Einar lowered the hood of his robe. He seemed as stunned as his master-perhaps more so. He considered the question for a moment.
"If the Heretics themselves have told you of this, then it must be true," he answered. "It must be a vision without equal in our history! How I wish I were going with you, my lord! How my eyes hunger to witness all that you are about to see! Even so, I know that in your absence my place is here, guarding your queen and your unborn child. But tell me-did the Heretics say what would be required of you once you reach the pass?"
Wulfgar shook his head. "Only that I am to crush the Jin'Sai's Minions who guard it, then await their word."
Einar smiled. "Given your captains, the demonslavers still under your command, and the Earthshakers that have already been boarded upon the Black Ships, your dealings with the Minions should be swift. Also quite rewarding, I might add. Who knows, you may even face the Jin'Sai himself on the battlefield. I envy you the impending struggle. It will be glorious."
Serena moved her husband's hand to place it on her swollen belly. As though she could have somehow willed it so, the baby gave a gentle kick. The ravaged skin of Wulfgar's face contorted in a smile.
"Do not forget us," Serena said softly. "And do not forget the magnificent side of the craft for which we all struggle."
Wulfgar gave her a kiss, then turned his good eye back to the sea.
As the sun sank below the horizon, the wind was freshening. They would make good time during this first night of their adventure.
He turned to his queen. "I have something for you," he told her. He reached into his jacket and produced a single red rose. She smiled as he handed it to her.
"Thank you, my lord," she said. "While you are gone I shall treasure it."
Wulfgar looked into her eyes. "It is more than a simple rose," he told her. "It is bound to the craft, just as you and I are. As long as I am alive, it will bloom. But should it wither and die, you will sense the change wherever you are, and know that the unimaginable has occurred."
Serena reached out to touch the ravaged side of his face. "I am sure that this flower will continue to bloom until the day you return to our shores," she said softly.
Wulfgar nodded. "Goodbye, my love," he said quietly. "Take good care of our child."
Having suddenly lost her voice, Serena tried to smile. As she did, a tear traced a path down her cheek. When Wulfgar kissed her, he tasted salt, like the sea he would soon be sailing upon.
"Guard my queen and my child with your life," he told Einar. Then he smiled wickedly. "While I am away, find a suitable place to display the heads of the Jin'Sai and his two wizards. I intend to bring them home with me."
CHAPTER LXI
As Dax finished telling his tale, a hush descended over the Conclave. Tristan looked first at Faegan, then at Wigg, but the wizards were at a loss for words.
For a long time no one spoke. Finally, Faegan broke the silence. His face stern, he trained his gray-green eyes upon the warrior. Dax could almost feel the power in the wizard's gaze burrowing its way into his own.
"The azure wall that guards the entrance to the pass," Faegan began.
"What does it look like?"
"It is flat, and stretches from one side of the pass to the other," Dax answered. "It rises high into the sky, so high, in fact, that one cannot see its top because it stretches into the fog that always lies upon the peaks of the Tolenkas. White shards of light shoot about within its depths. It is not solid; instead, it is like a liquid, though its surface is as smooth as glass. My dreggan plunged through it as though it were made of water. When I pulled the dreggan out, the wall immediately sealed itself. It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen."
Scowling, Faegan sat back in his chair. Wigg looked at Faegan and then, when the crippled wizard nodded, turned to the prince and Shailiha.
"I need to ask you both a question of the utmost importance," Wigg said. "You will no doubt find my inquiry odd, but this is no joke, I assure you."
"What is it?" Tristan asked.
Pursing his lips, Wigg placed his gnarled hands flat upon the inlaid table.
"Have either of you been hearing voices?" he asked. "Voices carrying messages that you didn't understand, and were perhaps reticent to tell us about?"
After shooting each other puzzled looks, the prince and princess turned back to stare blankly at the wizard.
"No," Tristan answered flatly.
"Nor have I," Shailiha said. "Why would you ask such a thing?"
"Because of the sudden existence of this azure wall," Faegan answered. "The Tome contains a prophecy mentioning the appearance of such an edifice, an ominous prediction that Wigg and I have discussed many times. It was deemed of such great importance that for decades many of the late members of the Directorate attempted to research it further, but to no avail. This sudden appearance of the wall marks one of the greatest turning points in the history of the craft. And yet-and I believe I speak for Wigg as well as myself-it brings us no joy. The fact that no voices have come to commune with the prince or the princess does not bode well for any of us."
"What does the prophecy say?" Abbey asked.
Closing his eyes, Faegan began to recall the cryptic passage.
"With acts delayed activated within their blood, the Jin'Sai, the Jin'Saiou, or any others of the same womb will one day be able to commune with either the Ones or the Heretics," Faegan recited. "And should for any reason the mountains separating us somehow be breached, an azure wall shall arise to contain that breach. The wall shall be the ministrations of either the Heretics or the Ones. If the Ones bring the wall, it shall be employed so as to keep your side of the land safe from harm. But if the Heretics conceive the wall, they will unleash horrors from our side to yours-horrors such as have not been seen for aeons."
"I still don't understand," Adrian said. "What does it all mean?"
"The 'acts delayed' are Forestallments," Wigg answered. "And we now know that the mountains the Ones speak of must be the Tolenkas. The Tolenkas have now been breached by the ruptured orb. Whether this was accidental or deliberate remains to be seen. And the azure wall has risen, just as the prophecy states it would. Even though Tristan and Shailiha have been imbued with Forestallments, except for the princess' ability to commune with the fliers, these spells have not been activated. Because the wall is already here and neither the prince nor the princess has heard voices, then only one conclusion can be drawn."
"Wulfgar has been imbued with the Forestallment that allows him to commune with the Heretics," Tristan said. "Worse yet, he will soon have control over the wall.
"He's coming back, isn't he?" he asked the First Wizard. "The wording of the prophecy implies that the Heretics-or at least their spirits-reside on the western side of the Tolenkas. Wulfgar means to breach the wall, gain the help of the Heretics, and take Eutracia."
Tristan's face grew hard. He didn't like secrets. And yet there seemed no end to the secrets the wizards had been keeping from him and the other members of the Conclave. Trying to calm him, his new bride gave him a sympathetic look, but he just glared at Wigg.
"You knew, didn't you?" he growled. "Both you and Faegan have known this all along! Why didn't you tell me?"
"In fact we did not know," Faegan answered "Of course we assumed that the natural barrier the Tome refers to might be the Tolenkas, but we could never be sure. The barrier could also have been the Sea of Whispers, or the oceanic ice floes lying both to the north and the south, or the very sky above us, for that matter. But now we are much closer to the truth. The Heretics must still exist in one form or another on the western side of the Tolenkas. And they will very likely soon cede control of the azure wall to Wulfgar."
"I'm afraid it goes even deeper than that," Wigg said. "Wulfgar doesn't mean to only take Eutracia. He has other designs, as well."