Herald's Silence
By Shadow Flare
*After a long hiatus, I am back with this chapter. Anyway, here goes…and yes, there is a purpose behind the flashback at the beginning of this chapter. Hope you like…and yes, I do know about the Tantris/Tantras connection-I'm going to have to find some other explanation…*
Chapter Seven: The Darkest of Days
***
"Why can't you be serious for once?" the tall, auburn-haired man snarled at the girl in Grays facing him. Her chin lifted defiantly, as she stared Danyen Orie in the face.
"Why can't you just keep your nose out of other people's business?" Leshia shouted back.
"I can and will concern myself with whatever I please, *trainee*." Danyen's usual easygoing nature had flown right out the window when this argument had begun. "A few pranks are alright, but enough is enough!"
Leshia honestly hadn't meant for this latest one to go so far, she honestly hadn't! But Danyen's attitude was making her mad: it wasn't like he hadn't played any practical jokes when he had been a trainee. Hanna could attest to the exact opposite, in fact, as she had been on the receiving end of many of them.
"You are a Herald-trainee, and you at least need to be serious some of the time." Danyen continued. "Dammit, girl, you're the Heir: you can't go around playing pranks whenever! You need to get a damn sense of responsibility! You'll make a fine Herald, a fine queen, someday, if you just get a grip! But right now, you're just a little girl who doesn't act her age, who acts like a toddler just out of the nursery! In fact, you're being a damn bitch right now!"
Leshia hit him. Hard, a backhand across the face, knocking the older Herald-Mage to the floor. Danyen stood up, a black scowl on his face.
"Come talk to me when you've grown up a few decades in mental age and are out of the cradle. Until then, don't bother." He said sarcastically and stormed off.
"He's somewhat right, you know." A soft voice came from behind her, and Leshia turned, startled, to find a tired-looking Herald-Mage Hanna Latria Adele leaning against the doorway of the room she and Danyen shared. Leshia hit herself in the forehead: of all the places they could have argued, they had to argue in front of *that* room, when Hanna was trying to catch up on some of her many hours of lost sleep. "You do need to be a little more serious." The blond woman stared at Leshia evenly. "And control your temper. You can't be backhanding everyone who makes you angry."
Leshia looked rueful. "Uh-"
"Not that Danyen doesn't need to be hit once in a while: he's being stubborn." Hanna continued coolly.
"At least I'm not the one lifebonded to him." Leshia muttered.
Hanna smiled: the expression found its way to her face quite rarely. "You'll understand someday."
In the blink of an eye, her smile faded and the Herald-Mage was impassive again. Hanna was known for both being the most powerful Herald-Mage ever and for showing no outward emotion. Some said that no one had ever seen her bleed or cry.
(Whoever said that must not have been here after the border-wars.) Leshia thought. She herself had only been seven then, ten years before, but she remembered what had happened-Hanna, who had been sent to replace four Herald-Mages-by herself-had returned grievously wounded-after many, many battles-and she'd done a lot of bleeding. But she'd never wept: reportedly Hanna had been sent to the Collegium to foster at the age of 9 with an uncle of hers, Herald-Mage Harrin, because her mother couldn't handle her anymore, couldn't handle her emotionally repressed and frigid daughter. Even then, lonely and angry, she'd never given in to weeping: not even when she'd been Chosen by Arel and somehow lifebonded to Danyen, she'd never cried. (It seems that part of the truism is true.)
Now, fifteen years later, Hanna was even more remote and icy then the child who had been sent to Haven in disgrace. Arrogant, she was called behind her back, and a frigid bitch: not many people knew her well enough to see who Hanna Latria Adele really was behind her façade. Leshia counted the reserved woman among her closest friends, and relied constantly on her advice. When she became Queen-may that day be far away!-Leshia hoped to have Hanna still around to advise her.
"So, what should I do now?" Leshia asked flippantly.
Hanna's silver eyes were dark. "Talk to him. Before it's too late."
"What?" Leshia said: Hanna's ForeSight was a rare thing, but when she did have a vision, it was powerful and clear. "Did you See something? Is something going to happen?"
Hanna shook her head to clear it. "Yes. I believe so. I must speak with your mother about it." The Herald-Mage was fully alert-as she always was when she first awakened-and looked extremely serious. "Seek out Danyen. If anything should happen, you wouldn't want to be left with the regrets and the should-have-beens."
Hanna closed the door of her room and walked past Leshia. "I know."
Leshia looked at her friend closely-and Saw the shadow that seemed to cling to her petite form. Was it the same shadow that Hanna ForeSaw would fall over them all? In that moment, she knew, knew without a doubt, that the shadow would fall over Hanna and swallow her up…that the Herald-Mage was doomed…the girl wanted to call out to Hanna, tell her not to go, that she was going to die-
But she was gone.
***
"They still aren't talking to each other?" Savil groaned. "When Lyn and 'Lendel argue, their fights typically last about an hour or so. Not speaking to each other for a day is very unusual."
The young man facing her shrugged, his sky blue eyes rueful. "Last I saw, Lyn wasn't even open to the suggestion that she run lines with him. And vice-versa, even though neither of them have too many of their lines memorized yet. They have to have their lines memorized by next week, or Schmidt's going to kill them both. He already yelled at me because I don't have my lines memorized, and we just finished cutting the show. Quite literally-he yelled at me right before the end of class, and we finished cutting the show about ten minutes before. He's going to kill them both quite dead."
"He's going to have to wait in line." Savil replied. "Kris Valerian, why are you always the bearer of bad news?"
The tall FarSeer shrugged. "Fairyfoot says that it's my destiny."
Savil knew that "Fairyfoot" was actually Kris's Companion, Tantris. "Your destiny, huh, lad? Then you should have been a ForeSeer, not a FarSeer."
"Tough breaks. I'd rather not know the future before it happens, even *if* it's only the most likely one at the time." Kris responded dryly, just as Tantras entered the room.
"You should have sent those two to obedience school." The dusky Herald replied, annoyed.
"'Those two' being Lyn and Tylendel?" Savil groaned.
"They don't listen to a word anyone says!" Tantras exploded in rare fury. "Can I kill them?"
"Wait in line. You're behind Savil and their drama teacher, in that order. Anyone else?" Kris asked.
"Sariel and Gala, I assume." Jaysen replied from the door and then came in. "Let the Companions get first crack at their recalcitrant Chosen. By the way, Savil, I assume you want to be on time for work? And Kris, don't you have that IB meeting about your extended essay?"
Savil looked at the clock and cursed, as Vanyel poked his head into the room. Kris bit his lip: obviously, he was about to throw some words in there as well, though Savil could outcurse him and a lot of other people.
"Yes, I see you." Savil told her nephew. "Round up the usual bunch. Tell Lyn and Tylendel that if they don't get their acts together that I'm going to give them both a good old-fashioned whipping. Then I'll inform Mr. Schmidt that they don't have any of their lines down."
Vanyel winced: he'd been on the receiving end of said drama teacher's wrath for not knowing only a few of his lines. He pulled his head out of the room and ran off.
"That should get them going." Jaysen said, as Savil began rummaging through her purse for her keys.
This was going to be a long day.
:Chosen? I'd advise you to hurry up.: Kellan said.
Scratch that: it was going to be even longer.
***
Vanyel chewed the end of his pen, as Mr. Trajtenberg put their notes on the board, about matter. Lyn still had a dark scowl on her face, and he knew that she wasn't paying attention. The young man hated chemistry, though it was easy. He bent his attention back to the paper-
Just as pain exploded through his head. Emotions, thoughts, physical pain-whatever and wherever, it was there. Fear, grief, disbelief, horror-all those and more flooded through his unprotected mind in the blink of an eye. Images, as he was abruptly somewhere else, looking through someone else's eyes, and Vanyel could hardly believe what he was seeing. Death and destruction on a grand scale. He fought to retain consciousness, as he was deluged in all these things at the same time-
:Chosen!: a girl's voice yelled in his head, soothing and somehow serene, despite her panic. : No! Stay! Don't go!:
He lost. Blackness took him.
***
The clock read 9:20. Lyn bit her lip nervously: something terrible had happened, she knew. She had Felt the Web fluctuate-no, almost fall. Something had happened to Vanyel-he'd fainted, and hadn't woken up. That had been almost an hour before, forty minutes actually, and he'd been taken to the hospital a long time before. Jackie Savage had come in a few minutes before, and had taken her sister Theresa outside into the hall to talk with her. Theresa had come back inside, and Lyn could Feel the turmoil within her.
:Chosen?: Sariel sounded almost frantic.
:What is going on?: Lyn asked.
:Something very terrible has happened.:
:Sariel, what? What happened?!: Lyn shouted.
:The-: and her Companion's voice was cut off. Utterly.
:Sariel?!: Lyn shrieked. Her Companion was still alive: but something was screwing up projective Mindspeech. Like…something didn't want word to be passed quickly, and it was sabotaging the Gift temporarily. Even between Companion and Herald.
From far away, she could hear, in her mind, a bell begin to toll-the Death Bell. Lyn's eyes widened, as she bowed her head. At least one Herald had just passed…but why? How? And then she realized…more then one.
Jackie walked back into the room, shaking and wide-eyed. "You'll find this out eventually, so you might as well hear it now." the senior said sadly, a tear flowing down her cheek. "Terrorists have attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon."
The room fell silent. Lyn closed her notebook and put it away. Now she knew how the Heralds had died. How thousands of people had died or would die before this day was over. Thousands of innocents. (Goddess, why? Who could have done such a thing? Who the hell is responsible for this?)
She looked down at her hands: they were shaking. Who knew what was going on in Washington, DC right now? With Mindspeech on the fritz, she couldn't just check…oh no. Oh no…
Her father worked in DC.
***
Savil put down the dry erase marker when, in her mind, she heard the Death Bell ring. Tylendel looked up and met her gaze soberly. What could have possibly happened? Something was terribly wrong…
Savil reeled and almost fell: now she understood the steady draining that she had been ignoring for the past forty minutes, the draining that had suddenly grown tenfold. Lissandra, Kilchas, and Lancir were dead: she was the only Web-Guardian left, and she was the only thing holding the Web in place.
A light tapping came on the door. "Come in." Savil said weakly, holding onto the edge of the board for support, just before she eased her old bones into a chair. The door opened to reveal Kris Valerian, and the FarSeer looked like he was holding onto calm by the skin of his teeth.
"What is going on, lad?" Savil asked. Mindspeech wasn't working: something was messing the Gift up.
Kris tried to say something, but the words couldn't get out of his mouth. Finally, he explained what had happened in a soft whisper that nonetheless was quite audible: the room had gone silent, absolutely silent.
Savil bowed her head, in a failed attempt to hide her tears. They'd had no inkling…not even Alberich, the strongest ForeSeer in a good long time, the strongest they had, had Seen anything. Only Vanyel had had any vision at all…and it hadn't been enough, in the end. Not enough to warn of this…horror. This tragedy. This…dammit, what could you say of something like this? The killing of innocents…it was something that the Heralds were supposed to guard against, shadow-guardians, but guardians nonetheless. And they'd been caught as off-guard as anyone else…last night, after all the ForeSeers and a few FarSeers had been mysteriously struck down, the strongest Mindspeakers in this area had contacted all the Heralds, Herald-Mages, trainees, whatever, outside the Washington, DC. area, to see if any of them had any ForeSight. None of them-and there were a good number, scattered all over the world-had Seen anything. In fact, it seemed like *every* ForeSeer had been struck with the same mysterious illness.
"Dammit…" Savil cursed impotently, slamming her fist against the table.
Kris bent and whispered something else in her ear. Savil turned and looked at him. He nodded.
Tylendel got up from his desk and walked over. Her protégé had a 'thinking' look on his face.
"Something wanted to be sure we weren't warned about this." Tylendel whispered: it was obvious Mindspeech was *still* out. "You said that *every* Herald or Herald-trainee with ForeSight got nailed. I'm betting that a good number of non-Heralds who have the Gift of ForeSight-those who *weren't* Chosen-got nailed as well."
Kris nodded: the three of them were having a hasty conference, here and now, especially because none of them could leave. Not yet, anyway.
"Some kind of power was blocking ForeSight, and FarSight as well." Kris added. Tylendel looked at him. "Remember, *I* was one of those who ended up with that mysterious 'sickness.' I don't have the ForeSight Gift. Not a trace."
"Lad, what were you doing right before you collapsed?" Savil asked, already seeing a pattern to this.
"I was trying to FarSee…" Kris muttered.
"Where?" Savil continued, trying to ignore the draining-just as Tylendel grabbed her hand and linked with her, already sending her much-needed energy.
Kris bit his lip. "Arlington, I think."
"Why? Why there, of all places? Yesterday, you wouldn't have known there was trouble brewing." Savil asked.
"I wasn't originally trying to FarSee there." Kris said. "I couldn't find my notes for my extended essay: I was trying to See into my locker to see if I'd left them there. Something…just pulled me away from there."
"So you ended up Seeing Arlington instead of your locker?" Savil asked. Kris nodded.
"Tantris said something about the fact that I should have enough control over my Gift to *not* jump around like that. That was right before everything went black."
"What about Mela? She's a FarSeer too." 'Lendel asked. Kris shrugged.
"Maybe the same thing. I haven't talked to her yet today, so I wouldn't know."
"Only one thing can block Gifts like that." Savil interjected. "And that same something was interfering with the Death Bell, whoever was behind the blocking didn't want any of us to know that something was wrong until it was too late to stop it. Look at the timing."
She gestured at the television, where she had left the news on. "I know of at least six Heralds who worked in the first tower of the World Trade Center. Of those six, I *know* for sure that one of them is dead-Herald-Mage Kat Triley. She was one of those that Kyril spoke to asking about the ForeSight: she mentioned that she had a meeting today at 8:20, a long one. And she worked on the 100-something floor, near the top. She wouldn't have been able to get out in time. Not even the Mage-Gift will allow you to levitate-that's Fetching, which she didn't have- and making a Gate takes too long. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't quite strong enough to make a Gate. Close, but not enough. The Bell would have rung when she died, which would be maybe about half an hour, or more, before it *did* ring. It didn't. Remember your history, you two-you certainly both read enough to know. What blocks mind-magic?"
Both their eyes widened, but it was Tylendel who spoke. "Dark sorcery. Especially blood-path magic."
"A very, very powerful Dark Adept is likely *allied* with whichever terrorist group is behind this." Kris mused.
"Good thinking, lad. He or she wouldn't be directly responsible for the attack-why use airplanes as weapons when you've got magic, and said magic is strong enough to block all the ForeSeers and a few FarSeers, and now Mindspeech and the Bell-but definitely allied with the group. Why remains to be known, and who-both the group, and the Adept-but there's a Dark Adept in here." Savil said.
"A frighteningly powerful Adept." Tylendel muttered. "We're in trouble. It's not going to stop just with today. Not by a long shot. Not even by a short shot, either."
"No, lad. Not if it's who I think it is." Savil said darkly. There was only one Dark Adept she had ever heard about who was powerful enough to do what they suspected. Only one. It had been 10,000 years, but the man was certainly powerful enough to stay alive for all that time. If it was indeed he…
Then a battle was coming that would be unmatched in the 10,000 years-Velgarth reckoning: it would only be about 2000 years in current reckoning-since Velgarth had fallen. A war that no one alive-besides the Dark Adept himself-had ever seen the likes of. Yes, it would not end here.
Not if it was the Mage of Darkness allied with that terrorist group. Not if it was the man she thought it was.
Leareth.
~End Chapter~
