What Once Was One (Book 2)

by Marc Johnson

  Prastian met my eyes, and I nodded. I drew in more wind as the elves loaded another arrow.

  “Enough!” a voice yelled. Baal froze in place with his club held high. Jastillian and Behast stopped but didn’t lower their weapons.

  At the end of the hallway, the double doors were now opened. A figure clad in shadow-colored robes leaned against the partially open doors with both of his hands outstretched. He had his hood pulled over his face.

  “Premier,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

  Prastian and Demay aimed their bows at Premier. The ogre stepped to the side, blocking our view with his massive frame, but giving Jastillian and Behast a clear shot at him.

  “Baal, come.” Premier turned around and disappeared back into the room. Baal followed on Premier’s heels, never turning his back to us.

  Prastian and Demay lowered their bows and we rushed to Jastillian and Behast.

  “Are you both all right?” I asked.

  Behast nodded.

  “Fine, lad,” Jastillian said. “How about you?”

  “I’m all right.” My shoulder was bruised from when I had slammed into the wall, but I pushed aside the pain, staring into the room where Premier had disappeared into. He had left the doors open. An invitation? Or a trap? “Be careful. We don’t know what other surprises he may have for us. He might be weakened, but there’s nothing more dangerous than wounded prey.”

  Before we entered Premier’s chambers, we checked the last two rooms along the corridor lest any more surprises leap out at us. One of them contained crates. We looked inside one, seeing supplies of food. I led the way, cloaking myself in mana, readying myself to use it at a moment’s notice. There was no longer any need for secrecy.

  Just inside the room, we stopped. I let my magical senses search for any other hidden magic, keeping one eye on Premier.

  Renak’s throne room was stark, yet clean. A stone workbench stood off to the side, underneath one of two windows. Apparently Premier used this room for many purposes. The workbench was clear except for a pestle and grinding stone. Could Premier have been concocting a potion? He wouldn’t need any magic for that.

  There was also a small wooden table with a chair and a half-full glass of dirty water on it. At the end of the room was a smooth, marble throne. Premier slumped on the throne, not looking up at us as we approached. Baal stood at Premier’s right hand. His helm and armor from his wounded leg sat on the floor next to his feet, along with his club. The arrow in his leg had been snapped off until only a tiny piece stuck out.

  “I underestimated you, Hellsfire,” Premier said, his voice rough and coarse. Labored breathing came from under his hood, but I still couldn’t see his face. “I knew you would be coming, but I expected you to rally the troops, risking thousands of lives to finish me off. And you flying on your dragon like the stories of old. That would have been the heroically foolish thing to do.”

  I took a tentative step forward, struggling against the goblin spirit. He screamed at me not to go anywhere near Premier.

  “Instead, you utilize a powerful and subtle spell to blend in with the creatures,” Premier said. “I’m surprised and impressed.”

  I took another step forward and said, “I don’t care about impressing you, Premier. I came here for a reason.”

  Premier ignored me and said, “But you didn’t take everything into account.” He lifted his head, revealing his face. The whites of his eyes shone against the red and black ridges of his face. His skin had been peeled back and scorched. All of his hair was gone.

  “What happened to you?” I whispered. That couldn’t have been me, could it? Could my spell have traveled through whatever had linked Premier and his avatar?

  Premier narrowed his hate-filled eyes and smiled. “I control the Wasteland creatures, boy. All of them.”

  As soon as he said that, I realized my mistake. I tried to rip off my goblin skin to end the spell, but it was too late.

  Premier expelled his stored-up magic. It burrowed its way into my soul, twisting itself around the goblin spirit. Premier seized the goblin, commanding him to freeze. I clutched my chest and fell over. My friends dropped their weapons and collapsed.

  Premier leaned forward. “You shouldn’t have come here, Hellsfire. After I kill you and your friends, Alexandria will fall. I will burn the city to the ground. I want you to remember that you were responsible for the princess’s death. You left her all alone without any protection.” Premier sat back and snapped his fingers in the air. “Baal, finish them.”

  The ogre heaved his heavy weapon. I struggled to break free from Premier’s spell, but the goblin wouldn’t allow me to. He was terrified and resigned to his fate, though sad that he had to obey Premier. He didn’t want to. He didn’t care for Krystal or Alexandria, but he hated the wizard’s enslavement of his people.

  No, I wasn’t going to let this end here like this. I had to fight for Krystal and my friends.

  My inner fire bloomed, brushing aside the goblin’s compulsion to obey Premier, its heat burning away his spell. Premier grunted as he tried to strengthen his spell. He couldn’t. He was weakened and my magic began to overpower his. This must have taken the last of his power. I rose and faced him.

  “Baal, finish him quickly!” Premier said, panic in his eyes.

  Baal raised his gigantic club. I lifted my arm and shot out fire and wind, engulfing him. His enchanted armor protected him from most of it. The flames bounced off his armor, hitting his exposed head and leg. I aimed my attack toward his unprotected areas. He shrieked in pain, dropping the club and spinning away to the side. Baal smothered the flames from his head and leg and snarled. He glanced back down at the helm, knowing that if he could reach it, there would be nothing I could do to stop him before he killed me. Premier’s spell still made it hard to react. It wasn’t completely gone. I didn’t have time to finish burning the spell.

  I pointed my hand toward Premier. “Make a move and he dies.”

  Baal’s eyes shifted toward Premier. Premier stared at me, seeing if I was lying. I wasn’t. Premier sighed. “Enough, Baal.”

  I pumped more of my power into myself, letting the fire combat Premier’s spell. I stood straight and flexed my hand. His hold on me vanished and the goblin was no longer scared of him, but of me. I reached out to Premier’s magic and burned away the strands he used to immobilize my friends.

  My friends broke free and picked up their weapons. I never took my eyes off Premier as I talked to my friends. “Are you all right?”

  “We’re fine,” Jastillian said, stepping up next to me.

  “What happened?” Behast asked, flanking my other side.

  “He used his magic to control the goblins within us,” I said. The magic I felt inside Premier was empty. “But he can’t do it anymore.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “He’s powerless and weak.”

  Premier glared back at me. I wanted nothing more than to kill him. I didn’t understand why Stradus wanted him to live. What part did Premier have to play? If only Stradus hadn’t been dying, and had more time to explain to me. Premier had threatened to kill Krystal, he’d tried to kill me and my friends. The world would be a far better place without him in it.

  I patted the binding potion in my purse. Taking his powers might not do any good. The knowledge the centuries-old wizard contained made him far more dangerous than a normal person. It was probably best that I bind him anyway, but first I had to get the book back.

  “The time for disguises is over,” I said.

  Premier wheezed. “Agreed. The five of you look more ridiculous than I.”

  I kept my eyes on Premier. “Behast and Demay, please wait with me until the others break their spells, in case Premier tries something. Jastillian and Prastian, when you take your skins off, be careful. It’s going to feel like the gods are ripping your soul to shreds.”

  Jastillian and Prastian peeled off their goblin coverings. The magic in the ritual exploded, shattering into stars only Premier and I could
see. They howled in ferocious pain. The transparent goblin spirits burst from their chests until they separated. They floated back to the afterlife with glazed and empty faces. My friends leaned over, gasping for each breath.

  When they recovered, my friends took their places to guard Premier and Baal. I shed my own goblin. My heart wrenched in pain. I toppled over and my teeth clenched while the sweat poured off me. Because I was a wizard and felt the magic more keenly, it was far more painful for me than my friends, and I screamed in agony. From the corner of my eye, I saw Premier reach within the sleeves of his wizard’s robe.

  He pulled out a small vial. I clenched my fist, trying to get a hold of myself and summon up my magic. I couldn’t move. I had a hard enough time not convulsing in pain from the goblin’s spirit being yanked free. Premier gave a smile of self-satisfaction before throwing the vial at the ground in front of me.

  Jastillian and Demay pushed me away as the glass vial shattered. A gray smoke rose from it, covering the pair until it forced its way in through their noses and mouths. They clutched their necks, falling to the floor. Their bodies quaked. Before Baal or Premier could make a move, Behast blocked Baal’s path and Prastian had an arrow pointed at Premier.

  I finished ripping the skin from me. I stared at the transparent goblin spirit in front of me and I found myself thinking I was going to miss him. He’d taught me a lot about the goblins and the Wastelands, more than I ever thought possible. He waved goodbye before journeying back into the afterlife. A blinding light overtook him and he was gone.

  I gagged, then retched from my own stench. Without the goblin’s essence to influence my sense of smell, my grimy body reeked.

  “Hellsfire!” Prastian said.

  I rushed to Jastillian and Demay. Their bodies stopped quivering and I worried that they were dead. Slowly, their chests rose. I leaned in close and heard their shallow breathing. I placed my fingertips on their necks and their pulses were weak and fading.

  I glared up at Premier. “What did you do to them?”

  He stared at them intently and stroked his chin with his burned hand. “I’m not sure. That potion was designed to kill human wizards. I have no idea what the effects will be on a dwarf or elf, but it should be fascinating to watch.”

  I raced to Premier and my hand closed around his throat. My anger at what he had done flowed outward until the fire heated my hand. I squeezed, causing the closed wounds of Premier’s throat to reopen. Premier struggled to move but I increased the pressure, my fingernails digging into his skin while I held him in place. Anger, then pain, radiated across his face. The aroma of burnt pork flooded my nose. He was going to pay for what he’d done to my friends, to Stradus, and to Alexandria. To the Inferno with Stradus’s request. Premier deserved to die!

  I released my fingers. Premier gagged for air. I needed information from him before I killed him.

  Premier wheezed and coughed. He cleared his throat and rubbed it with his hand. “Wise decision, boy. If you had killed me, your friends would have died.”

  “They’re not going to die?” Prastian asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “Then cure them,” I said. “Or I will kill you.”

  “You’re going to kill me anyway.”

  He was right. After what he had just done, he had to die. I had already made that decision. But I had to make him believe I wasn’t going to kill him. I had to do something I wasn’t very good at—lie.

  “I didn’t come here to kill you, Premier,” I said.

  Premier cocked his head and stared at me for several long moments. He smirked and said, “I almost believe you.”

  “It’s true. Stradus didn’t want me to kill you. He wanted me to spare your miserable, wretched life, and in return, I want the Book of Shazul.”

  He gasped and recognition gleamed in his eyes. “You came here for the book?”

  I nodded. “Save my friends and give me the book, and I’ll let you live.”

  “Give me your word as a wizard, and I’ll do what I can.”

  I glared at him. “Save them now or I’ll kill you where you sit.”

  Premier’s mouth pursed. He got off the throne and forced me aside. He bent down to Jastillian and Demay and opened their eyes. They were glazed and empty. Premier pried open their mouths and peeked inside. He leaned over to hear their breathing, then felt their foreheads with the back of his burnt hand.

  Premier moaned as he moved his body back onto the throne, as if his bones ached. “Your friends are fine.” He gave me a taunting smile. “For now. They’re in a coma-like state, but after three days, they will die. I can cure them with another potion.”

  “Then do so,” Prastian said.

  “Why should I? You’re going to kill me anyway, especially when I tell you I don’t have the book.”

  I gasped, and my eyes widened. He didn’t have the book? Impossible. This was a trick. It had to be. “Don’t lie to me.”

  “I have no reason to lie to you.”

  I had no choice. I pulled out the dark blue vial from my purse and held it up. The dim light from the window gleamed off it. “Help my friends and tell me where it is now or I’ll bind you. Then I’ll throw you outside and feed you to the goblins, trolls, ogres, and wolves. I’m sure they would love to get their hands on you when they realize how powerless you are.”

  Premier slammed his hand on the throne. “I told you, I don’t have it!”

  “Then help my friends.” I was going to have to search the tower after I bound or killed him. I couldn’t trust him to be telling the truth.

  “No. You’ll kill me or bind me after I’m no further use to you.”

  “Then what do you want?” I asked.

  He smiled. “Only one thing. I want the Great Barrier to come down. If you value your friends’ lives, you will help me.”

  My breath vanished. He wanted me to help him bring down the barrier? How was such a thing even possible? I shook my head. I hadn’t come here for that. I came to get the book back, and so far I’d failed and gotten my friends hurt in the process. I looked through the window, staring at the black clouds. Stradus would be disappointed in me, and so would Krystal and King Sharald. I’d let them all down.

  “Bring down the barrier, Hellsfire,” Premier said, “and you will find the book there.”

  “What is it doing there? Stradus said that you had the book.”

  “I did...once.” He curled his hand into a fist. “It was deliberately stolen from me. I was ambushed!” His angry eyes glared past me and into the past. “I spent years trying to find a way into Southern Shala to retrieve the book and exact my revenge.” He seemed to remember I was there and glanced up, his eyes meeting mine. “The book has a will of its own and digs into your soul and mind, boy. You don’t want to go anywhere near it. It took me awhile to admit that the stories of Shazul’s book were true.” Premier sighed. “But bring down the barrier, and that’s where you’ll find the book.”

  “If such a thing were possible then why haven’t you brought down the barrier?”

  Premier’s eyes were as cold as the White Mountain. “I haven’t lived this long by being foolish. I’m a cautious wizard and to bring down the barrier will require more than caution, experience, or even power. It will require...will.”

  I clenched my teeth. I couldn’t trust him, and I didn’t even know what he was saying. Will? I glanced back at my friends’ still bodies. They were dying. I didn’t have anything to save them, and I didn’t know what kind of potion Premier had used. If he could save them, I could deal with him afterward. I fingered the binding potion in my hand.

  “You have my word, thrice times, as a wizard,” Premier said. If a wizard gave a wizard’s promise, they were bound to do what they said. If not, their powers would decay over time until that task was completed. “That I will save your friends after you bring down the Great Barrier.” He gave me a crooked smile. “Assuming you survive. This is also for the good of Alexandria.”

  That caught
my attention. “What do you mean?”

  “You must have felt it when you entered the Wastelands. Renak’s spell is drawing power from the land itself. It’s dying, Hellsfire. Soon all of Northern Shala will look like this desolate place.” Premier shook his head. “He was a fool for doing such a ritual in the first place.” He smirked. “Stop this and the princess will love you for it. Otherwise, in a thousand years Northern Shala will be another wasteland, and it won’t stop until it engulfs the entire land.”

  I ignored Premier and focused on Demay. The little elf was right. The barrier was the problem. Jastillian would be excited to learn that if he were still conscious. I still didn’t know what to do. I looked to Prastian for advice. He stared back at me, giving me a subtle cue that it was my decision alone, even if it meant his brother’s life. Premier couldn’t be trusted, but I had no choice.

  This wasn’t what I wanted. Although I had known we could be killed coming here, it still hurt to see my friends in pain and on the verge of death because of me. I wanted to fulfill Stradus’s wishes because the Book of Shazul was too dangerous to leave with Premier. What would another person do if they got their hands on it? Even if I brought the barrier down, Southern Shala was vast. I had no idea where to start. I could go to the Elemental Council, but they might not believe me. When Stradus had tried, they hadn’t believed him either.

  There was also Krystal and Alexandria. The land could start to heal itself and be restored. It might be too late for the Wastelands to be what they once were, but if I could stop the slow blight now, I should. I was a wizard and I had a duty to the land, to the people, and to magic. I stared at my motionless friends. And I had a duty to them. They trusted me enough to go with me on this foolish quest.

  I remembered Stradus’s words from the mountain. When he spoke of my destiny in Masep, I thought he meant it was about retrieving the book, but it might have to do with bringing down the Great Barrier. If I succeeded, I wouldn’t have to worry about my destiny and could live my life as my own—as a man should.