The Dreamer Stones (35 page)

“The curve is
inexorable, Elixir. We understood it a long time ago and we knew
this day approached. After long meditation and consideration, the
Q’lin’la ask only that nature and events be permitted to do the
culling.”

Torrullin
closed his eyes. “Yes, agreed.”

“Forgive me, I
don’t get it,” Samuel murmured, staring at Quilla.

Teighlar
cleared his throat. “One member from each Immortal race for
Elixir’s Kaval, without exception. One surviving member.”

“The Q’lin’la,
but one, must die?”

“Thus it will
be,” Quilla said, staring at his hands. “For the Q’lin’la and
others. Soon now, one-by-one, lone survivors of other Immortals
will find their way to Elixir to join the Kaval, and soon the
Q’lin’la will count themselves as singular.”

“That’s
terrible,” Samuel whispered and looked at Torrullin.

Torrullin
lifted his shoulders in resignation. “Do you think I asked for
this, kinsman?”

“In this there
can be no asking,” Quilla murmured. “Elixir’s word is the only
absolute.”

Torrullin
stared. “Quilla?”

The birdman
sighed. “Torrullin, your Kaval is a fledgling thing at present, so
there is still time. We shall take some of it to talk about this, I
promise.”

Before the
Q’lin’la die, he meant, and perhaps himself along with them.

Torrullin
pinched the bridge of his nose and sat. “Enough of the Kaval.
Samuel?”

“What of
Kismet and Caballa?”

“Fine. To that
then.” A brief interlude and the two summoned Elders appeared.
Torrullin did not look at them. “Take a seat each; we are about to
discuss Samuel.”

“My Lord …”
Caballa began, stepping closer.

Without
looking at her, he said, “Caballa, do not test me. Sit.”

Quiet scrapes
as the two settled beside Samuel.

Deliberately
keeping his view narrow, Torrullin concentrated on Samuel.
“Speak.”

Samuel rose
and looked down at Caballa. “Where do I begin?”

“Where Lucan
began to train you.”

“Where is
Lucan?” Torrullin interrupted.

“He returned
to Xen,” Teighlar informed. “Sends his apologies, but will be back
in the morning.”

“He’s gone to
inform the Dalrish about me,” Lowen said.

“Ah. Samuel,
go on.”

“Well, it’s
like this. You sent Lucan and me off to find whether my signature
matches that of Tymall. It took a while, but eventually I could
transport, which was what Lucan needed to compare the two. It turns
out …”

“… you have
the strange unreadable signature Tristamil had.”

“You did know.
We wondered.”

“I
suspected.”

“It can’t be
used to track Tymall.”

“No, I didn’t
think so.”

“Why have me
do this?”

“In case I was
wrong.”

Samuel nodded.
“While Lucan and I were in the hills around Saswan we had a
visitor. Lucan called her the Sentient Lady of Valaris.”

“I met her.
Consider yourselves honoured.”

“She mentioned
it and then went on to say I am the New Priest.” Samuel was then
silent, waiting for Torrullin to react.

He did,
calmly. “Naturally. You are genetically Tris’ twin. You named your
son after his. A short ride on the curve.”

“I am not
Tris.”

“I know that,
Samuel - we’ve spoken of this. If it will set your mind at rest,
know my son is in Aaru. I saw him and spoke to him and said
goodbye. It’s impossible for you to be a reincarnation of a man
alive and well elsewhere.”

Samuel smiled.
“That’s good then.”

“Wait, wait,
wait just a minute,” Declan interrupted. “Aaru? It’s forbidden,
Torrullin, yet you claim to have been there.”

“The way is
open to me.”

“Elixir,”
Teighlar said.

“Not now.
Samuel, please go …”

“What’s it
like? Aaru?” Belun asked.

Silence. Then,
“Everything you imagine. It is perfection.”

“You didn’t
like it,” Caballa said.

He ignored
that and her. “Samuel, the Lady’s claim and knowing your signature
is not enough to explain your purpose. I assume there is more.”

“Indeed. This
is where Caballa needs …”

“Let someone
else speak.”

Caballa stared
at her Lord in misery, and then her gaze shifted to Saska.

Torrullin
turned his head. “You’re involved in this?”

Saska sighed.
“Yes. We didn’t know it would be Samuel, however.”

He shifted his
chair to see her more clearly. “’We’?”

“You were
gone, Torrullin; we did what we thought best.”

“I think you
had better explain from the beginning.”

“After the
destruction of Torrke …”

He lifted a
finger. “Wait, let me get this straight. You’re talking of that
absence? Whatever you did has been two thousand years in the
making?”

“Do you want
the tale or not? I aim to give it without ducking.”

A ghost of a
smile. “Tell me.”

“After the
destruction in the valley, we entered. We found no trace of you,
Vannis or Margus, but we did find scattered imprints of your
sons.”

“Likely.”

“It was me,
Kismet, Caballa and Mitrill on that first visit, and what we
further discovered in those signatures led us to forming a circle,
a secret we kept until now.”

Lowen was not
alone in the issue of crusades, clearly. “Four is insufficient for
that kind of enchantment,” Torrullin muttered.

“Right, and we
knew that. Teighlar joined us … and another. Wait, hear me out.
Teighlar is an enchanter, and we deemed him perfect. The other
prefers to reveal himself to you.”

“Who?”

“We promised,
Torrullin. When it’s time to form the circle, he will come.”

“You haven’t
disbanded, despite my return. Why is that?”

“The circle
was formed to protect the return of the twins; we discovered they’d
come again. We knew it would be of Skye’s line, half-Vallas, but we
thought it a twin birth, twin reincarnates. We watched over the
Skylers periodically, but we had it wrong.”

“I’ll say,”
Torrullin said.

“The circle
was formed to bring them to the point of your own return. They were
your second chance.”

“How do you
figure that?”

“Torrullin, we
expected twin boys, young, innocent.”

“And you
thought, with hindsight, I’d make different choices?”

“As I said, we
had it wrong.”

“I’m not able
to remake the past, not by manipulating innocents for redemption.
Besides, I believe I’d choose exactly the same, and nothing would
be different.”

She grimaced.
“We were grieving; we wanted to make it better.”

Warmth stole
back into his eyes. “I thank you for the sentiment.”

Saska smiled,
and then, “The twins are back, one in his own skin, the other a
genetic equal. We weren’t completely amiss.”

“And still you
keep the circle.”

“Yes, for
Samuel. The circle is able to infuse him with the Light.”

“Ah, and the
two tales become one.” Torrullin turned back to Samuel. “New Priest
and the Light - the two go together.”

“Yes,” Samuel
agreed. “Caballa wanted to train me in sorcery, a protection
against Tymall, but I told her I require only the Light to defeat
him.”

Torrullin
nodded and gave a twisted smile. “I follow the reasoning here, but
like to the circle having it wrong,
you
have it wrong.”

“I’m
sorry?”

Saska sighed,
Caballa and Kismet looked at each other, and Teighlar settled back
into his seat with a thoughtful smile.

“First, defeat
is unlikely - neutralising is closer to reality. Moreover, even a
neutralising requires something from both of you, which I doubt
either of you possess. You, Samuel, will need to control the Light
in its purest form …”

“Hence the
circle,” Saska muttered.

Torrullin
glanced at her. “Giving it is not quite the same as control.” He
focused again on Samuel. “And Tymall will have to control the Dark
in its purest form.”

From Quilla
came an, “Ah.”

Samuel’s head
swung back and forth, and then, “Where is the problem?”

Torrullin
sighed. “Let us assume you’re able to control the Light. I would
laud your ability, even envy you it, but I tell you now, Tymall is
not pure Dark. If the two of you were pitted against each other,
gods forbid, he would win. Why? Because, Samuel, he is able to
employ and manipulate both forces. By virtue of Digilan, he is an
enchanter in the making. The Light is not enough, only the dual
road is.”

Kismet
swore.

Samuel sat and
stared across the table at Torrullin. “But I have the Sword.”

“I noticed
your prowess, yes. Do you think swordplay is the answer? Tymall is
a master.”

“I practice
with a normal blade, but aim to wield the Lumin Sword.”

Torrullin
nearly slammed into the back of his chair, and barely managed to
control his reaction. “I believe it’s gone.”

“No,” Teighlar
drawled, “it’s here. The crucible.”

“You
interfered, Emperor.”

“I am a member
of the circle.”

Torrullin was
cold inside, but said nothing. The Sword of Light. Yes, it became
that when he presented it to Abdiah, but back in the hands of the
Priest, new or old, it would again transform. Dared he reveal that?
No.

He would
ensure he got to the bloody blade first.

“Have you
touched it?” he asked of Samuel.

Samuel did no
notice the latent tension. Quilla did, but said nothing. “Yes, but
then I replaced it in the crucible until I know how to use it.”

Samuel had not
wielded it; there was still time.

Torrullin
said, “It’s no trinket. Before you again attempt to lift it, you
must, absolutely must, know your way around a blade, and you must
know the full tale of what it is.”

Samuel nodded,
relieved. “That’s how I see it, yes. Um, is it enough to defeat
Tymall?”

“No,”
Torrullin said.

Kismet swore
again.

“Then why am I
doing this?” Samuel demanded of Caballa.

“Because
Tymall never did do battle with Tristamil, because he replays the
past to his satisfaction, and what he thinks could be his
redemption, for or from Digilan, who knows, and because he will
want to fight that battle with his brother’s descendent, you, and
therefore you must know how to defend yourself. Winning is not what
it’s about. Living to tell the tale is what is important,” Caballa
said.

“Well said,
Caballa,” Torrullin murmured.

She inclined
her head, eyes unreadable.

“Gods, we
seriously got it wrong,” Kismet muttered.

Samuel turned
to stone. Then he stood and left the gathering, walking
deliberately down the stairs to the next tier.

Torrullin
fixed a stare on Kismet. “It takes courage to admit when one made a
mistake. Did you make a mistake with Tannil?”

The question
was so unexpected Kismet was off-guard.

“Do not think.
Answer.” Threads of threat.

“No. We didn’t
make a mistake.”

“Caballa?”

“It had to be
done, my Lord.”

Torrullin said
nothing further on the subject; instead, he spoke to Teighlar. “You
have a fuller picture of the circle, no doubt. You called for six,
I assume.”

The Emperor
crinkled a smile. “My intelligent friend! Yes, a sixth was an
imperative.”

Torrullin
raised his brows. “Why?”

Teighlar
murmured, “The first Priest was bound to Luvanor. His abilities
gave him the runes that led ultimately to Senlu second
freedom.”

“It is
Grinwallin, then.”

“That is my
suspicion.”

Saska, Caballa
and Kismet shared shocked gazes between Emperor and Enchanter …
nay, Elixir.

Belun made the
connection vocal. “Mighty Grinwallin must fall. Part of the stage.
It was, after all, a ruin when the Vallas came.”

“Goddess.”
Saska muttered.

“The circle is
not just for Samuel - it is for Grinwallin.”

Teighlar
nodded at Torrullin. “Release the Light and my city may have enough
to survive, yes. That enchantment requires six.”

“You knew the
day would come.”

“I knew. She
is a demanding mistress, my city; she requires continual balancing.
I hope to avert major upheaval.”

“
You
retrieved the Sword.”

Teighlar’s
eyes hooded. “Yes, and I am aware of your … thoughts.”

“In the wrong
hands that blade is dangerous.”

“I know.”

“Samuel will
not be a sacrifice to Grinwallin, Emperor.”

“What?” Kismet
blurted.

“There has to
be sacrifice, Elixir.”

“What?” Kismet
said again, but both men clammed up.

Quilla gave a
huge sigh. “Teighlar, you are the only Immortal Senlu. Have you
considered what that means?”

The Emperor
jerked to him. “I cannot leave here.”

“No sacrifice
will alter that future,” Quilla said.

Torrullin
rose. “I’m not asking you to join me, Teighlar. If you do, the
choice is yours, freely made. Use the Light, with my blessing, but
do not use my blood to obscure the path.”

Teighlar
sucked at his teeth, and then, “We convene the circle tonight.”

“Mitrill is
dead.”

“Thundor of
the Thinnings has taken her place,” Saska said.

Torrullin
looked down. “You’re joking.”

“No joke, and
it’s Thundor the Fourth.”

“Well.
Astonishment in every revelation. What of your sixth member?”

“You will meet
him tonight.”

Torrullin
looked again at the Emperor. “I must return to Valaris.”

“Make time for
this. It’s important.”

“For
Grinwallin.”

“For my
beautiful city, my people, and for Samuel. Mostly it is for
you.”

“For
understanding?”