As the sun was setting, Hannya said. “We have arrived.”
“I don’t see anything,” Iniru said. “Just more ice.”
“The edge of the world and the doorway to the Nexus are just three hundred paces ahead.” Hannya crooned out a song. A stone archway matching the Winter Gate appeared. The portal wasn’t active, though. “Our doorway. I just need to open it. But I cannot do that from out here.”
“Better get to it fast, then!” Lu Bei shouted from up above. “Trouble’s arrived.”
The eighty yomon and Awasa, riding on the back of one of them, appeared on the horizon. Awasa screamed. The yomon charged.
Hannya shifted into her Earth Dragon form, billowing out into a black cloud the size of a house. She roared into the sky. The yomon slid to a halt. With the Earth Dragon drifting along behind them, Turesobei and his companions ran, as best as they could. When they reached the gate Turesobei cast the spell of the moon mirrors.
“Careful!” Turesobei said. Step past the pillars, and you’ll step into nothingness.”
Hannya returned to her human form and stood before the gate.
“What about the yomon?” Zaiporo said. “They won’t be afraid now.”
“Sorry,” Hannya said. “I cannot do this part in my dragon form.”
In the distance, Awasa shouted, “It was just a trick! Get them!”
Bellowing war cries, the yomon charged again.
“Without the Shogakami, I can only open the gate for a few moments,” Lady Hannya warned. She began chanting the words of a spell, words that sounded like a form of Ancient Zaboko.
“Everyone get ready,” Turesobei said, facing the oncoming tide of yomon, Fangthorn at the ready.
Enashoma hooked her hands under Kurine’s arms, so she could drag her through the portal. That way, Motekeru could fight the yomon if he had to.
“Sobei, we’ve got to get out of here fast,” Iniru warned as the yomon closed to two hundred paces.
A portal shimmered within the gate … and disappeared.
It shimmered again … and disappeared a second time.
“What’s wrong?” Enashoma asked.
Hannya shook her head.
“Do you need help?” Turesobei asked.
Hannya again shook her head.
Lu Bei zoomed down and hovered beside Lady Hannya. As she began her chant a third time, Lu Bei spoke the same words in perfect unison with her. His eyes glimmered.
The gate sparked to life again … and it held.
“Is it safe?” Turesobei asked.
Still chanting, Hannya nodded.
“Everyone, go!” Turesobei yelled.
Zaiporo grabbed Kurine’s feet and helped Enashoma carry her through. As thudding steps cracked the surface of the ice, Turesobei glanced back. The yomon were nearly on top of them. This was cutting it way too close. The hounds bounded into the portal. Ceasing his chant with a nervous frown, Lu Bei turned into a book. The portal remained live. Turesobei handed the diary to Iniru.
“You’ve only got a few more seconds,” she said as she darted through.
“Can you maintain the portal on the other side?” he asked Hannya. She shook her head no. “Motekeru, go now!”
“Master —”
“Go!”
Motekeru stepped into the portal and disappeared.
Hannya tapped Turesobei on the arm.
“Another moment,” he said. “The yomon won’t kill me. Awasa will want to face me herself. So when I say go, we go together.”
The yomon were so close Turesobei could hear them panting and grunting as they strained to run as fast as possible. Their steps were so heavy that cracks in the ice preceded them.
“Turesobei!” Awasa cried out. “I won’t let you get away!”
Sword in hand, Awasa leapt forward off the shoulders of the yomon she rode. She flipped once in the air and came down with a kick. Turesobei dodged aside. As Awasa landed in a crouch, she swung Sumada and sliced through Hannya at the waist.
Hannya’s form dimmed. Her chant ceased. Screaming, she disappeared back into Fangthorn.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
The portal flickered. The yomon were only paces away. Turesobei lowered his shoulder, charged, and tackled Awasa, knocking her through the sputtering gate.
A blinding light … skin tingling with a million pricks … thoughts scrambled … bright swirls of gold and crimson and emerald … the pinging of a thousand wind chimes … orange blossom and cloves … a lullaby with nonsensical words … pain … laughter … darkness … nothing … they weren’t going to make it … they were being torn apart and spread out into … Oblivion …
Though it was hard to think of anything, Turesobei locked onto his love for his friends and focused his mind on the Nexus, on Fangthorn in his hand, and Awasa tucked against him.
“Hannya … the Nexus.”
“I can’t help you,” she replied with a strain in her voice. “Your storm kenja … release it into the pathway to keep the connection alive … or we’ll never make it.”
For once, he didn’t worry about becoming the Storm Dragon. There was no fear, because there was no other choice. He opened the channel to the Mark of the Storm Dragon all the way and projected the energy outward, as best as he could. He heard himself roar. He felt his body shift into that of the dragon. The darkness vanished. Lightning flashed all around them, so that it seemed they were flying through a tunnel in a storm cloud. And he was the Storm Dragon, carrying them through.
Suddenly, all that vanished, and Turesobei stumbled onto the other side of the gate, fully human, with Awasa still in his arms. He threw her aside as he crashed onto a flagstone surface.
Relief spread through him. He wasn’t the Storm Dragon, and his friends were already here. They had made it through safely. They had escaped the Ancient Cold and Deep and reached the Nexus of the Realms.
He glanced behind him. The portal within the matching gate on this side was closed. Half of one yomon had made it through. Blood poured from the severed torso.
Turesobei stood. They were on a raised, octagonal platform in the middle of an empty courtyard. A temple complex circled the open space. High above burned an orange ball that mimicked the sun. The sky was a faded purple instead of blue, with no trace of clouds. On the edges of the platform stood eight gates, and there was a closed trapdoor in the center of the floor.
Awasa flipped up off the ground and brandished the white-steel blade. Turesobei, Iniru, Zaiporo, the hounds, and Motekeru formed a wide circle around her. Lu Bei popped out and hovered overhead. Enashoma backed far out of the way.
“Just give up, Awasa,” Iniru said. “You don’t stand a chance.”
“I am Ninefold Awasa,” she snarled as she touched the amulet on her chest. Eight copies of Awasa, but with blank faces and claws, appeared beside her. “You will die first, filthy k’chasan.”
The eight copies of Awasa leapt into action, but they didn’t make it far. Iniru flicked her wrist, and the reitsu’s white-steel dagger spun through the air and struck the amulet of Barakaros the Warlock.
With a sharp crack, the iron amulet split in half and fell, clanging, onto the platform. The eight copies vanished, and Awasa staggered back with a dumbfounded look on her face. The tip of the dagger had pierced her chest. She pointed Sumada at Iniru.
“This will end here, you —”
“Hai-yah!” Lu Bei yelled.
The fetch plunged from up high and drop-kicked Awasa in the back of the neck. She fell unconscious.
“Darn right this will end here,” Lu Bei said. “I’m sick of running from you, you crazy … mad … whatever you are.” Then he sparked her in the face three times for good measure.
Iniru lunged in and grabbed Sumada. Turesobei sheathed Fangthorn, and sighed with relief as Iniru passed Sumada to him. He’d recovered his father’s white-steel sword at last.
“Keep that thing away from me,” Hannya said telepathically.
“Are you all right?” he asked
her.
“I will recover sufficiently in a few minutes. The strike of the white-steel sword disrupted my energies, and the tunnel didn’t do much for me, either. I helped as much as I could.”
Iniru pulled the white-steel dagger out of Awasa’s chest.
“Nice shot,” Zaiporo said.
“Is she okay?” Turesobei asked.
Iniru felt Awasa’s pulse. “Her pulse is strong. We’d better tie her up.”
Motekeru pulled rope from his pack and got to work on it. Turesobei checked Awasa’s wound. It had already sealed and was rapidly healing on its own. Looking at Awasa this close, with her purple eyes, the throbbing veins on her face, her sharpened features, the bruise-colored star on her forehead, her increased height and muscled form — the Warlock’s power had warped Awasa so much that it was hard to believe it was actually her and not some sort of poor, demonic copy. How could this be the delicate, insecure, and immature girl he’d once fancied?
“You stayed to the last second to capture her, didn’t you?” Iniru asked him.
“Would you expect otherwise from Sobei?” Enashoma asked.
Iniru kissed him on the cheek. “No, and that’s why we all love him. But —”
“I nearly got myself killed. I know. It was risky. But I just couldn’t leave her back there. She was my responsibility. I had to try.”
With Awasa bound and gagged, they all sat down to rest.
“And what do we do with her now?” Enashoma asked.
“I’ll figure out something,” Turesobei said.
“I think we should open the portal and toss her back to the yomon,” Lu Bei said, arms crossed. “But of course, no one ever does what I think is best.”
“Half of us wouldn’t be here if it was up to you,” Iniru said, half-smiling.
“Oh, yeah?” Lu Bei said pompously. “Do your math again. It’s more than half.”
Everyone laughed until tears came from their eyes. It was more from the relief of having survived than Lu Bei’s antics. Laughing as well, Lu Bei stuck his tongue out at Iniru and settled into Enashoma’s lap.
“Lu Bei,” Turesobei said, “how did you help Hannya back there? The spell didn’t work until you joined in.”
“I just added another voice, master, and gave what little power I could, which wasn’t much.” He tapped his forehead. “I’ve got perfect memory, so I learned the words easy enough after she went through the first time, though I’m not sure what I was saying.”
“You sure that was all?” Turesobei asked. “You do keep secrets sometimes.”
“The fetch speaks true,” Hannya said out loud through the blade. “And he did help, not with his power but with his voice. I am not certain why that helped, though. Magic is finicky that way. Apparently, a chorus was needed.” She took on human form and knelt before Turesobei. “Will you honor our bargain now?”
“It shall be honored,” Turesobei replied.
“Are you sure that’s wise, master?” Lu Bei asked.
“I’m with the fetch this time,” Iniru said. “I mean no offense, Lady Hannya, but how do we know we can trust you?”
“We can’t know,” Turesobei answered. “But she got us this far, and I made a deal with her. I will keep my word. I know Lady Hannya well from our experience together in the Lower Stacks. I trust her.”
With Hannya standing nearby, Turesobei carefully grabbed the black-steel sword by its blade and lifted it, placing the Mark of the Storm Dragon on the hilt against the larger, matching mark on his cheek. He focused a trickle of energy onto the hilt and spoke the common version of the command of unbinding. He thought it might work, since Naruwakiru had cast her command simply, using brute force instead of intricacy. With a flash, the mark on Fangthorn’s hilt disappeared. With that done, he closed his eyes and pictured Tepebono trying to break the bindings on the sword. Matching the memory, he recited Tepebono’s commands. The runes on the blade disappeared, one-by-one, until the last vanished, unleashing a wave of earth and fire kenja.
“Lady Hannya, you are hereby free to live as you once did. I, Chonda Turesobei, possessor of the Storm Dragon’s power, claim no authority or control over you.”
Hannya shuddered with delight and took in a deep breath. She twirled on her tiptoes with her arms outstretched. “You have no idea how good this feels after so many millennia being trapped in that sword.” She kissed Turesobei on the forehead. “Bless you, Chonda Turesobei, you brave fool. Now, follow me. You can leave your packs here. There is something I must show you.”
With Motekeru carrying Kurine cradled in one arm and dragging Awasa along with the other, they followed Hannya through the trapdoor and down a staircase that led to an empty courtyard with barren soil and dry ponds and fountains. Hannya shoved open a door on one edge of the encircling temple complex, and they entered a long, lavishly-built hallway of cedar and stone that ended with a set of elaborate rune-carved doors. Hannya breathed in deeply, and then pushed them open.
At the end of this rectangular chamber, a steep staircase led up to a high dais and a throne carved out of pure jade. Turesobei’s breath caught; his heart raced. He wanted to run, but couldn’t bring himself to move.
On the throne slumped a Kaiaru with sea-dark hair and skin the pale color of fog. He wore a simple gray robe like that of a monk. It hid all of his kavaru stones, save the one on his forehead and the ones on each hand. His eyes were closed, but his chest heaved up and down with breath.
Hannya knelt at the foot of the steps. “Blood King of the Nine Realms, I beseech you, awake and rise again!”
“No!” Turesobei shouted.
Eyes alight with blue-white flame opened. As their color turned to flickering vermillion and then deep green with specks of gold, a sinister laugh rumbled free from parched lips.
Afterword
Want a free copy of my Starter Library, which includes The Shadowed Manse, the first episode in The Arthur Paladin Chronicles, and notifications about all my new releases?
All you have to do is click here and sign up for my no-spam newsletter.
* * *
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review at your favorite retailer. All it takes is a few sentences. Without positive reviews a series may wither and die.
* * *
Feel free to contact me. I love getting feedback from readers!
@dahayden
haydenverse
dahayden.com
Also by David Alastair Hayden
Storm Phase
The Storm Dragon’s Heart
The Maker’s Brush
Lair of the Deadly Twelve
The Forbidden Library
The Blood King’s Apprentice
The Arthur Paladin Chronicles
The Shadowed Manse
The Warlock’s Gambit
Storm Phase Series: Books 1-3 Page 98