Issola (19 page)

For answer, he drew Blackwand. I recoiled instinctively from the assault on my mind - the feeling, something in between hearing and smell, of a hungry animal; a feeling that has to have been built into me at some level of instinct or below, that made me aware of the sweat in my armpits, and how hard it was to breathe, and made the room, however large it was, seem too close.

Suddenly I wasn't having fun anymore. "I'd rather not touch the blade, if it's all the same to you," I said.

He seemed amused; maybe it was his turn to have fun. He said, "Well, I'm certainly not going to let you hold her."

“I-"

"Don't worry; she doesn't bite."

I stared at the dark, dull grey blade, then back at Morrolan. "Yeah, right."

"Do it, Vlad."

"I-"

"Do it."

I took a deep breath, hesitated, then laid my palm on the blade quickly, before I could think about it too much. It was faintly warm, which metal isn't supposed to be. And it almost seemed as if it were vibrating, or trembling, just a little.

"Okay, dammit, do it before—"

"Keep still, Vlad. I have to concentrate."

I tried to keep my growl inaudible.

Loiosh's feet shifted on my shoulder; he wasn't liking this either. I can't say why, and it doesn't make sense, but that made me feel a little better.

The most terrifying things, in some ways, are those that catch us off guard - a shock out of nowhere, danger unanticipated, all that. And yet, in other ways, to see something coming, know it is about to happen, and be unable to prevent it has its own special terror. But there are times - rare, but they happen when you see the danger before you, it builds up, you brace yourself - and then it's over, before you had time to really get a good scare going, much less the unpleasantness that you were scared of.

This was like that.

Morrolan said, "Okay, I'm done."

"You're done?"

"Yes."

"That's it?" Even as I questioned him, my hand was free from that blade, jumping off as if of its own volition.

"That's it," said Morrolan.

"Uh ... did it work?"

He nodded and turned to Aliera. "All right, cousin. Your turn."

"I don't feel any different," I said.

They ignored me. Loiosh said,
"Boss, it would be Morrolan who feels different."

"Oh,"
I said.
"Yeah, I knew that."

Now Aliera drew Pathfinder, but she swung it over toward Morrolan; it no longer had anything to do with me, so I was free to back away. I did so.

Presently, Aliera turned to Lady Teldra. "This will be trickier," she said. Teldra nodded and came forward; I didn't want to watch, so I walked over to Morrolan. "Well?" I said.

"Well what?"

"Are you now seeing—"

"Yes."

Creep.

"So, how was my description?"

He glanced around the room, and grunted; I imagine so he wouldn't have to tell me how good a job I'd done. Teldra, by this time, was blinking rapidly and looking all about.

"Okay then," I said. "We've gotten this far. What next?"

No one answered me directly, but Aliera looked at the door that she could now, evidently, see quite clearly. Then she looked inquiry at Morrolan. He winced. It was obvious that he wanted to go exploring, and was damned curious to see our river of amorphia; it was equally obvious that he didn't think it was what he should do just then.

"All right," said Aliera, who could read him as well as I could. "We'll wait on that." She went over to the rock, and began studying it; her hands reached out as if to touch it, stopped, drew back. She frowned.

"Yes," she said. "It is trellanstone." She smiled suddenly, “And a nice, big, juicy one, too." Her eyes were green, and looked alarmingly catlike, and I would have gotten worried if I hadn't been worried already.

"All right," I said. "Let's hear it."

"It's simple enough," said Aliera. "The trellanstone will permit us to break through whatever is blocking—"

"No," said Morrolan.

"What do you mean, no?"

"That isn't how we're going to do it."

"Oh?" said Aliera. "It isn't? Then, pray, how
are
we going to do it?" She let the irony drip from her lips onto the floor and crawl over to rub against Morrolan's leg.

My eyes rolled up of their own accord. I walked to the far side of the room, pretty much out of earshot, because listening to Morrolan and Aliera yell at each other was already getting old; I found it was not one of the things I missed, although it had never bothered me before. I wondered if being away from people had changed me, made me less patient with minor annoyances.

"No, Boss, it's just made you introspective."

"Shut up, Loiosh."

"Impatient, too."

I sent a psychic growl in his direction, then sat down against a wall and leaned my head back. Morrolan and Aliera, after an instant of conversation, walked out of the door Teldra and I had found. I blinked. Well, I suppose they figured if they were going to argue, they might as well investigate our story at the same time. Teldra came over and sat down next to me. I said, "Well, whatever happens, it has been a pleasure having the chance to speak with you."

"Thank you, Vlad. I feel the same way."

I wondered if she really did. That's the tricky part about the Issola; you can never be certain how they are feeling. Maybe it doesn't bother Dragaerans, not knowing how someone is actually feeling, but we Easterners aren't like that. I wondered if it bothered Teldra to know that, when she really, actually liked someone, that person would always have to wonder how much was
genuine, and how much was show.

After some time, Morrolan and Aliera came back through the door, approached us, and Morrolan said, "All right, we have a plan."

"That's lucky," I told him.

His eyes narrowed, but he must have decided to let it pass, Best for him.

"Worked yourself into a mood, haven't you Boss?"

I mentally grunted at my familiar. Morrolan said, "We’re going to attempt something with the trellanstone. We're going to—"

"Use it to break through whatever is blocking you from opening the gate?" He closed his eyes, then opened them again. Then he slowly and
carefully explained the plan to me. Teldra gave nary a twitch
of an eyebrow, and Aliera's eyes had turned blue. When Morrolan was finished, he said, "Are there any questions?"

I hardly knew where to begin. I said, "How did you come up with
that
idea?"

"In part, because of your river of amorphia. The fact that they have it changes everything. And, moreover, this is something that - I believe - lies within our power."

I grunted at him and muttered, "If all you've got's a stick, everything looks like a kneecap."

"Beg pardon?" said Morrolan.

"Never mind; old Jhereg saying."

He graced me with a look of distaste and turned to Lady Teldra. "You are clear on your role?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Aliera?"

She rolled her eyes, which Morrolan and I took as an affirmative.

"Then let's begin."

"He didn't
ask if
I
was ready."

"And I'm
not going to either."

Morrolan took a position next to the trellanstone, hovering over it like a goose over her goslings. Aliera stood in front of it, to Morrolan's left, and laid her hands on it, touching and feeling it as if looking for handholds. For this stage, Teldra and I were back and out of the way, watching. Aliera's hands came to rest, and she nodded to Morrolan. He licked his lips. I recognized that gesture - I'd been there often enough myself, just before trying something difficult and a little scary.

Sometimes it almost seemed as if Morrolan were human. He placed his hand on the stone, near Aliera's. Presently he said, "All right, I'm getting something."

"Yes," she said.

I couldn't see her face, but I saw the concentration in the muscles of her back, and in Morrolan's case, in the muscles of his jaw. They were working. It was nice to see for a change. They fell silent, I assume communicating psychically; Teldra and I waited patiently for them to finish. Or, rather, Teldra waited patiently; I waited. Presently my feet started to hurt; standing hurts more than walking. I shifted from foot to foot and tried to catch Teldra's eye, but she was watching the sorcerers work. Abruptly, and for no reason I could see, the veins in the stone began to glow - not much, you had to be watching closely, but it was there, like a yellow phosphorus, if you can imagine such a thing.

Morrolan said, "Okay, Vlad. Get ready."

"I'm ready," I told him, which wasn't entirely a lie. I let Spellbreaker fall into my hand, and felt a very small, subtle vibration running through it, almost a tremble, as of eagerness.

"Boss-"

"Not now, Loiosh.I don't want to think about it."

Easier said than done, that not thinking about it business; but I really didn't want any distractions just then, because if Morrolan's plan worked, things were just about to get interesting. I touched the rapier at my side, started to check my daggers before remembering that most of them were lying in pieces around the room. My hand accidentally touched the sheath of the Morganti blade I still carried; my hand then returned to the hilt of my sword and remained there, so I looked like I was ready to draw in a hurry - like I was ready for action. Maybe Morrolan would be impressed if he glanced over at me. Maybe if the Jenoine showed up suddenly they'd see how ready for action I was and die of fear.

"I'm getting something," said Aliera. "It's opening." I happened to notice her hands, which now gripped the stone very tightly; her fingers were white. I looked for some change in the stone itself, but didn't see anything.

"All right, Vlad," said Morrolan, in that tone of voice uses when he's keeping tight control on his emotions - which is usually, now that I think of it.

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, and, under my breath, I began an invocation to Verra. It was one of the old ones, one of the first I had ever learned, and I shan't repeat it here. At first, I was only going through the motions, but soon enough I felt Morrolan's presence, and, through him, Aliera's, pointing out to me the direction, as it were, in which to, well, direct my efforts. I recited the invocation over and over, trying for some sort of response, or at least the feeling that I was getting through.

It is strange, the things I've done to the inside of my own head. In one way or another, that is where all magic is; that is
what
all magic is, and that is why it is magic - you treat the contents of your skull as if they were a sort of world that you can walk around in, filled with objects that you can manipulate; creatures with whom you can communicate; landscapes that you can observe. This bit of witchcraft is a narrow stream, and you dip your feet in it and splash. This piece of sorcery is a lever you can move stones with, and you grunt and sweat until it moves and you feel the satisfaction of watching it roll down a hill. And the invocation was a chat with a Demon Goddess who bore only the most passing and coincidental relationship to the being I had met, who had from time to time aided me, and who had used and was using me for purposes I was only beginning to have a glimmering of. The conversation was strictly one-sided; how could it not be, being a creation of myself with myself. One-sided, yet (and here is the magic) it must have done something, because as stood upon that world whose air was nearly unbreathable, in that room whose contents were nearly unknowable, doing things to my head that are nearly indescribable, feeling a connection within me in a language almost untranslatable, there appeared before my real eyes a hint of red and golden sparks generated by nothing, that shimmered there for a moment, until they took shape, solidified, and became the Goddess herself, who appeared standing, tall,composed, and with a wry look, and she said, “Well, I’m here. Now you must tell me, are you traitors, or fools?”

11

All
sorts of replies came to mind, but I managed to hold them back.
Letting Morrolan and Aliera deal with her would be more fun.

The Goddess stood taller than Morrolan, and glared down at him. He put on his supercilious look and seemed unimpressed with her glare; if it was an act, it was a good one, and if it wasn't he had a remarkable amount of confidence in himself. Or he was a complete fool, which I'd suspected for some years. Or, at any rate, a Dragonlord, which is much the same thing.

He said, "You believe they planned all this, Verra? That they wanted you here? Fine. So what? Sethra believes—"

"Sethra," said the Goddess scornfully.

It had never occurred to me that I might one day hear "Sethra" pronounced scornfully; that would have to count as the big shocker for the day.

Morrolan shrugged. Aliera said, "Sorry if you were inconvenienced, Mother, but we were tired of waiting around."

"It isn't a matter of convenience, my dear. It is a matter of permitting them to bring me to a place where they can destroy me."

Morrolan said, "Most of a day, I believe." I stared at Morrolan
for a second, trying to figure out how that made sense in regard to anything, then decided not to try.

"I shan't let them," said Aliera.

Verra said, "You shan't let them?"

"That is correct."

"My darling Aliera—"

Teldra cleared her throat, and instantly had everyone's attention. She said, "Our apologies, Goddess, if we have been precipitate. But may I beg you to tell us, now that we have acted, what we ought to do?" The Goddess smiled, as one might at a kitten rolling on the floor playing with a piece of string. She said, "Ah, my little Issola. How sweet. Well, I will answer your question. First, we—" She stopped in midsentence, stared at something over Teldra's shoulder, and said something that sounded like, "kyrancteur!" At first I thought it was an exclamation in some foreign language, or else she'd suddenly recognized a friend who was invisible to the rest of us, but then Morrolan said, "Yes. Or trellanstone, if you prefer; that is the name we have always known it by."