She grinned. 'If that's what his lordship wants, that's what he gets!'
They both laughed, although Safar's laughter was weak. Already his mind was running ahead.
Between skirmishes, Safar had managed to tell Leiria about his vision in Asper's tomb. Although he'd held some things back-like the mysterious side trips to Naadan and Caluz. He had two reasons for his silence. First, if it became too difficult he might skip them entirely and head straight for the sea. More important: whenever he'd been about to relate exactly what Asper's ghost had said magical alarms went off. All his sorcerous instincts warned him that by telling all he'd be putting Leiria in grave danger.
Safar was especially worried about mentioning Caluz. He knew something about the region from his days in Iraj's court. It was strange place where mysterious forces had been at work for eons.
Lost in thought, he was surprised when he heard Leiria say, 'There's only one thing that worries me, Safar.'
'What's that?'
She indicated the villagers. 'Maybe they can do it. Maybe they can't. The thing is … how are you going to convince them to try?'
'Magic,' Safar said.
And he heaved himself to his feet and started getting ready.
An hour later, washed and refreshed, Safar once again stood before his people, Leiria and Palimak beside him.
Exhausted as the Kyranians were, they seemed to sense hope in the air and their faces were bright with expectation.
Safar cracked an amplifying pellet, then spoke: 'You fought well and bravely, my friends. I'm sure that even now Iraj Protarus is cursing your courage and nursing a battle-sore behind!'
The laughter was weak. No one had to tell these people that Iraj wasn't done with them. Methydia used to say that the best way to get an audience in your palm was to make a dream for them … and keep them reaching for that dream. But first, she'd said, you have to scare them. Well, Iraj had done that unpleasant little job for Safar. Unfortunately, he needed to scare them in a whole different way.
'But I didn't rouse you from your well-earned rest to praise your courage, my good people,' Safar said.
'Besides, everyone knows that courage is something no Kyranian lacks.'
Faces brightened, especially among the young bravos like Renor. He saw them flex their muscles and swagger from side to side.
'But it's another brand of courage I want from you today,' Safar continued. 'One that calls for even greater sacrifices than before.'
The crowd stirred, a little fearful. What was he talking about? Wasn't dealing with Iraj Protarus enough?
'Not just your lives, but the lives of untold millions are at stake. In fact, the very world we stand upon depends on you, the Goddess Felakia's Chosen Ones, the People of the Clouds, the People of the High Caravans.'
Safar definitely had their interest now.
'Behold!' he shouted, making a gesture and his magical dagger leaped out of nothingness into his hand.
Then, quieter, 'Let me show you the world of the future, my friends. Even if by some miracle we could make Iraj Protarus and his forces vanish from Esmir, this is what the world would look like in not many years.'
Safar made a circular motion with the knife, as if cutting a hole into the air itself. The crowd jumped as a fierce wind blew, shrieking through the hole he'd made.
Then a miniature tornado leapt off the dagger point. It swirled madly about the platform for a moment, then steadied, spinning in place like a top.
'Behold!' Safar shouted again and there was a loud pop! as the little tornado suddenly disappeared. The air where it had been shattered like glass, leaving a great dark hole gaping into nothingness.
There were gasps and fearful cries all around as everyone realized there was more than a blank void beyond the jagged edges of the hole.
'Look, my friends,' Safar intoned. 'Look hard and deep. See the world as it will be. With or without Iraj Protarus.'
They looked and it was a terrible sight. A familiar range of mountains beckoned from the other side. It was the Bride and her Maids, but they had been shorn of all their glory and stood there black and wind-torn under a lunatic sky. There was not a patch of snow, tree, or blade of grass upon the range.
The scene shifted and there were fearful shouts as the crowd suddenly found itself looking down into the barren valley that had once been Kyrania. There were no fields or homes, or even the holy lake of Felakia.
Then the ground seemed to move and people shouted in horror as they realized that millions upon millions of scaly insects made up the floor of their beloved valley. They swarmed over and under each other, feeding on rock and dust.
Just as everyone thought they could stand this nightmare no more Safar clapped and the scene vanished, the hole was healed and everything was the same as before.
'That is what we must prevent from happening,' Safar said. 'Only we can do it. Only the people of Kyrania have the will and the means. But to accomplish it, you must come away with me. You must come out of the clouds and walk the land and swim its rivers and climb its hills. We must walk until the land ends and there is only sea. And then we must find boats and cross that sea until we come to a new land, a place of safety and peace.'
He jabbed at the air with his dagger point and again it shattered. But this time, instead of darkness, a warm yellow light poured out. Everyone looked and this time the gasps and shouts were of marvel, instead of fear.
A glorious island, looking like a wondrous emerald lizard, rose out of a shimmering blue sea. It had thick forests and high mountains on its back, with soft white clouds caught in the peaks. Silver streams coursed down the mountain slopes, leaping over cliffs and boulders and sending up fantastic rainbows from their spume.
'Friends and family,' Safar said, 'I give you Syrapis! The island of dreams!'
He clapped again and the vision dissolved. Safar turned back to the crowd. He took note of the faces.
Some people's eyes were alight with the wonder they had beheld. These mostly belonged to the young.
Others appeared withdrawn, suspicious. These mostly belonged to the old. Among the vast majority, however, was a mixture of the two, plus confusion.
Palimak piped up. 'Was that our new home, father? Is that where we're going to live?'
Safar answered as if he and the child were alone, instead of surrounded by a thousand people. 'If it pleases our friends to do so,' he said.
'Is Syrapis very far?' the boy asked.
'Yes, son,' he said, 'it's very far. Farther than anyone has ever been before.'
'If it's so far,' he asked, 'how will we ever find our way?'
Safar pulled the tube of maps from his belt. 'Lord Coralean gave me these,' he said. A quick side glance showed that Coralean's name was having a great affect on the Kyranians. All of it positive.
'These are secret maps that only caravan masters possess,' Safar said. 'They show every road and path in all of Esmir.'
He raised his head slightly, making sure all heard. 'You know how great a friend Lord Coralean is to all of us. He gave us these secret maps to save us from Iraj Protarus.'
'Secrets!' the boy exclaimed, eyes glowing yellow in delight. 'Does that mean if we go down those secret roads and paths no one will be able to find us? Even that … that…' Palimak automatically scanned the crowd for his grandmother's face. The words he had in mind would surely earn him a scolding. 'That …
wolf thing, or man thing, or whatever he is. He wouldn't be able to find us, would he?'
'It would be a pretty hard thing for him to do,' Safar said. 'And if he found us, we could always lose him again.'
'Then what are we waiting for, father?' Palimak asked.
He turned to the crowd, putting his hands on his hips, looking like a circus midget in his little uniform.
'Who wants to go to Syrapis with us?' he shouted. 'You get secret maps and a chance to save the world, and … and…' He spread his hands wide as if encompassing a huge world of wonders …
