The Gates of Night_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [88]
We share a common origin, perhaps. But I am nothing like her, any more than you are like Harmattan.
Pierce didn’t know what to say, or to think. So I am a host body for you—just as Lakashtai wore a body of flesh.
No. I told you. We were made to be together. To be one.
Pierce pushed the thoughts away, forcing himself to listen to the spoken conversation. Lei was speaking, her eyes lost in thought. For her, the intellectual challenge was shelter from fear and doubt.
“… she has a natural bond to Dal Quor, being from that plane herself,” Lei said.
“Correct,” Thelania replied. “It is one she has broken, but it can be reforged.”
“And she has been designed to connect to warforged … to Pierce. So you’re saying that she can allow Pierce to dream through her own spirit.”
Is this true? Pierce thought.
There was hesitation. Yes.
Why not tell me?
There seemed to be no need.
“But where does that leave me?” Lei said
“You have only begun to reach your true potential, child. Remember your bond with Darkheart, with your wands. Remember what you felt when you first touched that sphere in Pierce’s chest, when you repaired the damage. When the time comes, you must touch the sphere again and let it guide you both.”
“How do you know all this?” Lei demanded. “How can you know what I’ve done, what I’ve felt?”
“Because that is my nature,” Thelania said. “That is my domain. You know of the thirteen planes, child. Realms of order and chaos, life and death, dreams and madness. But what is Thelanis?”
“The faerie court,” Lei replied.
“The domain of the fey. But now you speak of the inhabitants of the realm, not the primal nature of the plane itself. What are the fey?”
“I … don’t know,” Lei admitted.
“We are magic, and we are mystery. We are the lure of the unknown, the promise of a mother’s tale. I see the stories unfold, and I know the secrets that shape the lives of heroes, and the paths your lives will take. This is not the first time we have spoken, and should you live, it will not be the last.”
“Flamewind,” Daine said.
“What of her?”
“Daine with no family name. That’s what she called me. When Kin brought us here, he used the same words. Was that you?”
Thelania smiled, and now it was a sign of pride, an artist taking satisfaction in her work. “I have many eyes in the world, Daine, and many voices to speak on my behalf. An oracle is a channel for knowledge, but that knowledge must come from somewhere. Yes, Flamewind carried my message, as did the weird on the water.”
“And what do you gain from this?” Lei said.
“I am no friend of Dal Quor. And should nightmares overrun your world, I fear the impact it would have on Thelanis. I told you, Lei, we are the stuff of stories. What happens when no stories remain to be told?”
Lei shook her head. “No, Queen of Dusk. What do you gain from this?” Her hand dipped below the table, and she pulled out the darkwood staff. The carved face was a mask of sorrow. “I’ve met someone else who accepted your help, and you can see how well that worked for her.”
“And will you believe anything I told you, Lei? What if I told you that all that I’ve done for Darkheart, I did for you? If the staff hadn’t fallen into your hands, you would have died beneath Sharn.”
“So you just want to help us? Then free her.” Lei slammed the staff down on the table.
Thelania smiled again, and there was danger in her eyes. “Do not presume to issue orders in the seat of my power, child,” she said. “Darkheart still has a role to play.”
“Then I won’t help you,” Lei said. “We’re not going to be pawns in your game.”
The queen laughed. The sound echoed throughout the hall, and it was the sound of the last moment of light as the sun slips below the horizon. “It’s far too late for that, Lei. I am not asking this as a favor. I am not bargaining with you. I am offering you the chance to save your world from a horror you unleashed. You are wiser than I thought, but you are no queen.”
A chill had fallen over the room, and the light had faded. Thelania’s skin was paler, almost luminescent, and the