“We have been, pet,” Sonoe replied, her pretty mouth twisted in a frown, “but the Nameless One has known of our plans from the beginning. He’s been awaiting the return of the Key since the time of his imprisonment. He knew when the Key returned, the Kirians would have no choice but to perform the Sundering. What we’ve done up ’til now is conceal your exact location and the time and place of the Ritual, in order to catch him off-guard. Our greatest hope of success lies with surprise, though perhaps we’ve lost that now.”
“Sonoe is right,” Taya confirmed.
“Gods, my head is throbbing!” Jelena muttered in Soldaran. She rubbed her temples, wishing she could crawl into bed, curl up in Ashi’s arms, and forget everything.
“This vision of Jelena’s means we can wait no longer,” Amara said.
“I agree,” Gran responded. “We’ve run out of time. We must perform the Ritual now.”
“What? Do you mean now as in right now ?” Ashinji rose to his feet, and Jelena heard the note of panic in his voice. “You can’t be serious! I’ve just…we’ve only just…”
“Son!” Amara snapped. “The Nameless One knows Jelena’s whereabouts. We can no longer delay!”
Why is all this happening , Jelena thought. Why can’t Ashi and I just live our lives in peace with our daughter? Why was I chosen for this sacrifice?
Even as she asked herself those questions, she already knew the answers. The weak and powerless often served as tools of the powerful precisely because they could do nothing else. The accident of her blood had made of her a perfect tool and pawn of mighty forces. She had no choice but to accept her destiny.
“Ashi, if the Kirians say we must do this now, then we must.” She stood and the others rose with her.
If my death will save the world, then for my daughter’s sake, I must embrace it , she thought.
“I’m ready,” she said and clasped Ashinji’s hand.
Jelena bent to kiss her father’s brow in farewell, then allowed Ashinji to lead her from the bedchamber. Her eyes were dry for she had no more tears left. She had shed the last ones while saying goodbye to Hatora.
The sweet smell of her body, the softness of her skin; these memories of her baby, along with that of Ashinji’s touch, were the things Jelena most wanted to carry with her into death. When at last she could bring herself to let go, she had relinquished the child to Eikko’s waiting arms.
“Look after my daughter, Eikko, until my husband and my mother-in-law return,” she had instructed with as little emotion in her voice as she could manage. The hikui servant girl knew nothing specific, but she was no fool. As soon as she had taken Hatora into her arms, she gulped and shuddered as fat tears rolled from her brown eyes.
“Hush, Eikko, please!” Jelena had admonished gently. “You’ll upset the baby even more than she already is.” As she turned from her daughter for the last time, she heard in her mind the bird-like sound of Hatora calling to her. She had not dared to respond, for fear she would lose all courage.
The hard parts are done. Now, all that’s left is to die , she thought.
No, that’s not true. I still have to say goodbye to Ashi.
He strode alongside her now, his arm linked with hers. The scuff scuff of his boots on the stone floor kept time with the beating of her heart. Ahead of them walked Taya, carrying Kashegi’s Notebooks . The Eye of Lajdala, ancient badge of office for the masters of the Kirian Society, shone like a red lantern on her breast. The fire of its magic blazed in response to the princess’ Talent, casting a blood-red glow on the walls, ceiling, and floor.
Behind them walked Gran and Amara, each woman carrying a cloth-wrapped bundle in her arms. Sonoe had stayed behind for a few extra moments alone with the king, but had promised to catch up. She would bring the White Griffin Ring.
Taya led them at a brisk pace along a series of hallways and down two flights of stairs before stopping in front of a set of doors carved with the likenesses of figures from elven mythology.
“The library?” Jelena asked.
Aren’t big, important rituals supposed to take place in tower rooms or stone chambers deep within the earth?
“Your question will soon be answered,” Taya replied, as if she had heard Jelena’s thoughts. She pushed the left door open and after they had all passed through, shut it behind them then led the way to an alcove in the rearmost chamber.
“We’ll wait here for Sonoe,” the princess stated. “I checked on the portal just last week. The magic is holding firm. We should all be able to teleport together.”
Jelena and Ashinji looked at each other in confusion.
“Are we leaving the castle?” Ashinji asked.
“Yes, Son,” Amara answered and pointed to what appeared to be a plain wooden panel. “Behind this door is a teleportal, a device created by our Society many ages ago. It allowed the Kirians of old to travel great distances in the blink of an eye, saving much time and effort. The magic used to create new portals has long been lost to us, but we modern Kirians have retained the knowledge needed to maintain the existing ones.”
“At least the ones we know about,” added Gran.
Taya nodded. “Quite true,” she said. “The Ritual will take place many hundreds of leagues from here, in an ancient fortress that once served as the stronghold of the Society. No Kirian has traveled to the Black Tower for quite some time now. We’re not even sure it still stands.”
“Then why are we going there?” Jelena asked.
“Because we know the portal beneath the fortress is still activated, which means at least part of the underground complex is still intact,” Amara explained. “At the very heart of the complex lies the main Spell Chamber, the strongest, most protected part of the fortress. It was built to withstand the most powerful of magical energies. We believe, based on writings of Kirians who survived the original battle with the Nameless One, that the Spell Chamber escaped destruction.”
“The Spell Chamber will be the safest place for us to conduct the Ritual,” Gran continued. “Also, it is near to where the Nameless One lies imprisoned. According to our chronicles, his prison vault lies directly below.”
Jelena shuddered and pressed closer to Ashinji, who tightened his embrace in response.
“Now is the time to ask about anything you still don’t understand,” Taya said, addressing Jelena. Her voice, usually so stern and commanding, softened. “I know you are afraid, Niece. You need feel no shame about it, not now. We all know the courage of your heart.”
“I understand what my part is, but why does Ashi need to do this?” Jelena demanded. All the bitter anger she had kept hidden, until now, rushed to the surface. She rounded on Amara, eyes flashing. “Pardon my insolence, Mother-in-law, but you deliberately denied your son his birthright, but now, you have no trouble using him when it suits you!”
“Jelena, leave it be,” Ashinji whispered.
“No, I won’t, Ashi!”
Amara held up her hand. “No, Son. Your wife is right to be angry with me. I did deny you what is yours, and for that, I am sorry, though at the time, I believed I was saving you from a lifetime of frustration and heartache. The Kirians have been woefully shortsighted and neglectful of our sworn duty. We never should have let our numbers dwindle to so dangerous a level. Now, we must rely on your raw Talent to provide the necessary boost to our power. Without your Talent, Ashi, we simply are too weak to defeat the Nameless One.”
“Our minds must all be linked within the Working. Since Ashinji is untrained, he can’t participate directly in the creation of the Spell,” Gran explained. “We four Kirians must concentrate on maintaining the integrity of the Working. Ashi, therefore, will be free to perform the most vital part of the ritual. We will draw down his energy and direct it through the blade as he strikes to sunder the Key from your body.”