“Fisher?” frowned Marak. “What are you doing here?”
Fisher sighed and explained the whole thing over again. Marak opened the door with the mark of the Torak on it and ushered everyone through it. In Changragar, they continued through to Khadoratung. When they reached the capital city, Emperor Marak entered the library and sat at one of the tables. He invited Fisher to sit with him.
“I should have realized that I could not keep a secret from you for long,” smiled the Torak. “The problem is, now we know that others can stumble across the doors. We must make preparations to secure ourselves from their use by enemies.”
“Then perhaps this day has proved worthwhile after all,” Fisher replied sheepishly. “If it is any consolation, I have arranged for a new spy to go to the Island of Darkness. His only purpose is to notify us of the time of the attack.”
“We have already had an attack,” reported Emperor Marak. “The Sakovan city of Duran no longer exists. That is why I left the palace in such a fashion.”
“Then it has begun,” Fisher nodded slowly. “I would like permission to use the doors. It will help me gather information.”
“Consider it done,” nodded Marak, “but always remain aware that your entry to the doors must be stealthy.”
“After today,” frowned Fisher, “I shall never make that mistake again.”
Chapter 7
Death of a Mage
Shouts rang out from every direction as the search spread outward. This was the second day of searching for the dark mage, and the patrols had kept Aakuta on his toes. Aakuta crawled to one side of the large tree in the forest and stuck his head out to see what was going on behind the temple.
A large column of soldiers was standing at attention. Aakuta started counting them and then realized that there were ten soldiers for each mage standing in front of the soldiers. He counted the mages instead and frowned when he realized how many soldiers were being added to the search. He would have little chance of avoiding them this day.
Aakuta grunted with pain and pulled his head back behind the tree. The pain was more intense now that the curse had been lifted. Aakuta had known the moment that Dobuk released the curse. His body instantly screamed from every pore. Old wounds that had been dull and almost forgotten screamed anew. Without Lady Mystic’s potions, he would have already killed himself.
Aakuta frowned when he thought about the potions. Lady Mystic had been far off in her estimate. While she thought one potion might last an hour, each had actually lasted for four hours. The problem Aakuta faced now was that he had just consumed the last of the potions. He had only four hours to find a way out of his predicament before he became totally insane and took his own life.
Aakuta felt the effects of the last potion kick in. A warm glow flowed through his body, and his nerves dulled as the aches and pains subsided. He sighed with relief.
The noise behind the temple increased dramatically and Aakuta peeked around the tree again. His brow creased heavily as he saw the soldiers breaking up into groups. The mages were taking control of their soldiers and pointing the direction to start the search. Several of the mages pointed towards the forest where Aakuta was hiding. Aakuta knew that it was time to flee.
The dark mage pushed himself off the ground and stood behind the large tree. His eyes swept the forest as he plotted his path through the trees. He closed his eyes and memorized the path because there was no way that he would be able to see the trees later.
Aakuta called for his spell of fog and let it build around his feet. He knew that the fog would alert the soldiers to his location, but he had no choice. If he just ran, they would easily see him now that they had decided to search outside the city. Already the soldiers were getting closer.
When the density of fog had risen greatly, Aakuta snapped his wrist and sent the cloud outward in a circle. He immediately started running as the shouts of alarm drifted on the air. He kept his eyes open, not that it mattered much. The fog was so thick that he could not see his hand if he extended his arm out before himself. He counted numbers in his head and altered his course when he thought he was at the point to do so.
The fog was not the perfect plan for escape, but it was the best that he had at the moment. If he could put enough distance between the soldiers and himself, he could veer off to either side and circle around behind the searchers. Once behind them, he would seek a new place to hide.
Aakuta debated between veering to the right and the dense forest at the foot of the mountains, or angling to the left and the jungle along the shore of the island. As the sound of his pursuers grew more distant behind him, he knew that he had to choose soon. He was almost out of the fog, and he was rapidly losing his breath.
Aakuta chose to turn to the left and headed for the jungle. That was when he slammed right into a tree. He grunted loudly as the impact took his breath away, and he toppled to the ground.
“Off to the left,” a shouted voice drifted through the fog. “I heard him.”
Aakuta cursed under his breath and scrambled to his feet. He wondered what he would do now that he had not shaken his pursuers. Surely he could turn and attack the soldiers magically. He still did have the power to kill a great number of them, but each group also had a mage with it. And what would be the point of killing a hundred of Vand’s soldiers anyway? Vand already had more soldiers than he knew what to do with. Aakuta shook his head as he ran as fast as he could towards the jungle. The fog lessened somewhat and then suddenly disappeared completely. Aakuta instantly measured the distance to the jungle and tried to estimate how far behind him the pursuers must be. It would be a close race.
Aakuta saw a small trail leading into the jungle. He veered slightly to head for it. As he tore along the small trail into the deep foliage of the jungle, he chanced a look over his shoulder. The first of the pursuers was just emerging from the fog. The dark mage cursed as one of the soldiers shouted and pointed directly at Aakuta. He had been too slow in his dash to the jungle.
Gasping for breath, his heart pounding wildly, Aakuta halted as the trail made a sharp bend. He quickly wove an air tunnel and directed it far off towards the left. He cursed loudly into his cupped hands and the sound came out at the end of the air tunnel. He heard his pursuers shout and then heard the thrashing as dozens of soldiers left the trail and started tromping through the dense undergrowth towards the distant sound.
Aakuta slowly and quietly stepped off the trail to the right. He was careful not to disturb the foliage along the trail as he picked his way deeper into the jungle. The going was slow through the dense jungle, but it gave Aakuta the time he needed to catch his breath. His body was not up to the exertion that he was putting it through. He knew that the diversion would not fool his pursuers for long, but without the ability to breathe, he could not have run much further anyway.
Slowly Aakuta made his way through the thick jungle, the shouts of the soldiers falling away behind him. When he could no longer hear the soldiers, Aakuta dropped to the ground and rested. The dark mage reclined on his back and stared up at the sky. As he watched the clouds drift overhead, he tried to figure out what he would do next. His time was running out.
Suddenly, Aakuta heard the foliage moving off to his right. At first he thought it might be a large snake moving about, but several noises came in unison. The dark mage swallowed hard as he realized that someone was near. Slowly, he rolled over onto his stomach and rose to his knees. His eyes opened wide as he scanned the thick jungle for any signs of movement. When he finally saw one of the soldiers, Aakuta thought his heart would stop beating; his pulse was pounding in his ears.
As Aakuta slowly swiveled his head, he saw a wide swath of soldiers moving cautiously through the jungle. They were making every effort to do so silently, and they had almost succeeded. Already they were far too close for Aakuta to make a run for it.
The soldiers were spread out in a long line, ten abreast. Aakuta could not see the mage. Aakuta had stopped in a small clearing to
rest. Now he looked to each side of him for a place to hide. On his left was a tree with its roots exposed; the mound of soil that used to cover the roots was long gone. Aakuta crawled silently towards the tree.
As the sounds of the soldiers came closer, Aakuta wiggled his way under the tree. The underside of the tree was hollowed out, termites swarming in and out of the porous wood. Aakuta twitched as he pulled in his legs and shoved his head upward into the rotted tree. The termites swarmed all over his body, but the dark mage remained frozen.
Moments later, Aakuta heard a soldier pass nearby. The pursuers were moving slowly and methodically, hoping to catch Aakuta in a moment of laxness. Suddenly a voice softly intruded the quiet jungle air.
“Perhaps I was wrong,” the voice said. “I thought for sure that the old fool would go in the opposite direction of the supposed noise. Let’s head back towards the trail.”
“Do you think the others have caught up to him yet?” asked one of the soldiers as they gathered together not far from the tree.
“Not a chance,” replied the voice of the mage. “That old man is a wily one. Let the others run through the jungle searching for Aakuta. We will be the ones to find him. I think I am beginning to understand how he thinks. I am willing to bet that he did come this way, but something must have turned him back. We will return to the trail and head towards the beach for a thousand paces. Then we will slip into the jungle again and try this one more time. We will find him. I want to personally present his head to Vand.”
Aakuta shivered as he recognized the voice. It was the voice of Xavo, the mage who had beat him near the temple not long ago. Aakuta burned with fury at the thought of Xavo being the one to find him. As the group moved towards the trail, Aakuta slithered out from under the tree. He brushed off the termites and decided that he knew what he would do next. If he were going to die in a matter of hours when the potion wore off, he would at least have the pleasure of ridding the world of Xavo before he died.
Aakuta rose and saw Xavo forty paces away walking towards the trail. The ten soldiers were already another twenty paces in front of the mage. Aakuta moved as swiftly as he could without making any noise. He was within several paces of Xavo when he made a noise that attracted everyone. A branch snapped when he stepped on it. The soldiers turned around immediately and shouted with recognition.
Aakuta grinned menacingly when he saw the soldiers all in a knot. He swiftly cast the Chula spell of death. Several balls of light sped towards the soldiers. The balls flattened into discs as they traveled, and the discs sprouted sharp blades of light. Aakuta was aware of shouts coming from every direction as the blades of light ripped into the clump of soldiers. Body parts flew through the air in a bloody mist.
Xavo was taken by surprise by the attack. Although he thought he figured out how Aakuta thought, he was wrong. He was also slow to react. Aakuta tried to take advantage of that slowness, but Xavo managed to get off a fireball at Aakuta, hitting the dark mage in the chest. Pain ripped through Aakuta, and he fell to the ground from the force of the projectile. Aakuta’s robe was on fire, and he ripped at it, tossing shreds of burning fabric in every direction. Some of the nearby plants immediately ignited from the magical fire, sending smoke rapidly rising into the air. Xavo grinned and drew his knife to claim Aakuta’s head.
* * *
Santiock saw a brilliant light and instantly turned towards it. He saw a group of Motangan soldiers torn to shreds by a magical spell, and his mouth fell open in horror. He quickly scanned the jungle, alert for an attack. Not more than a hundred paces away, he saw the dark mage, and not far from him was Xavo, fire leaping from his fingertips. Santiock shouted for his men to follow him as he dashed towards the confrontation.
The foliage was dense, but Santiock rushed through it as he watched the fireball strike the dark mage. He saw Aakuta fall backwards, the magical fire igniting the brambles around him. He witnessed Xavo draw a knife and go down on top of Aakuta to sever the dark mage’s head.
When Santiock arrived, the fire was spreading rapidly, the magical flames igniting the moist jungle foliage. He looked down at Xavo hacking away at the corpse and made an instant decision. He reached down and grabbed Xavo’s feet and started pulling the mage free of the fire. Several other soldiers immediately leaped in to help, and Xavo was pulled clear of the fire. Santiock stared at the burning corpse of Aakuta as Xavo shoved everyone away and staggered to his feet.
“What have you done?” snarled Xavo. “I wanted his head. I almost had it cut off.”
“I will verify Aakuta’s death,” replied Santiock. “His head was not worth your life. Look. See how his body burns. No one can deny you the rewards that Vand will bestow upon you. It is better that you are alive to receive them.”
Xavo snarled an obscenity and pushed his way through the crowd of soldiers that were trying to extinguish the fire. Santiock shook his head in amazement at the mage’s lack of gratitude. He took one last glance at the burning corpse and followed Xavo out of the jungle.
* * *
Lady Mystic sat on the beach, her back to a slanting palm tree. She stared blankly out at the ocean swells as she thought about the mess that she had made of her life. Aakuta had been right about her father. Vand had totally rejected her as if her relationship meant nothing to him. All of her life she had looked up to her father, blind to what everyone else had been able to see. She recalled the taunts that the other children had thrown at her when she was little. They laughed when they told her how her father had had her mother executed. She had never believed the stories, until now. While everyone had sworn that it was the truth, she had steadfastly refused to believe that her father was capable of such an act. How wrong she had been.
It was all so clear now. Every slight and insult that her father had thrown her way came pouring back through her mind. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she saw what a fool she had been. Her whole life had been a sham, and now she had ruined Aakuta’s life as well. It was bad enough that she had betrayed him once, but the second betrayal would remove him forever from her life. She wished she had a chance to do it all over again. This time, she would actually help the elf king to escape.
Lady Mystic swallowed hard as she thought about Aakuta. He was the only person who had ever actually loved her, and she discarded him for her father. The Emperor’s daughter smashed her fist into the sand alongside her. The action did nothing to make her feel better.
Lady Mystic’s mind whirled with thoughts of Aakuta. She wanted to find him and help him in some way, but she knew that it was not to be. Thousands of soldiers and mages were already looking for the dark mage. She would not stand a chance of finding him alone. And even if she did find him, there was no way that Aakuta would forgive her a second time. She had had her second chance when she discovered that Aakuta was lucid, but she squandered that chance by betraying her lover one more time.
Lady Mystic started bawling loudly. She threw herself face first into the sand and ripped at her hair. That was when she heard the horns sounding the retreat. Lady Mystic sat up and listened carefully to the horns. There was no mistaking the sound of retreat echoing through the city. That sound could only mean one thing; Aakuta had been found.
Lady Mystic rose and brushed herself off. Her mind whirled with a thousand thoughts as she wondered if it was too late to save Aakuta. If the dark mage had been captured, the soldiers would bring him before Vand. If she truly cared for him, now was the time to show it. She could run to the temple and magically attack the soldiers bringing Aakuta in. She could free her lover, and they could escape into the jungle to live in peace.
Lady Mystic ran towards the temple. Curious people were already beginning to line the streets in anticipation as columns of soldiers and mages entered the city from every direction. The soldiers lined the streets, keeping the rest of the citizens off the roads. Lady Mystic jostled the crowd to get a position where she could see the captive being brought to the temple.
A ripple of confusion ran th
rough the crowd as no squad of soldiers marched along the parade route. Only a single mage walked between the lines of soldiers barricading the route. Lady Mystic scowled when she saw the mage’s face. It was Xavo.
When Xavo passed, the soldiers dropped their barricade and let the citizens roam freely. Lady Mystic shook her head in confusion. She desperately looked around for someone that she knew that would still speak to her. She saw Santiock, a high officer in Vand’s army. He had always been friendly towards her in the past. She pushed her way forward and softly called his name. Santiock’s eyes scanned the crowd looking to see who had called him. His eyes landed on Lady Mystic and he frowned. He hurried towards her and grabbed her elbow. He guided here away from the milling crowd to a place where they could talk privately.
“So even you are afraid to be seen talking to me?” frowned Lady Mystic. “Is this my reward for years of loyalty to Vand?”
“One does not tempt the hand of fate around Vand,” Santiock shrugged indifferently. “Why did you call my name?”
“I must know what happened today,” declared Lady Mystic. “Why was Xavo marching the route with no soldiers and no prisoner?”
“He alone survived,” explained Santiock. “His squad managed to track the escapee into the jungle and kill him.”
Lady Mystic frowned at hearing Aakuta called the escapee. It rubbed a raw nerve.
“His name was Aakuta,” snapped Lady Mystic, “and I doubt that Xavo has the power to kill him.”
“Aakuta was powerful,” Santiock’s brow knitted with agreement. “Never has one so insane been able to use magic effectively. His strange spells of light left little of Xavo’s squad.”
“I thought none of the soldiers survived?” questioned the Emperor’s daughter.
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