Jennifer Fallon - The Palace of Impossible Dreams (The Tide Lords)

For Fliss ...
welcome to the family

Contents

The

PALACE OF

IMPOSSIBLE

DREAMS

One thousand years ago ...

Tryan studied the sorry line of prisoners standing on the edge of the cliff, wondering idly how much wind he would have to call up to blow them off, one by one, and onto the rocks that pockmarked the valley far below.

None of this would be necessary, of course, if they would just tell him what he wanted to know. Life was easier for everyone on Amyrantha when people did what Tryan wanted.

He turned and motioned Elyssa forward, noticing the slight hesitation before she did as he bid. Her interest in this little adventure was fading, he suspected; had been for a whileever since the last time theyd met up with Cayal.

For now, though, she was still his sister and willing to play her part, even if it was less than enthusiastically.

Which one should we kill first? he asked, in a voice loud enough to be heard by the prisoners. A few whimpers of fear were all they dared, but he could tell his threats were having the desired effect. The twenty or so prisoners were chained together, after all, which meant he really only had to toss a few of their number off the cliff for all to be in peril.

We ? Elyssa asked in a voice meant only for him. Dont you mean which one you should kill? This is your idea, not mine. I want no part of this, Tryan.

One of them has the Chaos Crystal.

If one of these sorry mortals had the Chaos Crystal, youd know it by now, Im quite certain. Elyssa cast her disinterested gaze along the line of naked men, women and children shivering in their chains on the edge of the precipice. Tides, its not as if one of them is hiding it in their pocket, now, is it?

Tryan frowned and cast his eyes over the pile of personal belongings he had stripped from this small group of refugees. Other than their clothing, a few tools and weapons, and a set of tattered, but clearly beloved Tarot cards in a singed leather case, there was nothing to be found. No maps. No instructions...

Which meant one, or perhaps all of these Cabal members, had memorised the location of the Crystal. Tryan was quite prepared to murder every man, woman and child, until one of them confessed who it was.

One of you has something I want, he announced to the group, studying their faces as he spoke, searching for some flicker of comprehension or a whisper of deceit; anything that would indicate one of these wretched humans knew what he was seeking. Trouble was, they all looked universally terrified, so it was a little hard to tell. If you tell me what I want to know, I will let you live. If you dont...

He let the sentence hang. They were standing with their backs to a cliff, after all. Terrified as they were, he didnt think he needed to belabour the obvious.

His prisoners remained stubbornly silent.

Tryan was losing patience with them. And he didnt have a lot to start with.

One of you... perhaps all of you miserable creatures... knows the location of the Chaos Crystal. Tell me now, or... He scanned the line of prisoners, his eyes fixing on a lad of about fourteen on the right. Thin, pale and shivering, the boy held his cupped hands in front of his shrivelled manhood, in a vain attempt at modesty. He was second from the end of the line, tied next to a plump and equally terrified fair-haired woman in her mid-thirties, whogiven the protective way she was trying to shield himwas probably his mother.... or she dies first, he finished, pointing at the woman, while keeping his eyes fixed on the lad.

Tryan waited. The boy said nothing.

Have it your way then.

Tryan flicked his wrist, sending a violent gust of wind toward the line of prisoners. The woman screamed, staggering under the onslaught, loose stones under her feet tumbling from the cliffs edge as she scrabbled to maintain her balance. Several of the other prisoners screamed too, as their chains tugged them backwards.

Not the lad, however. He remained stony faced and unmoved by the threat of impending death, even with his mother barely holding her balance beside him.

Tryan stepped forward, annoyed at the lads determination.

I will kill you, he said.

The boy slowly raised his head to meet Tryans eye. What the immortal saw there disturbed him greatly. The boy was frightened witless, but an edge of defiance lurked beneath the surface of his fear that no amount of threats or intimidation was going to pierce.

You cant kill all of us, the boy replied.

Shows how little you know, Elyssa muttered behind Tryan.

The immortal ignored the snide remark from his sister and took a step closer to the boy, convinced now that this defiant child held the key to the information he sought.

You know, dont you?

The boy shivered and trembled in the crisp mountain air, but his resolve didnt waver.

There is nowhere you can run, boy, Tryan warned, leaning so close he could feel the boys warm breath on his face. No place you can hide. No place I cant eventually find you.

Theres one place you cant follow me, the boy said in a trembling voice, his courage all the more impressive for it.

Tryan smiled coldly. Is that what you think?

The lad nodded.

And where is this remarkable place I cant follow you?

The child smiled at him then, his fear falling away, almost as if he had resolved some internal torment and was content with his decision. He squared his shoulders, glanced down the line at his fellow prisoners, looked the other way at his terrified mother, and then back at Tryan.

You cant follow us into death, the boy said.

Before Tryan could stop him, the boy stepped backwards off the precipice, taking the line of prisoners with him. His weight alone should not have been sufficient to drag the others with him. He was just a boy, after all. But theyd fallen, nonetheless. Or jumped. Allowing themselves to be pulled off the cliff like that amounted to the same thing. Nobody resisted. Nobody fought to stay upright or tried to cling to the edge. The wind hed conjured to terrify them into compliance whipped away their screams on the way down.