The Infinity Gate: Darkglass Mountain: Book Three - By Sara Douglass Page 0,87

can leave the enchantment at any time, by simply uttering a word. Any word, but it will still be enough to break the enchantment. Would you like to proceed?”

“It will not harm us?” Ozll said, and Isaiah shook his head, making his braids ripple in light and sound.

Axis thought the Skraeling would ask for more reassurance, but Ozll merely nodded.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“Imagine,” Isaiah said, “a time before there were any men or any Icarii or any Skraelings.”

His voice was soft, reassuring, though commanding, and Axis found himself looking into a landscape so foreign it appeared to be of a different world. Every Skraeling had vanished, and instead he saw a land of gently rolling low hills stretching into the horizon. The hills were carpeted in deep green moss, broken here and there with huddles of tiny cream and pink flowers. Breaking up this verdant landscape were myriad streams and rivers, glinting silver in the soft light.

“There were no trees in this early world,” Isaiah continued, his voice flowing softly, hypnotically, through everyone’s mind. “No great herds of beasts as we know them now. No cities, no towns, no quests, no wars. Just peace. You see that there were many creatures —”

And Axis did see that this land of emerald-carpeted hills was dotted here and there with small animals, not one of them much larger than a hare, and all grazing the moss and occasional stand of low plants. They were many and varied in shape and hue, but they all moved peaceably with each other and about the landscape.

“— but they lived in harmony and contentment. Such is the way, always, in the beginning of new worlds. Now, let us look in the streams and rivers. No, do not fret, I shall not drop you in. Be still my friends, we shall just peer, briefly.”

Axis found his vision being drawn down to a small river, tumbling its way along a rocky bed. For a moment he saw nothing in the water, then he gasped, and heard everyone about him gasp, as a face floated up from the river bottom and stared at them.

The face almost had no features at all — just eyes, the hint of a nose and mouth, and the ethereal shape of cheek and forehead — for all was distorted by the water. There was a body there, too, but Axis could barely make it out.

All he knew was that, firstly, this was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his life, and, secondly, it was among the most magical.

The creature spoke, its words lifting from the water, and it spoke in the language Isaiah had used earlier.

Water.

“She is a River Angel,” Isaiah said. “See how glorious she is?”

He paused, allowing everyone to drink their fill of the beautiful creature, then he drew their vision back once more until they overlooked the wider landscape.

“For many thousands of years,” Isaiah continued, “the River Angels existed in harmony with their fellow creatures. Then, over the space of a few years, they developed a creed which supposed that no other creature dared to exist, given the overwhelming superiority of the River Angels. So they began to destroy them.”

Now the vision showed watery hands emerging from the streams and rivers to seize the necks of all the creatures lowering their heads to drink and twisting, ripping off those heads.

“It was appalling,” Isaiah said, his voice soft. “And so, if I may cut this story short to save the pain, I destroyed the River Angels before they could destroy the rest of the world’s living creatures.”

The vision ended abruptly, and Axis found himself blinking as he looked once more at the encircling Skraelings. They also were blinking, their faces a mix of emotions and confusions. He looked at Inardle.

She felt his gaze and returned his gaze, and Axis saw that she was weeping. She looked devastated and Axis wondered what she had realised that had as yet escaped him.

Axis returned his attention to Isaiah. “You ’destroyed’ them?”

“I took them from the water,” said Isaiah, his quiet voice carrying over the entire horde, “and I made them to hate and fear it. I took from them the one thing they adored above all else. Water. Then I set them to wandering and I cursed them that they would become the most hated and reviled creatures that existed. I was so angry. I needed to punish their arrogance and cruelty.

“Then, to my eternal shame, I forgot them. Light and I became