“Fascination has led one of you astray, beware the screamers and dreamers that lie within the tower. The blade that searches for your spirit awaits you within and even now knows that you approach. He has already entered and is being hunted. You must hurry to counter the fascination that poisons his mind.”
The statue’s eyes turned crimson and red tears fell to the earth below. A deep rumble came from the clouds overhead and the sky flickered with lightening.
“Quick, Ossian’s in trouble, we need to help him,” Agathe blurted out awoken from her reverie.
Chapter 18
Lapis Tower
The three women abandoned all stealth and ran from the square, a new storm congealing behind them. The streets passed in a blur, shadows, shapes and sounds all subsumed by concern for Ossian. An old shamanic prayer welled up inside Q’uaina. Her lips mouthed the words and the incantation fell silently from her tongue. She felt energised, on the edge of something.
A deep crash came from the sky and the clouds burst in a dark, drenching downpour. Their feet soon sloshed across giant puddles and slippery cobblestones. Then they were there. The sheer walls of the lapis tower rose before them windowless and doorless. Blue, smooth and impenetrable.
“Follow me,” Q’uaina spoke, a strange edge to her voice.
Agathe and Carutha watched as Q’uaina put the blade of her short sword against the wall and started walking around the tower. They followed her wondering what else this dark night held in store for them.
Q’uaina’s blade created sparks as it trailed across the unforgiving stone, a blue flame emanated from its tip and up into her wrist. She was entranced, locked in the search for an opening. After a few minutes, the blade reached a section of the wall that did not create sparks. She stopped and drew close to the stone.
“It’s here, I know it is I can feel it,” Q’uaina spoke to herself. Her eyes were closed but seeing nonetheless. Agathe and Carutha looked on in wonder.
Q’uaina’s head snapped up. “Screamers and dreamers I see your trickery, your lies stain these walls and do not fool my sight. You will let us pass through for our purpose is of the light and my light is stronger than your will…” Her voice became a slur, mumbling as words fell from her. Her body animated, her muscles twitching. She pointed her blade, now emanating a green glow from its surface, at the stone of the tower.
They blinked, the sky erupted, a dazzling spear of lightening struck somewhere nearby. Without warning an opening in the lapis tower appeared before them.
A blue glow emanated from the stone floor inviting them in. Behind, the first silver rays of dawn reached up over the horizon. The rain eased a little and they crossed the threshold into the tower.
“We must go up the tower, Ossian’s in peril he lies at the top…” Q’uaina broke from her trance.
“How do you know? The statue said we must go to the lowest levels far beneath the city, which is where the Shard lies. Wouldn’t that be where Ossian would’ve gone?” Carutha asked.
Q’uaina stared at Carutha. “He’s not left us for the Shard. He’s left us for his parents, his family. This place speaks to our spirits with false dreams. Ossian has a ghost within, much as I had with you Carutha. He thinks his family are above waiting for him. It’s a trap; this tower wants to claim him. There’s no time, follow me…”
“Wait… I trust your instinct Q’uaina, but you yourself say this place is playing tricks on us; screamers and dreamers the statue said. What if it’s a trap, but a trap to lead us away from the Shard by dividing us? You and Agathe head up the tower, I’ll go to the lower levels, for what if Ossian is indeed alone below and in peril as you say? This way we will cover both possibilities. Once you have checked the top of the tower, if he’s not there you can follow me.”
Q’uaina looked at Carutha and Agathe in turn. “As you wish, Carutha but I know he lies above,” she turned and walked away searching for the staircase that would lead her upwards.
Carutha gripped Agathe’s arm and nodded. “Go now, look after her, she is gripped by something of which we do not know. Guard her, be her eyes and ears against this place, it whispers deceit and plots against us at every turn. I will meet you again once you have scouted above.”
“Fare you well, also,” Agathe said to Carutha and turned to follow Q’uaina who had found steps leading up the tower.
Q’uaina felt she could hear Ossian’s heartbeat from somewhere above. His heart was full of pain and wonder. She hurried up the steps, her hands pressing on the cold stone. The steps beneath her feet were unworn and bore her upwards almost eagerly. She heard the blood pulsing in her ears and her breathing became laboured.
“Care, Q’uaina. Take care we do not know what lies ahead…” Agathe’s voice followed up from behind, lost in the shadows of the tower. Agathe caught sight of Q’uaina disappearing up the stairs; her outline becoming blurred.
On they went up the staircase, time slowed, their muscles protested. At last, Q’uaina’s feet ran out of steps. She looked around and her eyes came to rest on a simple wooden door. Silence assaulted her. Then she heard a ragged noise and realised it was her own breathing. Her feet drew her onwards. She found her hand on the door and pushed.
“Stop, Q’uaina…” Agathe’s voice rang out from behind. “Wait…”
Q’uaina walked over the threshold and what she saw stopped her in her tracks. There at the end of the room stood Ossian, facing away from her, arms out by his side. He was gazing into an elaborate stained glass window, transfixed. Stains hovered in the air around him. On closer inspection, the stains, indistinct at first became recognisable and she shuddered as she realised their true nature. Wraiths. Ossian was in the thrall of the undead.
Q’uaina stepped forwards but then felt a hand on her shoulder. Agathe’s voiced hissed through her fugue.
“That’s what they want us to do. Stop Q’uaina it’s me, Agathe. Listen, we need to think. We don’t want to harm Ossian…”
Agathe’s touch and words hit their mark and Q’uaina snapped out of her twilight world. She felt suddenly cold. Her breath frosted the air, her bones and muscles ached. She saw the scene ahead with new eyes. Ossian was indeed at the end of the room but she saw that he was naked and hung suspended in the air by chains. His skin was deeply bruised, his head lolling to one side. Worryingly, there was a pool of dried blood beneath him. She sensed his heartbeat weakening.
Agathe pulled Q’uaina to one side, to the shadows. There they stood and watched the scene unfold. The stained glass in front of Ossian bulged and stretched out to him. Beings beyond the window pressed their faces against its surface contorting the glass in misshapen forms. They sought to reach Ossian, to touch his form. He had something they wanted. Ossian looked unconscious and yet Q’uaina sensed his awareness in the room.
“Look,” Agathe hissed. “Over there,” she pointed to shadows behind and to the left of Ossian. A large timber wolf stood concealed watching the scene intently, its hindquarters quivering in anticipation.
“Ossian’s shadow side; the wolf,” Agathe said. “We have to help it, him, he’s about to attack. A diversion may work. Those wraiths seem to be in control, if we could disrupt them...”
Q’uaina nodded. “You take the right side, I’ll take the left. We need to break the window to disrupt the link between this world and whatever place that is. Use what you have, your blade, arrows whatever it takes. Time is short.”
Agathe took off to the right and nocked an arrow. Perspiration dripped down her back. Her neck hurt from the tension. Sweat blurred her vision, her mouth went dry. She approached the end of the room and saw Ossian clearly. His body looked battered, his right arm was twisted and misshapen caught in the dark embrace of the chains. Anger and bile rose in Agathe’s throat. Ahead, she saw the timber wolf and knew the moment had come. She knelt, drew her bow, taking aim at the centre of the window.
Sibilant whispering filled her ears. She loosed the arrow, immediately nocking and releasing another at the
glass. A third arrow followed the first two. The timber wolf had launched itself at the wraiths.
All three arrows found their mark and the stained glass window shattered in a cascade of fragments. The room erupted into chaos. The wraiths writhed amidst screaming and bone chilling cold. A wind swept up from the broken window and sucked at everything in the room dragging Agathe towards it. Ossian’s body jerked forwards in the maelstrom like a puppet. Agathe thought she saw Q’uaina over to the left, blade drawn, battling a wraith.
Then the wind grew stronger and pulled all the wraiths towards its furious heart. They were powerless against its strength. After a few more seconds, the wraiths were consumed by the hungry wind and drawn through the broken window.
The room stilled. The air quietened. Ossian’s form swung forlornly in its chains. Q’uaina rose from her knees and approached his limp form. She reached up and gently touched his foot. His skin was cold as marble.
“Quickly, Q’uaina look for the chain release mechanism on your side, I’ve found a release on this side,” Agathe’s voice rang out.
Q’uaina located the lever in the floor and released it slowly in tandem with Agathe. Ossian’s body descended. A soft padding came from behind Agathe; she looked round and saw the timber wolf staring up at her. Sorrow lay in its eyes and something else she could not decipher.
“What have they done to you Ossian?” Tears welled up in Agathe’s eyes; she went to his slumped form on the ground. She embraced him. He was limp and cold.
“Q’uaina they’ve taken him, they have taken Ossian…” Agathe’s voice was small, lost.
Q’uaina had felt Ossian’s heartbeat slip away when the wind had devoured the wraiths. She had known then, Ossian was dead. He had been taken by the wraiths back to their world. He was of them, among them now, except…
The timber wolf came forwards and lowered its head to Ossian’s remains. Soulful eyes stared out at Agathe and Q’uaina.
“Ossian is still with us,” Agathe murmured, “his shadow side is here as this wolf.”
“Yes,” Q’uaina said. She did not elaborate on what she knew also to be true; that part of Ossian’s spirit was in thrall to the wraiths.
Q’uaina looked up and took in Ossian’s broken form. It became indistinct, blurred around the edges. Then he disappeared.
Agathe gasped. “What just happened?”
Ossian’s shadow wolf growled and then he too vanished.
Q’uaina jumped to her feet and rushed forwards to the window that had held the stained glass. She looked through and saw only the floating city below, against a backdrop of endless clouds. “We’re too late, Ossian’s gone, he’s been taken.”
Agathe reached out and put her hand on Q’uaina’s shoulder. “Come, let’s get out of here. Let’s find Carutha, she’ll know what to do next, “ her words trailed off.
Q’uaina turned and saw tears in Agathe’s eyes. She nodded and they went back down the stairs in search of Carutha.
Chapter 19
Guardian
Carutha was cold, uncertain. A bead of moisture dripped down her back. She had found and descended a series of broken steps beneath ground level. The blue glow from the floor had faded. She kept going, placing her feet carefully and holding out her hands against the dark.
Her heart beat loudly in her ears. Despite the cold, she found she perspired. Her left hand touched the wall of the spiral staircase. It felt damp, slimy. Silence reigned all around her, tomblike. Her feet drew her on, downwards, and then she reached a level area. The steps had finished.
She gasped as a pinprick of light reached out to her from the distance. It shimmered beckoning her, teasing her. She was conscious of her own internal dialogue. Her inner voice warning her and filling her with doubt, fear. She concentrated on the light, wary of where she placed her feet. She unsheathed her short sword and headed towards the light.
As she drew near, the light took on a bluish tinge. She felt a tide of fear pull her and instantly fought it with her own inner strength. Belief flooded through her and she trusted her instincts again. She breathed and kept advancing.
After a few minutes, she found herself bathed in the light. It only illuminated a small area. Then she saw a beautiful young woman dressed in blue robes. Blonde hair cascaded down around the woman’s shoulders. She was guarding an open door. She had a long blade drawn and pointed at Carutha. A shimmering blue stone hung at her waist, the source of the glow. She stood still, blind but aware of every movement, hearing every heartbeat and breath.
Carutha looked at the door behind the guardian. It lay partly open, a ghostly flickering emanating from behind. She could hear a mournful breeze and then something else. Impossible, but it reminded her of sighing leaves or the rustling of long grasses. Blue runes glowed dully around the intricately carved door frame.
Her attention was drawn back to the guardian. She could just make out the glitter of fine chain mail beneath her robes. The armour looked like a second skin and its craftsmanship was extraordinary. The guardian had a scarf wrapped tightly across her mouth and black paint around her unseeing eyes. The effect was disconcerting and mesmerising at the same time.
“The night is always young here, day does not break ever within these walls,” the guardian spoke. “What business do you have here?”
Carutha was nonplussed; she took a deep breath and decided to speak the truth. “I and my friends are looking for a way out of this world and back to our own. I believe you may be able to help us…” her words filled the air for the briefest moment then silence rushed in.
The guardian slowly moved her blade through the air tracing a figure of eight. The blade left a trail of blue luminescence in its wake. Carutha was transfixed by the effect.
“You have come to take something away from the lapis tower, something entrusted here, something that belongs here. You have come to steal. Why did you not speak of this?”
Carutha shifted uncomfortably, her hand gripped her sword tightly. Her mind raced. She decided to continue with the truth. “Yes, my friends and I need the Aerithryl Shard to defeat the Shiffante. They have taken my world, the lives of my people and my family. They have stolen from me and I need to redress the balance. This is my way and the truth.”
The guardian stood quietly considering Carutha’s words. “You speak the truth, you seek life beyond sorrow. This door could bring you what you seek or maybe not. I will deny you free access for that is my purpose. You need to fight me with blade or words. Consider and choose wisely.”
Carutha knew instinctively that treachery lay before her. Trickery was at work here but she had no choice. She doubted she could defeat the guardian’s blade; it was almost certainly enchanted. She would have to choose words.
Carutha spoke, her voice suddenly felt small, ineffectual. “You present me with a loaded dice I feel, however I will choose words over steel this time.”
The guardian remained impassive and started swaying slightly, its edges became indistinct as if it crossed between two worlds. The guardian spoke:
“How many have passed this way before and been allowed safe passage? How many heads have been severed? How many hearts have been pierced by this blue blade? How many spirits have been sundered from this life? This is not the question merely the taste, the flavour…my first question to you is:
What does a mother fear more than the death of her child?
Every baby is born with this
What is hotter than the sun?
More silver than full moonlight?
More invisible than the wind?
And drier than sun scorched sand?
The guardian’s voice stopped and silence hung in the air.
Carutha drank the words in and closed her eyes; she could do this, she could solve the riddle. As a girl on the steps of the quadrangle, she used to solve puzzles such as this with her sisters. Her mind slowed, her breathing followed and she emptied her mind. The answer came to her in a heartbeat.
“Nothing,” Carutha
said, “the answer is nothing.”
The guardian hissed and tensed. It then took a step forwards. Carutha held her ground. “Now let me pass,” she declared.
“Not so fast, we have just begun,” the guardian said.
“This is an empty place, where many ventured & remain to this day. Grass grows lush on this rich soil, nourished by memories of pain. If you were to sunder the loam, your plough would be rent by the iron-shod earth, its metal buried like the lost leaves of autumn.”
The guardian took another step forwards blade extended and then said menacingly, “What am I?”
Carutha closed her eyes and let the words dance before her mind’s eye. An image began to form blurred at first centred on the word “pain”. She knew then what the answer was and spoke.
“A field of battle,” she declared.
The guardian growled in frustration and whipped her blade in an arc as a show of defiance.
Carutha seized the initiative. “My turn.” Her mind went back to her childhood when she had sat on her father’s knee and they used to swop stories and riddles in front of the fire. She took a deep breath and spoke.
“I can be seen in the path of a storm, I am inside in harm, death and hate, I reside in the berserker’s gory wrath, but I am not found in destruction…” Carutha’s eyes snapped open. “What am I?”
The guardian’s face twisted in a knot of thought. Her blade drifted downwards. Then she became still. Minutes passed and nothing was forthcoming. Carutha’s heart raced, she needed to defeat the guardian, she knew their only way out lay ahead. Where were the others? She had to press her advantage, had to continue the fight without them if necessary.
“Time’s up, you fail guardian. I demand you let me pass. I have earned the right by your rules.”
The guardian’s head snapped up, her eyes swirling pools of darkness. Carutha’s muscles tensed and she thought of her beloved father, Silurian.
Severance Page 11
