The Last Oracle: The White Mage Saga #1 (The Chronicles of Lumineia)

by Ben Hale

  She glanced to the side and realized that it had been Iris who had saved her. Before Tess could call a thank you her friend had already turned her attention to another creature. Fighting for breath, Tess rose fifty feet off the stone floor. Her heart stuttered as she witnessed the truth.

  The fiends continued to pour through the portal, and had filled the gorge to capacity. Her firewall had faded into pockets of dying flames, and the rock trolls were barely holding their position.

  Desperately she cast about for what could stop them before her friends and the trolls were overrun. But there was nothing except the gaping portal and the swelling horde. Dying in droves, the fiends climbed over the corpses of their companions, forcing the rock trolls to retreat or risk the enemy flooding over their shields.

  Then Tess saw the portal shudder . . . and shrink? The difference was barely perceptible, but it was there. A moment later it did it again. Then Tess remembered that Derek had said the anniversary of the end of the war wasn't until next spring. Was it possible that trying to open it now meant it couldn't be sustained?

  The black portal quivered again, and shrank even more. Knowing it to be their only hope, Tess flew to the rock trolls—but it was too late. Their right flank had buckled, and fiends were forcing their way through. A scream sounded as beams of water pierced the clawing fiends, and the next moment Tess dropped next to Rox.

  Together they closed the hole with fire and water, giving the rock trolls a chance to fill it. The instant it had re-formed Tess shouted over the clash of arms and howling foes.

  "The portal is unstable! We only need to hold for a little longer!"

  Her words spurred the trolls and her friends to greater effort, but in Tess's heart she knew it was too late. There were too many, and there was nothing she could do that would stop them. She fought alongside Derek and Iris, who for the first time appeared afraid. That alone sent despair cutting deep into her heart . . .

  —A shriek of ultimate fury exploded in the gorge, causing troll, human, and fiend alike to cringe as their teeth rattled in their skulls. Echoing and re-echoing, it seemed to come from everywhere as the ear-crushing challenge reverberated. In the next instant a massive shape shattered through the illusion at the top of the gorge.

  With flame coursing over its entire form, the enormous bird filled the space with heat. Its wings were tight against its body as it dived straight down, but it swept them wide at the last second. Several fiends were crushed as his great talons slammed into the stone. Then the tail and wingtips touched the ground and fire exploded in the gorge.

  The blazing inferno incinerated the nearest fiends, shredding the weaker ones and launching the stronger ones against the walls. Violent and merciless, the raging fire whipped through the rocky bowl, consuming the fiends with brutal efficiency. Only when the entire space was devoid of black bodies did it begin to subside. Then it collapsed toward the shrinking portal and blocked anything new from escaping.

  Through it all Tess huddled behind the troll shields that glowed red from the residual heat. The terror she wanted to feel was no match for Iris's hysterical laughing. She wanted to wanted to question her sanity, but then the fire around them dissipated.

  Cautiously she rose to her feet and stared at the fearsome bird in the center of the steaming cavern. Red and gold feathers covered its form, still simmering with diminished fire. Its great eyes bore an intensity that inspired one to flinch and flee, yet seemed to carry an intelligence that was unmistakable. Then the great bird ruffled its wings and began to change shape.

  Stunned to silence, Tess watched the massive bird shrink. Claws turned to booted feet, burnished feathers turned to a flowing cloak, and wings turned to arms. The head and beak shrank and changed into a head of a man. Last to go, the feather pattern on his arms faded into skin. Then the figure turned to the gathered trolls and Tess recognized him.

  "Hawk?" she burst out.

  To her astonishment the rock trolls touched a knee to the ground, and shouted in one voice.

  "Reiquen, Phoenix of Light, we salute you!"

  Hawk's expression was a mixture of determination, unbridled fury, and, oddly, fatigue. He inclined his head to the rock trolls, and said, "Kerok, it's been a long time."

  "Too long," the rock troll said, rising to his feet with the rest of his people. Tess recognized him as the one that had greeted them before the battle started.

  Hawk nodded in satisfaction, and strode over to join them. As the rock trolls set about helping the wounded, he smiled at Tess. "Decided to go on an excursion did we?"

  Iris jumped between them, her eyes wide. "Do you have any idea the energy discharge when you transform? It's incredible—"

  Derek pulled her out of the way. "What my sister means to say is, it's nice to finally meet you."

  "And thanks for saving our skins," Rox said. She was tightening a makeshift bandage over her arm.

  Hawk gave a curt nod to each of them. "Thank you for protecting her."

  "Will that hold?" Tess asked, and gestured to the flames surrounding the portal.

  Fiends still plunged into the white-hot flames. The few that survived to the other side didn't last long.

  "It should hold them until the portal closes," Hawk said. Then his eyebrows pulled together.

  "What?" Tess asked.

  "The fiends don't look like they did last time," he said slowly, staring at one of the bodies.

  The larger creature bore countless wounds and burns, but his visible skin looked mottled and wrinkled. His bone armor was cracked with age. The horns protruding from his skull had a tinge of yellow to them.

  "What do you mean, last time?" Tess asked.

  The diminishing sounds of the dying fiends caused them both to look back to the portal. Instead of a torrent of black creatures, there was now only a handful. As if a river had lost its current, the quantity of fiends exiting the portal plummeted. Part of Tess wanted to see a victory in that, but it struck her as odd. Rather than an ordered stop, the fiends attempting to enter the gorge trickled to a gradual halt.

  The last fiend shrieked in the flames, and when it died no more exited the portal. Tess looked to Hawk for answers, but his gaze was fixed on the opening.

  "What's going on?" Tess asked.

  "It's been ten thousand years since the fiends came through it," he said. "But from what I was given to understand . . . they should have multiplied."

  "Could someone have ordered them to stop?" Derek asked.

  Hawk jerked his head in the negative. "The ones that controlled them were all killed."

  "So . . . why did they withdraw?" Rox asked.

  "They didn't withdraw," Hawk said, and turned to face them. "For so few to emerge suggests the opposite—that they were the only ones left."

  His expression sent a chill through Tess, as if the marrow of her bones had frozen. Beside her, Iris shrugged.

  "So they died off?"

  "No, Iris," he said.

  Derek let out a slow breath. "So what killed them?"

  "Not what," Hawk said. "Who."

  Tess opened her mouth to respond but a movement within the portal caused her to turn and see a figure stride into view.

  Chapter 34: The Master of Flesh

  Tall and shrouded in darkness, the man came to a halt at the portal's threshold. Lit by the firelight, he turned his head slowly, surveying the gorge. In seconds all eyes turned to face him. Hawk began to walk forward, gathering flame in his palms.

  The man strode through Hawk's fire, extinguishing it with a black fog that roiled around him. His skin was a dull gray, contrasting sharply with his white hair. His eyes were like pools of the blackest coal, but reflected red in the firelight. Strange tattoos marked his bare chest and shoulders, and extended onto one side of his face. Dressed in only breeches and boots, he stopped five paces from the portal.

  Ignoring everyone, he breathed deep of the steaming air. His eyes closed as he did, as if he were relishing the moment. Then his gaze snapped to Haw
k.

  "Reik tor goroset?"

  Hawk went rigid at the words, but responded in the same language. By his tone he seemed to answer. Then he asked his own question. The gray man bared his teeth and barked a reply, growling a string of unintelligible words. Hawk's response was conciliatory, but it had the opposite effect. The figure's eyes burned with rage, and the shadow began to gather around him.

  The rock trolls shifted their shields back into position, but Hawk was more aggressive. Tongues of flame closed the distance in a fiery arc, but the figure raised his palms and the dark fog absorbed the fire. Then the cloud began to expand. Hawk launched a larger ball of flame. It evaporated in the ink cloud, snuffed out in a burst of red and black.

  The shadow climbed up the walls and spread across the floor, curling as if it were hungry. The walls of stone, bodies, and lingering fires fell into the devouring darkness. In seconds it had began to swallow the lights. One by one they winked out, and then it reached the trolls.

  A few swung their weapons, but the fog was undeterred, and engulfed them before moving on. Instinctively Tess gathered her magic into her hands, but it had no effect on the blackness. It touched her arm and she flinched away. It stuck to her like honey, and used the contact to climb up to her shoulder. She tried to retreat but the shadow moved with her, and then in a burst it swallowed her. In an instant she was plunged into a darkness so thick that she could feel it on her skin.

  Cold and dry, it caused her to tremble in fear as her sight was robbed. Her eyes widened, and she blinked repeatedly. Open or closed, there was only the Dark. Her heart in her throat, she spun in every direction, but there was nothing to see. On instinct she reached out for her friends. Finding Iris's shaking hand, she clasped it.

  Then the whispers began.

  They clawed at her eyes and ears, and stabbed into her consciousness. Like a searing dagger they tore through her mind. She twitched and fell to her knees, scratching her ears in a vain attempt to dislodge the invisible hooks embedded there. She wanted to scream, to sprint toward the light, but there was no light to guide her.

  The Dark buried deeper into her skull, slicing into her memories and using them to subvert her will. A scream echoed, loud and piercing, and she knew that it was her. Exploiting her fear, the Dark penetrated her mind and sought to destroy what made her human. It consumed her sense of justice, loyalty, and duty. Then it came for her love.

  The image of her parents flashed across her mind, and the Dark tried to devour it. Tess recoiled, and her love fought back. The whispering Dark fed on her doubt that they were not her parents, and her love faltered. The image of her parents was shredded in an instant. On the verge of joining the Dark, Tess remembered her mother's last embrace.

  Strong and suffused with warmth, the memory refused to be tainted by the Dark. Tess latched onto it, and poured her magic into it. The Dark snarled, but was forced to retreat. Her memories and will returned with a vengeance, and forced the Dark further away. Clenching her jaw, she gathered her might and thrust the Dark from her mind.

  It did not leave, but it hovered at the edge of her consciousness, prowling for a hint of weakness. Instinctually Tess knew her triumph was short lived. Unless she escaped the Dark, it would consume her. Desperate, she strained her ears, trying to hear what was happening. What she heard caused despair to fill her.

  And the Dark sensed victory.

  Within the gorge she heard a cacophony of sounds. Trolls and surviving Harbingers yelled and fought the encroaching Dark. Fists punched the ground and fingers scraped skin as they all battled for control of their own minds.

  But they were losing.

  The first to succumb was marked by shuffling footsteps, followed by a troll sword plunging into flesh. The man bellowed in pain, but the footfalls moved on. In moments others joined him. The sickening sound of bodies striking the ground swept the gorge, causing the Dark to assault Tess's mind again.

  She fought back and barely succeeded, but her fear was betraying her. A shred of hope touched her when she heard some of the trolls fighting back. She sensed their valiant effort to control themselves—but the Darkness was winning. More died or joined the Dark, causing Tess's glimpse of hope to disappear. Before despair could reclaim her, a thick voice filled the gorge.

  "You are all blinded . . . and alone—but soon you will hear the bodies of your friends and family come for you, for the Dark now controls their flesh. You will attempt to flee . . . but will not know where to go. You will not know until the knife enters your body if it was your brother . . . your father . . . or your own child who has slain you . . ."

  The voice snarled in rage.

  "Those that are fortunate will join the Dark. You will help it spread across the globe, until the planet itself is consumed."

  His voice thickened and became louder, reverberating throughout the chamber with the force of rolling thunder.

  "I have overcome the darkest night, and leashed it to my will! I have returned to take my vengeance! I am the wielder of the Dark, the master of flesh! I. AM. DUCALIK!"

  Ducalik fell silent, but the gorge did not. Swords scraped across the ground as trolls issued feral snarls. Then they lunged at their neighbors. The few that hadn't succumbed to the Dark grunted and strained to contain their companions, but they could not last.

  The Dark pressed against Tess again, whispering that all was lost. Never had she felt such helplessness. With desperation filling her soul, she yelled for Hawk . . . and then heard his unsteady steps moving in her direction. The hitch in his gait sent fear arcing through her. Hawk may have been fighting the mental assault, but he was losing.

  Her mind screamed for her to stop him, to flee, but there was nothing she could do. For all her power she had only weeks of training, and she knew of no way to combat such magic. Blind and helpless, she cringed, knowing the killing blow could come at any moment—and she would not know it until it was too late. Then she heard Iris utter a single word.

  "Please," she whispered.

  Brimming with terror and agony, it pleaded for Tess to act, to protect her. Tess's fear morphed to anger, and it gave her strength. Gathering her will, she grabbed her friends’ trembling hands and pulled them away. Going by memory, she dragged them further away from Hawk. The move was not to evade, but to gain time to think. She fought to recall everything she had learned, everything that her teachers and Hawk had taught her. Fire and gravity seemed useless, as did water. So what could—

  She froze as she realized what she must do. Taking a deep breath she focused with all her might on her farsight. Heightened by her need, endowed with desperation, her magic responded. The Dark faded to gray, just as Hawk had taught her, and gave her a clear view of the gorge. Then she witnessed what was about to happen.

  Darkened trolls raised their weapons and killed each other, their bodies hunched like wild beasts. Between them Hawk stalked, his features contorted with his effort to stop himself. Then he raised his hands, and a glittering knife rested in them. Tears streamed from his eyes as he plunged it into Tess's back.

  —But that had yet to occur, and Tess froze the image. Looking past Hawk, the trolls, and the scattered remains of battle, she looked to Ducalik. He stood where he had exited, ten feet in front of a portal that was on the verge of closing. In that instant she saw what was necessary.

  She opened her eyes and aimed on memory, but with all the light gone she couldn't see the lines of gravity. She couldn't push him through. Sheer desperation rippled through her as Hawk's steps became louder. What can I do without sight? Then she remembered. Earth mages didn't always use their sight because they felt the stone. She grabbed Derek and pulled him close.

  "Derek!" she hissed in his ear.

  He didn't respond. He was trembling and mumbling. How could she get him to focus? What would cause him to respond? She had to find a—

  She grabbed his face and planted her lips on his. He jerked at the contact, but his mouth molded to hers. His body stopped shaking as he regained
control.

  "Tess?"

  His voice was a coarse whisper, but she didn't have time to respond. Hawk was just steps away. She caught his hands and pointed in the correct direction. "Fifty yards ahead," she said, the words tumbling from her mouth.

  Hawk came to a halt beside her and she knew he was lifting the knife.

  "Knock him through the portal!" she screamed.

  Derek grunted with the effort, and an instant later Tess heard a grinding of stone. A slab of rock lifted out of the ground and struck Ducalik full in the face.

  He bellowed in disbelief as he tumbled backward . . . and fell through the portal. In the blink of an eye the darkness evaporated, revealing a handful of trolls and Hawk with weapons raised to kill. Most of them blinked and straightened, their minds returning to them. The others were quickly restrained. Tess rose to her feet and watched the portal disintegrate. She'd never felt such relief.

  Or such fear.

  Chapter 35: Hawk

  Utter silence followed the closing of the portal. The survivors collectively held their breath, waiting for anything to happen. When nothing did there was no cheer. A handful of rock trolls bound the ones still Darkened. Other survivors knelt beside the companions they had been forced to slay. Tess embraced Hawk with tears in her eyes. It did not feel like a victory.

  The rock trolls didn't shed a tear, but the supreme emotion of what had occurred was written on their faces. One after another the handful of untouched clan members stooped to touch the lifeless bodies. Then they moved to stand by the ones that had been forced to kill.

  After several minutes Kerok separated himself from the mourning clan. Standing on a piece of rock he uttered a phrase in his own guttural tongue. In response every member of his clan placed a mark of blood on their cheeks.

  "What does that mean?" Iris whispered to Hawk.