by Clayton Wood
“Oh no,” he countered. “I'm afraid your time has run out.”
Rays of blue light shot outward from the green crystal on the Dead Man's forehead.
“Kalibar!” Kyle warned, ducking low.
The rays extended to each of the wards around the camp, to the crystal atop Kalibar's staff...and even to Kalibar himself. Kyle took a step back, then looked down, seeing rays of the blue light shining on him.
“Kalibar...” Kyle repeated, looking up at the former Grand Weaver. Kalibar was staring at him, clearly confused.
“The...” Kyle began...and then the gravity shield around them winked out.
“Get back!” Kalibar cried. Fog spilled into the camp from all sides, rushing toward them. Gravity shields appeared around Kyle and Darius. Kalibar put his mirrored sunglasses on with one hand, then raised his staff toward the Dead Man. Then he frowned, staring at his staff in disbelief. The staff's runes were no longer glowing.
The Dead Man smirked.
Kalibar threw his staff to the ground, a ball of fire appearing in front of him. It shot out at the Dead Man with incredible speed.
Layer after layer of gravity shields sprung up around the Dead Man, the fireball deflecting to one side of them. The fireball traveled around the man in a tight arc, hurtling right back toward Kalibar.
“Watch out!” Kyle cried.
Layered gravity shields appeared instantaneously around the former Grand Weaver, and the fireball splashed against them, disintegrating on impact.
“Go on,” the Dead Man offered.
Suddenly four massive boulders shot up from the fog around the Dead Man, sending sprays of dirt and mist high into the air. The boulders hovered there for a split second, then crushed inward, slamming into the Dead Man's layered shields.
The Dead Man didn't so much as blink.
More dirt and rocks shot up from the fog all around the Dead Man, coalescing onto his shields. Within seconds, the man was completely covered in a thick sphere of earth and stone.
Kalibar's eyes narrowed.
One of the boulders in the earthen sphere began to glow a faint red. The redness spread across the sphere until the entire thing was glowing. The air around it rippled with the immense heat, and even with the gravity shield surrounding him, Kyle could feel the intense warmth on his exposed flesh.
The sphere exploded.
Kyle jerked backward, flinging his arms in front of his face. Red-hot debris flew outward in all directions, ricocheting off of his gravity shield. The fog blew backward from the explosion, exposing the ground below. Lumps of glowing stone scattered onto the ground, setting fire to the grass.
And almost instantly thereafter, the fog slithered inward, suffocating the flames. Kyle watched as it filled the gaping hole left by the blast. Watched as it gathered around the still-rippling cloak of the Dead Man.
Who still hadn't moved.
“Elegant,” he congratulated, nodding slightly at Kalibar. “Crush, suffocate, immolate.” He smiled. “So refreshing to meet an intelligent Weaver.”
“I'm just getting started,” Kalibar shot back. The Dead Man gestured at Kalibar with one hand.
“By all means.”
Kyle felt something shift, felt the hairs on his arms rise up.
A jagged bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, slamming into the Dead Man's shields with an ear-splitting boom. The fog burst back from the impact, its surface rippling violently. Thunder echoed off of the cliffs in the distance, the trees at the edge of the forest blowing backward, leaves tearing free from their branches. The ground around the Dead Man glowed bright white for a split second, then faded, leaving a black, charred scar in the earth.
The fog rolled inward, slowly filling the void.
“Impressive,” the Dead Man murmured, a smile on his thin, pale lips. “Attempting to bypass my shields with an electrical gradient.” Kalibar nodded back.
“Equally impressive that you survived.”
Kalibar's eyes narrowed, and suddenly the outermost layer of the Dead Man's gravity shields winked out...and promptly reappeared.
The Dead Man smirked.
Kalibar grimaced, and the outer gravity shield winked out again...and then the next layer vanished. The third layer disappeared, but within a fraction of a second, all three reappeared again. Kalibar took a step back, and frowned, staring at the crystal in the center of the Dead Man's forehead.
“Interesting,” he murmured.
“My turn,” the Dead Man declared. Before he'd even finished speaking, a column of white-hot light shot outward from him at Kalibar, instantly dissolving the fog in its path. The impossible brightness seared Kyle's eyes, forcing him to squeeze them shut, the afterimage burned across his vision. The light vanished as quickly as it had come, and Kyle opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. He stared at the spot where Kalibar had been a second ago, fear gripping him.
He was gone.
“You'll have to do better than that,” a voice called out from above. Kyle saw the Dead Man look up, the green gem on his forehead glittering as he tilted his head back. Kyle followed his gaze, spotting Kalibar floating some thirty feet above the lake.
“Very well,” the Dead Man replied.
Boulders shot upward through the fog, sending misty contrails into the air, raining dust on the ground below. The boulders shot toward Kalibar, honing in on him. At the same time, huge spheres of water burst through the fog over the lake, crystallizing into pure ice as they flew up toward the former Grand Weaver. A half-dozen trees at the edge of the forest – nearly a hundred feet away – ripped up out of the ground, bursting into flames as they careened after Kalibar.
Kalibar dodged to the side as the volley shot toward him, but the missiles followed him, flying at him with formidable speed. He spun around in mid-air, facing the barrage. One of the boulders struck his shields, bouncing off. Another exploded into pieces before him, a sphere of ice shattering behind it. The burning trees split before him like water at the prow of a boat, sending burning chunks raining down into the fog-covered lake.
Kalibar stared down at the Dead Man, smiling grimly at his opponent.
“You've got power,” he observed, “...but no strategy.”
Then all of his shields vanished.
The Dead Man smiled.
A fist-sized stone hovering in the air behind Kalibar – a remnant of one of the shattered boulders – flew toward him, striking him in the back of the head. His head jerked forward, his body going limp.
And then he fell.
“Kalibar!” Kyle screamed.
The former Grand Weaver plummeted toward the thick fog below, slamming into it. A plume of mist shot up from the impact, followed by a spray of water. Kyle's heart leapt into his throat.
No!
Kyle broke out into a run, aiming for the plume of fog where Kalibar had landed. But a hand grabbed him from behind, hauling him backward. He twisted around, finding Darius standing behind him. The bodyguard held Kyle by the upper arms, his grip like iron.
“Darius!” he cried. “What are you doing?”
Darius remained silent.
Kyle struggled against the bodyguard, trying to free himself, but it was pointless. He gave up, watching as the fog swirled where Kalibar had fallen, feeling utterly hopeless. Darius pulled him backward, and Kyle felt a burst of anger.
“You traitor!” he spat, clenching his fists. “You're just going to let him die?”
Suddenly Kalibar burst upward through the fog, gravity shields glowing a faint blue in layers around him. He flew through the air in a tight arc, landing a dozen feet in front of the Dead Man. Kyle felt his heart soar.
“Kalibar!” he cried, straining against Darius's grasp.
Kalibar stared down the Dead Man, his brown eyes cold.
“You want to see power?” he asked, his voice icy calm. His lips curled into a tight smile. “I'll show you power.”
A large blue sphere surrounded the Dead Man, far brighter than the man's layered shie
lds. A powerful wind slammed into Kyle, nearly ripping him from Darius's grasp. Air shrieked past Kyle, the sound growing louder and louder, sucking the fog toward the Dead Man. Darius's grip on Kyle tightened, the bodyguard planting his feet on the ground. Small stones rolled across the exposed ground, shooting into the large blue sphere. They slammed into the Dead Man's shields, some of them penetrating the outermost layers.
The blue sphere grew brighter, the howling wind almost deafening now.
More stones flew at the Dead Man, penetrating further into his shields. Blacked logs flew up from the campfire, shattering as they struck the shields. Kalibar's carriage began to slide across the ground toward the glowing blue sphere, its wheels digging deep furrows in the earth.
The Dead Man's jawline rippled.
The sphere around him faltered, going suddenly dimmer. The wind began to die down, the stones around the Dead Man's shields falling to the ground. Kalibar smirked.
The sphere flashed bright blue.
Wind ripped into Kyle, knocking him off of his feet and pulling him toward the sphere. Kyle cried out, Darius's hands gripping his upper arms the only thing preventing him from flying away. The stones around the Dead Man flew inward, popping through layer after layer of his shields. His black cloak sucked flat against his gaunt frame, a few stones making it past his innermost shield and slamming into his body.
Yes, Kyle thought. Yes!
Then Kalibar's shields vanished, and his staff flew up from the ground, whipping through the air and slamming into the side of his head. The sphere around the Dead Man vanished instantly, and Kalibar slumped to the ground.
The Dead Man stared down at Kalibar, his black cloak falling loosely against his frame, the edges still rippling sinuously. Fog spilled outward from around his feet, obscuring the ground and swirling around Kalibar's motionless body.
Kalibar's arm twitched, and he groaned. He slid his hands and knees underneath him, and pushed himself up off of the ground. Blood oozed from his left temple, trickling down the side of his neck.
“Kalibar!” Kyle shouted. Kalibar's head turned, and he stared at Kyle for a moment, looking dazed. Then his eyes focused, and he looked up at Darius.
“Darius,” he yelled back, waving with one arm. “Run!”
Darius didn't budge.
“Darius!” Kalibar repeated.
The Dead Man moved forward, his boots levitating above the ground, until he was standing over Kalibar.
“I was hoping for a challenge,” he lamented. He shook his head. “How you managed to kill one of the Chosen is beyond me.” He sighed, gripping the sides of his cowl with both hands and pulling it over his head, obscuring his face.
“Take them,” he murmured.
Shadows burst through the fog at the tree line, flying through the air toward the camp. A dozen men in blood-red cloaks, hoods pulled forward over their faces, flanking two levitating black rectangular objects, each as large as Kalibar's carriage. The Weavers landed in a loose circle around Kalibar, Kyle, and Darius, gravity shields appearing around them. Kalibar took a step backward, facing one of the Weavers.
That Weaver's shields vanished, and then he exploded.
Another Weaver walked up to Kyle, grabbing him by the throat. Kyle tried to raise his hands to pull the Weaver off of him, but Darius's grip on his arms was unbreakable.
“Stop,” the Weaver shouted. “...or we kill the boy!”
Kalibar spun around, his eyes meeting Kyle's, and froze. He stared at Kyle for a long moment, then drew himself to his full height, dropping his hands to his sides. Two Weavers strode up to Kalibar, grabbing his arms and pulling them behind his back.
The Weaver let go of Kyle's throat.
“Release him,” the man ordered Darius, grabbing Kyle's arm. Darius complied immediately, and the Weaver pulled Kyle away, toward one of the black rectangular objects levitating a few inches above the fog-covered ground. Another Weaver grabbed Darius, pulling him in the same direction. The Dead Man raised one hand, and the Weaver holding Darius stopped.
The Dead Man floated up to Darius, his face hidden in the shadows of his hood.
“A wise man fights for the winning team,” he stated, putting a hand on Darius's armored shoulder. “You are clearly a wise man.”
“You're a traitor!” Kyle yelled, resisting the Weaver pulling at his arm. Darius ignored the comment, his eyes on the Dead Man. The Dead Man removed his hand from the bodyguard's shoulder.
“Unfortunately the boy is correct,” he agreed. “You have no loyalty. I can only trust you as much as your former friends do.” He nodded at the Weaver holding Darius. “Bind him and take him.”
Darius stood still as the Weaver tied his wrists behind his back, his eyes still on the Dead Man. Kyle, Kalibar, and Darius were herded toward the two rectangular objects. Each had a pair of double-doors at the back, and they swung open without warning, revealing a plain gray interior, much like the inside of a moving van. Kyle and Kalibar were led into one of them, and Darius into the other.
The double-doors closed behind Kyle and Kalibar, leaving them alone inside.
Kyle stared at the double-doors, then turned Kalibar. The old man was turning in a slow circle, taking stock of his surroundings. There were no seats to sit on, and the ceiling was barely high enough for them to stand without their heads hitting it. Horizontal slits were built into each side wall at Kyle's eye-level, letting in a sliver of light.
“Are you okay?” Kyle asked, glancing at the still-oozing wound on Kalibar's left temple. Kalibar nodded.
“I'll be fine,” he replied, putting a hand to his head and leaning back against one of the side-walls. He slid down onto his butt. “I've got one hell of a headache,” he admitted. He sighed, looking up at Kyle wearily. “And you?”
“I'm okay,” Kyle answered. He sat down beside Kalibar, and seconds later felt a sudden lurch, as if he were in a rising elevator.
“We're moving,” Kalibar observed. His eyes narrowed. “These are flying carriages.”
“Where are they taking us?” Kyle asked. Kalibar shrugged.
“I don't know,” he admitted. “Frankly, I'm surprised we're still alive.” He sighed, then put a hand on Kyle's knee. “I'm sorry, Kyle.”
“For what?”
“I failed you,” he answered bitterly. He shook his head again. “I thought I was the best Battle-Weaver in the world,” he added. “Until today.”
Kyle said nothing at first, feeling the carriage start to accelerate forward. He shivered in the relative coolness of the carriage, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You didn't fail me,” Kyle countered. “Darius did.” He turned to Kalibar. “I should have told you,” he muttered.
“Told me what?”
“Back when me and Darius were attacked,” Kyle explained, “...one of the bad guys said that Darius had been in league with them all along. That they'd had an agreement.”
Kalibar stared at Kyle, saying nothing.
“He was in on it all along,” Kyle continued. “I wanted to tell you...I was going to do it when we were alone.”
“It's okay,” Kalibar replied. “It wouldn't have mattered.”
“What?”
“The Dead Man would have captured us anyway,” Kalibar reasoned. “He's unlike any Weaver I've ever fought against.” He lowered his head into his hands, rubbing his forehead. “That gem in his forehead...it must be a runic device.”
“How can you tell?”
“It countered all of my attacks almost instantaneously,” Kalibar answered. “I've never seen a runic device react like that...not even an Ancient device.”
“Who do you think he is?” Kyle asked. Kalibar shrugged.
“I have no idea,” he admitted. “All we know is that he's in league with Orik.” He tapped his chin with one finger. “He said Orik was his student...but that Orik defied his orders when he attacked me.” He frowned. “So Orik is – or was – controlled by the Dead Man.”
“Wait,” Kyle inte
rjected. “So if Orik wins the election...”
“Then he might be just a puppet,” Kalibar deduced. “The Dead Man – or someone above him – will be in control of the Empire.” He shook his head. “And no one will be the wiser.”
“We can't let that happen!”
“I agree,” Kalibar said. “We have to find a way to notify the Empire of what's happening.”
“But how?” Kyle asked. Kalibar sighed.
“I don't know,” he admitted. “But I do know one thing...we're not going to win through brute force. I'm better than the Dead Man at making magic...much better. But that crystal on his forehead...” He shook his head. “I need to be smarter than that damn gemstone.”
Kalibar fell silent, and Kyle stared at the sunlight shining through the horizontal slit in the opposite wall of the carriage. He felt the carriage accelerate forward gently. It moved without a sound, without even the howling of wind. The utter silence was unnerving.
“Where are they taking us?” he asked, knowing full well that Kalibar didn't know.
“I don't know,” Kalibar replied. “Crescent Lake lies near the foot of a small chain of mountains,” he added. “There used to be a few towns nearby, but they were abandoned over a century ago.”
“Why?”
“Well, they were mining towns,” Kalibar answered. “There were large kimberlite pipes underground...”
“Wait, what?”
“Kimberlite pipes,” Kalibar repeated. “Columns of rock containing diamonds. The townsfolk mined them. Diamonds make excellent magic storage devices,” he explained.
“Oh.”
“The mines were very profitable,” Kalibar continued. “That is, until strange things began to happen. Some miners went missing...at first just a few, but then more and more. A few men were found wandering the mines in a daze, covered in orange dust and screaming utter nonsense. When they recovered, these men claimed to have seen terrible things in the mines...huge monstrosities that attacked the miners, spitting acid and killing off many of the men.”
“Wow.”
“The Empire sent Weavers into the mines, but none returned,” Kalibar stated. “Eventually, everyone became so terrified of the mines that people left to find other work. The nearby towns were abandoned.”
