AS THE BATTLE FOR THE RECLUSE RAGED ON, SERENAstood on her knees in her private chambers. She was exhausted, and her fingertips were badly scorched from throwing azure bolts. Her once-immaculate black mourning gown was smeared with the blood of both her allies and her enemies, but her precious withered rose remained tucked in her bosom.
She had personally directed the defense of the castle until the monstrous Black Ship had rammed the drawbridge. Then she had left her post to take refuge in her rooms, and to check on her baby daughter. Einar and Reznik were still somewhere among the fighting. She prayed that they were alive, and helping to turn the tide. After dismissing Dagmar and checking on Clarice, she had immediately assumed a posture of supplication.
It was not fear for her life that had brought her here. Rather, it had been to beg communion with thePon Q’tar. With the castle walls breached, she needed their guidance. But she also knew that if she remained amid the chaos and noise, she might not hear their wondrous voices should they touch her mind. And so she had retreated to the relative quiet of her rooms to pray for a sign. Suddenly it came.
“Serena,”the melodious voices called out.“Take heart. We are here.”
She was overjoyed to hear them. Their powerful presences immediately strengthened her resolve.
“The walls are breached,”she answered.“What am I to do?”
“Do not fear,”thePon Q’tar voices answered.“Do as we say, and you and your child will be saved.”
“I await your wisdom,”she replied.
“If the Recluse becomes untenable, you must save yourself,”the voices said.“The spell that we are about to grant you is powerful, and is meant only for you and your child. Use it to escape the Recluse.”
“But what of Einar and my consuls?”she asked.“Are they to flee with us?”
“No,”the voices answered.“From the beginning, they were only a means to an end. That is part of what true devotion to the Vagaries means. Now that Clarice lives, all of your conjured servants, your consuls, and your Valrenkians account for nothing. All that matters is that you and your child escape, and that Clarice grows to womanhood so that the other part of our plan can come to fruition. Despite your fears, it is not too late. Be still, our child, while we impart the needed calculations into your mind.”
Serena waited. Soon a riot of swirling, azure numbers and symbols appeared in her mind’s eye. She tried to read the spell, but found it far beyond her comprehension. Then the calculations unexpectedly vanished. She tried to call them back, but couldn’t. Worried that she had somehow lost them forever, panic struck her heart again.
“I do not understand,”she said.“How am I to use the spell if I cannot recall it?”
“All is as it should be,”the voices answered.“The spell is too powerful and important to fall into Conclave hands. Should you be captured, your enemies will not be able to draw it forth, for we have sent it far too deep into your mind for their meager abilities to retrieve. Even so, we will be able to return it to your ken. You need not understand its workings-you need only to read the calculations aloud in Old Eutracian. But until the battle’s outcome is known, wait where you are, where it is safest. It is still possible that your forces will turn the tide. But if not, we will revisit your mind, and your escape with your child will be ensured.”
With that, Serena knew that thePon Q’tar had gone. Her hope and courage renewed, she walked to the balcony and calmly looked down on the fighting.
As thePon Q’tar had told her, it seemed that the battle still might be won by her forces. The shrews and envelopers fought savagely and in huge numbers. Looking farther, she could no longer see the Black Ships. Perhaps they have been destroyed after all, she hoped. Many of her consuls still lined the wall tops. Black smoke rose into the air as the sounds of the screaming and the dying drifted to her ears.
She watched the terrible battle with renewed faith, for she now understood that its outcome was of no real importance. Once she and Clarice escaped, the wondrousPon Q’tar would protect them for all eternity.