‘It wasn’t a fireball,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘I summoned a lesser fire demon — basically an elemental — and threw it at the Keshians. He roamed around randomly until enough of him dissipated that he couldn’t maintain cohesion and he returned to the demon realm.’
Nakor laughed aloud. ‘That’s a wonderful trick.’
Sandreena looked at Amirantha rubbing his forehead and said, ‘What is wrong with you?’
Amirantha realized what he was doing and said, ‘Sorry, it’s just a little tender where he smacked me with that orange.’
Miranda’s eyes narrowed. ‘Where did you get that orange, anyway?’
Nakor shrugged. ‘I just reached into the bag and there it was.’
‘But that “there” is a minor rift into that warehouse.’
‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘And?’
‘You can’t do that trick.’
His face was alight with realization. ‘I just did it! I didn’t think about it, or try to do it, I just did it!’
He held up his right hand, his short sleeve falling to his elbow and moved his hand. Suddenly with a snap, a card appeared in it. He was almost giddy with delight as he made cards appear and started tossing them around the kitchen. Some of the students preparing the evening meal stopped to watch.
‘I just did it!’ he shouted, jumping up from his chair to do a little dance in a circle. ‘I just did it!’
Miranda smiled. She asked, ‘Once more? You just did it?’
‘I didn’t think. I just reached in and grabbed an orange!’ His glee was infections. Sandreena and Amirantha found themselves smiling broadly at his happiness.
Miranda closed her eyes for a second, and then said, ‘If you can, I can!’
Without warning she threw out her hand and a column of flames sprang from her palm. With a flick of her wrist and a back and forth motion, she made it vanish. She laughed girlishly. ‘Don’t think! Just do it!’
She stood up and looked at Nakor with deep appreciation. ‘Thank you.’ Then, suddenly, she vanished.
‘What?’ asked Sandreena.
‘Where did she go?’ asked Amirantha.
Nakor laughed out loud. ‘She went to find Pug,’ he said. ‘She didn’t think about it. She just did it!’ He continued his dance in a circle, and the two demon experts exchanged glances. They had never seen, nor could they imagine, a demon dancing for sheer joy.
Pug and Magnus were sitting quietly on cushions at a low table, drinking tea. ‘One thing that constantly amazes me,’ said Magnus. ‘There’s an illusion of scale that’s fluid. At moments I feel as if I’m standing outside a massive barrier, yet at others I feel almost god-like looking down on the most delicate and finely crafted miniatures crafted by a master toymaker.’
Pug nodded. ‘Since I returned for Kelewan and assumed the mantle of the Black Sorcerer from your grandfather, I have constantly been astonished at the resilience of the human mind. It interprets what it doesn’t understand. What we’re studying is a metaphor for some sort of complex energy …’ He shook his head. ‘This is the sort of thing that used to utterly delight Nakor.’ He smiled in remembrance. ‘I never met a man who so loved mysteries.’
Magnus nodded. ‘Have you come to any conclusions about this matrix?’
‘I suspect it’s a trap of some sort.’
‘If so, it’s very subtle.’
‘Those are the most dangerous,’ said his father.
‘Why did it suddenly manifest here? Why now? And why not at the other Sven-ga’ri location in the Peaks of the Quor?’
Pug chuckled. ‘Impatience?’
‘No, just frustration, I guess.’ Magnus fixed his father with a pale blue eye and said, ‘The hardest part here is not knowing if we’re making progress or wasting time.’
‘Something in there is familiar,’ said Pug. ‘Something that echoes …’ He stopped. ‘I find myself when we’re in there thinking of Tomas.’
Magnus was silent for a moment, then said, ‘Valheru?’
‘Perhaps. The Sun Elves told us they were placed to protect the Quor by the Dragon Lords. These Pantathians were created by a Dragon Lord, perhaps to also protect the Sven-ga’ri.’
Pug fell silent, pressing the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger.
‘Are you all right?’ asked his son.
‘Just tired. This is exciting work, but I’m not sure how much it bears on all the other troubles we’re facing. I’m trying not to let it become a distraction from our other problems.’
‘You’re doing all you can. Have you identified those who betrayed us in the Conclave?’
‘A few of those who are primarily allied with Keshian factions in the Academy,’ said Pug. He stretched and suppressed the urge to yawn. ‘No one critical appears to have been involved in any acts of betrayal.’
Magnus thought about this, then said, ‘Many of our sources have been cut off. Jim Dasher’s organization in the Isles is still somewhat effective, though his agents in Kesh are non-existent. Roldem’s intelligence is minimal. Kesh’s is non-existent.’
‘Only magic could have turned that many loyal agents disloyal.’
‘It had to be subtle,’ agreed Magnus. ‘And it had to be practised over a long time.’
Pug chuckled as he stood up. ‘The only time we’ve ever faced this sort of subtle, long term planning, the Pantathians were behind it.’
‘The Great Uprising,’ said Magnus. ‘You’ve spoken of it many times.’
‘Disguising a Serpent Priest as a dark elf … that alone is a prodigious feat. Moredhel shamans are like elven spellweavers; they’re in touch with basic elements of magic and can sense disruption. Moreover, the false Murmandamus had a Pantathian Serpent Priest as a servant, which would instantly arouse suspicion, yet he not only withstood scrutiny by the clans of the north, he rallied them and led them against the Kingdom.’
Magnus studied his father. ‘What are you thinking?’
‘I’m thinking that in all our dealings with the Pantathians directly, little about them is subtle.’ He held up the porcelain cup he was drinking from. ‘This is subtle, finely made by a craftsman in Kesh. Part of the trade bounty these people have with their neighbours to the north. This is unexpected. These Pantathians might not be capable of fashioning such a fine cup, but they appreciate its beauty beyond utility, because otherwise we’d be drinking out of a stone or metal cup.
‘They appreciate beauty,’ he said waving his hand around the room, filled with richly embroidered cushions and tapestries. ‘Craftsmanship,’ he added, putting his hand on the exquisite lacquered table.
‘But these fine beings have no magic,’ said Magnus.
‘Yes, they have no magic,’ his father echoed. ‘The Shangri, on the other hand are prodigious artificers of magic, yet they are nearly mindless and do only what they are instructed to do. They need constant supervision.’
‘And the Serpent Priests are somewhere in the middle,’ added Magnus.
‘Which leaves us with a final question,’ said Pug. ‘Who is telling the Shangri what to do and the Serpent Priests when to do it?’
‘And you suspect the answer has something to do with that familiar feeling you experience with the matrix, that echo of magic that reminds you of Tomas?’
‘Yes, somehow the Valheru are still involved in all this.’
Magnus was also silent for a while. Then he said, ‘We need more information.’
‘Obviously,’ said Pug with a fatherly smile. ‘So many times I thought we were passed this or that problem, only to have it reassert itself in a different form. There is some hidden entity behind all of this, perhaps going back as far as the creation of the Lifestone by the Valheru.’
‘What?’
Pug laughed. ‘If I knew, it wouldn’t be a mystery.’
‘You’re tired,’ said Magnus. ‘Perhaps we should cease examining the matrix until tomorrow?’
‘The sun just set, we can work another-’
Suddenly they both felt a flash of very familiar energy. Magnus rose from his cushions and his eyes widened in amazement. ‘Mother …?’
