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Her words hung like crystal in the air, then shattered into a thousand shards, raining down on us.
Telazhar…the ancient necromancer who had led the Scorching Wars up from the Southern Wastes against the northern cities. Telazhar, who had been banished from Otherworld to live with the demons in the Subterranean Realms. Telazhar, whom we had done our best to kill, but who had slipped through our fingers. And now, he was here. Back in Otherworld.
Everybody started talking at once, but after a moment, I jumped up on the table and, putting my fingers in my mouth, let out a shrill whistle.
“Shut up! It’s not going to do any good if we all talk at once.” In the lull that followed, it occurred to me that my spiked heels might not be the best thing for the marble table, but the queen gave me a soft smile as I leaped down and took my seat again. “You know this for a fact?”
“Thank you, my dear. I’m too weary to whistle and shout on my own. And yes, it’s true. Shadow Wing is behind it. Telazhar, wearing one of the spirit seals, has been spotted in the Southern Wastes. From what our informants say, he’s inciting the sorcerers to align with him. He’s rallying them to war.”
“The Scorching Wars.” I stared at her, barely able to comprehend what this meant for Otherworld, beyond one hell of a bad party.
“Yes. He seems to be planning to create another series of wars as bad as—or worse than—the Scorching Wars. Only this time, the sorcerers have a Demon Lord at their back. While Shadow Wing can’t gate over here, yet, Telazhar can raze half the world for him and then open up the portals if he can get hold of the spirit seals we have hidden here. I’m afraid that, very quickly, Otherworld will be embroiled in such turmoil to make the recent battle in Y’Elestrial look like chicken scratch.”
We sat, silent, digesting the news. This was far worse than what any of us had been imagining.
Camille shifted. “Will the sorcerers follow him? Do we know the extent of his influence?”
Queen Asteria moved back and Trenyth took over. He pointed to the city of Rhellah, the last city before a long stretch of desert in the Southern Wastes, where rogue magic played free and easy on the winds, bonding with the grains of shifting sand.
“We’re readying a trio of spies. They’ll head to the south, first to Rhellah to discover what’s actually going on. From there, they will infiltrate the desert communities. The cities farther south—down in the heart of the Southern Wastes—are dangerous and wild and filled with slavers and sorcerers. We don’t dare just barge in. Our spies must proceed carefully. They can acclimate to the weather in Rhellah while planning out the next step.”
“How long have you known about this?” If this had been going on for a while, then we had wasted valuable time.
Trenyth looked straight at me. “Lady Menolly, we first learned about this development four days ago. We dispatched a runner to check out the rumors at their source—over in Dahnsburg. The rumors are true. And our runner was caught. He managed to escape and made it home. Missing an arm, his tongue, and one eye.”
I shut my mouth, suddenly pissed at myself for questioning him. Although we couldn’t accept things blindly and we had to question, I also needed to remember, the elves were on our side. We were all in this together. Queen Asteria wouldn’t have stirred this in her cup for weeks before summoning us. No, if anyone was to blame for anything, this was our fault. We’d let Telazhar—and another spirit seal—slip through our grasp.
Delilah must have picked up on what I was thinking, because she leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. “We’re to blame. We didn’t take him out when we had the chance at the Energy Exchange. We failed.”
“Bullshit. We were overwhelmed and, if you’ll remember, Gulakah, the Lord of Ghosts, just happened to be there. Along with Newkirk and all of their cronies.” Vanzir slammed his chair back against the wall and rested one ankle across the other knee. He pounded the table with his fist. “We did what we could. Nobody’s to blame except Shadow Wing and his fucking delusions. He’s fucking insane.”
“Vanzir is right.” Camille cleared her throat. “We simply didn’t have the manpower to take them all on. And we aren’t going to do anyone any good by moaning over what we did—or didn’t—manage to accomplish. We have to focus on now. On what’s going on this instant.”
“Well said, my wife.” Trillian slid his arm around her waist and kissed her brow. They made a striking couple, and when her other two husbands were in the picture, a formidable quartet.
“Then, the question becomes, what do we do next?” Rozurial said, playing with the belt on his duster. He had an armory stashed in his coat and was forever delighting in finding new toys to replace ones he grew tired of. He made Neo from The Matrix look like an amateur.
Queen Asteria crossed to the throne. “That’s where our spies come in. I want you to meet them, because you will be working together from now on. You must exchange every scrap of information that you have about Telazhar. They will remain in contact with you while on their mission.”
As she settled into the chair, the queen arranged her skirts and let out a sigh that I heard halfway across the room.
“You’re tired, aren’t you?” I didn’t mean to speak aloud, but my words cut through the room and I cringed, realizing what I’d done.
Asteria merely crossed her hands in front of her. “Yes, young vampire. I am weary. But that does not negate my power, nor my determination. It merely means that I wear my crown a little heavier now, and lean on my staff a little harder.” She motioned to the serving woman for a glass of wine. “War is thirsty work.”
“Have you any allies here? Besides us?” Trillian let go of Camille to take a closer look at the map. “Have you talked to King Vodox?”
“As asked, so answered. As I prepare my armies for war, so do my allies. King Uppala-Dahns of the Dahns unicorns and Tanaquar have pledged to arm their soldiers in my service. I have sent messages to King Vodox, and to the kingdom of Nebulvuori. We wait for their response. And…another ally has pledged her service. Derisa, the High Priestess from the Grove of the Moon Mother.”
Camille nodded. “Truth. My order would be obligated to join you. The sorcerers and the sun god are our nemeses. I wonder…will Telazhar approach the temple of Chimaras? The sun brothers are still looking to start it up with the Moon Mother’s Grove, from what Shamas tells us.”
Queen Asteria brushed the gnarled arms of her throne. “Shamas? What does he know of this?”
We had protected our cousin’s secret since he told us the truth a few weeks ago, but now, any information he had might come in handy. “Shamas was studying with a sorcerer in the Southern Wastes. A Tregart named Feris, who was bent on waging war on the Moon Mother’s Grove. Shamas spilled the beans on him at risk of his own life.”
“Tregarts? The Tregarts were over here a year ago? Why did no one inform me of this?” Queen Asteria leaned back against her throne and cast a long look to Trenyth. I had a feeling there was a discussion going on to which we were not privy.
Trenyth sprang into action. “We have no time to spare. We must send our spies out in the morning via the portals. They can travel as far as Ceredream and from there, walk afoot to Rhellah.” He moved to the side door and opened it.>At that moment the carriage shifted and Camille peered out into the evening street. “We’re nearing the palace.” She smoothed her skirts and pulled out a compact, peeking into the mirror to make sure her makeup was set.
