Lightgiver (12 page)

Besis clenched his jaw but nodded. Rael took a step forward, her violet robe rustling in the wind. She let the ball of light she held in her hand dissipate as she got closer to the shadows. The townspeople gaped at her, and more than one student stared on with wide-eyed shock. Jez understood, though. Just like being an adjutant was more than just having enough power, so being a master was more than being a skilled mage. The ultimate responsibility of the masters was to watch over matters beyond the purview of mortal law. They were the guardians in matters of magic, and it was for situations like this that they were chosen.

One of the shadows rushed out from the dark mass, but before it got even close to Rael, a brilliant net shot from Besis’s hands and enveloped it. It shrank quickly until it became an obsidian bead no larger than the tip of Jez’s little finger. Two others shades attacked Rael. This time, one of them had entered her before Besis caught it. Rael barely flinched, but then half a dozen creatures swarmed her. Besis’s hands were a blur and nets rushed outward in almost steady streams. It was a few seconds before any of his students thought to help, but by then, the shadows were swarming, seemingly being driven into a feeding frenzy by their taste of the master of shadows. Rael screamed, and Jez launched a binding of his own. He caught one of the shadows, and for a moment, they all went still. The hairs on the back of Jez’s neck stood on end.

“By the seven,” he said under his breath. “They recognize me.”

Like a huge mass of darkness, the shadows moved toward him like a wave. Their aversion to light apparently overcome by the feast they sensed in him. Dimly he heard Besis cry out. Nets flew toward the shadows, but once again, there were too many, and they were too close together for the wards to have any effect. More shadows than he could count entered into his mind.

The group of pharim stood in a place known only as the Court of the Stars. There was neither floor nor walls, only the endless expanse of the night sky. All around, their kin, including Jez, looked down on them. In order to prevent humans from freeing certain demons, a hundred Shadowguards had gone into the secret places and destroyed the knowledge the humans sought. It would be possible for that knowledge to be rediscovered, but it wouldn’t be easy, and it would probably take at least a hundred years for what had been lost to be regained. It was why the pharim had done it, but in doing so, they had violated mortal choice.

Sariel spread his six wings, shedding a terrible light. The Shadowguards in the middle shrank away, and even those watching writhed. More pain than Jez had ever felt surged through him. These pharim had existed alongside him since the creation of the universe, but they had betrayed their duty, and they no longer had a place in the Keep of the Hosts. Sariel rendered his judgment, and the offenders were torn away, cast down to the earth and cursed to wander.

“It hurt us far worse than it hurt you.”

The voice came from everywhere at once. Inside of himself, Jez felt the surprise of the shadows. This was no part of the memory. Suddenly, another pharim stood next to Jez, but this was no Shadowguard. Her robes shimmered golden yellow, and a sword that seemed to be made of sunlight hung from her waist. She radiated a profound sense of sadness. Though pharim couldn’t truly cry, he almost expected there to be tears running down her face.

“You’re a Lightgiver,” Jez said.

“Once. Like your kind, my kind were tried like this, and just as Sariel cast these down, Gayel banished the traitors to the mortal realm.”

“You’re the one I saw at the Library of Zandra.”

“Yes, I was in that place. Were you?”

“Not exactly,” Jez said. “Are you really here now?”

“Yes. Shall I deal with these invaders?”

“Can you?”

The Lightgiver inclined her head. Her shining wings spread out, and Jez heard screaming in his mind. The next thing Jez knew, he was on the ground in the city of Tarcai. People around him screamed, but gradually, those cries subsided. It was night, but nearby, something shone as bright as the sun. His mind felt fluid as if it had the potential to be anything. He blinked several times and could barely make out a humanoid shape that was the source of the light. The shadows writhed as their forms were reduced to obsidian marbles.

Jez shivered as he stood up. A few people were looking around, trying to figure out what was happening, but most had their eyes locked on the Lightgiver. As the last of the shadows were trapped, her wings vanished, and her robes stopped shimmering and became the normal robes of a summoner.

She smiled at Jez. “You called me. I take it you wished to speak to me?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Once again, they gathered in the summoning house. Jez and his friends joined the masters, though it was only at the Lightgiver’s insistence that they were allowed in. She stood up straight where the circle had originally been drawn to summon her, though the sand had been cleared away. She wouldn’t meet anyone’s gaze except for Jez.

“I heard your summons,” she said. “I had to walk. I had no way to get here faster.”

“Because afur can’t go Between,” Jez said.

“Exactly so.”

Jez inclined his head. “Thanks for your help with the shadows. I’m Jez.”

He extended his hand, but she just stared at it. Behind him, Linala cleared her throat. The afur’s eyes flickered to her before coming back to rest on Jez.

“They called me Mirel, once.”

“How did you deal with the shadows?” Linala asked. “I thought only a web could bind them.”

Mirel glared at her but didn’t answer until Jez nodded.

“I was a Lightgiver, and though I have only a fraction of the power I once held, I can still use the light Gayel gifted us with. They cannot abide it. You will imprison them again?”

“Yes,” Linala said. “I’m not sure we got all of them, though.”

“Very likely you didn’t. Such creatures can often slip through cracks in wards that even their creators are unaware of.”

Linala nodded. “I don’t think they’ll stay clustered, though we should warn the people of Tarcai and Hiranta to put up extra lights the next couple of nights. It’ll take a while for the shadows to scatter.”

“As you will,” the afur said.

“I’ll handle it,” Horgar said, and he headed to the door. Mirel stared after him until he was gone. Then, she turned back to Jez. “Why did you summon me?”

Jez looked at the masters and suddenly didn’t feel so sure of himself. They were all staring at him. Jez wanted to point out that this was more Linala’s area of expertise. That was the whole reason they’d gathered in the practice house. He glanced at one of the circles carved into the ground, hoping she would catch his meaning, but the knowledge master inclined her head at him, and he took a deep breath.

“You were at the Library of Zandra when it...” He fumbled for the right words. “When Gayel took it.”

Mirel raised an eyebrow. “Where did you learn that? I had thought all those who did not get cast out were burned. Were you perhaps there unseen?”

“No,” Jez said. “I mean not exactly. You weren’t the only one there. There were also demons. I got the information from one of them.”

Mirel shook her head and glanced at some of the partial circles carved into the ground. Her eyes narrowed. “It is not wise to go to them seeking wisdom.”

“We find wisdom where we can,” Linala said. “Sometimes demons can say what pharim cannot.”

“What pharim cannot say, you are better not knowing.” Linala started to argue, but Mirel raised a hand, and the knowledge master went silent. “Look at what the shadows nearly did. It is only because I am no longer prevented from interfering that you and your people survived.”

“If not for the shadows, we never would’ve found you,” Jez said.

“And you went searching for me because a demon saw me in a lost library?”

“Because you were there when the demons first rebelled,” Jez said, “and because as someone who used to be a pharim specializing in knowledge and summoning, you might know how they could escape the abyss.”

Mirel made a sound almost like a hiss, and it made Jez think of Enki. “I have told you that knowledge from demons is better left undiscovered, and yet you propose to not only summon them but to unleash them on this world.”

“No,” Jez said. “I want to stop them.”

That brought Mirel up short. “What do you mean?”

“There’s a particularly powerful demon there. He knows there’s a way out of the abyss, and he knows that the knowledge is in the library.”

“Everyone believes the library was destroyed.”

“Except for the demons who were there and saw it taken.”

She shook her head. “A demon couldn’t get to it. Even a human couldn’t get to it.”

“No,” Jez said, “but like Master Linala has said, there are beings other than demons out there, and we don’t know what kind of allies Sharim has.”

“I still don’t know what help you expect me to be.”

“Where is the library?” Jez asked.

“Don’t you know?”

“I know it’s Between, but where in Between?”

Mirel laughed. “There is no ‘where’ in Between.”

Jez let out a breath of frustration. Behind him, the masters murmured. He looked over his shoulder at them. Besis gaped openly, but the others stared at him as well. Jez realized he was treating a being as old as the universe like he would any other person. He thought that should bother him, but after his adventures the last couple of years, he just couldn’t bring himself to revere this being. He looked back at Mirel.

“I went Between, and I couldn’t find it.”

“You went Between? How?”

Jez glanced at Osmund. “I don’t actually know. It’s a little hard to explain. I can do it again, though.”

“Jez,” Osmund said.

Jez inclined his head to his friend but turned back to Mirel. “Can you just tell me how to get to the library once I’m Between.”

“I have no idea.”

“But you’re a Lightgiver.”

“I was a Lightgiver, and when the others cast me from the Keep of the Hosts, I lost the ability to go Between. That was long before the library was placed there. I don’t know how Gayel hid it.”

“You have to be able to tell us something,” Jez said. “Enki showed me your face.”

“Enki?”

Jez bit his lower lip. “A demon. A chanori.”

“The chanori were all destroyed in the rebellion.”

“Not all of them. This one had been held prisoner in the abyss.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You keep referring to him in the past tense.”

“We think he’s been destroyed,” Jez said.

“After all this time?”

Linala glanced at Osmund and stepped forward. “His physical form was destroyed in a battle with a scion of the Shadeslayers a few days ago. Even knowing his name and his type, we can’t locate him.”

Mirel pursed her lips and nodded. “Enki the chanori.”

She walked over to one of the half circles and examined it for a second before shaking her head. She went to another and repeated the gesture. At the third, she nodded and stepped up to the edge. She closed her eyes, and her robes shimmered. Wings emerged from her back, and a sword of light appeared at her side. She rose a few feet into the air, and glowing yellow runes appeared on the ground, completing the circle. Other runes appeared in the air. Jez had seen Sharim use something like that, though he still didn’t know how it was done. Some of the runes, both on the ground and in the air, were spinning slowly. Jez thought there was a pattern, but he couldn’t quite see it.

“Amazing,” Linala said. “It would take me all day to craft a circle like that.” She chuckled. “Now there’s a fair bit of arrogance on my part. I doubt I could craft something like that if you gave me half a year.”

The pharim began chanting, but it had a peculiar cadence, and Jez found himself lulled into listlessness. He knew that if Mirel said his name, he would be hard pressed to avoid coming to her. He sensed power suffusing the area. Mirel’s control was so fine, only the faintest trickle leaked into the air, but even that was enthralling. After a few minutes, she lowered her arms, and the runes faded. She met Jez’s eyes and shook her head.

“I could find no sign of a chanori named Enki.”

“Then, he’s really not there,” Linala said. “I had hoped he just hadn’t recovered enough for my magic to locate him.”

“Your skill is significant,” Mirel said as she shook her head. “You should’ve known that was not the case.”

“I knew, but I also hoped.”

Mirel gave her a slow nod. “Ah yes, the prerogative of your kind. Have you considered a tactic other than going to the library?”

“Like what?” Jez asked.

“Like bringing the Library of Zandra back to the mortal realm.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

For several long heartbeats, Jez just stared at her, only dimly aware of everyone else doing the same thing. Mirel cocked her head, seemingly unable to understand their shock. Jez tried to speak, but his mouth had gone dry, and it took a few seconds for him to work moisture back into it.

“Can we do that?”

“Of course. Why would you not be able to?”

He glanced at Linala, but she seemed content to let him speak. She had spoken of being able to summon the fires of the abyss, so obviously, beings weren’t the only things that could be summoned, but an entire library?