Bloodfever
Page 44
I had no idea who or what Vlane really was, but I knew this: He was a Fae, and an immensely powerful one. In this battle where knowledge was so evidently power, where information could keep me alive, where Barrons pretty much ruled his far-reaching world because of how much he knew, I couldnt afford to pass up a chance to interrogate a Fae, and it looked like Vlane, for whatever reason, might just let me.
Perhaps he would lie. Perhaps he wouldnt about some things. I was getting better at sorting through what people told me. Learning to hear the truth in their lies and the lies in their truth.
Have you really been alive for eighty-two thousand years?
Longer. That was merely the last time I used glamour to seduce a woman. Sit and we will talk.
After a moments hesitation, I perched stiffly on the edge of the chaise.
Relax, MacKayla. Enjoy the sun. It may be your last chance to see it for some time.
I wondered what he meant by that. Did he consider himself a weather prognosticator? Or could he actually control it, make it rain? Against my better judgment, I stretched out my legs and lay back. I stared at the sapphire sea, watched graceful alabaster birds pluck fish from the waves. So, how old are you?
That, he said, is anyones guess. In this incarnation, I have lived one hundred and forty-two thousand years. Are you aware of our incarnations?
You drink from the cauldron.
He nodded.
How long, I wondered, did it take to go mad? My short twenty-two years were sorely testing me. It seemed forgetting might be a comfort. I considered the ramifications of divesting memory, and realized why a Fae might put it off. If hed spent fifty or a hundred thousand years watching, learning, building alliances, making enemies, the moment he divested memory he would no longer even know who those enemies were.
But they would know who he was.
I wondered if any Fae had ever been forced to drink by others of their race, to rescue them from the vast, desolate steppes of insanity. Or perhaps for more nefarious reasons.
I wondered, considering Vlane had known exactly where I was and what Id been doing, if hed been responsible for the massacre at the Welshmans estate.
Did you steal the amulet?
He laughed. Ah, so that was what you were after. I wondered. It amplifies the will, MacKayla.
Your point?
I have no use for it. My will needs no amplifying. My will shapes worlds. The amulet was fashioned for one like you with no will of which to speak.
Just because we cant manipulate reality with our thoughts doesnt mean we dont have will. Maybe we do shape reality, just on a different scale, and you dont see it.
Perhaps. The queen suspects such might be thecase.
She does?
That is why she sent me to help you, so that you may help us, and together we may ensure the survival of both our races. Have you learned anything about the Sinsar Dubh?
I thought about that a moment. Should I tell him? What should I tell him? Perhaps I could use it as leverage. Yes.
The palm trees stopped swaying, the waves froze, the birds halted mid-dive. Despite the sun, I shivered. Would you please start the world again? It was creepy frozen. Things moved once more.
What have you learned?
Did you know my sister?
No.
How could that be? You knew about me.
We learned of you because we were watching Barrons. Your sister, who weve since become aware of, did not know Barrons. Their paths never crossed, ergo nor did ours. Now, tell me of the Sinsar Dubh.
Why were you watching Barrons?
Barrons needs watching. The book, MacKayla.
I wasnt done yet. The book was big information, surely worth more of an exchange. Do you know the Lord Master?
Who?
Youre kidding, right?
No. Who is this Lord Master?
Hes the one bringing the Unseelie through. Hes their leader.
Vlane looked astonished. No more so than I felt. He and Barrons both knew so much yet were missing chunks of essential information. They were so smart in some ways, and so blind in others.
Is he Fae? he demanded.
No.
He looked incredulous. How can that be? A Fae would not follow a human.
I hadnt said he was human. He was something more than that. But the way Vlane had just sneered the word humanas if a life-form just couldnt get any lowerpissed me off so I didnt bother correcting him. Youre the one whos supposed to be all-knowing.
Omnipotent not omniscient. We are frequently blinded by how much we see.
Thats absurd. How can you be blinded by vision?
Consider being able to see the atomic structure of everything around you, MacKayla, past, present, and part of the future, and exist within that skein. Consider possessing awareness of infinite dimensions. Imagine being able to comprehend infinityonly a handful of your race has yet achieved such awareness. Consider seeing the possible ramifications of each minute action you might make, from your slightest exhalation upon the breeze, in all realities, but you cannot piece them together into a guaranteed finale because every living thing is in constant flux. Only in death is there stasis and even then, not absolute.
Perhaps he would lie. Perhaps he wouldnt about some things. I was getting better at sorting through what people told me. Learning to hear the truth in their lies and the lies in their truth.
Have you really been alive for eighty-two thousand years?
Longer. That was merely the last time I used glamour to seduce a woman. Sit and we will talk.
After a moments hesitation, I perched stiffly on the edge of the chaise.
Relax, MacKayla. Enjoy the sun. It may be your last chance to see it for some time.
I wondered what he meant by that. Did he consider himself a weather prognosticator? Or could he actually control it, make it rain? Against my better judgment, I stretched out my legs and lay back. I stared at the sapphire sea, watched graceful alabaster birds pluck fish from the waves. So, how old are you?
That, he said, is anyones guess. In this incarnation, I have lived one hundred and forty-two thousand years. Are you aware of our incarnations?
You drink from the cauldron.
He nodded.
How long, I wondered, did it take to go mad? My short twenty-two years were sorely testing me. It seemed forgetting might be a comfort. I considered the ramifications of divesting memory, and realized why a Fae might put it off. If hed spent fifty or a hundred thousand years watching, learning, building alliances, making enemies, the moment he divested memory he would no longer even know who those enemies were.
But they would know who he was.
I wondered if any Fae had ever been forced to drink by others of their race, to rescue them from the vast, desolate steppes of insanity. Or perhaps for more nefarious reasons.
I wondered, considering Vlane had known exactly where I was and what Id been doing, if hed been responsible for the massacre at the Welshmans estate.
Did you steal the amulet?
He laughed. Ah, so that was what you were after. I wondered. It amplifies the will, MacKayla.
Your point?
I have no use for it. My will needs no amplifying. My will shapes worlds. The amulet was fashioned for one like you with no will of which to speak.
Just because we cant manipulate reality with our thoughts doesnt mean we dont have will. Maybe we do shape reality, just on a different scale, and you dont see it.
Perhaps. The queen suspects such might be thecase.
She does?
That is why she sent me to help you, so that you may help us, and together we may ensure the survival of both our races. Have you learned anything about the Sinsar Dubh?
I thought about that a moment. Should I tell him? What should I tell him? Perhaps I could use it as leverage. Yes.
The palm trees stopped swaying, the waves froze, the birds halted mid-dive. Despite the sun, I shivered. Would you please start the world again? It was creepy frozen. Things moved once more.
What have you learned?
Did you know my sister?
No.
How could that be? You knew about me.
We learned of you because we were watching Barrons. Your sister, who weve since become aware of, did not know Barrons. Their paths never crossed, ergo nor did ours. Now, tell me of the Sinsar Dubh.
Why were you watching Barrons?
Barrons needs watching. The book, MacKayla.
I wasnt done yet. The book was big information, surely worth more of an exchange. Do you know the Lord Master?
Who?
Youre kidding, right?
No. Who is this Lord Master?
Hes the one bringing the Unseelie through. Hes their leader.
Vlane looked astonished. No more so than I felt. He and Barrons both knew so much yet were missing chunks of essential information. They were so smart in some ways, and so blind in others.
Is he Fae? he demanded.
No.
He looked incredulous. How can that be? A Fae would not follow a human.
I hadnt said he was human. He was something more than that. But the way Vlane had just sneered the word humanas if a life-form just couldnt get any lowerpissed me off so I didnt bother correcting him. Youre the one whos supposed to be all-knowing.
Omnipotent not omniscient. We are frequently blinded by how much we see.
Thats absurd. How can you be blinded by vision?
Consider being able to see the atomic structure of everything around you, MacKayla, past, present, and part of the future, and exist within that skein. Consider possessing awareness of infinite dimensions. Imagine being able to comprehend infinityonly a handful of your race has yet achieved such awareness. Consider seeing the possible ramifications of each minute action you might make, from your slightest exhalation upon the breeze, in all realities, but you cannot piece them together into a guaranteed finale because every living thing is in constant flux. Only in death is there stasis and even then, not absolute.
