Avondale V

by Toby Neighbors

  “Tiberius will return,” Rafe said. “I have no doubt, my lord.”

  “Is he a good man?”

  “The best, and wise, too. He saved my life more than once. I never would have thought that possible. Even as children I always assumed that I would be the mighty warrior who saved him.”

  “I wonder where his compassion sprang from,” the earl said. “Certainly not from me. I never taught Tiberius anything and I certainly didn’t set a good example.”

  “Perhaps there will be time for you to get to know your son,” Rafe said.

  “I would like that,” the earl said. “And perhaps I can convince him to take my place as Earl of Avondale. If we can hold out long enough for him to have a city left to rule.”

  Rafe didn’t know how it was possible for the sky ship from Avondale to be sailing toward the fleet from Sparlan Citadel, since both fleets were propelled by the same wind, but they were. And the ships were clear to see now. There was over a hundred of the small war ships, each armed with a catapult and manned by a dozen warriors. Even if they didn’t all leave the ships to fight, the king would have over a thousand men at his disposal. Rafe didn’t have that many; even with the paladins they conscripted, their total number was around nine hundred. A full unit composed of one hundred and fifty men would be leaving the city with the citizens who were evacuating. If it came to combat, Rafe knew the odds were not good.

  “Your orders, my lord?” the captain asked.

  “How far are we from the city?” Earl Ageus asked.

  They had been traveling for over half an hour, but the approaching fleet was getting close.

  “Three miles, four maybe,” the captain said. “We are almost in range of their catapults now, my lord.”

  “You mean this ship?” the earl asked.

  “Yes, we could come under attack at any moment.”

  Rafe remembered how the war ship that attacked the sky ship from Hamill Keep had shot flaming bombs toward the large vessel. Tiberius had saved them from those attacks, but Rafe had no illusions of what would happen if Leonosis ordered his fleet to attack now.

  “All right,” the earl said, “hold here and signal to their ships. I want them stopped here for as long as possible.”

  “What should I say, my lord?” the captain asked.

  “Ask them for a parley. We need to discuss why the king is approaching Avondale with a war fleet.”

  The earl’s voice was sharp, his tone gruff. Rafe was reminded of the earl he had known growing up. The stress of the situation was enough to make any man tense, and Earl Ageus seemed worried, perhaps even scared. Rafe wasn’t scared of fighting, but he didn’t like the idea of plunging to his death in a sky ship. There was nothing he could do if the war ship fired at the vessel from Avondale.

  “Yes, my lord,” the captain said.

  “Pray this works,” the earl said. “And hope that Tiberius hurries back with whatever he needs to stop an army.”

  Rafe looked out across the great expanse of mist and wondered where Tiberius was at that moment.

  Chapter 22

  Tiberius

  Ti lay in the dark, trying to slow his breathing. The muscles in his back were in full spasm, squeezing his chest so that every inhalation only seemed to cause him more pain. He knew if he could calm things down and breathe shallower, the cramping muscles might ease up a bit.

  “Can you rub my back?” he managed to say through clenched teeth.

  Lexi didn’t reply; she just started feeling him. In the darkness, even lying side by side, they couldn’t tell where the other was apart from touch. Lexi helped Tiberius roll over onto this stomach. The floor of the chamber was cold stone and smelled of dust, but he lay his face on it anyway. The cool stone felt good against his sweaty forehead and cheeks. Lexi massaged Ti’s back, and the pressure seemed to calm his cramping muscles. He couldn’t help but wince whenever she touched the raw strip down his back from the rope.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Rope burn,” he said. “But it’s the muscle I’m struggling with.”

  She couldn’t feel the raw skin through his clothes, and of all the pain he was struggling with, the rope burns were the least of his worries. It took nearly half an hour before he felt like trying to sit up. He had to be careful not to hunch his back, no matter how tired he was, but he got situated in an upright position and summoned the light spell once again.

  “Fulsi,” he whispered, immediately clamping down on the portal of light that opened beside him, so that it was little more than a pinprick of bright light floating in the air between Tiberius and Lexi.

  They both blinked in the sudden light, rubbing their eyes and smiling in relief. The darkness of the dome was oppressive, and the light was a welcome sight. Lexi looked worried, but she never complained. Tiberius was constantly impressed by her strength and determination.

  “Are you okay?” he asked quietly. “I’m sorry I let you swing into the wall.”

  “I’m fine, Ti,” Lexi said, her voice thick with concern. “You did the hard part. You didn’t drop me.”

  “I would have died first,” he said with a smile.

  “And your back?”

  “It’s hurting, but I’ll live. Let’s figure out how to get the box open.”

  They both turned their attention to the plain metal box that was sitting on the floor nearby. It was still slick with oil but otherwise seemed unharmed.

  “It’s odd,” Tibeirus said. “I’ve never seen a box like it.”

  “There are no handles,” Lexi said. “I had to get my hands under it to carry it up.”

  “And no markings either,” Tiberius said. “I can't even see a seam. There’s no visible lid.”

  “So is it some kind of puzzle box?” Lexi asked. “Maybe you have to do something to open it.”

  Tiberius increased the light so that the entire room was visible and the box was easy to see. He picked it up, checking the bottom, which was exactly like the top and sides. The box was a perfect cube, with no visible seams or even forge marks. Tiberius had seen some of the greatest craftsmanship in Valana, but he’d never seen anything so perfectly forged. The box had weight, but it obviously wasn’t a solid block of metal.

  “It has to have been magically made,” Tiberius said. “The stone must be inside, but there’s no way to open it.”

  “Is it another part of the test?” Lexi asked.

  Tiberius rapped on the box with his knuckles, but the metal was solid. He couldn’t imagine finding a way to break into the box without using magic. He’d used the basic light spell to find his way into the room and then the intermediate cyclone spell to retrieve the box. That left the three advanced spells of the Fourth Order: crucible, destruction, and sealing.

  Of the advanced spells, Tiberius had only used the crucible spell, and then only to defeat the army of animated brass warriors sent to slaughter him and Rafe in Devonyr. That spell had been difficult, like trying change the course of a river using only his hands. Luckily, he had been in an abandoned city, with nothing to lose, when he set the powerful magic free. It had worked flawlessly on the brass warriors, and it seemed like the only sensible way to open the box to retrieve the Emerystone, but he wasn’t sure he could wield the powerful magic without destroying the contents of the box.

  The destruction spell had been used during the cataclysm by wizards who couldn’t control the magic’s power. Tiberius had no idea how devastating that magic had been, but he’d grown up hearing tales of the horrible consequences. It was because of that reckless use of power that magic had been banned in the nine cities of Valana. Tiberius knew that magic was still used in the blighted lands, but the great powers from before the cataclysm had almost vanished forever, all because a few wizards pushed their craft too far.

  The advanced spells of the Fourth Order were exponentially more difficult to wield than the one before. Tiberius had no idea if he would ever be able to master the destruction or sealing spells, but if he could po
ssess the Emerystone, he wouldn’t have to. The ancient wizards had used the sealing spell to bind the powers of the most accomplished wizard of their day to the stone, allowing anyone who used it to tap into that great well of strength. Tiberius had felt the power and the evil of the Balestone. That magical stone was created using the Emerystone to seal the powers of another world into a gem that gave its user incredible power, but that power came at a terrible price. It had to be destroyed, and Tiberius could only do that by using the Emerystone. Otherwise, he risked causing another cataclysm, and that was his greatest fear. That the magic he loved so much and had risked his life and reputation to learn really would be as horrible as the stories he’d heard so often growing up.

  “I think I know what I have to do,” Tiberius said. “But we can’t do it here.”

  “Why not?” Lexi asked.

  “I’m going to have to melt the box,” Tiberius said. “And there’s too much oil in this building. We should do it outside.”

  “And away from the trees.”

  “Maybe on the open path,” Tiberius suggested.

  Getting to his feet was painful, and every step sent a throb of pain down his back and into his legs. The raw skin from where the rope had slid across his back and over his shoulder burned. But Tiberius heaved the metal box. It was about the same weight as a large melon and slick from the oil.

  “I can carry it,” Lexi offered.

  “I’ve got it,” Tiberius said. “But you can get our packs.”

  She got both bags and slung one over each shoulder. The air in the dome-shaped building seemed even more dusty and old as they left. Tiberius wanted to walk out into the sunshine, but the exterior was just as dark as the interior. He had to dim the magical light to avoid attracting unwanted attention from the denizens of the forest. They walked back along the wide cobblestone path that was hidden by a the fine layer of dark soil. When Tiberius thought they were far enough away from the dome, he set the box down.

  “Well,” he said, “I think this is far enough.”

  “Is what you’re doing dangerous?”

  “Working any magic of the Fourth Order is dangerous,” Tiberius said. “The magic is so strong it can be difficult to control. I’ve grown used to wielding the basic spells, but I’m about to use one of the most powerful. And our clothes have oil on them. It would be better if you stood back a bit.”

  Lexi nodded and slipped farther down the path, then took shelter behind a large tree trunk. In the small amount of light Tiberius was allowing to shine, he could just see her face. The shadows made her features stand out in contrast to her light skin. Her short hair was disheveled, but her eyes were brimming with excitement. Even the dark, twisted forest couldn’t make her look anything but beautiful to Tiberius.

  He turned his attention back to the box. The dull gray metal seemed to blend into the dark surroundings, but the oil shimmered, reflecting the magical light. Tiberius hoped he could keep the light spell open while he cast the crucible spell, but the amount of strength and concentration it would take to control the powerful magic might be too much.

  “If the light goes out, don’t panic,” Tiberius said. “I’m not sure I can work both spells at the same time.”

  “All right,” Lexi said. “Be careful. Don’t catch on fire.”

  Tiberius raised his eyebrows as he realized he was just as likely to burst into flames as the box was. He knelt down several feet from the box, staying on his knees just in case he had to move away quickly. His back was still hurting, and he needed to neutralize the painful distraction as much as possible. He closed his eyes and waited several moments, letting his mind and emotions settle down before beginning the spell.

  “Conflo Fervefacio Aestifer,” he chanted softly.

  He knew the words by heart, having memorized them long ago in Avondale. He had soaked up the magical knowledge like a dry sponge, but he had uttered the words out loud only once before. He immediately felt the familiar swirl of magic and the portal forming that would unleash the deadly heat. The crucible spell was basically the same as the fire spell, only much more intense. The heat was no longer in the form of flames, but in an intense wave.

  Tiberius allowed the portal to open just slightly, barely more than a pinhole, yet the heat from the spell was so hot he broke out into an immediate sweat. It was like stepping close to the blacksmith’s forge when the smithy was working the bellows. The wave of heat was directed away from Tiberius and toward the metal box, which instantly burst into flames. The oil that remained on the box flashed up, filling the path and the space between the trees with a bright orange light.

  Anything combustible around the box immediately caught on fire, but it was mostly dirt, which seemed to turn to powdery ash and blow away in the wave of heat. Tiberius kept the flow of heat steady. The oil burned away quickly, and the top of the box began to glow.

  Tiberius felt the mental strain almost immediately. Working powerful magic was taxing on his strength, and he was soon clenching his eyes shut and straining to keep the spell going. The light spell died, but the metal box was glowing so brightly it gave its own light to the dark forest. The first beads of metal began to roll down the edges of the box. Tiberius had to be careful, moving the wave of heat so that only the top of the box grew hot and melted. There was just enough force from the spell that Tiberius could blow the melted metal backward, away from the opening he was forming. A few white hot drops of molten metal dripped into the box, but for the most part, he was able to control how the box melted.

  He pushed himself hard to melt the entire top of the metal container. He wanted to stop when the hole was big enough for his hand to reach through, but he kept working. He could have melted the entire box in a matter of seconds, but only by destroying it and anything it held inside.

  When he finished, he fell backward. The metal was still glowing red but not giving off much light. The heat could still be felt, and Tiberius rolled away from the box, hoping he hadn’t damaged anything that lay inside. Lexi came out from behind the tree and hurried to Tiberius’ side.

  “Have we got any water left?” he asked.

  “A little,” Lexi said. “It has to last us until we reach the ship.”

  Tiberius sipped the water, letting it soak into his parched mouth and throat. He wanted to guzzle as much of the cool water as he could hold, but he forced himself to only drink a few swallows. They still had a long journey back to the tunnel that led up to the war ship that would take them back to Avondale.

  “Did you get the stone?” Lexi asked.

  “No,” Tiberius said. “It’s too hot to touch anything in there.”

  “But you saw it,” she asked.

  For the first time since they had found the dome, Tiberius smiled. He had seen the stone. It was small, almost the size of a peach seed, and held in place by a pile of straw, which had turned to a fine ash inside the box. After an hour of rest, Tiberius went back to the metal container. He had recast his light spell, and the small orb of light was hovering just over the box, shining light down into the interior.

  “It’s still hot,” Lexi said.

  The metal had cooled a great deal and no longer glowed, but there was enough heat coming from the box that it felt like they were standing in front of an open oven. Tiberius emptied his pack and used the canvas to protect his hand. He reached in and carefully retrieved the object that lay inside the container. It was still warm, but not terribly hot. He held it up.

  “Is that a diamond?” Lexi asked.

  Tiberius grinned. “That,” he said happily, “is the Emerystone.”

  Chapter 23

  Rafe

  From a distance, Rafe guessed the sight of the two sky ships moving slowly toward one another was inspiring. In truth, the tension on the Avondale ship was so thick that many of the men were sweating despite the cold wind. The captain had signaled to the king’s ship, asking for a conference. The war ships, as Rafe and Earl Ageus had hoped, held their positions. The king’s ship sai
led forward alone, and the Avondale ship was forced to move forward into the range of the war ships’ deadly catapults. Until the two ships came together, the earl’s ship would be in danger. Still, the earl had ordered the captain to take his time. The wind was blowing out of the north, forcing both ships to manipulate their sails in order to catch and use the wind to propel them forward. After an awkward bit of sailing, the two massive ships finally came to a halt no more than forty feet apart.

  The ships couldn’t ease together; their long masts protruding from either side made that impossible. Instead, the ships swung around so that their sterns were as close as the massive balloon sails that kept them aloft would allow. Ropes from each ship were tossed to the other and tied so that they didn’t drift apart.

  “We have to be ready to sail,” the earl told the captain in a quiet voice. “And we might be a target, so be ready.”

  “Aye, my lord,” the captain said.

  Rafe thought the sailor looked confident, but he couldn’t be sure that they would survive if the king’s war ships launched fire bombs their way. The balloon sail was a huge target, and even a glancing blow could set the canvas on fire and send them plummeting thousands of feet to the ground. He couldn’t help but wish once more that Tiberius was with them. His friend would give them a degree of security no one else in the entire kingdom could supply.

  “Let’s begin,” the earl said.

  Earl Ageus was flanked by four guards as he moved to the railing at the rear of the ship. Rafe accompanied him, as well, carrying a large shield. If the king had treachery in mind, Rafe’s job would be to place himself and the shield between the earl and any danger. Rafe had placed archers with fire arrows in the earl’s stateroom. One command would send them running out with their arrows lit from braziers to fire at the king’s ship. It would be a last-ditch effort to take the king out if something happened to their own vessel, and the thought of that made Rafe’s stomach twist furiously.