Scepters (96 page)

Instants, years, seasons, moments
—
measurements
of time
—
meant little except that they passed so
slowly, yet instantly, in the timelessness of the translation tube. As the
timeless instants stretched out, Alucius focused his being on the stead, on the
timelessness and the openness, and upon the Corns that could be, that would be
…

A huge convulsion ran through the tube, and Alucius felt that he
and Wendra had been tumbled, head over heels, even though they had moved not at
all, and he reached out, seeking the heavier, stronger ley lines of Corus…

… and found them as they dropped into a greenish black chill that
was steadier, and merely uncomfortable, a ley line that was of Corns. For all
of that, there were no Table arrow markers, no portal markers, just the long
darkness.

Alucius concentrated, thinking about the “memories” of portals,
and a faint image appeared, the faintest hint of maroon and green. He seized on
that, and they sped toward that faint indication. As they traveled, Alucius
began to sense what lay beyond the ley lines, above and beyond, a sensing he
had never had before
—
the land, the River Vedra to
the north, and the Plateau farther to the northeast. Had the ifrits’ tubes
blocked those senses
?

Then… they neared what had once been a Table, now only a block of
stone framed in wood… and they stepped out of the blackness, without even a
barrier barring the way…

Norda, Lustrea

Waleryn
slowly picked himself up, looking around the unfamiliar room, a room he knew he
had never seen and yet knew. A pair of light-torches illuminated the
stone-walled underground chamber, but while the room was similar to the Table
room in Tempre, it was not the same room. There was something that looked like
a Table, but the surface was dull black stone.

He
looked down. An angular tall figure, not quite like a man, lay beside the wall.
As he watched, the figure and its garments shimmered, then dissolved into dust.
After a moment, the dust vanished as well.

“Engineer,
sir?”

Waleryn
turned.

A
man in the uniform of a Praetorian Guard stood in the doorway, a doorway that
showed a staircase behind it. “Sir? The whole building was shaking. Are you all
right?”

“I’m
a little confused. Where am I?”

“In
Norda, sir. Where else would you be? You and the Praetor ordered us here.”

Waleryn
nodded slowly, but his expression was not one of comprehension, and his eyes
did not meet those of the guard.

Alucius
and Wendra stood at the end of the Table chamber in Salaan. Alucius turned and
looked at her, but she was the Wendra of Corus, with brown hair and golden eyes
flecked with green, with the same generous mouth. And yet… she was more, with a
presence that radiated power and a lifethread that was both a more brilliant
green and yet darker, more somber. He found her looking at him, equally
intently.

“We’re
us,” he said.

“Mostly.
You look… more powerful… dangerous.”

“So
do you.”

“I
don’t know if I like that,” Wendra said.

“It’s
who you are, who you were meant to be.”

Wendra
cocked her head for a moment, thinking. Then her eyes fixed on the dark block
of stone, framed in lorken, that had once been a Table. Now it was only dark
stone surrounding shattered and vanished crystal. Whatever crystalline
structures had once powered it were gone, gone with the ifrit transport tubes.

“They’re
gone,” Wendra said. “All of them.”

“But
there are light-torches.” Alucius walked to the light-torch bracket and turned it.
The hidden door opened. He turned it again, and it closed.

“Whatever
was truly made here, that will remain. The soarers had light-torches. Maybe the
ifrits took that from them, rather than the other way around.” Wendra’s nose
wrinkled. “All this has taken a toll on our little friend here. Let’s go
upstairs and see if we can find some water.”

Alucius
could only hope that there were no surprises waiting, or none that couldn’t be
handled by Talent, because both rifles were somewhere on the ifrit world, and
his scabbard was empty. Still, as he stepped toward the doorway to the stairs,
he could sense no one.

He
made his way up the steps carefully, but the main level was deserted.

“I
said that no one was here,” Wendra offered with a smile.

“I
thought that was so, but… these days, you never know.” From the outside light,
Alucius thought the time of day was late afternoon, but while it could have
been the same afternoon as the day they left, the light felt different, as
though it were not. Given his instructions to Feran, it had to have been less
than a month.

He
nodded and kept looking.

There
was a washroom in the rear, and before long, Alendra was cleaner… and hungry.

Sitting
in one of the chairs in the conference room, Wendra began to feed their
daughter.

Alucius
walked over to the iron stove set against the wall. The metal was cold. In
fact, the room was cool, almost chill, and with the heat that had filled the
structure before they had left, the coolness was another indication that more
than a few glasses had passed, that at least a day had gone by. Alucius doubted
that it had been only a day.

He
took out his water bottle and offered it to Wendra. After she drank, he
finished it, then fished out a package of travel bread and hard cheese. He
alternated between eating some and feeding Wendra as Alendra nursed.

“Our
rifles… the bullets,” Wendra said slowly. “They didn’t act like that even
against the dark sanders or the wild translations.”

“No.
They didn’t do that to Tarolt or the ifrits here. It must be the lifeforce. The
ifrit world was dying—”

“And
we used the lifeforce from Corus,” Wendra said. “But why didn’t it work that
way here?”

“I’m
just guessing,” Alucius replied, “but the ifrits who came here were drawing on
the lifeforce of Corus through the Tables, not that of their own world. All
their lifethreads were tied to the Tables, and their tubes were linked to the
ley lines. So they were drawing lifeforce all the time.”

“They
would have bled Corus dry.” She paused. “But… how could they think a mere
handful could—”

“They
did once before,” Alucius pointed out, “and against seemingly greater
opposition.”

“But
the arrogance…” Wendra paled. “How did you feel against those poor ifrits in
the Table rooms? Strong? Almost invincible?”

“Linking
to power, the ley lines? Does it do that to everyone? Is that another
temptation we face? Is that what you mean?”

She
nodded slowly. “They had so much… and it wasn’t enough. There was so much
beauty there, in just those few rooms. If we had seen their world…”

“They
created beauty here, too, before,” Alucius pointed out. “That kind of beauty
has a high price. Like the Matrial’s order and beauty.”

“We’ll
have to make sure we don’t do that.”

“Avoid
that sort of temptation,” Alucius added. Yet that would be bittersweet, he
knew, because he
had
been moved by those brief
glimpses of surpassing beauty.

Wendra
eased Alendra to her shoulder, patting her back. “We’ll have to be very careful
with Alendra. She won’t have seen and felt what we have.”

Alucius
wasn’t so sure that he wouldn’t have to be careful with himself first. Another
thought occurred to him. “I need to visit the Lord-Protector. It won’t take
long.”

“You’ve
said that before.” But she smiled.

“It’s
not to another world,” he countered, returning her smile with one of his own. “Besides,
you’re still guarded. I can feel the lancers out there.”

“If
you won’t be long…”

“I
don’t think so. Not this time.”

She
nodded. “Be careful.”

“I
will.”

Alucius
walked down the steps to the chamber that held what had once been a Table. He
suspected he could have contacted the ley lines with his Talent from the upper
level, but it was easier on the lower level.

Almost immediately, he was in the misty greenish blackness,
searching for the trace of the blue that had once been a Table in Tempre. At
the same time, he was seeking other landmarks, knowing that in time, the
portal/ Table traces would vanish as the ley lines healed from the imposition
of the ifrit tubes.

The blue shadow was located where three lines came together south
of the flow of life that was the River Vedra
—
and
Alucius could sense all three. Extending himself on a Talent-line from the ley
line, he drifted shadowlike from the Table room to the private chamber off the
audience hall
—
empty
—
to
the Lord-Protector’s private apartments. Through the green silver veil, he
located himself in the foyer and stepped through the misty veil
.

His
boots hit hard on the polished floor. Alucius smiled. He’d been a third of a
yard above the tiles, and that was something he’d have to watch in the future.
He stepped to the foyer archway, where he looked into the sitting room.

The
Lord-Protector sat in one of the chairs, facing Alerya. Her eyes widened at
Alucius’s appearance.

“Talryn…”

The
Lord-Protector turned and rose, his eyes widening as well at the appearance of
the young colonel in his private chamber. “Colonel… this… it’s…”

“Rather
irregular. Yes, it is.” Alucius smiled. “You’ll pardon me if I’m quick and
cryptic.”

“I
thought you were… in Dekhron.”

“I
was, and I’ll be returning there after we talk. The Northern Guard had a few
more problems than we’d thought. The Regent of the Matrial had some hidden
allies there. I wrote you about them before I knew they were working for the
Regent. Among them were those traders who were overcharging the Guard and
pocketing the golds. They were also promoting incompetent officers and trying
to undermine the Guard’s ability to hold the north. I ended up having to go to
Hieron to take care of the problem at the source. The torques no longer work.
This time, they won’t be repowered. You should start to receive reports of
greater success from Madrien in the weeks ahead, if you haven’t already. And…
one other thing… there are no functioning Tables left in Corus. There won’t be
any more, either.”

A
faint smile crossed Alerya’s lips, but she said nothing.

“We’ve
also recovered a fair sum of golds from those traders,” Alucius continued, “and
about a third of those are on their way here. The others we’ll be using to move
the Northern Guard to Iron Stem. That will solve several problems at once.”

“Ah…
Your methods have always been…”

“Controversial,
but effective. That’s true. After I return to Dekhron, you will be receiving my
letter of resignation from the Northern Guard, and my recommendation for my
successor. Unless matters have changed since I left Dekhron, it will be Majer
Feran.”

The
Lord-Protector frowned. “He’s only been the deputy for less than a season.”

“I’d
greatly appreciate that favor, Lord-Protector. Majer Feran can always call on
me for advice.” Alucius paused. “Besides, all your colonels and marshals will
be much happier dealing with Feran. He’s had a more… traditional background. He
also believes it’s time to move the Guard headquarters to Iron Stem.”

Talryn
spread his arms and provided a helpless shrug. “It seems as though I have no
choice, Colonel.”

“You
have choices. They wouldn’t be as good. And you’ll still have problems, but
they’ll be more manageable.” Alucius waited.

After
a pause, Talryn laughed brittlely. “And you?”

“I’ll
go back to being a herder. I’m better at that.”

The
Lord-Protector offered a lopsided smile. “I have my doubts, Colonel, but you’ve
more than fulfilled my request. Will you need an escort… to return?”

“That
won’t be necessary,” Alucius replied. “Not this time.” With a smile, he bowed
and turned, walking toward the archway and the foyer beyond. He stepped to one
side, where neither the Lord-Protector nor his consort could see him, and
extended his Talent-probe toward the darkness below. Then he entered it.

The ley line’s dark chill was welcome, and he could find the
former Table building in Salaan with even less difficulty. He stepped through
the silver veil almost directly in front of Wendra and Alendra.

He
found he was hovering a span or so above the floor, and let himself down before
releasing the Talent-link to the ley line.

“That
was quick,” Wendra observed. “But you don’t look like much of a soarer, even
soaring.”

“I’ll
have to work on that. I’m an inexperienced soarer.” Alucius grinned. “Have you
finished feeding her? We need to see Feran.”

“And
then what?”

“I
write out my resignation and make him commander, and then we ride home to the
stead.”

Wendra
nodded. “That might be best. Alendra… she’s beginning to sense too much, I
think.”

“I
wouldn’t mind spending some time just riding and talking to you.”

“You’ll
have that.” Wendra stood.

Alucius
walked toward the doorway to let the lancers know they had returned.

Tempre, Lanachrona

Talryn
paced back and forth in front of the sideboard, refusing to look at Alerya. She
remained sitting on the loveseat. Her expression was pleasantly composed.

The
Lord-Protector stopped, then looked at his consort and wife. “You think it’s
amusing, don’t you?”

Alerya
tried to maintain her composure before breaking into a wide smile. “It is, if
you think about it, Talryn.”