The Echolone Mine (52 page)

Torrullin
wandered among the crypts in the Graveyard on the opposite
rise.

The urn felt
heavy, but was not. Guilt was heavy. He had not known Saska wanted
a pyre in the desert or desired her ashes scattered in the valley.
He had known, he thought, of Declan’s wish to be committed to the
deep.

He halted
before Taranis and Millanu’s - and Tristamil’s - crypt and stood
there a time wondering if his mother had known what her son would
be. He thought she might have; did mothers not know
instinctively?

Sighing, he
moved on. He wandered down the slope and tested the breeze, looking
for the current that would disperse Saska’s remains over the
valley. Torrke was beautiful in autumn garb, russets and gold vying
with evergreen. He marked a figure moving towards the west, walking
slowly, and knew it was Elianas.

He opened the
urn, feeling an air current swirling upward, and, with a short
prayer, upended the urn. Ashes came pouring out and lifted and
danced … and spread out.

Torrullin
stood for long minutes watching, until nothing remained, until a
life had been entirely absorbed, and nothing remained.

He headed back
to his parents’ crypt. Saska had not wanted a plaque and he would
respect her wish, but he placed the urn in the curve of the stone
building and caused it to be immovable. No plaque, and others would
wonder over the placement of the urn, but he would know; he would
know always.

Returned to
the slope, found Elianas on the path.

“Done?”
Elianas asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you all
right?”

A nod, a
smile. “Yes.”

Elianas
clasped his shoulder. “Good. Now we move on.”

Torrullin’s
eyes narrowed and he clasped Elianas’ neck and leaned closer. “What
are you hiding now?”

Elianas gave a
rueful smile. “Part of the game, my brother.” He moved away. “Come,
let us go to the Lifesource.”

A moment more
of scrutiny. “Right.”

Elianas’ smile
was bland.

Brinkmanship,
the policy of pushing a dangerous situation to the brink of
disaster (to the limits of safety)

Titania
Dictionary

Valaris

Lifesource
Temple

A
cross the lightbridge and under the western arch.

If Torrullin
harboured residual doubt as to Elianas’ immortal status, the casual
attitude of the man as he walked across soon put a stop to it.

The Lifesource
was deserted.

Angelic music
began on the bridge and played on inside, sometimes rising to great
and breathless crescendo and at other times background
accompaniment. The first time Elianas came, it was with Cassy for
healing, and his mind was in turmoil then, but now he was
entranced, and Torrullin heard it anew through his bliss.

Elianas, in
some way, was less jaded, though he sometimes seemed more
fatidic.

The temple was
cathedral-sized if one viewed it from the outside and city-sized
from within. It was also eternal if one kept moving. It was pure
magic, changed ceaselessly, and yet there were familiar ways to
wander. It was imagination and reality simultaneously. It healed,
soothed, stroked, prompted and prodded. It spoke and sang, gave
freely and removed unnecessary pain and suffering. It calmed in one
space, caused breathlessness in another.

In an empty
chamber where the walls were translucent mother-of-pearl, Elianas
came to a halt. He swallowed convulsively and tears streaked over
his cheeks. “I can hear them,” he whispered, his gaze stark with
longing. “Both of them.”

Torrullin was
uncertain. It was different for all who wandered these chambers,
and what he felt might not be what Elianas experienced. “Whom do
you hear?”

Elianas was
disappointed. “You cannot hear them?”

“It is
different for everyone.”

Elianas swung
away. “My daughters, Torrullin. I hear my daughters.” He turned
back. “Why did I not hear them before?”

“Last time we
focused on Cassy, not the magic of this place. What are they
saying?”

“They speak
not to me, but among themselves. They are together somewhere.” He
looked up, listened and then, “They sound happy.”

Earlier
Elianas wondered about his family, and now answers were gifted.
“That is peace.”

Elianas swung
around. “Is it?”

“You may not
be able to see them or be with them, but knowing they are never
lost to you …” Torrullin closed in and placed his hand over the
man’s heart. “… here, is peace.”

“Sacred
space.”

“You taught me
that.”

“Just words
before.”

“And now?”

“Now I
understand.” Elianas moved away, put his hands in the universal
gesture for prayer, and bowed over them. “Thank you for this,” he
said to the chamber at large. He straightened and wiped his face
with steady fingers. “Damn it, too much emotion for one day.”

“Likewise,”
Torrullin muttered. He headed past the man into the next chamber.
There he stopped and, when Elianas joined him, said, “If you sensed
happiness for your daughters, then there is no threat near them.
Reaume still has hope.”

“The Dryads
have not won the war.”

“We still need
to discover how it stands at present and where it will ultimately
end.”

“Fortunately
we have a Walker present.”

“We cannot
employ the grotto. It will have to be via a back door and that
could mean ages of wandering before we find them.” Torrullin walked
on. “We need Quilla in here.”

“What does he
know of Reaume?” Elianas trailed after, listening more to the music
than to Torrullin, hoping for other echoes.

“Only what I
told him, but he knows something of eternal spaces. He might have a
trick or two we could employ to shorten purposeless wandering.
Elianas, are you listening?”

Elianas came
to a stop. “Of course.”

Torrullin
rolled his eyes.

“You are not
to force an apology from him, hear?” Elianas murmured.

“Fine.”

“Gods, I know
that bloody ‘fine’.”

Torrullin’s
mouth lifted on one side. “I wonder if I know you as well as you
know me.”

“I know how to
push your buttons, but I never know which way you will jump.”

“Then why do
it?”

A grin. “To
see which way you will jump.”

Torrullin
muttered and carried on walking.

“I believe you
know me better than I know myself,” Elianas murmured from
behind.

A glance over
his shoulder. “I doubt it.”

“Torrullin, do
not call him yet.”

Cessation of
movement. “Why not?”

Elianas was at
his shoulder. “Feel this place, my brother, and feel how it reminds
one of home. Here the music is otherworldly, yet it echoes the
natural music on Avaelyn. Here the chambers are intertwined, much
like our rock spaces, and here is imagination, the other side of
our elements. Fire and ice, it is all here. It would be a shame to
share it with a third party. Torrullin, here it is safe to recall
the dreams of betrayal.”

Torrullin
closed his eyes, but did not otherwise move.

“Here there is
no fear,” Elianas continued, his breath warm on Torrullin’s
cheek.

“Do you know
what you ask?”

“I ask that we
cease shying away. I ask that when we remember in future, we can do
so without the knots and twists. It becomes an incident of the
past.”

“Why insist
now?”

“This is the
right place.” Elianas moved around Torrullin to stand before him.
“There was never a right place before. Mount St Moor is too close
to us.”

Torrullin’s
gaze was unblinking. “It needs preparation.”

“It does not.
You think too much.”

Torrullin
looked away. Elianas did not yet understand. “This is not the right
chamber for recall.”

“Every chamber
will be wrong if I leave it up to you. What are you afraid of?”

“Moving from
dream into reality without an interlude to know the
difference.”

“You do not
trust me. Fine, leave it. It was a bad idea.” Elianas walked
on.

“I do not
trust myself.”

Elianas
halted.

Torrullin was
at his shoulder. “You were lost to me recently, and I began to
understand how linked we are and were. I knew before and yet it was
... theoretical.”

“Now?”

“Now nothing
is just words.”

“Why do you
not trust yourself?”

“Because I no
longer care about the line.”

Elianas
retreated, his face white.

Torrullin
closed in, forcing him to step back again, and still he came
closer.

“If I do not
care about the line, then I cannot recognise an interlude, Elianas,
and if I cannot recognise that, then dream will be reality this
day. I know this about myself, thus cannot trust recalling
betrayal. Dare you take the risk? Dare I take it? You say we can
achieve equanimity using will. I say wish will be stronger. Wish
will override will, and where will we be then?”

Elianas backed
up against a wall and could go no further. “I was wrong to suggest
it.”

Torrullin put
both his hands on the wall and leaned close. “No, you were right,
but we must prepare properly.”

“Are you mad?”
Elianas hissed. “After those words? Do you know what they did to
me?”

“The reality
of obsession,” Torrullin murmured. “The worse the scene painted,
the more you want it.”

“Will you get
away from me before I do something stupid?”

“Tear me
apart?” was the suggestion.

Elianas
groaned and slid down the wall to duck hurriedly under those arms.
“How sweetly you diverted me from an intention to make right a
fucking dream that
drives me insane
!”

Torrullin
rested against the wall. He folded his arms across his chest. “Take
it out on me, I dare you.”

“What is it
with you today? Why are you pushing?”

“To see which
way you will jump.”

“Oh, fuck off,
and leave me alone.” Elianas strode away.

Mocking
laughter followed him.

When Elianas
was out of sight and hearing, Torrullin sagged against the wall and
lifted shaking hands to his face. Dear Goddess, too close. So
close, he could feel the search for release building, and yet, if
pushing was what it took to keep the true recall of betrayal at
bay, he would push hard whenever necessary.

Elianas was
not ready to face the truth of that night.

He found him on
the platform outside the Temple. “Shall I send for Quilla?”

A dark stare.
“You are hiding something about that night.”

“And you hide
something new from me as of today.”

Elianas swore
and then, “Call him, but you talk to him.”

“Where are you
going?”

Elianas’ eyes
glittered. “Really want to know?” He reached out and placed his
hand on Torrullin’s arse, and pulled him close. “Feel that …
brother? It requires release or I
shall
tear you apart.” He
let go and headed in, throwing over his shoulder, “I am going to
find a prostitute.”

Torrullin was
still for a time and then he sent for Quilla before he too did
something exceedingly stupid.

Contradiction,
opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas

Titania
Dictionary

Lifesource
Temple

Q
uilla danced into the chamber. “Enchanter, you are
back!”

Torrullin
smiled, soothed by the genuine welcome. “I am, yes.”

“You have put
on some weight. Excellent.”

“Lots of
rest.”

“What can I do
for you?” Quilla sighed appreciatively. “It is good to be
here.”

“It is.”

Quilla eyed
him. “What are you up to? You have had enough terrible adventures
in recent times.”

Torrullin
laughed, aware of how much he loved the tiny birdman. “Quilla, it
is good to see your smile.”

“And I am
happy to hear you laugh, but I know you; something is a-foot.”

“As
always.”

“And you need
to pick my brain, I assume.”

Torrullin
laughed again. “Yes.”

Quilla was
pleased. “Come; let us sit in comfort, for I have a hankering after
my private domain.”

Torrullin
followed him. “I know the feeling.”

“You have a
beautiful home, Torrullin.”

“Thank
you.”

They entered
Quilla’s chambers and made their way to the one where pillows were
chairs. Quilla studied his guest anew. “You seem more complete. The
cessation of the strain of healing?”

“The return of
Elianas.”

Quilla
blinked. “When?”

“Ten
days.”

“Is he all
right? Where is he?”

“He is fine
and …” A moment’s pause. “… he is in Galilan.”

“He should be
here to hear the music. It will help him.”

“He was. It
helped.” It helped too damn much.

“Good.” Quilla
straightened. “I would like to speak with him.”

Torrullin’s
gaze was bland. “Perhaps you will have the opportunity.”

“Torrullin,
please, I am sorry …”

“Forget
it.”

Quilla
inclined his head. “Then I shall. What do you need from me?”

“I need to
know how to shorten a journey through the eternal spaces.”

“Another
journey? Gods, you did Time, and Void and then the Path, all in too
condensed a period, and even the months of healing was a journey
for you. Go home and take personal time for a change.”

“Every day is
a journey, Quilla.”

“Oh, pish. You
know what I mean.”

“A ship fell
from the sky, a Beacon ship, on Avaelyn. Now either Beacon is up to
something I am unaware of or something screws with navigational
instruments. The latter could be due …”