Mistress Of The Pearl by Eric Van Lustbader

Author:Eric Van Lustbader
Language: eng
Format: epub

Mistress Of The Pearl

book three

GATE OF DROWNED

POINT

It is inevitable that we come to the Gate of

Drowned Point, for it is the path of sorrow and

loss. It is the bleak tunnel, the nadir, and therefore

serves as the entrance for Transcendence. Gate of

Drowned Point is important because it is clear

evidence of the Wheel of Life. It is the end of the

beginning, the beginning of the end.

—Utmost Source,

The Five Sacred Books of Miina

21

The Mysterious Vine

The sky was on fire when Giyan and Minnum came in sight of the Abbey of Five Pivots. But for

perhaps a mile Giyan, on the alert, had been preparing herself. She had felt the sorcerous rent between

the Realms, had felt as if she were herself being cut. She had glimpsed the bleeding folds as the rent

widened, and she had trembled a little at the advent of the Eye of Ajbal. Though she immediately knew

that it was not seeking her, the very fact of its coming filled her with foreboding.

“They are here, no doubt about it,” Minnum said, peering out over the lake to the northern edge of the

Marre pine forest, with one hand to shade his eyes. “An archon is needed to summon the Eye.” Minnum

glanced at the abbey. “Is this where you think the sauromicians have made their base?”

“All signs point to it, save for one,” Giyan said. “As you know, the power bourns are as inimical to

sauromicians as they are to daemons. This was part of Miina’s punishment. The Abbey of Five Pivots

was built after the daemon uprising, and so all its power points were built over bourn lines. As a result,

sauromicians cannot exist there.”

“I do not understand,” Minnum said. “Both sauromicians and an arch-daemon infested your own

abbey.”

“Floating White is the most ancient of the abbeys; it was built centuries before Miina sent the daemons

into the Abyss,” Giyan said. “As such, it does not have the requisite safeguards built in. Many of the key

areas, including the Library and the temple the archdaemon Hor-olaggia used as a base, are unprotected

by power bourns.”

“Still, the Dark League could be hidden in nearby Silk Bamboo Spring.”

“Or anywhere in that forest yonder.”

The cold, sorcerous fire crept across the sky like a claw scraping flesh. Giyan’s sense of foreboding

deepened. She was living in a dream, a dream manifesting itself, becoming reality before her eyes. A

reality with which she had recently become all too familiar.

They set off at a fast trot and soon enough came down through the last gentle slopes and onto the

flatter terrain that surrounded the lake. The Marre pines and kuello-firs gave way quickly to sysal and

curly-bark river lingot, lighter-limbed deciduous trees that required wetter soil. But between these rustling

stands they were obliged to cross open ground where their exposure was a concern. Accordingly, she

cast Wall of Hope to give them a degree of protection.

It was Minnum’s assignment to locate the archon controlling the Eye of Ajbal, so he was in the lead.

But the closer they came to the northernmost finger of the forest, the more uneasy she became. Her mind

was awhirl with the future, and she clamped down, knowing that way lay madness.

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