‘He was helped by his son, who was, perhaps, even more gifted than the father. The queen came to their workshop and sat with them. They sketched and drew her, and laughed and joked with her. Her name was Jianna.’
‘You would know that from my reports,’ said Landis, trying not to be sceptical.
‘I have not read them, brother, I assure you. The statue was placed by a lake.’ He suddenly jerked.
‘Blood was shed there by assassins seeking to kill the queen. They failed. She did not seek to flee. She fought them. There was a man with her, his head shaved, though not on the top of his head. Odd. It looks like a horse’s mane.’ Suddenly the young man screamed and threw himself backwards, falling onto a couch.
‘What is wrong?’ asked Landis, shocked.
The young man shivered. ‘I don’t know. I felt. . Oh, Landis, I feel ill.’
‘What did you feel?’
‘She touched me. The queen touched me. She haunts this statue.’
‘Her soul is still connected to the world?’
‘I believe so. I shall not touch the thing again.’
Landis had taken the news to Vestava. ‘We can bring her back,’ said Landis. ‘Is that not so?’
‘It is not that simple, student. And if she still haunts the world then that might be reason enough never to try. Don’t you see? She has not passed the Void. What evils must she have committed to be damned for so long in that hellish place?’
‘But she could expound so many of the mysteries of that bygone era. We have mere fragments. Are we not here to pursue the path of knowledge, master? This is what you have taught me all these years.
She would know of the growth of empires that are lost to us, and the fall of civilizations. She might even have knowledge of the ancients.’
‘I will think on it, Landis,’ said Vestava. ‘Give me time.’
Landis knew better than to press the old man, who could be obdurate when he felt pressured. What followed was the longest year of Landis’s life. As the following winter approached Vestava summoned him to the upper council chamber. The Five were assembled there, the most senior priests of the Resurrection. Vestava spoke: ‘It has been decided that this is an opportunity too promising to let pass.
We will begin the process of Rebirth. Bring the bones to the lower chambers tomorrow.’
As Landis sat quietly, locked into memories of the past, a lantern guttered and went out. He shivered, and forced his mind back to the present.
Leaving the library he returned to his apartments in the western wing. It was growing dark and servants were in the corridors lighting lanterns. He found Gamal waiting for him in the main room.
‘You did not deceive Unwallis, Landis,’ he said sadly. ‘The Black Wagon will be coming. You should leave this place, and journey across the sea. Find a new life somewhere beyond her power to reach you.’
‘You are wrong,’ said Landis, seeking not to convince his friend, but to bolster his own failing confidence.
Gamal sighed. ‘You know I am not. To bring Skilgannon back was perilous — but the girl? This was madness. Oh, Landis, how could you be so foolish?’
Landis sank into a chair. ‘I love her. Thoughts of her are always with me. Ever since I found the statue.
I just wanted to be with her, to touch her skin, to hear her voice. I thought I could. . I thought I could do it right this time.’
‘She knows what you have done, Landis. She will never forgive you. ‘
‘I will leave tomorrow. I’ll journey north. Perhaps Kydor.’
‘Do not take the Reborn with you. She will be the death of you. They are already hunting her and they will find her.’
Landis nodded. ‘Jianna was not always evil, you know. I am not fooling myself in this. I knew her, Gamal. She was warm and loving, and witty and. . and. .’
‘And beautiful,’ said Gamal. ‘I know. I do not think we were intended for immortality, Landis. I knew a man once who fashioned artificial flowers from silk. They were gorgeous to behold, but they had no scent. They lacked the ephemeral beauty of a real bloom. Jianna is like that. There is no humanity left in her. Do not wait for tomorrow, Landis. Leave now. Gather what you need and ride north.’
Gamal made his way slowly to the door, his hand reaching out ahead of him to steer him round the furniture. ‘I shall take you back to your rooms,’ said Landis, stepping in to help the blind man.
‘No. Do as I advised. Pack and leave. I can find my own way.’
‘Gamal!’
‘What is it, my friend?’
‘You have always been dear to me. I thank you for your friendship. I will never forget it.’
‘Nor I.’
The blind man moved out into the corridor. Landis walked out to watch him making his slow way towards the far stairwell. Then he returned to his apartment and closed the door.
Sighing, he moved out to the balcony. The sun was behind the mountains now, but still casting a golden glow in the sky above the peaks. He felt tired and drained. Gamal had urged him to ride out into the night, but Landis convinced himself his friend was merely panicking. Decado and Unwallis had left, and he had no wish to ride a horse in darkness, nor camp in some dreary cave, locked in thoughts of despair.
Dawn would be a good time. The sunlight would lift his spirits.
Landis returned to his rooms and filled a goblet with red wine. It tasted sour.
The lanterns flickered, as if a breeze was blowing through the room. There was no breeze, yet one by one they went out. Landis stood very still, his mouth dry.
‘I never thought you would ever betray me,’ whispered a voice.
Landis spun. A shimmering light began in the darkest corner of the room, swelling and growing, forming a human shape. The image sharpened, and Landis gazed once more upon the features of the woman who had haunted his dreams for five hundred years. Her long dark hair was held back from her face by a silver circlet upon her brow, her slender body clothed in white. Landis drank in the vision, his eyes drawn, as ever, to the tiny dark beauty spot just to the right of her mouth. Somehow this blemish only enhanced her perfection.
‘I love you,’ he said. ‘I always have.’
‘How sweet! How foolish. You fell in love with a statue, Landis. What does that tell you about yourself?’
‘I gave you life,’ he said. ‘I brought you back.’
The image shimmered closer to him, shifting and changing. The white gown disappeared, replaced by a shaped silver breastplate, and leather leggings, reinforced by silver bands upon the thigh. At her side was a sword belt.
‘You did not love me, Landis. You loved an image of me. You desired to possess that image, to have it for your own. That is not love. Now you have recreated that image. Without my permission. That is not love.’
‘Have you come here to kill me?’
‘I am not going to kill you, Landis. Tell me the truth. Are there any more bones of my past bodies?’
‘Do not harm her, Jianna. I beg you.’
‘Are there any more bones, Landis?’
‘No. She is innocent. She knows nothing, and could never harm you.’
The Eternal laughed. ‘She will serve me well, Landis. She is the right age.’
Landis’s heart sank. ‘Were you always evil?’ he heard himself ask.
‘This is hardly the time for philosophical debate, my dear. However, I will say this: when I was a child my father was murdered, my mother killed. People I thought loyal sought my death. They all had their reasons. When I came to power I killed them. Self-preservation is a paramount desire in all of us. Good and evil are interchangeable. When the wolves pull down a fawn I don’t doubt the doe would consider it an evil act. For the wolves it is a necessity, and they would see the procuring of fresh meat as good. So let us not spend these moments in meaningless debate. I have one more question for you, Landis, and then we can say farewell. What did you find in Skilgannon’s tomb?’