Regret's Shadow (Sins of Earth Trilogy)

by Jefferson Cram

  “Hundreds of years passed before the mutations began to show, and hundreds more before men were able to channel the Arcane. Then, yours truly came along. I showed those fools what real magic was. They had been stumbling along with candles in the dark; I brought them daylight.

  “As we began to develop technology once again, the Van Uthers realized the danger of repeating history. So, they convinced me to put the genie back in the bottle, as it were. It was my magic that erased the knowledge of Earth and our history from the minds of men.”

  Dramus shook his head, “I can’t believe it. Why are you showing me this?”

  Drejth looked patient, “Because I want you to know the truth, Hiltsman. Because you think I’m simply a madman bent on revenge.

  “While this is true,” he smirked, “it’s not the whole story. You’ve been lied to your whole life, along with the rest of mankind, for over a thousand years.

  “I think it’s time to show everyone the truth.”

  Suddenly Dramus found himself back in the circular chamber, staring at the device. He felt feverish, and his skin itched like it had been stretched thin. He shuddered.

  “Hurry up, whelp.” Tolwyn hissed from behind him.

  “Make your choice…” Drejth’s voice echoed in his mind. For a moment he simply blinked rapidly, shaking away the last of the vision.

  Then he set to work, thinking of Gwyneth, the Temple, his friends. Even if Drejth had been lying to him, (and it seemed less likely considering the vision, as well as the very existence of the bomb itself), he wouldn’t live his life knowing what he’d done to Galloway.

  He began to set the bomb for decommissioning.

  Suddenly, there came shouts echoing down the corridor, and Dramus looked up to see Tolwyn turn.

  “What the blazes?” the wizard shrieked, before running down the hall.

  Dramus seized the opportunity. He deftly reached in and removed the warhead’s core, careful not to jar it. As he turned to flee, he nearly fainted away to see the corpse of Erick rise to bar his exit.

  “You’ve chosen…poorly,” the thing gurgled.

  Chapter 34

  Hade pulled his blade free of a dying man’s torso, as an arrow whipped past his ear and into the throat of another Lockhaven soldier. Nearby one man screamed and stumbled, his blazing form collapsing before a glowing-eyed Reynolt.

  He had to admit the assault was going better than he’d imagined. Calistra had not had enough men to spare for a full complement of troops, and so their band was making short work of them. He began to think they’d succeed when the baroness herself showed up, trailed by her pet wizard.

  “So, Remiel’s stooges have come to forestall the inevitable, eh?” she cackled.

  One of the king’s soldiers charged her and she casually defeated his attack, before spilling his bowels to the stones.

  “Weak,” she chided.

  “Drop your sword and give yourself up, Baroness,” Hade commanded. She sized him up and then snorted in derision.

  Tolwyn stepped forward and raised his hands to Hade, his pale blue eyes glowing.

  Reynolt rushed to his side, brown orbs flashing red, and suddenly the two wizards became embroiled in a duel of wills.

  “Ethelrynne!” Hade hollered, and the princess sent a shaft toward the evil wizard’s heart.

  Amazingly, the glowing blade of the baroness intercepted the missile, reducing it to ash.

  “An elf? Really? I hadn’t imagined the king would stoop so low!” Calistra chided as she began to stride toward the princess.

  Jericho and the four remaining guards moved to intercept her, but a squad of Lockhaven men came in through another corridor and they were suddenly pressed. It seemed Emberlock had kept some men in reserve.

  Hade spun around Reynolt, noting that the young wizard was sweating badly. He looked to Ethelrynne and noted the princess’s stern gaze as she dropped her bow and drew her curved blade. Elven glamour rippled along its length, and she grinned grimly as she stepped forward to meet the baroness.

  Hade slipped to the room’s eastern wall, skirting the battle to try and reach the ancient wizard. All the while he kept his eyes on the duel between the princess and Emberlock.

  When their blades met the first time, it seems almost as if the metal cried out in agony. Ethelrynne was amazed at Calistra’s skill, but she was confident that the human woman was not her match in strength.

  Still, Emberlock’s magical blade hungered for blood, and it wasn’t long before the princess bled from several grazing strikes. Calistra was enjoying the bout, even as she bled from a wound in her thigh.

  “Not bad, for a pointy-eared freak,” she spat.

  Ethelrynne merely smiled, “I’m glad you’re having fun, Baroness. I’d hate for you to go out on a down note.”

  With that she rushed in with an overhand chop, one that Calistra blocked quickly enough, although the strain was beginning to show on her sweat-streaked face. She countered with a sliding thrust to the princess’s midsection, but it was batted aside with ease.

  Behind them, Reynolt went to one knee, his face contorted in pain. Tolwyn was a master wizard, one who’d been studying his craft for more than twice as long as Reynolt had been alive. The assault from the old man was withering.

  Hade came to within ten feet of the old archmage before he was noticed.

  Without interrupting the battering of his younger opponent, Tolwyn actually turned his head slightly, and then moved one of his hands to gesture at the warrior.

  Hade felt as if he’d been kicked by a horse. He jerked back against the wall, and felt a few of his ribs go. His blade snapped in half and flew from his grasp. He coughed in agony as he went to his knees. All the while, the old wizard continued his assault on Reynolt.

  Hade began to drag himself across the floor, his sword forgotten. He reached down for his knife, vision blurred by pain. Tolwyn ignored him and brought all of his will to bear once more against his young opponent.

  Reynolt cried out in pain as the battle raged around him. Jericho and the other soldiers were making headway, but none of them would be free in time to make a difference in the wizards’ duel. Reynolt only hoped that if he was to die, he could sap enough of the arch mage’s will to help his friends defeat him.

  Dramus looked around in panic, before settling his gaze on the body of Wielder Duln.

  Seeing the jerking motions of the Erick-thing, he lunged for the warrior’s sword. He came up with the blade, just as the zombie was reaching for him.

  Miraculously, the blade pierced the thing’s neck. Blood oozed down the blade, and Dramus dared to hope he’d escape, when the thing’s flailing knocked the core from his hand.

  Time seemed to slow as he watched the small device tumble, falling in synch with Erick’s falling corpse. Just as he was sure that his death was at hand, the core bounced on the rounded corpse of Colius before rolling to gently rest among the folds of his robes.

  Dramus nearly laughed out loud in relief; Colius had finally been useful for something.

  He choked as he noticed the small box wired to the core casing light up. Tiny diodes began to blink in a numbered pattern.

  Countdown.

  Dramus knew from the manual that the warhead could be armed for timed detonation instead of impact. The jolt must have frazzled the wiring.

  He now had fifteen minutes before the bomb went off.

  As he stooped to pick up the fallen core, he heard the shriek of Reynolt’s pain. Gripping the sword, he summoned all his courage before marching down the corridor.

  He would quit being used as a pawn. He would take back his destiny, even if it was only to choose the manner in which he died.

  Chapter 35

  Hade was inches away from the booted foot of the archmage, his vision still blurred from pain and whatever magic had been used against him.

  His hand came forward with his knife. He was going to slash the man’s Achilles tendon. He doubted even a powerful sorcerer could ignore th
at kind of injury.

  Suddenly the boot stomped on his hand. He screamed in pain as the small bones shattered. Black spots danced before his eyes, but despite the agony, his other hand reached forward to grip Tolwyn’s ankle.

  He’d had enough.

  With a roar of rage, Hade yanked the man’s foot out from under him, and the wizard went down on his ass. Even in his state, Hade heard the old man’s hip crack like a log on a fire.

  Pain was threatening his consciousness as he slumped to feel the cold stone on his cheek.

  Reynolt sagged as the assault on his will ended. His breath heaved like a bellows, and he looked up to see Tolwyn groaning on the ground, Hade sprawled out at his feet. The young wizard summoned what remained of his strength, gripped his spear, and ran to the captain’s side.

  Ethelrynne lost the last of her patience. She whipped her blade in a blinding pattern, while Calistra matched her with her sword. The staccato of their clash rang through the chamber. The baroness lost her cocky grin.

  Finally, there was a split second where Emberlock missed a step. It was a minor mistake that would never have been noticed by any of the others in the room, but the princess of the elves was no normal swordswoman.

  She set her body slightly at an open angle to the baroness, and even though the woman was off-balance, she couldn’t resist the opening.

  As Calistra lunged, Ethelrynne pivoted and brought her blade down in a semicircle. The glamoured blade sheared through metal, flesh, and bone, sending the baroness’s sword - and the hand holding it - spinning across the floor.

  Emberlock let out an inarticulate screech that was cut short as Ethelrynne swept her head from her shoulders on the reverse stroke. Her corpse sank to its knees, gushing red, and then kiltered over as the glow from the green blade dimmed.

  The princess let out a shuddering sigh, bringing her blade to a guard position. She looked around, noticing the team mopping up the last of Emberlock’s troops, and Reynolt moving to a prone Hade.

  Fear sliced into her heart as she ran to her fallen lover.

  “He’s alive,” Reynolt said in a voice raspy with weariness, “But he’s been banged-up pretty good.”

  Ethelrynne knelt to Hade’s side, as Reynolt stood and hefted his spear.

  Hade looked up at her.

  “Goddamn wizard packs a wallop,” he croaked. She couldn’t help but grin, despite his obvious pain.

  She looked up as Reynolt stepped to the unconscious archmage, spear raised to strike. Her grin pulled into a grim line as the spear descended.

  A wrinkled hand shot up to grab the haft of the spear, stopping its descent. Reynolt’s eyes widened in shock, as Tolwyn looked up at him, eyes still glowing. The young wizard’s grip loosened as he felt his will being drained once more.

  Tolwyn’s body rose from the ground weirdly, as if his heels were on a hinge with the floor. As he reached his full height, his feet floated an inch or two off the stones. Reynolt shuddered under his gaze, as Ethelrynne gasped and stood, knowing she’d be too late to save the young wizard.

  The victorious smile on Tolwyn’s lips froze as a blade ripped through his heart to thrust through the front of his robes. He looked down at the blood-slicked length of steel, before the light in his eyes went out and he collapsed to the floor, dead.

  Everyone looked in astonishment at the harried form of Dramus Hiltsman, still holding the bloody blade, and looking at the group with a mixture of surprise and determination.

  No one spoke.

  The young scribe stepped forward and held up a small device with blinking numbers.

  “I’m Dramus Hiltsman, and I hold the death of thousands in my hand.”

  He looked at each stunned person in turn.

  “Help me stop it.”

  Chapter 36

  They raced through the corridors, carrying Hade along as best they could, while Dramus ran through a hasty explanation of what had happened.

  It took a fair bit of wording.

  “If we can get far enough from the city, I can use my gift to transmute the weapon’s energy into light and sound,” Reynolt huffed.

  “It should mitigate the damage to the city.”

  “The…ship,” Hade gasped.

  Reynolt nodded, and gingerly took the core from Dramus. He got a quick impression of the thing’s power and repressed a shudder at its magnitude.

  Five minutes later the group was standing on the warehouse roof, reuniting with the crew of the airship. Reynolt addressed the others.

  “The power of this device is beyond anything I’ve encountered. It’s quite possible I won’t be able to contain the entire blast.”

  The group looked at each other and back to the wizard as the weight of what he was saying hit home.

  “There must be another way,” Hade began. He was standing as best he could with the help of Ethelrynne.

  “No time,” Reynolt held up the timer.

  7:34

  No one could argue with that.

  He climbed aboard the ship, ordering the others to disembark. Ms. Willow stood at the helm, resolute.

  “Time to go,” Reynolt told her, jerking his head toward the others.

  “You can’t fly this thing and do what you need to do,” she observed.

  They stared at each other a moment, as meaning passed between them.

  “Ms. Willow…” Franz breathed, fear widening his eyes. She smiled sadly at him.

  “Gotta be done, my friend. We all play our part,” she looked back at Reynolt, her gaze steady.

  He nodded ever-so-slightly.

  “Alright, let’s fly.”

  She took them up as the others looked on with a mix of anxiety and encouragement.

  “It should be me going,” Dramus said. His eyes were shadowed by sorrow.

  Hade put his good hand on the scribe’s shoulder. Dramus turned to regard him.

  “They know what’s at stake,” he nodded toward the receding ship.

  “We all do. It’s why Drejth can’t win. Every one of us comes from a different place, with different backgrounds. By rights we probably couldn’t agree on how to fry and egg properly.

  “In the end, however, each of us is can set aside our differences to succeed,” he looked up for a moment.

  “Each is willing to lay it all on the line to save our people,” returning his gaze to the scribe, he gave him a grim smile.

  “It’s something people like the baroness, or Malavarius Drejth will never understand.”

  Dramus looked doubtful, but returned his gaze to the shrinking airship.

  “It still feels wrong.”

  Hade could only nod.

  Above, Reynolt went into the cabin and retrieved a candle from the nightstand, as well as the pillowcase. He quickly broke the candle and moved back to the helm.

  “These might help…I’m not sure. It’s possible your ears will burst,” he looked apologetic as he slid the wax into Ms. Willow’s ears.

  He leaned in close, so she could hear.

  “When it’s time, shield yourself as best you can behind the helm. I’ll be facing away from you, so some of the light will be blocked by my body.”

  She nodded quickly. Tears were welling in her eyes, although from the wind or fear, he couldn’t tell. She shot a glance to the device in his hand.

  4:45

  Her heart raced. Biting her lower lip, she prayed that she’d have the strength to keep the ship airborne.

  Reynolt tied the pillowcase around her head, covering her eyes and ears. He then walked to the bow, ragged and exhausted, but running on adrenaline.

  He could feel the core’s massive power, lurking, waiting for release. He knew that it would be a massive discharge, like nothing he’d experienced before. Briefly, he wondered again if it would kill him.

  2:00

  He leaned slightly to look over the edge. The land below was fading, in the dim light it appeared as a finely detailed drawing. Lights had winked on in the city, like fireflies holding court
.

  1:00

  The air was cold, and it was getting harder to breathe. He turned to Ms. Willow and gave a nod before sitting down with the core in front of him.

  Ms. Willow hunkered behind the helm’s pedestal, stretching one arm to maintain contact with the orb, cringing against the coming blast.

  Flexing fingers growing numb, Reynolt reached for the core. Fear knotted his gut, but he growled it into obedience.

  0:10

  Without further thought, he began to siphon the power. At first there was nothing; no reaction. He briefly wondered if there was no threat, if the young stranger had been mistaken. As the timer ticked away the last seconds, he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise; something was happening.

  0:00

  He was nearly crushed as the power overwhelmed him. It was all he could do to simply hold on to consciousness.

  He fought with everything he had to keep up with its outpouring of energy. The skin of his hands and arms began to bubble. The pain was everything.

  I can’t do this…

  An ache of catastrophic proportions started in his arms as the energy rippled his bones. The nightmare blast struggled against the shackles he sought to bind it with.

  I HAVE to do this!

  His senses dulled as a single moment stretched thin; the struggle of a lifetime contained in the blink of an eye.

  Finally, he lost all sense of himself; all he knew was the white-hot fire of a fusion reaction.

  In the city below, revelers looked to the heavens as a bloom of light erupted across the night sky, blocking out the moon and stars. A resounding boom shook the buildings of Galloway, shattering windows, and sending dogs yelping.

  Hade and the others flinched away, covering their faces. Blinking rapidly, they all searched the sky for any sign of their companions.

  “There,” Ethelrynne pointed.

  The airship was in freefall. The rosey glow of the mystical globes was faint, but a plume of smoke trailed its descent, marking it against the deep blue background.