Land Keep

by J. Scott Savage

  “Hi. I’m Kyja, and this is Marcus,” Kyja said.

  “I . . . I know.” The man bobbed his head and tried to shrink in on himself in a way that seemed very familiar. He kept his head cocked toward his chest as though he were used to looking down on people, even though he wasn’t all that tall.

  “Do I know you?” Kyja asked. “I do, don’t I?”

  “Well,”—the man shrugged—“we have met before. But I looked a little different back then.”

  Marcus was sure he’d never met this man, but Kyja’s eyes lit up as her mouth formed an O of surprise. “Screech!”

  What was she talking about? Marcus looked from Kyja to the man. Screech was a cave trulloch at least seven feet tall. This human couldn’t be more than five ten. But there was something about him that looked a little like the snaggletoothed creature.

  The man swallowed—his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down on his whiskered throat. “I suppose I should have told you before. But it was a little complicated, considering the circumstances.”

  “What happened to you?” Kyja asked. “Who turned you into a human?”

  “Actually, it was the other way around. You see . . .” He licked his lips and looked at the ground. “I used to be a Keeper.”

  “A Keeper?” Marcus growled. He knew they shouldn’t have trusted him.

  The man nodded, his eyes still fixed on his feet. “One of Zentan Dolan’s top aides. For a long time, I believed he was right that giving magic to the most powerful was the best way of keeping balance in the world.”

  Marcus felt his face burn and found himself looking at the ground too.

  “I thought that way until I talked to some of the people who’d been scaled,” Screech continued. “That’s when I realized more good gets done by normal men and women engaging in everyday acts of kindness than by all the most powerful people combined. Once I discovered that, I tried to tell the others. A few of them listened to what I had to say, until . . .”

  “Until Zentan Dolan found out,” Kyja said.

  “That’s right.” The man looked gratefully up at her. “He turned me into a trulloch and sent me to work for the unmakers. He used them to torture information out of people as well to breed more snifflers. I knew if I didn’t obey, I’d be fed to the unmakers next.”

  “So you let them kill other people to save yourself,” Marcus said. “You would have let them kill us if we hadn’t escaped.”

  The man pulled at his long, scruffy hair with both hands as though the pain helped him deal with his guilt. “I can never make up for that. But I am grateful to you two for helping me escape. And for killing the zentan and breaking his spell. I’d like to assist you with the rest of your search. If you’ll let me. I know you have no reason to trust me.”

  “And we have lots of reasons not to,” Marcus said. “You came this far just so you could get turned back to a human.”

  “You don’t owe us anything,” Kyja said. “I’m just glad you aren’t with those horrible creatures anymore. But if you want to help us, we’d love to have you.”

  Marcus scowled. Mr. Z was right. Kyja was the most stubborn person Marcus knew once she made a decision. And he still didn’t trust Screech as a man or a trulloch. He glanced back at Cascade, who was watching them with his annoyingly amused smile.

  “What do we call you?” Kyja asked.

  “My human name was Graehl. But I’m thinking maybe I should just stick with Screech. To remind me of what I was.”

  “No,” Kyja said. “I like Graehl better. We all have things we need to forget. We’ve all made mistakes.”

  She didn’t look at Marcus, but he couldn’t help thinking about what nearly happened in the tower. Maybe the land elementals were right. Maybe he was too quick to see the worst in others—and in himself.

  “Yeah,” he said. “We have.” He stuck out his hand. “Nice to have you with us . . . Graehl.”

  The man smiled for the first time since they’d met. He took Marcus’s hand. “Nice to be here.”

  “I hate to interrupt,” a guard said. “But are you Marcus and Kyja?”

  “We are,” Kyja said.

  The guard jerked a thumb toward the tower. “Master Therapass would like to meet with you in his study.”

  Chapter 51

  The Place Between

  Master Therapass’s study looked like something had recently exploded inside. Boxes, crates, and baskets were scattered everywhere. The shelves—normally covered with everything from animal skulls to bottles of sparkling powders and mysterious liquids—were either empty or in complete disarray.

  “Hello?” Kyja said, sticking her head through the doorway.

  “Bring that box of books over here,” the wizard said without turning around.

  “Does it always look like this?” Marcus whispered.

  “No,” Kyja whispered back.

  “Usually it’s worse,” Riph Raph said with a shudder.

  “Be quiet.” Kyja found a wooden box filled with a disorganized array of leather-bound tomes and carried them across the room. “Where would you like me to put these?”

  “What?” the wizard spun around and blinked. “Oh, it’s you. I thought it was the people I requested to get this place in order. Just set them over there with the goat cheeser.”

  Kyja had no idea what a goat cheeser was, so she just pushed aside a dusty, stuffed fish with scales peeling off and set the box on a shelf.

  “Did you get robbed or something?” Marcus asked, looking around at the mess.

  “So it would seem.” Therapass threw his hands in the air. “Apparently when I was locked in the dungeon, a few other wizards decided my study and possessions were free to whomever wanted them. If I find out who took my fossilized bat livers collection, I’ll string them up by their nose hairs. It’s going to take me weeks to get this place back in shape.”

  “You asked to see us?” Kyja asked, brushing the dust off her hands.

  “Yes, yes.” The wizard held up something that looked like a blue hourglass filled with glowing sparks. He turned it one way and then another before muttering, “I have no idea what this is,” and tossing it back into a box. “Sit anywhere you want.”

  Kyja and Marcus looked around the room for a seat, but there was only one chair, and it quickly scuttled across the floor to catch Master Therapass as he collapsed backward into it. They each settled atop a wooden crate.

  “Now then,” the wizard said, tugging on his beard. “I understand you’ve had a few adventures since we parted company.”

  “That’s the understatement of the century,” Riph Raph said.

  “Quite a bit has happened,” Kyja agreed.

  “Well then,” the wizard said, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers in front of his chest. “Tell me all about it.”

  Kyja looked at Marcus. Where to start? “I guess the first thing was when Marcus and I jumped to Earth.”

  “Really?” the wizard said.

  For the next hour and a half, Kyja and Marcus took turns relating all the things that had happened to them—from the unmakers to the Fontasians, to Water Keep and Land Keep, the snifflers, the harbingers, the Keepers, Cascade, Lanctrus-Darnoc; finally ending with the zentan and Innoris a’Gentoran.

  The wizard seemed particularly interested in the water and land elementals. He asked several questions about Land Keep and the tree of books, muttering, “I’ll have to visit it at my first opportunity.” He seemed very impressed with how they’d handled the tests on their way to finding the Augur Well and asked several times to repeat exactly what it had told them.

  He laughed aloud at their description of Mr. Z. Kyja saw what looked like recognition in his eyes and asked if he knew the little man.

  The wizard only smiled and said, “I might. I might.”

  “What was that demon you and Tankum fought on the balcony?” Kyja asked once they’d finished telling their story.

  “An excellent question,” the wizard said. “You mentioned the s
nifflers and the unmakers. I believe your water elemental friend explained how they are creatures of shadow.”

  “Yes,” Kyja said. “But what does that mean?”

  Master Therapass stroked the tip of his beard. “Shadow creatures are not from this world.”

  “You mean they’re from Earth?” Marcus asked.

  “No, they’re not from there, either.”

  Kyja wrinkled her brow. “If they’re not from Earth or Farworld, where are they from?”

  Therapass leaned back. “You mentioned that when you jumped from the snifflers to Earth, you seemed to get stuck for a moment. That you heard something coming toward you?”

  “You mean the in-between place,” Marcus said. “The gray area.”

  “The between place, yes. I have long suspected that between Earth and Farworld is a third realm. Another world, if you will. When I opened the doorway that sent Marcus to Earth, I sensed something there. It is a place of shadows—shadow creatures. The Dark Circle has apparently found a way to tap into that world. I have good reason to believe the demon hidden within the zentan’s body was from that shadow world, as are the snifflers and the unmakers. Their magic is extremely dangerous. It is imperative that they all be captured or destroyed.”

  “Is that where the Hand of Life came from?” Marcus asked.

  At the name, Therapass raised his eyebrows. “Oh, is that what the old snake called it? More like the Hand of Death. Yes, it, too, came from the realm of shadows.”

  “The zentan said it was stolen from him,” Marcus said. “He said he came here looking for it.”

  “That was a lie,” Master Therapass said. “I have no doubt he lusted after it once he realized what it was. But creatures of shadow cannot leave their realm on their own. They must be summoned. The demon arrived here long before the Innoris a’Gentoran. I’m sure the Dark Circle brought him here the same way they brought the gauntlet.”

  “So how did the gauntlet get here?’ Kyja asked.

  “The Dark Circle reached into the realm of shadows and took it. I’m not sure how. It was merely a powerful artifact there, but here they thought it would allow them to rule all of Farworld.”

  “Why didn’t it?” Marcus shivered. “They could have controlled all magic with it.”

  “They couldn’t use it completely,” Therapass said. “It was beyond their abilities.”

  Kyja sensed the wizard was avoiding something. “If the Dark Circle had it, how did it end up here in the tower?”

  The old man pushed himself out of his chair with a groan and limped across the study. He lit a fire in the big stone fireplace, changing the flame from blue to green to red, and back to blue again.

  “Master Therapass?” Kyja got up from her box.

  The wizard paced slowly around the room, touching objects at random. “When I was much younger and much more foolish, I heard a rumor that the Dark Circle had obtained a device of such great power that whoever owned it could do anything they wanted. I also heard that no wizard had been able to use it. Being vain and prideful, I thought that if I could get my hands on the device, I could be the one to unlock its mysteries.”

  “But you would have used it for good,” Kyja said, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

  “So I told myself. But the truth was, I allowed myself to be blinded by the promise of power. I told myself I was only seeking after it for the greater good of man, but I allowed myself to be seduced by the very evil I was fighting against. And I joined the Dark Circle.”

  “No!” Kyja gasped. That wasn’t possible.

  The wizard clenched his fists. “I don’t know what might have happened had I been able to use the Innoris a’Gentoran. It wasn’t until I realized its power was beyond my reach as well that I came to my senses. I stole it and brought it here, telling myself that such had been my plan all along. It wasn’t until I sensed the power of shadow on Zentan Dolan when he arrived here with High Lord Dinslith that I realized the gauntlet might no longer be safe.”

  Marcus shook his head. “Why didn’t you just destroy it when you realized it was of no use to you?”

  “I couldn’t,” the wizard said, waggling a finger in the air. “At the time I didn’t think anyone could.”

  “So you hid it,” Kyja said.

  “I hid it in a place I thought would be completely safe—right under their noses, but hidden in such a way that only one person besides myself could find it.”

  Marcus got slowly to his feet. “Me.”

  “You,” the wizard said with a nod, returning to his pacing. “If something happened to me, I knew that an item of such power should only be left in the hands of the person destined to save Farworld. Even if I knew you couldn’t use it either.”

  Marcus hesitated. “But I did use it.”

  “Yes, you did. It was only once I was in the dungeon that I realized you would be able to. I tried to send you a warning through the dawn chimes, but the pull of the Innoris a’Gentoran was too strong.”

  Marcus blushed and stared at the floor. “When I was wearing it, I thought I was stopping the Dark Circle once and for all by making everyone on Farworld too perfect to be tempted by them.”

  “Instead you would have become the master of darkness yourself,” the wizard said. “By trying to force everyone to meet your image of perfection, you would have damned them to eternal servitude with you as their master. You would have been as corrupt as the Dark Circle.”

  Marcus jerked as if he’d just remembered something. “When I was wearing the gauntlet, I saw something. I think I was in the head of the Master of the Dark Circle.”

  Therapass stopped pacing and stared at him. “What did you see?”

  Marcus shook his head. “I don’t remember exactly. It’s all sort of fuzzy now.”

  “Try,” the wizard said. “Concentrate.”

  “I’m trying,” Marcus said, squeezing his eyes shut. “I was surprised. I thought the Dark Circle wanted to destroy Farworld, or take it over. But they didn’t, at least not right away. They wanted . . . they wanted . . .” He pounded his fists against his legs. “I can’t remember. It’s all a blur.”

  “It’s all right,” the wizard said. “Maybe it will come to you later. If not, this much gives us something more to consider. As with Trill Stones, the more we know about the enemy’s strategy, the more likely we are to defeat it.”

  “What happens now?” Kyja asked. “We still need to find the air elementals and the fire elementals.”

  “Yes.” Master Therapass tugged at his beard. “But there are several things to be taken care of first. Our city is in shambles. High Lord Dinslith is no longer fit to rule. I have been asked to take his place.”

  “You’re going to be the new high lord?” Kyja asked, grinning ear to ear.

  “I’ve been asked to be, but I don’t think I’ll accept the position. I have too much to do. I’ve asked Breslek Broomhead to take it instead. He was one of the few wizards to stand against the Keepers, even at the possible danger of his family.”

  “What about Rhaidnan? Who will take care of his wife and children?”

  “As his first order as high lord, Breslek will declare Rhaidnan a city hero for sacrificing his life to save you and Marcus. His statue will be added to Terra ne Staric’s greatest wizards and warriors. His family will be well cared for.”

  “What’s going to happen to the other wizards and warriors?” Marcus asked. “Will they go back to being just . . . statues again?”

  “For the time being, no. I have asked Tankum if he would consider leading a small army consisting of the other stone wizards and warriors to search out and destroy all of the unmakers and snifflers, and to make sure no Keepers remain. The stone warriors should be somewhat immune to the power of the shadow creatures, so it is a good assignment for them. Lanctrus-Darnoc have agreed to join them. Their power will keep the warriors and wizards from returning to their previous state.”

  Kyja nodded. It would be good to know the snifflers and unmake
rs were gone once and for all. “Will Cascade stay with us?”

  “I’ve asked him to go on a special mission important to humans and Fontasians alike. Until I know more, his operation will remain a secret.”

  “So it’s just Kyja and me going to look for the other elementals?” Marcus asked.

  “There will be others to help you,” the wizard said. “But I am afraid you will need to postpone searching for the other elementals for a few weeks—or possibly months. For a time, Marcus, I must ask you to remain on Earth.”

  Marcus looked up in shock. “Why?”

  The wizard clenched his staff. “Haven’t you wondered why you could use the Innoris a’Gentoran when no one else could? Why you were able to destroy it?”

  Marcus shrugged. “Because I’m the one who’s supposed to save Farworld.”

  Master Therapass shook his head. “The gauntlet was not created in or for Farworld.”

  “Then why?”

  “After I hid the gauntlet, once I was locked in the dungeon, I had a chance to study the unmakers. I sensed something in them I had only sensed twice before—in the zentan and in one other place.”

  “What are you saying?” Kyja asked, a chill running up her back.

  “The realm of shadows is a place we know very little about. As you have seen, it contains creatures that can wield great power here on Farworld. Ordinarily those beings of shadow would not pose a threat unless they were summoned here. They should be unable to harm you as you pass from Earth to Farworld and back. The fact that they not only sensed Marcus’s presence among them, but actually hunted him down, combined with the fact that he was able to use the Innoris a’Gentoran, worries me a great deal.”

  Marcus raised his hands. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

  The wizard looked Marcus in the eyes. “I’m sorry, but the only thing I can conceive of to explain this is that you must have a special relationship to the realm of shadows.”

  “What kind of relationship?”

  “I’m afraid I must conclude that one of your parents was a creature of shadow.”

  Chapter 52