‘I always thought you were mocking me-even trying to kill me. But it is true. You have taught me much, without ever uttering a word of advice.’
‘I never lied to you, Samuel. If anything, I have only ever been brutally honest with you in hope that you would find your way. True wisdom cannot be grafted from one place to another, Samuel. Its seeds can only be thrown to the wind, and left to become what they may. I thought to pass you some of my knowledge, but I think I ended up learning more from you. I always thought I was doing the right thing by joining Cang-I suppose I still do. We only wanted to save the world, but perhaps we should have gone about it in a different way. Everything seems so clear now, here at the end of the world. If only it could have been like that at the beginning.’
‘The future is never clear,’ Samuel responded. ‘I once saw Cintar shrouded in ruin, with black-cowled things walking the streets and terrorising the people. I always assumed that some awful battle would eventually take place,as I had foreseen, and then the High Tower of the palace would fall, but,in my time beneath Mount Karthma,I figured the true meaning of this vision. It was meddling of the Order that I saw. They have filled the streets with fear and destroyed their own ambitions. In a way, we would truly be better off without magic, if those that choose how to use it cannot be trusted.’
‘All forms of power can and will be abused, Samuel, as long as man is driven by his greed. After all, power is only what you can frighten others into giving you. Perhaps that will change one day, but not any time soon from what I have seen. I would like to talk more of such things, but we have little time left. Samuel, I want to tell you one more thing before I go.’
‘What is it?’
‘I am sorry-for everything that has happened to you. You did not deserve to lose so many of your loved ones. It has never been your fault.’ Even with his crystal expression, the man looked sincere. ‘The Circle is broken and the fate of the world is now yours. Goodbye.’
Samuel was about to respond when Balten vanished. Samuel could not see the after-effect, but he could feel magic energy tearing in after him, into the hole in the ether that Balten had made, until it sealed itself shut and the chamber was still again.
There was nothing else to do and so Samuel prepared himself to leave. He wouldjourney away and hope that Balten’s plan to somehow disrupt Starfall was successful. If not, he would probably never feel the difference.
He squatted once more by the body of the woman he had loved, and touched the side of her cheek with his finger. Everyone he knew had died and,for the second time, he had lost the one he had cherished most. This time, it was almost too much to bear, and he considered just sitting down and waiting for it all for end. Perhaps he could find peace in that endless quiet after death took him? But something stirring inside him would not let him. She had charged him with finding and saving their son, and so he could not give up. He never would, as long as there was some strength left in him.
He left the underground chamber and found his way through the narrow passages of the temple and out into the rocky Valley of the Ancients. It was late morning now, but the Star of Osirah seemed to be larger than ever, directly above. Its tail had gone, leaving just a circle of silver fire in the sky, like a tiny angry moon. A tiny flicker appeared across it and then the white-hot circle separated and broke into a dozen smaller pieces that began to spread silently across the sky, surrounded by countless tiny specks that flashed and faded from view. Some of the remaining pieces tumbled about and disappeared altogether, but the others began to trail fire as they moved apart.
‘He’s done it!’ a voice said and Samuel turned to see Cang come struggling from the temple mouth. He reached the stairs, but came tumbling down them like a rag doll, rolling to a juddering halt at Samuel’s feet. He struggled several times to sit up, but Samuel would not help him. In the end, he seemed content to lie face down upon the sand.
‘Cang, you demon. I thought you were dead,’ Samuel told him.
‘Nearly. In truth, this body has not felt life for quite some time. Another few moments and we will die together. I could not bear to miss it.’
The heavens crackled as the first tiny fragments broke the sky. In a few more heartbeats, the larger pieces would turn the Paatin Desertinto a sea of fire.
‘No,’ Samuel said. ‘I have much to do. You can die alone,’ and he opened up a Journey spell and surrounded himself with it.
‘Take me, too,’ Cang implored him. ‘I can help you to find your son. All is not lost.’
‘I have had as much help as I need from you.’
‘I know what can be done!’ he pleaded with Samuel, like a talking marionette with cut strings, from his place on the dirt. ‘What would you have me do? I think I know who would want your son more than me-Poltamir, the Third Ancient. For some reason I cannot fathom he has something in mind for his king. Perhaps he seeks to pervert the course of Lin’s upbringing, or somehow plans to siphon his power-I do not know. I will just tell you this — give up your foolish flirtation with the dark arts. You must become stronger if you are to defeat the Ancient Ones now that their power has returned, but black magic is not the way. I feel there is still potential in you, Samuel, but you need a worthy teacher. There is only one stronger than me. His name is Salu.’
‘The brother of Anthem,’ Samuel said.
‘Yes,he is the one. It will not be easy but,if he still exists, perhaps he will help. I’m sure he knows what to do.’
‘I will find him. Tell me, before you die-what was her name?’
‘Who? The woman? I don’t know. Why would I bother to learn such a thing when I can simply make it up?’ said Cang,and he bared his terrible teeth. ‘Now, will you take me with you?’
‘No,’ Samuel said assuredly, and he vanished.
Cang strained to turn his head, for there was a flash of light directly above him and the wispy clouds seemed to shudder and part, blown to the horizons in the blink of an eye. His plan had been flawless,its execution perfect. Everything has gone exactly as he wished, until that blasted magician had double-crossed him. It seemed surreal that all his plans, drawn across centuries, had come to this abysmal failure. The master of deceit has been deceived by his apprentice.
That was his last thought, for he and everything around him ceased to exist.
The world simply shifted for Samuel. One moment, he was beside the temple;the next,he was standing on a great shattered stump, high on a hillside, with a beautiful valley vista spread out below him. He knew at once where he was, although it was certainly not Cintar,as he had intended. Perhaps his mind had grasped onto this place instead as he had willed himself away from the desert. It was, after all, the place that founded his childhood dreams-the source of his fondest memories, from a time when the world was perfect.
Here, it was only early morning and the sun was still just making its presence known between the mountains. The ground was steep and it angled away directly beside him into a narrow gorge that he had once called Bear Valley. A tiny stream ran through that gorge and joined the river, glimmering silver and snaking away in the valley below him. The cascading hills in the distance looked like waves of green rising from an endless ocean of trees, with each successive swell fadingbehind an additional coat of pale mist, like layers of an illustration cut and slatted into place. The clouds and the earth seemed to meet so very far away in the gap between the hills, with the grey haze wedged between them indicating rain upon the lowlands.
The smoking chimneys of Stable Waterford spotted the vale just below him, and tiny scratches of roads joined them together, peeking through the trees. A wild orchard lay closest at the bottom of the hill, but it seemed as if someone had taken to rebuilding it. There were already figures hard at work, hammering and sawing in a clearing amongst the apple trees, working on the beginnings of a new house. It seemed much larger than the house Samuel had been born in, burnt down long ago on that very same spot. He listened carefully, and he could hear children at play, running between the trees and laughing while the others worked.
In the village, people were busypreparingfor the day’s market and there were several new buildings here and there that he did not remember. It seemed the little village was growing, perhaps from those hoping to escape the warring and worries of the lowlands. It was obvious that such troubles had not yet come to such a remote place. With Alahativa slain, perhaps the Paatin would recede and the village would remain untouched. It would only be a brief respite, however, for with Lin reborn into the world, it seemed there would be nowhere that was safe from harm.
A sound that could have been distant thunder drummed from far away and,moments later,the birds and
