Maximilian regarded her keenly. There was something wrong — he could recognise it in the shadows of her eyes.
“Where are the Lealfast?” Ishbel said. “And Isaiah . . . he managed to get inside Elcho Falling? With his army?”
“The Lealfast Nation rest in the Sky Peaks,” Inardle said, “but they maintain patrols over Elcho Falling. There are a score of them invisible above us now, but they are unlikely to attack while I am here. I can explain all this later. Who is your captain, Maxel?”
Maximilian took a moment to realise what Inardle meant. “Abe,” he said, nodding to the man. “Abe Wayward.”
“Abe,” Inardle said, smiling at him. “Set full sail for the lake and travel about the southern aspect of the citadel. On the western side you will find a causeway, and if you could manoeuvre us close to where that causeway meets the entrance to Elcho Falling then I would be most grateful.”
“And Isaiah’s army?” Ishbel said, a little tightly, irked that she had to press for a response to her question.
“Mostly safe inside Elcho Falling,” Inardle said. “Isaiah can tell you the tale. It wasn’t his finest moment.”
Before Ishbel could pepper her with more questions, Inardle indicated the lake into which they had just sailed. “This could be dangerous,” she said. “The Dark Spire, which Eleanon had placed within the citadel, has grown . . . much more so than when you last saw it, Maximilian. We had the juit birds here . . . did you know that? Well, that is a tale also that can wait for later, but we had millions of juit birds here and they were chased away by hundreds of . . . roots, I suppose you could call them, or fingers, from the Dark Spire, that rose from the water and snatched the birds from the lake and the air. So, this journey may become a little more adventurous than anticipated . . . and thus I am here. I may be of some use against them.”
“Inardle,” Maximilian said, “what has happened to you?” And what is so wrong inside Elcho Falling? he wondered.
She gave a little shrug of her shoulders. “There is much to share, on both our sides, I imagine. Wait until we get inside Elcho Falling, Maximilian. It can all wait until then.”
Despite Inardle’s warnings about the danger from the Dark Spire, they sailed around the southern walls of Elcho Falling without incident, and Maximilian felt his spirits rise as they approached the causeway. As they came alongside it, Abe held the boat steady while everyone climbed out, the great doors to Elcho Falling opened, and there stood Axis and Isaiah, wide grins on their faces, and suddenly the Lord of Elcho Falling was home.
Maximilian sat slouched in his chair, long legs stretched out before him, rubbing away slowly at his forehead with one hand, unable to sort his thoughts.
“The One is in the Dark Spire?” he finally said. He and Ishbel had shared news with Axis, Isaiah, Georgdi and StarDrifter, and it wasn’t until the last few minutes that the others had told Maximilian and Ishbel the terrible news about Ravenna, the Dark Spire and the One.
Maximilian finally dropped his hand and managed to look Ishbel in the eye.
She looked as stricken as he felt.
They had been so sure he was gone . . . so sure.
“Are you certain?” Maximilian added.
“My son has said so,” StarDrifter said.
“That would be StarDancer,” Axis said, annoyed that he had to clarify the situation . . . StarDrifter obviously felt he only had one son.
“Ravenna has confirmed it,” Isaiah added. “We can find no fault with what StarDancer has said. The One hauled himself through Infinity and into the Dark Spire, using some kind of gossamer umbilical cord.”
Maximilian felt like mumbling an obscenity, but he contented himself with sharing another look with his wife.
They had been so sure.
“What will it take to best this beast from Infinity?” Ishbel said, and Maximilian felt a stab of dark resentment toward her for mouthing the question.
“I will need to think —” he began, but StarDrifter halted him.
“StarDancer says he has a solution.”
Maximilian raised unbelieving eyebrows. A baby? “And the solution would be .?”
“He has not said,” StarDrifter said. “He wanted to wait until you and Ishbel had returned.”
“I should speak with Ravenna first,” Maximilian said.
“No,” StarDrifter said, “speak with StarDancer, then Ravenna, if you wish. StarDancer said he would need to speak with you first . . . with all of us,” he added.
They moved to StarDrifter and Salome’s chamber. Salome held StarDancer in her arms, the others sat grouped about, the baby the centre of attention.
“You asked to talk with myself and Ravenna,” Maximilian said, feeling uncomfortable being thus summoned to a baby’s presence.
I am grateful you agreed, StarDancer said, the words clear in everyone’s mind.
“The One is back,” Maximilian said.
In the Dark Spire, StarDancer said. He hauled himself back through Infinity and —
“You are certain?” Ishbel said, her voice hard.
I am certain. You can ask Ravenna to confirm it.
Maximilian gave a nod, not wanting to think about Ravenna. She, and whatever mischief she’d done within Elcho Falling, was a problem that would need to wait until after this. “Your father said you had a solution.”
The One is very powerful, StarDancer said. I doubt there is any in the chamber who can best him, including you, Maximilian.
Maximilian’s mouth tightened. “Elcho Falling and I have managed before.”
You only deferred the problem. You have tried, Elcho Falling has tried, Ishbel has tried. None of you bested the One; you have merely postponed the problem. Every time the One has bounced back, stronger than previously. Now he is back yet again, freshly infused with the power of Infinity, and wrapped in the protection and sorcery of the Dark Spire, which I think is intended to destroy Elcho Falling. Do you have a plan, Maximilian?
“I have not inspected the Dark Spire yet.” Maximilian was growing more irritated by the moment.
Then do that, StarDancer said, after I have spoken.
“And you advise?” Ishbel said, her voice laced with a little sarcasm.
I do not blame you for distrusting me, StarDancer said, but hear me out, please. The One draws his power from Infinity. What can any of us in this room do against him? There is only one person who can successfully contain the One.
“And that person is?” Maximilian said.
Ravenna.
“No!” Ishbel said, shifting as if she meant to rise before deciding to perch stiff-backed on the edge of her chair. “Ravenna? She has done nothing but betray Maximilian and Elcho Falling. You think . . . what? That she can somehow destroy the One? She does not have the power, and even if she did then she would use it to destroy us, not the One!” Ishbel looked to Maximilian. “Maxel?”
“I agree,” Maximilian said. “I cannot see how Ravenna has either the power or the goodwill to destroy the One for me and Ishbel. She is more likely to betray us.”
The One sent her to kill me, and she did not. Ravenna regrets what she has done to you.
Ishbel gave a soft snort.
“Please listen to what my son has to say,” StarDrifter said. “If I had listened to him earlier then we would have been warned about the approach of the One. As it was, I laughed away his concerns. Please do not laugh away what he has to say now.”
Maximilian gave a small wave of his hand. “Then speak, StarDancer. How is it that Ravenna shall save us and Elcho Falling from the One?”
Hear me through before you object, StarDancer said. Ishbel must remove the three curses she placed on Ravenna: restoring Ravenna to her power as a marsh witch, allowing her once more to touch the Lands of Dreams and of Nightmares, removing the curse that makes it almost impossible for Ravenna to remain within any community, and, finally, removing that curse that stripped Ravenna’s son of his rights as heir to Elcho Falling.
Ishbel sent a
shocked and disbelieving look to Maximilian, but he raised a hand to ask her to remain silent.
“And then?” Maximilian said.
Then Ishbel needs to divest you of your power as Lord of Elcho Falling, and —
He got no further. The chamber erupted in uproar. Maximilian, Ishbel, Axis and Isaiah all leapt to their feet, protesting loudly.
Listen to me! StarDancer’s voice cut through all of their protests. Listen to me!
They quietened, but remained standing.
If Ishbel removes from Maximilian his power as Lord of Elcho Falling, then Ravenna’s baby, as heir — remember that Ishbel will have restored him to that status once she removes all her curses from Ravenna — becomes the Lord of Elcho Falling. StarDancer could feel the protests building within his listeners, but he ploughed on regardless. Once the One emerges from the Dark Spire, which he will have to do, he will be after one thing — the Lord of Elcho Falling. In order to take the citadel and all its power, he will need to destroy its Lord. He will home in on Ravenna and her baby — and then Ravenna, now restored to her full power as a marsh witch, and she was once very, very powerful, will drag the One through into the Land of Nightmares. The Land of Nightmares can do what nothing else can — contain the One. It will not destroy him, but he will not be able to escape it.
“And Ravenna and her child?” Axis said before either Maximilian or Ishbel could speak.
They too will be trapped within the Land of Nightmares, with the One, StarDancer said. For eternity.
“No,” Ishbel said. “This is not possible. You can’t expect any of us to trust Ravenna, or to remove from Maximilian his power and authority as Lord of Elcho Falling!”
“If the Lord of Elcho Falling will be trapped inside the Land of Nightmares for an eternity,” Isaiah said, “what will happen to the citadel? And to Maxel?”
Both will continue, said StarDancer. Maximilian as a mortal man, as a king if he wishes, and Elcho Falling as a mere citadel, no longer a portal into any other realm. It is the price both Maximilian and Elcho Falling will need to pay if they wish to rid themselves of the One.
“And how can you be certain that the Land of Nightmares will hold the One?” Axis said.
“It can,” Maximilian said softly. “It can. Drava once told me of its properties.”
It can, echoed StarDancer. Ravenna told me of its properties.
“No one can trust whatever Ravenna says!” Ishbel all but shouted. “How many times has she betrayed Elcho Falling and Maximilian? How many times?”
All I have done is to tell you what can be done, StarDancer said. Whether or not you choose to follow this route is entirely your decision.
Ishbel made a sound of disgust, turning to Maximilian. “Maxel, this is nonsense. We can’t trust Ravenna. I will not remove my curses. And never, never will I consent to strip you of your powers!”
“Can Ishbel do this?” Axis asked.
“Yes,” Maximilian said quietly.
“I will not do it, any of it!” Ishbel said.
“I —” Maximilian began.
“No!” Ishbel shouted.
Maximilian stepped forward and took Ishbel by the shoulders, pulling her stiff body into a brief embrace. “I will talk with Ravenna,” he said, “then again with you. Then we will decide.”
He walked from the room, and Axis looked to Isaiah. “There has to be another way,” he said.
Chapter 3
Elcho Falling
Maximilian did not go straight to Ravenna. Instead he went first to the Dark Spire.
It was far worse than he could have imagined. The Dark Spire had grown physically since he’d last seen it (it now had grown through six levels, by the gods!), but, far more, Maximilian could sense the damage it had done to Elcho Falling. Somehow, the spire had grown into Elcho Falling.
He paused, gathering his courage, then crouched down at the base of the horrid thing, feeling it gently with his fingers.
It felt like cool living flesh.
Living, indeed.
Maximilian withdrew his hand, feeling cold to the very core of his being. He could feel the One inside, and feel also the layers of protection wrapped about him.
Hello, Maximilian, Lord of Elcho Falling.
Maximilian did not respond. He rose, and left the chamber.
Maximilian paused outside the guarded chamber which held Ravenna and looked at the man who had risen from a chair placed by the door.
Garth Baxtor.
“Have you spoken with her?” Maximilian said.
Garth inclined his head. “Welcome home, Maxel.”
Maximilian grunted. “It is not a particularly warm welcome . . . have you heard about the One?”
Garth nodded.
Maximilian’s eyes drifted to the locked door. “How is she?”
“She is not well, for she has been badly treated by both Eleanon and the One, but she is not dying. If she were restored to her power she —”
“I do not yet wish to speak of ‘ifs’. Just of the here and now.”
“Then she is grey and tired and underweight, but all of these conditions can be remedied with time and care.”
“And the baby?” Maximilian said softly, his eyes still on the door.
“Underweight as well, and not particularly strong.”
Now Maximilian shifted his eyes back to Garth. “Your prognosis, if you please?”
“As Ravenna’s health improves, then so shall his.”
Maximilian drew in a deep breath. “I am faced with a terrible decision.”
“If you need to talk, then I am here.”
Maximilian nodded, and rested his hand briefly on Garth’s shoulder. “How is Ravenna,” he said. “Not her health, her .”
“She is more the girl we once knew,” Garth said. “She does regret what has happened, Maxel, and now she will help if she can. Her ambitions are long lost.”
“But do I trust her?” Maximilian murmured, then he stepped past Garth and nodded at the guards to unlock the door.
He paused inside the door as the guards closed it behind him, his eyes adjusting to the lower light in the chamber.
He caught her movement first, shifting as she swung her legs over the side of her bed so that she sat on its edge.
“Maximilian.” Ravenna’s voice caught, as if she were nervous, but Maximilian didn’t allow himself to trust whatever emotion she chose to show him.
He walked over to a chair that sat a couple of paces from the bed, and sat down. “What have you done to Elcho Falling?” he said.
“I removed eggs from the Dark Spire and have placed them in the walls of Elcho Falling.”
“What is their purpose?”
“I don’t know. I don’t, Maximilian,” Ravenna added at the expression on his face. “Eleanon told me to do it. Made me do it. I was not allowed a choice.”
Maximilian forbore to ask what her choice may have been, had she been able to make it.
“Ishbel’s curses left me vulnerable —”
“Don’t make excuses,” Maximilian said. “I don’t want to hear them.”
“But if I had not been so cursed then I —”
“Could have done what? Destroyed Elcho Falling of your own volition, rather than Eleanon’s?”
Ravenna dropped her eyes.
“Will you tell me where these ‘eggs’ are?”
“They are scattered evenly about the outer walls of the citadel. Start at the second level, the outer eastern corner, and from there you should be able to sense them out easily yourself.”
“And can I do anything about them?”
“I doubt it.”
A muscle worked in the corner of Maximilian’s jaw. “What are the Lealfast doing? What are their plans?”
“I do not know this, either, Maximilian, truly. Maximilian —”
“Now you work for the One.”
“No. StarDancer broke his hold over me.”
“StarDancer is truly powerful.”
“P
erhaps he can aid you against the One.”
Maximilian allowed a small silence to develop. “Did StarDancer tell you of his plan?”
“That I should trap the One in the Land of Nightmares? Yes?”
“Dare I ask if you think it has any merit?”
Ravenna gave a small, sad smile. “It will work, Maximilian, but only if you trust me completely and I cannot see the day you could do that.”
“That is the first piece of truth you have spoken since I came in that door, I think.”
“It has all been truth.”
Maximilian grunted. “It is the perfect plan for you, isn’t it. You get the power of the Lord of Elcho Falling for your son after all this.”
For our son, Ravenna thought. “And yet be trapped inside the Land of Nightmares. I do not think that is power for him. Our son will never enjoy the privileges of Elcho Falling.”
“Are you trying to tell me that you are willing to trap yourself and your son in the Land of Nightmares for an eternity?”
“Yes, to make amends for all I have —”
Maximilian cut her off with a harsh bark of laughter. “How long would that selfless resolution last, then? A year? A hundred? A thousand? Eventually you would grow tired of your promise and your repentance, and you would escape the Land of Nightmares and haul the One with you.”
“Speak to Drava, Maximilian. Speak to the Lord of Dreams. Once I am trapped with our son and the One inside the Land of Nightmares, Drava can cut it off entirely from your world and his. He has been longing to do that for aeons, I think.”
“I have had enough of casting the One in various prisons,” Maximilian said. “I cannot believe that this would work.”
“Speak to Drava. I am sure you would trust him.”
Maximilian rose from his chair. “I do not trust you, Ravenna, nor this apparent repentance of yours.”
“Nonetheless, it is genuine, Maximilian.”
He studied her a moment, then banged on the door for the guards to let him out.
“I’m sorry, Maxel,” Ravenna said. “For everything.”
But Maximilian had gone, and did not hear her.