The Maelstrom's Heart, page 26
“Not trust Mireygna!” Laila was angry. “Dangerous!”
“Mireygna? No, it was Yeravi.”
“Yeravi. Babd. Same same.” She scowled at me. “Dangerous!”
“Yeravi is Babd?” My mind reeled from the information. “The crone. Right.” I replayed some of our conversations in my mind and started to see some of the subtle manipulations. And then I remembered what we had just been talking about. “She knows we’re coming for the time spell.”
“Does she know when?” Ree asked.
“I told her in a couple of days.”
“They’re sure to be ready for you,” Tesia frowned.
“Then we go right away,” Ree suggested. “They won’t be expecting us yet.”
Tesia shook her head. “You’re not ready.”
“We could go tomorrow night,” Ree countered. “We should be ready by then.”
“I’m sorry,” I told them. “I should have been more careful. I just thought… It doesn’t matter what I thought. I should have known better.”
“Let’s get some sleep and start bright and early with the training,” Tesia suggested.
Sleep didn’t come easy, and I didn’t feel rested the next morning. We had an early breakfast and then started in with the training. Ree was getting better at visualizing the target location. By mid-morning, we were almost ready to test stepping through to a location drawn from only her memory rather than her line of sight. A commotion from the yard brought us outside.
Ancaera had arrived with an escort of several soldiers. She was riding a gorgeous bay and white appaloosa Rorujhen that I didn’t recognize; everyone else was on a horse.
“Mira!” Ancaera launched herself from the Rorujhen’s saddle to give me a hug. “I didn’t know you were back! Rispan was just asking about you this morning.”
“Rispan’s here?” My eyes went to her escort, looking for a sign of his smirking face.
“No, no,” she shook her head. “Sorry, I forgot you didn’t know about the comm-devs. Rispan’s still in Pokorah-Vo.”
“Comm-devs?”
“That’s what Rispan calls them. They allow communication over distances.”
“They got them working?” This was a pleasant surprise. “Last time we tried we burst Mooren’s ears…” Mooren.
“Oh! I heard about that! They went a different direction. Telepathic communication.”
“Are they easy to use?” I asked her, focusing back on the conversation.
“Very,” she nodded. “Just hold the amulet in your hand and focus on the other person. As long as they have one, too, they can answer. You can even bring someone else into the conversation with physical contact.”
I glanced at Ree, but she was talking with Tesia.
“This is Dimas,” Ancaera indicated the soldier walking toward us. “He was put in charge of my guardians.”
“Protective detail,” he managed to keep from rolling his eyes as he corrected her, but I could tell he was tempted.
“And this is Nazani,” Ancaera went on, patting the Rorujhen on the shoulder.
“Nice to meet you both,” I told them.
Ancaera’s face got serious. “You know about Farukan?”
I nodded. “I heard him.”
Her eyes widened at that, then she returned my nod.
“Shall we go inside?” Tesia asked.
“Yes,” Ancaera smiled. “I could really go for a nice cup of tea right now.”
We had taken a seat inside and the tea was brewing. It almost felt like things were normal.
“Ancaera,” I asked her. “What’s the news from Pokorah-Vo? How are things going there?”
“Apparently, the big show-down was last night,” she told me. “The king is dead. Something about thinking he could fly like a dragon and falling to his death.” She shook her head. “Anyway, a new council has formed to direct the future of the city. It’s looking very good; they’re just working out the details now.”
That was a relief, but I knew it was in good hands with Rispan.
“Could I use that comm-dev of yours? I’d like to talk to someone.”
She smiled and pulled out a shiny round stone about an inch across. I took it in my hand.
“Just focus on him?”
She nodded. I put my attention on Rispan, imagining his face. After a moment, I felt him there.
“Hello?” I heard him in my mind. “Who is-- Mira? Is that you?”
“It’s me,” I answered. It felt so good to hear his voice, even if it was only in my mind, I couldn’t help grinning.
“Woohoo! How did you-- Who-- Zerg! I have so many questions. Where are you?”
“I’m at Shianri. And Rispan?” Ree’s head swiveled to look at me when I said his name. “I have a surprise for you. There’s someone here that wants to talk to you.” I reached out and put my hand on Ree’s arm.
“Who wants to talk to me?”
“Karis?” Ree’s face was a combination of hope, disbelief and even fear. “Karis Panalira? Are you truly there, my Rispan?”
“Karis? I’m not…” he paused. “Ka-Ris-Pan. I remember that. Who…? Who are you?”
“I am… I am Reelu Ulané Pulakaloso. I was your mother.” A few wayward tears had started down her face.
“My mother? But how…”
Suddenly, a call of alarm sounded from outside. We were under attack!
“Rispan! We can’t talk now!”
“I’ll come to you! I—”
I had to break the connection and we ran to the front where we could see our guards and Ancaera’s soldiers fighting Ashae in white armor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MIRA
The fighting was crazy as the Riders tried to quickly overwhelm our defenders. That was getting them nowhere and they withdrew.
“They’re probably just regrouping,” Kaerélios said. “They weren’t expecting Dimas and his unit to be here.”
“I agree,” Alénia nodded. “They’ll try something else.”
Shianri wasn’t designed to be a fortress and the manor yard was a poor battlefield. Dimas was ordering his men to set up makeshift defenses. They were likely right; the fight wasn’t over.
“You wanted a distraction for the Riders,” Kaerélios said to me. “Here’s your chance. They won’t be expecting you.”
I shook my head. “I can’t just leave while you’re fighting them off.”
“We’ve got this,” he answered. “We’ll do our jobs. You go do yours.”
I looked at Alénia.
She shrugged. “He’s right.”
Alright. It was time. I squared my shoulders and pushed away any doubts.
“Ree, Laila, Alénia,” I said. “Get whatever you need and meet me in the barn in ten minutes.”
I quickly went to my room and put on one of the leather forester outfits that Felora had made for me. It seemed so long ago. What else would I need? I never went anywhere without my daggers. I put on the harness with the shyngur; I didn’t know whether I’d need them, but it didn’t hurt to have them handy. My staff.
I wished I had a spare set of the armor from Gylan, but I’d have to hope my leathers would give me enough protection. The others were waiting for me in the barn with Tesia and Ancaera when I got there. I studied their faces. Ree looked apprehensive, Alénia looked ready for a fight, and Laila wore an expression of grim determination.
“I don’t know what to expect,” I told them. “I didn’t see Dimétrian in the attack.”
“This is only a small part of the Riders,” Ancaera told us. “The rest are probably with Dimétrian at Odaro. But Neelu’s raid should be happening about now, too. That’s why I was able to leave Shifara. That should help to keep them busy.”
I nodded and looked at Ree. “Have you thought about where we should come through the portal?”
“Tesia said it can’t be too close to the maelstrom,” she answered. “I’m not as familiar with the Rider Hall, anyway. I was thinking that the laundry room in the slave quarters would be best. I know it well, and you’re familiar with it, too.”
“How far is it from there to the Rider Hall?” I asked.
“If we cut through the orchards, we can get there in ten or fifteen minutes.”
“That will work,” I looked at them again. “Let’s do it.”
“Remember the words of power,” Tesia reminded me. “We’ll see you when you get back.”
I reached out to the Ralahin as Ree put her hand on my shoulder. I saw the laundry room in my mind, details from Ree I wouldn’t have remembered. I put my anchors in place and formed the portals: first the entrance, and then the exit portal. It appeared fairly stable.
“Shrolin akadzu!” I spoke the words and the portal became more solid than any I’d created before. I tied the Ralahin flows in place just to be sure they wouldn’t fall apart when I tried to use them.
Laila strode through without a word, catching us by surprise. Alénia recovered quickly and followed. Ree let go of my shoulder and stepped through the portal. I went through last.
We were in the laundry room! It had worked! I untied the flows and let the portal collapse. I turned to Ree.
“Which way?”
Even though I’d been on the estate and to the Rider Hall, I didn’t know how they were situated in regard to each other.
“Through here,” Ree led us out the back door of the laundry. It was on the opposite side as the manor, but instead of turning toward the practice yard, she went the other way. We could see occasional bodies on the ground, some in white armor and some in uniform. There had definitely been some fighting going on here. She reached the corner of the building and stopped.
“Dimétrian posts archers on the roof of the manor,” Ree told us. “We’ll have to watch out for them.”
“I can create a shield to protect us,” I told them. “But we’ll need to stay close.”
I was still holding onto the Ralahin, so I drew the flows into a large sphere around us. I nodded my readiness and Ree led us toward the near edge of the orchard, about a hundred yards away across open ground. We were halfway across when a couple of arrows pinged off the shield. Not long after that, I felt the slam of a powerful lightning bolt. Under my breath, I thanked Tesia for all of her drilling with me on defensive magic.
We reached the orchard, and we were immediately surrounded by a dozen people in uniform. They were a mix of Ashae, Loiala Fé, human and Ulané Jhinura. Their weapons were in their hands and the pointy ends were aimed at us.
“Mira?” a familiar voice called. “Is that you?”
Neelu was walking toward me through the trees, a smile on her face. Then her eyes shifted to Ree, and her step faltered. She came to a halt, her mouth and eyes wide in surprise. Ree opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The two sisters rushed together, their arms wrapping to hold each other tightly. Over Ree’s shoulder, I could see the tears flowing down Neelu’s face. She cried into Ree’s shoulder, all the years of built-up grief and loss and guilt collapsing all at once.
Finally, Neelu pulled back and put her hands on Ree’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. Then her gaze shifted back and forth between me and Ree.
“What are you doing here? Did you come after Dimétrian?”
I shook my head. “We have our own mission at the Rider Hall.”
“I’ll send some guards with you for extra protection—”
“Not!” Laila stomped her foot.
Neelu looked at her in confusion. “It’s dangerous. Some extra protection would be a good idea.”
“Not!” Laila insisted. “You send. Dimétrian send. Mission fail!”
“Thank you, Neelu,” I said to her. “But I believe Laila. We stand a better chance of success on our own.”
“Then I’ll come with you,” she said. “Just me.”
I shook my head. “Only the four of us. No more.”
“No way,” she was adamant. “Whatever you’re doing, it’s dangerous. I’m coming.”
“Neelu,” Ree spoke to her. “I’m sorry, but you can’t.”
Neelu was clearly conflicted as she studied our faces.
“Trust what Mira is saying,” Ree went on. “Trust me.”
Finally, I could see her give in. She put her hand on her sister’s shoulder again.
“Be safe,” she said. “I couldn’t bear to lose you again.” She turned away and signaled to the soldiers. They were off through the trees without a backward glance.
“She’s all grown up,” Ree said as she watched them leave. Then she turned back to me. “Alright. This way.”
She led us through the trees in a different direction than Neelu had gone. There was a road that ran along the other side of the orchard. When we reached it, she turned left and a few minutes later, the Rider Hall came into view. When we approached, there were several horses in front of the building that looked like they had just been ridden hard. Alénia drew her sword as we stepped toward the door. Dimétrian and six Riders waited for us in the council room. The damaged wall that hid the time spell had been repaired.
“I saw you running this way,” Dimétrian said, his smarmy voice grating against my nerves. “You’re too predictable. You can’t outsmart me. You’re just a stupid little girl!”
“I’m not really caring about your opinion,” I told him.
“That’s because you’re too stupid,” he snapped. “What do you think you’re going to do? And there’s only four of you and most of you can’t even fight. I don’t even need anybody to stop you. I could do it by myself if I wanted. I hardly brought anybody. That’s how easy this is going to be.”
“I’m taking that spell down,” I pointed toward the repaired wall. “Step aside and I won’t hurt you.”
Dimétrian turned to one of the Riders. “Kill the others. I’ll take care of this one.”
He was so cliché. The Riders stepped forward and Alénia launched herself at the nearest one, her movement drawing all of their attention. Her target raised his blade in defense too late and her point took him in the throat. I took advantage of the distraction to throw lightning at two of them who were standing close together.
“You cheated!” Dimétrian snarled at me. “Now you can die!” His hands sizzled with electricity, and he threw lighting from both of them at once.
I was ready for him and threw up a shield. He paused to draw more power and launched an even bigger bolt at me. I immediately made a channel and redirected the bolt back at him. The bolt struck him and knocked him back a step. Then he drew more power. I could see it building, but I couldn’t see where the power was coming from; it wasn’t coming from the Ralahin in the room.
As I looked more closely, I could see that he wore a necklace with at least a dozen amulets; all magical batteries giving him instant access to more power than I could imagine.
He started hurling bolts at me, one after another. I knew fighting was going on near me, but I couldn’t spare even a glance to see what was happening. My shield was holding but I was driven to my knees. I was trying to pull power, but I was fighting the pull of the time spell, which sucked it up almost as fast as I could pull it in. The bolts kept coming and I was starting to lose control. He just had too much power.
I felt Laila’s hand on my shoulder, and power flowed into me. My shield was suddenly stronger than ever. I drew the power into me, pulling in more and more electrons, trying to form the most intense lightning as I could. I got back to my feet and Laila stepped away from me.
Dimétrian was throwing more bolts at me, but my shield was too strong now. Still, I built the electricity; tighter, more powerful. It became brighter as a ball above my hand.
Then something happened and it changed into something else. The air around it got hotter and hotter as it became more ionized. Plasma! Still, I built it. Real fear showed on Dimétrian’s face for the first time. The ball of plasma in the air was nearly six feet across now. I exerted my will and pulled out a chunk of it and flung it at Dimétrian. It struck and his shield dissolved.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, trying to reform his shield. One hand went to the hilt of his sword and more power flowed into him as he drew it. “You can’t—”
I threw the rest of the plasma at him. It struck him and he didn’t even have time to scream. His mouth opened as his body gave a brief flash of brilliant light and the heat was so intense his body was consumed almost instantaneously. Dimétrian was dead. Nothing remained but his sword and its scabbard. I could see glyphs of power etched into the blade.
I turned quickly to the others, but the fighting was over. Alénia was bleeding from several wounds, but the three Riders she had faced would never ride again.
I turned to the false wall that hid the time spell. The maelstrom, as Tesia had called it. I pulled in power and slammed it against the wall. It crumbled to reveal the huge mass of swirling power. When I had seen it before, it just looked like a chaotic whirlpool of magic. But as I studied it, I could see that it wasn’t chaotic at all; it was a very complex pattern of magic, formed into a spell that I couldn’t even hope to understand.
I could see how it was pulling in more power and slowly growing. Knowing what to look for, I saw the mistake. It had been meant to grow, but there was nothing to stop it from continuing to grow. If it ran out of magic, it would draw in matter. It would never stop. I had to undo it.
I stepped toward it.
“Careful,” Alénia called to me. “Remember what happened to that Rorujhen that touched it.”
I remembered. It had aged. “Yes. It was only in contact with the edge of the maelstrom and it aged decades in seconds.” What would this do to me if I touched it?
I had to unravel it somehow, pull it at the right place and it would fall apart on its own. I studied the twistings and windings of the spell and finally found what I was looking for; one tiny end, like a piece of string. It was right there, tied at the very center. If I pulled that out, the whole thing would unravel. I tried to reach in with the Ralahin and take hold of it, but the flows were too strong, and my efforts were washed away.
“There’s only one way I can do this,” I told them. “I’m going to have to physically enter the maelstrom and pull that knot out at the heart of it”
