Michael Foster - She Who Has No Name

‘But that seems foolish,’ Eric put in. ‘If everyone wanted them together so much, why wouldn’t they just put the two of them in a comfortable room together and lock the door? Why go to so much trouble.’

‘Alahativa wanted him,’ Cang went on, ‘and she had already forged the deal with Chancellor Donovan and the other conspirators of the palace. They had no idea that the Koians were arriving. They had to send you, for that was part of the pact to be rid of the Empress, but Anthem then had to send the Koian woman along with you once those ideas had started running through his mind. He could not force you together, and so he merely hoped that something would happen along the way; magicians are certainly not renowned for their romantic genius. As it turned out, you made it all the way into Alahativa’s clutches without performing as desired, so Anthem was forced to make his agreement with the Paatin Queen: Cintarin exchangefor a child. The Koians were only too keen to assist with everything for,as you know, Canyon was pulling the strings. He was wellpractised at using the girl for his own schemes, and the promise of riches and power soon helped decide his mind. Putting the two of them together certainly did not clash with his Circle commands.’

‘But there was something else,’ said Samuel. ‘Alahativa began to remember things. It seems she had past lives. She claimed that she and the Emperor were born in the time of the Ancients.’

‘What she said is true. And that is why I am even more impressed that you managed to destroy her, for now, as their king returns, the Ancient Ones are growing in strength. They cannot ever truly be killed,and they can be formidable opponents at their full potency. No doubt,even now she will be in another body somewhere in Amandia, working to overpower her host.’

‘So what was she talking about?’ Samuel asked. ‘Why was this curse put upon them? She was furious, but the Emperor didn’t seem to care about their king or such things.’

‘I suppose even immortality could become tiresome eventually, imprisoned as they are, repeating their lives for all time. They lived in the time of Lin and were a part of his accursed rise to power. They raised him to the status of a god and they caused havoc until, for some reason we cannot understand, he left this world. They thought they would be wellrewarded for their service, but Lin left them behind, as powerless as mortals. When the Demon King is about to return, the Ancients return to their true selves, to act as his servants. The rest of the time, they are ignorant of their true origins.’

‘The Emperor is an Ancient, too?’ Eric asked.

‘Yes,’ Samuel said. ‘But he turned his back on the others. He said he refuses to serve the Demon King any further.’

‘Ah, interesting,’ said Cang. ‘It astounds me that he made such a decision. Still, it will not last long. As Lin approaches, his hold on his servants will grow stronger. The Emperor will have no choice but to bend to his master’s will eventually.’

Eric looked deep in thought. ‘Then,if the Emperor was already immortal, Master Celios was not responsible for saving him at all.’

‘Correct you are, Master Pot, but good Master Celios here did ensure the Emperor’s spirit went into the vessel of our choosing.’ Hearing his voice, Celios seemed startled, but he had obviously not been following the conversation. After barely a moment, his attention drifted away and he was again staring off into space. ‘Otherwise, it could have gone anywhere, into any random host across the world and we would have lost track of him. I wanted him here, to die along with his master.’

‘So why did you let him go?’

‘He cannot run far enough in one night to escape what will come.’

Samuel became angered by the admission. ‘So it is you who has engineered this entire scheme. Why would you do this to us? What were you hoping to achieve? The relics were false and had no part in the return of the Demon King-the Emperor told me that. Everything we’ve done has been for naught. So what did you have to gain by sending us to Hol? Why put us through all this?’

Cang slowly drew back his lips. ‘My goal has never been to stop the return of Lin, young Samuel, but to ensure it. You and your party were sent to Hol for a few simple reasons, all of which were achieved. We now have everything we need to killtheKing ofDemons.’

Samuel looked around the vastandempty chamber. There was nothing to which the old devil could have been referring. ‘Where are they? What are these things?’

‘Time was the most important. We needed to ensure he arrived at the time of our choosing…or at least thereabouts. That is why we did not come blazing to your rescue during these past nine months that you were imprisoned, for it was better for everyone that you just stayed put. The other thing we needed to prepare was the method of his destruction. It is no simple matter to destroy a god. It takes more power than all the relics and magicians on earth. Indeed, no power on earth can destroy Lin, but we now have the tool of his destruction at the ready. I have been summoning it to us for the last seventy years. It is above us now, seemingly still but,in reality,it is speeding towards us at an incredible rate and it will strike with the vengeance of all the untold souls that Lin has stolen over the Ages. This will be the weapon of his ending.’

‘The Star of Osirah?’ Samuel asked.

‘That is what the Paatin call it, but I have no interest in naming such a thing. It is only what it can achieve that concerns me. I am no trivial magician, Samuel, as I am sure you have come to learn. I have powers beyond almost every other magician in this world, and still I am not foolish enough to think I can face Lin directly. I have put all my energies into finding and directing this heavenly body, a frozen block of stone the size of a mountain. Inch by inch, I have nudged it towards us, pushing it from its natural course and ensuring it will strike exactly as required. In less than an hour, it will be here. A humble stone to kill a demon. I think it is fitting-like the fables of old.’

‘You will pull a star down upon us?’ Eric said. ‘This is madness. Surely it will kill us all.’

‘Not allof us, but most of us, yes. In truth,it is not a star, but such details matter little. I have scried the heavens all my life and the inner bodies offer little mystery to me. Occasionally, such wanderers come skimming past our world, but this one proved special. It seemed to beinjust the right place at just the right time, almost as if it weresent to me for this very purpose. All I needed was time to get the players into their position. That has now been achieved. When it strikes, half the world will be destroyed,engulfed in hellfire and destruction-even Lin cannot survive this. His first few breaths upon our world will be his last!’

‘You are mad!’ Eric said. ‘You will kill everyone!’

‘So would Lin, but this way the demon is destroyed also and he will never return to blight us. Man will survive and claw his way back, as he does after every new Age, but this time, once we recover from the ashes, we will be free forever more.’

‘I won’t allow it,’ Samuel declared, but Cang only scoffed.

‘You have no choice, boy. Look up! Starfall is here. Not even I could prevent it now. This mountain of rock will strike us with such tenacity that the sun will turn black for decades to come. Lin’s fate is sealed. We have won.’

‘But what about us?’ Eric asked, fearful.

‘That is where you come in, my dear boy. Do you think we brought you here for your good looks? Your role is to save us. I am not so valiant as to be a martyr for the sake of a humanity I now no longer understand. I had to remain here to oversee my plan, but now,all the pieces are in place, it is time for us to depart.’