by R J Murray
He grunted and strained every muscle in his body but slowly, the creature’s body was lifted. Not much, but enough for Mia and Elva to grab Syn’s shoulders and pull him free. Jochum let the monster fall with a groan and sank to his knees.
“Potion!” Elva said, holding out her hand to the mage without even looking at him.
Wynn pulled a face but passed over a small bottle of the glittery crimson fluid. Elva unstoppered the bottle and poured it into the open mouth of the thief.
A scream was wrenched from him and he clutched at his leg as the magic of the potion began to work. It wouldn’t be enough to fully heal him, but it would prevent his death and while it would set badly, with the aid of a talented healer it could be fixed, for a price.
“He needs to rest,” Elva said softly as the cries subsided.
“No time.” Wynn didn’t so much glance at the thief as he heaved his bulk over the umber hulk. “It’s close, the next cavern.”
The others shook their heads but realised that they couldn’t let him continue on alone. Jochum put one arm beneath the slim thief’s and lifted him, letting him lean on the warrior for support as they moved slowly along the tunnel.
“If there’s any other magical beastie, we’re in no shape to fight them,” Syn said between grimaces of pain. “At least I’m not.”
No one answered for they were all thinking the same thing. If they were in no shape for another of the wilds many monsters, then what use would they be against the great evil that lurked below. It went without saying then, that once the barrier went down and the evil awoken, one of them would die first and that one would be bound for an eternity.
Syn, limping along, was sure that it would be him. He was already wounded, and he would fare poorly against the great evil. Meanwhile, Elva’s thoughts rested on her daughter and her hope that she would see the child once more at least.
Jochum, as was typical of the brave warrior, was determined to make sure that he would be the first to face the evil. His death would ensure the rest would live on and he would not have to face Amina and name her oathbreaker.
The mage’s thoughts were entirely his own, but his focus was on the spell he needed to cast and what would come after.
Mia’s thoughts were full of fear, not so much for herself but for the new friends she had made. She didn’t want to lose any of them, but she knew that at least one of the group would die before the day was done.
They stepped into the next cavern and the mage, with a gesture, sent the ball of light towards the cavern roof, increasing its brilliance as it went and lighting much of the cavern. Each of the walked in silence amongst the stalagmites that rose from the floor.
Much was obscured, the cavern floor rising and falling almost in layers with many hidden nooks and crannies where anything could be lurking. Mia stayed close to the others, fear gnawing at her.
“We’re here,” Wynn said breathlessly.
Each of the heroes turned to face the evil they had sought, the darkness so great they had sworn an oath and were willing to die to contain it. To protect the world from its evil. Mia pushed between them, eager despite herself to see what it was.
Her jaw dropped, eyes widening as she stared, her heart beating in her chest like the roar of a thousand lions. She stared at the others, wondering if they were seeing the same thing as she was.
Seated atop a throne seemingly carved from the very rock around it, sat a man. Almost eight feet in height and so beautiful that her heart ached just to be near him. Silver hair fell down around his bare shoulders and horrific wounds wept still on his bare chest.
From each shoulder sprouted great wings, with long feathers of silver and gold, the furthest tips touching the stone floor. Around him were artefacts that even without holding to the source stone, she could tell, resonated with power.
A hand grabbed her arm and she turned to look at Jochum's grim face. He merely pointed down at the cavern floor and a line that glowed with a faint green glow. It encircled the seated figure entirely.
“Do not cross that line lest you wake him from his slumber.”
“Why not? He’s…” she couldn’t finish so taken was she with the beautiful visage that was all she could see.
“Darkness wrapped in light,” Jochum said. “He’s one of the Thirteen. An Ascendant.”
Chapter 31
Mia stared at the ancient being, mind awhirl with questions, so many that she couldn’t even begin to form them into words to ask them. An Ascendant! One of the ancient beings that had ruled over the world after the gods had left. More than that though, one of the thirteen who had risen up to try and usurp those gods.
“How?” was all she could manage to say, and it was Wynn who answered.
“After the wars of ascension, only seven of the most powerful ascendants remained. They rose up to the heavens to fight the gods themselves. We know that they failed though not without cost to the celestial court.”
His smile was predatory, and a shiver ran down Mia’s spine at sight of it.
“All we can surmise is that this particular one survived the assault on the heavens but fell back to earth. Wounded and vulnerable, he found these caves and crawled inside to sleep and recover.”
“For a thousand years!” Mia said, eyes wide with wonder.
“He was sorely wounded and even for a being of his immense power, such wounds as he received from the gods would not be easily shrugged off.”
The mage took a step forward, all emotion hidden on his face as he stared at that being of almost absolute power. He stopped just before the line that marked the border of the spell he had cast and raised a hand, reaching out.
“Ready the spell,” Jochum said softly. “Once she has taken the oath we can wake this creature and face our fate.”
Wynn turned his head, eyes glittering in the darkness beneath his hood, but he nodded slowly. “As you wish, old friend.”
The mage moved across the cavern to a natural gap in the ancient stalagmites that was close to the edge of the spell he had cast so many years before. He gestured for Mia to join him and she did so, dragging her feet.
“Bit late to change your mind, lass,” Syn said with a grin. He rested with his back against a stalagmite and flashed her a grin when she looked back at him. “Worry not. You’re one of us now.”
Wynn bade her stand close to him and his stone glowed that same malevolent green. She wondered idly if the stones had their own colour or could change on the whims of the wearer. Then she chided herself for such foolish thoughts at that important time.
She reached up her hand to grab her own source stone but a sharp rap against her hand with Wynn’s knuckles was enough for her to drop her hand.
“You need not see this spell it will be too much for you to grasp and if you interfere you could cause untold damage.”
“Sorry.”
He huffed a reply and began to move his fingers and arms weaving a spell around her. It didn’t take long before he lowered his hands and placed them palms out towards her.
“S-should I say some words?”
“No need, he said. All I am doing is binding a part of your soul to the seal spell. Once that is done, you will be as we are but without the restrictions placed on us by that oath.”
“Why don’t I need to say the oath?”
“Because you will not be part of the spell for long enough for it to matter,” he snapped. “Now, be silent and let me work.”
Elva, watching him work his magic, felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn’t say why but there was a feeling in the air as though something were on the cusp of happening. She looked over at the sleeping ascendant and shuddered.
She could feel the pull of that beauty, feel it in her very bones. She wanted nothing more than to go to him, sit at his feet and worship. There was a darkness to that and it scared her greatly.
“How does this work?” Mia asked. “With me added won’t that mean that you need six to unlock it?”
“No.
There were five parts of the seal all combined. A thousand people could be added to this spell and still, only five would be required to unlock it.”
The ranger shook her head, something about his words rang hollow in her ears. She couldn’t say why, but she was sure he was lying or at least not telling the whole truth. A quick look at Jochum and Syn was enough to tell her that they hadn’t noticed, intent as they were on watching the ritual as they prepared for the coming battle.
She crossed quickly to where the two men waited and leant in close to both of them so that they could each hear her words.
“We need to discuss this.”
“What?” Jochum asked, face a picture of confusion.
“Remember,” she hissed. “When last we were here. What was it like?”
“I’d rather not think about it,” Syn said. “It was truly awful. The feeling of evil creeping into my brain and that voice, so alluring and yet filling me with fear and dread.”
“Exactly!” she looked over at the mage. His movements were faster as though he sensed a pressing need for urgency. “If he has been hearing the voices for months, why do we not hear them now?”
The two men shared a look and turned as one towards the mage. Jochum took a step forward and stopped as though he had hit a wall. His hands rose to press against an invisible barrier and his eyes widened in alarm.
“What…”
“The mage is up to something,” Elva hissed. “Thrice damn him!”
She slammed her fist against the invisible barrier and scowled at the mage. The girl had her back to them and so couldn’t see that they were trapped. Elva raised her voice, calling for the girl but no sound seemed to pass through the barrier.
“What now?” Syn asked.
****
Mia, completely unaware of what was happening behind her, watched with something akin to awe as a golden light appeared in the palm of Wynn’s right hand. Sweat beaded on his brow and he spoke through clenched teeth.
“Place your hand against mine.” She did as instructed, her hand engulfing the light in his. “Now the other, quick, girl!”
She did as instructed and felt a jolt as something moved through her leaving a hollowness that hadn’t been there before. It was like the light had shot up her arm, scooped up a part of her, and returned to the mage down through her left arm.
“What was that?”
“You are bound to the seal, your soul is joined with the others,” Wynn said with a self-satisfied smile growing on his face. “Finally! And just in time.”
A light flickered off to the side, golden and soft, appearing to hang in the air for a moment before it expanded rapidly in a wide circle. The ground glowed red with heat and figures appeared in the centre.
Mia had to turn her head away as the light intensified and then it vanished, leaving the room unnaturally dark even with Wynn’s glowing ball of light high above them. She shaded her eyes, surprised to see a woman dressed in a white robe and another in a black coat and silvery breastplate holding a screaming child.
Wynn stalked forward, pausing a moment to lay a hand on the child’s head. It fell silent immediately and hung limply in the woman’s grasp. She let it drop to the dusty cavern floor without so much as a glance and Mia gasped.
“Amina,” Wynn said softly. “It is a true pleasure to see you again.”
Mia stared open-mouthed at the beautiful woman in white. She recognised the name immediately and turned to see Jochum's reaction. Only then did she notice her three friends leaping up and down and waving their arms silently.
“What’s… Wynn?”
“Take her and hold her for now,” the mage said without so much as a glance at her.
The blonde woman in the breastplate nodded and crossed the space between them in a few strides, taking Mia firmly by the hand and holding her steady.
“What’s going on?” she asked, looking around.
“It will be alright, child,” Amina called, not taking her eyes from Jochum. “Worry not.”
“Oh, she has every reason to worry,” Wynn said with a chuckle. “She is the final piece I needed.”
“For what?” Amina asked, twisting her lips into a sneer. “What foolishness are you about?”
“A decade of learning, planning and working on a way to do the thing I wanted. Rising through the ranks of the magi until I could unlock the secrets I needed. The things I have done…”
“Spare me the monologue,” Amina said wearily. “Get to the point. Why keep me from the gathering if you wanted me here all along?”
The fat mage chuckled and gripped the priest’s arms so tightly she gasped, and Amina saw that her hands were bound behind her back. He pulled her across the cavern floor towards the barrier he had erected around the sleeping ascendant.
“That is why I wanted you here!” He pointed at the ascendant, eyes gleaming greedily. “Millennia of knowledge in his sleeping mind. Secrets and spells, we can barely comprehend, and it can be mine for that taking! I will learn how he ascended!”
Amina stared at him, aghast, and shook her head, ruby red hair seeming to float around her face in the dim light.
“You would attempt such a thing on that… that… creature! It is one step below the gods themselves in power and a short step at that! You think you have a chance of stealing its secrets? You are a fool.”
“No.” He shook his head dismissively, lips twisting into a gloating smile. “I have it all planned out. Five of us locked it, five of us can unlock it.”
“Which will merely allow it to continue rousing from its slumber.”
“It will be vulnerable, on the cusp of waking but not yet so, it’s defences will be down, and I can slip into its mind and take its secrets.”
“And if it awakens?”
“That’s why she is here,” he said pointing directly at Mia.
“M-me?”
“Yes. You are part of the spell now, but you have taken no oath. The restrictions do not apply to you!”
Mia stared at him, not understanding but it seemed that the priestess did for she turned on the mage, spitting her words at him.
“You would sacrifice this child and use her to bind the lock on that things prison! What manner of monster have you become?”
“Be grateful that I cannot kill any of you else we would have done this years past.” He scowled at her. “For the moment you have a purpose but once that prison is sealed for good I can have all of you killed with a word.”
“With your pet killer,” she snapped, and Mia cringed in the grip of the woman. “How many deaths lie at your feet?”
“However many, tis just the beginning,” he said with a scowl. “Now sit yourself down. You are useful to me for the moment but there are no restrictions on digging out the eyes of your beloved warrior.”
Amina scowled but did as she was instructed, sinking to the floor her mind working furiously as she sought a way to save her friends and the girl. All while trying not to stare at a man she had thought dead for almost a year.
“Now,” the mage said as he began to weave a new spell. “This must be done with some caution lest I wake the sleeping giant.”
He flashed a grin at the blonde woman and sucked in a deep breath as he began to weave his spell in earnest.
****
Hidden behind a stalagmite, Kristdor turned to Snorri, his eyes as wide as the constables as he digested what he had just heard. On the one hand, the high priestess wasn’t a killer, but on the other, they were in the presence of a being that had tried to kill a god and some fool mage was about to wake it.
“What do we do now, Cap’n?” Snorri asked and for the life of him, Kristdor had no answer.
Chapter 32
Jochum, Elva and Syn each felt something in the very core of their being. It was a twisting as though somewhere a part of them were being manipulated. It was both uncomfortable and filled them with fear as they shared glances.
Almost immediately after, they felt it. A darkness clawing at t
he very edge of their perception, whispered words in their mind, barely comprehensible but growing in strength. As though it were only a tiny portion of the creature’s awareness but growing louder, more aware, as it roused from its ancient slumber.
“Gods! What has he done?” Elva whispered.
“Something unspeakable,” Jochum said, his jaw clenched tight as he sought for a way through the barrier.
“Your sword,” Syn said, voice hoarse. “The barrier is magic, yes, but all he has done is thicken the air and strengthen it with some other element. Each blow we make against it will weaken the magic binding it.”
“He will just strengthen it again.”
“No! Look!” Syn pointed to where the mage was taking slow, measured steps towards the sleeping being. “He is distracted and will need all his concentration and power for whatever fool thing he attempts.”
“What about the woman holding Mia?” Elva asked.
“She’s just one woman. There’s three of us,” Jochum said.
“Two and a half,” Syn offered with a pat of his injured leg that raised a grimace. “But give me a clear shot and I can still throw a knife.”
Jochum answered by gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands and swing it against the invisible barrier with all his might. It rebounded as though it had struck iron and with a grimace, he struck again, and again.
Elva joined him, her own short sword flashing as he hit the barrier repeatedly, striking lightning fast and almost tirelessly. She just hoped they could break through in time.
A short distance away, two men of the watch, one a constable and the other a newly former captain, huddled together. They watched with interest as the three adventurers battered away at an invisible barrier.
“Think they could be on our side, Cap’n?”
“I would hope so, Constable. At the very least they don’t seem to be on the mages side and he is the one controlling Asa.”
