An Alliance of Mortals, page 30
part #6 of The New Earth Chronicles Series
“Good evening, sir,” he said pleasantly. “The Commander told us that we had new guests and thought that you might like some refreshment.”
“Ah, that is very kind,” Magnus replied. “Please, come in.”
“Thank you.”
The man walked in and smiled at Sarah, who watched him closely.
“Good evening, miss,” he said as he set the covered tray down on the low table. “I hope you enjoy your stay. If either of you need anything, don't hesitate to ask one of the staff. Some of us are always on duty, day or night.”
Sarah nodded silently, her eyes wide.
“Thank you, young man,” Magnus told him. “We appreciate that.”
The staffer bowed to them both and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Magnus stared at Sarah, who seemed to be frozen in place.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
“Hmm? Oh yes. Sorry.”
She shook her head and then leaned forward to lift the cover off of the tray.
“It's just that he's the first ordinary human that I've seen in a very long time,” she said as she lifted the top off of a large teapot and sniffed at the steam rising from it.
“Oh, that smells lovely,” she said with delight. “It's been years since I tasted real tea.”
Several plates were covered with linen napkins and Magnus removed them and smiled.
“Cakes and cookies, freshly baked. They look delicious.”
“And if I remember correctly, you do have a sweet tooth,” Sarah teased him as she lifted the teapot and began pouring out two cups of the hot amber liquid.
“Well, I used to. It's been a long time since I was able to indulge it,” the shaman replied lightly.
“Now's your chance.”
Once they had both settled down in their seats with cups of hot tea and several cookies and small cakes, Magnus and Sarah returned to their conversation.
“Who is this new leader that you mentioned?” she asked him after she had swallowed a mouthful of sweet tea. “The one who is leading the dark forces now.”
“I don't know who or what she is,” Magnus told her as he sipped his own tea. “My friends among the spirits told me that she was sent directly by the Chaos lords. She isn't human, that is certain, although she looks like a woman. Apparently she has powers of her own and she plans to either take control of an anchor or, if that is not possible, she wants to destroy them. Either outcome would be disastrous for us.”
“And do you know where she is right now?”
“We do. She's secreted in the main goblin settlement, a massive underground hive located in central Russia.”
Sarah was about to bite into a cookie, but she stopped abruptly and stared at Magnus.
“Underground?” she said with obvious interest.
“Yes, the goblins aren't very fond of sunlight and they hate water. They build their settlements underground whenever they can. Why?”
Sarah set down her cookie and stared at the shaman with a wicked grin.
“We just happen to have someone who does his best work underground.”
“Antoine?” Magnus said skeptically. “Really? You would send him into the heart of the enemy's stronghold? Alone? Sarah, that would be suicidal!”
“I wouldn't send him anywhere,” she replied pertly. “Antoine is his own man. But tell me, if this new leader of the goblins was eliminated, wouldn't that destabilize all of the enemy's forces?”
“I suspect that it would. In fact, I am certain of it. Most goblins are not very clever and, left on their own, they will turn on each other like animals. I have spoken to the spirits over the years and they've told me about them. They have seen that sort of anarchy happen in the past. The only thing that unites the goblin armies is a strong, intelligent leader. Normally, one of their wizards rises to the position of supreme commander, but now it seems that the troops are being controlled directly by the lords of Chaos through this emissary. Cut off the head of the snake...”
“And the snake dies. Yes, of course.”
She slipped a hand into a pocket of her baggy pants and pulled out a small, round stone that looked like amber. It glowed warmly, the color of honey, and Magnus smiled as the sight of the stone brought back a rush of memories.
“Ah, your communication stones. I remember them well. You still create them, I see.”
“When I need to, yes. I made one for Antoine not long after we met. We would get separated occasionally in the Parisian ruins and these allowed us to stay in touch.”
She raised the egg-shaped stone to her lips and breathed on it.
“He may be sleeping,” Magnus warned her.
“No, not yet. Antoine would not succumb to sleep in a new place until he had scouted it out, in case there were any potential dangers to him.”
“Suspicious fellow, isn't he?”
“Wouldn't you be?”
She hummed softly and the stone responded by beginning to pulse with subdued green flashes.
“Antoine, can you hear me?” Sarah whispered to the stone, as if speaking into someone's ear.
The stone pulsed silently for a moment and then a voice answered, echoing as if coming from a very distant place.
“Yes, I can hear you, Sarah,” Antoine answered. “Is there a problem?”
“No. No problem. I've been given a lovely suite of rooms and I am quite comfortable. How are you doing?”
“I am fine. The commander found me a secure room in the cellars beneath the castle. The door is reinforced with metal strapping and has a sturdy lock on it.”
Sarah wrinkled her nose in distaste.
“That doesn't sound very comfortable, Antoine,” she told the stone.
“I have no need of comfort. You know this, Sarah. Now why did you really call?”
The young woman sighed and rolled her eyes at Magnus.
“He's too clever sometimes,” she said, covering the stone with her hand for a moment.
The shaman chuckled, but remained silent.
She spoke to the stone again.
“Did Malcolm tell you anything about the current situation?” she asked. “Specifically about the goblins?”
“Yes, we had a long conversation about it. He told me about the anchors that now connect the three mortal races. Fascinating creations, I think. And he said that there is a new leader of the dark forces. Some agent of the Chaos lords.”
“Well, you seem to be caught up as much as I am,” Sarah told him.
As she was speaking, Magnus got up and knelt in front of the fireplace. The fire was burning low and he took a log off of a pile next to the mantelpiece and set it in the center of the embers. He rolled it around with a metal poker until it had settled into the heart of the embers.
Sarah was watching him fondly as she spoke with Antoine, images of more innocent days flashing through her mind.
“I don't know if Malcolm told you where the new leader is, but Magnus has informed me that right now she is staying in the main goblin settlement. Apparently it is very large, which means that there might be hundreds or thousands of goblin troops there.”
“Interesting. What else?” Antoine asked.
“It is located in the center of Russia. Underground.”
“Underground?”
Antoine paused and Sarah glanced at Magnus.
“That got his attention,” the shaman murmured.
“Exactly,” she replied under her breath.
“Which is why you contacted me, is that not so?” Antoine said after a moment.
Sarah made a face.
“I just thought that you might find the information useful, that's all,” she said defensively. “It's not like I expect you to go there and find this person or anything.”
“I'm sure,” the vampire said dryly. “Your motives are entirely pure, are they not?”
“Well, mostly. Listen, just think about it and we'll talk again in the morning. All right?”
“I shall do that. Sleep well, Sarah.”
“You too, Antoine.”
The stone went dark and Sarah slipped it back into her pocket. Then she picked up her cup again and sipped some tea.
“He's very clever,” she told Magnus.
“I can see that,” he replied, amused. “He saw right through you, you know.”
She sighed.
“I know he did. As I said, he's clever.”
Magnus got up and refilled his cup. He poured more tea for Sarah as well before sitting down again.
“Will he be angry with you?” he asked her. “Will he think that you are trying to manipulate him?”
Sarah stared thoughtfully into the steaming liquid in her cup.
“No. Antoine doesn't get angry. Well, not with me anyway. He cares for me, Magnus. As much as a creature like him can. He hates the goblins, of course, for what they and their masters did to Paris and to the world. But that isn't anger. He's much too detached to feel that emotion. So no, he won't be angry with me.”
“Good. My people have legends about creatures like him, you know. And about people like Malcolm as well. Skinwalkers, we called them. Men who could shapeshift into the forms of beasts at will. I had no idea that the commander was a werewolf. In fact, I did not even know that werewolves existed until today. And then on top of that, I meet a vampire as well?”
He sipped his tea.
“It's been a very eventful day,” he added with a shake of his head.
Sarah looked at him sympathetically.
“Poor Magnus,” she said with a smile. “One day happily living your life in nature's embrace and the next day embroiled in a world that you know next to nothing about. I'd say that eventful is an understatement.”
He looked at Sarah and raised an eyebrow.
“You're all grown up, aren't you?” he told her. “I see the young girl that you used to be and the woman you are now, fused together. It's a strange experience. But there is a strength in you, my friend. One that I do not understand. But it burns brightly even now, here in this room. I don't fear for you anymore, not like I used to back when we met in Ottawa years ago.”
Sarah blushed and looked away from him into the dancing flames in the fireplace.
“Thank you, Magnus. I do believe that I have grown since we parted. My travels broadened my mind and helped me to hone my skills. I am not a mage, as you well know. I am something else. I use no spells or enchantments. I simply mold magical energy with my will and use it as I wish. Perhaps I was inspired by my meeting with Simon O'Toole, so many years ago. I sensed his power even then, his pure heart and his decency. You know, when I left the other Changelings, the first question I asked myself was 'what would Simon do?' And my answer was that he would seek to better himself. So that's what I did. I explored the world and strengthened my talents. I knew that I would be called upon to fight back against the Darkness one day. It seems that day has almost arrived.”
“I hope it won't come to that,” Magnus said as he set down his cup and stood up. “At least not for quite some time. Anyway, it's been a long day, for both of us. Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning.”
“Thank you, Magnus,” Sarah said as the shaman walked to the door.
He stopped with his hand on the doorknob and looked back at her.
“For what?” he asked.
Sarah shrugged as she folded her hands on her lap.
“For being here, I guess. Or for not dying before we met again. For not holding a grudge against me after I blamed you for losing Bobby. For...I don't know. Everything.”
The shaman gently smiled at her.
“I never held a grudge against you,” he assured her. “You had every right to blame me. I blamed myself. And since I left you and the others, not a day has gone by that I didn't think of you and hoped that you were doing well. I am so pleased to see that you have come into your powers. And I am truly happy to know that you still consider me your friend.”
“I always will, Magnus. I hope that you can say the same.”
The shaman opened the door and winked at her.
“I do, Sarah. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Chapter 22
Hallic Barston walked into the throne room in the palace in Kingstone and stopped for a moment to look around. There were guards stationed both inside and outside of the entrance and they watched him warily as he glanced at them with an easy grin.
“I'm expected,” he told the ranking officer.
“Yes sir,” she replied stiffly. “The king is waiting for you.”
“Good to know. I'd hate to get a blade in my back because of a misunderstanding.”
She returned his gaze silently and Hallic sighed.
“Warriors don't have much of a sense of humor, do they?”
He turned and strode toward the dais. He was clad all in black leather and his boots made no sound on the marble floor as he moved.
The anchor glowed softly in the center of the hall and Hallic looked at it warily. Rogues did not use magic and the towering stele was an unknown quantity to him. And the unknown made him nervous.
On top of the dais, Shandon was sitting on his throne. He was speaking with the seneschal, Falder and with his friends, Pieter and Jergen. All of them wore expressions of concern and the king was playing with the beads woven into his beard, a sure sign that he was agitated.
Hallic stopped at the foot of the dais and waited for a moment. When no one seemed to notice him, he cleared his throat loudly and Shandon looked down at him in surprise.
“Ah, Hallic. You made it,” he exclaimed. “Come up, come up. I need to speak with you.”
The rogue climbed the steps and looked at the others, puzzled.
“What's going on?” he asked Shandon. “Your runner could only say that you wanted to see me. He had no other information. Is there a crisis?”
“You could say that,” Jergen said dryly.
Shandon looked at him and the warrior shrugged.
“Well, there is,” he added.
“Aye, well that's true enough. But it's not a crisis exactly, Hallic,” Shandon said as he fiddled with his beads. “It's an opportunity, perhaps. I wanted your perspective before making any decisions in the matter.”
Hallic folded his arms and gave the king a cocky grin.
“And what could an old rogue add to such a discussion?” he asked. “You higher-ups make the rules and the rest of us follow them. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?”
Pieter shook his head, giving Hallic a warning look, while Shandon stopped playing with his beard and scowled at the rogue.
“Don't play the fool,” he growled. “You know better than that. I'm seeking wise council, not idiotic comments.”
Hallic's insolent grin slipped from his face and he nodded seriously.
“Sorry, my lord,” he told Shandon. “Old habits die hard, they say. What is happening?”
The king's glare softened and he sat back and sighed.
“Quite a bit, actually,” he replied. “I'll try to pare it down to its bare bones. We've been contacted by Tamara, the mage in Nottinghill. She told us that they've located the new leader of the dark armies, the mouthpiece of the Chaos lords.”
“Ah, have they?” Hallic said. “That's interesting. After what she tried to do here in Kingstone, we know that she's a very dangerous adversary.”
“She is indeed,” Shandon agreed. “She also led an attack on the elves' town of Caladur. Did you hear about that?”
“Of course. Lucky for the elves that you showed up in time to help them.”
“Well, the Fay helped more than we did, I'd say, but we did our part.”
The king looked across the room at the anchor.
“We've assumed since then that the next target for this person would be Nottinghill Castle. That's why I sent troops to bolster the defenses around their anchor.”
“A wise move.”
“Yes, but it might not be enough.”
Shandon stood up and Hallic stepped aside as the king walked to the edge of the dais and stared at the anchor, his hands on his hips. At that moment, the rogue realized that Shandon was wearing full armor, something he never did when going about his daily duties.
Both Jergen and Pieter were clad in armor as well, and they had weapons hanging from their belts.
“The enemy is determined to seize one of the anchors, or to destroy them if they can't do that,” Shandon said without turning around. “This cannot be allowed to happen, Hallic. We must take steps to remove this dark emissary and leave the goblins without leadership. They are only a danger when led by someone who is intelligent and cunning. We must get rid of her.”
“And if you manage to do that, then what?” Hallic asked him. “Won't the Chaos lords simply send another lackey to take the reins of their forces?”
Shandon turned to look at him.
“Not according to Tamara. She says that her clerics have told her that the dark gods are expending a great deal of their power to maintain a connection with this representative of theirs. If that person is destroyed, they will be weakened substantially. Remember that the Chaos lords are still fighting the lords of Light in the Void. They cannot use too much power meddling in our affairs or they risk losing that war.”
He smiled grimly.
“And if they lost the fight against the lords of Light, their armies in this world would turn to dust. That would certainly solve our problem for us, but I doubt that even those evil beings are that foolish. However, if we kill this emissary, the dark armies will be left to fend for themselves. They will still be a threat, of course, but without strong leadership, we will be able to defeat them in time.”
Hallic nodded thoughtfully.
“Okay. That makes sense, I suppose. So what does all of this have to do with me?”
Jergen chortled deep in his throat and Hallic glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.
“What's so funny?” he asked the grizzled warrior.
“You'll see,” Jergen said, just as Pieter elbowed him with a clang of metal on metal.
“Mind your manners,” he told his old friend. “This is Shandon's meeting, not yours.”
