‘So, there is a military leader out there,’ said The Unknown. ‘Did Pheone say anything about an organised attack being planned?’
‘I’m surprised there hasn’t already been an assault,’ said Hirad. ‘Surely they can talk to the mages left inside the College and set up something.’
‘No, because no one can talk to the College,’ replied Erienne. ‘Besides, it’s tough to co-ordinate disparate groups all around the city. Communion isn’t that easy.’
‘Well, why can’t anyone Commune with Julatsa?’ Ilkar’s heart raced. ‘Is she sure the Wesmen haven’t taken it.’
‘Yes, she’s certain, because they have magical protection which blocks Communion.’ She drew in breath deeply. ‘Ilkar, they’ve erected a DemonShroud.’
‘A what?’ asked Hirad.
‘Gods in the sky, have they really?’ said Ilkar, eyes widening in surprise. And now he’d been told, the solution was obvious as the only one that could keep at bay an army of fifteen thousand, no matter how great their fear of magic. But with the knowledge that the Wesmen could not hope to enter the College while the Shroud remained, came the connected problem. Ilkar quickly outlined the workings of the Shroud before giving voice to the issue of which both Erienne and Denser were already aware.
‘So how in all the hells do we get in?’ demanded Hirad.
‘We don’t, not until the Shroud is dropped,’ replied Ilkar.
‘I’d worked that bit out,’ said Hirad, tapping his head. ‘It isn’t hot like yours but it does go round. I mean, when and if the Shroud is dropped, how do we beat ten thousand Wesmen into the Library?’
‘We don’t,’ said The Unknown. ‘We have to get them away from the College before that happens. I know that sounds ridiculous but we’ve got ourselves, God knows how many Julatsans aching for revenge and three thousand professional soldiers, and the Wesmen don’t even seem to realise it. There’s time enough because the Shade isn’t growing that fast and I think we could make something work for us.’
‘Really? What exactly?’ Denser wasn’t alone in his scepticism. But The Unknown didn’t have time to explain. The Dark Mage grunted and shook his head. ‘Communion,’ he said, frowning. ‘It’s Delyr, I think.’ He lay down and closed his eyes to accept the contact from Parve.
It was a contact that would change everything.
Chapter 17
The Council Chamber was bleak and cold. Outside the College, an eerie silence had fallen. Two men lay dead, dozens would have wounds and Kard had placed instant curfew on the courtyard and grounds. Every non-essential person, was confined inside and the guard on certain doors - two of the Long Rooms in particular - was heavy.
A cordon, eighty strong, secured the base of the Tower and for the first time the remaining guard on the walls looked inward, not out.
Barras, his heart heavy, anticipated, as they all did, the battle that would ensue inside the walls if they kept up the Shroud. He didn’t like it and, despite the knowledge of the College’s demise, could see the fight couldn’t be allowed to happen.
‘Why won’t they understand?’ Endorr was frustrated.
‘Where’s your family, Endorr?’ countered Cordolan, his usual jovial face a distant memory.
‘You know I have no family.’
‘Then you can never understand why they don’t understand.’ Cordolan steepled his hands.
‘Why?’
‘Because your family are not dying while you live unmarked inside these walls. The people you love the best are not in the game of chance for sacrifice. Your greatest terrors for your brothers, sisters and parents are not unfolding before your eyes.’
‘The point, Endorr, is this,’ said Barras. ‘We can no longer presume to uphold the College in the face of so much slaughter. I believed, as no doubt did you, that the College and Julatsan magic were more important than life. They are not. I also didn’t believe Senedai would carry out his threat or would stop after one show of bravado. I was wrong.
‘I saw the faces of those who died today and the anger of those who confronted us. Unless you are blind, you must see we cannot let this slaughter continue.’
‘That is a considerable change of opinion,’ said Seldane. ‘Not that long ago, we sat here with General Kard and agreed that nothing, not even life, was as important as maintaining the College.’
‘Yes, and pious, grossly insensitive and morally indefensible it was too,’ said Barras.
‘We cannot suffer the College to fall,’ said Torvis. ‘We cannot see Julatsan magic die. The imbalance in power will destabilise the whole of Balaia.’
‘We can bury the Heart,’ said Kerela. ‘Our life will always beat.’
‘Why bother? If we lose the Mana Bowl, The Tower and the Library, we are so much lessened. What does the Heart do but give us a spiritual centre for our magic? It is our books, our architecture and our places of deepest solemnity that make us Julatsan mages. Vital though it is, the Heart is just one of them.’ Seldane shook her head.
‘If we do nothing, there will be battle inside these walls and I will not have Julatsans spill one another’s blood in my College.’ Kerela’s eyes held an uncompromising power, just as her tears had told of the depth of her pain.
‘If we step outside these walls, we will be killed and any non-mage enslaved. I fail to see the purpose of walking into their hands and leaving the College to their mercy,’ said Vilif.
‘One thing we will not be doing is rolling over, let me assure you of that,’ said Kerela.
‘If we fight them, we will lose,’ said Seldane. ‘We can exist here until help arrives.’
‘It’s not going to!’ snapped Kerela, thumping her hand on the table. ‘Do you still not see what should have been obvious right from the start? While the Shroud remains, no one will come to our aid. We have erected an impenetrable barrier. We are safe. No one knows what is happening in here and I tell you something, if I was a Dordovan, I wouldn’t be rushing on to Wesmen swords with no guarantee of help from those I was supposed to be rescuing. Would you?’
There was a knock on the door and Kard entered. He looked harassed, sweat beading his face which was red and vein-shot.
‘Your arrival is most opportune,’ said Kerela. ‘Please, take a drink, sit yourself down and tell us what is happening out there.’
Kard nodded, grateful for a moment’s respite. He unhooked his cloak and draped it over the back of his chair, filled a crystal glass with water and sat down, exhaling loudly. He drained his glass and set it down gently, a more natural colour already returning to his face.
‘I’m too old for this,’ he said. An embryonic chuckle ran around the table.
‘That applies to most of us here,’ said Vilif. The General smiled briefly.
‘All right, we’ve put back the cork for now but I can’t keep it there indefinitely. These people are not our prisoners, they are not disarmed and they outnumber my soldiers two to one, though that is small concern because we will not fight them hand to hand. Not if a decision, the right decision, comes from this room before noon. We have to stop Senedai’s killing.’
‘What would you have us do, General?’ asked Seldane, her tone terse.
‘Remove the Shroud—’
‘And leave us open for slaughter just like that?’ Endorr was incensed.
‘No, young idiot,’ snarled Kard, his demeanour changed suddenly, his voice hard, military. ‘The College Guard of Julatsa will never leave us open for slaughter or these buildings at their mercy. Save your sharp tongue for your spells.’
‘Kard, be calm,’ said Barras, reaching out a hand towards the General. ‘We are all under great pressure.’