Part 15 (1/2)
As she had suspected, the gray wall was a long, low stone fortification outside one of the Damascan outposts in Helgard.
The Travelers hurriedly opened one of the side gates, beckoning her inside. As they brought her inside, leading her to a fire and to her father, they caught her up on the situation.
The Damascans had managed to kill Grandmaster Helgard barely two days ago, in real time, but Helgard had experienced a time spike since then. For the Travelers here, it had been over a week. The Helgard Travelers loyal to Enosh had used that time to a.s.sault this fortification on the twenty-first floor as the nearest Damascan outpost of any real size.
”They were pulling out all the stops, too,” the Traveler said. He shuddered and stared off into the distance, though he didn't stop walking. ”I'd never seen a frost giant before.” From his expression, Leah didn't think he would want to see another one, either.
As soon as the time spike had stabilized, late this past afternoon, they had sent for reinforcements from the capital. Without them, the Helgard Travelers here wouldn't have lasted the night.
However, they had not expected the King himself.
Zakareth and his deadly spear had proved enough reinforcements to get the Enosh Travelers to reconsider; they had pulled back to regroup just before Leah reached the wall.
Leah considered the implications of that. Why was the King here in person? There were only a few possibilities. Either he didn't have any other Travelers to send*unlikely*or he thought this situation important enough to warrant his personal attention. Why?
Either way, she felt somewhat responsible for the Helgard Travelers here. Her news was likely to make the King return to Cana, and then they would be left here with no backup. Well, the stability of the realm came first. They could always come back and recapture their lost outposts later.
The Helgard Traveler led Leah into an ordinary sitting room. It was hardly fit for Damascan royalty; the walls were made out of rough, barely-cut stone, and the furniture was simple wood. Four chairs rested around a heavy, barely-polished table, and the hearth at the end of the room blazed with flame.
At least it was warm. Leah hurried over to the fireplace, pressing her body as close as she dared. It probably wasn't wise, but she barely gave any attention to the room's other occupants.
Talos sat at the table, his sheathed sword in front of him. Maybe half an inch of its red blade showed. Upon seeing Leah, he ran a hand through his golden curls, and flashed his sister a perfect grin. ”Playing with the mirka, Leah?”
Leah ignored him, lowering her hood to feel the full warmth of the fire on her face. Her dress underneath was wet and cold, and somehow her body actually s.h.i.+vered more now that it was getting some relief. She supposed that was her way of transitioning from the cold. She would have pulled the heavy cloak from around her, leaving her in her dress and jacket, but she felt incapable of moving.
”You're careless,” King Zakareth said to her. He sat at the head of the table, behind her; she had caught a glimpse of him as she came in. He was clothed fully in his royal armor: plates of dark metal lined in gold and set occasionally with rubies. It was not ornamental, that armor. The rubies were mined from Ornheim, and in some way she didn't understand they added strength to the armor as a whole. He had worn the armor into dozens of battles, and it bore the marks to prove it: dents and dings and scratches that represented attacks. Attacks that had never come close to wounding the man inside.
A number of clever replies rose to Leah's tongue, but only one thing escaped. ”I'm sorry, father,” she said. She had been trained well.
”Take an escort with you, next time,” Zakareth went on. He was never one to abandon a battle just because he had won. ”You can't count on me being there to save you every time.”
”Perhaps we should ask why she's here,” Talos said. ”Surely, it must be something urgent for her to risk running into Helgard alone.”
Zakareth stared at her so hard that she could have sworn she saw a red light pulse against the fireplace. Red light s.h.i.+ning from his crimson eye. She shuddered, and it wasn't because of the cold. She didn't speak; she wasn't sure that she could make her jaw move.
”I know why she's here,” Zakareth said. ”I see the moons of Lirial upon her. She found a way to spy on the war council of the Grandmasters.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Leah saw Talos look up sharply. He seemed almost panicked. Well, he probably worried about what the Grandmasters were up to.
”That is true, father,” Leah said between s.h.i.+vers. She reached into a pocket and withdrew her recording crystal, turning to place it on the table in front of them.
”I've only watched the first few minutes,” Leah continued, ”but what I heard was enough to alarm me. The Grandmasters plan to take this opportunity to attack us. They will a.s.sault some of the Overlords, trying to damage the Tree. And I suspect that they also intend to reinforce the Valinhall Incarnation.”
Zakareth stared at the crystal. He did not ask her to activate the recording, though she knew he soon would. He appeared carved out of granite as he sat there, lost deep in thought.
Talos did not have his father's patience. ”We should gather the Overlords. Travel to them immediately. We can abandon this outpost, and focus everything we have on destroying the Incarnation.”
”Where is the Incarnation now?” Leah asked.
Talos looked to their father, who continued to stare a moment before answering. ”The Incarnation of Valinhall stands in what was once the village of Harinfel. According to reports we have just received, he marched into the village at dawn, challenging anyone who stood in his way to duels. He spared the lives of those that acquitted themselves well, and killed the rest. Harinfel is now a graveyard.”
Anger showed in Talos' eyes. ”This is exactly the kind of thing we should be there to prevent. Where will he be heading next?”
”Harinfel, Harinfel...” Leah mused. ”That's in Lysander's realm, isn't it? It's just southeast of the Latari Forest.”
Zakareth nodded in her direction. ”The Valinhall Incarnation travels in a straight line from his grave at the center of the Latari Forest to his destination. He will walk through any obstacle until he reaches the royal palace in Cana and slays me.”
Leah took a moment to digest that information. Talos' eyes widened, and then narrowed, as though he had just heard something that would change the entire game. He was probably thinking about how to allow the Valinhall Incarnation to a.s.sa.s.sinate his father, leaving the succession open. Leah's thoughts went in a different direction.
”How do you know that?” Leah said. ”Maybe he just wants to slaughter indiscriminately to satisfy some mad urge.”
Zakareth met her gaze then, with eyes of blue and red. Leah tried her best not to look away. ”I know the man he was,” the King said. ”I cannot think that Incarnation has changed him so much.”
Talos leaned forward, one hand almost unconsciously brus.h.i.+ng his sheathed sword. ”How do you know so much about him?”
”Because I was the one who sealed him in that grave,” Zakareth replied. ”In a way, my actions led to this. I decided to place a tenth inmate in a prison built for nine.”
Neither of them had anything to say to that.
After a moment, Talos broke the awkward silence. ”I will leave now. We should mobilize all the soldiers and Travelers we can gather, and stop this Incarnation directly. We can warn the Overlords to be on alert, to defend their Trees, but if we can take care of this Incarnation now, we will have disarmed the Grandmasters' primary weapon. Perhaps Indirial can even lure this Incarnation back into his home Territory.”
That wasn't a bad plan; Incarnations became trapped if they stayed too long in the Territories that created them. Her tutors had said that this was because the Incarnations were part of the Territory's power, and by returning they became absorbed in their world's fabric. She hardly understood the theory behind that, but she didn't need to know the theory; as long as Incarnations couldn't move miles in seconds through their Territories, she was satisfied.
Zakareth continued staring at Leah, his expression as unyielding as the face of a hammer. She knew what he wanted. He only got that look when he wanted her to prove herself. Leah sighed*inwardly; she wasn't fool enough to do anything but obey to her father's face*and spoke what she and her father had both considered immediately.
”We need to consider the opposite strategy,” Leah said. ”We may want to determine which Overlords the Grandmasters will attack, and prepare traps there. In the meantime, we send a token force to oppose the Incarnation, or else send no one.”
Talos let his chair fall forward on its front legs, sending a thunk echoing through the sitting room.
”If we send no one, the Incarnation will slaughter at his leisure. The villagers will have no chance. They will fall by the dozens.”
”It's a strategy we have to consider,” Leah said. ”The Grandmasters may or may not accompany the Incarnation, but they will attack the Trees. If we can ambush them there, then we can remove the Grandmasters, who represent a significant portion of the Enosh fighting force. Besides, even if we stop the Valinhall Incarnation and save dozens or hundreds of lives, losing the Hanging Tree will release the other Incarnations. Thousands more will die. Tens of thousands.”
King Zakareth leaned back in his chair and gave her one brief nod of approval.
Her heart swelled with pride, though she tried to ignore it. She was a grown woman; her father's opinion should mean nothing to her. But approval or encouragement from her father was more rare and valuable than diamonds.
Talos' face twisted. He sneered at them, and it did terrible things to his face. He didn't look like a hero now, just like a broken and bitter man.
”You two. You're the same as Cynara and Adessa. You have no thought for those beneath you.”
”Do not speak of things you do not understand,” King Zakareth said. He did not sound angry; he was just making a statement. But Leah edged back, close enough to the fire now that the heat felt scalding even through three layers of clothing. Even if her cloak caught fire, it was better than standing in the middle if the argument between two Ragnarus Travelers came to blows.
”I understand enough,” Talos said. He gripped his sheathed sword in one hand, pulling it to his side. ”I understand that you are more concerned about your rule than about the people who trust you.”
He did not put his other hand on the sword's hilt, which was likely the only reason that their father allowed him to remain conscious.