by Sever Bronny
“Death …” the crowd echoed.
“We should hide the Agonex, Nefra. Let him spend eons reading every book in the library trying to figure out how to control the army.”
“I will not give up the castle … to a pretender …
“Pretender …” the Occi murmured.
Nefra’s tongue rattled menacingly. “He cannot defeat us … He has but one Dreadnought armored warrior … I have tens of thousands …”
“Tens of thousands …” came the echo.
“Tens of thousands you do not know how to use, Nefra. Free the orb. Let his nemesis face him—”
“All his nemesis wants is the younglings … I should have never listened to you, Peyas … We should have kept them … for her to fight on their behalf …”
“Kept the younglings …”
“I had Horrick make a false orb and cast a trace spell on it. We can find the younglings again if need be, but there are other matters more urgent—should the pretender get hold of the Agonex—”
So the Occi do have the real Orb of Orion, Augum thought, and apparently Horrick could cast spells. Now if only he could steal it back without them noticing and let Nefra’s confining spell expire. Suddenly a devious plan came to him, but he needed to find Bridget and Leera first …
“That is why we are here …” Nefra said. “We will find the Agonex and use it …”
“The Agonex …” the Occi whispered.
“But how?” Peyas asked. “We have never seen it. By all accounts the Agonex is difficult to understand.”
“It is written that we must follow the sign of the circle …”
“Follow the sign …”
Of course! Augum thought. The sign was on the door, and he had seen it above the ribcage passageway. But where was it again?
“Spread out and find the sign!” Nefra commanded.
The crowd parted ways as Augum snuck off in the direction he hoped was that particular passageway. He agreed with Peyas—his father was too strong for them, but if someone like Mrs. Stone had a Dreadnought-equipped army at her command …
He ran blindly in the dark, not daring to light his palm. Instead, he used the wind, which he kept at his back, to return to the pool. Once there, he retraced his initial steps. At last, he found the ribcage entrance just as torchlight entered the pool cavern.
“Shyneo,” he said after entering the passage. The tunnel was carved every bit of the way, sometimes narrowing and sometimes widening. Even the floor was carved to resemble stomach lining and tendons … or something.
He finally stepped over a great stone tongue and rows of teeth. When he looked back, he saw that it was the head of a dragon carved out of the mountain. Why a dragon, and here of all places? Had it once been real?
He strode on to a low platform, on top of which stood a statue of a man with powerful eyes and a stern jaw. The carving depicted him dressed in armor of ancient design, with a thick cloak around his shoulders. The man’s hand was extended palm up, on which rested a bronze disk decorated with skulls and runes, the center empty.
The Agonex, Augum thought, reaching for it. Then he stopped. What if it was booby-trapped somehow? What if his hand withered upon touching it, or worse? Just to be safe, he stepped back, extinguished his palm, and used Telekinesis to float the Agonex off the man’s hand. It clattered to the floor, the sound ringing down the passageway. It was tough using Telekinesis in the dark.
Suddenly there was a grinding sound.
“Shyneo.” Augum’s palm lit up, revealing the statue moving before him. One powerful hand reached for the sword at the hip.
“The master’s son commands you to cease,” said a voice from behind, and the statue froze.
Augum turned to find Peyas standing at the doorway, torch in hand. The ancient Henawa then stepped aside. “You must hurry. Take the Agonex to your father’s nemesis. Defeat him.”
Augum hesitated before picking up the Agonex from underneath the giant warrior, ready to jump aside any moment. But the figure stayed still. He ran past Peyas, only to stop in the dragon’s mouth. “The orb. I need it back.”
“Do not bother with it. It is with one of the followers. Besides, Nefra’s spell will not expire for some time—”
“But it’s our only way out of here—”
Peyas’ gaunt face darkened. “There may be another. It is said these passageways have an entrance somewhere, though it is far away. You might be able to find it if you follow the wind. It is dangerous and long, but you have a chance because you are a warlock and can provide your own light.”
“Why are you helping me?”
Peyas’ voice fell as he took a single step forward, his bloodshot eyes fixed firmly on Augum. “The pretender is not a pretender at all. He is the true rebirth of the Lord of Death, just as my father was. Nefra does not know it yet, but she will soon enough. Do you remember the story I told you about my father’s pact with the witch?”
Augum nodded.
“And you recall I mentioned I studied in his library. Well there is a portal here in these caverns. It is far more ancient than one would think. The witch’s pact had a second intention—not only is the portal able to reach Ley, but—”
“It can reach hell too,” Augum murmured. “That’s what they said Bahbell meant, that it was the gateway to hell …”
“Imagine a man conquering Ley while unleashing the very fires of hell. It must not be allowed to happen. Although I am cursed, I do not want the world to suffer so. The portal is not finished, but it is now only a matter of time until the new Lord of Death completes it—”
“He won’t finish it now.”
Peyas stared at him. “It was you that retrieved the recipe. Did you—”
“—destroy it? Yes.”
Peyas smiled, his gruesome teeth exposed. “Take the Agonex to his nemesis.”
“But what about you? Will Nefra not—”
“Let that be my concern.”
“Peyas … thank you.” He turned his back on the ancient Henawa, the son of Occulus himself, and ran through the stone dragon.
Risks
Augum ducked into a nearby passage as torchlight gathered near the entrance of the ribcage tunnel. The Agonex felt heavy and cold in his hands. Nefra will discover it missing any moment now. Then she’ll use Horrick’s trace spell to find Garryk and the girls. He simply had to find them first, even if it meant running up those stairs.
“Shyneo,” he said as the throng of torches disappeared from sight. He dimmed his light just enough to see the ground. He ran to the windy pool only to glimpse the flicker of another torch on the other side, where the steps were. Then he saw yet another light, this one dim and green, descending those very steps—oh no, that had to be Bridget and the others, and they were heading right for an Occi!
He raced around the water’s edge, watching as the two lights neared each other. The wind was too loud to shout a warning over.
Suddenly the torchbearer saw Bridget’s light, turned, and ran, no doubt to warn Nefra. Augum happened to be standing right in the Occi’s way. The face of the man was nothing but a rotten skull, with only the remains of one eye sitting putrid in the socket.
Augum dropped the Agonex and brought his wrists together, splaying his palms. “Annihilo!” He felt a great rush of arcanery surge through his body, depleting his reserves, and bolting through his hands right at the Occi’s head.
The skull exploded; the body stumbled and fell. Within moments, it had turned to ash.
Leera, who had been helping Bridget carry an unconscious Garryk, ran forward. “Augum—!” She jumped on him, embracing him so tightly he couldn’t breathe. “We thought you were dead …”
He hugged her back. She held his head with tender hands, lips drawing closer. But Augum, who wasn’t prepared for a kiss in that moment, hesitated and missed his chance. Her dark eyes registered disappointment as they let go of each other.
“I thought I had died too,” he said lamely, “and it’s good to
see you, but listen, the orb is a fake—Horrick can track us with it!”
“I knew something was up with it!” She dropped her rucksack and hurriedly reached in. “We have to get rid of it.”
“I’m so glad you’re all right, Aug,” Bridget said, face red from the exertion of helping Garryk down the steps. “But if we can, we should retrieve the real orb. It’s a precious artifact, and probably our only real way to get to safety—at least once that protective spell expires and Mrs. Stone can teleport us through it.”
“My thinking exactly,” he said. “Anyway, I have a plan. One of the Occi has the real one. We find him and switch it somehow without him noticing. Then we make a run for it.”
“Sounds crazy daring,” Leera said, dropping on her knees and slurping from the pool, Bridget quickly joining her. Augum, meanwhile, picked up the Agonex and searched the Occi’s clothing, careful to avoid the dusty remains of its body.
“What is that bronze thing anyway?” Leera asked once they had drunk their fill and replenished their only waterskin.
Augum stuffed the Agonex into the rucksack. “I’ll explain later,” and threw the creature’s possessions into the pool, disappointed he hadn’t found anything useful, not even an Occi horn. It had probably been lost in the fight above.
Bridget explained how frightfully dangerous the walk down the steps had been, how worried they were about him, and how Garryk passed out half way. She pointed at the water. “Aug, is that your coat floating there?”
“Yes, but we have no time to—”
“No, it’s not that. Why don’t we throw the fake orb into the water? Let them think we died from a fall. Then we’re not being tracked and can steal the real orb back without them knowing where we are.”
“Hmm, Peyas knows I’m alive, but I don’t think he’ll tell. Leera?”
“Might work.” She retrieved the fake Orb of Orion. “So can I finally ditch it now?” He nodded and she threw it at his coat. It splashed into the water, lodging in the hood. She watched it drift away. “Looks like a ghost has drowned.”
Augum spotted torchlight across the pool and dimmed his lit palm, gesturing for them to do the same. “We have to hide Garryk somewhere safe before going after the orb,” he said in the cold and wet darkness. He lifted the unconscious boy and they hurried off into a nearby tunnel, all the while quietly explaining what had transpired since his fall.
“So wait, you can control Occulus’ entire undead Dreadnought-equipped army with that bronze thing?” Leera asked.
“Looks like it, but I don’t know how to use it.”
“Maybe Mrs. Stone will know,” Bridget said.
“Exactly. Though something tells me it’s not as easy as controlling the Orb of Orion.” He nodded at dark shapes ahead. “There’s the Dreadnought army. At least a small part of it. They’re in almost every room around here.”
Leera inspected a particularly large brute with a sleek horned helm. “So … are they statues or something?”
“I looked inside the visor of one. I think they’re undead. I think it was part of the witch’s pact she made with Occulus, maybe even the same arcanery that kept the Occi alive this long.”
“Either that or they’re from hell,” Leera muttered.
The thought had occurred to Augum too, especially after seeing that giant bull-horned demon in the spawnery. “Let’s keep going,” he said, leading them deeper into the labyrinthine caverns than he had been. At last, they found semi-hidden steps descending to a small cave-like room.
“I’ll stay here with Garryk,” Bridget said. “You two go and get the orb back. Just … be careful.”
Leera withdrew the Agonex from the rucksack and kneeled over it.
“What are you doing?” Augum asked.
“Making sure we can find our way back.” She splayed her hands above the disk. “Vestigio itemo discovaro.”
Augum promptly did the same.
“Make sure it worked before you go too far,” Bridget called after them like a mother hen. “And please, be careful—!”
“We will!” they chorused.
Augum and Leera hurried back, palms discreetly lit. The spell had indeed worked—he could feel a subtle arcane tug whenever he thought of the Agonex. It had replaced the tug he used to feel from the fake Orb of Orion. Object Track was turning out to be a very useful spell …
Augum stopped Leera suddenly in the dark. “Look, if anything happens, go back and get them and try to get out of here without me, all right?”
“Never—”
“You have to. The Agonex has to reach Nana. It has to. It could be the only way to defeat my father—”
“I’m not leaving here without you.”
“Leera—” but suddenly she grabbed his robe and pulled him close, pressing her lips to his. It was a soft kiss, and Augum’s first. He was so surprised he didn’t know what to do.
She smiled warmly as she let go. “We never did get to kiss at the dance, and I didn’t want to die without, you know …”
His tongue didn’t work properly, but she seemed to understand, yanking on his cuff with a giggle. “Now stop your gawking and come on! We’ve got an orb to rescue.”
Augum floated along the corridors. The tunnels didn’t seem as dark as before and his aches had receded. He wasn’t even hungry anymore. He only wished he hadn’t just stood there like a fool, and actually kissed her back. He almost laughed at the idea of it—first kiss in the bowels of Bahbell …
Leera stopped to peer around a corner, extinguishing her palm. “They’re searching for us.” Torchlight flickered in distant tunnels, but all Augum could think about was her soft lips; her freckles, soot sprinkled on silky peach skin; and how the wind scratched at her raven hair. He ached to be away from all this danger, spending simple time together.
She snapped her fingers. “Hey, concentrate.”
“Sorry.”
“So what do we do now? How do we find which one has the orb without being seen?”
“Horrick.”
“What? Why would—”
“No, look.” He pointed at a squat figure standing near the rainy pool, barely visible in the darkness. “Horrick. Must have followed his trace spell to the fake orb floating in the pool.”
“Well we can’t use him, he’ll just tell on us.”
“I’m not so sure, I don’t think that’s how he works.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember Fentwick? He served the castle. Anyone could command him. I think it’s the same with Horrick.”
Leera scoffed. She looked pretty doing even that. “So we ask him to bring us the real orb,” she said lamely.
He shrugged. “Sure, I guess.”
“I was kidding.”
“Well I wasn’t. You have any better ideas?”
She thought about it a moment. “All right, but if Horrick tries anything, we push him into the water.”
They checked for Occi before approaching Horrick from behind. Augum cleared his throat and Horrick spun about.
“Wouldst either of thou repugnant wretches care to duel?”
“No, uh, thanks, Horrick, but we need to ask a favor of you. Please bring us the real orb, right away.”
“ ‘Orb’, mine depraved clod?”
Leera shook her head, muttering, “How does he comes up with these things?”
“Yes, the Orb of Orion,” Augum said. “You made a copy of it earlier. Bring it to us.”
“As mine ungracious and boorish guest commands.”
“Wait—” Leera said. “Be sure to tell the person that Nefra demanded it of you.”
“As mine loathsome wench commands.”
“Ugh, did you hear that?” Leera said as Horrick shuffled off. “Wench. What a little …”
“Nice touch,” Augum said absently.
She gave him a furious look.
He swallowed. “Oh, no, I meant about the Nefra thing—”
She snorted and they took shelter around the corner.
“I’m still not convinced this’ll work, you know,” she said.
“Let’s just be ready—we’ll have to make a run for it soon as Horrick comes back.”
A robed figure exited a tunnel, trailed by another.
“There’s Nefra,” Leera said as the Occi woman began pointing firmly at Peyas’ chest. “She looks livid.”
“We can guess what she’s saying.” He could just make out her skin tones flashing rapidly. The memory of seeing Nefra kissing Masius as he writhed in her grip still haunted him. He hoped Peyas would get off easier than that …
Just as he finished the thought, Nefra’s hand shot to Peyas’ throat. She squeezed, glaring at him, but he stood as passive as a deer. Just as she began bringing him closer, there was a low and powerful sound, almost like a great horn, that penetrated the rumble of the wind. Both Nefra and Peyas looked up only to immediately jump aside as something absolutely enormous smashed into the pool. The water exploded in a great wave, engulfing Augum and Leera before they could do anything, and washing them down a tunnel.
Augum’s hand extinguished as the freezing water sapped his breath and stabbed at his brain. He rolled, slamming into a wall. The current dragged him across the ground, or ceiling—he couldn’t tell.
Suddenly the area to his right lit up. It was Leera’s underwater Shine extension! He swam towards the glow, kicking against the current, struggling not to take a breath. The flow moved fast, taking them to who knew where in the labyrinth of tunnels. Whatever had hit the water had to be gargantuan to displace this much of it.
The light up ahead seemed to flail. Then he saw it get sucked down into a whirlpool before it extinguished.
Panic gripped his heart like an iron fist. Ignoring the alarming fact that he desperately needed air, he kicked and scrambled until he too caught the whirlpool. He strained not to breathe as it sucked him down, finally jamming him through a hole in the floor, scraping his arms and legs in the process. He felt himself fall, splashing into another pool. At last, he was able to take a large breath upon surfacing.
“Leera!” he called, gasping as he tried to swim away from the waterfall. “LEERA—!” but his voice only echoed off cavern walls.
