The Echolone Mine (34 page)

He gasped, and
pushed from the trio, stumbling away. “Give to Saska also.”

Torrullin
blinked, Elianas was expectant, and Torrullin went to her, lifting
her to her feet. “Trust me, even as you don’t like it.”

He drew her
against himself and then reached again for Elianas beyond her. They
wedged her between them and she was still.

For a moment
she felt nothing, but then it came to her, waves in ripples, energy
that was pure sexual tension. She shivered, and then surrendered to
it, becoming fluid, falling, seeping away … and Torrullin caught
her, her face anguished, his tormented, and Elianas moved away,
expressionless.

Gradually her
senses stabilised, and she was stronger.

“Thank you,”
she whispered and went to sit beside Declan, head bowed.

Gods.

Elianas curled
on the sand and stilled. Torrullin laid a hand on his brow and
released a silent sigh.

Oblivion, and
he certainly deserved it.

He sat wakeful
beside the dark man for a long time, ignoring everything and
everyone but the motion of the man’s rising and falling chest.

His thoughts
were dark then.

Chapter 26

Fishermen use
nets to catch fish.

Truth

Valaris

Menllik

L
oud pounding on the cottage door
awakened Caballa.

At first she
thought it in her head, for she was invited to Yiddin’s last night,
and Yiddin knew how to serve wine. Then she thought it was the
young man coming in to do the ceiling in the study.

It was Cassy,
shouting loud enough to wake the universe.

Groaning, she
threw bedclothes off and stumbled to the front door.

Cassy,
belligerent, fell through. “You are asleep? How can you be
asleep?”

“Good morning
to you too,” Caballa muttered and headed to the kitchen. Goddess,
she needed coffee.

“Why didn’t
you tell me?” Cassy demanded.

“Tell you
what? Do you want coffee?” In the kitchen Caballa set the kettle to
boil.

“Caballa!”

Caballa looked
over at her. “You make the coffee, I’m going to get dressed, it’s
freezing, damn it. When I get back, be calm enough to talk like a
civil person, all right?”

Cassy blinked.
“Fine.”

Caballa nodded
and left the kitchen. When she returned ten minutes later Cassy had
a pot full of strong brew ready on the table, two mugs, honey and
milk. She sat in silence staring out the back window at the snowy
landscape.

Caballa sat
and poured. “Thanks for making the coffee.”

Cassy focused.
“Thanks for being, well, normal with me. Vanar treats me like a
ceramic doll.”

Caballa
nodded. “I assume your temper is over Elianas. How did you
hear?”

“The
Beaconites let slip about Echolone, and Tian, well, he could not
lie with a straight face.” Cassy sighed. “Actually, all I have is a
suspicion about something being wrong. You confirmed it.”

Silently
Caballa cursed Yiddin’s wine and drank her coffee. She did not
speak until she finished it, and then poured a second cup and
started on that. Cassy left hers untouched.

She told the
woman everything she knew.

At the end of
it, Cassy sat in silent thought. Gone was belligerence and
histrionics. “The sacred network is a force field.”

“Sorry?”

“The network,
Caballa. If we want to help them out, we need to build an energy
field larger than that governing the region of the Path they are
in, a field stronger. It must pull even that obscure nothingness,
and my sacred network can do so.”

Caballa’s
mouth hung open and then she closed it with a snap. “We should’ve
told you days ago.”

“Yes, you
should remember I am from a time when magic was untamed.”

Caballa drew
breath. “I need to call Tristan.”

Cassy inclined
her head. “The Kaval can activate the net, yes.”

“Gods.”
Caballa sent the call.

The Dome

Hours of work
delivered nothing.

“It can’t be
made strong,” Jonas insisted. “We could build a space platform and
we could plug in generators the size of worlds, we could even run
it on crystals, make it huge beyond imagination, but it would take
more time than we have available and still it wouldn’t be strong
enough.”

Tristan paced
the Circle in frustration. “I refuse to give up. Think magic, damn
it! Don’t get technological about it!”

Fuma was the
one who dared, “Only Elixir has that ability.”

“Elixir,
goddamn it, is trapped!”

Quilla
murmured, “Let us keep calm.”

Tristan glared
at him and looked away, frowning. A moment later, “Caballa called.
Continue with that.” He stalked to the Dragon ogive. It chimed.

Inside the
Dome - with most of the Kaval in attendance - a measure of calm was
restored.

No one shirked
duty.

Menllik

“Caballa?”

“Kitchen,
Tris!”

He found her
with Cassy and was instantly on guard. He knew the tale of
Cassiopin, Nemisin’s daughter, Elianas’ wife, but he did not see
how she fit in.

Caballa said,
“Cassy says you need an energy field …”

“You told
her?”

Cassy rose.
“Tristan Valla. That is …”

“Tristan
Skyler Valla.”

“Fine. Tristan
Skyler Valla. That is a great name and has great weight, but it
does not give you the right to be rude.”

Tristan bowed.
“Forgive me, you are right. In my defence, I have suffered trying
hours.”

Cassy bowed
towards him. “I understand. Let us begin afresh, shall we?”

He managed a
smile, but wanted to strangle her. “Of course.”

Cassy sat,
saying, “Caballa told me because I came demanding. The Beaconites
have big mouths.”

Tristan sat
also and drew the coffee pot closer. It was still hot. Caballa
found a clean mug and gave it to him.

“Tris, Cassy
says we need an energy field.”

“We came to
the same conclusion,” he murmured as he poured.

“I wager you
are unsuccessful,” Cassy said.

He stirred a
spoonful of honey in and nodded at her. “You would be right.”

“Has anyone
told you of my sacred network?” she asked, leaning forward.

Someone had,
but he had not given it much thought. Now he did, and read the
possibilities. The spoon clattered down. “By god, that could
work.”

Cassy smiled,
inclining her head.

His coffee was
forgotten. “How?”

“Fourteen
points. And one to send out the signal. If we place your Kaval at
fourteen …”

“We are
thirteen. Declan is with Torrullin.”

“Well, I could
take a point, being familiar with the network, and Caballa could
take another. That makes fifteen. One of us should send out the
signal, preferably Lowen, for she already knows how to reach out to
the Path of Shades. It would work like this; Lowen stands at a
central point and the rest of us take up position in a circular
pattern around her, but, Tristan, I am speaking of a massive
circle, universal scale. Fifteen worlds, not fifteen sacred
sites.”

He stared at
her. “Tell me more.”

“Drink your
coffee while I talk. The network is set up as a site per connected
world. There may be other sites on the same world, but it is
outside of the net and thus, site - world - net, correct? Each site
has a keeper, or had one, all of Valleur extraction, and each
keeper has a special coded signature they may use to connect to
another site and keeper. Most, however, have never used it; it is a
piece of a puzzle they may never understand.

“We need to
find the keeper, and if there isn’t one in this age, I will tell
you how to listen for the code and, with it in hand, synchronise
our use of it to coincide with the exact moment Lowen sends the
signal. It will create a gigantic energy field, and is probably the
most dangerous thing anyone will ever do, know that from the
outset. All technology will malfunction, which could cause
accidents, all other minor force fields will fail, which could
cause havoc in various forms, and anything anywhere using
electricity will break down. Further, magic could be subverted,
spells will go haywire, and darak intent will celebrate a new
dawn.”

She paused to
raise a slim finger when he made to talk.

“No doubt you
are aware of this danger; I will not belabour it. We must be swift,
Tristan Skyler Valla. We may only do this for one, tiny
microsecond, and hope none of the dangers I have mentioned come to
pass, and that it is enough to cause direction within the Path. We
may, however, if no terrible accidents occur, send it out again,
another microsecond.” She leaned forward some more. “It will mean a
lot of work and co-ordination for an infinitesimal moment, but it
can do what we hope it will. Are you prepared for that?”

“Yes,” he
said.

She smiled.
“Good. Then this is what we must do first. We need meet in a
neutral place, preferably where there are no sites, and I need a
universe chart to plot out a circle and the directional point of
signal. Yes?”

“Sanctuary,”
Caballa said.

Tristan pulled
a face. “That means telling Teroux.”

“Roundabout
now he needs to be told. Leave him out, and he won’t forgive
you.”

Tristan
sighed. “Very well. Sanctuary it is, in one hour.”

“An hour?”
Cassy frowned.

“I need
prepare Teroux.”

“Of course, I
understand. Tristan, all Kaval must attend. Once we make choices,
we head out immediately. It will take time to trace the keepers and
probably longer to wrestle codes from them.”

“Agreed.”

Cassy rose and
smiled at Caballa. “I will see you in an hour - oh, where on
Sanctuary?”

“The villa,”
Tristan said.

Cassy nodded
and left.

Caballa
murmured, “Tian needs to know about this.”

“You tell him.
I must get Jonas and Belun onto a universe chart …” Distractedly,
he rose, kissed her cheek and left also.

Smiling,
Caballa rinsed the coffee cups, threw the remaining brew away and
headed for the Keep.

Sanctuary

The snows of
Sanctuary were in great melt, and rivulets ran down the jumble of
rocks between the villa’s garden and Lake Averis.

Rose was
entranced, seeing imaginary worlds in those tiny streams of icy,
clear water.

Teroux,
smoking a pipe on a boulder higher up, watched her. Rose was happy
here. Sanctuary embraced her and she embraced it. She loved
everything - the villa, the snow, Mariner Island, the lakes,
mountains and rivers, the forests, Thibis, the spaceport, all of
it. Rose, after an uneasy beginning in life, had come home.

Thus it was
when Tristan appeared above them, the sight of them stilled him.
Teroux smiling lovingly and Rose happily entranced. The two were
good for each other, he saw.

Teroux was his
cousin, closer than a brother, and was his best friend through all
the years they grew up together, and still was now, but Teroux had
issues. Rose had issues, and together they seemed to fix each
other. As he and Caballa belonged, and Tianoman and Aislinn
belonged, these two did as well.

At least the three Vallas got something perfectly right,
Tristan thought.
We found our life mates
before time could jade us. We are blessed.

He was about
to burst that bubble down there, and reluctantly he called out.

Teroux looked
up and gave a smile of welcome. Rose’s was less so; she saw
something was wrong.

They met in
the thawing garden. Teroux gripped Tristan in a hug and Tristan
kissed Rose’s cheek. He still felt uncomfortable around her,
recalling his previous attraction.

“How is
Caballa?” Rose asked, wiping fair hair from her face. Her cheeks
glowed with health.

Tristan
smiled. “Fine. She will be here shortly.”

Rose’s smile
was genuine. “Oh, good. Caballa has a good eye for colour. Teroux,
she can settle the dispute over the drapes for the dining
room.”

Teroux rolled
his eyes and then, “What brings you, Tris?”

“Torrullin. We
need to talk.”

Rose’s face
was tight. “Spaceships could fall out of the skies! Do you know how
many would die?”

“And force
fields could fail around prisoners, releasing inmates to cause
untold havoc. It is dangerous, I agree, yet I believe we must do
this.”

Teroux drummed
the kitchen table with tense fingers. “You say Torrullin and
Elianas will get out.”

“Eventually,”
Tristan admitted.

“I saw we
allow them to do so.”

“Forgive me,
cousin, but I am not here to ask your blessing for this endeavour;
it’s happening, no matter what. I am here to tell you about this
and request the use of your home for this meeting.”

Rose said,
“Teroux, we must think of Saska and Declan.”

“I am, but
neither Saska nor Declan would want death and destruction to herald
an escape. They would be horrified.”

“Torrullin
would be horrified if he knew we could save them, and did nothing,”
Tristan said.

“This is about
Torrullin’s well-being, then.”

Tristan glared
at him. “I hope you never have to eat those words.”

Teroux folded
his arms on the table. “Tristan, you can’t understand, can you?
Torrullin entered my life - and yours - when I was young, like a
god. The all-powerful. My father died, my mother, my grandmother,
Caltian and many others. He upset everything and I lost everything.
I love him, but I won’t sit here and allow you to kill more people
for his sake.”

“Tymall killed
your family, Teroux, not Torrullin.”