Alexander chuckled to himself, shaking his head slowly. “Magic will never cease to amaze me. I found the map table and had a brief look around the isle with it, but I couldn’t find the vitalwood tree. Could it have been taken by Selaphiel?”
“Doubtful,” Balthazar said. “The map table is blind to the existence of the vitalwood. I designed it that way as a precaution to protect the tree.”
“That’s a relief,” Alexander said. “The map table also showed me a room that looked like the crystal chamber in Blackstone, except there’s a silvery sphere of magic surrounding it.”
“When the Sovereign Stone was lost to the world of time and substance, the Keep protected the crystal with a stasis field to ensure that it wouldn’t stop spinning and shatter,” Balthazar said. “You must touch the control stone inside the chamber to dispel the stasis and awaken the Keep.”
“Does the Keep have defenses like Blackstone did?”
“Of course,” Balthazar said, “both internal and external. Once the crystal is spinning again, you’ll be able to see within the Keep and control its capabilities with a thought.”
“So why does the map table work without the crystal?”
“The library is a place outside the world of time and substance, much like a Wizard’s Den. All of its magical features are internal and separate from the Keep.”
“Huh,” Alexander said, formulating his next question. “Will I be able to use the Keep’s defenses to fight the creatures waiting just outside the door?”
“Within the Keep, there are many passages that can be warded with magical shields that will allow selective access to those you permit as well as many that can be warded against all passage. As for offensive weapons, those are designed to defend against external threats.”
“Tell us about the creatures you encountered,” Darius said. “Perhaps we can offer suggestions for combating them.”
Alexander spent a few minutes describing the horrible, insect-like creatures, their twisted colors and the deafening shriek they emitted. He told the story of their running battle and retreat and of how they would face the creatures again once they left the library.
Malachi became very still and silent while he spoke.
“Tell me everything you know about these creatures,” Alexander said, turning to the Sixth Sovereign.
He hesitated for a moment before beginning with a snarl. “I created them, but I never expected that they’d breed. They’re a cross between a bat, a type of giant beetle, and another insect that I don’t have a name for. They’re completely blind, but they have hearing so keen that they might as well be able to see. Also, they emit a sound so loud and shrill that it can make a man’s ears bleed. Honestly, I didn’t think they were very promising for my purposes.”
“And just exactly what were your purposes?”
“To win the war, of course,” Malachi said. “Siavrax Karth had been experimenting with hybrid creatures for years with significant success. I thought it only prudent to follow a similar line of inquiry.”
“How do I fight them?”
“How should I know? I only made a few of them and I didn’t spend much time testing their capabilities.”
“Perhaps something as simple as a dampened wad of paper in your ears would protect you from their shriek,” Darius said.
“It’s certainly worth a try,” Alexander said. “I’m not looking forward to fighting my way out of here.”
“Perhaps a silence spell would facilitate your exit uncontested,” Constantine said.
“He can’t cast a silence spell,” Malachi said, “because he’s not a real wizard.”
“No,” Alexander said, “but I bet Magda and Cassandra can.”
“You brought other people into the library?” Malachi said, his eyes going wide in dismay.
“Sure, why not?”
“The door will only permit the Sovereign to enter for a reason.”
“And what might that be?”
“To protect your power, much of which is contained within the books in this collection,” Malachi said, as if he were talking to an idiot child.
Alexander shook his head sadly. “What a lonely life you must have led. That’s the difference between good and evil. I trust every one of those people with my life; you didn’t even trust your own son.”
He walked away from the table and opened his eyes to see Magda and Cassandra sitting at the table in his Wizard’s Den, both completely absorbed in the books they were reading. He left them to it, walking out into the library, flexing his shoulder and wincing a bit at the stab of pain.
“Librarian.”
A moment passed before a man in simple white pants and shirt appeared. He was bald, slight of build and shorter than most men. Also, he was translucent, as if he wasn’t really there at all.
“Lord Reishi, I am at your service.”
“Huh,” Alexander said.
Jataan seemed to materialize beside him.
“My friend has a wyvern that’s been transformed by dark magic into a figurine about this big,” Alexander said, holding his finger and thumb three inches apart. “I need a spell that will return the wyvern to its normal healthy state.”
“Of course, please come with me,” he said, hurrying off into the stacks, leading Alexander to a shelf of books, stopping abruptly and pointing one slender finger at a large tome. “This is the spell you seek.”
“Thank you,” Alexander said. “Now show me how to create a duplicate of this book.”
“This way,” he said, walking briskly back to the head of the room, skirting the demon corpse without a hint of distress, and stopping before a set of shelves against the wall close to the map table. Rows of uniformly sized books filled three shelves below the top shelf which was slightly angled with a raised lip running along the lower edge like a lectern.
“Place the book you wish to duplicate here,” he pointed to the left side of the angled shelf. “Then place a blank book from the shelves below on the right side. The process will begin automatically.”
Alexander did as instructed. A moment passed before both books opened to the first page. Words began to appear on the blank page of the empty book as if they were being written by hand, though much more quickly than any scribe could have written them. The page filled up with words, matching exactly the words from the original, then both pages turned in unison and the next page began to fill up.
Alexander stood mesmerized until Jack started laughing.
“Someday I’m going to want to borrow that … a lot,” he said.
“I’ll bet,” Abigail said, taking his hand as they watched the page turn again.
Alexander returned to the Wizard’s Den, finding the two witches still reading with near-exclusive focus.
Lita smiled at him. “You’ll probably have to touch them on the shoulder to get their attention,” she said.
He tapped Magda. She blinked a few times before her eyes returned to the present.
“Come on, I want to show you something,” he said. “You too, Cassandra.”
They reluctantly pulled their attention from the tomes before them. He led them out and showed them the book being copied.
“Remarkable,” Magda whispered.
“Indeed,” Cassandra agreed.
“This is the spellbook that will help you with Taharial,” Alexander said, “at least according to the librarian.”
“Lord Reishi, I am at your service,” the librarian said, appearing nearby at the mention of his name.
“Apparently, he can help you find any book you want.”
“This place is a wonder,” Magda said. “I’ll be sad to leave.”
“Speaking of which, do you have a spell that creates silence?” Alexander asked.
“Yes, it’s a common spell, often effective against other spell casters, provided they don’t know a counter that relies on hand gestures alone.”
“Good, how long does it last?”
“The duration varies with intent,”
Magda said, “a few moments up to thirty minutes or so. Why?”
“Because that’s how we’re going to get out of here,” Alexander said. “Those creatures rely on sound to see. If they can’t hear us, we’ll be invisible to them.”
“Huh,” Jack said, heading back into the Wizard’s Den and his desk.
“I’d like to take a look at the back wall while we wait for your book to finish writing itself,” Alexander said. “I could use your help, both of you.”
“Certainly,” Magda said, following Alexander to the wall with the hidden compartment containing Malachi’s phylactery.
“The sovereigns tell me that the map table can’t see the vitalwood, Little One,” Alexander said silently to Chloe while they walked.
“Oh, thank the Maker. I was so worried.”
They reached the back wall of the library and found that the last row of shelves ran the length of the entire wall, floor to ceiling. Alexander scanned for any hint of magic past the ubiquitous aura emanating from the library itself and found nothing.
“Somewhere along this wall is a hidden and trapped compartment, but I can’t see it.”
Magda frowned for a moment, as if considering which of the spells in her repertoire she needed. Then she began to mutter under her breath. Her colors flared, and her frown deepened. She cast another spell, shaking her head.
“I can’t see it either,” she said.
“Librarian,” Alexander said.
“Lord Reishi, I am at your service,” he said, materializing before him.
“Can you show me where the hidden compartment is in this wall?”
“Of course,” he said, walking to a section near the right corner and pointing to a book on the bottom shelf. “Push this book in against the back of the shelf and the compartment will open.”
From several paces away, Alexander sent his sight to the book and examined it closely, drifting behind it and finding a section of the shelf that protruded, just about the same size as the book’s spine. A faint, almost imperceptible aura of magic confirmed the librarian’s guidance.
“Malachi says the trap on the compartment will kill me if I try to open it. Any suggestions?”
“Perhaps action at a distance is called for,” Cassandra said.
“And adequate shielding,” Magda added.
“I’m willing to try, if you are,” Alexander said.
“If we withdraw to the central path, that should provide enough distance to protect us.”
Once there, Magda cast a number of spells in preparation, the first creating a wall of magical force that lined the opposite shelf, the second erecting a bubble of magical energy surrounding them all, and the third creating a bubble around the section of wall in question.
“I’m ready,” she said, offering her hand to Cassandra.
Cassandra took it, casting a spell that would link their power, allowing her spell to penetrate Magda’s shields. Her next spell took a bit longer to cast. With a gesture, the book pressed in against the control.
A section of the bookshelf along the back wall swung outward into the path between it and the next row of shelves. A moment later, the wall behind it vanished in a three-foot-by-three-foot section, opening into a cubbyhole containing an ornately made bottle.
A moment after that, a gout of blackness erupted from within the cubbyhole, jetting outward and splattering into the shield wall opposite it, spraying in every direction like water, before quickly coalescing into a ball of black liquid. It hesitated for a just a second, then launched toward them in a stream of inky darkness.
Alexander focused his will on Luminessence and released a burst of light so bright and so pure that the darkness evaporated with a shriek that made Alexander’s skin crawl, the last traces of it nearly reaching them before vanishing into the aether.
Jataan was standing beside him, just outside of Magda’s shield, when he let his light fade.
“Yeah, that would’ve probably killed me,” Alexander said. “Malachi’s almost more trouble than he’s worth.”
“And yet, he may have provided you with the means to free Isabel,” Magda said, dispelling her shields with a gesture.
Abigail and Jack came running up.
“What happened?” Jack asked.
“We just triggered a trap,” Alexander said, heading toward the hidden compartment. He stopped before it, examining the space and the bottle with all of his sight, searching for any hint that he’d missed some other defense left by Malachi.
“Do you really think that will defeat Azugorath?” Abigail asked.
“I can hope,” Alexander said, cautiously touching it with a single finger. Satisfied that the defenses had been expended, he lifted the bottle from its resting place. It had an expansive aura with a hint of darkness swirling in its potent colors. “It certainly looks powerful.”
“One more weapon can’t hurt,” Jataan said.
Alexander nodded. “Let’s go have a look at that book.”
Chapter 29
It was nearly complete, only a few dozen pages remaining to be duplicated. He turned back to the map table, laying his hand on the panel and thinking of the door to the library. The entry hall just outside was filled with nine of the creatures, all standing stock-still as if they were listening for intruders. More filled the staircase and the single corridor leading into the darkness through the wall opposite the stairway entrance.
“I have to get into that room,” Alexander said, pointing to the sealed archway directly across from the library door.
“Then what?” Abigail asked. “It looks like suicide out there.”
“Once I have control over the Keep, I’ll be able to restrict their movement,” he said, “maybe seal up the staircase and give us a fighting chance to get out of here.”
“I’m all for that,” she said.
When the book had been completely duplicated, both books closed with their back covers facing up. Alexander handed the copy to Magda and returned the original to the shelf.
“In time, I hope to duplicate this entire library,” he said, “but for right now, this will have to do.”
Magda and Cassandra both nodded their agreement.
Anja’s voice filtered out of the Wizard’s Den. “Where are we?”
“In the library,” Alexander said. “How’re you feeling?”
“My leg hurts. Where are those creatures? I want another stab at them.”
“Just outside the door, but I’m afraid you’ll have to sit this one out,” Alexander said. “I’m going to slip past them quietly, if I can.”
“Is that wise, Lord Reishi?” Jataan asked.
“Beats trying to fight them. Magda, I need you to spell me with silence for a few minutes.”
“Of course.”
“All right, everyone inside,” he said, motioning to the Wizard’s Den.
Magda cast her spell from just inside the door. It was a strange sensation—sudden absolute silence. He clapped his hands, but there was nothing except the feeling of his hands coming together. He nodded to her before closing the door and stepping through the magical membrane that served as the library’s door into a room filled with horror.
The creatures closest to him twitched, seeming to react to the sudden absence of sound surrounding Alexander. He stepped to the side slowly, cautiously avoiding contact, threading his way past Malachi’s unnatural creations on his way to the door on the opposite wall of the room. It was a nerve-wracking, painstaking few minutes. Each step placed cautiously, each movement calculated to avoid contact. When he got near one of the creatures, it would react to the sudden absence of sound by cocking its head, distress flaring in its colors, as if it had gone suddenly blind.
He reached the door, placing his hand on the smooth surface and pushing through into a small room overlooking a much larger toroid-shaped space with a silvery sphere occupying the exact center. A low wall like the railing of a balcony marked the opposite side of the small room with a simple pedestal topped by a larg
e black stone positioned in the exact center. Alexander placed his hand on the stone. A moment passed, then another, then the stasis field vanished like a soap bubble popping. The large, narrow diamond-shaped power crystal was there in center of the toroid, spinning as if it had never stopped.
Alexander felt like something inside him was awakening, slowly coming back to life. Focusing on that feeling caused an image of the Reishi Keep to spring into his mind, fully formed and perfect in every detail. His attention was drawn to the damaged observation platform and tower. It looked like it was healing, slowly regenerating stone to replace the portions that had been blasted away by Phane.
He smiled to himself, shifting his focus to the staircase that ran through the core of the lower levels. Each archway leading to each level could be sealed with a foot of magical stone with a thought. He closed them all, save for the seventh level, before looking into the fourth level where they’d first encountered the insect creatures.
The blockage in the corridor created by Magda’s spell had been breached. The first several feet had been reduced to gravel, but the last few feet were eaten through by acid.
He tested the silence surrounding him, and finding that the spell was still in place, he pushed through the door into the entry hall and carefully made his way into the stairwell, sealing off the seventh level with a thought. Then he opened the door of his Wizard’s Den and quickly stepped inside.
Magda dismissed her silence spell with a word and a gesture.
“The Keep is alive and under my control,” he said. “I’ve sealed the lower levels, so we just have the creatures in the stairwell to deal with … and the demon.”
“It got out?” Jack said.
“Looks that way. I’ll know more after I get a chance to look around.”
“So how many of those things are out there?” Anja asked.
“A lot,” Alexander said with a shrug. “The staircase is filled with them.”
“So, do we sneak through or do we fight?” Abigail said.
Sovereign of the Seven Isles 7: Reishi Adept Page 33