At the Gates of Darkness Part 12

Jim chewed a mouthful of juicy melon, then swallowed. 'I meet with functionaries until midday, at which time I dine with a few minor n.o.bles-the Emperor and anyone of rank are done with me now-and then I'll come find you in the archives.

'You three will go about your business and someone will see to your midday meal. After we dine tonight, we'll discuss the next day's work.'

They all understood that he meant stealing the Great Book of Demons should they locate it, but no one spoke of it.

When they had finished eating, servants came to escort them to their different destinations.

Pug, Magnus, and Amirantha were led through a series of long hallways and across several large galleries and gardens until they started down a long tunnel which headed into a portion of the palace excavated from the very soil under the foundations.

They emerged into sunlight, and could see they were now on the far side of the rolling hills that supported the palace, looking down at a far less populated portion of the city. The ample houses and estates were still nearby, but below them the jumble of merchant and poor houses had thinned out. Instead, they could see an ancient wall beyond which the rolling hills, on top of the tablelands, were dotted with farms.

They trudged down the long road to another building with a long and low facade and a dozen large windows, most of its bulk had been constructed out of the hillside. 'Gentlemen,' said the servant. 'We are here.'

He turned and left, and the three magic users exchanged glances.

'We are here,' echoed Amirantha mirthfully.

Pug smiled, nodded and indicated they should enter.

Once inside, Pug saw a long hall and off to the left a gallery illuminated by the sunlight streaming in from the tall windows. Two long tables trisected the room, and around them were arranged chairs. Opposite the windows were the end-caps of half a dozen shelves, each with books arrayed spines out.

A woman sat waiting; seeing the three men enter, she rose and crossed over to them wearing a smile on her face. 'Richard, how nice.'

'Livia,' she said Pug, bowing slightly. 'I believe you met my companions.'

'Yes,' she said, 'albeit briefly. Martin, Amirantha. It's a pleasure to see you once more.'

Amirantha's expression broadened. 'As it is mine,' he replied. 'I was sorry I didn't have the opportunity to speak with you last night. Perhaps...?' He let the question hang.

She glanced at Pug as if gauging his reaction, then said, 'Perhaps. Now, what may I do to help you?'

Pug said, 'Martin and I have been commissioned by the King of Isles and the Prince of Krondor to investigate certain discrepancies in our relative histories, especially between accounts of the period after Kesh's withdrawal from the region, but prior to the Kingdom's expansion westward through Yabon.'

'I think I know where to start you off,' said Livia. Looking at Amirantha, she said, 'And you?'

'I have a different charge, from my master, the Maharaja. At this point, I would be interested in any subjects of a mystical nature.'

'Mystical?' she said, as if not quite understanding.

'Our faiths are much the same as yours, but there are some differences. Our G.o.ds have different names, and slightly different aspects.'

'How odd,' she commented. Then realizing she sounded judgmental she quickly amended that by saying, 'I mean, it's odd that there are differences, not that your view is odd.'

'I took your meaning,' said Amirantha with a broad smile. 'It might help my understanding if you could show me anything on non-faith tales of magic, of spirits, ghosts, and demons, let us say. Sometimes the tales of the villages and towns give us more insight into the beliefs of a people than the official records of the government or temples.'

'I'll see what I can do,' she replied. Turning to Magnus and Pug she said, 'Let me get you two situated, then we,' she smiled at Amirantha, 'will start looking for folk stories and legends.'

Amirantha conveyed he was amenable to this with a nod, and for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on, found himself annoyed.

They moved off down the hall, towards the rear of the archives.

Amirantha stood with his mouth closed only by conscious will. The term 'jaw dropping' entered his mind as he looked at a mountain of tomes, books, scrolls and codices. There was one table in the far corner of the room, and no chair.

Livia said, 'I'm sorry, but for the sort of thing you're looking to find, this is the most likely spot.' She gently touched his arm, which he found both rea.s.suring and distracting. 'My people, as you will no doubt discover, are predisposed to be interested in three, no make that four, issues: Glory, both military and commercial, comprise two of the four. The third is self-aggrandizement, for I will confess we are a vain society. Lastly, pleasures of the flesh, which you would have discovered had you remained at the banquet last night.'

Amirantha tried to appear disinterested. 'I've been to orgies before, Livia.'

'As have I, and like you I left before it began, but what I'm trying to say is, if it's not wealth, war, vanity, or l.u.s.t, it's in there.' She pointed to the ma.s.sive pile of writings.

'So what you're saying is that Richard and Martin,' he used Pug and Magnus's false names, 'are likely to find only officially blessed histories where they are researching?'

'No, they will look among the only histories not fed to the fire. However, there may be something in this mess that could provide them with a clue or two about what really happened in years past. However, for your research, any discussions of folk tales, myths, superst.i.tions, or reports of encounters with the G.o.ds-not sanctioned by the temples, of course-are in there.' She again pointed to the ma.s.s.

Amirantha was silent for a moment, then said, 'I have three requests.'

'What may I do to accommodate you?' she said with a clear double meaning as she studied the handsome Warlock.

He smiled his most charming smile and said, 'First, could you arrange to have a pot of hot water and some tea brought to that table over there? I will not risk spilling anything on these old volumes, but I do like to refresh myself from time to time.'

'Of course. What else?' she asked, touching his arm again.

'Could I have a ladder?' He inclined his head towards the ma.s.s and said, 'It would be better for whatever is in there if I took the volumes off from the top down. A small ladder, ten feet tall or so, should serve.'

She laughed, and he found the sound of it delightful. 'Of course. I'll have that sent along at once.'

'Could you also provide me with a servant, to haul books aside if I don't wish to look at them, and have him bring along some writing implements and paper or parchment as I wish to take notes.'

'Of course,' she said, though he noticed her manner was cooling.

Understanding that a moment was slipping away, he added, 'Perhaps I should have said four things. Would you dine with me tonight? a.s.suming Lord James doesn't insist on the three of us dining with him, of course?'

She hesitated a moment, not wis.h.i.+ng to appear too anxious, and said, 'If your sponsor doesn't require your presence, I would enjoy supper with you.'

She turned and looked over her shoulder in a playful fas.h.i.+on, 'I'll have the tea, ladder and servant sent to you immediately.' Her smile could only be called seductive as she added, 'And I'll come back later to see if there is anything else you need.'

'Thank you,' said Amirantha, enjoying watching her walk away. The long Quegan toga might run from shoulder to floor, but it hugged her curves in a most tantalizing fas.h.i.+on.

Taking his mind off the lovely woman, he turned and began to consider the prodigious task before him. Sighing, he reached out and took a book at random from the pile. He opened it and found it to be written in a language alien to him. Glancing around to make sure he was un.o.bserved, he then took from his belt pouch a small item Pug had given him before they arrived in Queg. He did as he had been taught and, holding the trinket to his forehead, incanted a short phrase, then put it away. When he opened his eyes, the letters on the page seemed to swim then come together in words he could read. He muttered to himself, 'I should have met these people a hundred years ago!'

Now able to read this ancient Quegan text, he began to read softly aloud. 'On the matter of the stars and their locations in the heaven by seasons...' He read another page, then put aside the amateur astronomy text and looked around. To no one he said, 'You know what you want is at the bottom of that pile, don't you?'

'Sir?' came a voice from behind.

'Oh,' said Amirantha seeing two servants in the doorway. One held a tray with a pot and infuser, cup and canister of tea, the other a short ladder. 'Never mind.' He pointed to the stocky man with the ladder and said, 'Put that over there, climb to the top, and gently pull down the top most book.' To the other he said, 'Put that on the table please.' As the servant moved to do as he was instructed, Amirantha said, 'And find me a chair for that table. Thank you.' He turned his attention to the man climbing the ladder and the ma.s.sive job before him.

The day wore on, and Amirantha drank two pots of tea. Other than having to relieve himself three times before lunch, his morning was uneventful; there was nothing remarkable about his findings. He had chanced across a few things, a treatise on higher consciousness and the G.o.ds, which he found more compelling for its blind leaps of faith than he did for its hypothesis; but it had been composed in precise and elegant language, and he found himself admiring it despite its irrelevance to his current search.

There was one interesting account of a very bad famine, more family chronicles than he imagined possible; the Quegans were a self-aggrandizing people. Even modestly successful merchants had commissioned family histories-most of which were more fancy than fact, he surmised. One particularly vivid, but improbable tale concerned a merchant from the Kingdom city of Krondor who had contrived to build a fortune out of thin air, or so he claimed.

There were a couple of other interesting finds, beyond quaint curiosities; a book of dark spells, which had more truth in them than the author understood. He put it aside for Pug or Magnus.

Another work was a chronicle of a struggle between two temples, neither of which he recognized. The magic he used to read foreign languages did not make the understanding of proper nouns any easier. Someone named Rah-ma-to was named, and his only insight into that puzzle was context. It might be a local G.o.d, a local name for one of the G.o.ds he already knew, or he could have been a farmer, for all Amirantha knew. Still, it touched on myth and magic, so he set it aside, too.

Other volumes contained similar curiosities, but nothing akin to the information he was seeking. He wondered if Pug and Magnus were having any more luck.

The midday meal was announced by the arrival of Livia. The charming Quegan woman seemed amused by the sight of Amirantha on his knees stacking books. 'Are you finding anything useful?'

He pointed to a dozen volumes stacked on the table next to the empty tea pot and said, 'Those look promising.' He exaggerated, but he wanted to make this look like a worthwhile undertaking to bolster his need to return.

'I've come to take you to the archivists' quarters, where a repast has been provided.'

He rose and found his knees slightly stiff. Feigning more discomfort than he felt he said, 'I need to walk a bit more I think. Too many days of sitting and I'm turning into an old man.'

She smiled as she slipped her arm through his. Amirantha had dealt with flirtatious women all his life, and from her familiar gesture, knew he had been judged and found appropriate enough to warrant further scrutiny. He considered the odd aspects of this culture, that a woman this attractive and bright might consider a foreign scholar of modest means a suitable subst.i.tute for a man of rank; then he remembered women of her age might see their child-bearing years coming to a close, and reconsidered; she might be ready to marry the first man who asked her.

He sighed and weighed his need for pleasure against the possible injury to her.

'What?' she asked.

'I'm sorry,' he replied.

'You sighed, and rather heavily.'

He smiled. 'Oh, it's just that the amount of material yet to be considered is daunting,' he lied. He would dismiss the servant after lunch. The pile was manageable enough now for him to sort through alone and now that he was becoming used to the manner in which the Quegans recorded their personal histories, business records and the other sea of useless, he should be able to get through the bulk of it by supper.

'Perhaps you might stay longer?'

He smiled as he looked at her and saw that his instincts in this were almost certainly correct; this woman needed to find a husband and start a family. With a pang he realized that he didn't find the idea repellent, just impossible.

He shook his head. 'As I understand it, the agreement between your Emperor and the King of Isles is for three days, no longer. As I am but a companion to the official researchers...' He shrugged.

'I might talk to someone?' she ventured.

'I live a very long way from here,' he said neutrally, but she took his meaning.

She fixed him with a narrow gaze and pulled away ever so slightly. 'You have a wife?'

'No, nothing like that,' he said. 'My work consumes me.'

'Ah,' she said as if that explained everything.

They remained silent until they reached the room set aside for their meal. A modest lunch by Quegan standards, but a small feast by anyone else's, was waiting for them. A moment after Amirantha had been shown through the door, Pug and Magnus arrived. Livia withdrew with their escort, leaving the three of them alone.

'Find anything interesting?' asked Pug as he picked up a stoneware plate and a long two p.r.o.nged fork and began putting cheese, meat, and fruit on his plate.

'Nothing worth becoming excited over,' answered the Warlock. He pointed to a large pitcher of water then another with wine and his expression was questioning.

'Water, please,' said Magnus. 'Wine with lunch and I'm asleep all afternoon.'

Pug nodded, and Amirantha said, 'Three goblets of water it is.'

They a.s.sumed they were being listened to so they spoke in a fairly noncommittal fas.h.i.+on. They chatted and Amirantha finished his meal and said, 'So, anything noteworthy revealing itself?'

They knew he was asking if they had found any clue that might help him in his search through the ma.s.sive pile of books.

Magnus said, 'Quite a bit, it's clear that Kingdom records of the region are spotty at best.'

That was a code phrase telling Amirantha they had found nothing that would aide his search.

After the meal, servants escorted them to their respective study areas and Amirantha felt mild disappointment that Livia did not make an appearance. He cursed himself for his appet.i.tes and willingness to construct reasons to do what he wanted, rather than what he should. Since meeting Pug and his companions, many things had profoundly changed his view of the world in which he lived: the scope of the dangers they faced, the commit-ment and bravery of those confronting those dangers, and their generosity and selflessness. But one thing continued to leave him constantly unsettled and troubled, and he had once thought it something of minor importance.

His encounter with Sandreena and Creegan had reopened old wounds, wounds he would not have even admitted to, before that encounter.

To those, like Brandos, who knew him well, he was usually unapologetic about his womanizing behaviour.' He stopped for a moment and tried to focus on the pile of books yet to be examined, but his mind was on the young Knight-Adamant from Krondor.

As a young man, like many young men do, he had loved easily, or at least he had told himself it was love. But his life being what it was, they never endured. By the time he found Brandos as a boy scrabbling around the city streets, he had learnt not to let his heart get involved. Women were creatures of comfort, to be taken and then left behind, lest one become attached and again face loss.

What he feared was that he had cared a great deal more for Sandreena than he had admitted; that the time they had spent together, in the oddly named little village north of Krondor, had forged something deeper than convenient physical intimacy. He hated how he felt.

He forced aside his morbid introspection and cursed himself for a sentimental old fool trapped in a young man's body, and set about working on the volumes before him.

An hour into the afternoon, Amirantha began to sense something. He held a book in his hand and glanced at the t.i.tle, then put it aside. He picked up the next and again felt the oddly familiar, yet nameless tingling. He cast aside that book and picked up two more. As he dug deeper into the pile, the sensation became more familiar, and more immediate.

It was demon.

He pushed his way down, ignoring the damage he might be doing to ancient books-many of which were on the verge of falling apart-as he felt the pull grow even more compelling.

His hand touched something and he recoiled as if experiencing a shock.

Trying to work as quickly as possible, yet not damage the object of his attention, he got the cover of the work clear. Once he could see the volume clearly, his flesh crawled.

This volume was rife with demonic magic.

He reached in and gripped it; the alien sense of demon magic a.s.saulted him again, but this time he was ready for it. He lifted the large volume off those below it and carried it over to the table. He put it down gently and studied it for a moment before he touched it again.

He was almost certain the cover was made of skin; human, elf, or some other, he was unsure, but this book was definitely bound by something that was once living and aware.

He opened the cover and let the magic spell Pug had given him serve him. The language may have been ancient and obscure, but he read it as easily as he did the first language he had learned as a boy.

Whispering aloud, he read the t.i.tle page. 'Greater Demon Lore.'

Slowly he turned the first page and began to read.

After a few minutes his legs grew shaky and his stomach began to knot, but he sat in the chair and kept reading, resisting the urge to run from the room screaming.

From the moment they gathered at the end of the day to dine, it was evident to the others that Amirantha had something to tell them, but was keeping silent lest they be overheard. When at last they were alone, Pug gave Magnus a questioning look, the younger magician nodded once, closed his eyes for a moment, then said, 'We have a few minutes; the magic they're using to spy upon us is poorly done, but if I counter it too much, someone may notice.'

'What did you find?' Jim asked Amirantha.