The Nemesis Blade (74 page)

Sabian
laughed, slapped at his thighs. “Because Nemisin will not perceive
a threat! No enclave, no Throne, no nothing! Absolutely brilliant!
We have sideswiped the monster!” He chortled and then silenced his
amusement. “Hell, it means we will not get out of here.”

Torrullin
levered up and walked a distance to stand with his hands in his
hair.

Elianas murmured, “We
can
get out, but Lowen will not and he will not leave
her. Beyond that particular and thorny situation is this - there
would be no hope of redress.”

“Resonance of
nothing happening in this time,” Quilla said, “is a major tweak.
There is no telling what we would find upon our return.”

“We must do
something!” Rose wailed.

“We shall,”
Maple said.

“What about
that thing you did at the portal?” Tianoman asked. “Take us back a
bit or forward to the point Nemisin would build his enclave. Lowen
will be there.”

Torrullin
returned to sit beside Elianas. “Tian has a point. If we found her,
we have the timing …” He paused there, studying Elianas’ averted
face. “I will not leave her. Better get used to it.”

Elianas looked
at him, his gaze like flint.

Torrullin went
on, ignoring his reaction, “With the correct timing in hand, we
could force Nemisin’s hand another way. Despite everything, he must
construct the mould for the Throne. Gods, it is imagined already
and if he does not make it real …”

“You speak now
as if this is a reality, not realm,” Elianas frowned.

Torrullin hung
his head, and sighed. “We exited realm earlier today.”

“Are you insane? How the fuck did
that
happen? Gods, it explains the
empty feeling.”

“We employed
the four directions.” Torrullin offered a shrug and an unreadable
look.

Elianas was on
his feet. “We are genuinely backwards in time?”

“I am afraid
so.”

“You cannot
find Lowen now!”

“Yes, we can.
Realm and reality have become one by virtue of the span of time. By
the same token, measures we apply in a realm would work now.”

“Gods,
Torrullin, Kalgaia functions! As Sabian says - no threat. Nemisin
fades into obscurity. The Valleur will fade away. You will not have
a cycle to begin anew. Gods, I will fade into anonymity!” Elianas
was furious. “What if Grinwallin either never gets built or the
bloody void is ready to swallow? Or worse, Grinwallin already knows
Teighlar has left - what will she do next?”

Teighlar
already considered it; he sat slumped forward as if his world
crashed around him.

Quilla rose to
place his hand on Elianas’ arm. “Peace. Hear me, please. First, if
all has changed, none of us would now be here. The Valla heirs will
fade before our eyes, as would Rose, Caballa, possibly Maple and
certainly Sabian. Having said that, being here is the same as
having walked the entire curve into a new cycle. It means we go
forward making new ways and new futures.” He paused to study
Torrullin. “Did you do it deliberately?”

A laugh. “I
really do not know.”

Elianas glared
at him.

“We have the
time to make it right,” Quilla said. “It took us a day to cross a
number of worlds; it must take a mite longer than that to cross
whole ages.”

Elianas
nodded. His anger cooled.

“This can be
handled as a realm,” Quilla went on. Teighlar looked at him with
hope reborn in blue eyes. “But we must move now. No more sitting
around.”

Teighlar was
on his feet with alacrity. “Torrullin, I shall now admit I prefer
the future exactly the way I know it. If you take us back to our
present, without changes, I stand down from demands for redress.
Grinwallin, the Senlu, the Luvans and their High King will accept
words of apology as sufficient token of sincere regret.”

Torrullin rose
and bowed. “And those words will be spoken before a gathering of
your people.”

Teighlar
nodded. “Now make it right.”

Torrullin
flicked his gaze over Tristan, Teroux and Tianoman, seeing shock
and disbelief there, then to Rose, who gasped for breath, and
Caballa, who eyed him knowingly, and then moved on to Sabian, who
sat in silence, feeling his future slip away, and to Maple, who
shrugged - his future was not worth much to him - and rested on
Declan, who shook his head lost in thought.

He glanced at
Teighlar again, who was impatient, at Quilla, who stared back with
narrowed eyes, and then, with a breath, faced Elianas head-on.

“I am inclined
to think it was deliberate,” Elianas said. “Here we stand at a
point we stood before, by swifter means. Are we to choose as we did
before?”

“Are we
different?” Torrullin questioned.

Elianas
dropped his eyes. “Not so much.”

“We shall see,
won’t we?”

Elianas
shrugged. “Whatever it is, Nemisin must be made to lust for power,
or the void takes us all. Stop talking now and get to the doing,
Torrullin. First, there is Lowen to find.”

“Indeed. You
catch on quick.”

Elianas swore
under his breath.

“Elianas, come
to me.”

Teroux
groaned. Tianoman sighed.

Elianas stood
before Torrullin. “Did you do it for this?”

“Stop talking,
Elianas, and do.”

Elianas
stepped up, moved a way into his body and then stepped out. He was
expressionless. For those who wanted to know why they moved through
time in this manner - no one dared ask - it was as simple as
Torrullin being an automatic portal because he was a Walker of
Realms and Elianas being the clock because he was a living Ancient
who remembered.

Torrullin
looked over his shoulder at the dark plain. Nothing appeared
different.

“Enough, do
you think?”

“Hopefully,” Elianas snapped. “If it isn’t, find another way
to step back and forth; I am
not
doing that again.”

“You are
angry.”

“You have no
idea.”

“I am,
too.”

“That I am
very aware of,” Elianas snapped.

“Gods, stop
it!” Teroux shouted. “I have had enough of your innuendo!”

Torrullin
stalked onto the plain.

“Don’t you get
it yet, cousin?” Tianoman said. “This is who they are.”

“What are
they, Tian? Lovers?”

Sabian
laughed.

“Shut up!”
Teroux screeched at him.

“We are not
lovers, Teroux,” Elianas said.

“You could
have fooled me.”

“Your world is
black and white, young Valla. Mine has not been for a long time,”
Elianas said with dignity, and followed Torrullin.

He stood with
head cocked to one side, listening.

As Elianas
halted beside him, Torrullin said, “Someone hides in the
grass.”

Elianas hissed
a breath and concentrated. “Wary of the noise we make.”

“That may well
have saved us,” Torrullin murmured. “There is more than one.”

“Has to be
Valleur.”

“And here we
have a bit of difficulty.”

“Oh?”

“Are there two
of me here?”

“Two of you?
Gods forbid.” Elianas sighed. “There will never be two of you.”

“We
have
come back.”

“Or we have
raced forward. There is just you.”

“And just
you?”

“Yes.”

“They should
know us.”

“And we are
not cursed; Kalgaia functions.”

“Shall we
announce ourselves?” There was a smile in Torrullin’s voice. He
lifted his arms … and Elianas’ hand pressed against his chest,
preventing movement. “What is it?”

“Promise me
you will leave Kalgaia alone this time. I cannot do it again. We
forced change this cycle, Torrullin, in the remembering and
forgetting, which can hold here. Please.” He sighed. “We do not
stand alone, my brother. Redemption is close, can you not feel
it?”

In the dark
Torrullin breathed slowly. Then, “Is it your heart’s desire? Is
this the only thing you will ever ask of me?”

Elianas’ hand
tightened convulsively on Torrullin’s chest. Long moments passed in
tense silence and then, “Yes.”

“Kalgaia will
stand.”

Elianas’ hand
dropped away. His breathing was ragged.

“I did not
enter reality deliberately,” Torrullin said. “Earlier today Sabian
headed too far out and pulled the connection to him. He did not do
so with intent either, and unfortunately the error only became
clear when Nemisin’s enclave remained elusive.”

“You said
nothing.”

“The same laws
apply. Nobody needed to know.”

“But we
wandered off the path and were too far back.”

“We can still
fix it.”

“Then we fix
it. Announce us.”

Brilliant
light flooded the plain and Torrullin, Elianas and the others held
arms up to shield eyes. Blinded, they froze in place.

“What devilry
is this?” Teighlar muttered from somewhere to Torrullin’s
right.

“Stand!
Intruders, do not move!”

Elianas
snorted and Torrullin laughed.

“Who is that?”
the voice demanded.

“Torrullin,”
Torrullin called out. “Put the damned light out, Valen!”

A curse, and
then the light muted to glows near the ground. A tall, golden man
came striding nearer, and many Valleur lifted from the waving
grass. The man halted. “My Lord, we did not see you there. Forgive
me.” He bowed to Elianas. “Lord Elianas, it is good to see
you.”

Elianas
smiled. “Likewise, Valen.”

Valen’s eyes
danced over the others. “Friends of yours, Lord Sorcerer?”

Torrullin
inclined his head, but did not introduce anyone. “Why are you
hiding out here?”

“Earlier today
there was a disturbance in the fabric,” Valen said, waving over the
plain. “Nemisin sent us out. Naturally you sensed it also.”

“Naturally,”
Elianas echoed.

Valen glanced
at the others again. “Our Nemisin will be pleased to see more new
faces.”

“More?”
Torrullin asked, his chest tightening.

“A beautiful
lady from another world. Nemisin is quite taken with her.”

“Lowen?”

Valen
squinted. “You know her, my Lord?”

“She is known
to me, yes. Will you take us to Nemisin?”

Valen frowned.
“But what of the disturbance?”

Torrullin
shrugged. “Elianas and I have dealt with it. Where is our
Nemisin?”

Valen frowned.
“My Lord?”

Elianas
cleared his throat. “We have been engaged in tense spells recently,
Valen, and certain things escaped our notice.”

Valen’s brow
cleared. “Ah, that explains why Nemisin railed about you two being
out of reach again. He moved the court to the summer retreat. It
proved too hot to commence the building of the new city. He prefers
to wait until autumn.”

“He likes to
procrastinate,” Elianas muttered.

Valen grinned
and then wiped it away. “The privilege is his.”

Elianas
snorted.

Valen stifled
a laugh and then, “Are your guests capable of transport, my
Lord?”

It was reality
again, not realm. “They are.”

Valen bowed.
“Please follow me.” He rounded up his unit and waved them off. The
Valleur vanished, and Valen a moment after.

“Summer
retreat?” Elianas whispered. “He has no summer retreat.”

“At least he
intends to build the city,” Torrullin muttered.

“He has a
court - wonder what he calls himself.”

“We are about
to find out.” Torrullin said to the others, “Say as little as you
can get away with until we know what we are dealing with. Oh, and
Tristan, Teroux, Tian, do not touch him, not even to complete
ritual greeting. Kinfire will spoil everything.”

“Watch out for
his sons also,” Elianas added. “Usually they stay far from their
father’s orbit, but now may not be one of those times.”

Teighlar
growled, “We shall be careful, but let us go before this delay
arouses suspicion.”

Torrullin
grinned at Elianas, his gaze alight with challenge, and
vanished.

Laughing,
Elianas was gone a moment later.

“Gods,” Declan
muttered and led the way for the others.

The plain
subsided into its own brand of silence.

Tick-tock.

Chapter 55

At court
nothing is real. Every face is a mask.

~ King Quinn
of Loram

Ancient
Akhavar

T
he summer retreat was a scattering
of log cabins nestling among shady trees and numerous mountain
pools.

While not in
the mountains, proximity lent the cool required to survive the heat
of summer. It was early evening far to the west and the court was
filled with gaiety, music and dancing.

Upon a raised
dais at one end of an open-air deck sat Nemisin, surrounded by
nobles.

All were
laughing and drinking, and upon the deck many danced to the music
vigorously provided by a trio of women at the other end. Colourful
hanging lanterns lent the scene a festive atmosphere. Elsewhere,
amid the trees, were tables laden with delicacies and wine, and
Valleur crowded around each.

Golden
Valleur; the dark kind were nowhere to be seen.

Valen stood
formally at the foot of a short reach of wooden steps up to the
deck waiting for Torrullin and his party.

Torrullin
followed Valen up while Elianas remained with the others.

The music did
not cease, but a fair number ceased dancing to move closer. A few
glances were shared among them; no doubt they wondered how the Lord
Sorcerer would be received. It could go either way. It made for
good sport among the wagering types.

Torrullin
ignored them after a swift perusal to gauge danger. No one was in
attendance he considered a threat.