by Dean Cadman
“I don’t know—but it was far too powerful to have come from one of the paladins,” Zedd replied, mostly to himself.
Zedd could now see a light at the end of one of the corridors. He extinguished his own light source and slowly started walking towards the light, Cole followed close behind. There was a brief sound of movement, quickly followed by another flash of bright light, and then a cry of anger. Almost immediately, another bright flash—more voices—and yet another bright flash. ‘Something strange was going on in that room,’ Zedd thought to himself.
“Cole, go see if you can see what’s happening down there,” Zedd said in a hushed voice. Cole paused, contemplating refusal, but a moment later his fatalism took over once more, and he did as commanded without question. Slowly and carefully, he approached the lit room at the far end of the corridor. When he was within twenty paces of the room, he could hear voices. Empire voices.
In an instant, Cole’s spirits were lifted by the mere sounds of their voices. ‘Whoever they were, they had to be very powerful to have killed the boy-mage, and now Zedd could no longer kill him—well, not in front of an agent so powerful anyway,’ Cole thought, smiling to himself. Cole stepped into the brightly lit room, and his world instantly came crashing back down around him. What he saw staggered him. On the floor, wearing the red robe of his station, was a dead Inquisitor. Inquisitors were considered to be the most powerful of all magi, and all but invincible. They could render almost any mage powerless through their special mind magic, and were used to interrogate anyone who managed to resist the mind reading abilities of lesser magi; almost nobody could hide information from an Inquisitor.
It was then that Cole noticed the ten Darkseed Elite guards that towered over the body of the Inquisitor. ‘Darkseed Elite guards, here? But that would mean…’ Cole thought numbly. Then he saw him—Lord Zelroth stepped out from behind the ten Darkseed Elite guards. Cole fell to his knees, prostrating himself in front of his Lord.
As Cole’s knees hit the floor, Zedd appeared in the doorway behind him. Just like Cole, it took his mind a while to comprehend what he was seeing before him. Zedd’s face lost all its colour, as the magnitude of his situation began to sink in. In moments his mind would be read by Lord Zelroth, and he would be killed. His family would be stripped of all their wealth and either killed or forced to become beggars on the streets of the capital, Irragin—he wasn’t sure which fate was worse.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Lord Zelroth asked, glowering at them both.
“Sire, my name is Zedd, and this is Cole,” Zedd replied, trying to think of a plausible story as to why they were here. “Sire, we were searching for the boy-mage in the base of the mountains near Stelgad when we stumbled across his tracks. I sent word back to Stelgad that we intended to follow his trail, and for them to send reinforcements, but none came. We had no food or water, or provisions of any kind for such a journey, but I felt we must follow him, no matter what the risk to ourselves. We followed the boy-mage and his party for over two weeks in these mountains. It was my suspicion that he was heading for their secret training facility, and I knew how important it was for the Empire to discover its location, so we continued alone,” Zedd said, realising that everything he had told Lord Zelroth would soon be found out to be a lie after he read his mind. ‘If he read his mind,’ Zedd thought. ‘Maybe he should embellish his story more, just in case he neglected to read his mind.’
“Sire, I’m sorry to report that we lost several men during our pursuit, but we did kill some of the boy-mage’s party and badly injured the paladin who travels with him. However, I think the boy-mage possesses healing abilities, because when we last saw the paladin, he seemed to be moving around quite freely,” Zedd said, hoping Lord Zelroth didn’t know the true number of travelling companions the boy-mage started out with.
“And you… Cole, wasn’t it?” Lord Zelroth said, moving to stand directly in front of Cole.
“Yes, sire.”
“Do you agree that your commander’s story is accurate?” Lord Zelroth asked. “I suggest you consider your answer carefully.”
Cole paused, knowing that the instant he began to deny Zedd’s story, he would kill him. However, if he collaborated with Zedd, and Lord Zelroth read their minds, they would both die anyway. ‘At least he had no family, and therefore the punishment would end here for him, unlike Zedd,’ Cole thought to himself, gaining a little bit of twisted self-satisfaction from the situation.
“Yes, sire, it’s all true,” Cole replied calmly. Zedd showed no outward signs of surprise at his words, but inside he breathed a sigh of relief. Lord Zelroth paced back and forth in silence for what seemed like an age. Neither Zedd nor Cole moved, both keeping their heads bowed, and both waiting for the inevitable feeling of their minds being read.
“So—you killed some of the boy-mage’s party, did you? And how exactly did you manage that?” Lord Zelroth asked sarcastically, with more than a hint of menace behind his words. Zedd thought quickly, knowing the trap Lord Zelroth was trying to set for him: if the boy-mage had just managed to escape ten Darkseed Elite, an Inquisitor, and Lord Zelroth himself, how could Zedd ever have killed his companions?
“Sire, I devised a plan to deplete the boy-mage’s magical reserves, then take advantage of that fact. I first created a situation where either the boy-mage or the paladin had to always be on lookout duty during the night, reducing his ability to regenerate his magical reserves. We attacked his shield during the day and recharged the magic we had used by night. I repeated this process for twelve days and nights, then I caused a large rockslide, severely injuring the paladin, and killing several of the boy-mage’s travelling companions when his shield failed against the falling rocks. After that I reanimated the dead corpses and sent them against the boy-mage’s party, thus further depleting his magical reserves and denying them all any rest. Unfortunately my plan failed to deliver the boy-mage to you, sire. For that, I beg your forgiveness. I just wish I’d had more men at my disposal, and I’m sure things would have turned out very differently,” Zedd said, with as much sincerity in his voice as he could muster.
Lord Zelroth remained silent for a long time. Zedd desperately wanted to look up and see his face, but dared not raise his bowed head. He was waiting for the inevitable feeling of his mind being read, and the no-doubt painful death that would follow.
“You have impressed me, Zedd, and that is not something that happens very often. Your ability to take such a disadvantage in both numbers and power, and turn it to your own advantage through careful planning is commendable. I only wish I had more like you within our forces. I see the strength of your aura puts you towards the upper end of your current rank. But I also see that your understanding of battlefield tactics far outweighs your rank.
“It seems that the boy-mage has managed to evade my grasp once more. I believe he has travelled to the Deceiver’s temple in Lamuria, but he cannot be allowed to assist the temple in strengthening their defences. Not after I have spent so long depleting them. Time is no longer on our side. I have already set in motion the plans for attacking the Deceiver’s temple, but now I fear that we must speed things up greatly if we are to succeed in capturing the temple. I need someone to take command of our forces attacking Lamuria. Someone who can see the opportunities others cannot—and take full advantage of those opportunities. And that someone is you, Zedd. I intend to promote you to the rank of Baliaeter. You will then travel to Lamuria and take control of our forces there. Use whatever tactics you feel will be most effective to take control of the Deceiver’s temple,” Lord Zelroth said, turning away from Zedd and Cole.
Zedd’s heart raced at Lord Zelroth’s words. Finally he had achieved what he set out to do: climb the almost impossible ladder of power within the Empire. Becoming a Baliaeter was not a simple promotion in rank, it was one of the highest ranks within the entire Empire: only the Inquisitors and Darkseed Elite were higher.
“Thank you, sire,” Zedd said breathles
sly. “I am humbled beyond words that you would choose me for this task.”
“Of course you are,” Lord Zelroth replied smoothly, turning back towards Zedd with a menacing grin on his face—only just visible from deep within the shadows of his hood. “But first, let us confirm the validity of your story, shall we…”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Are you alright, lad?” Renn asked by Lusam’s side. Neala also raced over to him.
“Did they hurt you, Lusam?” Neala asked sounding very concerned, and taking hold of his hand.
“No—no, I’m fine. But I don’t think travelling through the pedestals more than once in quick succession is a good idea,” Lusam replied, fighting the strong feelings of nausea. “Give me a minute, I’ll be fine.”
“Err—shouldn’t we be going now? What happens if they just follow us here through the pedestals?” Alexia asked, looking nervously around the book room, obviously expecting them to appear at any moment.
“I think we’re safe here,” Lusam replied, sitting up and putting his back against the wall.
“I hope you’re right, lad,” Renn said, looking equally concerned. “I’m pretty sure that was Lord Zelroth himself back there. The men with him were Darkseed Elite guards, and the one in the red robes—the one you somehow managed to kill—was an Inquisitor.”
Lusam remained silent, running through the recent events in his mind. Many things were becoming much clearer now. His understanding of the book’s contents and how things worked were neatly slotting into place within his mind. He should have been shocked to discover that it was Lord Zelroth in Coldmont, but somehow he wasn’t. He now had a much better understanding of how the books worked, and how they were linked with each other. Lord Zelroth appearing in Coldmont as he did could only mean one thing: he had read the book in Coldmont before and had access to at least one other book.
Lusam’s thoughts were interrupted by Neala’s voice, “What’s an Inquisitor?”
“An Inquisitor is an incredibly powerful mage who uses a secret and highly specialized type of mind magic. It’s said that they can gain access to anyone’s mind, no matter how powerful they are, and control them through pain, fear or direct mind control. They are by far the most feared of all the Empire forces. They are supposed to be all but invincible, and to my knowledge nobody has ever defeated one—well… not until today, anyway,” Renn replied, still looking at Lusam.
“If they’re so invincible, how did Lusam kill that one?” Alexia asked, still scanning the room for any signs of Lord Zelroth and his Darkseed Elite guards.
“That’s a good question, and one that I’d like to know the answer to myself,” Renn replied. Lusam looked up from his sitting position to find all three of them looking at him expectantly, all waiting for an explanation as to how he had managed to kill the ‘invincible’ Inquisitor. Lusam sighed and stood up, his nausea now thankfully beginning to subside.
“It really wasn’t so difficult. When I managed to look at him, I could see the link he had made to each of our minds. There were several long strands of dark energy that came from his mind, and each strand connected to one of our minds. All I did was follow my strand back to him, creating a conduit of my own within his dark energy stream. Then I sent a powerful pulse back down it and into his brain, killing him,” Lusam said, shrugging his shoulders a little.
“You know, Lusam, you really are special. It’s no wonder Aysha favours you so,” Renn said, smiling and shaking his head slightly. “And thank you for coming back to rescue me like that. I appreciate it, lad.”
“No problem,” Lusam replied. “If I’m honest, I did consider leaving you there so I wouldn’t have to go to the High Temple with you. But I figured they’d only send someone else to fetch me, and they might not be as much fun to tease as you are,” Lusam said, disappearing through the door and into the corridor beyond, trying hard not to burst out laughing at the look on Renn’s face. Neala saw Renn close his eyes and look up, then he seemed to whisper something under his breath. She thought she read his lip movement as “give me strength,” but she wasn’t completely sure.
Lusam waited in the corridor for the rest of them to catch up. Alexia was the last one to leave the book room, and as she stepped out, the bright light inside was extinguished, and the door started slowly closing behind her. Everyone stopped mid-stride, and at first Lusam thought they had seen or heard something behind him. He spun round to look down the corridor towards the main chamber, but he couldn’t see any movement there. Then he began to listen intently, but again, he could hear nothing. Looking back to the others, he noticed that they were still standing very still, as if they were waiting for something.
“What are you waiting for?” Lusam whispered, just in case he had missed something important.
Neala’s voice echoed loud and clear in the stone corridor. “What kind of stupid question is that? We’re waiting for you to create some light so we can see where we’re going,” she said, sounding a little annoyed.
Lusam hadn’t even realised the corridor was now in total darkness. His mind had somehow activated one of his new spells by itself, enabling him to see in the dark. It seemed to be an extension of his mage-sight, one that allowed him to see in perfect detail, even though there was no light whatsoever.
“Oh—sorry, I didn’t realise. Apparently I can now see in complete darkness. It must be one of the new abilities from Coldmont’s book, I guess,” Lusam said apologetically.
“That’s great, lover-boy, but none of us can see in the dark. Would you mind?” Alexia said sarcastically. Lusam created one of his light orbs, almost blinding everyone standing before him with its sudden brightness.
“Thanks,” Alexia said rubbing her eyes.
“No problem,” Lusam replied grinning.
“You should get your things and we should leave as soon as possible,” Renn said.
“Leave? But why? We’re safe here. We’ve been running for weeks. None of us has had much sleep lately, and we could all do with a good meal inside us,” Neala said.
“Not to mention a bath and some clean clothes,” Alexia said. “I’ve had these clothes on since before I was taken prisoner by the Hawks’ guild. If I don’t get out of them soon, I’m pretty sure they will be stuck to me forever.”
“I have to agree with Neala and Alexia. Besides, it will be dark in a couple of hours anyway, so why not spend the night here in relative comfort and safety. We also have plenty of gold coins here, so we can buy whatever provisions we’ll need for our onward journey from within Helveel,” Lusam said.
Renn didn’t reply immediately; instead, he chose his words carefully. “You said that you thought we were safe here and that Lord Zelroth and his men couldn’t follow us—tell me why you think that, lad?”
“It’s because of the way the books work. You can only travel to a book that you have already read,” Lusam replied confidently.
“So, what you’re telling me is that Lord Zelroth hasn’t read this book, because if he had, he could come here just like we did?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“And because there are no guards here keeping this book safe, we have to assume that Lord Zelroth—and probably everyone else in the world apart from us—doesn’t even know that this place exists.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, so why not stay here a night or two and take advantage of that?” Lusam asked slightly confused.
“Well… Lord Zelroth now knows what you look like. And we also have to assume that there are still Empire agents within Helveel. If he distributes a description of you—or any of us, for that matter—and we’re spotted here in Helveel, not only will he know where we are, he’ll also know there is another Guardian book somewhere here in Helveel. He would tear this city apart until he found it, and there would be nothing we could do about it,” Renn replied. Lusam nodded slowly, taking what Renn had said seriously, but applying his own logic to Renn’s argument.
“I agree with what you say, but if you were in
Lord Zelroth’s shoes and had the same information as he had about me, what would be your conclusion as to where I gained access to my first book? He knows that I’ve read at least two books, and he knows one was Coldmont’s book. He also suspected that I lived in Helveel for a long time, just as you did.”
Renn’s face showed that he fully understood Lusam’s implication. He hadn’t seen how obvious it was. Helveel was now doomed to fall, and Lord Zelroth would become even more powerful than he already was. Lusam waited for Renn to reply, but when he didn’t, he decided to continue anyway.
“From what you’ve told me, Lord Zelroth wants something important from the High Temple in Lamuria. I’m guessing there’s another Guardian book there,” Lusam said, but was interrupted by Renn.
“No, there is no Guardian book in the High Temple. If there was, I would know about it,” Renn said with conviction.
“Okay, so not a Guardian book, then. Maybe something else he covets greatly. Something he is willing to spend decades, possibly even centuries to obtain,” Lusam replied.
“Possibly, but what that might be, I do not know,” Renn said.
“How can he or anyone else have been doing anything for centuries?” Alexia asked confused.
“He’s incredibly old. Some say he even lived during the time of The Dragon-Mage Wars. Others, that he was born shortly afterwards, but all agree he is extremely old indeed. Nobody knows for sure how he extends his life, but many scholars believe it’s linked to his twisted use of necromancy. And it’s not only restricted to Lord Zelroth. His Darkseed Elite and his Inquisitors are said to be almost as old as he is. Most likely the one you just killed was many centuries old himself,” Renn replied.
“Well… there must be something in the High Temple that he wants badly. You already told me that his forces were sporadically attacking the High Temple even before you left to come and find me. And we know they’ve stepped up their attacks massively from what Hershel told us when we were at The Sanctum of Light in Stelgad. Whether or not Lord Zelroth believes there is a book within Helveel or not, I doubt he will change his plans for attacking the High Temple. He has far too much time invested in it, and far too many of his forces committed to it,” Lusam said.