Einar smiled again. “All in good time,” he said. “All you need know for now is that you and certain of your fellow Valrenkians are here because you possess skills and knowledge that we consuls do not-skills like those involving certain knowledge of the human form, and specialized herb and oil usage. Our early experiments together at the Citadel are proof of that. We are about to forge a new future, you and I. But first I must summon the beasts.”
Einar walked to the shoreline. The other adepts followed. Reaching the shore, Einar raised his arms and closed his eyes.
The lake waters started to churn. As Failee’s creations rose to the surface, the breath rushed from Reznik’s lungs. He had never seen such monsters. Had they not been firmly under Einar’s control, he would have been terrified.
The beasts obediently lumbered from the lake to stand in the magenta moonlight. Each was covered with black, velvety hair, much like that of Eutracian sea otters. Their backs were at least as high as the humans were tall. Their bodies were easily five meters long, and large around. Each of their four feet was scaly and reptilian, ending in sharp, webbed claws that looked especially suited for tearing.
They seemed to be some grotesque amalgam of creatures. Each head ended in a pointed nose, much like a rat’s. The large eyes scanned everything with an intense, seemingly intelligent hatred. An unusually wide, thin mouth lay just below the nose; ratlike ears sat on either side of the heads. The tails were barbed all along their lengths and ended in points, much like arrowheads. Despite the presence of gills they breathed the night air normally, leading Reznik to guess that they also possessed lungs, and could survive either on land or underwater for as long as they liked.
Soon thousands of them had lumbered ashore. As they stood in the cold night air, steam rolled off their coats. Angry at having been disturbed, many hissed and snarled. Reznik saw row after row of razor-sharp teeth glint in the moonlight.
Satisfied, Einar turned to look at the other mystics. “I give you Failee’s swamp shrews,” he said simply. “Every one of them ready and willing to do our bidding.”
As the beasts snarled and glared, Reznik smiled. “They seem hungry,” he said.
Einar nodded. “No doubt,” he answered. “They need to be fed. I know just the place.”
Closing his eyes, Serena’s lead consul sent a mental order to the circling envelopers. In moments they all landed. Reznik reconnected the nets to their backs; the cargo was quickly reloaded, and the adepts again took their places. Einar looked at the shrews.
“Follow us,” he ordered. “We must reach our next destination before dawn. There you may feed to your hearts’ content.”
The enveloper pairs lifted into the sky. Using hand signals, Einar ordered them to fly low, so that the shrews could better follow the glowing nets. With the envelopers flying in circles so as not to lose them, the shrew legions lumbered along behind.
Serena’s ominous forces turned northward.
CHAPTER XVII
“IT’S TRUE,” WIGG SAID. SHAKING HIS HEAD WITH WONDER, he looked around the table. “The eight girls who practically barged their way into the palace last night are indeed Fledgling House survivors,” he added. “I had given them up for dead.”
Wigg sat back in his chair and looked thoughtfully at Sister Adrian. “It seems your burdens just increased,” he said. “Not only will you continue to teach your selected acolytes to empower the Black Ships, you must also oversee the continued training of both the girls and the boys. You are about to become an even busier woman.”
Pausing for a moment, Wigg rummaged through a pile of parchments lying before him. He found the one he wanted, and skimmed the page.
“Ah, yes,” he said. “Here she is-Mallory of the House of Esterbrook. She is the oldest among them. She also seems to be the group’s leader. I suspect that her training will finish soon. The others’ passages into sisterhood will take longer. In any event, they are your responsibility, Adrian. With all the consuls turned to the Vagaries, these young girls and their male counterparts represent the Vigors’ future. Train them all well.”
Adrian positively beamed. Having these Fledglings safely ensconced in the Redoubt with the boys meant that the acolyte and consular orders would survive long after she and her contemporaries had perished. She considered it a dream come true.
“Thank you, First Wizard,” she said respectfully. “Tell me-do the girls know that they have been positively identified?”
Wigg shook his head. “No,” he said. “I thought we might bring them here to tell them. Besides, it’s time they saw the Redoubt and met the boys. Since you are First Sister, perhaps you would like to break the news yourself. It seems only fitting, don’t you agree?”
Adrian was so pleased that she didn’t know what to say. As usual, Abbey sat beside Wigg. Touching his hand, she placed her lips close to his ear.
“That was wonderful of you,” she whispered. “Sometimes you can be quite a pushover. A veryold pushover, but a pushover, nonetheless.”
Leaning toward her, Wigg smiled. “Don’t tell these women that!” he kidded back. “I have not lived among such powerful females for more than three centuries! I need to keep all the authority I can!”
Wigg, Shailiha, Abbey, Adrian, Jessamay, and Martha sat around a large meeting table. Caprice perched quietly atop Shailiha’s chair back. After confirming the girls’ identities, Wigg had summoned the women to the Hall of Blood Records. It was late afternoon of the day following the disastrous masquerade ball. But in the windowless Redoubt, time seemed meaningless.
Shailiha looked around at the chamber’s grandeur. This room was the Redoubt’s largest. To her mind, it was also the most impressive.
The floor and ceiling were of black marble, especially imported from the province of Ephyra. Encompassing all four walls were row after row of mahogany pull drawers, each with its own solid-gold handle. Each drawer was labeled with a gold plaque. The sliding compartments held copies of endowed persons’ blood signatures, sometimes referred to as blood-birth records, arranged alphabetically. Many of the fragile documents were more than three centuries old.
The table at which the five of them sat was huge, and constructed of highly polished mahogany. It was but one of many such tables here. Soft lighting was supplied by solid-gold oil lamps. As is often the case in places of learning, an indefinable mustiness hung in the air.
During the preceding night, the Minions had managed to clear the rubble and start the necessary rebuilding. After being freed from Faegan’s damaged rooms, Wigg and Jessamay had taken samples of the girls’ blood. They had then come here, to check the girls’ signatures against their blood-birth records. Sure enough, their identities were verified. Wigg and Jessamay had then used a signature scope to ensure that the signatures leaned rightward and held no Forestallments. Each was as it should be.
Wigg looked across the table at Martha. The compassionate matron smiled back joyously. She could hardly wait to be reunited with her girls. Martha’s hair had been gray for more days than she could remember, and her once-girlish figure was long gone. But her pride in her Fledglings remained steadfast.
Wigg knew that of everyone here, Martha would be the happiest to see the girls. She had practically raised Adrian-and all the rest, for that matter. Her husband Duncan had patiently taught the craft’s secrets to every girl crossing Fledgling House’s threshold. But Duncan had been brutally killed by Nicholas’ agents as Tristan’s son tirelessly constructed the Gates of Dawn. On Martha’s return to the palace, Wigg had asked her to tutor Celeste. Celeste’s unexpected death had devastated the kindly matron nearly as much as it had the First Wizard.
“Where is Faegan?” Shailiha asked. “Is he too weak to attend this meeting?”
“Oh, he’s well enough,” Wigg answered. “His burns are healing nicely. I granted him another strong anti-pain enchantment, so that he could go straight to work. At this moment he is ensconced in a Redoubt laboratory, trying to unravel the secrets of his new Forestallment. I promised him that we would join him after this meeting.”
