Chapter 087: Fiona's Folly

 

 

"You think that you can beat them

I know that you won't

You think you have everything

But no, you don't"

 

No, You Don't - Nine Inch Nails

 

            Every now and again I'd wish I had some kind of remote control that would allow me to pause and rewind my life, just to be able to go back and avoid some fatal mistake, some major error. Of course, there is never any guarantee that a different choice at a crucial moment would yield a significantly better result, but there are occasions when I feel that things could never have got any worse. And unfortunately, it is only in hindsight that you are generally able to recognize these key moments for what they were. If only... What if…? I realise that these are thoughts I've expressed many times before in these pages, and perhaps my only consolation lies in the fact that no one else has this much-desired ability to opt for a quick retry either. Or at least, if they do, it doesn't seem to be doing them any good that I can tell. As far as I'm concerned, there are never any second chances, you just choose your path and face the consequences. 

            After I had gathered as much information from Simon as I could, I decided to report back to Random again before venturing into deeper waters. This was partially because of the need to spread the info around, but also because I wanted to know what Amber's official policy towards Quendor would be, just in case I would be able to contact the remainders of the Magic Council and be in a position to make some kind of deal with them. Unfortunately, Random seemed as reluctant to commit as ever. He acknowledged that Quendor lay within Amber's sphere of influence, but he figured the actual distance too great to warrant any direct military action. Aside from this, he was far from eager to steer us towards any direct confrontations while there was still so much that was uncertain about the Enemy and their actual involvement and goals. When I tried to persuade him, he plainly put it to me that he felt Amber was not ready to take any overt action against Them, but I had his permission to offer any covert support the Quendorian underground would require. However, considering their earlier relative state of independence from the Major Powers, Random felt that they might be rather reluctant to ask for any outside assistance for what seemed an internalaffair. 

            I felt a bit annoyed at what I thought of as an over-cautious stance on his part, and I tersely put it to him that he could always give me a royal command not to interfere at all, but of couse that was not what he wanted either. He sighed and said that he didn't deal in royal commands, just in royal requests, and that I should feel free to ignore them if I wanted to. Knowing that I would hardly be able to refuse him anyway, he asked me to go back and find out more about the actual purpose of the crystal spire. A bit hesitantly he added that he'd had reports of at least one such similar spire elsewhere in Shadow, and completely off the record he was willing to elaborate on this, saying that several of his observers around and about Galoria had sent him accounts of such a structure in one of its neighbouring Shadows. They had tried to discover more about it, but unsurprisingly the Shadow had proved not really accessible. 

            The last piece of advice Random gave me was to contact either Fiona or Bleys, if I didn't quite feel up to the task myself. After all, Quendor had traditionally been their territory, so they would probaby be inclined to lend a hand. Well, this seemed like a good idea, and I didn't have to think very long whom to ask. Luckily, aunt Fiona was available, interested, and when I had given her a quick sketch of the situation more than willing to come over and have a look for herself. 

            As soon as we shifted back into Quendor, she got a taste of what I had been dealing with, and she didn't like it one bit. "Oh, what an awful interference from that wretched thing!" she said through clenched teeth, fighting the oncoming headache. "It makes it really quite hard to keep one's Pattern up, doesn't it?" 

            "Well, it might be a good idea not to try to do so then," I offered. 

            "Yes, but it's so damned convenient to have it up," she objected. 

            "It may also alert those who are behind all this." 

            "Alright, alright." She glared at me as if I was the one causing her all the trouble, but I did sense her Pattern energies dwindle away. I just hoped it had not been too late. 

            While we began walking in the general direction of the spire, I filled Fiona in on some of the details of what I had seen and heard here. The name Peruvius was actually familiar to her from the last time she had stayed in Quendor, but she remembered him as an ambitious young man, a far cry from the old man I had seen in the photograph. She said she had meant to go back earlier, but other things had got in the way. In fact, she had asked Bleys to check up on things after my previous disturbing reports, but apparently he had also been too busy to see to it. Now that she was here, though, she was quite determined to find out what they had done to "her Shadow", as she called it. Nothing good, that much was clear. 

            Together with Fiona I ventured closer to the crystal spire than I had been before, which was still well over a mile or two away from its base. It was plain, however, that the structure had indeed been erected on the Lablanche estate, and that it stood far taller than I had realised. In a way it was quite a daunting sight, but the increasing sensation of mental pressure we had as we got in closer proximity of the thing may have contributed to this overwhelming sensation. Suddenly we found our way blocked by a fence topped with barbed wire; in iself not an insurmountable obstacle, but it was a clear indication that going on would make us into trespassers. Fiona was not about to be turned aside so easily, though. 

            "Dorian," she said, "if you would please cut through this fence, dear." 

            "I don't know whether going in right away is really a wise move," I said. "Even though I know how much you prefer the direct approach…" 

            "Ha," she snorted indignantly, "I know very well how to be patient too, you know." 

            "I just think it might be a better idea to try and find the remaining members of the Magic Council. I'm sure they can tell us precisely what has happened to bring this spire here." 

            "Do you really think that matters? They're only Shadows after all." 

            Her question rather took me aback, but I managed to reply: "Still, their information could be quite important to us." Surely she could see that, having just experienced the kind of Power we were up against? 

            "Alright, we'll do it your way. For now, at least."  

Fiona's expression was far from happy as we walked back into town, yet as I spotted some more Thaumacorps patrols on the streets I felt I had to point out another possible source for trouble: her "resemblance" to some rather well-known historical figures in these parts. She took this comment unexpectedly well, though, and it even seemed to pick up her spirits a little. Of course she had to be another Lablanche, and she figured it was time for another name as well. She finally settled for Eugenie, which she thought had a nice ring to it. 

When she asked me about my contact in the magic council I told her a few things about Miss Fabre, carefully avoiding any mention of her in connection with Brand, though. I had to admit that my resources for tracking her down were rather limited, for I had little knowledge of her local haunts, while the one restaurant we had dined at together did not seem the most logical place to look for her. When I told Fiona we had gone burgling on our second date, she snorted once again and remarked that her own tastes were a tad more old-fashioned. I started explaining about the amount of time that had passed since the last time I had seen Miss Fabre, when suddenly Fiona stopped. She looked quite preoccupied, but I couldn't make out what she was doing. 

"Someone is trying to form a link," she muttered. 

"In what way?" 

"A subconscious one. Quite insidious too. In a way it's similar to Trump, but not quite. It's something that's only possible in certain Shadows where there is enough magic." Hmm, this reminded me too much of the dream experience I had had, so I told her about it. "Yes," she said, "that's exactly what I'm talking about. It requires quite an interesting technique, which I have developed myself of course. I could explain it all in more detail if you want me to, but it would be easier if you knew a bit more about the workings of Trump. Still, it's not surprising that they didn't succeed in overpowering you in that dream, for you are clearly far too powerful for them." 

"I did sense some surprise from them, yes." 

"Well, it would never fail with ordinary people of course. Some of them might even die from the experience." 

"There is some protection that is being handed around," I said, showing her the little bag of herbs I'd got from the woman in the store. Fiona's reaction was close to scornful, however. 

            "Protection, rousing forces, it's all very well, but I don't think it would do you any good outside of Quendor. You'd better rely on a mind lock, although the disadvantage is that you can't receive any Trump calls while you're in that state." 

            "Oh well, it's not as if using the cards is such a pleasant experience in these parts," I said. 

            "We'd better practise the technique a few times, so you'll at least be able to put up some defense. If you want to do it right, however, you're going to need a lot more practise, but that's something we can devote some time to later on if you want." 

I nodded but stopped when I noticed a larger group of Thaumacops in the distance. They seemed to be heading rather purposefully in our direction, and if I was not mistaken they were being led by none other than the man in the black hat and trenchcoat, a.k.a. Glen Terr. Under my breath I identified him to my aunt, adding that he was one of the new local leader's right hand men. 

"Ah, yes," Fi said, "he's the one trying to link to us. I think he's noticed us too. Hmm. Was it your intention to remain undercover here in Quendor?""If it is at all possible, yes, but not at all cost." 

"Alright," she said with a rather grim expression. "I don't think I particularly like this Glen Terr. I don't know the limits of his abilities, so we'll just start with a shield." To my surprise I felt the sensation of Pattern energy gathering round her, and even though I was only relying on my more mundane senses I could feel how she wove the Power into a shield and wrapped it around us. I hadn't expected her to use the Pattern for this, though, knowing the disadvantages this entailed. Glancing at her face, I saw her jaw was clenched with a silent, smouldering anger, and there was a glint of pain in her eyes. I could only imagine her headache right now, and I knew I would never be able to withstand that amount of hurt myself."That's step one," Fi mumbled. "Now for the next bit…" 

If I had been surprised by her reliance on the Pattern, her follow up really shocked the hell out of me: instead of doing something either to hide us or to get us away safely, she threw a fireball directly at Glen Terr! He had been trained well, however, and with a quick movement he deflected the fiery projectile aside and upwards, where it finally exploded against the side of a office building. As the glass and debris rained down on the street, the cops under Glen's command momentarily stood there staring at us with mouths open, then they started talking to one another in urgent, yet hushed tones. The way that some of them cast their eyes at Fiona made me realise that keeping a low profile was now completely out of the question. 

Some part of me wanted to rail at her and demand to know what she thought she was doing, but I was simply still too stunned actually to do so. And besides, I figured I'd better think of something to help her, because the way things were going now she might not be able to hold out for very long.  

Sweat was already pouring down her face, and her eyes were screwed up tight because of the pain. I noticed the shield was beginning to fray as well, so impetuously I thought to add my effort to hers in an attempt to save it. Intense agony hit me right between the eyes like an icicle fired from a crossbow. Before I knew it I was out of the equation again, and Fiona was left to fend for herself. I didn't think she would be able to keep it up for more than a few minutes. Meanwhile, from some place of safety Glen was shouting orders at his men, urging them on to go and get us while he would provide them with cover. Although they didn't seem entirely convinced after Fiona's blazing display, some of them were beginning very cautiously to advance on our position. I counted at least twenty by now, since some other nearby patrols had been rushing over to assist Glen's original group. 

Suddenly Fi staggered dizzily against a wall, the shield having just collapsed. Immediately I saw Glen rise with a triumphant grin and take something small from his inner pocket, which turned out to be a Trump. As I grabbed Fiona and turned to run, there was a familiar rainbow shimmer and Aurelia appeared at Glen's side. Damn, things were looking worse by thesecond. 

Running proved quite a task too, because of Fiona's fashionable yet inconvenient high heels. What had she been thinking, turning this into a full scale battle with us being far from prepared? Still, I managed to drag her along, hoping to gain enough ground for me to try and shift us out of there. We turned another corner into an alley, when the sky suddenly flared up with an intense pink light, which started to oscillate in a steady rhythm. I didn't have to think long and hard to realise that they had somehow activated the crystal spire. Desperately, I tried to get a fix on the Pattern. Just one or two Shadows, that was all I asked. 

There was another pink flash. Fiona, who was running in front of me, turned, just when the bolt of light shot past me to hit her squarely, momentarily enveloping her in that twisted glow. She screamed and dropped to the ground. I was at her side right away, knowing full well that they could target me with a second bolt at any moment. Fi was out cold, and having no time to assess the damage that had been done I quickly picked her up and once more started running. This interlude meant that I would have to try and raise the Pattern all over again, and I sensed how someone, presumably Aurelia, was increasing the interference from the spire's energies. 

Frustrated and nearly out of breath, my hopes picked up a little when Fi stirred and slowly opened her eyes, to be dashed right away when she looked at me with no sense of recognition in her eyes. "Who are you?" she asked in a whining, quavering voice. "Let go of me!" She sounded quite unlike any Fiona I had ever known. There was nothing for it but to ignore her pleas and run on, which proved to be difficult when she started struggling and beating at my chest. She still had an Amberite's strength, and it didn't take very long before she had managed to trip me up, sending the both of us sprawling on the cold, hard pavement. 

Footfalls sounded down the alley, and when I looked up I saw Aurelia standing there, arms crossed. She beckoned, and Fiona gladly pattered over to her. With a humourless smile Aurelia turned to me and said: "Quendor is ours. I think we have demonstrated as much. Now go and inform them." With that she turned and walked away, and like an obedient dog Fiona followed her new mistress. 

No, I don't think things could have gone any worse.

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