| |
Not all who gathered before the surviving stores of acor, most cases of which had been protected within their oiled tarps, were familiar to Notch but after introducing Emisa, he remembered enough.
With Flir and Kanis, another dilar, and Pevin was present too. Seeing Pathfinder Ain once more was welcome also, but it was Lady Nia who drew his attention; he had forgotten her beauty and the unnatural smoothness to her skin, a hint of her true nature. Her dark hair was still tied up in a high tail and she still carried her bow.
She had survived after all – a blessing amongst the madness, though fear wrapped its icy talons around him just as swiftly; had she recovered from Efran’s Sap only to face a far worse peril? But she met his gaze calmly.
And it seemed that she, too, had much to say, but she was content to wait. Like all except Emisa, they seemed curious about his transformation.
Lord Danillo did not leave time for such questions in any event, after explaining what had happened with the LightSpear and Lifeblood. “We will split into groups now. Argeon and I will direct some of you to parts of the streets that you can explode, which should stop enough of the sap.”
“Are there only three outer groves?” the other dilar asked... Aren, wasn’t it?
“No, but we must try and also hope that it will be enough to prevent the Halidriandl from functioning for very long.”
“But you’ll stop her before that, right?” the fellow called Gedarow asked, his voice timid now.
“Yes, we will.”
Flir looked to Notch then. “What can you do like that, Notch?”
“I don’t know the limits but I can command the Ilesinyans Chelona made. I’m fast and strong... back in Ecsoli, I levelled a battlefield with my roar.”
Flir smacked a fist into her palm. “Sounds good to me.”
“The Fura Leones also grant the wearer more benefits, which are yet to reveal themselves in this time,” Emisa said. “They had long been lost but I doubt we can prevail without them.”
“We’ll take anything we can get,” Kanis said, then paused. “Can you change back whenever you like?”
“Not always.”
Danillo cleared his throat. “We must not tarry here. Ain, lead Aren along the western path – do you sense the grove location?”
He nodded.
“Good. Before you leave, I must consult with you about another path.” He shifted focus. “Flir, take Pevin to the east. Kanis, you will travel north – alone if you have no objection.”
“Not a problem.”
“Good. Argeon or Ain will show you both locations once you have divided the acor. Lady Nia, bring Gedarow with Captain Medoro and the Inquisitor.” He paused then, and looked to each face, the hollowed eyes of Argeon seeming kinder all of a sudden. “You should each be proud of what we do here, no matter the outcome.”
“That sounds a little fatalistic,” Kanis said.
“Perhaps,” he replied. “But should Argeon and I fail, and you will know if that happens, the safest place may in fact be in the palace. Out there, I will not be able to protect you as I did with the falling roof before, so you must take extra care. May the Gods watch over you all.”
Pevin murmured an agreement, then headed for the acor. Aren and then Ain followed, Flir and Kanis joining him. The two dilars seemed to be arguing softly as they walked, but no words reached Notch.
He didn’t have a chance try to figure it out either, since Lord Danillo was speaking once more. “Argeon will take us as near to Chelona and the Halidriandl as possible. She may spring a trap but I am confident Argeon will detect most of them.” He turned to Nia. “I am hoping you and your attendant can have an effect upon the amber, when we reach the machine, Lady.”
She nodded. “I will do my best, though I am not so skilled as my father – it is still dangerous to work with and it feels... different to what I expected.”
“Your best is all I can ask,” he said.
“I can help,” Gedarow added.
“Good. And it is a chance we must take.”
“I may be able to assist also,” Emisa said. “Aside from my mask, I can change my surroundings in certain circumstances.”
“That is welcome,” he said. To Notch, Danillo extended a hand. “You have doubted my judgement before but let us work together in this.”
Notch took it. Somewhere within, the Fura Leones seemed to offer a ‘pulse’ of approval. “Of course, Lord Danillo.”
“Thank you, Captain. Now, all join hands and link to me so Argeon can–”
“Wait!”
Flir was jogging over, her arms laden with acor. “Notch, be careful up there, you hear me?”
He smiled, his fangs slipping free a moment. “I will.”
She met his gaze then, and it seemed that she could see directly into him, to his dark plan to Sacrifice Emisa in order to save Sofia. Shame flared but his determination was stronger, and it seemed that Flir was aware of that too. “I want you to think about everyone this time – we’re all depending on you.” She paused. “Even Luik.”
Notch blinked as his entire body froze in a way far different to what Chelona was capable of. “What?”
“He’s alive, Notch. And he’d want you to survive this.”
“But...” He could not find the words at first. “Flir, how? When?”
“Once we finish this, right?” she said. “But he’s changed, maybe not unlike you have. Do the right thing and you can see him for yourself.”
He nodded. “I... I’ll survive.”
“Then that makes at least two of us,” she said, then ran toward the stair, Pevin in tow. Kanis was not far behind her, his own expression troubled, and then Argeon’s blue glow brightened.
When the light cleared, Notch found himself in a different part of the palace; it was not unlike the travel-stones, perhaps a little worse. His eyes stung and he had to wonder, just how they’d fared so well lately, after what seemed like endless bouts of magical light being blasted his way.
Curved doors of steel stood before them, each engraved with two halves of a massive circle that had been filled with such a concentration of overlapping feathers that it was difficult to find edges in the pattern. Yet the engraving did seem to have some meaning – it simply eluded him.
“She is beyond, and the machine is functioning for now,” Danillo told them.
“Are we too late?” Nia asked.
“No, it is a complex thing.” He raised his arms. “Ready yourselves.”
He swung them down and the doors burst open. One door smashed against the wall so hard that it fell off a hinge. Danillo leapt inside and Notch followed.
In a large chamber of stretching windows, two figures turned at their entrance.
Chelona, in her customary white robe and stolen body, and one of the Ilesinyans – only this tall figure was not so ungainly as the others and his silvery body seemed bulkier than those of his counterparts.
Zasemu.
Only the creature’s eyes were the same now, but he had obviously found a way to inhabit the false Ilesinyan. Had that been Chelona’s plan all along, and Zasemu been aware? Or had she simply cut away the tainted body and placed her ‘beloved’ within the shell, only explaining things to him after?
“Bear witness or perish,” Chelona told them, her voice hard now.
“We must do neither,” Argeon replied – and it was the Greatmask – it seemed he now spoke through Danillo. His voice was both more sonorous and older than the Lord Protector. “This provides the world nothing new; it is a regression, not progress, Chelona.”
“Such arguments do not sway me, as well you should know.”
“There is nothing for me in such a world if you reshape it to your narrow ideal.”
“So be it, Argeon,” she snapped.
But she did not lash out either.
Notch clenched his claws. Had the long, long strain of handling hundreds of tasks at once finally taken some toll? After all, she’d lost her grip on total Compelling below, and the Mother had wiped out one of Chelona’s husks.
What had it cost to place Zasemu’s consciousness within the Ilesinyan?
What of Zasemu himself? Waves off unnatural power emitted from the man, did she still have to control him too?
And what did it take to use the Halidriandl, a machine none had seen for thousands of years, it seemed. Was Chelona even now supplementing the unfinished portion of the Mother’s blood with her own strength?
Or was it far worse than he hoped, and Chelona was more than strong enough, and was somehow able to draw upon the pearlescent Lifeblood for even more power?
“Only one of us will continue if you choose this,” Argeon replied.
Chelona nodded. “That much is true.” She gestured to Zasemu. “Kill the forest children but do not damage Notch’s body, understand?”
An ugly laugh followed. “Of course, Beloved.”
“I am serious,” she said, iron entering her voice. “Unless you want to stay within that shell.”
“I do not,” he said.
Notch frowned at the approaching creature. So that had been her plan – he was a damn fool a hundred times over; it should have been easy to see, after all. Once Chelona had realised that whatever creature she and Renasi had created was not stable, she would have enacted a reserve plan.
She’d probably done so long ago too... when meeting him upon the island.
It was why she let him keep the bracers.
He snarled.
But that would be her mistake. “Leave Zasemu to me,” Notch said as he leapt forward.