Page 44 of Siege of Stone (Sister of Darkness: The Nicci Chronicles 3)

Thora remained silent, and her stiff skin helped to mask her angry expression. She used words she knew would cut Lani deeply. “After I defeated you and turned you to stone, Renn was a broken man. He still served on the duma, but he was weak, listless. He would look at your statue and sometimes weep. A pathetic little man, but I kept him because he did as he was told. I could have taken him as my lover anytime. Renn was entirely mine. He barely cared for himself. He gained weight, his clothes were shabby and ill fitting. Even you wouldn’t want him now.”

“I’ll decide that when I see him again.” Lani stepped away from the door, finished with her confrontation. “I don’t think I’ll ever see you again, though. If we leave you here in the cell forever, maybe Ildakar will heal.”

She pushed the heavy door shut and slammed the crossbar into place. Keys rattled in the lock, and Lani extinguished the bright torches even before she left the corridors.

In darkness and silence again, Thora felt helpless, furious. She had given her entire life to creating the legend of Ildakar, and now it was all being stolen from her. She could do nothing about it.

Thora stood in front of the barricaded door. She called up the magic within her, flared the flame so she could study her stone block walls yet again. She knew the protective runes were powerful. She had crafted many of them herself long ago. No spell of hers could ever break them.

Though she knew no one could hear her, Thora let out a loud scream of frustration. The sound echoed throughout the corridors, bouncing back on the stone walls of her cell. Unleashing all the power in her half-petrified body, she swung her fist and pounded the stone blocks that held the door in place. Her skin was hard and could feel no pain, and this time she didn’t care. She could mangle her hand if she wanted, because it would heal.

Fury turned her fist into a battering ram. When she smashed the offending blocks, she felt the thunderous impact and heard a crack. Thora stepped away in surprise, holding up her hand to illuminate the chamber. Her stone fists were barely damaged, but when she looked at the blocks around the door, she saw a fracture in one stone. She had done that?

This wasn’t magic. It was sheer, brute force. Her anger and her hardened body were powerful enough to break stone! She wondered how much damage she could do.

With a growing sense of wonder, she ran her hardened fingers along the crack, noting how her blow had damaged the spell rune. Even if direct magic could not break her free, maybe her body could produce enough force to do it. She looked at her barely damaged knuckles and considered.

This was very interesting indeed, and Thora had all the time in the world.

CHAPTER 32

After Renn settled in at Cliffwall, he would sit for hours with scholars who gathered around him as he held court. Verna listened to the stories, though she doubted some of his descriptions.

Renn waxed poetic about Ildakar, wistfully talking about the things he missed. “The city has fountains on every level, and so many statues! The sculptors of Ildakar are master artisans, shaping solid marble as if it were soft clay.” He heaved a sigh. “And our terraced orchards produce the most delicious little apples you’ve ever tasted, lovely for making apple wine.”

He had trimmed his beard, combed and oiled his brown hair after the hard days of traveling. In the intervening weeks Renn had indulged in Cliffwall’s hospitality, and now his cheeks were round again, the shadows gone from under his eyes. He was relaxed and loquacious.

As Verna listened to him talk, she hoped to learn more about Nicci and Nathan, and how they were promoting Lord Rahl’s expectations for peace, freedom, and prosperity. Beside her, Amber listened intently, as if she were in a class about secure binding webs taught by the Sisters of the Light. When Renn waxed poetic about Ildakar, his most attentive listeners were Oliver and Peretta. The two young scholars had explored enough of the world to know that there was much more to see.

“And how far away is Ildakar? Exactly?” Oliver inquired. “How long would it take us to go there? If we wanted to travel, I mean.”

Renn nibbled on a crumbly biscuit from a plate beside his chair, then brushed crumbs from his restored maroon robes. “Oh, it is very far, a terrible journey. We took weeks of hard marching to find Cliffwall.”

Peretta’s face pinched with concentration. “But you didn’t know where you were going. Surely it wouldn’t be so hard to find the route back? Oliver and I crossed half the Old World in that amount of time.”

“Well, uh,” Renn fumbled, then wiped his mouth, “the landscape is rugged, trackless for the most part. We had great tribulations and difficulties.”

“We had a few of those ourselves,” Oliver admitted. “Still, I’d like to see Ildakar with my own eyes.”

Verna was surprised that the wizard looked downcast, not at all excited by the prospect of going home. “Yes, very understandable. Captain Trevor and I did see some spectacular terrain, but…” He dropped his voice, uncertain. “There’s a chance we will never find Ildakar because it is no longer there. The sovrena and the wizard commander were planning to raise the shroud of eternity again, and if they did, I will be forever outside.” He sounded professorial again. “It isn’t dissimilar to the camouflage shroud that hid this archive for all those centuries.”

Verna spoke up. “Cliffwall’s camouflage shroud is down permanently. In fact, if we could find a way to put it back in place, then the archives would never fall into the wrong hands.” The gathered scholars muttered at her suggestion, but Verna casually brushed her curly gray-brown hair away from her ears. “It may be the only way to keep it entirely safe.”

Amber looked to her in alarm. “But if we did that, none of us could study the archives. There’s so much here to learn, Prelate.” Her face grew flushed.

“I meant only as a last desperate measure to protect the archive.” Verna tried to calm them. “General Zimmer always likes to be prepared.”

In the confined canyon, Zimmer drilled his soldiers every day, keeping them in good fighting shape. Trevor and his Ildakaran guards joined in the efforts. So far, they had heard no rumors of any great army like Jagang’s sweeping across the Old World, but Zimmer would never let down his guard.

Gloria and Franklin walked into the chamber, overhearing the last part of the conversation. Gloria said, “I would object to that strenuously, Prelate. Our knowledge belongs to all people. We can’t seal the archive again.”

Franklin said, “In ancient times we had to protect this lore from Emperor Sulachan, but now it should be available to all gifted students, for the benefit of humanity.”

“And not just to Ildakar.” Gloria narrowed her eyes as she looked at Renn.

The wizard had finished the last biscuit on his plate. “I agree. The knowledge should be shared with all, under certain restrictions. Sovrena Thora might have selfish uses, but there are many gifted among the duma members and the noble classes of Ildakar. I can just imagine how my Lani and I would have adored the opportunity to study here!” He flashed a wistful smile. “Opening the Cliffwall archive could be the start of a new golden a

ge. We could bring back a time of wizards, like in the ancient history books.”

“We’re just starting to learn here,” said Franklin. “Many of our scholars know some basic spells, but it’ll take centuries before we have a firm grasp on what the archive even holds. We don’t want to be rash.” He lowered his voice. “We learned that lesson already.”

Verna spoke up. “Nicci made her concerns clear when she asked for representatives to come and help protect the archive. The knowledge in Cliffwall is dangerous, and it should be guarded against abuse.” She looked at the gathered listeners. “But there is more to our mission. We serve Lord Rahl in D’Hara, and his rule will bring strength and happiness to the Old World. We also need to build alliances. With Nicci and Nathan already there in Ildakar, maybe that city can become one of our strongest allies.”

Renn nodded sagely. “I hope someday you can visit my city for yourselves, and then you’ll see that my stories don’t do it justice.”

Verna made up her mind. “Yes, we should see it. What is wrong with now?” Oliver and Peretta lit up at the suggestion, and young Amber smiled with excitement. Verna continued, “Everything Renn says should inspire us. As Sisters of the Light we seek knowledge. We have to go to Ildakar.”

Sisters Rhoda and Eldine looked just as interested in the prospect. The group of Sisters had departed from Tanimura seeking a new purpose for their order now that prophecy was gone and the Palace of the Prophets destroyed, and they all hoped to find their calling here in Cliffwall. Long ago, the Sisters had vowed to train and protect young men with the gift, and now all these apprentices needed to learn their true potential.

Verna nodded firmly to herself. “Yes, we should go to Ildakar and see if we can help. Nathan Rahl is a powerful wizard and a former prophet, and Nicci is … Nicci. She was Death’s Mistress.”

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