Eurue- The Forgotten World Read online

  “We’re going after Tristan?” Assint asked after greetings were done with.

  “Yes,” Kila grinned.

  “Excellent. How do we find them?”

  “Exactly as we would normally. In the manner we arranged this meeting,” Prima said, having thought about as they headed towards the meet-up. “Send a message, receive a reply.”

  “Dangerous,” Kila frowned.

  “A risk indeed,” Prima acknowledged.

  “Not if one of us does it,” Mahler murmured, pointing at himself. “I know Tristan’s signature very well and can keep it so narrow that no one will know.”

  Prima glared at him. “Why not suggest it in the Dome?”

  After glancing at Assint, the Centuar shrugged. “We tried in the Dome, actually. So did Belun. Nothing happened, but here, here it could work. Gabryl doesn’t know we’re around and therefore …”

  “… may not have warded against terrestrial signal,” Prima nodded. “Excellent. Do it.”

  Stepping back, Mahler assumed his true form. On four legs, with his sleek hide shimmering akin to smoky quartz, his mane enviously thick and lustrous, shining auburn, he was quite the sight. Kila had not yet become familiar with the Centuar true form, and gaped every time it happened. Coppery wings were furled against his flanks, quivering as if seeking flight.

  Staring into the distance, he stilled to the stance of an immovable statue.

  A few beats later, one wing suddenly flopped down, causing Prima to flinch.

  Mahler shook his great head and quickly resumed the bipedal form. “They either can’t hear me or I can’t hear them, but I did find a place with clear residue signature.”

  Assint slapped him on the back. “Good enough. A place to start.”

  “We wait until nightfall, then you lead us there, Centuar,” Prima murmured.

  Chapter 12

  Acuity is a strange creature. It’s more than sharp-sightedness; it’s alert and aware intelligence. It is difficult to mask. And, friend, know this, acuity gets you into trouble.

  ~ Isaiah Kronig – Electan of Valaris ~

  Petunya

  Frond

  The Chateau

  “TOLD YOU THAT you wouldn’t like it.” Alusin wiped blood from his lips. “Yet that is what happened; Caballa came to me.”

  After scowling for long minutes, an eye lock Alusin did not break, not even to blink, Tristan retreated to the torture chair. Bent over, with his head in his hands, he said, “Tell me.”

  “This weapon …”

  “About Caballa! Fuck the weapon.”

  Pressing his lips briefly together, Alusin went on. “I know you are aware of realms meeting at certain points, which allows us to commune … just give me a fucking chance, will you? I’m getting to Caballa, but I need to explain.”

  Tristan, having lifted his head, lowered it again.

  “Sometimes such a meeting can be in the ether, where there are only thoughts, and sometimes it is an actual place arrived at together, and sight is given, although absent of detail. Yes, to answer your question, I actually saw her.” Alusin inhaled and released explosively. “I understand now.”

  Tristan had straightened, but remained both wordless and expressionless.

  “Caballa is a beautiful woman.”

  A small smile twitched at Tristan’s lips. “Indeed.”

  “More than her outer beauty, though, is her inner glory.”

  A tear tracked over Tristan’s cheek, and he stared at his hands.

  “I too would berate the fates. I understand.”

  Without looking at him, Tristan nodded. “Thank you. Go on.” His shoulders lowered as tension left him by degrees.

  Alusin snorted then. “Man, she’s feisty. Sent a barrage of questions at me and I couldn’t get a bloody word in.”

  Laughing, Tristan leaned back, his eyes closed. “Sounds like Caballa, yes.”

  On cat’s paws, Alusin approached the Valleur to hunker before him. He gripped the man’s hand, hard, knowing he would fight the clasp.

  “I will now give the vision to you.”

  “I don’t want it! Let go.”

  “No. You need to see her, you need to hear her. This is part of your healing.” Alusin dug his nails into the man’s palm, holding on.

  “It will hurt too much!”

  Alusin smiled. “Not when you hear what she has to say.”

  Tristan stilled to utter immovability, and then he blinked. “Truth?”

  Alusin nodded.

  Swallowing, Tristan relaxed his hand.

  Alusin transferred the images and words, and then retreated to watch him.

  Realm

  ALUSIN HAD NOT called to Caballa, but the moment he stepped into the otherworld she was there, arms akimbo, waiting for him. Before releasing his hold on reality, he asked for answers, the kind needed to fell the daetal. Clearly Caballa had those answers or she would not be there.

  The place was a courtyard, with battlements surrounding it. A mosaic pool rippled beneath a giant tree, but all was hazy, merely a sense of place, not an actual tangible space.

  He had never been there in reality, but he recognised it nonetheless, from the Dome’s monitoring, and from Tristan’s descriptions. This was a version of Torrke on Valaris, the Keep Torrullin built for family. No Valla had set foot in it for over a hundred years.

  Caballa knew it well, though, and waited for him to greet her, one tawny eyebrow hiking ever higher. She wore a gold brocade gown.

  He, Alusin, did not know this woman, not at the point of meeting, and therefore approached warily. “Do I know you?”

  “I am Caballa.”

  His gut hollowed out. Sweat poured from every pore. Caballa. By all gods. Was she here to hurt him or help him? Aaru, she was beautiful. How did he ever hope to compete with the memory of this woman?

  “I am Alusin.”

  “And you’re pretty petrified right now, I can tell.” She smiled, which highlighted her stunning features by a factor of bloody a thousand. “You seek a solution to daetal and in there is something about …” She quirked her head. “… quicksilver?”

  “Indeed, we …”

  “How are daetal suddenly in your reality again? How is Tristan? What are the Kaval doing? Did bloody Torrullin and Elianas vanish into the mists? Is Tian all right? Has Tristan kissed you yet? Where are you now? Is he watching over you?” She slapped a hand over her mouth, and then burst out laughing, and it was the sweetest, most uplifting sound ever.

  Grinning, Alusin merely watched her. Within minutes of meeting her he understood how much she had meant to Tristan, why he missed her despite the distance time should have given him, and how he believed reaching out to love was in a convoluted manner, for Tristan, a betrayal.

  Caballa was the kind of woman who inspired loyalty.

  “May I speak?” he teased. “Yes, Tristan is watching over me as we do this, which, by the way, wasn’t what I expected to happen.”

  “Is he touching you to lend support? Yes? Then that’s why I am here. Valla blood calls, after all, and where the Vallas are concerned, visions are always more than expected.”

  Indeed. He felt that now. His previous journeys were more symbolic, with the occasional true sight, but rarely had he ended up meeting a known deceased. The Vallas were powerful, more than he had realised.

  Before he could ask after the real reason he was there, she said, “I am able to extend our time until you have sufficient answers, so please allow me a few personal questions.”

  With his gut tightening, he nodded.

  “Tell me about him, Alusin.”

  He did not know what she needed from him. “Be more specific.”

  A brief smile relaxed her expectant expression. “Are you his Eternal Companion?”

  “Seems so.”

  “Ah, Tristan is reluctant. Why?”

  Alusin spread his hands.

  “He hasn’t let me go, I see.” She swung away to move to the indistinct pool. Staring into it
, she said, “You must share this vision with him. Can you? Will you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then just listen now, for I am going to speak to Tristan through you.” Facing him once more, she stared into his eyes. “Tris …” She paused, and then fire erupted in her eyes. “Damn stupid man, it’s time for you to live! Love! You cannot go through time with your heart closed off!” She stamped a foot. “Get over yourself, hear? I miss you, I love you, and I know you feel the same, but I was, until now, happy in my Afterlife, because I believed you were happy. You’re killing me, idiot. Must I now spend my years wondering if you are fine? Wondering if you are harking after something forever unattainable? Aaru, look at him, Tris! He’s gorgeous! Have you even told him that?”

  Alusin licked his lips, but did not dare make a further move or sound.

  “Ha, I wager you haven’t even slept with another woman, never mind touching the one meant for your eternity.” Caballa drew breath and let it out slowly. “Life is so precious, my love, and love is part of that. I am not there in life to stand between you and Alusin, not as Saska did for Torrullin and Elianas. You do not need to suffer that torment. Please don’t allow my memory to do so.” She blew a kiss, cleared her throat and looked away.

  Breaking the connection, Alusin wandered to the tree to lay his hands there. It felt astonishingly real. “Where is your Afterlife, Caballa?”

  She laughed after a moment. “Not in Aaru, thank Aaru! Funnily enough, I landed up with a fair few other Valleur. Life is good.”

  “And love?” he prompted, knowing Tristan would want to know.

  “I loved two men, and they looked exactly the same, and that was enough for me. I do, however, care for someone and spend time with him. We laugh, and laughter makes up for everything else. Tell him I am happy, Alusin, for it is the truth.”

  Alusin smiled.

  “Does he still wear his scars?”

  “Rivalen’s markings are gone, but he continues to hold onto those Halon left him with.”

  “What?” Arms akimbo, she stared at him. “Halon marked him? How?”

  “A duel.”

  She threw her hands up. “Idiot! No wonder he’s holding on!” She marched up to him and stared into his eyes again. “Tris, thank you for getting rid of that monster Halon, but hear this; he deserved to die and you deserve to live. Your vengeance does not define you. I demand that you live. In fact …” She drew back to look at Alusin rather than Tristan through his eyes. “I will make Alusin swear to a second summoning in a year from now. He better meet with me and have better news, hear? Alusin?”

  The hugest smile sat on his face. “I swear.”

  “Good. Now. No more personal stuff. Let’s talk about quicksilver …”

  The Chateau

  TRISTAN OPENED his eyes. Unerringly, he found Alusin’s watchful gaze. He smiled.

  Exhaling forcefully, Alusin slumped. Thank the gods.

  “A year, huh? So I have a year to get you into bed.”

  Alusin’s head snapped up.

  Laughing under his breath, Tristan murmured, “Relax, I’m well aware it’s the other way around.” Standing, he paced to the fire. “I exited the vision before you discussed quicksilver. What did Caballa reveal?”

  A safer topic. Yes, they needed equanimity immediately. “Hold onto your golden ponytail for this.”

  Tristan head jerked to stare at him over his shoulder. “Hell, what now?”

  “The quicksilver weapon isn’t about a metal able to become liquid. Quicksilver, in this scenario, refers to sorcerical breath.”

  An eyebrow shot up.

  Alusin nodded almost gleefully. “And hear this, Kaval leader. Sabian, your famous master historian, the one who went with Torrullin?”

  Tristan swung completely around, his eyes rounded.

  “Sabian possesses the ancient breath.”

  Tristan frowned. “Then we’re fucked.”

  Alusin wiggled a finger. “Ah, no, that’s not the end of the story. Are you aware of where Sabian hails from?”

  “Beyond the Rift, a world called Kinsail in his time. Margus destroyed it, though.”

  Still wiggling that finger, Alusin went on. “Correct. Now, Margus was Michael in that ancient time, Sabian’s brother, and they descended from a couple who were on the ship that drifted through a warp from this universe to that.”

  Tristan blinked. “Gods, I think I know what you’re going to say.”

  “I’ll say it anyway. Sabian’s lineage is Kemir. The world abandoned in their ancient past was Eurue.” Dropping his gleeful attitude, Alusin inhaled as if for courage. “The answer to the quicksilver breath lies there.”

  “Gods. Is Gabryl …”

  “Kemir? He may be, yes.”

  Chapter 13

  A picture is worth the decision made to create it

  ~ Awl ~

  Petunya

  Frond

  The barn

  “THEY WERE HERE, along with others, probably also hostages now,” Assint mumbled as he wandered the perimeter of the barn.

  “Can you track where they went from here?” Kila demanded. She studied the fire pit; it had been recently used.

  Prima, meanwhile, regarded a discarded arrow he found under a crate.

  Assint pulled a face. “General direction only.”

  “Then we hop in that direction in small increments until we find them,” Mahler suggested.

  “Agreed.” Kila glanced at the older man. “Prima?”

  He looked up and approached, holding the arrow aloft. “I agree, yes. This arrow has a drop of mercury on the tip.” He pointed at the narrow slots. “The folk here made a stand against the daetal, using arrows like these, until Tristan and Alusin arrived.”

  “Which means they are aware of the deterrent,” Mahler murmured.

  “Or someone needed them alive until our Kaval leader put in an appearance,” Kila said.

  “Sounds about right,” Prima nodded. He tucked the arrow in at his waist, just in case. “Lead on, Assint. It’s true dark now and we won’t be running into ghosts. Let’s use it until we find our friends.”

  Flashing a grin, the Centuar did just that.

  The Chateau

  DAWN WAS ABOUT to heave into view. It was time to get into hiding, and the best place for that was the ostentatious chateau beyond the treeline they now hunkered in.

  “They are inside,” Prima whispered. “This is the place.”

  “Well done, Ass,” Mahler grinned.

  “Don’t thank me yet. We’re about to meet the enemy.” Assint pointed at shifting shadows approximately a hundred paces from the building. “The moment the light arrives, so do they.”

  “One of us needs to attempt a transport into that fancy place,” Kila suggested.

  “Do it,” Prima told her.

  Breathing in, she reached for the state of transferral, and landed on her butt in the wet undergrowth. Swearing, she muttered, “Well, clearly not.”

  “Which explains why they cannot leave.” Prima was grim.

  “We can’t stay …” Assint cut himself off when Mahler gripped his arm, pointing.

  One of the outer doors had opened, one side of a double set covered in small panes. A man stepped out.

  Tristan.

  The four Kaval inhaled sharply.

  A moment later Alusin stepped out as well.

  “Fuck, I think they’re about to take the daetal on,” Kila whispered. “Suicide.”

  “Send this location to the Dome,” Prima commanded Assint, and stepped from the treeline.

  “Prima!” Kila stood as well, though, reaching for the throwing knives at her belt.

  “Get the fuck down, both of you,” Mahler growled. “And just look over there.” He pointed emphatically. “See the line surrounding the house? It becomes more visible as the light strengthens. I’m betting that’s what keeps the daetal out and our friends in.” He glared at Prima as the man hunkered. “It keeps us out too. We will all die if we go haring
in.”

  Just then, beams of light shot into the cleared region near where Tristan and Alusin waited, both with swords ready.

  Spinning ether spheres erupted into being, unravelling, unfolding, unmaking, to become as octopi, tentacles reaching, reaching … and jerking back when too close to the line Mahler had pointed out.

  Kila slapped a hand over her mouth.

  “Too many,” Assint whispered, his gaze sweeping side to side.

  “They cannot touch Tristan and Alusin,” Prima said. “Not unless those two endure what it is to endure if they choose to step over the line.”

  Both Centuar groaned when the two men in the distance deliberately ambled forward.

  “No, don’t do it,” Kila blurted, her tone disbelieving.

  Decisive then, Prima said, “Get ready for transport, because we are about to draw daetal attention and tell our leader we know their position.”

  Assint stared at him.

  Prima offered a grin. “We need to stop them from stepping over the line.”

  Snorting, Assint said, “You’re crazy, but I like it.”

  “We make a noise?” Mahler laughed. “I’m in.”

  “Me too.” Kila inhaled. “Ready.”

  Assint and Mahler nodded.

  Together the four Kaval hustled into the growing sunlight, and started screaming insults.

  Tristan and Alusin paused and heads turned their way.

  The daetal too shifted in their direction … and then raced towards them.

  Seconds before the monsters were upon them, they vanished.

  TRISTAN NEARLY BOWLED Alusin over when slapping his back. “They know where we are!”

  “Thank the gods.” The Kemir glared at his tormentor. “They also tell us to get the hell inside. They made that racket for a reason.”

  Sucking at his teeth, the Valleur studied the returning daetal, rolling in a lopsided manner back towards them to man the quicksilver barrier.

  “Let me look at them first,” he muttered, sauntering to the line, sheathing his sword.