Suddenly Miko cries out in pain. James turns in time to see the light of the Star diminish greatly as the sword from a warrior priest severs the arm holding it. Blood spurts out from the stump as he staggers backward.
Brother Willim moves in with his staff to engage the warrior priest, allowing Miko a chance to withdraw. “Get the Star!” he hollers to James.
Then a wave of darkness seems to roll over them all as Ozgirath stands there with arms upraised. James moves toward the Star and is almost upon it when he sees Miko’s blood on the ground. It’s moving across the ground as if of its own volition, and it’s heading for the dome.
Unable to worry about the ramifications of that, he reaches where the Star is lying on the ground. Then he stands there in indecision. He knows it’s his death for him to lay hands upon it, even to save it from the minions of Dmon-Li.
Brother Willim notices his hesitation and yells, “The shadows! Get the Star or all is lost!”
James turns and sees the shadows that had been held at bay by the Star moving quickly toward them. Then out of the corner of his eye, he sees Tinok where he is still encased within the barrier he put around him. “That’s it!” he cries.
Casting a spell he’s cast hundreds of times before, he encases the Star in one of his barriers. Bending over he picks it up. He hesitates only a fraction of a second once it’s in his hand before raising it high. “Morcyth, lend me your aid!” he hollers and the Star bursts to life.
As the light of the Star blazes forth, screams rip their way through his mind as the light burns the shadows. The pain from the screams forces him to close his eyes. When he reopens them, the shadows are once again a good distance away.
He then turns to Miko and sees him on the floor awash in his own blood as he holds his severed arm to the stump. A glow forms where the two ends meet as the power of Morcyth works to reattach the limb. “Are you okay?” he asks.
Face displaying the pain he’s feeling, he fails to answer other than a shake of his head.
Whack!
Brother Willim strikes the helm of the warrior priest he’s facing. Bringing his staff in for another strike, the warrior priest’s sword unexpectedly strikes the center of the staff and cleaves it in two. Now unable to adequately defend himself, Brother Willim is helpless to stop the next attack. “Asran!” he cries out as the warrior priest’s sword penetrates his stomach.
Suddenly, the cavern is filled with the angered screams of Little Brothers. They launch themselves at the warrior priest. Now in total disregard for their own safety, they swarm the warrior priest with a viciousness one wouldn’t expect from such shy creatures. The warrior priest’s sword moves rapidly as he strikes one after another, but the deluge of bodies is simply overpowering.
James rushes to his side and can see the green glow already surrounding him. “Brother Willim!” he says but the brother is too deep in healing concentration to hear him.
Then all of a sudden, there’s a subtle shift in the feel of the cavern. Turning his gaze to Ozgirath, he sees him radiating darkness as he faces the dome. “Oh no,” James says as he sees the top of the dome beginning to sink toward the floor.
The dark ritual has been completed. The gate is now ready.
Chapter Thirty Nine
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He was surprised when the knife he put in the back of the High Priest did little to hurt him. Then when Ozgirath turned and struck him, he was even more stunned by the sheer strength with which he was struck. There was very little time for him to dwell on this as he flew through the air. Then all of a sudden, he was elsewhere.
When he came to land, the first thing he felt was fear. More fear than he’s ever felt in his life. Barely able to move, he looks around and realizes he’s no longer in the cavern. A dark haze lays over the land, the ground cracked as if all the moisture was taken from it. The air tastes different and it’s difficult for him to take a breath.
His gaze continues to turn and he knows he’s not alone. There’s something here with him, something of immeasurable evil and power though his eyes cannot see it. Pain erupts in his head as a malignant presence voices strange words in his mind. Putting his hands to his ears, he tries to shut them out but can’t.
The dagger Jiron!
Another voice enters his mind and alleviates in part the pain the strange words give him. This voice gives reason instead of madness and curbs in part the fear he’s felt since passing through. A feeling of imminent danger comes over him as the malignant voice suddenly ceases.
Take the dagger!
Again the soothing voice comes to him and in his mind’s eye he pictures golden hair, a memory of long ago. Then his eyes see it. Not more than three feet away lays the dagger he knocked from Ozgirath’s hand.
Yes
Lurching forward on his hands and knees, he grabs the dagger by the hilt and a searing pain courses through his hand and up into his arm. The touch of the dagger is almost more than he can bear, but he holds onto it tightly.
Flee!
The fear rises within him, as does a feeling that his imminent death is nigh. Rising to his feet, he turns around and sees a dark red area that almost perfectly matches the appearance of the dome in the cavern he just left. Only this area is flat.
Evil washes over him as he moves toward the dark red area. Falling to his knees in panic, he cringes. Then he looks up toward the dark red area and against all logic, sees the shimmering image of a woman with golden hair. He blinks his eye twice but the image of the shimmering woman remains. Beckoning to him, the image gives him strength to once more rise to his feet.
Then as he takes a step forward, a wave of force passes him and strikes the shimmering woman. A shriek is heard as she disappears. With the indomitable will that has carried him through many times of crisis, he forces first his right leg to move forward toward the red area, then the left.
Around him, it almost feels as if evil is assaulting him from all directions. The dagger in his now all but numb hand shines darkly with power. Step by small step, he forces his legs to obey him as he draws closer to the dark red area. When at last he’s near enough, he gathers his courage and jumps…
My lord, the way is ready.
Ozgirath stands there in the cavern before the gate. The dome has collapsed now until only a dark red, shifting flat area remains. The gate stands ready and he awaits his lord’s coming.
The gate suddenly bulges upward as sparks dance across its top. Then Jiron vaults out from the bulge and lands before Ozgirath. Behind him, the gate settles down and the sparks disappear.
Ozgirath’s yellow eyes flash as Jiron appears from out of the gate with the dagger aglow in his hand.
Jiron sees Ozgirath standing there before him and doesn’t hesitate in leaping forward. With a mighty cry, he plunges the dagger with both hands toward the High Priest’s breast.
James sees him attacking and sends a bolt of white light from the Star to strike Ozgirath a second before Jiron does. The bolt of white light explodes when it hits him, disrupting the spell Ozgirath had planned to use in his defense.
The dagger in Jiron’s hand strikes the breast of Ozgirath and sinks in to the hilt.
An inhuman cry is torn from Ozgirath as the runes on the blade flare. At the same time, James turns the full might of the Star upon him and drives him to his knees.
My lord! Your servant needs your aid!
Then the gate begins to once again bulge and the sparks appear as they dance across its surface.
“He’s coming through!” yells Brother Willim. “Forget Ozgirath. You must destroy the gate.”
James understands the logic of what he says and stops the beam of light going to Ozgirath. Instead he sends the magic toward the gate and works to prevent the crossing of Dmon-Li one way or another.
Jiron sees the Little Brothers racing for the stairs, fearful at what is coming through the gate. The six warrior priests are gone, now nothing but piles of blood and shredded meat remain. The shadows are still hel
d at bay by the light of the Star. Brother Willim has Miko’s head cradled in his lap and things don’t look very good.
He finds Tinok lying not far away and runs over to him. The barrier which James had around him is gone. “Tinok!” he says as he comes to kneel at his side. When he doesn’t respond, he puts his ear to his chest to see if he’s still alive. A very faint lub-dub is heard as his heart still beats within his chest.
Giving him a gentle shake he says again, “Tinok! It’s me, Jiron.”
His eyes flutter open and at first he is unable to focus well enough to see. Then the sight of his friend’s face comes into clarity and he smiles. “Jiron, thank god you found me,” he says weakly.
“Can you stand?” Jiron asks.
“I think so,” he replies. With Jiron’s help he makes it to his feet. “Oh man,” he says as he sees James there struggling to keep the gate closed.
Jiron turns and sees the Star shining with incredible brilliance. The bulge within the gate moves outward, then recedes. Outward, then recedes again as James struggles to keep it closed.
“I can’t stop it,” James says. “Even with the Star, I can’t prevent him from coming through.”
“What can we do?” Jiron asks.
“Get everyone out,” he says. With sweat pouring down his face, he adds, “Fast.”
Tinok leans on Jiron’s shoulder as they hurry over to where Brother Willim cradles Miko’s head. “We’ve got to go,” urges Jiron. He sees the blood covering the front of his robes and the two halves of his staff lying on the ground nearby.
“Miko’s lost too much blood,” he says. “He can’t make it by himself and I am not strong enough to carry him.”
“Can you help Tinok?” he asks.
“I’m alright,” Tinok says as he lets go of Jiron’s shoulder. “My strength is coming back.”
“Okay.” To Brother Willim and Tinok he says, “You two help each other.” Bending over, he picks up Miko. The hand that had held the dagger is still a little numb, but serviceable as life returns to it. Turning back to James he hollers, “Let’s go!”
James turns his head toward them and they can see the strain etched across his face. “I can’t go,” he says. “If I do, he’ll pass through.”
“You said he’s going to pass through anyway,” he yells back. “We failed.”
Shaking his head, James says, “If the gate is no longer here, he won’t be able to pass through.”
“You mean…?” he asks.
James nods and says, “I’m going to destroy it.” When Jiron hesitates, he says, “I can’t hold this for long.” Reaching into his pouch, he removes the medallion with the warrior priest symbol and tosses it to Brother Willim. “You don’t have much time.”
Brother Willim snatches the medallion and puts it in an inner pocket of his robe. He nods and with he and Tinok leaning on one another, head for the stairs.
Jiron remains motionless as he stares at James.
James meets his eyes and says, “It’s been fun.”
A tear runs down the face of the battle hardened pit fighter.
“Go,” urges James then turns his attention back to the gate.
“Come on Jiron!” Tinok hollers from the stairs.
With the unconscious body of the High Priest of Morcyth in his arms, he hurries after the other two. Moving to the stairs, he begins climbing up. He only pauses a moment when he reaches the point where the stairs leave the cavern. Looking down at his friend, he sees the light from the Star still shining forth. Completely surrounding James is a ring of shadows, not nearly as far back as they had been. “Goodbye James,” he says then continues up the stairs.
“Jiron?”
Stig comes over to where Aleya is lying on the bed. Her eyes are open and she sits up abruptly when she realizes that Stig, Shorty, Reilin and Aku are the only ones in the room.
“What happened?” she asks. When the others fail to answer, she understands. “No!” she cries. Rising from the bed, she starts to head for the door.
Stig steps in front of her and says, “It’s too late. They’re already in the temple.”
From where he stands looking out the window, Shorty says, “The whole temple area is swarming with guards and soldiers.”
Aleya rushes over and looks out across the dark city. Unable to see the temple well from here, she turns to them. “How could you let them go in there alone?” she demands. They can barely meet her accusing eyes let alone answer. “How could he do this to me?” The last question is more to herself than anything else.
Gazing for a moment over to where the temple sits, she then puts her face in her hands and begins to sob. The others in the room glance to each other, none knowing what to do.
Aku gets up from his position in the corner and comes to her. He slips his hand into hers and together they stand there, with only the sound of her sobbing disturbing the silence.
“How many are there?” Potbelly asks. Deflecting a sword stroke with his knife, he follows through with his sword and guts the guard before him.
“I don’t know,” replies Scar. Both of his blades are red with blood from the bodies that litter the hallway from where they stand at the top of the stairs, all the way back to where they first crossed swords.
Ever since the others had left, they’ve held the corridor. Both now sport numerous wounds and have been forced to give ground until they now stand at the top of the stairs. Unwilling to give any more, they decided to make their stand here.
“Wonder if they made it,” Potbelly says as he lashes out with his knife. The man he struck dodges back momentarily when a six inch long cut opens up on lower abdomen,
“Doubt if we’ll ever know,” Scar replies, then he feints with the sword in his left hand. When the temple guard raises his sword to block, he runs him through with his other.
Standing side by side, the two comrades trade blows with all who come. Only rarely do their opponents manage to get through their guard. The skill Scar and Potbelly are facing is woefully below what they’re used to facing in the pits.
“We could always surrender,” suggests Potbelly.
“I’d rather eat bloodworms for breakfast,” replies Scar. “Besides,” he begins then has to pause as his opponent’s sword lunges forward in an attempt to skewer him through the middle. Unfortunately for the guard, he slips on the blood covering the floor and continues forward off balance. It’s easy enough for Scar to trip him up and then nudge him toward the top of the stairs.
Potbelly sees what he did and uses his elbow to propel the guard the rest of the way. As the guard completely loses his balance, he hits the stairs and falls. Tumbling down the stairs, he hits the bottom and doesn’t get back up.
“Besides,” resumes Scar as he readies to meet the next in line, “no one would understand us even if we tried.”
“You do have a point there,” replies Potbelly.
So side by side they continue meeting all comers. Eventually, guards from the city begin to be intermingled with those of the temple. Blades sing and blood flies as man after man meet their fate at the hands of expert pit fighters.
“Move!” urges Jiron. The weight of Miko in his arms is beginning to tire him. Brother Willim and Tinok have fallen behind and he has had to wait for them to hurry up. “James isn’t going to be able to hold off much longer.”
“We’re coming,” Brother Willim hollers back. “Don’t wait for us.”
To himself, Jiron says, “You have the medallion, I have to wait for you.” Then the other two reach him and he moves down an adjoining corridor toward the Hall of Despair. Little Brothers have been their constant companions since leaving James. Most of the time, Brother Willim has one or two who grab hold of his robe and pull him forward. Even they seem to understand the urgency of the situation.
“How much further is it?” Tinok asks. At first he didn’t have much strength, but after walking for awhile, the stamina he once had has begun to return. It must have been the time held inactive h
ere that had done it to him.
“Not much more,” replies Jiron. In fact, the hallway they are in opens up onto the room containing the bone chair, the room that Brother Willim had called the Hall of Despair.
“Almost there,” he says. Upon entering the Hall, he’s surprised not to see bodies of Hikuli scattered across the floor. The last time they passed through here, the Little Brothers were embattled with the Hikuli that populated Ith-Zirul. The fact that the Little Brothers had come to the cavern and that no Hikuli had been seen since, seemed to say that they vanquished the little buggers.
He moves along the side wall until he reaches the entrance to the hallway leading to the dais room. “Down here and then we’re home free,” he announces. Moving into the hallway, he leaves the other two behind as he hurries to the end. Once he reaches the dais room, he lays Miko atop the dais then quickly returns to help the other two.
Lending an arm to both Brother Willim and Tinok, he practically drags them forward. “Easy my son,” Brother Willim says when he almost loses his balance. He’s still not completely over the wound to his middle the warrior priest had dealt him despite the healing he did on himself.
As they enter the room, he helps Tinok up onto the dais first, then he follows. “Now you,” he says as he turns to offer Brother Willim his hand.
Brother Willim takes his hand and steps up upon the dais. The medallion in his pocket triggers the magic within the dais and they vanish.
All his life he had read in books these wondrous tales of people who had overcome the odds. Who had gone the distance despite the obstacles that lay before them. He always wondered if he had it in him to be one of those people. When he sent the others off to safety while he stayed behind, he had his answer.
But what other choice was there?
The struggle to prevent the gate from allowing the presence from the other side from getting through grows harder by the minute. Even with the power of the Star at his beck and call he doesn’t have enough to prevent it for long. Having to put more and more of the Star’s power into holding the gate closed, he’s forced to use less in keeping the shadows away. Slowly they draw ever closer.
The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven Page 55