Five Kingdoms: Book 07 - Wizard Falling

by Toby Neighbors

  “What are you doing?” the demon said.

  Zollin ignored the creature. It stepped closer and Zollin raised his hand, erecting a magical barrier in front of the demon. It pressed on the barrier and Zollin felt his head pounding with effort. There were too many distractions. The pressure on his shields, the barrier, the beam of magic, Zollin felt a sharp pain deep in his chest. He knew he couldn’t keep up the effort much longer, but he also knew he had to.

  The magic broke free of the ground, he felt the open air. The stone had been dense and thick above him, but now it was open and free. He sent the beam higher and higher. Then a strange sensation came over Zollin. He felt his magical reservoir draining. The magic was pouring out, hot and painful. There was an emptiness inside him which made him sad. When he had fallen off the mountain to escape the dragon with Brianna and broken his back in the process, he had lost touch with his magical power. But now he realized his spell was taking all the magical power he had. If he continued there would be nothing left. Even if he lived, he wouldn’t be a wizard anymore.

  That thought, more than death, more than defeat, both frightened and made him sad. When he’d discovered his power he’d been nothing more than a disappointment, an inept carpenter’s apprentice, but his magic had been his true self coming through all the broken expectations. He was a wizard, that was who he was. Without magic he would be empty, his life void of meaning. But if he gave up now, what would he be? He didn’t know and something told him he would never find out.

  His defenses were strong, but he needed more than a strong defense, he needed some way to fight the demon.

  At that moment two things happened. The demon beat down Zollin’s barrier. He felt it snap, like a bone and the pain crashed into Zollin, causing him to scream in pain. But at the same time, deep in his mind he felt his beam of magic pass through the clouds and for the first time since he’d crawled over the edge of the abyss, he felt sunlight.

  The demon reached for Zollin, the flaming hands passed through the magical bubble being crushed by darkness. The flames shocked Zollin again; they weren’t hot, but freezing cold. He felt their chill seeping deep into his body and he shook uncontrollably.

  Then he felt something else, something strange. It took him a moment to get a sense of what it was. His mind was reeling, he felt the arms of the demon taking hold of him, felt the blackness pressing in on every side, but he also felt what seemed like a gate. It was high in the heavens, farther than Zollin could imagine, but it was there. It was a gate, almost like a metal gate that could be raised or lowered at the entrance to a walled city or castle. Despite his pain and fear, Zollin felt the gate with his magic. It was like being in utter darkness and feeling something at the extreme end of his reach, as if only his fingertips could brush against it.

  Then he realized the gate was open, not completely, just slightly. The gate had been cracked open and Zollin could feel the immense power behind the gate. He felt the evil of whatever lay beyond it, felt its yearning to subdue and destroy. Zollin realized the horrifying truth that what was beyond the gate was many times more horrifying than the demon. And in that moment Zollin made a decision. He sent the last of his magic hurtling upward. In his mind he had only one thought, close the gate!

  As his magic slipped away he felt the darkness overtake him. He couldn’t feel the magic, only the deepest despair and fear. The cold flames were now raging all around him and Zollin was screaming, fighting and clawing to get free, but the demon held him fast.

  “No!” Zollin screamed, desperate to get away.

  He heard the demon laugh, the voice booming around the stone chamber and down the corridor it had pulled Zollin from. He felt his soul being slowly ripped from his physical body. It was agony and there was nothing Zollin could do to stop it. Then suddenly the laughter stopped. The cold flames pulled back. Zollin opened his eyes and saw a dark opening in the center of the room. It pulled and sucked the demon backward. The flaming creature was scratching and clawing to break free of whatever was pulling it into the black portal. It fell onto the stone floor, it’s flaming hands searching desperately for a handhold. Its flaming hooves rose up toward the portal and Zollin thought he heard a desperate shriek as the demon was pulled away. Immediately the portal closed and Zollin collapsed to the floor.

  Chapter 36

  Tears and sweat dripped from Zollin’s face as he knelt in the entrance to the dimly lit cavern. They were tears of relief, happiness, and despair. The threat to the Five Kingdoms was finally over. Of course, he couldn’t be sure Gwendolyn’s marauding army had been released from their onerous task, but he felt deep down inside that they were. On the other hand, he also felt completely empty, there was a void where his magical reservoir had once been. The fact he no longer possessed magic made him both afraid and hopeless. He couldn’t help but feel that Quinn’s pride, Mansel’s friendship, and Brianna’s love all hinged on his incredible powers. Now that they were gone, now that he was no longer a wizard, he felt more alone than he had ever felt in his life.

  The ground shook violently There was a roar unlike anything Zollin had heard before. The walls of the tunnel began to collapse and Zollin dove into the dome shaped chamber. The walls were slowly closing in and he felt a stab of terror in his bowels as if he’d been run through with a rusty blade. He ran to the throne made of human bones in the center of the room. The floor rose up toward the ceiling and as the walls closed in they blocked off the orange flow of lava, throwing the chamber into total darkness.

  Zollin climbed up onto the throne, covering his ears and ducking his head. The rumbling seemed to go on and on. He expected he would be crushed to death at any moment. He heard the skulls which made up the round dais crumble and break as the walls moved closer and closer.

  Finally the noise stopped. Zollin realized he’d been holding his breath and he inhaled, only to find the chamber was now filled with dust which caused a coughing fit in him. His heart raced and his head ached, but he was alive. He reached up but couldn’t feel the ceiling. He reached out to either side of the throne and could just barely touch the rough, stone walls. He sat back, trying not to think about the fact that he was resting on a chair made of human bones. He held up his hand in front of his face, but couldn’t see anything. He waited and listened, heard nothing but his own blood pounding in his ears. The he held his hand palm up and cast a simple spell.

  “Flame,” he said, willing a small flame to appear, but nothing happened.

  He closed his eyes and the hot tears leaked out, streaking down his dirty face in the darkness. He sobbed, his whole body shaking, and then, mercifully, his exhaustion overtook him and he fell asleep.

  * * *

  Brianna stood between the legs of one the giants and watched as the mutated fighters scattered. What surprised her most was the fact the wretched creatures seemed frightened of each other. Most had dropped their weapons and ran, trying desperately to get as far away from one another as they could. She guessed the giants would have protected her if the mutated fighters had come toward her, but the pitiful wretches were also terrified of the giants, so none dared.

  “I can’t believe it,” Quinn said looking around at the fleeing soldiers.

  “He did it,” Mansel said. “Zollin actually did it.”

  “He did,” Quinn said. “He must have.”

  “Do you think that means he’s still alive,” Nycoll asked.

  Quinn, Mansel and Brianna looked at one another, too afraid to even consider it might be true. They were like castaways who had finally kindled a tiny flame and could scarcely breath for fear of accidentally blowing it out. Their flame was hope, and it was so tenuous they were almost too afraid to talk about it.

  “Well, it’s possible, right?” Nycoll said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

  Quinn nodded.

  Tears flooded Brianna’s cheeks.

  “I always believed,” Mansel said.

  The witch’s soldiers weren’t destructive, so most of the actu
al buildings in the village were still intact. The giants, seeing their foes flee, turned and retreated back into the mountains. They never acknowledged the humans they had saved, even when Brianna tried to thank them.

  Quinn and Mansel were tired, but they found a stretcher and one by one moved the survivors to the inn and laid them near the fire Brianna had kindled in the large stone fireplace. Nycoll undressed each one and dried them as best she could with towels from the inn.

  The sun came out while they worked; a winter sun, low in the sky and not very strong, but the world that had seemed gray and hopeless looked beautiful and bright once more. It was almost nightfall when a few of the refugees staggered back into the valley. It took them a long time to cross the wide expanse and reach the village. Mansel and Quinn helped them set up shelters and find food.

  Tig arrived shortly after dark. The small, blue dragon was tired and one taloned foot was wounded. It looked almost like an animal had chewed the talon, but Brianna was so overjoyed to see the dragon she almost didn’t notice the wound.

  Tig filled her mind with scenes, first of the battle, then of the witch’s horde fleeing in every direction. From the air they looked like ants whose nest had been kicked over. They scrambled every which way, knocking each other down, sometimes killing each other. It seemed none of them were interested in continuing the battle. The Leffers had simply disappeared, as if the horrid monsters had never existed.

  Tig had then scouted to the east, but there was no sign of King Zorlan, only bodies that filled the eastern pass and made Brianna’s heart ache over the senseless slaughter. There was no sign of life in any of the strongholds she had built for the dwarves. Bodies lay piled in heaps around each one, but the strongholds were empty.

  Neither were there more dragons. Tig was confident that many lived, but they had gone to find shelter when the war ended, and Brianna hoped the small dragon was right. She poured healing fire into the dragon’s foot and the small dragon drank its fill from the village well before finding a sheltered place to rest for the night.

  Brianna returned to the inn. A keg of ale had been tapped and people were celebrating. A bonfire had been built outside the inn and the long benches from the common room had been moved outside. No one wanted to disturb the wounded, so they carried their celebration out into the cold night. The clouds returned and large snowflakes drifted down around them, but no one seemed to mind. To Brianna it seemed magical.

  “You look like you have more on your mind than celebrations,” Quinn said, sitting next to her.

  “I have to go south,” Brianna said. “I have to go to Osla and find out if Zollin is okay.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? There’s no telling what kind of monsters the witch unleashed.”

  “I can’t just wait and never know,” Brianna said. “I have to go. I wish I could right now.”

  “Well you can’t,” Quinn said. “It would take you all winter to walk that far and it’s not safe.”

  “I won’t walk,” Brianna said. “I’ll find a dragon to take me.”

  “Fine, but first you need some rest. You go sleep and I’ll see if I can find you some supplies.”

  Brianna looked at Quinn, wondering if he was sincere.

  “I promise,” he said. “I want to know if he’s alive too. I’d go with you if I could, but you’ll travel much faster without me. If you can go with a dragon I’ll feel that you’re safe enough. Now go rest.”

  Brianna threw her arms around Quinn and hugged him tightly. She had expected him to argue or tell her how crazy it was to leave the safety and security of the little village. But, she supposed, she had expected him to be angry she had broken her promise to Zollin as well, but he never held it against her, even when he saw how much it hurt his son.

  “You’re a good man, Quinn,” she said. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart. I always will.”

  They stood up and went back into the inn together. Brianna found a blanket and wrapped it around herself, then lay down by the fire and went to sleep. Quinn was as tired as he ever remembered being. He hurt everywhere, but he was glad to be alive. He felt an enormous amount of pride for his son, and for Brianna, Mansel, and Nycoll. They were true heroes, he thought to himself as he gathered what little food there was in the inn and stashed it in a bag. He filled a canteen with water and set them down next to Brianna, then stretched by the fire himself and fell instantly asleep.

  * * *

  Zollin woke suddenly. He’d been dreaming that he was dying, but when he woke the truth came rushing back to him. He wasn’t dying, he wasn’t that lucky, he thought to himself. He was just trapped in a cavern with no escape so that he would die slowly of starvation or go insane in the oppressive darkness.

  He decided he should get up and explore the cavern, perhaps there was a way out. A glimmer of hope got Zollin up and moving. He stumbled over the bones of the witch’s throne like a blind beggar, with his hands out in front of him as he shuffled around the tiny chamber. He felt every wall, but he was basically in a round room with no way in or out. He felt high, then low, setting bones against the wall so he would know when he’d made a full circuit. There was nothing in the room at all and despair once again flooded him. He was so thirsty his tongue felt swollen and his kidneys ached.

  He collapsed back on the throne of bones and dreamed of dying. He could bash his head into the wall, but he knew that was a futile gesture. At best he would injure himself and make his final hours horrendously painful. He held out his hand again and tried to cast a spell, hoping that in time his magic would return.

  “Flame,” he said, willing the tiny tongue of fire to appear, but nothing happened.

  He screamed in frustration, the sound echoing around the tiny room, but he didn’t feel any better. He was angry but there was nothing to be done. He sat back and closed his eyes, then a strange feeling came over him. It was magic, he realized. The dark magic of the underworld was still there, and he discovered that if he wanted to he could tap into the evil power. The temptation was strong, but Zollin resisted. He remembered seeing the shadows absorbed into Gwendolyn’s body, the way she grimaced in pain, and the toll the dark magic made on her. He didn’t want any part of that.

  He tried to sleep some more, but the nagging temptation simply wouldn’t go away. He wondered briefly if the temptation was coming from the throne of bones and so he moved off the wicked chair and stretched out on the floor. He tried to find a comfortable way to lie down, and after tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, he drifted back to sleep.

  * * *

  Early the next morning Brianna went outside and washed her face in the icy water from the village well. She then closed her eyes and called for Tig. She was surprised to see the blue dragon racing down from one of the surrounding mountains, followed by a larger, darker dragon.

  “Sorva!” Brianna called.

  The big dragon landed several yards away and then cantered to where Brianna stood.

  “You’re still here,” she said. “I thought you would have flown north already.”

  An image filled Brianna’s mind of the two of them together and she smiled.

  “I do need to go south, to find Zollin and Ferno. Would you go with me?”

  The dragon growled and Tig roared as the smaller blue dragon circled above the village.

  The refugees came out to see to the dragons. Many approached and shared their thanks at the contribution the dragons had made. Tig stayed in the air, but Sorva allowed the villagers to come close, even to touch her.

  Quinn came out of the inn with Mansel, carrying the bag of food. He smiled when he saw Sorva and Tig.

  “You’ll have company,” he said. “I’m glad for that.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be safe?” Mansel asked.

  “Safer than I’ve been the last few days,” Brianna said, with a giggle.

  It was the first light hearted moment she’d had in weeks, she realized. And she was thankful for it.


  “I’ll find Zollin,” she promised. “You can count on that.”

  “Then come back to us,” Quinn said. “No matter what you find. You come back to us.”

  Mansel nodded, “That’s right, you’re family.”

  “I love you both so much,” Brianna said, hugging each of them. “Where will I find you?”

  “You said your parents are in Orrock,” Quinn said. “I’ll go to them, tell them what you did for us and wait for you there.”

  “Nycoll and I will be with Quinn,” Mansel said. “If he’ll have us.”

  “Of course,” Quinn said smiling. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  They stood together watching as Brianna and the dragons flew away. Tig carrying the satchel of food. Quinn had stuffed a change of clothes in the bag along with a blanket.

  “You think she’ll be okay,” Mansel asked.

  “Yes,” Quinn said. “Yes, I do. I think we all will now.”

  Chapter 37

  When Zollin woke up he felt sick. His body ached all over and his tongue was so swollen it was protruding from his mouth. He tried to roll over, but failed. He was tired, but he knew if he didn’t find water soon he would die. That thought got him to his feet, but then he realized there was no water in the chamber.

  So this is how I die, he thought bitterly. It didn’t seem fair. He’d fought so hard, pushed his way through so many obstacles and been willing to die for the people he loved, yet after all of that, after defeating Gwendolyn and her demon monster, he was going to die slowly of dehydration. He wanted to bang his fists against the stone, but he knew it was pointless. He would need all of his strength if he were going to survive.