The Fog of Forgetting (32 page)

Dankar smiled at them and twirled the scepter on his lap. Chase felt something leap in his chest and wondered if the others felt it too. He took a pointed look at the round ball at the top.

“It is beautiful, is it not?” said Dankar, following Chase's eye. “It is—I think the expression goes—just a chip off the old block, yet it is marvelous. I find I am much at a loss without it.” He advanced the few steps from the dais toward the children, conveying his great height with ease. Their faces flushed in the wave of heat that preceded him.

“My cousins feel the same, I am told,” he said, holding the scepter just inches from their noses. A surge of anger, then grief, then joy passed through them. Dankar stepped back and the feelings subsided somewhat. “But you three are no strangers to these trinkets, I think, having spent time in my cousins' company. I am told the water-hoarder carries hers in a necklace.” He glared at them, then forced his lips into a simpering smile. “We do so love our toys.”

Knox bristled visibly.

“You have heard the same, I see,” he said, arching a pale eyebrow at Knox. “But you must know that powerful as these offspring are, they are nothing compared to the might of their parent stones.” Dankar's voice dropped to a hushed whisper. “Think of it! The ability to turn not only the tides of the sea, the purchase of seed, and the drift of the wind, but also the minds and actions of men. Is it any wonder the Keepers have always kept the stones of power locked away for themselves? And you think
me
ungenerous! My uncle Remiel was no fool when he crafted these stones. He knew he was leaving his children with a great advantage.”

“I want to see my sister,” Evelyn growled.

Dankar turned to face her. “Frances?” He took a few steps up the dais, and said distractedly, “Shall I have her woken and brought here? It matters little to me. She has served her purpose; she may join you again.”

“Her purpose?” repeated Chase.

“She has proved more than sufficient in that sense, yes,” Dankar mused. “It was always my intention to bring the five of you here where you could be—ah—useful.”

“How so?” asked Chase through gritted teeth.

“Why, to flush my cousins from their hidey-holes, of course. I've done what I can with Exor. I desire a new challenge.” He bared his white teeth. They glistened with saliva. “And for this I need a larger canvas to work with—
much
larger.”

“And Seaborne?” demanded Knox.

Dankar glanced at Louis, twirling his scepter, then spoke softly.

“A tenderness for your kind is a fault of my brethren—a corruption of blood—that, until recently, I never had the misfortune to feel; but, alas, I find that I am not immune to the long tenure on Ayda and its… influences.” He turned away and began to pace. “I have decided upon a different fate for the wayfarer than was arranged. He can be of use to me … to
us
.”

Louis's head shot up in confusion.

Chase watched the interchange closely. Whatever was happening did not seem good for Seaborne.

“I'll kill you if you hurt him,” hissed Knox, his mouth curling with insolence.

Dankar's towering form came toward him, forearms flexing in the flickering candlelight. He stopped a pace away. Chase checked his impulse to duck.

“I see your time with my cousins has given you a share of their false pride. But you will soon see that power is not bequeathed in Exor, it is
earned
, with sacrifice.” Dankar searched Knox's face to see if his words were making an impact. Knox remained stonily silent. Dankar turned on his heel.

“It has been said that no outlier can withstand the presence of a stone of power for long—the daylights riot and the vessel cannot contain them. But, I have worked these many years to unleash the power of the stone of Exor and bend it to my will. I can bring the daylights of my people to the very edge of endurance and hold them, igniting their strength while ensuring their obedience: My warriors are the proof of my success.” His chest swelled. “But they are born Aydans; their vessels are stronger than those who come from beyond the fog. The wayfarer is of use to me because he is an outlier, like you, yet he has long been on Ayda in the house of Rothermel, and his daylights have strengthened. He is human—only stronger. He is the next logical step in my—uh—experiment, shall we say.”

“What experiment?” gasped Evelyn.

Dankar grinned and threw himself on his throne.

“Long have I waited to see if my efforts would prevail in vessels who are weaker.” His eyes flitted across Louis's face, then back to the orb at the top of his scepter. “After all, there are so many
more
of you. When I am master of Ayda and Keeper of all four stones of power, I shall take my army of Aydan warriors across the sea, back to the lands of my father; there, I shall command the hearts of your kind, as is my due.”

The skin on the children's arms bristled despite the heat radiating off the dais.

“But first I must make certain that your vessels will survive my mastery. I have no wish to rule over ash heaps.”

Knox, who had been shifting nervously throughout Dankar's speech, began to shout.

“You're talking about brainwashing! Body-snatching! Or worse! Burning people alive!” He glared at Louis. “And you said we should trust this guy? You want us to be a part of this?”

Dankar replied for him. “My adopted son longs to see his native shore as—perhaps—you do. He is honored to do my bidding so that he may return from whence he came.” Dankar gave Louis a small, remote smile. “Though he is hardy, he has not lived long enough in these lands. His daylights are not strong enough yet to endure the warrior transformation, though he did manage to survive his initiation—barely.” Dankar twirled his scepter, breezily. “We shall see how strong the wayfarer is. He will do for now.” His smile became a clear smirk.

“Poor Seaborne,” Evelyn groaned.

Chase scowled. Ratha had betrayed all of them, and Seaborne worst of all. He wondered what she was getting in return.

“What are you going to do with us?” he demanded.

Dankar waved his scepter again. “
That
depends on
you
.”

“How so?” asked Knox, moving closer to Chase.

“I value loyalty above all else. Should you wish to remain here as my vassals, you shall be treated much like the girl, Frances, and,” with a nod to Louis, “her predecessor. If you do not, well, there is always the other alternative. You may join Seaborne. We shall see how your daylights fare against the stone of Exor.”

Louis gave a visible start, his eyes clouded.

Knox snarled. “Great. Some choice you give us; either we're made prisoners or you turn us into barbecue.”

“It's not us, or even Ayda, that he wants,” Evelyn cried in a flash of understanding. “It's the Fifth Stone! It's always been the Fifth Stone. Of course! Rysta told us!” She glowered at Dankar. “You want to be able to leave Ayda so you can hunt for the Fifth Stone. That's what all this is about. The Keepers and their stones are in your way—they are the only ones stopping you!”

“And that pesky fog problem,” muttered Knox.

“They won't do it, you know,” cried Evelyn. “They won't take the bait and come after us.”

“Hmmm, I wonder?” replied Dankar. He brought the scepter lightly to his lips, then stood and stretched with cat-like grace. His lips spread into a slow, evil grin.

“I think you'll find my luck has changed of late.”

A gust of cold wind blew into the hall, sputtering and crackling the torches, quickly followed by the sound of water trickling in the courtyard fountain. The wind picked up and extinguished the candles. The room plunged into darkness. Outside the windows, the sky turned a rosy violet; then, the wind ceased abruptly and all was quiet except for the tinkling of water falling lightly over stone. Dankar laughed and waved his scepter in an arc. Torches and candles burst into flame anew and a line of Exorian soldiers entered the room leading a group of captives. At the center of a phalanx of guards stood the shining helmets of several Metrian soldiers, and between them, Rysta, holding Teddy's hand.

Chase, Knox, and Evelyn groaned.

Dankar beckoned for his quarry to approach.

Rysta came slowly, her bare feet gliding smoothly and silently over the floor. The Metrians followed. She knelt and whispered to Teddy. He scrambled across the tile floor to throw himself at his brothers.

“Tedders, you're okay!” whooped Chase, hugging him fiercely.

“You look weird. What happened to your hair?” asked Teddy, staring at the three of them. His own hair had grown past his shoulders. He looked taller and more grown-up in his Metrian robes.

“It's a long story, Tedders,” said Knox. “We'll tell it to you sometime.”

“No we won't,” chided Evelyn, touching her scalp. “We missed you, Teddy.”

“I missed you, too, but Metria is so cool. You can swim everywhere, and they have ice cream! Rysta says we're all going back there.”

“She did, did she?” interrupted Dankar. His cold stare locked onto Rysta. He moved from the dais to walk a full circle around her, relishing the moment. “Tut, tut, cousin … more lies?” he said in his slippery voice.

Rysta stood motionless, a statue of herself.

“I see you have brought me a gift.” Dankar tossed his head in Teddy's direction and then waved a silent command. Three Exorians disappeared behind the dais. Moments later, they returned with Frankie, bleary and half-asleep. Evelyn shrieked at the sight of her.

“You're finally here!” Frankie said happily, but without surprise.

Evelyn ran across the dais and threw her arms around her. Dankar leaned in closer to Rysta, bringing his face nose to nose with hers.

“Tell me, cousin, will you give me your little human if I give you mine?”

Rysta said nothing but her eyes filled with pity.

Dankar's expression hardened. He flattened his lips and snarled.

“Do not condescend to me, water-hoarder!” He grabbed the folds of Rysta's robe and yanked the collar back to reveal her necklace, its stone resting at heart level. His eyes widened. With a tenuous finger, he traced the outline of the chain across Rysta's collarbones, then lifted the necklace so he could touch the stone itself. The Metrian soldiers shuddered. Teddy shivered, too. Even Chase, Knox, and Evelyn felt a tremor—as though someone had put an ice cube down their backs.

“I have waited a very, very long time for this moment,” he whispered.

“You will free the children,
now
,” was Rysta's firm reply. “And Seaborne. That was the arrangement.”

Dankar was transfixed by the necklace. “Oh yes, that. Of course,” he replied, “they will be free to go—once you have done as I ask. Free to go
where
, I wonder, but it is no matter to me. I have what I desire at present. The rest shall come.”

Rysta removed his hand.

“You must know that I shall never reveal the location of the stone of Metria. You may do as you wish to me. I am but its Keeper. The power of Metria may be curtailed by the doing, but you will never attain its possession. You have always been too bold, Dankar, in your understanding of the stones. They do not belong to anyone.”

Dankar slapped Rysta hard across the face. The Metrian guards roared. Rysta calmed them with a look. Her skin was red and blistered where his hand had touched her.

“This—and the necklace—will do for now.” Dankar waved his hand and commanded, “Take the prisoners to the canyon's edge!” He strode from the hall just as the sun sent its first streaks of color across the dim, gray pallor of the sky.

T
he great Exorian desert lay before them in a magnificent striation of red, brown, and orange. Dankar led them down the stairs from the Dwellings and under the vine-covered trellis along the road toward the canyon. He marched quickly, his gaze fixed straight ahead. The stone pyramids that lined the road burst into flame as he passed. Rysta and the children followed behind him at spearpoint. Louis walked beside the prisoners, pacing his gait so that he moved evenly with Rysta, if at a distance. Rysta held Teddy's hand again. She moved fluidly, her brow smooth, her expression inscrutable. Evelyn, Chase, and Knox tried to query her as they walked, but received no answers. She did, however, grant them a smile when Evelyn apologized for the theft of the necklace.

Frankie walked beside her sister, looking confused. Evelyn watched her closely. On the surface Frankie looked fine, but there was something strange about her, unfocused and distant. Her attention wavered whenever Dankar's shining head became visible on the path before them. She also couldn't stop throwing searching glances up at Louis, who was too distracted by Rysta to notice.

Halfway down the road, the parade of prisoners and guards was met by a wagon and donkey, recognizable to Chase, Evelyn, and Knox as their own transport. The back was thrown open and Seaborne fell to the ground, bound at ankle and wrist. Black and purple bruises bloomed across his chest and face. He stumbled to right himself. Chase and Knox helped him to his feet. Rysta lifted his bowed head, which looked skeletal without its ragged mop of hair. Seaborne's swollen eyes widened as he recognized her. He tried to speak but Rysta silenced him with an embrace; when he was released, his countenance had changed from joy to anger.

“What are you doing?” he shouted. “She can't be here, you idiots. You know that! I'm gone for one blessed night and the whole world falls apart. What did Rothermel tell you? If Dankar has her, it's only a matter of time before he gains Melor, too. You've doomed us all! I thought you understood that part!”

Rysta smiled at Seaborne.

“Do not trouble these three with me, Seaborne. I have come on my own accord.”

Seaborne hobbled on for some moments in stunned silence.

“I don't understand,” he said, exhaling slowly.

“Dankar is going to let us go,” Knox whispered, “in exchange for her—and the necklace. It was probably Ratha's big idea. You were so right about her, Seaborne.”

“Over my dead body!” Seaborne roared.

“Ask Chase—he knew all about it,” said Knox coldly.

“I didn't know about Rysta, I swear!” Chase protested. “Ratha told me we'd be captured on the way to Metria. That's it! She didn't say anything about Rysta or anyone else. You have to believe me, Seaborne; if I'd known about this, I'd never have agreed to it!”

Seaborne shook his head.

“Dankar can do no worse than this. We will not be free. None of us will be free ever again. All Aydans will suffer for this.” A strange, anguished gurgle came out of his mouth. “It makes me curse the day you came ashore, the five of you.”

Rysta shushed him.

“Seaborne, child, you have lived long on Ayda—do you still see only with the eyes of an outlier? Do you not understand that there are unseen powers at work here? Trust in them.”

Seaborne bowed his head, chagrined, but his expression remained grim. Rysta nodded in the direction of the canyon less than a half-mile beyond.

“Beyond the canyon is the Broomwash. When we reach the edge, you will be free to cross over. There are camels waiting on the other side to take you to the border of Exor where my brother has sent his people to meet you. Once you are safe, more will be revealed to you.” Even though her eyes never moved, Chase felt her watching him from under her hood.

“The plan remains the same.”

“But what about you?” Evelyn interrupted, feeling sorry for any hard thoughts she'd ever had about Rysta.

Rysta threw back her shoulders, as if to remove a heavy burden.

“I come now to repay a debt: a debt that has been long overdue. Do not tax yourself with grief for me.”

The road ended abruptly at the edge of the steep canyon that Frankie had crossed on her journey to Exor. A thin ribbon of water snaked through the canyon floor a hundred feet below. The pillars marking the end of the road burst into flame. Dankar stood between them and faced the captives, the orb on his scepter throwing off rays of heat and fire that made the air around it quaver. The sun beat down on the bare heads of the outliers and their faces were shiny with sweat. The distinctive, yowling rattle-cry of a
tehuantl
reverberated through the canyon like a warning.

Exorian soldiers stood at attention along either side of the road. All of the guards save for Louis joined their ranks and left the prisoners to take the final steps alone. Seaborne hovered near Rysta. She held him back with a look and joined Dankar at the edge. They were the same height and build exactly: two columns of shimmering strength and beauty—one blue and silver, the other white and gleaming. For a moment, it seemed obvious to the humans beholding them that they belonged together, moon and sun, and that the most natural thing would be to fall on their knees and worship them.

“You will let the outliers go now, Dankar,” Rysta insisted, breaking the spell with her familiar, calm tones. Her gaze fell momentarily on Louis. “
All
of them.”

Dankar pressed his lips together.

“Yeeesss, that
was
the agreement,” he said slowly. “But, you see, the walk has cleared my head and—” He grabbed Rysta's wrist. “I have changed my mind.”

“Don't you touch her!” shouted Seaborne, shaking his bound fists. “You coward! You twisted, sun-baked coward! Cut me loose and deal with the likes of me!”

Louis grabbed Seaborne's shoulder.

“Do not make it worse for her, wayfarer. It will go badly for the children.”

“Who in the blazes are you?” asked Seaborne, shrugging him off.

“He's my friend,” croaked Frankie from somewhere by his hip. “His name is Louis.”

“When this is over, Frankie, you and I are going to have a long talk about friends—a very long talk,” said Seaborne.

Dankar's oily voice interrupted them.

“I find these outliers to be rather effective tools of persuasion. I may still find a use for them here in Exor. They will prove helpful in solving, what was it?” He cocked an ear at Knox. “Ah, yes, that
pesky
fog problem.”

Louis moved closer to Dankar, frowning.

“Listen to me, Dankar,” said Rysta. “You persist in thinking that you are greater than what has come before you—or what may come after. Your blindness shall be your undoing. If you let the outliers go as you agreed, I shall bring the waters from the mountains to refill your river and relieve Exor of her perpetual thirst. With me by your side, your power will double from what it once was. Is that not enough? Is that not a fair trade?”

“No,” growled Dankar. “Not nearly enough.”

“Then I will not help you and you shall be doomed,” said Rysta.

A shudder of fury rippled through Dankar's body, strong enough to shake his robe.

“How dare you say such things to me? As if you are better than me? If Ayda is cursed, you have no one but yourself to blame!
You
betrayed your kin, as your father did before you, all for these … these
lesser
beings.” Dankar dropped her wrist in disgust. He began to circle Rysta, his voice rising. “It is a family trait, this habit of disloyalty. It has been our undoing since the beginning of time, and I am going to end it.
Forever
.” He glared suddenly at Seaborne and the children with such menace that Teddy burst into frightened tears.

“You will soon see, my dear cousin, that I am not to be trifled with. The outliers will
not
be released, and I shall not rest until you and your kin lie in piles of ashes, as mine once did. As for the wayfarer …” He snapped his fingers. Two Exorian soldiers broke ranks and wrestled a struggling Seaborne up to the canyon's edge. One kicked the back of his knees. The other brought the shaft of his spear down hard across Seaborne's already battered back. He grunted with the impact. Seaborne's bent neck looked white and vulnerable below his abused scalp. Dankar surveyed the figure kneeling before him as if he were nothing more than a beetle on the ground.

Louis drew closer.

“I had thought to use the wayfarer for another purpose, but since I will now have five other outliers to work with, I think I prefer to kill him here, so that you may bear witness. He was like a child to you, was he not?” Dankar asked, coldly.

Rysta did not move or speak.

“It matters not,” he continued. “He will be the first example I set.” Dankar leveled his gaze at her and hissed. “I will see to it that you lose everything you love.”

Something in Rysta seemed to break. She folded into herself, her face disappearing beneath her hood. Dankar laughed maliciously and withdrew a curved golden blade from beneath his robe. He raised it high. It caught the sun and blazed with a painful white light. The blade plummeted through the air toward Seaborne's exposed neck, but was intercepted in a clash of metal. Louis had held back the blade with a spear. Dankar's eyes widened in surprise.

“Because you are dear to me, I will forgive this act of disobedience once. Step back and do not meddle in things you do not understand.” Dankar yanked the spear from Louis's grip and nodded to a guard to restrain him. The tip of the spear burst into flame.

“Now where was I?” Dankar leered at Rysta, clearly enjoying himself. He circled Seaborne. “Tell me, cousin, how should this boy of yours die—by blade, poison, or flame?”

“STOP IT!” cried a small shrieking voice. Teddy flung himself in between Seaborne and Dankar. He threw his small arms protectively around Seaborne's back. “Rysta, don't let the bad man get my Seaborne!”

Dankar's smile widened. He twirled the spear in his hands and sneered. “It makes no difference to me—one or two.”

The sight of Teddy and Seaborne together brought Rysta back to life. She threw her hood back and her pale, shining hair unspooled in waves. The stone at her breast burst into a vivid shade of blue.

“Try and touch them, fiend!” she snarled.

Light from the orb in Dankar's scepter leapt across the air to join the glint from Rysta's stone, and, briefly, it was as if the gate between the burning pillars filled with dappled light moving across water. Incensed, Dankar flew at Rysta, crashing her into the pillar behind them. The light from her stone grew stronger; she flowed from his grasp again and again.

The Metrian soldiers rallied and hurled themselves against the Exorian line. Seizing the opportunity, Evelyn launched herself onto Dankar's back. Chase and Knox sprang to help Seaborne and Teddy. Only Frankie and Louis stood frozen, immobilized by the fracas.

A blast of wind blew in from the northeast, throwing up a cloud of dust and sand that obscured the sun and extinguished the flames of Dankar's spear. Overhead, black storm clouds massed, heavy with rain. Lightning streaked across the darkened sky and the wind blew hard and bitterly cold. From the snow-tipped mountains on the horizon came the distant rushing of oncoming water. Lightning broke again across the sky and a thunder clap unleashed a torrent of rain. It pelted the earth in great stinging drops. The river at the bottom of the canyon boiled red with muddied water, gorging itself on rain and the sudden surge of meltwater. It quickly overtook its banks.

The Exorians broke off fighting, distracted by the downpour. They dropped their spears and cupped their hands to catch the precious water.

Louis and Frankie joined the others at the canyon's edge. The river was rising. The air filled with a delicious, wet scent.

“This changes nothing!” seethed Dankar, rain beading off his extinguished spear. He cast his eyes around wildly for support, but his soldiers stood mesmerized, their ruined faces lifted to the sky, their scarred lips open to reveal tender-looking mouths that guzzled down the rain. Dankar's gaze fell on Louis.

“Round up the prisoners!” he ordered. A note of desperation had crept into his voice. He sluiced rain off his cheeks with the back of his hand. “Now!”

Louis hesitated, eyes on Rysta. She was magnificent in her fury, her countenance pale and fierce in the mixed light of the two stones—mere shards of the true stones of power, but awesome nonetheless. His gaze traveled to Dankar's bulging eyes, then back to the red marks on Rysta's skin where Dankar had abused her. She reached out with slender, cool fingers and brushed his cheek.

“Outlier, do not listen to him. He does not understand.”

Louis's face darkened in confusion.

She broke his gaze to look down at Frankie, who stood as close to Louis as she could without touching him. His eyes followed hers. Frankie turned her wet, round face to meet his. She smiled hopefully at him.

“You're a scribe, then?” she asked. “Are you sad?”

Louis shook his head.

Frankie grabbed his hand and tugged on it.

“I'm glad, Louis. I like you much better the way you are.”

Louis leveled his gaze at Rysta.

“We are who we love,” she said, smiling gently.

Her words pierced the strange remove that had come over him since his initiation—as if he was above himself, watching his actions but not connected to them, not caring one way or another. He gave Frankie's hand a squeeze and whispered to her.

“I like you the way you are, too,” he said. And he meant it. He
wanted
Frankie to be the person who her daylights meant her to be—not like him. Dankar's pet. It was suddenly the most important thing in the world. He turned to Rysta for direction.

“I will stay,” she murmured, “but you must go and take the outliers with you.” She gestured toward the river. It had risen almost halfway up the canyon walls. The clouds opened in a fresh deluge. Within seconds the river swelled even higher.