She did this later in the day, when she called her soldiers together in the twilight hours and explained why their companions had died and what those deaths had accomplished. She promised them that no further sacrifices of this magnitude would be needed, now that the Druids and Paranor were gone. They would fight again, but never be trapped as they were at Paranor. They would remember the sacrifice of those who had died and honor it with their courage and determination in the days ahead. Victory was almost within their grasp, as the Four Lands were rendered helpless without the magic of the Druids. One by one, the governments who stood against them would fall—just as the Troll tribes and the nations in Eurodia had.
Then she went down among them and took their hands in her own, one by one, reassuring and consoling, giving them renewed heart and belief in themselves and in her. It was typical Ajin d’Amphere—and because of who she was, the grumbles ceased and talk turned to the victory that waited just ahead.
Then in a heartbeat, everything changed.
* * *
—
Later that night, as Ajin and Kol’Dre were working on the details of their plan for a Federation entrapment on the Mermidon, one of her senior commanders, Sten’Or, appeared unexpectedly in front of them and stood waiting for an acknowledgment.
Ajin nodded a greeting. “Is there a problem, Commander?”
She was not fond of Sten’Or, although he was efficient and quick to assess an enemy’s weakness when they were in the field. But of late he had become a rival for command of the Skaar army. She had repeatedly rejected his request to assume command, along with his advances as a suitable bedmate. Those alone provided him with sufficient incentive to seek to undermine her.
“There is a message from the king,” he said without preamble. “It arrived yesterday, just prior to your return.” He handed it to her. “I took the liberty of reading it, to be certain it was something worth bothering you about.”
Ajin stared at him. He was too eager by half, so she took the letter without looking at it. “And is it worth bothering me at this hour, Commander? Since you admit you have already read it?”
Sten’Or shrugged. There was a delight reflected in his features that he did not try to hide. “That is something you will have to determine for yourself. I leave you to it.”
And he turned away dismissively and walked off.
“That was rude,” Kol’Dre declared angrily. “Who does he think he is to speak to you like that?”
Ajin did not reply, but her mind was racing. Something was very wrong for Sten’Or to treat her so. He was perpetually angry with her, but not usually so deliberately impertinent. For him to act this way, he must have reason to think he could do so with impunity.
She unfolded the message and read it through. A chill ran through her. Without looking at Kol, she read it through once more, as much to give her time to compose herself as to make certain of the contents.
Then she looked up. “My father is coming with the rest of the Skaar army. A full-fledged invasion force has been assembled. He will depart with his airships and arrive by the time of the next full moon.”
“What?” Kol exclaimed in disbelief. “Why would he do that when you did not send for him?”
“Why, indeed?”
Kol hesitated. “He knows about Paranor.”
“There hasn’t been time.”
“But why would he…”
A shake of her head. “Sten’Or is responsible for this. He was much too eager to give me the news. He might have sent my father a message earlier suggesting I had overstepped my bounds or trampled on his authority. Who knows? Such a message might have said anything, given who sent it. Sten’Or has always been ambitious, and his ambition might have gotten the better of his common sense.”
“You must relieve him of command and have him flogged!”
Her lips tightened, and a look of determination washed over her perfect features. “Though it would give me great satisfaction to hang my scheming commander from the nearest tree by his private parts, it would not improve my situation. The damage is done. There is nothing that will help now. The king will come, whether I like it or not. When he confirms that I have lost Paranor and its treasures, he will have all the incentive he needs to take control of the army. He will claim my impending victory over the Four Lands as his own achievement and my efforts will be erased. My work will have been for nothing.”
Her voice was calm and steady, but her heart was dark with anger and disappointment. “Still, he is not here yet, so perhaps I can outmaneuver him. You must help me.”
“Of course,” Kol agreed at once. Her Penetrator understood her well enough. Playing games with Cor d’Amphere carried more than a little risk for those involved—as Sten’Or would find out later. But refusing his daughter carried an even greater risk. “What do you want me to do?”
“We’ll send the army to the Mermidon as planned. Once they arrive, I can put our plan into operation and await the coming of the Federation. In the meantime, you are going to take a small trip. You should be back before any engagement occurs.”
“Where am I going?” he asked.
Her smile was cold. “Into the lion’s den.”
FOUR
It was silent and disturbingly spectral within the halls and chambers of Paranor. Everything exuded a transparency, vague and poorly defined, almost on the verge of disappearing. The absence of sound only seemed to enhance the feeling that Drisker Arc was living a ghost life. This world—this new world into which he had been banished—was a place in which color was diminished, clarity dimmed, and time suspended.
It must be like this in the netherworld where the shades were consigned, Drisker thought.
He had spent endless hours exploring a place so familiar to him he barely bothered to consider the paths his footsteps took as he struggled to come to terms with his situation. It was a confusing and disappointing effort that in the end yielded him little. Some things were apparent right away; others took forever to confirm. Others still offered no answers whatsoever and left him bereft of critical information. And none offered him even a small possibility of finding freedom.
First, no other living being was present. Even the dead had vanished, their bodies reduced to ash and bone fragments in the east courtyard. Any birds had long since flown elsewhere, and any mice had gone to ground. Tracing and retracing his footsteps was sufficient to reveal he was entirely alone.
Second, there was no way into or out of the Keep. He had tried over and over to find one and failed. He had attempted to open the gates and the smaller service doors set into the outer walls. He had tried to leave using the underground tunnel through which he had entered. He had attempted to use rope ladders and the foot- and handholds built into the walls, but there was an invisible force sealing away the entire Keep. It pressed up against the exterior of Paranor at every possible exit point and extended down into the earth. There was no way past it, and all his efforts to break through had been unsuccessful. Use of magic in every form he could think to conjure had failed. Even the talismans and magic housed in the vaults offered no answers. A few, like the Crimson Elfstones, were so powerful and unpredictable—as well as unlikely to be of help in his present situation—that he had left them alone. None of the talismans had provided him with an answer to his problem. He was trapped, and there was no way out while Paranor remained trapped in limbo.