‘Whose memory?’
‘Kalkin’s, whom you also call Ban-ath.’
‘A memory?’
‘A god’s memory is a powerful things, as is a god’s dream. You are sharing a god’s dream and are speaking with a god’s memory. Let’s move on.’ Macros pointed and suddenly they were rising to one of the lines of energy. Letting go of Magnus’s arm, he said, ‘Grip the line and do not fall too far behind. Even a god has limited control on how lucid a dream may become.’
Magnus reached up when Macros, or his illusion, reached up and suddenly he was being propelled along at incalculable speed, yet felt no sensation of movement, just a blurring of all they passed.
Then Macros said, ‘In a moment, I will tell you to let go. Do not hesitate.’
A moment passed; then Macros said, ‘Let go,’ and Magnus complied at once.
They floated before what appeared to be a monstrous fortress, but one created by a demented mind. It sat upon no ground, so a vast wall stretched out before them in all directions. ‘Let us gain some perspective,’ said Macros, and suddenly the wall shrank to the size of a mere room. ‘In dream, all things are possible; within the matrix, what you saw before approaches the truth.’
Magnus examined the wall. It was apparently made of some sort of red stone, with four doors set in the middle, a single square of stone separating them. Two large windows with red iron bars were placed at forty-five degree angles to the upper corner on either side, so that each section gave the vague impression of a face, two eyes and a mouth. Continuing along the line from the door through each window, the top of the wall featured a turret, with crenels and merlons.
‘It looks like four castles smashed together,’ said Magnus.
‘It does, doesn’t it?’ Macros chuckled. ‘It is an image created for your mind to understand. There is no real-world analogue that would do justice to what this really is.’
‘What is it called?’
‘Many things. The blazing barrier. The fire wall. The terminus. The final barrier.’
‘What function does it serve?’
‘I cannot tell you, for you do not know, and I know only what you know.’
‘So I was aware of this barrier, yet …’
‘Your mind in dream is apprehending what it is you’ve come to understand by inference and deduction. You have not seen the barrier so you have created an image of it, but it may bear no true resemblance to the reality of the barrier. In the end, you will only know when you have reached the barrier.’
‘There are so many questions,’ said Magnus. ‘And yet …’
‘You cannot frame them, because they are the questions your mind has no answers for. You understood when we first met that I was not your grandfather, and that Kalkin dreamed, and the rest. For more answers within your own mind, you will have to seek out answers in the real world. For more answers from Kalkin, well, you will have to seek him out, and as you know from your father’s tales of the Trickster God, even then you may never get answers you can trust.’
Suddenly the image of Macros was gone.
Magnus’s eyes opened and it was dawn.
He sat up and stretched, yawning, knowing that after he had braced himself with food and drink he would again confront the mystery of the energy matrix. Perhaps this time he could reach deep enough to reach this final barrier and then, perhaps, beyond it.
Sandreena and Amirantha were breaking fast when a student approached. ‘Pug has returned and asked that you join him when you’re finished.’
Amirantha looked at Sandreena. ‘You finished?’
She was on her feet before he could complete the question and he rose to follow her. ‘I guess you’ve finished!’
They hurried through the now almost completely rebuilt Villa Beata, passing through large gardens freshly replanted. In the matter of a few minutes they were outside Pug’s office and Sandreena knocked once, then opened the wooden door.
Sandreena and Amirantha had both marvelled at how Pug had refashioned his office since the destruction of the original villa. His last office had been small and dark, with only one window, while this one had a large wall made up entirely of panes of the finest clear glass he could find, further refined with some very subtle magic. When sunlight blazed in, it was cool thanks to the combination of clever design — a duct in the ceiling carried the hot air away — and a little more magic.
Pug said, ‘Good morning. I wish I had good news from the Academy, but at best it’s mixed. What did you and Magnus discover on that island?’
Amirantha had taken to wearing less flamboyant clothing since coming to live at Sorcerer’s Isle, and today was comfortable in a loose-fitting white tunic and dark grey trousers. Sandreena always looked surprisingly delicate for a large, strong woman when not wearing armour. She wore a plain but well made pair of trousers, a loose-fitting blue linen blouse, and a pair of sandals. They took the chairs Pug indicated with a wave of his hand, and Amirantha looked at Sandreena, who nodded, indicating that he should go first.
‘We found Pantathians, Pug, but unlike any we’ve met before according to Magnus.’
‘Really?’ said Pug leaning back in his chair. ‘At this point nothing should surprise me, but say on.’
Sandreena continued, ‘They were hospitable and welcoming despite knowing that you and Magnus had destroyed many of their kin. They seem too — well, gentle is the only way to describe them, though their warriors were valorous when fighting demons.’
‘Demons?’
‘Let me start at the beginning.’ Amirantha began, briefly telling of their travels to the Isle of the Snake Men, then in detail after the battle with the demons.
Sandreena punctuated his narrative with details he missed, and Pug asked a few questions along the way, but after half an hour, the sorcerer felt he had been sufficiently briefed. He asked, ‘Did you see any Serpent Priests?’
‘No,’ said Amirantha. ‘They were mentioned, and I left with the impression they visit their kin from time to time, but as to where they base their operations since you and Magnus destroyed their previous one is a mystery; I didn’t feel it politic at this time to ask the one they call Tak’ka.’
Pug sighed. ‘Well, the good news is we’ve identified the threat. The Serpent Priests are back again. But we don’t know where they are.’ He rose. ‘At least we know they aren’t on that island, which is something.’
Sandreena and Amirantha followed Pug out of his office, through a hallway, and into a large meeting hall, which turned out to be a large covered patio, but otherwise open to the daily breezes of the island. A square table had been placed in the middle, one that could be enlarged in any number of clever ways depending on how many people needed to attend a given meeting.
Seven people were already seated when the three entered. The only familiar face to either of the demon experts was Grand Master Creegan of the Order of the Shield of the Weak, Sandreena’s mentor in the Order.
Pug motioned for Amirantha and Sandreena to take two empty chairs and he remained standing. ‘Those of you who know one another need no introductions. If you do not recognize others, it is best it remain that way, given our current plight. You cannot be made to reveal what you do not need to know.’ He took a deep breath. ‘So far we have identified five well-placed agents of the Conclave who are traitors. I am certain there will be more. Continue to conduct your investigations; trust is scarce right now, use it wisely.’ He motioned to the man closest to him on his right and said, ‘What have you discovered in Roldem?’
The man quickly recounted the efforts that were underway in Roldem to prevent further leaking of information, and to discover who might be behind the actions taken against the Conclave. He finished by saying, ‘At this time we have no more likely suspect than Lord John Worthington. He is either at the top of all actions taken against the interest of both the Crown and the Conclave, or he reports to the ultimate authority.’
Before Pug could move to the next in line, a man sitting farthest from Pug interjected, ‘I know I speak out of turn, Pug, but that is almost the identical report that I have put together concerning Great Kesh. The man who stands out as the most likely suspect is a nephew of the Emperor, Lord Harfum.’
Instantly, Grand Master Creegan said, ‘Sir William Alcorn.’ He looked around the table. ‘It is the same in Rillanon.’
