“Almost certainly,” the Arkon replied before Bellusdeo could. “But regrettably, more sense and enough sense are not the same. I am concerned,” he added. “I have been told that the Keeper is also concerned. And anything that concerns the Keeper...” He walked into the room. It housed not a desk, but a table, much like a dining room table. The centerpiece of that table was a stone pyramid. The Arkon took a seat at the head of the table.
Teela’s eyes had not gotten any greener, but she took the chair beside Bellusdeo. Severn took the chair to the Arkon’s immediate left, and Kaylin sat beside him; Mandoran and Annarion sat beside her.
Kaylin turned to Bellusdeo. “Did you mention Kattea?”
“And Gilbert, yes,” the Arkon again replied on her behalf. “Understand that Bellusdeo has lost more to Shadow than you have ever owned. Her fears are rational; they are based in experience. Her knowledge is invaluable.
“You came to ask me about the bodies?”
She’d come because he’d pretty much demanded her presence, but she was politic enough not to say this out loud. “I came to ask about the bodies, but also ancient ruins and their entry points.”
“Records,” the Arkon said.
Light spread from the apex of the small pyramid, rising in a familiar, oval shape. It was a mirror, of a sort, but it had no back, no silvered front. Anyone seated at the table could see the images it produced. “Records: location.”
The image that everyone could clearly see was a familiar display of Elantran streets. It saw regular use in the Halls of Law. The Arkon then said a word that was not Elantran, but not—given the volume—draconian, either.
It caused all Barrani eyes in the room to widen.
“Personal Records: historical map, variant 22B. Overlay current map location.”
The lines of the current map faded until they could only barely be seen. Other lines, however, joined them. The Arkon snorted smoke. “Historical map variant 2A.” As the historical map faded and reappeared, the Arkon’s eyes narrowed. “Historical event map, by location. Significant nexus disturbances.”
This time, the map lit up areas that Kaylin recognized. One was a big, glowing blue blotch over what would otherwise be Elani Street. She started to pay attention then. She could guess what that event was; she’d witnessed it.
She hadn’t witnessed any of the others, but there were others. The map didn’t give event dates, just locations. Without thinking, she said, “Records, enlarge map.” Nothing, of course, happened.
Bellusdeo then repeated Kaylin’s command, and this time—naturally—the map grew. So did the oval that contained it. At the heart of the city, bounded by rivers and walls, lay the fiefs. No streets could be seen; there was a blur of glowing gray, gray and more gray, that grew darker as it reached the center of the fiefs themselves.
“Ravellon.”
“It should come as no surprise to you that disturbances of any significance once occurred there. Look at the Winding Path.” As he spoke, the map once again moved; Ravellon fell off the edge of the image.
Gray covered the whole of the midsection of the long Winding Path. At its center was the house in which the bodies had been discovered.
Chapter 12
“Gray is bad, right?” Mandoran asked. When Teela glared at the side of his face, he laughed. “I’m joking, Teela. Joking. You remember what jokes are, right?”
“Gray,” the Arkon said, in a voice so dry it should have caught fire, and might well yet, “is, as you put it, bad.”
“I’m wondering why the Hawks don’t have a similar map,” Teela added.
“You have a good working knowledge of current events; you could place those events and re-create a large portion of the relevant, modern map.” The implied if you weren’t so lazy and shortsighted hung in the air without the actual need to be said. “The reason the gray is so dark in Elani is because—”
“That’s where the Keeper is,” Kaylin finished.
“Indeed. We do not distrust the Keeper, precisely. But his abode is in the heart of the Emperor’s hoard.”
“How long ago was the previous difficulty on the Winding Path?” Teela asked, as Kaylin simultaneously demanded to know what, exactly, the difficulty was.
“Centuries ago,” the Arkon replied, answering Teela’s question. Kaylin’s he left hanging, like bad laundry. “I believe you have had access to the archives of the Arcanum.”
“I do not have access to those archives at present.”
“No, of course not. You’re a Hawk.” He stared at her.
“I’ll ask,” Teela grudgingly offered. “But I’ll be expected to offer some information in return.”
“We have no information at present, and Arcanists are famously difficult when they decide to investigate on their own. Perhaps it is wise to contain that request for the time being.”
Teela nodded.
“You entered the subbasement. Did you note anything of significance aside from the magical detritus on the walls?”
“No. The Halls would welcome your investigation, should you decide to visit the site in person.” This was exaggeration, if not an outright lie.
“Given my last excursion, I do not plan to leave my library for at least a decade.”
“Not even for dinner?” Bellusdeo asked.