Five Kingdoms: Book 07 - Wizard Falling

by Toby Neighbors

  He laughed out loud, a croaking, hoarse laugh that sounded strange as it echoed off the walls of the cavern. He wasn’t going to live, he knew that, but he couldn’t accept simply giving up either.

  He crawled around the cavern again on his hands and knees, looking for something, anything that might give him hope. Then, as if from far away, he heard the tempting song of the dark magic. It could keep him alive, it whispered. It could help him get out.

  He pushed the tickling little voice in the back of his mind out of his thoughts. He refused to give in to the idea of using the dark magic. Around and around the cavern he crawled, searching and re-searching every inch of the stony prison, but there was nothing to find. And after hours of effort, his body aching and his knees bleeding, he collapsed on the floor again and fell asleep.

  * * *

  Brianna and the dragons flew with reckless abandon. Below them they could see the witch’s soldiers occasionally. Usually they were in small bands of three or four. They moved more quickly now. Sometimes she saw them eating small rodents and more often she saw them sprawled unconscious on the ground. At first she had thought they were dead, but the dragons’ superb vision could see their chests rising and falling as they breathed.

  Brianna wondered what would happen to them. Thousands had been killed, but thousands more survived and were fleeing south. After the first day the landscape emptied. Brianna wanted to push the dragons harder, but she didn’t want to hurt them. She made them stop whenever they passed a river or stream. Tig learned to plunge its blue head into the water and snap up fish. The smaller dragon even caught some fish for Sorva. The bigger dragon was strong, but they hadn’t spotted any game or even farm animals she could feed on.

  Late the first night they slept a few hours, and set out again at dawn. Eventually they did spot a small deer. Tig caught and killed the animal, settling for one hind leg and part of the deer’s rump. Sorva gobbled up the rest. They traveled more quickly after that. Brianna was anxious to reach the Grand City, or what was left of it. She hoped to find Ferno, if the ferocious, green dragon still lived. If Ferno could tell her where Zollin had gone, perhaps she could find him.

  She wondered if Zollin had fought the evil witch, Gwendolyn, underground or if he’d managed to lure her out. She searched the sky and the ground as they traveled, but there was no sign of Zollin, no sign of Ferno.

  Eventually they flew over the ruined corpse of Embyr. The poor dragon had been killed by Selix when the golden dragon was under the control of Corlis, the Usurper. They had been forced to leave the body in order to save the King’s Army from Gwendolyn’s mindless horde. That same vast, enchanted army, had trampled Embyr’s body.

  Gwendolyn and the two dragons landed near the remains. The scaly hide was dry and cracking. The bones were brittle and only the golden heart remained intact. Brianna removed the heart and placed it her pack. It more than doubled the weight, but she was confident Tig could carry the load. Then she burned the remains. Normally fire didn’t effect dragons, but the carcass burned and the smoke billowed red, just like Embyr’s scales. She wondered as she watched the red smoke drifting on the wind, why they hadn’t found the bodies of Selix and Gyia. She supposed the Leffers had destroyed the dragons completely, and the thought filled her with grief. When Brianna was done they pushed on.

  * * *

  Time became nonexistent to Zollin. He couldn’t tell how long he slept or whether he was awake or asleep. In fact, he began to wonder if he was dead. He lay still, not moving and barely breathing. Water was all he could think about. It was in his dreams, his desire for it was stronger even than the pain he felt from lying hour upon hour without moving on the stone floor of the chamber.

  He had no idea how long it had been since his fight with Gwendolyn and the demon, when something roused him. It was a strange sound. At first he thought it was the dark magic tempting him again, but then he heard it a second time. A small sound, just a simple pit, pit, pit, with no echo. Zollin ignored it at first, but it woke him again. He rolled over and prayed the gods would let him die quickly. He heard it again and prayed he was not in hell. Finally, the sound changed. What had been pit, pit, pit, was now plop, plop, plop.

  A light came on in Zollin’s mind, like the stars suddenly shinning through the gloom at twilight where all had been darkness before. He realized the sound was important. He realized he should know what the sound meant, but he couldn’t place it. It was a strange sound and it seemed to be coming more frequently now.

  Then suddenly he understood what it was: water. He tried to roll from his side to his stomach. When he finally got himself turned over, his face smacked into the stone floor and his nose smashed flat and started to bleed. He ignored the pain and the blood, instead he focused on getting up. The sound came from the other side of the cavern. He had to crawl to get there. He pulled his legs up and got his knees under him. The pain was intense. He wiped the blood away from his nose and mouth and pushed himself up.

  Every muscle hurt, his joints popped loudly in the cavern and he had trouble bending them, but eventually he got moving. He crawled through the darkness toward the sound until he felt something cold on his hands. He lifted one to his mouth and felt the wet grime on his lips. He dropped onto his stomach and put his lips to the cavern floor. He felt the water, barely more than a film above the stone, but it was there. He sucked the water up, not caring in the least that the floor was covered with dust and dirt. His dried, cracked lips burned with the effort, but he sucked and slurped, even lapping the water with his tongue, until finally, his shrivelled stomach filled with water, and he rolled over and fell asleep.

  When he woke up the dripping was constant and the back of his head was cold on the stone floor. He reached up and felt that his head was wet. He was lying in the pool of water. It was deeper than before, but Zollin was thrilled. His stomach grumbled with hunger, but he rolled over and lapped up the water. He sucked until his stomach was full again and then he crawled to the far side of the chamber and relieved himself.

  He then managed to crawl to a dry spot and lay down again. He was hungry, but there was nothing he could about it, so he went to sleep again.

  The next time he woke, he felt better, his mind seemed sharper. He bent and stretched his legs, then climbed slowly to his feet. He took a few steps toward the sound of the water, which was now more of a dribble than a drip. He drank again and then sat with his back propped against the stone wall. He knew what was coming. He would slowly starve to death. Perhaps it would have been better if the water hadn’t worked its way into the chamber.

  No, he told himself not to think like that. He had to remain hopeful. He tried to use magic again, but it was no use. He sat in the darkness fighting the temptation to climb onto the throne of bones and let the darkness fill the empty void he felt inside. Instead, he daydreamed about Brianna. He tried to remember everything he could about her, but to his horror he realized he was forgetting her face. He wept, hot salty tears ran down his checks and into the stubble along his jaw.

  * * *

  Almost ten days had passed and Brianna hadn’t reached the Grand City. The terrain had changed from the grassy plains of Falxis to the arid plains of Osla, but the capital city still wasn’t in sight. She was tired, but she pushed herself forward. They saw more animals the further south they flew, as if the animals had hidden until the danger had passed and were now roaming freely. Sorva ate whenever they saw an animal large enough to satisfy the big black dragon. Brianna had exhausted the meager supply of food Quinn had packed for her. Now she ate with the dragons, using her magic to cook the meat they killed and adding wild berries and the occasional fruit she found as they flew along.

  There had still been no sign of Zollin and she was worried. There had also been no sign of people and she felt incredibly alone in the vast landscape. They saw towns and villages, but not a single person. The settlements were disturbing without anyone living in the homes or working in the shops. She avoided them whenever possible,
content to keep flying and sleeping outside with the dragons when night fell. It was getting warmer with each passing day, and the sun turned from warm and welcome, to scorching. Fire couldn’t harm her, but the sun’s constant assault made her long for the snowy mountain peaks. She used the blanket Quinn had sent with her as a cover over her head and shoulders while they flew.

  The dragons grew playful, despite Brianna’s fears. They were happy and the absence of humans didn’t bother them in the slightest. They flew hard and fast. Sorva couldn’t keep up with Tig, but having to carry Brianna’s pack slowed the smaller beast somewhat.

  Finally, after almost two weeks of travel, they spotted the Grand City in the distance. The city was in ruins, but the long abyss that had divided the city and ran to the east and west as far as the dragons could see, was gone. The dragons circled the city and saw what looked like a scar where the giant fissure had opened up.

  “Take me down there,” Brianna said.

  They were spiralling down when they heard a roar that caused Sorva to pull up quickly and beat her black wings hard to gain altitude. Tig on the other hand dove straight down. Brianna, her heart pounding with excitement leaned far out over Sorva’s neck and when she saw a patch of green moving below she squealed.

  “It’s Ferno,” she shouted. “Sorva, dive, dive, it’s Ferno below us.”

  Sorva spiraled down, and soon they could see Tig and Ferno roaring at each other playfully. The mighty green dragon looked different. It was smaller, the green hide loose over the normally huge muscles that were now shrunken down from disuse and lack of food.

  “Ferno,” Brianna shouted, running to the green dragon and hugging the ferocious beast’s face. “Oh, it’s so good to see you. Are you okay?”

  Ferno nodded, and Brianna’s mind filled with an image of the dragon tucked into the third story of an abandoned building, waiting and watching.

  “You haven’t eaten in days,” Brianna said. “Tig, go find Ferno food.”

  She turned back to the green dragon.

  “You haven’t seen Zollin either have you?”

  The big, green dragon shook its mighty head.

  “That’s okay,” she said. “I’ll find him. Everything is going to be okay now.”

  Ferno growled and shook its head like a dog.

  “Tell me everything you know. And then I’m going to find Zollin and bring him back.”

  * * *

  Zollin’s hunger was driving him mad. He was weak and the water, even though he was able to fill his stomach with it and stop the maddening hunger pangs for a short time, made him feel sick when he drank too much. Worse still, he was tempted to gnaw the bones that had been used to make Gwendolyn’s throne. If they had been animal bones he would have broken every tooth he had trying to get some tiny morsel of sustenance from them. Surely, some of the bones had a bit of marrow hidden deep inside. But the bones were human, Zollin was sure of that. So he refused to touch them.

  He wished over and over that he hadn’t dropped his pack outside the cavern. He knew there was no food left in it but perhaps he could have found some bread crumbs that might have curbed his hunger even for just a few moments. He began to dream about food. He imagined the taste of roasted meat, creamy cheese, vegetables, bread, fruit, and even ale. He longed for something to eat every waking moment.

  He had always been thin, and working magic had increased his metabolism so that putting on weight had been difficult. But now his body was showing signs of starvation. His muscle tone was gone and even though he couldn’t see his face, he knew if he could there’d be dark circles around his eyes, the skin would be pasty white and brittle looking. His gums began to bleed and even just standing up made him so dizzy he toppled over.

  Water was still flowing into the chamber. What had started as a slow drip had increased into a steady stream. Zollin had been forced to move around the room to stay dry, but eventually the water forced him up onto the dais of skulls. He still refused to sit on the throne. The temptation to use the dark magic was a constant now, and it took all his will power to hold the darkness back. Still, he feared that if he sat on the throne, he would give in, so he lay on the dais, huddled near the throne, but refusing to touch it.

  He was so weak he considered rolling over into the shallow water in the cavern and drowning himself. He wanted his torment to end so badly, but something deep inside him refused to give up. He had defeated the greatest wizard in the Five Kingdoms, even though Offendorl had ruled in the Torr for over three centuries. He had defeated Gwendolyn and the demon from another realm, yet he couldn’t find a way out of a cavern.

  He slept more and more, preferring the lull of unconsciousness over the bitter reality he faced when he was awake. His dreams were filled with darkness now, and he couldn’t remember what Brianna looked like at all. He thought he heard voices, but they were always whispering in the darkness and they never answered him. He tested his magic every time he was awake, but his ability was gone and the emptiness inside him was so painful it nearly drove him mad.

  The water was getting high enough that his clothes were constantly damp. The top of the skulls were just above the water level and Zollin struggled to stay warm. Finally, he fell into a deep sleep, too weak to move, too depressed to care whether he lived or died.

  * * *

  Brianna took off her clothes and let flames cover her body. Then she let her heat build up slowly. The flames that covered her were yellow and red, but soon they turned to blue and then to white. Finally, as the flagstones of the city street beneath her feet began to turn red and soft, she jumped high in the air, flipping and spinning, and then she plunged down into the ground. She let her magical fire burn so hot that the earth around her became molten and she could literally swim through the bedrock of stone below the city. She plunged further and further down and then followed her intuition as she looked for Zollin.

  Ferno had not been able to tell her much. Zollin had disappeared into the massive crack and then, two weeks ago, the crack had closed, shaking the earth and knocking many of the crumbling structures around the Grand City of Osla down in the process. Brianna burrowed straight down where the giant fissure had been. There were occasional pockets of open space, caverns and empty aquifers. Some were little more than cracks in the stone, but others had the smooth surfaces indicating water had once flowed through the space. She saw mineral deposits, stalactites and occasionally pockets of molten rock, but no sign of Zollin.

  Finally, exhausted and full of despair, Brianna happened on a cavern that was larger than the others. It was a long, hall like opening. There were pillars of stone that linked the floor to the ceiling and from the pillars hung chains. Brianna inspected each one, finding bits of fur and traces of blood. The floor of the cavern was made of molten rock that had cooled and formed a rough, but even surface. At the far end of the cavern was a natural archway, but there was no tunnel or link to another chamber, just solid rock. Still, Brianna felt that something had once led away from the horrific chamber where the pillars were obviously used for some nefarious purpose. She burned the stone away inside the arch, letting the molten lava flow past her feet and into the chamber with the pillars.

  She burned her way forward, not knowing what to expect, but her intuition telling her to take it slow. She halfway expected some horrible beast to be locked in a chamber that she was about to stumble into, but what she found was so horrible and so wonderful, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

  The small chamber where Zollin was trapped opened suddenly, but Brianna couldn’t see into the darkness of the room. She was covered in flames that should have illuminated the entire space, but the darkness in that room resisted her light. Then the water connected with the molten rock around her feet and steam billowed up, further obstructing her view. It took several minutes for the water to stop blasting up like a geyser into her face. As she stepped into the small room, she saw the throne of bones, sitting on a dais of skulls.

  Zollin was on the far side of the
throne, and the darkness was clinging to him, so even when Brianna could see that something was there, she couldn’t make out what it was. She moved forward slowly, cautiously, expecting danger. The chamber with the pillars had been quite warm, but the dark room was cold, and the darkness made her shudder. She had never experienced anything like the dark magic that was trapped in the room with Zollin and she wanted to run away, but something in the back of her mind told her she needed to find out what was on the other side of the throne.

  She moved around the circular room, the darkness held at bay around her, but still closing in as close as it dared, so she could only see a couple of feet around her no matter how brightly she flared the fire that covered her body. She had to bend down close to Zollin to banish that shadows that hid him. When she saw him at last, her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat. She was elated and terrified. He looked to be only minutes from death.

  “Zollin!” she said, taking his hand. “Can you hear me? Zollin!”

  His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her.

  “Zollin! I can’t believe I found you.”

  She grabbed him and pulled his limp body up toward her, letting the fire that covered her body die down so she didn’t burn him. His eyes were open but she could tell he wasn’t really conscious or aware of what was happening to him. He was taller than Brianna, and even though she was strong, she wasn’t capable of lifting him, even in his emaciated state. She hooked her hands under his arms and stood up, lifting Zollin to a sitting position.

  “I’m getting you out of here, Zollin. Just hold on.”

  She pulled him. It wasn’t easy. The darkness almost made it seem as if the room were changing around her and she felt like she was working uphill, even though she knew that made no sense. It took her longer than she would have thought to pull Zollin off the dais of skulls and around the throne of bones, but eventually she got it done. Once she was out of the chamber with Gwendolyn’s throne, she moved Zollin much easier. She pulled his body down to the chamber of the pillars. The lava flows which had illuminated the chamber when Zollin had fought Offendorl there were gone, but Brianna let flames dance over her head to give them light.