We call that compromise the Pact of the Glass, and at this moment it is all that stands between your people and annihilation, because we ofYasammez's party be¬lieve that what we serve is more important than any mercy and is worth any risk.
Barrick felt light-headed again. And… and you still feel that way, Gyir? That killing every man, woman, and child in Southmarch would be an acceptable cost to reach your goal?
You will never understand without knowing the true stakes. The fairy's thoughts came to him like drips of icy water on stone. And I cannot tell you all-/ have not the stature to open such secrets to mortals.
So what are you saying? That your king and queen are at war with each other? But they've made some kind oj truce?
War is too simple a word, Gyir told him. When you understand that they are not only our lord and lady, husband and wife, but also brother and sister, you of all people may understand something of the complexities involved.
They're brother and sister…?
Yes. Enough. I do not have time to explain the full history of my people to you, or any great urge to defend the Line of the Fireflower against the ignorance of sun-landers. Be silent and listen! Gyir's frustration was so palpable that his words came almost like blows. The Pact of the Glass is the most fragile of wisps, but at the moment it holds. We defeated your army but we have not attacked your strong¬hold. But if we must, we will, and I promise you with no joy that if we do the blood will run like rivers.
Barrick was angry now, too. Say your piece, Storm Lantern.
I do not wish your love, man-child, only your understanding. I am sorry if you thought that friendship between us might change the facts, but the gods themselves could not undo what is coming, even if they wished to do so.
So why do you tell us all this, curse you? If we're all doomed, what difference does it make?
Because as I once told you, things are still balanced on a knife's edge. We must do what we can to keep that balance from tilting. Here. He reached into his tat¬tered shirt and pulled out a tiny bundle wrapped in dirty rags, held it out in his open hand. This is the thing I told you about but would not show you. Now I must abandon caution, hoping you will understand the terrible danger we face and how important this is. This is the prize my lady Yasammez ordered me to carry to KingYnnir. On this small thing may rest the fate of all.
What is it? It was smaller than the palm of Barrick's hand, vaguely round in shape. He stared at it, bemused.
It is the very scrying glass around which the Pact of the Glass is built. If it does not reach the king soon, Lady Yasammez will renew her attack upon Southmarch, this time without mercy.
He handed it to Barrick, who was so surprised he almost dropped it. Why are you giving this to me?
Because I fear thatfikuyin intends to use me in some way to open Immon's Gate into the palace of the Earthfather. If that happens, if I am lost while I still carry the Glass, then all is lost with me.
But why me? Barrick shook his head. / can barely stand up! I'm full of mad thoughts-I'm sick! Give it to Vansen. He'll get it where you need it to go. He's a
lint this time, there was the matter of the gods' restless sleep to consider. Your Southmarch is a place that touches closely on the realms of the gods. liven the Voices of the Deep Library agreed that there was a terrible chance that an attempt to re¬capture the sacred place and use its virtues to save Queen Saqri would wake the gods from their slumber and bring an era of blood and darkness over the earth.
But why? Barrick could not help asking. Why would waking the gods do such a thing? He looked to Vansen, but even in the dim light he could see that the soldier had gone quite pale, as though he had just been told the in¬cipient hour of his own death.
"Blood and darkness…?" Vansen whispered. He looked as though he had been stabbed in the heart.
The gods would not be able to avoid it, Gyir declared, any more than a wolf could let itself starve to death while apiece of bloody meat lay before it. Such is the nature oftheir godhood-they have been trapped in sleep for century upon century, powerless as great beasts caught in hunters' nets. One of the gods' most fearsome at¬tributes is the mightiness of their angers. But even faced with such terror, humans would not easily give up dominion. When the gods lived on the earth in the distant past, mortals were their servants, small in numbers and weaker in self-regard, but they have grown in both wisdom and numbers. If the gods wake, there will be a war to end all wars. In the end, though, the gods will triumph and the pitiful survivors will begin sifting the ruins of their cities to build new temples to their greedy, victo¬rious, immortal masters.
Barrick wasn't certain he understood everything, but it was impossible to ignore the dreadful certainty in Gyir's thoughts.
So in our fear of waking the gods, the House of the People became divided be¬tween those who wished to see the queen saved at any cost, led in spirit by my lady Yasammez, and those who sought some other path. That was KingYnnir's way, and although I fear it will only delay the inevitable, or perhaps make it worse when it comes, his wishes had enough support that a compromise was made.
We call that compromise the Pact of the Glass, and at this moment it is all that stands between your people and annihilation, because we ofYasammez's party be¬lieve that what we serve is more important than any mercy and is worth any risk.
Barrick felt light-headed again. And… and you still feel that way, Gyir? That killing every man, woman, and child in Southmarch would be an acceptable cost to reach your goal?
You will never understand without knowing the true stakes. The fairy's thoughts came to him like drips of icy water on stone. And I cannot tell you all-I have not the stature to open such secrets to mortals.
So what are you saying? That your king and queen are at war with each other? lint they're made some kind of truce?
War is too simple a word, Gyir told him. When you understand that they are not only our lord and lady, husband and wife, but also brother and sister, you of all people may understand something of the complexities involved.
They're brother and sister…?
Yes. Enough. I do not have time to explain the full history of my people to you, or any great urge to defend the Line of the Fireflower against the ignorance of sun-landers. Be silent and listen! Gyir's frustration was so palpable that his words came almost like blows. The Pact of the Glass is the most fragile of wisps, but at the moment it holds. We defeated your army but we have not attacked your strong¬hold. But if we must, we will, and I promise you with no joy that if we do the blood will run like rivers.
Barrick was angry now, too. Say your piece, Storm Lantern.
I do not wish your love, man-child, only your understanding. I am sorry if you thought that friendship between us might change the facts, but the gods themselves could not undo what is coming, even if they wished to do so.
So why do you tell us all this, curse you? If we're all doomed, what difference does it make?
Because as I once told you, things are still balanced on a knife's edge. We must do what we can to keep that balance from tilting. Here. He reached into his tat¬tered shirt and pulled out a tiny bundle wrapped in dirty rags, held it out in his open hand. This is the thing I told you about but would not show you. Now I must abandon caution, hoping you will understand the terrible danger we face and how important this is. This is the prize my lady Yasammez ordered me to carry to KingYnnir. On this small thing may rest the fate of all.
What is it? It was smaller than the palm of Barrick s hand, vaguely round in shape. He stared at it, bemused.
It is the very scrying glass around which the Pact of the Glass is built. If it does not reach the king soon, Lady Yasammez will renew her attack upon Southmarch, this time without mercy.
He handed it to Barrick, who was so surprised he almost dropped it. Why are you giving this to me?