Rielle nearly lost concentration out of surprise. She wanted to pursue the Raen’s memories on this subject, but Dahli continued following those dealing with the Raen’s plan.
“This is too slow,” she said, quelling her frustration. “We can’t watch every memory he’s had, or it will take a thousand cycles to do this. There must be a way to speed it up. Can you read them as if they are a pattern?”
Dahli said nothing, but in response he began to experiment. Sure enough, if he did not try to comprehend what he was seeing, or follow a thread of memories, the process was faster. Rielle continued to imprint the pattern into magic, empathising with his frustration at not being able to discover more about the man he had served and loved for so long.
But I can, she realised. Enhancing her mind, she was able to channel the pattern Dahli sent without concentrating on it. That left her free to explore the memories collecting within the magic around her.
She sought the memory she had last seen. Equal in strength? His memories confirmed it, and told her that he had been a little afraid of her. There had been moments when he had not been able to read her mind, and though he did not believe in prophecies, the influence of Millennium’s Rule on the worlds frightened him enough that he had ordered Dahli to watch for signs she might turn against him.
Well, that explains why Dahli was so jittery.
Not teaching her how to travel between worlds had been a small precaution against that possibility. As was not teaching her how to fight. If she did become a threat, she knew so little of magical combat Dahli ought to be able to kill her.
Just as well I never got around to asking Dahli for battle training, she mused. It would have only made him even more paranoid.
Valhan had thought it likely something would bring her into conflict with him one day. It would be easier to kill her, if she became a threat, sooner rather than later. But interacting with a sorcerer nearly as powerful was an interesting prospect, especially if she grew as loyal and useful as Dahli.
So either I serve him or die? Rielle felt a flicker of outrage. But she could see he had survived this long by considering all possible threats, and making plans in case they came to be. I suppose he’d be justified in defending himself if I did turn on him.
He had considered how he could gain her loyalty. Nurturing her tendency to see him as a deity did not appeal, and while he believed he could make her fall in love with him, that would bring her into conflict with Dahli.
Though if he ever wanted to get rid of Dahli…
She turned her mind away. The pattern of memories was coming faster as Dahli grew more proficient at reading them. I won’t have too long to explore Valhan’s mind. So what do I want to know next?
If she was the only person who could resurrect him, then how long ago had he come up with the plan? Plunging into his memories, she looked around, hoping to find a starting point that would lead to an answer. Some time between leaving her world and bringing her to his palace…
She glimpsed herself walking with the people of his world. Except… stopping, she examined them more closely and her stomach sank.
They aren’t his people! He took me to see people that resembled him, and who I would identify with and trust. People who lived in a desert but were nomadic traders, like the Travellers.
So what of his true home world? Did he even remember…?
Oh.
His home world was where had learned how to rule–and how not to. It was where he–too young to know how to handle power of both the magical and political kind–had made a great many mistakes. It was so long ago that the regret he had once felt had faded, but the echo of it was still there.
I see why he lied. I’d not want anyone to see my mistakes.
Exploring further, she stopped when she saw an old memory of Inekera in his mind and was able to link back to more recent encounters.
He thought she had killed me, she discovered. Wait… he ordered Inekera to kill me! After the woman had tested Rielle’s strength she had chased after him and offered to dispose of the new sorceress, knowing that he always killed powerful sorcerers before they could gain the skill and courage to become a threat. He had agreed, and felt only mildly disappointed at the necessity. But it had turned out he didn’t need a Maker after all. His world was still intact.
But then he learned from another new and powerful sorcerer of a method to preserve all his knowledge and memories. It had given him an idea. A daring idea that would deal with both his allies and the inevitable rebellion that would rise after his long absence. An idea that required someone very powerful, who he could be sure would perform the task. The one with the sentient book was of more use as a spy. He’d regretted ordering her death. When he learned that the Travellers had adopted a powerful Maker he had investigated, and discovered that Rielle had survived.