who hangs behind all of this like a colossal succubus.'
Again and again the Reach Rider was hurling its substanceless substance against the green mesh. It was tireless, barely pausing. Features of a kind formed and were torn apart almost before they were seen. Limbs sprouted and withered; claws grasped and shook the mesh, then melted away; visceral organs evolved, blistered, were blasted apart by some internal force, re-merged into distorted, short-lived demonic faces; a baleful sepia eye glared for an instant at the little party gathered before it, then liquefied. Then the thing was convulsed in another sudden attack upon the mesh, its rage all but palpable. And all of this in total, eerie silence.
Despite himself Leth took an involuntary step back as the mesh bellied dangerously into the chamber.
'Is it Strymnia who is our true enemy?' he asked. 'Strymnia who directs the Karai against Enchantment's Reach; Strymnia who we must defeat? Are we certain of this?'
'We are certain. But you will not destroy her, Leth,' Orbelon cautioned. 'Put such thoughts from your head. I have told you before, as far as you are concerned she is indestructible. Nor do we of Enchantment truly desire the destruction of one of our own, no matter that she pits herself against us. You know the reason for that.'
'Still, she may be overcome.'
'Outwitted, perhaps. Even dissuaded from pursuing her present course.'
'Dissuaded?'
'Were she to understand that we who stand against her are once again as strong as she.'
'But you are not.'
Again, two Souls! Lost, hidden, who knew where? Leth gritted his teeth. To have come so far, through so much, and still be no closer to locating the Soul of the Orb - and now to learn that a second Soul must also be found.
Orbelon shifted. 'No. But perhaps . . .'
He let the thought trail off, but Leth turned on him enquiringly. 'Orbelon?'
'We must talk, Leth.' Orbelon twisted his ragged bulk towards Triune. As one the three children nodded. The air seemed to shift. Leth found his vision blurred. He felt a momentary loss of orientation, then he was with Orbelon in another chamber. Startled, he glanced quickly around him, seeking his bearings. The chamber was near featureless and devoid of furnishings of any kind. A single smooth stone wall encircled the two of them. For an instant Leth was reminded of the vast, towering, distant wall of the Orb that had enclosed the empty blue domain inside the casket, where he had first met with Orbelon and subsequently wandered alone with Galry and Jace. But that wall had moved as he had moved, remaining the same distance from him, no matter how far he travelled. This one, so he judged, was fixed and stable.
'You have been within me, Leth,' Orbelon said. 'And our roles have now become in some part reversed. I have been your teacher and have given you what I knew of your world and mine. Now you have been where I have not. You possess Mystery, Leth. Tell me of my world, then. Tell me of the Orb.'
Leth took a breath. 'I will say in the first instance that it is - it was - a troubled land, bleak and unhappy, a nightmare world in which children may not even hope or dream.' He recoiled from the memory. 'It is populated by desperate, fearful folk who enact rituals shocking and extreme in the belief that their Creator may come and deliver them from their suffering. It is a strange and in many ways a quite terrible place, Orbelon.'
'And I am their Creator.' Orbelon said heavily. He was settling himself cross-legged upon the floor. He motioned for Leth to do the same, and laid his staff across his thighs. 'Do they know it?'
'They believe,' replied Leth. 'Many things. And they know they are created. But of the true nature or identity of their Creator, they are ignorant.'
'It is not so unlike this world, then.'
Leth made no comment.
'Tell me everything, Leth. You must omit nothing. It is
Again and again the Reach Rider was hurling its substanceless substance against the green mesh. It was tireless, barely pausing. Features of a kind formed and were torn apart almost before they were seen. Limbs sprouted and withered; claws grasped and shook the mesh, then melted away; visceral organs evolved, blistered, were blasted apart by some internal force, re-merged into distorted, short-lived demonic faces; a baleful sepia eye glared for an instant at the little party gathered before it, then liquefied. Then the thing was convulsed in another sudden attack upon the mesh, its rage all but palpable. And all of this in total, eerie silence.
Despite himself Leth took an involuntary step back as the mesh bellied dangerously into the chamber.
'Is it Strymnia who is our true enemy?' he asked. 'Strymnia who directs the Karai against Enchantment's Reach; Strymnia who we must defeat? Are we certain of this?'
'We are certain. But you will not destroy her, Leth,' Orbelon cautioned. 'Put such thoughts from your head. I have told you before, as far as you are concerned she is indestructible. Nor do we of Enchantment truly desire the destruction of one of our own, no matter that she pits herself against us. You know the reason for that.'
'Still, she may be overcome.'
'Outwitted, perhaps. Even dissuaded from pursuing her present course.'
'Dissuaded?'
'Were she to understand that we who stand against her are once again as strong as she.'
'But you are not.'
Again, two Souls! Lost, hidden, who knew where? Leth gritted his teeth. To have come so far, through so much, and still be no closer to locating the Soul of the Orb - and now to learn that a second Soul must also be found.
Orbelon shifted. 'No. But perhaps . . .'
He let the thought trail off, but Leth turned on him enquiringly. 'Orbelon?'
'We must talk, Leth.' Orbelon twisted his ragged bulk towards Triune. As one the three children nodded. The air seemed to shift. Leth found his vision blurred. He felt a momentary loss of orientation, then he was with Orbelon in another chamber. Startled, he glanced quickly around him, seeking his bearings. The chamber was near featureless and devoid of furnishings of any kind. A single smooth stone wall encircled the two of them. For an instant Leth was reminded of the vast, towering, distant wall of the Orb that had enclosed the empty blue domain inside the casket, where he had first met with Orbelon and subsequently wandered alone with Galry and Jace. But that wall had moved as he had moved, remaining the same distance from him, no matter how far he travelled. This one, so he judged, was fixed and stable.
'You have been within me, Leth,' Orbelon said. 'And our roles have now become in some part reversed. I have been your teacher and have given you what I knew of your world and mine. Now you have been where I have not. You possess Mystery, Leth. Tell me of my world, then. Tell me of the Orb.'
Leth took a breath. 'I will say in the first instance that it is - it was - a troubled land, bleak and unhappy, a nightmare world in which children may not even hope or dream.' He recoiled from the memory. 'It is populated by desperate, fearful folk who enact rituals shocking and extreme in the belief that their Creator may come and deliver them from their suffering. It is a strange and in many ways a quite terrible place, Orbelon.'
'And I am their Creator.' Orbelon said heavily. He was settling himself cross-legged upon the floor. He motioned for Leth to do the same, and laid his staff across his thighs. 'Do they know it?'
'They believe,' replied Leth. 'Many things. And they know they are created. But of the true nature or identity of their Creator, they are ignorant.'
'It is not so unlike this world, then.'
Leth made no comment.
'Tell me everything, Leth. You must omit nothing. It is
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