child and that he would cleave to Ravenna, and then he”d allowed his guilt to overwhelm him
and doubts to assail him.
He”d gone back to Ishbel. Not an hour had passed since he”d turned his back on Ishbel,
and now he”d gone straight back to the woman.
Ravenna loved Maximilian, and she wanted the best for him, but his weakness as far as
Ishbel was concerned drove her to despair. Maximilian had responsibilities and concerns far
beyond Ishbel—far beyond anyone. He was Lord of Elcho Falling, and Elcho Falling should
come first, otherwise this entire land would fall into ruin.
Maximilian needed to put Elcho Falling before Ishbel, and now Ravenna doubted very
much that he could do that.
For months Ravenna had entertained doubts about Ishbel. In the past few weeks they”d
firmed into certainty as she”d become more certain of the vision within the Land of Dreams.
Ishbel had a weakness about her that would doom Maximilian—and through him this entire
land—if he took her back as wife. But Maximilian resented it whenever Ravenna tried to talk to
him about Ishbel. Even considering all the pain Ishbel had already brought into his life—her loss
of their daughter, her affair with the Tyrant, Isaiah—Maximilian wouldn”t hear anything said
against her. Taking Maximilian into the Land of Dreams tonight had been a calculated
risk—Ravenna had dared it only as a last resort—and it had failed.
“Damn you, Maxel,” Ravenna whispered; then she turned away and walked slowly
deeper into the night.
Thank the gods, she thought, that she had conceived Maximilian”s son. The child
represented hope.
If not the father, then maybe the son.
Maximilian strode away from Ravenna, absolutely furious with her. This was not merely
for her persistent harping about Ishbel, but because she had decided to harp just at the moment
when he”d felt Kanubai vanish. All Maximilian wanted to do was to try and make some sense of
what had happened to Kanubai, to concentrate on what might have happened to him, and all
Ravenna could do was chirrup on and on about Ishbel.
Could she not leave well enough alone, for just one minute?
He had walked away, not daring to speak. He”d allowed Ravenna to think he was going
back to Ishbel because he was so angry that he simply did not trust himself to open his mouth.
And he did not want to think about what Ravenna had showed him. Not right now. Not
when something had just happened to make the entire world shift on its axis.
Maximilian walked through the camp, looking for Isaiah, hoping that he had also felt the
surge of emptiness from the south and hoping that Isaiah might have been able to make some
sense of it.
“Maxel.”
Maximilian spun about. Isaiah was emerging from between a line of tents, his face
strained.
Axis SunSoar was a step behind him.
“You felt it,” Maximilian said to Isaiah.
Isaiah gave a curt nod. “Is there somewhere close we can speak? My tent is some
distance.”
“Not my tent,” Maximilian said. He couldn”t face Ravenna again this soon, and he also
didn”t want her to hear what might be said on this subject. “Axis?”
“Mine is close enough,” Axis said, and led them a few minutes through the maze of horse
lines and campfires to his tent, set close to that of StarDrifter and Salome”s. He held aside the
flap, then indicated his father”s tent. “Should I ask my father…?”
Maximilian shook his head. “Not just yet.”
Axis” tent, like that of all the main commanders, was commodious, high-ceilinged and
well appointed. The three men pulled out chairs and sat at a large folding camp table. Axis” body
servant, Yysell, set out a jug of ale and three beakers, then left the tent.
All three men ignored the ale.
“What”s wrong?” said Axis. “Isaiah said something had happened.”
Isaiah and Maximilian exchanged a glance.
“Something has happened to Kanubai,” said Maximilian. “Very suddenly, within this past
half hour. It felt to me as if all the threat associated with him suddenly dissipated.”
Isaiah gave a nod. “I felt it, too.”
“What do you mean,” Axis said, “when you say that all the threat about Kanubai
„suddenly dissipated”?”
Maximilian and Isaiah exchanged another glance.
“Kanubai is gone,” said Isaiah. “No more. Dead.”
“Then why the long faces?” said Axis. “Surely, if Kanubai is dead, then…” He stopped,
realizing the implications. “Oh gods…is it DarkGlass Mountain? Has DarkGlass Mountain taken
Kanubai?”
Maximilian gave a slight shrug. “I don”t know.” He rubbed at his forehead with one hand,
looking exhausted. “Kanubai was so powerful…what else could have taken him save the glass
mountain. Isaiah?”
“I think the pyramid might be even more dangerous than Kanubai,” Isaiah said. “Lister,”
he continued, naming his ancient ally, “and I had wondered before if we”d been concentrating on
the wrong enemy all this time.”
“Oh, for all the gods” sakes,” Maximilian muttered. “Why do I feel as if the ground is
constantly shifting beneath my feet?” He paused. “Isaiah, where is Lister now? When will he be
here?”
“He is flesh now, as I,” said Isaiah. “He can only travel as flesh. He was most recently in
the FarReach Mountains, and it may take him weeks to get here. We need to know what has
happened, but I think that all of us are too tired. Maxel, have you been to bed at all? No? Neither
have I. I think—”
“I want to talk to you about the pyramid, Isaiah,” Maximilian said.
“Tomorrow, Maxel. Perhaps by then, refreshed, we will have gleaned more of what has
happened. May I suggest we all meet in the afternoon? Axis, bring your father as well, and
perhaps Malat and Georgdi. In the meantime—”
Isaiah stopped as the door of Axis” tent opened and Ishbel looked in.
She gave Maximilian an unreadable glance, then looked at Isaiah. “Isaiah,” she said,
“may I speak with you? It is important.”
CHAPTER THREE
The Sky Peaks Pass
Maximilian tensed, looking away from Ishbel and down at his hands, and Isaiah did not
miss his discomfort.
“Of course, Ishbel,” Isaiah said. He rose, and joined her outside.
“Is there anything wrong?” he said, once the flap had fallen closed behind them.
“Not particularly,” said Ishbel. “You have something I need. Where is your tent?”
Isaiah indicated a path through the sleeping encampment, and they walked quietly for a
while.
“What is wrong with Maximilian?” Isaiah said eventually. “Something has happened.”
Ishbel gave a slight shrug.
“Something has happened, Ishbel.”
“I went to him tonight. I told him that I loved him, that I”d made a terrible mistake, and
asked—well, begged—him if there was a chance we could remake our marriage. He, to be blunt,
said that no, there wasn”t.” She paused. “Ravenna is pregnant.”
“Oh, the fool!” Isaiah said.
To his amazement, Ishbel actually gave a small smile. “I was the fool, Isaiah. I cannot
believe I made such a spectacle of myself, or that I allowed Ravenna to easily best me.” Again,
that slight shrug. “Well, no more.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means that I have decided not to allow myself to be buffeted about by everyone else,
Isaiah. Dear gods, I have more strength than that! I need to make my own way.”
Now it was Isaiah who smiled. “Maybe Maximilian has done better tonight than I”d first
thought. Well done, Ishbel. I have been waiting for this woman to emerge for some time. I don”t
suppose…”
As a test, he allowed his mind to linger over some memories of the time when they”d
been lovers, wondering if Ishbel was now aware enough of her own power to pick up his mental
images.
“Not tonight, Isaiah,” she said, and he smiled again.
“What were you and Axis and Maxel doing so closely closeted?” she asked. “And all of
you had great worry lines etched in your faces.”
“Something has happened with Kanubai tonight,” Isaiah said. “It feels almost as if he has
vanished.”
“DarkGlass Mountain,” Ishbel said.
“More than likely. We decided we were all too tired to solve the problem tonight, and
that we should sleep on it and meet later tomorrow to discuss it. Today, I suppose, as it must be
close to dawn.”
“I will attend, as well,” Ishbel said.
“Of course.”
They drew close to Isaiah”s command tent, a great square scarlet extravagance of
pennants and bells.
“What do you need from me, Ishbel?” Isaiah said, allowing her to pass through the
doorway first.
She waited until they were both well inside the tent, and the doorflap closed behind them.
“The Goblet of the Frogs,” she said, naming the magical goblet that Isaiah had shown
Ishbel in his palace at Aqhat. “I assume you brought it with you.”
Isaiah gave a nod. “And you want it because…?”
“Because it is of my family,” she said. “My ancestress Tirzah fashioned it. And I want it
because I think it can teach me many things.”