The Shadow Of What Was Lost (72 page)

He watched the men leave, then
turned to Davian. "And we need to go to Tol Athian."

Davian was still staring at the
three bodies on the road, bloodied sword hanging limp in his hand.
"Why?"

"Because it's time to end
this," said Wirr heavily. He got to his feet. "It's time to change
the Tenets."

Asha darted through the eerily
deserted palace hallways.

Most able-bodied people willing
to fight had left for Fedris Idri hours ago; only the city's governing
structure remained here now, along with those too young or too old to wield a
sword. Asha's footsteps echoed as she hurried along, doing her best not to
panic whenever she thought of what was happening at the Shields, trying instead
to focus on locating the next Lockroom.

And trying to decide whether she
was hoping to find Erran there, or was worried that she would.

Erran had been in a Lockroom in
his vision - Asha had even stopped back at her room to read his description
again, to make sure there weren't any further clues in it as to his location.
There hadn't been, unfortunately - nor had there been any indication of exactly
what was going on.

No hint as to why he had Seen
Elocien's death as if it had been his own.

She was fairly certain that was
what had happened; the description fit, and Hael's death meant that the man
wouldn't be stabbing Erran anytime soon. As to what that implied... a theory
had begun to form as she'd made her way back to the palace, and it was one that
made an increasing amount of sense the more she thought about it.

She just desperately hoped it was
wrong.

"Asha!"

Asha looked over her shoulder to
see Kol and Fessi hurrying towards her, and stopped just long enough for them
to catch up.

"Have you seen Erran?"
she asked them.

Fessi shook her head.
"Elocien told us all to stay here until he sent for us," she said in
a worried tone. "But Erran disappeared a couple of hours ago. We were just
looking for him."

"I think he's in a
Lockroom," said Asha.

Kol frowned. "Why do you say
that?"

"He foresaw it." Asha
hesitated. "He needs our help."

Fessi and Kol glanced at each
other. "There's a Lockroom a few corridors over. It's Erran's favourite.
He goes there to be alone, sometimes," said Fessi.

Asha nodded. "Lead the
way."

When they arrived the door was
locked, but it took only one solid blow from Kol to open it. Asha's heart sank
as she took in Erran's prone form in the middle of the room, a pool of blood
around his head.

The three of them rushed in,
kneeling beside the young Augur's prostrate body. Blood seeped from his eyes,
his ears, his mouth – but, Asha realised with a relieved sigh, he was still
breathing. She checked his pulse. It was faster than it should have been, but
regular.

Fessi gently cleaned away the
worst of the blood with a handkerchief, then grabbed a pillow from one of the
couches and laid it under Erran's head. As she did so, his eyes fluttered and
he gave a wracking cough, sending flecks of blood onto his shirt.

“Just breathe, Erran,” said Asha.
“You’re alive. You’re going to be okay.”

Erran groaned. "I'm going to
have to take your word on that."

"What happened?" asked
Kol.

Erran hesitated, then glanced up
at Asha. As soon as she saw the guilt in his expression, she knew her
suspicions had been right. Her heart sank.

"Tell us," she said
softly. "Everything."

Erran gave a slow nod, then
winced at the motion. He levered himself up onto one elbow, his gaze
encompassing all three of them.

“I’ve been... keeping something
from you. From all of you,” he said, his voice small. “Do you remember what I
told you about how Elocien and I met?”

"Of course," said
Fessi.

"It's only partly
true." Erran swallowed. “The Administrators did find me, and they did
bring me to Elocien. He came into the cell where I'd been tied up,
and...." He grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut against the memory.

"It's okay, Erran,"
said Asha, her tone gentle.

Erran took a deep breath, giving
her an appreciative nod. "He started beating me. He didn't ask me any
questions, but whenever he was taking a rest, he'd tell me a story. Each time
it was about one of the previous Augurs he'd captured. The ones... the ones
he'd already killed."

Fessi took a step back, paling.
“That’s not true. Elocien wouldn't have done that.”

“Not the Elocien you know,”
agreed Erran quietly. “He was about to kill me, and something just... snapped.
I was inside his mind, somehow. I made him stop, made him take me down. I was
just going to get him to let me go, maybe try and make him forget all about me,
and then I thought….” He gave a slight shrug. “There were going to be others.”

Kol sat heavily as what Erran was
saying sunk in. “You’ve been
controlling
Elocien?”

“Not always directly, but... yes.
For the past three years.” Erran stared at the floor, unwilling to meet
anyone's gaze. "To start with, I just sat in this room most of the day and
made sure that he didn't try to kill anyone. I don’t know why, but after a
while the link became… more permanent. Easier to sustain, to control. And then
my feelings, my ideas, began replacing his. Bleeding into him, I suppose. He
started to think like me. Started doing what I would have done in a situation,
but of his own volition." He grimaced, looking awkward. "After that,
I just made sure that when I felt the old Elocien starting to take over again,
I suppressed him."

There was silence for a long few
moments as they all tried to process what Erran had told them.

"He really murdered the
other Augurs he found?" asked Fessi, distress evident in her tone.

Erran gave her a sad nod.
"Four of them. One was eight years old."

The blood drained from Fessi's
face, and she looked away. "Then... you did the right thing, Erran. I wish
you'd told us, but... you did the right thing," she said softly.

Kol hesitated, then put a
muscular arm around Fessi, nodding his silent agreement.

"So why tell us now?"
the big man asked.

Erran bit his lip, glancing at
Asha.

"Elocien was killed, Kol.
About an hour or so ago," said Asha gently.

Kol looked at her, shocked, and
he took a moment to respond. "What happened?"

"The Blind fooled us into
leaving the Shields, and...." Asha trailed off as she thought about that
moment, remembered how Elocien had jumped in front of Wirr. How the duke had
pleaded with his son not to save him, so that the Tenets could be changed.

Erran saw her expression, and
gazed at the ground. "He was wounded," he finished. "The details
don't matter."

Asha stared at Erran, uncertain
how to feel. She'd put her trust in Elocien. She'd
liked
the man.

"You sent Torin to
Caladel," she said suddenly, feeling sick.

Erran nodded. “It was right near
the start, before I got full control. Elocien would have killed him,
eventually. There was so much rage and fear when he looked at his son...
sometimes I could barely manage it. So I had to send him away.”

Asha swallowed. Wirr had been so
happy, so proud to discover how much his father had changed. "Torin must
never know."

Erran opened his mouth to reply,
but somebody else spoke first.

"Augurs," murmured a
voice from the doorway. "So it's true, then."

Asha spun.

Scyner stood at the entrance to
the Lockroom, his stance casual as he leaned against the doorframe. It was
impossible to know how long he’d been there; the door had been broken by Kol's
blow and none of them had thought to try and close off the room anyway, so
concerned had they been for Erran's wellbeing.

“Scyner,” said Asha, confused.
“What are you doing here?”

"Following you. Seeing if
Teran's babbling held any truth," said the Shadow. He rubbed his forehead.
"Honestly, the Shadraehin and I thought he was making it up, trying to
find a reason for us to spare his life. I suppose we owe him an apology."

There was a shocked silence.

"What does the Shadraehin
want now?" asked Asha, her voice flat and hard.

Scyner sighed, seating himself on
the nearby couch. "So businesslike," he said sadly. "The
Shadraehin was actually very happy with the Vessels, Ashalia. That was always
her goal. But I knew there was something more to you. The fact you were left
alive in Caladel, and then the way Aelrith reacted to you...." He
shrugged. "I thought you might have something more to offer. And, it
seems, you do." He indicated the Augurs with a lazy smile.

In the corner, Kol snorted.
"You cannot think we are going to help you."

Scyner raised an eyebrow.
"Then you don't mind if I let the king know what's been going on with his
brother these past few years, then?"

"You're very confident we'll
give you that opportunity," said Kol. "Or even let you leave this
room."

Scyner leaned forward. "Try
to stop me, and I will kill you."

Kol laughed humourlessly.
"You think you can kill three Augurs?"

Scyner smiled at him.

"I killed twelve in one
night, once," he said. "And they were far more accomplished than
you."

There was dead silence as Asha
and the others processed Scyner's words.

Suddenly Kol stiffened. He stared
around the room, his eyes widening, face draining of blood as recognition
spread across his features.

"Fates," he murmured to
himself, a strangled sound. He turned to the others, gaze lingering on Fessi
for a long moment.

"Run," he said, voice
catching.

Asha realised what was happening
a split second too late.

"Kol, no! Wait!" she
screamed, moving to grab at him.

With a roar, Kol leapt at Scyner.

The next few seconds passed in
slow motion. Scyner was on his feet before Kol had crossed half the distance
between them, a blade in his hand. He stepped forward to meet Kol's charge, his
arms blurring as he stabbed him once, twice, three times in the chest, the
blows cold and clinical despite the incredible speed at which they were
delivered.

Fessi vanished from beside Asha,
only to reappear behind Scyner, evidently intent on subduing him. But Scyner
twisted faster than Asha could follow; his hand lashed out and caught the
black-haired girl squarely in the face. Her body spun around from the force of
the blow, and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Erran struggled forward furiously
but Asha grabbed him, able to restrain him in his weakened state. Then she
shifted a little, stretching out her hand and letting what little Essence she
had left in her Reserve flow into her ring.

Scyner made a casual gesture in
her direction.

Asha slowly lowered her hand
again, trying not to let it shake. The energy building up in the ring had
just... vanished.

"Disappointing,"
growled Scyner as he surveyed the carnage in the room. "It did not have to
be this way." He walked towards the door, then paused.

"Aelrith is dead, Ashalia.
He knew that was going to happen as soon as he saw you," he said quietly.
"But I spoke to him that day, before he left. He wanted to kill you, but
couldn't. Do you know why?"

Asha shook her head mutely.

"He said it was because
Aarkein Devaed wanted you alive," said Scyner. "You've been marked by
him, and none of his creatures can touch you." He stared at her for a long
moment. "I wonder why that is."

Asha felt the blood drain from
her face. It couldn't be true, and yet... there was something about Scyner's
tone. An arrogance that said he wouldn't be bothered telling her a lie.

Scyner glanced down to where
Fessi lay as the girl began to stir, then turned to leave. "One more
thing. The Shadraehin thinks your King Andras is being Controlled, much like
the duke was." He nodded towards Erran. "I don't particularly like
the idea of the Blind running the city, so please get him to figure out by
whom. The last thing we want is for the king to suddenly announce we're
surrendering." He tapped at his teeth with a fingernail, gazing at Erran
thoughtfully. "You'll hear from me again soon. Hopefully under more civil
circumstances, next time."

He disappeared out the doorway,
his footsteps echoing down the hallway as Asha and Erran rushed to Kol's side.
The big man was still breathing, but his breath bubbled whenever he exhaled,
and the look of pain on his face told Asha he didn't have much time.

In the corner, Fessi was
stirring. She raised her head groggily.

"What...." She saw Kol,
and gave a cry of dismay. She was kneeling beside him in an instant.

Kol looked up at his friends,
eyes tight with pain. "He was an Augur," he coughed, body spasming.
"An El-cursed pre-war Augur."

"Be quiet, Kol. You need to
rest," whispered Fessi. She looked around and Asha knew she was searching
for a large enough source of Essence, but there were none. Fessi pressed her
hands desperately against Kol’s chest, but he just shook his head, giving a
rasping, hacking laugh. Blood seeped from wounds everywhere, and it began to
dribble from the corners of his mouth too.