Time of the Stonechosen (The Soulstone Prophecy Book 2)

by Thomas Quinn Miller

  That sensation combined with the nasty taste of the concoction Dagbar had given him had his stomach queasy. The foul tasting stuff was the only thing protecting him and the others from the mind altering effects of the mist. Ghile forced the saliva that was building in his mouth down with a grimace.

  If his regular senses were of no use, Ghile had others. He sent his mind searching out around him. He could feel the minds of the others on the level above him, even Dagbar's.

  As he expected, he could not push his way into the dwarf's mind any more than he could enter a human's. It seemed only the minds of animals were open to him.

  Ghile reached out farther and came upon an unfamiliar mind, one he could penetrate. Then he sensed another, and another. He gently probed the minds, being careful not to enter too fast or go too deep. These creatures were large, whatever they were. Ghile grimaced as the images of leaping from his hidden burrow and landing upon a tiny goblin filled his mind. He saw himself biting down on the creature and feeling his poison enter the succulent creature and render it still so he could feed. Wherever these creatures were, it was dimly lit and Ghile saw the same image from eight different perspectives. They were spiders! Big spiders.

  The nearest giant spider had felt his footsteps and was waiting for its next meal to come closer. Ghile had a better idea, though. He reached into their minds.

  The sound of someone sliding down the wall caught his attention.

  Dagbar stumbled up behind him and half squatted, half collapsed.

  “Are you sure this is the way?” Ghile said.

  “Yes, quite sure,” Dagbar said between breaths. The constant fights and pace he was setting was affecting the others. Ghile had to remember he was no longer a normal human.

  “Ashar's laboratory…is near the…center of the ruins. I think…we are in the temple district…judging by these columns…we are close,” Dagbar said between deep breaths.

  Ghile nodded. He really didn't need Dagbar to tell him the way, he could feel the pull of Akira's soulstone. He could also feel another sensation, another soulstone. He hadn't been able to tell the two sensations apart before, but now that he was close, it was obvious. Akira was not the only stonechosen down there.

  The longing to have the other soulstones pushed its way up from the darkness of his mind. Like cups of water placed before a man dying of thirst, they taunted him to reach out and take them. Ghile squeezed his eyes shut and forced the feeling back down. He would not harm Akira, he was going to save her.

  “Does he have to die?” Dagbar said.

  Ghile turned to glare down at the dwarf. How could he ask that question? Ashar had imprisoned and lied to his own sister. Had unleashed the fallen upon the Deepwood and the dwarf's own settlement. Ghile could see the pain and confusion on Dagbar's face.

  Ghile bit back his harsh retort and just shook his head in disbelief.

  “It's just….I set him on this path. Maybe if I spoke to him? I have to believe he can be saved?”

  “Why?” Ghile said.

  “I don't know how to explain, Ghile. It's just I cannot help but see him and Akira as the children they were when they came to the settlement. I know what he has done is wrong. I even accept what will happen to Akira when you find her, but-”

  “I am not going to hurt, Akira. There has to be another way,” Ghile said. His voice rose with each word.

  Riff dropped in behind Dagbar, the hand not holding the everflame clutching his side as he fought for breath. He drew it away from his side to wave it at them dismissively.

  “Go on, don't mind me,” Riff said.

  Dagbar spared a glance for Riff and shook his head. “There are some truths in this life that are hard to face, Ghile, but face them we must. You are stonechosen. You have spoken to Islmur. You now know the truth of what that means. If you do not possess all the soulstones and confront Haurtu, then you will die. Akira will die. And all this,” Dagbar said as he motioned around him, “all that we have sacrificed for helping you will have been for nothing.”

  “Ghile, what is he talking about?” Riff said.

  Ghile and Dagbar stared at each other. Everything Dagbar said was true, but Ghile just didn't want to accept it. He had entertained the fantasy of somehow freeing Akira of her soulstone. The truth of what would happen was there deep in the shadows of his mind. There were things he had no control of, but there were things he did.

  “Ghile?” Riff said.

  Ghile shook his head. “Ashar dies.”

  Riff continued to look between the two as if he could puzzle the mystery out with sheer effort of will.

  Gaidel and Two Elks were behind Riff now. Ghile could see the exhaustion on their faces. Two Elks tilted his head to listen and then quickly raised a hand with three fingers up. Ghile recognized the gestures and stood up.

  “It's alright, Two Elks. I have found help.”

  Three large shapes materialized from the dark mist. Their large hairy legs surprisingly quiet as they plodded into view. Eight pupilless eyes, set into three rows, stared out from grey haired heads.

  “By Daomur's backside!” Riff said as he brought his everflame before him.

  “There is no call for that sort of language,” Dagbar said without ever taking his eyes from the spiders.

  “Seriously? Now? You are going to choose now to address my language?”

  Gaidel stepped around Two elks, who had moved up in front of her and touched Ghile on the shoulder.

  “Are you sure about this, Ghile?”

  Trying to look at all the eyes made Ghile dizzy, so he instead focused on the two largest eyes in the middle row. He could feel the instinct to not only attack him and his companions, but the spiders wanted to attack each other as well. Ghile used his will and forced those instincts down.

  They had fought through the first line of fallen who had charged out of the mists when night fell. Since then, they encountered roving bands. None wished to fight more than was necessary. The fallen included humans in their ranks and Gaidel and Riff lamented that, given time, they could be saved.

  For Ghile, each fight sapped at their strength and they still had Ashar and the Cullers to deal with. The spiders were an answer to this problem, but he had little doubt how comfortable Gaidel and Riff were with his chosen solution.

  “Yes,” was all Ghile said.

  Ghile felt the pull of the other soulstones and directed the spiders in that direction. As the creatures turned and moved off into the mists, Ghile followed. He didn't need to turn to know the concerned looks Gaidel and Riff were sharing.

  31

  Burdens of Fate

  Ashar tried to rub away the stiffness that settled into his maimed leg as he watched the scene unfold. The view of the city's edge undulated on the cloud of mist floating before him.

  The mist thrall, whose eyes the spell looked through, crouched at the edge of the mists as it waited for the buffeting winds to stop and the mists to once again surge forward.

  Its panting caused the scene to rise and fall.

  In the middle of the ruins, until just recently hidden by the mists, elves stood in a long row. Ashar found their slow methodical approach maddening. He would never had believed it possible. They were actually pushing the mists back.

  Their size allowed them to easily step over the uneven stones. Stones that had earlier answered the elves' call and erupted from the ground with devastating effect.

  Why was this happening now when I am so close?

  Ashar could not hear sound through the spell, but he could see the elves' mouths and knew they were singing.

  The winds answered and pushed the mists back. The elves all took a step forward, their limb-like arms upraised.

  Ashar could feel the thrall he was casting his spell through stiffen as one of the elves broke rank and moved forward. The thrall desperately wanted to spring forth from the mists and sink tooth and claw into the elf.

  Ashar focused and sent out the mental command for all the thralls on the edge of th
e city to remain in the mists. He lost control of the thralls when they moved beyond the mists, not to mention they no longer benefited from the mists' regenerative powers. He had already lost too many thralls on their initial attempt to drive the elves back.

  The elf stopped just short of the mists to reached down and touch the body of a fallen stag. The stag spasmed and then rocked up onto its feet. Healed of its wounds, it bounded back to join the other animals that had answered the elves' call.

  Ashar did not miss the fact that both sides were healing their wounded, this fight would not be over quickly and he was losing ground. He had to keep pressure on the elves. The further the mists were from the forest, the more difficult it would be for his bloaters to reach it and spread their toxins.

  He had never seen so many elves, hadn't known so many even existed. They surrounded the entire city and every fallen he could spare was at the city's edge.

  With the spell, the mist flowed forward and with it his thralls. Ashar focused on the thralls and reinforced the mental command for them to stay within the mists.

  Even with the thrall's enhanced vision, it was difficult to see how many animals were behind the elves' line. But, no sooner had the mists started to move than the animals charged forth. Ashar could see great horned stags and sleek black cats, mere shadows if not for their eyes shining through the darkness. A great mass of fur filled the thrall's vision and Ashar just made out the brown paw of a massive bear before it swiped down and the viewing from his spell faded.

  They just needed to hold a little longer.

  Ashar leaned against one of the many tables that filled the laboratory. He looked at all his equipment and experiments. The various elixirs frothed and boiled in their beakers. He had not wanted to use the large circular chamber to make his stand, but he needed to stay close to his soulstones.

  He repeated the words of the mind vision spell and focused its powers to the thralls gathered just outside this tower, his last line of defense. He knew the stonechosen and his companions had entered the city. When Ashar had seen Dagbar among them, he had to fight down the urge to throw every thrall he had at them.

  Now was no time to lose his head. He wanted revenge, but Ashar also wanted to survive. So, he had sent small packs of thralls against them, to weaken them, but not slow their approach. He had hoped to kill off some of the stonechosen's companions, but had been unsuccessful, more's the pity.

  He needed the stonechosen close. As soon as he felt the additional power of the other two soulstones, he would have the strength he needed to send the bloaters forth.

  The image of the plaza appeared on the undulating cloud of mist. The thrall the spell had chosen crouched atop a pile of stones that lay against the outside of the tower. Ashar focused and guided the thrall's head with a slight wave of his hand.

  Ashar could see dozens of thralls, crouched among the stones, their white forms bobbing with each panting breath, long black tongues lolling. All of his remaining thralls were there. The stonechosen would get no further. Close enough to lend the power of his soulstones for Ashar to complete his plans, but not close enough to be a threat. There were more than enough thralls outside to handle the stonechosen and his pitiful allies.

  Dagbar had come to him. The dwarf would die at the hands of his thralls. It occurred to him then, he no longer needed to send the bloated forth. But, the unprovoked attack by the elves had angered him and they would learn a valuable lesson and give the Fallen City a wide berth from this night forth.

  A deep gurgling growl interrupted his musings.

  Ashar dismissed the image on the mist cloud with a wave of his hand.

  Collecting his staff, he limped the short distance to the two tombs in the center of the lab and their new guardian. He ran his finger along the creature's slime covered helmet down one of the many coils that sprouted from it and followed its gurgling contents down to disappear into the creature's wide gorget.

  “Do not worry, Knight Justice Griff,” Ashar said. “You are my surprise. My 'just in case'.”

  Ashar smiled as he heard the leather under the dwarf's iron gauntlets tighten on the handle of its rune covered hammer.

  The runes glowed with an intense blue light ever since the dwarf entered the library.

  Ashar knew it had to do with its proximity to the soulstones. He would have to perform some experiments and see if he could not use that to his benefit later.

  A muffled explosion from somewhere outside the tower set vials and beakers clinking.

  “I see it has begun,” Ashar said.

  Finngyr pulled Safu's reins to the right, simultaneously pushing his left knee into the saddle, causing her to bank left. He held that position and stared down into the mists far below.

  He had climbed to this elevation to try and take in as much of the city as he could.

  The surface of the mist glowed with reflected moonlight. The night sky was clear and the bloated moon appeared to hang just out of Finngyr's reach.

  There!

  Below him near where one of the ruined spires broke the mist's surface, another yellow ball of light appeared. Finngyr knew he had seen something.

  The knight continued to hold his position and Safu continued down in a tight spiral. He loosened his grip before she plunged into the silver tipped surface.

  Finngyr could hear the sounds of battle rising up from below.

  “Fly, Safu, we have found him!”

  The other knights were still monitoring the battle along the city's edge.

  Finngyr slapped the reins to hurry Safu on. He had to gather the other knights and then capture the stonechosen.

  “By Daomur's hairy backside! Did you see that? I didn't even have to change the incantation,” Riff shouted over the battle.

  “Is that language truly necessary?” Dagbar called.

  Ghile had seen it. The gout of flame Riff normally sprayed forth from his hands had been thrown like a small ball of flame instead. When it impacted with one of the fallen, it exploded into a huge ball of flame, engulfing the fallen and quite a few around it as well.

  Riff just laughed at Dagbar's discomfort and hurled another fireball.

  Ghile felt the wind and heat of the blast wash over him. The power of the other two soulstones were feeding Riff's magic. Ghile could feel their pull coming from the huge tower behind the fallen's lines. Akira was in there and so was Ashar.

  Ghile had sent the three giant spiders directly into the middle of the fallen and the creatures had swarmed over them without fear.

  All three spiders were still up, thanks to Ghile's force shield armor, with dozens of fallen scattered beneath them. But, for every one that fell, there were three more to take its place.

  Riff, Gaidel, and Dagbar stood just behind Two Elks, his kite shield, and the deadly swipes of his stone axe protecting them as they worked their magics. The barbarian had already racked up an impressive tally, the proof of which lay scattered about him in broken heaps.

  Another pack came rushing out of the mists and charged straight towards Two Elks and the others.

  Riff held his everflame before him and then slashed over it with his other hand, sending a huge fan of flame trailing out and over the charging fallen.

  Two Elks dove in right behind the dying flames, to bring his axe across in a vertical slash. Two fallen, still on fire, flew back in a spray of black blood and bone.

  Two Elks continued the spin and brought his shield across like a second blade, laying another fallen low.

  It was then that Ghile realized Dagbar held no weapons. Ghile had separated from his companions and the spiders in case the fallen singled him out from the others as they had done when he first encountered them with Arenuin. So far, that had not happened.

  His fangblade already dripped with the blood of numerous fallen, and he held it with the blade down to keep the blood from fouling his grip. He didn't need the weapon slipping out of his hands.

  But now, seeing two additional fallen appear from behind one o
f the columns and bear down on the unarmed Dagbar and Gaidel, he wished he had stayed closer.

  Ghile knelt down and touched one of the large stone tiles at his feet. He knew both Dagbar and Gaidel were defenseless and realized he would only have time to stop one of the vargan from reaching its quarry. He made his decision and sent the stone hurtling forwards with a thought.

  The large stone tile cut one of the charging vargan through the middle. The upper half spun off to the side in a spinning tangle of hands and entrails. The severed arms and legs rolled forward to settle near Gaidel's feet.

  Ghile watched as the other fallen leaped on Dagbar, fanged maw snapping. No sooner had it touched Dagbar than it was hurtling head over heels towards Two Elks.

  Ghile blinked. Dagbar had made a graceful twist and spun under the fallen's attack, using the creature's own momentum to redirect it.

  It landed on its back and Two Elks wasted no time in dispatching it with two sharp blows of his axe.

  The battle was far from over, however. More fallen poured around both sides of the tower. As many charged towards Ghile and his companions as engaged the giant spiders.

  Ghile knelt back down and used his force shield to hurtle tile after tile at the fallen who ran towards him. He gave the fangblade a practice swing to prepare for those who got through.

  The ground before Two Elks exploded in a mass of churning dirt and stone. Then the tumult surged towards the approaching fallen. It brought to mind the way a woolen blanket would roll out with a flick of the arms. Fallen flew in every direction.

  “We have a problem,” Riff called out over the din.

  The sorcerer was throwing gouts of flame at the many fallen that lay on the ground around him.

  “They are healing!” Riff followed his words with another gout of flame on one of the now writhing fallen.

  Two Elks merely nodded and brought his axe down on one near him. The creature's head rolled away.