Jayne Castle [Jayne Ann Krentz] (36 page)

admit it. Whatever small power a woman possesses derives from the Light end of the Spectrum, the

weak
end. All men know that ultimately the Dark end is stronger than the Light. You will find that out for

yourself when the Keys are brought together."

"That can't be done," Kalena stated softly.

"Of course it can be done, little whore. Why do you think the Dawn Lords took such care to separate

and hide the Keys if it could not be done?"

Ridge answered. "What makes you and your kind think you have more knowledge than the Dawn

Lords? You're fools to play with power you can't possibly comprehend."

"No, Fire Whip. It is you and the other males who have allowed themselves to become tainted with the

Light end of the Spectrum who are the fools. You will flock to us soon enough when we have shown you

the truth."

"But what will you do if you manage to destroy the Light Key?" Kalena asked desperately. "What's the

point of taking such risks?"

"Don't you understand anything, whore? The Cult of the Eclipse will know no boundaries on its power

once we have subdued the Light Key. We can then go on to discover the hiding places of the Stones

themselves. Without its Key the Light Stone of Contrast will be unable to withstand the power of the

Dark."

"You don't know what you're saying," Kalena whispered. "If it's true that the Keys actually exist and if

the Stones themselves are real, than you dare not try to destroy any of them. The lines of power that run

between them form the Spectrum. If you destroy one end of the Spectrum, the other end becomes

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meaningless. The instability that would result could destroy our continent, perhaps our world."

"No," the hooded man snapped with cold arrogance, "that is only a story spun by women. The truth is

that the destruction of the Light Stone will free the total power of the Dark. The ones who control the

Dark Stone's Key ultimately control the Stone itself."

"And who," Ridge asked grimly, "will control the Dark Key? Who the hell are you?"

The man reached inside his cloak and held out the pendant of black glass he wore. Lamplight flickered

on the dark glass, producing an odd effect, as if faint sparks danced for a moment on the surface of the

pendant. "I am a member of the Cult of the Eclipse, Fire Whip. That is all you need to know. You and

the woman have both been brought here to serve the cult."

"How?"

"You have spent too long with the woman, Fire Whip. She has indeed dulled your mind. Don't you

understand yet? The Keys can be handled by a very few. According to the ancient books, only a man

who can make the steel forged in Countervail glow with fire is capable of holding the Dark Key." The

cloaked figure turned to glance disparagingly at Kalena. "And only a special Healer who has never been

trained to heal can handle the Light Key, because the power it will draw must be in its raw, unformed

state. In addition to their talents, these two people must balance each other on the Spectrum. So say the

great books of mystery and the Mathematics of Paradox."

"How long have you known of our existence?" Kalena was stunned by what the man was saying. Her

voice was a thin thread of sound that was barely audible in the rocky chamber.

"We knew you were the ones we sought shortly after you came to Crosspurposes to conduct your

whore's business, trade wife. When the trade marriage was negotiated we knew that the forces of logic

and destiny had finally worked themselves to their ultimate conclusion. It was said the groom was one

who could make the steel of Countervail glow and the bride was one who might have been a Healer had

she been so trained because the Talent ran in the women of her family. The two of you had formed an

alliance and were bound for the Heights of Variance. All the signs were right. We decided to act."

"Are you saying you've got access to the Dark Key?" Ridge asked roughly.

"Oh, yes. It is in our possession, although none of us can touch it yet. That is for you to do, Fire Whip.

Your whore will soon leave for the valley of the Healers to bring back the Light Key. Then the two of

you will have the task of bringing the Keys into contact with each other."

"My wife,"Ridge said with dangerous emphasis, "knows nothing about the location of the Light Key."

"The High Healers will show her." The man seemed unconcerned. "They cannot touch it themselves, but

they know its location. It has been their secret for generations. They will give it to her because in their

foolishness they will choose to believe that in her hands it will be stronger than the Dark Key."

"If what you say is so," Ridge gritted, "then I will not allow Kalena to bring back the Light Key."

"You will have no choice in the matter, Fire Whip."

The hooded man took a few paces into the room, his cloak swinging around his booted feet. The light

reflected upward from the lamp, revealing more of his features. Kalena knew she would never forget that

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beaked nose, his thin, brutal mouth and dark eyes that reminded her of bottomless pools of black water.

"Listen to me, whore," he rasped, halting a short distance away from Kalena. "You have a task ahead of

you. Do you understand it now? You are to return to the valley of the Healers. They will show you the

location of the Light Key. You must bring it back down the trail with you. There you will be met and

brought here to carry out your destiny."

Ridge's voice was a snarl of anger. "She will not do your bidding, you fool. She is my wife and she will

do as I say"

The hooded man chuckled. "It is precisely because she has been in your bed that she will follow my

instructions. We soon realized that the physical union between the two of you was a necessary part of all

this. You have done your job well, Fire Whip. You have possessed her completely, and in so doing you

have bound the woman to you. There is always a danger in such unions because they can weaken a man,

but this time I think it will work to our advantage." He turned back to Kalena. "You will go to the valley,

won't you whore? You know what will happen to your lover if you don't."

"Damn you," Ridge gritted. "Leave her alone."

Kalena glanced at him and then back at her captor. "You will kill him if I don't return with the Key."

"Ah, I see that you are not entirely brainless after all. Always the chance of that in a woman. Silly, stupid

creatures." The hooded man swung back toward the door. "Food will be brought to you and you will be

given a short rest. You will need your strength for the trip back to the valley. Then you will be sent on

your way."
He walked out of the chamber without a backward glance. The barred gate clanged shut

behind him.

Silence descended. Kalena looked across at Ridge, who sat with his back against the boulder. "I must

go, Ridge. You know that."

"You will let them lead you out of these caves, but they can't follow you into the valley. As soon as

you're on the other side of the veil, tell the Healers what's happening. They might be able to get a

message to Quintel. He commands enough men who know what they're doing with sintars and

crossbows. He should be able to flush out these bastards."

Kalena said nothing, knowing in her heart that such a plan was hopeless against these men in their hidden

caverns. She stared at Ridge helplessly.

"Do you hear me, Kalena?"

"I hear you, Ridge."

He closed his eyes in grim despair. "But you're going to try to bring back the Light Key, regardless,

aren't you?"

"I will seek another way of freeing you, Ridge, but if there is none, then I will have to try the Key."

Ridge opened his eyes. "Why?"

"You're my husband. I can't abandon you," she said gently. "Would you leave me to my fate if you were

the one who had been told to fetch the Key?"

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His face was stark. "You know the answer to that."

She nodded, smiling thinly. "Of course. You would return for me."

"You belong to me, Kalena."

"It works both ways."

He leaned his head back against the rock. "You must realize that neither of us is meant to survive the

confrontation of the Keys. If the legends are right, they'll destroy us. There is no point in your returning

with the Light Key, Kalena. Either way, you can't hope to get me out of here. Leave me to my own

devices. I've been in messy situations before this. I've learned a few tricks."

"This is different, Ridge. I know it deep inside. The only way out of this is with the Keys."

"If they exist and if we try to bring them together, we'll only succeed in killing each other."

"I'm not so sure of that, Ridge. It might be true that two people selected at random would have no

chance, but I'm beginning to understand there was no real element of chance involved in our marriage. If

our coming together has been fated, then perhaps that is because we are the ones who can control the

Keys."

"Kalena, no one can control the Keys. That's the whole point of the legends!"

"The Healers believe I can control the Light Key."

He looked at her sharply. "They told you that?"

She nodded. "Right after you were dismissed from dinner." He sucked in his breath. "You didn't tell me."

"I didn't want to talk about it. They told me I had a duty, you see. An obligation to take the Light Key

from its hiding place. But I'd had enough of having everyone lecture me on the subject of my

responsibilities. First there was my aunt ..."

"And then there was your husband," Ridge added wryly.

"Umm, yes." She realized she was slightly amused by the way he had said that. "And then a bunch of

strangers in an even stranger valley tell me my obligations. One of these days, Ridge, I'm going to make

my own decisions and determine exactly what

will bind me. But in the meantime, I don't seem to be able to escape certain responsibilities."

"If you value your duty to obey your husband, you will do as I say and not come back out of the valley

until Quintel has cleaned out this cult," Ridge told her roughly.

Kalena wrinkled her nose at him. "The problem is that I value my husband more than I value my

obligation to obey him. I will be back, Ridge."

"Stubborn, illogical, irrational female." He swore softly and let his head rest against the stone behind him.

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"Look at the positive side, Ridge. Maybe with all those faults you'll be less likely to grow bored with me

during the course of our short marriage."

His eyes flared briefly. "This is no joke, Kalena. If you don't realize how dangerous this situation is, then

you are more foolish than that man in the cloak said you were."

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Ridge. I assure you I'm taking this all quite seriously. The truth is, I'm scared to

death. Maybe that's why I tried such a poor joke."

Ridge was silent for a while, then finally said, "The last thing you could ever do is bore me, Kalena,

regardless of how long the marriage lasts."

Something in her unknotted a little at the warmth in his words. "Thank you, trade husband. I can say

without any reservation that I return the compliment in full measure. Life has not been dull with you."

He groaned. "Don't remind me."

Kalena fell silent again for a few minutes, then asked the question that had been hovering in the back of

her mind. "Ridge?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think of me as a whore because I signed that trade marriage contract with you?"

The gold in his eyes was molten with the controlled fire of his fury. If Ridge had been holding his sintar,

Kalena knew the steelwould have glowed. But his voice was unnaturally even as he spoke.

"You are my wife, Kalena. I will slit the throat of any man who calls you whore. Before this is over, the

one named Griss will learn his lesson in manners the hard way. I will see to it if it's the last thing I do in

this world. Unlike you, I'm quite capable of walking the vengeance trail."

Kalena couldn't think of anything to say to that. She swallowed and lapsed back into silence. Perhaps

she should try to get some rest. The journey back to the valley would be a long one.

"Kalena?"

"What is it, Ridge?"

"This marriage of ours . . ." he began deliberately.

"What about it?"

"It's going to last as long as we both can draw breath."

Kalena felt warmed by the determination in his words. "I wouldn't dream of arguing with you, husband.

A good wife always defers to her husband's superior judgment."

Ridge choked back a rare laugh. "Why is it that you wait until we are in a situation such as this to show

me how obedient you can be?"

"I told you, I don't want you to grow bored." Kalena paused. "I've been thinking about the creets,

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Ridge."

"What a thing to worry about now!" he said brusquely. "I'm sure they're fine. They probably got left

behind in the shelter. They'll have plenty of food. And when they get tired of gorging themselves, I