The Winds of Time

by Ryan W. Mueller

  "Did you know this would happen when you went into the Webs?" Kara asked.

  Rador paced near the entrance to the chamber. "It was a possibility, but the threads were difficult to decipher, even then. When I jumped into the Webs to pull you and Berig out, I was sure I'd be trapped in there. I did not know what would happen upon the Webs' destruction because that is one event the Webs could never lead to. It's a contradiction."

  "Why are contradictions so powerful?" Kara asked.

  Rador stroked his chin. "That is just the nature of this world's magic. Each world is different, but this one thrives on harmony. When something goes against that harmony—what you might call a contradiction—strange things happen. It's unpredictable, but it's also our best hope to defeat Krinir."

  "Enough of this discussion," Theo said. "Have the Webs shown you how to defeat him?"

  Marlon made a calming gesture toward Theo. "Patience. We should hear what Rador has to say. He is our best hope after all."

  "It's all right," Rador said. "As a matter of fact, I have seen a path to defeat Krinir, but not in the Webs. I believe I see it in the very fabric of this world. Two gods of this world cannot attempt to kill each other, but if one of them is the god of another world . . ."

  Kara felt like she should have made the connection in her mind, but nothing came to her. "I don't understand," she said. "The god of another world?"

  "Or goddess, in this case," Rador said, giving her a meaningful look.

  Kara stared at him with wide eyes, uncomprehending.

  "Your magic belongs to another world," he said. "That means that you, in some sense, belong to that world as well."

  "I don't understand any of this," Kara said.

  Rador smiled, looking pleased with himself. "It's really quite simple, Kara. We're going to Travel to my home world, and there you will become a goddess."

  Chapter 60: The Darkness Temple

  Nadia stood at the edge of a giant lake, wondering where the Darkness Temple was. All she could see was the water and the ever-present gloom of the Ghost Forest. The others stood beside her, gazing across the lake anxiously.

  "I don't see anything," Tylen said, impatience creeping into his voice.

  Nadia felt a presence at her side. Her mother again.

  "The temple is beneath the lake," she said.

  Nadia's stomach churned. "Then we have to swim to it?"

  Markus's face looked pale as he peered at the water. "How far is it?"

  "Too far to make it without breathing," said Nadia's mother.

  Tylen began pacing. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

  Nadia's mother was about to answer, but instead Lara stepped to the center of the group and said, "Water magic, of course. One of the abilities that comes with Water magic allows you to create an air bubble underwater. With two bubbles, we should be able to fit everyone."

  "Two?" Nadia said. "But you're the only one who knows Water magic."

  "I can do it, too," Markus said. "Or did you forget?"

  Nadia laughed softly. "Of course. I did forget. It's tough to remember everything these days."

  "This should work," Lara said. "Two people will come with me, and two will go with Markus. We'll swim underwater until we find the entrance to the temple."

  It sounded so simple, but Nadia had learned that nothing was ever simple anymore. Surely they'd face monsters or magical obstacles of some kind. The world never let them do anything the easy way.

  Nadia and Rik joined Markus at the edge of the water while Klint and Tylen stood at Lara's side. As Nadia stepped into the water, she let out a sharp gasp. She should have known the water would be cold, but she hadn't expected it to feel that cold.

  "Let me see if I can make this magic work," Markus said. He closed his eyes for a few moments, frowning in concentration. Nadia shivered, wondering if she'd ever feel warm again.

  The water shifted around them, and soon they stood in a pocket of air. Nadia was still freezing because she was soaking wet, but at least the water no longer surrounded them.

  "Stay close to me," Markus said. Nadia and Rik hung at his side, clinging to his arms and remaining within the bubble of the air. As the water grew deeper, the bubble surrounded them entirely, and soon they plunged beneath the surface of the water. The world became so dark they couldn't see anything, so Rik lit the tip of his staff.

  The light didn't penetrate far into the water, but at least they could see a few feet ahead. They plunged deeper and deeper beneath the surface, and though the water did not touch them, Nadia could feel its oppressive weight. The deeper they went, the more nervous she became. If Markus's spell failed right now, they wouldn't have enough time to swim to the surface.

  They did not swim. Instead, they pressed against the front edge of the bubble, moving it slowly but surely. Guiding the bubble proved to be intuitive, and soon they were steering it with ease. Rik kept pointing his staff in every direction, but they couldn't see the others in their own bubble. Nadia prayed that they were doing all right.

  Why did she have to worry about everything all the time? There was nothing she could do about their fate. She had to focus on her own task and hope they'd pull through without her.

  Down, down, down. The world fell away, and darkness closed in around them. Still, they did not see any sign of the temple. The water felt oppressive as it weighed down upon the air bubble. Markus showed no signs of tiring, but Nadia still worried about him.

  "Are you doing all right?" she asked.

  "I'm fine. We just need to keep searching."

  They continued forward, heading toward the center of the lake, where Nadia prayed they would find the Darkness Temple. She didn't want to think about what might lurk within. All that mattered right now was finding a place where they could breathe without magic. Though magic was powerful, she didn't like relying on it because she didn't fully understand it.

  Rik cast the light of his staff in every direction. At first, Nadia could only make out dark and murky water, but soon structures appeared. Pillars. Steps. Ruined walls.

  They had to be close. She took a few deep breaths, calming her rising panic.

  The pillars became more numerous, and soon the light of Rik's staff fell upon a massive stone archway. That had to be the entrance. Emboldened, they redoubled their efforts at moving the bubble, guiding it toward the gateway.

  Once they passed through the gateway, they still remained in water. They guided the bubble upward now, following the path ahead of them, where a giant wall rose in front of them. When they reached the top of that wall, they found a place where the water came to an end at another vast doorway. It had to be magic holding the water back.

  They guided the bubble through the gateway, and it disappeared as soon as they passed through. On the other side, they dropped a few feet and hit the ground with gentle thuds. They stood now in a wide stone corridor lined with glowing magical torches. The air was just as cold as it had been outside. Still drenched from entering the lake, Nadia shivered.

  "Let me see if I can help with that," Markus said. They all stood together, and he cast a fire shield around them. The warmth of the shield dried Nadia's clothes a little, but more than anything, it bathed her in much warmer air. She basked in the warmth until Markus let the shield die.

  "Why did you stop?" she asked.

  "Need to conserve my energy."

  While she understood that necessity, it still annoyed her. Already, she could feel the return of the cold. She pressed close to one of the magical torches. They weren't all that warm, but they provided enough heat that she felt a little warmer for the moment.

  "Do you think the others will find this place?"

  Markus glanced up. "Yeah, I think so. They're right there."

  Nadia, Markus, and Rik stepped out of the way as Tylen, Klint, and Lara reached the gateway where the barrier held the water back. Once they crossed that gateway, they dropped and hit the ground a few feet away.

  "That's an experience I wouldn'
t care to repeat," Tylen said, but there was a trace of humor in his voice. Nadia was surprised that he could find amusement in anything after Farah's death.

  After a brief rest, they started through the corridor, keeping an eye out for traps. They followed the corridor's twists and turns for what felt like hours, until they eventually entered a larger chamber with a broken path that spiraled upward.

  Rik groaned loudly. "Not another place like this."

  Markus grinned at him. "What? You still scared of heights?"

  "A fear like that doesn't just go away, Markus. Maybe I should ask you how you'd like to crawl through a narrow tunnel."

  Markus's face paled. "No, I wouldn't like that at all."

  Lara surveyed the chamber. "Well, it appears we only have one path we can take."

  "Of course," Rik muttered.

  They walked to their right, then stepped onto the broken path. At first, it slanted upward along the wall, providing them with no obstacles, but then they reached the first large gap.

  "I'll handle this," Markus said. "A whirlwind should get everyone across." He contorted his face in concentration, and a whirlwind formed beneath the gap. At first, it towered much higher than they needed, but then Markus focused, making it into a smaller whirlwind. "All right," he said. "Let's jump on."

  "As if it's really that simple," Rik said.

  Tylen looked pale as well. He stared at the whirlwind, starting to turn green.

  "Are you also afraid of heights?" Nadia asked, surprising herself with the fact that she hadn't said it sarcastically. Perhaps her opinion of Tylen was changing. She could never erase the first impressions she'd had of the man, but she needed to give him a chance and let him prove if he had changed or not.

  Lara and Klint jumped into the whirlwind first. Nadia followed. When she hit the top of the whirlwind, she felt its great winds keeping her aloft. It was an exhilarating and terrifying feeling. When she'd experienced this kind of thing before, she'd never had time to think about it.

  After a few moments of hesitation, Tylen and Rik also jumped onto the whirlwind. Markus followed last, and once he floated atop his own whirlwind, he directed it across the chamber. At first, Nadia thought he'd simply use it to bridge the gap, but then he pulled it away from the wall, heading farther into the chamber toward another wall where the path had spiraled up much higher. She knew what he was doing, and she didn't think it was a good idea.

  "Markus, you shouldn't try for too much at once," she said.

  "Don't worry," he said. "I have it under control." He returned his attention to the whirlwind, directing it across the chamber. When they reached the other wall, he added more energy to the whirlwind, and it grew taller, lifting them up toward a much higher point on the path. From there, he guided it to deposit them on the stone pathway.

  They all reached the spot without incident.

  "Was that really necessary?" Rik asked, and Tylen nodded his agreement.

  "It was easy," Markus said. "I'm not even tired."

  Rik shook his head in disbelief, smiling faintly. "Lionar must have been crazy. Only someone insane would make you into a god, Markus."

  Markus punched Rik on the shoulder. "It's not as crazy as making you into one."

  "Yeah, but I know that would never happen. No one is that crazy."

  "At least we saved some time," Klint said, glancing up the path ahead of them. There were no more broken sections, and the path would eventually lead them to a large landing. They followed the path, reaching that landing, where they found a closed stone door and a pedestal containing a scroll.

  "More scrolls," Rik said. "Just what I wanted to see. Scrolls are never good news." He grabbed the scroll from atop the pedestal, unfurled it, and frowned. "It's written in some kind of symbol language. I can't read it at all."

  "Give it to me," Nadia said. "It's probably written in Luminian."

  Rik handed her the scroll, and she read. Translating from the Luminian symbol language to her language was never quite a word-for-word translation. Instead, she had to determine the general meaning of the symbols. It wasn't that hard, though. She knew the symbols well.

  Once she finished, she said, "This scroll tells us that there will be six challenges, one for each type of magic. This room was not one of those challenges. It also tells us that only true sorcerers can take part in these challenges." She glanced at Rik and Klint. "Sorry."

  "It's fine," Klint said. "Might be kind of nice to watch for once."

  "Or maybe terrifying," Rik said. "If I have to watch you guys die . . ."

  Markus punched him on the shoulder again. "Why so little faith in us?"

  "I have all kinds of faith in you," Rik said, "but the world is a cruel place."

  "Nah, it's only cruel to you," Markus said.

  Rik chuckled darkly. "Sure feels like it sometimes."

  Lara's voice interrupted their joking conversation. "All right, we know there are six challenges, but how do we get to them?"

  "Oh, sorry," Nadia said. "We place this scroll in a slot by the door." She walked to the wall and inserted the scroll in the indentation to the right of the door. The scroll slid into the small space with a click, and the door slowly rumbled open.

  Rik tried to step through the door, but he hit an invisible barrier that sent him flying backward with a yelp of pain. A little dazed, he brushed himself off and got to his feet. He turned to Klint. "Guess this is where we have to stay."

  Klint and Rik both moved off to the side while Nadia and the others proceeded through the open doorway. Nadia felt a moment of trepidation as she reached the barrier that had repelled Rik. There was a moment of resistance, as she'd felt on the mountains surrounding the Empire, but then she passed through the barrier with ease, the others following close behind.

  Nadia, Markus, Lara, and Tylen all stared at their new surroundings. They'd entered a large stone chamber with six doors. Above each door was symbol indicating which type of magic would be tested beyond

  Markus's face became pale. "Which should we try first?"

  "Let's just start here on the left and make our way around the room clockwise."

  The first door had a symbol of a flame above it. Nadia approached the open door, but when she reached its threshold, a sharp shock ran through her, and she was thrown backward. Dusting herself off, she said, "Markus, it looks like it'll have to be you and Lara here."

  "Good luck in there," Tylen said. "You'll probably need it."

  Chapter 61: The Challenge of Fire

  Markus and Lara stood on the other side of the stone door. As soon as they'd reached its inside threshold, it had slammed shut behind them. Now they stood in a room that glowed a bright orange. Fire burned all around, and at the end of the small platform on which they stood, there was a vertical drop leading to a pool of lava.

  "Nice place," Markus said. "Wonder what we're supposed to do."

  Lara took a few steps forward, surveying their fiery surroundings. "For the moment, I think we should focus on reaching the other side."

  "Any kind of intuition behind that?"

  "No, just a guess."

  Markus squinted against the blazing flames. Off to their right, a bridge floated above the pit of lava far below. They stepped onto the bridge. Though nothing appeared to support it, it did not budge beneath their weight. Magic, Markus guessed. This place had to be swarming with magic. After all, it was the source of the magic Warrick had crafted into the Plain of Storms and the other magical regions.

  It was hard to believe Warrick had created those regions to protect everyone, but Markus was beginning to see how it might be possible.

  He crossed the bridge slowly, Lara following close behind. They took careful steps, for the bridge was only about five feet wide. Markus felt the need to take deep breaths, but the hot air scorched his lungs. Sweat poured into his eyes, and he had to wipe it away every few steps.

  "I feel like I'm gonna collapse," he said, growing short on breath.

  "Maybe we need
to cast fire shields," Lara said.

  "How would that help us?"

  "I don't know, but we should try it."

  Markus focused his thoughts on conjuring the shield. Though it came from fire magic, it did not seem as if it truly belonged to the element of fire. When the shield formed around them, it was invisible. They'd used these shields to warm up after swimming in the frigid water, but now the shields kept them cooler.

  Crossing the bridge had become much more bearable, but it was still hot. Without the distraction of the blistering heat, Markus could focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Now he could take deeper breaths. Fire still surged all around them, but the shields made it a more distant threat. Still, Markus's stomach churned when he looked at the lava bubbling below. It reminded him of the time he'd spent in the Fire Mountains.

  And with that came memories of that tight space he'd crawled through. As soon as these thoughts crossed his mind, his chest tightened. He took a few deep breaths and tried to focus his thoughts elsewhere, but all he could think about was his rising panic.

  The space here was not as small, but he was still trapped.

  "Markus, are you all right?" Lara asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  Markus took a couple of deep breaths. "Yeah, I'm fine."

  He forced down his panic and continued across the bridge. Soon they reached another platform. Now the fires lay behind them. Ahead was a set of wide stone steps that led downward into a dark area containing eight unlit torches.

  "What do you think we have to do here?" Markus asked.

  "Isn't it obvious? We have to light these torches."

  Markus scratched his head. "That seems a little too easy."

  "Oh, I'm sure there will be some challenge involved."

  Markus moved to one of the torches and pointed a finger at it. A fireball burst from his fingertips, lighting the torch, but only for a moment. He tried again, and the same thing happened. Frowning, he tried again and again, achieving the same result.

  "Why isn't this working?" he asked.

  Lara pointed to the center of the stone area, where a circular marking had been made in on the ground. "I think we have to stand there and light all the torches from there."