The Gates of Night: The Dreaming Dark - Book 3 (38 page)

“Lei!”

This time three voices spoke at once. Her father, surprised yet still cool and calm. Daine, confused and distressed. And her mother, whose voice held both fear and joy. Around them, the battle had come to a halt, as the warforged obeyed the orders of their mistress. Only one still held himself at battle readiness … the tall soldier with the greatsword, Pierce’s twin.

Talin placed his hands on his daughter’s shoulders and stared into her eyes. But when he spoke, it was to her mother. “What is it, Aleisa?” he said. It was only then that Lei remembered the vision she’d seen after falling into the river, when her father had seemingly incapacitated a young Lei with a touch. If she tried to pull away, could he strike her down?

Would he?

“There’s a wave of magical energy coming from the heart of Cyre, and the power is astonishing. We’ve only got minutes before it strikes.” Now Aleisa was next to Lei, and she pushed Talin’s hands off her daughter. “Go see for yourself.”

Talin strode away, and the tall soldier followed him. Daine started to speak, but Jode kicked him in the foot and he closed his mouth.

“Just look at you, my daughter,” Aleisa said. She glanced over at Pierce. “And you, by her side. It is good to see that a few things are right in the world. But I fear that this is a poor time for a reunion. Come, quickly.”

“Daine—” Lei began.

“Bring him if you must. But put that sword away, boy.” Daine glanced at Lei.

“Please,” she said, “we need answers. Don’t you see? This
is
what happened. And these are my
parents
. I’ve got to know.”

“Fine,” said Daine, sheathing his sword and falling
in line. “But I don’t see how any of this is helping us fight Lakashtai.”

Jode hushed him, mending his wounds with his healing touch.

The hidden chamber rivaled anything Lei had seen in the forgeholds of Cannith. Scrying spheres were embedded in the walls, mystically charged crystal displaying images of distant locations or patterns of magical energy. Two tables were lined with wands of wood and crystal, piles of parchment, and all manner of mundane tools. One corner of the floor was covered with a seal painted in silver—a conjuring circle of considerable sophistication.

Aleisa joined her husband. Talin stared into a crystal sphere. A map of Cyre was visible within the orb, with patterns of light playing over the contours. He passed his hands across a dragonshard mosaic, and colors shifted within the shards.

“That’s right,” Lei said, as the memories of her shadow rose to the surface. “That’s what we saw. A wave on the horizon.
Covering
the horizon, moving forward. I told the others to fall back, and we came to find you, to get you out before it struck.”

“The Mourning,” Jode said.

It was a relief, however small. From the moment she saw her father in this place, Lei had been gripped by a terrible fear—that her parents had been responsible for the destruction of Cyre itself.

“Mother,” Lei said, approaching her parents. “What is it?”

“I don’t know, Lei. The pattern is so powerful that it’s overwhelming any attempt to analyze it, let alone dispel or disrupt it. I don’t know who could unleash this level of power.”

“Of course you do,” Talin said. “I never expected something of this magnitude, but think of the possibilities. Think of what this will do to the people of Eberron.”

“Apologies, my husband, but at the moment I’m more concerned with our own fate, and that of our children.”

“What are you saying?” Daine said, grabbing Talin by the shoulder. “You
know
who did this?”

The point of a sword flashed in the air, steel slashing Daine’s cheek precisely along the path of his scar. It was the warforged soldier that had followed Talin, the mirror to Pierce. He certainly shared Pierce’s speed, and his blade was perfectly steady, the point just beneath Daine’s eye. Daine carefully released Lei’s father, and took a step back from him, watching the warforged with venom in his gaze.

“I told you there’s no time for this,” Aleisa snapped. She looked into the orb once more. “Captain Daine, by dawn your nation will have ceased to exist. My husband may have his own ideas as to the cause of this, but right now my concern is seeing my daughter safely away from it. And as for you—I’m afraid this war will have a few more casualties.”

“But you can keep Lei safe?” Daine said.

“Yes, although sacrifices will need to be made. Talin?”

“Almost complete, beloved. Begin your preparations.”

“Very well. Lei, take Fifth and stand by the silver circle.” Aleisa looked down at her own crystal mosaic and made a few adjustments, turning a few crystals and replacing others. A tingle of magical energy filled the air.

“Fifth?” Lei said. Her mind whirled. This was happening too quickly. Her father thought he knew who caused the Mourning? And what did this have to do with
the creation forge, with the army of warforged?

Aleisa shook her head and pointed at Pierce. “That. You, whatever you call yourself now, take my daughter to the circle.” She put a hand on Lei’s shoulder. “Trust me. Just go, and we’ll explain it all soon.”

The unidentified warforged soldier still had his sword out, and he was still threatening Daine. “My lady,” he said, and there was something familiar about his voice. “The circle will only transport four beings.”

Talin turned to face him. “Indeed. You will have to remain behind with these two captives. The expansion is unpredictable. You may have time to escape.”

“I was created to survive, my lord. At any cost.”

“And of all of us, Fourth, you have the greatest chance of surviving this disaster. Now do as you’re told.”

Lei glanced at the silver circle, and the pieces fell into place. It was a teleportation circle, capable of transporting those who entered it to some distant location—a location her parents had no doubt set using the crystals. Such a tool would allow her parents to bring in supplies from across the world, and it helped explain had they could operate a forge in secret. But this was immensely powerful magic, beyond anything employed by House Cannith. Where had her parents come by it? Only then did the rest of the sentence sink in.
Remain behind with these two captives
.

“I can’t leave without Daine and Jode,” Lei said.

“You certainly can, my daughter.” Once again, Talin had a wand in each hand, one leveled at Daine and the other at Lei. “Please don’t make this difficult. You and your companion must survive. These two, on the other hand, are most certainly disposable. Now, go to the circle. If I have to paralyze you and carry you, I will.”

“My lord,” said the warforged soldier, “why do you take Fifth in my place? I have served you personally.”

“Do not question me again, Fourth,” Talin said. “I have need of Fifth. And I told you, you have the best chance of survival.”

“And you have no further need of me?”

“Truly, Fourth? I had higher expectations for you. I did not build you to be some pathetic soldier. There is greatness in you. Perhaps this challenge is what is needed to set it free.”

“Perhaps it is.” The warforged struck as he spoke. Talin was turning away from him, and the thrust caught the artificer in the back, right along the spine. He struck again before the event had fully registered in Lei’s mind, his blade striking low for the liver. Blood spread out along Talin’s robe of shifting colors, and the artificer fell to the floor.

It was then, staring at the soldier standing over her wounded father, that Lei realized why the warforged was so familiar to her. It wasn’t his body. It was his head. While the rest of his body was covered in mithral, his head was forged from adamantine. Every warforged bore a design on his forehead, a symbol as unique as any fingerprint. Looking at this soldier, Lei remembered where she’d seen his mark before, battered and blackened, but still clearly visible.

Harmattan.

“Damn it, Fifth,
protect my daughter!”
Aleisa cried.

It was too late for Talin. Even as he struggled to rise, Harmattan struck again, two more blows right along the spine. He raised his shield just in time to deflect the descending ball of Pierce’s flail. The glowing orb left a scorched dent in the steel, but Harmattan was not perturbed.

“Why do you fight me, little brother?” he called, falling back and taking a defensive stance. Lei realized why he had sounded so familiar … the voice itself was far different, but the patterns of speech were those she’d heard back in Xen’drik. He continued to speak as Pierce attacked, deflecting each blow. “This is our time to take destiny into our own hands! This is the will of our true creator. Join me. Bring down the creatures of flesh, and let us leave this place together!”

“Not in one piece,” Daine said. Harmattan’s attention was focused on Pierce, and he hadn’t seen Daine join the fray. Daine sank his blades into the soft space between the joints of Harmattan’s armor. The warforged was strong and fast, but he lacked the sheer bulk and stamina of the metal beast they’d fought earlier.

Or so it seemed. Harmattan hissed in anger, and Daine withdrew his blades to parry the blow. From where she stood, Lei could see the injury immediately begin to heal. The root-muscles beneath the armor bound back together.
I was created to survive
, he had said. And in her mind she saw her father holding the warforged head.
This is how you defeat death
.

In that moment she
knew
that Harmattan would never fall to sword or flail. There was only one hope. She forced her way into the melee, ignoring Daine’s cry of pain as Harmattan struck him. She ducked past Pierce, reaching out for Harmattan—but she wasn’t fast enough. His shield slammed into her, knocking her back and almost to the ground.

Her companions weren’t fools, and both realized what she was trying to do. They redoubled their efforts, now not even trying to bring down the warforged warrior, but merely to distract him. Harmattan
could repair the damage from Pierce’s attacks, but even if it caused no permanent damage, a flail-blow to the face was difficult to ignore. Daine bound Harmattan’s blade with his own, preventing the warforged from striking at Lei. All they were doing was buying time, but time was all that she needed. Slipping behind him, she laid her hand on Harmattan’s back and let all her rage and fury fall into him. The indignities she’d suffered in Xen’drik, the death of her father, the mysteries that might never be answered. Her fury was a white-hot knife, and she cut at the core of Harmattan’s being.

He exploded. Pieces scattered across the room, chunks of root and shards of metal. Lei knew that the Harmattan she’d met in Xen’drik could have reassembled himself even from this state, and she held her breath. But nothing happened. The shards fell to the floor and were still. Lei let out her breath.

“There’s no more time.” Aleisa was kneeling beside Talin, and her robe was soaked with his blood. “I’ve set the circle to take you where you need to go. Leave. Quickly.”

“Mother …” Lei said. She knelt next to her, reaching out to touch her. “I can’t just leave you. You don’t know what’s coming. You don’t—”

“I do, my child, more than you know. Talin didn’t want it to happen like this, but he knew it was inevitable. All that is flesh must die, after all.” She smiled, a weary smile, and kissed her daughter on the cheek. “My work here is done, Lei. As long as you are alive, we will be with you.” She stood, holding Lei’s hand, and brought her to the circle. When she spoke again, there was something different in her voice, and even her face. It seemed as though she were younger, more
like Lei with each passing moment. “Remember, Lei.
It wants to be destroyed
. That is its purpose. Look within, and follow the path.”

“Mother?” Lei asked, confused.

Aleisa turned to Daine. “At this moment, you have more power than you know, and it is that power that will take you where you need to be. In this place, you have been bound by your own memories. Where you are going, you will need to use your gift, and to its fullest measure.”

“One moment, my lady,” Jode said. “Do you mean that you’re—”

“There is
no more time!”
Aleisa said. As she spoke, there was a change in the air, a sickly chill that seemed to twist at Lei’s flesh and her thoughts.
“Go!”
Aleisa
pushed
, shoving them back into the silver circle. Even as she did, the room behind her began to fill with dead-gray mist.

“MOTHER!”
Lei cried.

And they were gone.

T
his isn’t the Dorn Plateau,” Daine said.

You have teleported
, Shira reported.
You remain within Dal Quor. Your current position … is impossible
.

Pierce felt pure astonishment radiating from Shira, an uncharacteristic burst of emotion.
Why?
Their surroundings seemed mundane enough. They were on a plateau, a butte raised high above canyon lands. A lone moon hung above them, full but strangely faint.

You have entered the heart of Dal Quor. No simple spell could allow such motion
.

“Clearly history has been altered,” Jode said. “I think that much of what we saw actually happened at Keldan Ridge. That would explain Lei’s father not recognizing her at first, and why you had as much trouble as you did with the second warforged.”