Now, once she touched the scattered, ancient spell and followed the memories buried in her past, Victoria could see the words unfurling in her mind. The arcane language, the unfamiliar phrasings, couplets with pronunciations that seemed to defy the letters with which they were written. Victoria remembered the fecundity spell, repeated from generation to generation, passed from memmer to memmer. The thoughts were faint and wispy, frayed from disuse, but she possessed the knowledge. She could use it.
Satisfied, Victoria reentered the main library fortress and hurried to her quarters. Though she had committed everything to memory, she lit her lamp and bent over the low writing desk. On a scrap of paper she began to write, preserving the words she had brought to the forefront of her mind, rolling them over in her mouth, making sure each detail was correct. She spoke the sounds carefully aloud to be sure she got every nuance correct. After she wrote down the fecundity spell, she read it and read it again until she was sure she was right.
Victoria braced herself. She knew what she had to do, and she understood the instructions perfectly.
The land had already been bled dry. What did a little more blood matter?
CHAPTER 56
“Cliffwall served its purpose, exactly as the ancient wizards intended,” Simon told Nicci and Nathan, still looking very pleased with himself. After the defeat of the Lifedrinker he seemed more relaxed and focused in his role, back to what he believed his true work should be, though he still looked too young to be the senior scholar-archivist. “Now, at last, our scholars can continue their cataloging and their pure research. There is so much to learn.”
The teams of dedicated researchers returned to their everyday work of listing the countless tomes, reshelving volumes by subject, and noting the type of knowledge contained in various disorganized sections. Obviously, decades of work still remained.
Simon looked around with giddy wonder as he tried to encompass the thousands of books shelved haphazardly in the vast library rooms. “The project seems overwhelming, yet for some reason, I feel energized now, more hopeful than I’ve been in twenty years.”
“And well you should feel that way, truth be told,” Nathan said. “Simply rediscovering the potential wonders in this library will be an adventure in itself, however. Besides, as you know, all the rules just changed with the star shift. We don’t yet understand how much of this information is still accurate, or if everything needs to be relearned, retested, rediscovered.”
Simon seemed content. “We are ready, whatever the answer. If your Lord Rahl intends to create a new golden age, then all of this magic can serve humanity.”
*
Bannon basked in the attention, although one person could handle only so much feasting and dancing. He took a moment to marvel at all that had happened to him in the past month. Despite the horrific ordeals he had endured, the young man realized he now had the life he always wanted.
While battling the selka or the dust people, even facing the Lifedrinker himself, he had been sure he would die. But afterward, the colors of those memories shone bright and vibrant—and they were stories that he could tell until he was a gray-bearded old man, preferably with a wife, many children, and many more grandchildren. In fact, he already wished he could relive some of those adventures.
And love! Here at Cliffwall he had discovered the joys of three beautiful women who adored him and schooled him in the ways of physical pleasure. Though at first Bannon had been embarrassed and awkward, he was an eager student, and now his nights were filled with warm skin and sensuous caresses, whispered laughter and shining eyes. How could he choose a favorite among them? Fortunately, Audrey, Laurel, and Sage were happy to share.
For so many years, he had been trapped in a nightmare, and now he lived a dream that he could never have imagined.
After the late celebrations, Bannon wandered through the Cliffwall complex, searching for the three young women. They had rewarded him most enthusiastically after his triumphant return, but now Victoria had gathered all of her memmers, giving them some very important task that took all of their attention and energy. The lovely young women had expressed their sadness that they couldn’t tend to Bannon, claiming other urgent priorities. He hadn’t seen them in two days.
Missing Audrey, Laurel, and Sage, Bannon searched the library rooms, the dining hall, and the acolytes’ quarters, casually looking for them. He found one of the other memmers, a middle-aged man named Franklin with large, owlish eyes and a square chin. “Victoria took them outside, somewhere in the Scar,” Franklin explained. “I think she found the answer they were looking for, something to help the valley return to life.”
Bannon gave a solemn nod, not wanting to seem desperate. “It must be important work, then. I’ll leave them to it.” He went off to his own quarters, hoping they would come back soon.
*
Thistle was still content to sleep curled on the sheepskin on the floor in Nicci’s chamber. “I was worried about you out there,” she said. “I didn’t want to lose you. I already lost everyone else.”
Nicci’s brow furrowed. “I promised I’d come back. You should have believed me.” While the seamstresses repaired her black travel dress, yet again, she had changed into a comfortable linen gown.
“I did believe you,” the girl said, her eyes bright. “I knew you would kill the Lifedrinker. And now I’m ready to go see the rest of the world with you. Will we leave soon?”
Nicci considered the long journey ahead, the unknown lands and the many possible hazards. “You have been through a lot already, and our journey will be full of hardships. Are you sure you want to go?”
On the sheepskin, Thistle sat up in alarm, drawing her scuffed knees to her chest. “Yes! I can hunt, I can help you find the trail, and you know I can fight.”
“Someday, people will rebuild Verdun Springs,” Nicci said. “Don’t you want to go back there? It’s your home.”
“It’s not my home. I lost my home a long time ago. I won’t live long enough to see the valley green and lush again, so I want to see what other places are like. You’re my new home now.” She scratched her mop of hair. “When you leave, I’m going with you again.”
Amused by her determination, Nicci readied herself for bed and lay back on her own blanket. “Then I don’t think I could stop you.” She pulled the blanket over herself, released a hint of magic to snuff out the lamp, and went to sleep.
CHAPTER 57
After the draining, skeletal touch of the Lifedrinker, Nicci slept deeply, plunging into odd dreams.
Though asleep, she ranged far … and she wasn’t herself. Her mind and her life rode in another body, traveling along on powerful, padded paws. Her muscles thrummed like braided wires as she raced through the night, her long tail lashing behind her, pointed ears cocked and alert for the faintest sounds of prey. The slitted pupils of her gold-green eyes drank in the starlight.
She was Mrra. They were bonded on a deep inner level. Panther sisters. Their blood had intermingled. Nicci had not sought this strange contact in her dreams, but neither did she fear it. She prowled the night, part sorceress, part sand panther. And more.