'I've been to Los Verion,' Lisa said.
Ilioron smiled and nodded, while others gathered around them. Julius was one of them. He wore the same frown that he had been wearing half an hour ago.
'Nobody has been there since it became closed to us,' he said. 'You couldn't have found it.'
'I was there. I met Kalin and Preya.'
Julius stared at her, his lips forming a straight line.
'I spoke to them about what happened. Kalin was supportive but his son, Robert, didn't want me there. He lied about his role in what happened that night. He tried to kill me, and when I uncovered his betrayal he killed his father.'
'Wait. Kalin is dead?'
The other sky lords gathered around her, listening more intently than before.
Lisa nodded. 'Preya has taken over now. The lost city is once more open to the sky lords.'
Several sky lords inhaled sharply. More than a few fluttered their wings behind them.
'Is it true?' Ilioron said, shaking her long blond hair behind her. 'Are we welcome in the world once more? It's been so long since I stretched my wings. Nobody has been to the forgotten city since —'
'This changes nothing,' Julius said, cutting her off with an intense stare as white light glimmered at the back of his deep brown eyes.
'Since Ibex betrayed you all?' Lisa offered.
Julius turned towards her with deep creases forming on his brow. He looked older now - like a different person. 'It's easy to raise demons of the past,' he said. 'It's not so easy to deal with the consequences. You should consider the gravity of your words before seeking attention for yourself.'
'I'm not seeking attention. I'm raising what needs to be discussed.'
The others watched with uneasy expressions, sensing a tension between them.
Julius glanced at the increasing number of faces that had gathered around them. 'We're not welcome beyond this island,' he said, putting increased emphasis on each word.
'That's not true. Preya is open to you.'
'Your confidence is misplaced. History cannot be washed away with a few sweet words.'
Lisa chewed her lip, wondering why he was so reluctant to believe her. Maybe she hadn't expressed herself clearly. Maybe he thought she was lying?
'Ibex did a terrible thing,' she said, 'but that was just Ibex. Preya knows her actions didn't represent the sky lords as a whole. I was treated fairly while I was there - apart from Robert, and he's dead now.'
Julius shook his head, gazing with sadness at those around him. 'Ibex was once a great sky lord. She was revered amongst us and we loved her dearly.'
Lisa was surprised by his words but she sensed that he wasn't finished yet, that there was something else burning inside him.
'She had a great future ahead of her. At one time I thought she would lead us but then she succumbed to the madness. She became quiet and withdrawn, totally at odds with her natural character. I thought she was sick until I heard her whispering to herself. She heard voices, speaking inside her head.'
'Malkor,' Lisa said.
Julius nodded. 'But we didn't know that back then. We thought she was ill. We cared for her, giving her our love as we tried to make her whole again. Nothing worked. We took her to the lake so she could fill herself with Lasrecon but it only seemed to make her worse. We gave her elixir, and fed her well but her delusions continued and intensified. She became bitter and aggressive. She brought shame on herself and those around her. When we tried to stop her she took flight and left the island. Nobody believed she would leave us until she was gone.'
'Doesn't anyone ever leave the island?'
Julius shook his head. 'Why would they? There's nothing for us out there.'
'Why did she go to Los Verion?'
'She didn't - at least not at first. She travelled the land, causing trouble and turning the people against us. We heard stories that she'd been welcomed into settlements only to turn against them, killing them in the night.'
'Those were terrible times,' Ilioron said with tears forming in her eyes.
One of the other dancers put an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder. Ilioron turned towards her with an appreciative smile.
'How long was she gone before she went to Los Verion?' Lisa said.
Julius gazed into the distance, thinking. 'A year - maybe two. More and more sky lords came to us during that time. They were forced to abandon the world outside. They brought news of lies and betrayal, duplicity and death. Ibex started hunting the other sky lords. She killed them, cutting them open in sick rituals.'
'Why didn't you stop her?'
'This was unheard of! No sky lord had ever caused harm to another before Ibex. What she did was unnatural. It sickened us to the core.'
'But you could have stopped her. There are so many of you.'
'We felt numb. Each time she killed she diminished us all. Attacking her was not the answer. Violence begets violence. More killing would have diminished us further.'
'So you let her go to Los Verion.'
'We didn't know she would go there. We sent others to speak with her but she killed them all. By the time we realised what had happened, it was already too late.'
Lisa nodded. 'She was corrupted by Malkor. She travelled to Los Verion and they welcomed her with open arms. It was there that she killed Eleanor, my grandmother.'
'They shut us out,' Julius said. 'They turned their backs on us.'
'What else could they do? One of your own had turned against them and you did nothing to stop her.'
'We tried to speak with her. She wouldn't listen.'
'Sometimes action speaks louder than words. You were angry with Los Verion, weren't you?'
'They turned against us. They refused the use of their lake.'
'And didn't they have good reason?'
'We didn't do anything wrong. We were punished because of Ibex's actions. We sent a contingency to discuss the reopening of the lake. The people were disrespectful to them.'
'They were angry, and rightly so,' Lisa said. 'Ibex killed their leader. No words can undo that.'
Lisa could see it now. She could feel their desperation through the memories of the Lasrecon inside her. Ibex had ruined everything when she had killed Eleanor. It had been a pivotal moment in their history - an act that had turned everyone against the sky lords, exactly as Malkor had wanted. Julius looked stricken, tormented by his own memories.
When Lisa spoke again she used a more gentle tone, hoping to help heal their painful memories. 'Eleanor was everything to the people of Los Verion. Kalin was devastated by her death. It's not surprising that the people turned against you.'
Julius nodded. 'Things were never the same after that. They didn't trust us anymore. When the other settlements found out what had happened, they shut us out too. The once revered sky lords became pariahs in their own land.'
Lisa took a deep breath, folding her arms beneath her breasts. 'That was a long time ago. Things are different now.'
'That's not true. It's only been six years. The pain is still fresh on both sides.'
'Kalin and Robert are dead. Preya has no issue with the sky lords.'
The other sky lords gave her doubtful looks but Julius just smiled. 'We can't blame you for trying, Lisa, but so long as Ibex lives she can betray us again. Her presence poisons the land against us.'
'She's dead. I killed her a couple of days ago.'
'That can't be,' Julius said with a strange look in his eyes. 'You must be mistaken.'
'I went looking for Lord Appelastus at the Ice Cathedral but I found Ibex instead. She was waiting for me. She tried to kill me. I'd be dead right now if it hadn't been for a friend who helped me overpower her. She attacked me and now she's dead.'
'Are you sure it was her?' Julius said. 'We've heard such rumours before.'
'I saw her. She was depleted, pleading for access to the Lasrecon. I denied her. She died in the ice caves.'
Julius gasped. 'You denied her?'
'She tried to kill me.'
The others stared at her with concern.
Julius gazed down into his hands before lifting his head to stare at her once more. 'Perhaps you are right,' he said with moisture in his eyes. 'Some sicknesses cannot be cured.' Turning, he disappeared into the crowd behind him.