The Oblivion Trials (The Astral Wanderer Book 3)

by D'Artagnan Rey

  Devol considered what he should do. It had not awakened so he could probably simply sneak out without disturbing it. If all the ruckus above had not woken it, his small steps wouldn’t bother it at all. He’d all but decided to do this when he caught sight of the pile of corpses beneath it. Some were different animals and smaller likan, most likely previous challengers for its territory, but human body parts were strewn among them as well.

  The sight caused a ball of ice to form in his stomach, one that was immediately replaced by a blaze of anger as he unsheathed Achroma, charged it with mana, and sent out a magical slice at the beast. The likan’s eyes snapped open and it snatched a few body parts from its pile and tossed them into the path of the magical projectile. These were shredded and the attack dissipated and he realized it was both smart and incredibly fast.

  The swordsman cursed, jumped back, and prepared for an attack. The likan crawled off its bed and stared at him with red eyes as if it studied him and tried to determine if he was worth its time. He sensed something familiar about that look—like it was tossing a coin to decide whether he was a threat or a plaything.

  This time, he growled and launched two more slashes at the beast but it maneuvered around them easily and lunged toward him with bloodstained fangs. It pushed onto its hind legs and as it held its dark claws out, ready to snatch its next victim, he readied himself to fire another attack.

  The wolf closed the distance between them faster than he had thought possible. It swiped at him and forced him to move out of the way. He noticed an odd, dark-blue shimmer that emanated from the likan’s coat and realized that it was enchanted. Thinking fast, he raised his sword so it pointed to the ceiling and released a blast of mana from the tip that exploded above them.

  The roof of the cavern erupted and rocks and stalactites fell from above. Both he and the wolf jumped back to avoid being crushed. Devol recovered quickly and looked around the cavern for the beast. It was hard to see in the low light and dust, even with Achroma’s light, but the shattering of a rock to his left alerted him to its location. He turned to where it stood on top of the debris and stared at him again. It was no longer curious, however. The beast was furious. It crouched slightly and snarled as it prepared to leap.

  The swordsman straightened and tightened his grasp on Achroma as he held it out in front of him. The lights within the blade began to change and assumed a form more akin to fire than the twinkling lights it normally held. The beast charged into the blade without the worry of reprisal. His feet slid back while the likan’s claws and teeth scratched viciously against his majestic. For one startled moment, he couldn’t help wondering what it was made of.

  Devol eventually pulled back and leapt away to avoid a swipe from the beast. He landed and slid back and his adversary bucked in the air as it turned and landed. Something warm bloomed on his shoulder and at first, he thought it was the flames from his majestic until it began to trickle down his chest and stomach. He slid a hand under his jacket and shirt and felt the dampness of blood. It had struck him but he was confused about how or when.

  He felt no pain, but maybe that was his Vis protecting him. The shimmer around the likan’s coat reminded him that it had magical properties, which explained how it could stand against Achroma. Unfortunately, it must also be able to use them somehow and that created a terrifying predicament for him.

  It uttered a deafening howl before it leaned forward to attack. He swung his sword to his side and let the flames build into a blaze around him as it prepared to make the final strike. He watched to see if it would use its magics again and noted how close that attack was to his heart.

  The beast leapt and mana coated its claws. He readied himself to strike as the white flames burned around him, but the beast did not land. Instead, it hung as if suspended, and he studied it suspiciously, sure that this was another of its tricks. That didn’t seem to be the case, however, as it struggled and the air around it twisted and contorted. The likan’s body began to follow the odd gyrations as it uttered angry, panicked yelps.

  “You should learn to hold back, young magi.” Devol looked at a tall, lithe figure in a hood and cloak who focused on the likan. “Wasting so much mana is bad form, and such a bright light could lure even the most slightly curious of predators.”

  The voice was familiar and he looked at the stranger and noticed a glow emanating from under the hood. Oddly, the color changed every few seconds and when it all clicked into place in his mind, a fearful frost chilled his body again and the flames around his blade grew wilder.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Asla…hey, Asla,” Jazai muttered as the wildkin continued to slash at the puddled remains of the golems. “They are only mush now, Asla. You broke through their magic armor and they aren’t coming back…hopefully.”

  With a weary sigh, she sank her hands into the mud. “Do you think there are more of them in these caves?”

  The diviner shrugged. “I didn’t come in here thinking there would be any and look how that turned out.”

  She shook her head, pulled her claws out of the muck, and pushed to her feet. “Very well. We’ll be on our guard.” She took a moment to look around the cave. “Devol has not returned?”

  Her teammate frowned and shook his head. “No. It’s weird. I picked up a flare of mana while we were finishing those creatures off but I merely thought it was him trying to get up.”

  Asla approached the large hole their friend had made and peered into the darkness. “We should find him.”

  Jazai nodded in agreement. “For sure. How about we—” Before he could finish, she jumped through the aperture. “I could have simply teleported us.” He sighed, snapped his fingers, and did exactly that to appear in the water below moments before she landed. She splashed some of the liquid onto him, which he tried hastily to wipe off. “Thanks.”

  “What is that?” she asked and ignored him as she pointed at a bright light emanating from a cave farther down the ravine.

  “It looks like Devol’s light,” he replied and took a few steps forward. “I wonder why it’s so bright.”

  “He could be fighting something,” she suggested as a pained howl echoed through the entire cavern. “By the Astrals, what was—”

  The diviner didn’t wait to offer and simply caught her arm and ported the two to the opening of what seemed to be a den. They had appeared directly behind a stranger in a cloak and cowl and Devol stood several yards away, holding Achroma as a bright white flame enveloped it. Jazai noticed the crumbled remains of a beast off to the side—a likan by the looks of it and an enchanted one at that, although he could see the mana dissipating from the lifeless body.

  “Devol!” Asla shouted and printed to the swordsman’s side. “What happened? Who is this?”

  He did not respond and simply stared at the man with determined anger in his eyes. The diviner focused coolly on the stranger’s back and held out a hand to prepare a spell. While he couldn’t see who it was, his teammate seemed quite hostile toward him—although given the events of the day, that was understandable.

  “Well now, it looks like the entire trio is here,” the man said teasingly and glanced over his shoulder at Jazai, who saw an eye with a light flickering within. The boy’s eyes widened immediately in shock.

  The magi lowered his hood to reveal violet hair, whose shape changed depending upon who viewed it. In Devol’s eyes, it was long and spiked and curled around the neck. His left eye was violet as well but in place of the right one was an orb with a swirling pupil, the color of which would fade from sky-blue, to royal-purple, to blank white, and back again.

  “Koli,” the swordsman growled and swung his blade around.

  The trickster raised a hand with an easy smile and waved to them. “Hello again.”

  Asla was the first to act and she uttered a feral cry as her anima flared instantly and she swiped at him. He dodged it easily and stepped around her, which prevented Jazai from attacking for fear of injuring his teammate.
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br />   Devol readied himself to attack and took a step forward, but Koli vanished from sight. He looked back to where the assassin now stood behind him with his arms folded and his smile ever-present. “That was an enthusiastic greeting from the kitten but you seem so cold by comparison, little Devol.” He glanced at the flaming blade. “In a manner of speaking, anyway.”

  The swordsman turned to cut through him but found his body suddenly fought against him. As it had with the likan, the air distorted around him and his limbs twitched as if they wanted to turn on themselves. He struggled against it with the same feeling of dread he had experienced when he’d been ensnared by Merri only a couple of hours earlier.

  “You must have had a rough day.” Koli chuckled and studied him casually. “Your anima seems a little thin.”

  “Get away from him!” The assassin looked up as several mana missiles streaked toward him, along with a furious Asla. He sighed, held a hand up almost lazily, and charged it with mana. When he released it, the missiles were destroyed and Asla’s charge was slowed, which allowed him to duck under the leaping wildkin with ease.

  “As much fun as this little dance is,” he told them as he grasped her hair, “I’m not here for…well, whatever you seem to believe I am here for.” He lifted the girl and flung her toward Jazai with surprising strength. As the diviner prepared another spell, their adversary knelt beside Devol and used his frozen body as a shield.

  “Then…why are…you here?” the swordsman demanded. Even his voice was strained when he tried to speak.

  Koli’s expression seemed both smug and full of mirth. “I told you. All that ruckus attracted me here.” He slid his hand into his vest pocket and withdrew a white eye patch, which he slipped over his malefic eye. Devol spun in place when the distortion field was released and his strength returned to him as the man stepped aside. “Or do you mean what am I doing in these caverns rather than here specifically?”

  Jazai helped Asla up and everyone kept their defenses in place as they stared at the assassin.

  “I suppose I can start there since no one will speak up.” He reached into his left pants pocket and took a dark signet out. “Ta-da. Does this look familiar?”

  “An Oblivion signet?” Devol stated and studied him suspiciously. “Who did you take that from?”

  The assassin frowned as he put it away. “I was given it, although I am a thief so the suspicion should not surprise me all that much.”

  “You were given it?” Jazai demanded and glanced at Asla, who still looked like she would pounce at any moment. “By who?”

  “One of the committee members—or maybe one of their lackeys. I’m not ultimately sure,” he admitted with a casual shrug. “It happened shortly before I left the man who hired me for my last contract—you know, the one who led us to our first little meet and greet.”

  Devol’s majestic was still aflame and he held the blade up boldly. “Are you here to avenge Salvo?”

  “Avenge?” Koli tapped his chin. “Oh, right. I confess I had heard he had gone missing. So that was you.” His smile widened. “Well now, isn’t that something? Did you kill him by yourselves or did one of the adults pitch in?”

  “We did,” Jazai answered and stepped closer to Devol and the assassin. “Devol sent him into the abyssal realm.”

  “The abyss?” The magi clicked his tongue and shook his head. “A word of advice for when killing someone—always make sure they are dead. Some have a nasty habit of coming back on occasion.”

  “Quit it with the jokes!” the swordsman snapped. “Why are you acting like nothing has happened between us? Are you here to try to finish the job?”

  Koli frowned for a moment before he snapped his fingers. “Ah, I think I understand the hostility now. You believe I am still under the employ of the man who sent me after your little box all those months ago.” He waved a hand dismissively. “No, I assure you that it is nothing like that. I haven’t been under contract with anyone since…well, since Salvo went missing, come to think of it.” His gaze drifted until it settled on a large rock a few feet away and he walked to it and sat. “I’m merely here to take part in the trials. Finding you was a happy accident. If the truth be told, I’m rather lost down here.”

  “Lost?” Jazai asked skeptically. “You know the caves are where the trials are being held but you don’t know how to get there?”

  The man nodded, laced his fingers together, and rested his chin on his hands. “Indeed. I did, in fact, take that information from someone and should have held out for more details but they didn’t seem to know the specifics.” He sighed dramatically. “I’ve wandered around for about fourteen hours now and found a few ladies and blokes to distract me, but that was about it.”

  “So you’ve been hunting.” Asla growled and bared her fangs.

  “I’ve been distracting myself,” he corrected. “I did not look for them so you can hardly call it ‘hunting.’”

  Devol, despite his apprehension, could tell that the assassin did not seem to have any interest in attacking them. He could sense the ease in his anima, something hard to fake when one consciously looked for it. Even Vaust had a difficult time doing so.

  “So what happens now?” he asked and lowered his sword as the flames began to dim and fade into ebbing light. “You have no interest in fighting us?”

  “Not really—at least right now.” Koli took a moment to look at each of them and his eyes lingered on Achroma for a slightly longer time. “You aren’t…ripe yet.”

  “Ripe?” Asla demanded and her brow furrowed, but the others decided to let it go for now.

  Jazai coughed and straightened. “If that’s the case, I guess we can thank you for…uh…” He looked at the corpse of the beast behind them. “Helping our friend. But we should probably head off now.”

  “I agree.” The assassin nodded and pushed to his feet. “And I have a thought about that.”

  Devol and Asla immediately flared their animas while Jazai waited for it to play out. The swordsman stepped forward. “And what would that be?”

  Koli held a hand out and Devol flinched instinctively, but it simply stopped a few inches in front of him. “How about I join your little party?”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The trio had to admit that amongst all they had dealt with thus far and all the thoughts and expectations they had envisaged for this day, this particular offer was not one they could ever have conceived of.

  Jazai was the first to speak. “Join us?” he asked, his voice shrill as if caught between a gasp and a laugh. “You do remember that you tried to kill us only six months ago?”

  Koli glanced at him, his arm still extended to Devol. “I do, but what does that matter?” He seemed genuinely confused. “That was months ago and besides, I’m no longer under contract and wasn’t even contracted to kill you specifically. I was hired to recover the box. You merely happened to be carrying it and wouldn’t relinquish it. If anything, you’re as responsible for me attacking you as I am.”

  “Wait, what? How do you come to that conclusion?” The diviner’s hands rested on his temples as if he tried to nurse a growing headache.

  “How do we know this isn’t a trick?” Asla demanded, her anima still up and ready.

  The assassin frowned. “I assume you think I still intend to attack you at some point?” None of them responded but that was a good as a yes to him. “Believe what you will but if it gives you any solace, if that was indeed my plan, you would already be very dead.”

  Jazai narrowed his eyes at him. “I guess that’s true, but if you want to get on our good side, you could have phrased that better.”

  “I certainly could have,” Koli agreed with the return of his smile. He looked at the swordsman and waved his hand slightly at him. “Come on now, little Devol. You’ve gone rather quiet. Do you have nothing to say?”

  Devol looked at the man’s hand, turned his sword swiftly, and slid it into the scabbard on his back. “What do you get out of this?”

>   “Company,” the magi admitted. “That and a guide. I assume you have a better plan than I do.”

  “What makes you think that?” Asla asked. “We could be as lost as you are.”

  Koli finally lowered his hand. “True but doubtful. I can’t believe those fretful Templars of yours would have let you set foot in this area without some kind of plan. Besides, you questioned me about the fact that I didn’t know the final destination, which gives me a glimmer of a thought that you do.”

  “Fair enough,” the swordsman replied and folded his arms. “What do we get out of this partnership?”

  Jazai grasped the other boy’s shoulder. “Hey, friend, can we talk to you a second?” It came out more like a demand than a question and he pulled his teammate closer to Asla. The three huddled together. He’d first thought of using the a-stones but was reluctant to reveal their existence to their erstwhile enemy. “Are you seriously thinking about letting him follow us?”

  “I do not trust him,” the wildkin grumbled. “Even knowing he is walking around puts me on edge.”

  “So you’d rather have him walking around the caves alone where we’ll have no idea where he is? If he comes with us, at least we know to keep an eye on him,” Devol responded and snuck a peek over his shoulder at Koli, who now checked his nails and seemed annoyed by the dirt he found under them.

  The swordsman’s response surprised his friends, who hadn’t thought of that. They shared a long look and seemed to sift mentally through the options before Jazai sighed in defeat. “I don’t know what is more troubling—the fact that it makes so much sense or the fact that he was the first to consider it.”