by Lisa Shearin
“The fate of this world is more important.” Maralah was resigned, like her colonel. “Don’t sacrifice millions for us.”
She was right. I despised logic.
“I’m not giving up and neither are you.”
“Tam …” It was Agata. She was listening, though not to us. “Do you hear that?”
A sound was gradually rising up all around us, a soft thump as the barest touch on a muffled drum, in time with the Heart’s tremors.
No, not from around us.
From inside Baeseria’s crystal coffin.
The flames around the base of her eternal bed began to flicker in time with it. Two beats, then a pause, then two beats, repeated, growing stronger.
Beats.
Heartbeats.
Baeseria’s heart.
Maralah darted around both of us and seized the top edges of the coffin above Baeseria’s shoulders. “You did this, Mother! You can undo it!” She gripped the edges of the coffin lid until the stone cut into her palms. “Mother! Wake up!”
Heartstone crystals began falling from the ceiling, shattering on impact against the coffin.
Baeseria remained still and tranquil.
“The Heart is destroying the city!” Maralah screamed the words with her voice, her thoughts, and her soul.
The princess’s hands were flat against the top of her mother’s coffin, on either side of her face, willing, begging the queen to hear her.
The heartbeats grew stronger.
Baeseria’s eyes opened.
The queen raised her hands until they pressed against the sheet of Heartstone that was all that separated her from Maralah.
Mother and daughter, palm to palm. Maralah’s tears fell freely, dropping to the stone between their hands.
The stone shimmered between them …
… and disappeared.
With a joyous cry, Maralah threw herself into her mother’s arms, and for the first time in nine centuries, mother and daughter embraced.
The ground gave a violent shake, throwing me to my knees beside Baeseria’s bier.
The queen was sitting up, smiling down at me. “Once again, you ignored my orders.”
“But I—”
Her smile broadened. “I told you kneeling wasn’t necessary.”
The geode shuddered around us, sending more crystals crashing down.
The queen’s eyes widened at the destruction taking place and she struggled to get to her feet. “What is ha—”
I swept Baeseria into my arms. “Karnia activated the Heart.”
“How could … but I control—”
“Not right now. And it doesn’t feel like Karnia’s controlling it, either.” I dodged more falling chunks of Heartstone, holding Baeseria close against my body. “You’re welcome to try to talk to it. I couldn’t find the dark crystal,” I told Maralah.
The princess actually grinned, the weight of the ages lifted from her with her mother’s awakening. “If it were easy, anyone could do it.” She dashed across the room to right where I’d been standing and pushed down on one of the crystals there.
The wall opened.
Malik, Talon, and Agata powered up. I did the same.
“I’ve waited too long for this,” Malik said with a vicious smile. “Let’s crash Sandrina’s party.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
“I don’t think we’re walking out of here with this in our pocket,” Malik said.
My friend had always been a master of the understatement.
The door in Baeseria’s tomb had opened into a short tunnel, which led to a wonder. We were concealed in a niche, but it allowed us to see out into the enormous cavern.
I simply stared in awe. Maralah was right. The Heart was bigger than her throne room.
The Heart of Nidaar was roughly cylindrical in shape. I say roughly, because crystals the length of sentry dragons had grown out of the main stone and attached to the walls of the surrounding cavern, rather like support beams in a building. The Heart was embedded in a base of gleaming obsidian, like a setting supporting a precious gem. A precious gem filled with millions of flickering flames. The walls were also obsidian, studded with crystals that had sprouted from the beams, a breathtaking backdrop that reminded me of a star-filled night sky.
There was one manmade element. Rising up from the cavern floor was metal scaffolding that supported a catwalk encircling the entire Heart.
Most of us were agog at the Heart; Talon was transfixed by the obsidian gleaming like black mirrors around its base.
The awakening Heart was threatening to shake apart the city above us, but as soon as we stepped into the cavern, the quakes and vibrations ceased. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane.
There appeared to be no Khrynsani or Sythsaurian guards. I didn’t believe for one instant we would be so lucky as to face Sandrina and Karnia in here alone, but that was what it looked like.
Looks were always deceiving.
Maybe they had activated the Heart and fled. Regardless, we had to stop whatever they had set into motion and get out.
I put my lips next to Maralah’s ear. “Is there another way out?”
The princess pointed to the far side of the Heart’s chamber.
Naturally.
Malik signaled to me that he should go first to ensure the path was clear.
I nodded and held up two fingers. He had two minutes.
Malik could get inside a beehive, steal all the honeycombs, and get out without the bees being any the wiser. He cloaked and disappeared. Completely. It was as if he’d ceased to exist.
“What’s Karnia doing?” I asked Agata.
“I don’t know yet. He’s still increasing the Heart’s power. As soon as I know, I’ll tell you.”
Two minutes passed, and Malik wasn’t back.
And suddenly, we were no longer alone.
Khrynsani armed with Sythsaurian guns shimmered into being not ten feet away—and those guns were aimed directly at us.
How in the hell?
Gleaming on their right wrists were the cuffs the Sythsaurians had used to teleport their way out of being captured by the Cha’Nidaar—and that had encased us all in those green nets.
An alliance with lizard men had its privileges.
Sandrina walked into view from the far side of the Heart. “Bravo, Tamnais. I told Karnia we didn’t need to bother extracting the queen from her crystal box. I assured him that you, in your seemingly endless resourcefulness, would take care of it for us. Now that Baeseria is awake, we can complete our work here and leave. With her, we will be able to use the Heart from anywhere.”
The Khrynsani prodded us all out into the center of the cavern.
Advisor Karnia was on the catwalk, slowly sidestepping his way around the Heart, hands moving over the stone, his touch triggering gouts of flame just beneath the surface. His concentration on the Heart was complete. I doubt he even knew we were there.
Agata had backed up a few steps. The two Khrynsani guarding her thought she was backing away from them in fear. The gem mage was simply maneuvering to put unlimited ammunition at her fingertips—a small pile of fallen Heartstone crystals. All she needed now was an opportunity.
“Put me down, Tamnais,” Baeseria said. “I can stand on my own.”
The anger in her voice wasn’t directed at me, but I still did as told.
“We had planned to use Nidaar as our base for the invasion,” Sandrina said to the queen, “but Karnia tells me that bombs have been planted throughout your beautiful city.”
“I know of this,” Baeseria said. “I approved it.”
“Losing the city isn’t a problem now that we have you,” Sandrina continued. “My son knew it wasn’t necessary to have the Saghred physically in his possession, if he had Raine Benares. He could use the Saghred through Raine, which is exactly what we plan to do here. We can’t remove the Heart from the mountain, but with the aid of the Sythsaurians’ marvelous devices, we can quickly remove you.”
I refused to be baited. I also refused to let anyone remove Baeseria from my side. The Khrynsani surrounding us appeared to be in no hurry to try. Nor had they disarmed us, which was more than odd, not that I was about to complain. Perhaps they didn’t think they needed to, since they were armed with their new allies’ weapons.
“You speak of the Sythsaurians as if they have any intention of keeping their end of whatever devil’s bargain you’ve made with them,” I said.
“You say that like we have any intention of keeping ours. You know me so much better than that.”
“If you’ll recall, they abandoned you at the first sign of trouble.”
Sandrina shrugged. “I didn’t take it personally. I would have done the same in their place. Besides, I needed to be captured, so I could be taken before this enterprising young lady.” She looked to Baeseria. “Your daughter has done a splendid job in your absence of keeping everything fully operational.”
My mind was racing. If Baeseria was teleported out of here, blowing up the mountain wouldn’t stop Sandrina and her lizard allies. Behind me, I actually felt Agata reaching out to the Heart, and for the first time, I was grateful as hell for our umi’atsu bond.
“He doesn’t have complete control of it yet,” she said in my mind. “But he will soon. It knows him.” There was a pause, and I could feel Agata’s blood run cold. “Tam, through the Heart, I can see what Karnia is doing. He means to destroy Regor.”
“What? How?”
“There’s a fault line in a mountain range beneath the Sea of Kenyon, two hundred miles off Rheskilia’s coast. He’s aiming the Heart there. The resulting earthquake will send a giant wave that will increase in size and speed as it crosses the sea to Regor. His calculations show that every city on Rheskilia’s coast will be destroyed.”
“How long do we have to stop him?” I asked.
“Not long. Minutes at the most.”
Damn.
“Can you slow him down?”
“What do you think I’m trying to do?”
Time to buy some time—for Agata and Malik. If he wasn’t dead, he was up to something.
“Nice trick getting past the queen’s guards,” I told Sandrina.
“I knew the guards would not hesitate to let their princess see her dear mother, and being in the throne room gave me more than enough time to study her mannerisms and voice.” The air in front of Sandrina wavered, and a flawless replica of Maralah stood before us. Ever the showman, Sandrina gave us ample time to admire her handiwork before changing back. “While she linked with you, I memorized her.”
The Heartstone in Agata’s pendant was blazing red. “Karnia,” she shouted, “if you continue what you’re doing, you’ll bring the mountain down on us all.”
“Magus Azul, while your skill in gem magic is impressive, this gentleman has actually used the Heart of Nidaar before.” Sandrina grinned at me. “Most recently to prevent your ships from reaching the coast. Did you think there was only one way into this cavern?”
Malik was right. I should’ve stuck a knife in Karnia when I had the chance.
“He’s going to kill us all,” Agata said in my mind. “The Heart is resisting him. That resistance will shake this cavern apart.”
“Before or after it destroys Regor?”
“Unknown. There’s so much power…”
“Talon,” I said, knowing the guards could hear regardless of how quiet I was, so I didn’t bother. “Agata isn’t feeling well. Help her.”
Agata let out a little gasp and staggered back a step, her hand now against one of the huge Heartstone support beams.
“Nice touch,” I told her.
“I wasn’t acting,” she snapped.
Talon slid his arm around Agata’s waist, and I felt her power increase. I sensed Talon’s power through Agata, but that was all. The umi’atsu bond didn’t let me into his mind. I tried to share my own power with Agata, but was blocked. By what, I didn’t know. Words and sensations could pass between us, but not power.
I had no problem with the cavern, city, and mountain coming down. That was our plan. What wasn’t in that plan was us being here when it happened. Ten minutes had passed since Malik had spoken to Jash. Everyone else was safe. We were the only ones who weren’t. My spy gem hung on a chain around my neck, I could activate it and contact Jash without touching it or lifting it out of my shirt if I had to, but it might muffle my instructions. A command to blow up a city and mountain—or to give us more time—wasn’t something you wanted to have misunderstood.
“The Seven Kingdoms need to know what we are capable of doing should they defy us.” Sandrina looked down at me. “It’s simple. You killed the Khrynsani and destroyed our temple; I will destroy Regor—and all of its people. The Heart is a precision instrument. Advisor Karnia assures me that the wave resulting from the earthquake he will trigger beneath the Sea of Kenyon will make the one he hit your fleet with appear as a ripple in a pond. You may have been too quick to promise to take the Cha’Nidaar home. Soon, there won’t be a home left for them to go to. That show of power should get the Seven Kingdoms’ attention.”
She paused for a moment. “Though after our demonstration, they should change the name to the Six Kingdoms, since the goblin royal court and government will have ceased to exist, and you will have a front-row seat to their destruction.” The smile broadened in delicious satisfaction. “Your family is at your home in Regor, are they not, Tamnais? Perhaps after the Heart has done its work, my allies can arrange for you and your son to visit the ruins.”
I lunged for the ladder to the catwalk and got zapped in the back for my trouble. Though from my new vantage point on the ground, I saw Agata use the distraction get her other hand on the massive Heartstone beam, aiming even more of her and Talon’s combined power at disrupting Karnia.
And I got my spy gem into my clenched fist.
Maralah helped me back to my feet.
“Advisor Karnia estimates that it will take a little over two hours for the wave to form and reach Rheskilia,” Sandrina was saying, “and you have no way to warn them. The Khrynsani will always win, Tamnais. I will always win.”
The millions of flickering tongues of flame inside the Heart began to coalesce, until the entirety of the Heart’s interior pulsed as one.
It was fully awake.
“This is not the Heart’s will,” Baeseria said, her eyes distant and unfocused. “Karnia is forcing it.”
I flashed back to Kansbar’s account of what had happened the day the Khrynsani had awakened the Heart. They had aimed the stone outward as a test and had destroyed the east coast of Aquas.
The Heart had struck back and destroyed every living being in its cavern.
We were living beings, but if we didn’t get out of here soon, we weren’t going to be living for long.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The Heart couldn’t be moved, but the cavern containing it had no such limitations.
A deep rumble came from below, cracking the rock beneath our feet and running up the wall closest to where we stood, splitting the obsidian slabs.
The Khrynsani continued to stand guard over us, albeit nervously. They didn’t need to worry about being buried under untold tons of rubble. All they had to do was teleport out of here when it got too dangerous, a luxury the rest of us didn’t have.
The ground lurched violently, throwing us and our Khrynsani guards to the ground.
An invisible force wrenched a Sythsaurian gun from a fallen Khrynsani. Malik uncloaked and vaporized two of the guards before they could bring their weapons around. I attacked the one closest to me and finally got to use my dagger. He’d had two guns and now they were mine. I tossed one to Maralah and we opened fire.
“Look out!” Talon screamed as one of the dragon-sized crystal support beams snapped off from the Heart and crashed toward the floor. I grabbed Maralah and dove out of the way as it hit where we had just been, shattering into lethal shards. I shielded her with my magic and m
y body. Two Khrynsani were neither fast nor lucky enough and were crushed beneath a column-sized piece. Malik swooped in and collected teleportation cuffs from the arms extending from beneath the rubble.
I spun and scanned the catwalk for Sandrina as another wave of tremors dropped me to my knees.
She was gone, but Karnia was still there. I started to raise the gun, but I couldn’t risk missing. I summoned my magic and flipped my right hand palm up to aim a column of red—
“No!” It was Baeseria. “The Heart will fire it back—”
“I’m not aiming at the Heart.”
“Karnia is linked to it. To strike him is to strike the Heart.”
Dammit.
Waves of quakes struck, one after the other. I struggled to my feet only to be tossed to the floor again, and the queen with me.
Agata and Talon made it over to where we were as I helped Baeseria to her feet.
“I need to get up there,” Agata said.
Baeseria disengaged herself from my arms. “I must go with her.” She glanced at Talon. “Just the two of us. You are strong, young man, but the Heart does not know you. We are old friends. I will attempt to calm it.”
The tremors intensified as we helped Baeseria and Agata to the Heart’s obsidian base. The catwalk circled the Heart near its middle, but there were exposed lower sections of the stone that were only a short climb up the blocks and slabs of obsidian.
I didn’t know how they planned to stop Karnia. The raw power rolling in waves from the Heart blocked my bond with Agata, but I didn’t need to know how they were going to do it. My job was to protect them while they did.
Agata climbed, moving quickly and surely, until she was close enough to the Heart’s base to touch it. It had pulsed and brightened over the past minute, charging itself to strike, to channel its energy where Karnia was aiming it. Baeseria moved more slowly, but soon joined Agata at the Heart.
The gem mage and the queen of the Nidaar laid their hands flat against the stone.
No.
Baeseria’s word of simple, unwavering defiance echoed in my head.
From above, Karnia jerked violently as if he’d been struck by lightning.