Reunion (18 page)

Good
, thought Corwin, gasping from the exertion.
He didn't reach the water, so he won't be able to heal. With luck, tomorrow's sun will bleach his bones like those of a beached fish.

One of Ma'el's hands twitched. To Corwin's shock, the river turned red again, and a kraken—though a much smaller kraken than before—rose out of the water. It slithered up the embankment and wrapped itself almost tenderly around Ma'el's tail. Its myriad tiny mouths were keening as if in sorrow. It pulled Ma'el and Joab into the river, where they sank below the surface and vanished.

Corwin stared at the river for long, long minutes, listening to his ragged breathing, feeling his heart still pounding in his chest, waiting for Ma'el or Joab or the kraken to resurface. But they didn't.

Is it done, then
? Corwin wondered in amazement.
Are they dead? Are Gobaith and I and Nia all safe now
? And then he remembered . . .
Nia! Cephan still has her!

Staggering from his ordeal, Corwin stumbled to the doorway. Struggling to keep his balance and not fall down the stairs, he slid his right side against the wall so that he wouldn't tumble. He didn't even care about the stone scraping against his skin.

At the bottom of the tower stairs, the courtyard seemed impossibly wide. Not knowing quite where he was finding the strength, Corwin staggered across it to the meeting room door. Fortunately, Ma'el/Joab had been kind enough to smash it open, so Corwin didn't have to tug on a heavy door. The inner door, likewise, had been pulverized to splinters, and the benches Corwin had piled against it were scattered like sticks. The men in the room were still curled up on the floor, asleep. Corwin deeply envied them.

He staggered down the hallway, past the kitchens, aware that something was tugging at his mind. He had forgotten . . . something. Or needed something. But he could only focus on the thought of Nia in danger, and that kept his legs moving, kept him putting one foot after another.

He reached the stairs down to the cistern and again he slid against the slimy stone, staggering downward. He heard a voice—Cephan's voice, he realized—speaking in a language he didn't understand.

Corwin came around the last landing and saw at the bottom of the stairs, just above the waterline, Cephan bending over Nia. There was a dagger in the merman's hand, pointed at Nia's forehead. Corwin stepped forward but tripped over a fallen lance on the stairs and fell forward. He belly-flopped on the stairs, his hands slapping down on a dropped sword. The blade left shallow cuts in his palms.

Cephan tilted his head. There was a mad cast to his bright blue eyes and a strange smile on his handsome features. “Look who's joined us, Nia,” he said. “It's your new friend. He's the one who sent us the pain. He's the one who has drained all your strength. You should hate him. But you can't feel anything now, can you, precious Nia? So you won't feel it when I take your oculus from you. If Ma'el is dead, and you die, I can at last become master of Atlantis.” He bent over her again.

Corwin's right hand found the hilt of the sword beneath him. He managed to roll over, putting his back to the wall.
This is what I was missing . . . a weapon
. But though he could grasp it, he knew his forearms were too weary to wield the sword with any power.

“I'm not afraid of you, land-boy,” Cephan said, drawing a line across Nia's forehead with the point of the dagger. “I'm much stronger than you.”

Corwin wasn't even paying attention to what the merman was saying. His eyes were full of Nia, lying helpless on the stairs, the dagger poised between her eyes. Corwin slid farther down the stone steps on his bottom, ignoring the pain.

“Don't come any closer!” Cephan warned. “This is a delicate operation. If I slip, she'll die.”

“She'll die no matter what, won't she?” Corwin asked. “But you don't want the oculus damaged. It wouldn't be any use to you then. If you slip, you might ruin your chance to rule.”

Cephan turned his head, wearing a nasty smile. “What do you care? No matter what happens, you're already dead.”

“Yes,” said Corwin. He stood, pressing his back against the wall. His legs shook with fatigue. “The dead have no cares, do they? The dead can do anything.”

A sudden glint of fear appeared in Cephan's eyes. He pointed his dagger at Corwin. “Stay back! Or I'll—”

“You'll what?” asked Corwin. “Kill me?”

Cephan held the dagger out even farther. Corwin realized that this was what he had been waiting for. With no exertion at all, he pointed the sword toward Cephan's back. And fell on top of him.

Cephan grunted, and his body shuddered beneath Corwin. Corwin rolled farther down the steps, his arm striking the water of the cistern. He looked back up at Cephan.

The mermyd was gasping, lying on top of Nia, blood dripping from his mouth. Corwin's eyes darted to the sword—judging from the length of the remainder of the blade sticking out from Cephan's back, it shouldn't have gone into Nia as well.
And I'm still alive
, Corwin thought.
So Nia must be as well. I think.

Cephan pushed himself up on his arms. Coughing, the mermyd turned, and Corwin knew what he was doing.
He wants to get to the water, where he might heal
.

Cephan slid down the two steps between him and Corwin.
No you don't
, thought Corwin, and he raised his arm and bent his knee to make himself into an obstacle. It worked—Cephan slid into him and stopped on the lowermost stair with a final groan. But his impact pushed Corwin into the water.

It was all right, really, Corwin told himself. The cool water felt wonderful on his exhausted body. He wished he could float there forever, gazing on Nia's face. It would end now, and he was sorry his death would also kill Nia and Gobaith. But they had stopped Ma'el, hadn't they? And outfoxed King Vortigern. These were things to be proud of, to take into the afterlife. Whether he faced the Catholic Heaven, or the Hall of Heroes, or Mount Olympus, surely his deeds would have earned him a place, outweighing all his sins.

Corwin felt himself sinking, the chill water flowing over his face. He didn't mind. To sleep in water was a better fate than Fenwyck had met. Bidding the world, especially Nia, good-bye, he watched the glimmering light on the surface recede above him, and he slipped into darkness.

 

He awoke again suddenly, with a sharp stinging on his cheeks. He coughed, and water flowed out of his mouth.

“Corwin! Corwin!” Nia shouted above him.

Corwin opened his eyes. Nia's face hovered over him, and she was grinning through her tears. “Corwin! You . . . you're alive, and you're safe!”

Corwin tried to speak and coughed up water again. He rolled over and let his lungs and stomach heave more water out until he could breathe smoothly again. Glancing around, he saw that he was back on the stairs beside the underground cistern. “You're right. I'm uncomfortable and in pain and I'm wet. I must be alive. But . . . how?”

“Gobaith saved you. I don't know how. He's stronger now, so he must have found water. He woke me and told me to find you. I was so afraid. . . .” Nia blushed and looked away. “I wasn't thinking clearly.”

Corwin felt a warm glow inside. He ran a finger over her cheek, brushing the remnants of her tears away.

Nia smiled shyly and sat back. “Still. Now we have to think of what to do next. What happened to Ma'el and Joab?”

“What about Cephan? Is he . . .”

Nia pressed her lips together, then turned and pointed out over the cistern.

Corwin saw Cephan's body draped over a low pile of rubble, a fallen column, just above the water.

“He won't rise again,” Nia said. “I made sure.” There was an emptiness behind her eyes, and Corwin knew it couldn't have been easy to do such a thing to a former love, even after the way he'd betrayed her. “Is Ma'el dead as well?” she asked.

“I don't know,” Corwin said with a frown. “I distracted him by hitting the bumps on his arms and then threw him and Joab off the tower. They struck the ground, and I thought they'd die. But the kraken came out of the river and pulled them into the water.”

Nia's brow furrowed. “That's not good. With his great powers, he could easily revive. Healing is one of an Avatar's best skills, and Ma'el has the power of ten Avatars. And grown Farworlders can be difficult to kill.”

Corwin groaned and lay back. “And here I thought it was all over. Nia, what are we going to do? I can't fight anymore.”

Nia reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “He won't threaten us for a while. If Ma'el and Joab live, they will need to go back to the great ocean. We mermyds can't stay out of the sea for too long, nor can Farworlders.”

Corwin looked at Nia. “That means you, too.”

Nia glanced down at her hands. “Yes.”

Corwin sighed. “Well, then. Our first goal is leaving this accursed castle. Followed by getting you back to the ocean.”

“And we must find Gobaith,” Nia added.

“Is he in trouble?”

“No, not yet. But until we know where he is, we can't be sure trouble won't find him. Also, it's good for Avatars and their king to be near one another. It brings greater comfort and . . .” She waved her hands as she searched for the words. “ . . . sharing of minds.”

“We don't have a word for that in my language,” Corwin said.

“Perhaps someday you will,” Nia said with a sad smile.

Corwin sighed and stood up. To his surprise, he felt stronger and clearheaded, though not completely back to health. He held out his hand to Nia and helped her up. “Should we swim back out?”

Nia shook her head, staring out at the black water of the cistern. “If Ma'el is still alive, he might have his creature lying in wait for us. It's safer to leave by land.”

“Good point,” Corwin agreed. “Let's go.”

Together they walked through the castle. What few servants and nobles they saw were still sleeping soundly. “How is it,” asked Corwin, “that these people still sleep under Ma'el's magic when Ma'el himself has been hurt? Wouldn't that break the spell?”

Nia shrugged. “It depends on the magic he used. If he simply called upon the normal sleeping urge in their bodies, they might sleep the usual amount they would in a night.”

“This magic stuff is more complicated than I thought,” Corwin said.

“Much more, I'm sure,” Nia said, smiling.

As they passed by a nobleman in fine silks, Corwin stopped and peered at the man closely. It was Lord Faustus. Corwin deftly removed the man's coin purse from his belt.

“What are you doing?” Nia asked, astonished. “Isn't that theft? Isn't that wrong in your land?”

“My guardian, Fenwyck, used to say, ‘Wherever you go in life, always take something.' This man nearly cost us our lives. He won't be in any trouble without the money—if nothing else, he can sell his clothes. We, on the other hand, have dire need of this, and we aren't likely to get it elsewhere. Besides, we've just saved the kingdom. We're entitled to a little reward, aren't we?”

“If you say so,” Nia replied. “But I'm still not used to your ways. They're more complicated than I thought.”

“Much more, I'm sure,” Corwin responded with another smile.

As they continued down the corridor, they came upon a scullery maid curled up beside her mop and bucket. When they passed, she suddenly shifted and yawned.

“Well, I guess that answers my question about the spell,” said Corwin. “Maybe we'd better hurry.”

They went out to the courtyard, now illuminated only by the dim glow of twilight. The evening was delightfully warm, and crickets sang in the shadows.

“I'm so tired,” Nia sighed. “The air is so dry. Will we have to walk far, do you think?”

“I had another idea, actually,” Corwin said. “The stables should be this way, from the smell of things.”

“Stables?”

“Remember those large four-legged animals you saw when you first met me?”

“Oh. Yes?” Nia sounded a little uncertain.

“They're called horses. And we're going to ride one out of here.”

Nia's eyes went wide. “Like those men did when I chased them away from you. Those creatures . . . go very fast.”

“Not necessarily. You can keep a horse at a walk with no trouble. I suppose you don't have any creatures you ride where you come from.”

“Yes, we do. But they're slow. You would call them . . . sea turtles.”

“Ah. Yes. That would explain why horses might frighten you. Well, I'll try to find a gentle one.”

As they came to the enclosure where the royal horses were kept, Corwin saw a stable hand hanging up a lantern and yawning.

“What now?” Nia whispered.

“As my former guardian said, people will readily believe illusion. Leave it to me.” Corwin stepped forward, but stayed in shadow. Speaking in imitation of the voice of Prince Vortimer, Corwin declared, “What is this, man? Sleeping on the job? I should report you to my father!”

The poor young fellow nearly dropped the lantern. “Y-your Highness?” He bowed his head and tugged at his forelock. “Forgive me, Highness. I was only resting. I couldn't help myself. It's this heat. Please don't tell the king. I will work twice as long tonight. Please. I have elderly parents who depend upon my pay—”

“Silence!” Corwin roared, though he truly felt sorry for the fellow. “I'm in a hurry, so I might punish you only a little bit for your transgression.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you—”

“DID I NOT FORBID YOU TO SPEAK?”

The boy whimpered but said nothing.

“Now,” Corwin continued, “first you will face the wall and kneel. Close your eyes and think of ways you may better serve the Crown.”

The boy spun around and knelt before the wall, as instructed.