The Nemesis Blade (71 page)

“Indeed,”
Elianas responded.

Teighlar
shouldered forward. “And Grinwallin?”

Torrullin
looked at him. “The void needed to be hidden from Nemisin.”

“Why? When did
you do it?”

“Nemisin
sought power, great power …” Torrullin’s voice trailed off and then
he swore. “The truth? You want the truth? Nemisin was petrified I
would annihilate the Golden also and thus he sought power
everywhere, in any form, to stand in opposition to me. He conceived
of an ultimate ruler, a Throne, the bloody Dragon symbiosis, the
darkling miasmas, the time jump to Orb, all to consolidate his base
of power. I was the Master Sorcerer, the one Valleur came to, and
then I was the Darak Or, an evil that had to be stopped, whatever
it took. Nemisin would have used the void against me and thus would
have destroyed us all.”

He drew breath
to calm himself.

“I already
imagined one city; it was not hard to do another, but Grinwallin
was different. No soaring spires and great parks, for those were my
signatures. No, Grinwallin nestled in with rock and stone, and was
thus not seen. Your Luvans, Teighlar, built her only later, but the
act of imagining her protected the void from Nemisin. Grinwallin is
mine, Kalgaia is mine, but the empire we had once lies now in
eternal ruin.”

“Orb was your
fault,” Teighlar accused.

“By default,
yes.”

“Default?”
Teighlar snarled.

“I attempted
to right the wrong when I nudged the Diluvan ship to Luvanor … and
Grinwallin.”

Teighlar was
ashen. “What?” He launched forward.

Elianas raised
his hand to send Teighlar flying backward. “Do not bring your anger
here this day.”

“Gods,”
Tianoman blurted.

Teighlar
clambered to his feet. “So the creature has power.”

Elianas was
unblinking in his gaze.

Torrullin
stepped forward. “No more. This is how it is, Kalgaia will be
restored, but the restoration works only in this realm. Lowen will
be found. And Nemisin will be eased of his need for power. We did
what we could during his rule, but both of us were forced to vanish
for a time. Now we attempt to send echoes and hope they are
resonant enough to act as redress. Understood?”

“It is
not
good enough,” Dechend said, his usually mild tone acid in its
resolve. All foundation had been removed from under the Senlu since
the inception of this journey. “My Emperor is High King of Orb, the
Senlu are Luvan, and Grinwallin belongs to another, when Luvan
blood paid for it. And Orb, an ancient heritage, sundered by power
hungry, arrogant rulers with no regard for life or future. Echoes
and resonance are
not
good enough to rebuild foundations.”

“Well said,”
Teighlar murmured.

“My Lord Torrullin, I have respected and loved you, the one
who rebirthed the Senlu into a new time, yet now we hear how you
manipulated original settlement. Dare I suggest Luvan downfall
could lie at your feet also? Respect and love, however, cannot be
overturned by the words spoken here this day, even be they true,
but respect and love
will
be lost if words are all we receive from
you.”

“Oh, well
done, Dechend,” Teighlar whispered.

Torrullin
threaded a hand through his hair and then laughed.

“Dear god,
here it comes,” Declan murmured. “Stupid Senlu.”

Quilla waved
his hands about and even Elianas looked at his companion
warily.

“Not enough,
you say?” Torrullin called out. “You require full redress, is that
it?”

“Stop him,
Quilla,” Caballa snapped.

“How, damn
it?” Quilla snarled. “He was a Darak Or!”

Teighlar
stilled to a white statue.

Dechend
blanched.

“Sometimes you
should accept the lesser gift, my friend, in order to keep the
peace,” Torrullin said. “However, if it is the greater gift you
seek …”

“No,” Dechend
whispered.

“… it is the
greater gift I shall present to you.”

“Torrullin, do
not be stubborn, not now,” Elianas said.

“I have made
up my mind.” He was in motion, chanting aloud. The water in the
lake boiled up and then subsided. “There, homage done.”

He strode over
the bridge and headed for a mighty tower of pure glass. There he
slapped his hand into the handprint device and pushed. All over the
city the devices activated. Doors slid open and windows moved to
admit air. Birds took to the sky singing.

Then the
murmur of voices, growing strong and numerous.

Elianas froze
a few paces from Torrullin.

People began
appearing. In the parks, squares and buildings, on the streets and
bridges. Laughing, talking, shouting, running, walking - a city of
people about daily life.

“Hell,” Teroux
whispered.

Rose clutched
at him.

Declan and
Quilla looked at each other. Restoration … and Torrullin would not
feel it.

Elianas, tears
coursing over his cheeks, swerved back.

Torrullin
stared at the hosts of dark Valleur, and felt nothing.

Anger came
then and Elianas stalked to him and pushed him against the glass.
“How dare you belittle this?”

Torrullin
blinked and then, “So much expectation, Elianas.”

Anger fled. “My brother, do you not know how fortunate you
are? You tell them of this terrible thing we did and do they turn
from you? No, they asked questions and they made demands, but they
did
not
walk
away.”

“They do not
believe it yet.”

“I know, but
they will not leave even when they do. Do not squash that gift by
turning anger on them. In the end, the anger is for yourself.”

Quilla,
overhearing, swallowed.

Declan was
right; Elianas was the one who would be there now. He herded the
others away, leaving the two to find a way to glory in what was
done this day for Kalgaia, lost city.

When Dechend
asked about the threat of a greater gift, he explained quietly
Torrullin did not just awaken a city - he brought people back. Had
they been in a parallel realm, every future would have changed as a
result. Thank all gods they were in a bubble that could not
influence reality.

Dechend walked
away pale.

Torrullin and
Elianas were not seen again that day.

What peace
they attained would remain personal. For their part, the others,
now without Saska and Maple, wandered the city and stared at
people.

Kalgaia,
ancient Valleur city.

It was soon
apparent why Elianas said the restoration would affect nothing, for
the dark Valleur on the streets went about their lives without
being aware of the visitors. Rose accidentally bumped into a young
child, or thought she did; imagine the surprise when the child
passed through her. To the city folk the visitors did not
exist.

In a realm out
of time, they were beyond time. It was akin to watching a host of
ghosts.

She understood
then why Elianas moved through Torrullin’s body in the antechamber.
Time.

Later, during
the evening meal, conversations swirled around the events of the
day. Gaia Hotel remained as they found it; the upper regions out of
bounds, and no Valleur entered the precincts.

“Neutral
zone,” Tianoman said.

“It occurs to
me, if this incredible renewal has no effect on our reality,”
Tristan said, “then what stops us preventing the massacre on Orb?”
He glanced at Dechend and Teighlar. “Absolute redress.”

Quilla wagged
a finger. “Have a care with that. Torrullin is right about greater
gifts and danger. Note what happened here. To all intents he raised
people from the dead; he did not reverse the hell he unleashed on
them. Transpose the situation to Orb. We could restore people to
Orb, but that probably cannot alter the battle or its outcome.”

“Is it raising
people from the dead?” Teighlar frowned.

Declan shook
his head. “Merely a figure of speech. I think Torrullin placed a
time seal on Kalgaia, now released.”

“It is but a
moment they waited,” Quilla said.

“He sealed the
time before he, um, did his thing,” Teroux remarked. “Or we would
see terror.”

“Good point,”
Declan agreed. It meant Torrullin had not been the Darak Or he
claimed he was. He protected against utter annihilation before
becoming something he needed the Valleur of the time to regard him
as. Something more was at work here, Declan mused. He discovered he
was relieved. His faith in Torrullin was restored.

“Why did
Elianas help him if he betrayed him?” Tianoman wondered.

“Only Elianas
can answer that,” Quilla said.

“He has
surprised me,” Sabian sighed. “Elianas is quite the player. Very
slippery.”

“Yes, and has
power here,” Teroux muttered.

“We do, too.
Only transport is absent,” Teighlar said.

Caballa leaned forward, “Torrullin forgot, Elianas
remembered, and Elianas speaks as if he remained aware of
everything as he waited. Have any of you wondered
where
he
waited?”

“He said
another realm back in Grinwallin,” Sabian said.

“He knows too
much for that to be true,” Declan frowned.

Caballa was
impatient. She would not wait for them to figure it out; after
today, she did not feel the need to keep the secret. “The
Throne.”

The Valla
heirs stared at her.

“Torrullin
always claimed the Throne was sentient, although he didn’t know how
right he was. Back on Akhavar where the Throne stood, Elianas
called to Torrullin, and Torrullin used the Lumin Sword to separate
Elianas from the seat and return to him his form. I saw this.”

“Fuck me,”
Teighlar muttered.

“That’s why
the Throne delayed,” Tristan said.

“I think the
delay has more to do with this journey than residue from a sentient
inhabit. I think the Throne reverted to what it was. At the next
choosing, it will be objective,” Caballa said.

“Did Torrullin
know Elianas at the instant he returned him form?” Quilla
asked.

“He welcomed
him as the Throne’s sentience, as a brother, no more than that. He
wasn’t surprised, though,” Caballa murmured.

“Why now?”
Teighlar wondered.

Quilla
chuckled. “Because Lowen stirred.”

“Fine, but why
react?”

“Lowen sensed
what we feel,” Quilla murmured. “The pull to change, the lure to
the Ancients, the need to know time. She was the catalyst, but any
of us four might have exploded this wide open. Elianas, as Declan
pointed out to me earlier, is an Ancient also; he felt the same
stirring, and, lo, along comes Lowen.”

“And then
there is prophecy,” Declan added.

Quilla
grinned. “Guaranteed to get Elixir’s attention.”

“Except he
does not give a dinar for prophecy, does he?” Sabian pointed out.
“Damn, he probably hid little notes to ensure he followed the path
as before.”

They stared at
him.

Then Teighlar
burst out laughing. “My god, that is actually quite possible!”

“What is?”
Torrullin asked, entering.

He immediately
garnered undivided attention.

“Where is
Elianas?” Sabian smirked.

“Elianas has
waited long for this; he needs more time.” Torrullin closed in,
found a seat and loaded a plate. “Aaru, I’m hungry.”

“Is he all
right?” Quilla asked.

“You know how
it is to wait interminably, Q’li’qa’mz.”

Formality, was
it? Quilla inclined his head. “I guess forgetting was easier.”

“Yes. It’s
remembering that’s a bitch.” Torrullin started eating and repeated,
“What is quite possible?”

Sabian
explained about the notes and it drew a reluctant smile.

Tianoman
demanded, “Well, is he right?”

Torrullin
shook his head and went on eating.

“Man of many
words,” Teighlar murmured.

“Is it true,
about Elianas and the Throne?” Teroux asked.

Torrullin
glanced at Caballa. “You told them - it’s fine. It is a small
secret. Yes, it’s true. However, Elianas is not the Throne and did
not influence past choices. Like Neolone, he discovered the means
to hide while connected to Valla longevity.”

“That must
have been terrible,” Dechend said.

Torrullin
nodded.

Dechend went
on, “My Lord, while I have your attention …”

“It is all
right. I was too hasty earlier.”

“As was I.
Thank you, my Lord.”

Torrullin
inclined his head. “I remain friend to your people, Dechend,
always.” He then fixed his gaze on Caballa. “I am waiting.”

Tristan
frowned.

She burst out,
“How could you treat Saska like that?”

“I tried to be
kind.”

“Kind?”
Caballa spat.

“Yes. What
comes next will hurt her too much.” He tossed a half-eaten apple
down. “I am sick of being dissected, thus I am saying this only
once. Stop. Asking. Questions.” He bit the last three words out,
one by one.

Silence.

He pushed his
plate away and stood. He looked them over.

“I am not the
person I was and tomorrow I may not be the man I am today. We leave
at first light, heading further west.” He tossed a napkin down. “I
hate this fucking city.”

He strode
away, heading out into the night.

Chapter 53

Men stride
through emotions like marauders, and as uncaring. The unfeeling
will hurt … when they least expect it.

~ Arli of
Pendulim

Time Realm

A
sombre gathering left the city in
the morning.

Rain fell
during the night, but the freshly washed flowers sparked no uplift
in mood.