Altered Intentions Read online

  Elam’s other words echoed in his thoughts as well. “Their power is as useless against us as is yours.” He wondered if that were true. If so, it would be nice to have the nasaiken on their side should it come down to a fight with the Altered. But if what Elam had told him about the nasaiken was really true, it was doubtful they’d be interested in joining forces with the Circle, even against a common enemy.

  Before he could give it any more thought, he was distracted by a commotion outside.

  “What are you doing, Kenrik?” he heard one of the guards ask.

  Oh, good, Jason thought, the crazy dude. Just what I need.

  “Why, I am coming to visit with our guest,” Kenrik replied.

  “Not today, old man,” the guard answered. “Just go on back to wherever it is you go.”

  “But Bartel said I could,” Kenrik protested. “He did! He said I could.” He sounded to Jason like a six-year-old trapped in a sixty-year-old’s body.

  “Well, no one said anything to us.”

  “Where is Bartel? He said I could meet him. I want to talk to Bartel!” He was almost shouting now.

  “Peace, Kenrik,” the other guard said. “Perhaps Bartel meant another day.”

  “No!” Kenrik shouted. “This is the first visitor since I got here, and I want to meet him. Bartel said I could meet him, and that is what I am going to do! Bartel!”

  “What is going on out here?” Bartel’s voice, sounding irritated, broke in.

  “These guards will not let me meet our visitor,” Kenrik said, almost wailing. “You said I could! You said another time! Well, now is another time.”

  “I apologize, Bartel,” the first guard said. “We told him he could not see the prisoner, but he began shouting.”

  “You said I could, Bartel,” Kenrik whimpered. “You said.”

  Jason heard a heavy sigh. “Let him in,” Bartel said. “What can he do? If he babbles him to death it will solve our problem for us.”

  “Oh, good!” Kenrik said, as the guards laughed. “Thank you, Bartel, thank you!” Then his voice became stern. “Now, you two get out of my way!”

  “Yes, sir,” the guards answered, still chuckling. Kenrik walked in the door, looking very pleased with himself. Jason noticed that he took great care not to touch the door frame or anything inside the building.

  “Greetings, young man,” Kenrik said with an elaborate bow. “I am Kenrik, and you are Jason Bennett. I am very happy to meet you, and you are, of course, thrilled to meet Kenrik.”

  “No doubt,” Jason said. “Nice to meet you.” He didn’t know if Kenrik was completely nuts, and therefore possibly dangerous, or if he was just a harmless old man. Best to play it safe.

  “It is? Why of course it is!” Kenrik gushed. “It is very nice to meet me, very nice indeed. I have been wanting to meet you, and today I simply could not wait any longer.” He leaned toward Jason and lowered his voice. “And I would venture those guards will not challenge me again, eh?” He smiled broadly.

  “Probably not,” Jason said. No need to antagonize him.

  “But enough about the guards,” Kenrik said. “I came to speak to you.” He looked around the room. Besides the door through which he had entered, and the two small windows at each end where Jason's confining rope went, there was another, larger window at the back of the building.

  “Did you know,” Kenrik said, “that you can see the most amazing things from this window late at night?”

  Wow, this guy really is crazy. “Oh, really?” Jason said, keeping his expression carefully neutral.

  “Oh yes,” he wheeled around. “Do you love your parents?”

  What? Where did that come from? “Well, yeah. Sure I do.” The answer was automatic, but the pain the question brought was like reopening a wound. He would never see his mother again. Even if he did go back, it would be twenty years after he'd left. He wouldn't be able to explain why he hadn't gotten any older.

  “Do they not try to control you? Keep you from doing things you wish to do?”

  “Well, sure, sometimes,” he answered. “But that’s because they want to keep me safe, not because they just like telling me no.” What was the deal with all the questions about his parents?

  “And you believe that?”

  Kenrik's voice sounded odd. He asked with a solemnity that Jason wouldn't have expected from a crazy person. But what he had learned in the Shanthi ritual allowed him to answer Kenrik's question with a certainty he wouldn't have had otherwise.

  “Yes,” he said.

  Kenrik searched his eyes for a long moment. Then he clapped his hands together. “Well!” he said. “Yes, yes, yes. Very interesting things indeed can be seen here at night. I would suggest you stay up tonight, my young friend. It would be a terrible shame if you were to miss a sight through this window that might very well change your life.” He glanced toward the door, and then lowered his voice. “Such things are usually seen after the guards doze off.” He laughed loudly. “Yes, yes, it has been simply wonderful talking to you, young man, but now I must be going.” He turned around as he reached the door. “I do hope to speak with you again. Farewell!” Then he turned and left, again being extremely careful not to touch either side of the door.

  As he passed the guards, he raised his nose at them. “Hmph!” Jason watched through the door as one raised his hand as if to pat the old man on the shoulder, but Kenrik danced sideways, out of reach. “Do not touch! No touch!” And then he was gone.

  Weird, Jason thought. But maybe he would try to stay awake tonight, just to see whatever it was Kenrik was talking about.

  *****

  Reyga strained to see the drawings on the sheets of paper laid out on the table. The torches on the wall behind him provided barely enough light to make out the lines. Since taking over Lore’s Haven, Regor had changed the atmosphere of the keep. Torches, fires, and candles that had before provided a cheery glow now yielded only a fraction of the light they used to, turning the once-welcoming halls into shadowy corridors filled with a sense of dread. More of Regor’s saiken had arrived, spreading throughout the keep and lurking in the shadows. One had to be cautious because you never knew when a dark-robed acolyte might step out of the gloom.

  The changes were not confined to the inside of the Haven. A pall hung over the surrounding countryside and ever present clouds blocked the sun even at midday. Even the air seemed heavier, harder to breath.

  He squinted at the drawings again. Taking advantage of the reprieve granted by Nivek’s fortunate intervention, they had begun getting ready to leave Lore’s Haven. During their preparations, Delani contacted them through the link with the rat. She had relayed a message from the High One about something he had seen in the ancient texts that might be useful in their current situation. After searching through volume after volume in the Haven archives, Reyga finally found several sheets of paper tucked into the back of one of the tomes. There was a device sketched on them along with two pages of handwritten notes. It appeared to be a staff of some sort, with nine slender tines radiating out from the top. The tines arced back toward the center, rotating as they tapered to points, almost coming back together at the ends, where a fist-sized stone was mounted.

  From what he could gather, it was something that could absorb dimsai, although the notes did not mention dimsai by name. The papers mentioned only a “strange power,” new to Teleria. They already knew dimsai had entered the world through one of the rifts created during the Devastation fifteen hundred years before. The initials at the bottom of the last sheet were A.S. One could assume that they stood for Agathon Saltor, the man who had established the system of Loremasters. If that were the case, it seemed unlikely that the pages would refer to any type of power other than dimsai.

  According to the notes on the drawing, the staff must be made from a dusky red metal called Blood Iron, but did not give any indication as to where the raw material could be found. It only described it as a dark red ore with ochre streaks running through it. He hop
ed Borin was up to the task. With any luck, either the Ruby Order or the Obsidian Order would know where to find Blood Iron.

  The diagram identified the stone as a red diamond. He had never heard mention of such a gemstone, but did not have time to read all of the notes. Hopefully, there would be something in the papers, or in the Ruby Order’s knowledge that would help them.

  He gathered the papers together again and tucked them carefully out of sight inside his robe. Taking one of the torches from its sconce, he walked out into the corridor and made his way toward his own chambers. The Circle would have to discuss it, but not through Brelt. They would have to be together so that all could hear what was said, and share any thoughts or concerns they might have. Therein was their problem.

  Even if Brin could locate the ore, Borin would have to be the one to shape it, and at the moment, he was still imprisoned. Through Brelt, they had verified that the High One and the others were indeed in a cell located in the rock beneath Lore's Haven. All things considered, this actually made the task of freeing them easier than had the cell been within the keep. He, Brin, and the others had formulated a plan. Tonight, at the second hour past full dark, they would make the attempt.

  Masquerades

  The caverns had cleared out considerably once darkness fell. Lenai wondered what the Grithor did when they left their warren, but knew that was a question best pondered another time. Right now, she needed to focus on Kelsu. Whenever an inner voice whispered that he might already be dead, she shoved it away. Distraction such as that was something she could not afford right now.

  They became invisible and moved along the wall to the tunnel where Dokru had been taken. There, they waited while Naruk descended to where he could look into the passageway. He made himself visible just long enough to signal that the way was clear, and then moved toward the entrance, vanishing just before he entered it.

  They followed his lead, making sure to space themselves out enough to keep from running into each other while they were hidden. Although it was slower going, they kept to the walls and ceiling, becoming completely motionless whenever a Grithor would appear. Remaining concealed slowed the pace even more, as they had to be careful not to move too quickly and bump into the one ahead of them.

  Before long, they came to a branch in the tunnel. Lenai looked down each passageway, but could see no sign that would tell them which way Dokru had gone. Just as she was thinking they would have to split up after all, Sura’s disembodied hand appeared, pointing to a small smudge of color on the wall just inside one of the passages. She had not noticed it before, focused as she was on what lay down the tunnels, rather than on the walls. She realized it was blood. Its freshness suggested that it might be Dokru’s. Sura’s hand pointed down the tunnel. Since she had chosen him for his tracking skills, it would be foolish not to rely on them now.

  As they moved further into the tunnel, they heard soft groaning from somewhere up ahead. Every thought in her mind said the pained sounds she heard could be coming from Kelsu. Every nerve screamed at her to drop to the ground and run as fast as she could to him. She forced herself to take long, slow breaths. It would be very easy to make what could easily be a fatal mistake, not just for her, but for the others as well. If it was Kelsu, or even Dokru, they would almost certainly be guarded, perhaps even by saiken. Now was the time for the greatest stealth they could manage.

  She moved along the wall, getting closer to the groans, which sounded like they were coming from just around the next turn. She reached forward to look around the corner when her hand touched an invisible ankle. She stopped, but left her hand there. Another hand grasped hers, giving the signal that told her it was Sura's ankle she had found. They had to remain invisible and silent, so Sura relayed what he saw using hand speech.

  Large chamber. Two guards. Several cells. Dokru and another Shanthi.

  Kelsu? she sent back.

  Unknown.

  Can we deal with guards quietly?

  Shuffling footsteps from behind interrupted their silent conversation. She withdrew her hand and flattened herself as close to the wall as she could. Two armed Grithor came down the tunnel. She felt her pulse quicken. If they were coming to join the others, it would be almost impossible to kill all four of them without at least one being able to sound an alarm.

  Just as they went past her and were about the round the corner, one put his hand on the other's arm, stopping him. The first sniffed the air in all directions, and then said something unintelligible in the grunting Grithor tongue. The other shook his head as he answered, gesturing toward the chamber. The first sniffed again and said something else. The second guard repeated what he had said, shook the first's hand off his arm, and gave him a shove toward the chamber.

  They heard the four guards talking. One must have said something amusing because they heard the squeaking snorts that passed for Grithor laughter. Then two different Grithor emerged, heading back up the tunnel. She relaxed slightly. It had just been a guard change. There would only be two after all.

  She carefully reached forward and met Sura's hand reaching back.

  Can we deal with guards quietly? she repeated.

  Yes. Naruk and I will do it.

  Then he was gone. A few moments later, she heard a whisper of sound from around the corner. She carefully moved forward until she could see the chamber. The two guards were dead on the floor, lying in pools of blood from the gashes in their necks. Sura and Naruk appeared, sliding their daggers back into their sheaths. She moved into the chamber and became visible again. Vashni appeared as well.

  Lenai motioned for Vashni to stand watch. Then she and Sura hurried to the cell holding the unknown Shanthi while Naruk freed Dokru. She threw the door open and kneeled to turn the man over. Her heart sank as she saw his face. It was not Kelsu. Her disappointment must have been obvious, for Sura laid a hand on her shoulder.

  “I am sorry,” he whispered.

  The cold stiffness under her hand told her the man had been dead for some time. She left the cell and went to Naruk, standing close so that she could keep her voice low.

  “Do you know of any other places where they might be holding Kelsu?”

  He shook his head. “I do not,” he murmured. “I was unable to scout the entire warren.”

  “Perhaps we should look elsewhere,” Dokru said out loud. Her eyes flashed to him. She started to tell him to keep his voice down, when she noticed he had a strange look on his face. Something was wrong.

  “Or there is another way,” he said casually. He looked over her shoulder. “You could ask him.”

  “Oh yes,” a voice said behind her. “I know precisely where he is.”

  She spun around to see a mass of shadows standing at the entrance. A coil of darkness encircled Vashni, preventing her from speaking. Regor! Behind the shadow stood a group of heavily armed Grithor. They were trapped. Dokru moved past her, toward Regor.

  “Dokru, stop!” She tried to grab his arm but he was already in front of the Shadow Lord. Even knowing he was about to be killed, she admired his courage at confronting an Altered. Then he kneeled before Regor.

  “My lord, I have brought her as you ordered.”

  What? She had to run the words through her mind again to understand. Dokru had led them into a trap? Why would he do that? Then it hit her.

  “Rishna kel,” she growled through gritted teeth. Sura and Naruk moved to flank her, their blades drawn once again as they glared at Dokru.

  Dokru glanced at her over his shoulder. “We prefer Shani Ish.”

  “Shani Ish? You think you are the true Shanthi? You, who will give your allegiance to whoever has the most coin? You, whose loyalty can be purchased by the highest bidder?”

  Dokru stood beside Regor. “We do as we please, unbound by irrelevant moral restrictions of lesser races. We do not allow others to dictate their ideas of truth to us. We stand free.”

  “And yet you bow down before an Altered such as Regor,” Sura said.

  “The
Shadow Lord represents the highest ideals of the Shani Ish. The things we do, we do for ourselves, without regard for lesser beings, humans in particular.”

  “This is all very interesting, but it will have to be continued another time,” Regor said. Dark tendrils reached out and dragged Sura and Naruk from her side, gathering them along with Vashni into one bunch. “Or not. We do not need these.” His power slammed them against the wall, where their broken bodies slid to the ground, leaving streaks of blood on the stone. “Throw their bodies outside.”

  “No!” She ripped her dagger from its sheath and launched herself at Dokru and Regor. Before she made two steps, a black wall of power knocked her backwards, throwing her to the ground. She glared at Dokru as she stood, cursing him with every Shanthi epithet that came to mind.

  “I swear upon my own blood,” she panted, her voice trembling with outrage, “you will die by my hand.”

  Regor chuckled. “Now that would be amusing,” he said. “I am tempted to place you two in an arena and let you fight it out. But first, my fierce little Shanthi, wouldn't you like to know who it is you would be facing?”

  Darkness enshrouded Dokru, concealing him from her view. As the shadows faded, allowing her to see him once again, she felt her world fracturing into pieces around her. The breath left her and her dagger fell from numb fingers. No words would come. No words were sufficient.

  “Hello, Sister,” Kelsu said.

  *****

  The smaller of Teleria's two moons had just cleared the treetops as the Loremasters met at the edge of the woods outside Lore’s Haven. Brelt was with them also, carrying the rat so they could communicate their progress, or failure, to Delani.

  Each had a dark cloak thrown over their robe of office to conceal them from anyone looking down from the walls of the keep. They carried with them everything they thought necessary. Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s excursion, they would not be returning to their quarters for quite some time. If Regor noticed their absence before they were done, the best outcome they could hope for would be to share the cell with the other members of the Circle. The alternatives had remained unspoken but clearly understood.