Laugh of Destruction (Book 3 of the Death Incarnate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  At the water’s edge Cage inserted magic which put a thin barrier between his feet and that of the surface to which he glided across the water without worrying about getting caught in the current. Daku held tight as they reached the deafening sound of the roaring waterfall falling from high above. Without magic, Cage knew he’d have to climb up and create a break to split the falls again. Luckily that wasn’t an issue as he created a sharp triangular barrier which worked the moment he tried. His usual sphere barrier would take a greater pounding than the simple pyramid design. In his remaining free hand appeared a baseball sized orb of soft white light.

  He plunged into the center of the deadly fall and could feel the strain put on the protective barrier yet it held. The strain lasted only a few seconds before they passed through and entered a pitch black tunnel that led deep into the very heart of the island. Cage disengaged the barrier, but maintained the orb and glide spells. “There isn’t much to see until we reach the end, Daku. The tunnel is exactly like this for miles. You just rest on my shoulder and digest.”

  When the griffin got comfortably situated around his neck, Cage practically speed skated deeper down the barren, musty smelling cave tunnel clearly carved from magic because it was too uniform.

  Taking considerably less time than walking, Cage reached the large dome chamber where stood two short pillars alone in the spacious place. He doubled the size of the orb and levitated it ahead while ending the glide spell to walk surely under his own power and relieve the burning in his calves. A feeling of nostalgia washed over Cage as this is where his second chance in life was given. He’d met his first spirit who designed the gauntlets and boots and gave him the start he needed to get to where he is right now.

  Ahead, his eyes caught the glitter he hoped weren’t discovered and was glad the cave wasn’t. Nearby one of the platforms of unremarkably smooth stone lay a large mess of crystal. Cage remembered that to first leave the island he needed to shatter it physically. The once head sized glowing crystal that protected the island for over five thousand years lay broken in hundreds of varying sized pieces. As he walked over to the mess, Daku dropped down to look around curiously.

  Taking the bag clutched in his hand, Cage began gathering the largest shards, but before that he grabbed one the size of a fingernail and scanned it with magic and became confused as it wasn’t flawed in the least, didn’t hold any mana and the spells layered in it once were completely gone. Since he could sense within he knew that the crystal could be used by anyone and isn’t keyed to a specific individual. He tried another crystal to find it just as the first. After the fifth, he began to realize that the crystal that once guarded the island was actually hundreds of pieces bound near seamlessly into one. It began to make sense as the shards should be much larger if it were actually made from one piece. Still, he collected all of the largest crystal shards until the bag was full and scooped the remaining into a pile with his hands. By the time Daku finished investigating the room Cage finished. “Ready?” The Familiar asked.

  “Yes… Wait, I need to test something first.” Cage sat the sack down and knelt by the shard pile and plucked one of the smaller fragments. He sat it in the center of the crystal’s original platform and backed several yards away. “Granny taught me how to store my mana in gems, but had me apply fail-safes to prevent over-saturation. I want to see what happens when I don’t put that protection on. That fragment should be small enough to do what I need and its loss will not be missed.” Daku picked the crystal bag up by his beak and trotted over and waited.

  Power flowed from Cage and into the empty gem and it began to give off a white glow which grew in intensity as it fed more and more. Soon it began to shake as its glow became the brightest light in the room. Then Cage felt the fragment’s power begin to shift as it filled to capacity. The shift gave just enough warning for Cage to erect a barrier a moment before the gem could do what it could to release the excess… a loud crack momentarily preceded a powerful explosion.

  White light flared as the object released all the mana at once in a blinding, deafening explosion with enough force to send Cage off his feet and thrown several steps back. The room went instantly dark as the crystal practically disintegrated into little more than dust and the shock made Cage’s focus slip. Daku was worried until a second later as an orb of light reappeared. “Are you hurt?”

  “No, Daku, just knocked me on my ass rather hard.” Cage admitted as the griffin crawled closer to look for any signs of damage on his partner. None were found. “I sensed danger just before it detonated and my barrier protected me from the harsher part of the blast. I didn’t expect that that little shard could have ten times the force of plastic explosive of same size. I now see just why gems need to stop consuming when filled… it took quite a bit of mana, more than I expected, but wow, what a bang!”

  “If you are finished, I believe we should get back.”

  The worry in his Familiar’s tone wasn’t lost, but he did have a point. “Alright…” Cage said while standing and retrieving the full bag. “Climb on up.”

  Daku easily found the others fire and landed just outside the fire’s light. He and Cage walked in saying “We’re back!”

  The group stood and Meeka saw the bulging bag clutched in Cage’s hand to ask “What do you have there?”

  “Ideas.” He replied cryptically. “Have we missed anything?”

  “Nothing… So what is the plan now?” She asked.

  “I go place a set of spells to keep people from passing through the skull pillar’s pass. Then we fly over to find our people.”

  “Chief, those pillars have been making me worried.” Moril said and pointed out into the rolling surf of blackness.

  “It is to keep people afraid and…” He stopped when she raised a halting hand.

  “Not worried in that way. I’ve seen real dead human skills many times, but those made me think. The water is calmer in the center, but the waves seem to rise and fall as usual. I began wondering how someone could carve stone in the water that is so unpredictable. Even when you, I and the others disabled boats from the empire stood on the water with your magic, we were lifted and dropped by the waves… Magic could be the only way to carve those skulls, but why go through all the trouble? The magic man Ceembura must have had a reason or skulls of stone would riddle the island, Chief.” Moril insisted.

  The words began to make him wonder just why Ceembura would do that. His spirit seemed wily and carefree, but he didn’t seem to be the kind who did things without a reason. Could the pillars actually be more than a warning and for safe passage? He wondered and looked out to the salty ocean while relaxing in the fresh, clean scents it gave off. The idea she had had merit and he said “I wonder… Moril, you may be on to something.” He held out the bag towards Meeka. “Hold on to these for me please. They will come in handy soon.”

  “Alright.” She took the weighty bag and watched with the others as Cage rushed off towards the sea. Meeka opened the bag to find crystals, clear and glistening as if polished. “Why would he seem so excited to have these?”

  Brooke took one and smiled. “Our mate can use these to protect us. I have two emeralds in my tomahawks that protect me from arrows, but it takes weeks to, as he says ‘charge them up.’ to stop any. And can do many great things with these pretty stones. I’ve seen it many times and it has saved us all because of what he can do with them.”

  Waves slammed against Cage as he swam out, knowing that walking on water wouldn’t work till he swam just beyond where the waves began to crash. In five minutes of well practiced strokes he made it, rose magically out of the water and created an orb. He altered the spell to focus the light forward and blackness began to spread on the backside of the orb till a powerful searchlight hovered just above his hand. The glossy black pillars were much easier to spot and he walked atop the water and reached one, using the passage so as to not be drawn near the turbulent and deadly reef encompassing the whole island.

  With a stead
ying hand on the cold pillar where he laid a hand on a skull, Cage first sent the orb around to see everything and the surface seemed pretty cut and dry, looking just the way it seemed.

  But when he sent his magic inside the pillar Cage recoiled from the unexpected surge of power as it lashed out. Blue sparks began collecting, but he expected his wards to protect him. Instead, what he first suspected as electricity shot to his hands where the black diamonds jerked both arms forward. The magic being used felt the four diamonds, seemed to realize the significance and the light started changing from blue to black, but Cage dare not struggle for what he sensed within the pillar was a truly solid crystal fully charged and it dwarfed Megdline’s topaz store of mana at least nine times over. It wasn’t over yet as Cage turned his head when the second pillar lashed out with blue energy and pulled his left arm till he stood trapped dead center in the pass. Blue light continued changing black and he felt as if his arms were about to be ripped off, but then when the lines were completely one color they dropped his arms and he nearly fell. Cage wanted to get away, but knew somehow that whatever magic that was had somehow tested his diamonds and accepted them… otherwise he would have been ripped apart. It seemed whatever he’d done changed ownership of the crystal as when he felt the great power before, it didn’t care who used its power, but now it would answer to only Cage’s specific magic.

  Inside he could feel the wards awaiting command and how it absorbed tiny amounts of mana from all the life forms big and small, plant and animal, even coral. Two wards he could sense prominently in the large gem and would prevent sentient life from passing through and requires a password, but it blocked the password from being overheard by natural and magical means. The other seemed to both defend and attack any who used magic against it or who would try to alter the wards layered other than the new owner, i.e. Cage. It also had a healing function for the gem since it isn’t good to use gems offensively. Offensive gem use somehow breaks down the gem until it can no longer be effective and will break.

  The second task he left alone, but the first he applied the verbal key with which to activate the ward’s condition and felt it activate. Immediately it grabbed him firmly till he said the words and the grip slacked completely. Still, he thought something was about to appear before he spoke.

  Realizing his home wouldn’t be infiltrated by sea again he began to back away but was surprised again when he felt a rise of magic as the pillars began to expand away from each other until they stood more than a hundred feet apart, well enough to allow a ship in safely through the pass. Eventually the turbulent water calmed and stilled somewhat, but the now murky water proved that the whole seafloor had expanded.

  When it was all over, Cage felt physically, magically and mentally exhausted.

  He reached shore, but it was Daku who’d grown enough to drag Cage out of the water and to the beach where the waves wouldn’t continuously batter him. Sore shoulders made swimming difficult. “Where are you hurt?” Meeka said as she knelt by his side. “And don’t lie, Daku nearly flew out to save you when he saw you snatched by blue lights. Yes, he told us about it.”

  “Shoulders mostly.” Cage explained. “No Damage, but its tender. Let me get a bite and a drink. We’ll leave soon after.”

  He went to sit up till she pushed him down. “You need to rest after all that happened today. Even Daku won’t lift a wing till I say you’re better.”

  “Our families can wait another hour or two.” Zatal said seriously. “Rest, Chief.”

  Sean came up with a half full canteen. “Here, Dad.”

  “Thanks.” And he downed the whole contents before he was allowed to stand and move over by the fire. Then Brooke and Meeka began rubbing his shoulders, working the knots out.

  After the simple meal of corn and an hour’s rest Meeka decided that he was fit to travel. They mounted Daku after kicking out the fire and took to the sky, but the griffin steered far from the pillars.

  “You’re amazing, Daku.” Cage stated.

  “I know,” The griffin smugly replied. “but why do you say so at the moment?”

  Cage patted the Familiar’s thick neck while looking down and ahead. “Because it hasn’t been more than twenty minutes and you’ve crossed the ocean which took me an entire day of rowing. Being able to fly sure comes in handy.”

  Daku purred in pleasure, making most of his body vibrate. Several hundred feet above sea level the griffin suddenly ceased rumbling and narrowed his powerful eyes in the darkness. “I’ve found them.” He stated.

  Everyone stood and began shouting simultaneously for him to show where and he pointed a talon to tiny dots of fire slightly up the coast and hidden by trees. Only the aerial view could have found the encampment since the Utala didn’t wish to be seen. They made a direct route and prepared for a landing in a nearby clearing since it appeared that the tribe’s teepees were too close together to make a successful arrival.

  Touching down a quarter mile from the tribe, everyone felt excitement mounting. Daku decided to become smaller to not appear so much as a threat and claimed Cage’s shoulder as a perch. Packs were shouldered as Brooke gleefully said “Let’s go be with our people.” and her bright smile came out clear in the light of her mate’s five floating orbs that glided all around so that their traveling would be safer through the brush.

  Within minutes of pushing through the thick forest came a distant voice “Stop and leave this area immediately or die! You are not welcome here!”

  “I know that voice.” Meeka said.

  Brooke shouted back wryly while everyone stopped “Zanza! Are you going to say that to your priestess?!”

  Silence reigned for all of a few heartbeats before a hurried rushing came from the woods. Cage judged by the crashing sounds that there were three running fast towards them. In moments appeared a woman and two men with fitted arrows. The huntress and warrior Zanza has proven to be a fearsome woman and a good friend. Two large men flanked her and despite their nudity it was a fact that to look upon any tribal person of the Utala is to see danger and beauty without the need to hide behind cloth. The three stared dumbfounded at Brooke and the others. In the magic conjured light, smiles grew on everyone and the first to speak was one of the large men who completely dropped his bow and crossed the short space in a run with open arms while shouting “MORIL!”

  “My Love!” She shouted back with flowing tears and ran for his embrace. They came together as even his tears began to shed while holding each other.

  Zanza turned to the other hunter to say “Hurry to the village.” As the man gladly ran back the huntress un-notched her arrow and wrapped her bow over her head and let the string lay between her breasts. “Priestess, welcome home. I see you were able to rescue our brother and sisters…” Then Zanza’s eyes widened as she looked upon the beast of her chieftain’s shoulder and backed away for she’d never seen something of its like before and her instincts could tell it was dangerous. She quickly recovered from the shock and looked over at her newest tribal sister, Meeka and followed her arm to find a young boy holding her hand. “And who might this be.”

  “The newest member of the tribe.” Cage stated. “His name is Sean and he is my son which Brooke so kindly rescued.”

  Zanza knelt before the rather handsome boy and pointed to his pants. “If it is not cold out you do not need clothes, especially in our tribe. Be proud of your body. Regardless, I wish to also welcome you to the tribe. You will grow into a fine man for any mate you challenge one day.” She gave the boy a gentle grip on his shoulder before standing. “Come! Our people have been so worried and waited long enough to get you back.”

  Everyone started a fast pace through the woods since the orbs made moving much safer. Ahead grew an orange glow from several fires and many shouts explained the whole village was awake and eager.

  Bursting into a clearing, Cage canceled the magic orbs as the fires gave ample illumination. As soon as their group appeared the village went completely silent, but smiles domin
ated. The two groups stood still, smiling greatly. Then a great commotion happened as Rena came rushing ahead screaming “MOTHER!”

  “RENA!” Brooke, at seeing her dear daughter’s tears made her own begin to flow. She rushed as fast as her long legs could move until she had Rena in her arms again. Mother and daughter cried in unison. Rena’s little arms encircled her mother’s neck as she buried her head in the curve of Brooke’s clavicle.

  “Zatal!” “My Love!” “Lanna!” “Moril!” Came many shouts as their mates ran for them after seeing their priestess and Rena kneeling and holding each other.

  Cage, Meeka and Sean watched as the mates to the warriors reclaimed their love once again. Cheering filled the night air as the Utala got their people back.

  Daku crawled over on Sean’s shoulder when he could see the boy’s unease.

  Because of the distraction at seeing Brooke and Rena holding each other and the eager crowd, Cage didn’t see a balled fist approach from the side before the pain of being struck in the jaw was delivered. The powerful punch floored the warlock for a moment till his fighting instincts kicked in. He rolled aside a fraction of a second before a hard stomp could connect with his chest. Adrenaline flowed again and a grin spread at the thought of a fight. He tightened his stomach, jerked his legs up for momentum, placed his hands flat on the grass beside his head, pushed when the backwards roll was just right and fought the pain in his shoulders to do a momentary handstand till he continued flipping until his feet landed enough to stand. Fingers curled into a balled fist and raised up against a large, attractive woman he knew as Chala, Moril’s sister-mate.

  The unexpected attack silenced and made the Utala gasp. From the look in the woman’s eyes Cage instantly understood the rage. Chala was emotionally overwhelmed an didn’t know where to release her weeks of pent up anger, loss and hurt. She truly didn’t want to ruin this night, but couldn’t let go as the focus of her emotions fixated on him. And now that he stood there, he knew the best way to settle the grudge without making a blood-enemy out of her.