LITMIR.BIZ

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looked more than a little offended, but she did rise up from her golden throne and step down off the pedestal to lead the way out of her ornate throne-room.

      ‘What’s got you so stirred up today, big brother?’ Aracia asked as we proceeded down a long, deserted hallway.

      ‘Let’s hold off until we get to some private place,’ I suggested. ‘There’s trouble in the wind, and I don’t think we should alarm the people of your Domain just yet.’

      Aracia led the way into a rather plain room and closed the door behind us. We sat down in large wooden chairs on opposite sides of an ornately carved table.

      ‘Are you sure that none of your people can hear us here?’

      ‘Of course they can’t, Dahlaine,’ she replied. ‘This room’s one of those “special” places. Nobody’ll be able to hear us, because the room isn’t really here.’

      ‘How did you manage that?’

      She shrugged. ‘A slight adjustment of time is all it takes. This room is two days older than the rest of the temple, so we’re talking to each other two days ago.’

      ‘Clever,’ I said admiringly.

      ‘I’m glad you like it. What’s happening that’s got you so stirred up, Dahlaine?’

      ‘Ashad had one of those dreams last night, dear sister. Evidently the Vlagh didn’t learn too much in Zelana’s Domain, so it’s sending its servants South toward Veltan’s Domain – or it will before much longer. Ashad’s dream was a bit more complicated than Yaltar’s was when he saw the invasion of Zelana’s Domain though, and some things were cropping up that I didn’t quite understand. He told me about two separate – and evidently unrelated – invasions and a very complex war near the Falls of Vash. That’s another thing that kept cropping up as well. Ashad referred to Yaltar by his real name – in much the same way that Yaltar kept referring to Eleria as “Balacenia”. I almost choked the first time Ashad said “Vash” when he spoke of Yaltar.’

      ‘I told you that bringing in our alternates was a mistake, Dahlaine. If our Dreamers wake up and come to their senses, the whole world might collapse in on itself.’

      ‘They do seem to be stepping around some of the barriers I put in place, Aracia,’ I admitted, ‘but it’s too late to do anything about it now. The Vlagh’s evidently going to keep trying to overrun us, and we don’t have time to raise a new group of Dreamers. Has Lillabeth had any of those dreams yet?’

      ‘Not that she’s told me about,’ Aracia replied. ‘I’ve been a bit busy here lately, though.’

      ‘Does being worshiped and adored really take that much time, Aracia?’

      ‘No, but running back and forth to the Isle of Akalla to negotiate with Trenicia does. She’s not really interested in gold, so I’ve had to find something else to get her interest.’

      ‘Who’s Trenicia?’ I asked curiously.

      ‘She’s the queen of the warrior women of Akalla.’

      ‘Do women really make very good warriors?’

      ‘If they’re big enough, they do. Trenicia’s almost as big as Sorgan Hook-Beak, and she’s probably more skilled with a sword than he’ll ever be.’

      ‘Impressive,’ I conceded, ‘but if she doesn’t want gold, how are you paying her?’

      ‘With diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires,’ Aracia replied. ‘They’re warriors, but they’re still women, so they love adornment. For a good diamond necklace, a woman from Akalla will kill anybody – or anything – that gets in her way.’

      ‘If the women rule the Isle of Akalla, what are the men doing?’

      ‘They’re something on the order of house pets, Dahlaine. If I understood what Trenicia told me correctly, the men of the Isle of Akalla have raised indolence to an art form. On Akalla, everything is women’s work.’

      ‘Even war?’ That startled me.

      ‘Especially war. The men of Akalla are lazy and timid and generally useless – except as breeding stock.’

      I chose not to pursue that particular comment. ‘It just occurs to me that maybe you and I might want to consider taking Queen Trenicia and the horse soldier Ekial with us to the war in Veltan’s Domain,’ I said. ‘They’ll probably be fighting the servants of the Vlagh before much longer, it wouldn’t hurt for them to see what they’ll be coming up against.’

      ‘You might be right, Dahlaine,’ Aracia agreed. ‘As I recall, the Maags and Trogites weren’t too happy when Zelana finally got around to telling them about some of the peculiarities of the enemy. Maybe you and I should try honesty rather than deception.’

      ‘What an unnatural thing to suggest, Aracia,’ I joked. ‘I’m shocked at you. Shocked!’

      ‘Oh, quit!’ she said.

      And then we both laughed.

      My thunderbolt took me across the lower edge of the Wasteland, and I peered down at the sand and rocks rather closely on the off-chance that I might see the servants of the Vlagh moving toward our young brother’s Domain, but as far as I could tell, the desert below was void of any kind of life.

      The twin volcanos at the head of the ravine above Lattash were still belching fire as I rode my thunderbolt into Zelana’s Domain, and I was quite certain the eruption would continue for years. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that perhaps I should have put some limitations on the capabilities of the Dreamers. They were children, after all, and children sometimes get carried away and overly enthusiastic. The only problem I saw with that notion was how. Despite their immaturity, the Dreamers had virtually unlimited power over the forces of nature, and I ruefully conceded that they could quite probably step over any barrier I might have tried to put in their way. My original idea had seemed to be a perfect solution to a serious problem, but perhaps I should have given it just a bit more thought.

      I cast out a searching thought and sensed Zelana’s presence about halfway down the north side of the bay, and I directed my thunderbolt to that spot.

      Zelana was talking with Red-Beard and Longbow in what appeared to be a village in the final stages of construction some distance down the bay from Lattash. The rounded hills behind that new village had gentler slopes than the steep peaks somewhat to the east of Lattash, there was a patch of woods just to the north of the new village, and a meadow that stretched for miles beyond those woods.

      ‘Do you have to do that, Dahlaine?’ Zelana demanded peevishly when I suddenly joined them. ‘Isn’t there some way you can muffle that awful noise?’

      ‘I don’t think so, Zelana. Lightning is the fastest way to travel, but you have to put up with the noise. Ashad’s been dreaming, and it seems that our speculation came pretty close to the mark. Ashad’s dream confirmed the fact that the creatures of the Wasteland will attack Veltan’s Domain next.’

      ‘Did your boy’s dream give you any specifics about just where we’ll encounter the servants of the Vlagh?’ the archer Longbow asked.

      ‘Somewhere in the vicinity of the Falls of Vash,’ I replied. I looked curiously at Zelana. ‘I gather that you’ve changed your mind and decided to help the rest of us defend our Domains,’ I suggested.

      ‘The Land of Dhrall is all one piece, brother mine. If the Vlagh wins any part of it, we’ll all be in danger.’

      I hesitated. ‘Are you feeling better now, dear sister?’ I asked. ‘We were all very worried when you suddenly decided to go home to your grotto.’

      ‘No, Dahlaine,’ she replied tartly, ‘I’m not feeling better, but Eleria bullied me into coming back out into the world of chaos.’

      ‘Bullied?

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