All at once the scene faded, and Jhond was inside a dark place, suddenly brightened by torches. Jhond blinked as his eyes became accustomed to the abrupt light. He saw the Thail Doyen and two of his sons, one kneeling against a stone wall. He was holding something, but Jhond couldn't make out what it was. Jhond was trying to determine what they were doing when a shout rang out. Jhond turned toward the sound and saw three men hurrying down the stone stairs into the chamber. That was the moment Jhond realized where they were. It looked different, of course, many centuries before it became the cellar in the nunnery. Now it was just a rough cavern inside a mountain that rose above the Thail domain.
"Stop, in the name of the Council!" came the sharp command of one of the newcomers.
The men of the House of Thail turned to meet the intruders. "The council has no right to interfere, Frais. This is Thail land, and I am the doyen here."
Jhond noted the kneeling son had risen and was standing directly behind his father, as if trying to hide something. Jhond moved nearer to see what he was doing, what he was trying to cover up. In his hands he held a small rod. It appeared to be made of metal, yet it glowed with an unearthly silvery light.
"The council has every right to stop your treacherous plans." Frais lifted a hand, intoning words in the ancient language as he did so, and a powerful bolt of energy shot toward the three men. The Thail Doyen was fast to respond, shouting out a spell even as he threw out an arm, and the energy was brushed aside to crash into the wall behind them, sparking and spluttering as it did so.
In the next instant, there was chaos. The three council men split up and were fighting one-on-one with the Thail men.
The doyen shouted at his son still holding the metal rod, "To me, son. Let me have it!"
The son attempted to duck away from his attacker to get nearer to his father, but he wasn't fast enough or talented enough to do so, and with a cry of pain or shock--Jhond didn't know which--he collapsed onto his knees, encompassed in swirling blue energy. The council mage reached inside the cloud of energy and yanked the metal rod from the shivering man's fingers.
The other son was also overcome, lying on the floor either unconscious or dead. The father was cursing angrily as he tried to fight off the mage attacking him, but when he saw his sons defeated and the other two mages approaching him, he knew he was beaten. Still cursing, he held up his hands in surrender.
"I can feel the evil intent in this thing," said the mage holding the rod.
Suddenly, the doyen smiled. "You haven't really won, you know. You'll find you can't destroy it."
Frais, the leading council mage, studied the metal rod as the other two gathered the Thail men together. The second son was not dead, but still unconscious, and he was dragged to lie beside the other one still trapped in the energy field. The doyen moved to stand beside his sons when directed to do so. He watched carefully as Frais tried various spells to destroy the rod, smiling as each attempt failed, even when Frais merged his talent with one of the other mages.
The doyen just laughed at their frustration. "I told you. Nothing you can do will stop that working when the time comes. If none of my descendants are fit to be the Eynan, then neither will any other man."
Frais stepped forward. He stared at the doyen and then he smiled. The doyen frowned. "There are other ways," the mage said.
Standing close so the doyen could witness his ultimate failure, Frais drew multiple sigils in the air, chanting his spell all the time. Then he began to draw them closer and closer around the rod, until he spoke the final words of his spell, "
Etua, peris crustalla!
"
Jhond recognized those final words as part of the ancient spell used to create crystals. The dangerous metal rod was being encased in crystal, the intention being to trap it inside, where it could never act on its inherent spell.
The doyen understood what was happening and darting forward screamed, "No!" He managed to knock the artifact from the mage's hand and it collided with the stone wall behind them, slamming into the section which had been struck earlier by the displaced energy bolt from the council mage.
The mage, furious with the doyen, lashed out and directed his full power at the elder Thail. The doyen died instantly. The mage took a deep breath, possibly regretting his action, but he never said a word. The other two mages kept close watch on the shocked Thail sons.
Frais stepped up to check on the crystal. "Hellas! It's cracked," he told his colleagues.
"Split?"
"No. The lower half is intact, if a little discolored, but there's a crack in the upper half."
"Any of the crystal missing?"
"No, it's complete, and the rod is still trapped." He breathed a sigh of relief. "I've never heard of a crystal cracking before, so I'm at a loss how to deal with this. Let's secure it and get it back to the council. One of the elder magi will know how to deal with it. Bring those two. The council can decide their fate."
Jhond watched them depart, leaving the body of the doyen where it had fallen. Now he knew everything and finally understood. Jhond also saw what the council magi had not been able to witness from their position. As the crystal hit the damaged wall and cracked, a skein of silvery light had seeped into the still malleable stone.
Belatedly shocked, Jhond realized that even now he held the
entity
in his hands. Had done so on more than one occasion, as had Ninian, and neither of them had had the slightest inkling. The majority of the being was still contained within the rod trapped in the crystal, but at least a portion of whatever composed the silvery light was still at work from inside the cavern wall.
The energy had been wreaking havoc through unsuspecting folk whenever it could over the ensuing centuries until it had finally encountered Remelin. Finally found the Eynan.
Mist filled Jhond's vision again and when it cleared, he found himself back in the cabin with his friends, though he did feel a little woozy. He was vaguely aware someone was gripping his shoulders tightly and thought he heard a distant voice calling to him.
"Jhond! Jhond, answer me."
"I'm here, Ninian. Stop shaking me."
Ninian let out a gruff laugh and released Jhond's shoulders. "At least you know who I am," Ninian said. "For a time there I thought you were never coming back to us."
Jhond nodded. "I did feel a little odd when the crystal released me."
"Did it work?" Remelin asked, sitting on the edge of her seat, leaning close.
"Did you get the answers you wanted?" Ninian cut across her.
Amired just sat back quietly, his gaze firmly on Jhond.
Jhond smiled with a mixture of relief and pleasure. "Oh yes. It showed me everything I needed to know, perhaps more than I'd have liked."
He went on to explain in as much detail as he could everything he had witnessed while in the thrall of the crystal.
"The Thails were traitors?" Remelin asked, shock and disbelief clear in her voice.
"I'm afraid so."
"As it was believed the family only died out a short time ago, the council must have forgiven the Thail sons," Remelin commented.
"Yes. The doyen seemed to be a very autocratic kind of man," Jhond said. "I imagine those on the council were well aware of his character traits."
"Believed the family died out?" Amired interjected.
"Remelin is descended from the Thail line," Jhond explained. "Her branch had changed their name at some point in the past."
"I think I'm the last one," Remelin added.
In a quiet voice, Ninian asked, "Why did the crystal never show either of us the truth before? Surely you had the right to be aware of what had happened?"
"Because until now I never indicated I wanted to know its history. The crystal sent me where I needed to go, to the source of its creation. It showed me where the escaped portion of the entity was trapped inside the wall. I know now that, though it knew of the existence of a separate portion of the entity, it had no way to know what had happened to it in the long years since the Withdrawal. I guess you could say we learned from each other this time."
"But why didn't it warn you not to let the thing out?" Remelin asked.
"How could it warn me of something of which it had no knowledge?"
She frowned and then turned to Ninian. "You held the crystal when Jhond brought it back. Why didn't it show it to you?"
"I am not the Eynan. That was not for me to view."
She looked from one to the other, her confusion and frustration evident.
"I'm on the outside looking in, too, Remelin," Amired interjected. "You have to learn to go with the flow."
Remelin sagged back into her seat, no less upset, but obviously knowing it was the only answer she was going to get.
"I don't think it would've revealed the history to me while I was in Garileon anyway," Jhond said thoughtfully. "I knew the entity had too much sway there to risk my using the crystal in its vicinity, but I now believe that even if I had, the crystal would've shown me something else."
"Whatever do you mean?" Amired queried.
"We know now that the crystals don't contain only one message the way I'd always thought," Ninian explained. "Before this latest vision, Jhond and I had each held the cracked crystal and its smaller companion and each received a different vision."
"I suspect they're all linked to the same original cause, though," Jhond added. Amired raised an eyebrow; Jhond just smiled and continued, "My first vision from the crystal sent me to Garileon to show me the trapped entity"--he paused and nodded to Remelin--"which unfortunately, it was unable to warn me
not
to free." Remelin nodded, so Jhond went on, "My second told me its history, and Ninian's vision showed a future event--a possible future event."
"What future?" Amired queried.
"Involving Jhond and Remelin," Ninian replied. "A discussion, perhaps an argument. I can't say for sure, but it seemed they were arguing about who had the most power."
"Between Jhond and Remelin?" Amired asked with disbelief. "It's obvious."
"Apparently not in this possible future."
Ninian glanced from one to the other and saw mostly confusion and unease. In Remelin he also sensed weariness.
"I think that's enough for tonight," Ninian said. He rose and moved to stand behind Remelin's chair. "Come along...it's time for all young women to be in bed getting their beauty sleep."
She smiled up at him. "You think I still need some, eh?"
He laughed, pulling her chair back so she could rise.
Jhond spoke up. "Sleep? Yes indeed. Beauty? You excel already."
Remelin blushed prettily, while Ninian and Amired stared at each over the couple's heads.
"Goodnight. Hopefully the morning will bring clarity," Remelin said.
"I'll show you to my cabin," Amired said, opening the door for her and following her out.
"You seem to be more confident about her," Ninian said carefully.
Jhond shrugged his shoulders. "We're away from the influence of the entity and have more insight now into what's going on. I still have questions, but they don't include her loyalty."
"I see." In truth, Ninian didn't really. While it was true the part of the entity imprisoned in the wall was now trapped inside Jhond's shield a long distance away, Ninian hadn't lost that sense of uncertainty he'd always felt around Remelin.
He poured himself another drink and wondered if it could be something as simple, and as human, as jealousy behind his mistrust of the young woman. It was becoming even clearer how affected Jhond was by Remelin, and Ninian was honest enough to admit he had begun to think of Jhond as belonging with him. It was selfish of him. Until recently, his life had been fuller than Jhond's. He had experienced love, marriage and even having a child. True, he had lost them all, but he wouldn't have missed the experience for anything and wished with everything he had that his wife and child were still waiting at home for him.
What right did he have to think of denying Jhond such joy, something he had already lost once when he found he couldn't make a life with Gallia?
Ninian was ashamed at what he came to see was his own selfishness. His reaction to Remelin wasn't genuine, and he was using his feelings to influence Jhond. He was about to apologize to Jhond when Amired returned. He had no wish to air his faults in front of the captain, so he decided to speak to Jhond later when they were alone.
"One last drink before we retire?" Amired asked.
"I've had enough for now," Jhond replied, and Ninian didn't like his despondent tone of voice. "I think I'd like some fresh air before I retire." He glanced at Ninian adding, "I won't be long," and then he left.
* * * *
Jhond climbed the stairs two at a time, suddenly desperate for fresh air. He didn't really blame Ninian; he was as confused over his feelings about Remelin as Ninian was. He sighed. When had life become so complicated? He walked a few paces, moving around the steps, and leaned against the side of the stairs to the upper deck. He could hear a couple of the sailors talking up there. He felt the need for solitude just then.
So, when he heard footsteps on the stairs from below decks a couple of minutes later, he was irritated. Until he saw Remelin appear on deck. She was the last person he'd expected.
"Thought you had retired," he said, and she jumped, swinging around to stare at him.
She put a hand to her throat. "Oh my, you gave me a shock." She smiled. "I had meant to sleep, but found I couldn't settle. I thought perhaps a breath of air might help."
"Possibly, but I don't believe the captain would approve of you being on deck this late on your own."
She frowned. "Surely I'm safe here."
"Probably, but the sailors on board ship are...not necessarily the most gentle or polite of men." He raised an eyebrow, and she caught her upper lip between her teeth. "Come. I think we've both had sufficient air for now. Let me take you back to your cabin."