Angel of Storms (Millennium's Rule, #2)(154)
“But if he gets hold of Vella he will know everything I know.”
“Ah.” The rebel leader’s gaze darkened. “She is well hidden, this woman?”
“Yes and no.” Tyen resisted the urge to look down at his shirt. “I carry her. She is the book.”
“‘She is the book’?” Baluka echoed, not comprehending.
“The Raen’s predecessor made her into one. She can absorb all the knowledge of those who touch her.”
Baluka’s eyes widened. “All the knowledge? So you could use her to discover anybody’s secrets?”
All but the Raen’s, but I can’t explain how I know that. “But she must be held. And she can only respond when someone holds her.”
As the implications of that occurred to Baluka, he nodded. “I see. A powerful tool with a powerful flaw.” He was silent, frowning, for a little while. “But you don’t think of her that way, do you? You think of her as a woman.”
“She is a person. Not a whole person, but enough to have an identity and… real conversations.”
“A person who knows everything about you, and understands you as nobody else can.” Baluka shook his head. “No ordinary woman, perhaps no friend either, could ever measure up against that. Be careful, Tyen, or she’ll become the only companion you can ever tolerate.”
Surprised, Tyen stared at the rebel leader. Baluka’s warning seemed to vibrate to the core of him. He opened his mouth to deny that Vella, who had no body and admitted to having no proper emotions, could ever prevent him forming connections with whole, living women. Hadn’t he had Yira as a lover and then friend?
But I didn’t love Yira–not in a romantic way. She wouldn’t have returned it, anyway. And he’d never noticed Sezee’s interest in him, or even seen the potential for it, which he had regretted later. He hadn’t been looking for that sort of companionship, despite having longed for it previously.
He hadn’t needed to.
A shadow rushed towards them, stopped and sharpened into Hapre. She glanced back at Frell, who followed close behind.
“I did a circuit,” she told them. “Everyone’s ready.”
Baluka nodded. “A few quick words, then we will go. I’ll use Volk’s trick to amplify my voice, but the downside is you three will need to move away or shield your ears.”
“You should have the stage entirely to yourself, anyway,” Hapre decided, seizing the chance to escape.
Tyen and Frell followed as she descended to the sandy ground. Baluka waited until they had turned to face him, then lifted his gaze to the crowd.
CHAPTER 20
“For a thousand cycles and more we have been ruled by one man.” Baluka’s voice boomed out over the noise of the crowd. “Why?” he asked. “Not because he is the wisest. Not because he is the kindest. Not even because he is the smartest. No. Only because he is the most powerful.”
Looking at the closest rebels, Tyen saw grimaces and scowls. He read their anger and agreement. Baluka didn’t believe the Raen was stupid, Tyen knew. Suggesting so made the crowd happy, though. It made it bolder, thinking the rebels were, as a whole, more intelligent.
“His rule is not maintained by strength alone,” Baluka continued. “It is maintained by corruption. By agreements with the greedy and deals with the cruel. With the allies’ help, the Raen maintains control of all the worlds. Of you.”
Touching lightly on many minds, Tyen sensed the mood of the crowd darken. When he singled rebels out, he saw an ally or more blamed for the injustices they had suffered or seen. Not for the first time, he wondered if he would have eventually joined the rebels anyway, if he had not encountered the Raen and made a deal.
Baluka’s tone grew more forceful, though the volume of it remained the same. “He may be the most powerful sorcerer of the worlds, but he is not the most powerful force. That, my friends, is you.” He stretched out an arm and turned full circle. “Every person willing to stand up for what is right. Every fighter battling for freedom. Every sorcerer seeking the right to simply exist. Each of you defying his laws. Each of you demanding justice. Each of you saying ‘enough!’.” Baluka shouted the last word. “He’s had a thousand cycles! That is more than enough! It is time the worlds were free of the Raen’s laws and ruled themselves!”
The cheer that followed set the air buzzing. Tyen shuddered, half elated and half appalled by the collective wave of fury and defiance. Baluka waited, nodding, until the crowd had quietened again.
“Together,” he continued. “Together we are equal to the Raen–no, we are greater than the Raen. We have what the Raen does not. We have the strength that comes of a common purpose. We have the certainty that we fight for the good of all the worlds. I planned to tell you that even if we fail today we will gather again and fight until the change owed to us is made. But now that we are here I no longer believe I need to.” He stretched both arms out and spread them wide. “With so many of us… How. Can. We. Not. Win?”
His last words were drowned out as the crowd erupted in a roar that vibrated through Tyen’s chest. He heard cheering, whistling, trilling, and even hooting and barking. The gestures the rebels made were as varied, from dignified nods to wildly jumping on the spot. Frell was punching at the air above his head, his mouth open in a half-audible yell. Hapre was grinning approvingly up at Baluka, her hands coming together in a clap only she could hear.