“Quick, as fast as you can run and get Kelaborn,” he ordered and like lightning she was away running up the main tunnel.
“You,” Myst asked the other mage, “what is your skill?”
He answered Myst with only the slightest hint of fear in his voice, “Fire. I’m a fire mage, Ser.”
Myst pointed to the exit tunnel, “as soon as you see movement, or I tell you, send your most destructive spell into the opening. And then hamer anything that moves.”
They did not have long to wait, a few seconds later the fire mage was casting, a streak of fire flew up the tunnel and detonated into a roaring ball of fire that engulfed the tunnel in flames.
A heartbeat later a bolt of black magic came from the tunnel blowing a fist size hole thru the chest of the fire mage. Cutting thru his protective magic shields as a knife thru butter.
Anton Amur the Dark Lord entered the chamber. The death of his Night Fang assassins in the fireball was of no concern to him, he would not need them. No one could stand against him and survive, in over a thousand years nothing had defeated him or even come close.
As the fire mage was casting, Myst pulled out the potion he had taken from Shen Ramzes’s body, Kelaborn had told him earlier, after he had cast a minor divination spell that it was probably a potion to enhance speed or a deadly poison designed to look like something else.
Without a second thought Myst drank it down, the chance of surviving the next few minutes without it was less than slim, he knew what was coming, her could feel it’s unmistakable evil.
He drew his Sun Sword with his right hand, then the short sword with his left, and set himself partially behind the control panel to make himself a smaller target. The Dark Lord would know he was there, there was no hiding from him, the living would draw him as surely as a shark to blood in the water.
“Ah Sunstar,” the dry yet powerful voice boomed, as the Dark Lord walked into the center of the room, “how good of you to be here to greet me. My day is complete...” In his hand he held a long thin simitar, black steel with a faint glow of noxious green about the blade.
“In a thousand years, no sword master has drawn my blood. I hope you have better luck as I tire from inferior competition.”
Myst did not bother to answer, but as the Dark Lord closed on him, he struck in a lighting attack that forced Anton Amur not only to defend, but to fall back a pace.
Soon the ringing of steel on steel, almost too fast for any eye to follow echoed throughout the chamber.
The Dark Lord had been forced to draw a poniard with his left hand to defend against Myst two sword attacks. Now like a cobra he struck repeatedly at Myst defences, pushing him back, then forcing him back almost the the control panel at his back. He was better than anyone he had fought and the challenge almost brought a bit of pleasure to Anton Amur, almost. But it was time to end this, he needed to seal the chamber before help arrived.
“You should know before you die, that Palantar is about to disappear in darkest fire, and there was nothing you could have done, the device is already in the Imperial Throne Room…”
Another high line attack, followed by rapid strikes to Myst weak side followed quickly with another series of high attacks. The Dark Lord had only managed a few cuts to Myst brigitenn armor.
There was a brief pause, and Myst smiled and nodded, “You bleed.”
Anton Amur glanced at his left forearm, a deep gash welled with thick almost black blood. He had not felt the strike, and for a second he was truly surprised, something so unfamiliar to him.
Leaping forward, Myst attacked in a flurry of controlled strikes that opened a cut in the Dark Lord's throat, the black blood welled up instead of spurting as it would have in a real living being. It was not a fatal blow on this creature, it could heal from the most terrible injuries in minutes, but it did shock him. He reached up with his left hand to cover the wound, giving Myst the opening he needed.
Myst cut his swords hard to the right at the same time swiftly moving in and to the side of his opponent, a short sword cut to the back of Anton Amur’s right knee had the Dark Lord stagger to his knees. And with a backhand swing, Myst’s Sun Sword seared thru the Dark Lord's neck his head tumbling free to roll across the stone floor, a look of surprise on it’s face.
A few seconds later Professor Kelaborn ran into the chamber, “I felt the presence of a great dark evil, but now it's…” He came to a sudden stop as he saw the severed head.
Kelaborn raised his hands and a spike of flame burst forth to consume the head and body of the now truly dead creature. “Best to make sure with his kind, I’ve never heard of anything surviving decapitation, but why risk it.”
“The device is in the Throneroom and about to go off!” Myst told him.
Stuned, Kelaborn ran to the control board, and pushed a dark purple button, the sound of the machine seemed to change as the first of hundreds of the sections began to slow.
Kelaborn looked worried, “It will still send full power to the dome of protection until they all stop… I will go to my casting room and warn the emperor to kill any who approach the Swan Throne, it's the focal point of the protection spell!”
With that Kelaborn ran up the right side tunnel that went to his rooms at the top of the keep, Myst fast on his tail.
~
Kayla was slightly annoyed with her husband… He hadn't been at the apartment, nor was there even a note, infact she thought someone had been thru her stuff as things were out of place. “And it was cold, the heat and fires must have been out for days, what was going on?”
She opened her wardrobe, “what to wear, what to wear…”
Kayla pulled out the heavy sapphire velvet and gold fox fur ball gown that she had intended to wear, it sort of matched the Sunstar House colors the thought, but the unusually warm snap today made this choice less attractive, unless she wanted to sweat, “besides the only reason to go to a awful formal ball is to dance, so not this…”
She snacked on some crackers with brie cheese and sipped at a Rosé wine from Ponteves that she had discovered in the kitchen cool box.
“Ok, what would Myst like me in…” She giggled, “nothing of course, but hum, maybe this…” She pulled out a sleeveless silk gown, the darkest blood red, it had a high slit up the left leg and a low plunging neckline that was held together at the breast with a fine gold chain to keep it from peeling off her. With large side and back cutouts that meant none of the red silk above the waist was more then strips a hand wide, wrapped in such a way that magically it stayed on when she moved, it would certainly keep her cool. She dug into the back of the closet and came out with high heel sandals dyed to match the dress…
She stood nude in front of the full length mirror looking at herself, she balanced up on her toes and cupped her breast, shifting slightly from side to side, “not bad!” With a last cracker and sip of wine, she started dressing, her hired carriage would be here in less than an hour.
“Ok, where is he, it's after seven and the party started fifteen minutes ago…” Kayla was waiting below and off to the side of the Grand Platform where the Swan Throne sat, “And the Emperor had looked her way more than once, and she did not think he was pleased…” He reached up and stroked the fine metal of her marriage torc, a newly acquired habit when she thought or became nervous…
Across the massive domed room, Marquis Caiwen Nightsong the Lord High Constable came hurrying, almost running heading for the Throne, “very unusual,” she thought as “Lord Caiwen never seemed ruffled or excited, well until now.” Kayla began to move closer to see if she could overhear anything.
Lord Caiwen almost vaulted of the steps, Emperor Alexander Sundragon had been standing before his throne talking to Grand Marshal Lorthos Gondalon the Chief of the High Command and Brigadier General Rayn Valos Commander of the Imperial Guards, but now all talk had stopped and the group moved the head of the platform stairs to meet the rushing Lord Caiwen.
“What’s wrong man!” The Emperor demanded in
a low voice that carried as far as where Kayla was standing.
Lord Caiwen skechilied bowed, “Majesty, there is an attack on Twilight Keep,” he blurted out, “all is safe here so far, apparently,” he looked over at Kayla, “Sunstar is there…, that is all I have, but I must go at once before the crises worsens, I will send world as soon as I know anything more!” With that he stepped back and activated his teleportation ring and disappeared before the Emperor had a chance to respond.
Emperor Alexander was looking over at her, but Kayla had seen Lord Caiwen, just before he activated the teleport ring, glance over to the right of the Swan Throne, “and was there a slight smile on his face…”
Kayla gasped at what she saw, the Emperor spun to follow her gaze, and there was Princess Alexandra Sundragon was climbing onto the throne, in her left hand a giant black pearl set in a ancient looking collar. With her right hand she removed the ‘Heart of the Empire’.
“No!” roared the Emperor as he and his generals started to move, but they were too far away.
Princess Alexandra, grinned in euphoria, she would finally get what she was owed, always the youngest, kept from great things by those who thought they knew more than she, but now her father and siblings would learn the price of ignoring her, they would not keep her from the throne, it would be hers! Just as Lord Caiwen had promised, as soon as she replaced the diamond with the black pearl, the magic would remove all from her path to the throne and she would have it forever.
Kayla knew the ‘Heart of the Empire’ diamond was the focus of the protection spell that protected all of Palantar, and as the Princess removed it from its setting, Kayla could see the magic suddenly stop.
Princess Alexandra snapped the El Sila Mor fulcrum device and black magic spell pearl into place, and for a moment nothing happened, and then…
~
Myst raced to the top of the keep’s tower, the climb seemed to take forever as he sprinted to the top level, ran out onto the professors grand marble balcony and looked off thru the darkness to the north, the lights of Palantar sparkled brightly illuminating the night sky in the distance. As always the Golden Dome of the palace sparkled magically in the night sky as if ten thousand golden sparklers flashed at the same time.
Professor Kelaborn and Elise raced up behind him to stop and stare.
“I sent a message, I don’t know if it reached him in time,” Kelaborn gasped short of breath.
They stood at the marble railing looking north across the dark water, a terrible fear hung in the air.
A cool wind blew across the lake, all was still and quiet.
Elise started to say, “Maybe that…”
Suddenly the seams of reality seem to tear open with a sound to loud and terrible to be believed, they all had to clamp their hands to their ears to block the savage sound.
A massive ring of intensely bright molten dark purple and black fire hundreds of feet high, exploded from the center of Palantar, surrounding the entire island in a churning spell of massive power that seem to slowly revolve counter-clockwise in the violently torn angry night sky.
It hung there for a few heartbeats, until the rotation stopped, then it seemed to collapse upon itself with the roar of hurricane winds rushing into the center of the spell, like a wave titanic receding from the shore.
And then there was cold silence..., the dark was impossibly oppressive to them..., when their eyes adjusted to the darkness they could see only the black water of the great lake, the island and the wonderful city of light and all within, was gone, simply gone.
The silence was only broken by the quiet sobs of Elise horrified and stunned at the terrible loss.
~
Epilogue
Paras Korfu stood on the fantail of the luxury yacht Gorgoron, her mistress Ver Sitha was at reclining on a divan of satin watching the culmination of decades of planning as the spell ended and Palantar was gone, a delighted smile on the princess's face.
Paras worked hard to produce nothing on her face, to be unreadable. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at her father standing on the other side of the divan, Colonel Zen Amon face matched hers, he had taught her as a child how to hide her feeling deep inside so no one could read her thoughts, particularly their own kind who fed on weakness and did not tolerate even the slighted apostasy.
“You must be as they are, without pity or compassion, to kill with apparent joy, torment your foes, and exploit any weakness.” He had told her growing up as soon as she was old enough to understand, “for if they ever suspect you are not as wicked, as twistedly evil as they are, they will join together to hunt you down and assuredly destroy you.”
She had once asked him if they could just run away to disappear into the night and shadows, to be free…
He told her of the Hurinlaith, a group of Mok-cûd, those Shadow Elves who abandon the teaching of Gûr Rhien. They had hidden themselves in a remote village on the far border of the Waste in what is now present day Ishmar, far to the east of the outpost of Stone Wells, in a lost canyon where even the desert Wild Elves did not know about. A few hundred elven men, women, and children without any contact to the outside world. It had taken a Dark Lord a decade or more to find them, but find them did, and he had made their deaths such as to make even the most harden Shadow Elf follower of Gûr Rhien shudder.
“Live in the shadow little flower,” he had told her so many times, and she learned well, “death is not the end for Apostates, the High Priestess’s would see the torment lasted far longer than death…”
Ver Sitha suddenly laughed with delight, “Colonel Amon, you can tell the ship's captain he can set sail now, the Dark Lord will not be returning…!”
“Good,” Paras thought, “the Hurinlaith are avenged, may their souls finally find peace…”
~
Kelaborn had cast spells of divination, great spells cast while linking together the power of all the Masters of the Twilight Keep into the casting.
“They are not dead,” he told Myst.
Myst already knew that, his link to Kayla was still there, only impossibly faint.
“It, must have taken the island to somewhere else, possibly to another world or a pocket of dimension of space. And if magic could send Palantar away, then magic can bring it back, of that I’m certain. We will find away lad, it may take time, but before I die this I shall do!”
Myst stood looking out into the grey mist of the now empty lake, the faint light of the pale moon rising, searching the now empty horizon of the world of night, “If it takes my life I will find away to bring her home,” Myst thought to himself is sad contemplation, “I have so often walked alone this dark and violent road, and now must do so again…, My soul is bereft, the brightest light in my world diminished from the cold world. In my heart shadows rise in a profound sea of loss…, yet one day I swear to set free the light, and the promise of a new morning will come, and the sun shall rise overcoming the night.”
With one last searching look at the empty lake, he turned to go, and sighed his heart in shadow, “But for now we enter a world of night, Darkness has Fallen...”
~ ~ ~
Here Ends Book two in the Elf World saga,
“Darkness has Fallen.”
Darkness has Fallen (Elf World Saga Book 2) Page 19
