Phoenix in Shadow - eARC (19 page)

Chapter 26

The echoing, many-layered murmur ahead of them was unmistakable; they had heard something similar on the day they had—with Xavier—confronted Bolthawk and Skyharrier. It was a crowd, perhaps a mob.

Hiriista broke into a trotting run, his tail held high, head maintaining a steady level to guide him. Kyri sprinted alongside of him.
Please, Myrionar, let us be in time!

The forest opened up ahead, and they found a cluster of buildings—a moderate-sized mansion to the far right on a rise, houses and small shops a bit below it, docks and boathouses and other buildings at the edge of a rippling sheet of water that extended and widened to the north, where more forest closed in beyond the town.

Filling the main intersection, a sort of rough rectangle, was a mass of people; Kyri guessed it at over a hundred, and all of them were armed. As they approached, she could hear murmurs and shouts in which Zogen Josan’s name was recognizable, and not in a good way.

Cirnala stumbled up behind them, pushed past as the two slowed. “Let me...tell them you are here...”

The
Artan
took a deep breath and shouted, “
LISTEN
!”

His voice was startlingly powerful for his slender frame, and heads immediately turned in their direction. A murmur went up, and, gratefully, Kyri heard the angry rumblings subsiding, giving way to surprise and curiosity.

“Cirnala! You’re just in time!” The speaker was a tall, very handsome human who appeared to be in his late fifties, with his graying black hair and sharp black eyes that glanced in the direction of the other travelers before returning to the exhausted
Artan
. “We were just about to go confront Zogen.”

“I’ve brought...help,” Cirnala said, still catching his breath. “To solve the mystery.”

“No need to solve it anymore,” said a woman with dark brown hair, hefting an axe that looked almost as large as Shrike’s had been. “Saw him, Nimelly did—Zogen Josan, running into the woods with Abiti under his arm!”

“Abiti! Oh, Light, no.” Cirnala was mometarily stunned.

“That’s why we can’t wait any longer,” the older man said. “But we’ll be glad of any help.”

Hiriista bowed to him. “Magewright Hiriista of Sha Murnitenzei.”

“I have heard your name, Magewright. Reflect Namuhan Jenten; I welcome you to my small village.”

Kyri had suspected this was the Reflect from the way the others had instantly parted to let him through. He seemed naturally in charge. She thought his bow was a trifle stiff and hurried, but given the circumstances that wasn’t surprising.

Hiriista gestured to them. “My companions are guests and welcomed as equals by Light Miri and the Lady Shae herself, for they have come to us through the Pass of Night from the world beyond.” Eyes widened and breaths caught at that statement, as the
mazakh
magewright continued, “Warrior of Justice and Vengeance, the Phoenix, and her companion, Tobimar. They are here to assist as well.”

“As I said, welcome indeed. I will not pretend that the thought of assaulting a former Color of the Unity is less than tragedy...or less than terrifying.” The others were getting restless, but the Reflect held up a hand. “And justice and vengeance surely is what we need here.”

An opening
. “Then allow me to go first, sir. I am the Phoenix Justiciar of Myrionar, and my god’s first directive and highest duty is to apply wisdom and mercy to arrive at justice, and when justice demands, to deliver the vengeance of the gods. I have seen the things your Unity Guard face, and I have survived the forest that surrounds Kaizatenzei; my friends and I may survive a confrontation with this Zogen Josan far more easily than would your people, who are—if I see aright—mostly unused to such combat.”

The head tilted slightly, but then nodded. “You see truly. We have a few warriors...but none trained with the Unity Guard, and what little we know of Zogen is fearsome. Very well; if Cirnala has come so far, so fast, to bring you here, and you are vouched for by the Magewright and the Lady herself, I yield gladly the forefront. But I hope you are ready—”

Kyri was already striding in the direction of the forest; she could tell that Tobimar and Hiriista were right behind her. “Children are missing; of course I am ready.” Cirnala had told them roughly where the retired Color’s cabin was, and as she expected the
Artan
quickly jogged up to guide them.

The villagers—
not so much a mob now, thank the Balance!
—trailed close behind, with the Reflect leading them. “This Abiti—boy or girl?” she asked.

Cirnala closed his eyes as if in pain briefly. “Daughter of Genata and Ivilit—they run the local tavern, great favorites of everyone as you might guess, and Abiti was...
is
a charmer. Fearless girl, helped track the depthshade just a few weeks before this happened.”

The “depthshade,” Kyri remembered, was the local name for a crocodilian monstrosity which was equally at home in water or on land, with legs suited for running as well as swimming. It had been lurking around Jenten’s Mill for weeks, apparently, ambushing sithigorn chicks, young forest antelope, and herd calves until someone noticed the reduction in livestock and a hunt was organized—a hunt that cost more than just the life of the monster.

One more reason for us to go first. If hunting even a local predator is dangerous enough that some of the locals get killed, fighting a trained warrior of this Unity Guard would be much worse.

She remembered that Hiriista had said Zogen might kill
all
of those who came after him.
That puts him up on our level, maybe better. And I am weaker here.

She concentrated,
dragging
the power down through whatever monstrous resistance it was that nearly blocked her connection to Myrionar. But drag it she did, and she felt the strength building up within her.
I’ll be prepared as well as I can by the time we get there
.

“Zogen will be expecting some kind of assault from the village by now,” Tobimar said quietly. “Wouldn’t you say so, Cirnala?”

A reluctant nod. “Probably, yes.”

Kyri understood what he was getting at. “Then can you and the others stay back? Not only will it be safer...but if anyone can somehow talk to him, get some sense out of him, won’t it be someone he doesn’t think is pre-judging him?”

Cirnala’s face wrinkled in surprise. “Well...I hadn’t thought of that. But—”

“I can understand reluctance—and obviously the Reflect and the rest of you have a feeling of responsibility. But if you’re right, he has at least one child now, perhaps
still
has the others. If it begins with an assault, might he not use the children as a defense?”

The Reflect had overheard them. “A grim thought, but true enough. But if you take too long, he might do more.”

“If we can keep him talking, he will be less able to do anything else, I think. Especially if he is trying to understand who we are and what we’re doing here,” Tobimar said.

The Reflect hesitated, then took a pained breath. “My heart screams out that I must run forward...but your words ring true.” His dark eyes measured both of them. “Very well. We shall wait at the gray stump—it is well out of sight of the cabin, but if battle is joined we can hasten to your aid in moments. I cannot guarantee how
long
I can hold my people back, you understand.”

Kyri grasped his hand impulsively and bowed over it.
“Thank
you, Reflect. I understand entirely. Honestly, if we cannot reach him, or find some advantage, in a relatively few minutes...I think there will be no need to hold any back.”

His startled face creased in a momentary smile, and his returning grip was powerful. “Then I wish you luck; I hope for a way out of this horror.”

The three of them—four, counting the generally-unnoticed Toad—moved forward past the stump; while there were some murmured protests, Kyri felt great relief as the crowd stopped, many of them looking relieved themselves that their confrontation with an ex-Color was postponed.
Myrionar, show me the way. Let us find a way to prevent any more deaths. Let us find a way to save that child, or all the children if they still live.

“So, want me to do some scouting?” Poplock said as soon as they were out of earshot.

Hiriista blinked, even as both Kyri and Tobimar grinned savagely. “I did not fully comprehend the other advantage of your size, little Toad, but now I do. While we confront Zogen, you will gain entrance and find out the truth within.”

“If that’s Phoenix’s plan.”

“It is
exactly
Phoenix’s plan, Poplock. If we can get his attention, get in, find out what you can, and get back fast. We’ll keep him talking.”

“Got it.”

She turned to the
mazakh
. “Does Zogen know you?”

“Oh, certainly. We weren’t
close
friends, but casual friends, good acquaintances and colleagues in a way; I have been one of the major consultants for the Unity Guard as they traveled through Sha Murnitenzei for the last, oh, twenty-five years, and often travel with them for various missions.”

“Good. Good. That might just give us an opening.” They could see the retired Color’s cabin now—a large construction of logs with multiple sections, obviously several rooms.
Pretty good-sized house
.

“How do you mean that?”

Kyri felt her face going cold. “I was thinking on the way here. What could make a man like Zogen Josan, the one you described at his retirement and evidently the one they saw here for a while, change, retreat like that? And after our other conversations, the first thing I thought of was...what if he felt there was something
wrong
with him?”

A slow hiss. “You mean...what if he somehow sensed or acknowledged whatever it is that we have noticed in the others. He is retired, no longer active. Perhaps in the slow passing of peaceful days, with no activities to distract him...yes.”

“A good thought, Phoenix,” Tobimar said. “And you have a plan?”

“Sort of. I’m playing this by heart, not head. Just...follow my lead.”

He touched her arm and smiled. “Always.”

She smiled back, then turned to the silent cabin. “Zogen! Zogen Josan, once-Color of the Unity Guard, I would speak with you!”

Her voice echoed through the forest, more powerful than any ordinary human voice, and forest-sounds momentarily quieted in its wake.

A moment went by. Two. Then, as she was about to call again, a voice answered from the cabin, a deep but weary voice. “You are not from the Mill. Surprising. But perhaps no less enemies, for that. Who are you?”

“I am the Phoenix, Justiciar of the god Myrionar, patron of Justice and Vengeance.” As she spoke, she saw a tiny flicker of motion, a scuffle of leaves; Poplock was on his way.

“Myrionar...I have not heard that name. And a strange title you have. As to justice, alas, I fear no justice can be found here.”

She beckoned to Hiriista, who stepped fully into view, saying, “Zogen, do you know
me
?”

“Magewright? Magewright
Hiriista
? Could that be...?” The incredulous voice suddenly hardened. “But no. It would be too glad a coincidence, too fine a chance.” The voice wavered, hope and fear evident. “But if you are... If you truly be Hiriista, then tell me, what words did I speak to you in Sha Alatenzei, when we stepped from a particular drinking establishment?”

Hiriista tilted his head, then suddenly gave vent to a steamkettle laugh. “You opened your mouth, yes, but it was not words that came out! And then you fell nigh-senseless and I had to carry you to your room in the Steamvent Inn.”

There was a faint sound, as of a man dropping heavily into a chair. “
Light
...it
is
you, isn’t it? But...” the suspicion was back. “Those with you...they must be Unity Guard, then.”

“Do we
look
like Unity Guards?” Tobimar asked quietly.

“No...no, you do not. There is something strange indeed about you. I know not the workmanship on your armor, Phoenix, nor the pattern of your clothing, young man.”

Kyri shook her head, trying to make sense of this.
His voice is tense, exhausted...near the edge of a breakdown. Yet he does not speak as a madman. At the same time, there was a witness to him actually abducting a child.

“That,” Hiriista said, “is because you see before you far travelers indeed: Phoenix and her friend Tobimar hail from beyond the great mountains, through the Pass of Night; Lady Shae herself has looked into them and seen their truth.”

Truth. That’s it! I’ve never tried it...but I know it can be done.
She concentrated, let the power she had been gathering flow into her.
Myrionar, give me your eyes and ears. Let me see what truly
is
, not what others desire I see, nor what my own beliefs would like to see. Let me hear the truth, and be deaf to falsehoods.

She sagged as though a massive weight had landed on her; the power she had gathered before was suddenly all needed merely to
support
her as she was forced to reach out, grasp the distant power, yank it towards her, an effort like dragging granite boulders.
Myrionar, I had never realized...the
POWER
needed for the truth-sight.
Only the mighty prayer and miracle she had called forth on the night of her defeat of Thornfalcon, when she shattered a mystic Gateway and evaporated an almost uncounted host of foes, had demanded more focus and power from both her and Myrionar. And it was
harder
here, even harder than it had been in Rivendream Pass, harder even than her sensing for hidden evil in Sha Murnitenzei, for truth-telling meant discerning the secrets hidden in another soul without injury—in short, seeing into that strange place beyond the living realm where the real and the possible intersected and tracing those threads, rather than seeking to break the target’s will.
That suppressing power is stronger, much stronger here. And it is darker here, not even merely less good. This is a dangerous place
.

Zogen Josan had recovered from the expected surprise. “This is truth? Do you swear it, Hiriista? Swear by the Light that these are no Unity Guards nor any of their servants, but new-come heroes from beyond the Pass?”