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  Snake, meanwhile, did not fall completely beneath Immanion's spell. He was ill at ease in company and scornful of Pell's colleagues. He did not fit into the city's landscape particularly well and spent most of his time either alone or with his brothers. Moon was lucky if he saw his father once a day. He did make an effort to visit Snake's apartment in the palace whenever he could, even if only for an hour in the early evening. Most nights he was whisked out into the city night by hara who could not exactly be termed new friends, but who had an interest in him because of who he was. Moon was being trained for a position within the Hegemony Department of Buildings. Moon guessed that Pellaz didn't want him to leave the city long-term, such as if he'd been more attracted to the military, and had therefore been delighted to learn of Moon's interest in architecture. Sometimes, the way Moon's life had been taken over and changed was disorientating and frightening to him. Sometimes, it was wonderful.

  Snake seemed appreciative of Moon's opinions and kept his own to himself. Moon knew that Pellaz was making his father work hard, because Snake often looked very tired, and on those days all the healers in Immanion could do nothing to ease the aches in his withered side. Moon himself had been taught healing techniques as part of his magical training and, whenever he could, he practised them on his father. As to what Snake and Pellaz actually discovered from their work together, Moon remained unenlightened. On some level, he didn't want to know, because the idea of the Tigron being in any kind of trouble seemed unthinkable. Immanion was so huge and secure, as if it had stood for a thousand years. Nothing bad could touch it.

  Often Moon thought of Tyson, even though he tried hard not to. Raven had attempted to speak to him about Tyson some weeks after they'd arrived in Immanion, but Moon didn't feel capable of discussing the matter. He felt strangely ashamed, as if his feelings were an unsavoury secret he didn't want to share. Once he sneaked into the rooms had had belonged to Cal. The drapes were drawn against the windows, almost like an act of mourning, and Moon imagined that Pellaz must have done that. The air smelled of nothing, and what few possessions Cal had had still remained in the drawers and on the shelves. Despite this, Moon could sense no presence of another har in the rooms. He knew that Pellaz's security staff must have inspected it thoroughly and had perhaps wiped all etheric evidence of Cal away. It was hard to believe the enigmatic har had ever existed. Harder still to believe the story he'd once been told, in a dark room that smelled of mildew, when a clean white flame that was a har from another world had turned the air to gold.

  Soon after Snake had settled into the rooms in Phaonica that were too large and orderly for him, Pellaz took his brother to Caeru's apartment. Here, while Caeru sat on the terrace staring at the sea and thinking involuntarily of autopsies, Snake moved slowly from room to room, pausing in each one to close his eyes and draw in a deep breath. Pellaz said nothing, waiting at the threshold every time. In the place where Caeru had been attacked, Snake hunkered down, leaning on the new cane that Pellaz had given to him, which was crowned with a serpent's head. He put one brown hand flat against the floor and remained there for some minutes. When he opened his eyes, his golden eye glowed like a cat surprised in candlelight.

  “Anything?” Pellaz asked softly.

  Snake drew himself slowly to his full height, which even given his disabilities was taller than Pellaz. He nodded, his lower lip stuck out a little. “Yes,” he said, still nodding. “It was here.”

  Pellaz already knew that and stifled a pang of impatience that shot through his chest. “Can you see...?”

  “I do believe the job was not quite finished,” Snake pronounced.

  Pellaz came fully into the room. He sensed a presence behind him and glanced round to find that Caeru had finally forced himself to face whatever might be revealed.

  Snake tapped the floor with his cane, in the very spot where Caeru had struggled with his assailant. “Somehar came here to take the pearl, you don't need me to tell you that, but something happened they did not anticipate. Not here, but when they left this realm. Some residue of the even trickled back through. There was something else – a har? I'm unsure. They were hidden so well, so well that their complete absence in this case reveals their presence.”

  Pellaz did not question Snake's assessment. He remembered what Cobweb had told him about his brother. “Is there anything we can do to find out more?”

  “I will try,” Snake said. “That is all that can be done.” He limped to the doorway and Caeru shrank away. “Don't be afraid,” Snake said to him. “Give me your hand.”

  “I don't want see...” Caeru began.

  “Do it,” Pellaz commanded in the kind of smooth, even voice that cannot be disobeyed.

  When Caeru tentatively extended one hand, Pellaz thought he could see the ghost of blood beneath his consort's fingernails, dark smears on the pale skin of his wrist. Caeru had closed his eyes, perhaps because he could see that too.

  Snake took hold of Caeru's hand and drew in a slow deep breath. His brow furrowed. After some moments, he released his grip and shook his fingers as if to rid them of something noxious. “You are extraordinary,” Snake said to Caeru. “You created within you something that many hara – and perhaps other creatures – want desperately. The moment of its conception was a shout to the world.” He glanced at his brother. “Like the moment when you were born into this life another time.”

  “Who did it to me?”

  Pellaz already knew it was pointless to ask questions. Snake would reveal what he'd learned in his own time.

  “Perhaps we should be asking 'what',” Snake said. “Many things are unclear to me. Something took the pearl, and still has it, I'm sure, but I do not think it was the one who attacked you. They were responsible for removing it, yes, but they were interrupted in the otherlanes. The way they travel is different to using sedim. For this reason, the portal did not close up entirely immediately.” He shook his head and then glanced at Pellaz. “I'm surprised your investigators didn't pick that up.”

  “They are not as adept as you,” Pellaz said, “and from this moment I would very much like you to start training some of them.”

  “Cobweb would have found that,” Snake said. “Instead, you went to all that trouble to hunt me down.”

  “Cobweb has great respect for you,” Pellaz said. “He believes your skills far outrank his own. As you know, it was he who suggested I look for you.”

  Snake shrugged. “I admit the pieces of the puzzle fascinate me. If something did attack you in the otherlanes, was it Rue's attacker or the other shadowy presence? I will need to go deeper into the inn world to try and find out more.”

  “You look tired,” Caeru said. “Don't do it yet. Rest a while.”

  Snake smiled rather coldly. “I know that, tiahaar. I had no intention of working further today. I might be crippled but I'm not an idiot.”

  Caeru hadn't meant anything insulting in what he'd said, and Pellaz could see that his consort was stung by Snake's words. Caeru was easily hurt nowadays, even more so than before; his skin was as thin as a butterfly's wing. “And your condition is no excuse for being rude,” Pell said lightly to Snake. “Rue meant no wrong, you know that.”

  “You haven't changed,” Snake remarked and left the room.

  “He has,” Caeru said to Snake's retreating back, “more so than you.”

  Following this incident, Pellaz visited Sheeva in the Infirmary to ask if anything could be done for Snake's condition. “He feels it badly here in Immanion,” Pellaz said. “He thinks we're all perfect.”

  “I could examine him,” Sheeva said carefully.

  Pellaz intuited that Snake would never agree to such a thing, mainly because he'd know what Pell had gathered from Sheeva's tone: nothing could be done.

  Snake didn't like living in Immanion: he never would. The only time Pellaz had seen him relaxed was in Galhea. For this reason, he suggested that the Aralisians should spend the winter solstice at the House of Parasiel. “You could perhaps work w
ith Cobweb,” Pellaz said to Snake, “seeing as you think he was capable of seeing what you did. Together, you should make a formidable team.”

  “I never work with others,” Snake said, “but I would like to return to Megalithica. I miss the air.”

  In Galhea, during the years of the Varrish reign, the feast of the winter solstice had often been known simply as Festival, for the majority of Varrs had not been greatly spiritually inclined. But those of them who tended the land, and who were left alive after Ponclast was routed, were more in tune with the tides of the seasons, and the ancient rites of reverence were revived. For all, Festival became Natalia, celebrating the return of the light. On the night of the longest day, the dehar Solarisel gives birth to the pearl of Elisin, the child of light, Lord of the Sun. Solarisel's sleek white hounds streak across the sky baying out the news to the world, and in the morning harlings look for their slender footprints in the snow.

  Even in the days of Terzian, Cobweb had always made sure that the winter festival was celebrated in full, following the ways of his own tribe, the Sulh. This tradition had expanded over the years. Now, on Natalia eve, virtually the whole of Galhea congregated at Forever. High-ranking hara gathered in the house, while others, including the human residents of the town, celebrated around a huge bonfire in the gardens, where the snow fell softly in pillowy flakes. The celebrants carried torches, their bodies wrapped up in thick coats. They sang new songs of the season that already sounded hundreds of years old. The air was full of the scent of cooking meat from the huge barbecue pits and the aroma of mulled sheh: apple liquor enlivened with the juices of oranges from the south, a sun fruit, symbolizing the return of the light.

  Moon had imagined with dread and excitement that he'd see Tyson again, and was therefore both disappointed and relieved to hear he'd elected to accompany Ferany on a visit to some friends of Ferany's parents further west. Moon knew how important it was to Cobweb to have his family around him at festival times, so guessed Cobweb had also thought it would be for the best if Tyson was away during Moon's visit. Aleeme must have said something about his suspicions concerning Moon and Tyson. Both Azriel and Aleeme were keen to hear what further disclosures Moon might make on the subject, but he played it down. He felt embarrassed about it now.

  It was clear to Moon that Snake felt far more at home in Galhea than he did Immanion. He appeared less drawn and tense. At breakfast on the festival day, when everyhar rose late because of the previous night's party, Cobweb remarked on Snake's appearance in front of everyhar. “See how good the air is for you? You are twice the har you were when you arrived two days ago.”

  Snake smiled, in a way Moon had rarely seen. “Forever has cast its spell upon me. I do feel better. The heat of Almagabra is too much to bear. I'm no longer used to a hot climate.”

  Cobweb was silent for a moment, then addressed Pellaz. “Here's a suggestion. Why doesn't Snake stay here a while?” He glanced at Snake. “What do you think? You could continue your investigations and I could help you.”

  “Well...” Pellaz began, clearly the introduction to a refusal.

  “An excellent idea,” Snake said. “I would appreciate your help.”

  “You told me you always worked alone,” Pellaz said.

  Snake shrugged. “Usually...” He turned to Cobweb. “If you could find me a little house somewhere... I'm not a great one for company.”

  Moon caught Aleeme's eye and grinned. He had never seen Snake so animated.

  “Raven will not want to leave Immanion because of Terez,” Pellaz said. “And I certainly can't do without Terez.”

  “Raven has found a life for himself,” Snake said. “I'm glad for him. I no longer need him to look after me. I'm sure that Cobweb will find hara who can tend to my modest needs.”

  “There is a house you could have,” Cobweb said. “And it's in the grounds. It's an old lodge. We could renovate it. It'd be perfect.”

  “What about Moon?” Pellaz asked.

  “I think Snake should stay here too,” Moon said, thinking of how it would prevent Pellaz pushing his father too hard. “I can visit him here regularly, can't I?”

  Pellaz appeared sour. “It seems to have been decided.”

  “Good,” said Cobweb. “I'll take you over to the lodge later, Snake, so you can look round it.”

  Three days later, Moon returned to Immanion alone with the Tigron, who grudgingly accepted his brother's desires. Before they left, Aleeme drew Moon to one side in the stable yard, where the snow had been swept away. “Do you have a message?” he asked, stamping in the cold air to try and warm his feet.

  Moon pretended ignorance. “What?”

  “For Tyson. I wasn't supposed to tell you, because Cobweb says we shouldn't encourage you, but it took weeks for Ferany to persuade Tyson to go with him out west. Cobweb kept asking why he wouldn't agree to it and Tyson said it was because he didn't want to leave the family at Natalia. Cobweb didn't accept that, because he knows Tyson gets bored at big family functions. We all think he wanted to see you. I don't know what the fuss is about. Why can't you see each other? So, any message?”

  “Just say... hello,” Moon said, awkwardly.

  Aleeme raised his eyebrows. “Can't you do better than that? We're starved of gossip here.”

  “He's with Ferany,” Moon blurted. “What else can I say?”

  “Ferany is a convenience,” Aleeme said, then rolled his eyes. “Listen to me! I shouldn't say these things. Will you be back soon?”

  “Maybe,” Moon said. “I'll come to visit Snake.”

  “I think it'll work one day,” Aleeme said. “Between you can Ty. I just have a feeling.”

  Moon smiled with difficulty. He couldn't imagine such a day. “Just tell him I said hello.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Ponclast did not reveal his feelings to Diablo, but he was extremely anxious about the reaction of their new allies once they discovered he had failed to take the pearl, never mind devour it. He was prepared for a fight, and intended to speak out on Diablo's behalf, in case he should be given the blame. It was wrong that they had been allowed to proceed without foreknowledge that there might be opposition to their plans. Diablo could very easily have been killed, and as Ponclast had become fond of him, he was angry about that. He had not been told how to communicate with his allies, but neither was he prepared to wait for them to contact him.

  Ponclast spent a lot of time with Diablo now, but sent him from the cave in order to work alone. He took himself into trance and hit the ethers with a loud call. I don't summon you, fair enough. But hear this!

  It is very dangerous to shock a har out of trance, especially when his mind is extended far into the ethers. But Ponclast was ripped from his meditation by a sharp slap across the face. It felt as if his lungs filled with icy water and he fell into a fit coughing. He opened his eyes, wondering what har had the effrontery and courage to strike him. He saw only what appeared to be a small human girl child, who was clearly not really human because she had blue skin and hair. Her eyes were white, with pinpricks of azure in their centres.

  “We do not obey a summons!” she said, in a petulant yet proud tone. “You've been told that.”

  “I have information for you,” Ponclast answered, his head still reeling. “Something has stolen the pearl. My son was attacked in the spirit paths and nearly died.”

  “We know of that,” said the child. “The matter is now out of your hands. Think no more of it.”

  “Actually, I cannot accept that,” Ponclast said, realizing he felt brave because of the apparently fragile form of the entity before him. He also realised this bravado might not be sensible. “Who attacked Diablo? Who else wants the pearl?”

  “We are not prepared to give you this information. You cannot ask questions. Be thankful our masters do not blame you for the episode. Their retaliation is swift, if needed.”

  “You said you would help me. Will this still occur?”

  “Yes. Presently, you will leave
this forsaken place. We have a use for you in this realm. You will be given a teraph, which is an entity that will carry you through the spirit paths.”

  “Like the Gelaming use the sedim?”

  “The teraphim are kin to the sedim.”

  “I wish to return to my fortress, Fulminir, to rebuild it.”

  “Where you go is your decision. Attack your enemies as you see fit. Our desire is only that you do what you do best, and most effectively. You will receive further instructions at a later time.”