The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence (27 page)

‘I would like to meet your Master.’

‘You can’t. He is one of the Faceless Ones.’

‘And what are they?’ Loki asked. He was struggling to ask the right questions, but what he was hearing was so beyond his experience, he wasn’t sure how to deal with it.  

‘Beings you would find it very hard to perceive. They have no contact with lower species.’

Zikael stood up, and it was only then that Loki realised how tall the Hashmal was. It looked eerie, unnatural. ‘I will leave you now,’ Zikael said. ‘Think about the matters we have discussed, formulate any further questions, and we will soon speak again.’

Zikael bowed politely, and then somehow the air swallowed him up, until all that remained was a pinprick of bright blue radiance, which disappeared with an audible pop. A faint breeze was left behind that smelled of a perfume Loki could not identify. The scent made him feel strange; excited, fearful and nostalgic.  

For some minutes, Loki remained where he stood at the top of Apanage. He felt bewildered. The conversation with Zikael seemed like a dream; it couldn’t have happened, could it? Loki tilted back his head and gazed at the starless sky. At home, stargazing made him think of the immensity of the universe, but here the empty blackness conveyed a greater kind of space. Loki had never been so conscious of how small and insignificant he was, yet at the same time he felt renewed and powerful.

He had no wish to speak with Geburael or Diablo; not yet. He sensed that Geburael was looking for him, so went back into the tower and began to descend the levels, his skin alert for Geburael’s presence. Proximity to Zikael must have done something to him, because when he entered a chamber where Diablo and Geburael were talking, they did not notice him. Loki could slip past them, slinking along the wall of the room like a disembodied shadow.

Outside, Loki walked among the towers, mulling over what he’d learned. As far as he could see it, and he was still not totally convinced he knew the whole story, the Aasp simply wanted Wraeththu to change affiliation, and were prepared to make the deal sweet with privileges and gifts. But what was it exactly that the Aasp — and the Zehk, for that matter — took from the earthly realm? Did Wraeththu
have
to ally with one faction or the other? Was there perhaps a third way? He had to admit that didn’t seem feasible. Wraeththu were harlings compared with these creatures. A politician would listen to both sides, and he was destined to be a politician.  He would say this to Zikael next time they met up and see how the Aasp reacted.

Thinking about it all had given him a severe headache, or maybe Zikael had inadvertently affected him in that way too. He hadn’t eaten anything either. The pain made him feel dizzy.  

Loki was so deep in thought, he didn’t notice at first that the three local Thanax were trailing him. Were they after his warmth again? He stopped and turned to face them. ‘Go away,’ he ordered.

The Thanax huddled together, their thin bodies dipping and swaying like serpents. They were sniffing the air and trembling, as if the warm scent of him was driving them mad. Loki was reminded of a pack of starving, loyal hounds, who were standing before fresh meat their master had forbidden them to eat. A pang of pity went through him. ‘I can’t give you warmth,’ he said. ‘I’ve already told you that.’ He rubbed his temples, which were throbbing.

One of the Thanax detached himself from the group and sidled forward. ‘Let us eat your pain,’ he said.

‘What?’ Loki took some steps backward.

‘Do not be afraid. I will not harm you. You see me as a parasite, I know, but there are some forms of heat you can do without. I can take it away.’

It took all of Loki’s will not to flee as the Thanax approached him. ‘Explain,’ he said. ‘You mean my headache?’ He laughed, somewhat nervously.

The Thanax was very close to him now and had extended a skeletal arm. ‘Let me touch you.’

‘I don’t think…’

The Thanax, however, was clearly too driven to be ignored. He’d got this close. Swiftly, he pressed the fingers of one hand against Loki’s head. Loki tried to pull away, but a powerful magnetism held him to the spot. He felt a strange tearing sensation in his head, tried to cry out, and then the Thanax was backing away, staring at something he held in his bunched fingers. He licked his lips, and seemed about to devour it, but his companions leapt forward with a cry. For some moments there was a scuffle. Loki watched in fascinated horror. The Thanax who had touched him held a small oily globe of light, which because of the assault, he was obliged to break into three parts and share with the others. Each Thanax devoured it with evident pleasure, then stood swaying, eyes closed. Loki thought he could hear them purring, or making a sound very like that. He also realised his headache had gone.
Pain is energy
, he thought.
And they have taken it from me.

After a short while, the first Thanax opened his eyes and shook himself. The pain seemed to have done him good. ‘It has been a long time for us,’ he said.

‘Well… thank you,’ Loki said. ‘That was… interesting. If pain is heat to you, it’s a fire that any har would be happy to give you, I’m sure.’

‘Heat brings clarity,’ said the Thanax. ‘We see you properly for the first time. What are you doing here?’

‘I’m…’ Loki paused. ‘Listen, before that, do you have a name?’

The Thanax inclined his head. ‘I am called Atoz, and these are my brothers, Sokh and Tur. These were names we had once. When we have clarity, we still use them. We think they came from a long time ago.’

‘I am Loki. Loki har Aralis har Gelaming, to be precise. You know of the Gelaming?’

Atoz frowned and shook his head. ‘No, we know very little. We can only feed in the spirit paths.’

‘Then you must have met Gelaming,’ Loki said, ‘since very few hara of other tribes can use the otherlanes.’

‘Perhaps.’ Loki could sense that Atoz was confused by his words.

‘As to why I’m here,’ Loki explained, ‘let’s say I’m a captive of sorts. The other hara brought me here, the ones in the towers. But I intend to leave very soon.’

‘It is very difficult for entities to leave here,’ said Atoz, ‘owing to the barrier.’

‘What barrier?’

Atoz pointed at the sky. ‘The veil,’ he said.

‘Can you tell me about it?’

Atoz nodded. ‘We can tell you what we know of this realm,’ he said. ‘It will be a gift in return for the heat you gave us.’ He beckoned. ‘Come, follow us.’

The Thanax went off in a single file towards the hills where Loki had first communicated with them. He followed behind them, and not once did they attempt to talk to him during the first part of the journey. Loki didn’t know where they were taking him, or why, but neither did he feel threatened. They walked for what seemed like a long time, to areas that Loki had never visited before. When he looked back, he could still see the highest towers of Thannaril in the distance, so did not worry about becoming lost. They walked along a ridge, where a wide circular valley lay below. In the middle of this was a strange lumpy structure that looked partly like a natural rock formation and partly like some kind of castle. Here, Atoz paused and pointed downwards. ‘That is Tenebrian, the place where the vengeful reside,’ he said. ‘They know things you don’t want to know.’

‘The vengeful?’ Loki asked warily.

‘Those like us who you must avoid. Come. We must not linger.’

‘What do they know?’ Loki asked as the line set off once more.

Atoz did not answer.

Eventually, the narrow path disgorged the travelers into what appeared to be a roofless cavern. The rock walls were pale and looked porous, pocked with many small holes. At one time, this realm must have been something other than a dry and arid place, because Loki had the strong impression these ancient rocks had been shaped by water. There were many natural caves, and here the group of Thanax had made their home, such as it was.

Atoz led Loki to one of the caves, and once he was inside it, Loki thought that the Thanax lived like animals. There were no decorations, no tools lying around, nothing at all, in fact, to suggest the cave was occupied by sentient beings. What did they do with their time? He couldn’t believe they spent it in conversation, and it was evidently not spent in creative pursuits.

‘Sit,’ said Atoz.

There was no hearth, no central hub to this dwelling, just a dusty floor, worn smooth by many feet. Loki sat down against one of the walls. Sokh and Tur stood by a shadowed entrance to what appeared to be an inner chamber to the cave. They stared straight ahead, like guardians or mute beasts.

Atoz composed himself before Loki. ‘We have brought no other here,’ he said.

Loki inclined his head. ‘I’m grateful for whatever you can tell me.’

There was no expression in Atoz’s eyes; Loki suspected he could have none. How strange to be sitting here with this impossible being, talking about an impossible world. Loki reflected on how adaptable the harish mind must be, to accept these impossibilities without losing its reason. Could a human have coped so well? He had no idea.

‘I remember being drawn here,’ Atoz said. ‘Before that was terrible pain, the pain of being lost, beyond all words. Those of us who come here take the history of this realm into our being as we are drawn through the veil, for the veil holds all memories of itself. There was once a time, many eons past, when the Thanadrim constructed the cities of towers. This was a different world then, a place of life and activity. Sometimes, if you are very still, the towers will relive their memories for you, and you will see. The Thanadrim had a duty. They regulated the currency of essence between realms, and the towers were the means they used to accomplish their task.’

‘What is the currency of essence between realms?’ Loki asked. He meant to ask many questions.

Atoz ducked his head. ‘It is hard to describe. Even now, having seen it, I am unsure that what I have perceived is truth, or the whole story.’ He closed his eyes for a moment, appearing then more like an ordinary har, thinking hard. ‘Reality is composed of many different layers, and within those layers exist species of sentient creatures of varying degrees of awareness. Worlds, or realms, themselves are sentient creatures. They think very slowly, and in doing so, create.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m not sure…’

‘It’s all right,’ Loki said. ‘Go on.’

‘I – and my brothers – would be half-formed creatures but for the towers. They gave us awareness and knowledge, even if we lack the other things that would make us har. From them, we learned that certain species worked with the essence of realms, taking the thoughts of the worlds, the dreams, and…’ Atoz slapped one hand against the rocky floor. ‘No! I cannot describe it. I cannot!’

‘Please.’ Loki reached out and gently laid his fingers on Atoz’s shoulder. The creature was warm beneath his hand: alive. ‘Try.’

Atoz sighed and blinked at the ceiling, which Loki now noticed was hung with a lacy curtain of dusty webs. He wondered whether spiders had spun them. He’d seen no spiders in the towers.

‘The Thanadrim regulated the currency,’ Atoz said. ‘That’s all I can say. They were a neutral race, and respected for their work. They created about Thanatep an obscuring veil, which served as both a protection and a filter for the power of their workings. That is why you can see no stars. There is but one sun, one world and one moon. The veil hides everything beyond.’

‘The sun is very strange,’ Loki said. ‘It looks flat, and hardly gives light – not in the sense I know anyway.’

‘You have not seen the sun,’ Atoz said. ‘The body in the sky is the moon. The days here are very long. They are like seasons, almost. When the sun rises, Thannaril is a different realm beneath its light.’

‘That’s amazing!’ Loki said. ‘Have you seen this, Atoz?’

‘No, but I have learned of it.’

‘What happened?’ Loki asked. ‘Where are the Thanadrim now?’

‘Several races partook of the essence of the realms, and their activities were governed by the Thanadrim. The realms themselves had no interest in this commerce, since to them it was irrelevant, but to those who yearned for the essence, it was of prime importance and focus. However, some realms are more vulnerable and volatile than others; the Thanadrim officiated over which ones could be subject to the treaty of harvesting.

‘The sorrow of the towers is that one faction wished to expand their influence, and objected to the Thanadrim’s decree this must not be so. The outcome of this disagreement was something that had never happened before. This faction took it upon themselves to disempower the Thanadrim and banish them. The power matrix of the towers was disrupted and stilled. And now this realm lies dead, and is a home of the dead, such as us. The power still sighs in the winds and dust, but it is dormant. What you see around you is only the external workings. The Thanadrim built their cities deep beneath the ground; the towers are the conduits of their power. The place you live in is Thannaril Above; there is a Thannaril Below also.’

Loki felt overwhelmed with information, yet he was still curious. ‘Was this because the time of the sun makes the realm uninhabitable?’ Loki asked.

‘No,’ Atoz replied. ‘It was because the world above had to be uncontaminated by sentient creatures; a virgin world, if you like, the province of beasts without thought, of untainted intention.’

‘Some things are becoming clear to me,’ Loki said. ‘Atoz, was this faction you spoke of, who opposed the Thanadrim, called the Aasp?’

Atoz shook his head. ‘I do not know their name. They have no name, not as you or I would know it. The towers can create shapes that are names, for lowly creatures such as ourselves to understand. Most of the towers are benevolent. Some are completely dead, others mad.’

‘I’ve often communed with my tower,’ Loki said. ‘Well… it’s not mine, exactly, but I live there. Its name is Ninzini. I feel now I should try to communicate further.’

Atoz nodded. ‘You should do so. Ninzini is known to me. It is a female tower, and I think that once a female of the Thanadrim was responsible for it. Some of the ancient races are like humans, dualistic in gender, while others are like Wraeththu. There are yet more variations. One species that Ninzini told me about are comprised of three genders. Another has only one, hermaphrodite like hara, in some respects, but they need no other for reproduction.’