Ajacii and Demons: The Ingenairii Series (39 page)

They continued on, Alec continuing to treat himself and Bauer for the effects of the altitude, until by the end of the day they had descended so far into a wide valley that they no longer needed the healing energy assistance to help them breath or to warm their bodies. The morning of the following day, Bernadina pointed to a thin column of smoke arising from the bottom of the valley. Cultivated fields, laid out in square and rectangular strips, surrounded a collection of buildings.

“
Alec, could you do something to signal our approach?” Bernadina asked.

Alec stood, lost in thought for a moment, then raised one fist in the air and sent a brilliant blue beam of light into the sky for three seconds.

“
I’m sure they’ll take note of that,” Bernadina commented drily, causing Bauer to laugh.

Two hours later they arrived in the mild, spring-like climate at the bottom of the trail, where a man stood alone, clearly waiting for their arrival. His look defied an easily determined age, with a skull shaved clean of hair and skin that showed few wrinkles, though his clear gray eyes gazed at them with an appearance of profound age and wisdom. “Welcome to Vjecit. I am Perpet. May I ask who we have the honor of receiving?”

“
I am Bernadina, a lokasenna, and these are my companions, Alec, the consort of the Princess of Vincennes, and his friend, Bauer,” Bernadina made the introductions.

“
This must be more than an extraordinary coincidence,” Perpet exclaimed. “A member of the Lokasennii has honored us! We have another visitor here as well, who I know will be anxious to meet you and your friends. Please follow me,” he motioned, and led them along a well-tended path among the fields.

The village was set in a valley that was far below the elevation of the mountain peaks, which seemed to surround it on all sides and the valley floor was cultivated with fields and orchards. They strolled for half an hour until they entered a large village, where numerous homes lined both sides of the road. In the center of the town was an open square, surrounded by several large buildings, and it was into a white brick, multi-story building, the largest in the town, that Perpet led them. They walked down a wide hallway, and Perpet led them into a spacious room. Water and fruit were already set on a table for their refreshment.

“
I will return soon with another member of our Tribunal,” he announced. “We are anxious to hear what brings such revered guests to our quiet community. Please make yourselves comfortable,” he gestured to the food and drink before he left the room.

It was a room that was simple, yet in the finest fashion. The walls were white plaster, but smooth and without blemish, and the dark wood furniture was finely crafted, with joints that were almost invisible to see. The walls were decorated with framed drawings of fruits and plants, nothing more. Alec stood at a window, looked at the sparse foot traffic that passed by, while the great mountains loomed overhead. Bernadina and Bauer were sitting quietly, eating bread and fruit at a low table, when the door opened behind Alec, and he heard footsteps enter the room. There were three sets, and he extended his senses before he turned around, then quickly drew his sword and spun to face the new entrants – Perpet, another man who looked much like him, and the third person to join the room: a man Alec recognized as Availlen, the Ajax warrior he had fought before he entered Cearche during the last campaign of the war against the Avonellene rebels.

Chapter 24 – Learning of the Great Challenge

Availlen likewise drew his sword with lightening fast reactions, and the two men stood facing each other, ready to resume their battle.

“
Halt!” Perpet called in a surprisingly commanding tone. “Put your weapons away, both of you. You are here as our guests, in a peaceful parlay. There can be no reason for two men to bring some old enmity into Vjecit, in a room where I suspect we are going to find that we need to fight alongside one another, not against one another.”

“
I find that hard to believe; I’ve been forced to fight against the Ajacii and their allies for months now,” Alec brusquely replied.

Bernadina walked calmly over to him and placed her hand on his arm.
His purpose here may not be what you think or expect. Show good faith and resheath your sword,
she silently commented to Alec.

Reluctantly, without taking his eyes off Availlen, Alec placed his sword back on his hip. After a moment, Availlen did likewise.

“
It’s good to see that you have the Demonslayer on such a tight leash,” the Ajax sneered.

“
Let everyone clear their hearts of anger, and come to the table to talk,” Perpet’s companion spoke. He gestured towards the table besides which Bauer stood. “I am Samsad, the leader of the Tribunal. It is a greater sounding title than the job really deserves, but I accept it,” he said with a smile to break the tension in the room.

Everyone drifted towards the table, Samsad, Perpet and Availlen on one side, Bernadina, Bauer and Alec on the other.

“
We are greatly honored to have a Lokasenna as a guest. I presume you bring a message from the grendasteur?” Samsad asked.

“
I do indeed,” Bernadina replied. “I am the grendasteur of the last known village of the Lokasennii, and I bring you tidings of hope and peace. I have traveled to your village with my companions because we have heard the Sleagh Maith mentioned by the Ajacii as potential partners in some endeavor, and we wish to know what momentous event could bring together two of the ancient races.”

“
I am here as an ambassador of the Ajacii,” Availlen spoke before either of the Sleagh Maith. “Our race has perceived that all the races must soon unite, or we all will be destroyed and enslaved. We would have approached you directly and sooner, had we known how to find you,” he said to Bernadina, “for your powers will be greatly needed.”

“
We are a race that prefers our peaceful isolation,” Bernadina responded. “It is only because of our cousin here that we have come to speak to you,” she placed a hand on Alec.

“
Cousin of yours? He’s some mutant member of our race if any,” Availlen countered. “I’ve crossed blades with him before, and he has allegedly bested some of our finest fighters.”

“
Actually,” Bernadina resumed her comments, “he is a hybrid of all of our races, and others as well.

“
He can heal himself and others,” she nodded towards the Sleagh Maith. “He can speak with his mind over distances as great as I can, and he can detect the quality of a soul. He provided the light beacon that perhaps caught your attention this morning, and you’ll find he has remolded the stones to improve your trail along the cliff.

“
Is that everything, Alec?” she asked casually.

He nodded silently.

“
You jest with us, perhaps?” Perpet asked with an uncertain tone.

No, it’s all true,” Alec spoke. “If you want me to remove the improvements to your trail, I will. The Ajax knows that if he’s tried to return to Valer recently.”

“
What have you done to my people? Is that why no messages have come out lately? Have you done some harm to our village?” Availlen growled with a stormy expression.

“
I removed portions of the pathway through the mountains, so that the Ajacii would no longer leave Valer on missions that seek to harm my wife. Perhaps you haven’t been made aware of how many times your people have tried to overthrow or imprison her?” Alec spoke with just as much hostility.

“
Stop! Both of you,” Both Samsad and Bernadina spoke at the same time.

“
There may be reasons for you two to argue, but this is not the time to do it. If the grendasteur tells us these things are true, we must believe,” Samsad spoke. “There are important matters to discuss. The news that Availlen has brought to us must be heard, and then I think we can all focus on what is most important.”

“
A few of the Ajacii have noticed in the past few years that their powers are fluctuating wildly, as though they were being drained away by some enormous demand; this is something that most of us dismissed as preposterous, the product of over-active imaginations,” Availlen began, speaking with an earnestness that Alec hadn’t expected the man to be able to command. “But it continued and grew more common, to the point that there have been two days when no Ajacii has been able to call upon our powers. It’s as if a mighty river has been completely dammed.

“
And there have been many tremors in the past three years, up in the mountains. The Sleagh Maith confirm that they too are aware of the tremors, as if there is an on-going shifting occurring somewhere deep within the earth,” he continued, just as seriously.

“
Finally, during the past year, some of our people have had dreams. Dreams that are nightmares, or more properly, frightening prophecies of horrible things that are to come. We have contemplated all of this, and have reached the wildest, most frightening conclusion that is possible. It has frozen our hearts, and driven us to try to unite every race – sorcerers, humans, Sleagh Maith, Lokasennii and Ajacii – because it will take all of us working together to preserve our lives.”

Alec began to object to the claim that the attempted conquest of Vincennes had been an effort to unite, but Bernadina anticipated him.
Stop and listen. You must hear this message
, she communicated to him.

“
We believe that Hellmann is preparing to break free from his captivity within the earth. He is fighting his way up through the mountains, drawing upon the fighting energy that we use. His first and greatest ability was as an Ajacii,” Availlen said, seeming to shrink in upon himself as he said it. “If he emerges soon, there is no hope at all of defeating him unless we are united together, prepared to aid each other and share our abilities. Even if we do unite, the chances that we can defeat the ancient power are slim. But for the Ajacii, this will not be a situation where we are defeated without giving our opponent the best battle we can.”

“
Hellmann, was he the legend you told me about a long time ago, when I visited the Red Pool the first time?” Alec asked, turning to Bernadina. “The one who destroyed the temple?”

“
Yes, that is the legend of the ancient enemy that Availlen has just described,” she told him.

“
Do you believe his story is true?” Alec asked her.

“
I do not completely know, but I think he is closer to truth than not,” she answered.

“
What about you?” Alec looked across the table at the two Sleagh Maith elders. “Do you believe this is true?”

“
We too have seen some signs. Our powers are not always as reliable as they should be, and we have felt the earth tremble. Our hearts tremble as well. We believe Hellmann is about to return.”

“
Why didn’t you approach the Princess with your story, instead of waging all these wars? So many people have died, and so much energy has been wasted,” Alec asked Availlen.

“
We know now that our actions were a mistake. We did not think at the time that we would be taken seriously when we finally decided that we would have to marshal all the armies of the Avonellene Empire to fight this battle. We would have needed to openly expose our own hidden existence to humanity and deal with those dynamics before we could begin to cooperate with one aother, or so we thought,” the Ajax replied. “And we did not know of your existence. We thought we would seize control quickly and relatively bloodlessly. Your arrival and your actions destroyed that plan.”

“
What happens now?” Alec asked as he considered the merits of Availlen’s answer. “How much time do we have? Where will it occur?”

“
We think there are only days or weeks at most until Hellmann reaches the surface, and it will be in the mountains somewhere between here and Valer,” Availlen replied. “We must find a way to combine all of our energies from those of us here in this room, and we must go out and collect more who can contribute. If we can do this, I will face Hellmann in battle and hope to defeat him as soon as he emerges, before he has time to regain his composure above the surface.”

“
No,” Bernadina said simply.

No? No to what?” Perpet asked.

“
No to Availlen’s bravery,” she told the whole room. “Alec was brought to our world for a reason. He was given to us by his provident God as the perfect tool to fight this battle.” She stood and placed her hand on his shoulder as he sat in stunned amazement.

“
He already has all of our powers at his fingertips, the abilities contained within his own body, but altered by his faith. Plus he has added those other energies that the Huldrai and some other lost race could have provided,” she said. “And we already have a way to share our energies with him, or at least I do, and I think you will be able to as well.”