"Firelord Talin," said one of the guards, "who are these people? Firelord Atarin gave strict orders about who's allowed inside."
"Well, I'm allowed inside," Talin said. "Aren't I?"
"Of course, but you can't bring these people with you."
"We'll see about that," Talin said with a meaningful nod toward the rest of the party. Deril and Davin wove a shield to silence the guards. The men realized what they were doing, but too late. By the time they reacted, Talin and Kae had set them on fire.
The guards crumpled to the ground, screaming silently behind the shields. Deril felt another pang of sympathy, but he shoved it aside.
Talin stepped over the guards' bodies and touched his hand to the wall. Slowly, it rumbled open, and Deril's stomach gave a mighty lurch. He couldn't believe how close he was to the end, yet it still felt like some distant goal. Somewhere down there, his father was waiting.
Somewhere down there, an insane god was about to return.
Talin motioned the party forward. Deril strode in behind him, wishing he could calm his queasy stomach. Inside, spiraling stone steps led downward for hundreds of feet. Light came from far below, accompanied by voices.
"How many people are down there," Deril whispered to Talin.
"Ten, I think, all Firelords."
"How can we hope to stop them?" Deril said.
"No idea," Talin said.
Well, they'd have to improvise. That brought Deril back to the moment this had all began, when he'd run after his father, jumping off the cliff like a madman. Not his proudest moment, but something he'd needed to do.
They descended the steps as quickly and quietly as possible. With every step, Deril felt more like turning and running the other way. How could he be the best person for this?
As they got closer to the bottom, the voices became clearer.
"The weave is almost finished," someone announced in a loud voice. Probably Atarin. "A few more seconds and our god will be free."
Hearing the triumph in that voice, Deril knew the words were true. His father was about to be part of the worst mistake in history, and Deril could do nothing to stop it.
"We're too late," he said. The bottom of the chamber looked almost a hundred feet away.
The others remained silent, shaking their heads and looking down at the shadowy floor.
Then Deril realized what he could do. He wove Yellow and Blue and leapt, praying his shield would be strong enough. Yes, he'd practiced this, but he hadn't jumped this far since the day he'd broken his legs.
Air whooshed past him. His stomach leapt with anticipation. The light came closer and closer, the voices louder. The people at the bottom came into view. A few of them looked up, their eyes wide as Deril plummeted toward them.
At last, he hit the ground. Pain flared through his legs, but they didn't feel broken. Everyone had frozen, caught by surprise. Everyone except the two men in the center of the room.
The red-bearded one, presumably Atarin, looked toward a circular indentation in the floor. The other man was Deril's father. His eyes were closed, and Deril sensed a powerful shield around him, a shield designed to stop everything but the weave that would free Halarik.
After a moment, Atarin turned to Deril. "I don't know how you got in here, but you're too late. The weave is complete."
Deril looked into his father's eyes. The Sunlord nodded gravely.
The air shimmered in front of them. Everyone watched in silence, ignoring Deril's presence. Deril didn't want to see this, but he kept his eyes on the scene. He couldn't escape anyways, not against so many.
The shimmering grew stronger. The ground trembled. Something dark and shadowy materialized in front of them, coalescing into a thicker and darker cloud. The Firelords all stepped toward it with huge smiles, but Deril felt as though evil hovered right in front of him.
The cloud disappeared. In its place stood a large man with a thick beard. But Deril knew this was no man.
This was Halarik.
* * * * *
Kadin kept weaving colors together, praying for the breakthrough he needed. The ground rumbled, distracting him for a moment. He looked toward the others, but they were shaking their heads.
"I think you're getting close," Faina said. "Keep working."
"I'm almost through my reserves," Kadin said, working to hold back his anger and frustration. He hated to think this could all depend on him.
Voices came from out in the corridor, followed by banging against stone. Kadin peered toward the door, his heart hammering. "Have they discovered us?"
"Don't worry about that," Tharik said. "We'll handle it. Focus, Kadin."
Focus. It sounded so easy to everyone else, but it wasn't to him. He tried his best, though, pushing aside his doubts, concentrating on the necessary weave. Three colors. Four. Five. His head pounded. His breathing felt labored. One more color. That was all he needed.
One more color.
Something felt different this time. Warmth flooded through him, and he looked up at the sun. The power coursed through his entire body, almost as though it were something alive. It was the greatest experience of his life. In a moment, all his frustrations vanished. He felt nothing but the power.
But he knew he had to release it to complete the weave. After a deep breath, he did so, and weakness overtook him. He collapsed, the world spinning around him.
"Kadin, are you all right?" Faina said, kneeling beside him and touching his shoulder.
He looked into her eyes. "I'm great. I did it."
And then the door burst into dozens of chunks.
* * * * *
Deril backed away as Halarik stepped out of the indentation in the floor. The fire god looked around for a few moments, as though confused, but then he smiled.
"Free at last," he said in a deep voice, his eyes wild and unnerving.
But then there was a change in the air of the room, and another shimmer formed around Halarik. He glanced around with panic in his eyes. His figure became fuzzy, and rage crossed his face as he waved his arm in a sharp motion. Atarin rushed toward him but couldn't touch him.
In the blink of an eye, Halarik vanished, and the entire palace began to tremble.
"What did you do?" Atarin demanded, advancing on Deril.
Deril smiled even though his death was seconds away. "I didn't do anything. It was all Kadin. You thought you eliminated every potential Sunlord, but you didn't. I found one, and I've been training him. Now that he's performed the Sunlord's weave, he's stopped your plan."
"I can always try this again," Atarin said. "I'll find this Kadin and bend him to my will."
"He'll be too well protected," Deril said, though he didn't believe it. Not with Kadin standing within the palace's walls. But Atarin didn't know that.
The rumbling had grown stronger, and bits of dust were falling from the ceiling far above. The Firelords looked up, eyes wide with alarm.
"I think we need to get out of here," one said. "Whatever went wrong with the weave looks like it's going to destroy the palace."
Deril laughed, no longer caring if he lived or died. "No, I think your precious fire god did this right before he disappeared. He truly is insane. Anyone can see that now."
"Let's go," Atarin said, rushing past Deril. The other Firelords did the same, sprinting up the spiraling steps. For a moment, Deril watched them.
He turned to his father. "Can you run?"
"I'm still in good shape," his father said as larger chunks of the chamber began crashing down around them. "But I'm not sure we have enough time."
Deril took off at a sprint, his father right behind him. They raced up the steps as the trembling became fiercer. Deril struggled to keep his balance. The ground looked so small beneath him. If he fell, he wouldn't have the time to get back up.
Ahead of them, almost at the top of the chamber, the Firelords were shouting. What had happened to the rest of Deril's party? Had they taken shelter somewhere, or perhaps escaped by now?
The steps felt like they stretched forever. Higher and higher they climbed, the world quaking around them. Deril and his father had both woven shields, which deflected the large chunks of rock falling from the ceiling. Behind them, the stairs had begun to collapse. How long until everything came down around them?
No shield could protect them from that.
Deril's father was panting behind him.
"Just a little farther," Deril said, stopping suddenly. A section of five steps had fallen away in front of him. Could he make a jump that far? He glanced around, heart pounding as the quake became so strong he could barely stay on his feet.
"Don't hesitate," his father said. "Trust yourself."
Deril took a deep breath and made the jump. When he hit the other side, his legs dangled off the edge, but he managed to pull himself up to the steps.
He turned back to his father. "Reach out and grab my hand. Trust me."
"I trust you, Deril."
His father extended his hand over the gap, leaning as far as he could. Deril did the same and grabbed onto his father's hand. His father made the jump himself and reached the other side with Deril's help.
Then the bottom step crumbled beneath his father's feet. Deril's stomach lurched, but he held with all the strength he had as his father's feet dangled over the edge. His father's weight was pulling him down. Deril tried to hold on to something with his legs, but amidst the great trembling, it wouldn't matter. He slid closer and closer to the edge.
At least they'd prevented Halarik's return.
* * * * *
Weak and trembling, Kadin watched as the Fire Guards stormed into the room, pushing through the debris left from the door. They sent a giant burst of fire through the chamber. Kadin flinched away and closed his eyes, knowing he lacked the light reserves to weave a shield.
But the flames didn't touch him. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Faina and Rella remained standing. Flames had engulfed Tharik, though.
Tharik had barely known Kadin, and he'd saved Kadin's life by sacrificing his own.
Kadin didn't deserve that.
Still, how could they escape the Fire Guards? In a few moments, Tharik's sacrifice would mean nothing. Kadin waited for the next surge of fire, but then the palace began to tremble as though a violent earthquake had struck it. The Fire Guards glanced around in panic, then darted out of the room as chunks of stone fell from the ceiling.
Kadin dodged one before rushing to Faina's side. "You need to cast your shield around me," he said. "I can't do it myself."
Faina nodded, her eyes alight with terror. "Stay close to me."
They rushed out of the room, huddling beneath their shields as more and more debris threatened to pummel them. Kadin glanced back once at Tharik, whose body was now a charred husk. Poor man.
Out in the corridor, the shaking was worse than ever. Shouts came from the distance, both from their left and their right. They took off toward the left. No time to worry about people coming from behind them. Kadin's heart pounded, and sweat clung to his clothing.
Down the corridor. To its entrance. Into another corridor.
Kadin glanced both ways, struggling to stay on his feet. "Which way do we go?"
"I-I don't know," Faina said.
Rella turned to them. "Follow me. I know my way around."
Here in the main section of the palace, there was nothing but chaos. All around, chunks of the ceiling were crashing to the floor. Screams and shouts came from everywhere. Kadin followed Rella without thought, pushing through his weakness, feeling lost and terrified.
A huge chunk of the ceiling crashed down in front of them, blocking their path.
"Damn!" Rella shouted, flinching as bits of rock blasted her shield. "We need to move this."
"My Yellow/Green weave isn't strong enough," Faina said.
"My reserves are gone," Kadin said. "I can't do a thing."
Rella's eyes widened, and she glanced back the way they'd come. "We'll have to find another path then."
They retraced their path, sprinting as fast as their legs would carry them. Kadin's breath came in sharp gasps, and he felt like doubling over in exhaustion, but he pushed through the pain.
At a nearby junction, they froze. A group of Firelords raced out of the corridor, Atarin among them. Kadin and the others dodged to the side, and the Firelords ignored them.
"We could follow them," Faina said. "They'll clear the debris."
The rumble had become almost deafening. Kadin struggled more than ever to stay on his feet. "Which is faster, following them or finding another way?"
Rella hesitated a moment, her balance wavering. "Faina's right. Let's follow them."
But was that the right choice?
* * * * *
Just as Deril thought his father would carry him down to the floor far below, hands fastened around his ankles.
"Hold on!" Talin said. "We've got you."
Deril pushed with everything he had, trying to help them. Slowly, painfully, his father came up higher and higher. Deril's heart pounded in his ears. With the world quaking so much, he was sure the steps would collapse beneath him. But he held on, refusing to leave his father behind. He hadn't come all this way to fail his father now.
At last, Deril and his father both sat on the steps, gasping for air. But there was no time. They got to their feet, racing after Talin and Kae as the world fell in around them. The light from the top of the stairs was brighter, but would they reach it in time?
One violent tremor nearly sent Deril over the crumbling stone railing. His stomach leapt, and he steadied his balance moments before he would have fallen.
At last, they reached the top of the stairs, but now the entire palace was coming down around them. Rubble was a foot or two deep in spots. They climbed over it, pushing through the deserted corridor.
More and more debris crowded their path. Their shields were barely strong enough to stop it. Deril offered a silent prayer to no one in particular. There were now giant holes in the palace's ceiling. From above, shafts of dim sunlight entered the corridor. If only there were a way to climb up there and escape this chaos.
Heart pounding, Deril clung to his father's hand as he followed Talin and Kae to the end of the corridor. There, a huge chunk of the ceiling had blocked the path to their right.
So they took off to the left, past more debris. Some people had been trapped beneath it, but there was no time to worry about them. Deril did check, though, making sure they weren't members of his party, and they weren't.
But where were the others? Had the collapse trapped them in the sun chamber?
No. There wasn't time to check. The palace was minutes from collapsing. They raced to a place where debris had fallen, but a path had been created by the Firelords, or perhaps by Kadin and the others.
They emerged in the grand lobby, but it didn't look so grand anymore. Chunks of the ceiling had fallen all over, and more were crashing down upon them. At the front of the lobby, the palace's great stone gate was closed. Three people stood before that gate. Even from behind, Deril recognized Rella's bright red hair.
He, Talin, and Kae raced to the others.
Rella turned. "The Firelords closed the gate behind them."
Amidst the growing tremors, Talin stepped toward the gate and put a hand to it. After a few moments, he said, "I can't break through the weave on this stone. I didn't take part in creating it."
"Then what can we do?" Kadin said.
Deril felt like throwing up. "I don't know."
Chapter 43: A World Changed
Deril struggled to keep his balance as the trembling intensified. He glared at the closed stone door, as though his anger could make it move. The palace had been built with no windows, but there had to be another way out.
"Maybe the collapse has opened a hole in the wall somewhere," he said.
"Have you seen any holes?" Talin said. "The entire outside of this palace is reinforced with such strong weaves that I doubt even this
quake could bring them down."
"Then we have no hope," Kadin said, looking down at the ground.
"Wait!" Rella said. "I know how we can get out. The secret passage to the warehouse."
"Of course," Deril said. How had he not thought of that?
"But that goes underground," Talin said. "It might not be clear."
"As I see it," Deril said, "we have no choice."
They took off, following Rella's lead and holding their shields strong. The door to the cellar stood at the other side of the foyer. Rella pushed through it and raced down the steps, into darkness. The others followed. The trembling seemed weaker now, but the palace continued coming down around them. Twice, they had to crawl over debris in the dark.
"Do you know where this passage is?" Kadin shouted over the rumbling.
Rella turned to him, her face pale and lined with concern. "No, but I read the plans."
"Don't worry," Talin said, rushing to the front of the group. "I know where it is."
He took them down twisting corridors piled high with chunks of the ceiling. In places, Deril could see up to the floor above, and even up to the sky. The debris slid off their shields, but Deril could feel his light reserves dwindling. Surely the others were having more trouble. They had maybe a few more minutes.
"Found it!" Talin said, stopping at a nondescript section of wall. He touched it with his hand, and it came open, the low rumble lost among the greater trembling.
They rushed into the passage and didn't bother to close it. Now they had to pray the passage itself wasn't blocked.
But they did come to a blockage. Deril felt sick.
"Kae and I will shift this out of the way," Talin said. "Help shield us while we do it."
Deril stepped closer, extending his shield as they worked. Soon there was a hole large enough for them to slip through. Deril returned his shield to its full strength, to where it surrounded only him, then followed Talin and Kae through the hole.
The passage ahead was clear, and they raced through it. About halfway through, the trembling grew weaker, perhaps because they were farther from where Halarik had unleashed the powerful weave.
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