Nikulo found the slow pace at which the barkeep moved concerning, but he followed, his eyes shifting uneasily at the cracks forming in the crystal above.
“Can’t we go a little faster?”
Charna hissed as an explosion burst against a fractured part of the dome, and a man-sized fragment fell onto a crystal tower below. A black stream of sorcerers poured down in through the opening.
“I’d say we have about ten minutes or so before the whole damned dome shatters into millions of shards of glass.” Jeremiah made a clucking sound with his tongue. “Then it’ll get nasty, you sure won’t want to be out on the streets then! Blood and guts flying everywhere. Ever seen a man get his head sliced off by a sheet of flying glass? Nasty business…”
But to Nikulo’s frustration, the barkeep didn’t speed up his pace, he just continued plodding along. Over Nikulo’s shoulder, he could see the sorcerers zapping the fleeing citizens below with lightning strikes. Hundreds were being slain. And ahead, there were people beating their fists against the crystal dome, crying and shrieking and begging for their gods to save them. As if it did them any good.
Jeremiah veered towards a small, crystal temple with the image of a woman cradling a baby protectively etched over the entrance. The group found refuge inside and followed the barkeep to a place behind the altar of the mother goddess. He tapped four times on the dark wall and a secret door opened. The way led down stairs to a massive, musty chamber far below that was lit by beams of light from slits in the ceiling above. Ancient stone crypts filled the room. After reading a few of the markers, Nikulo realized these were tombs of mothers who’d died in childbirth. And in the center of the chamber sat the largest crypt, its face a mirror image of the altar above. The group followed Jeremiah inside.
He clapped his hands four times and pressed his palms together as in prayer.
“Goddess Solonia, mother of all life, protector of sons and daughters, grant us entrance to your way of escape.” The old barkeep bowed his head and the stone wall parted, revealing a long, dark tunnel.
Jeremiah snapped his fingers and a ball of light illuminated the corridor. Nikulo wondered who the barkeep really was, and why had he stayed for so long in a city foreign to him? The man turned and raised an eyebrow, as if reading his mind.
“We’ll find cover in the woods nearby. I doubt the invaders will bother to search there.” Jeremiah stomped along the dusty tunnel and after a few minutes they reached stairs that climbed to a hatch in the ceiling. The barkeep and Jared pressed their shoulders against the hatch, and with a groan, lifted it open.
Once Nikulo stepped outside he could see the flash of lightning and the blanket of smoke and shadows covering the shattering dome. The wail and whine of dark magic slamming against the crystal surface. He knew it was only moments before it would collapse. Jeremiah seemed to sense the same thing and dashed ahead, leading the group to the protection of the forest.
A great and malicious cracking and splintering sound was heard behind them, and Nikulo ran and held Charna tightly to keep the cat from fleeing in fear. He found a shield in the form of a thick tree and paused, feeling his pulse throb in his temples. Millions of tiny glass fragments rocketed around him, striking tree and shrub, but missed Jeremiah and the others who had all sought protection behind the trunks.
They were safe for now. The cascade of glass ceased, and Nikulo peered around the tree and gaped at the broken and ruined city. What had once been beautiful crystal spires and towers and buildings, now was cracked and shattered and marred. Many structures still stood intact, but the harmony and cohesiveness of Crystalline was gone.
Now wails and cries of help could be heard from the citizens. Nikulo had to stop himself after he found his feet stepping towards the city to help. Jeremiah came alongside and together they stared at the chaos of the city under siege.
“She was a proud and vain city.” The barkeep sighed and wiped his brow. “And her citizens unkind and filled with illusions. They truly knew nothing of the darkness of the outside world. But how comforting, how soothing, how sheltering she was, like being a babe again in your mother’s arms. I’ll miss her, I’ll miss her protection and peace, and most of all, I’ll miss my tavern—she was my life.”
In that moment, a wave of sadness and longing washed over Nikulo: he missed his mother and his father. He missed the warmth of his home. Their journey has been far too long, but now he realized he most likely would never return. Perhaps he’d find a life with Jeremiah, in another land or on a ship that sailed the vast waters of Vellia. He liked the old barkeep and trusted him…well, he had trusted Jeremiah with his life and had survived.
“You’re a good man, Jeremiah. You saved our lives.” Nikulo glanced around and saw the others had joined them in staring at the city. “I owe you a debt.”
The barkeep laughed and waved away the idea. “You owe me for the drinks, lad. Yer life is yer own. No, no, I’m just joking with you…put away your gold. Let’s be on our way before we’re spotted by those damned sorcerers.”
“And worse, necromancers. Look, already they bring the slain back to life.” Nikulo pointed at an angry swarm of flying figures hovering above newly risen undead, and frown lines formed all over the barkeep’s face.
“Gods, what monster has taught these invaders such magic? I’ve heard stories of such abominations—and let’s go quickly, to the east, to the protection of the forest—I’ll tell you my story along the way. In my youth I had a teacher of history and lore, and he told me of an ancient battle between the Starwalkers. One group worshipped the light, and other death and the night. Do you know of the Starwalkers, lad?”
Nikulo shook his head, but curious all the same. This man was an ancient of Vellia, an immortal, too?
“The Starwalkers are groups of wizards and sorcerers and necromancers from the stars. Yes! The very stars in the sky. You don’t believe me? Let me tell you the story. Thousands…no tens of thousands of years ago the Starwalkers first came to this world through magical portals that connect entire worlds. Imagine that! They possess such magic and harness the energy of immensely powerful crystals to open such portals. And just like that—they jump from world to world, in search of knowledge, power, crystals, and in some cases they find suitable followers to join them.
“After the first group of Starwalkers arrived, more groups came—the ones with black hearts, like those monsters that destroyed our beautiful Crystalline. Those dark Starwalkers would come to a city and kill everyone in sight, except for the most powerful ones with knowledge of magic. Those they would mesmerize and force them to yield and swear allegiance to their cause. For the dead they would just cast their spells and cause them come back to a state of deadly animation. Zombies, like, and since they were recently slain, they still hungered, but now they hungered for living flesh, for the thing they once were. They became cannibals.”
Jeremiah stopped walking and made a clicking sound with his mouth, and the others stared at him with anticipation in their eyes. His story resurrected memories in Nikulo of the siege on Naru by the undead. And yes, hadn’t some of the newly undead feasted on the soldiers of Naru? It was a gory memory, one that Nikulo would rather erase from his mind. And after the siege was over, many were ill from the bites of the undead and had to be healed and purified of the sickness.
“Aye, cannibals, I tell you…and far worse, they spread a vile plague that spread over the world. It took many hundreds of years for our ancestors to cleanse the land, but still many of those zombies still lurk in the shadows of the darkest forests and caves. And now the plague has returned.”
For many hours the party hiked in silence, and Nikulo remained deep in thought on the barkeep’s words. Then his mind shifted to Mara and Talis, and the old sorcerer Palarian. Was he still able to hold up the twin portals? If Talis was alive, did they have a chance of making it back home alive? Or would he just give up on any thought of returning home and make his way with the group to the Port of Hubrion and find a ship away
from this cursed Kingdom?
They had left the forest now and reached a field of golden wheat that shimmered in the last beams of sunlight. Charna darted through the wheat, chasing and playing with a rabbit. After tiring of the game, she snatched the hare and trotted over to Nikulo, proudly displaying her catch.
“Good girl, this will make a fine roast for dinner.” Nikulo accepted the limp rabbit and scratched the lynx until she purred and rubbed against him in delight.
“Ho, ho! Supper awaits us! Your cat has found a fat rabbit fit for a fine feast!” Jeremiah rubbed his rotund belly and his eyes widened as if he planned to eat the entire hare himself.
Nikulo grinned at the barkeep and cradled the rabbit. He was about to issue a witty retort when a chill shot down his spine after he noticed the hair spiked up all along the lynx’s back. Her body had gone stiff and she’d raised her eyes.
A swarm of dark shapes filled the sky.
18. THE TRICKSTER
The flight across Vellia to the Kingdom of Zhael—even at dragon speed—would have taken many days. But from what Talis glimpsed on the Surineda Map, he knew they didn’t have time. Nikulo and Charna needed their help to survive. So Palarian opened a dragon-sized portal that led to the edge of Vellia, and all the dragons of Ghaelstrom flew through.
Much to Talis’s disappointment, he had to remain in human form, unable to fly as one of the dragons, in order to track Nikulo’s movement with the map. After they raced over the land they saw from a distance the broken, crystal city, and Palarian wept at the sight. They veered aside, hoping to avoid confrontation with Aurellia’s forces, and tracked Nikulo’s escape to the east, past a forest, to a vast, golden field.
Talis swooped down to the field, and with Palarian and the other dragons, landed near Nikulo and a party of fearful-eyed survivors from the wrecked city. When Charna recognized Talis, she ran into his arms and nearly knocked him over.
“You’re all safe, little one.” Talis laughed as the lynx purred and murmured and nuzzled his face, her long whiskers tickling his skin. He vowed to never leave her again, to treasure the gift of the Goddess Nacrea, and always keep Charna safe.
“You brought a dragon army!” Nikulo chuckled, and slapped Talis on the back. “And, ho! Palarian, friend, you’ve returned somehow to your home world?”
Then Nikulo’s face darkened, as if realizing the sobering fact of being trapped on Vellia.
“Don’t worry, we have a way of return.” Talis patted his backpack. “From the mines deep in Ghaelstrom, crystals powerful enough to get us back home to Naru.”
“But what of Mara? Where is she? Is she safe, at least?” Nikulo had glanced at the Surineda Map in Talis’s hands.
“She is alive…but her mind has been poisoned with lies. She believes I am dead.”
“Elder Relech? That spawn of demons…” Nikulo bawled up his fists. “Aurellia is behind it, of course—but what is his plan? Tell me, where is Mara?”
“In the capitol, Illumina, at the Regents Palace.” Palarian sauntered over to Nikulo and snapped his fingers. The image of a vast, beautiful palace of gold and silver formed in the air.
“Now that Aurellia’s forces have taken Crystalline, they’re sure to aim for the capitol next.” Talis looked at Palarian. “But why do you think they went to Crystalline first instead of Illumina?”
“It’s simple. Crystalline holds the most powerful crystals in the land and feeds the odd revolution of the planet’s rotational speed at night. Now darkness will rule in equal proportions to light, strengthening Aurellia’s forces.”
Talis realized it could lead to something worse. “Or make the night last all the time, and cease the planet’s rotation.”
“Endless night?” Palarian tasted the words and seemed to chew them slowly in his mind. “Yes, yes, I think you might be right, young wizard. Look, already night falls and a chill comes over these old bones of mine. We may indeed be facing endless night.”
King Valeron wagged his immense body from side-to-side and shot a smoky belch from his nostrils. “Aurellia would possess an immense advantage. Not that he needs it with that crystal he’s mined from the heart of Ghaelstrom. But his forces would all find an advantage as well.”
“And the Ancients of Vellia would find a massive disadvantage.” Talis remembered Aurellia’s gleeful distain of the light-blinded fools of Vellia. He was gaining his ultimate revenge by bringing night to reign over the Kingdom of Zhael.
“Don’t forget about the cults that have raged all over Vellia.” A tall man with a plump belly strode up next to Nikulo. “My name’s Jeremiah, barkeep of the Trickster’s Folly, and I led your friend out of the siege of Crystalline.”
Talis bowed to the man, but felt wary, sensing some strange power within him. “You have my thanks for the life of my friend, and for the safety of my lynx.”
Jeremiah’s eyes brightened. “So you’re the friend Nikulo was talking about? Ah, she’s a fine cat, a true gift of a goddess.”
At the sound of the man’s words, Talis suspected his motives in helping Nikulo. Was it because of Charna? What did Nikulo tell him about his lynx?
“She is a fine cat, indeed. Can I offer anything as a token of thanks for your help?”
A wry smile formed over the barkeep’s mouth, and he rubbed his face as if to hide the expression. “They would have both died in there, or worse, turned into undead. A sad thought…”
“What is it you want?” Talis said, and glanced at Palarian, noticing a dim hint of recognition form on sorcerer’s face, as if he were struggling to remember who Jeremiah was.
“Who me? Never you mind me. I’ll just be going along to Hubrion and we’ll find a ship to Rheams.”
“Rheams? Did you say Rheams?” Alarm flashed on Palarian’s face and Talis noticed that he’d raised his hands a bit, as if readying in defense. This woke every nerve of Talis’s body into a state of alert.
“Yes, of course, Rheams, my old dear home. We’ve been away for too long, don’t you think, Jared?”
Another old man next to Jeremiah nodded his head thoughtfully, and flicked his fingers together as if testing whether they worked or not.
“We’ve had a good go in Crystalline,” the old man mused. “Shame we had to leave, though. We really seemed to connect with so many people there. Ah, but we’ll get on ok, I suppose.”
“Yes, I suppose,” Jeremiah agreed, but a frown formed on his rugged face. “We did save the boy’s life…and his cat. I suppose payment is in order. And, hah! You never did pay me for the drinks you ordered.”
Nikulo cringed now at the man’s jests, and looked at Jeremiah as if sizing him up for the first time.
“Tell me, young wizard, what did you mine in the heart of Ghaelstrom?”
Fear clenched Talis’s stomach and his heart raced and thumped in his chest. The old barkeep’s face seemed to blur and fade in the distance. He found himself unable to stop from speaking the answer.
“Stones…we found stones of power.”
“With that map you hold in your hands? That magical map? Just like you found your friends?”
The blurring in Talis’s vision worsened, and hallucinations started forming around the barkeep: ghostly eyes staring at him. Talis struggled to clear his mind, but the more he fought, the stronger the eyes became, and the rest of the world weakened. He relented and released a heavy exhalation.
“Yes, just like I found my friends.”
“How very interesting… A map like that would prove quite useful, I suppose. Don’t you think, Jared?”
“Useful, yes, very useful. We can use the map to help find stones and retrieve what is ours in the depths of Illumina.”
“King Valeron, your business is not with me. You know the pact.” Jeremiah fixed his eyes on the old dragon, and to Talis’s horror, the King actually bowed his head in submission, then roared and flapped his wings, and took flight with the rest of the dragons. Talis stared, dumbfounded, feeling cold and defeated as the swarm of dragons fl
ew south and disappeared over the rim of trees.
Darkness took firm hold now of the sky and the stars beamed through, blinking and winking at Talis like tricksters in the night. Who was this man that he could command the King of the Dragons?
“Boy…you asked me what I wanted in repayment for the debt of saving your friend and your cat. Well, as the ancient saying goes, lives for lives saved. And in this case, I want your life and the life of your pet. I will release your friend and not interfere in the cause of the old, immortal sorcerer, the one known as Palarian.”
At the naming of Palarian, the sorcerer struggled to turn his head, and fixed his gaze on the old barkeep. Talis knew he was fighting to break free of the spell that held them both, but had only been able to turn his neck and move his eyes.
The hallucinations returned stronger now, eyes blinking and staring at Talis, and softly he could hear Jeremiah’s chuckle as a low, rumbling growl. All Talis could think about was Mara, alone in the capitol, angry and poisoned by Elder Relech’s lies. How could he help her now?
Off in the distant forest came a rustling, shambling sound, of thousands of feet, coming closer. A swarm of figures hobbling and shuffling and limping in the dark, eyes twin pricks of luminescent yellow. Hunger raged in those lifeless eyes.
“How kind of Aurellia to return after all these years and shatter the power source of Crystalline.” Jeremiah’s now booming voice startled Talis. “Now all my loyal followers have returned to me…lifeless, but still quite useful. And we are all safe.” The barkeep gestured at Jared and the others that had followed them out of the city.
“Listen to my voice, dear Palarian, and heed my words. Take Nikulo and yourself, fly away, be free, and bother me not, and I will spare your life. I suggest you go far, flee far from Zhael, for Illumina will fall.”
Dragon Mage (Blacklight Chronicles) Page 13
