Lieutenant Ronnoc chained the man to a chair in the middle of the hall.
King Darias nodded at Ramson. “Captain Farrald, if you please.”
Ramson cleared his throat and stepped forward. “King Darias, Scholars,” he said. “I’d like to introduce the former Scholar Ardonn, who was caught assisting Alaric Kerlan in his studies of siphons and transfer of Affinities.”
There were sharp intakes of breath from the scholars and courtiers all around them.
King Darias leaned forward, chin resting against his knuckles. “Former Scholar Ardonn,” he said. “Would you like to speak for your crimes?”
Ardonn lifted his head at last. A smirk spread across his face as he surveyed his former colleagues and his king, his gaze coming to land, at last, upon Ramson. “You’re wasting your time,” he croaked. “I have nothing to say.”
“I am sure you will,” one of the scholars retorted. Her hair wassnowy white, her mouth set in a somber line. Ramson recognized her as Scholar Hestanna, the lead scholar that King Darias had appointed for the siphon task force. “We would prefer not touse other methods to coerce you, Ardonn. Remember that youhave committed a crime, and that you have a chance to correct it.”
Ardonn gave a rasping laugh. “I’m one step from my deathbed. Besides, the balance of the world has shifted; it’s too late to reverse it.”
“What do you mean by that?” King Darias demanded.
“Magek,” Ardonn said, flicking a glance at Scholar Hestanna.
Ramson suppressed a long sigh. Scholars were known to speak in riddles. He had no gods-damned interest in the principles of alchemy. He only cared for answers, and a solution to destroying the siphons.
Time was running out.
Scholar Hestanna’s lips tightened, and she turned to King Darias. “According to the principles of magek, studied by thousands of scholars over the history of our kingdom, there is a balance to the forces of this world. Those inclined to religiousworship believe that the Three Gods left traces of themselves in this world; those inclined to scientific study believe that a source of power—what we refer to as magek, the Cyrilians as alchemy—manifests in magen and various other elements.
“What we know is that traces of magek can be found in certain places around the world. In humans—as magen; in spirits, such as our gossenwal and their ice spirits; and in some elements. First: blackstone. And now”—her eyes raked back to Ardonn, dagger-sharp—“searock, which our recent studies show may absorb magek. The act of taking this natural element and twisting it into man-made siphons to absorb the magek inhumansis an abomination in itself. The transfer of Affinities is unnatural, unheard of, and the very existence of siphons is a poison to this world.”
“Always at the top of your game, Hestie,” Ardonn drawled.
“We have seen, with our own eyes, the atrocities committed using these siphons,” King Darias said, addressing his team of scholars. “The key question, now, is how we can find and destroy them.”
Scholar Hestanna gave a curt nod. “Ardonn, cooperate with us,” she said. “There’s nothing left in this for you. Tell us all you know about these siphons—their creation, the extent of their power, and how they can be destroyed—and King Darias will issue a pardon to your crimes. You could spend the rest of your days living in a cottage by the sea.”
Ardonn chuckled. “Seems the young bastard son here has left out some details,” he said, casting a glance at Ramson. “Throughout the years, Kerlan regularly injected his scholars with poison to which only he held the antidote—his way of keeping us in check and our mouths sealed, you see. Now that he’s dead, theantidote supply’s run out. I’ve two weeks left to live, Hestie—three, if I’m lucky.” He leaned back in his seat. “You’ll see why I’m less than tempted by your wonderful offer.”
“And you can choose either a quiet, quick death with a seaside view, or to die painfully, tortured in this very hall beneath the eyes of our gods,” Darias interjected. There was nothing boyish about his face anymore. The lines of his eyes were hard. “Now, answer my question. Can the siphons be destroyed?”
The smile had dropped from Ardonn’s face; he stared at the King, expression tight. “You’re far cleverer than your father ever was, I’ll give you that,” he said at last, and there wasn’t a trace of ridicule to his tone. “A siphon can only be parted from its bearer if the bearer is killed. But even then, the stolen magek is stored in that siphon. In the history of our research, we have only ever created two perfectly functioning siphons—and neither has been destroyed yet.” He shrugged. “Therefore, there is no proof they can even be destroyed.”
Ramson felt a sudden rush of blood in his ears.No proof they can even be destroyed.
Dimly, as though from a distance, he heard Scholar Hestanna say: “But in theory, the effects of both blackstone and searock are temporary in nature. The founding theory of searock is that it can only borrow the properties of that which it steals from. Therefore, there is no permanence to their effects. And that means—in theory—their damage is reversible.”
Ardonn’s pause seemed to last a lifetime. “In theory,” he said at last, and Ramson loosed a breath. Hope—there was hope.
“So the mageks stored within the siphons,” Ramson cut in, earning some surprised glances from the scholars, “those can be returned if we reverse or destroy the effects of the siphons?”
“Yes,” Ardonn said. “The newly created magen we experimented upon were unfamiliar with their magek. They made mistakes, couldn’t control the magek in the siphons. In all the cases where the siphons broke from being created improperly, themagek returned to the original magen.”
Relief crashed over Ramson.
This question had haunted him ever since that night, during the Battle of Godhallem, when Sorsha had siphoned Ana’s Affinity. Ana had collapsed, and when she had woken, something in her had shifted. In the days after, her voice had become quieter; her cheeks had hollowed; dark rings had appeared beneath her eyes, and an empty look sometimes overtook her gaze.
It had been a little over two weeks since he’d seen her, yet she remained in his thoughts nearly every second of every day.
Yes, there had been another, deeper reason for him to hunt down the remnants of Alaric Kerlan’s Order members, to dig out the roots of the siphon research his former master had planted in Bregon nearly decades ago.
If there was a way for him to destroy the siphon holding Ana’s Affinity and restore her power to her…if there wasanyremote possibility of it at all, even in theory, Ramson would find it.
