For a long moment, there was silence. Melizar eyed Jemidon's changer and then glanced over his shoulder. He took a cautious step backward. But Jemidon did not hesitate. With one swift motion, he flung the heavy mass of metal at the pilot, crashing it against the Skyskirr's skull with a bone-cracking snap. He watched the pilot crumple to the ground and grunted with satisfaction. As simply as that, it was over.
'And as a group, the other metamagicians were able to force a decoupling, using Melizar's cube,' Jemidon said, 'even though it was not as familiar as their own keys.' Automatically, he touched his coinchanger, now restored through the efforts of the magicians and metalsmiths.
He looked around the assembled court and saw a mixture of expressions. The old king sat stone-faced, and the other nobles, clustered behind the makeshift throne, registered neither gratitude nor relief. Prince Wilmad's empty seat on the monarch's right was draped in black. The newer barons on the other side of the barn squirmed uncomfortably in their fine silks and linens, Canthor more than most. Jemilor, his equally new seneschal, had to keep reminding him not to slouch. Augusta smiled as Jemidon spoke, and even Farnel's stern visage was without some of its customary tightness.
Jemidon squeezed Delia's hand where she lay on the cot at his side. He smiled as she grasped his arm closer to her cheek. Her rescue had barely been in time, but the vapors which had spilled through the portal had lessened in density around Ponzar's lithon. The sweet air which drifted back in exchange was of benefit as well. With all the Skyskirr helping to rediscover wizardry and reopen the passage, they had been able to scoop her and the others away from the vapors before it was too late.
'And it is well they took the first pilot to the 'hedron before the opening was closed a second time,' the archmage interrupted before Jemidon could continue. 'For our universe, one metamagician is quite enough.'
'If Melizar was so easily defeated, why did we waste precious arms and place our very presence in peril?' the old king rumbled. 'This Jemidon struck him down unassisted, aided by neither sword nor master.'
'With Melizar in control of the laws, there was no way you could reach him by the arts,' Jemidon said. 'And the rebel army kept away the men-at-arms. Indeed, when I rushed upon him in Trocolar's dungeon and he thought me a thief, he instinctively commanded the guards to effect my seizure. In the tent, after the battle of Plowblade Pass, he directed torporsand my way as he would to any errant manipulant. But when he saw me as another metamagician, one who worked his will through the direction of others, it did not cross his mind that I could carry any threat without attendants. He let me approach unhindered, calling no one to give him aid.'
'Perhaps it is best we end all the threats while we are about it.' The king looked at Jemidon through rheumy eyes. 'We have seen ample evidence of what havoc can be wreaked by one with powers such as Melizar's.' He turned his head stiffly in Alodar's direction. 'And I think, archmage, that you will agree. Prudence dictates putting this one immediately to the sword.'
Several of the nobles grunted agreement. Jemidon scowled, but Alodar waved the comment away.
'And then who will protect us from the next?' the archmage asked. 'What if another comes from some other universe by stealth and attempts to move the laws away from where they have been restored? Who do you suggest to detect the unlocking, to struggle to keep the anchoring where it is?'
The old king frowned. He stroked his chin and stared at the archmage.
'I propose to add him to my retinue,' Alodar continued. 'His major task will be to keep the laws securely bound. If he does nothing else, it will be bargain enough.' He paused and returned the king's stare. 'Let me worry about what is best for those with talent in the arts. You will be busy enough rebuilding a kingdom from what is left.'
'Selection of the new barons from those who fought against him was a wise first step,' Canthor said. 'Men who have sweated in the cages will much less likely subject others to them.'
'And the vaultholders of Pluton are willing to make the loans that lubricate the reestablishment of order,' Augusta said. 'It is in peace that we prosper, not the anarchy of war.'
'The masters of Morgana need the tranquility of their thoughts,' Farnel added. 'Without inner peace, no glamours of greatness can be cast. The possibility of losing our crafts again is not one we wish to consider.'
The king turned his eyes back to Jemidon. 'I am told that Melizar had a taste for exploration,' he said. 'If this one has the same talents, how would he be any different? Why should he be content with waiting to hold the laws firm against some future attack when he could send everything drifting instead?'
Jemidon cut off Alodar's reply. 'I can speak in my own defense,' he said. 'No one here knows the drives of the metamagician more than I.'
He paused and ran his tongue over his lips, frowning as he tried to put his feelings into words. 'For me, the pursuit of the metalaws was like untangling the interlocking rings or removing the beads from a knotted rope.'
'And now-' He waved his hands palms upward. Now it is solved. The mystery, the enticement, the allure, all are gone. Moving through the lattice only means boring repetition. The desires that pushed Melizar are not mine.
'And perhaps I have learned something more important than even the metalaws.' Jemidon paused and looked at Alodar. 'Raw talent alone does not guarantee success. My skills were puny besides those of Melizar, and yet I emerged the victor because of how I used them. For all of my quest, the lesson has been the same. Even without the Verity of Exclusion, I see now that it is doubtful that I would have won the robe with the effort I was willing to extend. I wanted it given because of superficial understanding, or a single dazzling insight, rather than in exchange for hard work and attention to detail.'
'Then what is your desire?' the king asked. 'How many brandels a year to bribe you from decoupling the laws?'
'My basic need has been satisfied,' Jemidon smiled. 'For all of my life, I have labored under the burden of trying to fit myself into the image that others would have of me. But the burden came entirely from within. The guilt, the quest for power and respect, tugged at me only because I let them.' Jemidon took a deep breath. 'They tug no longer. I am free. I quested for what I cannot have, but I gained that for which even the archmage cannot quest.'
'Before the battle, I spoke of mastery of yourself,' Alodar said. 'And even in that, you have proved your mettle.'
'Finally you came to your senses and planned before you acted,' Delia joined in. 'In the end, that made all the difference.'
'I grant you, Delia, that there is merit in the way you approach problems.' Jemidon's smile broadened. 'But even in that, I am my own man. Yes, before I acted, I reasoned what it would take to open the cube and the manner in which Melizar finally must be confronted. But what if I had been properly cautious and calculating about all the risks and alternatives before I took the chance? If I had questioned whether the cube would roll though the demon arch onto Ponzar's lithon or merely to empty air? If I had debated whether the random fling of the laws would indeed send them where Melizar was unfamiliar and powerless? If I had needed to know for sure that the three remaining masters would exactly counterbalance a dozen men-at-arms, so that only Melizar and I would be left? Had I pondered all of that, I would still be calculating the outcome while pouring from the cube as a bloody ooze.
'I am what I am, Delia, strengths and flaws. I need apologize to no one for them. Others may mock me or throw gold brandels as they choose. I am satisfied with myself, and the rest does not matter.'
'It is a wonder what saving the universe will do for one's self-esteem,' Alodar said wryly. 'But I do not plan to let you stay idle while you walk the garden paths of my retreat. You have the insight to construct the general from the particular. Even though you cannot work any of the crafts, I expect you to aid the masters in formulating extensions of their powers. You are unique among all the practitioners of the arts, Jemidon. As such, you of course become a master, entitled to the black robe. And even though you profess no longer to have a desire for fame, I suspect that it will come, nevertheless.'
'And it was not one universe but two,' Delia said. 'The Skyskirr are as grateful as I am for Jemidon's gifts.'
Gifts. The word resonated in Jemidon's mind. He remembered what Delia had done on the lithon. Without her, despite all his bold words, no success would have been possible. And she had done it not for the benefit of two universes, but for him alone. In the end, saving her had meant more than the robe.
Jemidon turned from Delia and looked at Augusta, just to make sure. Yes, even in that he had selected the
