“In your position, I’d probably feel the same way,” Vaddon admitted grudgingly. “But if you cannot fully control your symbiont, then you’re a potential danger to your allies as well as your enemies. Not to mention a danger to yourself. Surely you can see that.”
“Of course I do, Father. I also remember something the battlemasters at Rekkenmark taught us: ‘Courage is risk.’ Yes, there’s a chance I will lose control of my symbiont and become a danger to those around me. There’s also a chance that I’ll be able to use the abilities granted to me by my symbiont to help stop Uncle from unleashing a terrible evil upon our world. I have to try, Father. It’s my duty both as a soldier and as Elidyr’s niece. I don’t know if it’s possible to restore him to sanity, but I do know this: The man he was before the daelkyr touched him would be horrified by what he’s become, and he’d want us to do everything in our power to stop him. I intend to do that, Father, with or without your help.” She smiled gently. “But it would be a whole lot easier with you.”
Vaddon gave Lirra a long appraising look before turning and exchanging glances with Ksana. Then he turned back at Lirra and sighed.
“I never could win an argument with you, even when you were a child.”
Ksana spoke then. “You realize that if we go in search of Elidyr, enough time will pass that there’s a good chance you will become irrevocably bound to your symbiont.”
“I do. The risk is worth it to me. When I became a soldier, I took an oath to defend Karrnath and its people with my life. ‘We water the ground with our blood and our tears-for Karrnath.’ Mother and Hallam took that oath, and they sacrificed their lives to uphold it. How can I shame their memories by turning away from using a weapon that fate has placed in my hands?” She glanced down at her symbiont. “Literally, in my case.”
“Your mother and brother only lost their lives,” Vaddon said. “You might end up sacrificing your mind and your soul.”
Lirra shrugged. “It is a soldier’s lot in life to do that which is required of us. You taught me that, Father.”
“So I did.” Vaddon sighed once more. “Very well. You can accompany us in search of Elidyr, but you must remain in my company, or that of another member of the Outguard, at all times. Is this clear?”
“Are you going to give me a curfew as well?” Lirra asked.
Vaddon scowled, though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. “No joking. Do you agree to the terms or not?”
“I agree.” The restriction chafed a bit, but she understood the reason for it. Then a thought occurred to her. “You won’t be able to watch over me all the time, Father, so you might as well assign a baby-sitter to me. How about Osten? He’s a good man, and he understands what its like to host a symbiont. He’ll be less nervous around me than someone else.” And he would be more sympathetic to her as well, something she might be able to use to her advantage later, if need be.
Vaddon thought about it for a moment. “All right. So … how do we go about finding Elidyr?”
“I don’t know what you decided to do about Ranja,” Lirra said, “but she’s sensitive to the presence of symbionts and their hosts. That’s why I hired her to help me track down Elidyr. She might still be willing to do the job for us.”
“Oh, she’s willing,” Ksana said. “She made that very clear when we spoke to her.”
“And for a hefty price,” Vaddon added sourly. “A price that no doubt went up when she learned I was a general working for Lord Bergerron. Good thing the man has deep pockets.”
Lirra smiled inwardly. Trust Ranja to find a way to turn the situation to her advantage.
“I’ve had time to think since you … invited me to accompany you to the garrison barracks,” Lirra said. “Last night, I had no idea where Elidyr might go or what he might do. But now that he’s reunited with Sinnoch and they have the Overmantle, I can think of only one place they would go. Do you remember how Elidyr first encountered Sinnoch?”
“Elidyr found the dolgaunt in a subterranean cave,” Vaddon said. “In the Nightwood.”
Lirra nodded. “I think that’s where they’ll go. They both know the place, it’s hidden, and it can be easily defended. Elidyr may be mad, but he’s not stupid. He’ll recognize the strategic value of Sinnoch’s cave.”
“Makes sense,” Vaddon said.
“The Nightwood is awfully big,” Ksana pointed out. “We could search for years and never come close to finding the dolgaunt’s cave.”
“That’s where Ranja comes in,” Lirra said. “And me. I’m able to sense the presence of aberrations-assuming I’m close enough. Between the two of us, we should be able to lead the Outguard right to Sinnoch’s hideaway.”
“The question is, can you do so in time?” Vaddon said. “If Elidyr activates the Overmantle before we can reach him …”
“I don’t know how badly the device was damaged, Father, but it will take Elidyr, Sinnoch, and Rhedyn some time to reach the cave, and then Elidyr will have to repair the Overmantle. I know he carries some of his artificer’s tools with him, but not all. The lack of proper equipment should slow him down some. I’d say we have a good chance of getting to the cave before he can reopen the portal to Xoriat-provided we get moving soon.”
“Very well.” Vaddon smiled. “I never did much like sitting around and talking when there’s work to be done.” He stood and sheathed his sword. “I’ll go inform the others. We’ll leave within a half hour. Lirra, remain here with Ksana until I can find Osten and inform him of his new duty as your … liason.”
Vaddon left the office without waiting for a reply from either woman.
“This is hard for him,” the cleric said when they were alone. “He wants nothing more than to see you free of the symbiont.”
“I know,” Lirra said softly. “And if I could see any other course of action, I’d take it. But Elidyr must be stopped, regardless of the cost to me personally … or the cost to my father. Besides, isn’t there a saying that the gods don’t give us burdens heavier than we can bear?”
Ksana smiled. “Unfortunately, I’ve lived too long and seen too many good men and women fall in battle-or later collapse beneath the mental and emotional aftereffects-to believe it any longer.” She came from around the desk and took Lirra’s hand, both of them, in hers. “I pray to the goddess that you don’t join the ranks of the lost, my dear.”
Lirra squeezed Ksana’s hands. “Me too,” she whispered.
“Just like old times.”
Elidyr didn’t look up from his work as he responded to the dolgaunt’s comment.
“Even better, my friend.”
The artificer sat crosslegged on the rough stone surface of the cave floor, the pieces of the Overmantle spread out before him illuminated by a stolen everbright lantern.
Rhedyn stood off to the side, the shadowy aspect granted him by his symbiont causing him to be nearly invisible in the cave’s gloom. “This is where you lived?” the young warrior said to Sinnoch. “It seems awfully … stark.”
That was one word for it, Elidyr thought with amusement. Save for the three of them, the cave was completely empty, just as it had been all those years ago when Elidyr had first come here as a young scholar in search of aberrations to study, not knowing at the time that some decades hence, he’d become one himself. Life certainly took some strange turns, he thought.
Sinnoch laughed. “What can I say? I enjoy being alone with my thoughts.”
The moment they’d entered the cave, Sinnoch had doffed the oversized robe he’d worn to conceal his body from mortal eyes and stood naked, shoulder tentacles undulating lazily in the dank air, the cilia that covered his body flowing like blades of discolored grass.