Sinner by Sara Douglass. Book One of The Wayfarer Redemption

“He ever had a twisted mind!” Axis said viciously. “Look, Azhure! Look at what he has done now! Subduing his Enchanter powers did nothing. You should have -”

“Killed him?” Azhure cried. “Do you think you could kill your own flesh and blood?”

“I disown him as my flesh and blood,” Axis said, more angry than Azhure had ever seen him. “And yes, I could kill him for what he has tried to do to my family, for what he has done to my family, and what he will do to Tencendor! My friends,” Axis looked about the circle, “don’t you understand what will happen if these TimeKeepers come close enough to block out the Star Dance completely? They will ravage at will! No-one will be able to stop them!”

He threw a furious look at WolfStar. “Is this your mad, bad blood outing itself, renegade? Is this your virulent inheritance tearing apart my family and my land? Did I fight for nothing? Did -”

“I have had nothing to do with either the Demons or with Drago’s actions!” WolfStar cried. “I will tear him apart myself should I meet him before you!” He gained some control of himself and lowered his tone. “Believe me, Axis, all I ever wanted was the best for this land. For Tencendor.”

“Again, enough,” Adamon said. “WolfStar, all about this fire can see what these Demons do to the stars. There is a wake of such sadness behind them that I wonder what they will do to Tencendor if they manage to come through the Star Gate.”

“Without Qeteb they will wrap this land and its peoples in disease, starvation, storms, depair and terror such as it has never seen before, not even under Gorgrael. With Qeteb to lead them, the TimeKeeper Demons will turn Tencendor into a dark wasteland, all its people slaves – automatons – to their whims. And, as Axis said, without the power of the Star Dance behind us, none of us can stop them.”

“None of us?” Axis asked, once again in control of himself. “Then is there nothing that can be done to counter them? Did these ancient ones, the Demons’

‘Enemy’, leave us any means by which to protect ourselves against the cargo they left among us?”

WolfStar nodded. “In a manner, yes. Each site is protected by a series of measures against the Demons returning to recover Qeteb’s life parts. The site under Grail Lake is the most heavily protected of all, for it is there that Qeteb’s soul is buried. In a cavern beneath the lake lies a Maze – an extension of the craft that has grown there during the thousands of years since it crashed.”

“Grown? Grown?” Azhure said. “Explain.”

WolfStar was silent for a while, trying to find a way to convey what these craft actually were. “I do not understand them completely, Azhure. All I can say is that these craft are not dead, but neither are they alive. They are aware of the world and of the circumstances about them. Let me explain. In this cavern under Grail Lake lies the Maze. It protects Qeteb’s soul and is, in its own way, highly magical. A massive gate protects the entranceway to the Maze. About this gate is a stone arch, and on this arch are characters that explain what measures can be taken against Qeteb. For aeons the gate made only vague mention of a champion it referred to as the Crusader. Then, forty years ago, the gate named the champion.”

“Who?” Adamon asked.

Everyone save WolfStar looked at Axis.

“Caelum,” WolfStar said.

“Caelum?” Axis said. “But surely ,’ would be better -”

“No, Axis,” WolfStar said firmly. “The Maze clearly states that Caelum StarSon is the one who can best protect Tencendor. StarSon, it says. Ah.” His entire face softened. “It knew even before you proclaimed Caelum your heir and gave him the title StarSon outside Tencendor. Axis, Azhure, you have bred the champion.”

“WolfStar,” Axis asked very softly as horrid realisation hit him, “was it the Maze which taught you the Prophecy?”

“Yes.”

Axis found it difficult to ask the next question. “Are you telling us that the Prophecy was a manipulation designed primarily to breed the Maze its champion?”

“Yes. And to create the circumstances and environment that would shape him into the Crusader the Maze wanted.”

Axis stared at WolfStar, appalled. Had he and Azhure fought through so much only to provide the Maze with suitable breeding stock?

“There is always a deeper purpose to every life,” Adamon said softly. “And to breed a son like Caelum is a purpose worthy enough, surely.”

“But we have also bred the traitor to undermine his chances,” Azhure said bitterly. She remembered the Beltide night when she and Axis conceived Caelum. She remembered how she’d been caught up in a magic far more powerful than herself. Had the Maze been there, twisting and manipulating? Had they had no free will that night? “Why would Drago have done such a thing? Why?”

“He had been sentenced to death,” Pors said emotionlessly. “He chose the best means he could to save himself.”

“I do not care what should have been done about Drago in the past,” Adamon said, “or what mistakes were made in his upbringing. What we all need to do now is to consider how best to cope should these Demons come through the Star Gate.”

“We must help Caelum,” Azhure said. “Train him as best we can. Axis, surely you would be best for that.”

“As I,” WolfStar put in, and stared at Axis.

Axis conceded. “As all of us. I do not know how well Caelum will cope… he has had so little experience…”

“There is one thing more I should tell you,” WolfStar said. “One more thing that Caelum will need to use against Qeteb.”

“Yes?” Adamon asked.

“The Rainbow Sceptre. The Maze clearly connects the StarSon with the Sceptre. Again and again the symbols for the StarSon and the Sceptre are intertwined, made as if they are one. No doubt Caelum must wield the Sceptre to drive back the TimeKeeper Demons, or to defeat Qeteb should he be reconstituted.”

Axis laughed harshly. “Well, then, why don’t we just prepare a greeting party with wine and food at the Star Gate? Drago has betrayed his brother and Tencendor with consummate skill. We are doomed.”

WolfStar shrugged a little. “Axis, we need to train Caelum, and he needs the Rainbow Sceptre.”

“Oh?” Adamon said. “Do you suggest that we go through the Star Gate after it? None of us,” he waved at the other Star Gods, “can do it, for we are so peculiarly tied to this world. Who else… you?”

WolfStar shuddered. “No, not me. Our only chance to regain it is when the Demons come through the Star Gate – «,’the Demons bring it back with them.”

“We wait until they are here?” Axis said.

WolfStar nodded. “If we cannot stop them beforehand, then that is the only option left to us. And then to find some means to snatch it back. I’m sorry. It’s all we can do.”

“But how can we combat them for the Sceptre?” Azhure cried, despair all over her face. “By the time the TimeKeeper Demons are here they will have completely blocked out the Star Dance. We will be as ants before their power! And Caelum? What chance has he against these Demons with all his power gone? I can’t see -”

“Azhure, my dear, be calm,” WolfStar said gently. “We will get the Sceptre back for Caelum. By whatever means we can.”

Ms Grove Faraday paused at the door to Niah’s room, listened, then pushed it open. She moved wrapped in an aura of dream, so she made no sound, and she was virtually indistinguishable from the shadows. Every day Faraday found different uses for her newly enriched power, and this current trick was a most useful accomplishment.

The room was dark, filled only with the sound of sleep. Faraday stood a while, catching her bearings, learning the layout of the room, memorising the patterns of the bed, chests, hanging robes and mirrors.

Then she moved silently towards the bed.

Niah lay there. Alone. Faraday had more than expected to find WolfStar here tangled with her, their bodies a mass of damp flesh and twisted feathers. But WolfStar had abandoned his lover for this night. No matter. Faraday could act whether WolfStar was here or not.

She sat on a stool by the bed and watched Niah sleep. The woman slept awkwardly, not sure what to do with her wings. They hung to either side of the bed, drifting across the floor, Niah’s naked body pale and vulnerable in the faint moonlight. Waiting, perhaps, in case WolfStar found the time to visit.

Faraday’s eyes rested on Niah’s belly. There was only the faintest suggestion of a roundness there – it was far too early in the pregnancy for any noticeable swelling yet. Faraday leaned forward, and placed both her hands on Niah’s belly.