by John Corwin
"I could crawl faster than this," Sonia complained. "Can't you put the golems on a carpet and tow them?"
Harris's face reddened. "Don't you ever stop complaining?"
Lily unfurled one of the wide carpets on the ground. Harris blew out a sigh and motioned the golems into the middle of it. The carpet rose a few feet off the ground and Lily hitched it to the back of her broom. She looked down at Sonia. "You're such a negative person. Have you ever thought about counselling?"
Sonia bared her fangs. "You ever thought about losing a pint of blood?"
Desmond put a hand on her shoulder. "No more bickering. We have work to do."
We reached edge of the forest ten minutes later and found Kanaan and Shushiel dragging bodies bound in webs into the bushes.
Harris's eyes widened. "Are they dead?"
Kanaan nodded. "Shushiel found two mages hunting a woman in the woods. She did not spare them."
Lily shivered. "Where's the woman?"
"I sent her back to the portal with Asha." Kanaan held up a hand and cocked an ear. "It is clear to proceed." He vanished into the sandstone canyon between the buttes.
Harris looked at the cocooned forms. "I'm glad you killed them Shushiel. Evil like that doesn't deserve to live."
Shushiel's eyes blinked. "In some cases, you may be right." She rotated toward me. "I will look through the forest and then return to the portal to unload the carpets. Be careful, my friends."
Ambria smiled. "Thank you for protecting us."
We proceeded down the trail through the pockmarked buttes until we reached the rounded black mound with the tunnel leading to the foundry. I hadn't noticed it before, but etched in the sandstone just above the tunnel entrance were the words, Devil's Kitchen.
The sides of the carpet holding the golems scraped against the tunnel sides as we followed it inside. Kanaan had measured the width perfectly.
When we reached the nine-sided room with the pattern in the center, Harris gaped. "How is it possible to design something so complicated?"
We steered wide of the pattern and went through the short corridor in the back to the coffin room. Lily, Baxter, and Harris paused to take it all in, but Desmond and Sonia grabbed a carpet and headed straight for the red coffins.
Max flew over to Ivy's coffin. "Get this one first."
Sonia looked through the glass on top and smirked. "Your new girlfriend?"
He blushed and looked as if he wanted to protest, then nodded. "I wish Ivy Slade was my girlfriend."
Sonia frowned, obviously disappointed she hadn't embarrassed the boy. Desmond nudged her and they easily hefted the coffin and slid it onto the flying carpet. It took them no time at all to fit two more into place and strap them down. Max hitched the carpet to his broom and set off across the room. Harris's loader golems started working on the black coffins, moving stiffly but efficiently. Even so, Sonia and Desmond packed two more full carpets by the time the golems finished their first.
Ambria took the next carpet and I followed behind. We gathered speed once we reached the trail in the forest, keeping a close eye on the coffins in case they rolled off around a curve. Thankfully, the straps I'd purchased from the hardware store kept them firmly in place.
We caught up with Max who watched as Shushiel lifted all three coffins with a single web bound to a pulley overhead. I parked my carpet beneath another pulley and Ambria did the same.
"Don't wait on the carpets, Max," Ambria said. "The person behind you will get the one you drop off."
Max snapped his fingers. "Yeah, totally forgot." He detached the tether and flew away. Ambria and I did the same, leaving Shushiel to continue her work.
I saw Stan rolling up Max's first carpet as we sped away and hoped the old man could keep up with the demand.
We passed Harris in the forest on his way to deliver his first load, and nearly ran into Lily on her way through the tunnel. There was no way around or over her, so we had to back up and wait for her to come out.
"Max just barely made it through before I entered," Lily said. "We might need traffic control."
I tapped the comm pendant on my chest. "When you're towing a load, announce when you enter and leave the tunnel so no one runs into you."
Baxter's voice piped through the pendant. "Okay."
"Got it," Harris responded.
Lily smiled. "Problem solved."
Once she cleared the tunnel, Ambria and I jetted through, passing Baxter in the room with the demon pattern.
"Why can't we just fly across it?" he asked.
"It might be warded or awaken a demon," Ambria said. "Best to avoid it."
Baxter gulped. "Good enough reason for me."
Back in the coffin room, Sonia and Desmond had loaded up the rest of the red coffins and moved over to the black ones.
"You children need to move faster," Sonia said. "We're nearly out of carpets."
"Trying," I muttered.
Baxter's voice emanated from my comm pendant and the ones around me. "Entering tunnel."
I tethered a carpet to my broom and set off once again. We worked feverishly, the only talking over the next twenty minutes that of radio chatter as those of us on brooms announced a tunnel approach and exit. The exercise improved our efficiency so much, we almost kept up with Sonia and Desmond.
Shushiel somehow managed to keep up with unloading, but poor Stan had a time rolling up the carpets quickly enough. Lily and Ambria hopped off their brooms and helped him catch up while the rest of us took the ready ones and headed back to the foundry.
I lost count of how many times I made the trip and was surprised when white coffins waited on the next carpet. How many more? I tried to count, but the haphazard pile of white defied me.
Soon, even the vampires' paces slowed, tired by the constant lifting. The golems and their precise clockwork motions began to outpace them, but not those of us ferrying the coffins through the portal. With over twenty of the white boxes left, a line formed. Max and I got off our brooms and tried to help, but the coffins were far too heavy for us to lift.
Kanaan rushed into the room from the back entrance, Asha right behind him. "We must go."
"Go?" I glanced at the remaining pile. "But we're not done."
"There is no time to argue." He waved a hand at the remaining boxes. "We must leave them."
"And allow Victus's people to murder over twenty people?" Ambria shook her head and drew her wand. "I don't think so."
I slid my wand from its holster. "Are the battle mages coming?"
"They started rushing around and grouping up." Asha shrugged. "It's almost as if something alerted them."
"Lovely," Sonia said. "I don't plan to wait around. I'm too tired to fight."
"Please," Ambria said, "we can't leave these people behind."
Desmond flexed his fingers. "I'll do what I can."
Sonia bared her teeth. "You're staying?"
"If you help me, we can finish faster," he said.
Sonia stomped a foot and looked as if she wanted to throw a fit. She took a deep breath, and went back to the remaining stacks of white coffins. "Fine, then. Let's die for strangers."
Kanaan shook his head, but instead of arguing, ran back through the rear exit. Asha gave us a concerned look and followed.
I tapped my comm pendant. "Where are they, Kanaan?"
He didn't answer. Seconds later, he and Asha burst back into the room. They turned, aimed their wands, and blasted the stone above the doorway, collapsing it. "It will take them five minutes to run around the outside," Kanaan said. "We cannot wait any longer."
"We can fight them." Harris brandished his wand. "I'm ready."
"I will lead them away from here," Kanaan said. "Get the rest of the coffins as quickly as you can." He dashed across the chamber and vanished.
Asha stood in place, seemingly uncertain what to do. "I'll go out front and guard the entrance." She tapped her pendant. "Shushiel, we need you here."
"Coming," said the spider.
>
Sonia and Desmond steeled themselves and picked up the pace, loading three more carpets. Lily, Max, and Baxter took off with them while Ambria waited next in line. Sweat broke out on my forehead. I felt as if an army of battle mages might burst through the door at any moment. Ambria took her load and left.
The rocks at the rear entrance shifted. I turned and heat washed over my body. A shockwave blasted rubble through the air. My broom tumbled through the air. I slammed into rock and everything went black.
When I came to my senses, I didn't know how long I'd been out. Something heavy pressed against my legs—a pile of rubble from the explosion. I dragged myself forward an inch, trying to get free. I saw a bloodied Sonia, Desmond draped over her shoulder, racing from the room.
I groaned with effort and managed to pull myself forward another inch. Footsteps tapped my way. I looked up and saw Harris. He stood over me for a long moment, wand clenched tight in his hand. His hair stuck out in all directions, and blood trickled from a cut in his temple. He said nothing as he looked down at me like a person considering whether to kill a roach.
I tried to speak through a throat that felt like a desert. I reached for my wand, but it wasn't in its holster. Harris's entire body shivered and tears formed in his eyes.
"I hate you and your entire family." Blood dripped from his clenched fists. "I don't want to hate you, Conrad. I don't want to blame you, but I can't help it."
Calm settled over me. I knew what happened next. I nodded and swallowed the dust in my mouth. "I understand."
Harris's lips trembled. "I want you all dead." With that, he thrust his wand back into its holster and gripped my hand with the other. He grunted and tugged me free then collapsed on his backside. "I want you dead, Conrad."
"I'm not your enemy," I said.
He nodded. "I know, but I still hate you."
"I wish I could bring back your parents, Harris." Tears burned my eyes. "I wish my father had never been born." I stood up and offered him a hand. Harris looked at it for a moment, then took it and let me pull him to his feet.
More rubble shifted in the back entrance. Shouts echoed from the other side. The way was almost clear for them.
"We'd better run for it." Harris wasted no time following his own advice.
A group of robed mages burst through the remaining barrier, wands and staffs at the ready.
My ankle hurt, but I ignored the pain and raced after Harris. I took out one of Max's yellow potion bombs and threw it toward the back doorway. It landed well short, but the battle mages ran right into the slick and fell all over themselves. I threw a memory fog bomb at the wallowing mages. It burst into a large cloud right in their midst.
Harris might have helped me escape the rubble, but he wasn't waiting around for me to catch up. He was already halfway across the room with the demon pattern. Great red scars ran across the surface of the diagram where Kanaan must have dumped his potion on the way out.
"Conrad!"
The familiar, dreaded voice stopped me in my tracks. I turned and saw Victus standing in the doorway. His thick hair was gone, head shaved bald. A scar ran across his eye where I'd hit him during our encounter in the Glimmer. Gone was the charming exterior, replaced with something more nefarious.
"Where did you come from?" I backed away. "I thought you'd gone to the Grand Nexus!"
"I did, but a hunting expedition returning from the mountains saw your activity and contacted me, so I came back." He held up empty hands. "Forget that for now. Let's talk, son."
"Son?" I could hardly breathe. "Talk? You killed Delectra! You sent Garkin to kill me!"
"Yet, you survived." Victus smiled. "You're powerful, boy. It would be a mistake to end you."
"A mistake?" I barked a laugh and took another step back. I didn't have time to chit-chat with my father, the murderer. "So you'll leave me alone?"
"I will leave your loved ones in peace if you agree to join me." Victus held out his hands imploringly. "Just think. No more running. All your friends will be well-taken care of."
"No." I raised my wand. "I'll never join you."
"Because I'll kill you!" Harris roared from behind me. He stepped in front of me, wand raised. "You murdered my parents, Overlord. Now I'll fulfill the prophecy."
Victus reared back his head and laughed. "Prophecy? Surely you don't mean Foreseeance Five-Thousand, do you?"
"Yes, I do." Energy gathered at the tip of Harris's wand. "Once again shall the evil rise. The son of the fallen is the only hope for victory!" The glowing ball of energy grew brighter with every word.
Victus wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. "Little Harris Ashmore, what do you even know of your parents' deaths?"
"I know that you killed them." Harris aimed the wand toward Victus, but with all the debris and distance between us, I doubted he'd hit the target. "You found out about the prophecy and tried to kill me."
"That would be foolish on my part, don't you think?" Victus tutted. "By killing your parents, I would only put the foreseeance into motion." He waved a hand through the air. "Besides, I didn't kill your parents. The Arcane Council did."
Harris shook his head. "Lying won't get you out of this."
"I'm not lying, boy." Victus folded his arms, completely unconcerned by the wand pointed in his direction. "No one ever told you the truth, did they? No one told you that your parents were killed in a fight with Blue Cloaks because they were working for me!"
Chapter 28
"That's a lie!" Harris screamed and unleashed a bolt of energy from his wand. It sizzled through the air, burning with the hatred of a thousand suns and the rage of an orphaned boy.
For a moment, I dared to hope it was enough.
Victus contemptuously flicked his wand and deflected the shot. It exploded against the wall, leaving a molten mass of lava. "Your father was on the Arcane Council. When they found out he supported me, they had him and your mother assassinated and blamed it on me." My father smiled cruelly at the boy. "Their deaths were used as propaganda. You're no pawn of prophecy, or a great hero waiting to rise. You're just another war orphan."
"No!" Harris flung volley after volley of energy at Victus, but my father deflected them as if batting away flies.
"Your parents were strong, Harris. If you were stronger, I might actually want you to join me." Victus whirled his wand and Harris's wand ripped from his grasp and shattered into splinters.
I conjured a shield, but another blast hurled me and Harris through the air. I landed on my back. Harris groaned and pushed to his knees. I saw Victus walking toward us, the cruel smile still on his lips. "Join me, Conrad, and I'll spare you and the boy."
I rose to my feet and looked him in the eye. "I don't think so." Fireblade sizzled from the tip of my wand. Victus tried to deflect, but it cut through his shield like paper. Eyes wide, he dove to the side. I traced the beam after him, carving rivulets of lava in the stone. "Die, you filthy murderer!" I slashed at him, burning the hem of his robe before he ducked behind a pile of rubble.
My arm trembled as my strength waned. I released the spell, slung Harris's arm over my shoulder and ran for the exit. Bodies of robed mages littered the trail outside. A dead man's torso hung over the side of one of the buttes. A webbed body swung from a rocky overhang. Blood spatters told the tale of a vicious fight.
"Conrad!" Shushiel shimmered into view. "I could not find you."
"We saw Victus." I continued to pull Harris with me. He looked frazzled, but otherwise uninjured. "Is the way clear to the portal?"
"Victus is here?" Shushiel's mandibles twitched. "Go faster, Conrad. I will watch the rear." She leapt onto the rock face and attached a web to it, then leapt across the gap to the other side, blocking the canyon with her silk.
I knew she could take care of herself, but Harris was dragging me down. "Can you run on your own?" I asked.
He blinked. Nodded. "I-I think so."
"Then do it!"
Harris broke into a run and I chased after him. We passed
more bodies, some of them with their throats ripped out, others drained of blood—Sonia and Desmond's handiwork. When we reached the forest, Kanaan appeared from the trees.
"What happened?" he asked.
"One of Victus's people saw us moving the coffins," I explained. "Victus came back."
"Then Garkin is not far behind." Kanaan looked toward the foundry. "Are you the last?"
"Shushiel is behind us," I said.
He nodded. "Then go." He waved us on and paced behind us.
Harris soon slowed, holding his side. "I'm too tired."
Shushiel blurred into view twenty feet behind. "More come."
"I can't run anymore," Harris said.
The huge spider lowered her head and upended the boy onto her back. He shouted in fright and gripped the fur on her back. Shushiel's legs wrapped a strand of webbing across Harris's waist to hold him in place, and she took off at an eight-legged gallop.
Despite my magitsu training, I rapidly tired, but pushed myself forward no matter how heavy my feet felt. I wished I could make my body understand that dying was a lot worse than fatigue so it would cooperate.
At last the portal came into view.
A bolt of lightning obliterated a tree to my right. Splinters flew. Pain bit into my arm and face. I staggered, but a sure hand took me and threw me into the portal. I landed hard on the other side and spun to see Kanaan rolling away as another attack narrowly missed him.
Garkin appeared at the edge of the tree line, a wand and staff in his hands. "Face me, Kanaan. Let us duel for the fate of your apprentice."
Kanaan turned and ran toward the cottage.
"What's he doing?" I shouted. "Get to the portal!"
Garkin unleashed a blast at the cottage, destroying the front door. The next blast caught Kanaan in the side. He rolled to a stop in the dirt, lifeless eyes staring up.
"No!" I screamed. "Kanaan!"
Kanaan appeared from the other side of the portal and leapt in. He snapped his fingers and the portal winked away.
"W-what happened? I saw you die." I reached over and touched him to be sure I wasn't hallucinating.