The Dreaming Hunt (80 page)

Will stared at him in dismay. “There are more where those came from?”

“Thousands more. Ever hear the story of the boy who plugged the hole in the dam with his finger?” Eben asked grimly. “That's us right now.”

Will gulped. “We've got to find a way to close this gate. Now. Here's the piece of the key I pulled out before.”

Eben studied the broken key and then frowned. He unhooked the mace from his back and held it beside the broken key. Huh. The number and pattern of flanges on the mace was very similar to the shape and arrangement of the teeth on the key. “What are the odds?” he muttered.

Will rolled his eyes. “Kerryl could have seen this coming. Stars know, he's been one step ahead of us the whole time. I'm really starting to want to talk to him and find out just how much he knows. Try your mace in the lock.”

Eben shook his head. “There's more to it than that. These stones have to be shifted in a specific way to close the gate without opening another one.”

“Can you tell how they have to be shifted?” he asked.

“I can almost see it. There's a thread…” The jann trailed off, using his finger to trace a carved line in the stone from one piece to the next. “To complete the pattern, this piece would have to go here.” He lifted one of the stones and replaced it with another. “But then that would mean this one had to go there.” He glanced up at Will. “Quit hovering. This is going to take a while, and you're making me nervous.”

Smiling a little, Will turned away.

Rosana had moved off and was assessing injuries while Raina healed the most badly injured. Goldeneye's healthy men waited, weapons in hand, guarding the gate in case any more phantasms made an appearance.

Dominion healers moved around the area, as well. It took nearly an hour for the healers to finish their work. Close to a dozen Dominion warriors resurrected on the great plaza, and Will looked away in distaste from the sight of the forming bodies.

Goldeneye came over to him. “The maze of force walls was clever. How did you know to do it?”

That was an
excellent
question. To the cobra changeling, he shrugged. “It just came to me. Seemed like a good idea, so I went with it.”

“Bold. Creative. Worthy of a great battle caster,” Goldeneye said quietly.

Will stared. Had he known Will's father? Recognized him as the son of Tiberius De'Vir? He dared not let his charade be pierced, and certainly not by this man, who had no vested interest in keeping Will's secrets. Belatedly, he mumbled his thanks for the compliment.

Thankfully, Eben made more awkward conversation unnecessary by announcing, “I think I have it.”

Will followed Goldeneye over to the table. Eben aligned the head of his mace carefully with the center of the tympan. The claviger struggled where he was restrained and tried to break free, no doubt to stop Eben from messing with the tympan. The jann turned the mace slightly, and the entire head of the weapon slipped into the opening like …

 … like a key fitting into a lock.

Carefully, the jann turned the mace, and the stones of the tympan jostled and clacked against one another.

The portal blinked out of existence. One second the shimmering skin of air was there, and the next, it was gone.

“You did it!” Will exclaimed. He and the rest of their little party closed in to pound the jann on the back and congratulate him while Eben blushed.

“Well done,” Goldeneye declared. The Dominion leader turned and shouted, “I call for a feast to celebrate this day's victory!”

*   *   *

One thing Raina had to give the Dominion credit for: they put on a great party. Where all the organization came from to pull it off, she had no idea. But in a matter of a few hours, an even larger tent than the one they'd first found Goldeneye in earlier today—a lifetime ago—was erected. It wasn't so much a tent as it was a seemingly endless tarp of oiled skins stretched over an entire city square, and held up by poles the size of trees. Tables and benches held perhaps a third of the assembly, and the rest either stood or sat on skins unrolled on the ground. The crowd extended down side streets well into the city.

As participants in the heaviest fighting, they'd been afforded seats at the tables. Of course, they were not given a place of honor. Goldeneye could not afford to admit that he'd had help from outsiders—some of them puny, human children, no less.

Raina was just glad for a big meal. She had no idea how much magic she had cast today; but along with the magical energy she'd shared with Rosana, it had to be more than she'd ever attempted. The voices bothered her a little, but when she tried Gawaine's technique of opening herself to them and then closing them off, they retreated.

Huge platters of food were passed around in a seemingly endless stream until everyone in the massive gathering had full plates, and eventually, full bellies. Even Raina could not fathom eating another bite of the succulent roasted meat, boiled vegetables, and chewy, dark bread that comprised the meal. Simple, practical people, these Dominion. Their food, like their homes, was not fancy but functional. Filling and nourishing. And that was all she cared about at the moment.

As darkness fell, a great opening in the center of the tarp roof was pulled back, and a bonfire was built. The flames danced up at least thirty feet in the air but did not come close to reaching the tarp overhead. She stared at the bright dance of flames and let it lull her toward sleep.

“Raina!” Rynn jolted her out of her half-asleep reverie. “Goldeneye has summoned you.”

“What?”

“You and Eben. Go. Don't keep him waiting.”

Alarmed, she looked at the jann, who shrugged and led the way through the crowd. Drinking seemed to be the order of the evening now. The benches were rowdy, their occupants hoisting horns of ale and singing loud songs in slurred voices not even in the vicinity of a tune.

Someone grabbed her rear end, and she whipped around, hands glowing menacingly. A shout of laughter went up, and rude comments flew, but no one else made a grab for her.

She and Eben reached the head table. Goldeneye addressed the jann first. “In thanks for closing the gate today, you may keep the stone you found on that elemental you chased down.”

From down the head table, the claviger rose to protest. But the rhino changeling, Kondo, put a heavy hand on the mage's shoulder and forced him back down onto the bench. Raina was amused. Gifting the piece of nullstone to Eben was a slap in the face of the Mage of Alchizzadon. She approved.

“As for you, White Heart.”

Her attention jerked to the cobra changeling.

“Look into my eyes.”

Reflected firelight danced off his golden irises, making them look alive with fire. It was fascinating.

“I release you from your enslavement to me, healer.”

She blinked, startled, the fascination broken. The cobra changeling had already unenslaved Rosana earlier in private. Why wait until now to do the same for her?

A commotion erupted nearby, and she was shocked to see a pair of Royal Order of the Sun guardians trying to come toward her. But they were being blocked by a brace of jukara who only let them come as far as the end of the head table.

“Raina of Tyrel,” Goldeneye bellowed. “Before everyone assembled here tonight, I declare you my emissary to the Heart.”

She stared, dumbfounded. He had no authority to declare her an emissary. And yet, he had just done it. She looked over at the Royal Order men, who looked equally shocked.

She spoke low and urgent, “But, my lord. I'm too young. Too inexperienced. I've barely joined the White Heart and started my training. I'm not even close to making the rank of Virtue. I'm certainly not prepared to do the work of an emissary.”

“You are my emissary, or I shall have no emissary at all.” He glared over at the pair of Royal Order men. “You hear me? You tell your superiors. She's mine.”

Eben muttered out of the side of his mouth. “Are you sure you're unenslaved?”

“I think so,” she breathed between unmoving lips. “But … why?” she asked Goldeneye.

He leaned across the table, gesturing her near. In a voice not pitched to carry, he said, “You showed courage to go into battle unarmed. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of the group. You are skilled with magic. These are traits my people admire.”

“There are other White Heart members with those same traits who are much more qualified—”

He cut her off. “The paxan and I looked into the claviger's mind today. Saw through the gate into the Realm of Dreams. A great threat comes this way. The Dominion will have need of powerful allies if it is to survive. The Heart is powerful, is it not?”

“Very.”

“Then you shall be my emissary.”

“Will you teach your people to honor my colors and honor all those who wear them?” she challenged.

He stared at her, the pupils of his eyes narrowed to vertical slits, weighing her words. She could actually see him examining the implications, weighing possible outcomes, and calculating his best interest. Oh yes. This creature was extremely intelligent. Much more so than one would expect of the leader of a nation of violent changeling fighters whose sole purpose was war.

At length, Goldeneye drawled, “Aye.” A pause. Then he added, “And in return, you shall form an alliance between my people and yours.”

With that pronouncement, he leaned back and gestured for the Royal Order of the Sun guardians to be let through.

An alliance with the Heart. Not with the governess of Dupree. And not with the Empire. Did he dare to attempt driving a wedge between the healers and their masters? It was a subtle ploy hinting at a much deeper strategy.

The Royal Order of the Sun men rushed to her side while she stared at the Dominion leader. Ignoring them, she spoke slowly. “I think everyone has underestimated you greatly, Lord Goldeneye. I shall not make that mistake.” She made the deep formal curtsy that one would give to a head of state and held it as etiquette dictated, waiting to be released from the obeisance.

“Rise,” Goldeneye murmured, amusement lacing his voice. “We shall get on well, you and I.”

So. He knew Imperial etiquette too, did he? Now where did a cobra changeling in the wilds of an untamed continent learn that? An intriguing mystery, her new sponsor was. One she looked forward to solving.

“Come away, Initiate,” one of the Royal Order of the Sun guardians said nervously. “We have a ship at the docks and will take you to safety.”

“Emissary,” Goldeneye corrected, his hood flaring menacingly.

“Emissary Raina,” the Royal Order man corrected hastily. He urged low, “Please, come. This is no place for you.”

It was her turn to be amused. “Oh, I don't know about that. I think I could grow to enjoy these warriors and their ways. They fought well today.”

Enough Dominion around her heard the words that a great shout went up, and a round of toasting ensued. She nodded her farewell to Goldeneye and turned to follow the red-and-white Royal Order of the Sun tabards.

 

CHAPTER

37

Will sat on the deck of the gently rocking ship, leaning back against a folded sail, enjoying the sun, warm on his upturned face. The vessel was Heart owned and plied the coast of Dupree, trading and spreading the good word of the Heart. The Royal Order of the Sun guardians had been frantic to get Raina on it last night and away from the Dominion and had offered all of her friends passage to wherever they wanted to go if she would come along.

He was just happy to be free for a time of pursuit from Imperial hounds, Anton Constantine, Marikeen and her hooded friends, Kerryl Moonrunner, and whoever else wanted a piece of them.

“Tell me something, Will.”

He smiled without opening his eyes. “Anything, Rosana, if you'll sit down beside me and enjoy the sun.”

“It feels good after that swamp, doesn't it?”

He agreed and held an arm out to her. She settled in against his side comfortably. “Who taught you that wall of force spell?”

“No one. I've never learned it as far as I can remember.”

She sat up, and reluctantly he opened his eyes to look at her. “How can you cast a spell you've never learned?”

“I haven't the faintest idea.” Last night, he'd demanded to know in no uncertain terms from the Bloodroot spirit inside him if it had cast the spell. And in just as uncertain terms, the spirit had denied any knowledge of it. In fact, overwhelming confusion had been the response from his other half.

“Bloodroot didn't do it?” Rosana asked.

“No. He's as stymied as I am.”

Rynn came over and sat down cross-legged in front of them. “Have you ever checked to see if you have some sort of repressed memories?”

“No.”

Raina wandered over, remarking, “It's pretty clear he's got some, or else that spell wouldn't have bubbled up out of nowhere in his mind.”

They didn't know the half of it. It wasn't just the spell that had come to him. It was the other knowledge of how to take command of a battlefield, how to tactically assess the situation, to see where the points of weakness and strength were, and knowing how to turn them to his own advantage that he couldn't explain. It was
all
there inside his head.

How? Who'd put it there? And more importantly, who'd hidden it from him?

He fully expected that his father had done the teaching of it. But the hiding of it? That was a different matter entirely. “Rynn? Can your kind hide memories?”

“Of course. But understand. I can hide one specific memory. One event, perhaps a short period of time. But even the most accomplished paxan cannot shut off an entire portion of a person's mind, filled with hundreds or thousands of memories, facts, lessons, understandings.”

Will frowned.
What
had done this to him? And why had his knowledge chosen yesterday to finally break open? Not that he was complaining. Yesterday could have—he corrected with his new knowledge—
would
have gone very badly had it not happened.