minutes alone.”

Dist nodded and put a hand on Surnal’s shoulder. “Let’s go, Nateus.”

Surnal nodded. “Right. Do not make any sudden movements, Len-Ahl. Your wounds are stopped, but I do not want to risk opening them up again or tearing the bandages.”

The three men filed out of the room, though Surnal relied heavily on Dist’s help to walk. Nerris sat back down in the bedside chair. He kept hold of her hand, stroking the back of her palm with his thumb, and she gazed into his eyes. Neither said anything for a time, until Len-Ahl noticed Nerris’s torso was wrapped underneath his shirt.

“You are hurt,” she said.

Nerris shrugged. “It’s only a minor cut. We were fighting off Qabala’s men on top of a moving cart and my footing was off. Surnal had it the worst. He took an arrow for you.”

“I fear I have made a mess of things,” Len-Ahl said. “I did not understand the depths humans could sink to. If I had, I never would have let us be captured that way. I am sorry.”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing,” Nerris said. “If we hadn’t been captured we never would have met Surnal, and from what he tells us, that would have been disastrous to your journey. Besides, Dist, Jhareth, and I are used to being thrown in dungeons. Contrary to what you may have heard, there are those who always seem to believe we’re up to no good.”

She laughed, and Nerris smiled. “You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice again,” he said. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

“I thought the same,” Len-Ahl said. “When Qabala was whipping me with that knovim, I desperately wanted to see your face one more time before I died.”

“All that is over now,” Nerris said. “I promise, Len-Ahl, I will never let Qabala hurt you again.”

Len-Ahl smiled wanly. “But when I get the Elemental Stone, I will have to face her. How could I ever prevail against such an accomplished and vicious warrior?”

“You won’t be alone,” Nerris said, “but let’s take it one step at a time. We still have to find out where the next marker on the Xenea Dolchin is.”

“How did you ever get Jinn’s medallion away from Qabala?”

“I have my moments,” Nerris said. “Actually, we broke in as she was torturing you and I took it from her. Surnal has had a look at the runes, but he’s waiting until you’re well so you can help decipher their meaning.” His face grew concerned. “I know this is all sudden for you, Len-Ahl. If you begin to tire, tell me. You still need your rest.”

“I have spent so long asleep. Please give me a few more moments. Otherwise, I feel I may lose my sense of what is real.”

“Of course.”

Len-Ahl closed her eyes and basked in the warmth of the sunlight, and took in the sounds of the birds chirping outside the window. “I sense you wish to say something else.”

“Not much gets by you,” Nerris said. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since we left Palehorse, not knowing if I would get the chance to say it.” He paused and sighed, his next words coming reluctantly. “A few years ago, I lost my reason for living. I never thought I would love again, and then you came along. I thought for a long time what I felt was a betrayal to Ketsuya. I am still racked with that guilt, but for me to continue denying the way I feel would be an injustice to you and everything we’ve been through. It may sound selfish to say this, but when I go with you after the Exemplus, I’m not going because it means I can take revenge on Qabala, or because it will save the world. My only desire is to protect you, Len-Ahl. Because I love you.”

And there it was. She had prayed to hear Nerris say it, but apprehension and dread clouded joy and elation. Before she had set her hands on Jinn’s medallion, those words would have been music to her ears. But how could she rejoice in what those words brought after what she had envisioned? Not only would her actions from this point forward determine the fate of the world, but they concerned Nerris as well. It was too much.

Nerris took her silence to mean she had fallen asleep again. He reached out a hand and brushed some stray hairs from her face before rising from his seat. She was glad as he left the room, glad because he could not see the tears escape from her closed eyes. Two paths lay before her. If she rejected Nerris’s love, after all they had been through, he would grow to hate her. That would have made her choice easy, but for the other future. If she accepted his love, all other things remained possible. She would go on her journey and find the Elemental Stone.

But if she allowed herself to return that love, she would destroy him. Nerris Palada would not survive the reemergence of the Exemplus, and the thought of life without him brought the lowest despair.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

THE CANDLELIGHT IN Prince Lahnel’s library burned even and steady, giving Nerris a good light to read by. Next to him Len-Ahl perused two moldy scrolls at once, and Surnal sat across from them, looking at star charts. Dist and Jhareth had given up on reading long ago and sat by the fireplace, feeding the flames and enjoying a bottle of heavily fortified Agossean Red.

They were researching astronomy, of all things. Not because of any interest in the heavens, but because of what Len-Ahl had told them of the words engraved on Jinn’s medallion.

Nerris had expected her to be abed for another week, but she had shown remarkable resiliency. The day after waking up, she was out and about, though she had to walk with assistance. After two weeks,  she moved about as she always had, as if she had no cares in the world and her whipping at the hands of Qabala had been a distant memory.

Surnal’s treatment had been a sight to behold. The earth cleric had asked for a number of unusual materials. Roots, blossoms, barks, leaves, all from specific types of plant. He used these ingredients to make a brownish paste, which he applied liberally to Len-Ahl’s wounds. After giving it time to set in, he took wet clay from one of the ravines and rubbed it onto the lacerations themselves.

He finished with an incantation in Xenean. His hands glowed a luminous green, and the clay on Len-Ahl’s back seemed to meld with her skin, changing color little by little as if brushed by many tiny hands. When he finished, the wounds were gone, though the scarring from Qabala’s knovim remained.

“I called upon the aid of Gobe and his gnomes,” Surnal explained. “The substance of the earth and that of our bodies originate from the same source. Gobe is the great sculptor of our world, and with his help one can make these various elements malleable to suit his will.”

Nerris shook his head. They sure had not taught healing like that at Gauntlet. “So Len-Ahl will be all right now?”

“The worst has been healed,” Surnal said. “When she awakens depends upon how soon we can make Lesta. She will be able to rest in comfort there.”

Len-Ahl’s wounds broke open again several times during their trip, as Surnal had expected. Their cart was palace-made, sturdy and reliable, but had taken a beating during their chase with the guards. Eventually it wobbled and jostled with the best of them, and the terrain did not make their journey any easier on Len-Ahl. Surnal sent Jhareth and Dist off to find cobwebs in order to staunch the bleeding. Gradually, Len-Ahl’s new back skin had grown strong enough to remain intact.

Nerris was not sure what he had expected when their cart had entered the port of Lesta’s landward gate. They had been saved by the grace of men belonging to Prince Lahnel, and he marched right into the Y’Ghan family’s ancestral home to meet the man whose father had fallen beneath Noruken’s edge.

However, Prince Lahnel was not there when they arrived. With word that Qabala had sent Dume Valez and Dume Yorne with a substantial force to march on the port of Hesmuth, the prince had taken the opportunity to assemble his own army, seeing a chance to deal a substantial blow to Qabala’s men by trapping them between his own force and those loyal to him at Hesmuth.

His seneschal had seen to all their needs and opened the doors of Y’Ghan Palace to them, on the condition they not leave until Prince Lahnel was present to receive them. Nerris had accepted, for it allowed them some much needed convalescence after their experiences in the dungeons of the Aeternica. In addition to Len-Ahl’s injuries, Nerris’s own chest wound needed a chance to heal, and Surnal would need some substantial time to recover from the arrow which had pierced his leg. The color had fully returned to Dist’s face as well, after his close call with the leg wound dealt to him by the griffins in Jinn’s cave.

Somehow, Jhareth had come through the whole experience unscathed, but that did not stop him from taking advantage of Y’Ghan hospitality.

“Any chance of getting some food around here?” he had asked upon being greeted by Yares, the seneschal of Y’Ghan Palace. “The good stuff, I mean. We are the Thrillseekers after all, and I tire of trapping rabbits for sustenance.”

“Of course,” Yares replied. “Only the best for the Thrillseekers. Will you require anything else?”

“A new set of knives, forged by your own smiths. Dist will want a new crossbow, I’m sure. Something more compact and less of an eyesore than that monstrosity we had to leave in Palehorse.”

Dist glared at him. “The Big Black was a great achievement in engineering. Forged by the great Gamil Free and designed by myself.”

“I’m sure we’re all very impressed,” Jhareth said. “But we were talking of amenities. A fresh change of clothes and a soak in the baths would be welcome. I’m eager to rid myself of the filth of Qabala’s glorified chicken coop.”

Throughout their restive stay, Nerris had stayed by Len-Ahl’s bedside until Surnal was ready to wake her up. It was an emotional moment for Nerris, and he said something to her he wished he had not. Thankfully, she had fallen asleep and not heard him.

Though they had promised not to leave the city, Jhareth thought it might be best to use their time constructively. And so Len-Ahl had gathered them all in the prince’s council chamber and lay Jinn’s medallion on the table in front of them.

Captain Kerin had insisted on being present to represent Prince Lahnel in this matter, and stared at the trinket with wide eyes. “Is that pure gold?”

“I believe so,” Len-Ahl said. “But the runes etched on its face are much more valuable. This is the beginning of the Faery Footpath, the Xenea Dolchin, and it will end at the resting place of the Elemental Stone. We must use the words we see here to find the next marker on the path, for the Elemental Stone feeds on passion and desire. These emotions can only be raised through struggle and hardship. Therefore, we have this journey before us.”

“What does it say again?” Dist asked.

Len-Ahl took a breath and read them the words of Jinn’s medallion in the language of the faeries:

Sekleur yos, os loshquiven varou

Nureor lohen tamlie

Hajen yolxa ale dal jamou

Adee sallivan ie yiamlie

“It sounds pretty,” Nerris said, “but what does it mean?”

“I have been attempting to come up with the correct words to convey its meaning,” Len-Ahl said. “I believe this is the best I can muster:

On distant serpent, Stonechaser seek

rooted in earthly star

Impelling light from darkest hall

Gift of the gods

Dist raised an eyebrow. “That makes no sense.”

“It’s a riddle,” Jhareth said. “Of course it’s going to go over your head.”

“All right, why don’t you tell us what it means?” Dist said.

“On distant serpent, Stonechaser seek,” Jhareth said. “Obviously it’s referring to a snake.”

“Brilliant.”

“Impelling light from darkest hall,” Nerris said. “We heard these markers referred to as beacons before. It’s trying to tell us where to find the next.”

“Then why doesn’t it just say it?” Dist asked.

“Queen Angelica did not want just anyone to uncover the Elemental Stone,” Len-Ahl said. “This is part of what we must endure to prove ourselves worthy.”

“Rooted in earthly star,” Surnal said. “That is the part we should focus on. I believe that will tell us the exact location, if we can mark its meaning.”

“Last I checked, the stars were in the sky,” Dist said, “not in the earth.”

“Jinn’s medallion was in a place of fire,” Nerris said. “Will the other faery kings house their markers within their elements?”

Len-Ahl nodded. “Very good, Nerris. I believe you may be correct. ‘Earthly star’ is somewhat of a contradiction. It could mean the next treasure lies within the domain of either Gobe or Paral.”

They thought it over for a bit, and Surnal spoke. “I think we should concentrate on the stars,” he said. “After all, none of us are astronomers and studying the heavens could give us the clue we need, one way or the other.”

“Is there a library here?” Nerris asked.

“Yes, Master Nerris,” Captain Kerin replied. “Prince Lahnel often spent days at a time within with his books in his youth. His father did not put much faith in the procurement of knowledge and did not concern himself with the upkeep of the library in the Aeternica. You should find the type of tome you’re looking for here.”

They met in the library that evening, and the stack of books Surnal brought out made Dist’s face fall. “We’re going to read all that?”

“Research,” Nerris said. “You don’t have to read every word of every book.”

“I thought I left all this book bumming behind at Gauntlet.”

They read for most of the night. Though the Y’Ghans’ library did not have many books on the subject of astronomy, they had enough to keep Dist and Jhareth complaining. Nerris liked reading and didn’t mind their task at all, and Len-Ahl’s eyes moved across each page faster than should have been possible. A steady stream of tomes soon formed a pile on the edge of the table. At a glare from Nerris, Dist and Jhareth had come back from their wine break and took up the daunting literary volumes once again.

“I’ve never understood how people can see pictures in the stars,” Jhareth said as he leafed through a book with illuminations of the constellations.

“You have to use your imagination,” Nerris said.

“The ancients often believed in improbable things,” Surnal said.

“You’re telling me,” Dist said. “This one I’m reading says the sun is really a star. It looks bigger because it’s closer to our world.”

Surnal glanced at the cover of his book and smiled. “That’s
Concepts of Celestial Logistics
,” he said. “It was written ten years ago, Dist.”

“You’re saying this is true?” Dist said. “It sounds like a bunch of dog dung to me.”

Surnal nodded. “The stars we see as mere dots in the sky appear so because they are far away, farther away than we could ever conceive. What we call the sun illuminates our world because it is much closer. It may even be a part of one of Jhareth’s constellations to a world millions and millions of miles away.”

Nerris looked at the sketch of the constellation known as Xalos the Serpent and thought Jhareth was right. Aside from an uneven line connecting the stars, it didn’t look much like a serpent at all. The ancients must have had a lot of time on their hands. They had even named a river after Xalos, as he recalled.

An idea came upon him, sending a shock through his body. He remembered all the histories of the kingdoms of Tormalia he had read in his spare time at Gauntlet. Most of the books contained history of wars and military campaigns, but a few went into detail on the culture of the various kingdoms. He reached for a map of the continent.

“Is something the matter?” Len-Ahl asked.

“I think I may have it,” he answered. He motioned for his friends to gather around. “I was thinking about the second line on the medallion, ‘Rooted in earthly star.’ That didn’t make much sense until what Surnal said about the stars and the sun. Look.”

He pointed to the country of Raddoni, more specifically the river which ran through the kingdom. “The Xalosian River is named after Xalos the Serpent because of the way it snakes north to south from the Cosette Watershed through the Doni Zad to the Talsic Midsea.”

“On distant serpent, Stonechaser seek,” Len-Ahl said.

“What makes you sure it’s that river?” Jhareth asked. “A number of them resemble serpents, as I recall.”

“You two remember the Doni Khel, right?” Nerris asked Dist and Jhareth. They nodded.

Len-Ahl’s brow furrowed. “Doni Khel?”

“Ah,” Surnal said. “The great pyramid Doni Khel, one of the Eight Triumphs of Ancient Man. Since the beginning of days, it sits on the banks of the Xalosian River, lording over the city of Inya. It citizens regard it as a physical symbol of their gods.”

“What’s a pyramid?” Len-Ahl asked.

Nerris had been searching the shelves as Surnal spoke and pulled off a book on the history of Raddoni. He opened it to an illustration of the triangular shaped tomb known as the Doni Khel and put it before Len-Ahl. “That’s a pyramid. Or at least, the largest example known. It’s larger than a palace, and houses the corpse of one of Raddoni’s most famous rulers, Kahz Sukhel.”

“What does this have to do with an earthly star?” Dist asked.

“Yes, get to the point, please,” Jhareth said. “It’s late and I’m getting tired.”

“Didn’t you two ever pay attention in history class?” Nerris asked. “Doni Khel is a term of ancient Raddonite. In Tormalian, it translates to
Jungle Sun
.”

“I remember now,” Jhareth said. “The tip of the pyramid is made of gold, and on a bright day it shines over Inya like a second sun.” He laughed. “I had always hoped to pay a visit to the top one day and bring some of that gold back to my own coffers.”

“You and every other thief,” Dist said. “I still think it’s a coincidence.”

“It’s the best lead we have,” Jhareth insisted.

“It is said in Raddonite lore that Kahz Sukhel wore an amulet around his neck which gave him great power,” Surnal said. “With an iron fist, he used it to administer justice in his domain through all his days. It was called the Pentacle of Judgment. Legends say in his youth, Sukhel saved a man from a tiger in the jungle. It turned out the man was the human son of Ma’at, the leader of the gods. As a reward, Ma’at granted him the pentacle. None know what happened to it after his death, but many believe it resides with him still, in the depths of Doni Khel.”

“You think the Pentacle of Judgment is the next beacon?” Dist asked.

“If it is not, it is surely buried somewhere with him,” Surnal said. “This is no coincidence, Dist. Everything fits too nicely.”

Len-Ahl nodded. “I agree. The Xalosian River is the distant serpent, the earthly star is the Doni Khel, the impelling light is the beacon, and the gift of the gods is the Pentacle of Judgment, which may or may not be the same thing.”

Jhareth took the map in his hands and laughed. “The best part is, Himos is right across the Gulf of Lesta. We could be in Inya within a couple of weeks.”