Death Weavers (26 page)

Cole related how Sando had tricked him and the suspicion that he was working for Nazeem. He summed up how he and his friends had previously helped Honor and Constance and shared what he knew about Destiny.

Durny listened solemnly. When Cole finished, the old man folded his arms and stared at the ground. “I may not know my way around the echolands. But I might know just the man to help you.”

“Really?”

“He can be fickle. But I expect this scenario will intrigue him. He's one of the few who comes and goes around here. Something of a folk hero. He should be able to steer you right.”

“Can we tell him everything?”

“I talk to him about Stafford and the princesses all the time. He works with the Unseen. He's as reliable an ally as you're likely to find. He's been my best source of news. I already knew Nazeem was searching intently for Tessa, for example. But I didn't know about Mira and Honor crossing into the echolands.”

“Where can we find your friend?”

“Come with me.”

*  *  *

Cole waited outside a door while Durny checked with his contact. After a few minutes Durny came and retrieved Cole. He followed the old shaper into the room.

Two men awaited them. A handsomely dressed man sat in a red leather chair. A stockier, balding man perched off to the side on a stool.

Cole recognized the man in the chair! His clothes were different from during their previous encounter, but the rings and cape looked the same. His face appeared a little older, but his carefully shaped beard remained black. “Harvan Kane!” Cole exclaimed.

Harvan grinned. “Always a thrill to meet an admirer. And you are?”

“Cole Randolph.”

Harvan bowed his head in greeting. “All those stories you've heard about me? Understatements.”

Cole couldn't help laughing at the casual cockiness. “We've met.”

“Have we?” Harvan asked, squinting. “Set aside the message, Cole, I can barely get a read on you.”

Cole glanced at Durny, who held out a hand. Cole passed him the message, and Durny set it on a table. Now Harvan would be able to hear his actual music.

“I'm normally good with faces,” Harvan apologized, one dark eyebrow raised.

“We met indirectly,” Cole said. “In the Cave of Memory.”

“Ah,” Harvan said. “My imprint. Was I helpful?”

“You were guarding a secret,” Cole said. “I was there looking for somebody else.”

Harvan rubbed the dense, sculpted fur on his chin. “I remember the secret. I hoped my imprint would protect it. How'd I do?”

“You told me nothing,” Cole said.

Harvan pumped a fist. “More than a hundred years later, still going strong.”

“Although you let him know you had a secret,” the guy on the stool pointed out. “That's only one step away from revealing it.”

“We all have secrets,” Harvan replied dismissively. “Especially anyone in that cave.” He jerked a thumb at the man on the stool. “This is Winston. On a good day, he's more useful than annoying. I was a capable weaver in my time, but he's the better weaver in the echolands.”

Winston folded his hands on one knee. “And why is that?”

Harvan shrugged and shared an uncomfortable smile. “Because I can barely weave anymore.”

“Barely?” Winston inquired.

“Not at all, really,” Harvan admitted.

“My power is blocked too,” Cole sympathized.

Harvan squinted at him. “Blocked? More like destroyed!” He glanced at Winston. “You ever see such a mess?”

“It's not pretty,” Winston said.

“How'd you manage that?” Harvan asked Cole.

Cole glanced at Durny. “Can I talk in here?”

“Speak freely,” Harvan said. “Nobody can spy on us. Winston sees to that.”

Durny gave a nod.

“I fought a shapecrafter named Morgassa who was terrorizing Elloweer,” Cole said. “She attacked my power as we defeated her.”

Harvan laughed and smiled, rubbing his hands briskly. “My kind of guy! See what I mean, Winston? You haven't really taken a stand until you get your hands dirty. The kid has battle scars.”

“I'm sure you can provide him with more,” Winston replied dryly.

“Maybe,” Harvan said with a chuckle. He refocused on Cole. “I'm to believe you've met four of the Pemberton girls?”

“Miracle, Honor, and Constance,” Cole said. “I helped all of them regain their powers. I've only met Destiny's imprint.”

Harvan leaned forward. “Your music sounds truthful, and I have an ear for it. Winston?”

“Agreed.”

“This guy vouches for you too,” Harvan went on, jerking his chin toward Durny. “You want directions to the Hundred Forests? You're hoping to catch up with Destiny?”

“Yeah,” Cole said. “Do you know how to get there?”

Harvan rolled his eyes. “Cole? Please.”

“Does that mean you do?” Cole said.

“He doesn't know the stories,” Winston said.

“Stories?” Cole asked.

“He's arguably the greatest explorer the Outskirts has known,” Durny explained. “Harvan Kane stories have expanded into folk tales.”

“They haven't grown that much,” Harvan protested.

“You had others write your autobiography so they could embellish,” Winston said.

“It's tedious to transcribe events you lived,” Harvan said. “Writing produces grotesque oversimplification. The verbal history has been accurate enough.”

“The one about Mount Fairview?” Winston prompted.

“The highest peak in Sambria,” Harvan said. “I reached the summit.”

“Defeating an army of yetis?” Winston pressed.

“There were yetis,” Harvan maintained. “They tried to kill me. Avoiding is basically defeating.”

“With a magical spear?” Winston pursued innocently.

“I found a spear,” Harvan asserted. “Some details improve with any retelling.”

“The one about the witch?” Winston went on.

“Enchantress, witch,” Harvan said. “She had powers.”

“Turned you into a frog, did she?” Winston asked.

“I had huge warts,” Harvan said. “And I couldn't speak.”

Winston shook his head.

“Harvan's renown is well deserved,” Durny inserted. “He was a legitimate hero, or he wouldn't be in the Hall of Glory. And unlike many, he continues to explore here in the echolands.”

“This is just my base of operations,” Harvan said. “I interact with a few of the top Unseen weavers. I know quite a bit about the Pembertons. I'm concerned about this new fellow, Nazeem.”

“I think he's been around for a very long time,” Cole said.

“So it seems,” Harvan said. “But his name has only recently surfaced. He remains shrouded in mystery.”

“I met him,” Cole said.

Harvan's jaw dropped, and he stared with undisguised astonishment. “In the flesh?”

“I snuck into a secret meeting beneath the First Castle,” Cole said. “Nazeem used the Founding Stone to communicate with his followers. He was speaking from the Fallen Temple.”

“There have been theories . . . ,” Winston mused.

“The Fallen Temple?” Harvan checked. “You know this for certain?”

“I was in the meeting when Nazeem spoke,” Cole said. “He noticed me. Now he's hunting me.”

Harvan covered his mouth. “You're the boy in the recent reports. Yes, you match the description. No wonder he wants you. Cole, nobody knows Nazeem resides in the Fallen Temple. In Necronum and the echolands, we all keep our distance from that accursed place. For centuries, nobody has laid eyes on the temple and survived to tell the tale.”

Cole held up a finger. “People have been there. They just know how to keep a secret.”

“What people?” Harvan asked, almost hesitantly.

“Owandell, for one,” Cole said.

Bringing his fists to his temples, Harvan reeled in his seat, as if Cole had struck him. “I feared as much. What do you know of the shapecrafters?”

“Nazeem taught Owandell shapecraft,” Cole said. “The shapecrafters all follow Nazeem.”

Grimacing, Harvan nodded. “Owandell used shapecraft to strip the princesses of their abilities and empower Stafford.”

“Right,” Cole said. “Now Owandell and his followers expect Nazeem to return. Nazeem acted like it would happen soon.”

Harvan slackened, his eyes gazing vacantly. “Funny how some mistakes never stop haunting you.”

“What mistakes?” Cole asked.

Winston shook his head. “We can discuss other—”

Harvan held up a hand. “No. The boy is embroiled in this. Like so many others, he is paying for my faults. He deserves to hear it.”

Cole listened.

“I knew Owandell. Long ago. He was a companion on several of the adventures toward the end of my mortal life. We became friends. Younger than me, he was smart, fearless, and full of ambition. I should have heeded the warning signs.”

“You couldn't have known—” Winston began.

Harvan held up a hand again. “We shared some similarities. Both of us wanted to go places nobody had ventured. We wanted to behold unexplored regions of the five kingdoms. But while I avoided the known strongholds of great evil, he displayed an unhealthy interest in them. I could never tell him enough about the Lost Palace, the Forsaken City, or the Fallen Temple.”

“I went to the Lost Palace to rescue Honor,” Cole said.

“Nobly done,” Harvan said. “You were fortunate to escape with your life and your sanity. Would you have gone there out of curiosity?”

“No,” Cole said.

“This is where you and Owandell differ,” Harvan said. “And where I am unlike him as well. He was absolutely fascinated by knowledge and power, regardless of the source. His own shaping abilities were nothing extraordinary, but his ambition knew no boundaries. He was very patient. Despite many hints of his true character, I didn't take him seriously until it was too late.”

“What happened?” Cole asked.

Harvan heaved a remorseful sigh. “Though most of my explorations happened in the physical Outskirts, I was a weaver. Over time, Owandell showed increased interest in mapping the echolands. At first we crossed over together, but my primary interests involved exploring the physical world. I figured I would have time to explore the echolands after I crossed over.”

“Sounds like you have,” Cole said.

“More than most,” Harvan said. “Owandell, however, remained intent on mapping the echolands as a bright echo. Due to his persistence, I eventually let him cross alone while others watched over his body in longsleep. He undertook several such journeys. I was courting a magnificent woman at the time, the Grand Shaper Denshi Ridal. I had resisted marriage for years, but her charms overwhelmed me. I was utterly distracted, and for the first time, seriously considering an end to my bachelorhood.”

Harvan covered his eyes with his hands but kept speaking. “The day after Owandell returned from a lengthy trip to the echolands, Denshi lost her shaping powers. She came to me, blaming Owandell. In her sleep, she had felt his violent presence, and she awoke with her shaping disabled. There was no hard proof, and Owandell gave a virtuoso performance of baffled innocence. I honestly believed there had to be some other explanation.”

Harvan uncovered his eyes. Tears shone in them. “I went to the Cave of Memory. I spoke with one of the ancient Grand Shapers and learned that on rare occasions, individuals had developed the ability to shape the shaping power, always after a trip to the echolands.”

“Was that your secret?” Cole asked.

“A grave one at the time,” Harvan said. “Nobody in my day had considered the possibility of altering the shaping power. Such attempts could undermine the very fabric of the Outskirts. Over the years, the Grand Shapers had succeeded in quietly eliminating those with such abilities for the public good.”

“That must be why the latest shapecrafters stayed so secretive,” Cole said. “They had been wiped out before. Nazeem would have known that.”

Harvan let out a bitter chuckle. “You're not slow, kid. I began to examine Owandell's fascination with the arcane in a new light. His recent visits to the afterlife became a cause for real concern. If he represented the rebirth of this ability to reshape shaping, he would have indeed had the power to strip Denshi of her abilities. The imprint of the Grand Shaper I spoke with could offer no alternate explanations.”

“What happened?” Cole asked.

“I should have gone straight after Owandell,” Harvan said, teeth gritted. “I should have attacked out of hiding. I also should have warned others, but the Grand Shaper in the cave really wanted to keep the possibility of tampering with the shaping power a secret. In the end, I was overconfident.”

“You're admitting to hubris?” Winston exclaimed. “Can I get that in writing?”

“Anybody can make a mistake once,” Harvan said with a faint smile.

“Got it,” Winston said. “Your one mistake ever.”

Harvan waved away his reaction. “I went straight to Denshi and told her all I had learned. She was so happy I finally believed her. Owandell had gone into hiding, but we started planning how to flush him out and deal with him. Little did we know he had poisoned our supper.”

“Really?” Cole exclaimed.

Harvan smiled ruefully. “That was our last night in mortality. But it gets worse. Owandell had used my time away to prepare. Not only did he assassinate both of us, but he had weavers lined up who bound and imprisoned our echoes.”

“No way,” Cole said. It was too terrible to be true.

“Some lessons come at great cost,” Harvan said. “I wasn't kept with Denshi. I didn't escape for over fifty years. It took outside aid. By the time I was free, Owandell had helped Stafford steal his daughters' powers and fake their deaths. I started working with the Unseen, and I searched for Denshi. Before I could find her, another freed her, and she went straight to a slipstream. I couldn't blame her, but I was devastated. I spent some time in the Hall of Glory trying to recover. I considered moving on, but felt I had introduced too much evil to the world to leave before the situation was resolved. Instead, the horizon continues to darken.”