“Please. . just give me a few minutes,” Drakis hissed through clenched teeth. He could see the chakrilya beyond the Guardian, its anonymous space and emptiness inviting to his eyes and beckoning him. “I’ll be right back. . I can’t. . I just need to breathe. .”
“Do as you’re told and everything will be right again.” The Guardian said forcefully, gripping the human’s arm.
“NO!” Drakis shouted. Training overcame thought as the Impress Warrior suddenly stepped into the Guardian, forcing the elf to release his grip. He reached for the handle of the sword, but the elf was too quick, clasping his own hand over the human’s and keeping the blade firmly sheathed in the scabbard.
A gasp rushed through the crowd of servants. Belag, Thuri, and Ethis all remained in their places, astonished at the sight of their Centurai commander striking one of their elven masters and uncertain as to what to do.
The elves, however, reacted quickly and surely. Guardians from around the room converged on the disturbance. One of them gripped Drakis from behind, pulling him away from the first Guardian while a third immediately reached to restrain his left arm.
Drakis would not relent. He flailed with his free arm, kicking as they tried to drag him down the path toward the altar. He kept yelling throughout. “Let me go! I just need a moment. . I don’t want to hurt anyone. . just let me go!”
Several more Guardians were rushing in his direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Sha-Timuran striding up the path toward him, a grim smile fixed on his face as he drew the long, curving blade from its sheath.
Unnoticed in the spectacle unfolding at the base of the subatria wall, Jugar the Jester slipped between the bushes of the garden.
No eyes witnessed him deftly remove the armored glove from the dwarven armor or, having donned it, use it to remove the Heart of Aer from where it was displayed.
Only Se’Djinka, embroiled in subduing the berserk Drakis saw the danger as the dwarf leaped up onto the altar, but he was too late.
The dwarf swung the Heart of Aer with all his strength. It struck against the crystalline structure of the House Aether Well with the precision that only a dwarf, knowing minerals, could achieve. The interior lattice of the Well fractured in an instant, the power of the Aether contained by it released a moment later. The Aether Well exploded into a million shards.
In that instant, every slave of House Timuran. . from the lowest scullery maid to the most fearless gladiator. . suddenly and horribly REMEMBERED.
Drakis could not stop screaming.
The garden of Timuran spun uncontrollably down into madness as each slave reacted at once to the flood of suppressed memories surging raw and unbidden into their conscious minds. A sudden, terrifying discord of anguished shrieks filled the air, an agonized chorus of despair and pain. In panic, most of the slaves bolted from their ordered ranks, running blindly about the garden chased by the ghosts of their own remembrance.
Drakis noticed none of this. He arched his back so hard that the Guardian Elves nearly dropped him from their iron grip. The sound continued from his gaping mouth, animalistic and unbidden. His eyes were wide, focused not on the elven Guardians or their rising panic and uncertainty but on visions from his own past suddenly confronting him like phantoms escaping from the prison of his thoughts.
Mother. . first mother, real mother. . stories of father and the Time Before. . running with mother and brother. . brother! Recaptured and enslaved. .
Outrage and fear surged through him, blasting strength again into his muscles. He snatched his right arm free and began flailing blindly about.
Mother dead in the wars. . her body never returned. . New mother and new father. . false family remembered. . brother. . where is my brother?
The Guardians released him, their hands reaching at once for their weapons. Drakis fell heavily to the floor.
Beaten. . sold. . beaten. . sold. . no lesson taught in each beating, the point being not to teach him but for the sheer joy of inflicting pain and humiliation on the human boy. . sold again to Sha-Timuran because the elf girl was spoiled by her father and thought the human boy was pretty and Sha-Timuran could use another warrior. .
He rolled over, kneeling on the ground, curling tighter into a ball.
Tenicia. . his first betrothal. . his first wife. . he had forgotten her. . he had forgotten so many. .