“True. Maybe all the fighting was what scared him away. Marcus can be dramatic. But he could've left the map because he didn't want us to suspect him.”
Tugging a black shirt over his head, and then pulling on his boots, Isaac sighed. “Good point. Guess we'd do better to make different plans.”
“No,” Edith retorted, “I'm not putting this off. Dalia mentioned it would take time to get this news back to Rothario if that's what he's planning, and waiting just gives Rothario time to set a trap. Besides, there's some good news I haven't told you yet.”
“What's that?”
Despite the situation, excitement glinted in her green eyes when she smiled and related, “My Calling's almost over. All I need after the oyalite is a mask. The ones those assassins wore tipped me off to it, and it's the last piece.”
Immediately, some of Isaac's anger over learning of Marcus' potential betrayal dulled. This was definitely good news. Masks were common items, meaning Edith's Calling could be over this very day if they played their cards right.
“Do you know what kind of mask you need yet?”
“No, but I'll figure it out,” she answered determinedly while walking over to the dresser mirror.
He had no idea why she'd chosen that moment to check herself out until her palms began glowing as she waved them over her face and down the front of her body. In the process, her looks changed, green eyes turning a glowing red with slitted pupils, and her canines were fanged. Her hair also transformed from long, ginger strands to short, choppy blonde waves.
Once the illusion was in place, Isaac couldn't help but stare with a slackened jaw. Indeed, his mate was almost a stranger, turning around to smile with a, “Tada!”
Grinning, Isaac walked over to inspect her, mentioning, “Not as sexy as your human form, but those fangs make me wanna tell you to bite me.”
Edith smirked, asking suggestively, “How about a kiss before we go instead?”
He couldn't argue with that, leaning in to capitalize, and Edith met him halfway.
Pressing tight against his body for a kiss filled with passionate affection, Isaac couldn't help feeling as if she was trying to tell him something. Perhaps she was happy knowing her Calling was nearly over, or wanted to convey her relief that he'd survived the assassin's attack?
No, this is much more. Her kiss was a show of distinct feeling—love.
As soon as he realized it, Isaac clutched her more tightly. Did she actually love him? Or did he covet her heart so much he was reading too far into things? He wanted to ask, but time was of the essence now, and the potential of Edith's love for him was all the more reason to focus on the tasks at hand.
So he savored each moment until their lips broke and she started to say breathlessly, “Okay, as much as I'd like to—oh, wow … .” Squinting, she added, “It's really bright in here.”
“Bright? Can you see better now?”
“Yeah, most illusions offer a fraction of the abilities of whatever being you're emulating. So I'm stronger with better senses, and to be honest, the scent of blood in here is starting to get to me.”
“Guess that means it's time to go,” he started, leading her to the door. “How long will this illusion last, anyway?”
“The rest of the day.”
As she answered, they found Dalia waiting in the hall outside, and she stood straight from leaning against the wall when the door opened. “Hey, you guys ready … damn, Edith. Is that you?”
As if a stroke to her ego, the mage smirked, fluffing her blonde hair. “Like it?”
Dalia grinned. “If you were going for unrecognizable, you hit the nail on the head.”
“Then we're definitely ready,” Edith announced, taking Dalia's hand when offered.
Isaac grasped the other in turn, and the demoness immediately teleported them to the subterranean castle ruin.
The old, worn down courtyard they appeared in only moments later had vines covering the walls and granite pathways cracked by various cave-ins. A few towers stood tall in the distance beneath the massive cavern roof, crumbling from the passage of time, and the sound of running water could be heard, suggesting an underground reservoir of some type was nearby.
Edith looked around the area with extreme curiosity in her currently red eyes. But there was no time to explore as Dalia led them to one of several glossy, metallic spheres settled upon various pedestals in a circle around the yard. The runic symbols etched into the surface of each differed from the next, and when she placed her hand on the one for Perosia, a bright wash of light enveloped the magical item, causing it to disappear.
In its place, a portal opened, resembling a puddle of water standing perpendicular to the ground. When Dalia passed through it, her body created ripples that spread out to the edges.
Taking a breath, Isaac glanced at Edith and asked, “Ready?”
She nodded determinedly, taking his hand in a firm hold, and as they stepped toward the mystical doorway, Isaac couldn't help thinking here goes everything.
Thirty-One
• • •
Lower Quarter, Perosia
“A gas mask?”
“No.”
“A ski mask?”
“Nope.”
“Oxygen mask? Surgical mask, Halloween mask?”
Edith shook her head at each one, and Isaac grumbled, unsure how many more masks he could think of. Ever since they'd used the portal sphere and began their trip to the mine, he and Dalia had been throwing out as many types as possible, but Edith continually denied them.
Still, Isaac was too focused on watching their surroundings to let irritation get the better of him—and all things considered, the so-called realm of darkness Perosia was renowned for being wasn't as dark as he'd expected. Then again, it was midday, and despite two suns shining in the distance, the sky was closer in tone to that of a late, Terran evening with a dusky, purplish hue.
So things were likely to be pitch black once those suns set.
“You know, this is nothing like what I expected,” Edith commented as if she knew what he was thinking. “I thought we'd be dealing with a barren wasteland or something, but it's really nice here.”
Making their way along a dirt path winding through several trees, Isaac didn't disagree. As far as looks went, Perosia was scenic thus far. The portal sphere took them to a wooded area with a high canopy of branches fanning out above, and hanging vines with flowering buds curled toward the ground. Every now and again, a small animal would skitter by without bothering them, leaving their trek peaceful.
Already, they'd passed two of the landmarks Vulen listed in his directions, leaving just one to go—and the ease of travel only fed Isaac's growing sense of wariness.
Ever since they'd arrived, his gut instincts had been sounding alarms. The last time he'd heard such warnings so loudly was in the Pit, and he couldn't shake the feeling that if things went downhill here, they'd do so quickly.
So he remained silent, intently watching their surroundings while Dalia told Edith, “Some of the animals in this region are extremely dangerous, but they're nocturnal.”
Edith conceded the point with a nod. “I just hope we're not here long enough to see them.”
“We won't be,” Dalia pointed out as they started up a hill. “Look, there's the statues Vulen mentioned.”
Gesturing ahead, they could see the final landmark coming into view—two statues depicting Peros, the God of Darkness, standing twenty feet tall on each side of a gravel street.
As they moved over the hill and down toward the road to pass between them, Isaac looked up at the monuments, realizing that beneath the hooded cloaks they were carved with, neither had been given a face. He wondered if that meant Perosians had no idea what Peros looked like, or if it was meant to reflect the deity's connection to mystery and secrets.
He also questioned what the Dark God truly thought of the way his people were being governed by Rothario, and how the Dok'aal had been subjugated.
But
if the prophecy was any indication, Peros didn't approve.
Since escaping the Pit, Isaac had learned that the Pantheon usually worked in such backhanded ways; Ulric became extremely proficient at killing vampires after suffering at their hands for years. In turn, Charlotte was being targeted by vampires when the couple met. So his skills inevitably saved her life.
Isaac didn't buy into any religion, but that type of circumstance made him curious about how things might come to pass with Rothario, and the possible reasons for his long stint on Perosia's throne. Was there some divine reason the Steward had been allowed to rule for so long? A multitude of reasons?
If so, it was likely they'd never actually find out. So he put his focus back on their walk, trying to recall the map's directions. “A side entrance into the mine is supposed to be right over the next hill after passing the statues, right?”
Dalia nodded silently, looking up through the thinning forest canopy offering glimpses of the snowy mountain peaks sloping down toward the area. They were definitely close enough to find an entrance at the base nearby, and as soon as the thought struck, it came into view.
Moving down an incline, Isaac slowed to a stop with Edith to his left and Dalia on his right. Several meters ahead was a rock wall with a large tunnel at the base. Wooden supports were built into the entrance with a metal track running a path inside, and it was quiet.
The only people around were two Dok'aal workers sitting near the rocky slope as if enjoying a rare break.
“Doesn't look like anyone's here,” Dalia mentioned. “Just a few slaves.”
She hadn't spoken the word so much as growled it, and Edith asked, “Do you think they'd be too loyal to their masters to listen to reason and let us inside?”
“It's hard to say,” she muttered. “Dok'aal are spirited, but if they've been broken … ”
Isaac knew where she was going. Even slaves fought to protect their owners, usually because slavery was the only life they knew. Many were broken down, or raised to believe it was simply their place, and even if these Dok'aal didn't, they might fight just to avoid punishment.
So he agreed. “Yeah, it's better if we stay hidden.”
“And teleporting's out of the question,” Dalia qualified in irritation.
Looking over at them, Edith reminded, “I can make us invisible, and it won't cost much magic.”
“You sure about that?” Isaac asked, wanting to be careful with what remained of her energy.
She nodded emphatically. “It'll take less if it's only you and I, and we'll have to hold hands because I won't use enough magic to allow us to see each other. Besides, even if you could teleport inside, we might end up in a room full of people. So it's the better option.”
“True,” he conceded, then asked Dalia, “You gonna be okay waiting out here?”
Dalia scoffed as if his concern was misplaced. “Go on. I'll be fine.”
Nodding, Isaac waved a hand at Edith and said, “Alright, do your stuff.”
Taking his hand, their fingers laced together while Edith cast her spell with slow building glows of light surrounding their bodies for a few brief moments. Once they dimmed, she'd disappeared from his vision completely, and though Isaac could still see himself, his body was translucent.
“Okay, let's go,” Edith remarked, tugging on his hand.
Somewhat awkwardly, he moved in behind her. It wasn't the first time Isaac had been invisible, but he'd never tried to navigate with someone he couldn't see before, and who couldn't see him in turn.
Still, they made it to the entrance without falter, slipping past the Dok'aal unseen. But the real test was navigating the tunnels to find what they needed.
“Should we follow the tracks?” Edith asked.
“Seems like the best idea to me.”
Heading down the main entrance without incident, things remained just as quiet as they'd been outside—and the further along the track they got, the warier Isaac became.
Was it just a stroke of luck that no one was around? Perhaps the daylight hours had them at rest, or everyone was working in other areas. But the only distant sounds he could detect were a few random creaks of metal and tumbling rocks, which did nothing to quell his wariness.
So by the time they rounded the first turn, Isaac was in full survival mode, ready to kill whoever got in their way.
Just ahead was a fork in the road, the track splitting to travel between two separate tunnels. The right was wider, and Isaac was about to suggest taking that path when Edith squeezed his hand and mentioned, “I'm having trouble seeing.”
The comment reminded him that her illusion only offered a fraction of a true Perosian's abilities, and he hadn't realized just how much the light from the entrance had diminished the further inside they went. So he reevaluated their options. While the right tunnel was wider, the left was brighter, as if torches were lit somewhere in the connecting caverns.
“Hold on,” he started, latching an arm around Edith, then leaned, slipping his hand down her back until he found her knees.
As soon as he had, he plucked her up from the ground without pause, carrying her toward the left tunnel with ease.
The light emanating from within soon started growing brighter due to a burning torch anchored to the wall. But though it would allow Edith to see, Isaac didn't put her down, opting to carry her so he'd know exactly where she was if trouble popped up.
More tumbling rocks could be heard from the passageway ahead, which was growing tightly narrow. It made him wonder if he'd actually chosen a dead end route until he noticed … twinkling lights ahead?
“Oh, that's pretty,” Edith remarked softly as they drew closer to the end of the passage, emerging in a much larger cavern possessing walls that seemed to glitter—with oyalite.
The tracks they'd followed met with another line traveling through a second connecting tunnel to the left, and to the right? Several trolleys stood idly on the cavern floor, some empty, others filled to the brim with the raw metal ore.
Isaac could almost hear the smile in Edith's voice when she said, “This is exactly what I—oh crap.”
Her muttered declaration came when they both reappeared, the invisibility spell wearing off. As Isaac put her down, Edith looked herself over—still in Perosian form with short blonde hair—and mentioned, “Guess I could've put a little more juice into it.”
“Doesn't matter. We know the way out is clear, so let's just get the ore and go,” Isaac returned, that same gut instinct telling him they needed to hurry.
Nodding, Edith started rummaging through the contents of a trolley for a chunk of rock, and thankfully, it didn't take long before she was storing a piece in her cache.
“Okay, got it. Come on.”
Taking Isaac's hand to leave, he turned and made it two steps before coming to a sudden stop. There, without any warning, a scalding pain erupted on his upper back.
The mute was flaring for no reason.
Or, he thought as he fell to his knees, the reason hasn't shown its ugly face yet.
Thirty-Two
• • •
“Isaac!”
Edith quickly knelt at his side with no idea what was going on. One minute, they were leaving, and the next, he was collapsing onto his knees.
Grasping his arm, she asked, “What's wrong?”
“The mute,” he growled in pain. “It's burning like hell.”
“What? Why?”
Edith attempted to come up with some rational explanation for why his mute was now causing him pain, but didn't have the time before a strange voice qualified, “Because you're leaving prematurely, and what kind of host would I be without paying a visit before your departure from Perosia?”
The voice had come from the tunnel opposite the one she and Isaac had used to enter the cavern. Glancing toward it, Edith saw a tall, thin man wearing finely tailored silk robes of red and black, and a headdress with a matching mask made of oyalite and gold covered the top half of his face.
&nb
sp; Before she could question his identity, he raised his hand, signaling to someone in the corridor behind him—and ten imperial guards teleported into the cavern, surrounding Edith and Isaac with sharp swords pointing in their direction.
The sight of them could only mean the masked man was Rothario.
Yet, and despite the danger this new development posed, Edith's gaze was glued to that mask with a single thought in mind; That's it! His mask is the one I need!
She could have her staff within minutes if she could just lure him close enough to grab it. The only question was how? With her magic running low, ten royal guards separating her from Rothario, and Isaac in too much pain to create a diversion—not that he even knew what she needed precisely—her options were severely limited.
But keeping Rothario around was definitely key.
As she had the thought, another figure entered the cavern from the tunnel behind Rothario, and Edith immediately scowled.
“Marcus!”
The mage frowned, looking between her and Rothario while exclaiming, “I'm sorry, Edith! I didn't have a choice! I … I needed a starry diamond for my staff, and they're only found in Perosia. So I came looking and … he found me.”
The Steward smirked, turning his gaze in Marcus' direction. “You've kept your end of our deal, mage, so take this with my blessing.”
From his robe, Rothario produced a diamond that glittered like the nighttime sky, even with as little light as there was in the cavern. But Marcus didn't look entirely happy as he reached for it, possibly experiencing a vast amount of guilt—and Edith truly wanted to believe Rothario hadn't given him a choice.
But no matter what deal they'd struck, she couldn't be angry at her fellow mage anyway. As soon as his fingers touched the gem, Rothario swiftly drew a curved dagger with his opposing hand and mercilessly stabbed it into the back of Marcus' throat.
The blade protruded beneath his chin with a gush of blood, and all of Edith's animosity became solely focused on Rothario. The Steward was more concerned with the starry diamond than the mage he'd just killed, returning it to the safety of his pocket as Marcus' body fell to the floor with the dagger still embedded in his neck.
The Final Calling Page 27