Beyond the Sapphire Gate: Epic Fantasy-Some Magic Should Remain Untouched (The Flow of Power Book 1)

by R. V. Johnson

  “Yes, yes, yes, excellent work,” Lord Charn said, a trace of glee in his tone.

  Jade began to feel a little uncomfortable with the praises, but only a little.

  Atoi spoke, her voice a monotone. “One is curious, Great Lord. How did you know the sister would be able to use the medallion? You could have demanded to use it yourself.”

  The dark helm swung toward the little girl. Jade looked to her, as did everyone else in the room, including Broth. Atoi spoke so seldom, the question seemed odd, though it was close to what Jade had been asking herself. “In truth, I considered it. But the medallion grows stronger with association—she’s worn it for some time, I believe. Even so, the User would also need the ability to read the objects reveal. I have reason to believe it is so with her, which has strengthened my suspicion that she is the anomaly mentioned in the scrolls.”

  “Crystalyn has to be the one to open…the Sapphire Gate, right?” Jade asked, wanting to change the subject. She didn’t feel like an anomaly; it wasn’t a flattering description.

  The horned helm settled on her. Not for the first time, Jade wondered what he looked like without it. “Yes, that is so. I will repeat an earlier question. How would you know this?”

  “Like you, I didn’t, but it stands to reason. Crystalyn brought us here. She should be able to take us back to our home world, back to our world of Terra,” Jade said, eyeing her sister. Crystalyn gazed back the way they’d come. She seemed so sad, so forlorn, though one hand rested on Broth’s great shoulder. Going to her, Jade held her hand in her own, pressing her lips close to her sister’s ears. “Are you ready, Crystalyn? Darkwind was bad from the start. Try not to let it hold you back, he made his choice. Someday it will haunt him, if he still lives. Let’s go home. Please? I miss Dad.”

  Crystalyn stirred, a look of resolve shining in her blue eyes, but the sadness never lessened. Cupping her hands into an inverted pyramid shape, a symbol, identical to the interlocking lines and complex curves on the gateway, floated away from Crystalyn, and locked between the two obelisks. Rotating, the symbols churned to a maelstrom. The black veil dropped in place from the top down, twisting into a swirl almost before the symbol had fully faded. Crystalyn was becoming adept with her symbols.

  Jade found her gaze on Atoi. Was she going with them?

  Looking oddly out of place on her too-white face, Atoi smiled widely.

  It was the first time Jade had seen her smile. It didn’t suit her. Her smile didn’t look malicious, but it didn’t emanate any warmth either, it felt forced and…alien. Jade focused on the tiny girl’s image. Spinning much faster than any other aura she’d yet viewed, Jade concentrated on slowing the blurring whirlwind, still flush from the victory of finding the sapphire obelisks and seeing through Darwin’s illusion—seeing its reveal, as Lord Charn called it. The cyclone slowed minutely but a wave of vertigo rushed into her mind. She counteracted by dribbling the vertigo into the dark cloud, making her feel better. The cloud slowed a little. Atoi glanced at her, the smile gone. Without a word, she dashed through the gateway.

  Crystalyn cursed. “Blast it, Atoi! I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet, but now we have no choice. Jade take the topaz obelisks through, you and Burl are next, then Broth. I’ll come last. Will you do us the courtesy of making certain no one follows, Lord Charn? The gateway should close as soon as I go through, but it’s possible someone could reactivate it. I don’t want any surprises.”

  Lord Charn looked at Crystalyn. “You are correct. The gateway will close, but I shall not be here to view it for I shall accompany you. A new world to study is something I cannot ignore. I have always harbored a science inclination before a battle lord, though I will wait to go through right before you and stand guard here as long as possible. Your safety is fragile here now that Darwin’s cowardice has surfaced.”

  Now he wants to follow a scientific path, unbelievable! For many reasons, “scientist” didn’t fit Jade’s mental image of the dark-armored man. Though Lord Charn’s aura didn’t show anything specifically threatening toward them, it was still full of something dark. The bloody, red-eyed dragon had shown her that. Though he had given them exceptional hospitality, he’d claimed he wanted a resolution to the war, and he’d fought for them against Darkwind, nearly losing his life. For that last reason alone, she should trust him. “Don’t expect too much, Lord Charn. Our Terra is not the world it once was. Are certain you want this?” Jade asked.

  Lord Charn stood tall. “You misunderstand how much I do desire this. I go with you or no one else shall step beyond the sapphire gate.”

  Jade looked to Crystalyn. “Well, I suppose that answers my question. Can’t Broth do the guarding?

  “I guess they both can, before following each other through. Now go. I don’t know how long the gate will stay active.”

  Jade didn’t argue. Excitement settled inside. They were finally going home. She’d wanted to get away from this horrible world from the start. Now they could go back to being a family again, her, Crystalyn and dad. The family would be different now, but at least they’d still be a family. She’d miss Camoe, but Crystalyn was also leaving friends behind. If her sister heart could do it, then so could she.

  The dark curtain awaited them, impatient and ominous. With a last glance at her big sister, Jade handed Burl the obelisks, grabbed his hand and stepped through, feeling confused. Crystalyn’s image had changed. Inside her slow-moving cyclone, a double-headed hammer now rotated.

  BOUND

  Garn followed the Alchemist at a respectful distance, not too close to intrude, but not so far back he’d waste precious moments reaching the man in case of attack. The Alchemist never mentioned how far behind he should be, though he did give him a look of modest approval at the beginning. Garn didn’t care for the Hooded Man’s approval, but he accepted it. He needed the proximity to him if the man was assailed, no when, he was assailed. The Alchemist had many enemies, but no one was going to slay his captor, not before him.

  The Alchemist strolled with purpose away from the massive obelisks they’d used yesterday to enter the great underground hall. Garn had nearly missed a step when they’d appeared at the towering obelisk’s threshold. The two brown crystal obelisks they’d stepped through had been about the same size as the blue ones that had brought him here. He would’ve liked to examine those closely, but the Hooded Man’s command had been as specific as Codar’s had been the first day after his captivity in Corteezsha’s room. Keep up or die. He chose to keep up, at least, until he killed the Hooded Man or found his missing daughters, whichever happened first. So far, no one at the Keep had heard of his daughters’ whereabouts, but he hadn’t given up. They had to be somewhere on this world.

  The Alchemist’s pace wasn’t taxing, nor was it slow, unlike when they’d left the meeting with the man in dark chainmail and the red-robed one, when the huge man in his dark plate armor had shown up. Garn took it then that the meeting hadn’t gone well: the Alchemist had left in a rush.

  As he noticed the day before, anyone they passed in the great hall reacted much the same toward The Alchemist as the townspeople had when he’d followed Codar in Grit Eye City. Armored or robed alike, it didn’t seem to matter. All avoided eye contact to the point of crossing to the other side of the wide hall, or turning to look the opposite direction. Garn preferred it that way; it made his job easier. Ambushing a man without looking in his direction was hard to accomplish. Therefore, when three red-robed men kept glancing surreptitiously their way as they strolled along a wide intersection, Garn’s instincts took over.

  *****

  Holding Broth back by a slight pressure on his shoulder, Crystalyn motioned for Lord Charn to precede them through the Sapphire Gate. Casting a last look around, the tall, dark-armored man vanished through the gateway. Crystalyn breathed easier. Lord Charn was used to giving commands and having them followed without question. Well, he’d have to get used to following her commands now, if he was going to live in harmony on her world of Te
rra. He’d have to rely on his scientist side, if he truly had such an inclination. Perhaps she’d get him researching the glaring commonalities between their two worlds. Astura’s ancient name is Earth; Terra was another name for Earth. Coincidence? There was no way she believed that.

  His giving up supreme power here on Astura in order to live a menial life on another world was a little hard to concede. Yet, she could understand how taxing it would be to constantly fend off the younger, up-and-coming Great Lord wannabes attempting assassination after assassination, challenge after challenge. Eventually one of them would get in a lucky blow by moving a tad bit faster as he slowed with age. If Lord Charn was truthful, he’d lived half as long as Atoi, if not longer. The Dark Lord hadn’t said it, but Crystalyn suspected there now was a potential threat strong enough to displace him from his black throne, or at least, there might’ve been as Darkwind honed his battle techniques. Lord Charn had to know it was just a matter of time before someone else came along.

  No challenge would come from Darwin now, not after what he’d done. He’d wanted to use her as a weapon and not just any old weapon; a weapon he’d helped create when he’d cunningly put her in harm’s way several times on the journey, forcing her to build power. At the back of her mind, she’d known it as soon as she’d seen his connection to Malkor.

  By convincing the brigands to attack as she climbed Glacier Mountain, possibly even staging the battle blocking their way forward, and sending Malkor to kidnap Atoi, he’d begun the process of creating a weapon of great destruction to destroy half the known world here. It was an ambitious undertaking. One he’d nearly pulled off, probably would have, had it not been for Jade finding the hidden entrance to the secret passage. Though he claimed to have a total disregard for the vessel—for her, the Hooded Man had seen otherwise.

  Crystalyn struggled to understand.

  Her dark and handsome Darwin Darkwind had betrayed her right when they were getting along well, so well she’d made the choice of convincing him to leave Astura and go back home with her. If he hadn’t done what he did, he’d likely be here with her instead of Lord Charn. Oh Darwin, why did you throw it all away?

  Crystalyn quelled her budding tears. She needed a good cry, but not now. What was she going to do with Lord Charn on her crumbling, technological world? He couldn’t walk around, seven feet tall and wearing a pile of black armor. For that matter, how would she explain Jade’s raggedy-man. Not to mention, a four-hundred-season-old child and a larger-than-average canine with cat eyes. Animals were rare enough as it was. How would they all fit in?

  She had no idea, but they’d all been friends to her or to Jade, helping them when it mattered most.

  Broth’s thoughts flowed beside hers. My excitement to see the home world of my Do’brieni is high.

  We are bound together now Broth, whatever world. Nevertheless, I must warn you, Terra is a dying world. Overuse of technology has polluted it and turned the once-vibrant mountains into a barren, artificial wasteland.

  Nudging Broth forward, Crystalyn stepped through the Sapphire Gate alongside her most intimate friend. She couldn’t help but feel Broth’s apprehension that stemmed from her last declaration of thought.

  DARK FLAMES

  Jade curtailed her excitement at finally setting foot back on her home world. Not everyone had come through the gateway yet, and there was more information she wanted to gather. Putting the topaz gate beside the conference table, she motioned for Burl to do likewise, and then slipped the white crystal candle from her beaten wayfarer bag. It was too dangerous not to know. The hammer in Crystalyn’s image concerned her. Lord Charn chose, no insisted, on accompanying them. The hammer had to mean something, but she’d failed twice to get but a few shadowy images from the Dark Lord—besides the red-eyed dragon—no matter how hard she concentrated. It was time for the heavy hardware, the white candle, and her newfound knowledge of how the amulet worked. She’d begun to suspect that at least one of them was a great artifact the hooded man had mentioned. Perhaps she could force a reading. Now she needed a subject.

  She didn’t have to wait long.

  Lord Charn materialized next. Showing no interest in the technology in the room—odd for one wishing to play scientist studying a new world—the plate-armored man turned to face the wall where they’d arrived.

  Holding the white candle in one hand and palming the arrowhead amulet in the other, Jade concentrated on slowing the shadowy storm spinning around the man. It took enormous effort, but finally the images whirled slower, the shadows drifted lazily as they came into focus. Was the dragon still in there?

  The horned helm of Lord Charn swung her direction. “Desist what you’re doing,” he said, his voice as hard as the great hammer hanging from his side. “It has been no small task to keep you at bay.”

  Startled, Jade lost her hold. The image twisted into the dark raging cyclone she normally viewed. So, he’d been resisting her all along. Perhaps she should’ve known. Was it why some people were harder to read than others were? It made sense. Some she’d read must’ve resisted her, likely not even aware they were doing it. Even then, she’d been able to force a reading from most everyone. This attempt had some little success too. The shadows around Lord Charn had slowed enough she’d glimpsed two of them. The dragon, in flight this time, came before a great hammer trailing it. The dragon she couldn’t fathom. She might never find out what it represented for the man; it wasn’t like Lord Charn begged to volunteer information. Perhaps she could wheedle it out of him later, now that he was on her world and away from his fortress.

  Broth popped through the Sapphire Gate, with Crystalyn not far behind. Crystalyn glanced around the room. Running her thumb along the arrowhead’s edge out of habit, Jade slowed Crystalyn’s rotating aura. The hammer rolled around to the front, displacing a symbol with a pattern she’d yet to see, only to be displaced by an azure crystal so covered in blood it was hard to recognize it. Jade shivered. Concentration broken, the aura whirled. Jade frowned. She’d wanted to stop the hammer and focus on it. Now, she’d have to start from the beginning. Perhaps she’d seen enough to tell if it was identical to Lord Charn’s hammer.

  Jade looked at the big man, the terrible war hammer was in motion, swinging toward Broth. A brilliant purple flash engulfed The Warden. Taken unaware, Broth smashed into Crystalyn, propelled by the unnatural force of the dark-flamed hammer.

  Jade wanted to scream, but her lungs refused to draw breath.

  Crystalyn smashed into a shelf. Splintering it to pieces, she crashed to the floor gasping for breath with Broth on top of her.

  Broth didn’t stay down long. Snarling, he sprang through the air, latching onto Lord Charn’s weapon arm. Faster than Jade thought possible, the dark-armored man spun Broth in a circle. The force of the spin ripped Broth’s grip from his jaws, flinging him into a smoky glass wall. The wall shattered. Broth crashed into the warehouse and lay still.

  Ignoring the angry red gashes streaking down his arm, Lord Charn advanced on Crystalyn, raising the cruel double-headed hammer high. The dark flames arced back and forth on the hammer’s head, glowing with the intensity of a silent lightning strike.

  Jade found her voice and screamed.

  HER BLOOD RAN COLD

  Crystalyn was delighted when the Big Ugly sprang into view. She hadn’t been quite certain the Sapphire Gate would open to the same place they’d left—though Lord Charn had seemed confident it would. The Dark Citadel’s Great Lord stood tall and forbidding, his back to the wall beside Broth, as if he were cautious about stepping too far from the gateway. Atoi gazed in wonder at the images flickering on the desk.

  Crystalyn sought her sister. Jade and her doll man, Burl lounged by the conference table ahead, watching for her arrival. Jade had grown cautious from their trials on another world. Rubbing the arrowhead with one hand while holding the white candle, Jade stared at her, but not into her eyes, then moved on to look at Broth. Was she using her ability?

  Jade’s eyes w
idened with shock.

  Something heavy crashed into Crystalyn, ripping her legs from under her, smashing her against something that crumpled under her. White-hot pain ripped through one of her legs as the weight fell across her chest, stealing her breath. The world began to blacken. No! She hadn’t fought this far to lose it all now. She pushed with all her might against it. Incredibly, the weight sprang away. She gulped for breath, watching as Broth latched onto Lord Charn’s arm. Lord Charn spun in a tight circle, hurling Broth through one of the walls of tempered glass.

  Arrup! The lone yelp rang through Crystalyn’s mind as Broth crashed into the warehouse and lay still.

  Broth! Broth! Stark silence rang loud through the link. She couldn’t feel his presence, the link empty.

  “Nooooo!” With the last of her scream dying in her ears, Crystalyn looked up at Lord Charn standing above her, the glowing hammer raised high. Jade screamed. Inching backwards, Crystalyn met the glass wall. She reached for a symbol, knowing it was too late.

  Absorbing the light around it, the double-headed hammer fell, trailing a shadow of blackness.

  With a sharp ping, the hammer froze. Atoi’s dagger stood between it and her skull, inches away. Gazing upward, her face as passionless as ever, the tiny girl stood to one side, the hand gripping the dagger outstretched.

  Lord Charn bellowed. “What is this? You dare to interfere, Dark One?”

  A voice resounded from Atoi, hollow and distant. “Your selfishness will not ambush the vessel, to triumph, you must defeat the prophecy on equal terms…” the ringing voice said, dropping away. The dagger withdrew.

  Atoi’s distraction was enough. Grounding the symbol to her, Crystalyn released it.

  The hammer continued its downward arc.

  She threw out her translucent black symbol with its intricate weave-like pattern, and wrapped it around her head and torso. The hammer bounced harmlessly away, inches from her skull.