Northern Plains of Isembaard
They left the next morning, Zeboath confident that Ishbel was well enough to travel. She
was very quiet, and Axis wondered if it was because she still felt unwell, or if she feared what
lay ahead. It was probably a combination, Axis thought, as he settled Ishbel on the quietest horse
he could find for her. She could sit the horse well enough, but she had little confidence on it, and
Axis thought he”d need to keep close by in case she experienced any troubles.
Axis nodded at Zeboath, who had brought his own horse, as well as a packhorse loaded
with panniers and bundles. Zeboath had been prepared to leave Torinox in any case, and had
needed only to load the packhorse to be ready to depart with Axis.
Axis” men had been up since dawn, readying for departure. He greeted Insharah and
spent a few minutes quietly conferring with him about their plans and the route for the day. As
they spoke, Axis noted one of the other men pausing as he saddled his horse, then resting his
head momentarily against the horse”s neck, as if he felt unwell.
“Is Madarin ill?” Axis asked Insharah.
Insharah looked over and grunted. “He has a bellyache,” he said. “Ate too much of the
landlord”s eel pie last night.”
“Ah,” said Axis, “then a hard day”s ride should iron out those knots, eh?”
They rode out of Torinox by midmorning. It was later than Axis had really wanted to
leave (and if Zeboath had had his way then they would have been gone by dawn), but he hadn”t
wanted to push Ishbel. The most immediate route to Aqhat was directly south, but Axis thought
it might be better if they rode southeast toward the Lhyl. He didn”t think Ishbel should be made
to ride the entire distance to Aqhat—it would be better by far to hire river craft for the majority
of the journey.
Nonetheless, Ishbel managed fairly well. Axis did not force the pace, going only as fast
as he judged was comfortable for her. The going was good. Even though it was high summer in
Isembaard, this close to the FarReach Mountains the sun was mild, the breezes cool, and the
ground soft underneath the horses” hooves. Axis enjoyed the day. Ishbel rode mostly in
silence—Axis did not push her for conversation—but he, Zeboath, and Insharah rode together,
just to one side of Ishbel, and laughed and chatted the day away. Zeboath was a good companion.
He had a mischievous sense of humor and a witty turn of phrase, and was so palpably glad to
have escaped Torinox that his zest infected both Axis and Insharah.
They stopped for a brief meal just after noon, then rode another four hours. By that time
Ishbel was visibly wearying, and Axis knew they”d have to stop for the night. He”d hoped to find
a village or small town, but there was nothing within three or four hours” ride.
For stars” sakes, Axis thought, irritated by the lack of anywhere comfortable to sleep, I
cannot understand Isaiah”s wish to depopulate this region further!
They would need to camp for the night, and as Ishbel had made it this far over the
FarReach Mountains, Axis thought she would manage another night in the open.
It was close to evening by the time they”d unsaddled the horses and established a camp.
Insharah had seen to the lighting of two campfires, one for the soldiers, and one for Axis, Ishbel,
and Zeboath. Axis noted wryly that while he and the soldiers had shared the one campfire on the
trip north, as soon as a woman (and a queen at that) and a physician had joined the troop, social
distinctions had come silently into play, and Axis had been relegated to entertain the visitors
while the soldiers maintained their own ribald campfire.
They settled down, eating a cold meal of bread and cheese and pickles. As Axis chewed
his food, he reflected on all the journeys he”d taken in his life, and all the people with whom he”d
shared a campfire.
Zeboath saw Axis watching Ishbel speculatively, and asked him what he was thinking.
Axis gave a soft laugh, brushing his fingers together to rid himself of bread crumbs. “I
was thinking of all the beautiful women I”ve shared a campfire with in my life,” he said, “and of
all the strange adventures and mysteries of which we were in pursuit. All the dangers, the terrors,
and the ecstasies that we encountered.”
“And all the magics,” Ishbel said. “You were born for this kind of adventure, Axis. Not
I.”
Axis gave a small shrug of his shoulders.
“What did you mean yesterday,” he said, “when you said Maximilian had brought the
terror of the Veins out with him?”
Ishbel glanced at Zeboath.
“I am sure that Zeboath knows how to hold his tongue when needed,” Axis said. “Eh,
Zeboath?”
Zeboath nodded, his eyes round, and Axis repressed a grin. He”d never seen anyone
enjoy an adventure as much as Zeboath.
“Maximilian has an affinity for the darkness,” Ishbel said. She had a piece of bread and
cheese in her hands, and she stared at it as she spoke, turning it over and over.
“In what manner?” Axis said.
“He becomes one with the darkness,” Ishbel said, finally looking up and meeting Axis”
eyes. “He can blend with it.”
As Axis frowned slightly, she continued. “When first we met…” She gave a short, soft
laugh. “When first we met he used the darkness to spy on me. It was in Pelemere. I had a
chamber in a house belonging to King Sirus, and it was not especially large. I returned to it one
evening, and bathed and ate, and for an hour or more I did not realize that Maximilian was in that
chamber with me, until he drew a breath, and I heard him.”
“He was not just lurking behind a wardrobe, or the shadow of the door?” Axis asked.
Ishbel shook her head. “He was standing against a wall, but I had clear sight of it. And
yet, in all the time, I did not see him. And then, when we escaped the city—”
Axis made a mental note to ask her sometime why they”d needed to “escape” Pelemere.
“—he cloaked me in the same manner, and we crept past guards within touching distance,
and they never saw us.”
“That sounds an admirable skill,” said Zeboath. “Imagine the ladies on whom I could
spy.”
Ishbel gave a small smile, but there was no amusement behind it. “Maximilian is very
disconcerting.”
Axis was becoming more intrigued with the man the more he heard about him, and
wondered, somewhat idly, if Ba”al”uz had stolen the wrong person.
Ishbel looked at Axis directly. “As are you.”
Axis jerked out of his reverie. “What?”
“I woke, the other night, and saw you holding a most strange object in your hand. It
glowed…and, oh, the expression on your face. I have seen that expression before only ever on
the faces of priests locked in god-power. So, Axis, what darkness are you carrying about in your
pack and in your heart?”
Axis considered a moment, then decided to be frank. “Bear with me,” he said. “I”ll need
to explain first some of my background, especially for Zeboath.”
He looked to Zeboath. “I told you that I came from the lost land of Tencendor. My full
name is Axis SunSoar, and once I was StarMan of Tencendor, and later one of the seven Star
Gods of that land. Then came invasion and disaster, and I lost contact with the source of all my
power, the Star Dance, and my son, DragonStar SunSoar, saved the land only by destroying it.
Perhaps you have heard something of my life.”
Zeboath managed to close his mouth and collect himself. “Ah, yes. Yes, I have.”
“Well,” said Axis, “when I was a far greater man than I am now, I drew power from the
Star Dance—the music that the stars make in their dance through the heavens. It filtered through
to Tencendor via the Star Gate, a magical gateway into the universe. From the Star Dance itself I
could manipulate the dance and create enchantments out of it. When the Timekeeper Demons
destroyed the Star Gate, they also cut off the flow of the Star Dance and I, supreme Star God,
became once again a mere mortal.”
His mouth twisted in deprecating humor. “It was a devastating blow. Not just to me, but
to all Icarii Enchanters, all of whom drew strength and beauty and power from the Star Dance. It
wasn”t only the loss of power, but it was more the loss of the beauty that had underpinned our
every breath and our every thought. That beauty…”
Axis sighed, rose, and fetched his pack. From it he withdrew a cloth bundle, which he
unwrapped to reveal the glass pyramid, now a dull gray. He passed it first to Ishbel, who held it