Harmonic Magic Series Boxed Set

by P. E. Padilla

  After the first jump the next morning, Sam suggested they continue forward using their mounts, which they had brought with them. “I went to the caverns one time on my world. I remember driving up a big hill to get to the opening. The hills we’re currently in look familiar, though it’s hard to tell. I don’t want to overshoot it again, though. Without searching on foot, we could bounce back and forth around it and never find it.”

  “I agree,” Emerius said. He was tired of hopping around by magic. His own feet, and Oro’s paws, were good enough for him. His ursine friend was so happy to be traveling again, Emerius could hardly keep him from jumping around and capering. It warmed Em’s heart to see his friend happy, even if it was mainly nervous energy. He patted Oro’s head and rubbed one of his ears as they set out.

  They scaled two hills with no luck when Sam stopped them for a lunch break.

  “I’m sorry, guys,” he said. “The hills look so much alike, and I came from the other direction. I have a feeling we’re getting closer, though.”

  No one responded. They were all tired, but even more importantly, no one had a better idea as to how to go about their search. They finished their meal and moved on.

  An hour later, they came upon the road. Rather, they found what had once been a road.

  Emerius was the first one to notice the odd way the hill was shaped, of course. He was a hunter and tracker, so his job was to find things that looked out of the ordinary. He kept it to himself until he was sure.

  As the land sloped upward, there seemed to be odd patches where trees were missing in the tapestry of vegetation. That was nothing odd in and of itself, but it tickled Em’s mind, calling out for explanation. He ignored it with the first few thin patches he saw. But while they were cresting a neighboring hill, giving him a chance to look at the whole pattern before him, it became obvious.

  “There was a road here,” he said to the others. “Not a road like we were traveling before. An old road, ancient.”

  “Where?” Sam asked, shielding his eyes from the sun with one of his hands and looking out toward the surrounding hills.

  “There,” Emerius pointed toward the south. “see how the hill is oddly shaped? Accounting for the wear and erosion of centuries, picture the strange cuts along the edges of the hill as sharper, more defined. Imagine the slopes on the inward side of the hill being more in contrast with the flatter parts. Can you see how it has been cut, not by wind or rain, but by something else? By humans?”

  Sam nodded. “I do see it. It winds up the hill, making its gradual way to the top. It looks just like the road I took when going to the caverns back home. Do you think that might be it?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Emerius said and gestured for Oro to continue.

  It took another hour to make their way up the hill. Oro and the rakkeben climbed the steep slopes quickly, but Ix’s manu bird was flagging. So much for its name. Feather. That bird needed to go on a diet.

  It would have taken much longer to follow the path the road had taken up the hill, so though the bird slowed the pace, Sam had decided that the steeper path would save time in the long run, even if it tired their mounts. They could rest when they got to the cave mouth, he said. Assuming this was the hill they were looking for.

  Emerius looked toward the assassin. Her face was calm, but she was perspiring despite the chill in the air. She felt his gaze and looked back, flashing a toothy grin at him. He chuckled and looked away. She was interesting, that one. He’d have to ask her to tell him her story when this was all over. He didn’t quite know how she fit into all of this.

  They finally arrived at the top of the hill. On part of it, on the side opposite the one they scaled, a large portion of the tip had been sheared off and flattened. There were sparse trees and low plants growing there, but it was obvious it had been altered by people. Emerius wondered what it had been used for. Maybe there were buildings there before.

  “Parking lot,” Sam said. When the others, all except Nalia, looked askance at him, he went on. “Vehicles that were used to transport people, sort of like carts or wagons, would be driven here and then left so people could see the cave. Then, when they were done, they would get back into their vehicles and leave.

  “Over there was the visitor center,” he pointed to the crumbling remains of some type of building, almost unrecognizable in the midst of the bushes, shrubs, and occasional trees that had grown there.

  “And if I remember correctly,” Sam said, turning and walking alongside the ruins of the building, down the slope a little way and then facing to the right, “the opening will be over here. At least, that’s how it was in my world.”

  Sam stopped then, as if he had just remembered something. Emerius could only see the side of his head, but by the angle of it he seemed to be confused. Or concerned. With a small shake, he turned back toward the west. “Uh oh,” he said.

  The rest of the party looked toward where Sam was directing his eyes. Putting a hand up to block the sun, which was almost directly above, Emerius saw the problem. There was a force of people coming toward them. A large force. Ayim Rasaad had almost caught up to them.

  “Em, how long do you think it will be before they catch us?” Sam asked.

  “It’s hard to tell. With this terrain, I’d say maybe three or four hours, at the most. We better do what we need to do, or it will become very crowded in there, no matter how big the cave is.”

  Sam muttered something under his breath that Emerius couldn’t quite make out, gripped his staff until his knuckles were white, and turned back toward the east. “Let’s get going. We don’t have any time to spare.”

  Emerius was second-to-last in line, ahead of only Ix. He heard Nalia gasp and Rindu say something to Sam. The hunter walked until he was even with them and then he understood. Tilting his head downward, he stared into what surely had to be the gateway to hell.

  He had seen caves before, even been in a few, though he didn’t like the feeling of being surrounded by dirt and rock. But nothing he had ever seen compared to this. From his vantage point, he could see down several hundred feet.

  The red-tinted sandstone surrounding the gaping maw gave no sign of the cave beneath it from any side other than where they were standing. If they had come from the other side, they could have stood on the mantle above the opening and never known it was there. The top of the opening was flat, as if huge squares of rock had fallen off in ages past. From there, the mouth of the cave opened in an oval, with small ledges and holes peppering the surface of the walls. Birds wheeled and chirped and alighted on their nests in the crevices.

  “What is that smell?” Ix asked, wrinkling her nose.

  “Bat guano,” Sam replied. “There is a very large population of bats here. It smells exactly the same in my world. You might be interested in it, Emerius. Lots of nitrogen. I bet you could use it for some of your mixtures.”

  Nalia drew her shrapezi and looked around as if she thought they were about to be attacked.

  “No, Nal,” Sam said. “Not the kinds of bats we faced in the Undead Forest. These are just normal-sized bats, this big.” He put his hands close together to show the size, not even as large as an outstretched hand. “At least, that’s how they are at home. They only come out at night, leaving the cave to hunt. We’ll be fine.”

  Emerius looked down from the walls into the blackness below. The sunlight penetrated enough to see the hole narrow to what looked to be thirty or forty feet wide and then…nothing. He gulped. The inky dark looked impenetrable. Winding down into the cave was a thin path, broken in some places, grown over with weeds in others, but still serviceable for getting them to where they needed to go.

  Sam started picking his way down the trail, his rakkeban just behind him.

  “We’re going to bring the wolves?” Emerius asked.

  “We could probably send them off,” Sam said, “so they aren’t seen by Rasaad, but the manu would just stupidly wait here and get captured or killed. Besides, I plan on
teleporting us all back to Whitehall as soon as we put our hands on Azgo. It’s better if we keep them with us. The rakkeben have been in caves with us before. Will Oro be okay?”

  Emerius felt a drip of sweat travel down the side of his face. It had nothing to do with temperature. “Yeah,” he finally said. “He likes caves. He’s a bear. I’ll just have to poke him occasionally to keep him from curling up and hibernating.” He forced a chuckle, but it sounded frail, even to him.

  Ix looked into his eyes. “Are you okay, Emerius? You look pale.”

  He forced his green eyes to meet her brown, though it was uncomfortable. “I’m fine,” he said. “I don’t much like closed spaces.”

  “I understand,” she said. “I don’t much like gossiping women. Or dying. Or any number of other things.” She winked at him, surprising him. He chuckled again. Weakly.

  When it came his time to start forward, Ix patted his shoulder. “Just focus on the path ahead of you,” she whispered. “Don’t worry about anything else. You’ll be fine.”

  “Thanks,” he said, and picked his way over a small plant in the path and followed the others, eyes pinned to the gound directly in front of him. He swallowed hard and tried to think of pleasant things.

  Chapter 56

  “The way down used to wind around like a giant snake,” Sam said as they all headed toward the darkness. “At least, it did in my world. It looks like the blowing dust and sand that accumulated has smoothed it all out into a large ramp now, though.”

  Emerius could see what he was talking about. The surface on which they were descending was a path only in that there were not the large rocks and sizable trees that existed on either side. He wondered how long it had been since anyone came through this way.

  They finally stood on damp stone just inside the covering of the cliffs above. The rock seemed to push down on Emerius. Had it just moved? He wasn’t sure he was made for this type of adventuring. Leave the tunneling to the rats. He just wanted to be in the forest.

  “Come on, Em,” Ix said to him, nudging him, “they’re starting to move again.”

  With a last mournful look at the sky and the sunlight, he followed the others into the opening, Oro and Ix trailing him.

  As they went further into the cave, using light from Sam’s staff and from the few torches being held by the others, the sounds of the birds faded and finally stopped altogether. It was soon replaced by a silence Emerius had never experienced. There were no insects, no breeze, nothing to cause any sound except for the intruders making their way where they did not belong.

  The light seemed a paltry thing in this kingdom of darkness. Emerius caught glimpses of rock outcroppings above him, but couldn’t see the roof of the cavern. They continued to go down, keeping a fast pace to outrace the forces coming behind them, but could they outrace their doom? The hunter wasn’t sure.

  The surface on which they walked seemed to have been carved or at least manicured in the past. There were parts of rails in some areas, though they did not seem able to keep someone from falling if a person leaned against them. How old were they? He put his hand on one. It wasn’t metal but something else.

  “Plastic,” Sam said when he noticed Emerius touching it. “That’s probably the only reason it’s still there. There were some metal rails over there,” he pointed to a few deteriorated objects off to the right, “but they didn’t last as long. With the moisture and the corrosive nature of some of the drippings, they’re all but destroyed.”

  Sam looked Emerius over. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked, moving the light on his staff nearer to the hunter’s face. “You look like you’re ill.”

  “He’s not fond of closed spaces,” Ix answered for him.

  “Oh,” Sam said. “I’m sorry, Em. This probably isn’t your idea of a pleasant adventure. At least it’s a big cavern and not something we have to squeeze through like some caves are. Let me know if I can do anything to help out, okay? We’ll get out of here as soon as we can.”

  Emerius looked over at Ix, wanting to be angry at her for telling Sam his weakness. When she smiled at him, he didn’t have the heart, though. She was just trying to help. They all were. Why, he didn’t know, but he appreciated it. A couple of months ago he would have made fun of someone for having a weakness like this, for being a coward. It was funny how life taught you lessons.

  Though the ground was damp in most places—water dropped onto the party’s heads as they made their way downward—it wasn’t slippery. The rock was rough enough to compensate for the moisture and moss didn’t seem to want to grow there. Maybe it was simply that there was no light. Inoria would know.

  The path wound around, going alongside and in between fantastical shapes that Emerius hadn’t known existed anywhere in the world. He found himself being distracted enough by the shapes that he sometimes forgot he was underground, forgot he was having trouble breathing. There were fans and shapes that looked like droplets formed from the same rock the walls were made of. There were great pointed formations that came down from the ceiling a hundred feet above and ones that seemed to be growing up from the floor. He marveled at how some formations were ridged and sharp looking while others looked smooth enough to lie down on in comfort. And all the while they continued downward.

  At one point, Sam held his staff up as high as he could and made the light increase until it was glowing like a small sun. They still couldn’t see all of the ceiling. The part they saw, though, showed a jagged maze of shapes more than a hundred feet above them. Just how deep were they that the ceiling itself was that high?

  Sam continued on, using his staff to light the way, talking with Rindu and Nalia the whole time. He seemed unconcerned how deep in the earth they were. None of them seemed to have any trepidation. In a way, it was comforting. On the other hand, it was a little frustrating, too, being the only one who was afraid. Even Oro lumbered along without a care. Worse, the stupid manu bird seemed to be at ease. It probably didn’t have the brains to be scared.

  They stopped when they got to an area that seemed to sprawl out on the same level they were at, not going up or down like the rest of the path had been up to that point. Emerius looked around, and up. He was surrounded by the same formations he’d been seeing for almost an hour. The only difference is that the path wasn’t going down anymore.

  “Over there is where the elevator is on my world,” Sam said. We’ll go there and see if we can find anything. Rindu, can you sense anything? Do you have any idea where we should go? This is a big place.”

  “I can feel something,” the Zouy said, “but I cannot locate it yet. Perhaps when we get closer, I will be able to do so.”

  A few minutes later they were standing in front of a massive door. Sam looked it up and down. “This is where the elevator is on my world, but this doesn’t look like an elevator. Maybe it’s some other kind of transport. Who knows what they had during technological Gythe. Rindu? Can you feel anything on the other side of that door?”

  “No, Sam. If anything, the feeling is weaker here.”

  “Oh,” Sam said, obviously disappointed. “We’re in what’s called the Big Room on my world. It’s one massive cavern, but the trail goes all around the perimeter. I guess we should just go around it as quickly as we can and hope Rindu can sense where we need to go.”

  The others all nodded. Emerius was feeling a little better because it didn’t seem like he had a ceiling above him. He tried to imagine it was just a very cloudy night and concentrated on the path ahead of him. They would find the artifact, and then they could teleport out of this place. They would never have to come back here again. He suddenly realized how happy he was that two of their number could do that strange teleportation thing.

  It took the party a little more than half an hour to walk quickly around the Big Room. When they arrived back where they started, Sam did not look happy. “Anything?” he asked the Zouy.

  “Nothing definite,” Rindu said. “I am sorry. In fact, at one point, it felt as if the
direction of the artifact flipped exactly in reverse. There is much I still do not know about these artifacts and the power they hold. Perhaps if we make another circuit, I may narrow it down to a general location.”

  The party made the circuit again. As they neared an area with a hole so deep that Sam could not light it no matter how he increased the power to the tip of his staff, Rindu stopped them.

  “There is an echo of a feeling here,” the Zouy said, “but it is not coming from the hole. It is from this general direction.” He pointed toward the cavern wall.

  The others moved toward the wall to inspect it, but Rindu stopped them. “However, if I take one more step toward it,” he did so, “the direction shifts toward here.” He gestured toward the center of the cavern where there were several of the large pointed pillars that looked to be growing up from the floor—Sam had called them stalagmites earlier. “I do not understand how it shifts in such a way.”

  Emerius could see Sam pondering, trying to figure out what it all meant. “Does the artifact itself move?” the hunter asked.

  “No,” Rindu said. “I feel no motion. The feeling is simply in one location and then it is in another.”

  Sam nodded and muttered to himself. “I have an idea,” he said. “Everyone please stand over here.” The others moved to him and waited. “I’m going to increase the light and try something. Watch the surrounding area and tell me if you see anything.”

  Sam did as he said he would and the light grew in intensity until it began to hurt Emerius’s eyes. When Sam noticed the hunter shielding his face, he allowed the light to decrease slightly so that it was like daylight in a circle thirty feet in diameter. He then walked slowly from where Rindu had first pointed until he was well on the other side of when Rindu indicated the change in feeling had occurred.