Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 3 : След на песке

'This man calls himself a Shadow Crier. The guards picked him up after he gave a speech in the Old Quarter several days ago. He was calling for the downthrow of the Court, but he was speaking with an intense madness. He's made a number of startling accusations, most of which he's recanted now. Isn't it amazing what can be done with a little effort? But there is one thing he cannot recant, which he will be willing to show you.

'This man, Londo, was your companion in your cell corridor. I'm sure you'll have heard him. He's quite, quite mad, and it wasn't our…. attentions that turned him that way. He's seen something, and now so will you.

'Wake him up.'

The torturer gave a silent sign of acknowledgement, and raised a hideous-looking device. Moments later the Shadow Crier awoke with an anguished cry. 'The Darkness is coming….' he breathed. 'The…. Darkness….'

'Show him,' Elrisia ordered.

The Shadow Crier's eyes seemed to dilate and twitch, changing colour and shape and form, drawing Londo into them. Londo's head was held tightly by the guards, but he would not have been able to tear his gaze away even had he been free. The sight was mesmerising.

And then he was inside them….

The Darkness is coming!

The Darkness!

He was standing staring up at the sky, a sky filled with smoke and fog and shimmering, moving Darkness. He could hear the sky screaming, a scream that cut to his soul, to old memories and older dreams.

Lights began to blaze in the heavens, moving against the Darkness. Another noise arose, harsh, invasive music, a chord that pierced his soul and left him in agony.

The Darkness was the scream, and the Light was the music. He knew that much. They were warring, fighting for this world, for these souls. The Darkness had arrived first, would come here soon, and the Light was trying to drive it away.

He was suddenly aflame, as the Light retreated and the Darkness claimed him. His mind opened to them, and he could hear their whispers. Fire was the tool, he knew that. Fire, and chaos.

Let the lords of chaos rule. Let the fire claim all it touched.

He laughed as he set himself alight, burning, and watching the heavens. It was not far off now, this battle for his planet and his soul, and the Darkness would be here soon. Very soon.

'The Darkness….

'…. is coming!' he screamed, realising that the vision had faded. He was breathing fast, too fast. He was shaking.

'You saw it, Londo,' Elrisia said. 'You saw his madness, and now you've taken a part of it into yourself. You'll be one of them before long, and if you aren't, I'll make sure you succumb. Won't that be nice, hmm? To sit alone in your cell, crying out to the Darkness, weeping constantly, thinking of me always. A fitting reward, Londo.'

'Have you…. seen…. it?'

'No, but I know what it is, and I'll stop it. When the time is right, Londo. I'll claim this planet for my own, but only when I feel like doing so. I have the power to save this world, Londo, with something as simple as order and peace…. but I won't use it. Not yet. Not for a while. Let it burn first, and pick up the ashes.'

'What do you mean? Elrisia, you can't….'

'Oh, I can. I can do anything I want. You taught me that. You, and Refa. Goodbye, Londo…. for the moment at least.'

Hours later, when only the Shadow Crier remained in the room, trapped both by his chains and by his madness, the door opened again and a lone figure entered.

'Hello again,' he said. 'I understand you had visitors recently. Did you show them what you showed me?'

Blood filled the Shadow Crier's mouth and he let it dribble from between his lips, not saying anything. He had probably not enough sanity left to be able to utter anything but that one refrain, and the new arrival had heard that often enough in recent days.

'I suppose you did. It doesn't matter.' He walked to the centre of the room, heedless of what he was stepping into, or over. Lesser worries were for lesser people.

'Show me. Again.'

The prisoner continued to drool blood, but in his eyes, and in his mind, something stirred, again. Prince Cartagia felt his hearts quicken in anticipation, as he was once again projected into a world that not even his demented mind could have envisaged unaided. He stood there for many minutes, basking in the glory of the visions, whispering the words of the Shadow Crier's prophecy to himself.

Then, the vision over and the prisoner slumping back into unconsciousness, Cartagia left. There was no sign of his presence there, no trace of his parting….

* * *

John Sheridan broke into a run the instant he left the shuttle, racing for Babylon 4's Command and Control. Corwin followed at a brisk walk. They had been met in the docking bay by a group of Narn Rangers, many sporting fresh wounds or hasty bandages.

The first person Sheridan saw on the command deck was Delenn. Without slowing his pace he ran to her and hugged her, lifting her up into the air. She smiled and kissed him intensely, holding on to him even as he let her down.

'What's the status here?' he asked, not taking his eyes from hers.

'The men Captain Smith left on board are secure,' she replied. 'We have had no word from the planet. We were just on the point of sending another party down there to investigate.'

'A good idea,' he said, and she smiled. 'Do you know anything about whether Bester was involved there or not?'

'No. Not for sure.'

'Well, whether he was or not, I think we've pretty much cut all our ties to Sanctuary now.' He broke his gaze away from her to look at Corwin, just arriving. He was talking with the leader of the group of Rangers, a Narn named G'Dok.

'You have a place at Kazomi Seven,' she said. 'All of you, and Mr. Bester can….' She paused, and blushed. 'G'Dok, what word from the Babylon?'

'Captain Smith has surrendered and will be brought back on board as soon as possible. The shuttle to the surface is also being prepared.'

She nodded. 'We have to….' She started, and there were gasps and the gentle sound of drawn swords from the Rangers.

A holographic Michael Garibaldi appeared before them. 'Uh…. hi,' he said, somewhat awkwardly. 'This thing ain't easy, you know.'

'Where is the Ha'Cormar'ah?' snapped G'Dok.

'He's alive. Ta'Lon as well, although they're both in bad shape. A medical shuttle would be a nice idea, as soon as possible. Don't worry about me. I'm only a fill-in. He can have this thing back as soon as he wants it. But…. we've got a problem here. A big one.'

'You don't say,' Corwin replied.

* * *

Vorlon ships were hardly commonplace anywhere in the galaxy, at least not in the areas occupied by the younger races. Other than their unexpected and largely unexplained arrival at the Battle of the Second Line at Proxima 3 a year and a half ago, sightings had been extremely rare and often disputed.

What was not disputed was that, a little less than a year ago, one such Vorlon ship had arrived at Kazomi 7, at a time when the United Alliance had barely flown from its nest. Someone had disembarked, a human by all accounts, however absurd such accounts were. He had spent some time on the planet and had then left. No one on the planet had seen the Vorlon itself.

Another Vorlon ship had now arrived. It was in fact the same one, although no one was aware of this. But for two people on the planet, touched more intimately by the Vorlons than almost any other, this arrival was not a surprise.

The Alliance council was hastily summoned, with much debate about who was to chair it in the absence of