Shadow War Part 18

They nodded without concern.

"He was furious and a little frightened," Elandra continued. She looked at them in growing puzzlement. "I do not think he will crown me as more than a consort now."

That got their attention.

A cool, unreadable smile appeared on Anas's face. "What brings you to that conclusion? Did you have something to do with the throne breaking?"

Upset, Elandra started to deny it; then her sentence died in her throat. She looked at them in suspicion. "No," she said, "but you did. Yes! You did, didn't you? How-"

"Hush," the Magria said quietly. "The breaking of the throne was foretold at least a century ago. It can hardly be a surprise to him now."

"I don't understand," Elandra said.

"You are not meant to," Anas told her coldly.

Elandra's temper flared. She stood up, facing them both. "If I am to be empress, then I cannot be ignored and I will not be toyed with. I am not your puppet, Anas, to be manipulated as you please. You did not foresee me as having any true power, but if the throne comes to me by the will of Kostimon, then you must deal with me as you have dealt with him. With respect."

Anas stared at her with widened eyes.

The Magria smiled. "Well spoken, girl. You are growing up a little."

Angered by this patronizing remark, Elandra turned on her, but the Magria raised her hand.

"Careful," she said in soft warning. "Your rebuke was well delivered, but do not go too far. There is much to sort through, and in the meantime you have not begun your purification. If you feel recovered, I suggest you commence."

Elandra frowned. "We are to continue, as though nothing happened? Is the emperor not to be informed? There must be an investigation."

"I prefer my own investigation," the Magria said. "And, no, I do not think the emperor should be informed. Not yet."

Elandra shook her head. "I do not believe he is behind this attack on me."

"You have failed to make him love you; how can you be sure?" Anas said tartly.

It hurt, exactly as she intended it to hurt.

"Anas," the Magria said in displeasure. "You go too far. Events have turned, and we must reevaluate their meaning." She turned her gaze on Elandra. "The important thing is to let nothing deflect you from the events of tomorrow. You have done well thus far. You must continued to be courageous. If your enemies stop you, then they have won. Do you understand?"

Elandra nodded slowly.

"We will be more careful now. There must be more safeguards taken," the Magria said sternly.

"Excellency," Elandra said, choosing her words with care, "in your visions, have you foreseen the Madruns invading Imperia?"

The Magria's eyes widened. "What question is this?"

"Have you?"

"I have not."

Elandra frowned and told herself her fears were groundless. The army was strong. There could be no invasion.

The Magria watched her closely for a moment, then said with unexpected patience, "We have naught to do with the wars of men. The G.o.ddess guides our attention elsewhere."

Elandra asked no further questions.

Finally the Magria said, "Anas, resume the ceremony."

Anas sighed. She walked past Elandra. "Come, then."

"Anas," the Magria said.

Both Elandra and the deputy looked back.

The Magria's gaze was for Anas alone. "Be kind," she said.

Flus.h.i.+ng, Anas inclined her head and walked out, stiff-backed, leaving Elandra to follow.

Whatever Elandra expected, it was not the gentleness of the sisters as they finished undressing her and led her to a stone cistern filled with warm, steaming water. Chanting, they pushed her completely under, then sprinkled dried rosemary and rue on her as she emerged, dripping. The purification chamber was small and cramped. Sand covered the floor, and besides the cistern there was only a stone bench. Elandra sat on it, s.h.i.+vering and dripping water.

The sisters carried in braziers of red-hot rocks. Placing these around Elandra, they poured small dippers of water on the rocks to create steam. Soon she was warm again. Then she was sweating. They sc.r.a.ped her skin, wrapped her in a robe, and led her into an adjoining room to be plunged into a cistern of fresh water.

The water was so cold it had pieces of ice floating on it. The shock of immersion in it robbed her of breath, and she could not even scream.

Then she was out, teeth chattering, hugging herself. They took her back to the steam and warmth, sweating her again.

And thus it alternated until her body was pliant and relaxed. She felt sleepy but marvelous. How could she have been afraid? she wondered. Even the aftereffects of the poisoning attempt had vanished.

When an elderly sister rubbed scented oil on her hands and began to ma.s.sage Elandra, she closed her eyes and sank deep into luxuriant sensations. The sister's strong fingers dug into all the sore spots and melted away Elandra's tensions. She felt boneless, utterly at peace. Fears and worries about tomorrow faded from her mind. Even the chanting about her sounded lighter now, more like singing. Smiling, Elandra sighed and floated into sleep.

Only it was not sleep. She had the sudden sensation of falling, and although she threw out her hands to catch herself, she could grasp nothing. Faster and faster she hurtled down through a darkness that terrified her. Then the darkness changed to light, and she was falling through images. Faces loomed at her, huge and confusing, only to dissolve and vanish as she fell through them. Dreams ... no, memories. She saw her father shouting at a hapless servant. She saw the emperor place his hand on a fragment of his magnificent throne. She saw Lord Sien sneering down at her during her wedding ceremony.

Then with a jolt she ceased falling and found herself in a featureless hallway. The walls were very narrow. She could barely squeeze through, but she felt the urgent need to run.

She did so, her feet flying faster and faster. She wanted out of this place, wanted this strange dream to end. But as she ran, a hand reached out from nowhere to grab her arm.

Glancing down, she saw the hand projecting from the wall. She screamed, but heard no sound. Somehow she wrenched free and hurried on.

But there were other hands brus.h.i.+ng her, grabbing at her clothing and hair. Ahead of her stood the healer Agel, arms outstretched. She veered around him and collided with Caelan, who seized her by the throat. Pulling free, she stumbled on around a turn in the pa.s.sageway. And now Hecati followed her, beating her with a switch until her back and legs stung.

Then, without warning, she found herself in the grip of a woman tall and warm, smelling of ambergris and henna. This person held her fast when she would have torn free.

"I must go," Elandra sobbed. "I must run."

Abruptly the loving hands were gone, and she found herself standing alone in the darkness.

From far in the distance came a whisper: "Elandra, my daughter. Do not run. Do not heed them. Find your own way. Walk to your destiny at your own pace. Do not be forced."

Elandra spun around, searching for the voice with a sudden yearning. "Mother?" she called. "Oh, Mother, please help me!"

"Help yourself," came the reply, fainter than ever. "You are stronger than they know. Trust your own heart. Heed nothing else."

Elandra ran toward the voice, wis.h.i.+ng now she had not pushed her mother away. She had so many questions, so much need for this woman she had never known. "Mother-"

But she could not find her. The voice spoke no more to her.

Finally Elandra stopped running. Anguished tears streaked her face. She had never understood why her mother sent her away when she was so young. She had never understood why her mother did not want her.

A feral snarl from behind her scattered her thoughts. Whipping her head over her shoulder, Elandra saw a huge black game cat leaping toward her from a thicket. Without warning she found herself in the jungle, sunlight barely filtering down through the upper canopy. The panther came at her fast. With fangs bared, it was intent on bringing her down.

And she was ten years old. Foolish and headstrong, she had wandered away from the safety of the camp against orders, and now found herself terrified, the intended victim of this predator.

Before she could turn to run, its paws. .h.i.t her chest with a jolt that knocked the wind from her. She was falling, falling, her scream entwined with that of the cat. Its hot breath scorched her face as its fangs tore into her exposed throat.

"Stop!" Elandra cried.

She struck the panther, and her hand pa.s.sed right through it as though it were only mist. The beast dissolved, and she was no longer lying on her back in the rotting humus, but instead standing on a desolate mesa, all bare rock and scrubby weeds, overlooking a sharp drop to the open plains below.

The air was cold, and it blew constantly at her back with a mournful howl.

The jungle cat's attack was not a true memory. Elandra frowned, still feeling shaken by how close it had come to killing her. But she had not wandered away from camp. Someone else had-a bearer. He had been brought down and killed before the soldiers could drive the animal away. And it had been tawny, not black.

And had her mother ever spoken to her? Was that a true memory, or just a hope?

She felt angry now. She had been toyed with enough. The sisters had no right to put her through this nightmare.

"Stop this!" she said aloud. "I will partic.i.p.ate no further. Bring me back and have done with your games."

But nothing changed or responded. She stood alone on the mesa, the precipice at her feet. There was not another living creature within miles of her.

Suspiciously she turned around, gazing in all directions, but she did not even spy a dream walker standing at the fringes of her vision as they so often did. She no longer chased dream walkers as she had at first. Right now, however, she would have chased anything, if it meant a way of getting out of this dream.

The sky was overcast and very dark, as though a storm was coming. The clouds roiled, and now and then lightning flashed in their bellies, although none struck at the earth. On the plains below she glimpsed movement.

Turning to give it her full attention, she watched until she saw an army coming over the horizon. Soon she could hear its approach, like thunder that grew ever louder. It was huge-black, distant figures that stretched as far as the eye could see, an endless ma.s.s that came and came. And as the army marched in perfect rows, spear points gleaming with green fire, she saw dragons flying over, wheeling in the sky and belching fire as they bellowed.

Every creature in the army was black. The soldiers' armor was black, as were their helmets, cloaks, and gloves. Their swords were fas.h.i.+oned from black metal. Their horses, dogs, and dragons were all black.

As the army came closer, her vision improved. Suddenly she could see them clearly, although they were truly too far away for such clarity to be real. She realized the cavalry was not riding horses, but scaly four-footed beasts with vicious, barbed tails and nostrils that breathed fire. Those were not dogs that bounded ahead of the foot soldiers, but h.e.l.lhounds with eyes of flame and teeth like razors. The dragons were ridden by demons who screamed with laughter.

The sound was so insane, so awful, she clapped her hands over her ears and tried to back away from the precipice. She did not want to see the faces of the soldiers beneath their helmets.

Yet she found herself frozen, unable to move or look away. With the army came a dreadful stench of death and decay. And at the head of the army rode a figure as large as a giant, with armor that threw off sparks at every movement and a winged helmet that caught bolts of lightning in its span, yet never burned. This figure's cloak was darkness. Wherever it looked, scrub crumbled to ash and the rocks melted into lava. It carried a quiver of fire, and flames danced at the tips of its spurs.

Terrified, Elandra found herself consumed with recognition. The G.o.d's dire name trembled on her lips, demanding to be spoken. With all her might, she fought to hold it back, knowing that if she said the name Beloth aloud, she would somehow chain herself forever to his darkness.

The G.o.d looked up as though he saw her standing on the rocky cliff high above him. He raised one arm as though to launch a hunting falcon, but the creature clinging in chains to his wrist was not a bird but a man, a man square and powerful of body, a man with white curly hair and yellow eyes.

"Kost-"

She bit back his name also, fearing to say anything.

The emperor waved his arm in supplication. "Ela!" he cried, his voice a thin wail against the howling wind. "Ela, help me!"

"Do not say my name," she whispered, pressing her fists against her lips.

The G.o.d looked in her direction again, but his terrible eyes went on scanning as though he could not see her.

She had the terrible urge to kneel before him, to hurl herself over the cliff and fall to her death screaming his name. She felt pierced with a thousand red-hot needles, until she was writhing in agony, and yet she knew there was far worse to come if she succ.u.mbed.

Sobbing, she crouched down and plunged her fingers into the thin, stony soil. "Oh, G.o.ddess mother, help me," she prayed. "Give me the strength I need. Take me unto thy bosom and shelter me."

Suddenly she felt as though invisible shackles had been removed. She whirled about and ran for her life, full tilt away from the horrors behind her.

Then the ground that should have been flat dipped down into a low place that was sheltered and hidden. The cold wind ceased blowing. She found herself stumbling and slowing, sobbing for air.

Ahead, her path was blocked by a low altar of stone. Four thumb-sized jewels lay on top of it, each of a different color, each square-cut and perfect.

An enormous serpent, perhaps eight or ten feet long, lay coiled on the other side of the altar. As Elandra approached reluctantly, the serpent lifted itself into the air until its head was at her eye level. It swayed there, its forked tongue flickering, with the altar between them.

"Choose a stone," the serpent commanded.

s.h.i.+vering in fear, Elandra closed her eyes a moment. She was still too close to the dreadful army. She wanted to keep on running and never stop. She had no time for this.

"Choose!" the serpent commanded.

She tried to go around the altar, but her feet were frozen again.

"I don't want to choose!" she cried furiously. "I must run and warn the others. There is no time."

"Choose!" the serpent commanded. "You will not pa.s.s by me until you have chosen."

Impatiently she swept her gaze across the gems again.

Ruby. Sapphire. Topaz. Emerald.

Each was beautiful. Each was flawless, worth a king's ransom.

"Only one may you take," the serpent told her.

She felt hurried and fl.u.s.tered. This was some sort of test, but she could not reason it out. There was no time. She had to run and warn the others of what was coming.

"I don't want any," she said.

"Then you will stand here forever."