Authors: John Marco
The Eyes of God (94 page)
“Welcome, Sir Lukien,” said the girl.
Lukien could hardly speak. “Thank you,” he managed. “I’m honored to meet you.” He studied her face and perfectly blank eyes. There was no way she could see him, yet his manners made the girl giggle.
“I am not as blind as you think I am, sir.”
Startled, Lukien cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. It’s just that . . . did Minikin call you White-Eye?”
“That’s my name now,” said the girl. “Appropriate, don’t you think?”
“Um, yes, I suppose,” said Lukien. “You are Kadar’s daughter?”
“I am.”
“Then it is you I am here for.” With all the Inhumans still looking on, Lukien dropped to one knee before then girl and, still holding her hand, looked up into her pretty face. “I have wronged you and your father. I’ve slain your mother. To atone I pledge myself to your protection, White-Eye. While I live, I will defend you.”
There was silence in the vast chamber. Staring into White-Eye’s face, Lukien saw the most sublime forgiveness.
“Rise then, and be my protector, Sir Lukien.”
As Lukien got to his feet, Gilwyn shuffled into their circle.
“Can I introduce myself?” he asked. There was a tinge of nervousness in his voice. When Lukien saw his face, he knew why. In his eyes was plain lovesickness, the same surrendering love Lukien had seen in Akeela’s eyes when he’d first spotted Cassandra. Not surprisingly, White-Eye turned her dazzling smile on Gilwyn, enough to make the boy’s breathing quicken.
“Yes, right,” said Lukien. “White-Eye, this is Gilwyn Toms. He came with me from Liiria.”
Gilwyn put out his good hand for her. “I was an apprentice librarian there,” he added quickly. So enamored was he by the girl that he forgot Teku on his shoulder. When the monkey cried a protest, Gilwyn said, “Oh, and this is Teku. She’s a friend of mine.”
It took a moment for White-Eye to notice the monkey. Like everything she did, there was a tiny delay in her reaction. “Oooh,” she cooed, then reached out to scratch Teku’s head. “She’s very pretty. She’s Ganjeese, yes?”
“That’s right,” said Gilwyn. “But I got her a long time ago in Liiria.”
They were talking as if they were the only two in the world. Lukien gave Minikin a furtive glance, which she returned knowingly. Again she raised her hands to the gathered Inhumans.
“Your welcome is appreciated, my children,” she said. “But now I must rest. And then we must all work. So go now, and we’ll all speak again soon.”
Like loyal soldiers the Inhumans began to disburse, though White-Eye remained. Minikin waited for them to go before turning back toward Lukien.
“You are tired, I know, Sir Lukien, but there’s someone I think you should meet before you rest.”
“Oh?” asked Lukien. “Who is that?”
Minikin turned to White-Eye. “Child, why don’t you take Gilwyn Toms and show him some of Grimhold? I’m sure he’d like that.”
“Yes,” said Gilwyn quickly. He looked adoringly at White-Eye. “Very much.”
White-Eye nodded. “Where will you go, Minikin?”
“To see Insight.” Minikin grinned at the two young people. “I hope I can trust you both together.”
White-Eye laughed and Gilwyn flushed, and Minikin turned away from them, bidding Lukien to follow. “Come along, Sir Lukien,” she said. Trog trailed close behind her.
“Where are we going?” asked Lukien. “Who’s Insight?”
“You’ll see,” Minikin replied. She headed quickly toward one of the halls sprouting out from the great chamber. Like all the others, this one was dark but for the light of distantly-spaced torches. When Lukien caught up to Minikin, he decided to ply her with more questions.
“So White-Eye is blind?” he asked.
“Obviously.”
“And she sees with the help of an Akari?”
Minikin kept walking. “That’s right.”
“But why can’t she stay with her father in Jador? Kadar told me I’d understand when I met her, but I don’t.”
“Because of her eyes,” Minikin explained. “They are too sensitive to light for the bright sun of Jador. It is very painful to her. So she stays here within the mountain.”
The answer only added to Lukien’s guilt. “Oh.” He glanced around as they moved through the halls, passing more of the strange Inhumans on their way. Trog kept back a pace or two, characteristically quiet. The interior of Grimhold continued to amaze Lukien. The deeper they went into the mountain, the less like a mountain it became. The walls grew smoother and more even, so that except for the lack of windows, it seemed like any other castle. Each hall snaked into another, each bend revealed a new stone stairway expertly cut into the rock. Lukien could only wonder at the skill of the Akari engineers. Grimhold was certainly formidable, and would make a good stronghold against Akeela and his army. But who would defend it? The Inhumans? The disabled folk of Grimhold were hardly soldiers.
They walked together for long minutes, until the hallway narrowed into a quiet wing full of doorways. It was, Lukien supposed, where the sleeping quarters were located. The lack of noise told him most of the rooms were empty. But near the end of the hall he saw a door half open and candlelight spilling over the threshold. Minikin slowed as she went to the door, Trog’s enormous shadow on her back. Carefully she peered inside.
“Here she is,” she said softly. “Come.”
Gently she pushed open the door and went inside. Lukien stepped cautiously after her, leaving Trog at the door. Inside he saw two figures, both females, one much older than the other. The younger figure sat in a plain wooden chair with an equally spartan table at her side. The older woman hovered over her, slowly spooning food into the girl’s barely moving mouth. As Lukien and Minikin entered, the older woman gave them a mild smile. She was normal by the look of her, without any obvious maladies. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said of the girl, who stared blankly at the wall, unblinking and barely breathing.
“Minikin,” said the older woman. “You’re back.”
Minikin went to the woman and stood on her toes to kiss her check. “Just arrived,” she said. “And I’ve brought someone. Lukien, this is Alena, Insight’s mother.”
The older woman nodded at Lukien. “We were expecting you,” she said. “Welcome.”
“Expecting me?” Lukien asked. “What do you mean?”
“Insight told us,” replied Alena. She lowered the spoon into the bowl, which Lukien could now see was full of porridge, then began wiping the girl’s mouth. Lukien looked questioningly at Minikin.
“The girl Insight came to us three years ago, Sir Lukien,” said Minikin. “She has a disease of the brain that makes reaching her impossible. She can’t speak and she can’t care for herself. But she can hear. Believe me, she’s listening to everything we say.”
“And her name is Insight?” asked Lukien. He knelt down in front of the girl, looking into her hazel eyes. “Because she can see the future?”
“With the help of her Akari, yes,” said Minikin.
“Insight wasn’t her real name,” added Alena. “That’s only what she’s called here.”
“Her birth name was Jenna,” said Minikin. “I found her in Koth, not far from Lionkeep. Alena’s husband had abandoned them. They were on the streets. I took them here to help them.”
“So not everyone in Grimhold is . . . well, you know. . . .”
“Alena is one of the only plain people here, Lukien. I couldn’t take Insight away from her, of course, and she wanted to come.”
“We had nowhere else to go,” said Alena. “Minikin saved us.”
The child called Insight stared back at Lukien, but there was nothing in her eyes save the smallest glint of life. It was pitiful to see her, and Lukien wanted to look away. But he knew that Minikin had brought him here for a reason, so he tried to smile at the girl.
“Insight, if you can hear me, my name is Lukien.”
“She knows who you are,” said Alena. “I told you, she said you would be coming.”
Lukien looked up at Minikin. “Is that right?”
“I’m sure it is,” replied the little woman. “You see, Insight’s Akari allows her to communicate with the outside world. But it can also see the future, or a semblance of it.”
“Really? How’s that possible?”
“All Akari spirits have this ‘sight,’ but not to the degree of Lacaron, Insight’s spirit. In life he was a powerful summoner.”
“Lacaron.” Lukien studied the girl. “Will Lacaron speak to us, then?”
“Through Insight,” said Minikin. “That is why I brought you here—to find out what might be coming.”
Lukien nodded and took a deep breath. He had never been in any sort of seance before, but he wasn’t skeptical any longer. After seeing the things Minikin could do, he was already a believer. Minikin went to Insight’s side and put a hand to her head, lovingly brushing the strands of hair from her eyes.
“It’s me, Insight. Minikin.” The little woman’s voice was softer than a lullaby. “I’m back now. We’re all together now.”
The girl’s blankness didn’t change.
“Insight, can you tell me what Lacaron sees? There’s trouble coming to Grimhold. An army of northerners. Do you see them?”
There was silence in the room. Then a single remarkable sound.
“Yes.”
The voice made Lukien quiver. He could hear the child in it, but only as though from a great distance. Something else laced the voice, something masculine and strong.
“Good,” crooned Minikin. “Keep looking, child. Keep looking at the army. What’s Lacaron showing you?”
“Hello, Mother,” said the voice.
Alena broke into a sad smile. “Hello, my darling.”
“Hello, Minikin.”
“Hello, child,” said Minikin. She continued stroking Insight’s head. “You are strong today?”
“I am . . . strong enough.”
“Is Lacaron showing you the army?”
“I can see the army.”
Lukien held his breath and stared at Insight.
“Tell us what you see,” said Minikin gently. “What is Lacaron showing you?”
“The army and the river,” said the strange voice. As it spoke the girl’s face barely stirred. “Big. Silver. Many.”
Minikin glanced at Lukien, who nodded.
“That could be them, I suppose,” he whispered. “They’d be following the Kryss south.”
“Where are they now, Insight? Can you tell?”
“They have fought,” replied the girl. “In the little country. They have killed.” She paused. “The one who seeks is very angry.”
Akeela,
thought Lukien.
thought Lukien.
“Go on,” urged Minikin.
The girl was silent for a moment. When her voice returned, it was deeper, slower. “They will come across the desert soon. Very near now. Very many.”
Minikin paused for a moment and the amulet around her neck pulsed. “Lacaron, look to the future,” she said. “Tell us what you see.”
“I see death.”
The voice sounded ancient. It chilled Lukien’s soul.
“Go on,” said Minikin.
“I see Grimhold.”
“Yes?”
“I see ruins.”
Minikin opened her eyes and stared at Insight. “You see Grimhold ruined?”
Insight paused. Then, “Yes.”
“When?” asked Lukien. “When are they coming?”
“Lukien, stop,” ordered Minikin. “Lacaron, are they coming soon?”
“Soon,” said the voice. “Very strong. Very many.”
Lukien backed away shaking his head. “Great Fate. . . .”
There seemed nothing else to say. Even Minikin appeared shaken.
“Lacaron, can you tell us anything else?” she asked. “Anything useful?”
Again there was a pause before the spirit spoke. Lukien supposed it was thinking.
“The one who leads them struggles,” said the voice. “His mind is lost, like the child’s. Too much rage. Broken.”
“He’s talking about Akeela,” said Lukien.
“Anything else, Lacaron?” asked Minikin. “Anything useful?”
“The desert,” said the voice from the girl. “Blood. A battle. And a one-armed man with the kahan.”
“Baron Glass.”
Minikin put a finger to her lips to quiet Lukien. The voice continued.
“One will die.”
Lukien’s heart sank. “Oh, no. Don’t say that.”
Suddenly the girl’s head fell forward, as if sleep had instantly come. Alena came forward quickly and held her daughter. Minikin let out a sighing breath.
“That’s it,” she said. “Lacaron’s gone.” She stroked Insight’s head, saying good-bye. “Let her rest now, Alena. Take your ease. I’ll see you later.”
Minikin headed to the door. Stunned, Lukien hurried after her. “That’s it?” he asked. “That’s all she can tell us?”
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