Worlds Without End

24

"He's gone," I said.

"What?"

"He's gone."

Caimbeui elbowed past me into the room.

"Maybe the bathroom?" he asked.

I pointed to the open bathroom door. "Unless he's thinner than I remember. Or he's hiding in the shower stall."

Caimbeui went and checked in the stall. "No, not here."

I sagged against the dresser facing the bed. 'This is very bad," I said. "What if he goes to Aithne? We're lost then."

"I don't think he'll do that," Caimbeui said. He touched the bed where Glasgian had lain. "It's cold. He's probably been gone for a while. I suspect he didn't leave by the usual methods, because other- wise Ehran wouldn't have asked about him."

"Maybe Ehran took him," I said.

Caimbeui shook his head. "Not his style. Now, I'd expect it from Alachia, except she'd be here now crowing about it. And I don't think her network is as sophisticated as Ehran's. What surprises me is that we haven't heard from Aithne yet."

"Dumb luck," I said. "What are we going to do?"

"Nothing," he replied. "For right now. Whoever has him will show their hand eventually, and if he got out of here himself, then I doubt we'll hear any- thing. He'll be too damn scared. After all, he's had a look at what happens to people who get on the wrong side of your faithful companion."

"Don't call him that," I snapped. "I haven't seen him in millennia. I took care of him long ago. You know that. I'm tired of paying for that mistake. It won't just be me facing him this time. I'll have the support of the others."

Caimbeui shrugged. "Perhaps," he said. "There's no telling what they'll do."

I ran a hand across my scalp. "They've got to see what's happening. After you tell them about Maui, they'll understand. But what has me worried is how anyone got past those wards."

Caimbeui didn't say anything.

The rest of the day dragged on interminably. After the way the morning went, I kept expecting more unwelcome visitors. But they never arrived.

The maids came and tidied the rooms, and I won- dered which one of them was Ehran's spy. Or maybe all of them were.

I jumped at every noise, and Caimbeul's annoying habits became more and more glaring. Pencil- tapping. Humming. Leg-jiggling. He twitched and fidgeted and moved around like a six-year-old need- ing to pee.

I wondered why I'd ever had anything to do with him.

The day of the Council meeting dawned clear and cold. The drizzle and gray skies that had continued for the last two days broke. It irked me that the ses- sion had been set up for late afternoon. I had to waste yet another day with the tension, boredom, and Caimbeul's habits.

At four we began to get ready, and by five we were in the rented limo heading for the meeting. It was already beginning to grow dark as we finally reached the estate where the meeting was to take place.

It was located west of the city. As the car swung into the wide gates flanking the drive, I saw that there were hundreds of rose bushes lining the drive. They were denuded of foliage. Their thorny canes stark and skeletal against the fading October sky.

Several other limos were parked in front of the large house as we pulled up. There were also a cou- ple of high-octane performance cars modified with body armor.

"Looks like the joint's jumpin'," said Harlequin. "Nice cars. I wonder who they belong to."

"Jinkies, Caimbeui, maybe you and the boys can go drag racing after the sock hop," I said.

"You don't have to get snippy about it," he said.

"You're a gadabout," I said. "Utterly irresponsi- ble. Can't you keep your mind on the matter at hand?"

"Why should I?" he asked. "When you're perfectly capable of doing all the worrying for both of us."

"Jerk."

"Shrew."

"Shmuck."

"Harpy."

I laughed. I couldn't help it.

"Well, shall we go and meet the crowd?" Caim- beui asked. "I understand they've finished with the pagans and are moving on to the Christians."

"I think they'll find us stringy and unpalat- able."

"One can only hope."

We were met at the door by a retinue of Surehand's Paladins. They were attired in their Crusader-ish ar- mor and toting SMGs, pistols, and other sidearms and pieces of gear I knew nothing of. Such blind reliance on technology could get these boys in a lot of trouble, I thought.

We were escorted into the massive foyer and down a wide hallway leading to the back of the house. More like a palace. Fifteen-foot ceilings, twelve-foot-wide hallways, heavy, cream-colored damask wallpaper, marble tile underfoot. The Pala- dins' boots made loud echoes against the floor. Doorways leading off the halls showed enormous rooms decorated in luxurious fabrics, woods, and stone.

I wondered whose property this was. It dwarfed Lugh Surehand's place in size and richness. I couldn't imagine Aithne here. Nor Ehran. It hardly seemed their style. Our invitation to the Council had mentioned only the time and location: six p.m. at Ozymandias. Caimbeui seemed to know where to go.

At last we came to a set of doors at the end of the hallway. The lead Paladin opened the doors and an- nounced us.

"Aina Sluage and Caimbeui har lea Quinn," he said.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the room. Caimbeui was close behind.

Had I been Harlequin, I would have delighted at the expressions passing over those faces, but I was too nervous. I knew they wouldn't guess how I felt. None of them knew me well enough to see that.

"Courage," I heard Caimbeui whisper in my ear.

Fires burned in the hearths at either end of the hall. Oriental rugs were scattered over the inlaid wood floor. Oversized chairs and couches were ar- ranged in comfortable groupings. That is, comfort- able if you're expecting a hundred or so of your closest personal friends.

At one end of the hall were a handful of the Coun- cil members. Lofwyr had changed from his black suit into a lurid peacock-blue satin that would have done a pimp proud. He smiled and bowed slightly at me. I knew he'd probably remain neutral, no matter what happened. Sometimes you just couldn't depend on dragons.

Ehran was ensconced on one of the couches. He wore his usual black, a habit that I found a trifle an- noying. As though wearing black made you some- how more imposing, or cool, or serious. Though it did contrast nicely with his white hair and cold blue eyes. We made eye contact, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. It was as though our meeting the other day had never taken place.

Sean Laverty was perched on the arm of one of the chairs. Unlike the other men, he was clean- shaven. His eyes were clear leaf-green, his hair au- burn. I knew he was against the technological leanings of the Tir. Of the group, his garb was the simplest. A T-shirt and jeans with a jacket thrown on tqp. In one earlobe he wore a dangling silver dragon. I wondered what Lofwyr made of that.

Sitting in the chair was Jenna Ni-Fairra. She was whispering something to Laverty as I approached the group.

"Sean, Jenna," I said.

"Aina," they replied in unison. I wondered for a moment if they were joined at the hip.

"Did anyone miss me?" came a voice behind me. An all too familiar voice. I turned. Alachia. She glided over to Jenna and kissed her cheek. They were remarkably alike. Except for the coloring, they could have been twins. Where Alachia's hair was deep red, Jenna's was platinum blond. Alachia's eyes were clear sapphire blue; Jenna's emerald green. But the face was the same. Delicate and fey. Unearthly beauty. What a bore.:

"Why must you wear these things?" asked Alachia, grabbing Jenna's black leather jacket and giving it a shake. "Upstairs I know you have a closet full of…"

Jenna gave her a hard look, and Alachia laughed it off. "A mother's prerogative," she said lightly. She glanced around the room. "Well, it looks as if we're almost all here."

Just then there was the sound of raised voices coming down the hall. We all turned. In a moment, the doors flew open. Aithne burst in with the Paladin guard hot on his heels. They tried to slow him down, but he thrust one hand up behind him and they flew back into the hall.

"What the hell were you thinking of with those/ damn roses?" said Aithne. "Alachia, if this is youir sick idea of a jok-"

Then he saw me.

His face had been flushed. Now it went white.

"What the frag is she doing here?" he asked. His voice was cold. Utterly devoid of emotion.

"Isn't it the nicest surprise?" said Alachia, coming up next to him and tucking her arm in his. "Aina asked Lugh to call a meeting of the Council. And he agreed." She leaned against Aithne and beamed at me.

I wanted to throttle her.

"I'm leaving," he said. "There is nothing that woman can say that will interest me in the least."

He swung around and headed toward the door.

"You'd best not go," said Surehand. "I would look unfavorably upon it."

Aithne stopped, then turned again, slowly.

"And what is that supposed to be?" Aithne asked. "A threat?"

"No," replied Surehand. "I don't want you to let old personal matters hinder your judgment of these events. If you leave, you give tacit approval to any- thing we decide."

"Not if I leave under protest."

"The result will be the same. We will make a de- cision, and you will have to live with it."

Aithne glared at Surehand for a long moment.

"Very well. This woman," he said, pointing at me, "is a treacherous bitch and nothing she says can be trusted."

"So much for the impartial hearing," murmured Caimbeul.

"Your taste in companions leaves much to be de- sired," Aithne said to Caimbeul.

"People in glass houses," replied Caimbeul, look- ing pointedly at Alachia. Aithne glanced down and saw she was still attached to his arm. He jerked his arm away and stalked to one of the large arm chairs, where he flung himself down.

"All right," he said. "What's this all about?"

"Aina," said Lugh. "If you please."

Caimbeul gave me a little pat on the back, ther went and took a seat on the couch next to Ehran They began a subtle war of who could sprawl on tht couch most. Aithne refused to look at me, while Jenna and Sean whispered and giggled.

"As you all know," I began, "the magical forces have been on an upsurge for the past fifty or so years. Many of the old ways have returned, though there have been some unforeseen changes due to the technological state of this cycle. But that is neither here nor there.

"In the past, great surges of magic have drawn the Enemy to this place. The Therans solved this by leading the world into the darkness of the kaers for five hundred years. But we all know the prices paid for those choices."

I paused for a moment and glanced around the room. Ehran's expression was carefully blank. Caimbeui gave me a little wink. Alachia yawned and looked bored.

"There have been two serious encounters with the Enemy in past months," I said. "Caimbeui defeated them on the metaplanes. Then, more recently, he told me about the encounter on Maui where the En- emy actually managed to get through a portal opened by kahunas of a tribe there during one of their blood rituals."

"Did he say he actually drove them back?" asked Ehran. "Aina, you know how he likes to take credit for things he had nothing to do with."

"I don't recall you being there," said Caim- beui.

"News travels fast. Harlequin," said Ehran. "You always were a braggart."

"Would you both just stop," I said. I paced a bit.

This was why I avoided them. All this petty bicker- ing. We'd been in and out of each other's lives for so long that everyone knew each other's sore spots. Where to poke and prod. And yet, we still kept com- ing together again.

"Who did what isn't important," I said. "The point is, the Enemy is coming back. And they're coming too soon. This world isn't ready. Its peo- ple don't understand a damn thing about what's happening. And we certainly haven't prepared them."

"What do you think the Tir is?" asked Alachia. "We're creating a place where the strong will sur- vive."

"You mean where the elves will survive and ev- eryone else on the planet can shift for themselves," I said.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Jenna, ever her mother's daughter.

"Well, if you don't mind billions of innocent peo- ple suffering unimaginable deaths," I said.

"Innocent blood has never bothered you before," interjected Aithne.

I looked at him and narrowed my eyes. As though his loss had been greater than mine.

— "Things change," I said at last. "So do people. Most people. But this is all beside the point. This isn't some academic discussion. I believe that one of the Enemy is already here. I don't know how he managed to come across. Perhaps in Maui. Or may- be there is another point of entry. All I know is that he is here."

There was a hush for a moment, then everyone began to ask questions. Lugh called for them to calm down.

"How do you know it's the Enemy?" Lugh asked.

"He has contacted me," I said. "First, there were dreams. Then I received a telecom communication. Two nights ago he attacked us in our hotel room here in Portland."

"What do you know about this. Harlequin?" asked Surehand.

"Just what Aina has told you. You know about the events in Maui," he said. This surprised me. I didn't know he'd told them about Maui. "I was there when the call came to Aina's place in Scotland. And I was there when it attacked us in the hotel room."

"Perhaps it's just one," said Sean. "It would be easy enough to deal with."

"I don't see what the big fuss is about," said Ala- chia. "We've defeated them before. We'll defeat them again."

"Haven't you heard a word I've said?" I asked. "It's too early for them to be coming through. We're not ready. The world isn't ready. You've spent so much time playing at politics and nations that you've neglected the important things. It's as though we've left nuclear weapons for cavemen to play with. These people don't understand what's at stake. And they certainly don't comprehend the nature of the powers they're dealing with."

"Now we get down to it," crowed Alachia. "All this time going on about how much more pure and noble you are than us. You just don't want anyone using the power. What's the matter, Aina, scared someone will tread on your magical toes?"

I glanced over at Caimbeui, but he was busy try- ing to annoy Ehran. "No," I said. "But these magical spikes seem to be attracting the Enemy. As long as people capriciously use blood magic, the risk will grow."

"You would know about blood magic," said Aithne.

"Yes, and you should be smart enough to lay aside your hatred of me to see the larger issue at hand. We must stop this one and prevent the rest from coming through."

"I think you're overestimating the danger," inter- jected Alachia. "Perhaps your experience is tinting / your perspective."

"Besides, we have plans," said Laverty. "Now is not a good time to reveal such secrets."

"Have I been shut up with a bunch of lunatics?" I shouted. "You don't pick when the Enemy comes. They will come when the circumstances are right. The best we can do is slow that event down. Which means we must act now."

I stopped then, realizing they weren't listening to me. They were staring gape-mouthed at something behind me. Slowly, I turned.

A vortex of smoke was whirling up out of the floor in front of the fireplace. A shape uncoiled from inside the smoke and stepped forward. Ysrthgrathe. Hanging limply in his arms was Glasgian Oakforest.

"I do so love to make an entrance," he said as he dropped Glasgian on the floor. "But I know bet- ter than to overstay my welcome. Aina, it is so good to see you again. See, I've brought you a little present. I shall see you soon, my dear. 'Til we meet again."

Then he disappeared.

Lances of arcane fire cut through the space where he'd been a moment before. Aithne rushed to Glasgian's side. Surehand called for his Paladins. Sean and Jenna hovered behind Aithne asking if they could help. Ehran and Caimbeui had that odd, distracted look in their eyes, the faintest traces of energy crackling around them.

I turned away from the sight of Aithne holding Glasgian's limp body. It was then that I saw Alachia's face. She had a small, knowing smirk on her face. And a notion so terrible filled my mind that I immediately pushed it away. I couldn't think such a thing. Not even of her.

I spun away from the sight of her. Now Glasgian seemed to be coming around. When he saw that he, was in his father's arms, his face crumpled and he I began to cry. Aithne cooed and cradled Glasgian in his arms until his sobs diminished into irregular hic- cups. At last, Glasgian seemed to fall into another kind of stupor.

Surehand suggested that Aithne have Glasgian carried up to a room, but Aithne refused and hugged Glasgian tightly to him.

"This is all your doing," he hissed at me. "This sort of thing follows wherever you go. I knew we shouldn't ever have anything to do with you

again."

"For heaven's sake, Aithne," said Lofwyr. "She didn't bring it here."

"Yes, she did," he said. "That creature has fol- lowed her through space and time. It will destroy anyone around her. This isn't the Enemy. It's her en- emy. It has come for her and I say we let it have her. She seeks to divert the issue. But we must see it for what it is. This is Aina's battle. Not ours. Let her deal with it."

"I must agree with Aithne," said Alachia. "Obvi- ously, Aina wants us to become involved with this personal matter. We don't know that she didn't con- jure it up herself. After all, that was a specialty of hers, as I recall. This isn't about the world-it's abom her.

She has turned her back on us. I say we let her shift for herself."

I had my back to her, but I knew she had plastered a noble, righteously dignified expression on her face.

Now they all would agree with her.

"This is a terrible mistake," I said. "If I cannot stop him, he will bring.them all across. He has the power to do so."

"Get her out of here," snarled Aithne. "If she says one more word I think I'll…"

Caimbeui came and wrapped his jacket around me. I hadn't realized I'd been shivering.

"Let's go," he said. "But…"

"You've done all you could," he said. I let him lead me from the room. Our footsteps. echoed down the long hallway as we left.