Dream of a Vast Blue Cavern

Chapter 12; A Dangerous Decision: Dynat

 Dynat left his throne room shaking with rage and fear. As he stalked the tunnels, not sure where his feet were taking him, he listened intently inward. The Fire Spirit still whispered about Dreams and plundering the Ice Queen’s mind. It was time. Dynat could put it off no longer. He must kill her as soon as he had taken what she knew. He would make sure she did not reveal his past to anyone.

 But what if she was telling the truth? She did have lava on her face, and it hadn’t killed her. The Fire Spirit had not commanded Dynat to kill her. What if it commanded him to spare her?

 “I will kill her!” he shouted at the walls. Nobles in the tunnel stared at him; Semija prostrated nervously. “Get back to your duties,” he said coldly. He had hoped that announcing his intention would prompt the Fire Spirit to agree or deny him, revealing his ultimate intention regarding the Ice Queen, but it did not. The Fire Spirit continued to rant about Dreams. Dynat turned and marched purposefully to his quarters.

 The parlor was dim and empty. The whole place reeked of powderlux and stale blissi. One of Bolv’s Semija cowered in the corner, naked and shaking. Dynat stared at her without really seeing her. Shameful memories flickered through his mind, and he looked away from the Semija, focused on the Roughert painting.

 The Ice Queen was lying. She had to be lying. Dynat was losing control of this situation, losing the will to even walk into his own throne room. He had to get rid of the Ice Queen. But how could he, if the Fire Spirit protected her? She was lying about that. She had to be. But that smile—

 “Tell me what you intend for her,” he pleaded, watching the flat skittering across the walls of his quarters. “What do you want me to do? Have I not always done your bidding?”

 “Dynat? Is that you? Who are you speaking to?”

 Bolv appeared in the entrance to their bedroom. She looked weary and angry. Why did everyone look so weary?

 “What are you doing here? Aren't you working on something?” He vaguely remembered having ordered her to do something. What was it?

 “The Baths? They are still contaminated, Dynat. We are making sand, to filter the water before it reaches the drinking vats. It takes some time, and I thought I should try to rest while they work on it.”

 “Ah. Yes.” The baths, that had been it.

 “Who were you speaking to?” her eyes bored into his, and he shivered. How much had she heard? All of Chraun knew the Fire Spirit spoke to him, but no one knew what it was like, having the deity in his mind always, constantly whispering . . . Bolv was the only friend he had, and he wished he could tell her the truth. A dim memory surfaced, of cold anger, her head turned aside, slapping her. Had he done that?

 “No one, I was just—just—never mind. What happened to the Semija?”

 “Do you really not remember? I tried to order her away, but she said you commanded her to stay like that. Why, Dynat? She was my favorite, and you ruined her . . .”

 Another memory, of what he had done with the Semija. It was disgusting; he might as well have gone down to the stock caverns . . . It was all the Ice Queen’s fault. She was driving him mad. He had to take her Dreams, and kill her, so this would all be over.

 “Where is Medoc? I have a task for him.”

 “I don’t know. I don’t care. What is wrong with you, Dynat?”

 Dynat nodded and turned to go. He would plunder the Ice Queen’s mind, then order Medoc to kill her. If the Fire Spirit wanted her spared, Dynat could blame her death on Medoc.

 “Dynat?”

 He paused. He heard Bolv approach him, her heels clicking on the floor.

 “Where are you going?”

 “To look for Medoc. I have a task for him”

 “Very well,” she said. “Good-bye, Dynat.”

 She was overtired. “Stay here,” Dynat said, turning. “Let someone else take care of the Baths. Have a bath shaped here. Buy a few new Semija. You need your rest, Kinyara.”

 She smiled sadly at him. Why was she so sad? “As you command, my King.”

 “It is a command. I won't have my Kinyara looking like a common Flame, overworked. When I return, you will be refreshed and happy again.”

 “Yes, Dynat. I will be here. Good-bye.”

 He traced his fingers over her plump lips, then turned and left. The cloak still weighed on his shoulders, but he kept it on. Perhaps, after he was finished with the Ice Queen, he would go hunting, to savor the quiet solitude of the slink tunnels.

 He found Medoc in the Warrior's mess cavern, surrounded by Officers. They were leaned in together, heads almost touching, talking earnestly, and they went silent when Dynat entered, standing and saluting him with deep bows. He ignored them and beckoned Medoc. “Come,” he said. “I have a task for you.”

 He turned, not questioning whether he would be obeyed. When Medoc caught up to him in the tunnel, he said, “What were you planning in there? Perhaps some of the Warriors should help Bolv with the baths. I think she is overworked.”

 “You are no doubt correct, my King. We were discussing that very matter—what the military will do next, once we root out the last of the Iskaloners.”

 “And?”

 “Well—we did not reach a conclusion, my King. Of course, our next task is yours to decide. But I like to speak with the men and get a feel for their mood.”

 “Yes. Well, I have a task for you, Medoc, though it should be a brief one.”

 “Of course, my King.”

 “There is a pitviper in my throne room. I want you to get it out.”

 “My King?”

 “The Icer in the cage by my throne. I'm bored with her. I'd like you to exterminate her, like one would destroy vermin in the fungal caverns.”

 The Fire Spirit remained silent. That was good. She must have been lying. Surely if the Fire Spirit did not want her killed, he would have spoken up.

 Dynat turned up the corridor to his throne room. He could hear the clunk of Medoc’s stiff steps behind him. “Yes, I want you to exterminate her. General, no matter what I say in there, you are to follow this order. Even if I command you to stop, you must kill her.”