Shards of Time (34 page)

The town was a mean, dispirited-looking place, and the grey light from the clouded-over sky cast a sickly pall over the faces of the people around him. Passing through a market square he saw farmers selling chickens, and wagons with gibbets from which swung dead, gutted pigs, skinned rabbits, and cats, all for sale, though no one seemed to be buying. Alec hurried on toward the tower at the center of town. There had been no sign of any rich merchants or nobles so far. The woman who’d taken Mika had been on a fine horse, dressed in a vividly dyed gown. That all said wealth.

The town was not a large one. By nightfall Alec had familiarized himself with the major streets and squares, and had seen no dwelling that would suit a wealthy woman except for the tower at the center of town. Under different circumstances he’d have made inquiries, but that wasn’t an option here so he instead made a slow circuit of the tower, studying it from all angles. The only entrance was a pair of heavy oak
doors overlooking a cobbled courtyard. There were only a few windows on the ground floor, and they were barred on the outside, and dark, besides. Lights showed at two of the upper windows, however, which appeared to be bedchambers, going by what he could see of the draperies. Just then a woman appeared at the left-hand window. She wore a scarlet gown and her long, thick black hair fell in lush waves to her waist. She looked down at him and Alec walked slowly away, as if he were just out for an evening stroll, but he could swear he felt her watching him. At least he knew where Mika was, but how in Bilairy’s name was he going to get to him?

His stomach growled loudly as a wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm him. Taking shelter in an alleyway, he squatted down with his back to the wall and ate half the remaining turnip. Feeling a bit better, he started back for the tower when a tall woman stepped from the shadows and held out her arms to block his way. The alley was dark, but he could make out the pale oval of her face and her silhouette against the brighter street beyond. She was slender, wearing a gown, and a cascade of dark hair fell in waves to her waist.

The woman from the tower window.

“Who are you?” he whispered, reaching for his sword.

She stayed his hand with gentle fingers and said something unintelligible.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand you. I need to go.” When he tried to push past her, however, she gripped his arm with unexpected strength and before he could pull away, she raised her other hand to his cheek.

Wait, friend
.

He heard it in his mind, rather than his ears. “Who are you? What are you?” he whispered.

The grip on his arm tightened, but the touch on his face remained light and cool.
Come with me
.

“Will you take me to my friend, the little boy you took?”

The child is beyond your reach, man of two bloods and two lives
.

Alec’s heart missed a beat. She was not the first to call him that.

Only the dead can walk with the dead
, she whispered in his mind.

Alec reached out and steadied himself against the alley wall. “How do you know those words?”

I know what you are. Come away. You must see
.

“Not until you tell me who you are and where you want me to go.”

You must see what must not be seen
.

“Not until you give me the child.”

The tips of her fingers dug into his muscles like talons. He reached for his dagger but suddenly he was in cold darkness. He couldn’t see the woman, but he could still feel her painful grip biting into his forearm.

You must see
.

“I can’t see a damn thing! Where are we?” His voice reverberated eerily around him.

And suddenly there was light, soft and bright as a lightstone, but much wider in range. He blinked in the sudden glow, then looked around. “Illior’s Light!”

He was in the third cave—no, that wasn’t right. The stone floor under his boots was dry, and he couldn’t hear any water dripping. The most telling differences, however, were the paintings on the wall, distasteful and perverse parodies of the wonders of the oracle’s cave.

She stood beside him, glowing brightly. She was beautiful, fair-skinned and blue-eyed, with hair the color of night. And she looked inexpressibly sad.

You must see
.

He looked back at her and she was pointing to the far wall. There was something there—something round about eye level that shone softly in the pale light.

She followed him as he walked across the echoing cave. The glow came from a large, glittering black opal about the size of a small apricot fixed to the wall in a heavy golden boss. The stone was carved with a web of symbols that looked strangely familiar. As he reached out to touch it, the woman whispered something to him. It didn’t sound like a warning, but before he could touch the stone, everything went black.

Mika floated in the dark, formless, voiceless void of the sleeping death. There was nothing to touch, no sense of up or down. He didn’t feel cold. He didn’t feel anything at all.

Child
.

Mika strained to hear the faint voice. Was it Master Thero, saving him again from this terrible place?

Child, open your eyes
.

He smelled dead leaves and incense. Something scratchy and cold as a dead leaf stroked his cheek. He could feel! Slowly he came back into his body. He was warm, and lying on something very soft. Something wet and delicious flowed over his tongue. He swallowed, choked, and opened his eyes.

He was in a fancy bedchamber lit by lots of candles. A beautiful lady in a red velvet gown sat on the edge of the bed where he lay, smiling down at him and holding a clay cup and small wooden spoon. She had thick, wavy black hair so long it almost touched the counterpane where she sat. He resisted the urge to reach out and touch it; he’d never seen hair like this before.

“There you are, child,” she said. “I was so worried about you! Here, have some more cider. It’s nice and cool.”

She dipped the spoon in the cup and gave him another sip.

“More, please,” he whispered with dry, cracked lips.

“Of course, my dear, but not too much at first.” She gave him a few more spoonfuls, and each one made him feel better and better. He still felt terribly weak, as he had out on the road, but he wasn’t thirsty anymore, and that was a blessing. His arm didn’t hurt, either.

“Where am I?” he croaked.

“You are in my castle, my dear.”

“Castle?”

She laughed softly. “You may not think so much of it, when you are up and about, but someday I will have a proper castle again. My name is Queen Rhazat. What’s yours?”

“Mika of Rhíminee, Your Majesty.”

“Ah, Rhíminee. And where is that?”

“In Skala, my lady. It’s the greatest city in the Three Lands.”

“I see.” She offered him another spoonful of cider, and he swallowed it gratefully. “Do you want to sleep some more, my dear?”

“No, I was having a bad dream.”

She gave him a sympathetic look as she stroked his cheek with cool fingers. “I have those, too.”

He sat up and looked around. He was in a big fancy bed in a large bedchamber with lots of silk hangings and lady furniture. It was a nice room, with pretty hangings. A tall window across from the bed showed nothing but darkness.

“Where am I, Majesty?” he asked. Had the place of dead grass and grey sky been part of his bad dream?

“You are in my tower, as I told you. There’s a bathing tub in the next room, and some clothes laid out for you. A big boy like you doesn’t need help washing, does he?”

“No, Majesty!” Mika replied, blushing.

“Very well, then. Take your bath, then come downstairs, all the way to the bottom. Just follow the corridor to the second room on the right and we’ll have a lovely supper.” With that she kissed him on the brow and swept out of the room.

Mika threw back the down-filled comforter and discovered that all his clothes were gone. He was naked except for the golden amulet he and Master Thero had made and a fresh, clean sling on his arm. He looked around, but there was no sign of his clothes, no clothes chest or wardrobe, either. Crossing the room to the door she’d pointed out, he opened it a crack and peeked through into a small bathing chamber with a fancy wooden tub. A red velvet coat and breeches hung on a rack, with linen drawers and a shirt. It all looked just his size, though he would feel a little silly in velvet. It matched Queen Rhazat’s gown.

The bath felt wonderful. Remembering what Alec had said, he sipped a little of the bathwater from his cupped hand. It was wet, and when he was done scrubbing with the washcloth he was clean. Once again, he wondered if the dark place of thirst and weariness had been a bad dream. But if so, then where was he and how had he gotten here? Queen Rhazat hadn’t really answered his question. When he was dressed he went out the door she’d used and found himself in
a workroom sort of like those of Master Thero and their other wizard friends, but this one was dark and cold. There was a stairway on the other side, and light showed up it. He went down two sets of poorly lit stairs through spooky, empty corridors full of shadows and was relieved to at last find the dining room where Lady Rhazat was waiting for him at a round table full of dishes of food. The mingled aromas made his mouth water and he hurried to join her. To his surprise, the different dishes were all favorites of his: spiced carrots, yellow cheese, brown bread with butter, hard-boiled eggs, watercress, and slices of cold ham and beef on a platter, just like his mother served on special feast days. Despite his hunger, however, he remembered his mother’s lessons and sat with his hands folded until bidden to start.

“What a polite boy.” She served him first, then sat back and nodded for him to begin.

“But you don’t have any food, my lady,” he said. There was only one place set at the table.

“I ate while you slept, Mika. Please, have as much as you like.”

Mika took her at her word and had two helpings from every dish and three of bread.

“Where are we, Your Majesty?” he asked when he could eat no more. “I got lost, and then I woke up here.”

“Not far from Menosi. Were you out walking all by yourself?”

“No, my lady. I was in the palace, and then I wasn’t, just like—” He stopped himself. Master Thero had taught him not to speak of Seregil, Alec, or Micum to strangers on account of their secret work.

“Just like who?” asked Lady Rhazat.

“Just like walking from one room into another. What is this place?”

“I told you, dear boy, it’s my home.” She smiled sweetly and took his hand. “And now it’s yours, too.”

Mika stared at her, expecting her to laugh like it was a joke. But she didn’t, just smiled like she was his mother. He pulled his hand away and stood up. “I’m sorry, Majesty. I
appreciate your hospitality, but I must get back to Master Thero. He’ll be worried about me.”

“Master Thero?”

“The wizard I’m apprenticed to.” The words slipped out before he thought better of it.

“You’re a wizard’s apprentice?” she exclaimed in delight. “Come, show me a trick.”

Master Thero hated it when anyone said that, but Mika didn’t want to be rude. Besides, he reasoned, if he did as she asked, she’d be more likely to let him go, wouldn’t she?

He looked around, then tried to levitate his wooden fork. Nothing happened. He tried again, then gave up, perplexed. “I can usually do that spell.”

“Perhaps you’re too tired!” she said with a fond, kind smile. “Would you like to see a trick I can do?”

“Yes, please,” he replied meekly.

At a flick of her finger, a great whirlwind roared into being around them, whipping their hair around, knocking dishes from the table, and blowing out all the candles around the room. Plunged into darkness, Mika clung to the seat of his chair, very frightened now.

“Can you light the candles again, dear Mika?” Lady Rhazat asked as the wind died down as suddenly as it had come.

Mika whispered the spell and snapped his fingers, but again, nothing. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty—”

“No matter, my dear.” The candles flared to life around the room and he saw Rhazat sitting where she had been, as if nothing had happened.

“You’re a wizard, too?”

“I am. What fun I’ll have, teaching you all I know! I can tell you’re going to be a very powerful wizard when you grow up—with the right training, of course.”

Mika blinked back tears. “But I want to go back to my master. I want to go home.”

She shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, my love. Once you come to this place, you cannot leave it. If you run away, you’ll die of hunger and thirst, just as you almost
did before I found you and took you in. I wish you could go home, my dear, but alas, that’s how things are.”

She’s lying
, Mika realized. Alec had gotten out. So would he, somehow. For now, though, he’d have to be a nightrunner himself, and play the part, as Seregil said.

“Thank you for taking me in, Your Majesty,” he said, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “I guess I’m your apprentice now.”

She knelt by his chair and hugged him close. “My very first in such a long time! What fun we’ll have, you and I.”