Salvation (Scars of the Sundering Book 3)

by Hans Cummings

  “Wow.” Katka hugged her knees. “I wonder what going through that feels like.”

  Delilah had to admit she was curious herself. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”

  ***

  The next day, after his morning lessons, Pancras went to the Screeching Griffon in search of Gisella and Qaliah. He stopped on one of the arched bridges that spanned the waters of the delta to gaze at some violet flowers growing on one of the small islands.

  The warm breeze blowing in from the sea brought with it the smell of salt and fish. He adjusted the front his new robes. They were cut to allow more airflow and uncovered his arms and lower legs, much more appropriate for hot, humid late-summer days in Vlorey.

  He spied a fish swimming with the current as water rushed through the delta on its way to the bay. He lost himself in its undulating motions. Behind him, someone giggled. The minotaur turned to see a woman in the arms of a man who leaned close to her and whispered into her ear as she giggled again and blushed. The tight curls of her dark hair remained still, but her aquamarine dress flowed in the wind like the waters below.

  Pancras smiled and bowed his head at them before completing his journey across the bridge. His evening with Orion reignited feelings he thought he would never again experience, and now that they had surfaced, he wanted to hold onto them and bask in their warmth and contentment.

  He stopped at a cart selling flowers and bought two Aurora Lilies, so named for the brilliant splashes of emerald whose shape resembled the lights in the sky named after the goddess of beauty.

  Upon arriving at the Screeching Griffon, he saw neither the fiendling nor the Watchmaiden in the common room, so he tromped up to their room.

  Qaliah answered the door when he knocked. “Blondie isn’t here.”

  “Pity.” He offered her the flowers. “I brought one for each of you.”

  The fiendling grinned and took the blossoms. “Ooh, what’s the occasion? You know I’m game, but I don’t think you’re Blondie’s type.” She winked at him and stood on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

  “I just thought I’d brighten your day, that’s all.”

  Qaliah furrowed her brow and licked her lips. Her tailed flicked back and forth. “Yeah? That’s… hey, that Justicar took you home yesterday, didn’t he? I saw how he was making moon eyes at you. Have you been playing a little prickle-me-tickle-me, the two of you?”

  The minotaur felt his face grow hot, and he pursed his lips. “That’s really not your business.”

  “Oh, you found yourself a bull to ride!” Qaliah bounced and giggled, dancing with the flowers and singing a bawdy song filled with euphemisms that Pancras had heard the sailors on the Maiden of the High Seas sing.

  He covered his face and counted to ten. “Please don’t compare my people to cattle.”

  She stopped mid-hop. “Oh. My apologies! It just slipped out.”

  “Where is Gisella?”

  Qaliah skipped over the bed and sat on the edge. The wood frame creaked in protest. Glancing around the room, Pancras neared the wardrobe, his hooves clopping on the dry, wooden floor, noticing one of the wood shutters had split, and the bureau, covered in a layer of dust, wobbled when he touched it. A pang of guilt stabbed his heart.

  “Blondie went to see your friends at the Palace of Justice. She wanted to see if there was an update from that dwarf scout.”

  He ran his finger along the top of the furniture and held it up “Do you two need money to move to a better inn? I didn’t realize this one was so… dirty.”

  She leaned forward, setting both hands on her knees. “I thought Blondie would want to move for sure after a few days. This place is luxurious compared with what I’m used to. She said she’s content, though, so I didn’t press the issue.”

  “All right.” Pancras wiped his dirty finger on the edge of his robes. “If you change your minds and need assistance, I brought plenty of funds from Drak-Anor, and my stipend from the Arcane University is more than enough to cover my quarters and expenses there, as well. How are you feeling, by the way?”

  The minotaur eyed her, searching for signs of distress. Lord Tyron’s demonic possessor unsettled the fiendling in a way Pancras couldn’t understand, but he felt sympathy for her.

  The fiendling stretched out on the bed, tucking one of her arms behind her head as her tail coiled around her bare leg. “Gisella took me to the temple of Aurora for their Ritual of Renewal. I feel much better now, but it didn’t do anything to cure my boredom. I wouldn’t complain about a better room, though,”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Pancras chuckled. “Let her know I stopped by. I have an afternoon class to teach.”

  “Thanks for the flowers. Shower me with gifts anytime.”

  ***

  Kale and Kali crept down the stairs after hearing Delilah’s shriek of joy. Before joining the archmage and her apprentice in the cellar, they observed the Frost Queen enter the moon gate and the doorway recede into the floor.

  “It worked?” Kale spread his wings to envelope his mate. She wrapped her arm around his waist.

  “Looks that way.” Delilah gestured to the runed circle. “Now we wait for her to return.”

  The runed circle appeared no different than the last time Kale saw it, except perhaps it was dustier.

  “We thought the house was coming down.” Kali squeezed her mate.

  “It didn’t shake that much.” Delilah paced around the circle pointing at runes and speaking softly to herself. “Besides, most of this house is rock. A little shaking won’t hurt it. We dealt with stronger tremors all the time in Drak-Anor.”

  Kale nodded in agreement. The shaking they felt during the moon gate activation would not have awakened him had he been sleeping. Still, after having been buried alive in the Deep Road cave system when Bloodplume erupted for the last time, Kale became a little apprehensive whenever the ground shook.

  He raised his foot to scratch his leg. “So, when is she coming back?”

  “Any minute now.” Delilah regarded her apprentice. Katka, still seated on the floor, held the book in her lap. “How much time?”

  The young woman frowned. “It’s hard to count with everybody talking. She still has a few minutes, I think.”

  Allowing Katka to continue counting to herself, the rest of the group remained silent until she finished. By Kale’s reckoning, the apprentice gave her more than just a few more minutes.

  “She should have returned by now.”

  Delilah nodded and proceeded to activate the moon gate. Wispy blue tendrils swirled around the top of her staff and poured into the circle. Two grey orbs materialized above the central slab, which the archmage then manipulated.

  “Hey, are those the moons?”

  His sister answered with a curt nod and made her way around the circle, tapping specific runes with her hand and first, and then trying her foot on one, as Gil-Li had done in her vision. It burst with blue flame like the others.

  “Ha! That’s much easier.” She finished activating the runes, and an azure rectangle sprang from the smooth, dark surface. From where Kale stood, he recognized the shape of a wall that appeared to be constructed from blocks of ice. Just as he was about to have a good look, the Frost Queen stepped through the moon gate, obscuring his view. The azure portal wobbled before it retracted and disappeared.

  “Well, that was a dismal failure.” She stepped out of the runed circle and knelt next to Katka. “Damn it. I did everything you did. I couldn’t even get the moons to appear!”

  “That’s odd.” Delilah joined the two humans. “I didn’t channel that much power into it, and you’ve got to be fairly powerful, right?”

  “Powerful enough.” Alysha crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “You, girl”—She pointed at Katka—“you try it.”

  Kali nuzzled Kale’s neck. “I’m going back upstairs. Boss Steelhand wants to meet in a little while.”

  “Oh.” Kale folded his wings. “Do I need to come with you?”

&
nbsp; “You should, but you can stay and watch a little while longer.”

  Katka backed away from the two older sorceresses, her hands raised in front of her. “Me? I’m just an apprentice.”

  “You can do it.”—Delilah stepped closer to her pupil and placed a clawed hand on the young woman’s shoulder—“just like I did.”

  The apprentice drew her wand and poured emerald energy into the circle with no effect. After swirling her wand to ensure she covered the entire surface, she stopped.

  “Pacha’s blue balls!” Delilah stomped her foot. She pointed her staff at the runed circle, and as soon as she concentrated, the circle flared to life again.

  “I guess it likes you, Deli.”

  “Kale, come here.” His sister waved him over to her.

  “I don’t know how to work magic, Deli. You know that.” He approached his sister.

  “See if you can position the moons.” She pointed at the grey orbs floating in a lazy circle within the Runes of Selene.

  “Like what?” Kale scratched his head and regarded the orbs. They appeared translucent, mottled grey almost like smoky, glass.

  “Touch them, spin, them, whatever.”

  Kale entered the circle and tried to manipulate one of the moons. His hand passed through it. He tried again and again with the same result.

  “That’s enough. I figured that’s what would happen. You try it, Alysha.”

  The winged drak stepped aside for the tall human sorceress. Her attempt yielded the same result. Katka tried it again after her before Delilah tried one last time. Only the drak archmage could manipulate the images of the moons.

  “Maybe it knows you’re the archmage?” Kale sat on the bottom step and rested his elbow on the bookshelf.

  “I’m going to try to activate it from the other side.” Delilah activated the runes to create the moon gate.

  “Wait!” Alysha and Kale shouted at the archmage at the same time.

  “What if you can’t get it working again, Deli?”

  “My thoughts, exactly.” Alysha eyed Kale and then his sister. “We don’t know that the circle in my castle even works. It might only accept portals from this location and be unable to initiate them.”

  “Good point.” Delilah gripped Katka’s hand and pulled the young woman to her feet. “Hang onto the book.” She cradled her staff in the crook of her elbow and took Alysha’s hand.

  “We’ll go through together. Kale, I’m going to try to activate the other side as soon as we’re through. If I’m not back in a few minutes, go to the Arcane University and tell them their archmage is in the Southern Watch.”

  “Wait, Deli…”

  Before Kale finished, his sister dragged the other two women through the portal and disappeared.

  ***

  When Gisella arrived at the Palace of Justice, she found Lord Fenwick and Scout Stonehammer in his chambers examining a sprawling map that hung over the edges of his desk.

  The Justicar glanced up from the map when Gisella entered. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to see if you’d spoken to Scout Stonehammer yet.” Gisella’s long strides covered the floor between the doors and the desk as she spoke. “I have my answer.”

  The dwarf woman brushed a stray strand of ginger hair out of her face and eyed the Lord Justice. “Impatient, isn’t she?”

  “A bit.”

  “My apologies.” Gisella bowed her head. “But this is a grave matter… no pun intended. And my personal stake is such that I suppose I am impatient.”

  Lord Fenwick raised an eyebrow. “Personal, eh?” He grunted and returned his attention to the map. “Well, now that you’re here, you can verify what I’m telling Valora here. The undead were last seen entering the sea at Ebonwick, about here.”

  He pointed to a spot on Verdant Point, which appeared to be the approximate location of the fishing village. He drew a line with his finger to the coast west of the city. “They should emerge there, probably no more than a day’s ride out west. There have been no reports from travelers of roving bands of undead, so it’s possible they’re moving only at night.”

  Scout Stonehammer climbed into Lord Fenwick’s chair and knelt on the table to gain a better view of the map. “Would they even make it across? There’s sharks in those waters, I hear.”

  “I honestly don’t know.”

  “They might not be attracted to the cursed flesh of the dead.” Gisella leaned over the map and pointed to the approximate location of Zamora. “We think they’re headed here—Zamora.”

  “Za… hey!” Scout Stonehammer put her hands on her hips and glared at Lord Fenwick. “You want me to go chasing pox-bellied Lich Queen stories?”

  “The undead aren’t stories. I’ve seen them.”

  Lord Fenwick took Scout Stonehammer’s hand. Gisella noticed a hint of blush blossom in his cheeks, and his eyes flicked to regard the Golden Slayer before they focused on the dwarf woman. “It’s important, Valora. Lord Tyron was possessed by a demon we think is involved.”

  The dwarf threw up her hands. “A demon! Demons, undead, and the Lich Queen? What year did I wake up in?”

  “This slayer and her friends are trying to prevent exactly that—the return of the Lich Queen.”

  “The things I do for you. Undead make my skin crawl, and I’ve never even seen a demon before.” She jumped off the desk. Her armor clanked and clattered as she hit the floor and paced, gesticulating with wide sweeps of her arms. “What if one of those things gets in me?”

  She spun and pointed a stubby finger at the Lord Justice. “And none of your jokes!”

  Lord Fenwick held up his hands. “You’ll hear no jokes from me. This is a very serious matter. I can ask one of the Justicars to go—”

  “Oh, burn that in Hon’s hearth. You know I’ll do my duty.”

  “I will accompany you.” Gisella approached the dwarf and knelt before her. “My duty to the Arcane University was satisfied when the minotaur took up his post. Qaliah and I—”

  “Is that the fiendling?” Scout Stonehammer cocked her head. “Not the fiendling.”

  Gisella bowed her head. “Very well.” She wasn’t keen on the idea of leaving Qaliah alone, unsupervised in the city, but it wasn’t her responsibility to keep the fiendling out of trouble.

  “Are you sure?” Lord Fenwick rolled up the map and handed it to Scout Stonehammer. “Valora is quite the accomplished scout. I have full faith in her abilities.”

  The Golden Slayer did not miss the wink Lord Fenwick aimed at the dwarf. She stood and crossed her fist over her chest. “And I am an accomplished slayer. I’m confident no adversaries will hinder our efforts.”

  “Fine then, Blondie.” Scout Stonehammer tucked the map in her pack.

  Gisella winced.

  “Grab whatever you need from wherever you’re staying. Got a horse?”

  “At the Trader’s Gate Livery.”

  “Ugh.” Scout Stonehammer grunted and tightened the straps on her armor. Dark, almost midnight-blue scales, similar to what Gisella wore, but the dwarf’s armor had been designed with harder, more geometric lines, as often was the case with dwarven-forged goods. “Get your horse and meet me at the south gate. We leave as soon as you’re ready.”

  The dwarf gestured toward the door. “Get going. I have some more business here, but I don’t have any stops once I leave. Don’t keep me waiting.”

  As Gisella exited, she overheard the dwarf as she spoke to the Lord Justice.

  “Get down here, Fennie, and say goodbye proper-like.”

  ***

  “Pacha’s blue balls and Maris’s bloody spear!” The cold air surrounding the Runes of Selene in the Frost Queen’s castle sucked the air out of Delilah’s lungs. She felt as if her toes shriveled, and she clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.

  Alysha laughed and spread her arms. “Welcome to Rime Frost, Bastion of the Frost Queen.”

  Katka pulled her robes tightly around her. “Don
’t you believe in fires?”

  “Look around you, girl! Fire would melt my magnificent creation.”

  “How in Selene’s name do you stay warm?” Katka rubbed her arms as Delilah began the ritual to reactivate the runed circle. As much as she wanted a guided tour, the bitter cold and her lack of appropriate attire motivated the drak archmage to return to Muncifer as soon as possible.

  Alysha held up the hem of her robes. “Enchanted clothing, of course.”

  The phrase stuck in Delilah’s mind as she set the moons to their proper phases and journeyed around the circle, activating runes in sequence. I need to look into enchanted clothing. That’s brilliant.

  When she finished, the moon gate sprang into place. The azure glow from its surface cast dancing blue sparkles on the translucent walls. She extended her hands. “Let’s go.”

  The three women stepped through the portal. The sensation of moving through the surface of the portal, with its slight resistance before giving way, reminded the drak of the time she was swallowed by a dragon. It was the same firm, yet yielding, squish she remembered from inside its esophagus. The experience ended better, however, as she stepped through into her brother’s cellar rather than finding herself in a warlock-turned-dragon’s stomach.

  “You’re back!” Kale leapt to his feet, spreading his wings for balance.

  “Oh, warmth!” The archmage ran to her brother and wrapped her arms around him. His skin felt burning hot at first, but once she acclimated to the warmer temperature, the cellar felt quite comfortable.

  “That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?” Alysha clucked her tongue and placed her hands on her hips.

  “I actually wouldn’t mind going back, once we’re properly attired.” Katka brought the book to Delilah. “So, why do you think it works only for you?”

  The archmage released her brother and took the tome. She leafed through it, sighing before she returned it to Katka. Right. Elvish. “I’m not certain. Maybe it only works for the archmage?”