She Who Has No Name

seen a worried expression on her face.

‘I have had worrying dreams these pastfewnights, Samuel,’ she said. ‘I have been counselled by my highest seers and astrologers, but their advice is worthless.’ As if to illustrate, she gestured to them, splayed out on the floor. ‘The Star of Osirah shines brighter, but it cannot burn the worries from my heart. I want to know if you, my darling, my most trusted magician, can helpeasemy burden?’

Samuel cleared his throat. ‘Tell me what is bothering you and I shall endeavour not to disappoint you.’

‘My dreams are troubled. I see days past and events long gone. I see loved ones and lost ones and people that I know well, yetwhomI have never metin this life. I am generations old but,in truth, my own childhood was told to me by our scholars, for it was so long ago that I cannot remember it. I always attributed such longevity to my beloved ring, but now I have witnessed these dreams, I am not so convinced.’ She ceased her stalking up and down and turned to face him directly. ‘Do you believe that I could have had other lives? I have never heard of such things, but these dreams are torturing me. They are so vivid,so real. They are more memories than dreams but,for this to be so, I would have to have lived another life that I have since forgotten; indeed,many lives for,in each, I am a different person,in a different place, in a different body.’

Samuel immediately thought of the Emperor. Before learning of his transfer into the body of Sir Ferse, he would never have thought such a thing was possible. The Paatin Queen’s words seemed eerily familiar.

‘I do not know what to say,’ he told her. ‘Perhaps they are merely dreams?’

‘They are not!’ she roared and one of the muscled menwholined her room actually bolted from his position in fear and fled through the door. Luckily for him, she failed to notice and continued stalking her dais. Magic had begun to boil from her finger and it surrounded her like a tumultuous liquid, curling and twisting around her. ‘I know dreams from truth, Magician. Don’t taunt me with such stupidity. I don’t know what it can mean. You are useless. Leave me be! Go, before I do something I may regret!’ she commanded and Samuel backed away from her as quickly as he dared. She continued muttering to herself as he left the room and he felt her magic lash out in furious,sporadic bursts. It did not bode well.

Another week passed and Samuel grew anxious about the uncustomary behaviour of the Queen. The Emperor had also begun acting strangely, looking distant and thoughtful at times, and losing his temper and having tantrums at Samuel, demanding he hurry up and find his ring.

The Koian woman was also behaving strangely, for she had surrounded her bed with all the furniture and blankets from her room, stringing and piling the sheets to form a makeshift shanty that she inhabited all day. Shara brought food and water to the woman, but she rarely ventured out, and ran back behind cover if Samuel or Canyon attempted to speak with her. She had covered her face with the make-up that had been provided to her, but in a hideous fashion, scribbled and smudged all about. When they beckoned to her, she only croaked at them from her hole and told them ‘Begone’.

Samuel ignored such behaviour and left the woman to her strange habits. He then had to resort to Canyon for the occasional civil conversation. The man was polite, but aloof,and so Samuel was left with nothing to do but venture beneath the mountain at every opportunity.

He had been hoping for Lomar to appear and miraculously save the day, but more wizards had been attracted to the palace by the Queen’s erratic behaviour and that made the prospect seem even more remote.

It was only as he was tiptoeing about beneath Mount Karthma, far down in the deeper reaches, that Samuel finally had a change of luck. Peering into a row of neat cells, he found that light was pouring from beneath the door of one and he was delighted when he sensed the familiar presence of Eric on the other side.

‘Eric!’ he hissed. ‘Is that you?’

‘Samuel!’ came the excited reply. ‘What took you so long? Let me out of here!’

‘I can’t. Not yet. There’s nowhere for you to hide and I can’t risk alerting the guards until I have found Balten.’

‘Then at least open the door for a moment. I can’t stand it in here.’

Samuel pulled back the heavy bolt that had been pushed into place, and it groaned as he eased it out of its rusty slot.

‘Thank goodness!’ Eric said and stepped out, stretching his arms wide as if to relieve his cramped muscles. ‘I thought I was going to be left in there forever.’

‘What of your wounds?’

‘Much better. The healers have been coming every day. They cannot use their spells down here, so they cover me in their vile ointments and make me drink some wretched concoctions. I must admitthough,they do seem to work quite well.’

Samuel peered into Eric’s cell. There was a small bed, a bucket of clean water and a bucket for waste. It looked as though Eric had spent a lot of time on his cot, for it was littered with papers and notes.

‘At least you’ve kept yourself occupied.’

‘If it can be called that. I’ll go mad if I’m in here much longer. I need to get out and feel some magic! How much longer will you be?’

‘I don’t know. Not long,I hope. A few more days. This passage marks the end of the southern portion of the catacombs. I only have the eastern section remaining and I am hoping to find Balten somewhere there.’

‘Well,I hope so. What news from above?’

‘Don’t ask. Everything is going awfully, but if I can just get my ring,we can finally get out of here. I know where the Empress is and I’m fairly sure I can lure the Paatin Queen away from her wizards and overpower her.’

Eric nodded. ‘Then don’t forget me. You may need all the help you can get.’

‘I’m certain of it.’

‘Well. What are you waiting for? Go,’ Eric said, strutting back into his cell. ‘Lock me in and go find Balten. The sooner you find him, the sooner you can get me out of here. Just don’t get caught! You’d better get going. The guards check on me quite often and they’re due back soon.’

‘All right then. I will see you soon,’ and with that he pushed the door shut and locked it tight.

‘Samuel!’ Eric called from within.

‘What is it?’

‘I heard something shuffling around out there before. There are strange sounds from the tunnels, and I also heard screaming. Have you seen anything strange?’

Samuel immediately thought of the rumoured ghoul of the catacombs, but decided against frightening his friend. ‘I’m sure it is only the guards. But keep your lamp welllit, just in case.’

He could already sense some guards approaching and just managed to dart aside as they came sauntering down the passage. He waited for them to pass and crept back out, guided by his memory and sense ofsight.

He made his way along the deep passages where few ever ventured and was about toheadback towards the main tunnels, when he heard something ahead. He stopped, silent, and felt a wizard approaching, so he slipped into a narrow crevice in the wall of the tunnel, opposite a set of bolted doors. Someone had been moving around in one of the cells he had just passed and so he had to be careful, moving with complete silence to keep his presence unknown.

The crevice was deep enough so that he could fit his whole body in and he wedged himself around a tight corner at the end so as not to be seen. Staying quiet, he poked his head out just a touch, enoughto see the telltale energies of the wizard approach, dangling like blue-green sparks in the air. Along with the normal points of energy, purple magic seethed and its stench burned into his nostrils. No natural light came to shine on the walls, so whoeverwas coming his waywas walking in perfect darkness. Either they knew these tunnels well, or they had some other means to find their way. He knew some of the Paatin had this traitbut,as the wizard approached, the vile energy grew denser until Samuel knew for sure who was coming.

‘Om-rah!’ he whispered softly.

Hulking footsteps clattered along the passageway as the arch-wizard neared and Samuel could hear his loud and forceful breathing. It sounded like a horse labouring for breath after a hard ride. A strange,guttural clacking followed and Samuel had no idea how the man could make such sounds.

He waited, perfectly still, and he could feel the enormous wizard’s steps reverberatingon the stone floor and hear his great bulk scuffing up against the narrow tunnel walls. The wizard had just reached Samuel’s hiding