The Flame Weaver

by Elicker, Tania

  Spying Kazen through the whipping wind, Scull bounded after him, snorting red flames from his flaring snout. His scaly face twisted into a livid scowl. He was no longer content just to kill the meddlesome Flame Weaver, now he would feel the mortal’s fragile bones crunch between his teeth. As he pounced into Kazen’s view, he reveled in the terror reflected upon the boy’s sallow little face. Froth dripping from his bared fangs, he let an evil hiss slip from his throat as he closed in upon his prey.

  But no sooner had he come within striking distance when he felt a powerful tug on his tail. Yanked off his feet and plopped onto his belly, he whipped his head around, ready to challenge whatever foolish foe had dared come between him and his meal. Another tug, this time from his chest, but there was no enemy to fight. Like ghostly hands rooted deep in his chest, a powerful force pulled him backward, back toward the shadowgate.

  “What . . . what is this?” Scull growled, clambering to his feet, to be immediately yanked back down again.

  “You made a pact with the demons!” Kazen hollered over the rising roar of wind and thunder. “The shadowgate is closing! You have failed to keep your end of the bargain! I imagine the demons will be wanting their soul back now!” A satisfied grin crept across Kazen’s lips.

  His eyes suddenly wide with realization, Scull let out a terrible roar. Flames spilled from behind his clenched teeth as he clawed desperately at the stone floor. Statues fell to his flailing claws and thrashing tail, and his ferocious roar weakened to a frantic whine as he was drawn into the shadowgate. His body melting into shadow, he let out a final fiery roar, and then in a wisp of black smoke he vanished into the abyss.

  Chapter 31

  Stunned, Kazen stood frozen, staring into the black shadowgate, waiting for the dragon to claw his way back out. As the moments passed, he could feel a nervous chuckle tickling the back of his throat. “He is gone,” he finally gaped, more surprised than elated. “He is really gone! I actually did it!”

  The victory was cut short, however, by a great quaking. The ground heaved, toppling rows and rows of the giant statues. Great bodies of marble collapsed to boulders and dust, while stone heads, fallen from their trusty shoulders, crashed to the floor, shattering to bits and spewing jagged fragments in every direction. Kazen shielded Ilagon with his body, feeling the sting of sharp stones pelting his back.

  A new terror struck him as he watched the whirling cyclone of shadow. Shrieking and howling as it spun ever faster, it began to swell quite noticeably, swallowing up whatever demons that circled overhead. Clouds of dust coughed up by the crumbling statues were instantly sucked away into the vortex, and soon whole torsos and pedestals began to be drawn in as well.

  Another crash sounded from above as a handful of demons, both winged and not, smashed through the crumbling roof, sending down an avalanche of black stone. Screeching and yowling, the beasts clawed at stone and air as they were whisked away back to darkness.

  Hoisting Ilagon to a sitting position, Kazen grabbed him up beneath his arms and pulled with all his might. His diminished strength little match against Ilagon’s dead weight, Kazen at first could barely move him at all, but as the room crumbled around them he had no trouble finding motivation, and he soon made it all the way to the other end of the chamber. Collapsing against the wall, he huffed and wheezed, convinced he could not take another step.

  Looking back at the shadowgate, and the terrible whirlwind spawned by it, he saw that the far wall had already begun to crack and crumble. Above, through the gaping holes in the ceiling, he could see the whole sky churning like a slow-moving whirlpool. Lighting rolled across the shadowy sky, flashing in answer to the grumbling thunder. Kazen thought he could see pockets of untainted sky filtering through the clouds of shadow. A faint smile touched his lips.

  His contentment was shattered by a terrible crash. Beside him, the very wall he leaned upon exploded in a blast of rock and sand. Two shadow-hounds smashed through the solid wall, yipping and wailing as they skidded across the floor, drawn toward the insatiable shadowgate. Tumbling behind them, still bound to long chains from around the beast’s necks, were four burly men, their faces painted white with terror. Grasping futilely at the smooth floor, they withered to shadow like everything else, and along with their hounds they vanished into the shadowgate.

  Rejuvenated by fear, Kazen once again wrapped his arms around Ilagon’s chest and began pulling him toward the door. Grunting and heaving, he had made it all the way to within an arm’s reach when a gust of howling wind suddenly ripped the door from its hinges, sending it flying over his head, and showering them both with a hail of jagged splinters. Fighting against the battering wind, Kazen shouldered his way through the open doorway, finally tumbling out into the hall.

  Sprawled on the floor, Ilagon’s unconscious body crumpled beside him, Kazen laid his hand over chest. Fairly certain his heart would pound right out of his chest at any moment, he struggled to calm his gasping breaths. A cold wind howled even through the hall, passing over his bare skin like an icy river. Shivering and drained, every part of him was either numb or aching.

  Dozens of armored soldiers darted through the hall in mindless panic, not giving a care for the spent wizards collapsed on the floor. As the ghostly wind swelled to a shriek, many of the men fell to their knees, trembling in fear. One by one, the fleeing men were swept from their feet, yanked through the air as if pulled on a tether. Screaming and flailing, they were sucked into the chamber from which they fled, some through the open doorway, some through the gaping hole made by the shadow-hounds, and others through solid wall as their bodies smashed through stone as easy as rock through water. Their hearts more shadow than flesh and blood, they were welcomed with eager malevolence into the dark gate.

  Clambering to his feet, Kazen grabbed Ilagon by his wrist and pulled. Laying all his strength and weight against Ilagon’s limp body, he inched their way toward a downward spiraling stairway. It looked familiar, he thought, but perhaps not, there was no telling one passage from another in this place. But it didn’t matter where it led to, as long as it was farther away from where he was at the moment.

  Hearing a terrible crackling sound, Kazen looked up just in time to see the entire wall of Scull’s chamber give way. Bursting inward, the wall shattered into a million bits, taking with it great chunks of ceiling and floor. Like fall leaves caught in a maelstrom, the crumbled stones were sucked away into the spinning black whirlwind, which had grown to half the size of the vast chamber.

  Without the meager protection of the wall, Kazen felt the full pull of the shadowgate. The air sucked from his lungs, he tightened his grip on Ilagon, knowing it would take only a slip of his bare feet on the slick stone to send them both skidding into darkness forever. As the whistling wind ripped through the halls, he battled his way to the edge of the stairway, finally feeling the break of steps beneath his toes. Without time or strength to fight his way down the long stairs, he gave one great heave, sending them both tumbling painfully down the steep stairwell, which spilled them out into a large corridor below.

  This passage was no different than the last. Mobs of men, running through the corridor, shrieking like fools and pleading to gods who had long since forsaken them. Hundreds more voices echoed through the surrounding halls. One at a time, their pleas were silenced as shadowy tendrils, barely visible, stole them up, snatching them off their feet and pulling them to the shadowgate where they would pay the terrible price for having been kept in the grace of shadow.

  An avalanche of rock rolled down the stairway behind Kazen and Ilagon as the walls on the level above continued to crumble. Struggling to his knees, Kazen took hold of Ilagon’s wrists and pulled, but found no strength left in his arms. Taking a deep breath, he tried again. He grunted and growled, heaving with all his will, but was barely able to budge him more than a few inches. Desperate, he finally wedged himself against Ilagon’s still body and rolled him out of the way of the collapsing stairwell.

  Flopping on his b
ack beside Ilagon, Kazen watched through listless eyes the chaos that swirled around him. People screaming and weeping, walls cracking, it all seemed to melt into a single blur, like a dream, half forgotten with the first blink of morning. Beneath him, he could feel the floor quaking, groaning and creaking as the entire foundation of the stronghold swayed in answer to the call of the shadowgate.

  “Well,” Kazen muttered aloud, mustering a weak smile from behind his quivering lips, “I suppose this is as good a place as any for us to rest awhile.” He turned his gaze to Ilagon, whose breath had faded to a faint whisper. “We really did it, though. I never really believed we could do it, but you did. You never lost faith. But then, you always were more clever than me.”

  Kazen closed his eyes as the walls began to shudder. Dust and gravel drizzled down upon his face. It really wasn’t that bad, he thought, the ground trembling beneath him. He wasn’t even scared. His only sadness was that he would not live to see the rise of the first sun.

  Chapter 32

  Almost comfortable in his acquiescence, he did not notice at first the voices that called out his name. Rising and falling between gusts of wind and rumbling quakes, the voices persisted. But it was not until he felt a warm touch on his cheek that Kazen finally opened his eyes.

  “I am truly growing fond of being rescued by you,” he whispered, staring into emerald eyes.

  “I can tell,” E’enna said, smiling down at him. “But don’t get too used to it.”

  “We almost didn’t make it at all,” Shanks said, kneeling beside Ilagon. “Would have lost our heads for sure if not for a brave little rabbit.”

  “Ain’t none faster at stretchin’ a bow than him,” Kazen rattled off with a clever grin.

  “Ah.” Shanks smiled. “You’ve met him, then.”

  The ground suddenly shuddered, toppling E’enna and Shanks onto their backs. With a sound like cracking thunder, the entire ceiling broke away, peeling back like skin from a fruit, and then crumbling to dust as it was sucked into the raging vortex, which had swelled to a staggering girth. Wild wind tore through the open corridor, smashing wooden tables against walls and ripping loose stones from the floor.

  “Time to go!” Shanks hollered, hoisting Ilagon over his shoulders. “Oy!” he moaned, his legs wobbling beneath the added weight. “What have we been feeding this man?”

  “Come on!” E’enna yelled, her loose hair whipping in the wind. “Get up!” Yanking Kazen to his feet, she caught him under his arm as his legs buckled beneath him. She supported as much of his weight as she could, and together they hobbled after Shanks, who called out, “This way!” leading them down the long corridor.

  The floor rumbled beneath their feet as they ran, swaying like a ship on the sea. The walls creaked and crumbled on either side of them, bowing to the vicious wind. As they neared an open stairway at the far end of the hall, they were once again knocked off their feet by the quaking floor. The floor in front of them began to buckle and break like snapping timber. Stones disintegrated, falling away to the chamber below. The stairs sank through the failing floor, toppling over in a single mass and crashing down in a cloud of dust.

  “Over here!” Kazen yelled, leaning heavily on E’enna’s arm as he staggered to his feet. “Down this passage!”

  Dashing into a narrow corridor, they could hear the angry shriek of wind closing in from behind. Stone and mortar rained down on their heads as the stronghold crumbled all around them. Ahead, a single soldier sat crouched upon the floor, cowering beneath his arms. His weapons abandoned by his side, his whimpering could be heard even above the howling storm. A shadowy hand was quick to find him, snatching him up by his throat. Kicking and squirming, he was lifted from the ground, dangling by his neck. Grasping at the fingers of shadow around his throat, the man shot a pleading glance at Kazen just before being yanked through the solid wall. A spray of gravel showered down in front of E’enna’s horrified face.

  Weakened by the sudden hole in the wall, the entire passageway began to quake. Chunks of rock began to break away and fall from the ceiling as the walls groaned and buckled.

  “This way!” E’enna insisted, darting down a twisting corridor.

  Dwindling torches flickered along the walls as the company raced through endless turns and stretches. Behind them, walls and ceiling crumbled, crashing down in an avalanche of stone and black dust.

  “Faster!” Kazen shouted, watching over his shoulder as the collapsing walls rapidly closed in.

  “I’d go faster if you’d go faster!” E’enna griped, still towing him along.

  “Stop!” Shanks bellowed, skidding to a stop just inches before a gaping crater.

  The floor had completely crumbled in front of them, leaving a yawning fissure to block their path. The fresh edges of the decaying floor continued to recede, crumpling more with every tremor.

  “Well,” Shanks said, sighing and casting a quick glance at the collapsing passage behind them, “there’s no going back now.” Shifting the weight of Ilagon’s body over his shoulders, Shanks took a few short breaths and then bounded ahead with a bellow. Leaping over the chasm, he landed on the other side with a heavy crunch of stone beneath his feet. “Come on!” he hollered, his wiry legs trembling beneath the weight on his shoulders.

  “All right,” Kazen said, sliding his arm from E’enna’s shoulder. “You next.”

  “Can you make it?” she asked, looking doubtfully into his tired eyes.

  Glancing behind at the crumbling walls, Kazen nodded enthusiastically. “I will make it.”

  Taking a few steps back, E’enna darted forward, hurtling over the fissure with ease and landing gracefully on the other side. Spinning on her toes, she waved her hands urgently, calling Kazen across.

  Eyeing the distance, Kazen was sure he had jumped nearly twice as far in his youth. But with his legs like jelly beneath him, and his arms like lead at his sides, he was more concerned about the distance down than the distance across. Behind him, the hail of crumbling stone was at his back, and the floor beneath his feet went suddenly soft. Forcing his legs to move, he made a mad dash for the widening gap, flinging himself into the air.

  He let out a nervous yell as he arced across the chasm, his arms and legs wheeling. For a moment, he thought he might even land square on the other side, but as his toes passed the stone flooring, it was a scramble to reach the side at all. Catching the edge under his arms, he smacked his chin hard onto the stone, biting his tongue and sending a jolt of pain through his body. With nothing below for a foothold, he quickly began to slip. Clawing at the smooth stones, he would have fallen for sure if not for E’enna’s quick hold on him. Even with both of them pulling they did not have the strength between them to pull Kazen up. He tried to swing his leg over the edge, but the weakened stone finally cracked, crumbling beneath his weight. As the handful of stone disintegrated between his fingers, he sucked in his breath, preparing to plummet to the chamber below. But much to his relief, a second set of hands had taken hold of his arm. Through the haze of sand and dust, he could see Shanks’ face straining beside E’enna’s.

  “That’s enough playing around, children,” Shanks grunted, pulling Kazen up and over the edge.

  “Hurry!” E’enna shrieked, yanking Kazen to his feet.

  Still half-dazed, Kazen peered over his shoulder, quickly grasping the urgency of the situation. The entire story behind them crumpled in a storm of stone and mortar. Swept up by the twisting wind, the debris was hurdled through the air, whirling around in deadly barrage-crushing rock. His eyes drawn to the churning shadows, Kazen could no longer see an end to the terrible vortex as it stretched high into the dark sky. Turning and turning like a great mill, it crushed everything drawn into its reach. The roar of the tempest alone was enough to shake the ground beneath their feet.

  “Let’s move!” Shanks commanded, scooping Ilagon up over his shoulders, and staggering beneath his bulk.

  Limping along as fast as he could, Kazen gratefully accepted E’e
nna’s shoulder, and together they hurried across the open corridor. Dashing into the first passage they could find, they stumbled blindly through the unlit halls. Tripping over mounds of fallen debris, the rumble of the crumbling hold hounded them through every turn.

  “Back!” Shanks barked, the walls and floor caving in just in front of him. “Turn back!”

  Reeling about, they darted back down the long passage, the walls trembling on either side. A rush of wind tore through the corridor, pelting them in the face with sand and stone. Flashes of white lightning flickered through widening fissures torn across the shuddering ceiling.

  Kazen was suddenly yanked to his knees, the sound of E’enna’s scream ringing in his ears. Looking down, he saw the stone floor fall away beneath her scrambling feet. Throwing his arm around her chest, he hoisted her back to solid ground. They watched in disbelief as the passage in front of them melted away like hardened wax.

  “Quickly!” Shanks hollered, leading them down the only path left to them.

  Not even a passageway, it was only a few long strides that led them out into the open air. Standing on a wide balcony, high upon the wall of Ruin, they looked out over the black ocean, which crashed against the walls in a violent fury, incited by the pull of the shadowgate. The outer wall of the stronghold, both above them and below, was breaking away in huge chunks, tumbling down to the ocean below.

  “We’re trapped here!” E’enna groaned.

  “We’ll have to jump,” Shanks said, carefully setting Ilagon down.

  “No!” Kazen argued, staring down at long drop to the icy waters below. “The fall will kill us!”