Wielder: Adept: Book 2 of Lady Shey's Story (The Wielder Cycle)
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Chapter 13: Gods and Monsters
Rikard waited until the city was under the cloak of night before he attempted to experiment with the amulet. He barricaded the door with a chest of drawers. With abject ferocity, he brushed all the books from a nearby desk onto the floor and took out the damaged Daethel Rast amulet. He placed the suppression gem at its center where the former gem had been, and he enchanted it to transfix it into the phylactery. A few moments later and the burned and broken amulet began to repair itself. Rikard went to his chest of drawers and removed something wrapped in cloth. He opened it to reveal one of the jade statuettes Toborne and Morgoran had made. Morgoran had given him one the last time he visited the Vale. He stuffed the statuette into his pocket and went back to the amulet on the table. The face of Daethel Rast appeared in the gem. Rikard spoke a few supernatural words and took control of the gem as Daethel Rast appeared before him, transparent, as an apparition. Rikard gambled if any part of the Lich had been in the gem he exchanged with Shey, the bulk of his essence would still be transfused with the actual amulet. The gamble paid off.
“What have you done?” Daethel Rast said in his ethereal, raspy voice. “Release me!”
“I have done as you asked, now you will do as I ask!”
“You are playing with forces you do not understand, boy!”
“I understand them.” Rikard concentrated on the suppression stone, and all the Lich’s power drained away. Daethel Rast gasped in pain. Rikard released the gem. “You will do as I ask or parish. I have the power within this gem to end you.”
“You are but a mere adept wielder. I am a master!”
“That’s why you’re here—you can still teach me so much more. I want to know everything you know about how to contain one’s essence and how to control it.”
Daethel Rast floated closer to him. “Is that not what you are already doing?” He weaved a spell to test Rikard’s hold on him, and it dissipated as soon as he cast it. “Who do you channel now . . . cleric? I no longer sense the goddess of healing, Loracia, about you now. How have you taken hold of me?”
Rikard grinned wickedly. “I found a way you never anticipated. Don’t waste your time; you cannot break my hold on you.”
“I do not understand what you are asking of me.”
“No, you don’t?” He hesitated. “You don’t know how to make a phylactery.? Come now, you are a Lich. Of course you know how. Why do you lie to me?”
“What good would such knowledge be to you, anyway? It’s useless to a cleric.”
“I wish to create my own phylactery.”
“Ah, I see. You believe the amulet contains my soul and thus my power to become a Lich, my essence. Foolish boy, I would not leave the vessel containing my soul and essence out where you could find it so easily. That amulet you hold allowed me to take your soul, not contain mine.” Daethel Rast began to appear more solid. Rikard reached for the suppression gem. He held it up to Daethel Rast, and the Lich shrank back. “So, you now have the gem the witch used at the Obsidian Steppes and you have substituted it into the amulet. Clever.” The Lich hung in the air, contemplating Rikard.
“Well, what say you? Will you show me how to make one or will you be destroyed?”
“Very well, I will help you, but only because I wish to see these powers you are playing with utterly burn you!” The Lich floated closer. “First, you must attune to your new god so your powers of channeling will work properly. You must embrace your new station in life. You cannot hope to attain the ability to create a phylactery in such a state.”
Rikard was suspicious. He knew the Lich thought he had his mind trapped, but it was the other way around. Rikard knew the Lich’s secret. He reached into his pocket and touched the elvish jade statuette Morgoran had given him. Daethel Rast momentarily shuttered.
“What was that? What do you have in your pocket?”
Rikard pulled out the jade figurine, and Daethel Rast hissed. Rikard grinned. “There, that’s all I needed to hear.” Rikard touched the figurine to the gem, and it began to draw essence from the amulet.
“No, you cannot!” Daethel Rast said. Rikard howled with delight as the essence of the Lich poured through the gem from the amulet into the jade statuette. The apparition of Daethel Rast dissipated and disappeared. The figurine took in all of him, every part of his essence. Rikard held up the statuette against the light. It didn’t appear to be any different. He had the Lich in his possession. It would no longer hunt him or try to control him. Shey destroyed his body, and he took possession of the creature’s essence and soul.
He carefully wrapped the jade statuette in the cloth for safekeeping. He took a deep, relaxed breath. He set the cloth on the table so he could also wrap the amulet up. The nightmare was over. As he was wrapping the amulet, his elbow brushed the cloth containing the statuette. Rikard dropped the amulet and reached out to catch the statuette as it fell from the table. He grasped the edge of the cloth and watched with horrified helplessness as the statue unwrapped and fell to the stone floor, shattering into thousands of pieces. He turned to the door and bolted as soon as the figurine smashed. He knew what was coming, and he had to get out the door. Red mist rose from the shattered sculpture as Rikard ran. He saw the red skull, bent on getting to him before he got to the door, flying out from the red mist. Rikard felt the hate and anger enter him through his eyes, his nostrils, his mouth. He was powerless as the Lich possessed him. His eyes burned, and all he could see was red before he collapsed to the floor. He pulled himself up and touched the suppression gem again, trying to maintain control, trying to stop the Lich from completely taking him. He absorbed Daethel Rast completely. He felt the consciousness of the Lich flow away as his own power filled him. The gem was working. He could get rid of the consciousness of the Lich once and for all. All of the Lich’s memories flashed into Rikard’s mind before the creature finally faded out.
Shaken and weak, Rikard moved to the chest of drawers and palmed the amulet. He leaned against the chest. “So, that was your secret, Daethel Rast. You have more than one phylactery. You were never after this amulet, you were after the real phylactery.” He thought for a moment. “You thought Ramzi had it, a souvenir he found in Fariq. We will fix that problem, and then all of your power will be mine! But first, I must get rid of this amulet, and I have an idea of how to use it now. I will melt it down and use the gold to forge my destiny.”
Slowly regaining his strength, Rikard marched with conviction to the metallurgy laboratory he had found earlier while he was exploring Ianthill’s villa. He wasn’t sure why Ianthill had the metallurgy equipment, but it appeared the old wielder dabbled in alchemy, judging by the tomes and scrolls scattered about. Rikard barricaded the door securely. He put flame to a large crucible, and when the crucible was hot enough, he removed the gem and melted down the golden amulet in it. He worked for several hours into early morning, molding and shaping the gold into improvised molds. Using his meager skills of metallurgy and jewelry-making, which he had learned from his mother, he made the amulet into a crude locket, an engagement ring, and a pair of wedding rings. He used essence to refine the process and make the jewelry look aesthetically pleasing. It was his first time to draw so much essence. He had always had the ability to use it, but he was never good at it, until now. He spent another hour imbuing them with the death magic the Lich had also imparted to him, trying to get his enchantments to stick permanently. After several agonizing tries, he finally succeeded. Enchanting metal permanently was extremely difficult, and when he was done, he was exhausted and needed to sleep.
He sat down in a nearby chair and leaned sideways against the wall. It took him several moments of squirming to become comfortable enough to drift to sleep. His last thought before slumber was that he could go to his chambers and sleep in his own bed, but he dismissed the idea. He was not about to leave the jewelry unattended, and moving the pieces too soon after imbuing might cause them to lose their enchantments. Dreams of madness made his sleep fitful.
A whisper in the back of Rikard’s mind rasped, “Not if I drive you mad first.” Rikard’s eye fixated on a small painting just above the washbasin of a man pushing a wooden cart filled with straw. For a moment, he thought he saw the man move. He dismissed the thought and returned to his task.
When he was certain the gold jewelry was complete, Rikard took the pieces and returned to his room, eager to summon the god of chaos Daethel Rast had spoken of before. The Lich said he was in no state to learn how to make a phylactery. He needed to attune first. In order to solidify his power, he needed to attune to his new master. That was what Daethel Rast had said to him. He put the jewelry in a safe place before he found the jade statuette with the soul of Asad. He took the vessel in the likeness of the Unseen, and a knife. The Unseen he had created was asleep in the corner. It woke up just long enough to see the knife blade before it entered its head. Rikard sacrificed the Unseen to facilitate the ritual. Asad would be his payment to see his god. He absorbed Asad’s essence as the Unseen died. Rikard felt heavy and then light. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he stood before a black fissure suspended over a floating boulder.
“Disciple, I accept your sacrifice and I know why you are here,” came a booming voice from the fissure.
Rikard immediately went to one knee. “My master.”
“Get up! I do not like that!” A charge of electricity came from the fissure and stung Rikard.
“But, Master, I am showing reverence.” He rubbed his arm where the electricity had struck.
“You are showing weakness. Never prostrate yourself before me!”
“As you wish, my master.”
“I will attune to you now, and then we will speak of your service to me.”
Several wisps of mist issued forth from the fissure and connected with Rikard until he felt an affinity to Aedreagnon, the god of chaos. Attunement to Loracia was a similar experience.
“Now, step through the fissure, my disciple, and see what I see.”
Rikard stepped through the fissure, and visions of past and present appeared before him.
“The one called Sheyna Namear is fond of you. You shall win her love. She is much more than she seems. Observe. She is born of the Silver Drake, a vessel whom I gave the ability to bring order from chaos. No one can hope to contain the Silver Drake for long, the gods have seen to that, but you can use the girl to your advantage. She has no divine protection like her mother. You will give that thief Toborne the suppression gem and convince him that with it, he may control the Silver Drake. If nothing else, it will be amusing to watch Toborne try to control the uncontrollable. She will teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget. In the meantime, you will seduce the daughter, Sheyna.”
“I do not mean to question you, my master, but why is Shey so important?”
“The dragons fear her and have been searching for her since she was a small child. They will never stop searching for her, but your advantage is they do not know where or who she is now. She is able to draw essence, use dragon magic, and also enchant, the three abilities needed to make dragonsbane weapons. She is the key to controlling all of dragonkind because she is the key to their utter destruction, not her mother as I led Toborne and Kambor to believe.”
“Who is Kambor?”
“The Oracle. His story is unfolding in parallel with yours. You are on the correct path, and you will learn the ways of the phylactery. Kambor is a dragon. When you get the opportunity, take a vial of his blood. It will be easiest if you do so while he appears to be a man. Keep it with you and one day, when you learn your skills, you can use it to control even him. Kambor and Toborne took part of my power and learned how to build an army out of the offspring of dragonkind.” He chuckled. “They believe they took my power, anyway. I have deceived them. You will be my vessel.”
“Why would they build an army of dragonkind when Shey can make weapons to destroy them?”
The walls of the fissure lit up as if on fire. “Now you understand why Kambor will want Shey just as much as the rest of his kind. She is the key!”
“But she is protected by the First Trine. They have all apprenticed her. They will know if I get too close to her or manipulate her.”
“Are you so blind, my disciple? Give the suppression gem to Toborne, and convince him he can control the Silver Drake. He can’t, of course. And when that fool Morgoran tries to help Toborne again, she will destroy him too, and two-thirds of the First Trine will be removed from your path, as well as her mother. But beware, even though the gods are forbidden by Fawlsbane Vex to directly interfere with the events unfolding, you are not the only one receiving help from a disobeying god. I will not be able to help you further. Fawlsbane Vex, our all-father, will destroy me in an instant if he suspects me, and since he is the father to us all, he has the power to do so. You may only channel my power but not receive my wisdom, thus I appear to you through this fissure now. I must go before I am discovered.”
Rikard was pushed and pulled from the fissure. “Wait, I have more questions. Who are the other gods helping?”
“I am the god of chaos, dear disciple!” The fissure began to close. “Not the god of order!” As the fissure disappeared, he heard the final few words from the other side. “You fool no one. They already know about you!”
Rikard fell to his knees. “What is this new pain in my head now?”
“Someone is trying to steal your thoughts. I will protect you, but I can only protect you as far back as I have been with you. If you do not block your mind, they will see.” The fissure was gone. Rikard awoke. He was sprawled out on the floor. The unseen creature he had slain earlier was sleeping peacefully in the corner. He went to the jade statuette containing Asad’s essence and it was still whole—Asad’s essence swirled within it. The Lich is trying to drive me mad! I never left this room or talked to my god! It was all an illusion! Who is in here? Who is invading my mind? He clutched the sides of his head and began reciting. “Deeper down, deeper down, deeper down, your soul goes deeper down. Deeper down, deeper down, deeper down, where your essence cannot be found. Deeper down, deeper down, deeper down, where you will never be found!”
Marella’s head burned with pain. “A mindwielder must learn how to interpret the past in order to understand the present,” she heard Dicarion say as she concentrated on reaching back through time, trying to connect with Rikard’s past. His mind had strengthened significantly since her last attempt to connect with him against his will. She knew what she was doing was strictly against her teachings as a mindwielder, but she convinced herself to continue to use her abilities because Shey was her friend and she had to protect her. Somehow, Rikard was repelling her. She strengthened her discipline and reached out. Her power flowed through her mind, and she connected. She could see Fariq. They had just separated to find waterskins to travel in the desert. She could now see through Rikard’s eyes, and her head stopped hurting. She watched intently through his eyes:
Rikard entered the room and scanned the cooking area for any sign of a waterskin or other vessel he could use to put water into. Something shiny caught his eye from the nearby table. It was covered in dust and sand from the harsh winds of the Vashian Desert, but it was unmistakably a golden amulet with a good sized stone at the center. He reached for it even though something within him screamed for him to leave it alone. As soon as his fingers touched it, he heard a song in his head sung in a gruff voice: Deeper down, deeper down, deeper down, your soul goes deeper down. Deeper down, deeper down, deepe
r down, where your essence cannot be found. Deeper down, deeper down, deeper down, where you will never be found! He felt the presence of the unlife creature behind him, but he knew it had stopped pursuing him as soon as he touched the amulet. He put the amulet on, still hearing the disturbing lyrics of the song. He felt strange, as if everything moved in slow motion. Something that felt like essence pervaded his mind, and he clutched the amulet, letting it slide underneath his clothing. Shey was approaching; he could feel her presence like he never could before. The amulet was doing something to him, something wonderful. Euphoria filled his body and numbed it. He had better turn and act as if the corpse behind him was still trying to attack. He mustn’t let her know about the amulet. He mustn’t let her know of Daethel Rast!
Marella disconnected. Gondrial caught her as she rose up from the bed flailing her arms. He calmed her.
“Your dream was right; he does have the amulet.” She reached and grabbed him by the shoulders as he began to move toward the door. “But you can’t go after him or the vision of your dream will come to pass.”
“He has to be stopped.”
“I think he has been corrupted by the Lich. Rikard is still in there somewhere. We have to separate him from the corruption. It isn’t his fault. He is being manipulated to believe his actions are his own. Daethel Rast, the Lich, has him under his control, and Rikard is going to get worse. We need to help him or the damage may become permanent.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We need help. I think we should take this to Ianthill.”
“He will be furious with you when he finds out how you obtained this information.”
“I know, but I am doing it for Shey. Maybe we should warn her.”
“No, not yet. Not until we have a plan. If we tell her now, she might let her emotions get in the way of her judgment and confront Rikard or something worse. We need to proceed carefully if we are to keep an advantage.”