It was at that moment that the aurak breathed forth his cloud of poison gas, felling Ellinghad. As Jessica and the two gully dwarves watched in fascinated horror, Ellinghad clawed at his throat for breath, while the cloud spread across the floor towards them. The draconian stood and spoke a word of magic, calling forth a burst of energy from his palms, which struck Ellinghad.
No!" Jessica screamed as Iulus calmly resumed his seat in his golden throne.
The gully dwarves resumed their squabble. "I say magic word."
"No I say magic word."
And then a rare event occurred. Glabella said, "I hold magic stick, you say magic word."
"Okay," Mommamose said.
Glabella stood and pointed the wand at the Grand Master. Mommamose touched the sapphire at its base. The one good eye of Iulus grew wide.
"Crackling!" Mommamose shouted.
Alya staggered, the sword still poised above her head, as thunder rocked the chamber. Though momentarily stunned, Valian recovered more quickly, and in one fluid motion, he drew his dagger, ducked under Alya's blow, and brought his fist up into her chest. She toppled to the floor, a dagger protruding from her heart.
The force of the magic knocked Mommamose and Glabella to the floor; Jessica grabbed onto something. A lightning bolt struck the heavy throne, lifting it up and sending it crashing partially through the back wall. With Iulus wedged in it, the throne hung precariously, suspended two thousand feet above the raging sea. Rain slashed through the opening in the wall.
Meanwhile, Iulus had begun a horrible transformation. Like other draconians, an aurak underwent a series of changes after death. Usually they were immolated with green flames and entered a killing frenzy. Iulus, though he raged and frothed, remained firmly stuck. The lightning bolt had melded his flesh to the gold throne, trapping him. The throne rocked with his struggles.
Jessica started from her trance when Valian touched her arm.
"Come on," he urged.
"The gully dwarves," she cried, tearing from his grasp. She rushed to Glabella's side and lifted her to her feet.
"That some magic," the gully dwarf said thickly as she rubbed her head.
Mommamose had already regained her feet. She was pointing at something, her face frozen. Jessica spun around, sickened by what she saw. She turned away.
Ellinghad had staggered upright, but he was no longer a man. He was a thing somehow clinging to life. His face and head had been blasted by the draconian's magic, his lungs destroyed by the poison gas. He clawed at the air , then turned blindly toward the tortured screams of the Grand Master.
Ellinghad lunged toward the dying draconian. A weird sound erupted from him, low and hysterical, bespeaking the madness of pain he was suffering. He stumbled into the chair, felt burning flesh beneath his fingers, and found the throat of the draconian. The green flames consumed him, but still he kept choking Iulus.
There was a tremendous crack, and the throne, the Grand Master, and the Knight vanished. Where they'd been, rain poured in, soaking the floor and raising steam from the flagstones. A cold wind blew into the room, blowing out all the candles.
In the darkness, Jessica felt a cool hand. "Let's get out of here," Valian said.
31
The halls of the castle at Xenos were decorated with boughs of evergreen. Everywhere one looked, there were arrangements of bright scarlet crystals carved in the likeness of kingfisher feathers and tiny golden crowns. Red winter roses filled vases, and logs burned in every fireplace, spreading light and cheer to every room and chamber. The Knights as they walked their watches on the cold snowy battlements were served steaming mugs of nog or warm mulled wine. Many wore roses in their belts and wreaths of holly around their helms, all to celebrate the festivities. For tomorrow was Yule, and a fine Yule it promised to be. Not for many a year had the people felt such a sense of hope and gladness.
However, despite the foot-thick covering of freshly fallen snow, evidence of recent events offered a stark reminder of how dearly this Yuletide was bought. Here was a wall battered to rubble, there the charred skeleton of a building. In the courtyard, masons were busy erecting a pedestal for a monument. The names of many, including Quintayne, would be inscribed there. Never would the siege of Xenos be forgotten.
Even so, in the chapel of the castle, they remembered a different occasion, a Yule tragedy long past. Tomorrow was the anniversary of the Cataclysm, so the Knights commemorated the event by raising the chant of the thirteen days, of the time when the gods sent warnings of disasters to come, warnings ignored at the time.
As the service ended and the Knights filed out of the chapel, Sir Liam Ehrling found a young lady still sitting in a quiet corner. He approached her quietly, smiling.
"Lady Jessica," he said.
She looked up, her face pale. "So much pain," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion.
"The Cataclysm?" he asked. "Yes, it was a dark time, but hope renews. Evil turns upon itself, good redeems its own."
"I sometimes wonder why we fight. It seems, no matter what we do, nothing changes," Jessica said.
"That is exactly why we fight," Liam said.
"My Lord Ehrling, I have made a difficult decision. I wish to leave the Knighthood," Jessica whispered. "I want to serve Lady Crysania."
"That is a noble desire, Lady Jessica, but I cannot grant your request. I need you here," Liam said.
"You need me?" she asked, blinking up at him. "Why?"
"I will tell you, if you will accompany me to my chamber. I believe Sir Valian is waiting for us there," Liam said.
"Valian?" Jessica asked as she rose.
"Yes, I've asked him to share a midnight toast with us," Liam said as they walked from the chapel. Two Knights shut the doors behind them, bowing as Sir Liam passed.
When they reached the door to Liam's private study, it opened and Seamus Gavin stuck his red wizened face into the hall. Seeing Liam, his eyes widened.
"Ah, there you are! Seems I'm not the late one this time," said Gunthar's old friend from Palanthas.
Jessica and Liam entered the study and found a fire blazing on the hearth. Sir Valian sat near it, absently rolling a pewter mug between the palms of his hands as he stared into the flames. On a side table, a crystal decanter half-filled with pale yellow wine gleamed in a bowl.
Liam poured four glasses and passed them to those gathered. Seamus, his lap full of various papers and documents, accepted his with a smile. Without moving from his chair, the dark elf took the glass offered him and returned his gaze to the fire.
Liam walked behind his desk. It lay bare, the only thing on it a single bound volume as thick as a man's wrist. He looked at it and placed his fingertips on its cover.
"Here is the Revised Measure," he said. "I regret that Ellinghad and Meredith-" he choked, then sighed "-and Quintayne, who succumbed to the wounds he suffered here at Xenos will not be here for the unveiling. I wanted you three to know something. I trust in your judgment to keep it a secret. In his last days, torn by grief and worry for the future of the Knighthood, Lord Gunthar's mind threatened to leave him. The burden was almost too great for him. His work on the Measure suffered greatly as a result.
"This past month, I've labored long and hard to finalize his work, and I have done it, I think. The Measure is complete. My one desire is that no one else know of my, let us say, collaboration. This is Lord Gunthar's last accomplishment, his Revised Measure, not mine."
Valian nodded. "Yes, milord." Jessica also nodded, although she didn't understand why she was being trusted with this secret, especially since Liam knew her desire to leave the Knighthood.
"You know, of course, that you can trust to my discretion," Seamus said.