Windbreak

by Derek Alan Siddoway

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Run!” Eva shouted, turning and sprinting away.

  Tahl and Chel followed close behind and together their feet pounded down the long dark hallway. Out of the corner of her eye, Eva saw dark shapes descending from the pillars on either side of the hall. Looking up revealed Shadowstalkers leaping from the heights where they’d been hiding.

  Eva realized they’d fell right into the trap and cursed herself for being a fool twice over. Ahead, a line of scout golems ran toward them, metal hands empty of weapons, their arms stretched out to catch their prey.

  Drawing her sword in mid-stride, Eva cut through the lead golem. Tahl and Chel managed to stay with her, dodging past the grasping arms of the other Smelterborn. Farther down the hall, Eva spotted more moving to intercept them. They were being surrounded.

  The next golems forced Eva to a halt but she still manged to cut through two of the Shadowstalkers. A sharp cry rang out and Eva spun to find Chel on the ground, stabbing hopelessly at a Smelterborn that had its hand wrapped around her ankle, pulling her backward.

  “Keep going!”

  Eva ignored Tahl’s shout and slashed through the golem’s arm before stabbing it in its helmeted face. The Smelterborn fell down, its shadow shooting away as Tahl pulled Chel to her feet.

  But the act had cost them precious time they didn’t have to spare. The other Smelterborn circled around, hemming them in. Eva lashed out at them, Tahl and Chel pressed close to her, back to back. Seeing the effect of her weapon, the golems hesitated. A series of thunderclaps burst through the passage and Eva saw Ogunn running toward them, as fast as the Shadowstalkers.

  Desperate, Eva searched for a way out. In the darkness she could see nothing beyond the burning eyes of the Smelterborn.

  With nothing else to turn to, Eva pulled her Wonder free. The stone gave a weak flicker.

  “Come one,” Eva growled, squeezing it in a death grip. “Come on, shine!”

  As if on cue, bright gold and rose-colored lights burst forth between Eva’s clenched fingers. The golems staggered backward, shielding their eyes. It was all they needed.

  Eva cut her way past two golems, creating a gap in the circle of Smelterborn for them to leap through. Ogunn’s voice grew louder and closer behind them.

  “Catch them! CATCH THEM!”

  The thunderous noise sent bits of rock from the ceiling. Eva’s ears rang and she willed her burning legs to move faster, begged her aching lungs to suck in just one more breath. The light of the Wonder stone revealed the smaller passage less than a hundred paces away.

  Risking a glance over her shoulder, Eva saw Ogunn gaining on them. Recovered from the stone’s effects, the Shadowstalkers resumed their chase as well. Eva allowed herself to believe they had a chance.

  For some reason, Eva noticed the many cracks and uneven spots in the floor, minor details that hadn’t been a problem when they were creeping in the shadows, but now posed a serious threat as they sprinted over the broken ground.

  Just as she leaped over yet another treacherous crack, Tahl yelled and went down hard to Eva’s left.

  Eva skidded to a halt, boots sliding on the loose rock and dirt. Tahl pulled himself to his feet, holding one foot off the ground.

  “Come on, I’ve got you!” Eva managed, gasping for air. She pulled on Tahl’s arm but he pushed her away.

  “Won’t…make it,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “I’m not leaving you!” Eva screamed.

  Chel stepped between then shoved Eva away.

  “Go, Eva-lyn!” her adopted sister yelled. “You are our last hope. You must run!”

  Eva remained frozen in place, eyes darting from Tahl’s pain stricken face to the approaching Smelterborn. She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss, then nodded at Chel.

  “I’ll come back for you, I promise!”

  Eva ran.

  New strength surge through her and Eva hurtled across the broken ground like she’d never ran before. She didn’t look back. She didn’t heed the booming iron footsteps, drawing closer. She focused all her attention on the smaller side passage ahead.

  Twenty paces away now.

  The ground rumbled beneath Eva’s feet as a Smelterborn — most likely Ogunn — closed in.

  Ten paces.

  A gust of wind behind her back told Eva one of the golems had just missed her.

  Her lungs burned like a blast furnace, her legs screamed for respite.

  Six paces.

  Summoning the last vestiges of her strength Eva threw her sword ahead of her and dove into the smaller tunnel. She hit the ground hard but scrambled and managed to grab her weapon as a Smelterborn’s metal hand wrapped around her ankle. As the golem dragged her backward, Eva twisted and lashed out blind with her sword, hoping she didn’t cut her own foot off.

  The blade struck metal and she felt the grip release. Swinging one more time to break free, Eva scampered on all fours down the tunnel, out of reach for the golems.

  BOOM!

  The ground quivered again. Dust and chips of stone fell from the ceiling as Ogunn struck the passage entrance. The dark golem forced his head and torso into the passage, one arm flailing around just out of reach.

  “Pathetic human, do you think you can hide from me?” The golem roared. “Do you think —”

  Overcome with rage, Eva screamed, a wild, gryphon-like sound and swung her sword as hard as she could at the golem’s outstretched hand. The blade cut through Ogunn’s fingers, severing the top half of his hand.

  Ogunn’s bellows of outrage were deafening. He jerked his hand back, the shorn-off fingers rusting away on the ground before Eva's eyes.

  “I WILL BURY YOU!”

  BOOM!

  Eva felt the walls tremble as the gigantic golem rained down blow after blow on the tunnel entrance. Dust filled the air. Without waiting to see what happened, Eva turned and ran a dozen more paces down the hall. When she looked back, large slabs of stone fell free from the ceiling and walls. In moments, the passage was completely blocked. Only the occasional stone skittering across the ground broke the silence.

  Sucking in a breath, Eva sobbed, her entire body quaking. The rune sword fell from her slackened hand and she slumped to the floor, gasping. Her Wonder fluttered like a candle in a windstorm, barely putting off enough light for her to see her feet.

  Alone.

  Completely alone, small, and scared.

  Lord Vyr’s words echoed in her mind: What will do you, Evelyn? What you will do, when all hope seems lost and you find yourself alone in the darkness?

  Eva buried her face in her hands, overcome with hopelessness. A small sob escaped her and faded away into the surrounding abyss. She didn’t feel like fighting anymore.

  As if responding to her bleak thoughts, Eva’s Wonder glowed, growing brighter and brighter until it lit up the tunnel like noonday for a dozen paces in each direction. Eva shaded her eyes and felt the calming warmth and light bask over her, filling her with strength and courage. She felt the encouragement of all those who’d helped bring her to right where she was now: her mother and father, her Uncle Adelar, and Sigrid as if they were standing beside her.

  Eva grit her teeth and clenched her hands until her dirty, chipped nails cut into her palms. “I won’t let you down,” she said aloud.

  It took several paces for Eva to realize she hadn’t returned down the same passage they’d entered the hall from. In her haste to escape the Smelterborn, she’d dove into the closest narrow passage for protection. Now she was thinking with a clearer head, nothing looked familiar. Pushing aside another wave of despair, she held the Wonder stone out in front of her and did the only thing she could, aside from sitting down and waiting to die: she walked.

  The tunnel twisted and wound in a mixture of smooth, square passages and rough tunnels carved from the rock. Whenever the pathway split, Eva wandered without reason. Even so, she thought clear enough to mark each junction and felt a tiny relief that she wasn’t cros
sing her paths. She realized she was descending again, but had no idea in which direction — it would be impossible to tell if she was headed toward the eastern side of the island and the gryphons or another part of Palantis’ underground caverns entirely.

  Eva’s mind wandered to Fury, Lucia and Carroc. She wished she had a way to let them know she was alive and trying to find them. They would wait for their riders indefinitely, but she could imagine what they must feel like, waiting on the outside of the tunnel with no idea what was happening or going on within.

  As these fears took hold of her, Eva noticed the Wonder stone began to dim. Sensing the light fading with her resolve, Eva forced the fearful thoughts from her mind. The light grew and, for the first time, Eva noticed a line of runes along the wall at shoulder height.

  How long had they been there?

  Eva held her Wonder closer to the wall. She was certain there hadn’t been runes like these throughout the entire labyrinth. Unlike the others marks here and there, closer inspection revealed lines of script running from ceiling to floor. The light from the Wonder seemed to reveal them, for when Eva pulled the light back they began to fade.

  “Well, it’s better than nothing,” Eva said, the sound of her own voice in solitude strange to her ears.

  Heartened by her discovery, Eva pushed on.

  The rune walls continued for hundreds of paces and now the passage remained in almost a completely straight line. Although she still had no clue where she was, Eva felt hope coursing through her and picked up her pace to a jog. A faint blue glow appeared ahead, giving her pause. Eva continued at a steady, cautious pace. The blue light grew stronger and Eva rounded a sharp bend, finding herself in a small, round chamber with a domed ceiling.

  A lantern hung suspended in the middle of the room. It was the source of the blue light but, unlike the magic lights in the Gyr, this was made of thousands of tiny cut and polished crystals. Eva saw rows and rows of runes carved all around the room, all the way up across the ceiling and circling the dome. In one corner sat a stone slab that looked like it might serve for a bed and against the opposite side she was a table and chair. She guessed the piles of dust sitting on shelves carved into the curved wall might have once been scrolls or books.

  But it was the object in the middle of the room beneath the lantern that captured Eva’s attention: a silver anvil, carved with the same blue, shining runes. A box of silver, inlaid with the most intricate work Eva had ever seen, sat atop it.

  Eva tore her eyes away from the anvil and the box, looking up at the light. And then it hit her. The blue light, the vivid, cerulean glow, was the same hue as Seppo’s eyes, the same color her Wonder often turned. Indeed, looking down at the stone in her hand, she saw it had changed to match the color of the lantern and runes within the room.

  Trembling, Eva’s fingers undid the clasp. The box’s lid opened down the middle, like a pair of tiny doors. An empty slot sat under the lid, just the size of…

  Eva felt a tingling sensation as she removed the Wonder stone from its golden chain. Holding it over the slot in the box, it looked like an exact fit. Eva’s mouth went dry as she lowered the stone into the slot within the silver box. A perfect fit.

  As soon as Eva’s finger’s left the stone, gold and rose-colored light burst forth. Throwing her hands over her eyes, Eva stumbled backwards and fell hard on the ground.

  “Hello?”

  Eva’s eyes widened in shock and her hand went to her sword hilt. She wasn’t alone.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Hello?”

  The greeting sounded familiar but no one appeared.

  Eva glanced around the room. She was alone.

  Except for the box.

  “Is someone there?” the voice asked

  “What in the…” Eva trailed off. The box was talking. Talking in Seppo’s voice!

  “H-hello?” Eva replied in a shaky voice. “Seppo, is that you?”

  The box ignored her question.

  “Pronouncement ‘Seppo’ recognized. Rune sequence will begin.”

  Several of the runes on the outside of the box glowed before the voice continued.

  “To whom it may concern: My name is Talus, Master Runesmith of the Palantine Empire. I am writing this message in the hopes that one day it will be found and my errors may be corrected. I began experimentation with rune engravings and enchanting upon inanimate objects almost two decades ago. My experimentations stemmed from a simple theory: if runes can augment living things such as people, animals, and plants, is there not a way to harness this same energy and power for inanimate objects?

  “My tests began with weaponry. I sought to imbibe the written scripts for flame and ice into a sword blade. At first, these experiments all failed. After much toil, I realized that I could use certain combinations of scripts to augment power from the rune casters themselves.

  “Upon this realization, I was successfully able to make armor and weapons inscribed with runes. Although they had no power of their own, they could store the energies of the rune casters. At the young age of fifty-three, barely an adult by Palantine standards, I became a famous and respected member of the Palantine Senate.

  “Yet even after this success, I still retained the belief that there could be a way to transfer more than energy into objects. If a rune caster could put his summoned magic into an item, would it not be possible for him to transfer something else, such as a memory? I believed this could be used as a recording device, a way to store the collective knowledge of my people for generations to come. This box is proof that these experiments too, were a success. Alas, if I had only stopped there.

  “It was at this time that I took upon a new apprentice, an extremely bright and talented young boy by the name of Ilmaren. I confess, his praise and flattering was something I reveled in. By this time, I had become one of the wealthiest members of the Palantine Senate, but this new apprentice of mine fueled the fire in me to do more.

  “He posed a question to me, based on his readings of my earlier work: would it not be possible to craft objects that created their own power, rather than just storing it? Although not living things, wood, stone, and metals were still comprised of elemental matters.

  “I told him this was the crux of my work, the one question I had not been able to answer. But I knew there must be some connection between the transference of rune magic and the transference of memory into objects. I had begun my life first as a smith and, as I experimented with rune carvings into inanimate objects in my early years, I returned to this vocation as part of my experimentation. Aside from my work with runes, I was also known as a master craftsman, aided, of course, by the rune tools I could create.

  “After much pondering and experimenting, Ilmaren and I came to the conclusion that it might be possible not only to combine inanimate objects with rune power, but to also create a complete transference of conscious into these same objects. What we were working on, although we told no one of our secret experiments, was a way to create immortal life — a way to outlast the decay of the body and mind by placing one’s collective within something that could never be destroyed by age or disease.

  “I confess, our early experiments were immoral, to say the least. We used the bodies of the recently deceased and attempted to reanimate them with rune magic. However, a dead thing that was once living, we soon discovered, is not the same thing as something that has never lived. I thank all the gods that we failed at this juncture and altered our course.

  “We returned to our research and, after months of calculations, I believed I had finally solved the problem. The transference had to occur with a live host, meaning the enchanting of an object combined with the transference of a live host would meld the two together.

  “Naturally, the only thing that would work would be a suit of armor, as the person would have to be completely encased in the object. The person, wearing the enchanted and inscribed rune armor, would then be placed inside the smelter. The difference from our earlier tes
ts was the inclusion of two runestones of opposing energies: the Aithos of Light and the Deimos of Darkness. These stones served to channel the rune magic and, we hoped, protect the person inside from the fires of the smelter. We named the completed structure the First Forge.”

  Here, there was a long pause and the voice of Talus/Seppo heaved a sigh.

  “I, in my hubris, insisted that I test the process first, although Ilmaren volunteered numerous times. I told him I did not want to risk his life needlessly. In reality, I did not want him to succeed in my place and take even a fraction of the glory. And so I encased myself in a suit of armor, crafted specially for the experiment….”

  Another long pause. When Talus/Seppo continued, Eva had to strain her ears to hear his voice.

  “If only it had failed.

  “I will spare the listener of this record and account the excruciating pain I went through inside the forge as my script was activated and the armor began to meld itself to and then, consume me. The pain caused me to lose all consciousness. When I awoke, I was lying outside the First Forge, my apprentice weeping over my body.

  “When I opened my eyes and spoke to him, Ilmaren jumped back in fright and struck me with a hammer. Looking down at my body, I saw the reason for his fright. I was still in the armor. However, I realized there was no physical remnant of me inside the armor. My memory and consciousness or, as some would call it, my soul, were all that remained of the man known as Talus.

  “Now that I had become immortal, I did not find it glorious. I was an abomination. I confess terror filled me — I had no way of knowing how long the imbibed rune scripts would last and expected to die at any moment.”

  Eva thought back to her conversation with Seppo that night in camp: The things I remember are strange: the feel of the sun on my face, water running through my hands, grass beneath my feet, the touch of a loved one — I may be protected from age, disease, and weapons in this shell, but I have come to learn that it keeps out more than it lets in.

  “I fled Palantis that night. I attempted to take a boat off the island but it capsized and I sank to what I thought would be a watery grave. It took several minutes to realize I did not need to draw breath — was I truly alive? I sank to the bottom of the ocean and walked to the shore.