The Summoner (51 page)

clarity, he returned to himself. As the ghost disappeared, Tris’s head began to throb.

Tris stood in silence for a moment watching the weeping mercenary with compassion, and then left Vahanian to his private grief and quietly slipped from the stable, using a flicker of magic to drop the bolt behind him so that no one might intrude.

He barely made it back up the path to the Library when he encountered Carina. “Where have you been?” she asked. “Kiara and Royster sent me to find you. They think they’ve found something in one of the books. Come on!” she said, and frowned, looking past him. “Is Jonmarc with you?”

Tris shook his head. “He’s busy in the stable. He’ll be along in a little bit.”

Carina looked skeptically at him. “I suspect he’d seen that bit of jewelry before?” Tris drew a deep breath, decided against a lie, and nodded. “I’m amazed he wins at cards at all if that’s his best betting face,” she replied, but the comment lacked her usual barb. “You don’t have to answer, but from that reaction, and the way he acted at the village, I’d bet he didn’t have much success fighting off the things the last time.” Tris hesitated again, then nodded. “Do you think he’ll really leave, once we reach Principality City?”

Tris shrugged. “That’s what he says and he’s a man of his word.” He looked at Carina. “I thought you’d be glad to get rid of him.”

It was her turn to shrug. “He’s a good sword,” she replied noncommittally. “And having patched him up twice, I hate to think what he’ll do to himself back on his own.”

Tris chuckled. “You may have a point there. But you and Kiara will be going back to Isencroft once we get back to Principality City.”

434

“I know,” she replied. “And as homesick as I’ve been, I’m not looking forward to it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY‐NINE

Back Table of Contents Next

When Tris and Carina reached the third floor of the Library, they found Kiara and Royster bent excitedly over a massive book. The yellowed pages were dusty and brittle, and the old ink of the fine handwriting took a bright lantern to decipher.

“Tris, you’ve got to read this!” Kiara called excitedly, beckoning him to stand beside her. He bent over her shoulder, following her finger as she traced the lines while Royster read.

“‘For three days, and three nights, the battle arcane raged between the Obsidian King and the sorceress Bava K’aa,’” he read. “‘“Yield to me!” the Obsidian King demanded, “and I will grant you a painless death.”

“”T will yield only with your death,” the sorceress replied.

“‘Believing she was wounded mortally, Bava K’aa loosed her last, most potent spell—a gray magic which would bind both of their souls. The Obsidian King had wrought a magicked sphere, which opened into the Abyss itself, with which to catch and bind souls to strengthen his power.

Into this Abyss Bava K’aa thought to seal the Obsidian King, even if she must forever stand 435

guard.

‘“As Bava K’aa spoke the words of binding, there appeared a great light, and the image of the Lady appeared with them within the warding, between Bava K’aa and the Obsidian King, so that when the final words of power were spoken, the spirit of the King was bound to the crystal orb, but the spirit of Bava K’aa the Lady did not permit to pass. We blinked, and the light and Lady were gone. Bava K’aa fell to the floor. We lifted her up and bore her away, as her wounds, though grave, were not mortal. And the orb was given to the sons of Dark Haven to guard, where it remains to this day.’”

“That’s it,” Tris breathed. “The Soulcatcher.”

Kiara looked to him, puzzled. “Soulcatcher?”

Tris told her of the pulsing orb in Arontala’s quarters. “I’ve been afraid that somehow Arontala found a way to bind Kait’s spirit,” Tris said. “I keep seeing her in my dreams, pressed against a glass prison, calling for me.”

Royster was deep in thought. “Dark Haven is a holding on the Principality border of Margolan,”

he mused. “Foor Arontala came from there.”

“Foor Arontala was one of the sons of Dark Haven,” a familiar voice said from the shadows. They looked up to find Gabriel standing in the moonlight that streamed through the mullioned windows. “He betrayed us, and stole the orb.”

Tris felt a chill that had nothing to do with the winter night. “Can he free the spirit of the Obsidian King?”

“He will try,” Gabriel said. “At the Hawthorn Moon. He has great power, and the blood magic he 436

works has strengthened him even further. You must stop him.”

“That’s half a year away,” Tris replied. “The summer solstice.”

“When our world and the spirit world have few, if any, boundaries,” Royster said quietly.

“I remember the misery that dark wizard brought. This land cannot sustain another mage of his evil,” Gabriel replied.

“You knew my grandmother?” Tris asked. The vayash moru nodded.

“She was a great woman,” Gabriel said. “And a trusted friend.”

“Who are the sons of Dark Haven?” Kiara asked.

Gabriel looked at her, his dark eyes luminous against his pale skin. “The sons of Dark Haven are Those Who Walk the Night,” he replied. “Long has Dark Haven been a refuge for out‐kind.

Longer still has the temple to the Dark Lady in those hills been sanctuary.”

“If Arontala was one of the sons of Dark Haven,” Kiara said, “then he is—”

“He is vayash moru,” Gabriel confirmed.

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Kiara argued. “The refugees told me that Jared Drayke was trying to exterminate all vayash mora.”

437

“It is the truth,” Gabriel replied. “Arontala is a traitor to his kind because he fears us. He believes that were we to act together, we might be successful against him. There is one more thing he fears, even more,” Gabriel said, looking at Tris. “He knows now that you are a spirit mage. He, too, would have been able to feel the power you wielded in the Ruune Vidaya. Arontala fears that we would follow you, should you rise against him.”

“And would you?” Tris asked neutrally.

“I believe so,” Gabriel replied. “Never have my people sworn allegiance to any mortal ruler. We are a solitary lot,” he said, licking at his thin lips. “But I have been to Margolan, and I have seen the burned bodies and severed heads of my kind, and of mortals, killed like vayash moru to feed the fear of those around them. If there are any left when you return, my lord, I believe they will follow you.”

“I thought Dark Haven was abandoned,” Kiara said.

Gabriel shrugged. “When Arontala stole the orb, he rent the foundations of the great house. In the chaos, the lord of Dark Haven died. Since then, the great house has been empty, awaiting the will of the Dark Lady. But what is ten years out of the course of hundreds?” he replied.

“There will be another lord.”

“What brings you to Westmarch?” Tris asked.

“I came to speak with Mikhail about some dealings in Dark Haven.”

“And I imagine you’ll want to do some reading on your own,” Royster said with a grin. Gabriel smiled, a disquieting expression that made his sharp teeth more obvious. “I once thought that immortality would answer all my questions,” he said in a voice laced with ennui. “Now, I learn 438

that it only disproves my answers, and replaces them with more questions.”

“If vayash moru are immortal,” Carina said slowly, “how can they be destroyed?”

“Immortal is a relative term, my lady healer,” he replied. “Years alone will not destroy us. Nor will disease. But immortality is not the same as godhood. I and my kind can be destroyed, by fire and stake and magic, just as all those the Lady names immortal have some weakness, unless they truly be gods.”

“So Arontala can be destroyed,” Carina said.

Once more, Gabriel shrugged. “I believe so. That he is vayash moru I know without doubt. But what abilities his magic gives him, and what protections his blood rites have wrought, I cannot say. One thing I do know. The power of blood magic comes at a terrible price. Those who use it to gain strength often become quite vulnerable, if a mage knows where to look.”

“Before we leave this place, I will make sure you’ve seen every text that could serve your need, my lord,” Royster said to Tris.

“We?” Kiara asked.

Royster grinned. “Of course. I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen for fifty years. I intend to tutor him in Principality City.” He looked at Tris. “Not being a mage and all, I’d do you no good in battle,” he said apologetically. “Kessen chose me well—I’m not suited to work that strains the heart. But the head,” he said, tapping his forehead, “now that’s where I can help. I always had a weakness for the stories of Bava K’aa,” he admitted. “I’ve been scribe to every Sister who has wanted to add to the record over the years. So having me along is just like packing up a good bit of the Library, and a whole lot easier to carry,” he said with a wink.

439

“We would be honored to have your company,” Tris replied. “Although I can’t promise that the road to Principality City will be safe.”

“That’s an understatement,” Carina murmured.

“I must take leave of you now,” Gabriel said, with a courteous bow. “I will see you again. Mikhail is a servant of the Lady; he will be of great help to you. But I warn you,” he said gravely, “there are traitors among my kind. Trust no one who is vayash moru unless I send you to them.

Arontala’s reach is far. Those he has made, and those he has bound, will do his bidding. Do not travel lightly by night.”

Then with a rustle of wind, the vayash moru was gone.

One evening at the start of their second month at the Library, Tris was working his way through a stack of books in the third‐floor study. He glanced up when the door creaked open. To his surprise, Kiara slipped into the room with a teapot in one hand and a small cloth sack in the other.

“May I come in?”

Tris smiled and set aside his book. “Please,” he said with a gesture that welcomed her to a chair near the fire. Kiara brought the teapot over and set the cloth sack down on the table, out of which tumbled a piece of crusty bread, a wedge of cheese and a sturdy mug.

“Carina sent me up with some of her headache tea,” Kiara said. “Since I was headed this way, Royster added the food—seems he and Kessen got into a row in the kitchen and dinner will be late tonight,” she added with a chuckle. She sank gratefully into a chair, and declined his offer of 440

food.

“No thanks. I grabbed a bite for myself while I was in the kitchen,” she confessed. “Although I might take a sip of that tea—I have been reading until my eyes feel crossed!”

She paused. “Sister Taru says that Cam and two friends of yours reached a keep of the Sisterhood in northern Margolan.”

“They’re alive? That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” he said.

“Carina was so relieved, I thought she’d never stop crying.” She paused. “Taru says that your friends will meet us in Principality City,” Kiara added. “She sent them on to start recruiting troops. Cam rode for Isencroft with an elixir to keep the illness from getting any worse. But they can’t heal father while the mage lives who cast the illness.”

“Do you know who sent the spell?”

Kiara met his eyes. “Arontala. He wants father dead—that way, we have no choice but to ally Isencroft with Margolan to survive.”

“I’m sorry,” Tris replied.

She looked away. “You’re doing all you can. The elixir buys us time. Carina has found some other things in the books that may also ease his suffering and give him strength until…”

“Until I can destroy Arontala,” Tris finished her sentence.

441

She met his eyes, then looked down and nodded. “Yes.” She was silent for a while longer. “I want to do a scrying,” she said finally. “To see if Cam arrived safely and see if father is doing better. ” Tris poured a cup and slid it toward her. She took a few sips, and closed her eyes.

“I never had the chance to ask you more about your magic,” Tris said, watching her in the firelight. Jae hopped down from his perch on her shoulder and Tris offered him bits of cheese. Jae snapped up the treats before curling into a ball on the edge of the desktop.

Kiara shrugged. “It’s not really sorcerer‐caliber talent,” she admitted. “The gift is very limited.

Scryings, some battle divination—things directly related to the safety of the kingdom,” she said.

“It shows only snatches of information, out of context.” She sighed. “On the future of Isencroft, it has been silent.”

Tris sipped his tea. It began at once to ease the tension in his shoulders and the reaction headache that throbbed in his temples. “Maybe

the future is yet in motion,” he said gently. “Maybe we alter it, even now, by what we do.”

“Perhaps,” she said. “I’d like to think so.”

Tris slipped another crumb of cheese to Jae, who gobbled it then stretched out lazily, lolling to one side to invite a belly scratch. “He isn’t like that with just everyone,” Kiara observed. “You’ve made a real friend.”

“I hope so,” Tris said, meeting her eyes. She looked away, her cheeks coloring slightly, as if she caught the full intention of his comment.

442

“Thank you,” he said. “For the tea. And the company. It gets too quiet up here.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, daring a glance back at him. She held out her arm, and Jae waddled toward her, making a gurgle of protest as he lighted on her shoulder.

“Kiara,” he said seriously, “please don’t scry without me. Just a feeling I’ve got… Taru went back to the citadel to confer, Gabriel is gon I wish you’d reconsider.”

Kiara shook her head. “How could we be any safer than here, behind all of the Sisterhood’s spells? Carina’s desperate to see that Cam is safely home, and I’m as lonesome for a glimpse of father as I am anxious to see how he’s doing.”

Tris sighed. “We’re probably as safe as we’ll ever be. But please, wait for me.”

“All right,” she said, “you’ve got a deal.”

After supper, Carroway favored them with several new stories; then three of the Keepers joined him for a candlemark of chamber music. Tris drank another mug of the mulled wine and breathed deeply, enjoying the first chance to relax. He was enjoying Kiara’s company as much as the entertainment, and could see that Carroway was relishing the opportunity to entertain with the lute the Keepers had given him.