It was still night and Suviel caught an acrid trace of smoke on the cold, dead air. The black mass of the Basilica loomed over the courtyard and she could hear a muffled din of battle coming from the other side, a nightmarish medley of shouts, roars and other less definable sounds. Quickly they darted across a blighted circular lawn to a portico, then pushed through heavy wooden doors which swung ponderously shut behind them, cutting off all noise. Inside, a pair of ceiling-suspended lanterns revealed a wood-pannelled corridor, its walls dotted with pale areas where portraits and other artefacts had once hung. Open doors to either side exposed deserted rooms whose dust and debris suggested many years of disuse.
"Where are we going?" Suviel said. "Where is the Eye being kept?"
"In some kind of tower above the Basilica," Nerek said. "I have listened carefully to her thoughts, and she seems to think that behind the altar in the main temple there are stairs leading up to it."
"But...the Congruence has no altar," Suviel said, following her through another pair of doors at the end of the corridor.
Within they paused. The immense Congruence was full of a smothering darkness punctured by a scattering of lamps whose jewelled glows seemed to float amid the blackness rather than illuminating it. And there was an altar, a slope-sided monstrosity with carving-cluttered surfaces that glinted like bronze in the light of a nearby lamp. It should not be this dark, Suviel thought. Even at night. Then she looked up.
Long swathes of ash-grey cloth were just visible, hanging all along the inward-curving ceiling, masking the Congruence's huge stained-glass windows which, she recalled, depicted scenes from the history of the Fathertree. No vestige of light, from sun or stars, could ever find its way in here.
Stealing through the funereal gloom towards the altar, Suviel's sense of revulsion deepened as she detected a sickly sweet perfume and under it the taint of rotting flesh. As they drew level with the altar she saw objects upon it, a long knife, several charred bowls, a small pile of shrivelled roots, and a wide, dark stain across the surface. Nerek urged her on as she slowed to look closer.
"We cannot linger. They are very near this place - "
A deep, insistent hammering began at the other end of the Congruence, shattering the silence, echoing back and forth. Then a jagged section of the far wall burst inward and a tall hulking form stepped through, wreathed in dust and a shimmering aura. Blazing golden eyes surveyed the murky interior, settling on Suviel.
"I will have the Eye, little mage. Do not stand in my way."
A smaller figure appeared by the Daemonkind's side, a woman dressed only in a long, pale shift but veiled in a similar nimbus of power. It was Keren. She stared over at the two by the altar, at Nerek, and Suviel sensed something unfathomable pass between them.
Then there was a mass roar of voices, and scores of Acolytes with green fire in their hands rushed in by the doors to either side. At the same time, there were tearing sounds from above and pieces of masonry and glass fell crashing among the the benches as winged shapes swooped down. Suviel staggered towards the doorway behind the altar, kept from falling by a watchful Nerek. With a last backward glance she saw the Daemonkind and Keren hemmed in by flaring webs of Wellsource power and fending off the flame-breathing nighthunters. She also caught a glimpse of a murderous Coireg moving in her direction before Nerek hauled her though the door and up the steps.
In a daze of desperation and fatigue, she stumbled up the steep stairs, one hand gripped by Nerek, the other leaning on the stairwell's stone hub for support. Utter exhaustion dragged at her mind and body. It seemed that every force of evil was harrying them, and she wondered if she would have the strength to make use of the Crystal Eye even if they found it.
When they reached the top, she knew she had nothing left. The tower room was square, with pillars on three sides which were otherwise open to the elements. A vigorous breeze made it bitterly cold, and Suviel seemed to recall that before the invasion this place used to be a private meditation platform for the chancellors of the academies. From here one could see across the peaks of Prekine to the lands of southern Anghatan and the great plains of eastern Khatris. And below the narrow surrounding ledge was a perilous drop onto the roof of the Basilica which sloped down to meet the crags and the sheer face of the Oshang Dakhal.
Head swimming, Suviel sat down heavily on a weathered wooden bench while Nerek crouched beside what looked like a stone casket set into the flagstone floor. She closed her eyes, weariness almost singing in her nerves, and could feel vibrations coming up through the bench. She whispered a prayer to the Earthmother that Keren would somehow survive.
A moment later, a cracking sound made her open her eyes to see the stone casket gaping wide and Nerek turning with both hands holding a pale blue sphere swaddled in white cloth.
"Take it," she said. "It would be my death to try and use it. This is meant for you."
Suviel sighed. "I am empty," she said, regarding the orb, its opaque radiance, the unmarred perfection of its glassy surface which caught few reflections in the dimness. She had only ever seen it twice before, both times at public ceremonies and from a considerable distance. Then, it had been the focus of many minds and much veneration, but now it seemed to have no presence, no aura that she could discern.
"I am empty," she whispered, but still reached out and took the Crystal Eye.
At once from below came a shrieking roar of rage, but for the moment Suviel was oblivious. It was as if every locked room in her mind sprang open, releasing a myriad memories. The faces and names of family and friends were hers again, as were the recollections of her days as a scholar here in Trevada, her time in Besh-Darok, the war, the long years of secret resistance. And Ikarno Mazaret.
That you were taken from me
, she thought.
May that never happen again
.
There was a thunderous, reverberating crash from below and the tower shook. Nerek rushed to stand at the head of the steps and Suviel, her weariness washed away, rose from the bench.
"I may be able to use the Eye to take us somewhere safe," she said.
There was a rumble of falling stonework and Nerek turned to nod, green radiance limning her features. "That would be a good thing," she said. "Before they dig away the rubble."
Before Suviel could reply something struck the tower with violent force, knocking them both off their feet. A few pillars cracked and pieces of masonry fell over the ledge. Suviel felt a hand around her ankle, looked and saw that it was Keren, creeping towards her with an inhuman glow in her eyes.
"I know the odour of your spirit, mageling,"
came the Daemonkind's voice from nearby.
"No matter where you fly to, I can hunt you down."
Then Nerek was there, leaping across from where she had fallen, reaching down to wrench Keren's grip away from Suviel's leg. Tightly clutching the Eye to her chest, Suviel retreated to stand with her back to one of the pillars. The two women were locked in a deadly embrace, hands about each others' neck, auras contending. Suviel turned and saw the Daemonkind standing on the ledge outside the pillars, calmly watching her.
"I must have the Eye, mage-woman. Freely given, it would bring great aid to my people."
"And thus betray
my
people?" Suviel said with scorn. "I think not."
"Your companion will soon be defeated. Give me the Eye and I will carry you both to safety."
Suviel laughed aloud and stepped between the nearest pillars, out onto the ledge. It was still colder out here, and the gulf of black emptiness yawned dangerously below her, yet her mind was clear and prepared. As the Daemonkind had talked, the Crystal Eye had shown her many things about him and his race, most importantly things she needed to know now.
"Just as you did in the Realm of the Fathertree?" she said. "Again, no."
The Daemonkind turned to face her along the line of columns. His form was dark and hulking, and he had crooked one huge arm round a pillar to keep his balance. Eyes hot as forge gold regarded her.
"Hear me, mage-woman, and understand this well - when the Lord of Twilight unites his warring selves, the Crystal Eye will be naught but a bauble set against the powers of his realm. In my realm, however, it would be of great use..."
"Yet it remains our sole weapon," she said, watching him, noticing the shift of muscles and stance. "And I shall not give it up. No,
you
hear
me
, Orgraaleshenoth, prince and deceiver - you have trespassed upon the Realm Between for far too long and it groans with the pain of your presence!"
"Your insect whine irritates me, and my patience is at an end."
But before the Daemonkind could leap at her, she clenched her fist as Enfold, the first thought-canto made for her by the Eye, spun into being. A blurring haze appeared around him and for a moment he was unable to move. She knew it would not last long, but it would be long enough.
"Your time here is at an end!" she cried, flinging out an arm to point at the night. "In the name of the Void - begone!"
From her trembling hand a dazzling mote of light flew forth to scribe a burning line in the air, a line which then tore open. At once a gusting wind sprang up to moan through the pillars. A rippling river of grey radiance poured out of the gap and straight towards the Daemonkind, enveloping him, trying to draw him back. But the creature had wrapped his arms about one of the undamaged pillars, and as he glared at Suviel he raised one leg and stamped down on the ledge.
The tower shook, and a crack appeared across the floor.
But Suviel felt as she had been squeezed out and wrung dry, and was unaware. As the spell had unfolded, the very force of her life and being had streamed out to fuel it, unstoppable as blood gouting from a severed neck. She sank to her knees on the ledge, one hand holding on to the Eye, the other grasping the nearest pillar. Insensibility threatened to overwhelm her but by force of will she stayed conscious, head bowed but determined to finish the task. Then fear surged when she looked up to see the Daemonkind almost within arms reach. The grey radiance was pulling at him with a fearsome strength, such that his massive legs were hanging straight out. But he had kept his grip and was grappling his way from pillar to pillar towards her.
Then a loud crack came from the column to which he clung and fracture lines began racing across it. He howled in fury and with a mighty effort, hauled himself forward and clawed at the floor, chipping handholds in the flagstones.
But the dragging force of the grey radiance was increasing to the point where something had to give.
Still waveringly conscious, Suviel had watched the Daemonkind's exertions with a mixture of awe and dismay. Then she saw the widening black crack inside, on the tower floor. There was a grinding sound, the ledge lurched beneath her, and she knew that there was only one thing left for her to do. As her corner of the tower slowly broke away she summoned up the last shreds of her strength and tossed the Crystal Eye towards the two figures staring from the back of the tower.
Then she was falling amid a shower of disintegrating masonry. Above her, the tear between the realms swallowed the Daemonkind Orgraaleshenoth, cutting off his bellows of rage, and began to close.
She closed her eyes, picturing Ikarno Mazaret with his arms wide and his long face smiling and joyful. She smiled too...
A sharp and terrible instant of pain struck, then the door of life closed.
* * *
Keren cried out in horror and anguish as the corner of the tower cleaved away. She and the mirrorchild Nerek were on their knees and still holding on to each other, but all the formless hate and wordless hunger had gone. Seeking the death of the other, they had stared into each others eyes for long, twisted moments and found themselves wanting life. Instants which transformed fear into understanding and cold desire revelation. Her longings for the power and form of the Daemonkind dissolved like a half-made dream.
Suddenly truly awake, and watching Suviel fall to certain death, a terrible guilt seized her. Keren could only close her eyes and with a choking sob cling to her twin. Something thudded on the floor nearby and as the roar of collapsing stonework receded she was vaguely aware of Nerek making a slight movement.
"Open your eyes."
She couldn't, not now...
"Open your eyes..." Hands shook her by the shoulders. "Open them and look at me!"
Startled, she did so and stared into her own features, only harder, leaner and more cruel.
"She has passed the Crystal Eye into our keeping," Nerek said, taking Keren's hand in an iron grip. "And we must use it before the Acolytes dig their way up here." And she dragged Keren's hand relentlessly down and pressed it against the cold curved surface of what had to be the Crystal Eye.
All sight blurred in a ghostly blue haze though which strange faces and portents fell.
This way
, a voice said softly through the rain of images, and she caught glimpses of a smiling Suviel beckoning and pointing.
This way
. Fear forgotten, she leaned in that direction and heard an intake of breath from Nerek. The blueness deepened and enfolded her in layer after layer of paradox and meanings insoluble to her.
Then the blueness unwrapped her and the world, and Keren found herself kneeling, shivering, staring down at a fire-blackened, ash-strewn floor next to a yawning gap in a high wall. She was holding the Eye in both hands now, and beside her Nerek was getting to her feet. She looked up and gasped in terror at the great golden figure which loomed over them both.
"Where is the mage Suviel?"
The towering being seemed composed of a fine, swirling dust of amber and copper motes and in shape resembled the female form. But it was the girl hanging eyes shut and motionless within the giant torso which caught her attention. Then someone else came into sight, a middle-aged man in grubby travelling clothes. It was the archmage Bardow.