by Randal Sloan
“I as well,” Kynin told her. “As we understand from the prophecies, I must remain with you to deal with whatever comes next.”
Jesse looked at his friends. “I will only be able to help until the eclipse.” He looked at the ones he expected to remain with him. “I and my group must enter the Land Between the Worlds at the time of the eclipse. We cannot let anything distract us from our quest.”
“The timing of it is what worries me,” Raamial said with a frown. “I believe we need to delay their arrival long enough to allow you to retrieve the Talismans of Power. That would give you an edge and also make sure you succeed in your quest.”
Jailyn smiled. “Yes, that’s a good idea. It would be bad to win the battle, but fail in our quest. Do you have some ideas of how we could do that?”
Raamial returned her smile. “I do. We will make use of the desert.”
Seeing the questions in everyone’s eyes, he went on. “Even if you hadn’t sent word for my people to refuse to remain with them for the last section of the trail, they would have done so due to the beliefs of our people regarding this area. That means the group will be traveling on foot. Other than the mountains in the distance, the area they must cross is such that they will see nothing but dunes. Even for our people, those dunes sometimes play tricks on the mind.”
“I can see that,” Jailyn told him. “We felt much the same way when we were on foot at the beginning of our journey in the desert. But how do we use that, when all they have to do is to look up to see the mountains?”
“With your Corrie’s ability to build illusions and your magic to supplement it, I believe we can trick them into going in a circle. It should affect even your Lord Vipero. In fact, I would wager he would be more susceptible to it than the soldiers, for most of us are not trained to really look at what we’re seeing. Plus, he will be angry; angry at my people for making him walk. We can use that strong emotional state to help fuel the spell.”
“I’m sold,” Jailyn told him. “The three of us will do as you say tomorrow morning, while the others work on building the traps here in the valley.”
She looked around at the group seated around the fire. “It’s not going to be easy, but we must do everything we can to prepare. We have only one chance at this. We cannot fail!”
The next day the team split up as planned, with Raamial leading Jailyn and Corrie out into the desert. As they traveled he explained how the illusion would work.
“It actually involves several illusions placed together. We can’t make the mountains go away and trying to hide them completely would be impossible even for a strong illusion. What we can do is make the real mountains appear as if they are an illusion, and the mountains that are the illusion to appear more real. That is possible and with Jailyn’s help to give Corrie’s magic more power, it should be very effective.”
Jailyn and Corrie followed Kynin’s instructions, weaving the illusions across the area Kynin directed. Even knowing what they were doing, when they walked back through, Jailyn found herself wanting to follow the wrong path. Following Kynin’s instructions, she sent a breeze behind them to erase their footsteps.
It would only work for the first time through the illusion. Knowing they needed at least an hour of time, and that the group would be on foot and moving slowly, Raamial worked the path out. It wouldn’t be exact, but as soon as the eclipse started, the illusions would start to fail, so that in the end would be the driving factor. That should give the group enough time to make their way into the valley and retrieve the Talismans of Power before Lord Vipero could stop them. It wouldn’t be exact, but it would have to do.
Returning to the Aldjongate Valley, Jailyn and Corrie assisted the others in laying out the traps they needed to stop the troops that would be accompanying Lord Vipero. They held nothing back, and knowing only Lord Vipero would have use of null magic, they used liberal amounts of it. They couldn’t afford to show any mercy, so all the traps they used were intended to be fatal.
As the sun began to set the group returned to their campsite, tired but satisfied that they had done everything they could to give themselves at least a chance to not only complete their quest, but to somehow survive. Not knowing the how of it but knowing even if they did survive, soon the group would probably be separated into two parts, they all tried to spend the evening not thinking on those things, but instead just enjoying each other’s company.
One way or the other it would all be decided tomorrow.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
So It Begins
LORD VIPERO WAS hot, tired and angry. The sand people had agreed to bring him across the desert for all but the last leg of their journey. When they had made camp the night before, he had planned to use his magic to force their cooperation to take him the rest of the way, but the men had fooled him, slipping away into the night and leaving behind their foul-tempered beasts with no one to handle them. That meant they were now traveling on foot and this desert was well named.
It had been a hard enough journey even to get to that point. He was glad that they soon would reach the end, kill the boy, and then it would all be done. It had all started with those two days travel by sea, with a lot of the time in rough seas so that by the time they arrived at their destination, half the men were seasick. That meant they had lost more time so that they had made it only to the foot of the pass into the mountains that first day, even with a hard march.
That had worked out as far as Vipero was concerned. Something about those mountains made him quite nervous, so he was glad they weren’t spending the night up there. The next day had been hard though, climbing up into the pass and down the other side without a real rest in between. Nevertheless, they made it through, although something told him that it would be even more difficult, if not impossible, to return back through this pass. Something dark was up there in those mountains and it had sensed their party as they crossed. It would be waiting if they came back.
No, he would have to find a portal and use it to return. Of course, he could do that at his leisure when the work was done. He sensed one was somewhere close, although something felt off about it.
If they ever got out of this forsaken desert of despair. Well-named indeed. He shook his head as they crossed over yet another of those stupid dunes. Something didn’t seem right. These dunes all looked alike, but something about this one looked more familiar than he would have expected. Were those footprints?
He waved over the leader of the soldiers. Commander Maxim was supposed to be a tracker. Even in this terrible desert, he should have known what he was doing.
The commander gave him a grim smile. “I just figured it out too. We’ve been going in circles. A very elaborate illusion.”
Lord Vipero looked up at the mountains in front of them and then off to the side. “Those mountains that look like a mirage are the real ones; the ones that look real are the illusion. Very well done, whoever did it. This place has an ancient feel to it, so I’m thinking it was put here sometime in the past. No way the boy could have done it or any of his young wizard friends.”
One of the soldiers came up to them at a run. “Lord Vipero, Commander, look at the sun. Something bad is happening.”
The two glanced up at the sun in surprise, using their hands to shield their eyes. It looked like something had taken a bite out of the sun. Vipero knew instantly what it meant.
“It’s an eclipse, you fool. The moon is moving in front of the sun, blocking the light.”
For the first time, Vipero had to wonder if there was some truth to the legends. He turned toward the commander. “We need to get a move on, double time. Can you get us out of this circle?”
“Now that I know what to look for, yes.”
Motioning to his soldiers, the commander yelled, “Get your weapons ready and follow me. Double time.” He took off, the rest of the men quickly following. Vipero hurried to follow them. They were going just a little faster than he would have liked.
I should have reme
mbered to be careful what I asked for, went through his head as he hurried to catch up. He was already well behind them, but after all, What could go wrong?
Finally, the commander and his group of soldiers reached the edge of the desert. The commander couldn’t help but laugh to himself. Lord Vipero might be a powerful man and his influence had certainly helped Maxim get ahead in the Guard, but he wasn’t a soldier. He was well behind them. But there wasn’t any reason to wait for him.
“Spread out and look for any sign of them,” he told the soldiers. “They’ve got to be in here somewhere.” He laughed. “There’s nowhere else for them to go. Anyone you see, don’t ask questions, just kill them. The sooner we’re done, the sooner we can get out of this desert. Make sure you don’t let the boy get past you.”
The men did as they were told, spreading out to search for signs of their prey. Only the handful of troops assigned directly to Lord Vipero remained. This end of the Aldjongate Valley was quite broad, so they had to spread out rather thinly. Commander Maxim wasn’t worried. His men were very capable; they wouldn’t let the boy slip past and everyone was a proficient killer. What could a bunch of first year students possibly do? It would be over soon.
Later the commander would desperately wish he’d waited for the sorcerer.
The eclipse had progressed nicely. It would soon be time. Jailyn and her original team had split into two groups. Jesse, Kelsey, Corrie and Carisa were waiting at the far end of the Aldjongate Valley. In front of them, the valley ended in an apparently solid rock wall. It was almost certainly where the entrance to the Land Between the Worlds was located. They were just waiting for the moments that the eclipse hit totality.
Jailyn, Gavriel, Kynin, and Raamial were just a little further out, forming a protective ring around Jesse and the others. Their job was to make sure no one got through to disturb their teammates whose sole purpose at this point was to retrieve the Talismans of Power. Where they waited, the valley ended in a ridge that stood several feet above the floor of the valley, allowing them to look out over the area below them. If needed, the two wizards could fling magical missiles at any soldier that somehow made it through the traps.
Jailyn smiled as the soldiers entered the valley, spreading out over the entire area. That would work out even better than they’d expected. That far apart, they wouldn’t even be able to warn each other of the traps until it was too late.
Jailyn herself was waiting for the Master Sorcerer. He and a handful of soldiers, including the commander of the troops, had just started into the valley. They would reach her small group in moments.
“The commander is yours,” she told Raamial. “The sorcerer is mine. I have a score or two to settle with him. Kynin, as we discussed, I need you to watch for any of the soldiers that manage to slip through, although the sand people should be able to handle the ones they have left.”
Raamial and Kynin just nodded. Raamial had expected that would be the case. He eagerly awaited the opportunity to test his skills against the master swordsman he expected to face. This one would at least stand still and fight, unlike that assassin he’d faced before. If he failed, Kynin would be waiting for the man. They only had to hold out until Jesse returned with the talisman that would be his, the Sword of Destiny.
Jailyn smiled a grim smile as she felt the traps start to trigger. It looked like the plan was coming together. A part of her regretted having to kill those soldiers, but she knew not a one of them would hesitate to kill them if they made it through to her and her friends.
Suddenly she heard a gasp behind her as everything turned dark. The eclipse had hit totality.
Lord Vipero had finally caught up with the commander, struggling to catch his breath. At least the man had waited for him, along with the handful of his soldiers assigned directly to him. Then he looked in front of them.
“You fool,” he told Commander Maxim. “You should have waited for me. You’ve just sent every single one of those men to their deaths.”
He cast a spell on the commander so that he could see the magic in front of them. It was like nothing he’d ever seen. Perhaps he should have listened to Lord Melthevis after all.
The commander was at first angry at the audacity of the sorcerer, but as the spell took effect, he stared in confusion. “What is that?” he asked.
“It’s magic,” Vipero told him. “Layers and layers of magic, every type of magic you could imagine. All hidden by spells of illusion.” He shook his head, his own expectations confounded. “Buried at the bottom of each trap is a spell of dark magic that will kill anyone unprotected by strong shields.”
He shook his head as he saw the traps begin to trigger. “It’s too late for them. It appears that it will be only you and I, along with the handful still with you.” He smiled a dark smile. “That is, as long as you stay with me. I can see the magic, so I can easily guide us through, especially now that I know to look through the illusions.”
Commander Maxim nodded grimly. “At least we won’t have to worry about having to get transportation for so many of them returning home. Lead on. I’m sure we can cope with whatever’s left.”
Lord Vipero shook his head. “If this is what they left for us out at the front door, what do you think they have waiting for us inside? Perhaps we will prevail, although I expect some of us will not return.”
He laughed. “Personally, I don’t give you and your men very good odds at being the ones that do.”
Vipero started forward, knowing the other man had no choice but to follow. The path through wasn’t that difficult, if one could see magic.
They’d made it about halfway through the maze of traps when it suddenly began to turn rather dark. The eclipse was nearing the time it would reach totality. Lord Vipero began to hurry. Whatever was going to happen, it would be over in the next few short minutes. They wouldn’t have long before the sun came back. Something told him that would be too late. He definitely should have paid more attention to his Dark Master and his Prophecies of Doom.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The Land Between the Worlds
JESSE HAD ACCEPTED his fate. He knew the Kingdom was depending on him and he would do what was necessary. He also knew the ones that were together in his small group all had a part to play. Somehow he suspected that the last part of their quest wouldn’t be any easier than the rest had been.
They had no idea what they were going to find when they entered the Land Between the Worlds. Very little was known about it and even less was known about the world beyond. Jesse suspected that world was very different from their own. Fortunately, they wouldn’t have to worry about that. They had no intention of going there!
He kept a close eye on the sky, although he knew better than to look directly at the sun. The eclipse was getting closer and closer to totality. “It won’t be long now,” he told Kelsey and the others. “Are you ready?”
“As ready as we’re going to be,” Kelsey answered. “It’s a good thing Lord Viper and his soldiers are still some distance away. I worry about leaving our friends to fight without us.”
She shook her head at the expression on Jesse’s face. “I understand that we have our own destiny and I wouldn’t leave you anyway. Still, I can’t help but worry.”
Jesse actually agreed with her. Jailyn was like a sister to him and the others were family too after all they’d been through together. “I know. That’s why we have to do our job well and do it quickly. Fortunately, as I understand it, time runs differently in the Land Between the Worlds. Even if it takes us some time within, only a short amount of time will have passed for the ones remaining here.”
It had grown more and more dark as they were speaking. Finally, the sun reached its last sliver of light and then it was gone except for the tiny ring surrounding it. In front of them an entrance opened up in the once solid rock wall. Without wasting any time, the four stepped forward into the entrance.
None of them had a clue of what to expect.
The Land Bet
ween the Worlds was like no other land. For starters, they couldn’t see a sky, or even the sun or moon, although it was lit up somehow. The air above them seemed to just fade away into a nebulous fog. The ground under their feet felt normal, although it was entirely flat and seemed to be made up of some sort of uniform material that was a dull gray color. It was like a rock courtyard, except there were no seams.
There weren’t a lot of features that met the eye. Behind them, they could see the opening that they had come through and some distance in front of them they could see another opening that must lead out to the other world. Off to the sides there appeared to be walls of the same unknown substance that made up the surface under their feet, although it appeared to be less porous and more slick.
“If we only had time to take a quick peek on the other side,” Kelsey said, more or less just speaking out loud to herself. She knew the answer to that already.
Jesse just shook his head. “We know why we’re here. Does anyone have any idea of where to start?”
When no one had a suggestion, he went on, “Let’s split up and check out the area. I’ll take the area in front of the fountain, Kels, why don’t you take the area beyond the fountain, and you two guys check the area off to the sides. Yell if you see anything of significance. We just need a clue to get us started and hopefully it won’t be too difficult. They had to know someone would need to retrieve the Talismans of Power sooner or later.”
Each nodded and moved to his or her spot to examine, Corrie going to the left side and Carisa to the right. No one could find anything that was any different from the already odd strangeness of the place.
