Successor''s Promise

  Her gaze lingered a little long, and Tyen’s heartbeat quickened. She wants me to meet her at Tarran’s house again. He decided he would go straight there next. Even if he’d misinterpreted her look, he would still enjoy a chat with Tarran.

  “If there is no other matter you wish me to discuss, I will go now,” she said.

  Abler shook his head. “You will, no doubt, wish to return to your world and perhaps join arrangements to celebrate your success. I wish you well.”

  “Thank you.” She faded from sight.

  The official looked at Tyen. “Is there anything you wish to convey to the Claymars?”

  Tyen considered. “Only my thanks and congratulations. And … that with all the terrible conflicts and strife occurring in other worlds, it gives me hope to see two resolving their differences without bloodshed and destruction. I hope other worlds learn from their example.”

  Abler nodded. “I will tell them.”

  “Thank you. Is there anything else you need from me?”

  The man shook his head. “You’re free to go.”

  Tyen pushed out of the world. He retraced his steps to Glaemar, as it was what would be expected of him, but when he reached the city he did not return to his workshop. Instead he returned to the place between worlds, dove through the core of the world and left Doum.

  When he reached Tarran’s world, he approached the lake from a different direction than during his previous visit. It was a clear night there, the sea a rippling blanket reflecting the stars. He found his former path and travelled along it away from his destination for a while, before departing from it and carefully concealing his trail, skimming downwards until he was under the surface of the water. Then he approached the spire of rock from below. As the rock obscured all, he sensed another trail. A fresh trail. It led upwards. Tyen followed, and as he skimmed out from the spire, the walls of the courtyard where he’d met Rielle on their last visit appeared.

  He emerged and paused until his lungs stopped dragging in air. Muffled voices reached him from somewhere within the house, to his left. Two lamps were burning within the courtyard. He headed for the courtyard, and his guess proved correct as he found Rielle and Tarran relaxing on a wooden bench.

  “Tyen,” Rielle said. “We’d given up on you.”

  Tyen spread his hands. “It takes time to conceal my path.”

  Her eyes brightened with interest. “Does it really?”

  Tarran glanced at her briefly. “Welcome back, Tyen. Come join us. I’ve arranged for a nice meal to be brought. This is worth celebrating.”

  “The agreement between Murai and Doum?” Tyen asked as he walked towards the door. Rielle led the way through the house.

  “Of course. What else?”

  “Nothing. Just checking in case some other scheme of yours has succeeded.”

  The old man chuckled. “I’d let you know if it had.”

  They reached a room with a small table on which the beginnings of a meal had been laid out. Rielle glanced back at Tyen as she entered. “You must show me how you do that one day.”

  He frowned. “Do what?”

  She and Tarran sat down. “Hide your path.”

  He raised his eyebrows, pretending to not understand as he took one of the empty chairs.

  She smiled. “I know you can do it. I was intrigued by the absence of another arrival path, after you came here last time. So I checked the place where Tarran said you had appeared. I found no disturbance in the place between.”

  “Ah.”

  “Drink?” Tarran asked.

  “Yes, please.”

  The old sorcerer poured a steaming purple liquid from a jug into a pottery mug, and handed it to Tyen. The drink was sweet and very alcoholic. Rielle made a ticking sound with her tongue.

  “‘Ah?’” she said. “Is that all you can say?”

  Tyen considered, then nodded.

  She made a noise of disgust, but then lifted her mug and smiled. “I guess we all have secrets we’d rather not share.”

  “Here’s to small but important victories,” Tarran said, raising his glass.

  “Small?” Rielle’s eyebrows rose.

  “Yes,” the old sorcerer replied. “Signing an agreement is easy. A motion of the hand and the application of ink. Sticking to the agreement is the greater challenge.”

  “If we wait until they’ve proven they can stick to it, we’ll be waiting a long time to have our celebration.”

  “Indeed,” Tarran replied. “So we drink to celebrate what milestones we reach, no matter how small.”

  “Or to commiserate with each other for setbacks,” Rielle added.

  “Which means there’s always a good excuse for a drink,” Tyen finished along with her.

  She smiled at him. “What do you think of our little victory, Tyen?”

  “I have to admit,” he replied. “It was easier than I expected.”

  “Too easy?” Tarran asked.

  “Perhaps. Does this make it more likely the agreement will fail?”

  The old man shrugged. “No way to know. If it was in response to Rielle’s threat to switch sides or Tyen’s to leave, then perhaps not.”

  Tyen’s heart sank a little at the old man’s words. What will happen when I leave to learn pattern shifting? If we’re the cause of the two worlds cooperating, will the Emperor begin scheming again? As servants arrived, each moving around the table carrying a large serving bowl, Tarran and Rielle began filling their plates. Caught up in his thoughts, Tyen did not notice that one servant had been standing at his elbow for some time until the man cleared his throat.

  “Sorry!” Tyen grabbed the spoon and hurried to catch up.

  “What is it?” Rielle asked. “Something has you lost in thought.”

  He glanced at her, then at his former mentor. “I have decided it is time I became ageless.”

  The old man’s eyes brightened. “Finally!”

  “Ah,” Rielle said, her solemn tone in contrast to Tarran’s enthusiasm.

  Tarran looked at her, amused. “‘Ah?’”

  “He can’t do it in Doum,” she explained. “He must find a world rich in magic but where its loss won’t be missed.” She looked at him. “What changed your mind?”

  Tyen looked away. “I have a promise to keep, and it looks like I can’t do that without knowing how to pattern-shift.”

  At a knowing look from Tarran, Tyen looked deeper and saw that the old man had guessed what the promise was. The book, he was thinking. He’s found a way. Tyen hid his dismay, knowing that Rielle would have seen Tarran’s thought.

  One of her eyebrows rose. “Do you need a teacher? I’ve not tried to teach anyone before, but I have a fairly good idea what is involved.”

  Tyen shook his head. “I know what is involved, and I’d rather not risk that anyone else be stranded in a world without magic.”

  “Then you must find the right world,” she advised. “Do you have one in mind?”

  He shook his head.

  “I know of one that would suit. A desert world, unpopulated and rich in magic. The Traveller family I lived with for a while used to visit it, but it’s a long way from their path now and they don’t intend to return.”

  “A desert world.”

  “Yes. You would have to take enough water and food to last a quarter cycle or more. I could visit you when it is due to run out, bringing enough magic to get us both out of the world if you’ve depleted it.”

  Tyen paused to consider her offer. He could see no reason to reject it, though he ought to ask Vella for advice before he accepted.

  “I’ll think about it. About the world, not your help, that is. Wherever I go, your help will be most welcome.” He smiled, hoping that he was hiding his apprehension well. What will I tell her when I leave to join Dahli? He’d thought about little else since meeting with the man. Here, in Rielle and Tarran’s company, agreeing to help Dahli seemed crazy. But if I hadn’t, Dahli would be seeking another helper. If he found one, and res
urrected the Raen, we wouldn’t know until Valhan appeared to exact his revenge on us both. Better I have the chance to warn Rielle and Baluka and an opportunity to persuade Valhan to let Rielle live. At least this way I can prevent someone being killed in order for the Raen to have their body. If I can find another way, that is.

  She frowned. “Something worries you?”

  He searched for another plausible reason for the anxiety she had detected. “Will Doum and Murai honour the agreement if I am absent? I didn’t want to leave until the negotiations were over and peace was assured, but I can’t help wondering how long it will last without me.”

  “I will still be in Murai,” she reminded him. “I will make sure the Emperor knows that my threat still stands. If Murai invades Doum, I will switch sides.”

  Tyen nodded slowly. “That should dissuade him.”

  “That’s a generous offer,” Tarran told Rielle. “What of your determination to never interfere in a world?”

  “I already have, haven’t I? It would be wrong to say I’d protect a world only to abandon it.”

  Tarran looked at Tyen, thinking that Rielle ought to receive something in return for her efforts. Tyen considered what he could give.

  “Would knowing how to hide your path be a worthy exchange for Rielle’s protection?”

  Tarran drew in a quick breath. “That’s … more than I expected.”

  Tyen chuckled. “Not if Rielle ensures I don’t become stranded in a dead world.”

  Her wide smile brightened the room. “You don’t have to demand payment. But being able to hide my path would mean I wouldn’t lead anyone to whatever world you learn pattern shifting in.” She glanced at Tarran. “And I can tell you everything I remember from my lessons.” She leaned forward. “Is there anything in particular you would like to know?”

  “Stop! Not here! You will make me jealous! Take this.” Tarran picked up the bottle and handed it to Tyen. “Then both of you go down to the lookout.”

  “But we can’t leave you here to finish alone!” Rielle objected, though their plates were now empty. “What about dessert?”

  “I’ll send it down for you,” Tarran said.

  Rielle caught Tyen’s gaze, and her mouth quirked into a familiar mischievous smile. Tyen’s heart skipped a beat, then began to race. As Tyen took the bottle from Tarran, he smiled in reply.

  “Well, I suppose it is well past your bedtime, Tarran,” Tyen said. “I wouldn’t want to keep you up late.”

  Tarran’s brows rose in affront. “It’s not sleep that I crave, but some time to myself.”

  Rielle grinned. “Well, then make sure you don’t nod off in your armchair again, trying to prove a point. I can’t always be around to heal your sore neck.”

  He rose and waved his arms. “Go! Out! I’ll have no cheeky young things mocking me for my age in my very own house!”

  She laughed, rose and held out a hand to Tyen. Taking it, he let her haul him to his feet and towards the door.

  “Come on, Tyen,” she said. “Tarran needs his sleep and we have a great deal to talk about.”

  As she pulled him through the doorway, Tyen glanced back to see Tarran smirking at them. At the last moment, before Tyen moved out of sight, one of the old man’s eyes closed in a very deliberate wink.

  PART TWO

  RIELLE

  CHAPTER 1

  While designing mosaics demanded most of Rielle’s attention, making them left her mind free to think. On a good day she found the latter relaxing, but lately the slow process of finding the next tile made her restless.

  The trouble was, after the challenge of negotiating an agreement between Murai and Doum, her quiet life among the artisans now seemed a little, well, boring. Yet she needed the work. Hiding from Dahli and his friends limited her ability to earn an income. Using her remarkable strength could have earned her great wealth, but also drawn attention. She’d turned to her other talents for work, but gaining employment as an artist or weaver wasn’t easy when she was a stranger and foreigner wherever she went, and when she did, it only paid a modest income at best.

  Fortunately, ageless sorcerers weren’t uncommon, across the worlds, so she’d paid for her tuition from Tarran with healing. It was Tarran’s insistence that she learn his style of calligraphy that had led her to the mosaic-makers. With the leftover ink, she had painted small scenes on scraps of paper, which Tarran had kept. A former student visiting the old man had been impressed by them, and taken a few to his world to show Bowlen, the master of the mosaic-makers. Soon after, the group began commissioning designs from her.

  The artisans were a diverse group who moved from world to world, going wherever commissions took them. Murai was the third world she had worked in since joining them. Her official task was to paint designs, but since it was faster than mosaic-making, she’d been taught the basics and set to work on smaller, less important areas like borders and corners.

  Bowlen had told her she should not get involved in local politics and strife. She’d agreed wholeheartedly. He had not been happy when the Emperor had insisted she negotiate with Doum on Murai’s behalf.

  If it weren’t for Tyen I’d have refused. Sometimes local politics and strife gets involved with you.

  Bowlen had even gone so far as to threaten to seek designs elsewhere. When she tried to use this as an excuse to avoid becoming Murai’s negotiator, the Emperor had made it clear that if the group no longer gave her work, then he would find new mosaic-makers for her to work with. It saved her job, but did not endear her to the artisans. So she’d been immensely relieved when the negotiations concluded and she could start to mend her relationship with them. They’d only given her monotonous work to do since then, and no designs, to make it clear she must earn their respect again. She worked diligently, making sure her work was faultless, and reminding herself that Tyen’s task was far more boring and challenging.

  A quarter cycle has passed since he started, she thought as she searched through her trays of tiles. Not long enough for him to have learned pattern shifting yet, I suspect. Dahli said it takes longer for most people, and Tyen may be handicapped by learning from a book.

  She was impatient for him to return. Impatient to resume getting to know him. Her pulse quickened when she thought of the times they’d spent together in the cave, talking and lovemaking.

  Am I in love? she wondered.

  She was not infatuated in the way she had been with Izare. She wasn’t sure she could be. The girl who had fallen for Izare had been inexperienced and innocent. The woman she was now was not. She wanted different things. What those things were, she wasn’t completely sure of yet. All she knew was that it couldn’t be the same way it had been before, least of all because she feared that going down the same path might mean it ended the same way.

  She tossed the tile she’d been considering back into the tray. It was almost perfect for the gap in the design, but Bowlen would never let her progress to larger designs if he caught her making easy choices.

  I like Tyen. I want to see more of him. I haven’t felt that way in quite a while. It wasn’t that she hadn’t taken lovers since Valhan’s death, but she’d chosen only those men who, like her, wanted a passing encounter and no commitment. Men who didn’t want to know her life story, or even her real name. Men she didn’t have to trust to keep her secrets.

  But Tyen already knew about Qall. He’d helped her save the boy. Perhaps, of all people, he was one she could trust. And yet she hesitated. Perhaps only because not being able to read his mind made her nervous.

  It was strangely exciting as well. She liked that none of her stray thoughts could bother him. They would be like ordinary people. As ordinary as two people with dangerous secrets could be.

  She did wish he could be a little bit more talkative. He may be a little reticent, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t attentive. For someone who can’t read my mind, he’s rather good at interpreting non-vocal cues. She smiled as heat spread through her blood at the memory.
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  Her eyes fell on a tile of exactly the right shape and colour for the space she needed to fill. Using tweezers, she dropped it into place. It was perfect. Sometimes it was worth taking the time to find the perfect piece. It would take more careful choices before the mosaic was finished, however. Examining the design, she considered which shape to look for next, then began searching.

  So far Tyen had not expressed anything more than the passion of a lover. Perhaps he never would. She believed that pining for someone who didn’t love you was pointless. Having seen the pain such a situation had caused Dahli, she was determined to never fall into the same trap. She could not offer any commitment anyway. She had made a promise to protect Qall. Keeping him from Dahli was her highest priority. Tyen had his own prior commitment, too.

  Tarran believed that the promise Tyen had referred to, and his reason for learning pattern shifting, was to restore the body of the woman in the book he carried, Vella. Tyen had told Rielle about her during one of their nights at the cave. She had been fascinated to learn of this woman transformed by Valhan’s Predecessor, who was only conscious when held by a person, and absorbed all the knowledge of everyone she touched.

  Tarran believed a bond existed between Tyen and the book. He said it was akin to the dependence a student feels towards a mentor, or the friendship that forms when two people have been through trials together. He didn’t voice his suspicion that Tyen might be a little in love with the woman in the book.

  Though Rielle would never discount any possibility after more than five cycles of reading minds, she didn’t think Tyen had a carnal fetish for books. If it was an attraction, it wasn’t physical. Yet. Maybe he wants to restore her body so he can find out if he does love her. Maybe I’m the reason he wants to know.

  She shook her head, amused and a little ashamed at the vanity of the thought, and made herself pay more attention to her work … and blinked as she realised she was looking at exactly the shape and colour of tile she sought. Plucking it out of the pile, she set it in place. The odds were against her finding the perfect match twice in a row, but it was not impossible. Could she make it three? She turned to the piles again.