Ran nodded. If Bear ever showed up again, he would. “You and Bear would like each other.” Ran looked at his stuffed companion lying forlorn several feet away. “Why did you abandon me Bear? Did I do something wrong?”
J.C. picked up Bear and wiped the dust off his button eyes. “I’m sure you didn’t do anything. There’s a lot happening. More than I’d realized. Your Bear might be helping someone else. Someone who doesn’t have your father or me to look after him.”
Oh, well that was a reason Ran could understand. It didn’t make Bear’s absence hurt any less, though. I still wish Bear was here. Ran kept that selfish desire to himself, but J.C.'s dark eyes softened as if he’d spoken that wish aloud. Ran sniffed and reached for Bear. His fuzzy friend might not be able to talk anymore, but he was still huggable, and Ran needed a hug right now. But J.C. wasn’t finished with him yet.
With a flourish, J.C. produced a ribbon as silver as Rat Woman’s eyes and looped it around Bear’s thick neck. It shined in the crystal light like the Queen of All Trees’ bark.
“Not too tight, Bear has to breathe.”
“Right you are.”
J.C. smiled and tied the ribbon with care. When he finished, light skipped over Bear’s fur restoring him. It faded as J.C. handed Ran the new and improved version of Bear.
“There, now he’s got a proper home to return to. I spruced it up a little. Teddy bears tend to recuperate slowly. Let’s keep that just between the two of us, okay?” J.C. winked and Ran nodded as he added another secret to his collection.
“Thank you.” Ran gave Bear a one-armed hug and smiled when the crystal light made Bear’s ribbon sparkle. But thinking about Bear made Ran sad, so he changed the subject. “Where’d you go before?”
“I took a page from the enemy’s playbook and tempted a repenting soul to help us. Since the Adversary is acting through human agents, I must too.”
“How’d you do that?” Ran sat up, interested in the conversation.
“By appearing to him, though I couldn’t split my essence enough to fully manifest. There’s too much darkness here, and it feeds the Adversary, strengthening his power and weakening mine. I pray I got through.”
J.C. winced as the cross leaned hard against his back and almost drove him to his knees. Faces appeared in the wood, wailing in agony then they vanished, and Papa stirred.
“Papa!”
Forgetting their danger, Ran dropped the pendant. Darkness pounced on him, and skeletal hands seized his arms. Ran fought them until a pair of strong arms enfolded him.
Papa held him tight. “I’ve got you.”
“But who’s got you?” Ran asked right before the fog bank rolled over him.
Without the Right Tools
The rock struck the Queen of All Trees’ shield and it winked out. Thirteen men and women plummeted into the pit toward peals of laughter.
“Thanks for the sacrifice.”
“They aren’t for you,” the Adversary said through his finest creation yet—the wraith once known as ‘Cris.’
“What is thy command?” Cris asked.
“Catch those who fall. Let none reach the beast in the pit. They aren’t for him.”
“Yes, master.”
As Cris dove into the pit, a set of super-sized vulture wings erupted from his back, and the world blurred.
The Adversary jumped out of the wraith’s mind into Dirk’s. Donning the conman’s body like an ill-fitting suit, he pulled on the store of magic everyone in this country possessed and drove those about to jump back from the edge.
“Flee sinners, live free of my lies. Away from your dark Father fly! Flee sinners, live free of my lies. I command you, comply. Flee sinners, live free of my lies.”
The crowd halted and regarded their surroundings with confused eyes. At least they weren’t marching off the edge anymore. No sacrifices for you, creature of the pit. Not today.
Cris shot out of the pit with thirteen still-living souls clinging to his body.
“Set them on the precipice. Urge them to flee.”
“Yes, Master.”
Cris banked his wings and dropped off his human cargo. They didn’t need any persuading to run for their lives, but they moved a fraction of a second too slow. Tentacles shot out of the pit and seized them. Cris freed two of them, but it was no good. More and more tentacles sailed toward the precipice and those still fleeing.
“Come to me,” the Adversary recalled his wraith and turned Cris toward the real prize—the soul trap. “Guard it. I’ll be right back.”
Dirk collapsed, knocking the Adversary out of his body. He’d drained the lout. Damn, I need more magic. The blinking conman vanished under a wave of black just when he was starting to come around.
“No! It’s too soon. The Question hasn’t finished yet.”
The Adversary shifted back to the tunnel where he’d left Sarn, but it wasn’t far enough. The black lumir’s nullifying essence had engulfed the tunnel, and something had changed. That boy was veiled by the Queen of All Trees’ spell again. Damn it.
But how could that be? The black lumir crystal’s touch should have shattered that spell. What was it tied to—black lumir’s antithesis?
I must have that mage. He must be here somewhere. The Adversary felt around until his hand touched flesh. Sarn’s magic was gone—well, the elemental part of his magic. The curse breaking one was still there but barred from use by the unfinished Question.
If the black lumir crystal sucked in enough magic, would its nullification field grow strong enough to affect other types of magic, like the primal forces—white and black magic or the forces of creation and destruction? One of those powered his soul trap.
The Adversary ripped another thorn from his side to anchor one last spell—if he could get it to take root.
“This isn’t over yet, boy.” The Adversary seized Sarn and forced the thorn down his throat. “Magic-stealer, take his light. Live ‘till again we’ve shared slights. My mark binds you to this plight: life you’ll have while you feel my bite.”
Thank the devil, black magic isn’t affected by that damned black lumir crystal’s nullifying touch yet. But for how long would that exclusion last?
It was time to collect his soul trap and go. His mission was accomplished. Later, he'd finish things with Sarn if the young man survived.
No mundanity for you, my lamb. That was never in the cards. The Adversary patted Sarn’s cheek then let go. He shifted back to the Ægeldar just in time to see invisible fingers pluck at his soul trap.
No! The Adversary stepped from the mortal plane to the spirit one—where the souls he'd trapped milled around in their spherical prison. Below them, a baby cyclone swirled, picking up speed as it ate the magic flowing into its nullifying heart. And there, approaching Mount Eredren from the north was the epicenter of an enormous vortex generated by that damned priestess what's her name’s black lumir crystal. What would happen when the two fronts collided on the spiritual and magical planes?
What the hell are you doing, girlie? You’re supposed to destroy the enchanted forest not interfere with my plans.
Grinding his teeth in frustration, the Adversary cast about and located the last two souls he owned. They were at the bottom of the pit for some reason. Dropping into the pit, he stepped past the twisted lie maintaining the Ægeldar's unlife and ripped Villar’s and Dirk’s souls from their dying bodies. It's time you proved your worth.
Shaping the fools into wraiths took only a moment. Stripping away their memories took longer, but he was tired of the charade and blank slates didn't ask questions about their former mates. He tossed his newly-minted minions into the air when he was satisfied with them. Later he could fill in the gaps. Right now, he needed eyes on that damned priestess and some way to convince her to go away for a while.
Their wings snapped out as both wraiths struggled to get the hang of their new bodies.
“What is thy command,” they asked in unison.
“You, go help, Cris.
Do what he commands.” He pointed to Villar, and the shadow flew upward. “You, locate this woman and call me.”
The Adversary sent Dirk an image of Aralore and impressed his will on the wraith. When Dirk took off in search of her, he carried a piece of the Adversary with him, making their connection so strong, he could see out of Dirk’s dark-enhanced eyes, hear through his augmented ears and take over his flying vessel when he saw a familiar shape creeping along the Seekers' back trail.
Checkmate, my dear. The Adversary smiled as his plans shifted back on track.
When something tugged his son away from the shelter of his arms, Sarn tightened his grip and kicked out. His foot struck something hard and sent it flying. Sarn opened his eyes to a familiar black mist. He was neck-deep in it with the most important person in his life huddled in his arms.
Needing to be held, Ran curled into him, returning his embrace with all his might, and Sarn shifted so his back was to the grasping things. Ran was now safe between him and the wall.
After being tried in the court of magic, Sarn needed to just hold his son and work out what the hell was happening because he'd missed something during his mental absence. But everything from before the ‘Question’ was more than a bit hazy until white light stabbed at the mist, pushing it back. Everything finally clicked—someone exposed a black lumir crystal to the air. Who would do such a stupid thing?
One name leaped to mind—Dirk and his cronies. Sarn reached for his head map to search for that worthy’s icon, but it didn't spawn. The black lumir crystal must have knocked it out. Damn. I should do something about that before it drains me any further.
Sarn freed a hand and the pendant hanging around his neck flew into his palm. Its light carved out a clear space free of the magic-stealing mist and those annoying wraiths. It also cleared out some of the cobwebs in his mind.
“What is this black stuff?” J.C. asked.
“It’s something black lumir crystals generate, and it eats magic.”
J.C. stared at him as if he’d solved the riddle of the ages. “That’s how he did it. With the magic gone, people would feel its lack. Nature abhors a vacuum. So, the Adversary filled their emptiness with his purpose. That’s why it didn’t affect everyone. The believers were already full, so there was nowhere for the Adversary’s purpose to go.”
Screams echoed through the tunnel followed by the thunder of many, many running feet. Stones crashed down somewhere ahead in a recognizable pattern.
“It can’t be free.”
“What’s happening?”
Ran huddled against Sarn’s chest, making it hard to rise. Half his body refused to respond—the half covered in dense black writing.
“What can’t be free?” J.C. asked.
“The Ægeldar,” Sarn breathed and in his arms, Ran shivered. “There’s a monster in the Ægeldar with the black lumir crystals. If one is free, then both are.” Sarn tried again to stand. “We need to get away before it comes here.”
“Here, give me your hand and I’ll pull you up.”
Sarn freed his unmarked hand but stopped short of touching J.C. He was unclean. He had no right to touch such a spotless soul.
While he hesitated, something punched through the wall across from him, sending rocks flying. Sarn extended his hand to cast a shield around them, but nothing happened. The green magic, the power of stones and protection, the one he used to make shields, was gone—drained by the black lumir crystal or forfeited when the Question was interrupted.
All he had left was a flickering flame buried deep inside him. When he reached for it, his hand passed right through that white fire—there was no power to grasp or shape. For the first time in his entire life, he had no magic at his beck and call, just his wits. That emptiness was a fierce ache begging to be filled. Sarn hugged his son, and Ran returned the embrace.
“It’s happening again—the m-monster is free,” Ran clung to him as another tentacle broke through.
“I won't let them get you.”
Sarn dodged the falling debris, jinking to evade two more tentacles. Can they sense me or something? Why are they all breaking through right here? There are other tunnels in the Lower Quarters. Thank Fate, none of the tentacles had eyes. They were stuck feeling about for prey. Hopefully, they didn’t have ears either.
Sarn halted just beyond the grasping tentacle’s reach. “J.C.! Where are you?”
When the air cleared, a mountain of rubble blocked the tunnel but there was no sign of J.C. just six tentacles feeling along the broken stones.
“J.C.?” Sarn set his son down and started climbing, but Ran wrapped his arms around his leg. When he glanced back, Ran just shook his head. Tears tracked down his dusty little face. They leaked out of a pair of wide, scared eyes. Sarn rubbed his son’s back.
“I’ll just see if he’s ok. You stay here out of the monster’s reach, okay?”
Ran shook his head and squeezed his captured leg harder. His little shoulders shook with silent sobs. Torn between staying and going, Sarn shouted for J.C. one last time.
“I’m here. We’ve been cut off. Perhaps that’s for the best.” Find your brother and help your Queen. Leave the Adversary to me.”
“I can make a hole. We can still accompany you.”
“No, I couldn’t in good conscience expose you or your son to the Adversary.”
“Because it took my magic?”
J.C. didn't answer.
“I can still help.”
I can still be a hero. Sarn shifted one of the rocks aside but stopped when the ones above it rocked. I never guess wrong. I always know which rock to move. Because his magic had always shown him which stones would bring the whole thing crumbling down, but that power was gone. Eyes burning with unshed tears, Sarn punched the wall but remembered in time to pull the blow. Without magic, those rocks could break his hand.
And in his mind’s eye, a sun-drenched field of valor stretched to the horizon. The shining warrior he’d wanted to be since childhood turned his steed and rode away, taking his dream with him. The image crumpled and faded into the white glow of his pendant.
J.C. sighed instead of answering.
Yes, Sarn was being excluded because he had no magic. Without it, he was useless in this fight. The realization hit Sarn harder than anything he’d seen during that trip through his memories.
“It is because my magic is gone. You need the kind of help I can no longer give.”
“It can’t be gone.” Ran stared at him. “It’ll come back. Last time you just needed to—what did Bear say? —recuperate.”
Sarn shook his head. This time was different. He felt empty and dark as if all his light was extinguished. This time his magic was gone for good. “I didn’t choose in time. The black lumir hit me when I was still wavering. It took everything but a small ember, and I can’t touch that.”
“Don’t touch it. That ember’s keeping you alive. You were made to store and shape magic. Without it, your body doesn’t know how to function.”
“So, there’s a chance I can get it back?” Sarn wished he could see J.C.’s face.
Do I want it back? Right now, yes, he did. Magic was useful in a crisis, and he felt naked without it. But once the crisis passed, what then? Did he want to be tied to that power and a life of constant danger?
“Papa, I want to go, now. I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want to fight m-monsters. I want to go home.” Tears washed the dust from Ran’s cheeks.
“Whether you want it back or not, finish the trial. It’s called the ‘Question’ for a reason. You must answer it. It’ll hang over your head until you do, putting pressure on the world’s balance.”
“You mean the cross you bear.”
“Yes, for my sake, please finish the trial.”
“How do I answer it?”
“Do you want it back?”
That gave Sarn pause. All the arguments for and against clamored for his attention until he silenced them. “Jerlo, my master, can he bind me to someth
ing I don’t want?” His gut said no because then he would be bound to a lie. And I can’t lie.
“You already know the answer to that.”
“That’s what I thought.” Sarn ground his teeth.
Then at some point in my screwed-up teen years, I wanted normalcy. I wanted a life without magic. Do I still? Sarn leaned against the rubble pile as an unexpected answer welled up from the bottom of his soul.
“Until you know what you want, you’ll stay as you are. I’d like to help you, but this is a decision only you can make. Thank you for all your help. Be safe my friends. Whatever you decide, you have my support.”
“Thank you.” Sarn pushed off the mountain of rubble and knew what he had to do.
“What about the many-armed m-monster?” Ran’s grip loosened just a hair, but it was enough to free Sarn’s leg. He scooped up his son and hugged him.
J.C. didn’t answer. Maybe he’d already left on his mission.
“I think we’re taking it on again.”
“But we can’t, not without Bear or the Queen Tree. Or we’ll lose.”
Because you have no magic, rasped Sarn’s conscience.
Then it’s time I find out how resourceful I can be. I’m not endangering my son. Sarn tightened his grip and turned his back on the rock pile to assess his options by crystal light. Not having glowing eyes would take some getting used to—if this state is permanent. I’m not convinced it is. Nothing in my life has been set in stone, so why should this be?
Another tear rolled down Ran’s cheek. “I want Bear. Why isn’t he here?”
“I know. I wish that sarcastic ghost was here too, but he’s not—” Sarn stopped as a familiar fuzzy head reared up. A tentacle had wrapped around Ran’s favorite toy, and it receded, taking Bear with it.
“Rat Woman brought it to me,” Ran said with a shrug while Sarn stared at the surreal tableau.
“Rocks and ripples,” Nolo murmured in the back of his mind presaging a familiar lecture about the ‘little things' in life, and why Sarn shouldn't neglect them.
I'll bet he never envisioned this scenario. Sarn shook his head and refocused on the equally bizarre conversation.
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