Orlind (51 page)

Limbane froze for
a moment when Eva spoke that name, and something glittered in his
cold blue eyes. Eva smiled in satisfaction.

‘
He
still scares you, doesn’t he? Even though he’s out of his mind.
He’s the only reason you and Krays didn’t utterly destroy Orlind
before. It takes a lot to hold the place together like that,
especially with large numbers of draykoni and Lokants fighting over
it. There are reasons why he was the Master, and not
you.’

Limbane flicked a
hand in Eva’s direction, the gesture dismissive and contemptuous.
‘Get them out of here, please, Andraly.’

His granddaughter
didn’t move. She was watching Eva with a faint smile on her
face.

‘
Krays
didn’t know about Galywis, did he?’ Eva said. ‘You let him think
Galy was dead, because you’d never share information you didn’t
have to. But if anybody was going to rejuvenate the Master Library,
then someone was going to have to deal with him. Why would you risk
yourself when you could get Krays to do it?’ She pointed at the
cupboard in which Limbane kept his records, hidden behind an
illusion of plain books. ‘Whatever he took from there was
information of some kind, probably about Galywis’s continued
residence on Orlind, and his mental instability. Krays’s getting in
here was a foregone conclusion: you planned it that way and
arranged for him to find just the right piece of information.
Properly encrypted, of course, but nothing he couldn’t break
eventually. You were hoping he’d pull Orlind back into shape and
deal with Galywis at the same time - aided by centuries of research
and technological improvements, and the deterioration of Galywis’s
mind. Then later you would seek to dispose of Krays, and install
yourself as Master. Am I right?’

Limbane shot her
a cool look. ‘Can you really be surprised? Anyone with sense would
have seen the opportunity.’

‘
Surprised? No. Not that,’ Eva sighed. ‘I realised some time
ago that I couldn’t trust a word from you. You can’t help it, can
you? It’s the way your world works. It runs on deception, secrets
and intrigue. And power struggles, though that’s hardly unique to
Lokant society.’ She smiled mirthlessly. ‘You should have taken us
more seriously. If you had, your scheme might have worked
out.’

Limbane’s eyes
narrowed. ‘I don’t think you understand. That Library can’t be
destroyed, or it would have died long ago. It isn’t
over.’

‘
It’s
gone,’ Eva said firmly. ‘Galywis believes it, and I trust his word
more than yours - but only because he’s not lucid enough to
construct a convincing lie. He’s a Lokant too, after
all.’

‘
Very
well, off with you,’ Limbane said, growing irritable. ‘I’m sure you
have other people’s dreams to ruin, and time’s wasting.’

‘
First, get the tracer out of Tren,’ she said
coldly.

‘
Fine,
fine. Go see my surgeons. They’ll remove the Library access device
from your ladyship as well, if you’re determined.’

‘
Quite, thanks,’ she said. Then she looked at Andraly. The
Lokant woman had sat in silence throughout the discussion, neither
agreeing nor arguing with anything Eva or her grandfather said. Her
only sign of rebellion had been to ignore Limbane’s command to
remove them.

‘
Thank
you for the note,’ Eva said to her.

Andraly’s
eyebrows rose, and real surprise showed in her eyes. ‘Note?’ she
repeated.

Eva blinked. She
could swear that Andraly’s puzzlement was genuine. That wasn’t
saying much, perhaps; Lokants were fantastic at dissembling, and
Andraly would never publically admit that she’d worked against her
grandfather’s plan - even if her reasons were essentially in his
interests.

But some instinct
told her that Andraly was speaking the truth. In which case, who
had given her the tip about Orlind? Someone else in Limbane’s
Library? One of Krays’s people, even? Or someone else
altogether?

Eva shook her
head in frustration. The endless secrecy and cloak-and-dagger
plotting among the Lokants exhausted her. It wouldn’t surprise her
at all to find that some other group had been involved all along,
without her knowing. Another Lokant Library, even; it was obvious
by now that Limbane’s and Krays’s Libraries were only a part of
their society.

But she would
probably never know the truth.

‘
Never
mind,’ she said to Andraly. ‘I don’t even... care, really. I just
want to go home.’

Andraly offered a
knowing smile. ‘It gets you like that,’ she said softly. ‘But
someday you’ll start to miss it. And you’ll be back.’

‘
I
doubt it,’ she said coolly. In her heart, though, she wondered if
Andraly might not be right on one level. Could she go back to Glour
and forget about her Lokant heritage, and everything she knew about
their world? Could she cut that part of herself away, and return to
being Lady Evastany Glostrum of Glour, and nothing more? In her
disgust and disillusionment with Limbane she felt as though she
would like to, but she was no fool. Someday, she would see the
Lokants again.

She only hoped
that the circumstances would be more favourable, if there was ever
a next time.

‘
Tren,’ she said, holding out her hand to him. ‘It’s time to
go.’

He smiled at her,
a smile full of warmth and reassuring affection. ‘It is,’ he said.
‘Time to go home.’

***

When Llan and
Pensould finally returned to Waeverleyne, they took the precaution
of flying in their human forms, unsure how the arrival of a pair of
draykoni would be greeted by its residents. Flying high over the
city, Llandry was pleased and gratified to see signs of rebuilding
and renewal everywhere. She could see people clearing and
replanting the burned and broken areas of the glissenwol woods,
mending and rebuilding dwellings, shops and halls. Some of those
who had fled Waeverleyne during the worst of the violence were now
returning, aided by those who had stayed - and survived.

But a
considerable area on the north side of the city had burnt down
altogether. The forest was blackened and bare, and Llandry saw no
such activity taking place there to renew the lost trees and
buildings. She guessed, with great sadness, that it was beyond
saving.

She found her
mother at the council halls. Only basic repairs had been undertaken
here, but Waeverleyne’s leadership was managing to operate
surprisingly efficiently in their reduced circumstances.

‘
We’re
getting homes repaired first,’ Ynara said, after she’d finished
hugging Llandry so hard that the girl couldn’t breathe. ‘It will
take some time, of course. Now tell me all about your adventures,
love.’ Llandry told all, submitting patiently to Ynara’s repeated
checks for any lasting negative effects. Mamma was silent for a few
moments after Llandry had finished, a worried frown furrowing her
perfect brow.

‘
Orlind, then, remains a threat,’ she said at last. ‘If this
Galywis is to pass on, who’s to contain the island? If his machines
fail, the corrupted... amasku, did you call it?... could be upon us
at any time.’

Pensould said,
‘Do not fear it, Mother-of-Minchu. The machines are sound and will
hold for some time yet. When affairs between draykoni and humankind
have settled I will take a party of our strongest and see what may
be done about renewing Orlind.’

Ynara smiled
gratefully at him. ‘You’re a treasure, Pensould.’

‘
What’s become of Papa?’ Llan asked. ‘Is he... is he all
right?’

‘
Perfectly,’ Ynara said with a grin. ‘He’s building and
rebuilding. You’ll see him this eventide when he comes home. That
is,’ she added, as if suddenly realising Llandry’s changed
circumstances, ‘if you’re going to be here?’

‘
For a
little while, Ma,’ Llandry said.

Eventide came,
and it was pleasant and poignant in equal measure. Being at home
again with both her parents, and all her ordeals behind her, was
balm to Llandry’s long-troubled spirit. The addition of Pensould to
the family circle was strange at first, but once they had grown
used to the augmentation it became comfortable. Llandry had the
satisfaction of knowing that both her parents had come to accept
Pensould, despite their reservations at first. In time, she hoped
they would not only accept him but love him as well.

On the other
hand, she knew without doubt that this reunion was only temporary.
This part of her life had passed beyond recall; while there were
some elements of it that she would not miss, she would certainly
miss the companionableness of her days and eventides with Mamma and
Pa, and the feeling of safety and security she had always enjoyed
in her parents’ home.

‘
Can
you stay for three days more, love?’ Ynara asked at one
point.

‘
Certainly,’ Llan smiled, ‘but why three?’

‘
We’ll
be needing you around,’ was all her mother said, and Llandry had to
wait to find out what she meant.

On her second day
at home, Devary arrived. She greeted him with joy and some
surprise, and a hint of awkwardness. It had been some time since
she’d seen him.

‘
I did
hear that you’d gone back to Nimdre,’ she said, smiling at
him.

‘
I
did, but your mother was kind enough to inform me that you were
home. Of course, I set off immediately.’

Llan felt
touched, until she remembered that Devary never passed up an excuse
to see her mother. ‘That’s kind of you,’ she said. ‘What have you
been doing in Nimdre?’

For the next
hour, Devary told her all about his plans for the rejuvenation of
Draetre’s University of Magic and Technology, now that Krays was
confirmed dead and his Lokant colleagues had abandoned the
institution. His plans were broad, and his enthusiasm for the
project was sincere. Indren Druaster was to take a prominent role
in the management of the new, revitalised facility.

In her turn,
Llandry related everything that Dev had missed about her own
adventures. The two of them talked comfortably, but never without
the faint reserve and awkwardness that had always dogged their
relationship. With regret, Llandry accepted that this friendship
was unlikely to be lasting.

On the third day,
Mamma made Llandry, Aysun and Devary don their best clothes, though
she didn’t explain why. When they left the house, she would not
explain where they were going. But it didn’t take Llan long to
guess: their destination was the Council Halls. That and their
formal attire gave her a feeling of foreboding. What did Ma have
planned?

They arrived to
find Ori already there, nicely dressed and looking cheerful. He
swept Llandry into a tight hug when he saw her, swinging her around
in a circle before he put her down.

‘
Don’t
you look pretty!’ he said approvingly. ‘Peace agrees with
you.’

She grinned. ‘You
too. You’re getting Looks.’

‘
Looks?’ Ori glanced around furtively. They were in the main
hall and quite a crowd was gathered, incorporating a number of
young women. Most of these seemed to find Ori’s height and bright
blond hair very agreeable.

Llan didn’t fail
to notice that some of them were looking at Pensould, too. That
didn’t please her as much.

Ori turned back
with a shudder. ‘It’s that speculative look that alarms me,’ he
confided.

‘
I
don’t think they have anything
too
unpleasant in mind,’ she
teased. ‘Any idea why we’re here, Ori?’

He looked
surprised. ‘We’re guests of honour. Didn’t you know? There are
thank-yous and rewards and other burdens to be
bestowed.’

‘
What?’ Llandry paled. She may have come a long way in the past
few moons, but the prospect of being put on show before the crowds
could still turn her knees weak and her hands shaky.

‘
None
of that, miss,’ Ori said sternly. ‘You’re a braver girl than you
think. Here.’ He gripped one of her hands and Pensould took the
other. Llandry suddenly realised that everyone had taken seats, and
Elder Shuly had stepped onto the podium. He was looking at the
three of them in a meaningful way that did not encourage
her.

‘
Don’t
let go of me!’ she begged. ‘If I faint, I’ll need you two to keep
me on my feet.’

They promised,
guided her to a seat and kept to their word admirably as Elder
Shuly went through a long speech about recent events and plans for
the renewal of the city. To her embarrassment, he continued with an
only slightly shorter speech about the contribution of their own
draykoni, the need for peace between the two races and the
arrangements that were underway to secure a lasting alliance. To
her immense satisfaction, the Elder announced that control of Iskyr
was to be surrendered to the draykoni in exchange for a peace
agreement. She could only approve of the idea.

She was more
alarmed when the Elder went on to talk of the practicalities of
forging, and maintaining, such a peace; she found these were to
involve her closely.

‘
Who
better to serve as envoy between our two nations but those who have
roots in both communities?’ he was saying. ‘The Council has
therefore voted - unanimously - to bestow the title of Lord Draykon
and Lady Draykon respectively on Orillin Vanse and Llandry Sanfaer.
This will henceforth be recognised as a position of high respect in
Glinnery, carrying with it the responsibilities of assisting to
maintain peace between Iskyr and our home. It is our means of
thanking these two young people for their extraordinary bravery in
protecting our fair realm, and also of ensuring the future of
Glinnery.’