Nikulo scowled at the old sorcerer. “What do we do if the fog does come down? I can’t imagine how we’ll fight those sea creatures and whatever nasty things are up there in the fog.”
“Think of it as an opportunity—” Palarian stopped flying and squinted ahead. “An opportunity you will likely have rather soon.”
Farther ahead the space between the ocean and the black fog narrowed to a sliver. Talis felt his heart sink, wondering how they were going to get through. There was only the smallest chance they could slip through unnoticed by the sea creatures below. But as Palarian sped ahead, seemingly determined to break through anyways, hundreds of dark shapes wriggled beneath the surface, tracking their flight.
“They’re following us!” Mara yelled, soaring up alongside Talis. “We’re never going to get through.”
The closer they got to the surface (as the fog kept pressing lower), the more the army of sea creatures writhed and twisted about, breaking through the surface, flipping around in a fury of expectation. Some of the creatures were impatient, choosing instead to attack others close by, painting red washes in the Grey Sea. And this seemed to only whip up the crowd below into a feeding frenzy. More creatures joined in the attack, biting and tearing and bashing smaller creatures.
“Now’s your opportunity to practice,” Palarian said, eying Nikulo. “One of the larger beasts.”
Nikulo framed his hands around his face, peering into the ocean. He nodded, apparently satisfied at an enormous creature gliding serenely through the bloodied waters. Soon the giant beast raised its snake-like head above the surface, black eyes peering around as if wondering who was intruding on its thoughts. Nikulo’s hands were clenched over his temples, face contorted as he fought the creature’s mind.
“Don’t fight it…seduce it with pleasant thoughts. Win the creature over as your friend,” Palarian said. “You can’t turn such a beast into a zombie, however you can influence its actions.”
At the sorcerer’s words, Nikulo’s face softened a bit, he inhaled, cleared his throat, and tried again. This time the sea creature shook its head, sending a shower of water beads cascading across the sky. Its eyes seemed more focused now, and it looked around at the other smaller beasts, as if suddenly realizing it was hungry.
“There!” Palarian shouted. “You’ve done it, look, the beast is feeding… Have it move along with us as we fly, the others will be distracted.”
Nikulo’s concentration was so complete that Talis and Mara had to pull him along, each holding an arm. As they flew along, tracking the massive sea creature’s path, the other smaller beasts darted out of the way, leaping out of the sea, trying to avoid the enormous snapping jaws of the creature Nikulo controlled.
But the horde of angry sea beasts around the giant seemed to discover it was better to coordinate their attacks, and they swarmed around, biting chunks of blubber off the monster. Talis and the others had reached a narrow point where the fog nearly reached the sea. With the sea creatures distracted, they swooped down and sped through the gap between fog and sea, brushing sea foam as it splashed up into the air.
“We made it!” Mara said, and they flew up and away from the crashing waves as the fog rose on the other side. The vast expanse of the Grey Sea opened up, and even stray bits of sun managed to sneak through breaks in the black fog. Talis glanced down at the Surineda Map, and realized the sea creature and the crystal had stopped moving. He commanded the map to move in closer to the crystal, and Talis discovered it was now, for some reason, lodged on an island not too far in the distance.
“Over there…an island.” Talis pointed towards a spot of green and glittering light far off in the distance.
Mara and Palarian swooped over to peer at the map. Mara held her breath.
“What kind of a sea creature goes on an island?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.” Talis raced off, chasing the golden light shimmering off the island.
When the island was close enough for Talis to recognize a white, glittering beach and palm trees swaying in the soft breeze, he felt his shoulders sag in relaxation, hoping they were finally past the dangers of the Grey Sea. But whatever creature that had thrived in the sea was now somewhere on land, roaming the island.
Nearer to the shore Talis could see hundreds of black shapes littering the beach, writhing about like an insect swarm. When they arrived, hovering over the beach, Talis recognized the shapes as small black crabs, darting around, chasing an afternoon snack.
“Now I’m getting hungry.” Nikulo slapped his belly. “Do you suppose they’ll roast up nicely?”
“Really? You just ate a few hours ago,” Mara said.
“That was half-a-world away… We’ve done much adventuring since then.” Nikulo grinned and descended to the beach, and the sand crabs scurried away like mice.
“I don’t suppose a little barbecue would do us any harm.” Palarian glanced around the beach. “How far away is the crystal?”
Talis studied the Surineda Map still in his hands, commanded it to move in closer, and saw that the crystal was farther ahead inside the palm tree forest.
“Not far at all… We might as well have something to eat.” Talis put the map away, and aimed his fingers at the crabs.
“Wait…let me have the honors of catching our dinner.” Nikulo chuckled to himself, raised his hands to his temples, and focused on the scuttling crabs. Soon the creatures bumped around, confused, and eventually lined up to proceed along an odd march towards them.
“Look…the march of the black crabs,” Mara said, and giggled at the crabs bobbing back and forth on their dazed charge towards them. Talis grabbed a few driftwood pieces scattered along the shore, and assembled a bonfire, quickly sending flames to hiss away at the water locked inside. The flames crackled and found purchase amongst the now dry wood, issuing the stench of burning seaweed still entangled on the logs.
“My contribution,” said Palarian, summoning an iron cauldron and iron tripod to hold it above the fire. The flames licked the coarse bottom of the pot, spreading water vapors dancing along its surface. Inside the sorcerer had summoned saffron-smelling soup filled with tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and dotted with red peppers.
“Go fetch some clams…there, along the rocks, I think you’ll find some if you look. Crabs and clams, now if we only had shrimp.” The old sorcerer licked his lips as he stirred the stew with a summoned wooden ladle.
Talis and Mara raced off for the sea, dancing over cringing crabs, musing over shimmering sea shells the size of Nikulo’s head, splashing water into glittering beads that flew from their feet. From danger and black skies to a warm blue horizon and an emerald sea, Talis inhaled fresh air tinged with salt, and searched for clams amidst the rocks and foamy water.
Mara’s delicate hand sliced into the sea, and squealing, she raised a fat clam as if holding a trophy. Her face pronounced that she was the winner, having found the prize first, her eyes taunting Talis, daring him to do better. He grunted, deciding instead to splash her with a heavy load of water, her face shocked and thrilled at the coldness.
“You didn’t just do that!” She kicked an arcing stream into his face, the salt stinging, bitter and sweet on his lips. A grin spread over his face as the water dripped down, and he lunged forward and grasped her, determined to dunk her completely. She twisted and spun around, not really trying to break free; his grip held and he launched them both to the side, and a wave crashed into them.
She was close now, so close he could almost hear her eyelashes blinking furiously against the salt sting. Had he only now just noticed her lips, drenched in the sea, laughing mysteriously, her eyes glittering with mischief? Instead of pushing him away, she sank back, still holding onto his wet clothes, until they drifted in the water. She stared at him, glancing down occasionally at the crystal sea, but always brought her gaze back up to his, her breath quick.
Talis could feel his heart jumping in his chest; his mouth felt suddenly dry.
“Thank you�
��Talis…for coming for me.” She blinked, sending drops of water fluttering. “I don’t think anyone else but you would’ve done that.”
He shrugged, blushing, feeling warm despite the cold water. “Er…it was nothing. You would’ve done the same thing if it was me. We have to take care of each other. We’re a team.”
“We are?” Mara’s smile spread across her face, cheeks red and flushed. “Yes, we are, aren’t we. I hope so…I mean I always hoped so, since we were little. You know what I mean?”
Talis didn’t know what she meant, but he smiled back, and nodded his head. Was she talking about something more than just friendship? When she moved closer, her eyes looked down, fingers inspecting a loose button on his shirt.
“I want to stay like this…so perfect…why can’t it always be like this? No fights between kingdoms or our families…just you and me, the sun and the waves and the blue sky going on forever. I don’t want it to ever end.”
“It’ll be alright, I promise.” Talis lifted Mara’s chin and gave her a warm, reassuring smile. “When we get home we can make things right…together…I’m sure of it.”
“You mean it?”
Talis nodded, staring into her eyes, until her face glowed with affection. He motioned his head towards the beach. “Find a few more clams? You seem to have a knack for it.”
She pushed him away and grinned devilishly. “You’re just jealous…I’m a better hunter than you.” As if to prove her point, she dove into the water, and retrieved two more clams the size of fists. After they’d collected all they could carry, they trudged up the beach, beaming at Nikulo and Palarian.
“Ho, ho! Quite a load,” the old sorcerer said, and plopped the clams into the bubbling stew.
“You sure took your time finding them…or maybe something else was occupying your minds.” Nikulo grunted, raising an eyebrow at Talis and Mara.
“To be young again…” A fine smile crossed over the old man’s face, and it seemed fond memories washed over him like a warm dew. “But to return home and visit the land of my youth, that would be my ultimate joy.”
Nikulo frowned at Palarian. “You are taking us back home? I’m sure the idea of home is brimming with goodness to you, but we really need to get to our home, to Naru…not your planet, whatever you call it.”
“Vellia…my world is called Vellia.” The old sorcerer sighed as he stirred the stew, and shook his head as if nothing made sense anymore. “Why do I even bother? I follow Aurellia out here to this world on vain hopes of returning home. Is it wrong to wish such a thing? We share the same desire.”
“Perhaps there is a way…” Talis tasted a bit of the stew and smiled. “What if we opened two portals at the same time?”
“What do you mean?” Mara said, edging her way along his side.
Talis glanced at Palarian, who wrinkled up his forehead, obviously considering the idea. “I mean if we shape two runes and cast the bindings at the same time, each of us summoning the power from the crystal at once, perhaps it will work. We can go to our world and you to yours….”
“That just might work…assuming the twin spells aren’t too powerful to shatter the crystal. But all we need is enough power to open the portals…it might hold shape long enough to see us through.”
“First we eat,” Nikulo said, and opened his mouth expectantly. “Then you can test your theories all you want.”
Palarian summoned a silver bowl with a flourish of his wrist, and scooped a generous portion of steaming crabs and clams and stew. Nikulo eagerly took the bowl, and nodded graciously as the sorcerer handed him a summoned silver spoon.
“Now dis is dewicious,” Nikulo mumbled, bits of stew spilling from his mouth.
“Might help if you keep your mouth closed when you talk.” Mara poked Nikulo in the ribs. “Is it really possible to summon two portals at once?”
Talis and Nikulo turned and stared at Palarian, who bobbed his head thoughtfully in response.
“It is theoretically possible… We’ll both be drawing from the same power source. That’s the problem and solution at the same time.”
“Why is it a problem?” Mara accepted a bowl of stew from the old sorcerer.
Palarian’s face darkened, and his eyes turned a pale grey. “If we fail to balance the twin portals, the power flowing through us will rip us apart… We’ll die…instantly.”
28. TWIN PORTALS
Talis found that he was suddenly not hungry anymore. He cast a suspicious glance at the old sorcerer, and wished he hadn’t suggested the possibility of opening twin portals. Mara stared up at Talis, her eyes dark and searching as if hoping he had an answer.
Nikulo broke the silence with a loud belch, and thumped his chest as a way of making an apology. “Wait…let me get this straight. Each of you open a portal, and each of you will be drawing power from the crystal at the same time, correct?”
Palarian nodded somberly. “One crystal and one power source.”
“And the balancing part?”
“World portals require a tremendous amount of energy…when they are forming, they draw impossible spikes of energy that often crack or shatter the crystals trying to channel the power. Two portals at once…to different worlds…spikes in energy may occur at different times. It could lead to disaster. We’d have to balance, try to balance, anyways.”
“And if we just opened one portal to our world, and you could open another one to yours?” Mara looked hopefully at the old sorcerer.
“The crystal may very well crack, and I’d be stuck here without another crystal of sufficient strength.” Palarian motioned to Talis. “Your idea is valid, and it’s been done before…by other sorcerers of legend, older than my time.”
Talis coughed at the idea, unable to fathom a history that went back that long. “So we have no choice but to try it?”
“When you’re faced with the impossible, face it, conquer it, don’t give up until you’ve dreamed your world and made it into what you’ve always desired it to be. That’s what a thousand years of solitude and tinkering with the dark arts has gained me: wisdom. Whatever you struggle for is always worth it in the end.”
“We have a world we want to create.” Talis gazed warmly at Mara, and she blushed in response. “We just need to return home.”
Palarian cast his eyes towards the palm forest. “Shall we then?”
Talis unrolled the Surineda Map and frowned. “The crystal is moving farther inland…this way.” He gathered his backpack and led the way up the beach towards the palms, their branches dancing under a stiff breeze that had started from the north. Charna dashed ahead through grassy undergrowth filled with fallen coconuts and shrubs and the occasional snake slithering out of sight.
They found a clearing with a stream and a wide path that had been trampled by something incredibly large. The stream was laced with flowers, bottle brush and orchids and gingers. Many trees along the way up the mountainside had been knocked aside. Talis discovered a massive clawed print twice the size of person.
“I’d hate to be stepped on by whatever beast made that print,” Nikulo said, peering down into the hole left by the print.
“It’s moving up in those mountains faster than we’re walking.” Talis pointed at the map.
Palarian cleared his throat and snapped a finger at Talis, and he experienced the weightless sensation of flying. He whistled to Charna, who bounded back towards him, and hissed in reaction to seeing them floating again.
“Come on, girl, I know you don’t like flying, but I’ll hold you and won’t let go.”
The lynx hesitated, her gold eyes staring at Talis, and finally she leapt into his arms, her paws wrapped around his neck. Soon they were up flying above the landscape, following the trodden path of the enormous creature. They kept lower to the ground, tracing the line of the stream as it jutted up over a hill that led to a broad pool and a waterfall. There were many massive prints along the pool’s edge.
“The creature must have stopped to take a drink h
ere…he was probably sick of drinking salt water.”
Talis followed the trampled path around and up the next hill, through another forest until it reached a rocky cliff where the water came out of a bubbling spring. The cliff was several hundred feet high, and the creature’s path led to the left where the way turned into grassland and eventually went down the hillside, back to another beach with clumps of sea grass scattered here and there. An enormous curved boulder sat in the middle of the beach.
“What’s that? Is that a rock?” Mara said.
“That’s no rock…look it’s moving. I think we’ve found our sea creature.” Talis dove towards the beast, and as he got closer, recognized the bumpy grey and brown shell, sharp ridged beak, and giant claws as belonging to a massive sea turtle. The turtle’s claws dug into the sandy soil as if it was searching or preparing the ground for something.
Then the turtle turned to face them and Talis nearly fell from the sky.
“Its eyes!” Mara shouted. “They’re black crystals….”
A deep rumbling came from the beast and smoke flared from its nostrils. The black faceted crystal eyes glowed with a piercing silver light. The turtle took slow thundering steps that caused the ground to shake. Talis flew over and peered into the hole that the creature was digging, and noticed a pile of dull white eggs.
As if reacting to a threat against its eggs, the turtle sent sparks of lightning from its eyes, igniting a surge of heat and pain throughout Talis’s body. The force was so strong it slapped him from the sky and sent him and Charna tumbling over the sand and into a mass of seagrass. Charna hissed and scampered away, her hair standing up. Talis grasped his left shoulder as a dullness spreading down his arm, his heart pounding, and his chest felt like someone was pressing hard against it.
Out of the corner of his eye Talis could see Nikulo trying to control the beast, but the turtle just bellowed madly, swung its head around and gazed at his friend. Beams of dark light sliced through the air and struck Nikulo, causing him to stumble about as if drunk and dizzy, and he fell backwards onto the sand.
Shadow Mage Page 19
