The Unmaking (38 page)

Swarn listened but said nothing.

“I’ve felt how
alive
the worlds are with mysterious powers that...lah, it seems true, but I spose it doesnay matter. If I could control the thing Nia Made, I thought I could control her Magic. Praps not use it myself but at least direct its flow. I got the idea of a deadlock from Wennot’s Sixth Law. Only her own Magic would really be strong enough to bind her.”

“Wennot?” inquired Swarn.

“A Di Shang scientist. Equal and opposite force...something Nell told me about.”

“Her pride was her downfall, as is often the case,” mused Swarn. “She couldn’t resist performing the Magic of Making, dangerous as it was. You must keep the Urkleis safe, Eliza.”

Eliza could feel it in her chest, a hard, bitter lump, aching.

She said, “The Oracle told me that victory would only come for me with sacrifice. She said I would cut my own heart out.”

Swarn nodded slowly, staring at the fire. “I doubt that is meant literally,” she said. “You could try to interpret it, but sometimes hints of the future are best left alone. Have you sacrificed much for
this
victory?”

“It doesnay feel like a victory,” said Eliza.

Swarn nodded again and let the subject drop. “You have brought the Vindensphere,” she said. “How did you take it from the Citadel?”

“It was easy to take, aye,” said Eliza. “I think the Citadel knew what I meant to do with it.”

“What do you mean to do with it?”

“I have to find Kyreth. I dinnay know if Nia has killed him, but if he’s alive he might be the only one who can break the Curse on the Mancers.”

Swarn gave Eliza a long, steady look, as if weighing something. “You asked me once why your mother hid you from the Mancers and I did not tell you,” she said at last. “I thought the knowledge would be a burden, as it was for her. She learned something from the Oracle that broke her heart, Eliza.”

“What was it?”

Even as she asked she realized that she knew what Swarn would say.

“Kyreth is Nia’s father,” said Swarn heavily. “You should know everything, Eliza, before you seek him out.”

~~~

Jalo, Charlie and Nell wandered among the trees. Eliza, Swarn and Uri Mon Lil were working some Magic together and had asked for no distractions.

“It’s cold,” said Nell.

“We could be at the seaside in summertime,” suggested Jalo, looking at the bare trees and the snowy crags overhead.

“No,” said Nell, shuddering. “I’ve had enough Illusion.”

“It’s the Day of Dancing,” Charlie reminded them, doing a half-hearted little jig.

Nell laughed a little, then said, “It feels strange to laugh, aye. My throat hurts, like I’ve been coughing all night.”

“You look terrible,” Charlie agreed.

“Not at all!” said Jalo indignantly. He took Nell by the arm and drew her aside. Charlie scowled and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Soon, we will be going our separate ways,” he said. “But meeting you has been an honour and a delight, Nell. I hope it will not be the last we see of each other.”

“Aye, we’ll keep in touch,” said Nell vaguely.

“In that spirit, I have a gift for you.” From a pocket in his vest, he produced a gold ring with a white crystal embedded in it.

“Oh,” said Nell, taken aback. Charlie craned his neck to see.

“It is one of my family crystals,” said Jalo. “Crystals are used for summoning. If ever you need my help, turn the crystal and call my name. I will come find you.”

“Thank you,” said Nell. “Lah, I wish I had something to give you.” Then it struck her. “You should take the helicopter! It’s still in the Dead Marsh, aye! There’s enough fuel to get you to the sea of Tian Xia, I’m sure. And if you do run out of fuel...lah, you’re an Immortal, so I’m sure you’ll be all right.”

“The helicopter is a fine gift,” said Jalo, smiling down at her. “I hope that I will see you again, Nell.”

“Who knows,” she said. She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. His skin was cold.

“I am very sorry about your friend,” he added.

A light rain began to fall.

~~~

As the sun crossed the sky somewhere behind the swathe of heavy cloud, Swarn stood in the rain and let loose a wrenching cry in the language of the dragons. The Mancer dragons became alert and restless, scanning the horizon. They all sheltered among the trees as the rain came down and at last they heard an answering cry. The two cliff dragons, rust-red and terrible to behold, came hurtling towards them out of the grey sky.

~~~

They said their farewells on the mountainside. Uri Mon Lil was going to the Realm of the Faeries with Jalo, who had promised that his Curse would be lifted by the most skilled practitioners. Having heard that his daughter had been released to return home, his face was lit with joy.

“You will always be welcome in Lil,” the wizard said to Eliza, clasping her hands and pumping them up and down. “And if ever you need a wizard’s help again, I hope that you will call on me.”

“Thank you,” said Eliza warmly. “And if you ever need a Sorceress’s help, the same applies.”

Uri Mon Lil’s face creased with smiles. “I look forward to remembering you without the help of my book.”

“That will be nice,” agreed Eliza.

~~~

Swarn said her farewells curtly. Her dragon lay flat to enable her to climb onto its neck. She did so slowly and with difficulty, but they all knew better than to help her.

“What will you do now?” asked Eliza.

“Bury the dragons,” said Swarn. “Rebuild my home.”

She did not look back as the dragon beat its great wings and took off, flying back in the direction of the Dead Marsh.

“Wait, Jalo!” cried Nell as the Faery was about to follow, sitting
in front of the wizard astride the young dragon whose life Nell had saved. “Can I...may I have your fire stick?” she asked humbly.

He gave it to her without question, and then they took to the air.

~~~

The three friends made the journey back to the Crossing with two Mancer dragons and a dead man. The Faithful were beginning to trickle back to their temples.

“It is all as the Ancients will it,” said Rhianu to Eliza. “Now we will rebuild.”

~~~

Eliza commanded the Boatman and he came.

“Lah,” said Charlie, impressed. “How about that!”

“We have one stop to make,” she said darkly.

~~~

It felt as if he were splitting in two. Half of him stepped out of the shadows and the other half remained. The shadows clung to his back, tugging at him. He saw before him a young girl with wild curly hair, looking at him very coldly. A pocket in the mist had opened around them.

“Eliza,” he said, when he had found her name inside the part of him that knew her. The shadows curled around his shoulders, wove up his spine, pulling. Back that way was only a mad, helpless terror. He knew because half of him lived there, would always live there.

But the half of him emerging remembered power. Hungered for it.

“We couldnay break the Curse,” said Eliza in a hard little voice. “It’s too deep for that and the Faeries will nay help you. All I can do is give you clarity.”

“Yes,” said Kyreth, understanding this immediately. “Of course. Clarity.” He clung to it. It was all he had. It was the thin cord between him and the power. The story returned to him piece by piece.

“I know everything,” said Eliza. “I know what you did to her mother. I know what you did to her. I thought about leaving you here, but I need you to break the Curse on the other Mancers. It’s a simple Curse, I think, but I couldnay ask more of Swarn. She was so...broken. We all are.”

“Yes,” said Kyreth. His mind was creeping among the parts of the story he knew like a rat in a half-finished house. Something was changed about Eliza. She carried a great weight. She had found her Guide, too. “Good,” he said. “Good girl.”

Eliza looked outraged at this. “Come on,” she said. “We need to go back to the Citadel.”

Kyreth followed her down the winding steps. “And Rea?” he asked. “No harm has come to Rea?”

Eliza told him and he listened. Her words were like little darts. She was so angry, so angry. It didn’t matter. She didn’t understand. Rea was safe. The mist kept opening before the girl. Kyreth’s eyes met the Boatman’s as he stepped aboard. Yes, home, they would go home. Away from this awful place. He barely took in the other passengers, the dragons. He shuffled to the bow and sat down. Eliza said something but he wasn’t listening now. If he let go of himself for an instant he would tumble backwards into that void. Eliza’s spell of clarity was weak, but what could he expect of one so young? She’d had some help; he felt two other wills at work, soldering this feeble spell. It was just enough that he could get a grip on the world and cling to it, hold tightly and see out of the prison Nia had made for him, the mad fear that pulled him back and pulled him back. Now they were going home, back to the Citadel, and he would be stronger there. The Mancers would refine the spell. He just had to hang on long enough to get there.

~~~

“I’ll join you as soon as I can,” Eliza promised Charlie and Nell once they were all safely in the grounds of the Citadel. She hugged them both tightly.

“I just noticed,” said Nell, smiling tearfully at Eliza. “You’re wearing it.”

“What?” said Eliza, and then her eyes widened as she remembered the flowery bra. “Oh. Yes. I spec I’ve gotten used to it.” She looked tenderly at her best friend, her pale tear-streaked face and the hollows under her eyes. “You need rest, Nell.”

“You too,” said Nell.

Charlie became a gryphon. He bore Nell on his back and held Ander’s body, wrapped in the Faery cloak, in his great talons. They soared up into the welcoming Di Shang sky.

The few intruders that still lingered in the Citadel fled as soon as they saw the Supreme Mancer had returned. Kyreth barely glanced at the dead dragon in the grounds. He went straight to the Inner Sanctum. He seemed to stand straighter there, his eyes brightening. Eliza watched him for a while, struggling to work Magic in spite of the powerful Curse that still clung to him. He was strong enough and she could not help him, so she went to the Library and waited.

It was late in the day, on the Day of Songs, when the stone cracked and fell away. Foss looked around at the ruin of the Library and saw Eliza catapulting into him.

“I can only presume,” he said, catching her in his long arms, “that everything has come out right.”

“Yes,” said Eliza, beaming up at him. “It has!”

He cupped his huge hand around her cheek tenderly. “Poor Eliza, I see that you have borne the worst of it. I called you back here
–
a terrible mistake, but I had no time to undo it!”

“It came out right,” said Eliza. “Except for the books, lah. She drained the books, Foss.” She picked one of the empty books up to show him and he flipped through it sadly.

“Recovering the stolen words of these texts is a project that will go beyond my lifetime,” he said. “Destruction is a quick matter, whereas rebuilding
–
ah! But at least I have a clever assistant to help me begin!”

“Foss,” she said, and then her eyes filled with tears and she could not continue.

“What is it?” he asked her gently, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She swallowed the lump that had come to her throat and said in a voice that shook only a very little, “I’m leaving and I’m nay coming back this time. I just wanted to say goodbye to you.”

Foss looked stunned. He said simply, “Why?”

“There are...many reasons,” she said. “But mostly...I’ve learned some terrible things about Kyreth. I cannay stay here. Nay with him.”

Foss took this in and then said, “Tell me.”

When she had told him everything, he said, “If you wish to go, you must go quickly. You will not be allowed to leave if the other Mancers learn of your intent.”

Eliza took the crystal Kyreth had given her from around her neck and pressed it into his hand.

~~~

“It was an evil act,” said Anargul to the assembled Mancers on the following day. The Emmisariae sat at a long stone table in the Inner Sanctum. The rest of the Mancers were seated around the walls. Kyreth sat in a chair before the table, his eyes terrible. “It was a very great evil and one he kept secret from all of us. It has been costly, too. The worlds have suffered terribly from the wrath of the Xia Sorceress.”

“You misinterpret his actions,” said Obrad, glancing at Kyreth. “Though it cannot be denied the result was catastrophic, he acted with noble intentions. Had Nia been malleable we would have had a powerful Sorceress on either side of the Crossing, protecting it.”

“But he told us nothing of this,” said Anargul. “He acted in secrecy, risking the balance of the worlds. When he became Supreme Mancer he did not own up to any responsibility. And what of Nia’s mother? Was not a terrible crime committed against her?”

“We do not know that,” said Obrad.