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Julen nodded. His mouth had gone dry and he desperately needed a drink. “I saw more than my sister,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I think I saw the King of the Incendi.”

  II

  Demitto pushed his way through the trees angrily, unmindful of the branches whipping his face. He could not believe Catena had found him in the middle of the ritual. He had tried so hard to sneak away from the hamlet quietly, waiting until all their party were asleep. He had poked his head into her room and seen her lying quietly, and had assumed he would be safe. He hadn’t accounted for the fact that the vibrations might awaken her.

  And now she had stormed off yelling something about betrayal, and if he wasn’t careful she’d blunder back to the inn and inform the whole party – including Tahir – what was going on.

  He saw her ahead of him, exiting the trees, and increased his pace. As she crossed the road, he sprinted forward and caught her arm. “Catena!”

  She snatched it away and whirled around, eyes blazing. “Let me go, traitor!”

  He caught her again and began to drag her back to the trees, but he had forgotten she was not one of the women of the court, simpering around in a fine dress with nothing on her mind except for which rich man she should target for a husband. Catena was a knight, trained for battle, and as he tugged her arm she whipped out her sword and it came whistling through the air, missing his throat by an inch.

  He bellowed and drew his own sword, and for a brief moment found himself on the back foot, fighting for his life. Part of his mind recognised her skill and rejoiced in it, certain it would be needed within due course, but the other part could only boil with anger and frustration as he widened his stance and met her blow for blow. She was good, but she was no match for a warrior who had seen action in all four countries, who had headed the vanguard in numerous battles, who had mounted sieges, protected kings and killed more men than there were leaves on the nearest tree.

  Using brute strength to overwhelm her, he knocked her sword from her grasp and pinned her against an oak.

  “Wait,” he hissed. “Let me explain.”

  “And let you fill my mind with poison?” She spat in his face. “Think again.”

  He wiped his cheek on his shoulder and leaned on her until she ceased to struggle. “There are things of which you are unaware,” he snapped. “And I will share them with you, but you have to stop fighting me.”

  She met his gaze. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, but he was holding her so firmly that she had little option but to nod her agreement.

  He released her, wary in case she immediately lunged at him, but she just bent and retrieved her sword and sheathed it, her mouth set in a firm line. “So tell me this amazing story,” she said. “Prove to me that you have the Prince’s best interests at heart.”

  With surprise he realised that her primary concern was for Tahir’s safety, not her own. She was worried that he was leading them into some kind of trap. She obviously treated her responsibilities seriously.

  He led her to a fallen tree trunk, sat astride it and motioned for her to join him. She sat opposite him, the moonlight painting her in streaks of silver. He examined his hands, wondering where to start. He had not planned to tell her the truth, and he would still not be able to tell her everything, but clearly he had to divulge some of the facts or she would not trust him, and her being able to trust him was imperative to saving the world.

  “Do you remember that I said I was part of the Nox Aves?” he began.

  “The scholars at Heartwood?”

  “Yes, although I am not based there, like all the others – I am more of a mercenary than a regular member. They are viewed by most as eccentrics disconnected with the real world, who bury their noses in books and hearken to days gone by. And to an extent that is the truth. But they are so much more than that.”

  He picked a leaf from the nearby tree and curled it around his finger as he thought about how best to tell her. The truth, he decided, was probably the best way. “As I explained to you and the Prince, I have travelled much over the years. I have an ear for languages and a talent for diplomacy, and my name soon came to the ears of the Nox Aves, who were looking for someone to carry out a role for them. You see, as I said, they are much more than eccentric scholars. They are historians, who carry within them the knowledge of the past, and of the future.”

  He glanced up at Catena, wondering what she was thinking. She remained quiet but as his gaze fell on her she said, “Go on.”

  “Beneath Heartwood lies a room known as the Cavus.”

  She nodded. “Which leads to the location of the fifth Node.”

  “Yes. The Nox Aves maintain it, which is common knowledge, of course, but what is not well known is that it also houses a secret library. Chronicles of everything that has happened over the last five hundred years, as well as both volumes of the ancient Quercetum – the first one that the legendary Nitesco translated before the invasion of the Darkwater Lords and the second which he began after that event – are kept down there. And they tell a very interesting tale.”

  He shifted on the hard log, wishing he could take her back to the comfort of the inn, but he knew he had to ensure complete privacy. “After the Darkwater Lords were vanquished, the scholars at Ornestan University – including Nitesco – carried out years of study into the nature of our existence and what this meant for our future. And they discovered something incredible, which is very hard for our small minds to grasp – that the Arbor’s roots travel through time, as well as through the land. To the great tree, the past, present and future are one, and although it cannot change time or alter major events, it can warn its people of disasters yet to come.”

  Catena’s eyes had widened with a mixture of incredulousness and curiosity. “Truly?”

  “Truly. And it has been recorded that twenty-two years after the Darkwater invasion, something happened in Anguis – an event that is somehow linked to one which will occur very shortly, as well as one which will come to pass many, many years in our future. The Nox Aves call this the Apex, emphasising that the three events, though separate, will all converge at the same point, like the three sides of a pyramid. Do you understand? The Arbor can see each side of the pyramid. It cannot change these events, but it can ensure that we are best prepared for them when they occur.”

  She said nothing for a while, obviously trying to process that information. “So what event is supposed to happen to us shortly?”

  He stood and stretched, and looked up at the stars, at the constellations turning slowly above his head like a cartwheel. Then he leaned against a nearby tree trunk and looked back at her. He couldn’t tell her the whole truth, of course, but he could hopefully tell her enough to make her trust him. “Even though the Darkwater Lords were defeated, the elemental powers remained unbalanced. From the beginning of the Second Era, the element of fire has been on the rise. That is why the climate has changed so much, and why fires so often break out in unusual places out of the blue.”

  “There is going to be another invasion?” she asked, wide-eyed.

  “Yes.”

  “When?”

  He hesitated. “I cannot tell you that.” At the roll of her eyes, he added, “I am sworn to secrecy. The future of the country is at stake. The Nox Aves believe that time is malleable – that although certain events are fixed, other paths shift and move, guided by our actions. So although the invasion in the future is inevitable, its success will be decided by the choices we make. This is why what happened in the past has not become common knowledge and has been kept secret amongst the great scholars. They know what will happen at the Apex, but they do not know the details of the events leading up to that intersection.”

  “It is a lot to take in,” Catena said.

  “Do you believe me?”

  She considered him thoughtfully. “I am not sure. I think maybe I do because it seems too fantastic an idea to make up. Why bother? And besides, oddly, a lot of it makes sense. I was wondering just yesterday why the climate
has changed so much since I was young. But what I do not understand is, what part do you play in it all?”

  “I am just one of many people the Nox Aves have accepted into their circle over the years to help bring the threads together. We all have a part to play. It is just that some of us know more about our journey than others.”

  “Hmm,” she said. Her eyes gleamed.

  “What?”

  “I think you are playing down your role. You are far more than an ambassador sent to deliver the Selected.”

  “Am I?”

  She lifted her chin. “What were you doing in the forest? I saw you pressing an object into the ground.”

  She had seen more than he had realised. He gave her a wry look. “And if I were to tell you that was a secret?”

  “I will just ask you every minute of every day until we reach Heartwood, and make a complete nuisance of myself.”

  “More than you are already?”

  They smiled at each other.

  He sat on the tree trunk again, leant forward and linked his fingers. He liked her. She was brave and honest, and she genuinely seemed to care for the young prince. And of course, he knew the role she would play in the Apex, and it was not inconsiderable. He could not divulge her future. But he surprised himself with his desire to want to share more with her. Maybe it was just because he had been alone for so long, and he was tired of carrying such a burden. Or maybe he just wanted her to like him.

  “What do you know of Nitesco the Great and his part in the Darkwater invasion?” he asked.

  “I know that he discovered the Quercetum, and he was the one to first understand the link between the elementals and how one could transform into another.”

  He nodded. “Nitesco was also responsible for crafting these.” He reached into his tunic and pulled out the oak-leaf pendant around his neck. It mirrored the one that everyone wore since birth, except it held within it a round, shining sunstone. “It is made from the Arbor and it is very old. It retains a special link to the great tree.”

  Her mouth had dropped open. “This is made from the Arbor?”

  “Yes.”

  She touched it reverently, then brushed her fingers across the gem in the middle. “What is this?”

  “It is a sunstone. They are found deep underground, and whereas the wood has a connection with the Arbor, the stones have an ancient connection with the fire elementals. Watch.” He held the pendant in his left hand, opened his right and held it palm up. A dancing flame appeared in the middle.

  Catena gasped. “How did you do that?”

  “The Nox Aves believe the sunstones hold a memory of fire within them. I do not understand it completely, but I know that when I concentrate on it, I can conjure up a flame. And the holders of the pendants do not feel the fire – they remain immune.”

  She nodded, clearly in awe of it. “And this is what you pushed into the ground?”

  “Yes. When placed in the earth, it enables the bearer to access the channels that run beneath the ground – the roots of the Arbor which run not only from east to west and north to south, but also through time itself. The fire elementals – which are known as the Incendi – have been using these channels to move through time and to influence events leading up to the Apex. Those Nox Aves who own these pendants can sometimes use this strange connection between earth and fire to observe these events and find out what they are up to.”

  “Who was the person you were speaking to, the one in the grey cloak?”

  “His name is Cinereo. He is the leader of the Nox Aves.”

  “It is fantastic,” she whispered. She glanced over her shoulder, towards the inn. “And Tahir also is to play a special part in the Apex?”

  “He is a Selected. He is essential to the whole plan.”

  Her face softened. “I am glad.”

  “You thought his sacrifice was meaningless?”

  “I thought people saw it as such, even if the Arbor did not. I am comforted to know his role is important.”

  That was the understatement of the Second Era, but Demitto did not say more. “It is advisable that Tahir knows none of this,” he said. “Whilst it is encouraging to know one’s role is important, knowing you are the saviour of the world is sometimes a little too much to handle.”

  She met his gaze. He could say no more, but he saw in her eyes the final understanding. Through the centuries their people had climbed a mountain, and they were currently nearing the peak. The lines of time were converging, and the result would be a conjunction like the meeting of great stars in the sky. They were writing history with every step they took, and they carried with them the weight of the future and the very existence of their kind.

  “Are you all right?” he said, wondering if her head were about to explode.

  Catena nodded.

  He stood and held out his hand, and she rose and placed hers into it.

  Together, they walked back to the inn.

  III

  Geve stood in the shadows and waited.

  Around him, the hustle and bustle of daily life in the Primus District continued. He stood in front of the smithies, and the place was filled with the hiss and steam of the forges and the clash of hammers on iron. Furnaces blazed, reflecting off the beaten metal and sending dancing flames around the walls; the forges flashing occasionally with the glint of gold. The air tasted gritty, rich and sharp, the tang of metal setting his teeth on edge. Young boys walked past carrying buckets of water from the stream that ran through the western part of the district, and occasionally a cartload of ore from the mines at the northernmost edge of the Embers trundled past.

  In spite of the busyness of the area, Geve soon picked out what he had suspected – the shine of the golden sash denoting a Select, who was walking casually along the central road, his sharp eyes darting from room to room.

  Geve was being followed.

  He remained still, but his mind worked furiously. Why was he being trailed? Was it because the Select suspected he had a role in the Veris? Sarra had made it clear that Rauf had known about the – as they had thought – secret society, and maybe they were trying to track the members down.

  Or was this about Sarra herself? Over the last few days, since the White Eye celebrations, he had been conscious that every time he spoke to her, he would turn around to find a Select in the room watching him. Their presence in the district wasn’t unusual, as that was how they maintained order – by making themselves a part of the daily lives of people, an ever-present reminder of the law and order of their society, as well as an encouragement that for those who worked hard, promotion into the ranks was always a possibility. What was unusual was the way Geve had caught them watching him on more than one occasion, making him certain they were targeting him in particular, and that they weren’t just there to keep an eye on the room.

  Sarra had told him all about what happened on the night of the celebrations, and that Comminor was apparently interested in her, and had given her a month to think about a relationship with him. If that were the case, maybe the Chief Select was keeping an eye on her, seeing who her friends were, making sure nobody else had staked a claim on her.

  Geve wasn’t a hundred percent sure whether Comminor’s interest in her was personal or connected with the Veris, but either way he sensed they had picked up on the fact that he was friends with her, and Comminor had instructed them to keep an eye on him and report back his comings and goings.

  Day-to-day, this wasn’t necessarily a problem as he didn’t do anything that would arouse suspicion anyway. But today he was supposed to meet with the Veris to discuss their future plans in light of their failure to escape on the night of the celebration, and he could hardly lead the person tailing him to their secret hiding place.

  The Select walked past him and continued down the road, so Geve slipped out of the shadows and walked in the opposite direction. As he turned into the main road, he paused and pretended to look at the wares of one of the shops selling engraved metal boxe
s. As he stared at the polished tin, the reflection of the Select appeared around the corner of the road, pausing as the man stopped and pretended to examine a display of cutlery.

  Geve cursed under his breath and began walking again. He was going to have to be clever to lose this one.

  He didn’t bother winding his way through the maze of roads and alleyways that formed the upper Primus District but instead took the main road, walking casually as if he were a man with a purpose, but no rush, to get where he was going. He walked through the leather makers, past the claymakers coiling tubes of rolled clay into pots, past the weavers and the dyers with their blue and red stained hands, past the bakers where the warm and comforting smell of cooking bread made his stomach rumble. He walked and walked without turning around, and then when he reached the shell-cutters busy joining squares of turtle shell with tiny iron loops into shimmering curtains, he stepped suddenly into the shadow of one of the shops and pressed himself against the wall.

  He waited until the Select had passed the entrance, still walking casually as if certain the man he followed had just turned a corner, and then Geve walked quickly along the narrow alleyway that led through to the merchants’ district, picking up speed once he was certain he wasn’t being followed.

  Exiting the alleyway the other side, he walked more quickly now through the brightly-coloured clothes shops, the jewellers setting gems into silver and gold rings and pendants, the barbers sweeping tufts of hair into bags, the apothecaries measuring tinctures and pastes into tiny leather pouches. When he reached the quay, he circumnavigated the lake and made his way into the Secundus District, pausing every now and again to check behind him, certain by now he wasn’t being followed.

  Nobody stopped or spoke to him, and thus it took him completely by surprise when – halfway across the district as he left the playhouse behind him and entered the more threatening areas of the underworld – someone grabbed a handful of his tunic and drew him into a side alley.