The Nemesis Blade (27 page)

Caballa
smiled. “But you adored them as a child, Teroux.” The Oracles were
the eleven volumes detailing Valleur history, magic and culture; an
unequalled Valleur treasure.

“They meant
nothing after my father died.”

“Besides, my
father virtually stole them.” Tristan gave a rueful laugh and
Caballa noticed it was easier now than it was for him yesterday.
“He was always bent over them and we had to make appointments to
have a go.”

Tianoman
giggled. “Remember that time I spilled berry sauce?” He smacked his
thighs, doubling over.

Teroux fell
into the diversion. “Thought Samuel would find his magic that day
and turn you into a toad!”

Caballa
laughed with them and then brought the meeting back under control.
“Right, boys, we are moving onto Valleur monuments seeing as we
have …”

All three
groaned, but she had made her point.

Sanctuary

It was a
strange sight, the massive Dome on the water.

The Dome was
made smaller in the light of atmosphere and yet it towered over the
highest tree and brought the surrounding peaks down to size. A
thing of tangible magic, it seemed more vulnerable, as if sunlight
highlighted faults, not beauty. In vacuum it was a shining star, a
beckoning twinkle, a crystal of intricate beauty; on the surface it
was opaque, deflecting light rather than reflecting. Yet it was
still beautiful. It had artistry in its planes and arches, in the
transparent dome cap, and its opaqueness rendered it more
mysterious.

Mystery, as
most knew, held great attraction.

Torrullin and
Belun stood on the lawn before the villa, staring at it. Snow fell
in the night, a light sprinkling, and the sun was out causing
Sanctuary to appear glorious in her white guise. The Dome was lit,
prisms shimmering between water, snow and crystal.

It was
inspiring.

A tear rolled
over Belun’s cheek.

Torrullin
looked away from the great curve on the water. “A gift, this
is.”

The Centuar
nodded.

“The others
will be arriving soon.”

Belun pointed.
“There’s Declan.”

The Siric was
unmistakeable. He alighted, and then halted in awe. A moment later
his fantastic wings soared out in homage and bowed low before the
might of the Dome.

“Show off,”
Belun muttered.

Then Declan
strode up the rise to the villa. He came to a halt before the two.
“It is … it really is …” He glanced over his shoulder. “I have not
the words. Well done, Belun.”

“Thank you,
but I needed help.” A grin in Torrullin’s direction.

“Declan, you
are early,” Torrullin murmured.

“Ah, yes. It
is about a man called Sabian. Prima and I are not sure what to do
with him. He is help …”

“Caballa told
me. Where is he now?”

“Thibis. You
and Caballa, you are …?”

“We are fine.”
A smile.

“I am
glad.”

“Likewise.
Now, Sabian. Can you leave him in Thibis?”

“Yes, but we
might need him here.”

“Not in the
Dome meeting. If you must, bring him to the villa.”

The Siric
bowed. “We will be here shortly.” He left.

“Will you tell
him you have a suspicion Sabian is Agnimus?” Belun asked.

“It is only a
suspicion, and I want to see this character for myself. Let this
Sabian think he is safe, and he may be observed unobtrusively.”

“I mustn’t say
a word?”

“Declan will
want to haul the truth from the man immediately, and thus we gain
little. If he is a plant, or worse, we could use it to our
advantage.”

Belun
grinned.

Where did
reality go, friend? Are you not chasing spooks out from the
closet?

~ Tattle

The Dome

T
orrullin stood at the console of lights as one by one
the Kaval entered.

He charged
Belun with receiving Sabian - preferring to leave that conundrum
until after the meeting - and noted Declan come in with Prima a
second behind him. Half a minute later the Centuar joined them.
Jimini, Chaim, Fuma and Amunti entered together, and then came
Quilla, sombre, in a lull. Shenendo, Galarth and Ignatius came
next, with Erin on their heels. Jonas came last and sat at the
marble conference slab, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

All was
quiet.

Torrullin
studied them. There was sombreness, reluctance and seriousness.

The news was
not good.

“Kaval,
welcome. Before we hear reports, let us take a moment to thank
Belun for bringing the Dome safely out of orbit.”

There was a
decided lift in the atmosphere.

“Yeah, Belun,
well done!” Shenendo called out. “Man, it’s amazing in
sunlight!”

“Whippersnapper,” Prima mumbled, but smiled. “Good job,
Centuar.”

Other remarks
came forth and Belun stood and took a bow. “My Lord Elixir did
help.”

“At the last
minute,” Torrullin said, also smiling.

Belun bowed
again and sat, preparing to play second ear to the coming reports.
He possessed objectivity, not having been tasked with research.

Attention went
to the console.

“Varied
reports make for varied perceptions, and at this time it is
unlikely we can find sequence.” Torrullin frowned at them. “Who
among you regards his or her mission as failed?”

Declan rose.
“I do.”

Erin stood as
well. “My mission changed focus.”

“And the rest
of you believed you were successful?” Nods greeted that. “Good.
Declan, Erin, you will report last. Chaim, will you begin?”

The bent old
man rose as Declan and Erin sat. “My Lord Elixir, I was charged
with finding the potential of a countering army that may or may not
be gathering momentum in small units of resistance. I would like to
state now such an army indeed gathers, and would add the units are
larger than expected, and well-armed. Whether they are trained
soldiers with stomach for bloody war is open to
interpretation.”

“Where are
they gathering?”

“All over, but
the largest and most organised is on Lax. Jimini went in as an
Ymirian weapons dealer and emerged with considerable information.
All has been checked with my sources.” Chaim sat and pointed at
Jimini.

She looked to
the console and rose. “My Lord, after Grinwallin I was at a loose
end and decided to aid Chaim …” She paused, but Torrullin did not
react. “Turns out Chaim, Fuma and Amunti overlapped in their tasks
and Lax held answers for all three. Briefly, Ilse is at the head of
a large weapons import cartel on Lax. She admitted to making good
gain in bringing weapons from Xen …”

“How is Xen
involved?”

“Stowed
weapons from dome times now finding buyers,” Chaim said. “They are
on it there. The Peacekeeper authorised a massive raid two hours
ago.”

Torrullin
nodded and gestured at Jimini.

“Ilse imports
from Beacon, Ceta, Ymir, Yltri, Phenu …”

“Excuse me?”
Ignatius growled.

“Sorry, Iggy,
but even Phenu has criminals,” Jimini said without looking at him.
She went on. “The largest stash comes from Excelsior, however.
Seems Excelsior has a bone to pick with Beacon and have been told
the weapons are to force the Beaconites to cease exploitation. They
are being duped.”

“Beacon must
be informed.”

“Peacekeeper
Maximillian requested a meeting with Beacon’s ambassador on Xen,”
Chaim informed.

Jimini said,
“Excelsior trades in nukes, my Lord.”

Torrullin
swore. “How many have changed hands?”

“Too
many.”

“Damn it. Go
on.”

“Ilse is the
middleman, so to speak. She procures the weapons and passes them on
to a man called Axel Red. I haven’t seen this Axel, but am told he
is a soldier born and bred. He isn’t Laxian, although nobody could
say where he’s from. Axel apparently has a stronghold in the
mountains, well-guarded, and clean.” Jimini pulled a face as if she
could not believe the latter. “Ilse has imported so many weapons
the unit strength on Lax alone must number thousands, and Axel
apparently sends weaponry on to other worlds, again using Ilse’s
contacts.” She glanced at Fuma, who nodded at her. “And it appears
Axel is the source of the rumours about Sanctuary’s army and the
Three Kingdom plot.” She gave a shrug and sat.

Amunti rose.
“Fuma and I tracked the rumours from Valaris to Beacon, and then
heard about Lax. At this point Axel appears the guilty party …”

“… but could
be under another’s control,” Torrullin murmured.

“Exactly.”

“No one heard
of him before now,” Fuma added, “and it is suspicious.”

Torrullin
glanced at Declan, who seemed thoughtful. A potential Agnimus?

“Would you say
a strike against Axel Red and his mountain will negate smaller
units elsewhere?” Torrullin enquired.

Jimini smiled.
“Absolutely.”

“Jonas, would
strikes set the nukes off?”

“Nukes go off
when armed, my Lord.”

Torrullin
focused on Chaim. “This Red character must be negated.”

The old man
gave a toothy grin. “Already on it.”

“Keep me
informed.”

“Excelsior
needs to be browbeaten,” Amunti said. “Selling nukes is no
joke.”

Torrullin
considered and then, “Give that one to the Dalrish. Xen knows the
results of nuclear wars.”

Amunti nodded.
“I will set it up.”

“Suggest to
Max Excelsior could make reparation by tracing the bombs and
dismantling them. However, no radioactive material is to be left on
Lax. That crowd of misfits would probably eat it.”

Amunti laughed
and agreed.

Torrullin
speared Jimini with a silvery stare. “Were you hurt?”

“No, my Lord.
It was strange, but I was safe.”

He studied her
a moment more and then, apparently satisfied, spoke to Prima. “The
opposing force may be true - what of the prophecy?”

Prima
clambered to his feet and clasped his hands before him. “I
conferred with Caballa and she revealed I need delve the Three
Kingdoms of Orb prophecy. Declan and I discovered a man named
Sabian with Caballa. I am aware you know of him - this is for the
benefit of those here.”

“Tell us about
Sabian.”

Prima inclined
his head. “Sabian is Xenian by birth, orphaned young and sent to
Beacon. After, as a youth passionate about learning, he was granted
permission to transfer to Titania. He studied there for twelve
years before broadening his horizons with travel. At present
Titania employs him in the respect of tracing lost and stolen
material. He is honest, well spoken, well read, and is a master
historian. His area of expertise is Ancient lore and cultures, and
that expertise extends to prophecy.”

Torrullin
lifted a brow. “I would like to talk to this paragon.”

“He possesses
what is termed a eidetic memory, remembers everything he reads, and
has done duty with investigative strategies, and collation. He
admits most of his understanding is for ancient cultures - prophecy
is a hobby. He recalls, but frequently without comprehension.”

A nod from
Torrullin. “Most of us cannot comprehend them either.”

Amunti
spluttered laughter.

“Sabian, I
assume, knew the Orb prophecy.”

Prima nodded.
“Indeed, my Lord.”

“How old is
it?”

“Some claim
five thousand years; others place it nearer twelve thousand. Yet
others say it is far older.”

“It speaks of
war?”

Prima bowed
his head. “It does. It mentions forces.”

Torrullin
leaned over the console. A pause followed and then he looked at
Ignatius. “You were charged with the history of Sanctuary. What of
Three Kingdoms?”

Ignatius rose.
“There were once three kingdoms on Sanctuary, yes.”

“Ah.”
Torrullin paced back. “Prima, I will hear the prophecy after the
history.”

Prima sat.

Ignatius -
known as Iggy in the Dome - tapped his fingers on the slab. “It’s
difficult to separate my report from Shedo and Gal’s. It seems
Sanctuary and Luvanor are linked by an inundation.”

Torrullin gave
a sigh. “Of course they are.” He glanced at Quilla. “When a birdman
is so quiet I know he has dire news. Do the stones sing of
Sanctuary, Quilla?”

“You must hear
the rest first, Torrullin.”

“Iggy, the
bare facts,” Torrullin said.

Ignatius
bowed. “This world was called Orb by the ancient people, and
recently the new. There’s a ten thousand year history here, but it
is modern and isn’t applicable to the connections we attempt to
bind this day. Orb’s folk now have no idea of a time before, but
there were a number of those, and each epoch was separated by an
inundation - Gal will have more on that. At first all knowledge was
lost in flood, but a time came when knowledge of a previous time
was secured for those who survived, until warning came of a final
annihilating inundation. It proved the final flood for an ancient
people, but again knowledge was secured. One lone biological ship
lifted from the planet and on board was the last hope of a race
facing extinction. Five hundred men and women, in prime of life and
child bearing age, were sent out to found a new civilisation on a
new world, one where the threat of floods wouldn’t again be
reality. Among those five hundred was the last royal son of an
ancient lineage.”

Ignatius
gestured to Shenendo, who rose.

“Five hundred
men and women landed on Luvanor in a crashed biological ship four
years after Iggy’s time frame,” Shenendo said. “The years are
estimated to journey, not time.”

“And the last
son of an ancient lineage was called Tunian,” Torrullin filled in.
“Tunin continent was named after him. Gods.”

Shenendo
nodded. “Orb’s ancient people were known as the Diluvans,
the
people of the floods
. It is no stretch of the imagination to
correlate the term Luvan to that. It probably means something like
people without flood
.”