Blood and Fire (Book 3)

by Marcus Alexander

  ‘Better be less than three days,’ muttered Marsila.

  ‘– Or what manner of obstacles we might come up against, it makes sense to save our Will for when we really need it. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if we finally reached the Serpent’s Tail only to find we didn’t have the strength to open the Gateway. They’d be telling jokes at our expense for millennia to come.’

  ‘Here,’ said Marsila. Taking pity on Charlie, she passed over a small water flask. ‘Stay hydrated.’

  As Charlie took a welcome swig of the water she caught a flash of lightning in the distance. ‘There! That’s him, isn’t it?’

  The Keepers studied the small speck that wheeled and dived in the sky. Every once in a while it would let loose a barrage of flame or lightning. Oddly enough they could hear the distant rumble of thunder although it was a relatively cloudless day.

  ‘What do you think?’ said E’Jaaz. ‘Portal or flare?’

  Charlie wasn’t certain what he was suggesting but after a thoughtful pause Marsila replied, ‘I think he’s moving too fast for him to notice a Portal. Let’s go with a flare.’

  Both Keepers summoned their Will. A little slow on the uptake but rapidly learning what was expected of her, Charlie followed suit.

  ‘So we’ve stopped jogging and we’re going full splurge with the Will?’

  ‘Time and place, Charlie,’ said E’Jaaz. ‘Time and place.’

  E’Jaaz raised his hands overhead, pushing a pillar of golden flames several metres into the air. Marsila did the same thing. Charlie hesitantly copied them.

  Marsila grinned at her young companion. Even with the warpaint on her face the smile transformed her, making her seem younger and more carefree. ‘I’ve always loved doing this.’ She pushed her pillar of flame into E’Jaaz’s. The two columns of Will rose even higher and twisted round each other like lengths of spun sugar. ‘Your turn, Charlie!’

  As Charlie’s contribution merged with the others’, the pillar suddenly erupted. Spearing upward, it spat great sparks into the sky. The hair on top of her head began to move and, staring up at what she had created, Charlie’s mouth dropped open.

  For long seconds the three admired the spectacle, then one by one they dropped their hands.

  Charlie didn’t need to ask whether or not Nibbler had seen it. As she shaded her eyes from the sun she saw the black dot veer from its path. Righting itself, it sped towards them. Bit by bit the speck grew until they could distinguish spread wings, then the detail of each limb, and finally the young Winged One drew close enough for them to see the look of delight on his face.

  Collapsing his wings, he landed in a cloud of dust.

  ‘Charlie!’ He rushed over and batted his head beneath her arm so he could better nuzzle her. ‘Did you see me? With the lightning? And did you hear me do the thunder? Did you?’

  ‘Good to see you too!’ laughed Charlie. Grinning as madly as her winged friend, she hugged him back.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt,’ said E’Jaaz, ‘but after that flare Nibbler won’t be the only one coming. So before the Stomen stumble upon us, let us attend to business. Do you have the pendant?’

  Nibbler held it aloft.

  A sudden shout gave them cause to turn. A score of Rhinospiders had crested a nearby set of stone spires. Their riders pointed enthusiastically up at the Keepers. Spears held aloft, they urged their mounts forward.

  Remarkably, E’Jaaz and Marsila appeared unperturbed.

  ‘Destination?’ enquired E’Jaaz. ‘I suggest we return to the temple to study Charlie’s socket.’

  ‘Agreed,’ said Marsila. Opening a Portal, she stepped through.

  Charlie and Nibbler smirked as they realized that the Rhinospiders would never reach them in time. Unable to resist, the two waved and flung rude gestures at the approaching enemy before scampering through the Portal, leaving the enraged Stomen behind.

  12

  Temples

  The Shade sidled into the Throne Room and slithered up to Bane’s side.

  ‘Lord, the Stonesingers report that Keepers have been seen near the Winged Mount.’

  Bane’s fingers curled but did not quite form a fist. They were well and truly in the end game and this would seem to be the Keepers’ final gambit. He would counter their move and crush them. Once and for all.

  ‘I want reinforcements dispatched to the Winged Mount. Send messages to Alavis and Alacorn, to the Stubborn Citadel, to the Lowland Slump, to the Great Plains garrison and to the Chiming Ground. Inform every commander that they are to send three divisions each to the Embassy of the Winds.’

  The Shade made to leave but stopped when Bane’s hand caught it by the scruff of the neck. It tensed beneath his grasp.

  ‘Tell them speed is of the essence. Tell them all that I want those Keepers skinned and salted and their heads delivered to me before the last Sylvarisian tower burns. Understood?’

  ‘Yes, lord.’

  Bane released the Shade.

  ‘Then see it done,’ he said.

  ‘What do you think?’ asked E’Jaaz.

  Their small group stood several hundred metres distant from the temple.

  ‘Looks clear,’ said Marsila. ‘Let’s go take a look at this socket.’

  They approached the building with caution. There was an abundance of footprints but no other sign of Shades or behemoth. With no prey or easy targets the Stomen had presumably left the immediate area. But, unwilling to take any chances, Marsila sidled up to the temple and slowly poked her head through a ruined wall. Satisfied that they were indeed alone, she eased her way inside, the others following.

  ‘Here,’ said Charlie, and pointed at the carving. ‘Think I should try the pendant?’

  ‘Go for it,’ said E’Jaaz.

  Charlie pushed her pendant into the socket.

  It was a perfect fit.

  ‘Isn’t something supposed to happen?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘Focus your Will and try opening it as you would any other Gateway,’ instructed E’Jaaz.

  Licking her lips, Charlie rolled up her sleeves and called on her Will. Flames danced across her fingertips and cast odd shadows on the ceiling.

  ‘All right, here goes …’

  She directed her Will at the pendant.

  They noticed the smell first. It was a tangy mix of peach and campfire smoke. Then there was a hum, like the noise of a speeding elevator but stretched out as though coming from a great distance.

  Deciding that more power was needed, Charlie dug a little deeper.

  The pendant suddenly blazed with the luminance of a small sun. A wind picked up and all the carvings in the temple, including that of the Winged One, appeared to writhe and move. An outline of a large circular door appeared on the wall, its edges glowing with the same intensity as the pendant.

  The wind grew stronger, as did the smell, and the noise increased until it sounded like a jumbo jet was screaming overhead.

  Just as it seemed to reach a peak there came an odd clunking noise. The light flickered off, the smell of peach and woodsmoke diminished and the elevator-like noise fluttered to silence.

  ‘Wh-what?’ stuttered Charlie. She looked at her hands in astonishment; they still glowed with power. ‘What happened?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ said Marsila. She went to the wall and stroked her finger along its surface. The outline of the door had vanished. ‘It’s bit of a mystery and that’s for sure.’

  ‘It is a Gateway,’ said E’Jaaz. ‘We all saw the door.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s the wrong one,’ said Nibbler with a shrug. ‘Perhaps we should try the others. Maybe the pendant will work in one of them.’

  ‘Others?’ Marsila looked startled. ‘What others?’

  ‘Well, the other temples,’ said Nibbler. ‘I’ve seen lots of them – they’re all over the place. They’ve probably got Gateways in all of them.’

  ‘Wait. Wait just a minute.’ Marsila pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘You’re saying that not only is there
a multitude of temples in the vicinity but that each has a Gateway?’

  ‘I’m not sure about the Gateways but the temples certainly look the same. At least they do when you fly overhead. And if they look the same doesn’t it make sense for them all to have a Gateway?’

  ‘How many temples did you see?’ asked Marsila.

  ‘Um … I don’t know. A lot?’

  ‘Give me a number, Nibbler,’ insisted Marsila. ‘If you can’t be precise I’ll settle for a guess.’

  ‘Er, fifty? Sixty? Though I think there were more on the other side of the Winged Mount too.’

  Marsila shook her head. ‘That will teach me to get my hopes up. Part of me really thought we had struck gold with this find … I should have known better. Fifty to sixty temples and maybe a Gateway in each? That does not bode well for us.’

  Charlie, who had felt an initial surge of success upon seeing the glowing Gateway, was hit by a wave of disappointment. ‘Wait, let me try again. Maybe I did something wrong.’

  ‘No,’ said E’Jaaz. ‘You did it right. Before we expend any more energy on this I think it would be wise to verify Nibbler’s theory. We need to find out if there are indeed more hidden Gateways in the other temples. If there are then we’ll have to come up with a strategy for finding the right one.’

  ‘Let us put this theory to the test,’ said Marsila. ‘And let us be quick about it.’

  13

  A Study of Shadows

  Marsila’s Portal led them just shy of the ridge that they had used previously to signal to Nibbler.

  Once satisfied that the Rhinospiders and their riders had vacated the area, they jogged to the nearby temple that Charlie had previously mistaken for the one used by the Tremen. Here too Marsila urged caution and only entered the building when she was certain it was vacant.

  Inside they found another gloriously carved Winged One and, even though its design and posture were slightly different from the first, it too contained a socket.

  ‘Shall I just go for it?’ asked Charlie.

  Getting a nod of affirmation from Marsila, she repeated her earlier attempt.

  Gold light, the scent of peach and burnt wood and the peculiar elevator noise filled the room but just when it seemed as though the Gateway would open, it shut down once again.

  After the flicker of light, dwindling sound and last remnant of scent had fled the room, the three Keepers paused to take stock.

  ‘So the Hatchling was right,’ said E’Jaaz. ‘A keyhole for the pendant and a hidden Gateway in each temple.’

  ‘I don’t get it,’ said Charlie. ‘I thought the pendant was supposed to open the Winged Ones’ Gateways? Why hasn’t it worked on any of these?’

  ‘Needle in a haystack,’ said E’Jaaz.

  ‘Come again?’ said Nibbler, puzzled by his cryptic words.

  E’Jaaz chuckled wryly. ‘Ah, sorry, Nibbler. The idea’s only just come to mind but after working with your elders in the past I’ve got a good grasp of how they think. Particularly when they’re trying to be crafty. If you want to keep something hidden but someone has perhaps managed to get their hands on the key, what better way to keep that thing safe than by hiding it even further, like a needle in a haystack? Think about it – if the pendant was to fall into the wrong hands it’d make it that much harder to find the right Gateway if the thief had to sift through a hundred lures to find the right door.’

  ‘But we’re not thieves!’ protested Charlie. ‘We’re supposed to open the Gateway. Why make it harder for us?’

  ‘I don’t think it was made intentionally hard for us. From what I can gather, your parents were given all the information needed to find the right Gateway. With them missing, it falls upon us to muddle through with an incomplete picture.’

  ‘Do you really mean that?’ asked Charlie. ‘That the Winged Ones hid the real Gateway in a load of fake ones?’

  ‘Sure,’ said E’Jaaz. ‘What else could it be?’

  ‘So, uh, Gateway or decoy, it still means we’ve got to find the right temple for the pendant, doesn’t it?’ stated Charlie.

  ‘Which poses a bit of problem,’ said Marsila. ‘You said you saw fifty to sixty temples, Nibbler?’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Nibbler, ‘and maybe the same again on the other side.’

  Marsila sucked on her lip as she digested that number. ‘Checking a hundred and twenty buildings to find the right Gateway is going to be an issue. This really is like looking for that proverbial needle. If we consider the time it will take and factor in the likely increase of Stoman activity … well, the odds do not look favourable. Not at all. Charlie?’

  ‘Yes, Marsila?’

  ‘Lady Dridif informed me that you learned of this Serpent’s Tail not only from a dark god but also from a Stone Bishop.’

  ‘That’s right. Edge Darkmount,’ said Charlie. Mentioning his name caused her to grit her teeth. The despicable way he had betrayed her was something Charlie would never forget. ‘He said there was writing on the pendant, a bit like Braille which we have on Earth, that he called Hydraic script. He told me about the Serpent’s Tail after reading it but it was his dark god who told me where the actual location was.’

  ‘I can read Hydraic script,’ said Marsila.

  Charlie and E’Jaaz blinked in astonishment at that admission.

  Marsila caught their shared look. ‘What? You think I spend all my days running around adventuring and looking for fights? Pfft. I’d be a poor Keeper if I did not exercise my mind as well as my body.’

  ‘Er … how many languages do you know?’ asked E’Jaaz, clearly intrigued.

  ‘Six fluently and I can read a further two that are classed as “dead languages” and no longer used. Then I can muddle my way through another three, but far less elegantly than any of the others.’

  Again Charlie and E’Jaaz shared a look of shock. They’d had no idea that behind Marsila’s tough countenance lay a scholarly mind.

  ‘Any more questions?’ She ignored the fact that both Charlie and E’Jaaz obviously wanted to quiz her further. ‘No?’ She pretended not to see E’Jaaz’s raised hand. ‘Good, then I think it would be prudent for me to double-check that we have all the knowledge at our disposal.’

  ‘Sure,’ said Charlie, who could see the wisdom in that. Pulling the pendant over her head, she passed it to the Keeper.

  Marsila closed her eyes and lightly ran her fingers in a spiralling motion across its surface, reading the delicate bumps with her fingertips. She recited the message that was written across it.

  ‘Should Fate bar our return and darkness cover the skies use this shard to unseal the veiled Gateway. Search for us in the shadow of our mount. Find us in the Serpent’s Tail. From Wings on high seeking prey …’

  ‘Seeking prey … what? Why’d you stop?’ asked E’Jaaz.

  ‘I didn’t stop,’ said Marsila. ‘That’s all it says. It just ends like that. I think there were two or three more words but they’ve worn off. Here, look for yourselves.’

  Leaning close, the others peered to see where Marsila’s fingers were indicating. She showed them the faded patch on the pendant’s surface. It was a subtle sign of wear and tear that had not affected the pendant’s overall appearance but had had a drastic effect on its hidden message.

  ‘What do you think the missing words hinted at?’ asked Nibbler.

  Marsila shrugged. ‘I don’t know. The rest is quite straightforward. The shard to unseal the hidden Gateway is the pendant. “Our mount” means the Winged Mount. As to what “from Wings on high seeking prey” could mean … well, we can’t know. Not with the original script missing. E’Jaaz, can you think of any Winged sayings that might illuminate that passage for us?’

  ‘From Wings on high seeking prey?’ muttered E’Jaaz. ‘No. Nothing springs to mind.’

  ‘Nibbler? Any ideas?’ asked Marsila.

  ‘Uh … no.’

  ‘So we’ve got an unfinished clue and I don’t think there’s any way we can uncover the lost words,
so we’re still stuck up the creek without a paddle.’ Marsila sighed. ‘All right, people, if you’ve any ideas –’ she paused to fix Nibbler with a weighty look – ‘any intelligent ideas that is, then let’s hear them.’

  E’Jaaz cleared his throat. ‘Finding the keyhole for the pendant was a stroke of luck and I’m sure that will have saved us a lot of time. But think back to the dark god’s words – the Serpent’s Tail lies within the Winged Mount’s shadow – and what we’ve learned from the pendant itself: search for us in the shadow of our mount and find us in the Serpent’s Tail. It sounds like we’re very much on the right trail, but so far we’ve found no hint of this tail. I think that’s what we should be looking for: a temple that has or is close to something that resembles a serpent’s tail.’

  ‘How about if we split up?’ suggested Charlie. ‘Couldn’t we cover more ground that way? If we split we could check all the temples in a quarter of the time.’

  Marsila shook her head. ‘There’s only one pendant. And splitting our forces while the Stomen hunt for us is not a bright idea.’

  ‘Do you think the Serpent’s Tail could be a carving inside one of the temples?’ asked Nibbler. ‘Maybe we have to look inside each one till we find a sign?’

  ‘And what about the last line on the pendant with the missing words?’ added Charlie. ‘From Wings on high seeking something something. That could be an important clue.’

  ‘More than likely,’ admitted E’Jaaz, ‘but our dice hasn’t landed the way we would have liked and with luck being what it is … well, we work with what we’ve been given. Two out of three lines is better than none.’

  ‘How can you give up on the third line?’ asked Charlie in disbelief. ‘It could be essential!’

  Marsila looked at her like she was a complete novice. E’Jaaz, quick to keep the peace, jumped in with an explanation. ‘Charlie,’ he said, ‘out here, in the middle of a mission, we only have limited resources and a limited time span in which to work. In an ideal situation we’d have experts looking at the pendant, researching it and studying it to see if there was any way to recover its lost secrets, but –’