Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [55]
Sullivan went to the green priest and touched his bare shoulder in sympathy. Deeply depressed, Kolker sat silently by himself. Although his skin was a bright and healthy emerald green from the abundant sunlight, he needed contact with the worldtrees.
Kolker raised his heavy head, as if he sensed something unexpected. His expression showed a glimmer of surprise, even a faint shadow of optimism--and it had nothing to do with what Tabitha or Sullivan had said. "I thought it was just a desperate hope, but it's not my imagination! I know that now. There really is something here." The green priest looked directly at Sullivan. "There is a treeling in the PrismPalace--and I will find it."
31
ANTON COLICOS
Come with me to the Hall of Rememberers," said Vao'sh. "You have never seen the sanctuary and headquarters for my kith, where all stories begin and end. I have not been there since I awakened from my nightmares."
Anton brightened. "I'd love to! And not just because it'll get me out of the PrismPalace for a change."
Ever since the warglobes had come and gone, the Ildirans were panicky and suspicious. With good reason, he supposed . . . but why restrict his movements? Anton got the impression that he'd seen something he wasn't supposed to, and now his hosts watched him more closely than ever. What could a skinny and preoccupied scholar do against the Ildiran Empire? Anton finally asked the question. "Why won't anyone tell me the reason I can't go home? I'd really like to know."
Vao'sh frowned. "You have not accomplished your purpose in coming here, Rememberer Anton. Are you anxious to leave?"
"I'm not anxious, but it makes me uneasy. My father was killed at an archaeology dig years ago, and my mother is still missing. I'm so out of touch. What if there's news? I just don't like being kept in the dark."
Vao'sh rocked backward. "In the dark? We would never do that to you!"
Anton placed a reassuring hand on his friend's forearm. "It was just a figure of speech. Don't worry." He saw he wasn't going to get an answer.
Moving briskly, the rememberer led him down a long hall and out through the arched side entrance of the PrismPalace. A winding path descended the elliptical hill to the extensive city. The view was so breathtaking that he barely noticed the pair of silent and muscular guard kithmen accompanying them.
"Will Yazra'h come with us?"
"I believe the Mage-Imperator has currently assigned her to other duties."
Anton felt disappointment mixed with a small measure of relief. The intimidating woman had been his diligent guardian since he'd returned from Maratha with a catatonic Vao'sh. She didn't seem like the type, but Anton knew that she enjoyed his stories. He awkwardly suspected that Yazra'h wanted something more from him.
One of the most impressive buildings in Mijistra was a storehouse of records for the kith responsible for writing, memorizing, and preserving the Saga. Vao'sh hurried up the polished stone stairs, obviously excited. The two guards took up their positions outside the huge hall and waited. Anton barely spared them a glance. Where in the world did they think he might go?
He entered, thinking of all the university lecture halls he had haunted before he'd been invited to study the Saga of Seven Suns. This was quite different from anything he had seen before.
Row after row of sequential wall panels formed a labyrinth, each segment delicately engraved with long lines of precise letters. The wall sections were giant diamondfilm sheets etched with the approved stanzas of the Saga, line after line after line. Just inside the doorway, a group of rememberer children, their faces showing prominent lobes, stood rapt before the writing-covered walls. The children stared at the