Ocean Of Fear (Book 6)
Page 17
“You are not an Old One,” Kormak said.
The sorcerer smiled and when he spoke his tone was mocking, “And few are better placed to know that than you, eh Guardian? I’m rather surprised that you allowed yourself to be hired as an assassin. I always believed that your Order was above such things.”
“My Order does what needs to be done to ensure that the Law is not broken.”
“Alas, once this ritual is complete your Order will be in no position to do anything to me. Oh, they will try but they will have my new army to contend with. Believe me, there is no power remaining in this world able to stand against it. Dhagoth’s children are innumerable and the Leviathan can always breed more. You have seen what a few of them can do. I will soon have an army.”
Kormak imagined an army of the squid-like monsters unleashed on the world. With their sorcery they would be very difficult to stop. It had taken the strength of one of the mightiest of the Old Ones and his chosen people to defeat them in ancient days. There was nothing left in the world with that kind of power. He thought of the vision he had seen surging through his mind when the Quan had unleashed its power against him. No human force could stand against it.
“You are beginning to understand,” the Kraken said. “And I can assure you an army of Quan will be the least of my servants. Leviathan herself will be with me and there is no fleet in the world that she cannot destroy.”
“And you are prepared to unleash an army of monsters against humanity simply to satisfy your ambition.”
“In a word, yes,” the Kraken said. “Although it is not mere vanity that motivates me. It is righteousness. I could not be a worse king than the present ruler of Siderea. I will be able to unify all the lands of men. I will be able to stand against the Shadow. I will be able to build an empire the like of which the Solari only dreamt of.”
“You don’t lack for ambition,” Kormak said.
“It is not merely a dream. I will soon have the power to make it reality. By the way, I don’t think you should come any closer. I really would prefer not to have to kill you or, indeed, give you the chance to kill me.”
“I appreciate that,” Kormak said. “Unfortunately you cannot be allowed to proceed.”
“Why? What do you gain by attempting to stop me except quick and painful death?”
“We have managed to kill everything you sent against us so far,” Rhiana said. “I don’t think that you are any tougher than your servants.”
“That is where you are wrong,” the Kraken said. “I know how to work sorcery. I am protected by a Quan battle-harness. More to the point, I am connected to the Leviathan and an almost infinitely deep well of magical power.”
He swept his fingers through the air, leaving a trail of sparks behind them and an after-image whose glow floated across Kormak’s vision for moments afterwards. It was a display of compelling magical might. Kormak knew how difficult it was for sorcerer to summon power and the Kraken had done so with ease.
“I could slay you with a gesture,” the Kraken said. “Please do not make me do so. I’m feeling quite sentimental and I would like to have some witnesses to my apotheosis. You will be my messengers to the world. Or you will die.”
Rhiana edged towards the Kraken, keeping her spear up. Kormak stalked closer from the other side, trying to move past the edge of the sorcerer’s peripheral vision, so that he could not target them both at once.
“You’re going to be tiresome about this then,” the Kraken said.
“I came here for vengeance,” said Rhiana.
The Kraken smiled. “How very righteous of you. I am hardly one to criticise you for it though. I have spent my whole life seeking it.”
There was sympathy in his manner. Rhiana’s features hardened. She sprang forward, spear flickering out. The Kraken stepped to one side, almost too fast for the eye to follow. The power he drew from the gem made him much stronger and faster than a mortal man. He caught the haft of her spear with one hand and tore it from her grasp with the other.
Her knife was in her hand. She slashed his cheek. The Kraken grimaced. The skin beneath his eye peeled away, flopping down to reveal muscle and teeth then after a moment it knitted back together with no sign of scarring. He gestured again and a bolt of power emerged from his hand, smashing into Rhiana, hurling her backwards, her mouth open in a silent scream
Kormak sprang towards the Kraken. The sorcerer gestured with the lightning rod. A bolt of power danced from the wand’s tip to the point of Kormak’s blade. The shock ripped right up his arm but it was less than it had been back in the palace. His armour’s gauntlets partially insulated him against the bolt. Nonetheless it was enough to set his fingers to spasming. The dwarf-forged blade dropped from his hand. The Kraken kicked it away and brought the rod down again. Kormak raised his arm to block the blow. The sleeve of his armour provided less protection against the blast than the gauntlet. His whole arm went numb. Sparks flickered on his field of vision. Strength drained from his body.
He tried to move but his legs refused to obey him. The Kraken raised the metal rod again and Kormak knew he would not survive the impact. Everything slowed for a moment. He was aware of everything: the beads of sweat on the Kraken’s forehead, the faint hint of ozone in the air, the disappearing glow at the rod’s tip and the fading runes on its side.
The death-blow began to descend.
Rhiana appeared behind the Kraken, her face pale, her eyes wide with shock. Her arm looped around the sorcerer’s throat. Just for a moment, he was held immobile. Kormak forced his rubbery limbs to move, rolled away towards where his sword lay. The Kraken twisted his head to look Rhiana in the eye, just as he brought the tip of the wand into contact with her arm. It blazed less brightly this time. She screamed in agony but kept her grip tight, intent on squeezing all life out of her sister’s killer.
“Enough,” Kormak said. He drove his sword through centre of the Kraken’s chest, smashing it through the Teardrop of Leviathan. There was a smell of burning. The runes on the dwarf-forged blade blazed bright red. The crystallised magic of the aether gem exploded outward. The Kraken’s eyes went wide with agony. His lips twisted, revealing his brilliant white teeth gritted against each other. The aura around him intensified. A spark of the force struck Kormak.
Terrifying power surged into his mind bringing a thousand strange visions. He saw Dhagoth summoning the Leviathan from the depths. He saw him drive shards of the gem into her flesh and then use the remainder to control the beast and draw her soul into its heart. Now it was free.
The sorcerer’s shout was agonised. “You fool! You don’t know what you’ve done.”
Part of Leviathan’s soul had been imprisoned in the crystal. Now it was trying to return to its body. Hazy tendrils of power flickered through the air, flashing towards the coral brain. As they did so the walls around them began to vibrate.
The floor shifted beneath Kormak’s feet. The monster was moving.
“The Leviathan is awake!” Rhiana shouted.
Kormak twisted the blade. The Kraken toppled, his features warped by horrible agony. The fall drove the sword in deeper. Rhiana let go to avoid the blade as it passed through the sorcerer’s body. He forced himself upright and reached out.
Strong hands grasped at Kormak, clawing for his throat. He pulled back, but fingers dug into his windpipe.
The Kraken was choking him. Kormak let his weight fall forward and grabbed the chain on which the Teardrop had hung. He looped the chain around the Kraken’s throat and sawed away, grinding the tightened metal links into the Kraken’s windpipe like a garrotte. He drew blood. There was a whimper followed by an odd coughing sound. The grip on Kormak’s throat lost its strength. The Kraken’s face turned purple, his dreams of conquest vanishing as the tide of his life receded.
Kormak kept the pressure on until the sorcerer toppled.
He almost fell himself. He was still weak from the impact of the Kraken’s lightning rod.
“We should get out of he
re.” Rhiana said. She limped over to Kormak’s side.
The whole chamber tipped over, sending them rolling towards the walls. Kormak heard a roaring noise in the distance. The floor vibrated beneath his feet.
“We can’t go,” he said. He picked up his blade and made his way towards the central brain node. “Not yet.”
The aether released by the destruction of the Teardrop was settling. He lashed at the sparks with his blade and then drove it deep into the coral, cutting it. Once again a smell of burning filled the air. Kormak kept slashing, smashing nodes, severing ganglions, destroying every delicate thing he could find. The room continued to shiver and shake. Huge groaning, gurgling sounds filled the surrounding air.
From the sides of the room water poured in, great jets of it, spurting through the entranceway. Since the Leviathan had shifted, the sea must be filling the once-air-filled chambers.
Kormak pulled himself over to the Kraken’s body and reached down for the ring. The Kraken’s eyes opened and he looked at Kormak and then the piece of jewellery. A faint flicker of life was in his eyes. “It was my mother’s,” he said. “Don’t take it now.”
Just for a moment Kormak saw a little boy looking out through the dying man’s eyes, gazing on the only token he had from his dead parent. He toyed with letting it rest with the corpse, but then he thought of all the people slaughtered at Woods Edge, of Rhiana’s lost sister. He took his blade and cut off the Kraken’s ring finger. As the light died from the sorcerer’s eyes Kormak slipped the ring into his belt pouch.
The water rose until it was almost above his head.
“Time to go,” Rhiana said. Kormak dropped the armours visor into position and sealed it, offering up a prayer to the Sun that its magic was still working.
They swam back the way they had come, through chambers filled with water. The priceless tapestries billowed like curtains of seaweed. The desiccated Quan corpses floated by. They exited through the vast crater and swam upwards. As they rose, Kormak saw the huge tentacles writhe, vast slow things, like gigantic dying sea serpents beating their brains out against the ocean floor, churning up gigantic swirling currents. Even as he watched they slowed and stopped. The luminescence that had once illuminated the beast’s side was dimming.
At long last the strange death of the Leviathan was complete.
Kormak stood on the deck of the Sea Dragon. Overhead the stars were bright. Nearby he heard the soft footsteps of the night watch as they went about their business. Zamara was asleep on the command deck, wrapped in his cloak, the faithful Terves by his side.
Soft footfalls announced the presence of Rhiana. She came closer and laid a hand on his shoulder. “What are you going to do now?”
“Sail back to Siderea with Jonas and the captain; claim my share of the bounty. What about you?”
“I don’t have much choice. I’ll take the survivors of my crew back, see if we can pick up a smuggler back to the Pirate Islands.”
The silence grew longer between them. “What about the armour?”
“It belongs to you. It always did. I just borrowed it.”
“It’s worth a lot of money to the right buyer.”
“Well, at least you’ve turned a profit on this trip.”
“It wasn’t about profit,” she said. “It was about repaying a debt.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Like I have laid down a heavy load. Like I can get back to being myself again.”
“I’m glad.”
She looked at the sword on his back. “You don’t believe in putting down your burdens, do you?”
He shook his head and looked at the distant moon. It watched them like the eye of a mocking god. Somewhere ahead of them lay the coast of the Kingdoms of the Sun. He would be glad to get back.
Ocean of Fear
Copyright © William King 2014
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WILLIAM KING LIVES in Prague, Czech Republic with his lovely wife Radka and his sons Dan and William Karel. He has been a professional author and games developer for almost a quarter of a century. He is the creator of the bestselling Gotrek and Felix series for Black Library and the author of the bestselling Space Wolf books which between them have sold over three quarters of a million copies in English and been translated into 8 languages.
He has been short-listed for the David Gemmell Legend Award. His short fiction has appeared in Year’s Best SF and Best of Interzone. He has twice won the Origins Awards For Game Design. His hobbies include role-playing games and MMOs as well as travel.
His website can be found at: www.williamking.me
He can be contacted at bill@williamking.me
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MORE E-BOOKS BY WILLIAM KING
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Defiler of Tombs
Weaver of Shadow
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Taker of Skulls
The Kormak Saga Omnibus Edition
THE TERRARCH CHRONICLES
Death's Angels
The Serpent Tower
The Queen’s Assassin
Shadowblood
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Sky Pirates
The Inquiry Agent