She walked into an enormous hall of polished white marble with pale blue veins running through it. Beautiful tapestries hung on the walls, and elegantly carved stone benches sat along the outskirts of the hall at regular intervals. Two long staircases curved together to the balcony overhead. She looked up at it and saw a man looking down at her.
“Walbert,” she said with certainty.
He was exactly as Samir had described him: tall, slim, well-groomed, gray-haired, and about Luti’s age. His blue eyes were bright with interest, but chilly.
His lean face broke into a sudden smile. Samir had said that even his smile was cold; but evidently something filled Walbert with unprecedented pleasure now, because his smile looked surprisingly warm.
“Hello, Chandra. Welcome to the Temple of Heliud.”
He gazed down at her for another moment.
Then Walbert said pleasantly to Gideon, who stood beside her, “Let her refresh herself from the journey, then bring her to my study.”
Walbert’s study was grander than Mother Luti’s workshop, which Chandra had expected, but it was nonetheless a workmanlike room, rather than a showplace. He had a large desk that was covered in parchments, scrolls, inkpots, and books. The walls were also lined with books. All of the furnishings in here were obviously chosen for durability and comfort, rather than just to look elegant.
Chandra entered the room, followed by Gideon. Four soldiers, who had shown her to a private chamber where she had “refreshed” herself, remained in the corridor now, just outside Walbert’s door. The high priest of the Temple was sitting at his desk, signing a parchment that he handed to a young man, who nodded and left the room without speaking.
As soon as the door closed behind the young man, leaving the three of them in privacy, Chandra said to Walbert, “Gideon says you’ll keep your word to withdraw your forces completely from Mount Keralia and leave the monastery alone from now on. Will you?”
Walbert looked amused. “No wasting time, I see! I like that, Chandra.”
“I don’t care what you like,” she said. “I want to know-”
“Yes, I will keep my word.” His amusement vanished, and he looked serious and intent. “As long as you remain in my custody, then I will leave the Keralians alone to destroy themselves however they please.”
She ignored the provocative comment. “Then I won’t try to escape execution.”
“Execution?” He lifted his brows. “Oh, I’m not going to execute you, Chandra.”
“What do you plan to do, then? Keep me like this the rest of my life?” She made a gesture that indicated the glowing second skin that imprisoned her.
“No,” he said, “that’s just a temporary measure. After tonight, there’ll be no need for it.”
She frowned. “Why? What’s going to happen tonight?”
“Tonight, my visions will be fulfilled at long last.”
“Visions?” Chandra repeated.
“The visions I have had for years,” Walbert said, “when meditating in communion with the Purifying Fire.”
Gideon’s head moved. It was a very small motion, but he had been so still until now, it caught Chandra’s attention. She glanced at him and saw that, although nothing showed in his expression, he was staring intently at Walbert now.
Evidently Walbert had never mentioned the visions to him.
“What are your visions about?” Chandra asked.
“Mostly, Chandra, they’re about you.”
“Me?” she blurted.
Walbert smiled again, and his expression was warm and serene as he gazed at her, his enemy and prisoner. “For years I have believed you would come during my lifetime. For years, I have awaited you.”
She glanced at Gideon. He kept his face under control, but she could tell from the redoubled intensity of the gaze still focused on Walbert that he was as stunned as she was.
“You are the herald of the chaos that’s on the verge of overwhelming this plane,” Walbert said. “Your arrival on Regatha threatens to usher in an era of ungoverned madness here.”
“I just came here to study and learn,” Chandra said. “Not to, er, herald and usher.”
“I knew you would come, and you did,” Walbert said. “I knew you would return, with or without Gideon, and you did. I knew you wouldn’t leave again, even though you could have left-and, indeed, should have.” He nodded. “You are the one whom I have seen in my visions, and it’s your destiny to change everything here.”
“No, it’s not,” she said firmly. “We each make our own destiny, and the only destiny I ever intended to have here-”
“Intended? You aren’t in control of your destiny,” Walbert said contemptuously. “You flow with your impulses and bounce erratically off your own emotions. I have seen you in the Purifying Fire, and I know who you are.”
“Fine,” she said in exasperation, “so your visions told you a fire-wielding planeswalker would come to Regatha and cause trouble.”
“No, an earthquake is trouble, Chandra,” Walbert said. “You are a cataclysm.”
“A cataclysm? Oh, for-”
“I have known ever since I first bonded with the power of the Purifying Fire that this day must come. I have seen in my visions how dangerous you are, what a deadly threat you are to the Order and our goals.”
“Goals like ruling the forests and the mountains?” she said sharply. “Dominating all the mages of Regatha with your own rules, your own-”
“You came to Regatha to destroy everything I have built,” Walbert said darkly. “You came here to prevent me from bringing peace and harmony to this plane.”
“I told you why I came here,” she snapped.
“You are the kindling of the cataclysm that I have foreseen,” he said with solemn certainty, “and I must stop you.”
“Your notion of a cataclysm sounds like other people’s idea of restoring balance to Regatha,” she said. “Or being left alone to pursue their own goals instead of submitting to yours.”
“I have prepared for this day for many years,” Walbert said, “and tonight I will begin a new era on Regatha. One that is free of the destruction that threatens us here.”
Gideon asked, “What are you going to do?”
He had been silent for so long, they both reacted as if one of the chairs had spoken.
Then Walbert recovered his composure and said, “I will give her to the Purifying Fire.”
Fire won’t kill her.” Gideon’s voice was quiet and without expression.
“As I said, I don’t intend to kill her,” said Walbert.
“What will happen in the Purifying Fire?” Gideon asked.
“It will cleanse her.”
“Cleanse me of what?” said Chandra.
“Of your power. It will purify you,” Walbert said with evident devotion. “The Purifying Fire will eliminate the destructive poison of fire magic from your existence. It will forever sever your bond with the corrupting force of red mana.”
“You’re taking away my power?” Chandra said, appalled. “I don’t understand. Why don’t you just kill me?”
“Because once you’re stripped of your power, you’ll be an example for others.”
“An example?” she repeated.
“You are the most powerful fire mage on this plane,” Walbert said. “And I will take away your power.”
“She’ll be bound to this plane,” Gideon said.
“Yes,” said Walbert, holding Chandra’s gaze. “No more planeswalking. You’ll spend the rest of your life on Regatha. Powerless. Defeated. Subject to my will.”
“No,” Chandra said, a sick dread washing through her. She had anticipated death, not being stranded for life on just one plane, robbed of her power and with no reason to live.
He ignored her outburst. “I won’t have to challenge the Keralians or invade the mountains again. They will see you stripped of all power and utterly impotent, and they will realize what they risk by continuing to oppose me.
