Angel of Storms (Millennium's Rule, #2)(136)
Tyen saw the man’s intention even as Hapre voiced it.
“He says Tyen is the Raen’s spy,” she explained. “And has been since he joined the rebels.” Her lips pressed together firmly. She, of the three generals, was the most prepared to believe it was true.
Tyen drew breath to deny it, but Baluka spoke first.
“Well he would say that, wouldn’t he?”
The rebel leader was eyeing the kneeling sorcerer coolly, but his mind was spinning with possibilities. The fact that Tyen had never opened his mind to anyone had always bothered him. Yet Tyen, despite his aversion to violence, was clearly dedicated to the rebels’ cause, and had done a great deal to help the rebels survive. He had also been determined to ensure Baluka was suited to leadership before handing it over with obvious reluctance.
Frell was quietly outraged on behalf of Tyen. He had known Tyen the longest, and as another former lover of Yira’s, knew Yira would never have associated with someone duplicitous.
Volk simply worried that such an accusation might make Tyen leave. We need him, he was thinking. He’s by far the most powerful and knowledgeable sorcerer among us, so it’s no surprise he has a few secrets, but I doubt this is one.
Baluka looked at Tyen. How obvious to attack the only one of us strong enough to successfully spy on us, he was thinking. But I have to consider it is possible…
“I will open my mind to you,” Resca offered, “so you know I’m not lying.”
Baluka’s eyebrows rose. “Will you really?” He glanced at Tyen. “Very well. Do it.”
Resca looked around the room, then closed his eyes. Since he knew he’d detect no change, Tyen concentrated on Frell’s mind instead, and his heart quickened as he watched the general suddenly perceive the ally’s thoughts. It was a shifting, unsettled place, but as Resca focused on a memory the threads of his thoughts aligned. The scene of the massacred rebels appeared, but the details were indistinct.
Where I first met Tyen, Resca told them, the Raen forbade the killing of the rebel leader. Some said it was because Tyen was working for him. I asked Tyen and it made him afraid and angry. Tyen was the subject of the memory now, his face contorted in rage as he attacked, beating Resca down until he had no magic and was cringing on the floor. But he didn’t kill me. He let me go. Why would he do that, if he wasn’t secretly on our side? He told me to avoid the allies, perhaps so the rebels wouldn’t learn the truth if they caught one. So I did, but they have nearly caught me too many times. The safest place is with you, the rebels. If what I tell you leads you to killing the Raen… well, he deserves it.
Now a memory played out of a journey between worlds–the route to the Raen’s world and all the secrets to surviving it. Look for the tower in a ruined world not far from the Worweau Market. A vision of a thin, impossibly tall spire formed in his mind. The path begins at the top, taking you through worlds of water, fire, earth, air, light and darkness. Be ready to levitate above the first and protect yourself from the heat of the second. The third is benign but lifeless, the fourth full of life but the air is poisonous. Then the next is so bright you can’t see the difference between it and the place between, and the last… it has no light at all and the ground is treacherous, so don’t move from the arrival place.
The next world he showed them was entirely underground. The palace lay within a vast but mostly abandoned city. Few were allowed to visit it, so the only defenders were the Raen and a few of his most loyal friends.
Tyen looked at the other rebels. The generals were excited by the information, which Resca had already shown them. They expected Baluka to be as well.
Yet the rebel leader was unimpressed.
“Thank you for so generously giving us this information,” Baluka said. “I regret it is not new to us. We already know the route to the Raen’s palace.”
Resca’s face fell. His gaze slid to Tyen. “Then all I can offer is my skills and strength, and the truth about him.”
Baluka shook his head. “Only Tyen can offer the latter. All you have is rumour and guesswork. But…” he smiled, “if you still wish to help us, well, when the day comes to fight we will welcome all the help we can get. There will be a signal. The place between will fill with travellers, details of the meeting place spreading among them. Come to that meeting place.”
Resca nodded. “I will.”
“For now you are safest away from us and we are safest away from you. Now go. Leave as you arrived, by boat, so you do not leave a trail back to us.”
“But—”
“No, Resca, your best chance of being free of the Raen is to hide, wait and respond when called, not stay with us.”
Resca nodded slowly. “All right. I’ll do that. I hope I do not have to wait long.”
“So do I, Resca.”
The man climbed to his feet, nodded to the generals, then walked out. Baluka moved to the empty chair and settled into it.
“Wait until he is too far away to read our minds.”
Tyen remained standing. All were silent until Baluka nodded.
“Good. He has rowed out of hearing. We can talk.”
Tyen crossed his arms. “Are you sure you want to accept his help? What he did to the rebels I found was…” He shuddered as he failed to come up with a word to describe the horror.
“I fear what he would do if we refused him, and we do need all the help we can get.” Baluka set the chair swaying. “His claims about you are curious.”