“Taking the power of the stone for myself is not the ultimate goal, just one more step in the total endeavor,” Nicholas went on. “There is still so much you do not know. But you eventually shall.”
“Will I therefore not also begin to lose my powers as the stone fades?” Ragnar asked nervously. “For my abilities of the craft are tied to the stone as well. I have already felt a minuscule loss in my powers, but could not imagine the cause.”
“Have no fear in that regard,” Nicholas answered. “For reasons you do not yet understand, I have chosen you as my servant. And as my servant, you shall retain your powers.”
Smiling, Nicholas closed his eyes for a moment. “Your woman,” he asked Ragnar. “She will of course attend?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And she is still completely unaware of my existence?”
“Again, yes.”
“Good,” Nicholas said, his eyes still closed. “I have approved of the revenge you have planned for the wizard. I find it uniquely fitting. And Scrounge knows of my personal instructions regarding the prince. But it is ironic, don’t you agree, that your woman should be included here today? I can think of no better revenge than that which you are already taking. And still they will have no concept of its importance. Nor will they after they have left us, and you continue to take her. A true treat for the body as well as the mind, is it not?”
“Indeed, my lord.” Ragnar smiled wickedly. He again touched the never-healing wound at the side of his head. Soon, Wigg, he thought. Soon you will stand before me. And I will have my revenge.
Turning his head, Nicholas smiled. “I can sense they are near,” he said quietly. “Make ready.”
23
“They’re back!” Shailiha exclaimed happily to Faegan. “They have reached the last portal!”
They were together on the balcony, watching as a veritable cloud of giant butterflies circled the large, black marble door at the bottom of the atrium.
“Well done, my dear,” the wizard said, and he meant it. Closing his eyes, he commanded the massive black door to open, and the twelve handpicked fliers shot into the great room in a stream of rainbow colors. Quickly he caused the door to close again, sealing the atrium from the tunnel that led to the outside world.
“Bring them up,” he said quietly to the princess.
Shailiha looked down to the fliers. Almost immediately the squadron of special butterflies soared to the brass rail at her left and perched there quietly, the twenty-four beautiful, diaphanous wings opening and closing silently.
She has done it! Faegan thought, amazed. She has successfully sent her first group of fliers out of the Redoubt. And they have returned at her command, finding their way back through the tunnels perfectly.
He had not yet explained to Shailiha his suspicions that her power was the result of an Incantation of Forestallment. He needed more time to absorb all the information contained in the long, detailed scroll that had been left by Egloff: Consummate recollection, unfortunately, did not automatically grant consummate understanding. He was quite aware of the fact that Forestallments had heretofore only been the stuff of myth and legend, and to put such a concept before Wigg and the others required that he be absolutely sure.
But he was becoming more convinced by the moment that this was the result of an event-activated Forestallment, rather than a time-activated one. And the more he saw her with them, the more convinced of it he became. He postulated that it had been the princess’ first physical contact with the butterflies that had initiated it. Even she did not know how it was that she had suddenly been able to do such a thing. To the wizard, this provided even more evidence for his theory. And he now also had a very good idea who had created the forestallment.
The second reason that he had not yet discussed his theories with the princess was because he preferred to explain his discovery to everyone at once. He would therefore wait until the prince and wizard returned to the Redoubt with the Tome of the Paragon. If indeed they ever return, he thought worriedly.
Tristan and Wigg had already been gone too long. It should not have taken them so much time to retrieve the Tome and come back to the Redoubt unless they were in trouble, and the likelihood of just such an occurrence increased with every moment. Given the immense power of whoever was draining the Paragon, he shuddered to think of the forces they might be up against.
With a scowl, he reached down and gathered his robe more closely about his feet, as if by doing so he might also be able to cover up his shame at not succeeding in healing his own legs of the damage done to them by the Coven. If he’d had the use of his legs, he’d have gone with Wigg and Tristan, and perhaps they all would have been there and back again by now.
Still, he was determined to move ahead where he could. He had spent the last two days hurriedly trying to explore the inner workings of Shailiha’s amazing talents with the fliers, yet explaining relatively little to her. Much to his delight, her progress had been dramatic. She no longer trembled or perspired when bonding with the butterflies, and her ability to communicate with them seemed to improve with every moment.
To his mind this had become vital, for there was no one else left in the Redoubt to do his reconnoitering for him. Joshua and Geldon had not yet returned from their trip to Parthalon. And although he had not expressed his concerns to the princess, to his mind Tristan and Wigg should now be presumed missing.
Shannon had returned with the horses, and had also told him of their seeing Scrounge, the captured consuls, and the hatchlings. But despite Shannon’s loyalty, the wizard still dared not use the gnome as his other pair of eyes. The appearance of a gnome among the already frightened population could cause more potential harm than good.
The fliers were now the only choice the wizard had to discover what was happening in the world above, and he felt it imperative he teach both the butterflies and the princess how to exit and enter the Redoubt on their own.
As if reading his mind, Shailiha asked, “How is it that the butterflies are able to move the boulder that guards the end of the tunnel, and release themselves into the outside world?” As her talents with the fliers had progressed, so had her thirst for knowledge.
Faegan smiled. “Wigg and I had to change the spells on the boulders and the radiance stones so that they can now be empowered without the aid of endowed blood. We are not altogether happy about it, but it had to be in case one of the unendowed now living here needed quick entrance or exit.” He looked down at the butterflies as they chased happily around the great room. “The fliers need only to touch the roof of the tunnel to enact the radiance stones, and again touch the boulder that hides the entrance to the other end to open the exit. Just as Geldon does when he goes into town. It is only the large black door at the bottom of the aviary that they fliers cannot move by their own powers. I insisted on that for reasons of security when I constructed the aviary. I was in the process of teaching them how to enter and exit the end of the tunnel by themselves when we first became acquainted with your particular abilities.
“Now then,” the wizard said, “let’s try again.”
Shailiha turned to the twelve fliers on the brass rail next to her. Tell me, she thought, concentrating. Outside of this place, is it night or is it day?
And then came the familiar voice to her mind—what she now knew to be the combination of all twelve voices at once.
It is night, Mistress, she heard.
Tell the wizard, also, she silently ordered. For he cannot hear you in his mind as I can.